[[quoteright:200:[[Franchise/{{Fallout}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7868bea817dcd0fdabfbefc41a21eef4.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:200:Who could it be?[[note]][[Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero ♫ Believe it or not, it's just me ♫]][[/note]]]]

->''"A century ago on the low hills along the border between the southern states and turbulent Mexico, a mystery man appeared... a man with a sad, impenetrable face. Who was that man? What was his secret?"''
-->-- '''{{Tagline}}''' for ''Film/{{Django}}''

Some characters first appear with most or all of their identifying traits withheld from the other characters and the audience. They likely won't be greeted by other characters as friend/lover/family/colleague/boss. Their faces and forms are often [[SinisterSilhouettes hidden in shadow]] or [[DisguiseTropes actual disguise]]. Their very presence may go unnoticed by some or all of the other characters. [[LawOfConservationOfDetail Yet they keep appearing]]: the author repeatedly mentions them in the text; the camera [[TrackingShot focuses on them and follows their actions]]. The audience (and perhaps one or more of the characters) is wondering, "Who are you?" That's the point.

Withholding information in this fashion piques the audience's curiosity. Without it, the audience can't form solid expectations about the character. Part of the plot development may also be in doubt, or else solving the mystery of this character becomes the plot. [[ThreeLinesSomeWaiting Or one of several.]] The audience and the other characters may be let in on the secret in tandem, or [[InternalReveal the audience may learn the truth first and the characters only find out later]]. Then again, [[RiddleForTheAges some secrets are never revealed]].

Mysterious Strangers can be a source of surprise for both other characters and the audience, often by [[RevealingSkill displaying an unexpected talent]] or triggering a [[PlotTwist plot twist]]. They may be a source of information via an anonymous phone call or a [[MysteriousNote written note]]. They may even [[MysteriousBenefactor secretly provide the heroes with material resources]]. They may [[TheReveal come forward at a key moment]], throwing the villain off guard or giving the hero a much-needed respite.

The precise nature of their secret(s) will determine their role in the story. Subtropes to this include:

[[index]]

* AngelUnaware - A mysterious character is implied/revealed to be an angel or other supernatural being.
* AnonymousBenefactor - A person who provides a gift (often much needed and/or much-desired) to someone else while concealing their identity.
* TheDrifter - A wandering stranger who enters a story by coming to a particular town in his travels.
* EnigmaticMinion - A non-BigBad antagonist whose agenda and motivations are ambiguous, even to the point of assisting the heroes.
* MysteriousBacker - A powerful benefactor of the heroes who helps out for their own reasons, usually by providing information or material assistance.
* MysteriousEmployer - A character who hides in the background and employs or somehow directs the heroes, villains or both.
* MysteriousMercenaryPursuer - A mysterious BountyHunter or ProfessionalKiller who is hunting the heroes.
* MysteriousParent - A parent who [[ParentalAbandonment abandons their kid(s)]] and whose absence is important to other events of the story.
* MysteriousProtector - A secretive figure who appears in a moment of need, aids the hero, and then vanishes again; the aid is often overt, such as repelling a physical attack or directly offering a word of advice or encouragement.
* MysteriousWaif - A child who has suffered hardship or loss or is otherwise rendered helpless. Often orphaned or otherwise cut off from family or some other caretaker.
* MysteriousWatcher - An unknown person seen watching the protagonists, usually from the background.
* MysteriousWoman - A woman, usually sexy or otherwise attractive, who knows more than she reveals.
* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness - A group of people with hidden goals, generally depicted as powerful and all-knowing.
* TheSpook - Someone whose lack of information regarding the person's identity makes him mysterious.

Not to be confused with the Creator/MarkTwain novella of [[Literature/TheMysteriousStranger the same name]].

[[/index]]

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Van of ''Anime/GunXSword'', to the point that by the end of the series we still have no idea where he came from. He generally just walks into a town, solves their problem with his giant robot, and walks out.
* Vash the Stampede of ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' is a bit darker version of this. No one knows who he is or where he comes from, and they are ''terrified'' of him--which is unfortunate, because he's really not a bad person.
* In ''Anime/SailorMoon'' Tuxedo Mask appears, and leaves Usagi wondering about his identity, and whether he is friend or foe. He's a friend, and they fall in love.
* Racer X in ''Anime/SpeedRacer'' is something of an UnbuiltTrope example- InUniverse he alternately serves as aloof rival and MysteriousProtector, but the narrator informs the audience of his true identity as Speed's missing older brother Rex at every appearance to the point of being lampshaded as a running gag.
* In ''Manga/CeresCelestialLegend'' Aya is rescued by a mysterious young man. He helps her out several more times as she is running from the Yagami family, and then, they fall in love.
* Xellos from ''Anime/{{Slayers}} Next'' onwards kind of falls into this. We know he's a monster/demon, but he seems to be an ally to Lina rather than acting against them. He has a happy-go-lucky attitude with EyesAlwaysShut. [[BewareTheNiceOnes But if he ever opens his eyes...]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': The original ComicBook/ScarletSpider was revealed this way with Ben Reilly gradually on his way to meet Spider-Man during the lead-up to ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga''. Strangely enough, since the promotion for this event was so massive, fans knew exactly who he was even though the issues leading up to TheReveal tried to play it off like a surprise
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* In ''FanFic/BreakingBoundaries'', a ''VideoGame/TownOfSalem'' fanfic, the person who visited mjfan on Night 19 is a good example of this trope. We literally never see what they actually look like. Ever! [[spoiler: They are the other disguiser who is constantly in disguise. They don't like being a 'townie' so they rewrote their job to be replacing mafia members during the day when they are tired. This could possibly explain why the mafia is so much more organized then the town.]]
* In the MagicalGirl CrossOver ''FanFic/ShatteredSkiesTheMorningLights'', [[Franchise/SailorMoon Chibi-Chibi]], [[Anime/PrettyCure Cure Echo]], [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Alicia Testarossa]], and [[Franchise/MadokaMagica Nagisa Momoe]] each appear in the wrong world, leading survivors of [[ApocalypseHow the titular apocalypse]] through {{PortalDoor}}s to a PlaceBeyondTime. [[spoiler:The four of them are later revealed to be alternating forms of the same being, called "The Stranger", who is an embodiment of those erased from the flow of normal time by the villains' massive disruptions of time and space.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* [[spoiler: Cira]] from ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' is this when she first turns up. The spoilered name is not her real name.
* Mr. A. H from ''Literature/TheNightCircus''. We learn almost nothing about him other than 1) He wears grey suits and, 2) He's eerily good at avoiding death and making it look coincidental. [[spoiler:Even Widget's interview of him at the end reveals very little about his history, though much more about his philosophy.]]
** Marco names himself "Alister" after his instructor, though it's implied the gray suit [[IHaveManyNames has many names.]]
* The aptly-named character Anonemuss in ''Literature/TheAvatarChronicles''. All we know for sure about him is that he was exiled for having committed some unknown act of violence (which on New Earth can be as minor as slapping someone), and that he has an "ends justify the means" mentality. His real identity isn't known, and even his game avatar, which is all we see of him, is mysterious (in ''Epic'', it's a dark elf, which is a strange choice since his character wouldn't be allowed in the game's cities). By the end of the trilogy, the other characters, and the reader, trust him, but we still have no idea who he is or what his motivations are.
* Strider first appears in ''[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' as a grungy, creepy, weatherbeaten stranger, cloaked with his face hidden, watching the hobbits from a shadowy corner. It's ambiguous whose side he's on or what he wants, the innkeeper doesn't trust him at all, and it rapidly becomes alarming how much he knows about Frodo's secret business. Frodo can only trust him on a leap of faith. He becomes [[spoiler:a main character of the Fellowship, an invaluable ally.]]
* Mr. Rabbit in ''Literature/RainbowsEnd''. He's hired by the international team attempting to track down the "You Gotta Believe Me" virus, but it's clear from the beginning that he has an agenda of his own. After he makes contact with Robert Gu, Robert actually begins referring to him as Mysterious Stranger.
* ''Literature/TheCosmere'': Hoid is a mysterious [[DimensionalTraveler worldhopper]] who appears at least in the background in every book, including ones set centuries apart. He often has a small but important role in events, giving a few words at the right moment to push the main characters in the right direction. Other worldhoppers, universally, find him an annoyance at best. In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' he is "the King's Wit" and takes a much more active role, but it's also clear that he enjoys being aloof and mysterious more than is probably healthy.
-->'''Kaladin:''' Wit never gives me answers. At least not straight ones.\\
'''Zahel:''' That's because Wit is an asshole.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Gamebooks]]
* ''Literature/ZaltecII'' drops you off facing a strange woman, who won't even talk to you. Later in the game, you discover that this is [[spoiler:the prophet An-Shuruk, who can travel through time]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'':
** A mysterious shoe salesman follows Miss Brooks in "Oh, Dem Gold Slippers".
** Miss Brooks is followed around by a mysterious man in "Here is Your Past". This individual steals Walter's article for the school paper, Mr. Boynton's diary, and Mr. Conklin's faculty card for Miss Brooks.
* Angel in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', for the first series or so at least, mysteriously follows her and advises her. It's several episodes before she even finds out he's a vampire. Later on, he occasionally fights against her, too.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'': The first time a Ranger shows up on the station, we have nothing to indicate who he is or what he wants until he gives Garibaldi a message from [[spoiler: Jeffrey Sinclair]].
* ''Series/{{Forever|2014}}'':
** Adam, Henry's anonymous caller, is treated this way for half the series. He starts out only TheVoice on the telephone, then starting at the end of "Look Before You Leap" Adam is [[TheFaceless only shown]] to the audience from behind, or just his feet and the bottom of his coat, or a gloved hand. Henry sees his shoes and the bottom of his coat at the end of "The Frustrating Thing About Psychopaths" and from behind at the start of "Skinny Dipper." The audience sees who he is for the first time at the same time Henry does at the end of "Skinny Dipper". He still remains fairly mysterious, calling Henry or showing up at key moments, giving away very little of his past or present. His phone calls often show his end of the conversation with Adam on the street outside the antique shop, watching Henry through the large windows of the upper floor apartment.
** Adam serves as an AnonymousBenefactor to Abe, giving him documents from Auschwitz that allow him to learn his parents' names for the first time. He leaves plenty of clues to let Henry know it was him, though.
* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': Near the start of [[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder the series premiere]], Lestat de Lioncourt is initially presented as one to the audience. We don't see his face in our tantalizing first glimpse of him because he's filmed from the back, which is then followed by a shot of his hands flipping through a [[RedLightDistrict Storyville]] blue book (a guide to prostitution for visitors to the district), so this item establishes him as an out-of-towner. When he's on-screen again a few minutes later, his visage is finally revealed when he removes his hat and turns towards the camera as [[LoveAtFirstSight his enamoured eyes follow Louis de Pointe du Lac]] walking past him. Although this currently unnamed blond, blue-eyed man remains enigmatic at the end of the scene, his FrozenFashionSense and the MysteriousMist behind him hint that he's a vampire.
* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'':
** Halbrand is first introduced as the survivor of a shipwreck in the Belegaer Ocean. The circumstances that led to his presence in the middle of the sea accompanied by other humans remain an untold mystery, although his comparatively vital, engaging manner, versus those with him, is an initial clue to his duplicity.
** The Stranger (no pun intended) is a man of mysterious origins with magical powers who fell from the sky, and about whom Nori feels very protective, thinking they were destined to meet. Because he is TheUnintelligible and doesn't remember who he is, he has NoSocialSkills and comes across as naïve and almost childlike. His presence does take the Harfoots out of their insignificant normality, and sets them up on a path of adventure, but also into the path of possible danger, as unknowingly to everyone, he is chased by The Dweller, a terrifying worshipper of Sauron.
* Midway through the first season of ''Series/OnceUponATime'', a stranger rides into town on a motorcycle. For several episodes we know next to nothing about him, not even his name. He eventually identifies himself as [[spoiler: August Booth]], and for some reason he knows about the Fairy Tale world. Turns out [[spoiler: he's actually from it. He's really Pinocchio.]]
* {{Invoked}} in an episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. In a Western-themed holodeck LARP, Counsellor Troi plays "Durango", an enigmatic [[TheExpyWithName Man With No Name]]-esque gunslinger who wanders into town just in time to help TheSheriff (Worf) in a gunfight against the local gang of bandits. She explicitly calls her character a "mysterious stranger".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* In the video for Music/MichaelJackson's "Music/RememberTheTime", Pharoah Ramses's Queen is bored and wants to be entertained so he calls for people to do just that, which includes Pyro, a fire eater, and The Stick Man, a stick juggler, and a mysterious sorceror (portrayed by Jackson). Unlike Pyro and The Stick Man who are properly announced to the Queen and the Pharoah before him, the sorceror is brought in front of them without announcement, dressed in a BlackCloak that completely obscures his features. Subverted after the sorceror reveals himself and begins singing a LoveNostalgiaSong to the Queen about their shared history, indicating that he isn't ''really'' a stranger to her at all.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mythology]]
* In the Myth/ArthurianLegend, a recurring concept is the mysterious knight who is clealy skilled, but won't give his name or remove his helm, and whose shield bears either no device or one that nobody recognises. Sometimes this is a known knight who has to disguise himself for some reason, sometimes it's just a mystery.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pinball]]
* In Creator/SternPinball's ''Pinball/HarleyDavidson'' games, the Mystery Rider is a [[TheFaceless helmeted biker]] who gives the player various random rewards.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* In ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' Sasha, one of the archivist's assistants, meets "Michael", a man ([[AmbiguouslyHuman or thing]]) who engages her in CrypticConversation about her colleagues, whose names it ''[sic]'' somehow knows. Later in the episode [[spoiler:it appears to become a MysteriousProtector when it removes one of the PestController Jane Prentiss's silver worms from Sasha's body which would otherwise have killed her, or worse]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]
* Exaggerated in ''Theatre/RideTheCyclone'', which opens with half a dozen high school choir members dying in a freak roller coaster accident. Five arrive in limbo in relatively good condition (considering the fact that they've died), but the sixth shows up with no head and no memories of her life on Earth. "Jane Doe," as she's christened, is totally unknown to the other students (none of them can remember her), to narrator (he didn't [[FortuneTeller read her fortune]] before the accident, so he doesn't know who she is), and to herself.
--> '''Jane Doe''': "Jane Doe" is what the coroner said.\\
They found my body, not my head.\\
No parents came, and so they never learned my name,\\
or who I used to be. My life, an unsolved mystery.\\
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/AnnoMutationem'', in following with its Cyberpunk and Noir inspirations, has a mysterious masked woman who constantly gives the protagonist, Ann Flores, advice, hints, and warnings during her hunt for her missing brother, Ryan Flores. Not only is she never given a name, just blocked-out letters in quotation marks, but she always disappears when Ann least expects it and can only be seen and heard by her.
* In ''VideoGame/{{APICO}}'', a hooded merchant appears in the middle of the night to sell you rare items before disappearing at dawn. If you tell the other residents about them, they have various reactions to their presence and theories about their identity, such as Beetrix and Barnabee claiming that it was the other person in disguise.
* ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'':
** The perk "Mysterious Stranger" causes a [[RevolversAreJustBetter magnum-toting]] badass in a hat and [[BadassLongcoat trenchcoat]] (named simply Mysterious Stranger) to appear at random and lend you aid.
** Miss Fortune also counts, although she's pretty much just a female NPC version of Mysterious Stranger with different effects.
** In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', your companion Nick Valentine is tracking the Mysterious Stranger under the assumption that he's a possibly-immortal serial killer using stealth tech.
** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has the Lonesome Drifter, who is the Mysterious Stranger's [[{{Pun}} estranged]] son and can give you a copy of his father's gun. Though it's sadly not as powerful as the genuine article, it does play his theme music whenever you draw it.
** ''WebVideo/FalloutNukaBreak'' has a BrickJoke involving the Mysterious Stranger walking through Eastwood when a gust of wind blows his hat off. Twig picks it up and returns it to him, jokingly saying "now you owe me". The Stranger, apparently either SarcasmBlind or [[HonorBeforeReason just that honour-bound]], returns the favour several episodes later by "rescuing" Twig's group from a single measly [[TheGoomba Radroach]], which he ''[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill empties his entire magnum into]]''. He then declares that he and Twig are "even" and [[StealthHiBye vanishes without a trace]]. Very much a waste of the Stranger's massive damage output, [[RuleOfFunny which is what makes it funny]].
* The Master of Whispers in ''VideoGame/GuildWars''. Is first introduced talking to some other conspirators only, with lots of information kept secret. After a few missions, you find out much more about him.
* In ''[[VideoGame/StarcraftI StarCraft: Brood War]]'' Samir Duran at first presents himself as a Terran rebelling against the Terran Domion and allies himself with UED. [[spoiler: Later on he is shown to working with Kerrigan and the Protoss. The character has fueled many rumors.]]
** ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' gives him a concrete motive and identity, but his background and potential is left unknown. He is [[spoiler:Amon's high priest. He spent millennia planning for the return of the Fallen Xel'Naga, who seeks to turn off the galaxy]]. It's unknown where the insane drive to help such a monster comes from, but all those years may have eroded his mind. Duran was impaled by Kerrigan, but it's unknown if he was using a meat puppet or if he really is dead. [[spoiler: In ''Legacy of the Void'', he is a Xel'naga who served Amon and was return back into the Void when his physical form was killed, where he was in charge of being warden to Ouros, before being slain for real.]]
* The man in black from the "I Know You" questline in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption''. He knows about things he couldn't possibly have been there to see, some of his dialogue implies that he may be {{God}}, {{Satan}}, or possibly TheGrimReaper, and your last meeting with him takes place [[spoiler:on the hill where John and Abigail are later buried.]]
* Referenced in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' when Ajuur the Hutt makes this your professional name in the duel arena on Taris. The announcer describes you as having no past and no name. {{Foreshadowing}} much?
* ''VideoGame/LunarLux'': The Murk Slayer is a masked vigilante who opposes the Lunex Force and refuses to explain why.
* The Mysterious Stranger in ''VideoGame/AdventureQuest'', before he is given an identity, dresses in a dark gray, face-obscuring cloak. He makes [[VaguenessIsComing enigmatic comments about a far-off plan]] years before he gains a significant role in the overall plot. When his storyline is over, it turns out there are more Mysterious Strangers waiting in the wings.
* The FramingDevice of ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'' involves the two main protagonists captured by a masked man who is not named in-story but is referred to as "The Stranger" in the credits, who forces them at gunpoint to retell the events of the game to him. In the final chapter, the Stranger's identity is revealed. [[spoiler:It's Loader Bot.]]
* The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Strangers]] from ''VideoGame/EternalCardGame'' are a mysterious group that get each others' powers, making them very dangerous in large groups.
* ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}'' has a character known as the Stranger, who is only ever seen as a {{Sinister Silhouette|s}} and repeatedly tries to lead the protagonist to confront some sort of AwfulTruth.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Subverted in ''Webcomic/DragonMango''. [[http://dragon-mango.com/comic/chapter02/dm02-75.htm An unknown cloaked person urges the three girls to give up being Lolita Knights for a greater challenge.]] Cupcake rejects this, and the stranger reveals [[spoiler:she's Cupcake's mother, Chocolate Explosion.]]
* The Muse of Time from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''. Almost nothing is known about her and she has only shown up twice in the series, once on the fourth page but this eerie early introduction gives the readers no aid in learning about her.
* The main Mysterious Stranger in ''Webcomic/TheLettersOfTheDevil'' is the mysterious "L", who has sent letters to a number of strangers revealing deadly secrets. [[spoiler:It is suggested that "L" may be the series' other Mysterious Stranger, a bike courier named Gilly Telles, who delivers several of the L Letters.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', T'Challa/Black Panther spends several episodes lurking in the shadows and watching the Avengers from afar, before revealing his presence to them.
[[/folder]]
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