History Main / KingInTheMountain

** Roboute Guilliman, primarch of the Literature/{{Ultramarines}}, was put in a stasis tomb after being terminally poisoned, but nevertheless the chapter maintained for millennia that he was slowly healing. In the waning days of the 41st Millennium and the disaster of the 13th Black Crusade, the Tech-Priest Belisarius Cawl was able to, with Eldar aid, revive and heal Guilliman completely, provided he remains in a specially-crafted suit of power armor.
** Jaghatai Khan, primarch of the Literature/WhiteScars, disappeared while pursuing Dark Eldar reavers into the Webway, and his chapter believes he is still out there somewhere, ready to return when needed.
** Leman Russ of the Space Wolves abruptly departed with all but one of his bodyguard to search for a cure for the Emperor's condition, but promised that he would return during the "Wolftime". This legend causes some problems in the novel ''[[Literature/SpaceWolf Grey Hunters]]'' -- the Spear of Russ is the Space Wolves' most cherished relic, prophesied to have been left behind by the Primarch for his return. [[spoiler:So when Ragnar ''destroys'' the Spear by using it against a [[BackFromTheDead resurrecting]] enemy, even Ragnar, convinced that he did the right thing, is disturbed by the idea of his Primarch not having the Spear for the destined battle. The whole thing is rendered moot when the spear is repaired and recovered at the end of the series. There's also another twist; according to members of the lost Great Company that Ragnar encountered, the real reason the spear was left behind was because Russ ''hated'' the damn thing but couldn't just discard a gift from his father]].
** Lion El'Jonson, primarch of the Dark Angels, is a literal case since he is sleeping in a hidden chamber of the Dark Angels' asteroid headquarters to wait for the final battle. In an interesting inversion, the Dark Angels aren't aware of this and actually believe that his body disappeared during his duel with Luther. The only people who know the truth are Luther (who is mad), the Emperor (who can't talk) and the Watchers in the Dark (a race of silent, mysterious robed creatures). Like Guilliman, he would eventually be awakened.
** The Literature/{{Salamanders}}' Primarch Vulcan also has one of these legends. Given he has ResurrectiveImmortality as an established power (and his last recorded death is something Perpetuals can explicitly recover from) this one is almost certainly true. Most likely he took the opportunity to hide better so people would stop interrupting his retirement.
** The Iron Hands have an odd variation of this. Their primarch, Ferrus Manus, was confirmed killed in the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan, and Horus was even presented with his severed head, but the Iron Hands [[HesJustHiding insist that their primarch escaped somehow]].

* Henry VII of UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor played upon the Arthurian motifs as propaganda to legitimize his own reign, even going so far as to claim descent from the man himself and name his own firstborn son and heir Arthur; neither one was ''literally'' the returned legendary ruler of Camelot, of course, but invoking the metaphor was key to Henry's own presentation of his assumption of the throne after defeating the Yorkists in the Wars of the Roses as a RightfulKingReturns scenario. Fate had other plans, though -- Arthur died young during his father's reign, meaning the throne subsequently went to Henry's second son, known to history as Henry VIII.

** The Army of the Dead in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' -– deserters cursed to guard the tunnels under the White Mountains (the Paths of the Dead), until they fulfilled their promise to protect Gondor.

* In ''Series/{{Highlander}}'', Duncan became this in his hometown after his first fight as an immortal where he [[NotQuiteDead "killed"]] the immortal Kanwulf who was attacking his clan. These events started a legend that Duncan Macleod would return whenever his hometown, Glenfinnan was in trouble. When Kanwulf returned some time later, Duncan [[KilledOffForReal kills him off for real.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'' and its spin-off ''WesternAnimation/ElenaOfAvalor'' have the Case of Princess (later Queen) Elena, who was magically sealed inside Sofia's amulet by almost 40 years, until the later managed to expose Shuriki's usurpation of the Throne of Avalor and helped Elena to retake her rightful kingdom.

* ''Literature/WatershipDown''. General Woundwort ends up this way because they NeverFoundTheBody after he launched a suicidal attack on a large dog. Such is his influence over the rabbits he both inspired and terrorised as their dictator that his followers insist that he went away to start a warren from more worthy rabbits. Long after the Efrafan rabbits have become assimilated into the Watership Down warren, Woundwort is remembered as either the boogeyman, or as a giant rabbit dwelling somewhere over the downs who shall one day return to fight for those who honor his name.

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[[quoteright:300:[[WesternAnimation/{{Trollhunters}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/merlinawaken2.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"Ah.... after all these centuries I awaken... [[RipVanTinkle now where's the nearest bathroom]]?"]]

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Subtrope of EternalHero.

* The [[ShroudedInMyth Dark King Ixpellia]] in ''Audioplay/StrikersSoundStageX'' of ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha''. Was sleeping in [[spoiler:the underwater ruins uncovered during the construction of the [[AmusementPark Marine Gardens]]]]. Intended to never wake up despite all the text that spoke of her return since she was sick of all the fighting. Unfortunately, the current BigBad learned about her and sought her out, planning to use her and [[NightOfTheLivingMooks her undead army]] to terrorize Mid-Childa.
* In ''Anime/PhantomDreams'', the Gekka family have a "sleeping king." Probably SealedEvilInACan for once.
* [[spoiler:Nakiami]] becomes this in the ending of ''Anime/XamdLostMemories''.
* [[spoiler:Saya]] in ''Anime/BloodPlus'', [[spoiler:until a couple years before the first episode, and then again in the epilogue]]
* Played with in ''Manga/TheFiveStarStories''. The legendary warrior king Colus III really is dead, but his HumongousMecha and ArtificialHuman partner Clotho are sealed away waiting for a worthy descendant of the king to use them in his nation's time of need.

* Artus in ''Literature/{{Campione}}'' is a God who only descends to eliminate Campiones who have begun wreaking havoc in the world, sleeping in solitude the rest of the time. As the in-universe basis of King Arthur's legend, this is why Arthur is said to be waiting in Avalon for the day England needs him.

* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, who slept for X[[note]] Sliding timescale means that X=the amount of time between 1945 and about ten to fifteen years ago[[/note]] years until our greatest need...
* In an ComicBook/IronMan story featuring Doctor Doom and TimeTravel, Stark and Doom find themselves in a future England (this was a sequel to an earlier storyline that had seen the same two characters go back to Arthurian times). Merlin is back, as is Arthur. Only due to genetic engineering and such Arthur was literally reborn to two Yuppie Britons and so is a spoiled young brat. So guess who has to take his place?
* ''ComicBook/{{Camelot 3000}}'' takes the Myth/ArthurianLegend and runs with it. Myth/KingArthur does indeed return in the hour of England's greatest need: an alien invasion in the year 3000.
* In ''ComicBook/DCOneMillion'' and ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'', our Superman goes into the sun in order to rebuild its heart and leaves the superheroing to his many descendants who he blesses with extra-extraordinary powers. He returns after 83,000 years and brings New Krypton into our solar system.
* In ''ComicBook/TheBooksOfMagic'', Tim Hunter and Doctor Occult encounter The King Under The Mountain. When they ask which king, they're told he's all of them. The bard under the mountain specifically name-checks Barbarossa and Arthur, among others.
* The {{Elseworlds}} story ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: Dark Knight of the Round Table'' re-imagined Batman as a knight in Myth/KingArthur's court. At the end of the story, the dying Batman is enchanted to sleep and awaken at the hour of Britain's greatest need. The final page shows the Batplane battling German fighters during the Blitz.
* ''ComicBook/BatmanBlackAndWhite'': "Legend" is set in 'the far future', where a woman tells her child a bedtime story about how the great warrior Batman finally banished evil from the world, then went to sleep in the Batcave, having promised to awaken if evil ever returned. Then she starts crying, because the world they live in is beset by evil apparently victorious. The final panels show a malefactor looking around in surprise and then alarm as a familiar pointy-eared shadow falls over him...

* ''Animation/SuurToll'', being an animation of the myth of Toell The Great, has his decapitated head announce that he will one day return to protect Saaremaa, but without those troublesome kids mucking it up.

* ''Fanfic/ChasingDragons'': After dying at the Second Battle of Ghoyan Drohe and [[NeverFoundTheBody his body disappearing afterwards]], [[spoiler: Ned Stark]] is mythologized as merely being in hiding healing from his wounds, and will return when the Kingdom of Myr needs him the most.

* ''Film/VivaZapata'': The film ends with the counterrevolutionary government putting Zapata's [[DeadGuyOnDisplay dead body on display]] to crush the spirits of the peasants. It doesn't work. The peasants who see Zapata's mangled corpse refuse to believe that he is dead. They say that it isn't him, that "he's in the mountains", and that if the people ever need him, he'll come back again.

* In ''Literature/BookOfTheNewSun'' Severian accidentally awakens a former Autarch in a mountain redoubt during his travels through vague "sciency" methods (this is during a time when much science was forgotten and is now referred to in near magical terms). This Autarch once ruled a galaxy spanning empire, which is currently been reduced to part of one continent on a single planet. While the Commonwealth is indeed threatened, its due to a cooling sun and having its natural resources all used up. In the end [[spoiler:Severian realizes this Autarch is just another despotic and totalitarian figure and promptly kills him.]]
* In ''Literature/LittleBigOrTheFairiesParliament'' by John Crowley, Frederick Barbarossa re-awakens. Subverted since he's a KnightTemplar who, when elected President of the USA, plunges the country into a dark age of tyranny, economic depression and civil war.
* Creator/HGWells' ''Literature/TheSleeperAwakes'', where a man previously in a coma for two centuries happens to awaken to find himself in a bleak, dystopian London of the future. Not only that, but upon first entering his trance-like coma two hundred years prior, his money had been placed into a Trust which had managed his money for him in his name; this money accumulated into a vast quantity over the centuries, due to the compound interest compiling steadily for so long, and the stewards of that Trust eventually put all this wealth to establishing a global political and economic conglomeration. The effects of all this boil down to the Sleeper now finding himself the richest man in the world, as well as effective leader of the world seeing that this political and economic entity had been created in his name. He proceeds to assume the role of the "Hero" in an attempt to restore London from this grim present and free the oppressed populace.
* Recurring in the works of Creator/JRRTolkien:
** The Army of the Dead in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' – deserters cursed to guard the tunnels under the White Mountains (the Paths of the Dead), until they fulfilled their promise to protect Gondor.
** In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' (or more precisely the ''Akallabêth''), the evil last king of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn, set sail with his armies to conquer the holy lands of Valinor from the Valar (god-like angelic demiurges). The Valar prevented the heresy, and possible slaughter of resident elves, by burying him and his armies under a mountain. Supposedly he will only be freed to fight in the final battle with the [[{{Satan}} Dark Lord]]. Rather ominously, the legend doesn't specify which side he'll be fighting on.
** [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in the fate of the legendary father of the [[AllDwarvesAreTheSame Dwarves]], [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Durin the Deathless]]. ''The Song of Durin'' even ends with the line, "...till Durin wakes again from sleep."
* In Creator/CordwainerSmith's stories, the government of the "Australian" planet Norstrilia is still carried on in the name of Elizabeth II. An AI trying to understand this is told "She might bloody well turn up one of these days."
* In Austin Tappan Wright's ISLANDIA, King Alwin XVII disappeared during a battle and is presumed to be still Out There Somewhere... The actual king only reigns by courtesy until Alwin comes back.
* The graveyard in ''Literature/TheGraveyardBook'' was built over the tomb of a king like this; he never actually wakes up, but the spirit guarding him plays a crucial role in the plot.
* In ''[[Literature/ThePrometheanAge Blood and Iron]]'' by Creator/ElizabethBear, King Arthur is actually awakened.
* Creator/DianaWynneJones:
** This is a plot point in The Koryfonic Empire from ''Literature/DeepSecret''; the emperor in question disappeared rather than being buried under a mountain, and reappears at the end of the book.
** She also uses this trope in ''Literature/ATaleOfTimeCity'' with the sleeping Faber John inside Time City.
** It's also evoked in ''Literature/TheMerlinConspiracy'', although in that case Arthur 'The Count of Britain' is just one of several forces invoked and doesn't stick around after the upset any more than TheWildHunt does, apart from scolding the current king.
* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Orion Shall Rise'', the line "Orion shall rise" is used by many citizens of a subjugated land. This trope is invoked to explain their superstition. In reality, they're talking about the restarting of a secret program codenamed "Orion". This was to ensure that any leaks would be attributed to the superstition, helping cover up the program. Given [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(nuclear_propulsion) what the Orion Project is,]] the secrecy is understandable.
* Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Franchise/{{Discworld}}'' inevitably plays with this as it does all other folklore tropes:
** In ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'', we catch a glimpse of an old king and his warriors in a cavern under the Long Man. Some old wizard put them in a magical sleep from which they're supposed to wake up in time for [[Myth/NorseMythology some final battle when a wolf eats the sun]]. You can wake them up prematurely by banging a nearby bell, though they'll be pretty cranky about it. Haven't had a wink of sleep for 200 years.
** A somewhat more sinister example would be the [[TheFairFolk Elf king]] (different from the guy mentioned above), who waits beneath the Long Man for a time when "The iron in the head has rusted", which is to say, when there are no humans left capable of opposing him, at which time he'll take over the world.
** "Big Fido" is a version of this for dogs found in ''Literature/MenAtArms''. The members of the Dog Guild assure themselves that when Big Fido comes back down from the mountain, he'll come and he'll bring all the knowledge of the wolves with him and then, ''then'' the revolution will start. [[spoiler: This would be a good trick, since Gaspode saw Foul Ol' Ron sell what was left of Fido to a furriers, but if you're going to worry about what actually ''happened'', what's the point of having a legend?]]
* In the ''[[Literature/RealmOfTheElderlings Farseer Trilogy]]'', legends state that King Wisdom awakened the Elderlings to defend the Six Dutchies. He vanished afterwards, but will return again to save the land. After King Verity does the same to end the Red Ship war, the same legends form around him.
* Creator/CSLewis' novels:
** ''Literature/ThatHideousStrength'': The fact that Merlin is resting beneath Bragdon Wood is a major plot point, and both factions wish to recruit the reawakened wizard to their side.
** ''Literature/TheSilverChair'': we meet the Giant Time, who is lying asleep underground. This one's a subversion, though, as when he wakes up in ''Literature/TheLastBattle'' it's a sign of the end of the world. "When he slept he was called Time. Now he is awake he will have another name."
** ''Literature/PrinceCaspian'': Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are all suddenly yanked into [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]] at the beginning of the book and discover over the course of the story that ''they'' are the [[TitleDrop King In The Mountain]] that was awakened by someone else.
** Lewis also uses the 'beard growing around table' imagery of this trope for the Good Telmarine Lords who made it as far as the Island of the Star.
* In ''Literature/TheWeirdstoneOfBrisingamen'', the wizard, Cadellin, is the guardian of the Cave of The Sleepers; wherein Arthur and his knights sleep, awaiting the Final Battle or some time of great need.
* A legend in Creator/StephenHunt's ''The Court of Air''. [[spoiler:At the climax, someone exploits this belief with smoke figures.]]
* A variant of this occurs in the ''Warrior'' trilogy set in the ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' universe with Morgan Kell, the famous founder of the Kell Hounds mercenary unit. As the story opens, it's been years since he's disbanded half his unit and retreated to a monastery after a fight against one Yorinaga Kurita (who likewise hasn't been seen in action since) for reasons unknown to the others, and it takes his old enemy's return onto the battlefield [[spoiler:and the death of his brother, though he didn't plan for ''that'' to happen]] to bring him out of his retreat and have him take the reins again.
* A more classic example from the same setting: the legend that General Alexander Kerensky and his troops were still out there, somewhere beyond the Periphery, and would one day return to save the Inner Sphere in its hour of need. Well -- their descendants ''did'' eventually return, all right...
* Played for laughs in Creator/TomHolt's ''Literature/WhosAfraidOfBeowulf'' in which Viking King Hrolf of Caithness (god-forsaken country--but it is my kingdom) and his band of heroes are disinterred in time to put an end to the attempt of their ancient enemy, the Sorcerer King, to take over the modern world via magic--or as we call it, technology.
* In ''Her Majesty's Wizard'', first book of ''Literature/AWizardInRhyme'', Matt is taken to a cave in the mountains where the legendary emperor Hardishane and his knights are waiting for the time when they will need to save the world from evil. [[spoiler:They don't come back just yet; Matt just needs to be there for a special knighting ceremony. But there ''is'' an example of WakingTheSleepingGiant.]] Hardishane is specifically mentioned to be Charlemagne's counterpart in the Merovence universe, so it's sort of inevitable that something that was a myth about Charlemagne in our world literally applies to his counterpart in a world where magic exists.
* In ''Literature/WarOfTheDreaming'' by Creator/JohnCWright, it's the King in Exile and his sleeping warriors that await the [[ApocalypseWow time]] of their [[EndOfTheWorldSpecial triumphant]] [[RightfulKingReturns return.]] Only, it's been a very long wait, and some of them are getting impatient...
* ''[[http://www.strangehorizons.com/2006/20060703/squadron-f.shtml The Welsh Squadron]]'' by Margaret Ronald from ''Magazine/StrangeHorizons'' has Myth/KingArthur and his men show up in WWII as a squadron of fighter pilots during the Battle of Britain.
* In Creator/JohnHemry's ''Literature/TheLostFleet'', the story is that the legendary naval commander John "Black Jack" Geary will come to save the people of the Alliance and win the ForeverWar. This makes it rather awkward for Geary when he actually shows up as a HumanPopsicle with [[ColdSleepColdFuture a bad case of culture shock]]. Especially after he ''does'' save the Alliance and win -or at least ''end''- the ForeverWar, because everyone is now unshakeably convinced that he's some sort of Messiah who enjoys the guidance and favour of the powers that be... [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane which, the narrative keeps broadly hinting, might actually be true.]]
* In ''Marauders of Literature/{{Gor}}'', Torvald, legendary founder of Torvaldsland, is said to sleep in his mountain, awaiting someone to wake him to defend Torvaldsland. Ivar Forkbeard goes there and discovers that it's only true in a metaphorical sense.

* ''Literature/TheDarkIsRising'' series
** ''Literature/TheGreyKing''. To fulfill a prophecy of the Light, Will Stanton plays a golden harp and summons the Six Sleepers from their resting place beneath a mountain so they can ride against the Dark.

* In Creator/MichaelFlynn's ''[[Literature/SpiralArm The January Dancer]]'', Hugh sneaks off planet with the promise to return again. Later, the Fudir speaks of the legends of Stonewall and how they correspond to many King in the Mountain legends.
* In the Literature/CaptainFuture novel ''Planets in Peril'' by Creator/EdmondHamilton, the Captain is convinced to go into a parallel universe and impersonate an ancient hero who promised to come back when needed. [[spoiler:In the end, it is revealed he didn't go into a parallel universe, but his own twenty billion years in the future, and he '''was''' the hero he impersonated]].
* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''[[Literature/TheHermeticMillennium The Hermetic Millennia]]'', this accumulate about Menelaus's "Tombs" or cryogenic chamber. Including names from many legends.
* In the first VesperHolly book, King Vartan is supposed to be this. He never actually returns, but since his death, several popular leaders have claimed to be Vartan returned and led uprisings.

* {{Anvilicious}}ly deconstructed in classic Russian short story ''The Epic Hero'' by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. The hero's power comes from his mother -- the evil witch. His deeds were just a demonstration of brute strength, and they were few. And when he ''really'' is needed after a millennium of sleep, turns out that [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome he has long died]] and "[[{{Squick}} snakes have eaten his body up to the neck]]". The author was very unhappy with how the czar handled his job of running the country.
* [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu]] counts. Awaits dead and dreaming? Check. Resides in his strange and otherworldly city? Check. Will return one day in connection to the apocalypse? Check, check, and triple check.
* In Creator/SarahAHoyt's ''Literature/DarkshipThieves'', Thena characterizes her welcome back to the lair as this.
* In Literature/RedMarsTrilogy, this comes close to being the [[PlanetOfHats hat]] of Mars. Over the two centuries or so the series spans Mars sees a a lot of political movements rise and fall, and it's just so damn easy to get away from it all and hide if things no longer go your way. The trope is pioneered by Hiroko Ai shortly after the first landing, and following her lead the amount of important people disappearing only to emerge out of some off the records settlement decades later is impressive. On top of this, there's a whole lot of important people whose fate is unknown to the public, so for each person actually hiding there's probably two that are rumored to be.
* The subject of the trope page quote itself is used in ''Literature/TheRavenCycle'' with the plot centered around the main characters trying to find and wake the sleeping Welsh king. Gansey in particular is obsessed with the man.
* Residents of Yorkshire and other [[OopNorth northerners]] in England treat the [[BenevolentMageRuler Raven King]] as this in ''Literature/JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell''. That said, nobody thinks he's asleep, just... that he's gone somewhere else for a while.
* Happens in Patricia Wrede's ''Literature/EnchantedForestChronicles'' to [[spoiler:Mendanbar]] between the third and fourth books (ironically the fourth book was written first, with this trope being central to the quest).
* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''[[Literature/MothAndCobweb Green Knight's Squire]]'', King Arthur appears, sleeping. [[spoiler:But still capable of accepting Gil's homage]].
* Invoked in ''Literature/HowSilentFallTheCherryBlossoms''. UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, realizing that Germany has lost this round, orders a massive tomb built for himself and Eva Braun, with orders to kill everyone involved in its construction so no one knows where it is, while also ordering most of his remaining followers to surrender, but to raise their children as Nazis. His plan is that future Nazis will search for his tomb, and when they find it, it will provoke an upsurge of pro-Nazi sentiment that will bring about the Fourth Reich. [[InsaneTrollLogic Yeah]]. [[spoiler:The tomb is found in the 1980s... by Creator/StephenSpielberg. It's turned into a museum about all the horrible shit Hitler did.]]
* In ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'', some people believe The Wizard couldn't bring himself to kill Ozma and put her into a magical stasis and they she may come back to rule Oz someday.
* ''Literature/WatershipDown''. General Woundwort ends up this way because they NeverFoundTheBody after he launched a suicidal attack on a large dog. Such is his influence over the rabbits he both inspired and terrorised as their dictator that his followers insist that he went away to start a warren from more worthy rabbits. Long after the Efrafan rabbits have become assimilated into the Watership Down warren, Woundwort is remembered as either the boogeyman, or as a giant rabbit dwelling somewhere over the downs who shall one day return to fight for those who honor his name.
-->Such was Woundwort's monument: and perhaps it would not have displeased him.
* By the era of ''Literature/WaxAndWayne'', [[CrystalDragonJesus The Church of the Survivor]] believes that the Survivor returned from death centuries ago, and will come again when the world needs him. At least one person is skeptical about this legend; namely, what was he doing when the world was being destroyed in ''Hero of Ages''? [[spoiler:The church may be right; he showed up alive sixteen years after his death, on a different continent, saving a different dying civilization]].
* ''Literature/ForestKingdom'': In book 4 (''Beyond the Blue Moon''), this is the final fate of [[spoiler: King John IV. After he confesses to the murder of his son Harald, his wife Queen Eleanor, whose spirit has now become the Lady of the Lake, comes to judge him and sentences him to sleep in the Land until he is needed once more, in order to redeem himself and the Land]].

* In ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', there's a legend like this surrounding the Klingon imperial founder Kahless. In an attempted power grab, a group of monks make a clone of him and claim that he's returned.

** Subverted in "Battlefield": It's implied that the King Arthur of a parallel universe is doing this on the main Whoniverse Earth, but it turns out he was dead all along and the story that he would return was just propaganda.
** For a good deal of the series, [[FounderOfTheKingdom Ur-Time Lord]] Rassilon is sealed in his tomb/tower. Unfortunately when he woke up to lead the Time Lords in their hour of greatest need, he turned out to be a KnightTemplar OmnicidalManiac.
* ''[[Series/BabylonFive Babylon 5]]'':
** Sheridan [[NeverFoundTheBody disappeared]] at the end of the GrandFinale. Some of the Minbari believe that he'll return someday.
** Subverted in the case of David [=MacIntyre=], who was just a delusional man driven by his guilt to believe that he was King Arthur. The possibility that he is the real deal is raised (the Vorlons [[Recap/BabylonFiveS02E21ComesTheInquisitor have been known to abduct and preserve humans in stasis]]) but immediately shot down; a real person from that time period would not have been fluent in anything resembling 23rd century English.
* In the ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' TV series, Duncan became this in his hometown after his first fight as an immortal where he [[NotQuiteDead "killed"]] the immortal Kanwulf who was attacking his clan. These events started a legend that Duncan Macleod would return whenever his hometown, Glenfinnan was in trouble. When Kanwulf returned some time later, Duncan [[KilledOffForReal kills him off for real.]]

* Ogier the Dane (Holger Danske), asleep under Kronborg castle, near Helsingør, Denmark. [[note]][[FridgeBrilliance Does this mean]] he was directly underneath the goings on of ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}''?[[/note]] His role is summed up thus: "Når Danmark stander i våde, så vil Holger Danske vågne op til dåd" ("When Denmark is in peril, Ogier the Dane will rise to the occasion"). The statue of him in Kronborg is, in fact, a copy used for the casting (originally of plaster; later replaced by a concrete version) of the actual bronze statue. The real statue is located at a nearby hotel/casino named Marienlyst, [[DemotedToExtra and far from as well known as the copy]]. [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight Local folklore of the area is that Denmark is only in serious trouble]] if ''both'' [[OhCrap statues wake up]]. As Ogier the Dane was originally from a French story, where he served a French king, some versions of the stories had him be spirited away to Avalon by Morgan Le Fay only to return 200 years later to save France.

* King Wenceslas (yes, the one from the Christmas carol, though he was actually just a duke), in Czech folklore, who sleeps inside the mountain Blaník, in the Czech Republic. With [[SealedArmyInACan all his knights]], too. They are supposed to show up and whip away adversaries when the country is at her worst. They haven't shown up even though the country had been oppressed terribly and there are several extremely poignant moments in the history. The motif of them coming to help recurs in literary works, especially in poetry.
** According to the more popular version of the legend, the army that will arise with Wenceslas is not his own, but the redoubtable army of the 15th-century Hussites. This shows up in ''Blaník'', the sixth and final segment of Smetana's symphonic poem ''Má vlast'', where a Hussite chorale is used as a main theme.

* According to a Polish legend, there is [[SealedArmyInACan a whole army]] of knights (King Boleslaw I is often claimed to be among them as well, depending on the version told), sleeping in a cave under the Tatra mountains until the time of need comes. Every now and then, someone stumbles into a cave. The king asks them "Is it time?" and they have to explain to him the country's situation. If he finds it desperate enough, the army will ride out to fight the invaders. If not, he concludes that it is not, in fact, time, and he resumes his wait.
** It was the subject of a joke from the Cold War years, when Poland was a Soviet puppet. An old Polish lady visits the Tatra mountains and is shown the entrance to the cave by a local guide: "Here is where the sleeping army lies, ready to wake in Poland's hour of need." Says the lady: "Well, what are they waiting for?"

* Some QAnon adherents took to think John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. would come back and serve as VP for Trump.
* Not long after Nero's death in 68 CE, the myth of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero_Redivivus_legend Nero Redivivus]] was born. Supposedly Nero was actually hiding out in Parthia and would one day return at the head of a large army. Interestingly for a man of Nero's reputation this legend had both negative and positive connotations and would inspire at least three rebellions led by men claiming to be Nero. The negative versions of the myth would later figure into Literature/BookOfRevelation as the basis for its prophecies about the Anti-Christ.

* ''Myth/HinduMythology'': King [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muchukunda Muchukunda]] helped the devas defeat the asuras in a decisive battle and as a reward he asked to be allowed to sleep forever, and the power to incinerate anyone who woke him with a glance. Eons later Krishna lured his enemy Kalayavana into the cave where Muchukunda slept and tricked him into waking the ancient king.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'':
** The dwarfs believe that their ancestor gods Grugni and Valaya disappeared into the heart of the mountains, to return when needed. Likewise, High King Snorri Whitebeard, the first ruler of the dwarfs, vowed on his deathbed that he would return one day when the dwarfs' foes would be at their gates. Many dwarfs believe that the enigmatic dwarf hero Grombrindal, who appears sporadically to lead dwarf armies to victory over dangerous foes, is in fact Snorri himself, returned to fulfill his promise.
** Dragons also have a habit of hibernating for centuries at a time (they're not adapting to the planet's changing climate well), and can only be roused by powerful mages. Hence why High Elf "dragon princes" ride into battle on horses with dragon-themed barding these days.
** Gilles le Breton, being ''Warhammer''[='s=] Myth/KingArthur, was taken to a ship on his death that sent him to the Lady of the Lake, and it is said that he will return in Bretonnia's time of need. A lot of people in-universe speculate that the Green Knight, a mysterious warrior who challenges Questing Knights and occasionally appears to aid Bretonnian armies when they need help, is actually Gilles. [[spoiler:And they're right. It's rather darkly subverted in the GrandFinale; by the time he returns Bretonnia is beyond saving, and all he can do is lead a doomed LastStand off-screen while the real battle for the fate of the world happens elsewhere]].
** Sigmar, the first ruler of the Empire, gave up the throne and went into the mountains to the east, never to be heard from again. He is said to have ascended to godhood. [[spoiler:Which he actually did, and in ''The End Times'', he comes back too. Though not in the way you'd think.]]
** The orcs and goblins have a version of this concerning the legendary goblin warlord Grom the Paunch, who vanished after his invasion of the high elven homeland was defeated. Among the numerous theories on his eventual fate is the rumor that Grom will one day return and lead the greenskins to great victory over the other races.
* Toyed with in TabletopGame/{{Battletech}} with Devlin Stone: he ruled the Republic of the Sphere for several decades of relative peace in the Inner Sphere, before stepping down, promising to return if needed, and vanishing. The Inner Sphere almost immediately descends into chaos. It was later revealed he [[HumanPopsicle had been placed into cryogenic suspension to presumably invoke this trope]] and had intended to be thawed out fifty years later, not the fifteen that wound up happening. [[spoiler: This trope is then subverted as his impact after his return is minimal and does little to stop the Republic of the Sphere from crumbling.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}:'' Most versions of Primus, the god of Transformers, are asleep, and have been for several billion years, sworn only to revive when "all are one". So, given the nature of Transformers, he's not waking up any time soon. Usually it takes something pretty drastic to get Primus directly involved (like, say, shooting him in the face). Of course, there is a pretty good reason for his long nap: If he wakes up, Unicron will instantly know where he is and make a beeline straight for him. And Primus has a pretty bad track record with regards to fighting his nemesis...

** Makuta [[GenreSavvy accounted for all this]], knowing that the Toa [[BecauseDestinySaysSo are destined]] to revive Mata Nui [[YouCantFightFate despite his efforts]]. So he [[XanatosGambit planned ahead]], making sure the Great Spirit would die only temporarily, while he [[GrandTheftMe placed his own soul]] into the robot's CPU and banished Mata Nui's soul [[SoulJar into the Mask of Life]] that the Toa used to revive him. So when the Great Spirit body awoke, Makuta was controlling it, setting up the story's climax.

* In ''Toys/{{Bionicle 2015}}'', [[BigGood Ekimu the Mask Maker]] fell into a coma after fighting his brother [[BigBad Makuta]], but murmured the prophecy of heroes to his followers in his sleep. Ages later, when the island Okoto is overrun by an army of Skull Spiders, the Toa are summoned to find Ekimu's tomb and awaken him to be their mentor and guide.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** In ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' there's a Princess Zelda[[note]]the ancestor of the Zelda you saved in the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI first game]][[/note]] who has been asleep for years.
** At the beginning of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', it's implied that the reason Old Hyrule fell is because they were ''expecting'' this trope: the Hero had saved them from Ganon once before, and now he was failing to do it. Because someone decided that the hero needed to spend some more time on his childhood and sent him back to his other timeline at the end of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Way to go, Zelda.]]
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': The Link in this game unsuccessfully first battled Ganon 100 years ago, and was left mortally wounded. He was then taken to the Shrine of Resurrection on the Great Plateau so slowly he could regenerate, which ended up taking a century. While he wakes up at the start of the game to try once again to save Hyrule, there's a lot of lore written while he was asleep wondering when he's going to wake up, treating him as his trope. Furthermore, Princess Zelda has long since faded into legend, with the vast majority of Hyrule is unaware that she is still alive and fighting to keep Ganon contained in Hyrule Castle.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'': [[spoiler:Mineru, the Sage of Spirit,]] is this for Link and the Sages. [[spoiler:Whenever the four Sages touch their secret stones, their ancient predecessors give them exposition about how the first Sages fought the Imprisoning War against Ganondorf. After they help Link fight Phantom Ganon in Hyrule Castle and discuss the situation with Purah, they realize that there was a ''fifth'' Sage in images of that ancient battle who does not have a modern counterpart. Link investigates the matter further and eventually finds out that Mineru, after receiving mortal wounds in the Imprisoning War, transferred her spirit into the Purah Pad. She has Link put together a Construct body for her to inhabit so she can fight alongside him and the modern Sages.]]

* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls3'': When [[CosmicKeystone the link of the fire]] is threatened, all the [[PhysicalGod lords of Cinder]] that have ever ruled rise from their graves to avoid [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the end of the Age of Fire]]. It is the player's task to hunt down those of them who [[RefusalOfTheCall refused the call]].

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'': After stopping the Xen Invasion, Gordon Freeman spends 20 years floating in space-time limbo courtesy of the G-Man, and as a result [[SleptThroughTheApocalypse misses out on the subjugation of Earth by the Combine Empire]]. In the meantime, word of this [[MeaningfulName Free Man's]] deeds [[ShroudedInMyth have grown to mythic proportions]], to the point that news of his return is enough to spark humanity's uprising against the Combine.
* ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' subverted it to the point of deconstruction with Fou-lu. He was meant to be this trope if things goes as planned, if the Fou Empire (which he founded) wasn't corrupted to the point of wanting him ''dead''. Instead, Fou-lu's ''entire'' storyline in the game can be best described as "What Happens When A Country's Government Sees The Return Of Its King In The Mountain As An UnwantedRevival". It goes poorly for all involved.
* Commander Shepard in between ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' and ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', having spent over 2 years being brought back to life by the Lazarus Project.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'':
** Nerevar, the long-dead Chimeri/Dunmeri FounderOfTheKingdom. He [[spoiler:finally returns in Morrowind's hour of need as the player, who is his reincarnation]]. Nerevar is known as a great leader who united the Dunmer and brought peace and prosperity to Resdayn, and they have been divided since his death. The Ashlanders eagerly await his return so that their people can know prosperity again.
** BigBad Dagoth Ur is a villainous version. He was thought to have been vanquished, but having already attained [[PhysicalGod godhood]], his defeat was only temporary and he regained his power over several millennia leading up to the events of the game.

* [[spoiler:Big Boss]] in the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' saga, as we learn in TheReveal at the very end of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''. [[spoiler:Though Snake thought he killed him, he was actually locked away and kept in suspended animation by the Patriots after failing to break away from their grasp with the Outer Heaven uprising.]] Throughout the course of the entire series, [[spoiler:his surviving comrades--including EVA and [[GoodAllAlong Ocelot]]--were actually trying to uphold his legacy by bringing down the Patriots and freeing him]].
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'': Big Boss becomes the prophesied founding father of modern-day Private Forces who would eventually return to rock the world and lead mercenaries to victory, which he does after nine years in a coma. [[spoiler:Except the player character is ''not'' Big Boss but Venom Snake, the true apprentice of Big Boss and the final boss of Metal Gear 1, distracting the world so that Big Boss could build Outer Heaven]].
* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', whose king was imprisoned under a mountain along with his subjects by humans, both king and subjects not being human, long ago. Due to [[spoiler:the death of the king's son at the hands of their descendants]], the inevitable release of the king and his people, because of curious children like the protagonist, is played up as marking the extinction of humanity. [[spoiler:Subverted in that the king made that decree while still mourning his son, but couldn't take it back once he'd calmed down because it gave the people hope, and he couldn't bring himself to dash those hopes just because he hadn't been of sound mind at the time.]] What is notable is that his {{Leitmotif}} is officially titled "Bergentrückung" which is the German name for the concept. Ironically, this trope actually applies more to [[spoiler:his former wife, the queen, who fled the castle and isolated herself in the ruins in disgust]]. %%Word Of God says the two tracks were meant to be one track, Bergentrückung, that had to be split so that they would play as intended in the game.%%
* In ''[[VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh Tron 2.0]]'' (AlternateContinuity to ''Film/TronLegacy''), Programs have this idea about Tron himself. He vanished shortly after his victory over Master Control, and they believe that he would return in the system's darkest cycle. In ''[[VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh Tron 2.0]]'' itself, it's played a bit sideways; at best, the game's protagonist could be called a half-brother (he's the human son of Alan and Lora). But it's played completely straight with the ''Killer App'' sequel where Alan ''did'' put Tron in stasis after all, and sends him out with modern upgrades to fight a menace to Encom.
* Played straight in ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'', in which the Tenno and their OneManArmy Warframes are awoken from cryosleep by the Lotus (after some unknown time) to once again bring peace and balance to the solar system during a time of great war between the Grineer and Corpus superpowers and a [[TheVirus Technocyte pandemic]] known as the "Infestation".
* At the end of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', Noctis, which is the heir of the kingdom of Lucis, [[spoiler: spends 10 years sleeping in the Crystal for accumulating enough power to defeat the Big Bad and then save the world]].
* In ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', Sora is sent into a deep sleep along with his companions, so that Namine can piece his shattered memory back together. In the year this process takes, much conflict ensues over the sleeping Sora. Between [=DiZ=] who seeks a tool for his revenge in Sora, and Organization XIII who seeks to steal Sora's power and stop him from ever waking.
* Both X and Zero during the time between the ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' and ''[[VideoGame/MegaManZero Zero]]'' series. Zero, at one point learns that he's the TyphoidMary of the Maverick Virus. Fearing that he might be subconsciously spreading the virus as long as he walks, he asked to be put to sleep and surrendered his body for study. X however, sought out his help once more for the Elf Wars, but immediately after putting an end to that, Zero asked to be sealed again, this time, for eternity. X, meanwhile, can be a literal example, since by this point he's now the ruler of LastBastion Neo Arcadia, yet he used his body to imprison the Dark Elf (the cause of the Elf Wars). X's absence resulted in Neo Arcadia commissioning an ElCidPloy with a clone called Copy-X that has GoneHorriblyWrong.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLonging'', you play as a Shade who serves one such king. The King has expended his powers and must rest, tasking the Shade to wake him up once 400 real-time days have passed.

* In the backstory of ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' Queen Sharess made a promise to the Dark Elves that she would return and lead them back to the Surface from the Underworld once it was safe again after demonic wars had made it uninhabitable, before she departed into the Netherworld to seal the gates. After 1000 years there are no signs of her returning, and the Dark Elves and those who believe in her are largely extinct outside of the Kyorl'solenurn clan. However, [[spoiler:Sha'sana actually has been keeping Sharess' body alive the entire time, and has her own plans to bring her back to unite the clans]]. The prophecy is eventually given a [[ProphecyTwist twist]] when [[spoiler:Diva transfers her soul into Sharess' body for the final battle, and afterword assumes her identity to unite the Underworld and command an exodus to the surface, bringing an end to the Moonless Age]]. WordOfGod says that [[spoiler:Sharess herself was never going to come back on her own, making the ancient promise empty]].

* ''Webcomic/YetAnotherFantasyGamerComic'': There is a prophecy that King Eric I of Drostardy would rise from his grave to defeat the ultimate evil in the world's darkest hour. [[spoiler:This is exactly what happens, full-resurrection while Ranna breathes]].

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''Literature/MagicMetahumansMartiansAndMushroomCloudsAnAlternateColdWar'', Frederick Barbarossa, as per a contingency plan drawn up by Heinrich Himmler, is sought out and awakened after WWII by a group of remaining Nazis led by Otto Skorzeny to liberate Germany from Allied and Soviet occupation and establish a FourthReich. [[spoiler: Despite initial success thanks to shock and awe, the fact that Barbarossa's knights are not inherently supernatural (other than the magic that let them slumber for centuries) means that [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome they're soon overwhelmed by modern weapons and wiped out]].]]
* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-4918 SCP-4918]] is a collection of these that all became active during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI; specifically Myth/KingArthur, [[Myth/CelticMythology Fion Mac Cumhaill]], [[Literature/TheKalevala Väinämöinen]], and Frederick Barbarossa. An interview with the latter implies that someone went out of their way to wake them all up earlier than intended, and also that those four are just the ones that the Foundation is aware of (naming UsefulNotes/SirFrancisDrake as one of the ones that the Foundation missed).

* ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'' and its derivated series,* ''WesternAnimation/ElenaOfAvalor'', have the Case of Princess(later Queen) Elena, who was magically sealed inside Sofia's amulet by almost 40 years, until the later managed to expose Shuriki's usurpation of the Throne of Avalor and Helped Elena to retake her rightful kingdom
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Invoked at the end of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS16E12GooGooGaiPan Goo Goo Gai Pan]]". As the Simpsons are leaving China, a trio of dragons - which Homer had first glimpsed in a drug-and-alcohol-induced hallucination - appear and one sings a prediction:
-->“American jerks are going home.\\
Now we sleep for a thousand years. \\
When we wake, the world will end.”
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': The Knights of Standards and Practices were a [[Main/TheMiddleAges Medieval]] organization formed to guard against the excessive use of profanity. In the episode ''It Hits The Fan'', they were awakened from an enchanted slumber when one particular word became mainstreamed (so much so that the episode had a counter on the screen to track how many times it was used).
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Trollhunters}}'' part 3 it is revealed that [[spoiler:Merlin, creator of the Trollhunter armor and amulet]] is not actually dead but has been asleep for centuries in a crypt in an cave actually in a mountain. He is awoken by the heroes and joins the team.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'': Lampshaded in how Nazi's are simply ''obsessed'' with cloning or resurrecting Hitler in one way or another. As mentioned in the Real Life section below, this may count as an evil version of the trope.
* ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'': ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's role as a King In The Mountain is made even more explicit. Instead of being accidentally frozen in an iceberg and presumed dead for years, he's intentionally placed in cryogenic sleep when it turns out that the super-soldier serum is slowly killing him. The implication is that he will be revived to fight again when S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists find a way to cure him.

* Henry VII of UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor played upon the Arthurian motifs as propaganda to legitimize his own reign, even going so far as to name his own firstborn son and heir Arthur; the kid wasn't ''literally'' the returned legendary ruler of Camelot, of course, but invoking the metaphor was key to Henry's own presentation of his assumption of the throne after defeating the Yorkists in the Wars of the Roses as a RightfulKingReturns scenario. Fate had other plans, though -- Arthur died young during his father's reign, meaning the throne subsequently went to his second son, known to history as Henry VIII.

* [[spoiler:Big Boss]] in the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' saga, as we learn in TheReveal at the very end of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4''. [[spoiler:Though Snake thought he killed him, he was actually locked away and kept in suspended animation by the Patriots after failing to break away from their grasp with the Outer Heaven uprising.]] Throughout the course of the entire series, [[spoiler:his surviving comrades--including EVA and [[GoodAllAlong Ocelot]]--were actually trying to uphold his legacy by bringing down the Patriots and freeing him]].

[[quoteright:308:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Barbarossa01.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:308:[-Frederick Barbarossa stirs, sending a boy to see if there are still ravens flying about the mountain; he will wake when there aren't.-] ]]