History Main / StrangerBehindTheMask

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': While the Society of the Blind Eye contains a few minor characters, their current leader Blind Ivan was never seen before. Lampshaded by Ivan himself, who tells his captives that if they did see him before, he would have made them forget.

*** In another episode, the culprit was a man from the military who was completely unknown to the heroes, [[SubvertedTrope however it turns out that he had appeared earlier in the episode disguised as a shaman]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}''[='=]s third story event, ''Storm Rising'', ends with a cinematic of [[BigBad Doomfist]] talking to an unseen figure, offering them [[NebulousEvilOrganization Talon]]'s help, said person lowers their hood as the camera cuts to their face... all to reveal a character the audience had never been introduced to before.

* WebAnimation/DrBees: In a DramaticUnmask When Dr. Bees unmasks the Comforter, it turns out to be someone he suspected all along, [[spoiler:an individual he did not recognize]].

* ''Film/MurderByDeath''. Lionel Twain cites this as one of his guests' myriad crimes against their readers during his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech at the end of the movie. [[spoiler:Then he takes off a mask to reveal himself as Yetta, the supposedly deaf-mute cook.]]

* ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'': For the first several issues, the villain was kept shrouded in darkness, his identity a mystery, leaving readers to guess who it might be. At least one letter-writer guessed that it was Darkseid, probably because a similar technique had been used to hide his identity as the villain of "The Great Darkness Saga" in ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes''. Then, when the villain's identity was finally revealed, it was the Anti-Monitor, a character who had never been seen or mentioned before, and who had been created solely to serve as the antagonist of ''Crisis''.

** There was an early storyline, where the masked Crime Master, built up as a major threat similar to his predecessor Big Man (who had been Daily Bugle reporter Frederick Foswell). However, unlike Big Man, when Crime Master is shot and killed by police during the story climax, it's revealed that the man is completely unknown to both Spider-Man and the reader, though the police identify him as a fugitive. Spidey lampshades it by thinking "Sometimes, the culprit isn't always [[TheButlerDidIt the butler]]."

** Happened again during ComicBook/TheCloneSaga, thanks to an editorial screwup. In an attempt to clean up the [[KudzuPlot out of control storyline]], Marvel retconned everything into being the work of a mystery man named Gaunt. He was intended to be Norman Osborn, the only villain with the credibility to pull off such a wide-ranging plot, but one writer didn't get the memo and dropped hints that Gaunt was serving [[TheManBehindTheMan a more powerful villain]]. They did an AuthorsSavingThrow by making Osborn this more powerful villain, and Gaunt was eventually unmasked as... Mendel Stromm, Osborn's business partner in his pre-supervillain days and a D-list villain called "The Robot Master" who'd had all of two previous appearances: the first in 1966 and the second in 1986, a full ten years before The Clone Saga.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* A sort of meta-example, with ''Anime/DokiDokiPrecure''. While the show was airing, [[LateArrivalSpoiler it was leaked that the show would have]] a SixthRanger character, Cure Ace. The fans began to [[EpilepticTrees wonder which character would become Cure Ace]], as almost every SixthRanger character in the ''Anime/PrettyCure'' franchise had been a preexisting character. The show even had a DarkMagicalGirl character [[RedHerring who looked like]] [[HighHeelFaceTurn she could become Cure Ace]]. As you might guess from being an example on this page, the episode after Cure Ace's introduction revealed she was a character that hadn't appeared before- a nine year old girl named Aguri Madoka.
** Near the end of the series, [[spoiler: this is [[ZigZaggingTrope Zag Zagged]]. It's revealed that the DarkMagicalGirl was actually Cure Ace's EnemyWithout, and both of them were LiteralSplitPersonalities of the princess the characters were trying to save.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' the leader of the Akatsuki criminal group was a mysterious figure usually seen in shadow or astral projection. A popular fan-theory held that he was actually the Forth Hokage, who he bore a passing resemblance to, but when he takes an active role in the plot, it's revealed that they are entirely separate characters. The Akatsuki leader, Pain, is a figure from Jiraiya's past, but is completely unknown to the audience. The outline we see isn't even really his- it's a corpse that he's puppeting. [[spoiler:And then subverted with the ''real'' leader of the Akatsuki, Tobi, who is Kakashi's old teammate Obito Uchiha under the mask.]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}'', Vriska's appearing suddenly in the fifth act and proceeding to dominate the plot afterwards is stated by WordOfGod to be an experimental attempt to make the entire plot dependent on a character who had not been previously encountered.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* WebAnimation/DrBees: In a DramaticUnmask When Dr. Bees unmasks the Comforter, it turns out to be someone he suspected all along, [[spoiler:an individual he did not recognize]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou'':
** The episode "Spooky Space Kook". The villain at the end (the guy wearing the costume) was someone the audience had never seen before.
** The same thing occurred in "Hassle in the Castle" and "Bedlam in the Big Top." It almost happened again in "A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts," but the villains ''had'' been seen before, [[spoiler: disguised as a fortune-teller.]]
** Subverted in "A Clue for Scooby-Doo" where the gang captures a ghostly diver and unmask him, but have no idea who he is. But then Shaggy remembers seeing his picture earlier and recognizes that it's actually the seemingly deceased diver all along pretending to be his own ghost.
** The episode "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Werewolf?" took this to the extreme--not only was the titular werewolf completely unknown (though he'd been identified as a wool smuggler), he wasn't even ''named.''
* ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'':
** In one episode, the villain is someone who was not mentioned earlier in the episode, to the utter confusion of the main characters... but then it's immediately {{subverted|Trope}} in that [[spoiler:the character actually ''had'' appeared earlier in the episode disguised as an old woman; it was merely the fact that he wasn't really an old woman that hadn't been revealed.]]
** Done again in two separate episodes, but less clearly--the villains are people the gang met, but weren't immediately recognizable upon being unmasked (one was wearing a mask, the other a toupee).
* ''WesternAnimation/WhatsNewScoobyDoo'':
** Played with in an episode where the MonsterOfTheWeek is actually a scientist who faked her own abduction in the episode's ActionPrologue. As a result, the audience (and side characters) had seen her, but the heroes never met her, which frustrates Velma (who declared she had deduced who it was before triumphantly removing the mask and finding out she was wrong) so much that she tried to declare the case void.
** In another episode, the culprit was a man from the military who was completely unknown to the heroes, [[SubvertedTrope however it turns out that he had appeared earlier in the episode disguised as a shaman]].

** It's easy to forget this, but {{Comicbook/Venom}} was originally done like this. During Venom's introductory story arc, Spidey was being stalked by this maniac in the black symbiote suit he'd discarded who seemed to know his identity and monologued angrily to himself about how Spider-Man had ruined his life. He was seen unmasked early in the story, but the readers were unable to identify him, leaving them puzzled about who this mystery man actually is. Then when he finally captures Spider-Man and unmasks himself before him... he's a completely original character, whose backstory was {{Retcon}}ned into an existing Spider-Man story (the infamous Sin-Eater arc). Even worse, ''Peter'' knows who Brock is (although not to the extent that they knew each other in ''Spider-Man 3''), making this a Stranger Behind The Mask for the readers ''only'', verging on RememberTheNewGuy.

** Subverted at the end of ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan''. For over a dozen issues, the Goblin King has been dropping increasingly broad hints that he's Norman Osborn but always refuses to take the mask off. At the climax, Spider-Man rips off his mask, only to discover it's... some redheaded guy with a mustache he's never seen before. It turns out it really is Norman Osborn -- [[MultilayerFacade he'd gotten plastic surgery]] since his original face had gotten too well-known.

* GastonLeroux's ''The Mystery Of The Yellow Room'' is a partial example. The killer is a character that was introduced early on, but is also revealed to be someone else the reader never heard about, and this revelation [[CluelessMystery comes from off-page knowledge of the protagonist's]].

* ''Videogame/CommanderKeen 3'' promises a TwistEnding... but the villain is never mentioned in the story until TheReveal, which is followed by obligatory {{Exposition}}.

** The identity of the [[MugglePower anti-bending]] terrorist Amon turns out to be [[spoiler:Tarrlok's brother Noatak]], a character who had never been mentioned before.

* The identity of the Shadow Broker in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' is widely discussed, both by the fans and in-universe. The announcement of the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC drove speculation to a fever pitch. In the end, it's revealed that the Shadow Broker is a yahg, a species never before seen or mentioned in the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' universe. On top of that, it's also revealed that the yahg isn't even the original Shadow Broker rather than a former minion of theirs who killed them and assumed their role, and [[TheUnReveal we never find out who the first Shadow Broker was]].

* The identity of the Shadow Broker in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' is widely discussed, both by the fans and in-universe. The announcement of the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC drove speculation to a fever pitch. In the end, it was revealed that the Shadow Broker was a yahg, a species never before seen or mentioned in the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' universe. While the protagonist is dumbfounded by the revelation, Liara (who actually was the one pursuing the Shadow Broker) uses some obscure knowledge about his species to make some accurate (and embarrassing) guesses about him in order to [[UnstoppableRage rile her opponent.]] All from less than a paragraph's worth of knowledge of yahg biology!

* Played with in ''Anime/WorldConquestZvezdaPlot''. Asuta is certain that White Robin is his classmate Renge. Her mask comes off, and it's a woman we've never seen before. Later, it turns out Renge was wearing a LatexPerfection mask over her own face.

** Discussed but subverted in ''Literature/PerilAtEndHouse''. When Poirot creates an alphabetical list of all the suspects, he includes "J" to represent a potential murderer they know nothing about at this point. It eventually turns out there ''is'' a J, but they're not the murderer. The actual murderer was "H" -- someone they ''did'' know about but didn't think to include on the list.

* Invoked in ''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress'' and its many adaptations. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin There is a murder. It takes place on the Orient Express]]. Hercule Poirot, who happens to be on board, investigates and discovers that EverybodyDidIt. However, it turns out that the victim was very much the [[AssholeVictim asshole]] variety, having committed a heinous crime he would never otherwise be brought to justice for. In the end, Poirot chooses to tell the authorities that a random stranger sneaked on board, murdered the man, and then escaped - the only ''other'' remotely plausible explanation at this point.

* Invoked in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', when the Titans discover someone stole Robin's Red X suit and [[TheRealRemingtonSteele took the identity as his own]]. As soon as they affirm it's not Robin pulling another trick, they [[SecretIdentityApathy write off his real identity as unimportant]], reasoning he's likely no one they knew or heard of before.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' plays it for laughs. [[FreakyFridayFlip Lex Luthor ends up switching bodies with the Flash]] and spends most of the episode trying to avoid the rest of the League chasing after him. In the bathroom, still trying to figure things out, he tries to salvage the situation by removing his mask to figure out that the SecretIdentity of The Flash is... nobody Lex recognizes.[[note]]A particularly funny tidbit is that The Flash was voiced by Creator/MichaelRosenbaum who also played Lex Luthor on ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', basically allowing him to voice Luthor in the show for an episode[[/note]].
-->'''Lex''': I have no idea who this is.

* There was an early ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' storyline, where the masked Crime Master, built up as a major threat similar to his predecessor Big Man (who had been Daily Bugle reporter Frederick Foswell). However, unlike Big Man, when Crime Master was shot and killed by police during the story climax, it's revealed that the man is completely unknown to both Spiderman and the reader, though the police I.D him as a fugitive. Spidey lampshades it by thinking "Sometimes, the culprit isn't always [[TheButlerDidIt the butler]]."

** Despite lots of foreshadowing that he may be Harry Osborn (among others) when the fifth Green Goblin was unmasked, he turned out be... nobody. Literally, it was some kind of ArtificialHuman created by ComicBook/NormanOsborn.
** It's easy to forget this, but {{Comicbook/Venom}} was originally done like this. During Venom's introductory story arc Spidey was being stalked by this maniac in the black symbiote suit he'd discarded who seemed to know his identity and monologued angrily to himself about how Spider-Man had ruined his life. He was seen unmasked early in the story, but the readers were unable to identify him, leaving them puzzled about who this mystery man actually is. Then when he finally captures Spider-Man and unmasks himself before him... he's a completely original character, whose backstory was {{Retcon}}ned into an existing Spider-Man story (the infamous Sin-Eater arc). Even worse, ''Peter'' knows who Brock is (although not to the extent that they knew each other in ''Spider-Man 3''), making this a Stranger Behind The Mask for the readers ''only'', verging on RememberTheNewGuy.
** Happened again during ComicBook/TheCloneSaga, thanks to an editorial screwup. In an attempt to clean up the [[KudzuPlot out of control storyline]], Marvel retconned everything into being the work of a mystery man named Gaunt. He was intended to be Norman Osborn, the only Spidey-villain with the credibility to pull off such a wide-ranging plot, but one writer didn't get the memo and dropped hints that Gaunt was serving [[TheManBehindTheMan a more powerful villain]]. They did an AuthorsSavingThrow by making Osborn this more powerful villain, and Gaunt was eventually unmasked as... Mendel Stromm, Osborn's business partner in his pre-supervillain days and a D-list villain called "The Robot Master" who'd had all of two previous appearances: the first in 1966 and the second in 1986, a full ten years before The Clone Saga.
** Subverted at the end of ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan''. For over a dozen issues, the Goblin King has been dropping increasing broad hints that he's Norman Osborn, but always refuses to take the mask off. At the climax, Spider-Man rips off his mask, only to discover it's... some redheaded guy with a mustache he's never seen before. It turns out it really is Norman Osborn -- [[MultilayerFacade he'd gotten plastic surgery]] since his original face had gotten too well-known.
** Flipped on Spidey himself during the Creator/MarkMillar run in ''[[Creator/MarvelKnights Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #4]]'', in which an injured Spider-Man is abducted from his hospital bed by the Vulture, who angrily tears off the bandages covering his face and is completely deflated by the realisation that he and his criminal buddies have been losing to a "nobody" for all this time.
* The third volume of ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'' began with the assassination of the Scarlet Witch. It is unknown who did it, and the mystery stays for some issues. Magneto, in vengeance for the betrayal? Some other mutant terrorist of the Brotherhood? The conservative Captain America, horrified by her open incest? Black Panther, who may be a villain? Hawkeye, one of the few who could make such a sure shot, and who has taken several levels in jerkass since his family died? It's... none of them: it was Ultron. A known character of Marvel, but who had never appeared before in the Ultimate universe, except as a series of FacelessGoons.
* For the first several issues of DC's famous ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', the villain was kept shrouded in darkness, his identity a mystery, leaving readers to guess at who it might be. At least one letter-writer guessed that it was Darkseid, probably because a similar technique had been used to hide his identity as the villain of "The Great Darkness Saga" in ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes''. Then, when the villain's identity was finally revealed, it was the Anti-Monitor, a character who had never been seen or mentioned before, and who had been created solely to serve as the antagonist of ''Crisis''.
** On the other hand, he's intended to be the EvilTwin to the Monitor, who did appear before the crossover as an apparent new villain. ([[StealthMentor The truth was more complicated.]])
* In-universe example in the Creator/{{Elseworlds}} Franchise/JusticeLeague mini-series ''The Secret Society of Super-Heroes'' as Batman confronts the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern after he murdered the Wally West Flash and is shot for it. In the scuffle, one strike knocks off Kyle's mask and, when the former hero is down, Batman ruefully muses "How come in real life, when you unmask the bad guy, you've never seen him before in your life?"
* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': In "Recap/AsterixAndTheChariotRace", features a mysterious, masked racer named Coronavirus, who upon being unmasked turns out to be a man named Testus Terone, whom neither the protagonists nor the readers ever saw before. Averted later when a new character takes up the identity of Coronavirus; it's [[spoiler: Julius Caesar.]]
* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica:'' The conclusion to the "Scourge of the Underworld" cross-through. A serial killer goes around shooting various C-list villains, until Cap lures the man into a trap and unmasks him to find... someone he's never seen before, who [[LampshadeHanging even calls Cap out on this]], asking if he was expecting to see someone he knew under there. Then he gives his origin anyway... [[spoiler:and is shot out out of nowhere by ''another'' Scourge.]]

** In one episode, the villain is someone who was not mentioned earlier in the episode, to the utter confusion of the main characters... but then it's immediately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in that [[spoiler:the character actually ''had'' appeared earlier in the episode disguised as an old woman; it was merely the fact that he wasn't really an old woman that hadn't been revealed.]]

** In another episode, the culprit was a man from the military who was completely unknown to the heroes, however it turns out that he had appeared earlier in the episode disguised as a shaman.