Sandbox / The Bus Came Back Wick Check

The Bus Came Back is an old and much wicked trope that is misused every time I see it. Whenever a new big blockbuster movie or another season of a TV show comes out, someone adds an entry that says, "X character surprisingly returns after being absent for Y amount of time." They almost never mention if said character was written out of the show in a way that sets up their return, the entire point of the trope and the reason it is a sub-trope of Put on a Bus.

Most examples of this trope on the site are like this. Per the wick check I started months back and finished a few weeks ago, only a few examples mentioned the trope Put on a Bus or anything that could be construed to fit that trope's definition. Only 19 links out of 102 matched the trope's definition as is, while there were 81 wicks (including the 18 ZCEs and sinkholes) that made no mention of being a character being written out/Put on a Bus.

So, with this in mind, I think there are two clear options for what to do.

1. We can just change the trope definition to match the misuse. This requires the least amount of work and is most likely to be effective. The issue is that I'm not sure how to re-write this in a tropeworthy way to match the misuse and not make this a duplicate of stuff like Long Bus Trip or Role Reprise.
2. We can change the name, delete all the misuse, and hope that people on and off site catch on to all this. This is the best way to preserve the original meaning of the trope, but it requires us to remove this trope from 10000 pages, won't clear anything up for casual visitors to the wiki unfamiliar with forums like these, and also requires the deletion of a lot of writing from earnest tropers.

There might be other avenues (scrapping the page entirely, making the trope a disambiguation, splitting the misuse into a separate trope, etc.), but I think these are the best two options. I'm leaning much more towards the first option, because this trope has fewer zero-context and just poorly-written examples than I'm used to seeing through wick checks, so I don't think the Wiki gains anything from deleting 60% of its examples from the site.

Here are 102 distinct entries of Put on a Bus (from 96 pages, with two entries from the Super Mario Logan page, two entries from Big Time Rush's character sheet, and three from a Glee page, each under different sub-sections).

LEGIT 19/ 102

1. Characters.Champions Marvel Comics: The time travel nonsense makes this consuming, but what it is basically saying is that Kids!Cyclops was a member the time, was written out by going into the past, and was written back in as Adult!Cyclops for a few guest spots.^note "The Bus Came Back: In a strange way. Now that [Cyclops] is back in the past it means his adult self in the present gained all the memories of his time in the present, including with Champions. As such, he shows up to aid them in time of need. Twice so far."
2. Characters.Timothy Goes To School: The character in question was written as leaving the show to go on vacation, so he was brought back in a way related to how they were Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: He returns in "Many Happy Returns", only one episode later, though it takes place after a vacation."
3. Characters.Genesis Of Aquarion: His hospitalization kept him from the show, but he returns because spoiler spoiler, which all checks out.^note "The Bus Came Back: He's hospitalized early in the show, but comes back as a cyborg-Shadow Angel thing in the finale."
4. YMMV.The RWBY Loops: The gist is a character was put on probation from the main org. the series is about and because they don't work there, they don't appear again until they come back with a vengeance. That's all legit.^note "During the Volume 3 expansions after Roman's death in Baseline, Neo holds Cinder responsible for his death, and spends numerous loops all the way up to the end of the Volume 4 expansions plotting her revenge, slowly trying to drive Cinder insane with nightmares until she's an Empty Shell, only to mess up Slenderman's own attempts at manipulating Cinder, solidifying her mental breakdown and causing the Tale of Two Sisters storyline. Neo's role is eventually found out by Marianne and she's forced to come clean and put on probation by everyone, particularly landing on Cinder's shit list. Come Volume 6, The Bus Came Back for Neo, specifically because she was looking to kill Cinder due to blaming her for Roman's death. This time however, Cinder browbeats Neo into an Enemy Mine with her, convincing her to take her vendetta out on Ruby."
5. Characters.Super Mario Logan Main Characters: Jail was used to get him out of the series, although I'm not sure it applies if his return makes zero reference to his bus trip.^note "[The Bus Came Back Forty-one episodes later, with no explanation as to how Black Yoshi got out of prison, he returned in "Jeffy the Good Boy!"]]."
6. Velvet Sky: Hey, it doesn't take much. The example specifies how they left both times (left the organization, got fired in-universe) and when they came back.^note "Put on a Bus: Out of TNA by her own choice. The Bus Came Back in December 2012. The Bus Left Again when she was (kayfabe) fired for looking in Robbie E's "feast or fired" briefcase in January 2015. In reality, her contract had expired. She came back months later."
7. Characters.A Series Of Unfortunate Events: This one also gets it right in a simple way, this time putting more focus on the circumstances of their return.^note "The Bus Came Back: She’s Put on a Bus after Book 5 and doesn’t return until Olaf And Esmé adopt her."
8. Halo: Envoy: Long-winded, but it gets the point across.^note "The Bus Came Back: It was mentioned all the way back in 2001's Halo: The Fall of Reach that Gray Team had been out of contact with the rest of the UNSC for almost a year when Reach was attacked by the Covenant. Sixteen real life years later, we finally find out what they've been up to since; namely, they were part of Operation: SUNSPEAR, a covert ONI op where they were tasked with bringing a NOVA bomb to the Sangheili world of Glyke during the final days of the Human-Covenant War as payback for Reach. After completing their mission (not realizing that a peace treaty had already been signed), they went into cryosleep and were adrift in space for several years before being recovered by Glyke native Rojka 'Kasaan."
9. VideoSource.Thomas And Friends: Nothing wrong here, since this is just an index noting that a video from this work is used as an example on another page. The video itself seems fine enough too.
10. Show by Rock!!: Written in context of a Put on a Bus entry.^note "Put on a Bus: The Show by Rock Short series explains that Trichronika would be absent for the most part of the second season because of a concert tour in outer space. They're still shown in their tour spaceship on occasion, though, and [[TheBusCameBack they return to Midi City proper]] in Episode 8 when Shu☆zo stops Rom from punching Orion in the face."
11. Characters.Murdoch Mysteries: This example actually mentions how each character left the show (sent into hiding / disappeared In-Universe) and mentions they escaped.^note "The Bus Came Back: She was given a new identity and was sent to live in hiding in Season 4, but she returned to Toronto for two episodes in Season 5." / "The Bus Came Back: After a decade since she disappeared, Sally comes back for the show's 200th episode."
12. Literature.The Three Investigators: This is indented under Put on a Bus incorrectly, but besides that, this is a well-detailed (if long-winded) example. If incorporated into the Put on a Bus, example it would be perfectly legit.^note "The German version [[TheBusCameBack brought him back in a cameo appearance]] in book 85 The Tower of Fire until he later made a full return in the anniversary/three-parter episode book 100 The Island of Death. He has been a recurring character ever since. He even got his own day in the limelight of sorts when Bob suffered from Tap on the Head induced Identity Amnesia and Skinny wound up taking care of him. While Skinny still causes his usual amount of havoc, he also seems genuinely fond of Bob and helps him out even after he regains his memories, setting himself up for more of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold role. Although it depends on the writer."
13. Characters.Glee New Directions Later Additions: The first example is perfectly okay, while the second would be fine if indented correctly. Either way, both detail how and why the character left and when they came back.^note "Put on a Bus: Written out between season two and season three, with the explanation being that his dad got a job out of state. In real life, Chord Overstreet chose not to return when he wasn't upgraded to a series regular. It most likely would've been permanent, but negotiations were made and Sam [[TheBusCameBack returned]] in 'Hold On To Sixteen'." / "Put on a Bus: Quits the Glee Club and dumps Puck out of nowhere at the beginning of Season 3. The actress confirmed she wouldn't be back... The Bus Came Back: ...until she did come back for an episode in season 4, as well as a cameo in the Grand Finale."
14. Characters.Big Time Rush: Okay, the show is about musicians, makes sense she wouldn't appear after being rejected from auditions. And hey, they mentioned how she was brought back into the fold.^note "The Bus Came Back/Ascended Extra: She started as a minor character who was rejected in the auditions of the pilot. She returns a season later in "Big Time Fans", as Carlos promised to help her in her singing career."
15. PlayingWith.Important Haircut: Seems appropriate enough for such a minor link.^note "Implied: Alice returns from a bus with a darker attitude and shorter hair."
16. Recap.Buffy The Vampire Slayer S 6 E 9 Smashed: This doesn't give all the details, but it gives the minimum to get the idea and that at least makes it a little funnier.^note "The Bus Came Back: Amy has been a rat for several seasons now and even the rat hasn't been seen all that often — now she's back."
17. Characters.Bomb Girls: This doesn't go into detail on how The Bus Came Back, but this is a Put on a Bus entry, so it doesn't need to. It at least highlights the connection between the two.^note "Put on a Bus: She disappeared from the show her confession to a police officer who hates lesbians. But then The Bus Came Back in the finale."
18. Recap.Star Trek The Next Generation S 3 E 1 Evolution: Crusher is a textbook example of this trope and this entry succintly gets that across.^note  "The Bus Came Back: Dr. Crusher, who was Put on a Bus at the start of the previous season, returns to the show in this episode, and stays for the rest of its run."
19. Characters.Gundam Seed Destiny Project R: There's a pothole to this trope in a character description about someone returning that doesn't seem to be misused.

No Mention of Being Put On A Bus 63/ 102

1. Characters.The Legend Of Korra Allies: This entry never even tries to establish that the character in question left the show, which is fair since he didn't. Kai was never written out of the show, he appeared in a major role earlier that season and traveled alongside Opal, who has a speaking role in like every episode.^note The Bus Came Back: Somewhat, while he reappears for Book 4 episodes 11, 12, and 13, he doesn't speak at all in any of the episodes.
2. ComicBook.Extreme Carnage: Neither example applies their subject was written out, and it mainly seems like they were just obscure and unpopular among writers.^note "The Bus Came Back: The Friends of Humanity, usually an X-Men-centric hate group, have come back into focus. Even Tony Stark points out they used to be jokes before now. / In Extreme Carnage: Scream, Doppelgänger — not seen since Absolute Carnage and a brief cameo in Ruins of Ravencroft — is shown to have been shipped to Alchemax to be experimented on."
3. Recap.South Park S 6 E 17 Red Sleigh Down: Kenny was not Put on a Bus, he was Killed Off for Real.^note "Kenny returns after being absent for an entire season after his death back in the previous one."
4. Series.Moesha: The example is straight up saying the character wasn't Put on a Bus.^note "Also happens to Q in a sense. Had he not returned sporadically through the series, it would have been a case of Chuck Cunningham Syndrome."
5. Recap.Doctor Who S 35 Short Prologue: Ohila's fate wasn't addressed at the end of the special, so this is just a character returning after no special fanfare.^note "The Bus Came Back: Ohila, first seen in "The Night of the Doctor", returns, paving the way for more of this trope in the season premiere. Her appearance here only hails the return of Missy, Kate Stewart, Davros and the Shadow Architect in the episode proper."
6. BetterThanItSounds.Video Games S To Z: These characters never had a written departure from the story and thus, there is no bus from which they may return.^note "Sonic Mania Plus: New version also adds yellow rodent and another red mammal, coming back from a twenty-five year long bus trip."
7. Characters.Knots Landing: The one of these the remotely lines up with The Bus Came Back is the third, but even then, it relies on context in another example and is indented incorrectly, so the whole thing is a wash.^note "The Bus Came Back: Returned to the Dallas/Knots universe in 2013 for JR's funeral. / Returned to the Dallas/Knots universe in 2013, around the time of JR'S funeral. / ...And only returned years later in 1997 for the "Back to the cul de sac" special. / He reappears briefly in 1987 when Laura (who was dying) leaves their sons in his care."
8. Recap.The Secret Show S 1 E 22 When Good Food Goes Bad: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: For Alphonse, who last interacted with the team in "Bogie Ball". They are opening a restaurant for his latest food-based exhibition. / The Chef from the previous episode returns to cause mayhem, making this a Sequel Episode of sorts."
9. WebAnimation.Minilife TV: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Baby Crotchrash returns three seasons (41 episodes) later to become the secondary antagonist to get revenge on Chris and Ian."
10. YMMV.Street Fighter EX: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "First Installment Wins: Although EX2 (specifically its Plus revision) is typically held up as an Even Better Sequel due to its expanded roster and gameplay mechanics (notably the addition of Meteor Combos and the series equivalent of Custom Combos in Excel), it is the original that has the most recognition among the wider Street Fighter fanbase. Almost all of the beloved new character themes originated here^* EX2 instead opted for (still good but not quite as iconic) stage-specific music outside of the boss characters whereas EX3 used the arranged soundtrack from EX Plus α where applicable along with repurposing some of the EX2 Plus AST and throwing in a few new tracks and while the EX newcomers are collectively well-liked, the most popular faces are those who made their debut in the original EX. The first EX was also the only game to feature Allen, Blair, Akuma, and (in EX Plus α) Sakura; the first three [[PutOnABus were retired in all subsequent installments]] while Sakky had a Long Bus Trip that only ended with her return in EX3."
11. Characters.Super Mario Logan Main Characters: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note  "Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He hasn't been seen since "The Christmas Special!" in 2015, until he returned nearly a year later in "Life Is Ruff!", as the truck driver who hit Junior and his pet Chain Chomp (or "dog"), Chompy."
12. Characters.One Piece Marines: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus. It's worth noting that this is a pretty, organized page with commented out warnings on the top about editing rules that the page largely follows. Misuse of this trope is common even on pages of good quality.^note "The Bus Came Back: She went through almost 300 chapters of absence (last seen in Marineford arc) before reappearing after the Time Skip at the start of Whole Cake Island arc."
13. Characters.Star Wars Planets And Races: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "Ascended Extra: She plays a small role in "Shadow of Malevolence" near the beginning of the series, and all but disappeared after Brain Invaders" before returning to playing a major role during the Order 66 arc in the series' sixth season, and having a likewise prominent role in The Bad Batch."
14. Recap.Homestar Runner Halloween Hijinks: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note The Bus Came Back: This is the first appearance of the Homestar Runner Mysfit-steries since High School Strong Bad's cameo in "alternate universe" (outside of Strong Bad posting a Squint-moji version of Teen Homestar on his Twitter account).
15. ComicBook.Ms Marvel 1977: "Sort of vanished" isn't the sort of deliberate exit that we all associate with buses.^note "The Bus Came Back: Before this series, Carol had sort of vanished from Captain Marvel's own title for some years. Now she's back, in her own series, and has superpowers."
16. Donkey Kong Barrel Blast: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Lanky Kong was reintroduced in this game. Quawks also returned, and was officially named as well."
17. Defenders (2021): Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Cloud returns after a long while away. / At the end of issue 2, Mor-i-Dun, the sorcerer of the Fifth Cosmos who briefly menaced the A.I.M.vengers team, makes a return."
18. Recap.The Walking Dead S 08 E 15 Worth: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note  Laura is revealed to be the person Negan picked up in the previous episode, after going missing during "How It's Gotta Be". / Aaron and the Oceansiders reappear for the first time since "The Lost and the Plunderers".
19. Characters.Ennui Go: There are 15 examples of this trope on the page. None of them mention anything about being Put on a Bus.^note "He/She's the X member of the original cast to return in Part 2."
20. Getter Robo: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: So you may have wondered, while reading Getter Robo Go, where General Bat went off to - after all, he was still alive at the end of the original manga, and the Dinosaur Empire was the main villain of that saga. Well, as it would turn out, He's Just Hiding with most of the Dinosaur Empire, and would return in Arc."
21. Recap.Criminal Case Mysteries Of The Past Case 48 Unsafe Haven: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note The Bus Came Back: This case features the return of many people that didn't appear in Grim Chapel before, namely Dr. Ezekiel Jones, Katherine Woolf, Lady Highmore, and Mayor Cornelius Castletown.
22. Characters.Violinist Of Hameln: There's a write-up for Put on a Bus on a page, but nothing in this example indicates that.^note The Bus Came Back: Comes back just in time to help Hamel and the others defeat Orgel.
23. Recap.Criminal Case Mysteries Of The Past Case 30 How The East Was Won: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Adrienna Brassiere returns as a suspect here after being absent since the finale of Sinner's End."
24. Heartwarming.Pokemon The Shadow Of Nemesis: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus and is more about a performer returning to a show than the character.^note "A meta-example: Jackson's player, Drummer, had to leave the roleplay due to exams. The whole chat was devastated... and then, less than a week later, he came back. The chat exploded, everyone gathered round to give him hugs..."
25. The Book of Pooh: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "Kanga and Roo were absent in Season One but joined as regulars in Season Two — contrary to both Milne's and Disney's previous works, in which their arrival in the Wood even preceded Tigger's."
26. Characters.Casi Angeles: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Towards the end of season 4, he returns along with Malvina and Cielo." / "The Bus Came Back: She returns towards the end of season 4, like Bauer and Cielo." / "She returns later on season 4 though, when the others return from the future."
27. YMMV.World Of Warcraft: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note With Wrathion's return in BFA and his handsome "upgraded" humanoid form, two camps of shippers seem to be emerging, judging by the comments on websites like YouTube and Reddit: people who ship him with Anduin, and those who ship him with their player characters. Both sides have fervently defended their positions.
28. Green Arrow (Rebirth): Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus. The ;ast example isn't even about anything.^note "The Bus Came Back: Eddie Fyers, from the Mike Grell run, comes back in issue #10, and re-appears again in the Fall of Star City arc. / Connor Hawke was supposed to do this but Benjamin Percy unfortunately left the book he could do that."
29. Fanfic.Anchor Foal: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Chapter 12 establishes that the extremely pretty pegasus mentioned six chapters earlier is Joyous Release, who's briefly spotted in attendance at Fleur's welcoming party. All we currently know is that she's now living in Ponyville, along with her parents — and that Fleur develops an instant 'I. Want. That.' desire for her without Joyous' talent being involved: that first sighting establishes Fleur as being upwind."
30. Recap.The 7 DS 2 E 13 B What Are You Five: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Johnny Sage returns from season 1 for a major appearance."
31. Recap.Re Boot S 3 E 1 To Mend And Defend: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Cyrus, Megabyte's spy from "Identity Crisis" returns...polishing Megabyte's legs."
32. Battle for Dream Island: The Power of Two: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: The EXITors, who had been absent in BFB ever since the show split, make a return in The Stinger of the first TPOT episode."
33. La que se avecina: The first example is fine but sparse, but the second two just don't mention the characters appearing earlier in the series or how they departed from it at all.^note "Araceli returns to Mirador de Montepinar in Season 5 after leaving at the beginning of Season 2." / "Also, Estela Reynolds reappears in the final episode of season 6 and is back in season 7 as a lead character for the whole season." / "Sergio Arias comes back in Season 6 but doesn't appear in Season 7."
34. The Camera Eye Series: This example doesn't even make it clear if Korrina is returning from the series proper or from earlier in the fic. Who is this person and what does her returning mean? I don't know!^note "Korrina returns to become a member of the main cast again. / After being absent for almost the entirety of Any Color You Like, Clemont, Bonnie, and Korrina return at the end."
35. Recap.Bosch S 7 E 06: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "Among the many returnees for the final season of Bosch is Julie Ann Emery, Sylvia Reece from Season 6. Bosch goes to her for help about the FBI's obstruction of his Pena investigation."
36. Recap.Arrow S 4 E 22 Lost In The Flood: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: The stream of Season 3 villains now on Darhk's payroll continues, as Felicity's ex-boyfriend Cooper shows up."
37. Characters.Detentionaire: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The fat member of the council is revealed to be alive and well at the end of season 4." / "All three showed up in a later episode, but Jenny in particular grew in importance until she was part of the main gang."
38. Total Drama Return Of The Stars: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: All the contestants have been on the show before."
39. Recap.Doctor Who S 33 E 12 Nightmare In Silver: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus, just that they last appeared in a prior entry.^note "The Bus Came Back: The proper return of the Mondasian Cybermen since 1988. [[note]]By Word of God, the technology is a merger of Cybus and Mondas-based Cybermen, though the story uses a lot of elements and inspirations from the 1960s incarnations, and appears to follow the Cyber-Wars mentioned in later, but pre-Cybus, going back to "The Pandorica Opens" have been confirmed to be Mondasian Cybermen by Word of God, but the costumes weren't updated (or just had the Cybus logo removed). These ones have updated costumes."
40. Characters.Azur Lane Sirens: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: She reappears as her Purity persona during the SSSS.GRIDMAN / SSSS.DYNɅZENON collab event."
41. Doom Patrol: This is more of a Retcon or Canon Welding entry. This doesn't even focus on a particular character, so it has nothing to do with Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Gerard Way's run has established that the entire history of the Doom Patrol before Flashpoint still happened, picking up where Keith Giffen's run ended and acknowledging most of Morrison's run, with no mention of the team's New 52 appearances."
42. Characters.Sonic The Hedgehog Modern Era Antagonists 1: Nothing mentioned in any of these examples of being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: After a long absence, a temporally-displaced Biolizard makes a reappearance as the second boss in Sonic Generations 3DS, this time fought by Sonic." / "The Bus Came Back: Returned as a "buddy" character in Sonic Runners. He (or rather, several voiceless clones of him) also appeared as a minor Arc Villain during an event in the same game." / "The Bus Came Back: After being absent since Free Riders, Wave makes a return in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and Storm also returns in Sonic Forces: Speed Battle."
43. Characters.The Dresden Files The Vampires: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: She finally comes back in Battle Ground after not having appeared for ten books in a row."
44. Characters.The Walking Dead 2010 Atlanta Survivor Camp: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: He returns in Season 8, a whopping two-and-a-half years In-Universe and six years out-of-universe later." / "The Bus Came Back: After being unseen since the third episode of Season 1 (save for appearing to his brother via hallucination in Season 2's "Chupacabra"), he finally turns up again in Season 3."
45. DarthWiki.Pokemon Peace Squad: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus, and most of these seem to be referring to reappearances from different franchises and continuities anyway.^note "The Bus Came Back: G.U.N. is mentioned in the game's story, seeing as in the case of Pokémon Peace Squad, they're the ones that gave the Ultra Beast their collective name and codenames. They're also revealed to have been attacked during Team Rocket's invasion. / Sho, the Raichu Trainer from the anime episode "Pika and Goliath", who was last heard being taken to Prison Island X in Pokémon Peace Squad 2, is back, now a part of Team Skull and with an Alolan Raichu. / Nancy, Ryan's fiancé and wife from Pokémon Peace Squad 2, is back as part of the Aether Foundation, and serves as a midboss in Aether Complex Act 3."
46. ChuckCunninghamSyndrome.Film: General Ross wasn't written out of the movies, he just didn't appear. Again, nothing here is mentioned about him being written out and it seems the troper here Put on a Bus just means "a character ceases to appear."^note "Marvel Cinematic Universe: Betty Ross was Bruce Banner's love interest and a major character in The Incredible Hulk. She hasn't been seen or mentioned since, and Bruce is instead shown being interested in Black Widow in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Even her father, Thunderbolt Ross, got a bus ticket back for Captain America: Civil War. The only major factor even defending her canonicity to the MCU is that she was cited as one of the victims of the Thanos snap."
47. Characters.Glee New Directions Later Additions: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Returns for the 100th episode and seems to be heading to New York after accepting an offer from Santana to go there when they finish on their vacation, reconciling in the process. She made an appearance in the Season 5 finale; her and Santana returned for seven episodes in the final season, then appeared for the final number of the series in the Grand Finale."
48. ComicBook.Venom Space Knight: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: After having not been seen since the end of Venom Vol. 2, Mania makes a comeback."
49. Characters.Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children: This entry mentions that the character was specifically not Pot On A Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: After being supposedly killed off in the first trilogy, she returns in the second."
50. Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: After spending most of tri. in distress, the 02 kids return, prominently feature in promo material, and are featured alongside the main cast, though they do not factor into defeating the villain."
51. Recap.Game Of Thrones S 4 E 4 Oathkeeper: Just another mundane re-appearance of characters with no reference to an intentional absence.^note "The Bus Came Back: Several characters we have not seen since last season appear in Craster's keep scenes. Ghost, Jon Snow's direwolf, is also back."
52. Cinderjuice: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Dr. Zigmund Void[[note]]from the cartoon episodes "Forget-Me-Nuts" and "Not-So-Peaceful Pines" is summoned out of retirement to aid the heroes."[[/note]]
53. Klonoa: Dream Crusaders: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Tenebrae Hue performs a ritual to summon some Klonoa villains who haven't been seen in a while (and never appeared in person in the original comic): Joka, Garlen, Janga, Bagoo, and the King of Sorrow. Hue also mentions a mysterious "him" that he also wants to summon, but the identity of this "him" has not been revealed yet (though Phantomile's Council of Investigation suspects that it's Ghadius)."
54. The Sacred Quest: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Gidgiddonihah returns from the previous book, and in fact is the person encountered on their journey."
55. HFIL: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus, just it being awhile since the characters last appeared. Most of these guys were just killed off.^note The Bus Came Back: Raditz returns to the Abridged universe after his arc in season 1 of the previous series, that of him roaming the afterlife after breaking out of hell, was dropped. HFIL reveals his efforts crashed and burned shortly after breaking out. Super Kami Guru as well, due to being condemned for drinking all of Namek's water and shifting the blame on the albino Namekians, causing the other Namekians to commit genocide. / All the main characters save for Cell count—the last time any of the core cast appeared in DBZA was very, very early season 3 (four days shy of eight years prior to the episode's release in real time, and four years in-universe), and that was just Freeza. It's been even longer for the rest of them, since the most recent additions before that was Super Kami Guru, sent there at the tail end of season 2.
56. Muppets Now: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus, just more long absences.^note "The Bus Came Back: Walter sat out the last TV show but returns for this one. / The second episode features an appearance from "Mean Mama", a brown monster puppet from The Muppet Show (albeit referred to as "Carol") that hasn't been seen in quite a while. / Miss Poogy shows up as a guest on one segment of Life Style, though she doesn't seem aware of it. / The sixth episode features Robin, who barring a brief cameo in Most Wanted which lampshades his disappearance and a supporting role in an episode of The Muppets (2015), hasn’t been seen in decades."
57. Characters.Pokemon The Series Diamond And Pearl Ashs Pokemon: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: After a 30 episode long absence, it returns in time for Ash's Sinnoh League battle with Paul, and afterwards it is sent to Professor Oak's Lab rather than returning to McCann. / The Bus Came Back: Aside from a single cameo in Black and White, Infernape was absent until Journeys, when Ash learned it had run off to fight Moltres itself, leading Ash to reunite with it while tracking it down."
58. Characters.K On: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: She makes a brief return in volume 6 chapter 8 when Yui returns to her hometown for the summer break. However, she's considering going abroad to study, so she might be going on an even longer bus trip."
59. Recap.Odd Squad S 3 E 19 Sixteen And A Half Blocks Follow The Leader: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Played with. The Form-Changer, a relative of the Shapeshifter, debuts in this episode, and looks like an orange version of the shapeshifting villainess, with the same powers to boot (since they're twins). The Shapeshifter herself hasn't been seen since The Movie (where she was featured as a child), while the Form-Changer is a new villainess that debuts in this episode. Both are also played by Laura Landauer."
60. Credits Gag: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "What Could Have Been: If IMDb trivia is to be believed, one early draft of the script featured Claire from the first movie [[TheBusCameBack returning]] and fulfilling the role taken by Samantha in the final film."
61. Civilization: This is about content being removed from a game sans story explanation, which isn't literally being metaphorically put on the metaphorical bus.^note "A number of other cities belonging to previously playable civilizations showed up as city-states in VI (Babylon, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Jakarta, Seoul, Stockholm) though these were all replaced when their respective civs were slowly phased back into the game."
62. Recap.Gotham S 4 E 7 A Day In The Narrows: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "The Bus Came Back: Tommy Elliot, AKA the future Hush, shows up in his first appearance since Season 1's "The Mask"."
63. Characters.Baywatching: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus.^note "Came back for one episode of "Baywatch Nights" to be as annoying as ever."

ZCE/Sinkholes 18/ 102

1. Funny.Ravages Of Time: Not even worth copy-pasting, the wick is just a sinkhole over a character's name with no context.
2. Shocking.Western Animation: Just a sinkhole.^note  Evil Morty finally returns and his true plans of escaping the Central Finite Curve to find a multiverse where Rick isn't the smartest man alive are revealed.
3. Characters.Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2: A character's comic book getting cancelled just has nothing to do with this trope.^note "The Bus Came Back: Given that her comic was cancelled..."
4. Recap.Arrow S 7 E 13 Star City Slayer: This isn't even a complete sentence and doesn't even end with proper punctuation.^note "The Bus Came Back: Stanley Dover, having not been seen since 'The Slabslide Redemption'"
5. Characters.Sam And Cat: There are two entries on this page that just list "The Bus Came Back" with nothing else.
6. Adamant Ditto:Commented out zero-context example.^note "The Bus Came Back: Viper returns for Super Mario 64 and Portal 2."
7. YMMV.Mortal Kombat 11: This whole entry is just littered with unnecessary hyperlinks, but The Bus Came Back link is especially bad since this entry mentions that Johnny appeared in the previous game. If that's the case, there's no bus for him to come back from!^note "Awesome Ego: Johnny Cage, once again. While MKX amped up his snarkiness a tad more as seen in intros involving him, this game is notable for [[TheBusCameBack bringing back his younger self]], who is just as immature as we remember him, if not more so. His intros also make sure we get the message, for as they're even snarkier and self-centered than in MKX."
8. Characters.Kiwi Blitz: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus or even being absent in the show previously.^note "The Bus Came Back: He shows up in Track 17 and is apparently working with Alter."
9. Characters.Defenders Of The Universe: Nothing mentioned about being Put on a Bus, or even about them previously having been absent from the show.^note "The Bus Came Back: She and several other Balmerans joined the Voltron Coalition in 'Preparations'." / "The Bus Came Back: He joins the Voltron Coalition alongside Rax and Shay in 'Preparations'." / "The Bus Came Back: He joins the Voltron Coalition alongside Rax and Shay in 'Preparations'."
10. Characters.Beelzebub Other Characters: One entry just name-drops a different character besides the one the entry was for returning and another just mentioned the name of an arc.
11. Characters.Glee New Directions Later Additions: No mention of how he was Put on a Bus. This is indented under another trope, but that one is also a Zero-Context Example.^note "The Bus Came Back: For "Glee, Actually", though that was only a dream sequence."
12. Series.The Day Of The Triffids 1981: This isn't as bad as the other ones here, but since nothing here really indicates Coker wasn't in the story beforehand, this isn't a super helpful pothole.^note "Hope Spot: In the final episode it looks like the farm might not be able to hold out under triffid siege, but then Coker suddenly turns up in a helicopter and asks them to join his group on the Isle of Wright. After he leaves however, Torrence and his men turn up in an armored car, and makes it clear they don't have a choice about joining his group..."
13. Characters.The Mystic Knights Of Tir Na Nog: Not even a zero-context example for the right trope.^note  "Put on a Bus: But when The Bus Came Back, he brought back A Mech By Any Other Name."
14. Characters.Big Time Rush: What even needs to be said here, there's just nothing in this example.^note "The Bus Came Back: Just in time to find Kendall and Lucy making out in the elevator."
15. Quotes.Delayed Reaction: A Steven Universe quote on this page has a character's name spoilered out with a hyperlink to The Bus Came Back, even though that trope has nothing to do with the quote itself.
16. Recap.Game Of Thrones S 6 E 8 No One: This isn't even a complete sentence.^note "The Bus Came Back: The Brotherhood Without Banners, including Lord Beric and Thoros of Myr."
17. CreditsGag.Gravity Falls: This is just a quote with a sinkhole.^note "In credits: DID YOU MISS ME? (The key is 'Bluebook')]"
18. Gunnerkrigg Court: This is a spoiler-tagged sinkhole that I'm pretty sure is also a misuse of Wham Shot.^note "Wham Episode: Chapter 76: Kat shows the two Annies her latest invention: a Tic-Toc.

Misc. 2/ 102

1. Characters.Corrin Reacts: These are two weird examples, the first may be a legitimate example if being Put on a Bus can apply retroactively and the second might be too, but it doesn't actually mention what chapters they missed so they went mountain climbing. This is more like a three-quarters-context example than a ZCE.^note "Mentions that Corrin almost literally got her Put on a Bus to enjoy the world, explaining her absence during the first twelve chapters." / "Is mentioned having gone mountain-climbing with Gunter. Three chapters later, she returns to Fort Corrin."
2. WebVideo.Twitch Plays Pokemon Rising Ruby: I have no idea how narrative tropes like this apply to Twitch Plays Pokemon and I'm not gonna figure that out today.^note  AZZ TTTXXSSS was caught early on as a Petilil, and was present on the team when earning the first six Gym Badges and defeating May for the penultimate time, evolving into a Lilligant and reaching Lv. 64 in the process. It was however a clear Apple of Discord among players, and after causing several PC wars, including one where it was deposited for almost nine hours before being retrieved again near the end of Day 4, it was finally deposited for good on Day 6.