Small Role Big Impact / Western Animation

Instances of Small Role, Big Impact in Western Animation.

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• Adventure Time: The Snail seen throughout the series and waives to the audience of the show each episode isn't anything other than a Living Prop, but in the season 2 finale "Mortal Foley/Mortal Recoil", the Lich never would have been freed from his prison to begin with had he not possessed the snail; who would change the tone of the show forever.
• The Amazing World of Gumball: The Van Shoopkeeper didn't appear after Season 4 (and got mentioned in Season 3), and has made only five appearances so far, but he's the reason Darwin (the main character along with Gumball) got adopted by the Watterson family.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender:
  • Fire Lord Sozin was the one who started the war and Fire Lord Azulon probably did the most damage during said war. Both were dead before the start of the series and got one flashback episode each, but otherwise are only occasionally mentioned.
  • The past Avatars as well, most notably Roku and Kyoshi.
  • The monks in the Southern Air Temple who tried to kickstart Aang's Avatar training in his flashbacks. It was only due to their (rightful) fears that the above-mentioned Sozin was about to start a war that Aang prematurely learned he was the Avatar, and ran away from the Air Temple not being able to handle the subsequent stress. He inadvertently saved himself from the Air Nomad Genocide that Sozin committed specifically to kill him, meaning if the monks hadn't intervened, Aang would have been killed at the Southern Air Temple and the subsequent Water Tribe Avatar would have had a hell of a time learning (let alone mastering) Airbending.
  • Iroh’s son Lu Ten died about a decade before the show began and is only seen in pictures but his impact on the show is huge. With no direct heir left, Ozai asks their father Azulon to forgo Iroh’s birthright and let him be the Fire Lord. Azulon is incredulous about him kicking his brother while he’s down and orders Ozai to lose his oldest son. Ursa works out a deal with Ozai that she’ll poison Azulon to save Zuko’s life which in turn makes Ozai the Fire Lord and leads to both Ursa and Zuko’s banishments. He's also the reason Iroh gives up his seige of Ba Sing Se. Had Lu Ten not died, Iroh might have won the war for the Fire Nation and left Aang without a world to save.
  • Much of Zuko's story and character arc is caused by his clash with the Fire Nation general in that ill-fated council meeting, who suggests using inexperienced rookie soldiers as cannon fodder. If Zuko (who wasn't even supposed to be attending the council until Iroh agreed to bring him along) hadn't spoken up to rebuke the general and been challenged to an Agni Kai, his injuries, dishonour and banishment would likely never have happened, and in turn so much of the story would have been completely different.
  • If Katara and Sokka's mom Kya hadn't pretended to be the last waterbender to save Katara, Katara would have died and wouldn't have been able to get Aang out of the iceberg.
  • Hama only appears in an episode of Book 3 as a Villain of the Week and the creator of the bloodbening technique Katara uses twice (once in Hama's episode and a second time in "The Southern Raiders"). Bloodbending would also play a vital role in the first season of the Sequel Series The Legend of Korra, where it was used by the villain Amon to De-power benders.
• Bojack Horseman:
  • Intrepid Reporter Paige Sinclair only appears in five episodes in the final season, but it's her investigation into the circumstances behind Sarah Lynn's death that set the final arc into motion and results in her exposing Bojack's dirty secrets and misdeeds, particularly that his Murder by Inaction was responsible for Sarah Lynn's death by overdose.
  • Likewise, her partner in journalism, Maximilian Banks, appears in one less episode than her, but it's his comment that he's taking calls from Sarah Lynn's mother that piques Paige's interest and causes her to delay her wedding and resignation to investigate.
  • Network executive Angela Diaz appears in one early flashback and then appears properly in one episode in the final season. That flashback had her convince BoJack to abandon his friend Herb Kazzaz after Herb was fired from their show for being gay. Not only did this ruin BoJack and Herb's friendship, it started BoJack down the path of prioritizing his career and his celebrity status over his relationships and the wellbeing of others, leading him to become the jaded, cynical washout he starts the series as.
    • Taking it one step further, Angela's flashback in season six shows that her conversation with BoJack was prompted by an encounter with a group of unnamed male collegues who excluded her from the Boys' Club at the network. Her desperation not to be left behind is what prompted her to play hardball with BoJack in order to save the show in the first place.
  • BoJack's long-deceased uncle, CrackerJack, who only appears in one flashback, ends up indirectly kicking off multiple generations of familial trauma when he's killed in World War II. His mother goes mad with grief, and her husband, rather than deal with it, has her lobotomized, which traumatizes Beatrice and results in her never holding strong emotional attachments later in life, which culminates in her horrible treatment of her son BoJack.
• Castlevania (2017):
  • The Bishop, while the overall Arc Villain of season 1, doesn't actually do much during his time onscreen and is killed off rather easily by one of Dracula's minions at the beginning of the season finale. However, as he is the one who had Lisa executed, which in turn leads Dracula to begin his mission to Kill All Humans, he is ultimately responsible for just about everything that happens in the series.
  • The Captain doesn't appear for long, but his philosophical conversation with Isaac serves as the starting point for Isaac's Character Development and his eventual Heel–Face Turn.
  • The woman Saint Germain loves is barely ever seen and never says a word in her sparse appearances, but she's ultimately the motivation behind everything Saint Germain does and is what leads to him becoming the central antagonist of the final season.
  • The Magician doesn't get any lines during his brief appearance, is pretty much a nonentity both before and after he shows up, and only really exists to serve as an Arc Villain for the end of Isaac's storyline in season 3. However, Isaac being able to fight off his mind control and kill him is what causes him to realize his own agency, and ultimately becomes the tipping point for Isaac's Heel–Face Turn.
• Danny Phantom:
  • Walker only appears as an antagonist three times, but he's responsible for 1) making Danny a Hero with Bad Publicity from "Public Enemies" until the events of "Reign Storm", and 2) for the human public now knowing that ghosts really do exist.
  • Freakshow might have been one, had it not been for Status Quo Is God. In his second (and last) appearance, he's responsible for revealing Danny's secret identity to everyone, including Danny's parents. However, after defeating Freakshow, Danny pushed the Reset Button on everything.
  • Cujo the Ghost Dog only has a major appearance in "Shades Of Gray", but he's virtually responsible for instilling a sheer vendetta against all ghosts in Valerie Gray, kickstarting her entire character arc.
• Ms. Manson in Daria. She only speaks in the first episode and rarely even cameos, but her decision to send Daria to the Self-Esteem Class (possibly more due to personal dislike than actually thinking Daria needed it) was what ultimately caused Daria and Jane's friendship.
• DuckTales (2017)
  • May and June only appear in the Grand Finale, but it's the fact that they even exist that has Webby question her origins, leading to her finding out who she really is: namely, Scrooge's Opposite-Sex Clone-slash-technical biological daughter.
  • Isabella Finch is possibly the biggest example within the series. Not only is she Scrooge's idol and one his main motivations for adventuring, not only is she the founder of the Junior Woodchucks, not only is her journal — the original Junior Woodchuck Guidebook — used a Great Big Book of Everything throughout Season 3... but she also turns out to be Bradford Buzzard's grandmother and an indirect catalyst for Bradford being traumatized by adventure and wanting to wipe it out as he grew up, and ruin Scrooge's life and tear his family apart, and overall morph into the show's Greater-Scope Villain. In other words, pretty much any major event within the series is because of her. Not bad for a character that only appears in the final season, and only on photographs, and in brief flashbacks, and conversations.
• In Elena of Avalor, Elena's cousin Duke Cristobal counts for this. His only major appearance is in "Song Of The Sirenas", where Elena kills Shuriki, the Delgados go on the run where they eventually run into Ash a few episodes later, and Elena's scepter starts malfunctioning (eventually leading her to giving it to the Sunbirds before getting it back in Season 3 and it falling into the crystal well of Takiana and gaining new magic powers). Who knew he would leave an impact?
• The Fairly OddParents episode "The Secret Life of Denzel Crocker" reveals that, as a child, Mr. Crocker had a babysitter named Vic whose abusive behaviour was the primary catalyst for Crocker gaining fairy godparents (the loss of said godparents acting as Crocker's Start of Darkness). Vic is also strongly implied to be Vicky's father, meaning that — by nature or nurture — her own abusive tendencies likely stem from him. In other words, Vic — who appears on-screen for about ten seconds — is indirectly responsible for both of Timmy Turner's main arch-enemies, and by extension, indirectly responsible for Timmy himself gaining fairy godparents and kickstarting the entire series.
• Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Mac's mother only appears for about one to three minutes at the start of the pilot movie, and isn't seen again afterwards aside from mentions - and also some brief appearances in some episodes - but she's the driving force for the plot of the movie and the whole reason the entire series happened, with her forcing Mac to get rid of Bloo.
• Futurama: The Brainspawn only appear in two episodes in the entire series. However, they are indirectly responsible for everything that happens in the series, as the only reason Fry was brought to the future was to one day defeat them.
• Hazbin Hotel: The Cannibal Kid briefly appears in Vaggie's flashback, but them getting spared is what got Lute into ripping off Vaggie's wings and left eye, leading Charlie to find her and eventually leading her to become one of the main characters.
  • Eve is another example. She only appears in a flashback in a story Charlie told, however her eating the forbidden fruit is what caused Lucifer's banishment to Hell along with Lilith.
• Hey Arnold!: In-universe example, as revealed in one of Grandpa Phil's wartime stories, he was basically a delivery boy for the Americans during the Western Front, tasked to supply Cham to the Allies. Unfortunately getting lost allowed the Nazis to capture him, but his own wit knowing how rancid the Cham was allowed him to trick his captors into eating it, causing mass food-poisoning and letting the Allies march into Belgium relatively unopposed and with it, winning The Battle of the Bulge. In other words, a clueless delivery-boy effectively ensured the Allies won World War II in Europe.
• The Jetsons: The cat burglar who appeared in Astro's debut episode. He only appears in that episode but it's because of his attempt to rob the Jetsons that they decided to keep Astro instead of an "apartment approved electronic dog" as their pet.
• The Owl House:
  • First off, there's the unnamed member of the Emperor's Coven who scheduled Lilith and Eda to duel each other in "Young Blood, Old Souls". He only appears for ten seconds in a flashback, yet every single event in the series can be traced back to them since if they hadn't done that one thing Lilith wouldn't have cursed Eda to get an edge in the fight, which means that Eda wouldn't have found the Portal Door while running away from home out of fear of their mother's more extreme measures to cure her and Luz never would have been able to come to the Boiling Isles in the first place.
  • Another example would be Luz's father. He's long dead by the start of the series and only directly mentioned in three episodes, but he had a massive influence over Luz due to giving her a copy of The Good Witch Azura shortly before he died, causing her to develop her love of fantasy and created the initial Commonality Connection that led to Luz and Amity getting together. Not to mention that the only reason the Nocedas live in the house they do (close to the shack the portal to the Boiling Isles was connected to) was because he was seeking treatment from a nearby hospital.
• Rick and Morty: Weird Rick only appears in 2 scenes in 2 different seasons, but him killing Beth and Diane C-137 eventually made Rick go into a Roaring Rampage of Revenge with him murdering hundreds of his versions, causing the formation of the Citadel and the Central Finite Curve by Rick. The Citadel will also manipulate Beth and Jerry across infinite timelines to get together and birth Morty and Summer, causing the existence of the Morty we are familiar with, and the depression of Rick eventually made him crash into the life of a Beth whose Rick actually abandoned him (the same one even)... causing the start of Season 1.
• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated has a few:
  • Harlan Ellison appears in a grand total of two episodes (though he's referenced as being on vacation in a third), and the first doesn't appear to be particularly significant to the show's Myth Arc. However, the second episode is the show's series finale, where he proves to be instrumental to resolving the plot. After the kids rewrite reality by erasing the Evil Entity, Ellison turns out to be the only other person who remembers the old reality, thanks to his experiments in speculative fiction. The show then ends with the kids accepting an invitation to travel to Miskatonic University, where Ellison works as a professor, and planning to solve mysteries under him as the new "Mr. E".
  • Danny Darrow only appears in the flesh in "Escape From Mystery Manor", but he also gives the gang the very first Planespheric Disc piece that they find. And much later, it's revealed that he's the lone surviving member of the Mystery Fellowship — the direct predecessor to the first Mystery Incorporated. Danny's appearance gives us our first real idea of how long the mystery-solving organizations have really been around, and the story of his descent into madness gives us our first real glimpse of the corrupting power of the Evil Entity. Even when Danny's not directly around, Darrow University is a major location in Crystal Cove, and the site of the collapsed Darrow Mansion is considered a major Crystal Cove landmark, reminding us of the Darrow family's enduring legacy. He's important enough that we get to hear about his ultimate fate in the new timeline in the series finale, with the revelation that he grew up to be dean of Darrow College and turned his family's old mansion into a historic site.
  • Abigail Gluck is a Posthumous Character, and only her corpse actually appears in the flesh. But she was also the Evil Mentor to Professor Pericles, and her amoral teachings apparently led directly to his Start of Darkness in his early days, and she was the original inventor of the fearsome Kriegstaffelbots that make up the bulk of Pericles' army after he recovers her old factory. Alongside Danny Darrow, she's one of just two characters from previous mystery-solving organizations (other than the first Mystery Inc.) to play a direct role in the series.
  • Amy Cavanaugh only appears in one episode where she enlists the gang's help to save her husband. However, she reveals crucial information that knowledge of the oil platform the villains of that episode wanted to use was covered up by Destroido and wasn't mentioned in any newspaper article as Angel Dynamite claimed. This is how Velma learns that Angel is one of the members of the original Mystery Inc, which is why she knows so much about the various mysteries of Crystal Cove.
• The Spectacular Spiderman: Adrian Toomes/The Vulture is the first true supervillain Spider-Man fights in this continuity, but he's a pretty minor villain all things considered; he has no solo-villain episodes after his first appearance, only ever serving as The Dragon in the Sinister Six. However, his appearence is what gives Tombstone the idea to start creating all the other villains Spider-Man faces, as well as giving Norman Osborn the motivation to start taking Globulin Green.
• South Park:
  • Butters Stotch role in "Helen Keller! The Musical" is very minor and his screen time is limited, but his recurring reports on the kindergartners' play, which he describes as a Thanksgiving Extravaganza, are what ultimately drive the plot as the fourth graders don't want to be shown up by kids half their age.
  • Jason White was a very minor character, though his death in "Season Finale" kickstarts the rise of Mexican Joker due to how his parents treated their Replacement Goldfish Alejandro.
• Star vs. the Forces of Evil::
  • Ruberiot only appears in a handful of episodes, but in his first one, he inadvertently revealed that a) the Butterfly family was covering up that Star lost the Magic Book of Spells and Glossaryck was missing, causing the Mewnians and the Magic High Commission to distrust them, and b) that Star has a crush on Marco, causing a rift between them.
  • King Shastacan only appeared in one episode and was mentioned in a handful more, but him revealing to Eclipsa that he fell in love with her and wanted to start a family with her is what drove her to run away with Globgor, and he orchestrated the scheme to place a commoner impostor on the Butterfly throne rather than let the half-monster Meteora claim it.
  • Lyric Butterfly doesn't even appear in the series, and is only mentioned in The Magic Book of Spells, but it's because she chose to save a book on fashion rather than the original Book of Spells when a fire broke out that Skywynne had to rewrite the book, and so many records, including who Lyric's predecessors were, were lost.
• Steven Universe:
  • Before being unbubbled permanently and being redeemed late in Season 5, Bismuth only properly appears in one episode in person and another two briefly in a flashback. Despite this, some of her actions have major consequences:
    • She was the one who poofed Lapis Lazuli, leading to her being imprisoned in a mirror for 5,000 years. Lapis' release halfway through Season 1 is the beginning of the Myth Arc.
    • In her self-titled episode, she tells Steven that, on Rose's request, she designed her sword so that it could only poof a Gem, never shatter. This is what makes him suspicious when Blue Diamond yells at his trial that Rose used a sword to shatter Pink Diamond, and more so when the below-mentioned Defence Zircon points out other holes in the story. This ultimately leads to Steven concluding that someone else shattered Pink Diamond, and eventually to The Reveal that Rose was Pink.
  • Blue Zircon only appears in one episode, but she reveals that the circumstances surrounding the death of Pink Diamond don't make sense, and voices that the most likely culprit is not Rose Quartz, but one of the other Diamonds. She is then immediately poofed by Yellow Diamond. Sure enough, it turns out one of the Diamonds did "kill" her — Pink Diamond faked her own death to fully take on her Rose Quartz identity.
  • Greg's former manager Marty only appears in two episodes (with a brief cameo in a third), but if it weren't for him, Greg never would've stayed in Beach City, and thus Steven would've never been born. Later, his brief return to Beach City directly leads to Greg and Pearl ending the tension between them and Pearl finally getting over Rose's death.
• Teen Titans (2003): Trogaar, the Starter Villain timeline-wise, only appears in the Origins Episode but he is responsible for Starfire arriving on Earth and the subsequent formation of the Teen Titans as a whole.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987): Doomquest is an antagonist who only shows up in the season 9 finale, but he marks the start of Dregg's downfall. As the most powerful character in the show up to that point, he managed to curbstomp Dregg so badly that the citizens of New York City actually started to have doubts about Dregg being the savior he claimed to be, and April later presented video evidence of Dregg's true villainous intent, putting an end to his good reputation.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003): The Y'Lyntians only make five appearances (two in person, two in flashbacks, and one in cocooned states), but their influence is felt in some way across all seven seasons. They originally built the heroes' lair as an observation post. Their presence plays a role in the two episodes of the Underground mutants arc where they don't actually appear. And each of their three former Slave Races is the focus of an episode, and Raptarr from the third such race becomes a recurring character for the rest of the show.
• The Venture Brothers: Dr. Henry Killinger has only three major appearances (with bit roles in few others), but in each of those appearances, plays a significant role in shaping the Venture universe:
  • His first appearance in Season 2's I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills has him rebuild the Monarch's organization and reunites him with Dr. Girlfriend. These events lead up to their marriage at the end of Season 2 and their evil-doing abilities have gone up a a few levels ever since.
  • His second major appearance in Season 3's The Doctor is Sin has him attempt to do the same thing for Doctor Venture and Venture Industries, but ultimately serves to give Venture a Heel Realization. Venture's Jerkass tendencies have been slightly lessened ever since, though he still falls into the Jerkass with a Heart of Gold category more often than not.
  • His third appearance in the pre-Season 6 one-hour special All This and Gargantua-2, has him helping to build up and expand the Revenge Society into a legitimate supervillain organization. He also kills the Investors and saves the Guild of Calamitous Intent after the Sovereign tries to kill them all. It's a major shakeup in the Venture universe, to be sure.

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