History Main / IconicSequelCharacter

** "Death P.A.C.T." and its successor group "Death P.A.C.T. Again" are two of the most popular teams in BFDI, but only one of the eleven contestants affiliated with either group debuted in Season 1. That contestant was Pen, who was picked last for Death P.A.C.T. and wasn't in Death P.A.C.T. Again. Of specific note are Pillow for her ComedicSociopathy, Black Hole for being a NiceGuy despite his destructive potential, Tree for being the de-facto leader of the group, and Fanny for being a JerkWithAHeartOfGold whose conflict with Black Hole plays a major role in "TPOT".

** These days it's well known that Green Lanterns are but one of several Corps across the range of the emotional spectrum. However the first of these, the yellow Sinestro Corps, didn't actually debut until 2006. Sinestro himself has been around since 1961 and his yellow ring was introduced later the same year, but it wasn't until the Sinestro Corps the "emotional spectrum" concept was introduced and become so central to the Green Lantern mythos.

** The iconic and most recurring villain of the series and subject of the page quote Jason Voorhees is a unique example in that he is technically introduced in the [[Film/FridayThe13th1980 first movie]], but doesn't become the main antagonist until the [[Film/FridayThe13thPart2 second]] onwards, and even then his defining traits take several movies to firmly establish. In the first film, the killer is Pamela Voorhees. Jason doesn't appear until the next film,[[note]]Unless you count the flashback to his drowning and the scene near the end of the first film where Alice has a nightmare about being pulled into Crystal Lake by child Jason[[/note]] and he doesn't gain his iconic hockey mask until the [[Film/FridayThe13thPartIII film]] after ''that''. To top it all off, he's also famous for being an undead supernatural killer but he doesn't even become ''this'' until ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives Part VI]]''! Furthermore, Jason's best known portrayer (and the only actor to portray him more than once), Creator/KaneHodder, doesn't start portraying him until ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIITheNewBlood Part VII]]''.

* ''Film/FinalDestination'': Wendy Christiansen is almost certainly the most beloved and recognizable protagonist in the series despite not appearing until the third movie. Several of her fellow survivors from that film (Kevin, Ian, Erin, Ashley, and Ashlynn) also manage to reach an iconic level when many previous film characters don't.

** From the Prequel trilogy, Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus, the Clones and Jango Fett debuted in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' and General Grievous debuted in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''.

** ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': Mion's twin sister Shion wasn't introduce until the second arc, ''Watanagashi-Hen''. And Hanyuu aka [[spoiler: the real Oyashiro]] wasn't introduced until ''Minagoroshi-Hen'', the second last of the core arcs.

** The iconic and most recurring villain of the series and subject of the page quote Jason Voorhees is a unique example in that he is technically introduced in the [[Film/FridayThe13th1980 first movie]], but doesn't become the main antagonist until the [[Film/FridayThe13thPart2 second]] onwards, and even then his defining traits take several movies to firmly establish. In the first film, the killer is Pamela Voorhees. Jason doesn't appear until the next film,[[note]]Unless you count the scene near the end of the first film where Alice has a nightmare about being pulled into Crystal Lake by child Jason[[/note]] and he doesn't gain his iconic hockey mask until the [[Film/FridayThe13thPartIII film]] after ''that''. To top it all off, he's also famous for being an undead supernatural killer but he doesn't even become ''this'' until ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives Part VI]]''! Furthermore, Jason's best known portrayer (and the only actor to portray him more than once), Creator/KaneHodder, doesn't start portraying him until ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIITheNewBlood Part VII]]''.

** The first Cheetah doesn't appear until ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|1942}}'' #6, two years after Wonder Woman debuted in ''All Star Comics #8'' and well after Barons Paula Von Gunther had established herself as Wonder Woman's most recurring foe in ''Sensation Comics''. Despite this, The Cheetah has become the most well known of Wonder Woman's enemies outside of those who originated from [[PublicDomainCharacter the public domain]] like [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Ares and Circe.]] Wonder Woman has in fact fought [[LegacyCharacter four Cheetahs]], with the [[SplitPersonality first]] and the [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent third]] being the most used. Cheetah #3 doesn't appear until ''{{Comicbook/Wonder Woman|1987}} Volume 2 #7, forty six years after Wonder Woman's debut!

** While [[Characters/WonderWomanAllies Artemis]] is by far the most iconic Amazon outside of Diana's immediate family she didn't debut until 1994 in ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|1987}}: ComicBook/TheContest'' six decades after Wonder Woman's conception. Temi has the distinction of being inspired by two characters from the [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 original run]] one of whom had her name but was long dead by the time of her introduction and Orana who shares her orange hair and origin, but was promptly KilledOffForReal.

* Niobe first appears in ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'' after being absent from the first film.

** Creator/FrankMiller added Matt's ex-girlfriend-turned-assassin [[Characters/DaredevilSupportingCharacters Elektra]], mentor Stick, and enemy ninja group [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheHand the Hand]] between 1980 and 1981.

* ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' has Ryuunosuke Fujinami. She's introduced in chapter 147 of the manga, and episode 63 of the original 1981 anime, but became practically a fifth main character, alongside Ataru, Lum, Shinobu and Mendo. She has multiple stories revolving around her, several of them multi-chapter arcs, and plays a significant role in many other stories. She is widely accepted as having inspired Creator/RumikoTakahashi to create her next series, ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''. Such is her popularity that the 2022 anime adaptation brings her in as early as episode ''16'', drastically sooner than she appeared in the previous anime!

** Daredevil's other greatest enemy, [[Characters/DaredevilCentralRoguesGallery Bullseye]], plays this far straighter, not appearing at all until the mid-70s in ''Daredevil #131'', well over a decade since Daredevil's debut. Likewise, Matt's ex-girlfriend-turned-assassin [[Characters/DaredevilSupportingCharacters Elektra]] was absent until 1981.

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' waits until the second movie to introduce the Joker (whose actor won an Oscar for the role) and Harvey Dent.

* ''Franchise/BillAndTed'': Death was introduced in the second movie ''Film/BillAndTedsBogusJourney'' and he proved to be so beloved that his return was one of the first things announced when ''Film/BillAndTedFaceTheMusic'' was confirmed.

** Special mention goes to [[Characters/SpiderManLoveInterests Gwen Stacy]]. Due to being referenced often in flashbacks and AdaptationDisplacement, it may come as a shock to some fans to find out that she was Spidey's third love interest (behind Liz Allan and [[DemotedToExtra Betty Brant]]). Likewise, Peter's best friend and eventual enemy Harry Osborn made his debut in the same issue Gwen did, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #31.

** Daredevil's other greatest enemy, [[Characters/DaredevilCentralRoguesGallery Bullseye]], plays this far straighter, not appearing at all until the mid-70s in ''Daredevil #131'', well over a decade since Daredevil's debut. Likewise, Matt's ex-girlfriend-turned-assassin Characters/{{Elektra}} was absent until 1981.

** Though it's certainly justified by the eventual end of the KlingonPromotion present in early books, it wasn't until ''Literature/MovingPictures'' that Unseen University actually had any of its more iconic wizards, including Archchancellor Ridcully, the Dean, the Bursar, Ponder Stibbons...[[labelnote:*]] Indeed, the Senior Wrangler didn't show up until the next book, ''Literature/ReaperMan'', although it was noted in ''Literature/InterestingTimes'' that he had been at the University (in some capacity) since at least the time of ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}''.[[/labelnote]] In short, the only faculty who were present from the beginning were the Librarian and technically Rincewind. And the Librarian, on that note, only became an ourangutang at the start of the second book

* Sgt. Hatred from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' doesn't appear until the end of season 2, and doesn't receive much characterization until season 3. Come seasons 4 and 5, he becomes the new Venture family bodyguard and is a main character present in almost every episode.

** Creator/SimonPegg's character Benji. He doesn't appear until the [[Film/MissionImpossibleIII third film]] and then becomes a central part of the movies that follow, making more appearances in the franchise than any actor aside from Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames.

* ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'': Clara, Doc's love interest, is introduced in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII''.

* Tiffany Valentine in the ''Franchise/ChildsPlay'' series isn't introduced until the fourth movie, but is the third-most important character in the series, after Andy Barclay and Chucky himself.

* Tiffany Valentine in the ''Series/ChildsPlay'' series isn't introduced until the fourth movie, but is the third-most important character in the series, after Andy Barclay and Chucky himself.

* In ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', the iconic and most recurring villain of the series and subject of the page quote Jason Voorhees is a unique example in that he is technically introduced in the [[Film/FridayThe13th1980 first movie]], but doesn't become the main antagonist until the [[Film/FridayThe13thPart2 second]] onwards, and even then his defining traits take several movies to firmly establish. In the first film, the killer is Pamela Voorhees. Jason doesn't appear until the next film,[[note]]Unless you count the scene near the end of the first film where Alice has a nightmare about being pulled into Crystal Lake by child Jason[[/note]] and he doesn't gain his iconic hockey mask until the [[Film/FridayThe13thPartIII film]] after ''that''. To top it all off, he's also famous for being an undead supernatural killer but he doesn't even become ''this'' until ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives Part VI]]''! Furthermore, Jason's best known portrayer (and the only actor to portray him more than once), Creator/KaneHodder, doesn't start portraying him until ''[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIITheNewBlood Part VII]]''.

** Few fans realize that [[Characters/MarvelComicsSteveRogers Captain America]] was not a founding member of ComicBook/TheAvengers. He was found frozen in the Arctic and revived four issues after the comic had started. He's considered an honorary founder because he was found so soon after the team formed, and to fill the void [[Characters/MarvelComicsBruceBanner the Incredible Hulk]] left.
** ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}, another mainstay of the team, didn't join until the first change in the lineup nearly two years after the title started. Prior to that he'd only made a few appearances as a villain in ComicBook/IronMan's stories.
** ComicBook/BlackWidow is one of the most well known Avengers as well, but like Hawkeye, she was originally an Iron Man villain. Unlike Hawkeye, she didn't become an official Avenger until issue #111.

* Ask an ''ComicBook/IronMan'' fan who Tony Stark's best friend is, and chances are they'll say James "Rhodey" Rhodes, aka fellow armored hero [[Characters/IronManHeroes War Machine]]. Ask them when he first showed up, and they may be surprised to learn he wasn't introduced until 1979 - over 15 years after Iron Man's debut. And it still took another ''12 years'' after that before Rhodey officially donned the War Machine armor in 1992! He had previously worn the Iron Man armour in 1983.

* The only members of ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's'' supporting cast to be there from the very beginning were [[Characters/MarvelComicsBuckyBarnes Bucky]] and the [[Characters/MarvelComicsRedSkull Red Skull]]. [[Characters/CaptainAmericaSupportingCharacters Peggy Carter]] is a fixture of Cap's WWII adventures, but didn't appear until 25 years later in 1966 after his debut in 1941 when she was retroactively added into that era; her niece and Cap's present day love interest [[Characters/SHIELDDirectors Sharon Carter]] first appeared the same year. Cap's other field partner, [[Characters/CaptainAmericaHeroes the Falcon]], didn't debut until 1969. [[TheDragon Crossbones]], one of his most common recurring enemies, didn't appear until 1989, nearly 50 years since Cap's first appearance. And in Bucky's case, while he was in the comics from the very beginning, his more familiar identity as the Winter Soldier didn't appear until 2005 - '''64 years''' after the character made his debut!