| 1 | -> ''"(Then you should know) Jason's mother, Mrs. Voorhees, was the original killer! Jason didn't show up until the sequel!"'' |
| 2 | --> -- '''Ghostface''', ''Film/Scream1996'', [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] this trope in regards to the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' films |
| 3 | |
| 4 | A BreakoutCharacter is the most popular or well known part of their franchise. However, what most don't realize is that this character did not appear until an installment or two in, having been completely absent at the franchise's beginning. Yet the character has become so iconic the lack of their presence feels like EarlyInstallmentWeirdness. |
| 5 | |
| 6 | Possible causes of this include adaptations frequently condensing the original story and including characters earlier on than the original (especially when the original undergoes AdaptationDisplacement) or the franchise not GrowingTheBeard and gaining a larger audience until after the Iconic Sequel Character makes their debut, or the first installment [[SequelDisplacement isn't that well known]]. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Compare SecondEpisodeIntroduction, which is this on a much smaller scale, and AscendedExtra, for when the character is there the whole time, just in a greatly reduced role. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Contrast DemotedToExtra for when a character has importance in the beginning of a work, but their role decreases as the work goes on. Subtrope of NewerThanTheyThink. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Related to IconicSequelSong, when a piece of music, rather than a character, rises to become iconic despite originating in a later work. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | '''''Note''':'' ''in order for a character in a serialized series to count, they must have appeared no earlier than the second season. Characters who appeared late in the first season go under BreakoutCharacter.'' |
| 15 | |
| 16 | '''''Also note''':'' ''not every significant character who debuted after a franchise's first installment is this trope. Try to keep the "Iconic" part in mind when considering adding an example.'' |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Also see SequelAdaptationIconicVillain. |
| 19 | ---- |
| 20 | !!Example subpages: |
| 21 | [[index]] |
| 22 | * IconicSequelCharacter/LiveActionTV |
| 23 | * IconicSequelCharacter/VideoGames |
| 24 | [[/index]] |
| 25 | |
| 26 | !!Other examples: |
| 27 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 28 | |
| 29 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 30 | * Satoshi from ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai'' isn't introduced until the second volume. He's one of the most important characters in the manga and [[spoiler:is implied to be Marika's love interest]]. |
| 31 | * Ai Haibara in ''Manga/CaseClosed''. She's one of the most prominent characters in the manga and anime and extremely relevant to the plot, but takes several chapters/episodes to appear. In the manga she's absent until the 18th volume, while in the anime she doesn't appear until the 129th episode, late into the fifth season. |
| 32 | * Renamon is possibly the most well-known Franchise/{{Digimon}} after the Agumon line, but she didn't make her debut until the third anime series, ''Anime/DigimonTamers''. |
| 33 | * ''Manga/DragonBall'': Krillin wasn't introduced until the first TournamentArc (the second story arc), Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu weren't introduced until the second tournament arc (the fifth story arc), and Piccolo wasn't introduced until a story arc later. Gohan and Vegeta weren't introduced until the Saiyan saga (which is where the anime changes its name to ''Anime/DragonBallZ''), and Trunks wasn't brought in until the end of the Freeza saga and beginning of the Android/Cell saga. And obviously, none of the franchise's iconic villains were introduced until their own arcs. |
| 34 | * ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'': While Raoh may have been Kenshiro's most iconic rival, he wasn't introduced in the manga until the end of the Cassandra arc in Chapter 61, although the character's existence was alluded much earlier during the Jagi arc (in which the existence of Kenshiro's brothers-in-training was revealed, with Raoh appearing as a faceless silhouette in a flashback) and the Amiba arc (in which the titular ArcVillain screams his title, Ken-Oh, as he falls to his death). |
| 35 | * ''Manga/HajimeNoIppo'': Ryo Mashiba, his sister Kumi, and Takeshi Sendo are not introduced until the second StoryArc. Alexander Vorg Zangief and Eiji Date are not introduced until the third. |
| 36 | * ''Toys/{{Jewelpet}}'': |
| 37 | ** ''Anime/JewelpetTwinkle'' introduces Jewelina and Angela to the ''Jewelpet'' franchise. |
| 38 | ** Meanwhile, ''Anime/LadyJewelpet'' introduces Luea. |
| 39 | * ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': Thanks to SequelDisplacement and [[NoExportForYou difficulty releasing the series outside of Japan]], prior to 2012, most casual anime fans would point towards Jotaro Kujo as the protagonist of the series. In reality, Jotaro first appears as the main protagonist of [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders the third story arc]], which also serves as the FranchiseCodifier. While the anime adaptation has gone a long way to introducing new fans to past and future [=JoJo=]s, Jotaro still tends to get the lion's share of merchandise based around him. He's also one of only two [=JoJo=]s to return as a supporting character for later [=JoJo=]s[[note]]the first being his grandfather Joseph Joestar, the protagonist of the ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'' and a major supporting character in the third and fourth part[[/note]] (in the [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable fourth]] and [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean sixth]] story arcs, with a minor appearance in the [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind fifth]]). |
| 40 | * In the original ''Manga/KOn'' manga, Azusa Nakano didn't show up until the beginning of the core four's sophomore year. This still happens in the anime as it adapted the first two years, though it still means she's absent in the first half of the story. |
| 41 | * ''Franchise/LittleWitchAcademia'': Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka, considered part of the main cast, were not present in the [[Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017 first film]], nor [[Manga/LittleWitchAcademiaTeriTerio Teri Terio's manga adaptation]]. They wouldn't make their debut til the second film, ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademiaTheEnchantedParade''. |
| 42 | * ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'': |
| 43 | ** Despite their EnsembleDarkhorse status, Hayate and the Wolkenritters don't show up until the [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs series' second season]]. |
| 44 | ** Likewise, Nanoha and Fate's daughter Vivio doesn't show up until the [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS third season]]. |
| 45 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': |
| 46 | ** The remaining members of the Konoha 12 outside of Team 7, including {{Breakout Character}}s Hinata Hyuga,[[note]]WordOfGod is that she was designed ''before'' Sakura Haruno, but she didn't actually appear until much later[[/note]] Shikamaru Nara, and Rock Lee (the latter of whom got [[Manga/RockLeesSpringtimeOfYouth a spin-off]]), didn't join the cast until the second story arc, the Chunin Exam. However, they were given {{Early Bird Cameo}}s (save for Team Guy) in the first and third episodes of the anime. |
| 47 | ** The Legendary Sannin likewise only start to appear after the Land of Waves mission: Orochimaru in the second arc, Jiraiya in the third, and Tsunade in the fourth. |
| 48 | ** The Akatsuki, the main villains of the series, only start to pop up from the fourth arc, and only Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Zetsu appear in Part I. The rest don't get to appear until Part II (AKA the sixth arc onward). |
| 49 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': |
| 50 | ** This applies to all of the Straw Hat crew outside the core five who are introduced one arc after the other. Robin doesn't appear until the Whiskey Peak arc (season two of the anime) and doesn't even join the crew until ''much'' later, Chopper doesn't appear until a few stories later in the Drum Island arc (also season two), Franky doesn't show up until several stories later in the Water 7 arc (season four), Brook doesn't show up until nearly a full decade later in the Thriller Bark arc (season six), and Jimbei isn't introduced until the Impel Down arc (season 13), and doesn't join the crew until the Whole Cake Island arc (season 19). |
| 51 | ** Outside the Straw Hat crew themselves, many iconic allies like Trafalgar Law and [[spoiler:Luffy and Ace's other brother Sabo]] and villains like Big Mom and Kaido don't get introduced until well well into the story, with Law first appearing shortly before the TimeSkip (meant at the time to be the rough halfway point of the story, though it seems to be running even longer than Oda originally planned) and the other three all showing up after the TimeSkip. |
| 52 | * ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': |
| 53 | ** While it's difficult to associate this trope with ''Pokémon'' due to the tendency to switch most of the cast every region aside from Ash, Pikachu, and Team Rocket, this can definitely be said of Team Rocket's Wobbuffet, which has been part of the show for over half of its length and is still present today (and the team's only mainstay 'Mon besides Meowth). It didn't get introduced until the third season. |
| 54 | ** For in-region examples, Barry doesn't appear for the first time until late in Sinnoh's second year. Sawyer's first appearance is halfway through the second year of Kalos, and Professor Burnet debuts at the start of Alola's second year. |
| 55 | ** Within the context of the wider show, many of the most memorable characters only show up in later seasons, several hundreds of episodes into the anime. For instance; Paul is considered by many to be Ash's most well-written rival but doesn't show up until the 486th episode of the anime at large, and Serena is a shoehorn for being Ash's most prominent love interest (in large part because she ''actually has'' a canonical crush on Ash) but doesn't show up until the 800th episode. As mentioned above, neither is an example in the context of their respective era, showing up in the second and first episode respectively, but they both still make returning appearances in ''Journeys'' owing to their popularity. |
| 56 | * In ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', whilst the cast of characters is iconic, their arrival in Nerima is actually staggered out quite a lot. The most relevant examples of this trope are Ranma's would-be love interest Ukyo Kuonji and rival Mousse, who don't appear (or permanently join the crew, in the latter's case) until the ''ninth'' manga volume (which translates as the third anime season). Amongst the antagonists, TricksterMentor Cologne and DirtyOldMan Happosai don't appear until the fifth and seventh volume respectively (season 2 of the anime), but that pales in comparison to the mad Principal Kuno (manga volume 10, anime season 4) and ki-vampire personality-switching homeroom teacher Hinako Ninomiya (manga volume 23, {{O|riginalVideoAnimation}}AV). |
| 57 | * ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'': Despite being one of Kenshin's key rivals and allies, [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Saito Hajime]] does not show up until the second story arc/anime season. |
| 58 | * ''Franchise/SailorMoon'': Sailor Chibi Moon/Chibiusa Tsukino, [[KidFromTheFuture the future daughter]] of the titular protagonist doesn't appear until the fourth volume of the manga and the second season of the anime, but quickly becomes a very prominent character and eventually the deuteragonist in ''Super S'' (though she's DemotedToExtra after that). |
| 59 | * Cinnamoroll is one of the most popular ''Creator/{{Sanrio}}'' characters, topping popularity polls year after year, but he didn't debut until 2001, nearly thirty years after the company first started creating mascot characters. Kuromi is even more recent, having debuted in the 2005 anime ''Anime/OnegaiMyMelody''. |
| 60 | * ''Manga/SlamDunk'': Ryota Miyagi and Hisashi Mitsui, Shohoku basketball team's game-changing guards, are not introduced until the second story arc. |
| 61 | * ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'' has Xellos, who doesn't appear until later on in the series; in the anime not personally showing up until the ''NEXT'' season. |
| 62 | * ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'': |
| 63 | ** Mendou is Ataru's main foil/rival, the second most important male character, and probably the {{Tritagonist}} of the entire series (replacing [[DemotedToExtra Shinobu]] in that role), but he isn't introduced until the third volume. Both anime adaptations [[AdaptationalEarlyAppearance bring him in sooner as a result]]. |
| 64 | ** Ten doesn't appear until the 7th volume, but he becomes such a prominent character in the manga that he gets an AdaptationalEarlyAppearance in the 1981 anime, where he's introduced in the third episode. |
| 65 | ** Ryuunosuke Fujinami is 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! |
| 66 | * ''Anime/{{Yatterman}}'' |
| 67 | ** The Dorombo Gang, the very first {{Expy}} of the Time Skeletons from ''Anime/TimeBokan''. While the heroes Gan and Ai are very well known, the Dorombo are ''the'' TerribleTrio in Japan, having multiple [[{{Expy}} Expies]] across not only the rest of the ''Time Bokan'' franchise, but across most Japanese media as well. It goes so deep that even the milestone celebration of ''Time Bokan'' in 2015 was [[Anime/YattermanNight made about their descendants in the far future]]. |
| 68 | ** Odate Buta, the pig that climbs a palm tree that sometimes pops out from the Dorombo gang's mechas starting from episode 60. In little to no time it became the mascot of the ''Time Bokan'' franchise as a whole. |
| 69 | * ''Franchise/YuGiOh'': |
| 70 | ** The 3 Egyptian God Cards in the original ''Anime/YuGiOh'' don't appear until the second season, but they're still some of the most iconic cards in the entire franchise, on par with the likes of Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Dark Magician. Even people who have never watched or played Yu-Gi-Oh likely know what they are. |
| 71 | ** Unlike most protagonists’ ace monsters, Elemental HERO Neos doesn’t appear until the second season of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX''. |
| 72 | ** The BigBad of ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'', [[spoiler:Zarc]], who didn't appear or even be mentioned by name until [[LastEpisodeNewCharacter the final 30 episodes]]. A somewhat bizarre example as he wasn't a particularly well-written antagonist, [[BaseBreakingCharacter something even fans of the show will happily admit]]. Yet half a decade after the show's conclusion it's still not uncommon to see people with [[spoiler:Zarc]] profile pictures on social media. |
| 73 | [[/folder]] |
| 74 | |
| 75 | [[folder:Asian Animation]] |
| 76 | * ''Animation/BoonieBears'': Tiki and Babu are advertised to be major supporting characters alongside the woodland animals, so it can be weird watching the first season and realizing they're not there. They debuted in the second season, ''Boonie Bears or Bust''. |
| 77 | * ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': Just barely averted. Careful S. is a main character right from his debut and is perhaps even more beloved than Supermen leader Happy S., but he doesn't make his first official appearance in the series until the finale of Season 1, {{Early Bird Cameo}}s in the Season 1 intro and posters aside. |
| 78 | [[/folder]] |
| 79 | |
| 80 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 81 | * ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Many characters iconic to the ''Spider-Man'' franchise don't actually appear until much later in the comic's run than one might think, even if they were mentioned early. |
| 82 | ** [[Characters/MarvelComicsMaryJaneWatson Mary Jane Watson]] didn't have her first full appearance until Issue #42, four years into the book's run, and almost half a year after the departure of Creator/SteveDitko: she was established as TheGhost and TheFaceless as early as Issue #15, appearing with her face obscured in Issue #25, with another appearance in the Annual, and was built up as a character that Aunt May wanted to set Peter up on a date with, which Peter kept trying to dodge (because he's Peter). |
| 83 | ** The [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Green Goblin]], Spider-Man's ArchEnemy appeared in Issue #13 after the likes of Vulture, Mysterio, [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Doctor Octopus]], and the rest. [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheKingpin The Kingpin]] comes more than 50 issues later, Characters/{{Black Cat|MarvelComics}} appears after more than 190 issues in 1979, and [[Characters/MarvelComicsVenom Venom]] didn't make his first real appearance until issue #299 in 1988, '''over 25 years''' of publication later. |
| 84 | ** Special mention goes to [[Characters/MarvelComicsGwenStacy 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. Spider-Gwen, the most famous liviing variant of Stacy , did not appear until ''Edge of Spider-Verse'' #2, which debuted in ''2014''. |
| 85 | ** [[Characters/MarvelComicsMilesMorales Miles Morales]], Peter's successor in many continuities, didn't show up until 2011--a whopping 49 years after the first issue. Even within his original series - ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan - Miles doesn't show up for 11 years, debuting at the beginning of the 3rd series, 160 issues in. |
| 86 | ** Ben Riley, AKA the Scarlet Spider, would first appear as a nameless clone in 1975. He would not be named or given the identity of Scarlet Spider until his return in 1994. |
| 87 | ** Miguel O'Hara, AKA Spider-Man 2099, first appeared in 1992. |
| 88 | * ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'': Victor Mancha became an important part of the team's plot, has significant links to the greater Franchise/MarvelUniverse, and has become just as well-known as the originals. He doesn't make his first appearance until Runaways' second volume. Likewise, Xavin, a character that gained the series some minor attention for being gender fluid, doesn't appear until a few issues after Victor's first appearance, and doesn't join the team or really have much effect on the plot, aside from having a character PutOnABus for an arc, until Volume 3. |
| 89 | * ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': |
| 90 | ** ComicBook/{{Robin}} doesn't make his first appearance until ''Detective Comics'' #38, 11 issues and a year of publication after Batman's first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #27. |
| 91 | ** Of Batman's Rogues Gallery, many of his iconic villains such as [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]], [[Characters/BatmanTwoFace Two-Face]], [[Characters/BatmanTheScarecrow The Scarecrow]], [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin The Penguin]], and Characters/{{Catwoman|SelinaKyle}} appeared only 2-3 years after his first appearance. On the other hand, [[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler The Riddler]] didn't appear until 1948, nearly a decade later, Mr. Freeze didn't appear until two decades later in 1959 (and even then, he went under the name Mr. Zero and didn't adopt his more iconic name until nearly a decade after that!), [[Characters/BatmanPoisonIvy Poison Ivy]] showed up in 1966, [[Characters/BatmanRasAlGhul Ra's Al-Ghul]] in 1971, [[Characters/BatmanBane Bane]] and [[Characters/HarleyQuinnTheCharacter Harley Quinn]] in 1992-93, Hush in 2003, Professor Pyg a full ''70'' years later in 2009, and the Court of Owls in 2011. |
| 92 | ** Alfred wasn't introduced until Batman #16, a full four years after the Dark Knight's debut. |
| 93 | ** Damian Wayne, the fourth Robin and Batman's son, debuted as an infant almost fifty years after the first Batman story, and took nearly twenty years after that to become a regular character. However, he quickly became a BreakoutCharacter and made it into several adaptations. |
| 94 | * ''ComicBook/XMen'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsLogan Wolverine]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsNightcrawler Nightcrawler]], and [[Characters/XMen70sMembers Colossus]] are some of the most famous members of the team, yet they didn't join until the series relaunch 12 years after the first issue. Other iconic X-Men like [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsRogue Rogue]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsPsylocke Psylocke]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsJubilee Jubilee]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsEmmaFrost Emma Frost]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsGambit Gambit]] and ComicBook/{{Bishop}} joined even later. Iconic villains [[Characters/MarvelComicsApocalypse Apocalypse]] and Mister Sinister did not appear until the [[TheEighties mid-1980]]s, over two decades after the X-Men made their debut. Heck, Apocalypse was introduced in the spin-off title ''ComicBook/XFactor'' and didn't appear in the main book until 1992. |
| 95 | * Many fans who read the old Marvel ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel G.I. Joe]]'' comic will be surprised that Duke, usually the team leader or otherwise central character [[AdaptationDisplacement in most other media]], doesn't show up until #23, nearly two years after the comic started. The reason for this is he wasn't introduced into the toyline until a year after its debut, making it fall under same trope. |
| 96 | * ''ComicBook/OneHundredBullets'': Five of the seven [[BadassCrew Atlantic City Minutemen]] (Milo Garrett, Wylie Times, Jack Daw, Victor Ray, and Remi Rome) take over twenty issues to appear. |
| 97 | * ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'': |
| 98 | ** 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 Hulk]] left. |
| 99 | ** [[Characters/MarvelComicsClintBarton 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 [[Characters/MarvelComicsTonyStark Iron Man]]'s stories. |
| 100 | ** Characters/{{Black Widow|TitleCharacter}} 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. |
| 101 | * ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': Of his supporting cast, only [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]] has been around since day one. Perry White and [[Characters/SupermanJimmyOlsen Jimmy Olsen]] were created for the radio series before making the shift to the comic in 1940 and 1941 respectively. Clark Kent's ''other'' iconic love interest, [[Characters/SupermanSupportingCast Lana Lang]], was created in 1950. Characters/{{Supergirl|TheCharacter}} was created in [[ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton1959 1959]]. His iconic Rogues Gallery also developed slowly with only [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]], the Prankster, Toyman and Mr. Mxyzptlk appearing in the early [[TheForties 1940s]] and then a long gap until the arrival of [[Characters/SupermanBizarro Bizarro]] and [[Characters/SupermanBrainiacCharacter Brainiac]] in 1958. Superman ''did'' have recurring supervillain foes in his early days, but they have either had a RoguesGalleryTransplant like the Ultra-Humanite (who became a [[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA]] foe), or have fallen into complete obscurity like J. Wilbur Wolfingham (who was a big deal in the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] but whose appearances since can be counted on one hand.) Superman has had plenty of other examples of side characters and rogues that didn't appear until decades after the start of the comic and yet are now iconic and show up in most adaptations that come along. Some of the most notable include: Keypto the Superdog (1955), Metallo (1959), General Zod (1961), Cyborg Superman (1990 as Hank Henshaw, 1993 as the cyborg), Doomsday (1992), Connor Kent and Steel (1993), Livewire (1997; 2006 in the comics), and Jon Kent (2015; nearly 80 years after the first Superman comic!). Considering Superman was one of the first comic book superheroes of all and has been in constant publication since then, this was probably inevitable. |
| 102 | * Captain Haddock is one of the most iconic characters in ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' but he doesn't appear until the ninth book. Professor Calculus doesn't appear until three books after that. Thomson and Thompson are introduced in the fourth book barring a retroactive cameo in the colour version of ''Tintin in the Congo''. |
| 103 | * Michonne is one of the longest lasting survivors in ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'', but is absent for the first few arcs, not appearing until #19 (Book 4 in the trades). |
| 104 | * ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'': |
| 105 | ** Reggie Mantle is usually considered the fifth major character; however, he didn't formally appear until one year after the series began. |
| 106 | ** Kevin Keller wasn't introduced until 2010 but has since become a major part of the franchise. He gets more screentime than even Reggie. |
| 107 | ** Archie's ThirdOptionLoveInterest Cheryl Blossom debuted in 1982, 40 years after the franchise launched. |
| 108 | ** Veronica didn't appear until a few issues into the comic. |
| 109 | * ''ComicBook/IronMan'': Ask an fan who [[Characters/MarvelComicsTonyStark 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. |
| 110 | * [[Characters/TeenTitansNewTeenTitans Cyborg, Raven]], [[Characters/TeenTitansStarfire Starfire]], and [[Characters/TeenTitansBeastBoy Beast Boy]] are some of the most iconic members of the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'', but didn't join until its third incarnation in 1980, nor were they, with the sole exception of Beast Boy, even introduced until the 80s series began. |
| 111 | * Cyborg has this happen to him again regarding his role on the ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica''. Despite being one of its most prominent members, he didn't join until the late 2000s, becoming a founding member a few years later during the company's ComicBook/New52 reboot. |
| 112 | * ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'': The only members of [[Characters/MarvelComicsSteveRogers Captain America]]'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! |
| 113 | * ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'': |
| 114 | ** [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheKingpin The Kingpin]] zigzags this: while he had been appearing in ComicBook/SpiderMan's title since the mid-60s, he didn't appear as Daredevil's arch-enemy until 1981, well over 15 years since the comic had been in publication. |
| 115 | ** 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. |
| 116 | ** Creator/FrankMiller added Matt's ex-girlfriend-turned-assassin Characters/{{Elektra}}, mentor Stick, and enemy ninja group [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheHand the Hand]] between 1980 and 1981. |
| 117 | ** Even though Foggy Nelson was there from Day One, the modern take on his and Matt's relationship didn't develop until volume 2, which began running in 1998. Foggy didn't even learn that Matt was Daredevil until 1995 — and even then, it was still almost another year before the two discussed it and Foggy learned anything about Matt's history or powers. (Yes, that's right, he spent almost a year publication time thinking that Matt had just been lying about being blind this whole time.) |
| 118 | * ''ComicBook/JohanAndPeewit'': the second character is introduced in the third book. Of course, for the first two books, the series was initially titled simply ''Johan''. |
| 119 | * Almost every major character from the third incarnation of ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'', such as [[Characters/SuicideSquadOperatives Deadshot]], Captain Boomerang, and the Bronze Tiger, as well as the team's boss [[Characters/SuicideSquadSupportStaff Amanda Waller]], did not appear in the lineup until its ReTool in 1987, over two and half decades since the team first appeared in 1959. Harley Quinn didn't join until the 2011 ComicBook/New52 series (and thanks to the film is now the group's best-known character). Colonel Rick Flag, Jr. was the only major character involved from the very beginning. |
| 120 | * Originally, ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' was only a BrainsAndBrawn duo of [[Characters/{{Batgirl}} Oracle]] and Characters/BlackCanary. It wasn't until Creator/GailSimone took over as the series writer that the [[Characters/BatmanHuntress Huntress]] was added to make it into the PowerTrio it is known as to this day. |
| 121 | * The ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse had been running for at least 10 years since 1937 before Uncle Scrooge [=McDuck=] made his first appearance. |
| 122 | * ''Franchise/GreenLantern'': |
| 123 | ** Several major lanterns to work with Hal didn't appear until far later in the book's run. Guy Gardner first premiered in 1968, John Stewart in 1971, Kilowog in 1986, Kyle Rayner in 1994, and Jessica Cruz in ''2014''. Ganthet, often the OnlySaneMan of the Guardians of the Universe and the series' BigGood, didn't show up until 1992. |
| 124 | ** 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 (originally, the Yellow Ring was created in the mirror universe as an EvilCounterpart to the Green Ring and was a one-off), but it wasn't until the Sinestro Corps the "emotional spectrum" concept was introduced and become so central to the Green Lantern mythos. |
| 125 | ** The multiple Corps. There's the Red Lanterns and their leater, Atrocitus. Despite being the most iconic villain after Sinestro, Atrocitus wasn't introduced until 2007. |
| 126 | * Several iconic characters from ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' don't appear until the second "season", such as Nautica, Velocity, and [[spoiler:post-HeelFaceTurn Megatron]]. Getaway ''does'' appear in season 1, but only briefly. |
| 127 | * ''Franchise/WonderWoman'': |
| 128 | ** 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! |
| 129 | ** [[Characters/WonderWomanVillains Circe]] is the most notable and frequently used enemy of Diana who didn't appear in the original [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Wonder Woman comics]] by Creator/WilliamMoultonMarston. She debuted in 1949 under Creator/RobertKanigher but wouldn't get elevated as a big time Wondy villain until Creator/GeorgePerez's [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 reboot in the 1980s]]. |
| 130 | ** While [[Characters/WonderWomanAmazons 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. |
| 131 | * ''ComicBook/{{PS238}}:'' [[MuggleBornOfMages Tyler]] is only introduced in issue #3, but has since become the de facto protagonist. [[FlyingBrick Julie]] appears even later, in issue #19, but quickly became the next most likely character to get her own arcs. |
| 132 | [[/folder]] |
| 133 | |
| 134 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 135 | * ComicStrip/{{Dennis The Menace| UK}} did not appear until almost 13 years into the run of ''ComicBook/TheBeano'', and Gnasher didn't appear until 17 years after that. Other mainstream strips such as Minnie The Minx and The Bash Street Kids appeared even later. |
| 136 | * ''Thimble Theater'' ran for ten years before ComicStrip/{{Popeye}} made his debut, but he was so popular he eventually completely eclipsed the rest of the cast (the only major Popeye character who appeared in Thimble Theater before he did is Olive Oyl, and even most of the ''minor'' characters came afterward; Olive's brother Castor was the early breakout character for the strip, but he, her parents Cole and Nana, and her original boyfriend Ham Gravy are now all but forgotten). |
| 137 | * In ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' (which began in 1950), Charlie Brown is the only mainstay to have appeared in the very first strip: |
| 138 | ** His dog Snoopy would debut merely two days after the start of the strip. |
| 139 | ** Shroeder first appeared in 1951. Additionally, he would not become the Beethoven fanboy we know him as until a little later. |
| 140 | ** Charlie Brown's best friend Linus van Pelt would not be seen until 1952. Meanwhile, Linus' sister, Lucy debuted earlier in the same year. |
| 141 | ** Peppermint Patty and her friend Marcie weren't introduced until 1966 and 1971 respectively, but soon became part of the main cast. |
| 142 | * ComicStrip/DickTracy debuted in 1931, but many of his most popular characters didn't debut until TheForties, an entire decade's worth of Iconic Sequel Characters. Nearly all of Tracy's most famous villains debuted then, including the three most publicized and frequently seen and referred to throughout the decades: Pruneface (1942), Flattop (1943), and Mumbles (1947). The Forties also marked the debut of some of the strip's best known supporting characters: [[LargeHam Vitamin Flintheart]] (1944), [[Fiction500 Diet]] [[GadgeteerGenius Smith]] (1945), and the Plenty family of hillbillies, B. O. Plenty (1945), his wife Gravel Gertie (1944) and their daughter Sparkle (born 1947). In terms of the regular cast of characters, Sam Catchem (1948) and Lizz (1955) have become so ubiquitous that anyone who began reading the strip from the late [[TheFifties Fifties]] to the present might not even realize that they're later additions. |
| 143 | ** For characters that have become prominent under the current creative team of Mike Curtis and Joe Staton, there's the now reformed villain the Mole (1941) and frequent enemy B-B Eyes (1942), as well as Moon Maid (1963) and Honeymoon (born 1965). |
| 144 | * Uncle Ruckus is one of the most well-known and memorable characters from ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'', so it can be quite surprising to realise that he didn't show up in [[ComicStrip/TheBoondocks the original comic the show was based on]] until it had been running for over 5 years (only a year or two before its original run ended). |
| 145 | * ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'': General Zakharov and Barracuda, two of the most infamous Punisher foes in recent memory, debut in the third and fifth arcs. |
| 146 | [[/folder]] |
| 147 | |
| 148 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 149 | * ''Fanfic/TheVictorsProject'' is technically both a prequel and sequel to the earlier written ''The Lumberjack and the Tree-Elf'', and several particularly notable [=OC=] Victors from ''TVP'' (such as Abram, Orchus, Granyte, Cotton, Gates, Luxe, Luster, Honorious, Justus, Bovina, and Boudicca) are never even mentioned in ''The Lumberjack and the Tree-Elf''. |
| 150 | [[/folder]] |
| 151 | |
| 152 | [[folder:Films — Animated]] |
| 153 | * Puss in Boots was introduced in ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'', served as the third member of a PowerTrio with Shrek and Donkey for the rest of the franchise, and became popular enough to get [[WesternAnimation/PussInBoots two]] [[WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish spin-off films]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfPussInBoots a TV series]]. |
| 154 | * Ellie, Crash, and Eddie were all introduced in ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeTheMeltdown'', and have been part of the herd ever since. |
| 155 | * [[EarlyBirdCameo Outside a mention in the theme song]], Piglet didn't appear in the Disney adaptation until the second film ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh and the Blustery Day''. Allegedly, the reason for this was that he was not intended to be adapted at all, though fan requests eventually convinced Disney to think otherwise. Much like in the books (see below), Tigger makes his delayed debut in the same film. |
| 156 | * Jessie, Bullseye, Mrs. Potato Head and Barbie first show up in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'', and are remembered as well as the original ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'' characters, with Jessie basically being the series' most famous and popular character other than Woody and Buzz themselves. |
| 157 | * Kovu, Kiara, Nuka, and Zira pop up in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride'' but are pretty much as popular as some of the other characters (and are more popular than characters from the [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 first movie]] such as Sarabi). Kiara, Kovu, Vitani, Nuka, and Zira even appear in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard''. |
| 158 | * Sa'luk debuts in ''WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves'', the ''third'' Aladdin movie, but is a particularly notable Disney sequel BigBad. |
| 159 | * Lucy Wilde, Gru's love interest, doesn't show up until the [[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2 second film]] in the ''Franchise/DespicableMe'' series. |
| 160 | * Sasha did not appear in the original ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'', though after debuting in [[WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven2 the sequel]], she became a mainstay in the TV series. |
| 161 | * The same thing occurred for Cat R. Waul, T. R. Chula and some other ancillary characters in ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTailFievelGoesWest'', who became the supporting cast for ''WesternAnimation/FievelsAmericanTails''. |
| 162 | * For a certain generation of ''Franchise/HotWheels'' fans, the ten Teku and Metal Maniacs drivers from ''WesternAnimation/HotWheelsAcceleRacers'' are the face of the whole franchise, even though only four of those ten drivers were present in ''WesternAnimation/HotWheelsWorldRace'', which ''[=AcceleRacers=]'' acts as a sequel to. |
| 163 | * ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'': |
| 164 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheGhoulSchool'' may be the second Scooby-Doo movie in the ''WesternAnimation/HannaBarberaSuperstars10'' lineup, but the CuteMonsterGirl quintet (especially Sibella and Tanis) are far better known than the guest characters from the previous movie. |
| 165 | ** The Hex Girls and the Phantom Virus debut in the second and fourth of the ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooDirectToVideoFilmSeries'' but enjoy quite a bit of fan recognition, with the Hex Girls becoming seemingly recurring guest stars on a semi-regular basis. |
| 166 | * While the Pop Trolls have always been present since the ''Franchise/{{Trolls}}'' franchise's beginning, every other Troll Tribe has only been around since ''WesternAnimation/TrollsWorldTour'', yet they're treated as fundamental to the franchise. The Techno Trolls are the most "iconic" in particular due to their EnsembleDarkHorse status. |
| 167 | * [[TokenHeroicOrc Chomper]] the baby t-rex is one of the most beloved ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime Land Before Time]]'' characters, but he doesn't show up until the first sequel, ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTimeIITheGreatValleyAdventure The Great Valley Adventure]].'' |
| 168 | [[/folder]] |
| 169 | |
| 170 | [[folder:Films — Live-Action]] |
| 171 | * Dr. Gangreen, the main villain of the ''Film/AttackOfTheKillerTomatoes'' series, is introduced in the second film, ''Return of the Killer Tomatoes''. |
| 172 | * ''Film/AustinPowers'': |
| 173 | ** Even if it's impossible to imagine Dr. Evil without Mini-me nowadays, he wasn't introduced until ''The Spy Who Shagged Me'', the second movie. |
| 174 | ** Fat Bastard wasn't introduced until that movie either. |
| 175 | * ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'': Clara Clayton, Doc's love interest who appears in a lot of the spin-off material, is introduced in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII''. |
| 176 | * ''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 confirmed when ''Film/BillAndTedFaceTheMusic'' was announced. |
| 177 | * The Monster's Bride only appears for a few minutes at the end of ''Film/BrideOfFrankenstein'', the second ''Frankenstein'' film by Universal, and she was a one-off character without more appearances, but she became one of the most recognizable characters from horror cinema of the era and one of the official mascot characters under the [[Franchise/UniversalHorror "Universal Monsters" label]], becoming about as famous and visually iconic as her mate. [[note]] The "Bride" of the title is the bride of Dr. Frankenstein, just as ''Film/{{Frankenstein|1931}}'' was named for the doctor, not the monster.[[/note]] |
| 178 | * Tiffany Valentine in the ''Franchise/ChildsPlay'' series isn't introduced until the [[Film/BrideOfChucky fourth movie,]] but is the third-most important character in the series, after Andy Barclay and Chucky himself. |
| 179 | * ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' waits until the [[Film/TheDarkKnight second movie]] to introduce the Joker (whose [[Creator/HeathLedger actor]] won an Oscar for the role) and Harvey Dent, while Selina Kyle and Bane don't appear until the [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises third movie]]. |
| 180 | * The ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'' has quite a few examples, but the most prominent examples would have to be Justice League mainstays Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg, who weren't properly introduced until [[Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice the second film]] in the [=DCEU=]. Harley Quinn made her debut [[Film/SuicideSquad2016 shortly afterwards]]. Shazam didn't show up until [[Film/Shazam2019 the seventh film]], while Peacemaker was introduced in [[Film/TheSuicideSquad the tenth film]]. |
| 181 | * Many regular characters in ''Franchise/TheFastAndTheFurious'' films aren't introduced until after the [[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious2001 original installment]]. Roman Pierce and Tej Parker are introduced in ''Film/TwoFastTwoFurious'' and don't reappear until ''Film/FastFive''. Han Lue doesn't show up until ''Film/TheFastAndTheFuriousTokyoDrift''. Gisele Yashar makes her debut in ''Film/FastAndFurious'', Luke Hobbs is absent until ''Film/FastFive'', and Ramsey first shows up in ''Film/Furious7''. |
| 182 | * ''Film/FinalDestination'': Wendy Christiansen is almost certainly the most beloved and recognizable protagonist in the series despite not appearing until the [[Film/FinalDestination3 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. |
| 183 | * ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'': |
| 184 | ** 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]] (he's said to have drowned years ago as a child due to camp counselors' neglect), 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 Jason's mom Pamela, and Jason simply serves as her motive; Jason died because two camp counselors were too busy banging to watch him, so she kills ''all'' Camp Crystal Lake staff who have sex in a warped sort of revenge for her son. Jason himself 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]]''. |
| 185 | ** Tommy Jarvis, the most recurring character after Jason himself, first appears in the [[Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter fourth film]], ''[[SeriesFauxnale The Final Chapter]]''. Tommy was not only responsible for Jason's first death, but he was also [[NiceJobBreakingItHero inadvertently]] responsible for bringing him back and turning him into a revenant, making him [[YouCantKillWhatsAlreadyDead even harder]] to kill than he [[MadeOfIron already was]]. |
| 186 | * ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'': Jamie Lloyd, Rachel Carruthers, and Sheriff Meeker, three of the most frequently lauded characters from the series, don't appear until ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers''. |
| 187 | * Henry Jones Sr., the father of Franchise/IndianaJones, didn't appear until ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', but is one of the most popular characters in the franchise. |
| 188 | * The ''Film/JamesBond'' film series character "Q" was referred to as "Major Boothroyd" in the [[Film/DrNo first film]], and was not played by the instantly recognizable Desmond Llewellyn until the second film, ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove''. Definitely in the books, where this character does not come up until the [[Literature/DrNo sixth book]]. This also applies to Ben Wishaw's Q from the ContinuityReboot, who doesn't appear until ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' (the third film), as well as Dr. Madeleine Swann, who doesn't appear until ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' (the fourth and second to last) but becomes Bond's SecondLove [[spoiler: and the mother of his child.]] |
| 189 | * In ''Film/JeepersCreepers2'', Jack Taggart Sr. is the most impressive foe the Creeper has faced across the series to date. |
| 190 | * ''Film/JohnWick'': The Bowery King and Cassian don't appear until the [[Film/JohnWickChapter2 first sequel]], while Sofia shows up in the [[Film/JohnWickChapter3Parabellum third film]], and Caine and Mr. Nobody debut in the [[Film/JohnWickChapter4 fourth movie]]. |
| 191 | * ''Film/TheKarateKid'': |
| 192 | ** ''Film/TheKarateKidPartII'' introduces Kumiko and Chozen Toguchi. Kumiko served as TheHero's LoveInterest for the film, but proves to be a hit with fans that her popularity is enough to rival original female lead [[Film/TheKarateKid1984 Ali Mills]] and even Daniel's eventual wife [[Series/CobraKai Amanda LaRusso]]. Chozen is likewise fondly remembered and is next only to the iconic Johnny Lawrence as Daniel's most remembered rivals. |
| 193 | ** ''Film/TheKarateKidPartIII'' introduces its BigBad Terry Silver, whose crazy and manipulative antics became so enamoured with the fans that he was constantly cited as the bright spot of the otherwise divisive film. [[spoiler:He's so popular that he's brought back in the SequelSeries ''Series/CobraKai'' in which he continues his crazy and manipulative ways.]] |
| 194 | * ''Film/LakePlacid'': ReformedCriminal Reba first appears in the third film, but is one of the most recognizable human characters in the franchise. |
| 195 | * In the ''Film/LethalWeapon'' series, Creator/JoePesci's Leo Getz character first appears as a federal witness in the [[Film/LethalWeapon2 second film]], and manages to show up in the rest of the series' films. |
| 196 | * ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'': Gollum is only briefly and partially visible in the [[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing first film]]. (''Film/TheHobbit'' inverts this instead, with Gollum only appearing in the [[Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney first movie]] of the trilogy). |
| 197 | * ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': |
| 198 | ** The franchise is eventually loaded with popular characters, but the prominent characters introduced in the very first film are Tony Stark ([[Film/IronMan1 naturally]]), Nick Fury, Pepper Potts, Phil Coulson, and James Rhodes (who was played by [[TheOtherDarrin a different actor]] originally). |
| 199 | ** If one considers the entire Phase 1 as a single "season" in television terms, then [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008 Hulk]], [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter, Bucky Barnes]], [[Film/{{Thor}} Thor, Loki]], Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and Thanos were the only recurring characters introduced from the "starting arc", with Thanos only appearing in a PostCreditsScene cameo. |
| 200 | ** Later ''Captain America'' movies introduced Sam Wilson, Helmut Zemo, Peter Parker, and T'Challa. The latter two got their own sub-series. Sam Wilson became one of Steve's biggest allies and eventually took up the shield, even receiving ADayInTheLimelight with ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' and will reprise his role in ''Captain America 4''. Helmut Zemo also returned in that series and is due to appear in ''Thunderbolts''. |
| 201 | ** ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', the third ''Thor'' film, introduced Korg and Valkryie, both of whom received larger roles in ''Love and Thunder''. |
| 202 | ** Many iconic sub-franchises came about in later phases, including ''Guardians of the Galaxy'', ''Ant Man'', ''Doctor Strange'', ''Spider-Man'', and ''Black Panther''. Each of them have their own ensemble including characters who appeared in later installments |
| 203 | ** Wanda Maximoff, Scott Lang, Hank Pym, Hope van Dyne, Vision, Nebula, and the entire original Guardians of the Galaxy were introduced in Phase 2. |
| 204 | ** Stephen Strange, Mantis, Wong, Shuri, and Janet van Dyne were introduced in Phase 3, with Mantis only debuting in the second ''Guardians'' movie and Janet appearing in the ''Ant Man'' sequel (and treated as a PosthumousCharacter in the first). |
| 205 | ** Yelena Belova, Kamala Khan, and Cosmo were introduced in Phase 4. Yelena returned in ''Series/{{Hawkeye|2021}}'' and will re-appear in ''Thunderbolts''. Kamala Khan will be the Deuteragonist in ''Film/{{The Marvels|2023}}'', sequel to ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}''. Cosmo debuted in ''Film/TheGuardiansOfTheGalaxyHolidaySpecial'' - where she was already a member of the Guardians - and ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3'' showed that she was there to stay. |
| 206 | * ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'' marks the debut of Ghost and Niobe, two of the most important characters in ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' franchise, with the former being the guns specialist of the ''Logos'' ship and the latter being the ship's captain. They're also the co-protagonists of the video game ''VideoGame/EnterTheMatrix'', which is canonical for the films. |
| 207 | * ''Film/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries'': |
| 208 | ** 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 Creator/TomCruise and Creator/VingRhames. |
| 209 | ** Ilsa Faust isn't introduced until the [[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation fifth film]], but has since gone on to be one of the mainstays of the films. |
| 210 | * If you only watched ''Film/TheNakedGun'' movies, it is jarring to watch the original television series ''Series/PoliceSquad'' and not see Drebin's partner Ed or his love interest Jane. Oh, and Norberg is white. |
| 211 | * Sister Gloria from ''Film/NightOfTheDemons2'' is probably more recognizable to fans than the protagonists from the first movie. |
| 212 | * ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'': Kristen and Alice debut in the [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet3DreamWarriors third]] and [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet4TheDreamMaster fourth]] films but are nearly as well known as the original FinalGirl, Nancy. Taryn and Kincaid (two of Kristen's RagtagBunchOfMisfits allies in the third movie) and TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Debbie from the fourth film aren't far behind Alice and Kristen in renown with the fanbase. |
| 213 | * ''Film/OlsenBanden'' has a bit of a tricky one with the character of Dynamite-Harry, introduced in the second movie. In the original Danish series, he ''isn't'' really this (he only re-appears in one of the other films). However, in the Norwegian Olsenbanden version (which otherwise tended to fairly closely stick to the Danish original) he became a considerably more prominent figure, re-appearing in several movies and taking over roles filled by other characters in the Danish series, and he most definitely was this in the Swedish Jönssonligan version (which was more divergent, though it still remade the first three movies closely enough that Dynamite-Harry was introduced in the second movie), where he even took over as the third member of the eponymous trio from the third film on. |
| 214 | * Cato and Dreyfus from ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' movies didn't appear until the [[Film/AShotInTheDark second film]]. |
| 215 | * Davy Jones is an iconic villain of the ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' series and basically serves as the BigBad for [[TwoPartTrilogy the first three movies]]. However, he is completly absent from ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'' and only introduced in the sequel, ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest''. |
| 216 | * In the ''Film/PoliceAcademy'' films, Creator/BobcatGoldthwait's "Zed" character shows up in the second film as the main villain (sort of), ends up joining the Academy in the next one, and making his final appearance in the fourth. |
| 217 | * Despite being seen as TheHero and face of ''Film/ThePurge'' film franchise, Leo Barnes only debuted in the [[Film/ThePurgeAnarchy second film installment]]. |
| 218 | * ''Film/{{Scream}}'': |
| 219 | ** Jennifer Jolie only appears in ''Film/Scream3'' but is frequently rated almost as highly as the main PowerTrio by people discussing great characters in the series. |
| 220 | ** The killer from ''Film/Scream4'' made enough of an impact to eventually get a character page all to [[spoiler:her]]self on this website. |
| 221 | ** The Carpenter and Meeks siblings don't appear until ''Film/Scream2022'', but quickly became some of the most praised slasher SpinOffspring characters in a long time. |
| 222 | * ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'': |
| 223 | ** Dr. Curt Connors, Mr. Ditkovich and the latter's daughter Ursula are all notable supporting cast members of the trilogy, but all three only showed up [[Film/SpiderMan2 in the second film]]. |
| 224 | ** Doc Ock and Sandman are iconic villains of the film series, but respectively debuted in the second and [[Film/SpiderMan3 third]] films. |
| 225 | * Several ''Franchise/StarWars'' characters, though a few were ret-conned into earlier movies when rereleased as [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion special editions]]: |
| 226 | ** Yoda first appears in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''. For those who watch the series in order of events (i.e., prequels first), Yoda would seem to mysteriously drop out for the fourth installment! |
| 227 | ** BigBad Palpatine also doesn't appear in the first movie (although he is mentioned) and only briefly appears in ''Empire''; his first full appearance (and Creator/IanMcDiarmid's first appearance) is in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', and his name isn't mentioned until the prequel trilogy. |
| 228 | ** In the original cuts of the movies, Jabba the Hutt was never seen until ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', though he was mentioned in the original. A scene with him was filmed for ''Film/ANewHope'', but never made it to the post-production phase until the Special Edition in 1997, which included a finished version of the scene with a CGI Jabba[[note]]the original plan, for those curious, was to depict Jabba with StopMotion[[/note]]. |
| 229 | ** Boba Fett first shows up in ''Empire''[[note]]Technically speaking, he first shows up in ''Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial'', although [[CanonDiscontinuity many fans and even the normally-shameless George Lucas discount it]] [[OldShame for obvious reasons]][[/note]], though some fans consider him an AdvertisedExtra anyway. He was edited into the aforementioned Jabba scene, even giving the audience a direct AsideGlance. |
| 230 | ** Admiral Piett was introduced in ''Empire'' and proved to be quite popular with fans, leading to Lucas including him in ''Return of the Jedi''. |
| 231 | ** Lando Calrissian didn't appear until ''The Empire Strikes Back''. |
| 232 | ** From the Prequel trilogy, Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus, the Clones and Jango Fett debuted in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' and General Grievous debuted (canonically, due to his earlier appearance in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars'') in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''. |
| 233 | * ''Film/StepUp'': Andie and Moose, who are often described as the two best-known and best-liked characters in the franchise, both debut in the second movie. |
| 234 | * John Connor, the closest thing that the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' series has to a protagonist and its most important and popular human character, is only mentioned in the [[Film/TheTerminator first film]], and does not appear until the [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay sequel]]. |
| 235 | * ''Film/ZombielandDoubleTap'', which is set and made ten years after the first film, introduces the hilarious Madison. |
| 236 | [[/folder]] |
| 237 | |
| 238 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 239 | * ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'': Several of the more popular and recognizable recurring characters only show up after the first book. |
| 240 | ** Tom Stone and his sons appear in the first ''Ring of Fire'' anthology collection. |
| 241 | ** Fighter ace Jesse Wood and Princess Kristina debut in ''1633'', the first feature-length sequel. |
| 242 | ** DashingHispanic MasterSwordsman Ruy takes until the seventh main novel to show up. |
| 243 | ** Up-timer singing sensation Marla Linder debuts in the ''Grantville Gazette'' spinoff short stories before making her way into some novels. |
| 244 | ** Bernie Zeppi and his Russian adventures are a big hit with fans, but he only debuts in ''The Kremlin Games'', 12 years after the first book. |
| 245 | * ''Literature/ArtemisFowl:'' Opal Koboi premieres in the second book, and even there she's somewhere between a [[BigBadDuumvirate co-villain]] and a DoctorGirlfriend for [[CorruptCop Briar Cudgeon]]. She would go on to be the antagonist of half of the books, while other bad guys were all one-shots. It's notable that [[Film/ArtemisFowl the movie]], while mostly a (bad) adaptation of the first book, opted to give her an AdaptationalEarlyAppearance while also downgrading Cudgeon to her platonic lackey. |
| 246 | * ''Literature/AscendanceOfABookworm'': High Priest Ferdinand, Myne's mentor from her time in the temple onwards, doesn't appear until late in first major arc, which concludes with Myne being formally accepted as a temple apprentice. Ferdinand is such an important character that the anime adaptation added a FramingDevice that gave him an AdaptationalEarlyAppearance, while his proper debut was twelve episodes into a fourteen-episode Season. |
| 247 | * In ''Literature/TheBorrowers'', Spiller doesn't appear until the second book. He's one of the most popular and beloved characters of the series, and the adaptations of the series always seem to fit him in -- even the [[Anime/{{Arrietty}} Studio Ghibli movie]], which was based exclusively on the first book, still featured Spiller in a fairly major role. |
| 248 | * ''Literature/TheCampHalfBloodSeries'': |
| 249 | ** Thalia Grace does not appear until the very end of ''The Sea of Monsters'' and doesn't do anything until ''The Titan's Curse'', but became extremely popular with the fanbase. The first book does give her an EarlyBirdCameo in a [[PsychicDreamsForEveryone dream]], though, aside from her role in other characters' backstory. |
| 250 | ** Similarly, Nico di Angelo wasn't introduced until ''The Titan's Curse'', where from then on he became a prominent supporting character and popular with the fans. He serves as a narrator in ''The Blood of Olympus'' purely due to fan demand. |
| 251 | ** Most of the Seven, the main protagonists of ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', are introduced in that series. While some are hit-and-miss (Jason Grace), others (Hazel Levesque) are very popular with fans for their engaging backstory. |
| 252 | ** The entire Roman side of the demigods, including the above mentioned Hazel. Except for Jason, they only began to appear in ''The Son of Neptune''. Reyna RamÃrez-Arellano, in particular, goes from being a minor supporting character to a narrator with her own story arc within the span of three books. |
| 253 | * Philosophical and hilariously quirky exo-warrior Skink doesn't appear until ''Double Whammy'', the second book of the Creator/CarlHiaasen SharedUniverse, but appears in almost every following book, has his own Wikipedia page, and even gets a passing mention in a Music/JimmyBuffett song. Surprisingly nuanced GiantMook Chemo (who debuts a book after Skink in ''Skin Tight'' and returns in ''Star Island'', the twelfth book) and LovableRogue hired mob kidnapper Merry Mansfield (the eponymous character in ''Razor Girl'', the fifteenth book), also enjoy impressive amounts of popularity. |
| 254 | * ''Literature/TheCasterChronicles'': [[DarkIsNotEvil John Breed]] debuts in book 2 and is just as recognizable as the main characters from the first book. |
| 255 | * ''Literature/ChildrenOfTheRedKing'': Dagbert Endless, the most dangerous and complex of the younger antagonists in the series, takes six books to debut. |
| 256 | * [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia:'' the Pevensie siblings are the most famous protagonists in the series, and five of the seven books feature them to some degree. They're introduced in ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe,'' which is the first published book, but nowadays the series is usually marketed with the {{Prequel}}, ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew,'' as book #1, retroactively turning them into this trope. |
| 257 | * ''Literature/TheDarkIsRising:'' The first book was intended to be a standalone and focused on the Drew siblings. The second book [[GrowingTheBeard establishes the series better]] and introduces Will, who becomes the main character of the series. |
| 258 | * For the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series: |
| 259 | ** 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 orangutang at the start of the second book. |
| 260 | ** The first City Watch book, ''Literature/GuardsGuards'', had only four characters in the Watch[[note]]Sam Vimes, Nobby, Fred Colon, and new recruit Carrot Ironfoundersson ... and they were actually the ''entire'' Night Watch; the Day Watch was a separate, larger, and somewhat more well-respected organization[[/note]]. Many iconic members such as Angua, Detritus and Cheery weren't introduced until later installments.[[note]]Technically, Detritus ''does'' appear in ''Guards! Guards!'', in the sense that there is one scene that reveals the troll bouncer at the Mended Drum has a name, but he doesn't get any lines until ''Literature/MovingPictures'' and only joins the Watch in ''Literature/MenAtArms''[[/note]] |
| 261 | ** It's "only right" for witches to form covens of at least three ("[[TheHecateSisters the maiden, the mother and the...other one]]"). Despite this, only Granny Weatherwax shows up in the first witch-centric book, ''Literature/EqualRites,'' with Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick premiering in ''Literature/WyrdSisters.'' Magrat's replacement in the trio, Agnes Nitt, wouldn't show up until ''Literature/LordsAndLadies.'' |
| 262 | ** Death was around since the beginning of the series, as were several members of his supporting cast, but the Death of Rats wasn't introduced until the second Death-centric book, ''Literature/ReaperMan''. And his deuteragonist granddaughter Susan Sto Helit didn't appear until ''Literature/SoulMusic'', the third one. |
| 263 | ** [[HonestJohnsDealership Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler]] didn't make his debut until ''Literature/GuardsGuards'', though later books would establish that he's been an Ankh-Morpork fixture for [[RememberTheNewGuy decades]] -- ''Literature/InterestingTimes'' shows that Rincewind is well acquainted with him and that Twoflower met him at some point during ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'', and his first chronological appearance is in ''Literature/{{Night Watch|Discworld}}'', over a decade before the series began. |
| 264 | * ''Literature/{{Dortmunder}}'': [[TheDreaded Tiny Bulcher]] doesn't work with the CaperCrew until ''Nobody's Perfect'' (book 4) and is more of a part-time member for his first few appearances, but he eventually ends up as a full-time crew member and one of the author's most memorable and quotable characters. |
| 265 | * ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Of the multitudes of Harry's recurring allies, barely any appear to begin with. Only Murphy, Bob, Susan, Marcone, Toot, and Morgan appear in the [[Literature/StormFrontDresdenFiles first book]]; his werewolf buddies the Alphas appear in the [[Literature/FoolMoon second]], Lea and the Carpenter family in the [[Literature/GravePeril third]] (with Molly only becoming a mainstay in the [[Literature/ProvenGuilty eighth]]), and the Fae courts and White Council appearing in the [[Literature/SummerKnight fourth]], and so on. And then try putting together a list of where the iconic ''villains'' debut... |
| 266 | * ''Literature/EarthsChildren'': Jondalar first appears in the second installment, ''The Valley of Horses'', and besides [[TheProtagonist Ayla herself]], he's probably the most important and well-known character. |
| 267 | * ''Literature/ExHeroes'': Captain Freedom, the Driver, Corpse Girl (in a ChekhovsGunman role that takes until ''Ex-Communication'' to pay off), and Agent Smith all debut in book 2, ''Ex-Patriots'', but quickly fill in important, seemingly permanent roles in the series. |
| 268 | * [[DemonicDummy Slappy]] is ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}''' BreakoutVillain, but he actually wasn't the BigBad of the first ''Living Dummy'' book. That story centered around two sisters who each had a ventriloquist dummy--Slappy was one, while the other, Mr. Wood, comes to life and terrorizes them; only after Mr. Wood is defeated does the TwistEnding reveal Slappy to be alive, too. He went on to appear in many other books, though, while Mr. Wood only merited a ContinuityNod when Slappy's origin was revealed. |
| 269 | * Several popular characters in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series did not show up until well after the first novel. Some include: |
| 270 | ** Book 3: Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, both of whom would go on to be very popular and important figures in Harry's life. |
| 271 | ** Book 4: Bellatrix Lestrange, one of Voldemort's CoDragons, though it was mostly an EarlyBirdCameo before the next book. |
| 272 | ** Book 5: Luna Lovegood would end up being one of the few characters able to comfort Harry when his closest friends could not, and was one of the most active fighters in Dumbledore's Army. |
| 273 | * The Literature/{{Honorverse}} is prone to this, given how long it's been running. Some of its most iconic and beloved characters don't appear until much later than an incoming fan might expect.[[note]]Most of these characters are also Havenites, which might have something to do with the fact that they all oh-so-coincidentally started appearing right about the time Haven was shifting from [[ArchEnemy Actual Bad Guys]] to [[WorthyOpponent Mostly Good Guys Trapped on the Wrong Side]]. The formation of the Grand Alliance in book twelve pretty much self-explains why this perception-shift started happening when it did.[[/note]] |
| 274 | ** Michelle Henke, Honor Harrington's best friend, isn't introduced until ''The Short Victorious War'', which is book three — yes, two whole books go by in which Honor's best friend '''isn't even mentioned'''. |
| 275 | ** [[EnsembleDarkhorse Everyone's favourite]] Havenite tac-witch, Shannon Foraker, isn't introduced until ''Flag in Exile'', which is book five. |
| 276 | ** Eloise Pritchart, series anchor and beloved Havenite heroine, doesn't debut until book six, ''Honor Among Enemies'', and doesn't become a major player until ''Echoes of Honor'', which is book eight. |
| 277 | ** Lester Tourville, Havenite admiral who is capable of beating the title character herself in head-to-head combat, isn't introduced until ''In Enemy Hands'', which is book seven. |
| 278 | ** Victor Cachat, superspy extraordinaire, isn't introduced until the third short-story anthology, ''Changer of Worlds'' (published between ''Ashes of Victory'' and ''War of Honor'', books nine and ten). |
| 279 | * Finnick Odair is one of the most popular characters from ''Literature/TheHungerGames''. He doesn't show up until ''Catching Fire'', the second book. |
| 280 | * ''Literature/JoePickett'': {{Deuteragonist}} Nate Romanowski debuts in ''Winterkill'' (book 3), and Governor Rulon, the BigGood of much of the series, only shows up four books later in ''Free Fire''. Both appear in season 1 of the television adaptation. |
| 281 | * Princess Ozma didn't appear until the second ''Literature/LandOfOz'' book, ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz'' and isn't ''revealed'' as Ozma until the very end. Despite this, she is one of the most iconic ''Oz'' characters amongst those who remember [[AdaptationDisplacement anything besides]] the [[Film/TheWizardOfOz MGM adaptation]] of the first book. |
| 282 | * ''Literature/TheLostFleet'' |
| 283 | ** Captain Badaya and Jane Geary both end up being among the most prominent captains in the fleet, and both get more CharacterDevelopment than some of the other major characters, but they take until books three and five to debut. |
| 284 | ** Gwen Iceni first appears late in book six before becoming one of the main characters of ''Literature/TheLostStars''. |
| 285 | * ''Literature/MacdonaldHall'': Sidney and Wilbur don't appear until book 2 (''Go Jump in a Pool''), but are among the first characters many fans think of decades after the final book. |
| 286 | * ''Literature/MatthewScudder'': Scudder has few constants in his life for the first several books but meets FriendOnTheForce Joe Durkin in ''Eight Million Ways to Die'' (book 5), forms a lasting OddFriendship with gangster Mick Ballou in ''Out on the Cutting Edge'' (Book 7), becomes permanently involved with NewOldFlame Elaine in ''A Ticket to the Boneyard'' (book 8), and begins using the street smart [=TJ=] as an assistant in ''A Dance at the Slaughterhouse'' (book 9). |
| 287 | * TomboyAndGirlyGirl sidekick duo Bess and George first debut in the fifth ''Literature/NancyDrew'' book and love interest Ned shows up in the seventh, but all three remain franchise mainstays over ninety years later. |
| 288 | * ''Literature/PleaseDontTellMyParentsImASupervillain'': |
| 289 | ** Goodnight cameos in the third book before narrating the next novel, the DarkerAndEdgier, GrowingTheBeard prequel ''Literature/IDidNotGiveThatSpiderSuperhumanIntelligence''. |
| 290 | ** Magenta takes seven books to make an appearance, but once she did, fans weren't complaining about the series' seemingly permanent shift from the still iconic Penny's [=POV=] to rotating protagonists. |
| 291 | * Thomas the Tank Engine didn't appear until the second book of ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries''. James, Percy and Toby also appeared in later books. |
| 292 | * ''Literature/SammyKeyes'': Dot, Holly, Casey, and Billy are all major members of Sammy's circle of friends. They debut in books 2, 3, five, and seven, respectively. |
| 293 | * Tell Sackett is one of the most famous and frequently used characters in the Creator/LouisLAMour shared universe, but doesn't appear until the second ''Sackett'' novel (although his brothers mention him in the preceding book). Tell's distant cousin Lando and family friend The Tinkerer only debut in the book after that, and Sackett ancestor Jubal (who rivals Tell in iconic status despite having far fewer appearances) had to wait another twelve years for his literary debut. |
| 294 | * ''Literature/TheScholomance'': Despite her recognizability, Liesel is never even mentioned before the second book. |
| 295 | * Clarice Starling first appeared in ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', Thomas Harris's second book featuring Hannibal Lecter. |
| 296 | * ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has a huge cast and many HeroOfAnotherStory. |
| 297 | ** Book 2: ''Literature/AClashOfKings'' introduces Stannis, Davos, Melisandre, Asha Greyjoy, Jaqen H'ghar, Brienne of Tarth, Ygritte, Margaery Tyrell, Qyburn and Ramsay Snow. It also has the first appearance of Wyman Manderly who would become a major fan favorite in A Dance with Dragons, as well as Aeron and Victarion Greyjoy who become POV characters in A Feast for Crows. |
| 298 | ** Book 3: ''Literature/AStormOfSwords'' has Lord Beric, Thoros of Myr and the Brotherhood without Banners (who had small roles in the first book), Prince Oberyn Martell, Coldhands, Mance Rayder, Tormund Giantsbane, Val the Wildling Princess, Olenna Redwyne. |
| 299 | ** Book 4: ''Literature/AFeastForCrows'' has Euron Greyjoy, Arianne Martell, Doran Martell, Septon Meribald, the Elder Brother, Marwyn the Mage, Alleras and the High Sparrow. |
| 300 | ** Book 5: ''Literature/ADanceWithDragons'' has Barbrey Dustin, Jon Connington, the Golden Company, Quentyn Martell, Alys Karstark. |
| 301 | * ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'': |
| 302 | ** Despite being one of the most important characters in the series and having his own novella, the wolf-dog Alpha didn't appear until the second book. The first book focuses on the earthquake and the dogs learning to live after the disaster. |
| 303 | ** Storm is one of the most popular characters, and most important characters, in the series (as well as the lead of the second arc), but she isn't introduced until the third book. In it, Lucky and Mickey come across three orphaned puppies whose mother was seemingly murdered. |
| 304 | * ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'': Aro, Marcus, and Caius, the three leaders of vampire society (although a picture of them is shown in the first book), and werewolf girl Leah Clearwater (although she doesn't appear transformed until the third book) all debut in the second novel. |
| 305 | * ''Literature/WarriorCats'': |
| 306 | ** Firestar's evil half-brother Scourge is a BreakoutVillain but didn't appear until the last book of the first arc. |
| 307 | ** Many important characters like Squirrelflight and Leafpool aren't introduced until the second, SpinOffspring, arc. |
| 308 | * Tigger wasn't introduced until the second ''Literature/WinnieThePooh'' book and is now one of the most popular and recognizable characters from the franchise. |
| 309 | [[/folder]] |
| 310 | |
| 311 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 312 | * Music/HatsuneMiku is the most popular Music/{{Vocaloid}} character by far, but she's the third voicebank released by Crypton Future Media and debuted in the second version of the Vocaloid software. |
| 313 | [[/folder]] |
| 314 | |
| 315 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 316 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' would be unthinkable today without Warmaster Horus, the Primarchs, the Horus Heresy and the Chaos Marine legions fighting their Long War against the Imperium of Man. Yet these characters, this event, and the forces of Chaos in general, were nowhere in evidence in the original 1986 Rogue Trader book - being introduced a couple of years after its release in the Realm of Chaos supplements (1988 and 1990). Also, of all the iconic special characters that are synonymous with 40k today - Marneus Calgar, Abaddon, Kharn the Betrayer, Ahriman, Eldrad Ulthran, Mephiston and dozens more. - the only three that pre-date the 1993 2nd edition of the game are Commissar Yarrick and Ghazghkull Thraka (who were introduced very late in 1st edition, setting the stage for the explosion of characters in 2nd edition), and Pedro Kantor of the Crimson Fists - the only character from the original Rogue Trader book still in the game today (and who was [[InconsistentSpelling named Pedro Cantor at the time]], after a playtester of the book, Pete Cantor). |
| 317 | * The original ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', like its spin-off 40k, acquired most of its iconic characters in the mid 90s (during its 4th and 5th editions between 1992 and 2000, the game having first arrived in 1983). Starting with Tyrion and Teclis for the High Elves every army in the game acquired its defining heroes during this period, including Malekith the Witch King, Nagash, Tomb King Settra, Archaon, Thorgrim Grudgebearer, Orion and Ariel and the rest. Only a small handful of the characters who existed between 1983 and 1992 are still prominent in the game, pretty much just Josef Bugman, Grom the Paunch, Golgfag Maneater, Emperor Karl Franz and Lord Mazdamundi. |
| 318 | * In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', the enormously popular Clan {{Humongous Mecha}}s - most notably the ChickenWalker "Timber Wolf / Mad Cat" - were nowhere to be seen in the original publications. The Clans didn't exist until 1990's ''Technical Readout 3050'', published six years after the very first sourcebook. The "Mad Cat" eclipsed the earlier {{Series Mascot}}s like the "Atlas", "Marauder", and "Battlemaster" to become the face of the franchise. The Mad Cat's rise to prominence became something of an EnforcedTrope as a number of fan favorites like the "Marauder" and "Warhammer" suddenly became off limits in artwork [[ExecutiveMeddling due to a messy intellectual property lawsuit]]. |
| 319 | [[/folder]] |
| 320 | |
| 321 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 322 | * ''Franchise/GIJoe'': Duke is usually considered the face of the team, being one of the leaders and the main character of most media adaptations. He was absent from the first year of the toyline and didn't appear until the second. |
| 323 | * ''Franchise/{{Barbie}}'': Teresa Rivera is regarded as the best friend of Barbie, but she didn't make her first appearance until 1988, 29 years after Barbie's debut. |
| 324 | [[/folder]] |
| 325 | |
| 326 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 327 | * Neither Pearl Fey nor Franziska von Karma appear in the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series until [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney the second game]], ''Justice for All''. Apollo Justice and Trucy Wright make their debut in [[VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney the fourth game]]. Athena Cykes first appeared in ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies Dual Destinies]]'', the fifth game. |
| 328 | ** This can also extend to the cases within the first game. The only characters we see in the first case of the game are Phoenix, Mia, Larry, Payne, Sahwit, and the Judge. We're not introduced to Maya, Gumshoe, and Edgeworth until the second case or Manfred von Karma until the fourth. Ema Skye is an interesting case: she went on to become a major recurring character, but she wasn't originally in the first game ''at all''. She was introduced in a "bonus case" created for the first game's VideoGameRemake. |
| 329 | * ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'': The most marketed character aside from SeriesMascot Monokuma is Nagito Komaeda, TheRival from the second game. No mention of him is made during the entirety of the first game, but Nagito went on to appear in instalments that even Makoto Naegi — as the protagonist of the Hope's Peak Saga — didn't show up in. He even gained his own OVA and a manga spin-off retelling the events of the second game from his point-of-view (which, incidentally, became the second of Danganronpa's many ''many'' manga series to be translated for publication outside of Japan). |
| 330 | * ''VisualNovel/WhenTheyCry'': |
| 331 | ** ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': Mion's twin sister Shion wasn't introduced 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. |
| 332 | ** ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'': Lambdadelta; the Witch Of Certainty makes her debut in the ''Turn Of The Golden Witch'' Tea party, Ange makes her debut at the end of ''Banquet'', Erika Furudo who's the best example of this in ''Umineko'' appeared first in ''End'' alongside Dlanor, Featherine; the Witch Of Theater-Going in ''Dawn'', and Will Wright in ''Requiem''. |
| 333 | [[/folder]] |
| 334 | |
| 335 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 336 | * In ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'', Corey doesn't join the group until the comic begins adapting ''Film/ANewHope'', over five years into the series' run. He's been a permanent fixture since. |
| 337 | * In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', Tarvek doesn't turn up until Volume 5 - three years into the comic's run. Airman Higgs, another BreakoutCharacter, doesn't appear until Volume 7, two years later. |
| 338 | * In ''WebComic/{{Homestuck}}'', the trolls don't show up at all until act 3, and most of them aren't seen on screen until act 5 act 1. Even among them, Vriska stands out. She was the ninth troll to make an appearance in a pesterlog and the eighth to receive a proper introduction, but became possibly the most iconic of them all, rivaled only by Karkat (who was first in both aspects). |
| 339 | * ''Webcomic/WildeLife'''s {{Deuteragonist}} and possibly most popular character, [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Clifford]], doesn't show up until chapter two (aside from [[EarlyBirdCameo a background appearance]]). Meanwhile, [[MagicKnight Eliza]] doesn't show up until chapter four. |
| 340 | [[/folder]] |
| 341 | |
| 342 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 343 | * ''WebAnimation/AnimatorVsAnimation'': |
| 344 | ** Despite only being introduced in ''IV'', the Second Coming and Fighting Stick Figures are the de-facto protagonists of the series and all spin-off material such as ''Animation vs. Minecraft'' and ''[=AvA=] Shorts''. |
| 345 | ** Similarly, the Chosen One (who debuted in ''II'') and the Dark Lord in (who debuted in ''III'') are far more remembered than victim, the primary stick figure featured in the first video. It helps that they featured in ''V'', with the former returning in ''VI''. |
| 346 | * ''WebAnimation/BattleForDreamIsland'' |
| 347 | ** Four and Two only became hosts of the show in the fourth and fifth seasons respectively, but are just as important and well remembered as Announcer, who hosted the show in the first season. It helps that the three hosts [[NiceMeanAndInBetween vary in personality]], with Four being a hilariously violent creature that will screech or mutilate anyone how displeases them, Two is a straight up NiceGuy who gets along with his contestants and rarely raises his voice at them, and Announcer is snarky with poor financial management skills, but is nonetheless also a NiceGuy. |
| 348 | ** Most of the contestants in later seasons appeared as recommended characters in Season 1, but only became fleshed out characters with their own personalities in later seasons. |
| 349 | ** "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". Death P.A.C.T. Again also has Marker, who helped BFDI gain more mainstream attention when he was the focus of the Platform/{{Roblox}} game VideoGame/FindTheMarkers, and a plush toy of him appeared on BBC News. |
| 350 | ** The Alliance / Freesmart was one of the earliest (sub) groups in the show, but Season 1 only had Match, Pencil, and Bubble as members, with Ice Cube being kept aside as a backup member. Ruby and Book - the other major members of the group - debuted in BFDIA. |
| 351 | ** Gelatin is a fan favorite who got second place in BFB, but he only debuted in BFDIA, and even then, only because the person who selected him won a contest where the prize was that he could select a character to be on BFDIA. |
| 352 | * ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'': |
| 353 | ** Donald Trump, the most recurring rapper since Darth Vader and Adolf Hitler, made his first appearance in Season 3. |
| 354 | ** Theodore Roosevelt, who was the face of the series ''before even appearing in a battle'' due to his frequent use in update videos. In terms of main series videos, he didn't appear until the second last battle of season 5. |
| 355 | * While the WebVideo/GameGrumps network doesn't divide their work into seasons, just about every member of the main cast not named Jon or Arin is one of these, as the network was just Jon and Arin doing Game Grumps for a year. Danny and Ross were the first of these, as Danny took over for Jon on Game Grumps while doing Steam Train with Ross, with (in order) Barry, Suzy, Kevin and Brian eventually joining in as well. |
| 356 | * ''Marble Kingdoms'': [[TheRemnant Agobard the Knight]], one of the most notable named marbles in the series to the extent of becoming a MemeticBadass amongst its small fanbase, debuted in ''Marble Kingdoms 10''. |
| 357 | * ''WebVideo/{{React}}'' has had several reactors through the years, so any prominent reactor introduced starting its second season counts.[[note]]Though releasing of the episodes are sometimes OutOfOrder thanks to ScheduleSlip, so some might have technically appeared earlier in real world time[[/note]] The only prominent reactors who have been with the show during the first season are/were Creator/{{Lia|MarieJohnson}}, Dylan, Morgan, Elle, the twins Megan and Shannon, Emma, Athena, Jake, William, and Sammie. And of the eleven, only Lia, Dylan, Morgan, Jake, Emma, and Samme were in the {{pilot}}. [[note]]However, Creator/TheFineBrothers [[WordOfGod themselves consider]] the reactors who debuted during Season 2 of ''Kids'', such as Darius, Royel, Emma R., Marlhy, Bryson, Riley, Everhet, and ([[OneSteveLimit the first and older]]) Sydney, as originals due to the second season being released immediately after the first[[/note]] Further, the original cast of ''Teens'' (minus those who graduated from ''Kids'', obviously) weren't introduced until the launching of the show near the end of the second season. The original cast of both ''Elders'' and ''[=YouTubers=]'' (minus eventually Lia[[note]]and [[ChekhovsGunman those who were covered on the show's earliest episodes]][[/note]]) weren't introduced until the shows were launched during the third season. And the original cast of ''Adults'' (minus those who graduated from ''Teens'') weren't introduced until the show's launching during the sixth season. |
| 358 | [[/folder]] |
| 359 | |
| 360 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 361 | * ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': |
| 362 | ** The Lich King is the closest thing the show has to a proper BigBad, and a creepy KnightOfCerebus, but he doesn't make a major appearance until [[Recap/AdventureTimeS2E25MortalFolly the end of the second season]]. He did make an EarlyBirdCameo in the first season, however. |
| 363 | ** Flame Princess, a major character who also acted as Finn's girlfriend for two seasons, didn't appear until season three. |
| 364 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': |
| 365 | ** Despite being one of the most prominent characters outside of Anne and the Plantars and playing a key role in kicking off the show's events, Marcy doesn't appear until season 2 aside from a brief cameo in "Best Fronds". |
| 366 | ** Andrias is [[spoiler:the show's BigBad]], but doesn't appear until season 2. |
| 367 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' introduced Katya Kazanova in Season 2 as a possible love interest, before the writers decided to invest in Archer and Lana's relationship, at which point Katya was phased out. |
| 368 | * ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': |
| 369 | ** Toph Bei Fong is as much of a member of the core cast as Aang, Sokka, and Katara, but she doesn't appear until the second season. |
| 370 | ** [[TheDragon Princess Azula]] is an EarlyBirdCameo in Book 1, but doesn't say or do anything until Book 2 where she proceeds to become Team Avatar's most memorable and consistently dangerous threat. This also applies to her two competent henchwomen, Mai and Ty Lee. |
| 371 | * Azmuth despite being one of most important character in ''Franchise/Ben10'', doesn't appear until ''WesternAnimation/Ben10SecretOfTheOmnitrix'' which is chronologically the GrandFinale of the Original Series. Kevin Levin's role as Ben's close friend and ally would only be introduced in the sequel series ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce''. In addition number of major characters from the original show show up after the first season of AF, including [[BigGood Azmuth]] and recuring villain Dr. Animo in season 2 while Ben's {{Archenemy}} Vilgax and Charmcaster return in Season 3. |
| 372 | * Much of ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers''' recurring cast debuted ''after'' the first season, such as: |
| 373 | ** Season 2: Jimmy Jr.'s best friend Zeke, AffablyEvil bank robber Mickey, incompetent police sergeant Bosco, gaming nerd Darryl, CasanovaWannabe Dr. Yap, and AlphaBitch Tammy Larsen. |
| 374 | ** Season 3: The obnoxious Logan and Cynthia Bush, Gene's rival/love interest Courtney Wheeler, BoyBand Boyz 4 Now, and Louise's partner-in-crime/OnlyFriend Regular-Sized Rudy. |
| 375 | ** Season 4: Calvin Fischoeder's younger brother Felix and Louise's StalkerWithoutACrush Millie Frock. |
| 376 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': |
| 377 | ** Varrick became a wildly popular character who was integral to the plot of the final season, but didn't debut until Book Two. |
| 378 | ** On a much grander scale, Avatar Wan, Raava, and Vaatu are all the key players of the origins of the ''entire franchise'', but don't appear until the middle of Book Two (though the origin story was originally meant to be told in Book Two of ''Avatar''). |
| 379 | * Silverbolt doesn't join the Maximals in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' until early on in the second season. |
| 380 | * The second season of ''WesternAnimation/BigMouth'' introduced their first real antagonist the Shame Wizard, as well as Nick's love interest Gina as well as his temporary hormone monster Tyler. Season 3 introduced Missy's hormone monstress Mona and new girl Ali. |
| 381 | * With the exceptions of WesternAnimation/MinnieMouse and WesternAnimation/{{Pete}}, WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse's supporting cast was much different in the early days of the WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts. WesternAnimation/{{Pluto|ThePup}}, WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}}, WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck and WesternAnimation/DaisyDuck would all debut much later. |
| 382 | * ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' has three major characters that didn't appear until season 2. |
| 383 | ** Both Numbuh 86 and Numbuh 362 are some of the most important and recurring non-Sector V members of the Kids Next Door (with the latter even serving as the BigGood for most the show), yet don't appear until midway through the second season. |
| 384 | ** Numbuh 5's older sister, Cree Lincoln, serves as her ArchEnemy and is one of the most formidable foes that the team has to face. However, she doesn't debut until near the beginning of the second season and most of her backstory with Numbuh 5 isn't revealed until near the end of the season. |
| 385 | * Fenton Crackshell, alias the armored superhero Gizmo-Duck, is absent until the second season of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'', nearly two thirds into the show's run. Despite that, he's one of the most recognizable characters from the series and has appeared prominently in other works related to it, even making an AdaptationalEarlyAppearance in the franchise's [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017 2017 reboot]]. |
| 386 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': While most of the main characters were around since the ''WesternAnimation/OhYeahCartoons'' days, Mr. Crocker was not introduced until after the show was launched as an independent series. |
| 387 | * WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat's Magic Bag of Tricks (which is strongly implied in some episodes [[SentientPhlebotinum to be sentient]] [[LoyalPhlebotinum due to its loyalty to Felix]]) is one of the most well known aspects of Felix the Cat--but it didn't appear in the franchise until the late 1950s made-for-TV cartoons, 40 years after Felix made his debut in ''WesternAnimation/FelineFollies''. |
| 388 | * In ''WesternAnimation/FinalSpace'', Fox and Ash only debut in Season 2, but they play a significant role in the events of Season 3 - Fox's death strains the relationship between Gary and Ash, with the next episode being a FuneralEpisode for him. Invictus' manipulations convincing Ash to to turn against the team squad, revealing that Avocato murdered Little Cato's parents, and using Mooncake's power to free Invictus from his chains |
| 389 | * Pebbles and Bam-Bam are mainstays on ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' and its various spin-offs, but the former wasn't born until Season 3 of the original series and the latter didn't show up until Season 4. |
| 390 | * ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': |
| 391 | ** [[BigBad Bill Cipher]] only appeared at the very end of Season 1. He's a borderline case, since [[EarlyBirdCameo evidence of his existence was scattered throughout the entire show]] but he only became a prominent character in Season 2. |
| 392 | ** [[spoiler:Ford Pines]] fits this trope much more, since the character is technically the closest thing the show has to a BigGood. Introduced halfway into Season 2. |
| 393 | * Two of the most well-known characters from ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'', Dracula and Fred Fredburger, didn't appear until the fifth and sixth (and penultimate) seasons respectively. Especially notable with the latter case, who appeared so much on Creator/CartoonNetwork's promos and marketing at the time that he gained a reputation for being a CreatorsPet SpotlightStealingSquad - despite the fact that the amount of appearances he has on the show itself can be counted on one hand, and only has two episodes where he's a major focus. |
| 394 | * ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': |
| 395 | ** Lila Sawyer is one of the show's most recognizable characters, but she didn't debut until season 2 and didn't become a regular character until mid-season 3. |
| 396 | ** Ditto for Mr. Simmons, the fourth grade teacher. Arnold and his classmates were taught by the elderly Miss Slovak in the first season, but she retired to become a pro golfer. However, due to Nickelodeon airing episodes OutOfOrder, Miss Slovak made a few appearances after Simmons' introduction in Season 2. |
| 397 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'': |
| 398 | ** The beginning of season 2 introduced three new characters: Stormer's brother Craig, a [[SixthRanger new Misfit]] named Jetta, and and a new Hologram named Raya. While Raya gets ignored by fans, Craig and especially Jetta are staples. The 2015 [[ComicBook/JemAndTheHologramsIDW IDW reboot comic]] even introduced Jetta as a founding member and has Craig appear in the first arc. |
| 399 | ** The Stingers appear in the final season (season 3), which also had the fewest episodes, yet are popular. They [[ToylessToylineCharacter didn't even get toys]]. Riot is known for being [[MrFanservice very attractive]], being the only male singer, and being Jem's second love interest. |
| 400 | * The first season of ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' had middling ratings, resulting in a {{retool}}ed second season. This retool introduced the mainstays Carl and Pops. |
| 401 | * Green Arrow doesn't join the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' until the Season 3 premiere. |
| 402 | * The ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' franchise: |
| 403 | ** Stitch's {{Love Interest|s}} [[DistaffCounterpart Angel]] (Experiment 624) is the most famous of Stitch's experiment predecessors, but it took a long while for her to achieve this status. She didn't appear at all in [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch the 2002 original film]], was only hinted at through a DVD bonus feature and [[{{Feelies}} a mini-poster included with]] 2003's ''WesternAnimation/StitchTheMovie'', officially debuted in the thirtieth aired episode of ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' in January 2004, did not make her only other major appearance in the show until the penultimate aired episode in June 2006, finally became a recurring regular in the ''Anime/{{Stitch}}'' anime that debuted in 2008 (whose English dub first aired in 2009), and eventually gained a steady stream of merchandise sold worldwide (including the United States, where the anime that she appears most frequently in was rejected) during TheNewTens. |
| 404 | ** Primary franchise villain Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel only made a silhouetted cameo briefly in the original film, but he would not be formally introduced until ''Stitch! The Movie''. |
| 405 | ** Same goes for Stitch's [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]], [[SatiatingSandwich sandwich-loving]] immediate predecessor "cousin" Reuben (Experiment 625), who also debuted in that film.[[note]]Although an earlier version of him did appear in ''Magazine/DisneyAdventures'' prequel comics released around the time of the original film's premiere.[[/note]] Additionally, he was [[YouAreNumberSix only known by his experiment number]] until Lilo finally named him in ''The Series'' GrandFinale film ''WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch'', which released on June 23, 2006 (four years and two days after ''Lilo & Stitch''). |
| 406 | * ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' as a whole started off with a completely different cast that was [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome gradually faded out]] in favor of the one we know today. For example, the first character recognizable to a modern viewer to appear was WesternAnimation/PorkyPig in 1935, five years after Looney Tunes made its debut. |
| 407 | ** In fact, WesternAnimation/BugsBunny and WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck didn't appear until almost a ''decade'' into the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' series run. Several other main stars were also {{Breakout Character}}s from later shorts. |
| 408 | ** Tweety Bird made his first appearance in 1942. Even then, Tweety wouldn't become the Tweety we know him as today until 1947, when he started being paired with Sylvester, who himself was introduced in 1945. |
| 409 | ** Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner would not debut until 1949, '''19''' years after the start of the series. |
| 410 | ** The Tasmanian Devil does not show up until 1954. Not counting anthology shows, he was the first Looney Tunes character to get his own show. |
| 411 | ** WesternAnimation/FoghornLeghorn is first seen in Henery Hawk's second cartoon, "WesternAnimation/WalkyTalkyHawky" introduced as a foil (whereas Henery was a tiny chickenhawk, Foghorn was a large rooster). By their third cartoon together, (which is the aptly titled "The Foghorn Leghorn") the series would morph into the Foghorn Leghorn series. Because of this and his loud mouthed nature, Foghorn is a more memorable character today than Henery. |
| 412 | ** Lola Bunny was only introduced in 1996, for ''Film/SpaceJam''. Despite being a controversial character at first, she continued to appear as a major character (usually Bugs' love interest) in future ''Looney Tunes'' productions. |
| 413 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': |
| 414 | ** Discord, one of the most iconic characters in the G4 series for his stint as both a villain and as a TokenEvilTeammate, didn't appear until the start of Season 2. This season also saw the debut of [[RememberTheNewGuy Cadance and Shining Armor]], who would become some of the most prominent characters in the series. |
| 415 | ** Reformed villain Starlight Glimmer didn't appear until the fifth season of the series, and didn't become part of the regular cast until the season after. Starlight would go on to befriend Trixie, who despite being one of the earliest appearing characters in the show, [[AscendedExtra didn't become a proper mainstay until that season as well]]. |
| 416 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': |
| 417 | ** Aside from an EarlyBirdCameo in the last two episodes of the first season, The Golden Guard/Hunter isn't properly introduced as a recurring character [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceTurn who eventually joins Luz and her friends]]]] until the second season. |
| 418 | ** Raine, the head of the Bard Coven [[spoiler:who is also rebelling against the Emperor]] and Eda's love interest only appeared briefly in a photo (with their face obscured) in the first season before their proper introduction in the second season. |
| 419 | ** The Coven Heads in general don't get introduced as a concept in the show (aside from the Emperor's Coven) until the second season. Out of those, the aforementioned Raine, Darius, Eberwolf, Terra, and Adrian get the most focus, but only Darius had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in the first season[[note]]The head of the Construction Coven also made an appearance in an early Season 1 episode, but that was before the creators decided to make him a Coven Head, explaining that at that point in the show he hadn't yet been given the position.[[/note]]. |
| 420 | ** The Collector, who [[spoiler:has been working with Belos and whose species are responsible for trapping the Owl Beast in the scroll that Eda was cursed with]], isn't introduced until about halfway through the second season aside from a brief cameo [[spoiler:implied to actually be from another member of their species]] a few episodes prior where their importance to the plot wasn't made obvious. |
| 421 | * Everest from ''WesternAnimation/PAWPatrol'' first appears in Season 2 Episode 6. |
| 422 | * The second season of ''WesternAnimation/PuppyDogPals'' introduced Keia, Lollie, and Ana. |
| 423 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheRaccoons'': |
| 424 | ** The Pigs were introduced in the third special, "The Raccoons and the Lost Star", as generals to Cyril Sneer and became his bumbling henchmen when the specials were adapted into a series. |
| 425 | ** Bentley Raccoon was introduced in an episode in Season 2 and proved to be popular enough to be in episodes in later seasons. |
| 426 | ** His big sister Lisa Raccoon was introduced in an episode in Season 4 and became one of the main characters when their family moved to the Evergreen Forest in Season 5. |
| 427 | * In ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' [= AndrAIa=], one of the main characters and Enzo's eventual love interest, makes her first appearance the middle of the second season. |
| 428 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'': |
| 429 | ** Susie Carmichael, a SixthRanger to the babies who acted as a foil to Angelica, and Charlotte Pickles, Angelica's workaholic mother, were both introduced in the show's second season. |
| 430 | ** Tommy's younger brother Dil Pickles, was born in ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie''. |
| 431 | ** Kira and Kimi Watanabe-Finster were introduced in ''WesternAnimation/RugratsInParis''. |
| 432 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': |
| 433 | ** While many characters debuted in the first season, other fan favorites like Duffman (season 9), Groundskeeper Willie (season 2), Fat Tony (season 3), Cletus (season 5), Comic Book Guy (season 2), Dr. Hibbert (season 2), Superintendent Chalmers (season 4), Gil Gunderson (season 9), Disco Stu (season 7), Hans Moleman (season 2), Dr. Nick (Season 2), Professor Frink (season 2), and Sideshow Mel (season 2) as well as many others didn't appear until the second season on. |
| 434 | ** Most of the series' iconic recurring cast weren't present in ''Series/TheTraceyUllmanShow'' shorts and only debuted once ''The Simpsons'' became its own separate series. To keep things brief, the only characters to be in both the original shorts and the full show are the Simpson family themselves, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, and Itchy and Scratchy. |
| 435 | * ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': |
| 436 | ** While the series introduced most of its supporting cast in the first season, a large number of them were just voiceless extras until Season 3 at the earliest. Of all of them, Butters in particular is a memorable breakout. |
| 437 | ** Saddam Hussein was introduced in the Season 2 premiere, while Tweek first appeared in the second half of the season. Timmy debuted in Season 4, while Jimmy followed in Season 5 after the writers realised they'd milked Timmy's voiceless brand of comedy dry. Ms Choksondik and Towelie also had their debuts in Seasons 4 and 5 respectively. Mr. Lu Kim the City Wok owner and Mr. Slave debuted in Season 6. Sgt. Yates and the Goth Kids first appeared in Season 7. Scott Malkinson made an EarlyBirdCameo in Season 8's "The Jeffersons" but wouldn't be properly introduced until Season 12. PC Principal debuted in Season 19 and his love interest Strong Woman debuted two seasons later. |
| 438 | * ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': [=SpongeBob=]'s live-action LoonyFan, Patchy the Pirate and his pet parrot Potty debuted in the season 2 episode "Christmas Who?" and have since starred in live-action segments at least OnceASeason. |
| 439 | * ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': |
| 440 | ** Lapis Lazuli, one of the most recognizable characters in the show, isn't introduced until the end of Season 1a (basically Season 1). |
| 441 | ** Peridot, Jasper, Ruby and Sapphire aren't introduced until near the end of Season 1b. |
| 442 | ** Yellow Diamond doesn't appear until near the end of Season 2. |
| 443 | ** Bismuth doesn't show up until Season 3. |
| 444 | ** Blue Diamond doesn't show up until Season 4. We do get to see an early glimpse of her in a flashback in Season 2. |
| 445 | ** Pink Diamond doesn't appear until Season 5. |
| 446 | ** White Diamond doesn't appear until the sixth-to-last episode of Season 5. An especially odd example, as there were so many hints to her existence that she was "iconic" before her name was ever even spoken. |
| 447 | * ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'': Supergirl only shows up in the second season finale, but quickly becomes the real EnsembleDarkHorse of the show and goes on to play a major role in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited''. |
| 448 | * In the 2003 ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' series, one of the most memorable characters was Agent Bishop, a third party character opposed to both the Turtles and the Shredder. However, he doesn't debut until the third season of the show. Karai is also a major character for most of the series but doesn't debut until the second season. |
| 449 | * Sgt. Hatred from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' 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. |
| 450 | [[/folder]] |
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