Line #237 Main/ObviousJudas


1	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1367775729006860100
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4	[[quoteright:321:[[Webcomic/ChuckleADuck https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/judas_6447.png]]]]
5	[-[[caption-width-right:321:[[ObviouslyEvil The one on the right...]]\
6	[[https://web.archive.org/web/20160315212223/http://chuckleaduck.com/comic/under-cover/ Image]] by [[https://twitter.com/CrowdenSatz Crowden Satz]]. Used with permission.]]-]
7	->'''Dennis:''' Hey, it's nice to meet you!\
8	'''Lysanderoth:''' ''(wearing a monocle and sporting a moustache)'' This world is imperfect...\
9	'''Dennis:''' [[FlatWhat What?]]\
10	'''Lysanderoth:''' If only I could wipe away the impurities...\
11	'''Dennis:''' ''(in disbelief)'' Is anybody else... listening to this?\
12	'''Lysanderoth:''' ...and make it as beautiful as ''me!''
13	-->-- '''WebVideo/ProZD''', "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN9DW4rrEjY when you start a new game and you meet the character you know is going to betray you]]"
14
15	A FaceHeelTurn or EvilAllAlong [[TheReveal reveal]] that was obviously coming.
16
17	This character is supposedly one of the good guys, but they have a certain air about them. You just know that they'll eventually betray the group in some way or another, even though the writer has shown no evidence that they plan to actually ''do'' evil (rather than just ''look'' evil).
18
19	So why suspect them? Usually, it's because they express traits that seem ObviouslyEvil. For example:
20
21	* They speak in a CreepyMonotone.
22	* They wear an OminousOperaCape or ScaryShinyGlasses.
23	* They are young, but have [[WhiteHairBlackHeart white hair]] that makes them look a bit too much like [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]].
24	* They frequently monologue about how [[WellIntentionedExtremist the world is imperfect and corrupt and needs to be cleansed of its impurities]].
25	* They are the one [[NiceGuy Nice Guy/Girl]] in a well-established WorldOfJerkass.
26	* They have a [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast threatening-sounding name]] that makes them sound like a CardCarryingVillain e.g. "[[Myth/ArthurianLegend Mordred]] M. [=McTraitor=]".
27	* They have a strong resemblance to that [[MalevolentMaskedMan mysterious masked villain]] who menaces the heroes. They are clearly [[TwoAliasesOneCharacter the same person]] with a PaperThinDisguise that the heroes somehow don't see through.
28	* They have a [[DastardlyWhiplash stereotypically villainous mustache]].
29
30	Whatever the reason they have for drawing the audience's suspicion, when they finally betray the heroes, the audience says, "IKnewIt"
31
32	The writers may have ''intended'' the audience to feel uneasy about Mx. Suspicious and anticipate a betrayal, creating a sense of suspense. After all, a character's betrayal should be [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadowed]], lest a plot-twist look like it was [[AssPull made up on the spot]]. However, ObviouslyEvil character traits are not the best way of accomplishing that goal.
33
34	This trope is an {{Audience Reaction\|s}}, because the other protagonists [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter suspect nothing]]. This trope can also happen in-universe if a character predicts a betrayal, but doesn't warn the good guys. This trope can become TheUntwist, if the audience thinks (by mistake) that the character can't be/turn evil, because it would be too obvious. It can overlap with NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize, if one protagonist's actor usually plays evil characters.
35
36	Often can come across as [[ViewersAreMorons rather insulting]]. However, Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad: occasionally this trope can intentionally be used as a RedHerring, such as when the obvious traitor turns out to be TheDragon to [[ObviousVillainSecretVillain a not-so-obvious one]]. Sometimes, the surprise is not that Mx. Suspicious turns out to be evil, but ''how'' evil they are when they reveal their true colors. They could even turn out to have been [[GoodAllAlong working against the villain all along]].
37
38	For some reasons, VideoGames are often prone to this. A possible explanation among many is that games focusing on a limited number of characters' [[PointOfView Points of View]] will have the villain often introduced as an ally as a way to justify giving them more on-screen time and fleshing out their relationship with the protagonist. Naturally when this same template is used too many times, the audience will begin to foresee the pattern.
39
40	A SubTrope of CaptainObviousReveal. Related to DevilInPlainSight, though this requires that a character is deliberately portrayed as obviously untrustworthy and that another character picks up on this. Contrast NeverTheObviousSuspect and RedHerringMole.
41
42	''Do not add an example until the work has the character commit the betrayal.'' The audience might see an Obvious Judas where the author did not intend one. It would be stupid to list someone as an Obvious Judas, only to reach the end of the story and find that the character never became a Judas, and Administrivia/SpeculativeTroping is not allowed. Examples for characters who aren't evil yet belong in WildMassGuessing.
43
44	Also beware of hindsight: anyone can predict a FaceHeelTurn after it already happened. This trope only counts if the character seemed evil back when he or she was outwardly good. [[BiblicalBadGuy Judas Iscariot]] doesn't fit this trope in Literature/TheBible (though he did betray Jesus), but Judas might fit this trope in newer works that retell biblical events, and other characters might fit this trope if the audience sees an allusion to Judas. If a betrayal becomes too widely known to be a twist in newer adaptations, that is ItWasHisSled.
45
46	!!THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD... but considering what the trope is about, [[CaptainObviousReveal they're pretty obvious ones]].
47	----
48	!!Example subpages:
49
50	[[index]]
51	* ObviousJudas/VideoGames
52	[[/index]]
53
54	!!Other examples:
55
56	[[foldercontrol]]
57
58	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
59	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' is quite notorious for this, especially in the later arcs:
60	** Many readers were suspicious of Aizen long before he was revealed as the BigBad due to the fact he was playing the stereotypical role of the too-nice character that's deeply concerned about a potential conspiracy, who confronts the apparent villain and gets killed off shortly afterwards. Aizen's reveal was therefore fully expected rather than surprising.
61	** Also Gin Ichimaru from the same story act. The only people both in and out of universe who were surprised that he was a villain were the people who though that someone this obviously a villain (a [[PerpetualSmiler Perpetual]] SmugSmiler whose [[EyesAlwaysShut eyes are always closed]] with a snake motif that every one is suspicious of) couldn't possibly be a villain. And then Gin Ichimaru manages to be a Obvious Judas again, only this time to Aizen.
62	** [[ArcVillain Kugo Ginjo]] was EvilAllAlong. He even looks like [[OnlySixFaces an Aizen recolor]] for cripes' sake!
63	** Uryu Ishida, who'd fought alongside Ichigo since the Soul Society arc, was TheMole in the Vandenreich. Fans had theorized this the moment he was revealed to have joined them.
64	* Kai from ''Anime/BakutenShootBeyblade''. He barely tolerated his teammates, and gave off the impression that they were beneath him and his talent. The only thing that makes his teammates' shock at his betrayal remotely believable is that such a low, petty thing as stabbing them in the back in exchange for being ''given'' power seems strange coming from someone as openly confrontational, arrogant and self-reliant as Kai.
65	* Dennis Macfield of ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV''. He pretty much pops out of nowhere and latches on to Yuya, seemingly fits into Yuya's group perfectly despite just meeting them, gives off a creepy vibe to Yuzu, and hides his ability to use Fusion for seemingly no reason. (Fusion used by the main antagonist group, Academia, though anybody on either side can use it if they learn how.) Surprise surprise, he actually works for Academia and was sent to capture Yuzu and/or infiltrate the good guys' team. This is also parodied when he and Gongenzaka have a duel in front of an audience. Dennis plays the Face and forces Gongenzaka to be the Heel. The audience believes Dennis despite his attitude, until Gongenzaka pointing out that Dennis's behavior is clearly indicative of the villain; afterwards, Dennis plays the Heel of the duel.
66	* Ren Gyokuen from ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic''. Back in [[{{Utopia}} Alma Torran]], how could King Solomon have ''ever'' possibly foreseen his betrayal at her hands, given how she's portrayed in flashbacks as a shady figure with a winged staff, creepy EmptyEyes, and couldn't be any more ObviouslyEvil if she tried? That's because [[spoiler:the person we're seeing [[RedHerring is not the traitor Gyokuen]], but Solomon's future wife Sheba, who looked like that from a lifetime of BreakTheCutie but eventually recovered. Gyokuen is actually Arba, the Magi who always portrayed herself as Solomon's faithful follower and mother figure and didn't show her true colors until Solomon decided to become the new god of Alma Torran. Gyokuen has the same staff as Sheba because Arba stole it after killing Sheba.]]
67	* Sigurd from ''Literature/SwordArtOnline''. He pushes Leafa around, even outside the terms of their original agreement, and when Kirito intercedes on her behalf, [[DisproportionateRetribution Sigurd threatens to kill him]] while Kirito is unable to fight back due to being in an enemy city (Which unlike in SAO won't [[TheMostDangerousVideoGame actually kill him]], but since death in ALO has an apparently steep EXP penalty, this is quite a KickTheDog moment), [[PragmaticVillainy only stopping when his underlings point out that there are people watching]]. It's thus fairly obvious that he's the traitor to the Sylphs, although the twist is more about the existence of one, rather than the traitor's identity.
68	* In ''Anime/{{Geneshaft}}'', it really isn't hard to guess that Lord Sneak is the terrorist leader [[BigBadDuumvirate working with Oberon]]. He has a mysterious atmosphere around him, is always seen in [[EvilIsNotWellLit dark lighting]], talks rather cryptically, always has ominous and threatening music playing in his scenes, treats [[NumberTwo Beatrice]] with no respect, [[StrawMisogynist basically says that men are better than women]] at one point, and is working for an OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness -- oh, and his [[MeaningfulName name]] is Lord ''Sneak'', a clear reference to his sneakiness.
69	* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood'': There was already a bit of a buildup to [[Characters/JoJosBizarreAdventureDIO Dio Brando]] being the main antagonist, what with him poisoning his {{Jerkass}} of a dad, so him ruining Jonathan's life as children was to be expected. However, by the time he and Jonathan are in college, he seems to act noticeably nicer to him, which feels like it comes out of nowhere, so his eventual FaceHeelTurn into a vampire once he learns the Stone Mask's effects isn't all that surprising.
70	%%* In ''Anime/BloodC'', it's very obvious that Fumito, Saya's neighbor who made her lunches, is the mastermind behind the events of the show and that he's drugging Saya with coffee and marshmallows which results to her memory loss. It's also blatantly obvious that he's the narrator in Saya's flashbacks and the tone of his voice showed that he knew all about her. And when episode 11 rolls around, it doesn't come as a surprise. (Partial context example- what makes it obvious that he is the mastermind?)
71	* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'':
72	** Annie is the Female Titan. The only other female with blond hair in the military (Krista) was present during her attack, and her face was similar to Annie's. Even before the Female Titan was introduced, you could tell by Annie's [[PerpetualFrowner facial expressions]] [[ObviouslyEvil that she may have a darker moral alignment]].
73	** Afterwards, the Armored Titan being Reiner is even more obvious, thanks to the readers having gotten enough examples of Titan MorphicResonance to know the muscular Titan with close-cropped blond hair is going to be a muscular ''human'' with close-cropped blond hair.
74	** While the Colossus Titan is a massive titan with no skin or hair, the fact that Bertolt is closest to Reiner makes it obvious that he's the Colossus Titan, which attacks alongside the Armored Titan. It also helps that Bertolt is one of the tallest members of the class.
75	* ''Manga/{{Erased}}'' attempts to treat TheReveal that Satoru's teacher Yashiro is Kayo's killer as a huge twist, despite Yashiro being literally the sole character who fits the very basic information one is given concerning the culprit.
76	* It's not difficult to figure out that Shou Tucker from ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' is hiding a dark secret, what with Colonel Mustang's sombre recount of what happened to a chimera capable of understanding human speech that he transmuted, the ScaryShinyGlasses, and his asocial personality that leaves his little daughter feeling lonely. It's ''how'' depraved he really is that succeeds at being genuinely horrifying.
77	* ''Manga/MadBull34'': Lieutenant Tom [=DiMeyer=]. The narrative would have viewers believe he was just a strict and tough boss who did whatever was necessary to get the job done, but he goes so far out of his way to KickTheDog and just be unpleasant in general that most viewers will have him pegged as a traitor before he even gets 5 minutes of screen time. Hell, even the ''characters themselves'' seem to be completely unsurprised by his eventual betrayal to the episode's BigBad halfway through the story.
78	-->'''Perrine:''' I should have known you were a crook.
79	-->'''[=DiMeyer=]:''' Yeah you should, Don Enrico pays more than the police department.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Arts]]
83	* Paintings of the Last Supper usually depict Christ and all the Apostles with big shiny halos... except for one guy at the table.
84	** [[Art/TheLastSupper The Last Supper painting everyone is most familiar with]] doesn't have the halos, but it does have one guy framed in shadow and leaning away from Jesus, spilling salt (a bad omen) all over the table.
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Comic Books]]
88	* In his very first appearance ''ComicBook/XMen'' villain Fabian Cortez betrays all his allies, including ComicBook/{{Magneto}} and his ''own sister'', making him this in every appearance thereafter.
89	* No matter if a good guy or a bad guy, any comic that tries to treat [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Loki]]'s inevitable betrayal as a twist (for example ''Comicbook/AForce'') will inevitably fall into this category.
90	* In ''ComicBook/WhiteSand'', Drile's EstablishingCharacterMoment comes when he's trying to sell his skills for money and is subsequently demoted from top rank to the middle. When it turns out he's survived the massacre of the Sand Masters, it doesn't take a genius to figure out who was Kerztians' inside man.
91	* PlayedForLaughs in ''ComicBook/{{Ghostopolis}}'' when the protagonists run into the ghost of [[TheQuisling Benedict Arnold]]; there's maybe a fraction of a second where it looks like he'll help them, than he immediately sells them out to the villains ''[[RefugeInAudacity while standing right next to them]]''. Towards the end of the book [[BrickJoke they run into him again]] and Frank makes sure to call him a jerk, to which Benedict says "sorry, but it's in my nature!".
92	* Zeta Prime in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersAutocracy'' had people figuring out he was clearly the main villain from the first covers. Between the fact that the lineage of Primes in that continuity is historically RoyallyScrewedUp (Optimus was the WhiteSheep) and the fact that he has to be the leader in between "Decepticons are formenting rebellion" and "Decepticons are in all-out war", it wasn't a hard guess, and that's before you look at [[https://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/6/6e/Autocracy6-coverclean.jpg his design.]] And the first thing he did was demonstrate a LifeDrain weapon on a captured soldier, while ranting about being "the monster these people need." Most stories involving him since ''Autocracy'' have been about Optimus kicking himself for ever thinking the crazy bastard was a good option - and the main reason he did so was that, as horrible as Zeta was, [[PetTheDog he was actually somewhat progressive compared to his predecessors]] (which is less a recommendation of Zeta and more a sign that Nominus and Sentinel were ''even worse''). The wiki had a field day with him.
93	-->''Is that masked, horned face the face of someone who would torture and brainwash the dissidents and suck fuel from his own citizens to fuel his army? Totally! So if he were actually bad, he'd probably try to hide it a little, don't you think?''
94	* While none of the members of the new ComicBook/InfinityInc in ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' are very good people, one turns out to be a PsychoForHire and [[ImAHumanitarian a cannibal]] who is totally on-board with the worst of Luthor's plans. This would probably be very surprising to readers, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast had he not been named]] "[[Film/SilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal]] [[Film/{{Psycho}} Bates]]."
95	* In ''ComicBook/BatmanJamesTynionIV'', the story in the ''ComicBook/DCInfiniteFrontier'' era has Simon Saint teaming up with '''ComicBook/TheScarecrow''' to push his Magistrate PoliceState on Gotham City. However, seeing the fear that's been kicked up by Saint's actions behind the scenes, Scarecrow decides to hijack the plan, leading into ''ComicBook/FearState''. This is a PointOfDivergence from ''ComicBook/DCFutureState'', where the Scarecrow went all in on Saint's plan, even allowing himself to be arrested by the Magistrate.
96	* ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'': Why is Superman so shocked when he finds out from Batman before his suicide that Pyotr betrayed him? He made no secret whatsoever of his hatred of him, and even drunkenly admitted that he poisoned Stalin.
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Fan Works]]
100	* Trixie, in ''Fanfic/RainboomsAndRoyalty''. She's a huge jerk to just about everyone except Dash, so it's little surprise when she starts actively trying to mess with the Ponyville ponies.
101	* The version of Judas Iscariot in the ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' story "Smurfed Behind: The Passion Of The Smurfs" is a little too obvious if he happens to be related somehow to the Smurfs' main enemy Gargamel.
102	* ''Fanfic/TheMountainAndTheWolf'': The Wolf makes it plain and obvious that he's trying to bring Chaos to Westeros, even repeatedly stating this outright. No one pays him much heed, because a) no one knows who or what the Chaos gods are, and b) they have more important things to do than listen to him what with the White Walker invasion and the conquest of King's Landing. While nobody is surprised at his eventual betrayal (it being more of a question of when his [[NoPlaceForAWarrior dwindling usefulness]] would finally be outweighed by his obnoxious EvilIsHammy behavior), they're flabbergasted by the circumstances in which it happened, namely [[spoiler:that he try to remove the Iron Throne in Daenerys' presence and expect her to go along with it.]]
103	* ''Fanfic/HighschoolDragon'': When Prince Blueblood revealed himself to be TheMole for Nightmare Moon, it didn't came off as that much of a shock given how he [[{{Jerkass}} acted towards the heroes]], [[FantasticRacism especially Spike]], beforehand.
104	* Jaern in ''VideoGame/PokemonInsurgence'' is introduced as the second Augur, the BigGood of the Torren region...who just so ''happened'' to be there to step up to the position after the mysterious disappearance of the first Augur, apparently wants people to give him gifts when he visits their towns, has set up statues of himself everywhere, and dispatches a couple would-be assassins with a spell that [[BilingualBonus translates to]] "bonds of death" while assuring the populace he just teleported them to jail. Needless to say, it's hardly a surprise when he turns out to be a VillainWithGoodPublicity.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
108	* In ''WesternAnimation/AnimalFarm1954'', the design of Napoleon makes it far too evident that he is or will become the bad guy, especially if you compare him with the other pigs.
109	* In ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', Rourke's status as the villain should probably be evident to anyone vaguely familiar with this kind of film: the macho guy in the military uniform with the FemmeFatale girlfriend on an archaeology expedition that preaches the value of understanding is probably the bad guy, especially since the movie [[OnlyOnePlausibleSuspect doesn't really have another character to fill the antagonist role]]. He's also not involved in a scene where the whole crew bonds, which alone should be a red flag. Once he's said "this changes ''nothing''" upon learning there are people in the ruins, it's pretty much confirmed. What's ''somewhat'' more surprising, albeit less plot-relevant, is the reveal that the rest of the crew aside from Milo was in on it with Rourke (albeit briefly). When Rourke pulls a gun on Milo, Milo isn't so much surprised as he's angry with himself for not realizing Rourke probably came for more than the scenery.
110	* ''WesternAnimation/BartokTheMagnificent'': Even before the reveal, its pretty easy to piece together that Ludmilla is the real villain behind Ivan's kidnapping (or is at least a villain, anyway).
111	* ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'': Evelyn Deavor's identity as The Screenslaver is rather obvious from early on in the film, with major red flags including having a vague motivation for recruiting Elastigirl into promoting superheroes, constantly being snobbish, and often making evil-looking faces. Her name also has a similar pronuntiation to "evil endeavor".
112	* ''WesternAnimation/QuestForCamelot'''s antagonist, Ruber, has greenish skin and a bizarre, banana-shaped head, whereas all the other Knights of the Round Table look perfectly normal.
113	* The ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooDirectToVideoFilmSeries'' has this happen a lot:
114	** ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheWitchsGhost'' has a bunch of suspects for the role of the BigBad... and a character who is played by perennial villain portrayer Creator/TimCurry and is suspiciously ''too helpful''. Guess who turns out to be the villain.
115	** ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheCyberChase'' has Bill be the one behind the Phantom Virus... and do such a terrible job of keeping it a secret that ''every single clue'' blatantly telegraphs Bill's involvement.
116	** ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheMonsterOfMexico'': Mr. Smiley is so cartoonishly, obviously evil, that the film treats it as a given that he was one of the culprits. The museum guide and Charlene are not necessarily wildcards, with the museum guide kidnapping Daphne for seemingly no reason and Charlene getting a lot of exposition for a love interest. While the movie claims Charlene was kidnapped, once El Chupacabra appears with Mr. Smiley present, it's clear there are two conspirators. Guessing they are one and the same isn't a far-fetched guess with the franchise's notorious use of LatexPerfection.
117	* Despite ''looking'' very evil, Clayton from ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'' isn't actually revealed to be the final major villain until about fifteen minutes until the end of the movie. Not helping is the fact that he was already an antagonist (albeit [[AdaptationalVillainy a more sympathetic one]]) in the original ''Tarzan'' stories.
118	* In ''WesternAnimation/ThorTalesOfAsgard'' Thor finds the Sword of Sutr, and accidentally sparks a race war between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants. In order to prevent this war, Odin must find his son and return the sword to the Giants. But, of course, he's too busy to go find his son himself, so he sends his trusty advisor Algrim the Dark Elf. Throughout the film, Algrim reveals the Frost Giants committed genocide against his race and Odin failed to help them; despite this, Algrim is portrayed as a very soft spoken and endearing man. However, when he finds Thor, and offers to hold on to the sword for him, he begins to rant about all the pain he has endured. Everyone becomes unnerved by this, and one of the royal guards sees the betrayal coming and unsheathes his sword, however it's too late when Algrim kills all the guards and leaves to kill Odin as revenge for his people.
119	* ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'' has Preed, the resident {{Jerkass}} and DeadpanSnarker who the rest of the crew can barely stand, and at one point was more interested in shooting grasshoppers than keeping a look out for [[ScaryDogmaticAliens The Drej]]. The fact that he turned out to be TheMole surprises no one; the identity of the ''other'' Mole is far more shocking.
120	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''[='s=] BigBad, Charles Muntz, is barely even a twist villain. On top of his nasty-looking dogs and somewhat off-putting demeanor, he's really the only character in the movie who ''could'' be the main villain, due to [[MinimalistCast how small the cast is]].
121	[[/folder]]
122
123	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
124	* ''Film/FantasticFour2015'': Even those viewers unfamiliar with the comic book source material can't have been too shocked when one member of the group of friends turned out to be the villain... the guy named '''[[DrFakenstein Dr. Victor]] [[DarknessVonGothickname von]] {{Doom\|yDoomsOfDoom}}'''.
125	* ''Film/FridayThe13th1980'': A notable example overlapping with AssPull, since it had more to do with the "Judas" in question suddenly appearing rather than how they were foreshadowed as such. Towards the end of a film where the killer's identity has been shrouded in mystery with practically no hints whatsoever, in steps one Pamela Voorhees, claiming to be an old friend of the camp's owner. It doesn't take long before this woman who showed up out of nowhere and with no buildup or explanation reveals herself as the killer, shortly after telling [[FinalGirl Alice Hardy]] her [[MamaBear motive]].
126	* In ''Film/{{Geostorm}}'', the secret villain turns out to be Secretary of State Dekkom, who is played by Creator/EdHarris (one of the go-to actors for government bad guys), acts super suspicious, and is given lots of screen time for someone in a supposedly small role.
127	* ''Film/IRobot'': If it's not obvious from the moment she appears that VIKI is behind everything, just from the fact that she's USR's distributed AI operating system (with a direct line to their 24-hour security feeds!), it becomes obvious about half a minute later, when she can't pull up the one piece of security footage that would have conclusively proven what happened to Langdon, claiming there's "data corruption". It's frankly incredible that Del, who is paranoid in general and extremely distrusting of robots in particular, took her word for it.
128	* Mills and Wheatley from ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'' betray the heroes (minus Zia, who was critical to keep an injured Blue alive) and left them to die on an exploding Isla Nublar. Mills is a shifty, creepy-looking guy who doesn't really seem very trustworthy, and Wheatley is an arrogant EgomaniacHunter who's very condescending and rude toward the good guys, particularly Zia and Franklin.
129	* One review of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowshipOfTheRing'' mentioned "If I were Frodo, and Boromir had been this obvious about his intentions, I'd have been off on my own before the Fellowship reached Moria." Boromir has openly argued in favor of using [[ArtifactOfDoom the One Ring]] against Sauron (a very bad idea, considering that the correct choice of action is to destroy it), seemed most reluctant of its members to join the Fellowship, is most critical of the plan to destroy it, and initially distrusts the morally-redoubtable Aragorn. Later, Boromir longingly gazes on the ring while musing about it, only returning it to Frodo when Aragorn ordered him to do so. Boromir also keeps insisting that they take the Ring to his home city at some point--it's not hard to assume, correctly, that this is so he can fall back on his original idea. And to cap it all off, the film has repeatedly shown that Men are most vulnerable to the Ring's power, and the other Man in the party, Aragorn, is shown to be strongly defiant of his heritage and aware of the Ring's dangers. Naturally, all this culminates in him trying to take the ring from Frodo at Amon Hen, resulting in Frodo leaving the Fellowship. Downplayed, though, in that Boromir is still shown to be a goodhearted person and his truly malicious actions are solely limited to the above event, which he [[RedemptionEqualsDeath immediately regretted]]. It's just that he was the member of the Fellowship most susceptible to the Ring's corruption, being the most ambitious and high-minded.
130	* ''Film/TheMalteseFalcon1941'': We're supposed to be surprised when it turns out Brigid's the one who killed Sam Spade's partner, Miles Archer, but considering how suspicious she was for the majority of the film, and the fact that even Sam himself didn't trust her for those reasons, the twist should have been pretty obvious.
131	* Cypher in ''Film/TheMatrix'' has a shifty vibe from the beginning, solidified when he tells Neo, "Why oh why didn't I take the ''blue'' pill?" In the next scene, he's shown making a deal with the Agents -- if he turns over Morpheus, who knows the codes to Zion, Cypher will be allowed to return to the Matrix. Even [[LouisCypher his name]] is a warning sign.
132	* August Walker from ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout''. He's openly antagonistic to Ethan and the team, expresses very little concern about human life, accuses Ethan of being TheMole with clearly fake evidence, and gets several [[TraitorShot ominous close-ups]] during otherwise innocuous scenes.
133	* ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'':
134	** ''Film/Saw3D'': Ever since ''Film/SawII'', a progressively increasing number of viewers had thought (whether it be out of suspicion or as a suggested fan idea) that Dr. Lawrence Gordon might have survived and become an apprentice of Jigsaw, since his ambiguous fate from the first movie's events was referenced in some way in every following one as a sort of MythArc, starting with the figure who performed Michael Marks' eye surgery on the Death Mask video tape from ''Saw II'' (initially meant to be John Kramer) having a notable limp (intended on part of the figure's actor Darren Lynn Bousman, who wanted a flavored movement that showed the progression of John's cancer by the time of the film) comparable to Lawrence's self-amputated leg. Once it became AscendedFanon as the final twist of ''Saw 3D'' (and thus the final one of the original seven films, albeit with Lawrence being a more minor accomplice rather than a full-term apprentice), said viewers, in addition to many others, were able to see the reveal coming, not helped by the movie opening with Lawrence losing consciousness after attempting to treat his stump, then showing him midway through completely fine in the Jigsaw Survivor Group meeting, where he gives Bobby Dagen a mocking speech with a rather suspicious tone, followed by Cale referring to him as "the creepy man with the cane" when he talks to Bobby after the meeting.
135	** ''Film/Spiral2021'': William Schenk being the Spiral Killer becomes very blatant when he supposedly dies in one of the games, simply due to the fact that, unlike all the past victims (as well as the fact that this already happened in two [[Film/SawIV previous]] [[Film/{{Jigsaw}} films]] with other killers), he's never seen getting kidnapped nor is his game itself shown. Also, his surname sounds like "shank" (as in to stab someone in the back), and the fact that he's played by Creator/MaxMinghella (who's already known for playing twist villains) was enough for some people to figure him out as early as the film's trailer came out.
136	%%* [[MasterOfIllusion Mysterio]] in ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' was this to anyone remotely familiar with his role in the comics, especially after his claim that he came from Franchise/MarvelUniverse-616. (ZCE- how does being familiar with the comics mean one will see the betrayal coming?)
137	* Harry Osborn from the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy''. He was pretty much set up solely for the purpose of being Peter's Judas (starting with hitting on Mary Jane and starting to date her, the implication being that he wanted Peter to be jealous of him like he was jealous of his dad's affection for Peter).
138	* A ForegoneConclusion in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels, but as early as ''[[Film/AttackOfTheClones Episode II: Attack of the Clones]]'', Anakin Skywalker was wearing dark robes as a contrast to the light brown ones of his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, as well as almost every other Jedi that appears. He's also more angry and impulsive than the other Jedi (something which is repeatedly pointed out), and by the end of ''Attack of the Clones'', has broken almost every part of the Jedi code by slaughtering non-combatants and children and getting married. If you were surprised that he became Darth Vader at the end of ''[[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Episode III: Revenge of the Sith]]'', not only were you [[PopCulturalOsmosisFailure living under a rock for years]], you didn't pay attention to some really heavy-duty {{Foreshadowing}} either.
139	[[/folder]]
140
141	[[folder:Literature]]
142	* ''Literature/AngelsOfMusic'' actually manages to use this as a ProphecyTwist. The prophecy is "One of us is a traitor. One of us is not what she seems" and the twist is [[spoiler: that these are two separate statements, and the traitor is ''exactly'' what she seems]].
143	* During the Xyrus Academy Arc in ''Literature/TheBeginningAfterTheEnd'', it's painfully obvious that Kai Crestless, one of Arthur's fellow Disciplinary Committee members, isn't someone to be trusted. His presence makes Arthur feel uneasy (especially since Arthur can't sense his powers), he suspiciously takes up bigger patrols than the other members of the committee all on his own, and at one point, when Arthur asks him about his unique powers, he casually threatens to kill him. Sure enough, he is revealed to be TheMole for the Radicals (who are under the sway of the Vritra) and he ends up helping kickstart the attack on Xyrus that marks the conclusion of the arc by sabotaging the barrier the Disciplinary Committee tried to set up. The Webcomic version makes his true colors all the more obvious by giving him a perpetual sinister leer on his face that screams SmugSnake. However, both Kai (alongside Lucas Wykes, another student who was Arthur's enemy as an adventurer and also ends up falling under the sway of the Vritra), are meant to obfuscate ''who'' among Arthur's classmates will end up becoming one of his greatest enemies in the future.
144	* In ''Literature/TheLastHero'' the character of "Evil" Harry Dread proudly wears this as his hat, and even reminds the party that he is evil and therefore contractually obliged to betray them at some point. The heroes accept this as part of the Heroic Code and even congratulate him on a job well done when he does betray them.
145	* ''Literature/TheJenkinsverse'': In-universe. A Corti doctor (who humans call "Grizzly") is ordered to offer his services to Adrian Sanders, the most dangerous human alive, and then report all his activities to the Corti government. Grizzly knows that he'll be discovered sooner or later, so after bouncing some ideas off someone else, he walks up to Adrian's pirate crew, [[HonestyIsTheBestPolicy tells them he's a spy]], and offers them his services. The pirates are careful not to mention anything particularly important around Grizzly, and Grizzly is careful to stay far away from anything that might be considered important.
146	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
147	** For the North, Roose Bolton. He's on the "good" side of the Starks, but comes from a long-time rival of House Stark that still brags about how they would flay their enemies alive, and even has the flayed man as their sigil, along with living in the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Dreadfort]]. He's also constantly described as creepy, being very pale and having a quiet, whispered voice due to his frequent leechings (even holding a meeting while naked and being leeched), and has a number of weird habits. Naturally, the Boltons end up conspiring against the Starks along with the Lannisters and Freys (see below) by helping to orchestrate the Red Wedding and take control over the Stark ancestral castle of Winterfell in the aftermath.
148	** The Freys have the reputation of being up-jumped, self-important and loyal only when it suits them. This reputation was galvanized when they obeyed their oath of loyalty to the Tullys during Robert's Rebellion only ''after'' it became clear that the Tullys were going to win anyway. Also, most of the Freys are described as very unattractive, many reassembling their weasel-like common ancestor, Lord Walder Frey. On top of that, many of them are very unpleasant, from the abrupt and rude [[BastardBastard "Bastard" Walder Rivers]], the thuggish and fierce Hosteen Frey, the scheming [[EvilCripple "Lame" Lothar Frey]], and the brutal "Black" Walder Frey. The trope is confirmed when Walder switches sides against the Tullys and Starks, and then has them slaughtered in the [[NastyParty Red Wedding]]. Ironically, some of the nicer Freys, such as [[NiceGirl Roslin]], are described as being relatively attractive.
149	** Littlefinger plays with this by being ''so'' obviously up to no good that people write him off as either a SarcasticDevotee or a SmugSnake with a blatantly obvious (and thus easily foreseeable) case of ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, rather than a full-fledged ManipulativeBastard who excels at inducing [[WrongGenreSavvy wrong genre savviness]] in those around him until precisely the right moment.
150	--->'''Littlefinger:''' I ''did'' warn you not to trust me.
151	* ''Literature/StarWarsRazorsEdge'': Kifar Itran butts heads with Han Solo at every opportunity, alienates his fellow Rebels, and is nonetheless oddly eager to volunteer for dangerous roles that take him away from the others. He doesn't display the sense or steady loyalty of Sian, the other rank-and-file Rebel in the party. While no one is especially surprised that he gives up information to BigBad Viest under captivity and presumed torture (when he actually cuts a deal with her using Imperial info), they take longer than they really should (as Leia admits) to suspect him of being the Imperial mole; it only truly becomes clear after Itran and Luke go off alone in the ''Falcon'' to complete a task and are captured by Imperials.
152	* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': Mazrim Taim is so obviously evil that it's no surprise at all when he turns out to be a Darkfriend trying to turn the Black Tower into a weapon against Rand.
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
156	* [[AdaptationalVillainy Shibuki Saori]] in ''Series/AliceInBorderland'', a [[ManipulativeBitch manipulative]] DirtyCoward who in her very first meeting with the boys sends a high schooler to her death to get ahead in the DeadlyGame. In spite of this and her frequent assertions that she's willing to do ''anything'' to survive, the group keeps her around out of desperation only for her to immediately betray them in the third game rather than cooperate.
157	* PlayedForLaughs in the series finale of ''Series/{{Angel}}''.
158	-->'''Angel:''' This may come out a little pretentious, but one of you will betray me.\
159	'''Spike:''' ''[raises hand eagerly]''\
160	'''Angel:''' --Wes.\
161	'''Spike:''' Oh! Can I deny you three times?
162	* Similarly PlayedForLaughs on ''Series/MockTheWeek'' in a "Scenes We'd Like To See" segment subtitled "Unlikely Lines from The Bible".
163	-->'''Rob Beckett:''' Oh, I shoulda known it would be you, with a name like bloody [[TropeCodifier Judas]].
164	* ''Series/{{NTSFSDSUV}}'': Parodied in an episode where Robert Picardo shows up playing a creepy, sinister tech expert who just so happens to have shown up after [[TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch "the mysterious untimely death of the previous tech expert"]]. Nobody except Sam seems to notice his suspicious behavior (like making headless dolls of the entire team), who later confronts him about it and is immediately proven wrong when the guy acts shocked at the suggestion and it turns out he is NotEvilJustMisunderstood. Then the final scene shows that he and Agent Trent were both behind the episode's plot.
165	* Littlefinger of ''Series/GameOfThrones'' flat out ''tells'' Ned Stark not to trust him. When the inevitable betrayal comes, he makes a point to remind Stark of the early warning. And this is only [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder the first time of many]] that he betrays someone.
166	* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Halbrand is Sauron in disguise. He's the first person Galadriel travels with in her hunt in Middle Earth, which dramatically makes him a key suspect for the hidden person she's looking for. She believes he's meant to be the lost King of the Southlands (Which sounds like code for Lord of Mordor) because of his pouch's insignia, but he replies to her suspicions with dubious non-answers. He says suspicious things like "What do you know of Darkness?", "I am not the hero you seek" says he wish he could "Bind" his belief of himself "To his very being" clearly alluding to what he does with the One Ring, binding his will. In Numenor, he shows an interest in forgery, is attacked in a bar fight and demonstrates freakish strength. When Galadriel and Halbrand interrogate the Orc's current leader Adar, he gets suspicious and asks who Halbrand is. To the show's credit, they throw out a few red herrings with the orc leader Adar looking like Sauron in a blurred camera focus, and three of Sauron's cultists mistake a wizard for him, but the clues for Sauron/Halbrand's identity are very signposted, and one of these two is discounted shortly after his introduction while the other makes ''far'' less sense.
167	* In ''Series/Preacher2016'' Eugene gets sent to {{Hell}} by mistake, and there he ends up befriending ''UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler'' of all people, and receiving help from him to escape. The series goes an extra mile to portray Hitler in an unusually complex and sympathetic light, giving the viewer at least some reason to assume that the years in Hell might have changed him for the better. Naturally, they haven't, and he goes back into Fascist dictator mode as soon as he manages to break into the world of the living.
168	* In the second series of ''Series/RobinHood'', there is a story arc concerning one of the {{outlaw}}s becoming a spy for Gisborne. The writers apparently realised that Allan a Dale was obviously the only one at all likely to turn traitor, since [[InternalReveal the audience know right from the beginning]], and when the outlaws discover there's a spy suspicion ''immediately'' falls on him.
169	* In the third and fourth season of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', Ruby tries to pass herself as [[TokenHeroicOrc a heroic demon]] who wants to help Sam and Dean in their fight to stop Lilith from causing the Apocalypse. However, it becomes increasingly obvious that she's up to no good when [[TheCorrupter she gets Sam addicted to her blood and encourages him to commit morally dubious actions]] supposedly for the greater good. Even in-universe, Dean questions her true allegiance more than once. Eventually, neither Dean nor most of the fandom were schocked to learn that she was in cahoots with Lilith all along.
170	[[/folder]]
171
172	[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
173	* The original [[Literature/TheBible Judas Iscariot]] is something of a mixed example, as all the Gospel writers themselves pretty much presented him to the readers [[ForegoneConclusion as a traitor from the start]], with John in particular mentioning that Judas had been StealingFromTheTill (he apparently being the group's unofficial treasurer, since he helped carry their money bag) and that his ostensibly righteous motives were all hypocrisy. At the time these events were taking place, however, none of the disciples had any reason to suspect Judas of ulterior motives. In fact, when Jesus announced that one of them was going to betray him, each of them doubted ''themselves'' more than anyone else. (They all asked him "Is it I?" rather than "Is it Judas?") This implies that the disciples only noticed these red flags about Judas ''retroactively''. Another explanation could be that they trusted Jesus' judgment despite the signs that Judas was up to no good. Or it's possible that they noticed that he was untrustworthy with money, [[EvenEvilHasStandards but didn't think his shortcomings extended so far that he'd betray Jesus]]. This interpretation was favored by Origen of Alexandria, who suggested that Judas simply lacked moral fortitude, and the act of betrayal was a moment of weakness that no one saw coming.
174	** Arguably, even Jesus was hoodwinked by the original Judas, especially for non-Christians and Christians who emphasize the "human" side of Jesus (i.e. Jesus had voluntarily limited himself to not be all-knowing while living as a human). In the gospels of both Matthew and Luke, Jesus promises the disciples that they will be seated on twelve thrones ruling the twelve tribes of Israel in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:28-30). That's a curious promise to make when one of those disciples was Judas! He could, however, have been referring to Matthias, Judas' replacement in Acts after he hanged himself.
175	[[/folder]]
176
177	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
178	* Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli and Wrestling/KevinSteen during the Wrestling/RingOfHonor vs Wrestling/{{CZW}} feud, depending on which promotion you were a fan of. Wrestling/ChrisHero was [[TheHeavy the driving antagonistic force]] behind the feud, resentful over fact a venue had changed the starting hour of a CZW show after a scheduling conflict with an ROH one and deemed ROH should be destroyed after he was buried in a WorkedShoot by ROH [[BigGood head booker]] [[AuthorAvatar Jimmy Bowers]] (Gabe Sapolsky). Anyone who knows Hero and Castagnoli knows they act as a TagTeam far more often than they feud, so even though Castagnoli had an ROH "contract" his turn wasn't all that surprising. Steen, meanwhile, [[TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong openly hated CZW]] and was looking for any excuse to get out of any bookings he had committed to it. While ROH was merely alternating between defending or avenging itself with no designs towards CZW's permanent destruction, the formal entrance of [[BigBad CZW founder]] John Zandig into the feud had ROH genuinely concerned for its continued operation and willing to take all the help it could get. Even if that meant hiring a [[GodzillaThreshold known traitor]] like Steen and giving into some of his demands (in exchange for some CZW assets of course).
179	* Wrestling/KennyOmega in Wrestling/BulletClub. It would be a lie to say Bullet Club always got along ("Go Home [[Wrestling/TheYoungBucks Young Baxu]]!"), but brothers fight. They were TrueCompanions, ''until'' Omega, a PsychoForHire who sold out his "homeland" ''twice'', was brought in solely to fill the super junior singles void left by [[Wrestling/FergalDevitt Prince Devitt]]. No one was really surprised therefor when he turned on [[DragonInChief the]] defacto [[TheFace new]] face Wrestling/AJStyles and caused a permanent rift in the stable, which has gone on to be defined by in fighting and back biting ever since.
180	* Wrestling/RicFlair isn't called "The Dirtiest Player In The Game" for nothing. You could set your watch to the inevitable betrayal, particularly when teamed with Wrestling/{{Sting}}.
181	* Wrestling/ChrisJericho played into this trope so much he ended up making a DoItYourselfThemeTune with his metal band Music/{{Fozzy}} called ''Judas'' and called his new FinishingMove "The Judas Effect".
182	[[/folder]]
183
184	[[folder:Roleplay]]
185	* When the term "pre-made psycho" or similar is used among ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' handlers, it's generally a reference to this. It's used when a character is clearly going to play the game the second they get on the island just from a read-through of their profile. It often includes any mixture of [[TheSociopath sociopathy]], DarkAndTroubledPast, prior firearm or martial arts knowledge, mental instability, or [[ManipulativeBastard excellent manipulation skills]]. While more common in earlier versions, the staff nowadays tries to avert this by requesting profiles that have clear pre-made traits to be rewritten if not outright denied.
186	[[/folder]]
187
188	[[folder:Theatre]]
189	* ''Music/JesusChristSuperstar'': Judas, duh. He's usually costumed in dark clothes or leather, unlike Jesus' other followers, and one of his first interactions with Jesus has him insult Magdalene for her... [[TheOldestProfession profession.]]
190	* In ''Theatre/TheBibleTheCompleteWordOfGodAbridged'', Judas himself is acted with an evil Creator/PeterLorre accent in the Last Supper sketch.
191	[[/folder]]
192
193	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
194	* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
195	** ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'': [[AmoralAttorney Manfred von Karma]] is a so-called "[[WorldsBestWarrior god of prosecution]]", rightly [[TheDreaded feared]] among defense attorneys because he's gone undefeated for ''40 years''. The minute he's actually shown on-screen, he's [[ManOfWealthAndTaste dressed like a vampire]], takes control of the entire courtroom, shows [[{{Jerkass}} total contempt]] for the judge, and interrupts nearly ''everything you say'' with [[EvilSoundsDeep demonically deep]] "Objection" soundbites. Accordingly, the spoiler isn't that von Karma is unethical -- it's that he shot a defense attorney in cold blood, raised Miles Edgeworth to be the kind of prosecutor his father would hate, and planned the entirety of the fourth case to frame Miles for murder, [[DisproportionateRetribution all over a tiny penalty]] on his otherwise perfect record. You can't even call von Karma a SoreLoser because he actually ''won'' that case... He's '''''[[EvilIsPetty just that petty]]'''''.
196	** ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'': The [[HangingJudge Lord Chief Justice]], Mael Stronghart. He's surrounded by ClocksOfControl everywhere he goes, constantly waxes poetic about [[OrderIsNotGood law and order]] and how great his new forensic investigation team is, has an ominous {{Leitmotif}}, and once talks Ryunosuke's ear off for [[NapInducingSpeak several hours]] about how much he wants to become the Attorney General to [[WellIntentionedExtremist stamp out all the crime in Britain]]. Even the game calls him "a thoroughly intimidating man". True to form, he's the mastermind behind pretty much everything bad that happens across the entire duology, save for Cases 1-3 and 1-5, which revolve more around the BigBadDuumvirate of [[LoanShark Magnus McGilded]] and [[TheCracker Ashley Graydon]].
197	* Played with in ''VisualNovel/CemeteryMary''. The central mystery is the identity of the [[SerialKiller Blackwood Butcher]]. In all three routes, Reginald Tetra seems nice at first but starts acting very suspiciously; he regularly purchases antifreeze (the usual murder weapon found in the Blackwood Butcher cases) and rat poison, constantly tries to bring the titular heroine to places while not telling her where they are, acts ''too'' nice to her, keeps disappearing to "make calls" to "clients", and is a coffin-maker with a morbid fascination for making a coffin to fit Mary in, among other things. Twila Sophio, the AmateurSleuth on the case, is convinced that he is the culprit... and is so adamant about it (and a jerk in general) that the player is likely to dismiss him as a RedHerring. But no, [[TheUntwist he really is the killer]].
198	* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'': Tsumugi Shirogane is a self-proclaimed plain, background-esque character whom no other student generally gave attention to until she's revealed as the killing game's mastermind in the final chapter. Her status as an OutOfFocus archetype was meant to hide that twist in favor of other forms of {{Foreshadowing}}, but for many players (newcomers and past ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' fans alike), that's exactly what gives her away; she never really participates in investigations, never has anything meaningful to say in trials, never falls under suspicion, and never has any subplots to herself, even in the later chapters where everyone else has had their focus. [[AbsenceOfEvidence The writers' seeming disinterest in Tsumugi]] despite the limited cast of characters clued players in that they were planning on something big with her near the endgame... and what could that be except the Mastermind reveal?
199	* ''VisualNovel/HeartOfTheWoods'': Evelyn Fischer is revealed to be the BigBad behind the curse that started the novel's plot. Beforehand, she's rather cold toward not just Tara and Madison, but also her own daughter Morgan, with a lot of her lines containing thinly veiled death threats against Madison. As a result, if there's any character among the human cast who comes off as a candidate for the villain, it's her. The game doesn't even treat this as much of a surprise, since Madison is unsurprised after Abigail tells her that Evelyn tricked her.
200	* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': Miyo Takano is unveiled as the BigBad posing as Oyashiro-sama. She consistently appears right before or after the arc takes a dark turn storywise, continually makes ''incredibly'' unsettling and downright psychotic comments related to Oyashiro-sama and Hinamizawa's history, and her method of death in all arcs is her body being found burnt to a crisp, which as early as the second arc is revealed to have happened before the Watagahashi festival, where she appeared, even happened, obviously signifying a fake body (by comparison, the other victim, Tomitake, was found with his throat torn out). And in the sixth arc, she is the one who provides Rena with the theory/lie that the curse of Oyashiro is actually aliens, causing her to become paranoid and turn against the others, which was almost certainly intentional on Miyo's part. The only way to not see the answer is that the game hints that Takano is possibly a kind of malevolent spirit, befitting the horror vibe of the first three arcs. As soon as it becomes clear that the supernatural elements of the story are largely a RedHerring and all the mysteries have grounded explanations, her being the mastermind is almost ''comically'' obvious.
201	* Dio from ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'' is somewhat of an in-universe example. He's a haughty {{Jerkass}} with a [[SirSwearsALot potty mouth]], a mysterious background, and a tendency to cause trouble. Because of this, even the ''other characters'' don't trust him. Since they're all playing a DeadlyGame that is [[PrisonersDilemma built on trust]], just about everyone voting against Dio votes "betray." So the reveal that he's a terrorist leader who's planted bombs in the warehouse isn't exactly surprising. This is in sharp contrast to [[VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors the game's predecessor]], where the Big Bad [[BitchInSheepsClothing managed to hide themselves rather well]].
202	[[/folder]]
203
204	[[folder:Web Animation]]
205	* In ''WebAnimation/PuffinForest'': Garathor doesn't even try to be subtle, he outright states that he has hired the party to collect a [[ArtifactOfDoom crystal of evil magic]] that he will use to summon forth his Evil Master. The party are also constantly attacked by the forces of a certain [[SignificantAnagram Tar Hogar]]. And no, we never get to know why Garathor would try to stop the party from succeeding in the mission he hired them to do.
206	[[/folder]]
207
208	[[folder:Webcomics]]
209	* [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160315212223/http://chuckleaduck.com/comic/under-cover/ This]] ''Chuckle-A-Duck'' comic features Judas Iscariot himself as a DastardlyWhiplash.
210	* [[https://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=962 This]] episode from ''Webcomic/DMOfTheRings'' discusses the less than subtle reveal of Wormtongue as being a traitor. "Remember the nasty old guy who dressed in black? Named Wormtongue? ...Brace yourself for a shock, Laddie. He was a spy."
211	* Eridan Ampora from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' who was near-immediately established as a genocidal orphaner with a love of gunplay. Almost all of his darker traits were quickly overshadowed by his pathetic love life, though anyone who remembered his original introduction probably expected his turn to evil the instant his various romances were sunk.
212	* Subverted InUniverse in ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids''. Jim, who is playing Qui-Gon Jinn, is convinced Sio Bibble is this since [[GoodHairEvilHair he has a goatee]] and is an advisor to the queen which means he must be an EvilChancellor. He wasn't.
213	* ''Webcomic/MegaManDissonance'': Readers have suspected that Dr. Hook might actually know more than she lets on and be behind everything. Come Chapter 11, and lo and behold, she's involved with Requiem's plan.
214	* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': Oscar, one of the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent devils]] hired by Allison for her CaperCrew in ''Seeker of Thrones'', is a BigRedDevil with a permanently grinning Tengu mask, "EVIL" printed on his pants and "BAD MAN" printed on his jacket. During the course of the caper he feeds no less than two other members of the crew into the MalevolentArchitecture mostly on a lark. The fact that he eventually turns on the rest of them is heralded by the AltText linking to Wrestling/JohnCena's "BAD, BAD MAN" and the "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" clip from ''Series/{{Firefly}}''.
215	[[/folder]]
216
217	[[folder:Web Videos]]
218	* Parodied by WebVideo/ProZD's King Dragon Canon with Lysanderoth ([[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII partially]] named after fellow Obvious Judas, [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Lysandre]]), who makes [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN9DW4rrEjY his first appearance]] speaking ominously about his desire to 'wipe away the impurities' of the world. Also, he wears [[HighClassGlass a monocle]] and has an evil mustache. Dennis the player is instantly suspicious of Lysanderoth's tangent during the first meeting with the PlayerCharacter. In-Universe, [[spoiler:after he kills Archibald]], the rest of the party is surprised to discover that he is TheMole. [[OnlySaneMan Dennis, however, is unimpressed]], especially when he replays the game and already knows the PlotTwist coming. In his further scenes, Lysanderoth makes blatant remarks hinting at his betrayal, making it even more obvious.
219	-->'''Lysanderoth:''' This world is imperfect... If only I could wipe away the impurities and make it as beautiful as ''me!''\
220	''[later]''\
221	'''Sonia-Rica:''' LYSANDEROTH??! You were behind this?\
222	'''Lysanderoth:''' Yes, it was ''I!'' My machinations lay undetected for years, for I am a master of deception!\
223	''[camera zooms in on Dennis's increasingly annoyed expression]''
224	[[/folder]]
225
226	[[folder:Western Animation]]
227	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': King Andrias Leviathan's status as the series' WalkingSpoiler villain was so blatantly and excessively foreshadowed that viewers started making many theories about him right after his first appearance, where he's seen moving a chess piece resembling protagonist Anne Boonchuy on a chessboard, and then kneeling down to a sinister-looking entity, which is later revealed to be The Core (the GreaterScopeVillain whom he reports to). And that's without mentioning the indications present in Andrias' aesthetic, as he's covered in dark-colored, battle-scarred armor, has [[WhiteHairBlackHeart white hair and a beard]], and is voiced by Keith David, who's known to have portrayed numerous villains in his career. Andrias' last name is also a dead giveaway, since "leviathan" is a word used to describe autocratic monarchs who are tyrants. When the final Season 2 episode was announced to be titled "True Colors", the betrayal Andrias was going to commit was basically spoiled out, and became not as exciting of a twist as the reveal that Marcy Wu duped her friends into going to Amphibia because she didn't want to lose them from moving away from home.
228	* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'':
229	** In "Frogs of War", LaResistance against the Inkursean invaders is made of Gwen Tennyson, [[TheAtoner Kevin Levin]], [[HypercompetentSidekick Rook]], [[GeniusDitz Blucik]], and... [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Argit]]. One guess on who ends up being TheMole.
230	** A special mention goes to Dr. Viktor for being a rare HeelFaceTurn example of the trope. In summary, Viktor makes it no secret that he will eventually be the Judas in the midst of Zs'Skayr's henchmen. In "The Vampire Strikes Back", Zs'Skayr resurrects Lord Transyl, a member of a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent long-extinct species]] that once enslaved Viktor's people with the intention of ruling the universe together. Viktor voices '''obvious''' disapproval for the scheme, even going so far as to call it "madness," and yet at the very end where Zs'Skayr orders Viktor to hold onto Ben so that Transyl can take control over him, Zs'Skayr is ''still'' legitimately shocked when Viktor drops Ben at the last second, proclaiming that the Vladats must never rule again.
231	* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' with [[TokenEvilTeammate Dinobot]]. The character is introduced as a rogue Predacon who defects to the Maximals for the sole purpose of getting payback against his former boss, and actually initially tried to take over the Maximals as their leader. He is portrayed as by far the most aggressive main character, makes absolutely no secret he would still want to lead if given the opportunity, and is treated with distrust by other main character Rattrap. However, he also happens to be a NobleDemon with a very strong sense of honor, and actually declines multiple opportunities to betray the Maximals over the course of the show. He ''does'' end up returning to the Predacons later on, but by this time he had gone through CharacterDevelopment, which leads him to re-join the Maximals and eventually redeem himself through a HeroicSacrifice.
232	* The ''WesternAnimation/CountDuckula'' episode "Dear Diary" has Duckula wanting to sell his diary to the Transylvanian newspaper for serialization, but it turns out that the newspaper's readership are a bunch of Philistines who aren't interested in the life of a vampire duck. That evening, Igor comes in with the evening edition with the life of Duckula...through the eyes of Igor!
233	-->'''Duckula:''' Igor, is this true?!\
234	'''Igor:''' Well, I began to think you were right about keeping a diary...\
235	'''Duckula:''' Right?! Of course I'm right! I'm always right! But you--you turncoat, you Judas! How---how could you do this me?
236	** It does not help a bit that Nanny's diary got syndicated on radio!
237	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': The Board of Directors for [=McDuck=] Enterprises are vultures who live off the ScavengersAreScum stereotype, generally act like jerks to Scrooge and his employees, and one of the tie-in comics all but states that they're plotting against him. Naturally, most of the fandom's surprise when they were revealed to be major villains at the end of season 2 wasn't directed at the fact they were villains at all, but at the fact they were [[CanonCharacterAllAlong the F.O.W.L. High Command]] from ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' reimagined.
238	* ''WesternAnimation/RoswellConspiraciesAliensMythsAndLegends'': General Rinaker has so many hints dropped about being a traitor to the Alliance — or at least, thoroughly corrupt and out for himself — that the eventual revelation he is indeed a bad guy comes off as quite obvious after almost forty episodes of build-up… [[spoiler:which is all actually a smokescreen for the '''real''' plot twist that "Rinaker" has been DeadAllAlong and the guy the characters have been interacting with is actually Wraith, a Shadoen agent, wearing the guy's skin to prepare an invasion of Earth.]]
239	* Sinedd from ''WesternAnimation/GalactikFootball'', he was arrogant and very distant from the Snow Kids.
240	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': Korra's [[EvilUncle Uncle Unalaq]] in Season 2, who comes across as very eerie and manipulative right off the bat, not to mention having two CreepyChild kids. Korra and almost everyone else totally trusts him despite his sinister presence. Korra's father stands out as the OnlySaneMan for being suspicious of his brother's motives, but naturally [[CassandraTruth Korra doesn't listen to him]].
241	* ''WesternAnimation/MegaManFullyCharged'': In the first two episodes, Sgt. Breaker Night pretends to be an innocent victim of Fire Man's attack. The problem is, they made him ''so'' ObviouslyEvil (from his {{name\|sToRunAwayFromReallyFast}}, to his {{red and black\|andevilallover}} color scheme, to his [[EvilIsAngular angular design]], to the fact that his very first appearance has him ranting about his FantasticRacism for robots) that it should come as absolutely NO surprise that he's the real evil mastermind.
242	* Coverton from ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens2013'', being snobbish, scheming and working for Coverlord. [[{{Pun}} Hell, his own name shows that he is a villain!]]
243	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}'':
244	** "Identity Crisis" treats the reveal that Cyrus turned on Dot as a big twist, even though it's really obvious since we saw he had just taken her organizer before handing it back to her.
245	** "Where No Sprite Has Gone Before" we see both the Spectrals and Hero Selective are suspicious of each other, but both sides deny doing damage to the system. Unsurprisingly the abrasive members on both sides turn out to be the real culprits. Bonus points for Powerlock, the member of the Hero Selective who turned out to be evil, having a NinetiesAntiHero attitude and design.
246	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
247	** [[Characters/SouthParkEricCartman Eric Cartman]] is the TokenEvilTeammate. Even in a reference to the last supper, Kyle believes someone will betray him. Cartman (who has already betrayed him) makes an outbursts that anyone that would betray Kyle is a loser. Through the rest of Kyle's speech, he is giving Cartman a DeathGlare.
248	*** Also parodied in "[[Recap/SouthParkS8E9SomethingWallMartThisWayComes Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes]]", where the boys are reluctant to bring Cartman with them on their trip to Wal-Mart because they know he's going to betray them. Cartman is even offended when they say they saw his betrayal coming, and claims that they're just lying. Kyle even says he saw him impeding their progress but Stan and Kenny don't care since Cartman is inept at betrayal so they don't have time to make sure he won't join them.
249	* Bismuth of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' is introduced as an old war comrade and friend of Garnet and Pearl, but savvy fans suspected something amiss given that Bismuth had been bubbled and left in Lion's mane, inaccessible to the rest of the team, who assumed that she was shattered in the war. She also fits in a little too perfectly with the main team in a show [[StatusQuoIsGod that generally doesn't give secondary characters much screen time]]. Ultimately she's revealed to be a WellIntentionedExtremist instead, whose disagreements with Rose Quartz (and eventually Steven) over Bismuth creating a weapon capable of easily murdering their enemies ended up becoming physical. Her episode ended with Steven leaving a better impression on Bismuth than Rose Quartz had, and her being re-bubbled for the next two seasons before Steven releases her once more.
250	* Cassandra from ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'' looks very similar to Mother Gothel, the BigBad of [[{{WesternAnimation/Tangled}} the movie the show is based on]], but is one of Rapunzel's allies... [[spoiler: until the final season, when she betrays Rapunzel and friends and becomes a villain. And on top of that, turns out Gothel was her literal biological mother.]]
251	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ObviousJudas