Oh it's FAR too late for that.
If you've upset or enraged a character, you'd best not turn around — or else you'll find them towering over you, reduced to a dark shadow with no visible features except for Glowing Eyes of Doom or Scary Shiny Glasses (occasionally with gritted teeth), with their hands outstretched as if to throttle you from behind. Sometimes can be found in conjunction with a Battle Aura.
This can also occur, with the addition of a menacing grin, if a character senses great opportunity for mischievous mayhem — or if they're just going to enjoy hurting you very much.
Compare/contrast and possibly overlap Circle of Shame, when the looming shapes are all around you, and they're laughing.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- A perfect example of this is performed by Hijikata Toshizou in the 15th episode of Peacemaker Kurogane.
- Sgt. Frog:
- In episode 5, Natsumi displays this after Keroro hits her up for a loan. Heck, she does it in the title sequence!
- In Volume 17 of the manga, Keroro pulls off one that scares the crap out of Zoruru.
- Keroro does this again to a Kiruru unit in Volume 20
- Tendō Sōun from Ranma ˝ often does this, when he isn't going for a Demon Head. His daughters (even Kasumi! but especially Akane) have mastered this technique to a level beyond his wildest dreams.
- Hazumu's mother does this every time Hazumu's father tries a Zany Scheme to be ecchi toward Hazumu in Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl.
- Tina in a wedding dress in Ai Yori Aoshi.
- Shizuru in My-HiME, after Nao attacks Natsuki.
- Shin's mom in Crayon Shin-chan, episode 42.
- Professor Rowan, during the summer camp arc of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl.
- Rather than exactly a silhouette, Negima! Magister Negi Magi usually just uses a darkened version of the characters, but with all the other features of the trope.
- Serious example: In Hellsing, Seras gets a looming silhouette of rage when she becomes a true vampire and is about to slaughter Zorin Blitz and her mooks.
- Taken to Nightmare Fuel levels in One Piece where at Marineford Admiral Sakazuki manages to both be one and receive one: the first is when he is advancing on Luffy and Ace preparing to kill them and everyone else; the second after crossing a line killing Ace he turns around to meet a Silhouette of a very angry Whitebeard who is fully prepared to demonstrate why he is the most powerful being in the world. Complete with fitting music.
Comic Books
- In one of the alternate covers of Monstress, Maika gets one of these — with her eyes glowing, no less.
Comic Strips
- Life in Hell casts Binky as the Shadow Rabbit, every time Bongo does something to enrage him.
Films — Animation
- The Little Mermaid (1989): When King Triton destroys Ariel's grotto, the glow from his trident creates a red atmosphere that renders him almost entirely in shadow, leading to this. For added effect, his spiked crown and trident make him look like a silhouetted Devil.
- Monsters, Inc.: In the opening scene, Phlegm Bile has this appearance as he prepares to scare the child dummy during scare training.
- In Turning Red, right after Mei jokes about Ming grounding her, it cuts to a shot of an enraged Ming with her eyes glowing. Ming is silhouetted against the city lights and justifiably looms due to being kaiju sized.
Video Games
- The King of All Cosmos in Katamari Damacy, already a gigantic man, will throw his enormous silhouette over his pint-sized son if the Prince fails to complete a katamari according to specification. Made worse in the sequel, where he shoots laser beams from his eyes, and all the poor Prince can do is dodge. This is lampshaded a bit in the first game by watching the change in shape of the shadow he casts. Every third lightning flash shows him out of his customary "arms folded" pose and doing something silly. Sometimes even shadow puppets.
- WarioWare: Touched!, Ashley does this in her opening cutscene after Orbulon bumps into her.
Webcomics
- More than once in El Goonish Shive. Including for humorous effect, such as when Grace and Nanase are hungry during the "welcoming Ashley party" arc.
- Misfile: Ash and Emily do not want Rumsiel bothering them right now.
- Something*Positive: Mike has just unmasked Peejee's would-be fiance Kyle's unrepentant serial infidelity, and she and her friends surround him in preparation for a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
- Used in an awesome Splash Panel in Dubious Company after Tiren sobers up from Mary's humiliating arrest.
- A textbook example from Roommates. Jareth really shouldn't do a magic lecture when the others want him to teleport the group out of Oz.
- Early in the run of Dominic Deegan, Luna's sister Amelia tries to brainwash Bumper into helping to kill her husband, Szark. When she pulls a Screw This, I'm Outta Here after her plans spin out of control, she thinks she's getting away scot-free in the final panel... oblivious to Bumper standing behind her, hidden entirely in shadows except for his pendant, unbrainwashed and bent on murderous revenge against her.
Western Animation
- Used in Teen Titans when Beast Boy suggests he transform into a single cell and go inside Cyborg to fix his virus. They glare at him because Beast Boy caused the virus in the first place.
- Ms. Bitters from Invader Zim is so very good at this that some fans have posited it may be her native form.
- The "Cloaked Mystery Figure" from the Japanese opening of Transformers: Animated.
- The Simpsons: "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" features an alternate ending to "Who Shot Mr. Burns?: Part 2" where Smithers was the shooter. In this ending, as Burns was struggling with Maggie, Smithers entered the town hall parking lot as an ominous shadow before shooting him.
