History Main / CanonFodder

** What happened to Griddlebone during the seige of Growltiger's ship?

** ''Literature/IJedi'': Who is [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname "Desertwind"]], the third Jedi who fought the Jensaarai in Ylenic It'kla's memory of Nejaa Halcyon's death? Stackpole probably intended for him to be Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it might also be Anakin Skywalker, or [[TakeAThirdOption someone else entirely]] (for example, A'Sharad Hett debuted in ''ComicBook/StarWarsRepublic #10'' a year after the book came out). This is muddied further by a ContinuitySnarl: the book says that the scene took place between the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire, but like most pre-''[[Film/ThePhantomMenace Phantom Menace]]'' novels, it assumed that there had been a gap of about twenty years between the Clone Wars and the Jedi Purge. If one assumes it takes place during ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' between General Grievous's death and Order 66 going out, then Desertwind definitely can't be Obi-Wan (who was on Utapau) ''or'' Anakin (who was on Coruscant). Absent ''ROTS'', Anakin could fit given that he and Nejaa Halcyon were partnered during the campaign to liberate Praesitlyn in the book ''Literature/JediTrial''. The 2015 short story "Lone Wolf" by Abel G. Peña confirms it to be Obi-Wan, but as it wasn't released until after the changeover to [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Disney canon]], its canonicity in the Legends continuity is a bit suspect.

** When Creator/KevinJAnderson wrote the ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'', he gave Luke Skywalker a total of twelve original Jedi students but deliberately only named six[[note]]Streen, Gantoris, Kirana Ti, Dorsk 81, Tionne, and Kam Solusar[[/note]] so that later authors could fill in their own candidates. ''Literature/YoungJediKnights'' added Brakiss, ''Literature/IJedi'' added Corran Horn, and ''The New Essential Chronology'' confirmed [[VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga Kyle Katarn]] as the ninth student. [[WordOfGod Leland Chee]] declared that the Anx pictured in a picture of the students in ''The Essential Chronology'' was Madurrin. There are [[ContinuitySnarl at least four candidates for the other two slots]]: generally Havet Storm (''VideoGame/JediKnightIIJediOutcast''), Keyan Farlander (from a ''Magazine/StarWarsInsider'' #57 article), Nichos Marr (''[[Literature/TheCallistaTrilogy Children of the Jedi]]''), or Harlan (''[[TabletopGame/StarWarsD6 The Jedi Academy Sourcebook]]'').

** ''Literature/IJedi'': Who is [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname "Desertwind"]], the third Jedi who fought the Jensaarai in Ylenic It'kla's memory of Nejaa Halcyon's death? Stackpole probably intended for him to be Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it might also be Anakin Skywalker, or [[TakeAThirdOption someone else entirely]] (for example, A'Sharad Hett debuted in ''ComicBook/StarWarsRepublic #10'' only four months after the book came out). This is muddied further by a ContinuitySnarl: the book says that the scene took place between the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire, but like most pre-''[[Film/ThePhantomMenace Phantom Menace]]'' novels, it assumed that there had been a gap of about twenty years between the Clone Wars and the Jedi Purge. If one assumes it takes place during ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' between General Grievous's death and Order 66 going out, then Desertwind definitely can't be Obi-Wan (who was on Utapau) ''or'' Anakin (who was on Coruscant). Absent ''ROTS'', Anakin could fit given that he and Nejaa Halcyon were partnered during the campaign to liberate Praesitlyn in the book ''Literature/JediTrial''. The 2015 short story "Lone Wolf" by Abel G. Peña confirms it to be Obi-Wan, but as it wasn't released until after the changeover to [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Disney canon]], its canonicity in the Legends continuity is a bit suspect.

** ''Literature/IJedi'': Who is [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname "Desertwind"]], the third Jedi who fought the Jensaarai in Ylenic It'kla's memory of Nejaa Halcyon's death? Stackpole probably intended for him to be Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it might also be Anakin Skywalker, or [[TakeAThirdOption someone else entirely]] (for example, A'Sharad Hett debuted in ''ComicBook/StarWarsRepublic'' only four months after the book came out. This is muddied further by a ContinuitySnarl: the book says that the scene took place between the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire, but like most pre-''[[Film/ThePhantomMenace Phantom Menace]]'' novels, it assumed that there had been a gap of about twenty years between the Clone Wars and the Jedi Purge. If one assumes it takes place during ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' between General Grievous's death and Order 66 going out, then Desertwind definitely can't be Obi-Wan (who was on Utapau) ''or'' Anakin (who was on Coruscant). Absent ''ROTS'', Anakin could fit given that he and Nejaa Halcyon were partnered during the campaign to liberate Praesitlyn in the book ''Literature/JediTrial''. The 2015 short story "Lone Wolf" by Abel G. Peña confirms it to be Obi-Wan, but as it wasn't released until after the changeover to [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Disney canon]], its canonicity in the Legends continuity is a bit suspect.

** ''Literature/IJedi'': Who is [[OnlyKnownByTheirNicknae "Desertwind"]], the third Jedi who fought the Jensaarai in Ylenic It'kla's memory of Nejaa Halcyon's death? Stackpole probably intended for him to be Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it might also be Anakin Skywalker, or [[TakeAThirdOption someone else entirely]] (for example, A'Sharad Hett debuted in ''ComicBook/StarWarsRepublic'' only four months after the book came out. This is muddied further by a ContinuitySnarl: the book says that the scene took place between the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire, but like most pre-''[[Film/ThePhantomMenace Phantom Menace]]'' novels, it assumed that there had been a gap of about twenty years between the Clone Wars and the Jedi Purge. If one assumes it takes place during ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' between General Grievous's death and Order 66 going out, then Desertwind definitely can't be Obi-Wan (who was on Utapau) ''or'' Anakin (who was on Coruscant). Absent ''ROTS'', Anakin could fit given that he and Nejaa Halcyon were partnered during the campaign to liberate Praesitlyn in the book ''Literature/JediTrial''. The 2015 short story "Lone Wolf" by Abel G. Peña confirms it to be Obi-Wan, but as it wasn't released until after the changeover to [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Disney canon]], its canonicity in the Legends continuity is a bit suspect.

** Not just done at the end, too. In ''Animorphs,'' KA said that she would sometimes introduce things as a 'seed' and see if the perfect time and occasion for them to return comes. ''She'' didn't know what the "big red eye" that went on to becomes Crayak was during his first cameo at the end of book ''six.'' That was one that returned in a big way. However, nothing ever did come of the aliens who put Jake through that waking-up-in-the-future illusion. Presumably those guys are still out there and just never saw fit to return.

* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' loves to play this trope with its ever-expanding OriginalGeneration, and not just in the [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration OG games]] themselves. Expect any given game to be littered with {{Sequel Hook}}s, prequel hooks, AlternateContinuity spinoff hooks, and many a CrypticBackgroundReference. The big one right now is the "twelve keys" plot, which isn't limited to any one continuity and seems to be setting up for a [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover crossover]] [[UpToEleven among crossovers]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' only ran one season, but left a luggage shuttle's worth for fans to play with 25 years on. How does Eliza get rescued (or does she get rescued)? What's Doc's backstory? All Mandell will say is that he's Jamaican, wealthy, and enlisted "reluctantly." What happened to Niko's home colony? Where are the Series 1-4 teams? What happened on Tarkon to create the Heart and the Scarecrow, and what's the reason for their rivalry? How many Supertroopers escaped the riot at Wolf Den? This is just the start; the series itself had LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, plenty of {{Noodle Incident}}s mentioned in passing, huge amounts of BackStory that had to be compressed into a couple lines, and some stuff that had to [[{{Parental Bonus}} fly too low for the casual fan and/or "target" demographic to notice]].

** ''Hyrule Historia'' does confirm that Kaepora Gaebora is a form of the sage Rauru--and then creates more questions by revealing that Rauru built and sealed the Temple of Time sometime between the events of ''Skyward Sword'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'', generations before his appearance in ''Ocarina of Time''.

ChekhovsGun and its relations can be Canon Fodder if a sufficiently long time passes between introduction and use. {{Sequel Hook}}s are Canon Fodder by definition. {{Red Herring}}s are ''always'' potential canon fodder, especially outside of the mystery genres. Even [[CrypticBackgroundReference Cryptic Background References]] specifically intended ''not'' to become fodder usually don't last long if a story gets continued longer than the creator expected or falls OffTheRails. HufflepuffHouse is often a good source of this as well.

* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' leaves the reason for Delight becoming Delirium ambiguous with a couple of tantalizing hints, and it's probably the most-debated topic amongst fans. Another obvious Canon Fodder point is who killed the first Despair; all we know about it is that the person responsible is a he and will never stop suffering until the end of the universe. Some theories even tie the two Canon Fodder events together (e.g. Delight went mad with grief after the man she was set to marry killed Despair and was condemned to eternal torture for it).

** Episode IV gives us our first mention of the Clone Wars, mentioning only that Obi-Wan fought in it alongside Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Bail Organa. (Though those first two [[LukeIAmYourFather turned out be the same person]].) The Prequel Trilogy and two animated series gives us a firsthand look at the Clone Wars.

%%* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' runs on this trope. Namely: What even was in [[{{McGuffun}} the Sugar Bowl]]?

*** The ending of Animorphs was a ''very'' tacked on prologue to a story that would never be told. Everything is all wrapped up... then we find out how everyone's lives have gone on. Then a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere [[TheAssimilator assimilates]] Ax, so the others get ready to [[RammingAlwaysWorks ram the thing]], and presumably go kaboom with it and him. TheEnd. [[FlatWhat Uh... what]]. If you just [[FanonDiscontinuity close the book]] when you get to the TimeSkip, the story suddenly has a much better ending and makes infinitely more sense in general... but definitely has ''much'' less FanficFuel. Reading the ending and the afterword, it really seemed like KA was saying "Okay, fandom, it's all yours now; have fun."

* In ''Literature/TheBible'' there are few descriptions of Jesus' life between his birth and his early thirties.

* This was and still is (though to a lesser degree) a major part of ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' story. So much, in fact, that Franchise/{{LEGO}} actively encouraged and held contests for the fans to write their own stories to expand on previously vague plot details, and the winner entries went canon. Author-written stories also do this, as mysteries that have been lingering around for years constantly get solved (in some cases, with very surprising results) as the story progresses. However there are still many things left unanswered, as several thousand year's worth of story has only been lightly touched upon, not to mention how many unexplored places, cities, islands, planets and ''universes'' there are. The fandom, of course, speculates the hell out of every tiny detail.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': First introduced in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E18Inquisition Inquisition]]", [[NoSuchAgency Section 31]] and its stated 200 year history opened up plenty of opportunities for novels and spinoffs to feature "[[IWasNeverHere classified]]" examples of its involvement in the earlier franchises, particularly in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' and ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness''.

** Episode IV gives us our first mention of the Clone Wars, mentioning only that Obi-Wan fought in it alongside Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Bail Organa. (Though those last two [[LukeIAmYourFather turned out be the same person]].) The Prequel Trilogy and two animated series gives us a firsthand look at the Clone Wars.

** In her last message to the Doctor in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E5TTheAngelsTakeManhattan The Angels Take Manhattan]]", Amy assured the Doctor that she and Rory had long happy lives together after being sent in the past by the Weeping Angel. Speculation on how their lives went has fueled more than a few fanfics.

** Is Appa the last air bison? Heck, did Aang and Katara become the Adam and Eve for a new race of Air Nomads? ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' immediately gives the answers as "no" and "kinda". The Gaang found more bison as some point, and Tenzin was Aang and Katara's only offspring that could airbend. [[spoiler:All four of his children are airbenders, though, and Korra opening the spirit portal at the end of Book Two caused hundreds of former non-benders to develop the ability the following season.]]

* Recently subverted in ''Manga/OnePiece''; for years, [[spoiler: fans have wondered what the other half of Sanji's face looks like and have written numerous fanfics and drawn lots of art about it, and now we know, as he flipped his bangs for the time skip.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'' only ran one season, but left a luggage shuttle's worth for fans to play with 25 years on. How does Eliza get rescued (or does she get rescued)? What's Doc's backstory? All Mandell will say is that he's Jamaican, wealthy, and enlisted "reluctantly." What happened to Niko's home colony? Where are the Series 1-4 teams? What happened on Tarkon to create the Heart and the Scarecrow, and what's the reason for their rivalry? How many Supertroopers escaped the riot at Wolf Den? This is just the start; the series itself had LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, plenty of {{Noodle Incident}}s mentioned in passing, huge amounts of BackStory that had to be compressed into a couple lines, and some stuff that had to [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar fly too low for the casual fan and/or "target" demographic to notice]].

* In the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, who is Ash's father? Is it Giovanni? Professor Oak? Somebody we haven't even been introduced to yet? The show's gone on for over a thousand episodes, and all we have to go by is a single quote that it "took him two weeks to reach Viridian City". Needless to say, fanfic writers ([[WMG/PokemonAshFather and the members of this very site]]) have had a field day coming up with possible identities for him.

** [[MissingMom What happened to Della Duck]]? And who is her husband (and Huey, Dewey and Louie's father)? A dutch story gives a possible answer to the former, but the latter remains a mystery.
** Goofy's family. In one story it's even hinted he's related to ''aliens'' (something that Mickey notes would explain a lot of things).

** Episode IV gives us our first mention of the Clone Wars, mentioning only that Obi-Wan fought in it alongside Luke's father and Leia's father (''adopted'' father. Although, as it turns out...). The Prequel Trilogy and two animated series gives us a firsthand look at the Clone Wars.

%%* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' runs on this trope.

* According to a ''[[Series/TheWestWing West Wing]]'' DVD commentary, Creator/AaronSorkin had some canon fodder forced on him by an actor that turned out to be a very good thing. When they were filming early episodes, Sorkin noticed that Richard Schiff was wearing a wedding ring during his scenes and objected that he didn't think the character, Toby, was married. Schiff agreed. Sorkin asked why the hell he was wearing the ring then, and Schiff said, "I'm waiting for you to tell me." As a result, a sad divorce was written into Toby's backstory, his ex-wife became a significant secondary character and the two of them got a story arc that was a favorite among fans and lasted well past the time Sorkin left the show.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' - the end of Journey's End is pretty much just one huge open-ended fanfiction starter.

** The Doctor lived for centuries before the series began. His time at the Time Lord Academy and the adventures he had before ''An Unearthly Child'' are favorite topics of {{Fanfic}} and ExpandedUniverse writers.

** The Doctor's OppositeSexClone "daughter" Jenny steals a ship to [[WalkingTheEarth wander the universe]], much like her father.
** In her last message to the Doctor in ''The Angels Take Manhattan'', Amy assured the Doctor that she and Rory had long happy lives together after being sent in the past by the Weeping Angel. Speculation on how their lives went has fueled more than a few fanfics.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': First introduced in the episode "Inquisition", [[NoSuchAgency Section 31]] and its stated 200 year history opened up plenty of opportunities for novels and spinoffs to feature "[[IWasNeverHere classified]]" examples of its involvement in the earlier franchises, particularly in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' and ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness''.

* The author doesn't want to make a big deal of it, but the fans of ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' are interested in how [[WhoWantsToLiveForever the "human" aspect of a nation-tan works,]] such as how they come to be (in the series, nation-tans start as children that appear out of the wilderness, and there is little other explanation). Many conversations and dramatic fanfics have been spawned from this.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' is chock full of those, especially the "The more devoted the fanbase, the smaller the detail that can become tempting Canon Fodder" premise; ''everything'' from a single sentence in a character profile to literal background details to simple ArtEvolution accrues its own theories. Not helped by a lot of it being perfectly intentional, ZUN commonly sprinkling about unexplained details and being fond of the ShrugOfGod, most obviously with Sakuya's entry in ''[[UniverseCompendium Perfect Memento in Strict Sense]]'', which outright says that no one knows anything about her past and offers some possibilities.

* In the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, who is Ash's father? Is it Giovanni? Professor Oak? Somebody we haven't even been introduced to yet? The show's gone on for over a thousand episodes, and all we have to go by is a single quote that it "took him two weeks to reach Viridian City." Needless to say, fanfic writers ([[WMG/PokemonAshFather and the members of this very site]]) have had a field day coming up with possible identities for him.
* The author doesn't want to make a big deal, but the fans of ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' are interested in how [[WhoWantsToLiveForever the "human" aspect of a nation-tan works]], such as how they come to be (in the series, nation-tans start as children that appear out of the wilderness, and there is little other explanation). Many conversations and dramatic fanfics have been spawned from this.

** Fans like to know what happened to Prussia, the resident SmallNameBigEgo EnsembleDarkHorse, since the Kingdom of Prussia doesn't exist anymore. He is presumably still alive and well, though, since he was able to make a blog and a Twitter account and WordOfGod says he lives in Germany's house now.

* In ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'', the mere existence of the Ancient Martians wasn't referenced until the last few episodes. Who they were was supposed to be explained "in the inevitable second season" (quoted from [[LittleMissSnarker Ruri]] herself)...[[StillbornFranchise which was never made]]. Also unresolved was the Jovian/Earthling conflict, Akito's whereabouts, and--if you never played the [[NoExportForYou Japan-only videogame]], ''The Blank of Three Years''--just what happened to everyone who crewed on the ''Nadesico'' before ''The Black Prince'' movie was made.
** Good thing we have ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars''. Who knew the ancient Martians were related to the [[Anime/MazingerZ Mikene Empire]], the [[Anime/BlueCometSPTLayzner Gradosians]] and the [[Anime/VoltesV Boazanians]]?

** Did anyone actually know what [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness SEELE's]] motives were until the movies came out? What about [[ManipulativeBastard Gendo's]]?

* In the final chapter of ''Manga/AiKora'', [[spoiler: Maeda returns from an accidental trip across Eurasia, followed by [[UnwantedHarem dozens of cute girls he'd apparently rescued]]. [[NoodleIncident Just what happened during that trip]] is rather obvious fodder for fan-fic, if not a SpinOff.]]
* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' revealed that there was a group of Digidestined that saved the Digital World far before Tai[[SpellMyNameWithAnS (chi)]] and company came to the Digital World. To this day, not another word has been mentioned of them. Speculation of who they were continues to this day.

** Anime/DigimonAdventureTri has actually started to reveal about the earlier group. Unfortunately, it also is approaching FanonDiscontinuity, due to the anvilicious nature of their reveal.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', who raised Naruto until he could take care of himself? Who were the Fourth's enemies, and why did Naruto need to be kept in the dark about who his parents were? Do people whose last names we aren't given even ''have'' last names, and if so what are they?

If the creators of an active work [[{{Jossed}} take a piece of Canon Fodder and develop it contrary]] to how most of the {{Fanon}} based off that piece is going, FanDumb and related swearing at the creator can easily result. If the creators go a step further and actually use the {{Fanon}}'s answer for Canon Fodder, it's AscendedFanon. For a *character* that serves as Canon Fodder, see OCStandIn.

* In the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, who is Ash's father? Is it Giovanni? Professor Oak? Somebody we haven't even been introduced to yet? The show's gone on for over a thousand episodes, and all we have to go by is a single quote that it "took him two weeks to reach Viridian City". Needless to say, fanfic writers have had a field day coming up with possible identities for him.

* The entire ''[[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Zelda]]'' series. Games seldom make specific references to other games in the franchise, [[NonLinearSequel even when they're direct sequels]], and despite every game supposedly taking place in the same world, just at different times. Some examples: Where did [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Navi]] go? The window she went through turns out to be a dungeon in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' -- is that where she was? Where does Link go after [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask he saves Termina]]? Are the Sages in ''TP'' the same ones from ''Ocarina''? Did the Sages die at the end of ''Ocarina''? Who the hell is [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Kaepora Gaebora]]? Did the Deku Sprout from ''Ocarina'' become the tree in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker]]''? If [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Tetra]] is an ancestor of the earlier Zelda, who was the father? Is [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Queen Rutela]] related to [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Princess Ruto]]? Does every game star a reincarnation of Link, or a descendant, or just an unrelated chosen person? Even the release of ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'', revealing the order in which the games (up to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'') take place, with a three-way branching timeline from ''Ocarina of Time'', leaves all these details up in the air.
** ''Hyrule Historia'' does confirm that Kaepora Gaebora is a form of the sage Rauru--and then creates more questions by revealing that Rauru built and sealed the Temple of Time sometime between the events of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'', generations before his appearance in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''

* ''VideoGame/SinsOfASolarEmpire'' is a prime example. The game has some interesting lore, but it's never really developed beyond an ExcusePlot and the opening cutscenes. This leaves a lot of unanswered questions, all of them excellent for WorldBuilding. For instance, precisely ''what'' has been chasing the Vasari across space all this time? And why did the Traders [[NoTranshumanismAllowed despised the Unity's trans-humanist society enough to ''exile them into space?'')]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]
* ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' opened a couple threads in the first season mostly from when John was still attending high school - mysterious paintings around the school, mysterious behaviour from a girl John likes, something about said girl and Wichita, as well as a girl from Carlos's gang named Chola acting mysterious - all of which appear to be forgotten in the second season. (Chola does briefly appear in the second season, though there's no explanation of her earlier behavior.) A lot of these dropped threads were probably due to the writers' strike severely truncating the first season; that said, there are so many of them that season 2 almost qualifies as a minor {{Retool}}.

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]
* Tetsuya Nomura (of ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'', ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', and ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' fame) is sure to leave plenty of unanswered questions in his games, in case he can't make a sequel to answer them. Speculation is more fun, apparently.

** The ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' series (and its interquel comic ''Lab Rat'') has several areas often used as launching points, including life at Aperture and the events leading up to [=GLaDOS=]'s takeover, the exact significance of 'Bring Your Daughter/Cat To Work Day', and the backstories behind several characters, including Doug Rattmann, Chell, Cave Johnson, and Caroline. And, of course, Chell's escape from Aperture at the end of ''Portal 1''/''2'' (depending on [[{{Jossed}} when the fic was written]].)
* What happened to Giovanni from ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''? A good portion of the fanbase used to think [[spoiler:he committed suicide during the Celebi event in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gold and Silver]]'']], though he shows up again in ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon Black 2 and White 2}}''. What happened to ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire's'' Archie and Maxie? Why is Red on a mountain; was he just passing by or has he been there for months?
* The entire ''Zelda'' series. Games seldom make specific references to other games in the franchise, even when they're direct sequels, and despite every game supposedly taking place in the world, just at different times. Some examples: Where did Navi go? The window she went through turns out to be a dungeon in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' - is that where she was? Where does Link go after he saves Termina? Are the sages in TP the same ones from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''? Did the sages die at the end of ''Ocarina''? Who the hell is Kaepora Gaebora? Did the Deku Sprout from ''Ocarina'' become the tree in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''? If Tetra is an ancestor of the earlier Zelda, who was the father? Is Queen Rutela related to Princess Ruto? Does every game star a reincarnation of Link, or a descendant, or just an unrelated chosen person? Even the release of "[[AllThereInTheManual Hyrule Historia]]", revealing the order in which the games (up to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'') take place, with a three-way branching timeline from ''Ocarina of Time'', leaves all these details up in the air.
** Hyrule Historia ''does'' confirm that Kaepora Gaebora is a form of the sage Rauru--and then creates more questions by revealing that Rauru built and sealed the Temple of Time sometime between the events of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'', generations before his appearance in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''
* In ''VideoGame/TheSims'' series, the number 1 example of this is where is Bella Goth? Why was she last seen with Don Lothario? And why is there a townie named Bella Goth in Strangetown? This one is probably intentional. Other common ones include the mystery of the Tricou family and the House of Fallen Trees in the premade Downtown in Nightlife. Who are those mysterious Tricou townies who are all related? Why does Mrs. Crumplebottom hate everyone?

* The [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic series]] is absolutely rife with this. Other than Shadow, whose backstory was explorer for the most part through the course of [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 two]] [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog games]] (ironically making the one character introduced as "mysterious" the one we know most about), and a few other exceptions (the Babylon Rogues, for one), anyone else's past is virtually a blank. Perhaps the most glaring example of this is Knuckles, whose life prior to becoming the LastOfHisKind we know close to nothing about.

* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace3'' seemed to be wrapping up loose ends for the origins of the [[ZombieApocalypse Necromorphs]] and [[ArtifactOfDoom the Markers]], considering it takes place in an abandoned research outpost on the Marker homeworld. [[spoiler: However, it's not the case. The "homeworld" is just the planet of another alien species that succumbed to the Necromorph infestation as humanity is now, and though explanation is given to the purpose of the Markers[[note]] subvert sentient minds into creating more Markers, deceptively providing an infinite source of energy, starting a Necromorph outbreak, and then acting as a homing beacon for the final stage.[[/note]] and Necromorphs[[note]] to create enough dead matter for the Markers to begin a Convergence event, culminating in the birth of a [[EldritchAbomination Brethren Moon that eats the entire race that created it]][[/note]], the true origin of both the Markers and the Brethren Moons that made them are still unknown]].
* In ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', Featherine created a lot of this when she said that anyone who knows the Golden Truth can create forgeries that are just as true as the original (not that this stops anyone who ''doesn't'' know the Golden Truth.) Then there's the whole body of omake [=TIPS=] of varying canonicity...

** What "countless hosts" did [[spoiler:Soul of Sectonia feed on]]? Also, in ''Planet Robobot'', why was [[spoiler:Sectonia's data]] spread across 1,000 years?

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

** Did Toph ever go home to her parents? [[spoiler: She confronts and reconciles her father in ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheRift''.]]
** Is Appa the last air bison? Heck, did Aang and Katara become the Adam and Eve for a new race of Air Nomads? ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' immediately gives the answers as "no" and "kinda". The Gaang found more bison as some point, and Tenzin was Aang and Katara's only offspring that could airbend. [[spoiler:All four of his children are airbenders though, and Korra opening the spirit portal at the end of Book Two caused hundreds of former non-benders to develop the ability the following season.]]
** Why is Iroh so knowledgeable about spirits? Not only can he see them when they're invisible to most people, but he's said to have journeyed in the Spirit World, and the threat to Tui the Moon Spirit is enough to [[spoiler:make him switch sides]]. Nothing else is said on the matter, though in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' [[spoiler:he reappears as a permanent resident of the Spirit World]], so he was probably just a really spiritually-attuned individual.

** Pinkie's [[WrongContextMagic unusual magical abilities]], and to a lesser extent, Fluttershy's as well. In canon, Twilight has given up ever understanding how Pinkie does what she does, but fanon has made her everything from an embodiment of Chaos, to a vampire hunter blessed by Celestia, to the descendant of a long line of necromancers who's intermittently possessed by twenty-seven of her ancestors. Some other suggested theories include: Pinkie Pie is Loki's (Norse god of trickery) great-grandaughter. Pinkie has PowerBornOfMadness and can [[BreakingTheFourthWall break the fourth wall]] because she's insane (or it made her insane), similar to SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}}'s insanity. Pinkie is a benevolent EldritchAbomination. Pinkie is a Warner Brothers cartoon who escaped into Ponyville. The list goes on and on...The WMG page for Friendship Is Magic has an entire section just for her!

** Equestria itself. How was nature altered to require pony assistance, and why has the Everfree forest remained resistant? (Or is it the other way around?) Is "Equestria" a planet like ours, or like the Literature/{{Discworld}}, or simply one nation? How do other sapient creatures like the dragons and griffins fit in? One very dedicated fan has even drawn an insanely detailed map of [[http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&q=equestria#/d46wmzm Equestria and the realms beyond it]] conceptualizing Equestria as one of many lands on a planet where magical quadrupeds are the dominant group of species instead of bipeds, and [[http://futzi01.deviantart.com/art/Map-of-Equestria-323909537 Hasbro's official map]] seems to point in that direction.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', pretty much anytime anything is said or done by anyone. Much of it tied in with his other works, which were released posthumously and constituted a veritable mythology generated by decades of writing and rewriting. Tolkien spent years cleaning up plot holes so tiny that most people don't notice them and there's ''still'' huge amounts of things that fans contest.
* OlderThanFeudalism: Notable examples of this occur within Creator/{{Homer}}'s works. Most notable is the case of Aeneas: after Homer, numerous other authors made minor contributions to his story, and it became accepted tradition that he had travelled to Italy after the sacking of Troy. Centuries later, Creator/{{Virgil}}'s ''Literature/{{Aeneid}}'' used this as his starting point.
** Homer's most famous piece of Canon Fodder: The Fall of Troy. ''Literature/TheIliad'' closes with Hector's death and ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' opens with Troy already fallen.
** There were [[Literature/TheTrojanCycle eight songs about the Trojan war]]... of which only two remain. The rest were lost even in antiquity, but everyone knew the general gist of the story (if not the specific verses).
* Another OlderThanFeudalism example: In Literature/TheBible there are few descriptions of Jesus' life between his birth and his early thirties. Authors such as Anne Rice and Phillip Pullman have made novels filling in those gaps.
** [[Literature/TheGospels John 21:25]] -- "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."
* ''Literature/MaximumRide'' frequently wanders off and leaves plot threads hanging -- unfortunately, most of the fandom focuses on [[RomanticPlotTumor Fang/Max shipping]] and won't even touch the missing [[MadScientist mad scientists]], Max's past in the School, Jeb's true motives...

* Given the fact that much of its fluff is delivered through half-seen and heavily classified reports, ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' does this a lot.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs of course]] been subject to the intentional version due to the show's slow airing schedule meaning it can take a long time for plot threads to pan out. In some cases, this results in the fandom agreeing on some silly temporary answers for a few of them. One example being when [[spoiler:Peridot]] escaped the ship's destruction at the end of season one, consensus was that she spent the episodes until her next appearance lost in Canada. [[spoiler:Ironically, the character would end up obsessed with a Canadian teen drama after her HeelFaceTurn.]] Another is when [[spoiler:Jasper]] fell into a crack in the ground during an earthquake. The fandom decided that she obviously fell into the Underground from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''.

* The [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic series]] is absolutely rife with this. Other than Shadow, who had his entire backstory explored through the course of [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 two]] [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog games]] (ironically making the one character introduced as "mysterious" the one we know most about), and a few other exceptions (the Babylon Rogues, for one), anyone else's past is virtually a blank, including the title character himself. Perhaps the most glaring example of this is Knuckles, of whom we know close to nothing about, especially going by his [[LastOfHisKind status]] and his lack of any memory from before being alone on the island (''VideoGame/SonicChronicles'''s canonicity notwithstanding).