History Main / ChairReveal

* In his autobiography ''About Face'', Colonel Hackworth does this as a practical joke. Seated at the front of the briefing room in a huge sofa he'd appropriated, he starts ranting about how his soldiers weren't maintaining the regulation military crewcut, and finished by turning to face them to reveal he was wearing a long hippy wig.

* Ryan O'Neal gets a pointless chair reveal in ''[[AlanSmithee An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn]]''. It's one of the many things Creator/RogerEbert makes fun of in [[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/an-alan-smithee-film-burn-hollywood-burn-1998 his review]], along with a callback to the reveal of Frank Sinatra in Mike Todd's film version of ''Literature/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays''.

* ''Series/BobsBurgers'' - in "The Kids Rob a Train", once they're sent to the caboose, a chair turns around to reveal Regular Sized Rudy (kind of an effort for him to do that in a bean-bag chair).

* ''BobsBurgers'' - in "The Kids Rob a Train", once they're sent to the caboose, a chair turns around to reveal Regular Sized Rudy (kind of an effort for him to do that in a bean-bag chair).

** At the end of ''Gangland'', [[spoiler: Gobby does this to Tombstone again, this time to gloat about setting up the episode's three-way villain fight, which left Tombstone's good reputation in tatters. Particularly dramatic since this was the Goblin's first appearance (in-costume, anyway) since season one.]]

* Used in the climax of ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''. [[spoiler:After going through hell to reach the penthouse headquarters of the rogue Colonel Konrad, Captain Walker finds a chair on a balcony overlooking the sand-choked ruins of Dubai... then moves a little closer and sees [[DeadAllAlong Konrad's desiccated corpse sitting in it.]] The real colonel had been DrivenToSuicide well before Walker even arrived in Dubai, meaning that the "Konrad" who Walker had been arguing with over the radio for half the game was nothing but a symptom of his SanitySlippage. When confronted with this revelation, all Walker can do is [[ThousandYardStare slump onto his knees and stare.]]]]

* In ''Webcomic/SeiyuuCrush'', just after Kaji thinks, "He seems normal", [=KoiZ=] turns his chair around to reveal he's wearing a bra.

* ''Anime/YesPrecure5'' did it with a member of the QuirkyMinibossSquad instead of the school headmaster. Justified (not that this trope is as much in need of justification as some others) in that the girls had never actually met the headmaster before, so they didn't realize she wasn't the real thing until they realized who she ''was''.

* Played with in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''. During the mid-credits sequence that reveals [[spoiler:Thanos]] as the BiggerBad, rather than turning around in a spinning chair, he gets up and looks over his shoulder. However, he plays this trope straight in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''.

* Played with in ''Film/TheAvengers''. During the mid-credits sequence that reveals [[spoiler:Thanos]] as the BiggerBad, rather than turning around in a spinning chair, he gets up and looks over his shoulder. However, he plays this trope straight in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''.

* Ryan O'Neal gets a pointless chair reveal in ''[[AlanSmithee An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn]]''. It's one of the many things RogerEbert makes fun of in [[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/an-alan-smithee-film-burn-hollywood-burn-1998 his review]], along with a callback to the reveal of Frank Sinatra in Mike Todd's film version of ''Literature/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'', specifically in the episode "The Saint", this is poked fun at when Gumball takes over Principal Brown's office to split up Alan and Carmen. When Gumball reveals himself sitting in Brown's chair, he turns to far, leading him to frantically grab the desk in order to correct himself.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AmazingWorldOfGumball'', specifically in the episode "The Saint", this is poked fun at when Gumball takes over Principal Brown's office to split up Alan and Carmen. When Gumball reveals himself sitting in Brown's chair, he turns to far, leading him to frantically grab the desk in order to correct himself.

* This is done with the BrainwashedAndCrazy heroine Nastasia at the end of ''WarriorOfTheLostWorld''.

* In ''Series/{{The Big Bang Theory}}'''s "The Cooper Extraction" episode, the cast imagines how their lives would have been different had never met Sheldon. The Chair Reveal from Psycho is referenced when Howard envisions that if he had not gotten married, (he met Bernadette through Sheldon) his mother's body would have desiccated and he would have assumed her personality, much like Norman Bates in ''Film/{{Psycho}}''.

** Alice also does it at the end of the concert film, ''Good To See You, Alice Cooper'', when he is revealed as the psychiatrist that the director is talking to.

* Subverted with the second season of ''Series/Space1999'': the opening titles feature Martin Landau swiveling in his chair, jumping to his feet, and firing his weapon at an off-screen threat. One of the most dramatic scenes in the whole series!

->'''The Monarch:''' He didn't go for it. [[InvokedTrope I even did that cool spin thing.]]\\
'''Doctor Girlfriend:''' [[TropesAreNotCliches It's a bit of a cliché.]]

* ''Anime/{{Mai-HiME}}'' also uses one with Mashiro, but it turns out [[spoiler:what's in the chair is a doll, the real Mashiro already escaped]].

* In ''PetshopOfHorrors'', Leon thinks he's reporting his suspicions regarding D to the mayor... but finds D sitting in the mayor's chair.

* One baddie in ''GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' pulls this when Section 9 breaks into his office to arrest him, and turning his chair around reveals a blow-up doll.

* In ''{{Canaan}}'' Hakko [[spoiler:who can hurt and kill just by speaking]] talks all way to chair, thinking she is talking to [[PsychoLesbian Liang]] [[{{Yandere}} Qi]], only to see a completely different person tied to it...
* In KirbyOfTheStars, Customer Service of Holy Nightmare Corporation does this when he and Dedede first meet face to face [[spoiler: showing that he's just as small as any other character on the show. No legs, just feet where his upper torso ends.]]

* The Helmet of Fate was revealed this way in DCComics' ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', except that no turning was involved - the detectives approach the person sitting in the chair and he suddenly collapses, revealing himself to be dead.
* ''DangerGirl and the Comicbook/ArmyOfDarkness'' #4: Agent Zero shoots what he thinks is his target through the back of a chair. He then walks round to the front of the chair and instead finds a dummy rigged to a bomb with three seconds left on the timer.

* The end of ''TheAdventuresOfPlutoNash'' reveals that the villain has in fact been [[spoiler:a clone of the hero]] in this fashion.

* In the final book of TadWilliams' ''MemorySorrowAndThorn'' trilogy, Simon discovers (the unfortunately very alive) King Elias via this trope, while he's prowling around in Pryrates' tower.

* In the final episode of ''PoliceSquad'', the "chair reveal" [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment reveals...another chair]]. The actual villain is standing off to the side. Another episode introduced the villain by focussing on him [[Film/JamesBond stroking a cat in his lap]]; he eventually has to crouch down uncomfortably to get into the view of the camera and introduce himself.

* Parodied on an episode of ''SaturdayNightLive'' with Alec Baldwin demonstrating how to be a [[LargeHam handsome actor]], along with GlassesPull.

* ''MidsomerMurders'' has a subversion- a couple are arguing in a library containing several high-backed chairs. After they leave, the camera pans out to reveal Barnaby had been sitting in the chair.

* The ''InspectorGadget'' opening has a Chair Unreveal, where Gadget spins around Claw's chair and there's just a fake hand on a spring...which is attached to a [[CartoonBomb nice, round bomb]].
* This was played with in an episode of ''TheSimpsons'' where a criminal called Big Daddy did this to Wiggum and Skinner, despite the fact that he had just sat down in the chair three seconds before.

* Done twice in ''MaxSteel'' -- once at the end of first episode of the first season to show [[BigBad John Dread]], the other in the eight episode to show [[DisneyDeath L'Etranger]].

* It's not the first time the ''audience'' sees him, but when Luke is brought before the Emperor in ''ReturnOfTheJedi'', the Emperor is [[ContemplativeBoss facing out of the observation window]] before turning his chair to face him.

* Subverted with the second season of ''Space1999'': the opening titles feature Martin Landau swiveling in his chair, jumping to his feet, and firing his weapon at an off-screen threat. One of the most dramatic scenes in the whole series!