History Main / ContinuityCameo

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[[caption-width:1024: Did you know that Hercules, Scarlet Spider, Daredevil, Goliath, Black Widow, and Wonderman appeared in this cartoon?]]

* The 90’s ''{{X-Men}}'' cartoon was full of these ranging from well known comic characters displayed prominently, such as Morph (a character created for the series) changing into {{Deadpool}} to fight Wolverine or War Machine and Nick Fury watching a broadcast together on the hellacarrier. Others are more obscure like Beast wearing a Howard the Duck T-shirt or Domino appearing on a TV in the background [[http://drg4.wariocompany.com/xquick.html you can find an incomplete list of theme here]]

** Ken's home stage in ''Alpha 2'' is basically made of this trope, which features cameos by Morrigan, Felicia, Hsien-Ko, Mei-Ling and Lord Raptor from ''{{Darkstalkers}}'', Biff Slamkovich and Jumbo Flapjack from ''SaturdayNightSlamMasters'', Captain Commando and Ginzu the Ninja from ''CaptainCommando'', the two Unknown Soldiers from ''ForgottenWorlds'', Pure the Magician from ''Adventure Quiz: Capcom World 2'', Michelle Heart from ''LegendaryWings'', Strider Hiryu from ''{{Strider}}'', Linn Kurosawa from the ''[[AliensVersusPredator Aliens vs. Predator]]'' arcade game and Capcom's CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto as a butler, all as guests attending Eliza's birthday party.

** Akuma also appears in the ''Street Fighter II V'' television series during various crowd shots thorough the series.
** A much less prominent example, the second version of the ''Street Fighter II V'' opening intro has Balrog wearing his boxing gear from the game (which he never does in the actual show), as well as a brief glimpse of T. Hawk getting hurricane kicked on the face by Ken. Apparently T. Hawk was supposed to be on the show alongside Dee-Jay, Blanka and E. Honda, but the anime was canceled before they could get to their episodes.

* In an episode of the American ''WesternAnimation/StreetFighter'' animated series titled "The Medium is the Message", the new characters from the first ''StreetFighterAlpha'' (which was being released for home consoles at the time the episode aired) appear as fodder in an underground tournament against the recurring ''StreetFighterII'' characters who were the main focus of the series. The group included Adon and a [[YouDontLookLikeYou weird-looking rendition]] of Dan, both characters who were never given a speaking role in the series. Since the series already established Charlie and Blanka [[CompositeCharacter to be the same character]] (a plot element borrowed from [[Film/StreetFighter the movie]]), the same episode featured a flashback of Blanka before he was turned into a beast. The human Blanka wore the same outfit that the Charlie from the games wore, but with a Blanka-like color scheme (green vest and brown pants). The cast of ''FinalFight'' (including Maki and Carlos from ''2'') also appear as part of the tournament's crowd.

* ''{{Troy}}'' features one that only Latin nerds are going to pick up on, in a nod to the Roman lovechild of the ''TheIliad'' and ''TheOdyssey'': ''Literature/TheAeneid'', which follows the Trojan survivors of the sack of Troy. At the end of the film, Paris hands off the sword of Troy to a young man who gives his name, when prompted, as "Aeneas". Paris tells him to find a new home for their people, which, presumably, film!Aeneas does, after seven years of gallivanting about.

*** Or are they??

* Not sure if this counts, but Issac and Maria from Baccano! make a Cameo in TheClimax of [[spoiler:''Durarara!!'']] This could also be considered a ContinuityNod

[[{{X-Men}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/one_mans_worth_avengers_7449.JPG]]

* ''{{Troy}}'' features one that only Latin nerds are going to pick up on, in a nod to the Roman lovechild of the ''TheIliad'' and ''TheOdyssey'': ''Literature/TheAeneid'', which follows the Trojan survivors of the sack of Troy. At the end of the film, Paris hands off the sword of Troy to a young man who gives his name, when prompted, as Aeneas. Paris tells him to find a new home for their people, which, presumably, film-Aeneas does, after seven years of gallivanting about.

* ''{{Troy}}'' features one that only Latin nerds are going to pick up on, in a nod to the Roman lovechild of the ''TheIliad'' and ''TheOdyssey'': ''TheAeneid'', which follows the Trojan survivors of the sack of Troy. At the end of the film, Paris hands off the sword of Troy to a young man who gives his name, when prompted, as Aeneas. Paris tells him to find a new home for their people, which, presumably, film-Aeneas does, after seven years of gallivanting about.

* In an episode of the American ''Series/StreetFighter'' animated series titled "The Medium is the Message", the new characters from the first ''StreetFighterAlpha'' (which was being released for home consoles at the time the episode aired) appear as fodder in an underground tournament against the recurring ''StreetFighterII'' characters who were the main focus of the series. The group included Adon and a [[YouDontLookLikeYou weird-looking rendition]] of Dan, both characters who were never given a speaking role in the series. Since the series already established Charlie and Blanka [[CompositeCharacter to be the same character]] (a plot element borrowed from [[Film/StreetFighter the movie]]), the same episode featured a flashback of Blanka before he was turned into a beast. The human Blanka wore the same outfit that the Charlie from the games wore, but with a Blanka-like color scheme (green vest and brown pants). The cast of ''FinalFight'' (including Maki and Carlos from ''2'') also appear as part of the tournament's crowd.

Compare with the EarlyBirdCameo, where a character who appears late in the original appears earlier in a cameo in the adaptation, and RemakeCameo, where people involved with an original work make a cameo in its remake. See also LastEpisodeNewCharacter.

* The [[FiveEpisodePilot Three Episode Premiere]] of ''TransformersAnimated'' has Spike, Carly, and Daniel -- that is, the original human [[TheScrappy Scrappy]], his love interest, and their TimeSkip'd spawn and second Scrappy -- as prominent background characters. They all show up again later with speaking roles, albeit the parents separately from Daniel.

* The ''Film/HarryPotter'' also has some which are only identifiable through the credits. For example, a tall, prim-looking woman with a pointed hat appears in the background of several scenes in the second film. The credits reveal that she is Madam Pince, the Hogwarts librarian in the books.

** Even more subtle than a brief cameo, in the second movie the real names of several mutants, including Gambit, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, were briefly seen on a computer screen as being some of the prisoners in a mutant prison. Only Gambit would wound up appearing later (or rather, [[{{Prequel}} earlier]]) in ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''.

* {{LEGO}} loves doing this. Just check out their animations and video games, and you will notice how frequently their StarWars and IndianaJones universes tend to collide. When talking strictly about the sets, fans are generelly delighted to see older pieces reappear in other lines (usually in new colors or with new uses).

* ''SuperMario64'' had a cameo for Yoshi, and you'd have to look for him, too, and would only get to where he is after you'd get all the stars.

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* The design for the businessmen from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' is very similar to a businessman costume that an adventurer wore in an episode of ''TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack''. Also, the adventurer costume that the businessman wore in the Flapjack episode greatly resembles Billy from Adventure Time if he were human. Considering Pendleton Ward storyboarded the Flapjack episode, it makes sense.

* The design for the businessmen from ''AdventureTime'' is very similar to a businessman costume that an adventurer wore in an episode of ''TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack''. Also, the adventurer costume that the businessman wore in the Flapjack episode greatly resembles Billy from Adventure Time if he were human. Considering Pendleton Ward storyboarded the Flapjack episode, it makes sense.

* Not sure if this counts, but Issac and Maria from Baccano! make a Cameo in TheClimax of [[spoiler:''Durarara!!'']] This could also be considered a ContinuityNod

[[Bong milk is good for the brain.:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/werewolf_9693_8856.jpg]]

But you can't tell your boyfriend about it! He'd freak out and leave you, or worse. But then, you can't keep it a secret forever, either. At some point, one of your supernatural incidents will inevitably happen exactly when you were having a romantic dinner. Or maybe your relationship has simply reached the next level, and you feel that you need to be completely honest with him.

So what now? How will he react? Well, it turns out he's perfectly okay (well, for the most part he's perfectly okay) and understanding with it! That's right, as a reward for your sacrifices, the PowersThatBe will make sure that you end up with a truly noble and loving soul who loves you for who you are and doesn't care what you are. So no worries!

This trope is a DoubleStandard, in that wives and girlfriends are pretty much automatically accepting of their ActionHero husband/boyfriend's actions, whereas the number of husbands/boyfriends who automatically accept that their significant other is an ActionGirl are pretty thin on the ground. For the guy who is a super and needs a girlfriend, his powers are often a plus for her (because AllGirlsWantBadBoys). For women, finding a guy who truly doesn't have a problem with dating someone with superpowers when he's a {{Muggle}} is the bigger issue, because, well, NoGuyWantsAnAmazon.

Compare ButYourWingsAreBeautiful, when a disguise forms part of the powers. Compare to ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend for the ActionGirl [[InvertedTrope variant.]] Compare and contrast BoyMeetsGhoul, for the guy/girl who is on the other end of this trope. See also TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife, which is an aversion of this trope.

* The central premise of ''[[NogizakaHarukaNoHimitsu The Secrets of Haruka Nogizaka]]''. The titular girl is an otaku.
* Ditto with ''[[OreImo My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute]]''. Except that the guy is not a boyfriend, but the big brother... [[{{Squick}} yeah]].
* Austria from ''AxisPowersHetalia'', in regards to his VictoriousChildhoodFriend Hungary. While he's concerned for her well-being, in the end he knows that if she wants to fight, he better lets her... since she will go [[OneManArmy One Woman Army]] and destroy the enemy. Considering their childhood, [[LoveAtFirstPunch he knows it beforehand]]!
* [[ShamanKing Keiko Asakura]] had been dumped by ''every'' single boyfriend she had when they learnt she was able to see spirits. Until the last JerkAss left her and a penniless musician with similar abilities comforted her. That guy was Mikihisa, and she would marry him.
* Horribly deconstructed with [[spoiler: Shiso and Ceres]] in ''AyashiNoCeres''. [[spoiler: Shiso started like this, but being left helpless when he and Ceres got attacked [[IJustWantToBeSpecial made him very frustrated]], so he asked Ceres to give him a part of her powers [[IWillProtectHer so he wouldn't be a burden on her.]] But then, [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity said powers turned out to be too much to handle]], and ItGotWorse...]]


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* [[NiceGuy Kong]] is this to [[XMen Kitty Pryde]] in UltimateMarvel, even going so far as to yell "You're welcome!" at AllOfTheOtherReindeer for not thanking her when she saves their lives.
* Back in the GoldenAge, Steve Trevor was this for WonderWoman (a remarkably progressive move for the times), and not at all threatened by the idea of getting rescued by or mooning over a woman who was twenty times stronger than him. The Silver and Bronze Age characterizations of him were...[[TooDumbToLive unfortunately]] [[JerkAss less so]], which probably led to him being deleted from continuity PostCrisis.
* In an old What If comic, Jimmy Olsen married Supergirl because of amnesia. Once she recovers and lets him know, he's totally fine with being married to Superman's cousin.

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* In ''InnocentBlood'', FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Marie has her understanding CopBoyfriend Joe.

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* Elend in Brandon Sanderson's ''{{Mistborn}}''. At least [[spoiler:until he gets superpowers himself.]]
* Seth in ''WickedLovely''. When Aislinn tells him that she can see faeries, he has exactly one moment of "Is this a joke?" before accepting it and trying to help her with her faery situation.

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* The ''GhostWhisperer'' features Jim the Understanding Husband.
* Both [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] and played straight in ''{{Bewitched}}''. The original Darrin (Dick York) was less than understanding, to the point of being downright hostile to Samantha when she used her magic. TheOtherDarrin (Dick Sargeant), on the other hand, tried his hardest to be understanding, the point that it was more the fault of Endora and the rest of Samantha's family that TheOtherDarrin didn't get along with witches.
* Played with in the ''SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' TV series. Harvey ''does'' leave Sabrina when he finds out she's a witch, not out of intolerance but because she'd been using magic to mess with his life for years. He eventually does come back to her, though, and says he never had a problem with her being a witch per se.
* Zack was the "gay best friend" equivalent of this in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', at least until ExecutiveMeddling got in the way.
* Unless she's dating one of the undead, Buffy never got this on ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' (even Riley, who was himself a demon fighting super-soldier, had an inferiority complex due to dating a genuine superhero). It's Willow who hit the boyfriend jackpot with Oz; upon being told the truth about the supernatural world she runs in, he replies, "Actually, it explains a lot," and just goes with the flow from there.
* Tyler Ford in ''TheMiddleman'''s unaired season finale (released as a comic)...[[spoiler:at least, until MM pushes the ResetButton]].
* Allison's husband Joe on ''{{Medium}}'' believes in her powers and is understanding and accepting of them.
* In ''{{Series/Merlin}}'', 2x09. Merlin discovers [[spoiler: Freya turns into a bastet at night, but he isn´t afraid and stills takes care of her. He even pets her cat´s head...]]
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* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/understanding/ this]] ''WapsiSquare'' comic. Also the page quote.
* {{Subverted}} (although this may be a retrospective way of seeing it) in ''SluggyFreelance''. Leo seems to be accepting of all the weird things Zoë tells about happening to her - but it turns out that was only because he thought she was lying. In the words of another jerk he hangs out with, "You've got to respect a girl who realizes romantic relationships are based on lies and goes to town with it!" As soon as Leo finds out it was all true, he feels betrayed, and they eventually break off.

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* [[PhineasAndFerb Candace]] seems to have this with Jeremy. Despite all of Candace's attempts to put a stop to PhineasAndFerb's projects, the guy never, ever seems to lose his cool, and they're still an item.
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[[caption-width:1024: Did you know that Hercules, Scarlet Spider, Daredevil, Goliath, Black Widow, and Wonderman appeared in this cartoon?]]
What happens when a MythologyGag and a {{Cameo}} decide they love each other and have a baby.

A ContinuityCameo sticks a character from another continuity (usually the manga, comic, original game, novel, etc.) in as a wink to the fans. Sometimes this is done as an apology to the fans for leaving their favorite character out. Most of the time you either have to know it's there or know what to look for, as they sometimes go by so fast that you'll literally miss them if you blink.

This is mostly an AnimeTrope, though Western media (especially comic books) do this as well given their vast and overlapping continuities. This can have originally have been a ChekhovsGunman that wasn't able to be followed through due to cancellation of the series or the result of an AbortedArc.

Compare with the EarlyBirdCameo, where a character who appears late in the original appears earlier in a cameo in the adaptation, and RemakeCameo, where people involved with an original work make a cameo in its remake. See also LastEpisodeNewCharacter.

!!Examples

* Ryo's appearances in ''{{Digimon}}: TheMovie'' and ''DigimonAdventure02'' may qualify here, although he becomes a full-fledged CanonImmigrant in ''[[DigimonTamers Tamers]]''. Particularly confusing to Western audiences, as the video games in which he stars were never released here.
** Ryo is clearly an example of "don't think about it too much or you'll get a headache," 'cause he and his Digimon work under slightly different rules than the other Tamers, what with being from a completely different universe and all...
*** Or are they??
** Another example would be the autumn leaf fair in ''Frontier''; the background characters are digimon that appeared in the first three seasons.
* In the ''{{Air}}'' movie, Kano, Minagi and Michiru make cameos during the festival. They're the other heroines in the original game and anime series, but the movie is a Misuzu exclusive storyline.
** In the TV series, Ayu, Nayuki and Makoto from ''{{Kanon}}'' appear at Misuzu's school. KyotoAnimation would eventually animate that series as well.
* Kareha's sister Tsubomi in ''{{Shuffle}}'' shows up in the last episode. As an added joke, she's reading Asa's character novel.
* Arika shows up very briefly at the very end of both the ''{{Mai-Hime}}'' anime series and manga. She's the main character in the ElseWorld sequel ''{{Mai-Otome}}''.
* In the ''{{Fate Stay Night}}'' anime series, Zoken Matou shows up very briefly, and we just see the bottom half of his face. He is major character in a route the series doesn't follow.
* It won't be until (or really, when) a third season comes out that we'll know if Kirakisho's appearance at the very end of the second season of ''{{Rozen Maiden}}'' was one of these or a ChekhovsGunman.
* ''{{Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch}}'' did this in reverse: When the anime came out and added Kura-chan, a new mascot character, the mangaka decided to put him in one panel as a nod.
* The ''MagicalShoppingArcadeAbenobashi'' anime series manga character Ochi-san shows up ''very'' briefly in the last episode.
* Beri Shirayuki makes an appearance in the last volume of the original ''TokyoMewMew''.
* {{CLAMP}} loves to do this with their works using TheMultiverse, but a few with the same characters also occur:
** In ''{{xxxHolic}}'' Watanuki goes to the ''Legal Drug'' store and sees the two leads of that manga.
** Fujimoto from ''{{Kobato}}'' is also seen working at the ''Legal Drug'' store promoting cough medicine.
** Though they aren't actually seen, Yuuko also mentions Subaru and Hokuto, characters from ''TokyoBabylon'' and ''{{X1999}}'' and says that she's known them since they were children.
** And in ''{{X1999}}'', older versions of Nokoru, Suoh and Akira, the three lead characters from ''CLAMP School Detectives'', now run the CLAMP Campus.
* Inverted by ''LoveHina'', Naru's sister was originally made for the anime adaptation, but Ken Akamatsu loved the character so much that he included her in the ''LoveHina'' manga in the final chapter.
** ...and then used her ''again'' in ''MahouSenseiNegima'', making many fans wonder if they're not both the same girl and if the two series have a shared continuity.
** ''Negima'' has a number of cameos from ''LoveHina''. Motoko seems to appear in one of Setsuna's flashbacks, and WordOfGod confirmed that the inn the group stayed at during one of the {{Beach Episode}}s is the same as the one at which Naru and Keitaro stayed. Then there's the fact that Motoko and Setsuna are both practitioners of the same sword style...
*** In chapter 256 Motoko's family is [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mahou_sensei_negima/c256/10.html mentioned by name]], and one the techniques Motoko used in ''LoveHina'' seems to be somewhat plot-relevant in ''Negima''.
* Ogiue appeared at the very end of the credits of the last episode of the first season of ''Genshiken'' -- she wouldn't appear for real until the OVA.
* Ittou Asanuma, a minor (but still important enough to know the Senshi's secret identities) recurring character from the ''SailorMoon'' manga appears briefly in one episode of ''Sailor Moon Sailor Stars'' where he calls on Mamoru when he misses a get together of the members of a PC Network. When Mamoru doesn't appear to be home he leaves. We only know it's him because of the credits.
* ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' includes a cameo shot of Ling Yao, a character from the manga version, as a state alchemist participating in the Ishvallan genocide. He also happens to be wearing sunglasses in the same style as Greed's, in reference to [[spoiler:Ling becoming the second Greed.]]
** And late in ''Brotherhood'', there's a shot of an elderly couple -- the female looks exactly like old Dante.
* ''MajinTanteiNougamiNeuro'' had cameo shots of Ai and [[TokenLoli Miyasako Mutsuki]] with her grandfather. The [[LastEpisodeNewCharacter credits]] also had shots of Shizuka Todoroki and Tateo Mochizuki.
* In three of the ''[[{{Anime/Ptitlei015gc004kw4}} Pokémon]]'' anime [[TheMovie movies]], Brendan (the male playable character from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald) briefly shows up during the opening narration sequences, though never in-focus. Several other characters from the games make similar cameos in the other movies and [=OVA=]s .
** Outside of the movies, [[strike:Red (not Ash)]] [[Manga/PocketMonsters Isamu Akai]] (the ''other'' character based on Red, who is ''nicknamed'' Red), his obnoxious talking "Blockhead Clefairy", and Pikachu, stars of the ''PocketMonsters'' gag manga makes a cameo in a movie the main cast goes out of their way to get to be shown to an out-of-the-way village (oddly enough, the manga then had a chapter about Clefairy making his first appearance in the anime).
* In ''CodeGeass'', the Lancelot powersuit from AlternateContinuity manga ''Suzaku of the Counterattack'' makes a brief appearance in one episode. Additionally, the VisualNovel spinoff ''Lost Colors'' has references to the Nintendo DS game and ''Nightmare of Nunnally'', another of the manga. Not only that, Rai, the protagonist of ''Lost Colors'', eventually makes a cameo in an episode of the second season.
* Kaitou Kid starts making several appearances in ''DetectiveConan'' after Gosho's work on the earlier ''Magic Kaito'' series was halted. They're arguably in the exact same world, although ''Magic Kaitou'' contained more supernatural situations.
* Frederica Bernkastel from ''{{Umineko No Naku Koro Ni}}'' appeared at the end of ''{{Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni}}'' Kai. [[spoiler: We also hear her voice at the end of each first season episode; She's the girl in the previews]]. ''Yes'', that wasn't Rika grown up. [[spoiler:But technically, Bernkastel ''is'' Rika, or at least, all of the dead Rikas combined in one entity.]]
** Becomes pretty significant, considering the possible relationship between [[spoiler:Miyoko Tanashi and Lambdadelta, as well as Bernkastel becoming a FallenHero]].
* [[DragonBall Goku]]'s father Bardock first appeared on a TV special, but Toriyama liked him so much he gave Bardock a small (two panels) appearance in the manga.
* Akuma makes a "blink and you miss it" cameo appearance in ''[[Film/StreetFighterIITheAnimatedMovie Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie]]'', where he can be seen during the Calcutta scene before the Dhalsim and Honda fight.
** Akuma also appears in the ''Street Fighter II V'' television series during various crowd shots thorough the series.
** A much less prominent example, the second version of the ''Street Fighter II V'' opening intro has Balrog wearing his boxing gear from the game (which he never does in the actual show), as well as a brief glimpse of T. Hawk getting hurricane kicked on the face by Ken. Apparently T. Hawk was supposed to be on the show alongside Dee-Jay, Blanka and E. Honda, but the anime was canceled before they could get to their episodes.
* In ''Shin Getter Robo Vs Neo Getter Robo'', Michiru Saotome, Genki Saotome and Benkei Kuruma all show up in the credits of the final episode (the Saotomes were absent throughout the series and Benkei never showed up due to ''GetterRoboG'' getting averted)
* Probably the biggest one is in ''GGundam'', where virtually every major Mobile Suit of the Universal Century, as well as a number of non-Gundam mecha such as L Gaim and Zambot3, show up to battle the Devil Gundam at the very end. Also important as there was the first appearance of a certain [[GundamWing transforming, Buster Rifle-using Gundam]].
* In the ''{{Fist of the North Star}}'' movie ''Legend of Kenshiro'', the fifth installment of the ''Legends of the True Savior'' series, Ryuga and Juza are among the spirits of fallen warriors who are attending Kenshiro and Yuria's wedding. They were the only characters in that scene up to that point who were absent from the movies (although Ryuga technically did appear as a child in ''Legend of Yuria'', as well as spirit in ''Legend of Raoh: Chapter of Fierce Fight'').
* Not sure if this counts, but Issac and Maria from Baccano! make a Cameo in TheClimax of [[spoiler:''Durarara!!'']] This could also be considered a ContinuityNod

* Johnny Fontane and (especially) Lucy Mancini in ''TheGodfather''. In the novel they both get big storylines nearly the equal of the main storyline with Michael. In the film Johnny has a very small part and Lucy, basically one short scene confirming her as Sonny's mistress.
* The ''Film/{{X-Men}}'' movies feature these in spades with minor characters (some of whom are only identified in the credits), with Beast making a hairless appearance in ''X-2'' and three of the Stepford Cuckoos appearing in the background during the third movie.
** Even more subtle than a brief cameo, in the second movie the real names of several mutants, including Gambit, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, were briefly seen on a computer screen as being some of the prisoners in a mutant prison. Only Gambit would wound up appearing later (or rather, [[{{Prequel}} earlier]]) in ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine''.
* The ''Film/{{Spider-Man}}'' films use Dr. Connors a.k.a. the Lizard as a minor character. He did not become a villain, and because of the upcoming ContinuityReboot, will never do so. Which is a shame as the actor who played Doc Connors has said he'd really like to take on that role.
** John Jameson, a.k.a "Man-Wolf" is seen in Spider-Man 2.
* There are lots of tiny ones in the ''LordOfTheRings'' films, some of which are blown up into full appearances in the extended versions.
* In ''BatmanAndRobin'', the man who turns Pamela Isley into Poison Ivy is Jason Woodrue, who in the comics is the Floronic Man, an enemy of the Atom.
* {{Pixar}} loves this trope. Outside of their love of EarlyBirdCameo entries, there's a few other instances of these:
** When Sully and Boo return to her room at the end of ''MonstersInc'', she has a toy [[ToyStory2 Jessie]].
** The mobile home that Mike and Sully send Randall to appeared in ''ABugsLife''.
** At the end of ''{{Cars}}'' the characters watch scenes from several older Pixar movies (with the characters replaced with cars of course).
** The [[ToyStory Pizza Planet]] delivery truck appears in all of their films to date except ''TheIncredibles''. According to [[PixarRegulars Pixar regular Lee Unkrich]], there is actually no Pizza Planet in ''The Incredibles''.
* In ''StarTrekFirstContact'', the USS ''Bozeman'', the other ship in the GroundhogDayLoop episode "Cause and Effect", a time displaced ship that was [[NoEnding never given any actual closure]], is a part of the Earth defense fleet. Kelsey Grammer, who played the ''Bozeman'''s captain in that episode, also has a split-second voice over cameo in amongst the Starfleet radio chatter.
** If memory serves, the ''Bozeman'' was mentioned in Generations -- it had to make a course correction due to the destruction of a star.
*** Bozeman, Montana is of course Brannon Braga's hometown, so it's a running gag on that level too.
* ''{{Troy}}'' features one that only Latin nerds are going to pick up on, in a nod to the Roman lovechild of the ''TheIliad'' and ''TheOdyssey'': ''TheAeneid'', which follows the Trojan survivors of the sack of Troy. At the end of the film, Paris hands off the sword of Troy to a young man who gives his name, when prompted, as Aeneas. Paris tells him to find a new home for their people, which, presumably, film-Aeneas does, after seven years of gallivanting about.
* The deleted opening of ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'' (2008) has a {{cameo}} appearance by CaptainAmerica, teasing at ''CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger''. Blink and you'll miss it. Pause it ''just right'', and you might just make him out; but he is there, under the ice.
* In ''{{Chicago}}'', the older brunette that Roxy talks to just before Matron Mama Morton enters is Chita Rivera, who was the original Velma Kelly on Broadway.
* ''LandOfTheDead'' has Blade from Dawn reappearing when the zombies break in.
** Also it retroactively includes the main character from ''SurvivalOfTheDead'' as one of the military guys at the check point.

* The third ''{{Silverwing}}'' book, ''Firewing'', features small appearances by both Goth's former toady Throbb and by the former Silverwing colony elder Frieda, both of whom are dead at that point.

[[AC:Multi]]
* In the final episode of ''ToHeart: Remember My Memories'', Sango Himeyuri from ''ToHeart2'' makes a cameo by submitting what is presumably [[spoiler:HMX-17 Ilfa's operating system]] to Nagase in person. Her sister Ruri Himeyuri calls her in the background, saying that they're gonna be late for a movie.
** What makes this awesome is that said episode [[EarlyBirdCameo aired]] '''[[EarlyBirdCameo three days]]''' [[EarlyBirdCameo before]] the entire ''To Heart 2'' franchise began with the release of the PS2 game. [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome Awesome]].
** Additionally, Konomi Yuzuhara, also from ''To Heart 2'', makes a cameo in the sixth {{omake}} of ''Remember My Memories'' as Akari's opponent. The match results were never revealed though.
** The ''To Heart 2'' GaidenGame ''Another Days'' returned the favor by sneaking Multi and Serio [[http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/1561/burgerstand1bs6.jpg in a background]] (look on the left); apparently, by that time in the ''To Heart'' universe, their obsolescence reduced them to working at fast food restaurants.

[[AC:Toys]]
* {{LEGO}} loves doing this. Just check out their animations and video games, and you will notice how frequently their StarWars and IndianaJones universes tend to collide. When talking strictly about the sets, fans are generelly delighted to see older pieces reappear in other lines (usually in new colors or with new uses).

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* ''MegaManBattleNetwork'' sort of is this. Turns out, this series is pretty much the others as an RPG. All of the characters return.
** Later on, they play it straight in the OneGameForThePriceOfTwo ''Battle Network 5: Team Colonel and Team Protoman''. When the team leaders are brainwashed by the big bad, the leader of the other team shows up to save them. If Colonel is brainwashed, Protoman comes to save him, and vice versa. When asked if they would join the cause, they say they have more important things to attend to.
** Also, scattered about the ''Battle Network'' series are references to the actual ''[[MegaManX X]]'' and ''[[MegaManLegends Legends]]'' series, not just the AlternateContinuity versions that show up as Net Navis. Servbot dolls, references to the Tron Bonne show, and a badass poster of Vile at Hisgsby's shop are a few examples of this.
** What's more, Shaun/Sean, who was a fairly important character in the games but was committed from the Anime, is briefly seen in a crowd scene in the anime's movie.
* In the PlayStation version of ''MegaManX 3'', Volt Catfish's anime intro has a quick background cameo of Auto from the [[Game/MegaMan Classic]] series.
* The ''TalesSeries'' often insert quite a bit of Namco cameos and {{Continuity Nod}}s. Probably the best part, however, is being able to battle the past heroes of the series, usually in the arena. These battles are often the CrowningMomentOfAwesomeVideoGames of the games so far as fun and difficulty goes.
* ''FinalFantasy'' started a tradition in ''FinalFantasyVIII'' of having GoldfishPoopGang boss Gilgamesh (of ''FinalFantasyV'' fame) appearing in other games in the series. Because of how he arrives in the game's universe and how he departed the plot in ''FinalFantasyV'', it can be safely assumed that he is the only cameo character that is canonically the same person. He even had some retcons in remakes to place him within ''FinalFantasyVI'' and the original ''FinalFantasy''. In ''FinalFantasyIX'', he goes by the name "Alleyway Jack" but eventually reveals Gilgamesh as his true name. His other appearances in the series imply that he is aware of the other games and their heroes and in ''FinalFantasyXII'', he comes with a pair of boss fights and wields replicas the defining weapons of many main characters in the series. He also has a dog named Enkidu that shows up in some of his appearances, but not all of them. He is often searching for the sword Excalibur, but frequently mistakes it with Excalipoor, and his attacks will often reflect this distinction - Excalibur is extremely powerful, whereas Excalipoor does 1HP of damage. His Summon in ''Dissidia'' reflects this, in that his summon will either triple the caster's BP or reduce it to 1.
* In ''Tony Hawk's Proving Ground'', [[SmugSnake Eric Sparrow]], the primary villain of the ''Tony Hawk's Underground'' sub-series reappears (though just as "Eric") in the Pro story path as an antagonist.
* ''FireEmblem: The Sword of Flame'' (the first game in the series released internationally), being a direct prequel to the previous game (the Japan-only ''Fire Emblem: The Sword of Seal''), features several cameos from that game, most notably Prince Zephiel, who grows up to be [[BigBad antagonist]] of ''The Sword of Seal''. In fact, the game appears to end on a cliffhanger to players unaware that the scene depicting this was merely filling in the time gap between the two games.
** ''Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon'', the DS remake of ''The Dark Dragon and the Sword of Light'', features several cameos from the original game's sequel, ''Mystery of the Emblem''.
* ''SuperMario64'' had a cameo for Yoshi, and you'd have to look for him, too, and would only get to where he is after you'd get all the stars.
* In ''{{Pokemon}} Diamond and Pearl'' versions, the Japanese games have continuity cameos for the anime characters Butler and Diane of the sixth movie and Hitomi (Rebecca) of the seventh movie. However the game's translation team missed this, instead [[DubInducedPlotHole calling them Felix, Dana and Jamie]] respectively.
* The Mad Gear gang from ''FinalFight'' makes an appearance in Sodom's ending in the first ''StreetFighterAlpha'', as well as spectators on the background of Guy's home stage in ''Alpha 2'' and ''Alpha 3''. Rolento and Cody, who only had cameos in the first and second ''Alpha'' games respectively, both became playable fighters in the succeeding installments.
** Ken's home stage in ''Alpha 2'' is basically made of this trope, which features cameos by Morrigan, Felicia, Hsien-Ko, Mei-Ling and Lord Raptor from ''{{Darkstalkers}}'', Biff Slamkovich and Jumbo Flapjack from ''SaturdayNightSlamMasters'', Captain Commando and Ginzu the Ninja from ''CaptainCommando'', the two Unknown Soldiers from ''ForgottenWorlds'', Pure the Magician from ''Adventure Quiz: Capcom World 2'', Michelle Heart from ''LegendaryWings'', Strider Hiryu from ''{{Strider}}'', Linn Kurosawa from the ''[[AliensVersusPredator Aliens vs. Predator]]'' arcade game and Capcom's CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto as a butler, all as guests attending Eliza's birthday party.
** A billboard promoting a wrestling match between Hugo (from ''2nd Impact'') and an unknown challenger can be seen on Cody's home stage in ''Alpha 3''.
** Balrog and Vega both appear in Sagat's endings in the first two ''Alpha'' games before they became playable characters in ''Alpha 3''.
* ''MetalGear: Ghost Babel'' is an alternate sequel to the original ''Game/MetalGear'' and contains at least one main character based on a rejected concept for a main character in ''MetalGearSolid'', but Roy Campbell and Mei Ling both appear, and a reference is made to Raiden from ''MetalGearSolid2'' ([[EarlyBirdCameo which hadn't been released at that time]]), along with Big Boss, Gray Fox, and Meryl Silverburgh.
* The ''BreathOfFire'' series is rife with cameos from previous installments, usually from the former main party. In some cases, the translator misses them and changes their names, obscuring the connection.

* The 90’s ''{{X-Men}}'' cartoon was full of these ranging from well known comic characters displayed prominently, such as Morph (a character created for the series) changing into {{Deadpool}} to fight Wolverine or War Machine and Nick Fury watching a broadcast together on the hellacarrier. Others are more obscure like Beast wearing a Howard the Duck T-shirt or Domino appearing on a TV in the background [[http://drg4.wariocompany.com/xquick.html you can find an incomplete list of theme here]]
** Probable the best episode for cameos was One Man’s Worth where the above image was taken from, it was the inspiration for and put together alongside the AgeOfApocalypse and featured a world where mutants lead by Magneto were in an all out war against humans apparently lead by the avengers. It had several cameos along with the ones showed above it you can see Green Iron Man, AOA Blink, Mimic, AOA Sabretooth & Wildchild, AOA Angel, AOA Colossus, AOA Sunfire, Morph, Nightcrawler, Mr. Sinister, Holocaust (aka Dark Nemesis), one-armed Gambit, Frenzy, Captain America, Wasp, Thor, Rogue, an unknown mutant (red-masked, blue-haired, force-field-projector guy), AOA Morph, Nurse Jean Grey, Blob, Caliban, Callisto, Masque, Pyro, Mastermind, AOA Banshee, Lorna Dane, Sunder, and Giant Man.
* In the first ''JusticeLeague'' season finale "The Savage Time," young versions of Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon (making out), as well as Tim Drake and Cassandra Cain showed up in uncredited cameos in Batman's LaResistance in [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong a dystopian timeline]].
** In fact, the {{DCAU}} had ''tons'' of these throughout its run, probably far too many to list here. Like puppy-[[WonderDog Krypto]] in [[SupermanTheAnimatedSeries "Last Son of Krypton."]]
** Another good one was during the GreenLantern episode of SupermanTheAnimatedSeries; this episode featured Kyle Rayner as the Green Lantern, but Hal Jordan's name appearing on the side of an aircraft.
** Hal's actual appearance is also of this variety, replacing John Stewart for a couple minutes due to time travel-related ripple effects. He's up to speed as to what's going on, picks up where John left off, and John shows right back up.
* The second season finale of ''{{WITCH}}'' had a scene where it shows a man in a car named Scylla looking at the "cartoon" [[WeirdnessCensor the finale battle looked like to everyone]], and the last scene was the girls being introduced to him as their new teacher. This was originally suppose to be a ChekhovsGunman as he was a character from the next arc of the comics, but was reduced to this as the animated series wasn't renewed for another season.
* The [[FiveEpisodePilot Three Episode Premiere]] of ''TransformersAnimated'' has Spike, Carly, and Daniel -- that is, the original human [[TheScrappy Scrappy]], his love interest, and their TimeSkip'd spawn and second Scrappy -- as prominent background characters. They all show up again later with speaking roles, albeit the parents separately from Daniel.
** Then you see Sparkplug, Spike's dad, working on a construction site with the trademark hardhat on two separate occasions.
** One WholeEpisodeFlashback showed Sentinel talking to red bot that looks a lot like (and [[WordOfGod Derrick Wyatt has confirm is suppose to be]]) Cliffjumper. They have stated that he was originally that one that [[spoiler:Shockwave would frame for being a spy]], but ExecutiveMeddling ruled against it. He actually reappears later as a RecurringCharacter in season three, and even speaks!
** We also see Mainframe operating a computer in a scene during the season three premiere. Like the Action Master he's based on, he doesn't transform.
** A rather large example are the bust of the [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Cyber-Ninja_Corps Cyber-Ninja Corps]] that appear in "Five Servos of Doom", which includes so many that Derrick Wyatt had to says what half of them were on Twitter ([[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Five_Servos_of_Doom#Notes details on this page]]).
** Yet another example: In "Human Error, Part 1" we see Cancer and Hydra from ''TransformersSuperGodMasterforce'' sitting at a table with series story editor Marty Isenberg.
** The ultimate fate of [[spoiler: Blackarachnia and Waspinator?]] Transwarped to a primitive world, where the first things they meet are a gorilla, a cheetah, a rhino, and an oversized rat. [[BeastWars Hmmm...]]
* The ''BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' episode "Day of the Dark Knight" begins with a prison break at Iron Heights; among the escapees are numerous [[Series/{{Batman}} Adam West Batman]] villains including King Tut, Egghead, the Bookworm and Louie the Lilac among others. In addition, the Clock King's face is revealed in the same episode to be modeled after Walter Slezak, his actor in the 1960's series.
* ''Series/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' has a few:
** BoosterGold and Skeets are cleaning the Superman Museum.
** A dead ringer for Lobo gets his hoverbike stolen.
** A whole mob of {{Superman}}'s Phantom Zone villains shows up, but they don't say a word or even do anything but be mysterious and threatening.
** Legionnaires that never get a speaking role still appear on viewscreens during member induction ceremonies or in the gigantic SeasonFinale battles.
* Several characters from ''{{Disney/Aladdin}}: the Series'' could be seen as guests at Aladdin and Jasmine's wedding in ''Aladdin and the King of Thieves''.
* Ankama does this to the point of notoriety in ''{{Wakfu}}'', an animation taking place in the same universe as the MMORPG of the same name and its predecessor, ''{{Dofus}}''. Many characters and creatures from the ''{{Dofus}}'' game and comics make appearances, be them as background flavour or as full secondary characters.
* DuckDodgers did a crossover with the characters of GreenLantern once. Several GL characters have significant roles (Sinestro, Hal Jordan, Katma Tui, Ch'p, Killowog), but the initial battle between the Corps and the robots also contains quite a few Blink-And-You'll-Miss-It appearances from characters only readers of the comics would recognize. Examples include Salaak, Boodika, Tomar Re, and Guy Gardner.
* In an episode of the American ''Series/StreetFighter'' animated series titled "The Medium is the Message", the new characters from the first ''StreetFighterAlpha'' (which was being released for home consoles at the time the episode aired) appear as fodder in an underground tournament against the recurring ''StreetFighterII'' characters who were the main focus of the series. The group included Adon and a [[YouDontLookLikeYou weird-looking rendition]] of Dan, both characters who were never given a speaking role in the series. Since the series already established Charlie and Blanka [[CompositeCharacter to be the same character]] (a plot element borrowed from [[Film/StreetFighter the movie]]), the same episode featured a flashback of Blanka before he was turned into a beast. The human Blanka wore the same outfit that the Charlie from the games wore, but with a Blanka-like color scheme (green vest and brown pants). The cast of ''FinalFight'' (including Maki and Carlos from ''2'') also appear as part of the tournament's crowd.
* ''MickeyDonaldGoofyTheThreeMusketeers'' opened with the trio being saved by the [[ThreeMusketeers original musketeers]], who give Mickey his NiceHat and autograph it.
* The design for the businessmen from ''AdventureTime'' is very similar to a businessman costume that an adventurer wore in an episode of ''TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack''. Also, the adventurer costume that the businessman wore in the Flapjack episode greatly resembles Billy from Adventure Time if he were human. Considering Pendleton Ward storyboarded the Flapjack episode, it makes sense.
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