History Main / LeftHanging

* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'': The final issue of ''Captain America and ComicBook/TheFalcon'' Vol. 2 ended with the implication that the Falcon might have been killed by Anti-Cap, as well as the real Captain America finding his abandoned costume fluttering in the wind. WordOfGod is that the {{Cliffhanger}} was meant to be a SequelHook for a solo ''Falcon'' series by [[Creator/ChristopherPriestComics Christopher Priest]], but it fell apart when Priest left the project. When the Falcon next appeared in Creator/EdBrubaker's ''Captain America'' run, he was back to wearing his costume, and there was no mention of his disappearance or the prior incident with Anti-Cap.

* ''WebVideo/PissedOffAngryGamer'': At the end of the Xbox 360 review, he says his next console review will be of the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3. It never happened.

** ''Film/BlackAdam'''s post-credit scene sees Creator/HenryCavill's Superman arrive to intimidate Adam, directly setting up a battle between the two in a sequel. While the disappointing box office numbers already called a follow-up into question, it was eventually confirmed that Cavill would not be returning as Superman due to the reboot, with Creator/DavidCorenswet instead taking over the role in Creator/JamesGunn's new ''Superman'' film.

* ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': Among the things left hanging:
** Issue #20, "''Mekkano''": the eponymous machine, which can break down any other machine for parts and add it to itself, is picked up in Earth Orbit by an alien spaceship, which takes it back to their base. Never seen or mentioned again.
** Issue #24, "''Twilight''": the issue's BigBad [[spoiler:is offed in a NoOneCouldSurviveThat way]], just after proclaiming that [[spoiler:with the data from his analysis of Paperinik's SwissArmyWeapon, he will proceed to TakeOverTheWorld]]. Moreover, [[spoiler:before leaving to go back to his dimension, Paperinik gives Urk a device which can transmit across dimensions, "[[SequelHook In case you need help or something comes up]]."]] Neither plot points come up again.
** Issue #25, "''Crossfire''": Paperinik meets up with what is, essentially, LaResistance within the Evron Empire. They never show up again.
** Issue #40, "''A Single Breath''": it's pretty much stated outright in the ending that [[spoiler:the issue's BigBad, a StrawNihilist with almost unlimited PsychicPowers, has survived [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat being swept away by the wave caused by the collapse of a dam]].]] Where did he end up? No one knows.
** Although it has a definite ending, ''[=PK2=]'' was severely shortened over the original plans, so the conclusion is quite hasty and leaves no certainty about the future of [[spoiler:Everett and his daughters]], although one of the last issues of PKNA can be considered a DistantFinale to both series.
** ''Might and Power'' includes ''many'' of the plot threads left hanging to continue the story, leading to ContinuityPorn.
* A storyline in ''ComicBook/PowerPack'' heavily implied that Toro, the sidekick of UsefulNotes/{{the Golden Age|OfComicBooks}} Human Torch, was not only still alive, but was also the father of Frankie Raye. This never went anywhere, and the later ''ComicBook/AvengersInvaders'' crossover confirmed that Toro was still dead.
* ''ComicBook/NextMen'' ended with a cliffhanger in #30. Byrne had intended to conclude the story in a second series, but the collapse of the American comic book industry in the mid-1990s made it financially unfeasible for him to do so.
* When Creator/CrossGen folded, they promptly ended ''every single comic'' mid-story, right when the overall plot was reaching its apex. Marvel comics said they would publish [=CrossGen=] titles, but as of yet that hasn't happened.

* Creator/DCComics' ''ComicBook/StarRaiders'' graphic novel was truncated to half its length due to a cancelled contract; many secondary characters and plot points qualify as a result.
* The final issue of ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and ComicBook/TheFalcon'' Vol. 2 ended with the implication that the Falcon might have been killed by Anti-Cap, as well as the real Captain America finding his abandoned costume fluttering in the wind. WordOfGod is that the {{Cliffhanger}} was meant to be a SequelHook for a solo ''Falcon'' series by [[Creator/ChristopherPriestComics Christopher Priest]], but it fell apart when Priest left the project. When the Falcon next appeared in Creator/EdBrubaker's ''Captain America'' run, he was back to wearing his costume, and there was no mention of his disappearance or the prior incident with Anti-Cap.
* Near the end of the first ''ComicBook/WarMachine'' series, Rhodey's parents claim that he has a son that he's never met. It's left ambiguous as to whether this revelation was true or simply a lie to get rid of his then-current flame, Rae, but it's been never resolved one way or the other.
* ''ComicBook/{{Dinocorps}}'' ends with Jarek still alive and well, and a shot of several more Saurons still in cryogenic sleep. It's implied that Jarek had a backup evil plan, but no further issues have been published since then. Some inquired on Bunn's social media if he thought Pak would follow up on the Creed/Monet relationship, but Bunn gave no response. Pak was asked in an X-Position panel if he would continue Bunn's work on Sabretooth -since his moral struggle & budding ship with Monet couldn't be wrapped up by Uncanny's end. Pak said he had plans to follow up on the former, but no answer on the latter.
* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' ended with Chase Stein getting hit by a car after chasing a girl who looked suspiciously like his dead girlfriend while the rest of the team contemplated making a deal with Chase's shady uncle. There was also some mystery about the sudden disappearance of Old Lace. When the team later reappeared in other books, Chase's near death was handwaved, and Old Lace's disappearance was explained in a way that [[VoodooShark raised more questions]], but Gert's sudden reappearance was never explained, and Chase's uncle was never heard from again. To this day, there's never been an explanation for the sudden attack that kicked off the story's events, either.
* ''ComicBook/{{Elephantmen}}'' ends with multiple subplots unresolved, the most egregious cases being that it's never revealed where [[spoiler:Serengheti took Sahara's baby, or if Raven tried to break Dr. Nikken out of prison]]. This was likely intentionally; the final page ends with Flask and Farrell going on another adventure, and the final words are "Never The End!", implying that while the comic itself has ended, [[AndTheAdventureContinues the characters will continue going on unseen adventures]].
* ''Skrull Kill Krew'' ends with Captain America enraged upon hearing about the presence of Ryder, implying they've already met before and have some sort of feud together, but this is never brought up again.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': The mystery of FACADE would have been simple to resolve in one issue, but then ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'' took all the attention, until being referenced years later in ''Dark Reign Files'' and ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #678.
* The Franchise/{{Tintin}} story ''Tintin and Alph Art'' was meant to be Creator/{{Herge}}'s GrandFinale for the Tintin series; however, he was still working on a very rough draft [[DiedDuringProduction when he died]]. Unfortunately, he never told anyone exactly how he planned to end it, and the incomplete story ended on a colossal Cliffhanger.
* ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'': Many hints at Wolverine's past have been ignored with no explanation. One was that Archangel's metallic modifications reminded Logan of the Weapon X facility, and an adamantium skull in ''Wolverine: The Jungle Adventure'' also reminds Logan, hinting that Apocalypse was involved in the Weapon X project. This was never followed up on.
* ''ComicBook/MegaManArchieComics'' was cancelled due to low sales and ended right at the start of the adaptation of the fourth game. While fans of the games know how things will turn out, there was still the matter of what Mr. X [[spoiler: (who in this version is not a disguised Wily, but an aged Xander Payne who got thrown into the past following the ''[[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsUnite Worlds Unite]]'' crossover and had to take TheSlowPath back to the current time),]] was planning against all robot kind and how his version of the fifth game would play out.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** Due to a lawsuit with former writer Ken Penders, the ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' comic was forced to pull a CosmicRetcon so that any characters of his were written out to avoid paying him royalties. As such, many storylines that were still in development such as Naugus taking over Geoffrey's body and still in rule over New Mobotropolis, Bunnie coping with her regained flesh, Antonie still in a coma, Scourge breaking free from the No Zone, whatever Finitivs was planning and Sally still being a robot were dropped indefinitely and will no longer have an official resolution. With the comic book's cancellation as of 2017, this is pretty much the fate of any ongoing plotline, as [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW the IDW series]] is a ContinuityReboot.
** The mini-series, ''ComicBook/SonicMegaDrive'', was made to celebrate Sonic's 25th anniversary with a original story made in the vein of a original Sega Genesis game. They got through two issues and a third was meant to close out the series, but Archie and SEGA got into financial disagreements in 2017 which caused the book to be put into hiatus, then ultimately cancelled when SEGA broke ties with Archie, leaving the story on a cliffhanger of Eggman having all the macguffins in his possession and Sonic and his friends setting out to find the Chaos Emeralds in order to have a chance at stopping him.
* ''ComicBook/TheIntimates'' was abruptly cancelled after 12 issues due to several members of its creative team moving to other, more high-profile books, and thus the series ends on a cliffhanger with the main characters running away from the Seminary.

* ''ComicBook/BillyTheCat'': The viewer never finds out what happens to Billy in the end. Does he stay a cat forever? Does he get turned back into a human?
* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague3000'''s abrupt cancellation left a ton of subplots unresolved: Who was Lady Styx and where she came from? Why is she so incredibly powerful? What are her real goals? Why did future ComicBook/LoisLane hate ComicBook/{{Superman}} so much? Why did Superman send ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} to the far-flung future? Were Lois and Ariel Masters able to escape Lady Styx's death squads? The final issue doesn't even conclude the battle betweeh the League and the Legion of Death, and readers had to read a completely different book -''ComicBook/BlueBeetle'' Vol. 9 #12-13, published one year later- to find out whether the League won or lost that battle.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' comics have a long history of arcs going unfinished when a new writer comes on board as new writers almost always dramatically change the status quo. The other frequent way new writers will wrap up an arc is to quickly kill off the key characters in their first issue and then go tell the stories ''they'' want to tell.

* ''ComicBook/Zatanna2010'': The comic was canceled before the plotlines involving Brother Night, Detective Colton and Mikey could be wrapped up, and no future Zatanna stories ever adressed these characters.

* ''Animation/ZSquad''’s final episode focuses on the girls making a scrapbook to commemorate their adventures so far. It does not resolve the overarching story of Aramis being sealed away, and Bakoo is still out there.

** ''Film/JusticeLeague2017'''s post-credit scene had Lex Luthor approach Deathstroke about [[LegionOfDoom forming a team of supervillains]] to take down the League, something that never went anywhere. The [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague director's cut]] introduced even more of these, such as the tease of another invasion from Darkseid, as well as Batman's premonitions of a post-apocalyptic future where he and a ragtag band of surviving heroes and villains (including the Joker) would have to battle an [[FaceHeelTurn evil]] Superman. Even though Warner's hesitance to continue Creator/ZackSnyder's plans already made a resolution for any of those plot threads unlikely, the reboot seemingly hammered the final nail into the coffin.

** ''Film/BlackAdam'''s post-credit scene sees Creator/HenryCavill's Superman arrive to intimidate Adam, directly setting up a battle between the two in a sequel. While ''Black Adam'''s disappointing box office numbers already called a follow-up into question, it was eventually confirmed that Cavill would not be returning as Superman due to the reboot, with Creator/DavidCorenswet instead taking over the role in Creator/JamesGunn's new ''Superman'' film.

** [=''Film/BlackAdam''=]'s post-credit scene sees Creator/HenryCavill's Superman arrive to intimidate Adam, directly setting up a battle between the two in a sequel. While ''Black Adam'''s disappointing box office numbers already called a follow-up into question, it was eventually confirmed that Cavill would not be returning as Superman due to the reboot, with Creator/DavidCorenswet instead taking over the role in Creator/JamesGunn's new ''Superman'' film.

** ''Film/BlackAdam'''s post-credit scene sees Creator/HenryCavill's Superman arrive to intimidate Adam, directly setting up a battle between the two in a sequel. While ''Black Adam'''s disappointing box office numbers already called a follow-up into question, it was eventually confirmed that Cavill would not be returning as Superman due to the reboot, with Creator/DavidCorenswet instead taking over the role in Creator/JamesGunn's new ''Superman'' film.

* As the ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'' was unexpectedly ended in favor of a sweeping ContinuityReboot under the newly formed Creator/DCStudios, a number of plot threads were left abandoned:

* ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'', full stop. Among the things left hanging:

* At the end of ''Film/TransformersTheLastKnight'', Megatron and Barricade is still at large, there is an implication Unicron is awakening, and Quintessa is shown to have survived. However, the film's terrible reception killed any follow-ups on that, as prequel ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' instead became a SoftReboot that enabled new stories with [[BroadStrokes little relation]] to the original five ''Film/{{Transformers}}''.

* Creator/JoseMariaEguren: "Ananké" ends with a girl stating that she ought not to die for God doesn't want/love her. While that can be explained by the earlier insinuation of the girl only being able to hear the poetic ego's reclamations because she's a sinner, it's left ambiguous what happens to her next. Seeing that the book's CentralTheme is death, it's possible that she indeed dies. However, it's also heavily implied that the girl is the titular [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek goddess]], the deity of fate, and therefore unable to die.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* ''Bonfires and Broomsticks'', the second book in ''Literature/BedknobAndBroomstick'', ends with Miss Price having gone off to the past and the children walking to the ruins of the house that she would have lived in, only to hear her disembodied voice tell them to get off of the cabbages.
* In Andrea Chang's ''The Year of the Book'' and ''Honeysuckle House'' (novels for middle-grade readers featuring Chinese-American characters), it can reasonably be said that what is more or less considered the main plot is wrapped up, but a number of important plot themes are simply left hanging, such as, in ''Honeysuckle House'', whether or not the father of the main character gets his Green Card to work in the United States. ''The Year of the Book'' at least has a sequel (May 2013), but no such luck for ''Honeysuckle House''.

* DiscussedTrope in ''Literature/TheDivineComedy''; the narration asks the reader to imagine if the story stopped just as a thousand Heavenly spirits from Mercury surround our heroes and begin to sing of a love unknown on Earth. The narrator hopes that making the readers think [[invoked]] "TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot" will help them understand how strongly the characters longed to talk to the ghosts of Mercury.
* Another series by Applegate that ended with the readers left hanging was ''Literature/{{Everworld}}'', which abruptly cuts off with numerous subplots, and even the main story itself, mostly unresolved. Plot threads left dangling include: [[spoiler: Brigid, the coming battles against Ka Anor, the fate of the Sennites, how the introduction of technology will affect Everworld, who will be the next mayor of Atlantis, the Great Scroll of the Gods, etc.]]

* The anime adaptation of ’'Literature/GonnaBeTheTwintail'' ends with Ultimaguil temporarily calling off their invasion to deal with matters elsewhere. It’s made clear that they will be back, however, but no second season was ever greenlit.

Sometimes the result of being ScrewedByTheNetwork. This ''will'' lead to CanonFodder and, thus, FanficFuel. See also CutShort where the series doesn't even get a chance to ignore their loose ends and ends abruptly.

* ''[[Creator/TimDorsey Serge A. Storms]]'': While ''Pineapple Grenade'' ends with Serge killing the BigBad, nothing gets mentioned about whether the corrupt generals back in Costa Gorda suffer any comeuppance and will be in a position to try to continue with their plans to undermine their president and allow oil drilling near protected coral reefs.