History Main / MysteriousPast

** This is parodied in ''Comicbook/{{Squee}}'' where one absurdly muscular super hero constantly brags about his "mysterious past and shit"

* Angel's mysterious past proved fodder for multiple flashback scenes in both ''[[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer BtVS]]'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}''. Ultimately, almost all of his past is explained and shown on-screen, so by about the end of season 4 he no longer has a Mysterious Past--he has a Very Dark Past that is no longer mysterious.

* Zero from ''MegaManX''. No one knows about his past at all, except [[spoiler:for the BigBad Sigma, resulting in an EvilPlan in what's [[UnCancelled supposed to be the series' ending]], ''X5'']].

* Vash, from ''{{Trigun}}'', has this for most of the anime and around a third of the manga; all we known about him is that Rem found him in space.

* In the earlier days of the ''[[TsubasaReservoirChronicle Tsubasa]]'' fandom, Fay's past was one of the things in the series most often speculated on by FanFiction writers. Everybody knew ''something'' bad had to have happened, for him to be [[StepfordSmiler the way]] [[TheWoobie he was]], but nobody knew what. Creator/{{CLAMP}} held out on it for about twenty volumes, and of course when it finally ''did'' come out it was [[TraumaCongaLine worse than]] [[BreakTheCutie anyone had imagined.]]

* ''CowboyBebop'' with the entire team. Jet is fairly straightforward but still doesn't reveal everything. Faye [[spoiler: at doesn't remember her past at all, but then learns]]. All we know about Ein is that he's a "data dog" (We never learn what that is), and Spike and Ed we are told frustratingly nothing about, even though we ''meet Ed's father'' and Spike's past is the MythArc of the show! With Spike, we're just given mostly vague allusions to his past in the [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Red Dragon Syndicate]], with the only hard facts revealed being the identities of his mentor, his ex-girlfriend and his partner-turned-archenemy. Everything beyond that is just flashbacks without context (or dialogue).
* [[spoiler: Asuna]], from ''MahouSenseiNegima''. Throughout the series clues and facts are dropped like breadcrumbs, each one redefining her as a character and the entire manga's story as a whole, but even now, with a very, very general outline, we're still mostly in the dark about it. Whatever it was, it was bad enough that she needed to erase ''all memory of it'' before she could [[IJustWantToBeNormal be normal]], and those memories are so dark that their unlocking created a SplitPersonality... and left her comatose for a ''week''.
* Agito of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', a Unison Device from Ancient Belka who had been smacked with a case of amnesia. What little she does remember has fueled a good amount of fan discussion, especially after the [[AllThereInTheManual Sound Stage]] that featured her story dropped not so subtle hints that Signum was her original master, implying that the Wolkenritter themselves are not just ordinary [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots living programs]] but have a Mysterious Past of heir own.
* ''{{Amatsuki}}'' utilises this in magnificent fashion as part of its JigsawPuzzlePlot, and the more that is actually revealed about past events, the more confusing things become. What happened to Toki's dead childhood mentor? What connection does Chitose have to them and to the science project that may/may not be responsible for time travel? What caused Lily's brain damage and the fire that killed her mother? What is Susutake's connection to the demons? Why did Sensai Midori disappear? Why did Kanzou split from Kuchiha? How does Bonten know the man with the IV drip? Who did Tsuyukusa kill and why was he separated from his tree? Who was Utsubushi originally? What made Yakou kidnap humans and trap them in the past? And what the hell has Kon got to do with all of this? Since when was he a hacker? Does he even have a family?
** Interestingly while the two characters from the modern world (Toki and Kon) have very mysterious pasts, most minor characters have been explained.

* Both great masters of the Force from ''Franchise/StarWars'', [[EccentricMentor Yoda]] and [[BigBad Sidious]] are given little background on their origins. ''Nothing'' is revealed in the film continuity about Sidious's origins other than him being Palpatine: what little is commonly "known" is in fact only implied by the film and never confirmed. Indeed, it' believed that there's a ban on ExpandedUniverse authors detailing either's backstory as a novel about Sidious's Master, Darth Plagueis was cancelled for this reason). It was eventually UnCancelled, and revealed a lot of Sidious's backstory...but still left plenty that's ambiguous. Meanwhile, Yoda's past remains so mysterious that even his species remains unidentified, for reason apparently known only to GeorgeLucas.

* The titular assassin in ''TheDayOfTheJackal''. Although referred to throughout the book as "the Englishman" and eventually assumed to be former arms dealer Charles Calthrop, we eventually discover Calthrop is a completely different person and we've no way of knowing if the Jackal was even English.

* {{Nabeshin}}, the [[AuthorAvatar Director Avatar]] of ''Anime/ExcelSaga'', is revealed to share a MysteriousPast with almost all of the one-shot supporting characters, who upon reuniting with him often refer to some [[NoodleIncident unspecified nebulous event]] that happened "that one time in Bogota".

* In ''{{Gundam 00}}'', Tieria's past and origins were not shown nor [[AllThereInTheManual written]] unlike the {{Dark And Troubled Past}}s of the [[SelfMadeOrphan other]] [[{{Revenge}} three]] [[spoiler: ([[BackupTwin or four]])]] [[ImAHumanitarian meisters]]. [[spoiler: Until the second season, although it's more on his [[ArtificialHuman origins]] that is revealed not his past.]]

* Agito of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', a Unison Device from Ancient Belka who had been smacked with a case of amnesia. What little she does remember has fueled a good amount of fan discussion, especially after the [[AllThereInTheManual Sound Stage]] that featured her story dropped not so subtle hints that Signum was her original master, implying that the Wolkenritter themselves are not just ordinary [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots living programs]] but have a MysteriousPast of heir own.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' has LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters and almost as many mysterious pasts, such the strange gaps in Rukia's personal history (and possibly memory) during her time in the Rukongai. The most plot-triggering MysteriousPast is the origin of the mutually self-loathing friendship between Ryuuken Ishida and Isshin Kurosaki (the fathers of protagonists Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryuu Ishida) and their connection to Kisuke Urahara, which was implied early on be directly connected to their relationships with their sons. The little known about them suggested parallel pasts, with both men having [[MissingMom missing]] [[TheLostLenore wives]]. Even in the Final Arc, the truth about Isshin and Ryuuken and about their sons' [[spoiler: shared]] family history is slow to unfold [[spoiler:as it turns out to be the driving force behind the entire main storyline]]. And there's ''still'' a major chunk of Ryuuken's backstory unaccounted-for.

* This trope was gleefully subverted in the ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}'' film ''Film/PlanetTerror.'' Bad Ass El Wray's MysteriousPast is ultimately revealed, earning him the instant respect and trust of the formerly suspicious Sheriff. Unfortunately, this revelation is made in the never-actually-filmed 'missing reel'.

* Every major character in ''Series/BabylonFive'' had a MysteriousPast, or acquired one during the course of the show. '''All''' of them.

* In practically every other episode of ''MutantX'', someone from one of the main characters' MysteriousPast would turn up. How many ex-lovers does the typical young mutant-on-the-go ''have'', anyway? Or never-before-mentioned siblings or parents?

* Goofy [[TheCoroner coroner]] Woody in ''{{Psych}}'' appears to have a mysterious past. When being filmed for a documentary, he asked a few oddly specific questions about which countries the film might be seen in, and then spends the rest of the episode trying to disguise his voice and/or face.
* During the first season of Series/MadMen, Don Draper became an instant poster boy for this trope. Although most of his mysterious past got revealed over the next season or two, it's continued to have significant repercussions throughout the series.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', the enigmatic Dark Angels chapter of Space Marines deliberately keeps an in-universe MysteriousPast to prevent the Inquisition looking too closely at them. With very good reason.

* Gadget from ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' has got a very MysteriousPast with only a couple of hints given in one episode. Her past is frequently [[RetCon Ret-Conned]] by FanFic authors with many different outcomes. Most of the hints are in the pilot episode. [[spoiler: She's the daughter of an old friend of Monty's who died sometime before the start of the series. Given her name, guess what her dad did for a living?]]

* ''Manga/BlackButler'': Every character's backstory is never elaborated on, but the butler Sebastian is the most mysterious of them all. Little is known about him other then he is a demon, not even his true name or form. The anime gives a few tidbits: He met a Egyptian pharaoh, he spread a famous, major, and [[HistoricalInJoke real world]] plague more then a 100 years prior to the events of the series, he wears high heel in his true form, and he probably is of the FallenAngel variety of demon because feathers swirl around him like a twister in his true form.

* ''Manga/BlackButler'': Every character's backstory is never elaborated on, but the butler Sebastian is the most mysterious of them all. Little is known about him other then he is a demon, not even his true name or form. The anime gives a few tidbits: He met a Egyptian pharaoh, he spread a famous, major, and [[HistoricalInJoke real world]] plague more then a 100 years prior to the events of the series, and he wears high heel in his true form.

* The main character of {{Johnny the Homicidal Maniac}} is an enigma. The only thing about his past that was revealed is that his parents were killed by an evil man.
** This is parodied in {{Squee}} where one absurdly muscular super hero constantly brags about his "mysterious past and shit"

* This trope was gleefully subverted in the ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}'' film ''PlanetTerror.'' Bad Ass El Wray's MysteriousPast is ultimately revealed, earning him the instant respect and trust of the formerly suspicious Sheriff. Unfortunately, this revelation is made in the never-actually-filmed 'missing reel'.
* Both great masters of the Force from ''StarWars'', [[EccentricMentor Yoda]] and [[BigBad Sidious]] are given little background on their origins. ''Nothing'' is revealed in the film continuity about Sidious's origins other than him being Palpatine: what little is commonly "known" is in fact only implied by the film and never confirmed. Indeed, it' believed that there's a ban on ExpandedUniverse authors detailing either's backstory as a novel about Sidious's Master, Darth Plagueis was cancelled for this reason). It was eventually UnCancelled, and revealed a lot of Sidious's backstory...but still left plenty that's ambiguous. Meanwhile, Yoda's past remains so mysterious that even his species remains unidentified, for reason apparently known only to GeorgeLucas.

* ''{{Bleach}}'' has a wide variety of characters with mysterious pasts, be it with them as individuals or having to do with their families in general, such as there being bizarre gaps in Rukia's Rukongai history as well as her own past memory that are hinted at but not clarified. The most important is the mutually self-loathing friendship between Ryuuken Ishida and Isshin Kurosaki, the fathers of protagonists Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryuu Ishida, which was loaded with hints that there was something major behind their relationship that would affect their sons. Both fathers had a mysterious past that bore direct relevance to how they interacted with their sons, both had missing wives that turned out to be TheLostLenore characters and even in the final arc the truth about them and their sons [[spoiler: shared]] family history was slow to unfold [[spoiler:due it turning out to be the driving force behind the entire manga]].

* ''{{Bleach}}'' has a wide variety of characters with mysterious pasts, be it with them as individuals or having to do with their families in general, such as there being bizarre gaps in Rukia's Rukongai history as well as her own past memory that are hinted at but not clarified. The most important is the mutually self-loathing friendship between Ryuuken Ishida and Isshin Kurosaki, the fathers of protagonists Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryuu Ishida, which was loaded with hints that there was something major behind their relationship that would affect their sons. Both fathers had a mysterious past that bore direct relevance to how they interacted with their sons, both had missing wives that turned out to be TheLostLenore characters and even in the final arc the truth about them and their sons [[spoiler: shared]] family history was slow to unfold due it turning out to be the driving force behind the entire manga.

**

* ''{{Bleach}}'' has a wide variety of characters with mysterious pasts, be it with them as individuals or having to do with their families in general. In the case of Ichigo, he is not made aware of his family's past until "Everything But the Rain".
** Rukia is another example. Who raised her after Hisana abandoned her? Why did Urahara choose her to house the Hogyoku? What is the reason for her not being able to remember her first excursion into the Human World with Kiyone?

* The Doctor from ''Series/DoctorWho'' initially had a completely unknown past. By the time of the seventh Doctor, much about his past had been explained, so the writers attempted to restore the mystery by implying that much of what we had been told was a lie, and that he had a much darker past than had previously been suggested. Sadly, the series was cancelled before the so-called "Cartmel Masterplan" could be put into effect, and the revival hasn't returned to the idea. However much of what happened during the Time War (which happened inbetween the original series and the new one) is mysterious.

* [[TheRoom Tommy Wiseau's]] past is virtually unknown. He claims to be from America, but his accent suggests otherwise.

* In GeorgeMacdonaldFraser's ''Mr American'', the very proper and reserved title character admits to having been a cowboy and a prospector before he struck it lucky and made his millions. What he ''won't'' tell anyone is that he was also [[spoiler: a member of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid's gang and killed a man in a duel.]]

* The titular character of ''{{Jimmy Two-Shoes}}''. There have been several references to the fact that he's [[FishOutOfWater an outsider]], but exactly what he's doing in Miseryville has not been revealed.