History Main / SpoilerCover

* Most covers of ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'' features Sephiroth who "unexpectedly" returns during the climax.

* ''ComicBook/{{Papyrus}}'': Many of them, such as the appearance of the Minotaur, [[RelationshipUpgrade Papyrus and Theti-Cheri being together]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Thorgal}}'': ''City of the Lost God'' clearly shows the death of a character in the hero's arms.

* ''Literature/NightmareHour'': The illustration for "Alien Candy" gives away the twist that [[spoiler:the kids of the sci-fi club are really aliens.]]

* The cover of Wii U remake of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' shows both [[spoiler: Ganondorf who hijacks Zant toward the end]] and [[spoiler:Midna's true form]].

* Covers for the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series always show something from the book, but it's usually something vague like Harry flying on his broomstick. However, the American cover of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' shows the actual duel between Harry and Voldemort- specifically, with Voldemort flying backward while Harry reaches upward triumphantly (to catch Voldy' wand, though that isn't shown) as the sun rises in the background. This at least heavily suggests that Harry survives and defeats Voldemort personally, where the former event in particular was very uncertain.

* Creator/JohnDicksonCarr's mystery novels:

* The cover of the [=HarperCollins=] printing of Creator/JohnDicksonCarr's novel ''Literature/TheCaseOfTheConstantSuicides'' features a dog carrier with strange fumes rising out of it. [[spoiler:This essentially gives away the murder method used in the book - a block of dry ice hidden in a dog carrier that releases carbon dioxide gas as it sublimates.]]

* At least two covers of John Dickson Carr's ''Literature/ToWakeTheDead'' show a man in uniform at the climactic cemetery fight. One shows a man in uniform with a helmet.

[[AC: Anime and Manga]]

* Posters for ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' films are usually released around February in Japan, with the actual movie being screened in July. This often means that either the main poster or the "Pikachu the Movie" one[[note]]The poster that shows Ash's Pikachu and part of the other Pokémon owned by Ash and pals plus Team Rocket's Meowth and Wobbuffet plus some random ones, that is made even when there is no short before the film[[/note]] will spoil every single change in the teams of Ash and his friends in the next 5 months.

[[AC: Comic Books]]

[[AC: Film- Animated]]

[[AC: Film- Live Action]]

[[AC: Literature]]

[[AC: Live Action TV]]

[[AC: Video Games]]:

* ''VideoGame/StarshipTitanic'' had a strange twist on this: one particular puzzle, in the Music Room, can be easily solved by looking at the back of the game box, where the screenshot of that room shows the puzzle completed. However, this isn't a spoiler... it's the correct, and ''only'', way to complete the puzzle.

* The cover of ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'' shows Kaladin about to face Szeth, with an Everstorm brewing behind them. While readers of the previous book ''Literature/TheWayOfKings'' probably expected something like this to happen, there are moments within this book that play with the possibility of this outcome.

* There were videotape covers for ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes'' showing the Statue of Liberty on the cover, spoiling the surprise that Taylor was on Earth the whole time and not another solar system.

** On the Harper-Torch edition of ''Discworld/GuardsGuards'', the cover art depicts [[spoiler:the dragon wearing a crown]], which is a suprise plot development occurring late in the book.

* The video and DVD covers for the ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "The Face of Evil" feature the gigantic stone carving of the eponymous face. However, the reveal that the face was that of [[spoiler:the Doctor]] was the dramatic cliffhanger of one episode.

!!Examples

* Issue # 18 of ''ComicBook/TheWickedAndTheDivine'' has [[spoiler: Persephone on the cover]] despite the fact that seven issues earlier [[spoiler: seemingly showed Laura becoming her and then her immediate death as a ShockingSwerve.]]

* ''Literature/Discworld'':

* ''VideoGame/{{Desperados}}: Wanted Dead or Alive'' cover spoils that the initial BigBad becomes one of the protagonists. Five of the six playable characters are displayed on the cover art. Including Pablo Sanchez, the DiscOneFinalBoss. He is initially presented as the BigBad, finding him then bringing him to justice fills the game's first half. It is only after this point that the game reveals that both Sanchez and [[TheHero Cooper]] have been {{Unwitting Pawn}}s to the true villains' plot. Then, Sanchez join Cooper's gang and becomes a regular party member.

* Covers for the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series always show something from the book, but it's usually something vague like Harry flying on his broomstick. However, the American cover of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'' shows the actual duel between Harry and Voldemort- specifically, with Voldemort flying backward while Harry reaches upward triumphantly (to catch Voldy' wand, though that isn't shown) as the sun rises in the background. This at least heavily suggests that Harry survives and defeats Voldemort personally, where the former advent in particular was very uncertain.
* The cover of ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'' shows Kaladin about to face Szeth, with an Everstorm brewing behind them. While readers of the previous book 'Literature/TheWayOfKings'' probably expected something like this to happen, there are moments within this book that play with the possibility of this outcome.

It makes sense to grace a book or film with cover art that is eye-catching, dramatic, even climactic. To achieve this, it\'s natural for a publisher to choose to illustrate an important moment from the story, perhaps in the climax itself. The problem, of course, is that this provides information to the audience that the creator may have meant to come as a surprise. At the least, it indicates the characters on the cover survive to the latter part of the story.

This can be mitigated if the depiction is presented in a particular way that the meaning isn\'t immediately clear. However, this still means that the viewer will at some point recognise the context of the cover and realise what\'s going to happen in advance.

Another way a publisher can get away with this is due to the tendency of covers [[CoversAlwaysLie to show things that never actually happen in the work]]. Thus, audiences may disregard the imagery until after they\'ve reached the end, at which point the cover becomes FridgeBrilliance.

The practice of SuperDickery relies on this- a superhero is shown doing something evil, in order to shock casual comic-book store browsers and entice them to buy the comic to see what happens. On the actual page, the event would be given some extra context to explain that something more innocent was going on. A more honest approach shows a genuine cliffhanger- such as the hero about to be killed- and this works because the comic can be read quickly enough that there\'s no need to take the time to build up suspense.

\'\'\'Warning: As a possible EndingTrope, expect unmarked spoilers\'\'\'.

* The cover for the \'\'Franchise/OnePiece\'\' manga volume 75, which is during the Dressrosa arc, will automatically spoil the reappearance of Sabo, Luffy and Ace\'s childhood friend, who was thought to be dead when they were kids.

* \'\'ComicBook/BlakeAndMortimer: The Curse Of The Thirty Denarii (Volume 1)\'\' has a cover which is the last panel of the book (and a cliffhanger).

* The cover for \'\'WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}\'\' shows New York\'s skyscrapers in the background. The film\'s location is not revealed until the end, which reveals that the grand adventure took place in a tiny patch in Central Park.

* There were videotape covers for \'\'Film/PlanetOfTheApes\'\' showing the Statue of Liberty on the cover, spoiling the surprise that Taylor was on Earth the whole time and not another solar system.
* The poster for the movie \'\'Film/FreeWilly\'\' (1993) pretty much tells you how it\'s going to turn out.

* Covers for the \'\'Literature/HarryPotter\'\' series always show something from the book, but it\'s usually something vague like Harry flying on his broomstick. However, the American cover of \'\'Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows\'\' shows the actual duel between Harry and Voldemort- specifically, with Voldemort flying backward while Harry reaches upward triumphantly (to catch Voldy\' wand, though that isn\'t shown) as the sun rises in the background. This at least heavily suggests that Harry survives and defeats Voldemort personally, where the former advent in particular was very uncertain.
* The cover of \'\'Literature/WordsOfRadiance\'\' shows Kaladin about to face Szeth, with an Everstorm brewing behind them. While readers of the previous book \'\'Literature/TheWayOfKings\'\' probably expected something like this to happen, there are moments within this book that play with the possibility of this outcome.

* The video and DVD covers for the \'\'Series/DoctorWho\'\' serial \"The Face of Evil\" feature the gigantic stone carving of the eponymous face. However, the reveal that the face was that of [[spoiler:the Doctor]] was the dramatic cliffhanger of one episode.

* \'\'VideoGame/{{Desperados}}: Wanted Dead or Alive\'\' cover spoils that the initial BigBad becomes one of the protagonists. Five of the six playable characters are displayed on the cover art. Including Pablo Sanchez, the DiscOneFinalBoss. He is initially presented as the BigBad, finding him then bringing him to justice fills the game\'s first half. It is only after this point that the game reveals that both Sanchez and [[TheHero Cooper]] have been {{Unwitting Pawn}}s to the true villains\' plot. Then, Sanchez join Cooper\'s gang and becomes a regular party member.