History Main / TheAnticipator

* In the show ''Series/{{MASH}}'' Radar has the uncanny ability to appear at the side of his commander before he asks for him, as well as finish his sentences and provide paperwork to be signed before it is asked for.

* ''The Killer Ascendant''. ProfessionalKiller Literature/JohnRain is hunting [[RogueAgent rogue CIA agent]] Jim Hilger. Knowing that Hilger is planning to murder someone when they return home after work, Rain decides Hilger will be staking out his victim in a park across the road. Then Rain wonders if Hilger has anticipated his arrival, and is actually waiting in ambush for Rain. [[spoiler:So he enters the park from a different direction, and sure enough sees a man with a gun lying in wait. It's then that Hilger springs his trap -- the man lying on the ground is an innocent bystander that Hilger murdered and left there as a SleepingDummy, so he can ambush Rain in turn.]]

* ''The Killer Ascendant''. ProfessionalKiller Literature/JohnRain is hunting [[RogueAgent rogue CIA agent]] Jim Hilger. Knowing that Hilger is planning to murder someone when he returns home, Rain decides Hilger will be staking out his victim in a park across the road. Then Rain wonders if Hilger has anticipated his arrival, and is actually waiting in ambush for Rain. [[spoiler:So he enters the park from a different direction, and sure enough sees a man with a gun lying in wait. It's then that Hilger springs his trap -- the man lying on the ground is an innocent bystander that Hilger murdered and left there as a SleepingDummy, so he can ambush Rain in turn.]]

* Master Splinter from ''Series/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' usually plays this role in the show, as he is very wise and skilled. And a ninja, of course.

* In ''{{Discworld/Pyramids}}'', Teppic considers doing this to Mericet, his Assassin's school examinator (managing to kill the examinator gets you an automatic pass, because it's nearly impossible), but decides against it. Mericet was in fact hiding as a gargoyle, tells Teppic where to go next (involving an obstacle course worthy of ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''), and somehow shows up there before Teppic.

* In Creator/LarryNiven's story "What Good Is A Glass Dagger?", from ''Literature/TheMagicGoesAway'' series, an intruder sneaks up on the Warlock using an {{anti magic}} device to block his foresight. However, the Warlock was waiting for him anyway, having foreseen the appearance of a magic-free dead zone. The ploy wasn't a complete failure, though; the Warlock got only a generic "somebody's coming" without any of the details he normally could have seen.

* In LarryNiven's story "What Good Is A Glass Dagger?", an intruder sneaks up on [[Literature/TheMagicGoesAway the Warlock]] using an {{anti magic}} device to block his foresight. However, the Warlock was waiting for him anyway, having foreseen the appearance of a magic-free dead zone. The ploy wasn't a complete failure, though; the Warlock got only a generic "somebody's coming" without any of the details he normally could have seen.

Although it seems as if the Anticipator is CrazyPrepared, usually they are simply cool, wise, or [[SeenItAll are very seasoned]]. They expect you to be sneaking through the window, hiding behind that pillar, creeping in the shadows, and even using that Invisibility Cloak of Invisible Fabric... and don't even think about opening a door to stakeout in a room to surprise them later: they'll already be waiting for you there. As such, The Anticipator is usually GenreSavvy (or at least the failed sneak is GenreBlind).

* In ''{{Discworld/Pyramids}}'', Teppic considers doing this to Mericet, his Assassin's school examinator (managing to kill the examinator gets you an automatic pass, because it's nearly impossible), but decides against it. Mericet was in fact hiding as a gargoyle, tells Teppic where to go next (involving an obstacle course worthy of AssassinsCreed), and somehow shows up there before Teppic.

Sneaking up on someone, or trying to get past them, can be an excellent tactic if done correctly. But some people are simply too {{Badass}} to be surprised. This is the essence of The Anticipator. No matter how hard another character tries, they cannot manage to sneak up on or get past the Anticipator. Because the Anticipator is expecting them to try.

* ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. [[ComicBook/CatWoman Selina Kyle]] is waiting in the subway for Batman, and gives the "come out, don't be shy" line.

* In the show ''Series/{{MASH}}'' Radar has the uncanny ability to appear at the side of his commander before he asks for him, as well as finish his sentences.

*** Played with later when a maid babbles cheerfully over the confusion caused by exactly when Bond was expected to [[NoMrBondIWantYouToDine become their guest]] (i.e. get captured).

* ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. [[ComicBook/CatWoman Selina Kyle]] is waiting in the subway for Batman, and give the "come out, don't be shy" line.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker''. Terry [=McGinnis=] (the [[LegacyCharacter new Batman]]) tries to sneak up on Tim Drake (the old Robin) in his invisible Batsuit, only for Terry to inform him that he still remembers his old training and knows he's there. However he misses the fact that [[StealthHiBye Terry has departed their conversation.]]

Sneaking up on someone, or trying to get past them, can be an excellent strategy if done correctly. But some people are simply too {{Badass}} to be surprised. This is the essence of The Anticipator. No matter how hard another character tries, they cannot manage to sneak up on or get past the Anticipator. Because the Anticipator is expecting them to try.

* Naturally, this is among [[TheThrawnTrilogy Grand Admiral Thrawn's]] [[TheStrategist many talents]]. In ''[[HandOfThrawn Vision of the Future]]'', he is casually lingering in the hangar as Han and Lando almost-but-don't escape from the Imperial capital of Bastion unscathed. [[spoiler: Of course, [[DeadPersonImpersonation it's not really him]], and he didn't really figure out their docking bay the way he said he did, but it's the look of the thing.]]

* In ''{{House}}'' the titular character tries to invoke this trope with Cuddy. Thinking Cuddy is coming, he says "I did it all by myself, Mommy" after he'd resolved a case without help (contrary to her instructions). It backfires, however, as the person who comes in is actually just the janitor.

* In ''Literature/TheHungerGamesCatchingFire'':
** Katniss finds that [[spoiler:President Snow]] is waiting for her at her own house to confront her. [[spoiler:He]] sits in a chair and doesn't even address her immediately and continues reading a book to show Katniss who's the boss.
** Katniss is later surprised to find Peacekeepers waiting in her living room, forcing her to feign normalcy. [[spoiler:Subverted in that they had set a trap for her elsewhere and did not expect her to waltz in alive.]]
%% ** Katniss is surprised by President Snow in ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' Mockingjay when she is walking around [[spoiler:in his garden after District 13 has attacked the Capitol. He is shackled in his garden by orders from President Coin, but he was obscured from view by some flowers]]. He speaks up and she is startled by his voice.

* It was subverted and then subsequently played straight in ''Series/ThirtyRock''. These are the lines:
** Liz approaches Jack from behind.
-->'''Jack:''' You've been avoiding me, Lemon.
-->'''Liz:''' How do you do that? Without turning around?
-->'''Jack:''' To be perfectly honest, the first couple of people I did that to, were ''not'' you... but, here we are.

* In ''Literature/TheHungerGamesCatchingFire'', Katniss finds that [[spoiler:President Snow]] is waiting for her at her own house to confront her. [[spoiler:He]] sits in a chair and doesn't even address her immediately and continues reading a book to show Katniss who's the boss.
** Katniss is surprised, yet again. This time it is by the Peacekeepers in her living room and she has to feign normalcy. They somehow both embody and avert this trope because they [[spoiler:set a trap up for her and expected her not to come home. So they were actually surprised by her survival, but were still waiting to see if she came home crispy fried by the electric fence, which she didn't.]]
** Katniss is surprised by President Snow in ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' Mockingjay when she is walking around [[spoiler:in his garden after District 13 has attacked the Capitol. He is shackled in his garden by orders from President Coin, but he was obscured from view by some flowers]]. He speaks up and she is startled by his voice.

* In a FoxTrot strip, Peter tries to sneak by his mom, only to have her say, without looking, "No going out until you finish your homework." He sulks back to his room, wondering how she always manages to catch him. [[SubvertedTrope A moment later, she again says, "No going out until you finish your homework."]] Apparently she just says it every minute or so, anticipating Peter's actions.

* Parodied and averted in ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' by Sarge in the episode ''The Haystack'', much to Donut's confusion.