History Main / UnseenNoMore

** While first mentioned around the start of the WarArc, the Scythes and Retainers are only introduced sporadically, with a few only making their first appearances after its conclusion. In addition, most of the Scythes and Retainers lacked any visual depiction barring Cadell (who appears early on as the first servant of the Vritra featured in the story) and Uto (who appears in the vision Alea imparts onto Arthur of him slaughtering her and her team). A tie-in illustration released after the end of Volume 9 marks the first visual depiction of Seris, who is depicted alongside her protégé Caera (who herself was introduced in Volume 8 but did not get a visual depiction until her appearance on the cover of Volume 9). Rather than wait for the webcomic to catch up with the novel, the rest of the Scythes and Retainers (barring Bivran and Bivrae) were finally depicted in a tie-in illustration released after the end of Volume 10.

** The ''Jasmine: Wind-Borne'' side story, released in the extended hiatus between Seasons 5 and 6 of the webcomic, finally depicts a few minor characters by way of AdaptationalEarlyAppearance[=/=]EarlyBirdCameo. These include Jasmine's ArchnemesisDad Trodius and her CoolAunt Hester, as well as a cameo near the end by Lensa, a former member of the Twin Horns whose death was pivotal in the backstory of Arthur's mother Alice.

* ''Series/TheLatestBuzz'': Amanda is constantly seen hounding on her phone "Daddy's Assistant", who works for her father. Said man finally appears in person in the series finale, where the gang remark that this is the guy she has been pestering this whole time.

** Mata Nui likewise had many symbols: a stone effigy, [[TheVitruvianPose an etching of a Vitruvian Man]], the Mask of Shielding, a humanoid form on the face of the Mask of Life, and various vague face-like carvings. It took until late 2008 for his form to be revealed in an online CGI clip and the comics, though it was never sold as a toy. With that came the twist that Mata Nui was actually a HumongousMecha, the world where the 2001-2008 story took place, meaning we've been seeing incomplete glimpses of him since the very start.

** Artakha was invented for a short-lived promotional website's browser game advertizing the ''Mask of Light'' movie in 2003, then [[CanonImmigrant accepted into canon]] together with Karzahni. Never appearing in the main story but affecting it indirectly, Artakha was given a written description in a 2011 online story serial when he first appeared in person. In 2020, 17 years after his introduction and 10 years after the franchise had ended, an officially sanctioned fan contest gave him a definitive visual appearance.

** Toa Helryx was introduced in 2008 as the leader of the Order of Mata Nui and the very first Toa ever created. While she had a visual description, her physical appearance would not see the light of day until 2019, when she became the subject of the first fan canonization contest hosted by The Three Virtues fansite and Greg Farshtey himself.
** The Toa Hagah are a unique case. They were introduced back in 2005 as the Rahagah, the mentors to the Toa Hordika who had once been Toa themselves before being mutated by Roodaka. While two of them - Norik and Iruni - received special edition figures of their Toa forms, the remainder - Bomonga, Gaaki, Kualus, and Pouks - did not receive visual depictions until another officially sanctioned fan contest in 2021 gave them canonical appearances for their Toa forms.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy''/''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':

*** Speaking of the third game and the massive lore updates that accompanied its portrayals of Kislev and Cathay, quite a few new characters for both of these factions have been introduced in passing before eventually being introduced in DLC. For example, both Mother Ostyanka[[note]]Technically not a new character due to being a case of ReimaginingTheArtifact for an existing minor character[[/note]] and Yuan Bo were new characters who were eventually depicted in the ''Shadows of Change'' DLC.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSimgar'' is fond of giving vague hints and legends about characters and factions years before they are fully revealed. An excellent example is Ushoran, the Mortarch of Delusion; as the MonsterProgenitor for the Flesh-Eater Courts (one of the earliest introduced factions in the game) his existence was reffered to only as a mysterious, legendary figure for years. It wasn't until near the end of third edition when he suddenly returned from exile, gaining a model and an important role in the story while he was at it.
[[/folder]]

* ''Series/DoomPatrol2019'': The team's iconic adversaries the Brain and Monsieur Mallah are first mentioned in the first season (the former mentioned by Mento in the episode "Doom Patrol Patrol" and both mentioned by Mr. Nobody in a flashback of his time as Eric Morden in "Penultimate Patrol", the former by name and the latter indirectly) before finally appearing in person in the third season episode "Vacay Patrol".

** On the official website promoting ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'', Ishirō Serizawa is said to have a son named [[Characters/MonsterVerseRenSerizawa Ren]]. Ren Serizawa appears as one of the antagonists the next movie, ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'', where he's played by Creator/ShunOguri.

* Men's Room Louie is mentioned repeatedly in ''ComicBook/Hitman1993'' before finally appearing in the 23rd issue.
* The first four volumes ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'' have a RunningGag of Mobile and Lawrence being barely off-screen but often mentioned. Both of them finally appear in person at the end of Volume 5, wherein Scott briefly confuses them both for Gideon.

* Tiffany’s father in ComicStrip/{{Luann}}, he was frequently mentioned and when he did show up he was hidden in shadow or his face was covered by the word balloons, his face was finally revealed in a story arc in which his girlfriend pretends to be pregnant so that he will marry her.
* In ''ComicStrip/OneBigHappy'', Buggy Crispino was for a long time only known through Ruthie talking about him. He eventually starts making appearances, but is still never seen without a bug mask that covers the upper half of his face.

** ''Series/TheWalkingDeadTheOnesWhoLive'': The first episode properly introduces Major-General Biel, the head of the Civic Republic Military, who had previously been a discussed but unseen GreaterScopeVillain of ''Series/TheWalkingDeadWorldBeyond''.

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'': Negan is the BigBad of Season 6 and is frequently mentioned by people who work for him, but only appears in "[[Recap/TheWalkingDeadS06E16LastDayOnEarth Last Day on Earth]]", the season finale. In the following seasons, he's a regular.

** The BigBad Agrona was first mentioned in Volume 4 of the novel during Windsom's exposition about the DivineConflict to Arthur. He technically made an appearance at the end of Volume 6, but it was only him possessing [[spoiler:the now-human Sylvie]] to have a private conversation with Arthur. He made his first proper physical appearance in Volume 9 given how it takes place in his domain of Alacrya. Outside of the novels, he was featured in silhouette during Season 5 of the webcomic in a flashback to when he brought the news of Sylvia's apparent death to her father and his ArchEnemy Kezess, but his actual appearance was finally revealed in a tie-in illustration released after the end of Volume 9.

** Windsom's exposition also has him bring up how Agrona and his clan had been experimenting upon and interbreeding with the populace of Alacrya over the course of generations. While the WarArc and onward would show some of these hybrids, most notably the Scythes and Retainers, Volume 10 makes it apparent that he was referring to the newly-introduced Wraiths, an elite group of hybrid SuperSoldier[=s=] whom Agrona created to be asura-killers.

* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' had the mysterious figures of legend, BigBad Makuta Teridax, BigGood Mata Nui, Artakha, Karzahni and the Great Beings. Makuta casting Mata Nui into a coma drove the whole story but their appearance was a secret for a long while. Until the reveal, both were represented via stone carvings other characters told stories with.

** Artakha was invented for a short-lived promotional website's browser game advertizing the ''Mask of Light'' movie in 2003, then [[CanonForeigner accepted into canon]] together with Karzahni. Never appearing in the main story but affecting it indirectly, Artakha was given a written description in a 2011 online story serial when he first appeared in person. In 2020, 17 years after his introduction and 10 years after the franchise had ended, an officially sanctioned fan contest gave him a definitive visual appearance.

*** Several of the Legendary Lords and Heroes featured in the game had no official depiction in any ancillary media before being featured in the game. Grand Hierophant Khatep, a named Lord in the Tomb Kings 8th Edition Army Book, received his first official depiction when the Tomb Kings were added as one of their Legendary Lords. Alberic du Bordeleaux, a minor character from Bretonnia's 6th Edition Army Book, was featured as one of their Legendary Lords when the faction was PromotedToPlayable. Coeddil, a character only mentioned in Wood Elf lore as Durthu's EvilCounterpart, was eventually featured as a Legendary Hero for Drycha's subfaction.

* Several major characters in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' are mentioned often in [[Literature/AGameOfThrones the first book]] in but don't appear until the [[Literature/AClashOfKings second]] or [[Literature/AStormOfSwords third]] -- Stannis Baratheon, Randyll Tarly, Mance Rayder, and Balon Greyjoy, to name a few.

* ''Literature/TheBeginningAfterTheEnd'': Given how the novel does not contain any illustrations of the characters outside of covers, on top of the webcomic being several volumes (and thus a few years) behind the novel, many characters did not receive visual depictions for a very long time until being depicted in either the webcomic or in external official tie-in illustrations. However, there are a few traditional examples of characters only being mentioned before eventually appearing in person much later on in the story.
** The BigBad Agrona was first mentioned in Volume 4 of the novel during Windsom's exposition about the DivineConflict to Arthur. He technically made an appearance at the end of Volume 6, but it was only him possessing the now-human Sylvie to have a private conversation with Arthur. He made his first proper physical appearance in Volume 9 given how it takes place in his domain of Alacrya. Outside of the novels, he was featured in silhouette during Season 5 of the webcomic, but his actual appearance was finally revealed in a tie-in illustration released after the end of Volume 9.
** Similarly, Agrona's opposite Kezess was also mentioned in that same exposition from Windsom, but he made his first appearance much earlier compared to his nemesis in Volume 5 when Windsom brings Arthur and Sylvie to Epheotus for training.

** The Lost Prince Mordain was alluded to in Volume 9 in a conversation between Windsom and Aldir as a former friend of Kezess whom the latter had covertly banished for opposing his genocide of the djinn. He made his first physical appearance at the end of Volume 10 when Arthur visits the Hearth, the OutcastRefuge he established following his exile.

** PlayedWith in regards to Cecilia, the Legacy. Her original appearance would not be revealed until Season 6 of the webcomic in April 2024, but her current appearance (in which she has possessed the body of Tessia) was revealed in the same tie-in illustration as Agrona's.

** Makuta was [[TheDreaded merely alluded to]] for most of 2001, his visual representations were stone symbols and a corrupted [[MaskOfPower Mask of Shielding]] seen in promo art and comics. His main presence came from the element of shadow and the concept of destruction. At the end of the year, Makuta showed up in person [[{{Shapeshifter}} in the shape]] of a corrupted villager, then as a [[TendrilsOfDarkness swirling mass of body parts and tendrils]]. His true form was revealed in 2003, twice: first as a Toys/{{Lego}} toy, then in the ''Mask of Light'' movie where Makuta's appearance was modeled on the toy's prototype.

* ''Literature/TheBeginningAfterTheEnd'': Given how the novel does not contain any illustrations of the characters outside of covers, on top of the webcomic being several volumes behind the novel, many characters did not receive visual depictions for a very long time until being depicted in the webcomic or in external official tie-in illustrations. There are though a few traditional examples of characters being mentioned only to appear in person much later on in the story.
** The BigBad Agrona was first mentioned in Volume 4 of the novel during Windsom's exposition about the DivineConflict to Arthur. He technically made an appearance at the end of Volume 6, but it was only him possessing the now-human Sylvie to have a private conversation with Arthur. He made his first proper physical appearance in Volume 9 given how it takes place in his domain of Alacrya. Outside of the novels, he was featured in silhouette during Season 5 of the {{Webcomic}}, but his actual appearance was finally revealed in a tie-in illustration released after the end of Volume 9.

** Despite featuring heavily in the novel from the WarArc onward, most of the Scythes and Retainers lacked any visual depiction barring Cadell (who appears early on as the first servant of the Vritra featured in the story) and Uto (who appears in the vision Alea imparts onto Arthur of him slaughtering her and her team). A tie-in illustration released after the end of Volume 9 marks the first visual depiction of Seris, who is depicted alongside her protégé Caera (who herself was introduced in Volume 8 but did not get a visual depiction until her appearance on the cover of Volume 9). Rather than wait for the webcomic to catch up with the novels, the rest of the Scythes and Retainers (barring Bivrae) were finally depicted in a tie-in illustration released after the end of Volume 10.

** PhysicalGod Mata Nui likewise had many symbols: a stone effigy, [[TheVitruvianPose an etching of a Vitruvian Man]], the Mask of Shielding, a humanoid form on the face of the Mask of Life, and various vague face-like carvings. It took until late 2008 for his form to be revealed in an online CGI clip and the comics, though it was never sold as a toy. With that came the twist that Mata Nui was actually a HumongousMecha, the world where the 2001-2008 story took place, meaning we've been seeing incomplete glimpses of him since the very start.

* Franchise/MonsterVerse:

* ''Literature/TheBeginningAfterTheEnd'': Given how the novels do not contain any illustrations of the characters outside of their covers, on top of the {{Webcomic}} being several volumes behind the novel, quite a few characters did not receive visual depictions for a very long time until being depicted in the {{Webcomic}} or in external official tie-in illustrations. There are though a few traditional examples of characters being mentioned only to appear in person much later on in the story.

* The Empire of Grand Cathay has been a HufflepuffHouse SpaceFillingEmpire across all of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', with only a few mentions in source books and no units or rules to represent them ''anywhere''. Thirty years later, though, they finally get a major role in ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerIII'', where not only are they one of the six factions playable at launch, they've teamed up with [[MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong Kislev]] to '''''[[ToHellAndBack invade the Chaos Wastes and take the fight to the Dark Gods themselves]]'''''!

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!

[[caption-width-right:250:It took [[Recap/PokemonS1E15BattleAboardTheStAnne 15 episodes]] just to see Team Rocket's leader in shadow, and it would [[Recap/PokemonS1E63TheBattleOfTheBadge another 48]] before he finally stepped into the light.]]

* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'': Even though it's known that Charlie Brown has a crush on her, the Little Red-Haired Girl only made a single appearance as a silhouette in 1998. She does appear a few times in animated adaptations.

* ''Series/{{Lucifer|2016}}'' deals a lot of the struggles the titular character, the devil himself, has with his father, God. God is frequently mentioned by the spiritual characters of the show and in therapy lessons, but doesn´t make a physical appearance until the mid-season finale of season 5.

* ''VideoGame/Earthbound1994'': Giygas is mentioned as the ultimate BigBad of the story in the opening. He is constantly mentioned throughout the plot, but not shown until the end, and even then, only for a few minutes. (He did appear in the previous game ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' under similarly brief circumstances, but with a different appearance.)

* The Shea Fontana iteration of ''WebAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls'' mentions Darkseid at various points before having him finally appear physically in the fifth season, first appearing disguised as math teacher Dr. Seid before revealing his true colors in the final episode "My So-Called Anti-Life".