History UnexpectedCharacter / FanWorks

** Logan mentions [[ComicBook/{{Storm}} a woman]] in the Summer Islands that can control the weather.

* The author of ''Fanfic/TheNewAdventuresOfInvaderZim'' has a habit of bringing in minor one-shot characters from canon, to the surprise of most readers:
** Absolutely no one expected [[spoiler: Squidman]] to show up, considering his sole appearance ended with him being [[spoiler: eaten by a shark]].
** No one was expecting [[spoiler: Counselor Dwicky]] to appear, as his last appearance appeared to have him PutOnABus.

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2955432 Embrace the Fall]]'': A series where everything goes OffTheRails during season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'', and firmly goes into AlternateUniverseFic territory once Anne becomes a villain DrunkOnTheDarkSide. Thus, it's a ''huge'' surprise that the last two chapters of the main story feature [[spoiler: ''[[Characters/AmphibiaAnneBoonchuy canon]]'' [[Characters/AmphibiaAnneBoonchuy Anne]], who's now serving as a Guardian-in-Training watching over multiple timelines.]]

** During the archery contest of Jon's wedding, Tony mentions the winner was a young man (who he suspects [[SweetPollyOliver was a woman]]), named [[Characters/HawkeyeKateBishop Byshup]], who disappeared as soon as the price was given.

* The second half of ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13620958/1/O-Mother-Where-Art-Thou O Mother, Where Are Thou?]]'' introduces Class 40, or "the Diesel", a ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' character who only showed up in two stories of the pre-CGI seasons and hasn't appeared in canon since.
* At first, it seems like ''Fanfic/WhatTomorrowBrings''' chapters will be narrated by the Animorphs in the same order as the books... so imagine readers' surprise when chapter 6's narrator was not Ax, but ''[[AscendedExtra Tom]]''.
* Cam Steady's ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' Villains [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e5148eX7zM Rap Cypher]] features a roster of mostly obvious choices -- Eggman, Metal Sonic, Mephiles the Dark, Zavok, Chaos and Infinite the Jackal -- but many on first watch are surprised that Cam himself didn't do a verse. Then, the ending screen [[FakeOutFadeOut starts glitching]]... and ''Fanfic/SonicExe'' appears.
* ''WebAnimation/SonicVillains'':
** Like in the aforementioned Rap Cypher, no one was expecting Fanfic/SonicExe to be part of the titular roster of villains. The first full trailer also teases the appearance of spinoff .exes Fatal Error and Rewrite, though the context implies that both of them are [[CompositeCharacter simply alternate forms of Sonic.exe himself]].
** [[VideoGame/MetalGear Solid Snake]], voiced by Creator/DavidHayter himself, is also set to make an appearance.

* ''Webcomic/Persona5AdultConfidantAU'':
** The main premise of the story is based around swapping the [[AgeLift ages]] and [[RoleSwapAU roles]] of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and the Adult Confidants of the canon ''VideoGame/Persona5''. As a result, the new Phantom Thieves are given their own Personas. [[OriginalGeneration Most of them were made specifically for the AU]], so it was a surprise to see [[spoiler:Robin Hood, Akechi's fake Persona]], as part of the cast. And as Sojiro's Initial Persona no less!
** Considering the [[VideoGame/Persona1 first]] [[VideoGame/Persona2 two]] ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games have largely fallen into obscurity, many saw it as a surprise when Nameless and Belladonna made an appearance.
** Similarly to the above, one comic has Tae and a few other Phantom Thieves going to a Gas Chamber concert, with Eikichi Mishina from ''VideoGame/Persona2'' making a surprise [[TheCameo cameo]].

* ''Fanfic/WeissReacts'':
** The majority of crossover characters originate from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' or ''Manga/{{Chobits}}''. Thus, almost nobody expected [[Manga/FruitsBasket Tohru Honda]] to fill in for [[OnlySaneMan Roman]] when he pulled a ScrewThisImOuttaHere due to the antics of the other staffers. Neo, Emerald and Mercury were unexpected, having been introduced long after the fic started. Franchise/{{The Slender Man|Mythos}} is also in the Reactsverse, calling himself Slen D. Man.
** {{Zig Zagg|ingTrope}}ed with the BadassFamily chapter- almost everyone called a [[Anime/CodeGeass Euphemia]] expy as one of Jaune's siblings, but nobody expected [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Lucina]] to be one too.

* The cast of ''Fanfic/YandereSumia'' is almost entirely composed of characters from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''- Sumia, Chrom, the rest of Chrom's potential wives, Cordelia and Lucina[[note]]who's called Severa here[[/note]]- so it's a bit of a surprise when Glass from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' turns up near the end.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-oo_1D927g&ab_channel=%E9%83%B7%E6%84%81NostilgiaArchive This]] ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fan video features a surprise cameo from a pony version of ''[[Webcomic/{{Homestuck}} Gamzee Makara]]'' of all characters.

* In the Harry Potter and Superman crossover fanfic ''FanFic/LastMageOfKrypton'', Harry's animagus form counts as a minor one (being Krypto), but the big surprise (and proof it was a triple-crossover all along) comes with the last minute appearance of [[spoiler:Pete Wisdom, director of MI-13 and Director Fury's English counterpart]].

* In the ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/MarqueAndReprisal'', we see an [[UnexpectedCharacter Unexpected Mecha]]: the GR-002 Strike Garland, a veritech hovercycle similar to the wheeled GR-001 Garland, appearing only in the [[https://ptn.home.xs4all.nl/Veritech/Garland.html Robotech Technical Files.]]
** We also meet Mark Landry, Stacy Embry, and the E.V.E. from the little-known ''Robotech the Movie''.

* ''Blog/{{Moonstuck}}'' having Changelings show up was somewhat unexpected, as the comic had started before they were introduced in [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic the show]]. The real shocker however was the BigBad being [[spoiler:Discord]], as not only was he the first character from the show other than Luna to appear, he also completely destroyed the common assumptions about the timeline (pretty much everyone had assumed that the comic was a metaphor for Luna's EnemyWithin struggle with [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon]], not [[spoiler:Luna and Celestia finding [[EmpathicWeapon the Elements of Harmony]].]]
* ''Fanfic/MyHeroPlaythrough'': While the replacement characters in class 1-A all show up in the story in some way before they are named, [[Manga/{{Gamma}} Hikari Shimooka]] appears in 1-B's roster with no build up. It does not hurt her unexpectedness that the manga in which she originally appears is not very well known.

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomverse''

* ''WebAnimation/DoubleRainboom'' was touted as a massive fan project for ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' but no one upon no one was expecting [[spoiler: it to be a ''crossover'' with ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'']].
* ''Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}}'' gives appearances to almost every surviving Yeerk host, no matter how minor:
** The businessman in the cell next to [[SparedByTheAdaptation Tom]] in ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' turns out to be David's dad.
** Melissa Chapman and Taylor both have cameos in ''Ghost in the Shell'' where they give Tom their opinions on voluntary Controllers.
** Mr. Chapman arrives to help the teens investigate the Skrit Na ship in ''The Thing from Another World''. Then at the end, [[spoiler:Alloran]] shows up to save them from the air force.
* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2955432 Embrace the Fall]]'' is a series where everything goes OffTheRails during season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'', and firmly goes into AlternateUniverse territory once Anne becomes a villain DrunkOnTheDarkSide. Thus, it's a ''huge'' surprise that the last two chapters of the main story feature [[spoiler: ''[[Characters/AmphibiaAnneBoonchuy canon]]'' [[Characters/AmphibiaAnneBoonchuy Anne]], who's now serving as a Guardian-in-Training watching over multiple timelines.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' fanfic series, ''Fanfic/FacingTheFutureSeries'', many readers were surprised to see [[spoiler:the return of the ghost half that Tucker wished for]].
* The first episode of ''WebAnimation/FantasyKaleidoscope'' looks to be a straight retelling of ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'', until going OffTheRails at the end with [[spoiler:the appearance of Sanae three games early.]]
* The ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8636392/1/Heian-Conglin Heian Conglin]]'' is basically a darker version of ''Jumanji'' where Ranma and Shampoo are the players. Early on, Tokyo is evacuated due the game's jungle occupying the whole city, Ranma, Shampoo and Happosai (a past player) are trying to win the game... And then [[spoiler:Pantyose Taro shows up from nowhere to demand that Happosai changes his name]].

* James Bond is from the spy genre so he, M, and Q stick out like sore thumbs amid all the sci-fi characters in ''Fanfic/TheGreatStarshipBattle''.

* The ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12079838/1/How-Roid-s-Plan-Could-Backfire-Horribly How Roid's Plan Could Have Backfired Horribly]]'' deals with the many ways Roid's master plan in ''Anime/MacrossDelta'' could have backfired due [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome one of the many holes in the plan working against him]], mostly due to factors present in the series itself. Then chapter 6 has the [[spoiler:[[Anime/Macross7 Protodeviln]]]] show up just to wreck the ''Sigur Valens'', and chapter 7 has [[spoiler:[[Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross Lynn Kaifun]]]] appear on Windermere and [[spoiler:talk king Gramia into a more peaceful policy that also repairs Windermere's economy]]. [[LampshadeHanging Roid actually wonders how the latter one happened]] ([[spoiler:Berger brought him there to have Kaifun talk Gramia into a new economic policy, [[PragmaticVillain as on the long term a relatively peaceful and economically powerful Windermere will give the Epsilon Foundation a much larger profit]]]]).

* ''Fanfic/{{Daemorphing}}'' (''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' & ''Literature/HisDarkMaerials''): At first it seems like chapter 2 of ''The Herdmoot'' is being told from an omniscient third-person perspective, [[spoiler:but after a few first-person pronouns, it becomes clear that the Ellimist is narrating. This came as a shock to readers because as in canon, the higher powers rarely interact with the main plot.]]

** In chapter 32, despite the fact he'd been alluded to several times throughout both books, and his Doombots were some of the earliest appearing opponents, no one expected Victor von Doom to make his bow, much less [[EnemyMine be a key part in the resolution of the arc.]]
* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'' mainly utilizes characters from the ''Anime/CodeGeass'' and ''Franchise/TransformersAlignedUniverse'' canon, but several characters not from canon have appeared in the story.

** Nobody was expecting Colonel Madd from the ''[[Manga/CodeGeassNightmareofNunnally Nightmare of Nunnally]]'' manga to appear in the first chapter of ''R2'', as the author previously had no plans to include characters from ''Nightmare''.
* ''Webcomic/ComicBookSNAFU'': Ultron Mark Twelve is the twelfth incarnation of ComicBook/{{Ultron}} who performed a HeelFaceTurn. He hasn't been used for years, so it's doubtful anyone would expect him to appear in this series.
** Issue 2 has Gajeel and Akiza teleport to Fuyuki City from Visualnovel/FateStayNight and encounter Lancer/Cu Chulainn.
** Checkmate includes Webcomic/{{Lightbringer}}.
** [[Literature/HighSchoolDXD Rias Gremory]] encounters Gajeel and Aki in issue 3.
** [[spoiler: [[VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub Monika]]]] appears on the CharacterBlog.
* With ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13786371/4/Digital-Progressive Digital Progressive]]'' being a crossover between ''Literature/SwordArtOnline Progressive'' and ''VideoGame/FateExtra'', literally no one could have expected the addition of [[Literature/BofuriIDontWantToGetHurtSoIllMaxOutMyDefense Maple]] to the cast.
* ''Fanfic/{{Daemorphing}}'': At first it seems like chapter 2 of ''The Herdmoot'' is being told from an omniscient third-person perspective, [[spoiler:but after a few first-person pronouns, it becomes clear that the Ellimist is narrating. This came as a shock to readers because as in canon, the higher powers rarely interact with the main plot.]]
* ''WebAnimation/DoubleRainboom'' was touted as a massive fan project for ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' but no one upon no one was expecting [[spoiler: it to be a ''crossover'' with ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'']].
* ''Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}}'' gives appearances to almost every surviving Yeerk host, no matter how minor:
** The businessman in the cell next to [[SparedByTheAdaptation Tom]] in ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' turns out to be David's dad.
** Melissa Chapman and Taylor both have cameos in ''Ghost in the Shell'' where they give Tom their opinions on voluntary Controllers.
** Mr. Chapman arrives to help the teens investigate the Skrit Na ship in ''The Thing from Another World''. Then at the end, [[spoiler:Alloran]] shows up to save them from the air force.
* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/2955432 Embrace the Fall]]'' is a series where everything goes OffTheRails during season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'', and firmly goes into AlternateUniverse territory once Anne becomes a villain DrunkOnTheDarkSide. Thus, it's a ''huge'' surprise that the last two chapters of the main story feature [[spoiler: ''[[Characters/AmphibiaAnneBoonchuy canon]]'' [[Characters/AmphibiaAnneBoonchuy Anne]], who's now serving as a Guardian-in-Training watching over multiple timelines.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' fanfic series, ''Fanfic/FacingTheFutureSeries'', many readers were surprised to see [[spoiler:the return of the ghost half that Tucker wished for]].
* The first episode of ''WebAnimation/FantasyKaleidoscope'' looks to be a straight retelling of ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'', until going OffTheRails at the end with [[spoiler:the appearance of Sanae three games early.]]
* The ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8636392/1/Heian-Conglin Heian Conglin]]'' is basically a darker version of ''Jumanji'' where Ranma and Shampoo are the players. Early on, Tokyo is evacuated due the game's jungle occupying the whole city, Ranma, Shampoo and Happosai (a past player) are trying to win the game... And then [[spoiler:Pantyose Taro shows up from nowhere to demand that Happosai changes his name]].
* ''Fanfic/TheGirlOfTomorrow'': John Jones actually being the Martian Manhunter? A lot of people figured that out. Armsmaster becoming the Batman? Speculated by a number of fans, thanks to the previous story. Doomsday caught a few by surprise, but due to the nature of the story, it wasn't completely unprecedented. But who expected Sir Arthur C. Clarke to make an appearance?
* James Bond is from the spy genre so he, M, and Q stick out like sore thumbs amid all the sci-fi characters in ''Fanfic/TheGreatStarshipBattle''.
* ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'' is a Pre-ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths [[Franchise/TheDCU DCU]] story that features virtually every hero and villain created before 1985, as declining to introduce ComicBook/PostCrisis characters. So it was a bit of a shock when, after sixty chapters, a Post-Crisis character made it to the scene. And that character wasn't an obvious choice like a [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Krypto]][[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} nian]], Franchise/{{Batman}} or Franchise/WonderWoman... but [[ComicBook/TheSandman Destruction of the Endless]], a character notorious for his unwillingness to interfere in mortal affairs.
* In ''FanFic/HorseshoesAndHandGrenades'', outside the {{Original Character}}s, all characters introduced are from Kamen Rider series. Hence it comes as a surprise when [[Series/HikoninSentaiAkibaranger Yumeria Moegi]] appears in ''A Month of Sundays'', having been fired and in search of a job.
* The ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12079838/1/How-Roid-s-Plan-Could-Backfire-Horribly How Roid's Plan Could Have Backfired Horribly]]'' deals with the many ways Roid's master plan in ''Anime/MacrossDelta'' could have backfired due [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome one of the many holes in the plan working against him]], mostly due to factors present in the series itself. Then chapter 6 has the [[spoiler:[[Anime/Macross7 Protodeviln]]]] show up just to wreck the ''Sigur Valens'', and chapter 7 has [[spoiler:[[Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross Lynn Kaifun]]]] appear on Windermere and [[spoiler:talk king Gramia into a more peaceful policy that also repairs Windermere's economy]]. [[LampshadeHanging Roid actually wonders how the latter one happened]] ([[spoiler:Berger brought him there to have Kaifun talk Gramia into a new economic policy, [[PragmaticVillain as on the long term a relatively peaceful and economically powerful Windermere will give the Epsilon Foundation a much larger profit]]]]).
* ''FanFic/ImperfectMetamorphosis'' including [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome PC-98 characters]] isn't unexpected, as many ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' fanfictions do that. What was unexpected was that nearly ''all'' of them show up eventually, including really obscure ones like Kotohime, Rika and Konngara (the former of which plays a major role). And it was ''really'' unexpected when [[spoiler:Rin Satsuki]] turns out to be a main character, as [[DummiedOut she was never in the games in the first place]].
* ''FanFic/TheInfiniteLoops'': Characters become Loopers based on their relationship with their respective loop's Anchor. Closer the relationship is, more likely the character Awakens and becomes a Looper. As a result, very rarely do the enemies of an Anchor become Loopers -- it's considered an anomaly when it happens, unless the enemy in question wasn't particularly antagonistic and/or had strong morals. Also, as a Loop ages, its Awakening rate slows down significantly -- the Original Seven's Loops, for example, are so old that they've gone millions of Loops without a new Looper. [[AchievementsInIgnorance Then]] [[LethallyStupid Billy]] [[BeyondTheImpossible happened]]. Billy managed the inconceivable: he made ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Gendo Ikari]]'' a Looper. On top of being from one of the seven oldest universes, Gendo was the most hated non-MLE in the multiverse next to Dolores Umbridge. Just about everyone had the "pleasure" of meeting his baseline self, and despise him with a passion. The Anchor of his Loop, his own son Shinji, is one of the few willing to give him a chance and even then he makes no bones about how much he still hates him.

** ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBoilingPoint'': With Boscha going on a huge rampage and destroying cars, One-One has asked someone to put a stop to him. But who is it? [[spoiler:an alternate version of [[Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail Chloe of the Vermillion.]]]]
* In ''Fanfic/JusticeSocietyOfJapan'', given how [[Anime/CodeGeass Lelouch Lamperogue]] [[ChekhovsGunman appears early on]] one would probably assume that Zero would be one of the first characters from that series to join the team. [[spoiler: WROOOOONG. Shirley Fenette joins instead.]]
* In the Harry Potter and Superman crossover fanfic ''FanFic/LastMageOfKrypton'', Harry's animagus form counts as a minor one (being Krypto), but the big surprise (and proof it was a triple-crossover all along) comes with the last minute appearance of [[spoiler:Pete Wisdom, director of MI-13 and Director Fury's English counterpart]].
* The ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' fan comic ''L'Ultima Terra'' has two:
** When Scrooge decides to form a superhero squad he summons the members of the (now disbanded) ComicBook/{{Ultraheroes}} (that is, Paperinika, Super Goof, Red Bat, Cloverleaf, Iron Gus, and Paperinik himself)… And the Masked Whitewasher, an obscure and klutzy (yet surprisingly effective) superhero present in Italian Disney comics.
** After bringing his nephews to Grandma Duck so they'd be out of the line of fire when he faces [[BigBad Antares]], Donald makes a phone call to [[spoiler:his sister Della]] so she'd know where they are in case he doesn't survive.
* ''Fanfic/AManOfIron'' has numerous Marvel characters appear or outright referenced in later chapters:

** [[spoiler:Euron Greyjoy has become Ronan.]]
* ''Fanfic/TheKingNobodyWanted'': Even considering how many obscure characters or {{Canon Foreigner}}s from established houses appear in the story, it's doubtful anyone remotely expected a claimant to the throne of House Mudd (which has been presumed extinct since the Andal invasion) to show up.
* In the ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/MarqueAndReprisal'', we see an [[UnexpectedCharacter Unexpected Mecha]]: the GR-002 Strike Garland, a veritech hovercycle similar to the wheeled GR-001 Garland, appearing only in the [[https://ptn.home.xs4all.nl/Veritech/Garland.html Robotech Technical Files.]]
** We also meet Mark Landry, Stacy Embry, and the E.V.E. from the little-known ''Robotech the Movie''.
* In ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', ''nobody'' expected the Mega Crew's leader to be Tiesel Bonne.
* ''FanFic/MegaManRecut'' has plans to include every Robot Master in the series, and many appearing Robot Masters were unexpected.
* ''Blog/{{Moonstuck}}'' having Changelings show up was somewhat unexpected, as the comic had started before they were introduced in [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic the show]]. The real shocker however was the BigBad being [[spoiler:Discord]], as not only was he the first character from the show other than Luna to appear, he also completely destroyed the common assumptions about the timeline (pretty much everyone had assumed that the comic was a metaphor for Luna's EnemyWithin struggle with [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon]], not [[spoiler:Luna and Celestia finding [[EmpathicWeapon the Elements of Harmony]].]]
* ''Fanfic/MyHeroPlaythrough'': While the replacement characters in class 1-A all show up in the story in some way before they are named, [[Manga/{{Gamma}} Hikari Shimooka]] appears in 1-B's roster with no build up. It does not hurt her unexpectedness that the manga in which she originally appears is not very well known.
* In ''FanFic/MyImmortal'', when Ebony is trapped in the past, [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Marty McFly]], or rather, [[RougeAnglesofSatin morti mcfli]], shows up out of nowhere to bring her back to the present. There's also the shocking moment when "[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Tom Bombodil]]" appears, though it seems to later on be just another name for Voldemort (his middle name is {{Satan}}).
* The AbridgedSeries ''WebVideo/MyLittlePonyTheMentallyAdvancedSeries'' shocked many fans by having [[spoiler: the much anticipated Discord KilledOffForReal ''before'' the beginning of the show]] and replaced with Breezen, an obscure one-shot villain from Generation 1 of the show. [[note]] WordOfGod is that this was to both show his version of Celestia as more ruthless and efficient, by finishing him off a thousand years ago, instead of imprisoning him and because he feared all the hype for his version of Discord would lead to disappointment either way. [[/note]]
* The author of ''Fanfic/TheNewAdventuresOfInvaderZim'' has a habit of bringing in minor one-shot characters from canon, to the surprise of most readers:
** Absolutely no one expected [[spoiler: Squidman]] to show up, considering his sole appearance ended with him being [[spoiler: eaten by a shark]].
** No one was expecting [[spoiler: Counselor Dwicky]] to appear, as his last appearance appeared to have him PutOnABus.
* ''Fanfic/ANewHopeDanganronpa'' has quite a few, on top of the premise of all main series students in one killing game together:
** Hiyoko Saionji [[spoiler: turns out to be Kotoko Utsugi. The real Hiyoko appears in the sequel... as the main villain.]]
** Nobody expected Komaru Naegi to appear as a hostage... alongside Taichi Fujisaki, Yūta Asahina, and other, more obscure relatives. Probably the most unexpected were [[PosthumousCharacter Natsumi Kuzuryu and Sato]], two characters who were canonically dead. Chisa Yukizome’s appearance [[spoiler:as an Ultimate Despair]] is another one. The rest of the Future Foundation [[spoiler: and Ultimate Despair, for that matter,]] is made up of not only the existing members from the anime, but also more obscure characters from material like ''Literature/DanganronpaZero'', such as Yuto Kamishiro.
** Makoto and Aoi’s BabiesEverAfter from [[spoiler: the bad ending of the original game]] appear [[spoiler:in the epilogue]].
** ''Nobody'' expected to see freakin’ Monocrow, a character from a fangame, to appear in ''Mists of Penjar''.
* In ''FanFic/{{Origins}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, a Holocron loaded with the Force ghosts of canon characters pops up -- ItMakesSenseInContext, but nobody saw that coming. Especially since the whole point was that "A long time ago..." had been taken extremely literally to the point where known ''Star Wars'' was considered ancient history.
* ''Webcomic/Persona5AdultConfidantAU'':
** The main premise of the story is based around swapping the [[AgeLift ages]] and [[RoleSwapAU roles]] of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and the Adult Confidants of the canon ''VideoGame/Persona5''. As a result, the new Phantom Thieves are given their own Personas. [[OriginalGeneration Most of them were made specifically for the AU]], so it was a surprise to see [[spoiler:Robin Hood, Akechi's fake Persona]], as part of the cast. And as Sojiro's Initial Persona no less!
** Considering the [[VideoGame/Persona1 first]] [[VideoGame/Persona2 two]] ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games have largely fallen into obscurity, many saw it as a surprise when Nameless and Belladonna made an appearance.
** Similarly to the above, one comic has Tae and a few other Phantom Thieves going to a Gas Chamber concert, with Eikichi Mishina from ''VideoGame/Persona2'' making a surprise [[TheCameo cameo]].
* ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' has trainers and Pokémon appear in different places and roles than usual. One notable example is the appearance of Solidad during the Battle Dome Arc, given that she debuted many arcs later in canon and as a Pokémon Coordinator, not trainer.
* Given the series' focus on real if prehistoric animals, there was a fair amount of surprise in ''Fanfic/PrehistoricParkReturnedFromExtinction'' when [[spoiler:[[WesternAnimation/DragonsAFantasyMadeReal a prehistoric dragon]] showed up in the fourth segment of ''Dinosaurs From the East'']].
* ''Fanfic/TheRoadToBeAPokemonMaster'':
** While they were expected to appear eventually, [[spoiler: Archie, Shelly and Maxie]] showing up in the Johto arc caught a lot of readers by surprise.
** Very few people expected Silver to have a [[spoiler: Shuckle]] among his team, nor that it would be able to beat not one but two of Ash's strongest Pokémon.
* ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'': One of the reasons Chapter 40 was such a WhamEpisode was the revelation at the end that Obito [[spoiler:[[BackFromTheDead had resurrected]] [[TheLostLenore Rin Nohara]], [[PlotTriggeringDeath whose death pretty much kicked off]] the plot of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' as a whole. Since then, she went on to become a major supporting character]].
* ''FanFic/ThisBites'': Who would've guessed that Gin, Apis, her dragon Lindy, Mr. 5, Ms. Valentine, and Ms. Goldenweek would've ended up being part of the Barto Club?

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCA3STgVa64 This]] ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fan video features a surprise cameo from a pony version of ''[[Webcomic/{{Homestuck}} Gamzee Makara]]'' of all characters.

* Cam Steady's ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' Villains [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e5148eX7zM Rap Cypher]] features a roster of mostly obvious choices -- Eggman, Metal Sonic, Mephiles the Dark, Zavok, Chaos and Infinite the Jackal -- but many on first watch are surprised that Cam himself didn't do a verse. Then, the ending screen starts glitching... and ''Fanfic/SonicExe'' appears.

** During the archery contest of Jon's wedding, Tony mentions the winner was a young man (who he suspects [[SweetPollyOliver was a woman]]), named [[ComicBook/KateBishop Byshup]], who disappeared as soon as the price was given.

--> '''Kyoka''': Just who are you...[[spoiler: Franchise/GIJoe Snake-Eyes]]?

* Chapter 41 of ''TransformersMHA'' has the students of 1A decide on which Pro Hero they want to intern with. Kyoka gets a request from hero she's never heard of before. Who it is, is a huge surprise.

** During the Battle of Blackwater, [[spoiler:following the massive Wildfire explosion]], Tyrion mentions hearing reports of a man turning into a wolf and eating his own men, while another says a squire turned into [[ComicBook/{{Iceman}} living ice]] and that Lord [[ComicBook/MoonKnight Marcos Specture]] believed the moon was talking to him.

** [[Lightnovel/HighSchoolDXD Rias Gremory]] encounters Gajeel and Aki in issue 3.

{{Unexpected Character}}s in fan works.

Works with their own pages
* ''UnexpectedCharacter/HeroesSeries''
* ''UnexpectedCharacter/InfinityCrisis''

** [[spoiler:Megatron uses a Pretender drone disguised as Euphemia to initiate the SAZ Massacre.]]

* ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' has trainers and Pokemon appear in different places and roles than usual. One notable example is the appearance of Solidad during the Battle Dome Arc, given that she debuted many arcs later in canon and as a Pokemon Coordinator, not trainer.

** Very few people expected Silver to have a [[spoiler: Shuckle]] among his team, nor that it would be able to beat not one but two of Ash's strongest Pokemon.

* At first, it seems like ''Fanfic/WhatTomorrowBrings''' chapters will be narrated by the Animorphs in the same order as the books... so imagine readers' surprise when chapter 6's narrator was not Ax, but ''[[AscendedExtra Tom]]''.

** [[spoiler:The Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy are agents of the Children of the Forest from their dimension]].

* With ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13786371/4/Digital-Progressive Digital Progressive]]'' being a crossover between ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline Progressive'' and ''VideoGame/FateExtra'', literally no one could have expected the addition of [[Literature/BofuriIDontWantToGetHurtSoIllMaxOutMyDefense Maple]] to the cast.

** Nobody expected Komaru Naegi to appear as a hostage... alongside Taichi Fujisaki, Yūta Asahina, and other, more obscure relatives. Probably the most unexpected were [[PosthumousCharacter Natsumi Kuzuryu and Sato]], two characters who were canonically dead. Chisa Yukizome’s appearance [[spoiler:as an Ultimate Despair]] is another one. The rest of the Future Foundation [[spoiler: and Ultimate Despair, for that matter,]] is made up of not only the existing members from the anime, but also more obscure characters from material like ''LightNovel/DanganronpaZero'', such as Yuto Kamishiro.

* With ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13786371/4/Digital-Progressive Digital Progressive]]'' being a crossover between ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline Progressive'' and ''VideoGame/FateExtra'', literally no one could have expected the addition of [[LightNovel/BofuriIDontWantToGetHurtSoIllMaxOutMyDefense Maple]] to the cast.