Basic Trope: The secretive figure who appears in a moment of need, aids the hero or heroine, and then vanishes again.
- Straight: In the Shounen anime Super Trope Warriors Bob, the mysterious Darkmask always appears to save the eponymous character when he's on the receiving end of thrashing from the Monster of the Week, thus allowing Bob to gather his remaining strength and deal the blow that saves the day. However, whenever Bob goes to thank him, he is gone, as swiftly and as silently as he came.
- Exaggerated: Hero Secret Service.
- Downplayed: Darkmask might appear when Bob seems to be overwhelmed, but it's clear that he's not any more powerful than Bob (and might even be overwhelmed himself if the fight goes too long).
- Justified:
- Due to a magically-enforced Charlie Brown from Outta Town situation, Darkmask can't fight the monsters despite his sheer power, unless it's to aid another hero for a brief time.
- Darkmask is really Dave, Bob's long-lost brother/close friend/etc, it's only right if the helps Bob out of tight spots. (It's a Fridge Logic why he must do so in secret and/or not fighting the monsters himself to begin with.)
- Darkmask is a Socially Awkward Hero and is too shy to stick around to receive his kudos.
- Darkmask is a hero who faked his death, so he has to wear a disguise and can't stick around for too long lest anyone discover his identity.
- Darkmask's powers are purely defensive, which explains why he doesn't battle the villains himself, and revealing his civilian identity would make him an easy target due to his inability to fight back.
- Inverted: Super Trope Warriors Bob Gaiden ~ Darkmask Chapter, which is a Perspective Flip— from Darkmask's POV.
- Subverted: Darkmask thrashes the monster, then fights Bob.
- Double Subverted: Then the real Mysterious Protector, Mr. Fabulous, appears to aid Bob in fighting Darkmask.
- Parodied: Bob's power is too pathetic to fight the monsters, were it not for Darkmask, he would never survive any of his battles. And this is obvious to everyone but Bob himself.
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted: Bob fights alone. Always.
- Enforced: "We can't have an Invincible Hero... let's have him being in a pinch." "But what if he's not, logically, strong enough to break out of that situation?" "Why, just have someone more powerful than him saves him." "That's BRILLIANT! (I wanted to say that if there is someone like that then he or she should be the main character, but I don't want to lose my job.)"
- Lampshaded: "Just in time, man... whoever you are."
- Invoked: Bob's mentor Alice gives his friend Dave the power to turn into Darkmask, but only when Bob is in danger. Once Bob is back on his feet, Darkmask has to retreat before his powers wear off.
- Exploited: Lightcape wants to kill/capture Darkmask, so they use Bob to lure him into battle.
- Defied:
- Emperor Evulz drag Bob into a Phantom Zone for their fight so Darkmask can't help.
- Darkmask tells Bob he can solve his own damn problems.
- Discussed: “Who’s that guy who keeps saving Bob at the last mintue?”
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: Whenever Bob nearly gets finished off by an attack, something prevents it such as a gust of wind causing projectiles to barely miss or music playing in the background to dull the enemy's deadly singing among other examples. None of these things are too odd, and Bob waves it off as random chance due to the environment (a windy day or urban area for example).
- Deconstructed: Realizing that Darkmask is more powerful than him, Bob deliberately puts in less effort so Darkmask would end up doing the work for him, gradually becoming a weak fake hero who steals Darkmask's credit. The moment Darkmask doesn't show up, Bob ends up dead due to his overreliance on him.
- Reconstructed: Knowing that Darkmask only helps Bob because he believes in him, Bob works on becoming even stronger to prove Darkmask right for believing in him.
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