Tropescilloscope: Early-Bird Cameo

A character makes an appearance before being properly introduced later in the same work, in a sequel or in their own series. (read more at tvtropes.org)

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

More Tropes Humans Are Bastards No-Sell Death Glare Rated M for Manly Older Than They Look Chekhov's Gun Corrupt Corporate Executive Establishing Character Moment Crazy Jealous Guy Insistent Terminology Mama Bear "Shaggy Dog" Story Soft Glass Posthumous Character Fat Bastard Manipulative Bastard Truth in Television Catch-Phrase Advertised Extra Hate Sink Crucified Hero Shot Nothing Is Scarier Not So Different Bland-Name Product No Celebrities Were Harmed Hypocritical Humor Would Hit a Girl Missing Mom Reasonable Authority Figure Your Cheating Heart Canon Foreigner Shell-Shocked Veteran Exactly What It Says on the Tin Novelization Totally Radical One-Word Title Parental Substitute Cowboy Cop Determinator War Is Hell Show Within a Show Taking the Bullet Sole Survivor Author Appeal Roaring Rampage of Revenge Anguished Declaration of Love Plot Hole Disney Death Femme Fatale Re-Cut Red Right Hand The Big Guy Brutal Honesty Fainting Breaking the Fourth Wall Action Girl Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Morality Pet Red Oni, Blue Oni Works Set in World War II Abusive Parents Only Known by Their Nickname You Killed My Father Friend to All Children Our Zombies Are Different Parental Incest Pre-Mortem One-Liner Damsel in Distress This Is Gonna Suck Animal Motifs Kids Are Cruel Casting Gag Male Gaze In Name Only The Dreaded Mr. Exposition Police Brutality Jerk with a Heart of Gold Here We Go Again! Not Quite Dead Random Events Plot Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Drowning My Sorrows Stock Footage Belligerent Sexual Tension Hero Antagonist In the Back Unusual Euphemism Agony of the Feet The Chick Scare Chord Suspiciously Similar Substitute Face–Heel Turn Love Triangle As Himself Big-Bad Ensemble Leaning on the Fourth Wall Reckless Gun Usage Black Dude Dies First Very Loosely Based on a True Story Big Bad Duumvirate Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies The Dog Bites Back The Oner Badass Longcoat Sequel Escalation The X of Y I'm a Humanitarian No Ending Take a Third Option Black and Gray Morality Darker and Edgier Ascended Extra Hooker with a Heart of Gold Heel Realization An Aesop The Hero Dies Cool Shades The '60s Real Life For the Evulz Ms. Fanservice A.I. Is a Crapshoot You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Major Injury Underreaction Properly Paranoid The Reveal Peek-a-Boo Corpse Have a Gay Old Time Driven to Suicide And I Must Scream Biopic Refuge in Audacity Due to the Dead Gory Discretion Shot Mooks Really Gets Around And Starring Decoy Protagonist It's All About Me Well-Intentioned Extremist Vomit Indiscretion Shot Last-Name Basis Animated Credits Opening A God Am I Evil Brit Deadpan Snarker Dark Action Girl Failed a Spot Check Hollywood Law Attempted Rape Determinator aka: The Determinator My Greatest Failure Drives Like Crazy Sexy Discretion Shot Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Brick Joke Only One Name NO INDOOR VOICE Homage Token Minority Break the Cutie Authority Equals Asskicking Batman Gambit One-Man Army Anti-Hero Disappeared Dad Alpha Bitch Russian Films The Smurfette Principle Mistaken for Gay Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Rasputinian Death Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Fourth Date Marriage Bloodier and Gorier Historical In-Joke Honor Before Reason The '80s Dual Wielding Flashback Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil British Films Film Series '80s Hair Bar Brawl Dissonant Serenity The Load Bloody Hilarious Visual Pun Smoking Is Cool Ugly Guy, Hot Wife All Men Are Perverts Motor Mouth Chase Scene Spiteful Spit La Résistance Epic Movie True Companions Precision F-Strike Bowdlerise Even Evil Has Standards Good Is Not Nice Bad Boss Heroic Sacrifice Parental Abandonment Combat Pragmatist Police are Useless The Dragon Shirtless Scene Curse Cut Short Auto Erotica Immune to Bullets Alliterative Name Babies Ever After Rich Bitch Pyrrhic Victory Punny Name Camera Abuse Important Haircut From Bad to Worse Shut Up, Hannibal! Better to Die than Be Killed Crapsack World Wicked Cultured Green-Eyed Monster Guile Hero Adaptational Heroism Noodle Incident Took a Level in Badass Manly Tears Cool Car Mundane Made Awesome Unreliable Narrator Adaptational Badass Revenge Bilingual Bonus Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Enemy Mine Dies Wide Open Cain and Abel Rule of Funny Those Wacky Nazis Intergenerational Friendship The '90s Children Are Innocent Trailers Always Spoil Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Villain Protagonist The Ace Stalker with a Crush Funny Background Event Dumb Blonde Disney Villain Death Award-Bait Song Dark Is Not Evil Rule of Symbolism Adaptational Attractiveness Funny Foreigner Bunny-Ears Lawyer Adaptation Expansion B-Movie It's Personal Catapult Nightmare Dirty Old Man Fantasy Films Expy Product Placement Adults Are Useless No Name Given Reality Ensues Didn't Think This Through O.O.C. Is Serious Business Logo Joke Author Avatar The Faceless Big Applesauce Documentary Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor The End... Or Is It? Armor-Piercing Question Deal with the Devil Our Vampires Are Different Early Installment Weirdness Actually Pretty Funny Depraved Bisexual Taking You with Me Left the Background Music On Rule of Cool Not So Above It All Blackmail The Voiceless Big Bad Everyone Has Standards Zombie Stories Super Strength Bullying a Dragon Jitter Cam Accidental Misnaming Bavarian Fire Drill Brother–Sister Incest Five-Man Band Captain Obvious Creative Closing Credits Daddy's Girl Genre Shift Manic Pixie Dream Girl Rule of Three Cat Fight Defiant to the End Male Frontal Nudity Match Cut Danny Peary Cult Movies List Naïve Newcomer Reality Is Unrealistic Chekhov's Gunman Abhorrent Admirer Grey and Gray Morality Gainax Ending The Bully Put on a Bus Thriller Artistic License – Military Mexican Standoff Evil Laugh Let's Get Dangerous! Faux Affably Evil From Nobody to Nightmare Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun Obviously Evil Evil Sounds Deep In Medias Res She Cleans Up Nicely The Ditz Broken Bird Affably Evil Insane Troll Logic Kill It with Fire Almost Kiss Adaptation Distillation Improbable Aiming Skills Kick the Dog Bound and Gagged Dark and Troubled Past Be Careful What You Wish For Fatal Flaw The Musical Love at First Sight Ambiguously Gay Improvised Weapon Berserk Button The Alcoholic I Need a Freaking Drink Department of Redundancy Department timeperiod Shipper on Deck Brainless Beauty Anachronism Stew My God, What Have I Done? "The Reason You Suck" Speech It Can Think Black Comedy Canadian Movies What Happened to the Mouse? 20 Minutes into the Future Off with His Head! Artistic License – Gun Safety Villain Ball Fake Shemp Sci-Fi Horror Martial Arts Movie Calling the Old Man Out Extreme Doormat Getting Crap Past the Radar Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Undying Loyalty Race Against the Clock Evil Counterpart Blood Knight Fanservice Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Needs Wiki Magic Love Beauty Is Never Tarnished Death by Sex Central Theme Christmas Movies Index Dark Reprise Death of a Child Unspoken Plan Guarantee Ungrateful Bastard The '70s Politically Incorrect Villain Malevolent Masked Men The Hero Pragmatic Adaptation Gilligan Cut Retcon "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Scary Black Man Gone Horribly Right Not What It Looks Like Expository Hairstyle Change Curb-Stomp Battle Groin Attack Horror Films Mighty Whitey Men Are the Expendable Gender Ambiguous Disorder Tempting Fate Continuity Nod The '50s Dramedy Final Girl Same Language Dub Even Evil Has Loved Ones Destination Defenestration The Cameo Humiliation Conga Deus ex Machina Bolivian Army Ending Heel–Face Turn Tap on the Head Toplessness from the Back Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Manchild Affectionate Parody Riddle for the Ages Handicapped Badass Lampshade Hanging Credits Gag Leitmotif Hell Is That Noise Mercy Kill Does Not Like Shoes Bait-and-Switch The Mole Star-Crossed Lovers Worthy Opponent Improbable Weapon User Evil Plan Ripped from the Headlines She's Got Legs Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Hoist by His Own Petard May–December Romance I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Eiffel Tower Effect Awesome, but Impractical Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Eye Scream Narrator Beard of Evil Pretty in Mink Intrepid Reporter For Want of a Nail Early-Bird Cameo Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Artistic License – History Only in It for the Money Demonic Possession Psychopathic Manchild Big "NO!" Meaningful Background Event Offscreen Moment of Awesome Villainous Breakdown No Antagonist Wounded Gazelle Gambit Retirony The Stinger Exact Words Earn Your Happy Ending Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Kick the Son of a Bitch Fire-Forged Friends Rape as Drama Recycled IN SPACE! Retired Badass The Un-Reveal Disguised in Drag Knight Templar Dying Moment of Awesome The Power of Love Shoot the Shaggy Dog Music Stories Vampire Fiction Pragmatic Villainy Evil Is Hammy Scenery Porn Interrupted Suicide Slashed Throat Military and Warfare Films Comically Missing the Point Hidden Depths Skewed Priorities Naked People Are Funny Creepy Child "Well Done, Son!" Guy There Is No Kill Like Overkill Unusually Uninteresting Sight Knife Nut Book-Ends The Film of the Book And the Adventure Continues Artistic License – Biology Body Horror The Sociopath Suspiciously Specific Denial Names to Run Away from Really Fast Unresolved Sexual Tension Evil vs. Evil Sinister Minister The Lost Lenore Greater-Scope Villain Beta Couple Dwindling Party Historical Hero Upgrade The Chessmaster Ambiguous Ending Laser-Guided Karma I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Spell My Name with an "S" The Lancer Vacation Films Sacrificial Lion Punch-Clock Villain Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas A Minor Kidroduction Slap-Slap-Kiss Outrun the Fireball Rewatch Bonus Public Domain Feature Films Face Death with Dignity Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome French Films Happily Married Bald of Evil folderlabel Redshirt Army Despair Event Horizon Fate Worse than Death Broken Pedestal Implacable Man Slasher Smile Character Development Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Red Herring Overprotective Dad Overly Long Gag Foil The Brute Double Entendre Market-Based Title The Starscream Obstructive Bureaucrat Soundtrack Dissonance I Did What I Had to Do Empathic Environment Sequel Hook Age Lift Every Car Is a Pinto Based on a True Story Cluster F-Bomb Four-Temperament Ensemble Pay Evil unto Evil Romantic False Lead Woman Scorned The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Call-Back Framing Device Nice Guy Red Eyes, Take Warning Covers Always Lie Jerkass Has a Point Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Heroic BSoD Asshole Victim Distracted by the Sexy Pimped-Out Dress It Will Never Catch On Kill 'em All Pet the Dog Arc Words Gold Digger Beware the Nice Ones Annoying Younger Sibling Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Artistic License – Geography Title Drop The Place Unwitting Instigator of Doom The Casanova Eldritch Abomination Amusing Injuries Meaningful Echo Costume Porn Disproportionate Retribution Jump Scare Dramatic Irony Science Fiction Films Bottomless Magazines Stylistic Suck Wham Shot Ironic Echo Oh, Crap! Historical-Domain Character Adorkable My Beloved Smother Cool Old Lady Evil-Detecting Dog Black Comedy Rape All There in the Script Those Two Bad Guys Spanner in the Works Poor Communication Kills Psycho for Hire Yandere Jerkass Playing Gertrude Silence Is Golden Cruel and Unusual Death Straight Gay Death by Irony Sanity Slippage Badass Boast More Dakka Storming the Castle Anachronic Order Adaptation Name Change Horror Comedy As You Know Those Two Guys Fan Disservice Plucky Comic Relief Bond Villain Stupidity The Atoner Hero of Another Story Big Fancy House Epic Fail Tranquil Fury Dressing as the Enemy Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Rousing Speech Sealed Evil in a Can Dirty Cop Took a Level in Jerkass Adaptational Villainy Apocalypse How Stuff Blowing Up Japanese Films Celebrity Paradox Film Noir Index Paper-Thin Disguise Fantastic Racism Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Irony Not So Stoic No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Instant Death Bullet Nice Hat I Have Your Wife World of Ham Corpsing Badass Bookworm He Knows Too Much The Mafia Anyone Can Die Redemption Equals Death One Steve Limit Mad Scientist Video Credits Badass Grandpa Meet Cute Arch-Enemy Creator Cameo Woman in White Actor Allusion Slasher Movie Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Made of Explodium Word of God Self-Deprecation Non-Indicative Name Accidental Murder Villain Song A Father to His Men The Remake Bi the Way Moment Killer Animal Title Index Artistic License – Law Shown Their Work Mind Screw Eagleland Dogged Nice Guy Cool Guns Badass in a Nice Suit Idiot Ball Aside Glance Loads and Loads of Characters Serious Business Grievous Bottley Harm Drugs Are Bad Offscreen Teleportation Parental Neglect Stepford Smiler Time Skip Room Full of Crazy Frame-Up Psychological Thriller Villain Opening Scene German Films As the Good Book Says... Vomit Discretion Shot Closed Circle All Just a Dream Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Killed Mid-Sentence Too Dumb to Live Jerk Jock Sports Stories Country Matters Villain with Good Publicity Off-into-the-Distance Ending Stealth Pun Car Fu Insult Backfire Captain Ersatz Fish out of Water Informed Ability The Great Depression Sadistic Choice Sassy Black Woman Monumental Damage Shout-Out Mr. Fanservice The Stoic Crazy-Prepared Bring My Brown Pants Running Gag Hypocrite Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Race Lift Man on Fire Loophole Abuse Famous Last Words Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Card-Carrying Villain Your Head A-Splode Developing Doomed Characters Karmic Death Eyepatch of Power Television Movie Index Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Half the Man He Used to Be Lighter and Softer BFG Setting Update Made of Iron Vitriolic Best Buds Becoming the Mask Romantic Comedy Dirty Coward Extremely Short Timespan Up to Eleven Coming-of-Age Story Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Mood Whiplash Spiritual Successor Fiery Redhead Badass Normal Historical Villain Upgrade Never My Fault Adapted Out "Awesome McCool" Name Heroes Want Redheads Adaptation Dye-Job What the Hell, Hero? An Axe to Grind Pretty Little Headshots Never Trust a Trailer Only a Flesh Wound Whole Plot Reference Training Montage Stealth Hi/Bye The Cavalry Action Genre Contrived Coincidence Gender Flip Eureka Moment Big Brother Instinct Broken Aesop You Have Failed Me Diabolus ex Machina Does This Remind You of Anything? Guns Akimbo Madness Mantra Never Found the Body All Girls Want Bad Boys All There in the Manual No OSHA Compliance Make It Look Like an Accident Blatant Lies Silent Movie Suddenly SHOUTING! Aluminum Christmas Trees Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Light Is Not Good Hope Spot Daylight Horror The Stoner Foregone Conclusion Bad "Bad Acting" Deliberately Monochrome Together in Death Wham Line Fingore Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Scenery Gorn Real Life Writes the Plot Australian Movies Hong Kong Films Freudian Excuse Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Cold-Blooded Torture Bittersweet Ending Fatal Family Photo As Long as It Sounds Foreign Twist Ending Bloodless Carnage Throwing Your Sword Always Works Shower Scene Antagonist Title Flipping the Bird Dramatic Gun Cock Get Out! Drill Sergeant Nasty Genre Savvy Adult Fear The Smart Guy Break the Haughty Downer Ending Action Prologue Boom, Headshot! Composite Character He Who Fights Monsters Meaningful Name Mystery and Detective Films Freeze-Frame Bonus Laughing Mad Take That! Wrong Genre Savvy Obfuscating Stupidity An Arm and a Leg Death Seeker Smug Snake Neck Lift Dropped a Bridge on Him Cloudcuckoolander Did Not Get the Girl The Ghost Ass Shove Black Best Friend The Vamp Cool Old Guy Easily Forgiven Bury Your Gays Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Say My Name Ax-Crazy Deliberate Values Dissonance Ghost Fiction You Have Outlived Your Usefulness After the End Back from the Dead Superhero Death by Adaptation Mythology Gag Butt-Monkey Chiaroscuro Victoria's Secret Compartment Kubrick Stare Cat Scare Artistic License – Physics Dull Surprise The Quiet One Mugging the Monster Protagonist Title Would Hurt a Child Demoted to Extra Not Even Bothering with the Accent Papa Wolf Line-of-Sight Name Alas, Poor Villain Heterosexual Life-Partners Camp Gay Bare Your Midriff Chewing the Scenery Reality Has No Subtitles Sir Swears-a-Lot Spared by the Adaptation Not Using the "Z" Word Film Noir Gorn Dutch Angle Blood from the Mouth Karma Houdini Translation Convention Bond One-Liner Anti-Villain Call-Forward Leave the Camera Running Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Italian Films Gratuitous English Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Ship Tease Henpecked Husband Cassandra Truth What You Are in the Dark Amoral Attorney Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Big Eater Fanservice Extra Faking the Dead Ominous Latin Chanting Red Shirt MacGuffin Domestic Abuse Air-Vent Passageway Maybe Ever After Index of Film Westerns Hollywood Darkness Deconstruction Only Sane Man Action Survivor Hair-Trigger Temper Fun with Acronyms Evil Is Petty Chekhov's Skill Serial Killer All for Nothing Small Name, Big Ego Foreshadowing Betty and Veronica Tagline Double-Meaning Title Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Defrosting Ice Queen The Alleged Car Darkest Hour Married to the Job Wretched Hive Neck Snap Facial Horror Imagine Spot No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Big Damn Heroes Lock and Load Montage Arranged Marriage How We Got Here N-Word Privileges Genre Throwback Conspicuous CG A Date with Rosie Palms Once More, with Clarity! Large Ham The Bad Guy Wins