Chair Reveal: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|'''The Monarch:''' He didn't go for it. [[Invoked Trope|I even did that cool spin thing.]]
'''Doctor Girlfriend:''' [[Tropes Are Not Cliches|It's a bit of a cliché.]]|''[[
Someone is sitting in a spinning chair, facing away from a character who's trying to talk to them. The chair swivels around, revealing a different person than who they expected, or even a dead body. Or, two people are talking in front of a presumably empty chair. Cue a dramatic swivel to reveal that the chair wasn't so empty after all.
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A variation of the "Chair Reveal" is the "Chair Entrance", when the visual device of a slowly-revolving chair is employed simply to make an actor's first appearance more dramatic. This is not a straightforward Chair Reveal because it's used solely to introduce the actor, not to produce a surprise or a plot twist.
{{examples}}
=== Anime and Manga ===
* ''[[
* ''[[Yes!
* In ''[[Pet Shop of Horrors]]'', Leon thinks he's reporting his suspicions regarding D to the mayor... but finds D sitting in the mayor's chair.
* [[Magnificent Bastard|Lelouch Lamperouge]] indulges in a Bond-villain-esque Chair Reveal in ''[[Code Geass]]''. It's every bit as fabulous as you might expect.{{context}}
* One baddie in ''[[Ghost in
* ''[[Weiss Kreuz]]'' uses the dead body version when Ken goes to assassinate Koga Kenji only to find him already dead.
* In ''[[Canaan]]'' Hakko {{spoiler|who can hurt and kill just by speaking}} talks
* In [[Kirby of the Stars]], Customer Service of Holy Nightmare Corporation does this when he and Dedede first meet face to face {{spoiler|showing that he's just as small as any other character on the show. No legs, just feet where his upper torso ends.}}▼
=== Comic Books ===
* The Helmet of Fate was revealed this way in [[DC Comics]]' ''[[
* ''[[Danger Girl]] and the [[Army of Darkness]]'' #4: Agent Zero shoots what he thinks is his target through the back of a chair. He then walks round to the front of the chair and instead finds a dummy rigged to a bomb with three seconds left on the timer.
=== Film ===▼
▲== Film ==
* The dead body thing was in ''[[Psycho]]''. It's a very creepy scene, despite the fact that a light tap on the shoulder shouldn't be enough to swivel the chair completely around.
** Parodied in ''[[High Anxiety]]'', when they spin around his chair to reveal the poor doctor slumped over horribly with his eyes and mouth hanging open? But he wakes up when they scream.
* The 1998 remake of ''[[The Parent Trap (1998 film)|The Parent Trap]]'' had
* The first time we see Blofeld's face in the [[James Bond]] movies is via a chair swivel.▼
* ''[[My Favorite Brunette]]'', a [[Bob Hope]] film, has one of these. Since [[Bing Crosby]] turns up somewhere in just about every Bob Hope film, the audience is carefully set up to expect him to be the Cool Tough Guy Detective across the hall. The chair swivels, and...it's '''not.''' {{spoiler|It is, in fact, the Cool Tough Guy actor whose name Hope has just mentioned - [[Alan Ladd]].}}▼
** Except that he doesn't swivel. He just pushes his [[The Dragon|Dragon]] out of the way.▼
* The ''[[House
** The villain and the chair are, of course, parodied in ''[[Austin Powers]]''.▼
* Brutally parodied in ''[[Employee Of The Month]]''.{{context}}▼
▲* The remake of ''[[The Parent Trap]]'' had the mother and one twin arrive home to find the other twin sitting at the grandfather's desk. In this version, though, [[Newspaper-Thin Disguise|her face was covered by a newspaper.]]
▲* ''My Favorite Brunette'', a Bob Hope film, has one of these. Since Bing Crosby turns up somewhere in just about every Bob Hope film, the audience is carefully set up to expect him to be the Cool Tough Guy Detective across the hall. The chair swivels, and...it's '''not.''' {{spoiler|It is, in fact, the Cool Tough Guy actor whose name Hope has just mentioned - Alan Ladd.}}
▲* The ''[[House On Haunted Hill (Film)|House On Haunted Hill]]'' remake had the dead body version.
▲* Brutally parodied in ''[[Employee Of The Month]]''.
* ''[[Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow]]'' (2004). Totenkopf is revealed {{spoiler|to be dead}} in this manner.
** His {{spoiler|German [[Meaningful Name]] (Skull)}} may have revealed the spoiler in advance, though.
*** Considering that a more literal translation would be 'Dead Head', he was probably just [[The Grateful Dead|listening to Jerry Garcia]]. In the forties.
* Rachel's ex(?) at the end of ''[[The Ring]]''.{{context}}
* Walter Donovan does this to Indiana when he shows up again in ''[[Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (Film)|Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade]]'', except it was an ordinary non-swiveling chair, and Donovan revealed himself by standing up and turning around.▼
* The end of ''[[The Adventures of Pluto Nash]]'' reveals that the villain has in fact been {{spoiler|clone of the hero}} in this fashion.
* In ''[[Star Trek V:
* This is done with the [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] heroine Nastasia at the end of ''[[Warrior of the Lost World]]''.{{context}}▼
* Lampshaded in ''[[Black Dynamite]]'' as the [[Big Bad]], {{spoiler|Richard Nixon,}} reveals himself this way... in less of a dramatic fashion than intended, as it takes a few pushes of his chair in order to finish it.▼
▲* This is done with the [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] heroine Nastasia at the end of ''[[Warrior of the Lost World]]''.
=== Literature ===▼
* Voldemort did this in ''[[Harry Potter and
▲== Literature ==
* At the end of the novel and film ''[[
▲* Voldemort did this in ''[[Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire]]'', shortly before killing Frank Bryce.
* In the final book of [[Tad Williams]]' ''[[Memory,
▲* At the end of the novel and film ''[[Captain Blood (Film)|Captain Blood]]'', one of the villains is brought before the Royal Governor to be punished for his crimes, and is shocked when the Governor turns to face him and is Blood himself, who the last time the fugitive saw him was as an escaping slave.
▲* In the final book of [[Tad Williams]]' ''[[Memory Sorrowand Thorn]]'' trilogy, Simon discovers (the unfortunately very alive) King Elias via this trope, while he's prowling around in Pryrates' tower.
* In the ''[[Star Wars]]'' [[Star Wars Expanded Universe|EU]] book ''[[X Wing Series|Solo Command]]'', the pilots are sitting in their lounge on the flagship discussing the failings of their higher-ups and the moves they would make if they were in charge. A heretofore-ignored chair spins away from a computer terminal to reveal General Han Solo, leader of the entire task force. Being Han, though, after an initial [[Oh Crap]] moment, he congratulates their insight and takes their suggestions to heart.
** In ''[[The Thrawn Trilogy|The Last Command]]'', Mara and Luke go to Wayland, and cut through the Emperor's throne room there. Turns out Joruus C'baoth is sitting in it.
=== Live Action TV ===
* A reveal of a "new Number Two" in ''[[The Prisoner]]''.
* The initial reveal of the {{spoiler|female}} Romulan commander in ''[[Star Trek:
* ''[[
** So did ''[[
** And in "Superstar" when the gang goes for help from Sunnydale's greatest hero. The chair spins and it's.... Jonathan.
* ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'' parodies this trope. Certain members of the Bluth family have a penchant for dramatically
* In an episode of the 1980s [[NBC]] show ''[[Its Your Move]]'', a kid is told that a famous rock producer wants to meet him. When the chair is turned around, it's one of the skeletons the kid used to fake a rock band.
* In a memorable Muppet sketch on ''[[Sesame Street]]'', Grover wanted to surprise Ernie, but it was actually {{spoiler|Herry Monster}}, disguised as Ernie, in the chair.
* In ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', {{spoiler|Elle}} discovers
* Barney Stintson gets one of these in the TV show ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'', he brings his own chair for it.▼
** "Don't touch that its a rental!"▼
* ''[[CSI]]'' did this for the result of Greg's evaluation - the spinning chair revealed not Grissom, but a gelatinous dummy used earlier in the episode for electrics testing, with a "You Passed!" note pinned to it.
* ''[[Chuck]]'' attempts to use this on Captain Awesome. He does not fare well.
* In the final episode of ''[[Police Squad!]]'', the "chair reveal" [[Department of Redundancy Department|reveals...another chair]]. The actual villain is standing off to the side.
* Janitor does it in the middle of a crowded corridor, petting an "invisible" half-kitten, half-monkey in ''[[Scrubs]]'', while revealing his plan to [[
* On ''[[
* Parodied on an episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' with Alec Baldwin demonstrating how to be a [[Large Ham|handsome actor]], along with [[Glasses Pull]].▼
=== Video Games ===
* Reginald Griffin's dead clone in the Gamecube [[Video Game]] ''007: Agent Under Fire'' is revealed this way.
* Done by {{spoiler|The Soda Poppers}} in the second season finale of Telltale's ''[[The Adventures of Sam
* [[Oswald the Lucky Rabbit]] does this in the 2010 Game ''[[Epic Mickey]]'', when the titular character meets the Rabbit for the first time.
{{quote|
'''''Mickey''''': It's a little disturbing. I mean, I get that he resents me...
'''''Oswald''''': Ya think? *Chair Reveal* }}
* Near the start of ''[[Hydrophobia (
* When Jowd makes it to
=== Western Animation ===▼
* The dead body version was spoofed in an episode of ''[[The Emperor's
▲== Western Animation ==
* The ''[[Inspector Gadget]]'' opening has a Chair Unreveal, where Gadget spins around Claw's chair and there's just a fake hand on a spring... which is attached to a [[Cartoon Bomb|nice, round bomb]].▼
▲* The dead body version was spoofed in an episode of ''[[The Emperor's New School (Animation)|The Emperors New School]]''.
▲* The ''[[Inspector Gadget]]'' opening has a Chair Unreveal, where Gadget spins around Claw's chair and there's just a fake hand on a spring...which is attached to a [[Cartoon Bomb|nice, round bomb]].
* This was played with in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' where a criminal called Big Daddy did this to Wiggum and Skinner, despite the fact that he had just sat down in the chair three seconds before.
** Also when Homer has to visit the IRS for his faulty tax report. The same chair swivels around twice and reveals two different men. Who both spoke to him.
** And played straight in the episode "Black Widower," where Sideshow Bob blew up his hotel room in an attempt to kill his wife Selma. When he goes in and turns around the chair he thinks her corpse sits in, he finds Bart instead (alive, of course).
* ''[[Batman:
** Also used in [[The Movie]], ''[[Batman: Mask of the Phantasm]]'', when {{spoiler|Phantasm invades the home of Sal Valestra... and finds that Joker got there first}}.
** Better still as a ''Suit Reveal''. Batman snoops around Mr. Freeze's lair until he suddenly finds the suit. But Mr. Freeze isn't in it. Mr. Freeze is right behind him. [[Nightmare Fuel|As a disembodied head in a jar
** The end of the ''[[
* In ''[[The Spectacular Spider
* Eric Cartman pulled one of these on Stan (while sitting in a Blofeld style egg-shaped chair) in the ''[[South Park (Animation)|South Park]]'' episode "My Future Self 'n' Me".▼
▲* In ''[[The Spectacular Spider Man]],'' Tombstone, previously [[The Voice]] and [[The Faceless]], is first fully revealed this way, while speaking to Spider-Man in his office. Later, Green Goblin reveals himself to Tombstone in the same chair, to gloat that he's kidnapped Tombstone's [[The Dragon|dragon]], Hammerhead.
** At the end of ''Gangland'', {{spoiler|Gobby does this to Tombstone again, this time to gloat about setting up the episode's three-way villain fight, which left Tombstone's good reputation in tatters. Particularly dramatic since this was the Goblin's first appearance (in-costume, anyway) since season one.}}
* Also done in ''[[Darkwing Duck]]'', where Negaduck reveals himself like that to the main character.
* In an episode of ''[[Star Wars:
* The Monarch invokes this trope in an episode of ''[[The Venture Bros]]'' when dealing with Jonas Venture Jr.
* Done twice in ''[[Max Steel]]''
* [[Invoked Trope|Invoked]] in ''[[Megamind]]''. Having kidnapped [[Hot Scoop|Roxanne Ritchi]], Megamind has [[Non-Human Sidekick|Minion]] position her in the death trap while he leaps into his [[Swivel Chair Antics|villainous swivel chair]] and primps for this week's round of evil gloating - smoothing his eyebrows, coaxing a brainbot into his lap so he can [[Right-Hand-Cat|stoke it when he turns around]], and adopting the [[Slouch of Villainy]]. Of course, they apparently do this every week, so it's hardly a shocking reveal to Roxanne.▼
* The ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "That Darn Katz!" plays this surprisingly straight; Nibbler and Amy find Professor Katz sitting in his office chair with his back to them, and when they turn the chair around he's apparently dead. {{spoiler|Then it turns out he was never alive in the first place; he's actually a puppet.}}
▲=== Chair Entrance examples: ===
== Chair Entrance examples ==
* Captain Sheridan's first appearance in ''[[Babylon Five]]'' has him seated in his command chair on the ''Agamemnon'', at first facing away from, and then swivelling toward, the camera.▼
=== Anime and Manga ===
▲* In [[Kirby:
=== Film ===
* In the low-budget science-fiction film ''The Bamboo Saucer'', which starred B-list movie actor Dan Duryea (in his last role) at the top of a cast list of obscure actors, Duryea makes his entrance when another character enters an office and sees the chair behind the desk turned away from him. The chair revolves slowly to reveal Duryea.
* It's not the first time the ''audience'' sees him, but when Luke is brought before the Emperor in ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'', the Emperor is [[Contemplative Boss|facing out of the observation window]] before turning his chair to face him.
▲* The first time we see Blofeld's face in the [[James Bond]] movies is via a chair swivel.
▲** Except that he doesn't swivel. He just pushes his [[The Dragon|Dragon]] out of the way.
▲** The villain and the chair are, of course, parodied in ''[[Austin Powers]]''.
▲* Walter Donovan does this to Indiana when he shows up again in ''[[Indiana Jones and
▲* Lampshaded in ''[[Black Dynamite]]'' as the [[Big Bad]], {{spoiler|Richard Nixon,}} reveals himself this way... in less of a dramatic fashion than intended, as it takes a few pushes of his chair in order to finish it.
* In the climax of [[Twilight of the Old West]] movie ''Joe Kidd'', the [[Big Bad]] walks nervously through an empty courtroom, hunting the title character (played by [[Clint Eastwood]]). Abruptly the judge's chair spins around. He's found him, not that it does the villain any good, as Kidd already has his pistol levelled.
=== Live-Action TV ===
▲* Captain Sheridan's first appearance in ''[[Babylon
* On ''[[Sesame Street]],'' in the "Alphabet Chat" sketches, Mr. Chatterley slowly turns his chair to face the audience during the theme music.
▲* Barney Stintson gets one of these in the TV show ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'', he brings his own chair for it.
▲* Parodied on an episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' with Alec Baldwin demonstrating how to be a [[Large Ham|handsome actor]], along with [[Glasses Pull]].
=== Western Animation ===
▲* Eric Cartman pulled one of these on Stan (while sitting in a Blofeld style egg-shaped chair) in the ''[[
▲* [[Invoked Trope|Invoked]] in ''[[Megamind]]''. Having kidnapped [[Hot Scoop|Roxanne Ritchi]], Megamind has [[Non-Human Sidekick|Minion]] position her in the death trap while he leaps into his [[Swivel Chair Antics|villainous swivel chair]] and primps for this week's round of evil gloating - smoothing his eyebrows, coaxing a brainbot into his lap so he can [[Right-Hand-Cat|stoke it when he turns around]], and adopting the [[Slouch of Villainy]]. Of course, they apparently do this every week, so it's hardly a shocking reveal to Roxanne.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Furniture Tropes]]
[[Category:Plot Twist]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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