this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2025
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Top Character Tropes

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Share your favorite plot or character tropes with the community! From constant classics to overused cliches, if you've noticed it enough times in enough places, put it here.

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(Planet of the Apes) The Planet of the Apes is actually a post-apocalyptic Earth. They put this Statue of Liberty shot on the actual Blu-Ray cover. It was also parodied on Family Guy.

(Metroid) Samus Aran, underneath the power suit, is a woman. The instruction manual refers to Samus as male to obscure her gender until the surprise reveal at the end of the game, but nowadays, Zero Suit Samus is a playable character in most Smash titles.

(Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) The two characters are actually split personalities of the same person. In the book, this is a massive revelation, but the title of the book is now synonymous for someone with a secret dark side.

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[–] TargaryenTKE@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

It was also parodied on Family Guy

No offense but do you have the slightest bit how little that narrows it down? They've parodied just about everything. Also they were FARRR from the first to do so in this case

[–] Drasglaf@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago

Six Sense comes to mind. Unfortunately a friend spoiled it for me so I watched it knowing what the final twist was.

[–] EtnaAtsume@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Knights of the Old Republic: You were Revan the whole time.

[–] RebekahWSD@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I surprisingly didn't know that twist when I got to play it some decade or decade and a half after release!

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago

Which is a funny reveal when you name your character Revan on a subsequent playthrough.

[–] CitizenKong@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

Star Wars: Darth Vader being Luke's father is probably the one plot point even people that have never watched any of the movies know.

[–] TimelordTraveler@lemmy.today 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

To add to that list: Soylent Green

Everybody knows the twist at the very end now, and it's pretty much what the movie is known for. Spoils the whole thing.

[–] ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

Which, incidentally was entirely a creation for the movie.

[–] Hereforpron2@lemmynsfw.com 7 points 3 days ago

The 6th Sense, what's in the box, Keyser Soze, Psycho/Norman Bates's mother, Fight Club, Dorian Gray's portrait, Rosebud/Citizen Kane, I am your father, Morbin' all over the place.

The longer you think about how many stories are quoted or used for analogies and memes, the more you realize so many classic narratives/twists/moments get referenced every day until people who have never seen or read about the 6th Sense get the gist of the joke when someone says "he was dead the whole time!"