History Main / GenuineImposter

* Creator/LloydAlexander's ''Literature/{{Westmark}}'' has a similar situation to ''Anastasia'' in which a pair of con men must pass off an orphan girl as a lost princess. However, Mickle is aware of her identity the entire time and goes along with the deception in order to out the EvilChancellor as a traitor.

* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', Light is secretly [[SerialKiller Kira]], and is [[HiredToHuntYourself working with the anti-Kira task force]]. When a ''[[CopycatKiller second]]'' Kira shows up, L asks Light (who he suspects of being the first Kira) to pretend to be Kira and send a message to the second Kira.

* One episode of the 1978 anime adaptation of ''Literature/CaptainFuture'' features a plot where the Captain needs to infiltrate a movie set filming a fictionalized account of... ''Captain Future.'' So he dyes his hair and bumbles his way through the actor auditions searching for a lead actor, banking on his "resemblance" to the real Captain to get him the part. Even his close friend Joan gives him a YourCostumeNeedsWork despite wearing his genuine outfit on set.

* One episode of the 1978 anime adaptation of ''CaptainFuture'' features a plot where the Captain needs to infiltrate a movie set filming a fictionalized account of... ''Captain Future.'' So he dyes his hair and bumbles his way through the actor auditions searching for a lead actor, banking on his "resemblance" to the real Captain to get him the part. Even his close friend Joan gives him a YourCostumeNeedsWork despite wearing his genuine outfit on set.

* Inverted in ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'' when Arnold Munro visits an Amazonian tribe in ''Fanfic/WithThisRing''. Everyone mistakes him for his father Hugo Danner, who visited them decades ago and introduced them to his SuperSerum, until he explains the mixup. Then Squire reveals that Arnold Munro passed away quietly years ago; the man standing among them really is Hugo, impersonating his son Arnold.

* ''Frachise/StarWarsLegends''

** The same device is used again in ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'', wherein an entire troop of soldiers, excepting only its commanding officer, is composed of young women who have disguised themselves as men in order to join the army. When they decide to ''re''-disguise themselves as washerwomen to infiltrate the enemy-occupied palace, they've been pretending to be men for so long that the enemy guards notice all kinds of "giveaways" like one of the "men" still having a spot of shaving cream under one ear. [[spoiler: They end up having to flash the guards to prove their womanliness.]]

** A Fairy Tail member named Mest is introduced as an S-Class candidate in a RememberTheNewGuy fashion, until the guild begins noticing they hardly know anything about "Mest" despite knowing him for years, prompting TheReveal that he's a BackstoryInvader from the Magic Council named Doranbalt. After returning to the Council, Makarov reveals to him that [[TomatoInTheMirror he really is a Fairy Tail member named Mest]] who infiltrated the Council to get information on TheEmpire, wiping his own memory and everyone else's memory of his existence (except for Makarov) in a [[DidntThinkThisThrough hair-brained]] effort to reduce his chances of being discovered.

** Carla claimed to be the Exceeds' princess to prevent Edolas Erza from arresting her and Happy. Turns out that she really is Queen Chagot's daughter.
** It had another case pop up some time after Carla's. In the Tenrou Island arc, a Fairy Tail member named Mest is introduced in a RememberTheNewGuy fashion. The RememberTheNewGuy thing eventually turns out to be justified when "Mest" turns out to be a member of the Magic Council named Doranbolt with memory manipulation powers, who infiltrated Fairy Tail and manipulated everyone's memory to have them think he had been there for years. After the arc ends, Doranbolt resumes being a Magic Council member. At the end of the Tartaros Arc, Doranbolt discovers he's actually a member of a wizard guild who infiltrated the Magic Council to get information for his guild master and wiped his own memory and that of all his guildmates except his master to reduce his chances of being discovered. His real identity: Mest Gryder from Fairy Tail.

** Approached from the other end in ''Discworld/MovingPictures'': the wizards decide to go to the movies, but as wizards can't be seen enjoying such base entertainments. So they go for disguises, and one of them comes up with the idea of twisting wire in their beards, so now they all look like regular people badly disguised as wizards. Which of course backfires when they need to identify themselves as wizards, but left the wires in.
** The same device is used again in ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'', wherein an entire troop of soldiers, excepting only its commanding officer, is composed of young women who have disguised themselves as men in order to join the army. When they decide to ''re''-disguise themselves as washerwomen to infiltrate the enemy-occupied palace, they've been pretending to be men for so long that the enemy guards notice all kinds of "giveaways" like one of the "men" still having a spot of shaving cream under one ear. [[spoiler: They end up having to flash the guards to prove their womanliness.]]

RecursiveCrossdressing is a SubTrope. ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself is another SubTrope that applies to (usually paranormal or costumed characters) who know their identity, but dress up as themselves for Halloween or a similar festive occasion. AccidentalTruth is the SuperTrope.

* In ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewColossus'', [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters wanted terrorist and serial killer]] William J. "Terror Billy" Blazkowicz goes undercover as an actor playing himself in a propaganda movie for the Third Reich. Notable in that it only works because pretty much everyone under the Reich's jackboots ([[AlternateHistoryNaziVictory in other words, literally everyone]]) [[spoiler:saw him get decapitated on live television, and NoOneCouldSurviveThat]]

* ''Magazine/MadMagazine'' did a Mad Look at Cosplaying and had the person who came in second at a Franchise/{{Superman}} costume contest turn out to really be Superman. Probably inspired by urban legends of celebrities like Dolly Parton and Charlie Chaplin coming in second at their own look-alike contests.

A [[TheCon con job]] or other circumstance requires a character to pose as another, usually powerful or important, person. However, it is eventually revealed that the character really IS that person. Frequently, this is a reveal to the would-be impostor as well as the other characters and the audience, while at other times, the "impostor" was aware of his or her true identity, but kept it hidden for various reasons.

* In ''Manga/FairyTail'',

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* Jennifer Nielson's ''Literature/AscendanceTrilogy''. ''The False Prince'' has four orphan boys competing for the role of Prince Jaron, who disappeared at sea years ago. The protagonist, Sage, turns out to actually be Jaron, hiding his identity for reasons of his own.

* On ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', one of Barney's plans for seducing women was called "Weekend at Barney's", a riff on the movie ''Film/WeekendAtBernies'', where Barney pretends to be dead, but Ted and Marshall put sunglasses on him and move his limbs around with strings so that women will think he's alive and have sex with him. Robin points out that, if the woman is "tricked" into thinking Barney's alive, and Barney actually ''is'' alive, then the whole "pretending to be dead" step is completely pointless. Barney can't seem to comprehend this argument.

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