History Main / WeWillNotUseStageMakeupInTheFuture

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* In ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', Dark Legion member Moritori Rex; for years, he was able to pass as Guardian member Tobor, though to this day ''no one'' knows how he did it. Moritori and Rex were both caught in an explosion and buried under rubble, both being so badly mangled that they were unrecognizable, and the Guardians mistook Moritori for Tobor. Despite this the Guardians - due to their connection to the Chaos Force - should have been able to sense right away that he was an impostor, despite the Dark Legion's own ability to otherwise play this trope straight with surgery, being the poster children for the HollywoodCyborg that they are. In a bit of LampshadeHanging, villain Dr. Finitevus once captured and experimented on Moritori ''just'' so he could figure out how his disguise was able to fool the Guardians.

* Handled more practically in ''Film/{{Star Trek IV|The Voyage Home}}''. The crew asked Spock what he'd do about the ears. He tore a piece off his robe and wrapped it around his head as a headband. It worked.
* Then there was the solution in ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''. How to make it so they don't expose past-Earth to the sight of aliens? Send the most human-looking ones. Worf stays home. They did inexplicably choose to send the golden-skinned android in the first team, though.
* ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'' has a terrestrial parody of this, when Gary undergoes [[AppliedPhlebotinum Valmorphanization]] - TransformationSequence and all - to disguise himself as an Arab, and comes out looking like an awful stage makeup job.

** This becomes especially ridiculous in the TERRANOVA/Negasphere cycles, when Roi Danton (Michael Reginal Rhodan) [[spoiler:becomes captured by the [[GalacticConqueror Terminal Column TRAITOR]], the main force of the [[OrderVersusChaos Chaotarchs]]. He is then cloned with all his memories, his clone is mutilated and bio-engineered into the Chaos-serving [[MultipleHeadCase Dual-Captain]] Dantyren (while conscious), while everyone believes this happened personally to Roi. [[NotQuiteDead When he finally escapes and manages to prove he wasn't turned]], he ]]uses an enemy ship he stole to kill Dantyren, and then for the rest of the cycle(s) deeply infiltrates the enemy all the while wearing a complex (and painful) bio-prosthetic, pretending to be Dantyren.

** On the other hand, at the start of ''Literature/StarTrekFederation'' Kirk is recovering from an assassination attempt by an Orion surgically altered to look Andorian.
** Justified in the novel ''Literature/TheRomulanWay'' by Creator/DianeDuane and Peter Morwood, in which the protagonist stayed deep undercover for years in the fairly paranoid Romulan Empire. You ''really'' wouldn't want to nick yourself shaving and be caught bleeding red instead of green around these guys. Her controller {{lampshade}}d it a bit when reading through her file: "We're making you a disguise, not overhauling a starship!"
** ''Dwellers in the Crucible'', another Star Trek novel featuring Romulan infiltration, mentioned they couldn't give Sulu the green blood or the heartbeat, but they could give him sensory enhancers to mimic alien hearing and hypnotically condition him to dream in Rihan just in case he talked in his sleep.

** {{Defied|Trope}} in ''[[Literature/TheHandOfThrawn Specter of the Past]]'' by Creator/TimothyZahn. Luke, inspired to cut back on his Force use by feelings of unease he gets every time he goes to do some "pretty flashy stuff", eschews a Force illusion in favor of simple skin coloring and fake facial hair.[[note]]This is also a TakeThat to the ''Literature/BlackFleetCrisis'' books, where Luke did exactly that.[[/note]] Earlier in the same book, the con artist Flim is established as being able to pull off an astonishing [[DeadPersonImpersonation impersonation of Grand Admiral Thrawn]], right on down to the powerful, almost regal air. It's mentioned a little later on that it wouldn't be too hard to make someone look like Thrawn, but [[MagicPlasticSurgery facial surgeries]] leave certain marks, and his sheer presence is something a droid wouldn't be able to fake.

** Another novel, ''Literature/StarWarsTatooineGhost'', has Leia and Han disguise themselves as nonhumans, via skin colouring and prosthetics; since they picked Twi'lek and Devaronian disguises, they even got to hide some handy tools inside the lekku (head-tentacles) and horns of their respective guises. Other such novels also include some pretty interesting and comprehensive disguises, while requiring no actual cosmetic surgery or any such thing.

** The ''Literature/MedstarDuology'' and the ''Literature/CoruscantNights'' trilogy have a character who, as a member of a rarely-seen birdlike species, would be noticed everywhere he went. As he fills roles from spy to assassin to thief to gangster, that would be a problem, so he became a MasterOfDisguise, with a huge number of elaborate prosthetics and full-body suits disguising him as anything from a human to a Hutt. The prosthetics can move as extra limbs and non-beaked faces, and he even has the right scent and accent. The disguises failed him only once, and that was when his assassination target dodged and shot back, destroying the costume.
** Michael A. Stackpole has a bit of a field day with this. In the [[Literature/XWingSeries X-Wing novel]] ''Wedge's Gamble'', the entire squadron infiltrates Coruscant in various disguises, ranging from fully robed body-slave to cyborg to alien disguises. His novel ''[[Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy I, Jedi]]'' has the protagonist[[note]]Corran Horn[[/note]] actually dying his hair and growing a goatee in order to change his appearance for a bit of undercover work. ''Star Wars'' dye is somewhat higher tech than ours involving a "metabolising agent" to be ingested and "colour targeting gel" to apply and wash off at the right time (or you could end up with green hair), but it's still a cosmetics thing.
*** Future X-Wing books by Creator/AaronAllston continue the practice; Garik "Face" Loran, as a former actor, is very familiar with makeup. Between the OfCorpseHesAlive routine for holographic communication and visiting people in person as Lieutenant [[SdrawkcabAlias Narol]], both makeup and odd tech are used in ''Wraith Squadron''. This escalates when the Wraiths begin TheInfiltration, and Lara Nostil is also very familiar with makeup procedures permanent and non.
** Jarael in the ''ComicBook/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' comic disguises herself as a standard Arkanian (herself being a mining off-shot) with four-fingered gloves, contacts, and beige facepaint to get medical assistance for Camper due to prejudice against offshoots on Arkania.
* Averted the novel ''Literature/DoubleStar'' by Creator/RobertHeinlein, where the narrator/protagonist, being an actor, shows a working knowledge of stage makeup. Heinlein even throws in some speculation about what technological advancements in stage makeup might occur.

* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'': if you play as a Nosferatu, one human NPC after initial shock just figures you're "into the whole body modification scene" and he doesn't pass judgment on what people do with their own bodies. Honest!

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* ''WesternAnimation/JemAndTheHolograms'' - Showtime, Synergy! One occasion this turns out to be a disadvantage as Jem is working on a movie and can't let the make-up artist touch her face with out revealing the truth.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS4E15Deception "Deception"]], Obi-Wan's death is faked and he's disguised as his "killer", a bounty hunter named Rako Hardeen, with very sophisticated technology so he can go undercover to investigate a plot against the Chancellor. Since his first stop on this mission is prison, he wouldn't be able to maintain the disguise with makeup.

** {{Defied}} in ''[[Literature/HandOfThrawn Specter of the Past]]'' by Creator/TimothyZahn. Luke, inspired to cut back on his Force use by feelings of unease he gets every time he goes to do some "pretty flashy stuff", eschews a Force illusion in favor of simple skin coloring and fake facial hair.[[note]]This is also a TakeThat to the ''Literature/BlackFleetCrisis'' books, where Luke did exactly that.[[/note]] Earlier in the same book, the con artist Flim is established as being able to pull off an astonishing [[DeadPersonImpersonation impersonation of Grand Admiral Thrawn]], right on down to the powerful, almost regal air. It's mentioned a little later on that it wouldn't be too hard to make someone look like Thrawn, but [[MagicPlasticSurgery facial surgeries]] leave certain marks, and his sheer presence is something a droid wouldn't be able to fake.

** Another novel, ''Tatooine Ghost'', has Leia and Han disguise themselves as nonhumans, via skin colouring and prosthetics; since they picked Twi'lek and Devaronian disguises, they even got to hide some handy tools inside the lekku (head-tentacles) and horns of their respective guises. Other such novels also include some pretty interesting and comprehensive disguises, while requiring no actual cosmetic surgery or any such thing.

* Averted the novel ''Double Star'' by Creator/RobertHeinlein, where the narrator/protagonist, being an actor, shows a working knowledge of stage makeup. Heinlein even throws in some speculation about what technological advancements in stage makeup might occur.

-->-- '''Kira Nerys''', ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', "Apocalypse Rising"

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' shows a DRAZI wearing a rubber mask to look like a HUMAN (he's first played by a guy without prosthetics, then the camera pans to Ivanova, and when it pans back another actor in Drazi makeup removes a mask modeled after the first actor). And vice versa. Ivanova gets a little shocked.

* ''Series/RedDwarf'' uses this to comedic effect in episode "Gunmen of the Apocalypse". They attempt to pass themselves off as "Vindaloovians" to a racist species that despises humans by placing the male {{Robot Maid}}'s eyes on their chins and filming only their chins and mouths. The Simulants board the ship and discover the ruse mid-transmission.

*** Conspicuously and literally averted in "The Enemy Within": after Yeoman Rand scratched Evil Kirk's face, he went to his quarters to assess the damage. He applies Kirk-colored foundation over the wound from a recurring prop in his quarters to hide the distinguishing wound.
*** Perhaps the earliest example is "The Enterprise Incident", wherein Kirk has his ears and eyebrows altered to pass for a Romulan.
*** In the episode "City on the Edge of Forever", where Kirk explains Spock's appearance by saying he's ''Chinese'', and had been disfigured by a ''mechanical rice picker''. Way to go twenty-third century racial sensitivity.

*** {{Lampshaded}} in "First Contact". In that one, Riker has to pass for a near-human alien, and although he has surgically implanted prosthetics on his face, he is only wearing mittens to conceal his "alien" hands. His cover is blown when he is injured and the doctors are baffled trying to figure out the layout of his internal organs.
*** Troi is transformed into a Romulan by the Romulans themselves to press her into service as a temporary spy against their own kind.

*** Subverted in "Trials and Tribble-ations", when the characters go back in time to the TOS era and ''assume'' a Klingon spy must have had massive surgery to pass as a human. This is because they don't know Klingons weren't always RubberForeheadAliens. To pose as a human, a 23rd century Klingon would only need to ''get a haircut.'' Though FridgeLogic would compel one to question the quality of history education in the Federation, if nobody knows one of the most prominent neighboring species used to look totally different (an earlier incarnation of [[TheNthDoctor Dax]] was actually ''in Starfleet'' at this time).
*** This trope is extrapolated and used in a DisguisedInDrag situation in "Profit and Lace", where Quark is surgically altered to become a ''woman''. It fits this trope because they don't just make him ''look'' like a female, but he actually becomes one, with hormones and all. This is used to deliver AnAesop about equality.
*** A combination of prosthetics and surgery are used by Doctor Bashir to turn Odo, O'Brien, and Sisko into Klingons (and Worf into a ''different'' Klingon). Presumably makeup alone might have worked, except the mission took place over several days and they got into costume early in order to get used to it. It's mentioned everyone but Worf also got treatments to survive the amount of alcohol they were expected to drink.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In the episode "False Profits," in order to fool two Ferengi who were exploiting a planet, Neelix (a Talaxian) was disguised as a Ferengi. Upon threat of death, Neelix ultimately confesses he's not a Ferengi. This prompts the two Ferengi to come up to him and tug on his (fake) ears. Neelix says "I don't feel a thing" (Ferengi ears are ''very'' sensitive).

* Played ludicrously straight in ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'': When the Imagin have to interact with {{Muggles}}, they dress up in ridiculous hats, veils, scarves, masks and even full-body-covering animal suits. So they pose as dudes in suits, despite the fact that an Imagin in his natural form looks unmistakably like a... [[PeopleInRubberSuits dude in a suit]].
** Deneb in particular [[RunningGag is a master]] of the PaperThinDisguise.

** These masks could have been made better. The visible surface of the mask was made from a cast of the target face, but to fit right the ''inner'' surface should have been made from a cast of the ''wearer'', and it wasn't.

** Alara simply uses a band-aid and a hat that covers both her ears and forehead (which, unfortunately, is exclusive to a minority culture thus causes a scene) in "[[Recap/TheOrvilleS1E07MajorityRule Majority Rule]]". After she is called out for the cultural appropriation by a member of said culture, Claire improvises her a headband á'la Spock's in ''Film/{{Star Trek IV|The Voyage Home}}''.

* ''Franchise/StargateVerse'':
** ''Series/StargateSG1'': Teal'c averts this by taking the solution used by Spock, covering the single odd feature (a gold-filled tattoo of Apophis's symbol) with a hat or bandanna whenever he leaves Stargate Command on Earth. There are several episodes where he forgets or loses his hat; his backup plan in such cases appears to be BrutalHonesty. Most people tend to drop the subject on being told [[{{Squick}} how the mark is made]], or that it symbolises "Slavery. To false gods." There is an episode where Teal'c is allowed to get an apartment in the city. He explains away his weirdness (including the tattoo) as being African (Mozambique, to be specific). Since most Americans know very little about African tribes, this tends to work.
** ''Series/StargateAtlantis'':
*** The series succumbed to this when Dr. Keller made Teyla look like a Wraith queen for an infiltration mission. The reason why Teyla was chosen is because her small amounts of Wraith DNA (the result of a Wraith MadScientist experimenting on her ancestors) allowed her to bypass Wraith psychic checks, so with her appearance not being the main subject of scrutiny there was presumably even less need to surgically alter her.
*** Then a Wraith passes as a (bizarre) human... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQwJuy_ExW8 by means of makeup and facial appliances.]] This is in Vegas, though.

*** Conspicuously and literally averted in "The Enemy Within": after Yeoman Rand scratched Evil!Kirk's face, he went to his quarters to assess the damage. He applies Kirk-colored foundation over the wound from a recurring prop in his quarters to hide the distinguishing wound.

*** Picard and Data are in sickbay being prepped for Romulan disguises. Dr. Crusher even asks Data if his ears are removable, and then tells them to head to the barber for their wig fitting. On the flip side, it's not surgical, because they spend the trip to Romulus (in a cloaked Klingon ship) as normal, only putting on their disguise when they get there. And then they're spotted plain as day when they actually get there, because their spoken Romulan doesn't have the right regional accent for their cover ID.

*** Avoided again in another episode when a temporally displaced Jadzia Dax just explains away her Trill skin markings as a tattoo. In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E06TrialsAndTribbleations Trials and Tribbleations]]", on the other hand, where she actually has time to prepare, she is shown using a device to paint over her spots instead.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'':
*** In the episode "The 37s", Captain Janeway attempts to prove that they're from the future by showing off Kes's strange ears. This is slightly subverted when one of the "37s" says "I've seen people do all kinds of things to their bodies", but that doesn't alter the fact that Janeway somehow expected it to work.
*** An episode has Tuvok going down to 20th-century Los Angeles. How does he hide his ears? With a ''do-rag''.
---->'''Tuvok''': We could have worn our Star Fleet uniforms. I doubt anyone would have noticed.
*** In the episode "False Profits," in order to fool two Ferengi who were exploiting a planet, Neelix (a Talaxian) was disguised as a Ferengi. Upon threat of death, Neelix ultimately confesses he's not a Ferengi. This prompts the two Ferengi to come up to him and tug on his (fake) ears. Neelix says "I don't feel a thing" (Ferengi ears are ''very'' sensitive).
** Averted in an episode of ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' where some members of the crew are shown peeling off the rubber prosthetics they used to disguise themselves as aliens. This was probably done to be in keeping with the theme of having less advanced technology than the other Star Treks [[DecadeDissonance (which waned and waxed unpredictably as the series went on).]]

* The Thin Man aliens from ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' appear to avert this on the surface, but autopsying them reveals that they received extensive genetic modifications to appear human. Their unmodified form is actually the Vipers from the next game, non-anthropomophic snake people much larger than a man.

*** In another episode avoided when a temporally displaced Jadzia Dax just explains away her Trill skin markings as a tattoo. In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E06TrialsAndTribbleations Trials and Tribbleations]]", on the other hand, where she actually has time to prepare, she is shown using a device to paint over her spots instead.

* ''Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse'' [[Franchise/StarTrek Expanded Universe]] and ''[[Literature/StarTrekNovelverse Novelverse]]'':

* ''Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse'' and ''[[Literature/StarTrekNovelverse Novelverse]]'':

* Handles more practically in ''Film/{{Star Trek IV|The Voyage Home}}''. The crew asked Spock what he'd do about the ears. He tore a piece of his robe and wrapped it around his head as a headband. It worked.

Perhaps because there is no a cosmetics counters or a functioning professional theatre departments there, doctors on starship, space stations, and other Sci-Fi locales are in charge of cosmetic alterations.

Perhaps because there is not a cosmetics counter or a functioning professional theatre department, doctors on starship, space stations, and other Sci-Fi locales are in charge of cosmetic alterations.