Line #41 Main/SdrawkcabAlias


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9	[[quoteright:247:[[Webcomic/SluggyFreelance https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/backwards.png]]]]
10	[[caption-width-right:247:"I told them your name was Ass-ass."]]
11	->''"Hello, my name is Mr. Snrub, and I come from, er... someplace far away!"''
12	-->-- '''Mr. Burns''', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''
13
14	When someone has to think of a pseudonym for themselves, an oddly popular choice is their own name but written backwards. You'd expect them to be more imaginative, and smart enough to realize that such a pseudonym can easily give away your true identity. Sure enough, most of the time someone notices, often by exclaiming "[Saila Sdrawckab] spelled backwards is [Backwards Alias]!"
15
16	A name is only a Sdrawkcab Alias if the alias and the original name belong to the same person InUniverse. The {{super trope}} is SdrawkcabName, which covers backwards names in general.
17
18	When Dracula does this, see {{Alucard}}. For other ways to make a quick alias, try CharacterNameAlias, LineOfSightAlias, or SueDonym.
19	----
20	!!Examples:
21
22	[[foldercontrol]]
23
24	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
25	* ''Manga/EightMan1963'''s secret identity is named Tobor.
26	* In ''Literature/BofuriIDontWantToGetHurtSoIllMaxOutMyDefense'', Risa Shiramine reverses the order of her given to come up with her name of her New World Online character, Sally.
27	* This is what clues Goku in to Uub being the reincarnation of the evil Buu in the final episodes of ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. Considering Uub had no idea he was Buu's reincarnation, this makes it an awfully convenient name.
28	* The GrandFinale of the original ''Manga/LupinIII'' manga series featured the MusicalAssassin [[spoiler: Ataginez. Of course, it's Inspector Zenigata in disguise.]]
29	* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' [[spoiler:Obito disguises himself as "Tobi", which is just his name with the Kanji reversed.]]
30	* In ''Anime/PrincessNine'', Nene disguises Kanako by reversing the syllables in her name -- Konaka Tami.
31	* ''Franchise/SailorMoon''
32	** It was from the first ''Theatre/SeraMyu'' summer special. The young man known as Saito Kun reveals himself to actually be Kunzite.
33	** In the [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]] short story ''Ami-chan's First Love'' (and in the [[Anime/SailorMoon anime]] special based on it) Ami's mysterious rival known as "Mercurius" turns out to be a local geek named Kurume Suuri, and he even explains how he came up with this pseudonym.[[note]]His name in Japanese is read ''Suuri Kurume''; reversing the syllable order produces ''Merukuriusu'', which is the Japanese rendition of "Mercurius".[[/note]]
34	* ''Anime/YuGiOh'': In the English dub of the KC Grand Prix arc, Yugi's grandpa disguises himself as a duelist named Apdnarg Otum to enter a tournament (and it's a PaperThinDisguise to boot). (The original version averts this - his alias there is "Mask the Rock".) In the German dub, his alias was Retavßorg Otum for the same reason.
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Comic Books]]
38	* It once took the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica an entire issue of ''ComicBook/AllStarComics'' to realize that evil Professor Elba and kindly Professor Able were one and the same. Not exactly their finest moment.
39	* An early ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comic had a criminal masquerading as record shop owner "Old man [[ComicBook/TheJoker Rekoj]]". He has also gone by Dr. J. Reko, [[DepravedDentist DDS]].
40	* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': A Creator/CarlBarks story featured female creatures called "larkies". When disguised as males, they called themselves "eikrals". Each larkie's eikral counterpart has a name that's the larkie's name spelled backwards. For example, the larkie named Agnes became an eikral named Senga.
41	* ''ComicBook/MickeyMouseComicUniverse'': In one Mickey Mouse story, Mickey and Goofy must find a hillbilly nicknamed "Turkey Neck". In their search, they find a "Ken Yekrut". Mickey sees through the deception immediately but pretends to be fooled so he can get more information.
42	* One story of the ''Turma da Mônica'' (''ComicBook/MonicasGang'') comics had Monica, Cebolinha/Jimmy Five, and Cascão/Smudge meeting a knight named Rengaw (actually a [=RPG=]-obsessed man living in his very own fantasy world) and getting captured by a dragon. At one point, Cebolinha [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by saying that Rengaw's name is just "Wagner" backwards, implying that this might be Rengaw's real name.
43	* In the Fleetway ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'' continuity, Dr. Robotnik used to be a friend of Sonic's, a kindly scientist called Dr. [[MeaningfulName Ovi]] Kintobor. In one of the novels, Sonic goes back in time before the transformation occurs, nearly blurting out Robotnik's name at one point before realising that, while Kintobor is a little ditzy at times, he's not stupid.
44	* He was also called Kintobor in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics''. ''Julian'' Kintobor, at that. "Julian Kintobor of the House of Ivo", fully. (In ''[[WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM SatAM]]'', he was called "Julian", but no last name was given.) However, it gets confusing considering that there are separate Kintobor and Robotnik families! [[AllThereInTheManual The Official Encyclopedia]] [[{{Retcon}} clears the matter]]: When Julian came to power, he took his father's name (Ivo) and [[SdrawkcabName mother's surname (Robotnik)]].
45	* In ''ComicBook/TexWiller'', Tex's sworn enemy Mefisto disguises himself as a doctor, calling himself ''Dr. Anatas'', Anatas being ''Satana'' (Italian for Satan) backwards.
46	* In ''ComicBook/{{Urbanus}}'', the character Ed Luived is actually Satan in disguise. ("De Duivel" is Dutch for "The Devil".)
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
50	* ''ComicStrip/DickTracy.'':
51	** Chester Gould made this a constant. The first was when Pat Patton brought a clue in a kidnapping and had to spell it out.
52	---> '''Patton''': Gee whiz, don't you see? The name Yobgib spelled backward is BIG BOY!
53	** Afterward, the backwards name was used, usually for crooks like Yenom, Rennis and more.
54	* In ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'', Eileen uses the on-line handle 'Sgt. Neelie'.
55	* In ''ComicStrip/TerryAndThePirates'', the Dragon Lady sometimes used the alias Miss Nogard.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Fan Works]]
59	* In ''Fanfic/AlvanAnTheChipmunks3TheSecondSqueakuel'', Ian Hawk disguises himself as a chipmunk called "Kwah Nai". The chipmunks don't catch on until it's too late.
60	* ''Fanfic/TheNewAdventuresOfInvaderZim'': Near the end of Season 1, when Zim [[spoiler: begins a [[TheStarscream rebellion against the Tallest]]]], he adopts a [[MalevolentMaskedMen masked persona]] that he dubs "Miz". When [[LampshadeHanging called out on how obvious this is]], he counters that [[RefugeInAudacity that's the point, as no one will believe he'd go with something so obvious]]. Judging by the Tallests' reactions in Season 2, he's right.
61	* In the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7164959/1/Repelled Repelled]]'', Kim has to [[SweetPollyOliver go on the football team for one game]], using the name "Mike L. Bissop".
62	* ''Fanfic/TheWesterosi'': Sarella Sand disguises herself as a boy and uses the name "Alleras".
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
66	* In ''Film/{{Beaumarchais}}'', the protagonist is sent to England as a secret agent. There, he uses the fake name ''Norac'', which is his birth name (''Caron'') written backwards.
67	* Creator/DickVanDyke is credited as "Navckid Keyd" in ''Film/MaryPoppins'' (as Mr. Dawes Sr.; he's credited normally as Bert) and ''Film/MaryPoppinsReturns'' (as Mr. Dawes Jr.). It's not exactly a perfect backwards alias, though. Both times, the letters rearrange themselves into his real name.
68	* In ''Film/{{S1m0ne}}'', Viktor checks Simone into the hotel under the pseudonym "Ms Enomis".
69	* In ''Film/{{Tootsie}}'', Dustin Hoffman's character, Michael Dorsey, uses the name "Dorothy Michaels" when he becomes an actress.
70	* ''Film/YoungSherlockHolmes''. Villain Eh Tar uses the alias of Professor Rathe for his cover job at Brompton Academy. Watson even spells this out towards the end of the film as a "very important clue."
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Legends]]
74	* The syllabic version of this trope is OlderThanPrint: Tristram disguises himself as "Tramtris" in the [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Arthurian]] legends.
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	[[folder:Literature]]
78	!!!'''By Author:'''
79	* Creator/PatriciaAMcKillip:
80	** [[spoiler: The Rommalb]] in ''Literature/TheForgottenBeastsOfEld''. Not exactly a deception: speaking its name forward invokes it for destruction, so people only say it backward (until the heroine is tricked into saying it forward).
81	** A characteristic of the twisted magic contained in ''Literature/TheBookOfAtrixWolfe''.
82	!!!'''By Work:'''
83	* In Brian Jacques' less well-known work, ''Literature/CastawaysOfTheFlyingDutchman'', the two main characters get called Denmark and Nebuchadnezzar. This in turn gets shortened to Den and Neb. These then get reversed upon the two's escape to Ben and Ned, the crafty little devils.
84	* ''Literature/TheCatWhoSeries'': In book #1 (''The Cat Who Could Read Backwards''), [[spoiler: Scrano is O. Narx]].
85	* ''Literature/TheCulture'': In ''Literature/ConsiderPhlebas'', Bora Horza Gobuchul at one point identifies himself as Orab.
86	** ''Literature/TheHydrogenSonata'': Same universe, different alias: [[note]] sort of - neither is the real or assumed name of the protagonist[[/note]] Neressi/Isseren. Cue collective lampshading sigh when it's found out.
87	* In ''[[Literature/{{Deryni}} Deryni Checkmate]]'', Duke Alaric Morgan's bard Gwydion ap Plenneth informs him about public opinion in his ducal capital Coroth, including popular songs against Morgan. One of these is about an evil oppressor and entitled "The Ballad of Duke Cirala". In his report, Gwydion lampshades the trope: "...I might also mention that the name Cirala is quite familiar if one only spells it backward: C-I-R-A-L-A-A-L-A-R-I-C."
88	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''
89	** Early in ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'', a very punctual milkman by the name of Ronnie Soak is introduced as a minor character. However, once the plot truly gets underway, his true nature is revealed: he is Kaos, the fifth Horseman of the Apocralypse (not a typo), who [[Music/TheBeatles left before the other four became famous]]. Pratchett himself had not planned it that way, at least consciously. The story goes he'd planned for him to be the fifth horseman, but hadn't figured out what he would be until he looked at the name in the mirror.
90	** ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'':
91	--->''It's a sad and terrible thing that high-born folk really have thought that the servants would be totally fooled if spirits were put into decanters that were cunningly labelled ''backwards''. And also throughout history, the more politically conscious butler has taken it on trust, and with rather more justification, that his employers will not notice if the yksihw is topped up with eniru.''
92	** ''Literature/CarpeJugulum'': The narration describes vampires' apparent inability to compensate for their well-known weaknesses, and at one point says "Do they really think spelling their name backwards is going to fool anyone?"
93	** In ''Literature/{{Thud}}'', the Ankh-Morpork City Watch's new vampire recruit Salacia sends a "clacks" (a sort of [[PunkPunk clock-punk]] version of a telegram) using the alias "Aicalas". The normally practical and intelligent vampire Salacia von Humpeding suffers from the curse of her kind: the deep and abiding conviction that ''[[{{Alucard}} no one will recognise your name if you spell it backwards]]''. Of course, Vimes instantly sees through that, mentioning it as one of the vampires' lesser-known failings.
94	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': In ''Literature/DeadBeat'', Harry gives himself minor self-deprecation for not figuring out that [[spoiler:Sheila (shee-la)]] was [[spoiler:Lasciel (la-sheel)]].
95	* In ''Literature/GuardiansOfGaHoole'', '''Ezyl'''ryb (ryb being a title) turns out to be '''Lyze''' of Kiel. And Nyroc rejects his name, and the new name he eventually comes out up with is Coryn.
96	* A person of interest in one ''Literature/HardyBoys'' case went by the name Zemog. The Hardys spent most of the book trying to track him with little success before realizing that it was Gomez backwards, and they found the guy under that name.
97	* A variant in ''Literature/{{Holes}}:'' Stanley Yelnats (who has an actual SdrawkcabName himself) is sent to a juvenile detention camp where everyone uses a nickname. He assumes the lead boy, X-Ray, was named because of his glasses; it turns out it's actually his real name, Rex, in PigLatin.
98	* In the Estonian children's book ''Timbu-Limbu õukond ja lumemöldrid'', the heroes are joined by a mechanical toy man named "Trebla" who does everything backwards. At the end of the book, he is successfully fixed and reveals that he's actually named Albert.
99	* ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'': In ''Literature/BeingAGreenMother'', the heroine Orb shares a romantic attachment with a man named Natasha, whose true identity is revealed when he proposes marriage to her: "Ah, {{Satan}}".
100	* In ''Literature/TheHammer2022'', Tiny believes "Baron Narsa von Rendsley" is suspicious because his face is disguised with magic. He then slaps Narsa for what he thinks is perverted leering. Later on, Narsa pronounces his name backwards to Tiny before dropping his disguise, revealing that "Narsa" is in fact Crown Prince Aslan[[note]][[JapaneseRanguage "Ls" and "Rs" are pronounced similarly]] in Korean]][[/note]]. Tiny is [[OhCrap soon sweating bullets]] over the fact that he assaulted Chloe's fiance AND someone who's well in his rights to kill him.
101	* In Talbot Mundy's ''Jimgrim'', FemmeFatale secret agent "Princess Baltis" signs into a hotel as "Ranee Sitlab". Somewhat justified in that she wasn't actually trying to avoid notice.
102	* One Dutch children's book titled ''Lyc-Drop'' features a character called Seuz. He turns out to be the Greek deity Zeus.
103	* ''Literature/OldKingdom'': In ''Sabriel'', it's mentioned that the BigBad Kerrigor was born Prince Rogirek, generally known as Rogir. Kerrigor was the nickname Touchstone gave him.
104	* In ''Racso and the Rats of NIMH'', a sequel of ''Literature/MrsFrisbyAndTheRatsOfNIMH'' by Jane Leslie Conly, Racso admits to Timothy Frisby at one stage in the book that his real name is "Oscar", but he much prefers the Sdrawkcab nom de plume he came up with.
105	* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': In ''Martin the Warrior'', Ballaw the hare uses the alias "Tibbar" ("Rabbit" backward) when speaking to the corsairs.
106	* ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'': Wizards dealing with the Darke hide themselves by spelling their name backwards. PlayedWith in Septimus's case, as he takes only the last letters S-u-m on Marcellus Pye's advice.
107	* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': Beren and Finrod Felagund, while masquerading as Orcs in some of the earliest versions of Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/BerenAndLuthien''. Felagund gives his own name as Dungalef and Beren's as Nereb when they're captured by Sauron. That seems to work until Sauron reveals he is not buying their act in the slightest.
108	* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', a lot of evidence points to Alleras, a novice at the Citadel, being Sarella Sand [[SweetPollyOliver in disguise as a man]].
109	* ''Literature/TheSquiresTales'': The Arthurian legend's use of a backwards name is {{Lampshaded}} in ''The Ballad of Sir Dinadan'': "Tramtris. That was the best he could come up with. Didn't you realize it was Tristram?" Spoofed further when Dinadan talks to a holy hermit who wants to write an allegorical adventure story, the villain of which is "Stultus", being Latin for fool. Then the two dismiss that as too obvious and call him "Sutluts" instead. So much better. When "Tramtris" comes in and begs Dinadan not to reveal his name, Dinadan says "Don't worry. If anyone asks, I'll say you're Sir Sutluts."
110	* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': In the ''Literature/XWingSeries'', child actor-turned-pilot Garik "Face" Loran, left on their stolen ship while [[TheInfiltration infiltrating]] the bad guys, is forced to come up with a disguise and a name to keep a planetary governor from getting suspicious. He comes up with Lieutenant Narol. In later instances of the same basic mission he uses a better disguise with the same name, and we never see him called on it. This might have something to do with the fact that in the Galaxy Far Far Away, Narol is a perfectly normal-seeming name. It also helps that he had previously faked his death.
111	* Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/TunnelInTheSky'' includes a warning to the main character's class to watch out for stobor, the most dangerous creature they will encounter on their field exam. The students don't realize that "stobor" is "robots" spelled backwards; [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Stobor are]] [[HumansKillWantonly hu]][[HumanityIsInsane mans]]; [[WhatYouAreInTheDark their competing classmates]]]].
112	* Taken to extremes and lampshaded in ''Literature/YoungWizards'', where [[spoiler:a dog]] turns out to be [[spoiler:a god]].
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
116	* The [[spoiler:"H. Maddas" files]] in ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' turn out to be this (and a ChekhovsGun).
117	* In ''Series/BabylonBerlin'', Svetlana Sorokina performs as a Drag King as the singer Nikoros. Late in the series, Gereon realizes after seeing her poster in the mirror.
118	* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', when the group is working on making a new app, [[ItsAllAboutMe Sheldon]] suggests the codename of the project to be "Project Nodlehs".
119	-->'''Leonard''': That's just "Sheldon" backwards.\
120	'''Sheldon''': [[BlatantLies Another happy coincidence]]!
121	* When a character named Nilrem appeared in Brazilian show ''Caça Talentos'', the fairies were worried because that name was Myth/{{Merlin}} spelled backwards.
122	* ''Series/CSIMiami'': In "Dispo Day", the mastermind behind the drug heist uses the alias 'Nedir Kire', which is his original name 'Erik Riden' spelled backwards (although he is now going by the name of '[[ThisIsmyNameOnForeign Enirique Rameriz]]').
123	* A variation on ''{{Series/CSINY}}'': Stella's psycho ex-boyfriend named a sculpture he made for her "Aresanob," which was her last name, Bonasera, spelled backward. He uploaded a sex tape he'd secretly made of the two of them to Aresanob.com shortly thereafter.
124	* In ''Series/DarkOracle'', Cally's [[spoiler:[[ForcedTransformationh pet frog]], Nemo]], turns out to be the Season 1 BigBad, [[spoiler:Omen]]. Justified in that he was named by someone else, as a joke. [[spoiler:Nemo translated to "nothing"]].
125	* In the Danish {{Julekalender}} ''Series/JesusOgJosefine'' the villain introduces himself as [[spoiler:Natas]] at one point.
126	* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'': In one episode, bodies of murder victims are being dumped on Det. Olivia Benson's doorstep. Further investigation leads to a phony company called "Aivilo". Only when they look through a frosted glass door at the company name do they realize it's backwards for Olivia and that it's personal.
127	* An episode of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' had the Janitor use the name "Rotinaj".
128	-->'''J.D.:''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_ES0lYnYPY Rotinaj]] is just "Janitor" spelled backwards, ''Rotinaj''.\
129	'''Janitor:''' ''(to Indian doctor)'' Mornin', Dr. Rotinaj.\
130	'''Doctor:''' Good morning, Mr. cleanup man!
131	* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E20WhatIsAndWhatShouldNeverBe "What Is And What Should Never Be" (S02, Ep20)]], the Winchester home in the Wishverse has the number 1841 beside the door. This is reversed from the house number 1481 seen in [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E09Home "Home" (S01, Ep09)]], indicating something is amiss.
132	* In the first episode of ''Series/WhoWantsToBeASuperhero'' Stan Lee plants a spy amongst the contestants to learn if their motives for being on the show is pure. The traitor's name? ROTIART.
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Music]]
136	* British PunkRock group The Boys also released material under the name The Yobs, mainly Christmas novelties. "Yob" is a British term for a hooligan, and its etymology is in fact "boy" spelled backwards.
137	* The Music/BloodhoundGang's ''One Fierce Beer Coaster'' ends with a short sketch consisting of someone doing a [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]] impression and [[DontExplainTheJoke explaining the joke of the album title]] - to avoid potential copyright issues, it was titled "Reflections Of Remoh".
138	* Music/DreamTheater's first album featured a song called The Ytse Jam, which was their original band name, Majesty, spelled backwards.
139	* Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun wrote several songs credited to A. Nugetre.
140	* After The Gits' vocalist Music/MiaZapata's murder, Music/JoanJett joined the remaining members of the band for a benefit concert and an album under the name Evil Stig. Evil Stig is of course "Gits Live" backwards.
141	* The Ukrainian singer Ani Lorak. Her real first name is Karolina.
142	* For contractual reasons, the Music/{{Melvins}} album ''Prick'' was credited to Snivlem - like the NWA example, the band name appeared in mirrored writing on the cover.
143	* Music/{{NWA}}'s ''[=Niggaz4Life=]'' was written mirrored on the album, and sometimes referred to as ''[=Efil4zaggin=]''. This is more due to censorship though.
144	* Pioneering electronic composer Dick Raaijmakers worked for the Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium ([=NatLab=] for short) early in his career, earning himself the nickname "[=NatLab Dik=]". When he published his first recordings, he decided to use a stage name rather than releasing them under his real name. So the UrExample of SynthPop, "Song of the Second Moon", was attributed to "Kid Baltan".
145	* The Music/RedHotChiliPeppers' song titled "Emit Remmus" has a stealth TitleDrop in chorus: "London in the summertime".
146	* After vocalist Lynn Strait's death, Snot eventually reformed as Tons.
147	* Music/StevieWonder released an instrumental album credited to Eivets Rednow.
148	[[/folder]]
149
150	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
151	* Wrestling/KevinSullivan's big [[FaceHeelTurn heel turn]] in Florida in the 1980s was in part centered around a check that had been signed by a "Nivek Navillus," making it quite possibly the most serious DontExplainTheJoke moment in wrestling history.
152	[[/folder]]
153
154	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
155	* ''TabletopGame/DiscworldRolePlayingGame'': As noted above, it's an established joke in the Literature/{{Discworld}} novels that this is a common foible among Discworld vampires (a joke about the {{Alucard}} trope), but the licensed game formalizes the idea in the form of the quirk-level "Delusion (Spelling My Name Backwards Disguises It Perfectly)".
156	[[/folder]]
157
158	[[folder:Theatre]]
159	* In ''Theatre/MaryMary'', when Mary first meets the well-known actor Dirk Winsten, she remembers the fact that his real name is Winsten Krid, Dirk spelled backwards.
160	[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder:Video Games]]
163	* Tantris of ''VideoGame/AtelierRoronaTheAlchemistOfArland'' does this half-heartedly to hide the fact that [[spoiler:he's the son of the game's main antagonist, Meredith Alcock]]. His real name is [[spoiler:Tristan, and his alias only swaps the syllables of his name]].
164	* [[spoiler: Sarevok/Koveras]] in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate''. The part of the trope description where one would expect him to be more imaginative is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when one of his underlings mistakenly thinks that you're working for him too and tells you all the details of the EvilPlan. Regarding the pseudonym, he says something like "Not very original, I'll admit, but then it's not like any of us are gonna be stupid enough to tell him that!"
165	** The in-game explanation is that, as a warrior-type, [[spoiler:Sarevok]] is highly intelligent but basically straightforward at heart. He's perfectly capable of behind-the-scenes manipulation but prefers to hack his problems to pieces, so when he has to be sneaky, he uses shortcuts like this one.
166	** During Jaheira's personal quest in the second game, a guy named Terminsel shows up to give her a magical item. Jaheira comments that he must be fond of anagrams. [[note]]Ter-mins-el => El-mins-ter. Elminster is ''the'' mage in the Forgotten Realms.[[/note]]
167	* ''VideoGame/BarkleyShutUpAndJamGaiden'' has a plot arc centered around [[spoiler: Yelmirb, who is actually Wilford Brimley, who can cure diabetes by absorbing it into himself.]]
168	* Hector from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCurseOfDarkness'' is aided by a priest by the name of Zead. It was easier to tell in the original Japanese, but his name is a phonetic reversal of [[TheGrimReaper Death]].
169	* During the "License to Drill" Event in ''VideoGame/DinerDashAdventures'', Flo needs to infiltrate into [=BigCorp=]. When Mr. Big asks who she is, Flo introduces herself as "Olf".
170	* The final boss in the NES version of ''[[VideoGame/DoubleDragon Double Dragon III]]'' is an evil sorceress named Queen Noiram, who is revealed to be Marion ([[InconsistentSpelling whose name is usually spelled "Marian" in other games]]) possessed by an evil spirit. In the original arcade and Famicom versions, she was actually Cleopatra.
171	* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' features Danved as a playable character, who has a striking resemblance to Devdan in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Path of Radiance]]''. Instead of a full reversal, they swapped the syllables and reversed one of them. Furthermore, in the Japanese release, Danved was known as Nadved -- a full reversal. [[DubInducedPlotHole Said Japanese name was also used]] in ''Path of Radiance'''s Danved/Largo supports.
172	* In ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet2'', Milla Basset decides to enter the Battlesphere tournament under the alter-ego of "Allim", which is her own first name backwards.
173	* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': Organization XIII operates under names that are {{Significant Anagram}}s with a letter X added in. In Axel's case, it turned out to be a reversal of his original name (Lea) with an X added.
174	* One puzzle in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIQuestForTheCrown'', Rumpelstiltskin gives you a riddle on how his name is spelled. The clue received is to think backwards. You think it's spelled "Nikstlitselpmur", but you have to reverse the alphabet (A becomes Z and so on) which spells the quite unpronounceable "Ifnkovhgroghprm". This was resolved in the remake by making both solutions acceptable.
175	* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'' used this trope to hide the word "fatso".
176	--> '''Skeleton:''' Old Bloat is even more of an "ostaf" than before!... Whuzzat? You dunno what an "ostaf" is??? Sheesh! It's simple! Try spellin' it backwards!
177	* [[spoiler:Colonel Redips/Spider]], the BigBad, in ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission''. The instruction booklet of the game intentionally misspells the former name ([[spoiler:R'''i'''d'''e'''ps]]) so that keen players wouldn't see the connection, at first. [[spoiler:Played with, as there was a real Reploid named Spider, whom Redips killed and impersonated.]]
178	* ''[[VideoGame/{{Rastan}} Rastan Saga II]]'' was released outside Japan under the {{Market Based Title}}s ''Nastar'' and ''Nastar Warrior'' ("st" is a diagraph).
179	* ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' introduces a certain scientist involved with Protoss/Zerg hybrid experimentations [[spoiler:Professor Emil Narud]]. For those familiar with the ''Brood War'' campaign from the first game, remember [[spoiler:Samir Duran]]? [[spoiler:Unsurprisingly, he's the same shapeshifting mole who's been working for [[BigBad Amon]]]]. And weirdly enough, [[spoiler:his name in his true form is listed as Narud, which would imply that was his ''real name'' all along.]]
180	* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' the character [[spoiler:Yeager]] maintains the double identity of [[spoiler:Regeay]]. The "two" characters are near total opposites in personality and demeanor.
181	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
182	** In one questline in post-Cataclysm Felwood, you help a demon hunter get rid of demons hiding among the druids of the Emerald Circle. When the time comes to slay their leader, Arch Druid Navarax, he's revealed to be a satyr named Xaravan.
183	** In ''Warlords of Draenor'', you first meet the [[BirdPeople arakkoa]] Iskar in Talador where he's disguised as a draenei woman named Raksi.
184	* In ''Vampire Ltd.'' Nero decides to sneak into Hadrian's corporate headquarters on the pretext of a job interview. While talking to the receptionist on the phone he claims his name is "Oren".
185	[[/folder]]
186
187	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
188	* ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'': The sixth arc provides Kanon's [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname real name]], Yoshiya. This is, in fact, a modified Japanese reversal of Shannon's real name, Sayo. Shi and ya need to be slurred together into one sound, as the Japanese kana does to write the letter "Sha," and you wind up with "Shayo," which is only slightly different from "Sayo." This was one of the many big hints given in that arc that [[spoiler:Shannon and Kanon are alter egos of Sayo Yasuda]].
189	[[/folder]]
190
191	[[folder:Web Animation]]
192	* ''WebAnimation/MyStoryAnimated'' has an episode called [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyNUr4LWfoc "No one has seen my real face"]] featuring a supermodel named Iris. One day, she puts disguise to live a normal life. She chooses to call herself Siri, unintentionally giving herself the same name as iPhone's virtual assistant.
193	[[/folder]]
194
195	[[folder:Webcomics]]
196	* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': In "Displacement", when Torg is pretending to be an EvilMinion, he panics when someone asks his name and gives it as "Grot". And Sasha's name as "Ass-ass".
197	[[/folder]]
198
199	[[folder:Web Video]]
200	* ''WebVideo/StupidMarioBrothers'': Merlin initially calls himself "Nilrem" for his first few episodes.
201	[[/folder]]
202
203	[[folder:Western Animation]]
204	* The AlmightyJanitor Mr. Suez in ''WesternAnimation/ClassOfTheTitans'' is the god Zeus.
205	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewSchool'', Yzma's alias while masquerading as the principal of Kuzco Academy is Amzy. Of course, no-one falls for her PaperThinDisguise except for Kronk, the only one who's ''supposed'' to know. Though this is {{subverted\|Trope}} in the finale when Kronk admits he figured out "[[MediumAwareness about three episodes back]]" and proceeds to [[LampshadeHanging point out everything that made it obvious]] while admitting he'd been [[ObfuscatingStupidity pretending to remain ignorant]] since the realization.
206	* Greek god Ares goes by the alias "Mr. Sera" in the ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' episode "Hawk and Dove".
207	* In the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' TV movie/multi-part episode "A Sitch in Time", Shego uses the pseudonym "Mrs. Ogehs" in her scheme to break up Team Possible.
208	* ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfSuperman'': In "Luthor Strikes Again", Luthor sets up his base in the Rohtul Paint factory. Probably {{justified\|Trope}} as this is part of a deliberate trap for Superman.
209	* ''WesternAnimation/NinjagoDragonsRising'': When in need of an alias to sneak into Imperium, Lloyd Garmadon decides on the almost backwards, Doyll Donmagar.
210	* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'': In "The Secret of the Ghost Rig", Rung Ladderton uses the alias 'G. Nur Notreddal' to hide some of the purchases he made to create his identity as the Ghost Trucker.
211	* In ''WesternAnimation/ShaggyAndScoobyDooGetAClue'', the BigBad's MadScientist assistant, Dr. Trebla, turns out to be Shaggy's missing Uncle Albert in disguise.
212	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
213	** In "Marge vs. the Monorail", Mr. Burns attempts to get his money back by disguising himself with a fake mustache at the town meeting and calling himself "Mr. Snrub" (accompanied by an undisguised Smithers, by the way). The average citizen of Springfield is consistently depicted as not too bright, so it says something about how bad the disguise is that ''no one'' at the town meeting is fooled. Naturally, the fans like to theorize on this enigmatic Mr. Snrub and what relation he could be to the completely different Mr. Burns.
214	** In one of the ''WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror'' stories, a company named Remoh Industries turns out to be headed by Homer Simpson, who [[EpicFail doesn't notice 'Remoh' is 'Homer' spelled backwards]] until someone points it out.
215	* In an episode of the ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'', Superman deduces that a man is a robot in disguise by noticing that his name is "Tobor." He [[ForgotAboutHisPowers could have just used his X-ray vision]], but where's the fun in that?
216	* During his initial appearance in ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'', Tim Scam masquerades as Mac Smit. Alex figures it out when she sees his name tag in the mirror, although the letters are not mirror-image reversed.
217	[[/folder]]
218
219	[[folder:Real Life]]
220	* The transport company "Elddis" is a reverse of its original name, "Siddle".
221	* [[Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow Oprah's]] production company is called Harpo, Inc. Fun fact: In ''Film/TheColorPurple1985'', Oprah Winfrey played Sofia, whose husband was named Harpo.
222	* People do fall for this in real life. Creator/WaltDisney bought up land in Florida with a dummy company called Retlaw Enterprises. "Retlaw" = "Walter".
223	* Magician [[SawAWomanInHalf P. T. Selbit]] was actually named P. T. Tibbles.
224	* The classic book on card manipulation [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expert_at_the_Card_Table The Expert at the Card Table]] was written by an unknown person under the pseudonym "S. W. Erdnase". One of the suspected authors was a con artist named "E. S. Andrews". Several other possible authors have that same surname.
225	* Theodor Geisel, best known as Creator/DrSeuss, also wrote under the name "Theo [=LeSieg=]".
226	* One of the major franchises in Michigan for fast-food chain Arby's is called Sybra, Inc.
227	* The company created in order to oversee the licencing of [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] merchandise in the USA was called Seltaeb.
228	* Whether a matter of UrbanLegend or actual fact, pyramid schemes and other scammers in Russia will supposedly often use some variant of "we're going to fuck you over" spelled backwards as the company name: "Табеан", "Лабеан", "Акволабеан".
229	* Horace Miner's famous Sociology/Anthropology study "Body Ritual Among the [[{{Eagleland}} Nacirema]]" which is meant as a caution of treating other cultures as savage.
230	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SdrawkcabAlias