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6There are, supposedly, two characters. Maybe one is [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen never seen]], or is only mentioned in passing, or whose [[TheFaceless face is never seen]], or it's a book and the author ain't much for descriptions. These two never meet, are never in the same scene, and/or never interact with the same characters. Eventually it's revealed that they're actually the same person. Note that, [[NonIndicativeName contrary to what the trope name suggests]], they do not actually need two aliases (i.e. pseudonyms) for this trope to apply — but either the characters in-universe or the reader/viewer (or both) need to believe them to be '''separate''' people, until TheReveal.
7
8This trope also applies to MultiplePersonalities, so long as characters/audience are unaware that they physically share the same body. It is possible to use this as CharacterDevelopment if the character assume(s/d) a new alias unbeknownst to other characters, especially if the previous alias and persona are considered dead or status unknown. It is also used to [[TheReveal reveal]] that a character is EvilAllAlong, especially if one of the aliases is a HiddenVillain.
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10This is often a source of WildMassGuessing, with fans trying to argue that two different characters are really the same person, usually with no given reason why this person would have another identity.
11
12Usually involves SecretIdentity, though sometimes [[TomatoSurprise it's only a surprise to the audience]] that the characters are the same. Compare InventedIndividual, where someone makes up a new identity without pretending to be them (though less personal examples can blur the line between the two); CanonCharacterAllAlong, where a new character is revealed to be an already existing character; and FutureSelfReveal, where two characters are revealed to be the same person from different points in time. Contrast CollectiveIdentity, which is Two Characters, One Alias.
13----
14!!Examples:
15[[foldercontrol]]
16
17[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
18* [[spoiler: Goji and Abullah]] in both the original ''Manga/AstroBoy'' and Creator/NaokiUrasawa's retelling ''Manga/{{Pluto}}''. (In the former, just a disguise; in the latter, an alternate personality.)
19* ''Anime/{{Bakugan}}'':
20** Masquerade/[[spoiler:Alice. This is a shock even to her.]]
21** In "Mectanium Surge", Wiseman, a brawler that the Noneds had aligned with was at first thought to be Gunz, a brawler Dan had fought with prior to the attack of the evil nomad mectagon. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that he is actually Cordegon, the leader of the mectagon, who had used Gunz's form as a disguise]].
22* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
23** L isn't just ''one of'' the top 3 detectives in the world, he's ''all'' of them under separate aliases. In ''Literature/AnotherNote'', Mello estimates the number of aliases L goes by to be somewhere in the three-digit range.
24** Early in the series the audience never sees Light's father around the house, being told that he's working. Turns out he's the police chief that's already been around for a few chapters.
25** After [[spoiler:L's death at his hands,]] [[Characters/DeathNoteLightYagami Light Yagami]] assumes control of the Kira Taskforce and presents himself to police around the world under the name "L" while still maintaining his identity as [[SerialKillerKiller Kira]].
26* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'': Ken Ichijoji is the Digimon Emperor.
27* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': Future Zamasu's ally and Goku's EvilCounterpart, Goku Black, [[spoiler: turns out to be an alternate version of Zamasu [[FreakyFridayFlip who switched bodies with Goku]].]]
28* ''Manga/FairyTail'' is rather fond of this, with some characters pulling off two aliases via magical projections of themselves:
29** Councilman Siegrain, initially believed to be the GoodTwin of the terrorist Jellal, is later revealed to be Jellal's double created to manipulate the council in a ploy to gather enough magic energy to revive Zeref.
30** Alexei, a mysterious armored man first seen leading Raven Tail's elite team in the Grand Magic Games, is actually [[spoiler:Raven Tail's master Ivan, who places a holographic projection of himself in the rafters while he privately interrogates his son Laxus in person since guild masters are forbidden from taking part in the tournament]].
31** Mato, the pumpkin mask-wearing mascot of the Grand Magic Games, is later revealed to be [[spoiler:the King of Fiore himself, Toma E. Fiore]]. The first indicator of this is when [[spoiler:Mato is absent on the second day of the Games, which is the only day the king happens to show up]].
32** Zeref's ultimate Etherious demon is called "E.N.D." While this name is an alias by itself, it is short for [[spoiler:Etherious Natsu Dragneel]], revealing the true identity behind E.N.D.
33** [[TheEmperor Emperor Spriggan]], the initially unseen ruler of the Alvarez Empire, is believed by everyone who knows his name to be the next in a long line of {{Arc Villain}} before the final battle with [[BigBad Zeref]] and [[GreaterScopeVillain Acnologia]]. A short while later, he makes his appearance and it turns out [[spoiler:it actually ''is'' Zeref himself, signaling the climax of the series]].
34* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' (manga and Brotherhood anime):
35** Pride, the most powerful of the Homunculi, turns out to have a public identity the Elric brothers are familiar with: [[spoiler:Selim Bradley, the "son" of Fuhrer King Bradley/Wrath]].
36** {{Subverted}} by Van Hohenheim and [[spoiler:Father. Considering that they look exactly alike and that Hohenheim is secretive, morally ambiguous, and much longer-lived than any normal human, it's reasonable to assume that they're the same person. Turns out that Father is a {{doppelganger}} who took on Hohenheim's appearance due to some shared history and AppliedPhlebotinum. Not only that, the two fill the roles of BigGood and BigBad, respectively]].
37* In ''Anime/{{K}}'', [[spoiler:[[TomatoInTheMirror Shiro]]]] is actually Adolf K. Weismann, the Silver King, [[spoiler:in the body of an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent]].
38* In ''Anime/KillLaKill'', [[spoiler:Ryuko's father Isshin Matoi]] is revealed to be an alias for [[spoiler:Satsuki's father Soichiro Kiryuin]], which means that [[spoiler:Ryuko and Satsuki are actually sisters.]]
39* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', HeroKiller Stain appears in the {{Prequel}} as a killer vigilante calling himself Stendhal.
40* In the penultimate episode of ''Anime/OddTaxi'', ditch_11 the one who scammed Tanaka with a Donraku eraser gum 16 years ago and ranked 1# on "Zoological Garden" [[spoiler:turns out to be the username of Dob, a dangerous criminal Odokawa is after. Although, Dob denies scamming him before. He's shot anyways.]]
41* ''Manga/OnePiece''
42** In the Punk Hazard arc we learn that TheManBehindTheMan of the ArcVillain is someone who calls himself "Joker" and is one of the most impactful figures in the criminal underworld. It's later revealed that Joker is a character we already know: Donquixote Doflamingo.
43** One of the biggest {{Wham Episode}}s in the series happens in the Wano arc, where it's revealed that the mysterious Joy Boy who left behind the Poneglyph in Fish-Man Island is [[spoiler:also the Sun God Nika, a mythical liberator of slaves mentioned by Who's-Who during his fight with Jimbei, who was really an Awakened user of the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika (the true name of Luffy's devil fruit) who lived during the Void Century. When Luffy Awakens his fruit during the climax of the Wano arc, he effectively becomes the next inheritor of the original Joy Boy's will and the new Sun God Nika]].
44* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', this serves as TheReveal of the series finale. [[spoiler:The Aogiri Tree executive Eto Yoshimura (real name), horror novelist [[SamusIsAGirl Sen Takatsuki]],]] and the [[HiddenVillain mysterious]] [[BigBad One-Eyed Owl]] are the same person.
45** The BigBad of '':re'' goes by three aliases, [[spoiler:much like Eto]]. He is Kichimura Wasshu, [[spoiler:BastardBastard son of Tsuneyoshi Wasshu; Nimura Furuta, mild-mannered assistant to Shiki Kijima; and Souta, member of the Pierrot Clown gang]].
46* ''Franchise/YuGiOh'':
47** As revealed in the final season of ''Anime/YuGiOh'', Yami Bakura, the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring that Yugi and his friends had run across several times [[spoiler:is actually Zorc the Dark One, the demonic beast that attacked ancient Egypt]].
48** In ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', Jaden and [[spoiler:The Supreme King]] are revealed by Bastion to be one and the same.
49[[/folder]]
50
51[[folder:Comic Books]]
52* This is a key point in ''ComicBook/AmericanBornChinese''. [[spoiler:Jin Wang and Danny are the same person, even though their stories are told in parallel. The aliases are used to emphasize the (cultural) differences in the character as he struggles to define his identity.]]
53* ''ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison'' introduced a gentleman investigator with a bandaged face named Oberon Sexton, who assisted Batman for some time trying to track down a series of murders they were both sure were linked, but couldn't spot the pattern to. Eventually Batman realised what the pattern was: [[spoiler:all the deaths were references to the punchlines of several jokes. The bandages came off Sexton's face, and sure enough, the Joker was grinning under them.]] A later Morrison story featured Nero Nykto, the criminal detective, who was hired by a gang moving into Gotham to investigate Batman Incorporated, but turned out to be [[spoiler: Batman himself]].
54* In an early issue of ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague'' Year One, each of the five superheroes makes an acquaintance in their civilian identities - Perez the coast guard stands up for Aquaman in a bar, Lora Denton investigates Hal Jordan's test flight for the FAA, Officer Sherman looks in on Diana Lance's flower shop, Detective Jackson starts working with forensics officer Barry Allen, and supercop John Jones is approached by reporter Cal Redmond and creepy fellow detective Vince Logan. It turns out all of these [[spoiler:except the last two are J'onn J'onzz using his shapeshifting to spy on the others. It doesn't go down well.]]
55* ''ComicBook/MoonKnight'': Lovable cabbie Jake Lockley and debonair millionaire Steven Grant are in actuality both aliases for the believed-dead mercenary Marc Spector. Oh, and he's also the vigilante Moon Knight.
56* ''ComicBook/TheShadow'' is actually Lamont Cranston, millionaire. Except he's not. The real Lamont is secretly on an extended vacation so that Kent Allard, the ''actual'' Shadow, can enjoy posing as him while doing vigilante work.
57* ''ComicBook/{{Shadowhawk}}'', where the actual identity of the hero was kept secret from the reader for a full year of the comic's run.
58* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': ''ComicBook/{{Legacy}}'' brings us Morrigan Corde and [[spoiler:Nyna Callixte]]. It's unclear which one came first, or if they're aliases of a third identity.
59* The entire team of ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'' in their first run.
60* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', [[spoiler: Rorschach is revealed to be the guy with the 'End is Nigh' sign.]]
61* This was the original plan for the ''ComicBook/XMen'' character Xorn by creator Creator/GrantMorrison; after a long time serving on the team, Xorn unmasked and turned out to be Magneto. Ultimately subverted by ExecutiveMeddling when Xorn was retconned as an original character who believed himself to be Magneto.
62[[/folder]]
63
64[[folder:Fan Works]]
65* Midway through ''Fanfic/DanganronpaMementoMori'', it is revealed that [[BigBad the mastermind of the Killing Game]] is someone known as Naoya Edogawa. In the final Class Trial, Naoya Edogawa is revealed to be the true name of [[spoiler:[[DetectiveMole the Ultimate Private Investigator, Kaiji Kudo]]]].
66* fernwithy's ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' fan fiction stories, ''Fanfic/{{The End of the World|FernWithy}}'' series does this, along with CompositeCharacter, with Ceaser Flickerman being a prominent presence, naturally, having an oddly deep amount of empathy for the victors and the tributes they mentor. It is occasionally, although always subtly hinted that he is also [[spoiler:Charlie Flynn, the Victor of the 1st Quarter Quell, who refused to go back home to District 5 after they voted for him to go into the Hunger Games and disappeared shortly after President Snow took power]]. and eventually confirmed in one of the final stories, ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9067753/1/House-of-Cards House of Cards]]''.
67* ''Fanfic/ForTheGloryOfIrk'': After they're outed as [[TheFederation Syndicate]] Rangers, Lor and Carrius are referred to both by their true names and their human identities of [[spoiler:Clark and Conner]]. The latter get phased out over time, however, as Dib gets used to them, until they're exclusively referred to by their true names; by Chapter 42, Dib has trouble even remembering the human aliases.
68* ''Fanfic/MyHeroAcademiaMechanicalGreen'': [[spoiler:Dr. Isa Tsuneyo, [[GenderFlip Izumi's]] therapist after her failed [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]] attempt]], and [[spoiler:Dr. Paxton Frederick Jones, the MadScientist responsible for the [[GreatOffscreenWar Avalon War]]]]. Both are introduced as {{original character}}s with vastly different personalities and appearances, only to be revealed as one in the same at the end of Chapter 7, [[spoiler:the former being a cover identity for the latter while he was FakingTheDead, who proceeds with "killing" the former identity once he finds he's done all he can with it.]]
69* A large part of the early chapters and sidestory of ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' drop separate hints about two villains: the Bloodline King and the youngest of the Seven Brothers of Orre (who is actually [[spoiler:Ash's DisappearedDad]]). It's not until Chapter 34 of the main story that the narration confirms the two are one and the same.
70* ''Fanfic/TaylorVarga'': In order to keep her actual power (the ability to shapeshift into any form that is at least vaguely reptilian) under wraps, Taylor goes to a lot of trouble to pretend she is actually several related lizard-themed capes. This gets a lot easier when she works out how to use a form of spatial folding to be in two places at once, especially since the Varga can run one of her bodies while she runs the other, and both halves of her form can shapeshift independently.
71* In ''Fanfic/TheVictorsProject'' series:
72** The BigBad of ''The Bonds of Blood'' is The Speaker, who was driven out of the Capitol and the Districts to live in the wild. At the beginning of the story, he and his tribe torture Enobaria and kills her friends (motivating her to volunteer for the 62nd Hunger Games in exchange for the opportunity to face him again). In the final chapters, he turns out to be [[spoiler:Tanni Romero, a character from ''Fall Into the River'' seeking revenge for the punishment he got for getting a victor pregnant]].
73** During Chapter 37 of the main story, a Peacekeeper commander who enlists Mags to investigate the death of her fellow Victor [[spoiler:Wheaton]] is revealed to actually be [[spoiler:[[BigBad Coriolanus Snow]], who uses what she uncovers to seize the presidency.]]
74[[/folder]]
75
76[[folder:Film — Animated]]
77* ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'': [[spoiler:BigBad [[LivingLava lava demon]] Te Ka and mother goddess Te Fiti are the same entity. Te Fiti became Te Ka when her heart was stolen, robbing her of the power to create life, and returns to her real self when Moana returns it.]]
78* ''Anime/TheMysteryOfMamo'' gives Mamo the alias of Howard Lockewood. He needs the alias because nobody gave out birth certificates [[spoiler: 10,000 years ago.]]
79* In ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', [[spoiler:King Candy, the ruler of the ''Sugar Rush'' arcade racing game, is revealed in the climax to be Turbo, the hero of an older generation racing game who was notorious among his fellow video game characters for hacking a newer game out of jealousy, which ended up breaking both in the process. It is revealed that he survived the event and did the same thing to ''Sugar Rush'', only with a bit more subtlety]].
80[[/folder]]
81
82[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
83* In ''Film/BatmanBegins'', Bruce meets [[spoiler:Ducard who acts as a spokesperson for the legendary Ra's al Ghul. It turns out that the Ra's al Ghul that Bruce had met was more likely to be a decoy while Ducard is the actual Ra's al Ghul.]]
84* ''Film/DressedToKill'': [[spoiler:Dr Elliott and the transgender mass murderer Bobbi are the same person.]]
85* ''Film/FearClinic'': The masked shooter from the diner turns out to be the most recent patient at the clinic, Blake.
86* The ''Franchise/JamesBond'' film series has several such instances:
87** Mr. Big, the Harlem drug lord who's planning on trafficking free heroin in ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'', turns out to be [[spoiler: Dr. Kananga, the strongman ruler of the fictional Caribbean country of San Monique.]]
88** ''Film/GoldenEye'': The eponymous and rarely-seen head of the Janus crime syndicate is revealed to be [[spoiler:BigBadFriend Alec Trevelyan, formerly 006 and believed to be KIA when he and Bond were sabotaging a chemical weapons facility in Arkangelsk nine years prior,]] when Bond meets him in St. Petersburg.
89** ''Film/DieAnotherDay'': Gustav Graves, the young head of a new multinational corporation that managed to corner the world diamond market is revealed to be [[spoiler: Colonel Tan-Sun Moon, formerly of the Korean People's Army who was presumed dead by [=MI6=] after Bond's mission in the Korean DMZ in the ActionPrologue seemingly killed him -- turns out he escaped death unbeknownst to both Western intelligence as well as his own father General Moon. It's unexpected since Gustav Graves, played by Creator/TobyStephens, is visibly Caucasian while Colonel Moon, played by Creator/WillYunLee, is visibly Asian -- this is explained in-universe by a radical new gene-therapy technology that could change the looks of a persom better than plastic surgery, which Moon took advantage of in Cuba while laying low during the years Bond spent as a POW in North Korea.]]
90** The BigBad in the Creator/DanielCraig-era Bond films is revealed to be Franz Oberhauser in ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', the son-by-blood of Bond's foster father. [[spoiler: He took on the name Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the name of the BigBad who appeared in the Creator/SeanConnery and Creator/RogerMoore films prior to the reboot, as Oberhauser rejected his birth name after seeing his father favor James over him when they were children, eventually murdering their father and taking on his mother's maiden name.]]
91* ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''. The British Government official known as "M" who brought the League together turns out to also be [[spoiler:The Phantom, their opponent]]. And ''then'' it's revealed that his ''real'' identity is [[spoiler: [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Professor James Moriarty]]]].
92* The child protagonist Casey in ''Film/{{Masquerade|2021}}'' is revealed to be [[spoiler:a younger version of the antagonist Rose (whose real name is Casey Rose). Confused? There are actually two narrative threads happening at the same time, separated by many years.]]
93* In ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'', [[spoiler:there are several references to Scott's band wanting to attract the attention of G-man, an influential producer. Ramona also makes some off-hand references to her previous boyfriend Gideon. These two both refer to Gideon Graves, who is the BigBad]].
94* ''Film/{{Scream}}'': A version that applies to [[LegacyCharacter several versions]] where the Ghostface killer is revealed to be another member of the cast, and plenty of times [[TwoDunIt more than one]].
95* In ''Film/TheSecretOfMySuccess'', business-savvy executive Carlton Whitfield is actually lowly mailroom worker Brantley Foster. This double-life isn't concealed from the viewing audience, but only one person in the movie (Brantley's co-worker) learns of it before the climax, and even then, only by accident.
96* ''Franchise/StarWars'' does this quite a bit, [[ItWasHisSled although by now most of them are well known]]:
97** Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight who fell to great evil by becoming a Sith Lord.
98** Chancellor Sheev Palpatine/Darth Sidious, if you watch the movies in chronological rather than production order.
99** In ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', it's revealed that Queen Amidala and her handmaiden Padmé are actually one and the same, the Queen having swapped places with a [[BodyDouble lookalike handmaiden]] for her protection. The fact that Creator/NataliePortman (Padmé) and Creator/KeiraKnightley (decoy Sabé) look quite similar and that the Queen is always wearing rather elaborate make-up and [[PimpedOutDress clothing]] helps to keep up the charade; apparently, their own parents had difficulty telling them apart on set when they were in full costume.
100** At the end of ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', Count Dooku and Darth Tyranus are revealed to be the same person, though most viewers had already guessed this.
101** In ''Film/ANewHope'', Luke wonders if Obi-Wan Kenobi, the man mentioned in Princess Leia's emergency message, is a relation to "Old Ben" Kenobi, a local hermit. He is soon informed by Old Ben that he himself is Obi-Wan.
102** In ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', Luke meets a weird little green hermit on Dagobah who says he can take him to Jedi Master Yoda. He soon realises that the hermit actually ''is'' Yoda himself, who had been giving him a SecretTestOfCharacter.
103** Done quite subtly in ''Film/{{Solo}}''. Vos, the head of the Crimson Dawn syndicate, offhandedly mentions that he himself answers to someone even higher up the chain of command. In the end, that someone is revealed to be [[spoiler:''Maul'', the former Sith apprentice of Darth Sidious]]. This is particularly surprising for [[ContinuityLockOut audiences who weren't familiar]] with ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'' or ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]'', as [[spoiler:Maul]] was apparently killed off much earlier in the franchise [[spoiler:(''The Phantom Menace'', to be exact, which was released ''eighteen years'' before ''Solo'')]].
104* In ''Film/TRONLegacy'': Castor, Zuse's gatekeeper, actually is Zuse.
105* ''Film/TheUsualSuspects'' features the hapless Verbal Kint interrogated by Agent Kujan, recounting how he and several other criminals, led by ex-cop Dean Keaton, were press-ganged into working for the illusive mastermind Keyser Soze. In TheSummation, Kujan surmises that [[spoiler:Keaton was in fact Soze all along, posing as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold to manipulate Kint and the other criminals, and then personally dispose of them]]. However, in the movie's SignatureScene a few minutes later, [[spoiler:Kujan realizes too late that he had it backwards; Soze is actually [[ObfuscatingStupidity Kint himself]].]]
106[[/folder]]
107
108[[folder:Literature]]
109* [[spoiler:Mr. World and [[MeaningfulName Low-Key Lyesmith]]]] are both aliases of [[spoiler:the god Loki]] in ''Literature/AmericanGods''.
110* ''Literature/AscendanceOfABookworm'':
111** This is done with the archduke of Ehrenfest. He gets several mentions in the story that don't include his first name, only to properly debut via a KingIncognito during which he goes by his real first name. On top of this, a character who debuts much earlier than the archduke of Ehrenfest turns out to be a member of his family, but always refers to him by title in public and, in one case, his own thoughts. There is also a chapter establishing that character's family situation that mentions the relative who's the archduke via the nature of their familial relationship all while not using any titles or names.
112** A young girl from a wealthy family is basically engaged to an adult noble and will become his mistress as soon as she reaches adult age. Later in the story, [[spoiler:an ImpoverishedPatrician noble the protagonist met more or less by chance mentions that he had to acquire a large sum of money he needed by borrowing it from the family of his older brother's mistress]]. That scene might be a good time to remember that at that point, all the reader knows of the man to whom the aforementioned wealthy young girl is "engaged" is his name and the fact that he's part of the nobility's lowest strata.
113* ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'':
114** Claire Stanfield not only has the reputation as the world's most violent and dangerous assassin, but is also the greatest challenger to that claim, [[spoiler:Felix Walken]]. Gustavo then makes the mistake of hiring the latter to kill the former (along with his stepbrothers, the Gandors) and violent {{hilarity ensues}}.
115** Despite the fact that immortals have magically-enforced difficulty with aliases, [[spoiler:Lebreau Fermet Viralesque is usually only known by one part of his real name per identity.]]
116* Creator/DanBrown's Robert Langdon series: In ''Literature/AngelsAndDemons'' and ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode'', the mysterious unseen leader of the villains turns out to be a seemingly sympathetic character.
117%%** It's also done slightly differently in ''Literature/DigitalFortress''.
118* ''Literature/ChroniclesOfAncientDarkness'': In book 5, [[ArcVillain Thiazzi]] the Oak Mage has killed the Forest Horse Clan's mage and become the new mage (or impersonated the old one), riling up the clan against the Auroch Clan. Renn goes to reveal this to the Auroch Mage, [[spoiler:only to find out that [[PlayingBothSides Thiazzi is the Auroch Mage as well]]]].
119* In the ''Literature/ColdfireTrilogy'', [[spoiler:Gerald Terrant]] passes himself off as [[spoiler:a servant to the Hunter]], but is actually [[spoiler:the Hunter himself]].
120* Literature/CormoranStrikeNovels:
121** In ''Literature/CareerOfEvil'', Donald Laing and Ray Williams are the same person. Laing (his true identity) uses crutches he doesn't need when acting as himself, and when he meets Strike in the guise of Ray Williams, he uses a different accent and rubs something in his eyes to make himself cry, so he can hold a handkerchief to his face.
122** In ''Literature/TroubledBlood'', Strike interviews Janice Beattie twice and speaks to Clare Spencer the social worker on the phone. Janice and Clare are the same person. Janice, who speaks with a thick Cockney accent, adopts a "middle-class" accent when phoning Strike as "Clare".
123* ''Literature/TheCosmere'':
124** In ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'', it turns out that the infamous Kalad the Usurper, who nearly started a world war; and the revered Peacegiver, who ended it; were really the same person, who had become TheAtoner, even though history thinks this was two different people. That person has many names, and is [[OlderThanTheyLook currently known]] as [[spoiler:Vasher]], and their "real" name (or at least the name they were given when they Returned) was [[TitleDrop Warbreaker]] the Peaceful.
125** To add to the above example, [[spoiler:in ''Literature/TheStornlightArchive'', Vasher turns up in book 2, ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'' going by Vanthel/Zahel, and Vivenna turns up in book 3, ''Literature/{{Oathbringer}}'', as Highmarshal Azure. Vasher is more easily identifiable before the reveal, as he uses colour-related idioms, while Vivenna isn't unmasked until she's seen in Shadesmar]].
126** Shard Bavadin/Autonomy. There are entire ''pantheons'' of which every member is her.
127%%* The twist endings in two novels of ''Literature/TheCulture'', ''Literature/ThePlayerOfGames'' as well as ''Literature/SurfaceDetail'' both make use of this trope. More detail, please.
128* In ''Literature/TheDaggerAndTheCoin'', it is revealed at the end of the [[FirstEpisodeTwist first novel]] and heavily hinted at throughout that the [[DefectorFromDecadence renegade Spider Priest]] of the prologue is one and the same as the affable actor Master Kit.
129* ''Literature/TheDalemarkQuartet'': In the fourth book, ''The Crown of Dalemark'', Maewen, who is from the future, knows that the first King of Dalemark after the interregnum was Amil I "the Great". At the climax of the book, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Mitt, introduced in book 2, ''Drowned Ammet'',]] becomes Amil, taking it as his regnal name.
130** [[spoiler:It's hinted at in the fact that both Mitt and Amil are shortened variants of Alhammitt.]]
131* From ''Literature/DanganronpaZero'', [[spoiler:Ryoko Otonashi is BigBad Junko Enoshima after getting amnesia]].
132* In ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'', [[spoiler:Marten and Walter are both aliases for King's meta-villain Randall Flagg]].
133* In ''Literature/TheDinosaurLords'', the MysteriousWatcher [[spoiler:Witness]] and MysteriousBenefactor [[spoiler:Aphrodite]] turn out to be one and the same mysterious [[spoiler:GeniusLoci]].
134* In ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'', [[spoiler:Kiera the Thief is also Sethra Lavode]]. In this case, the two characters share some common friends, but TheReveal is totally a shock because they seemingly have little in common, although once the reveal is made, clues in earlier books become noticeable.
135* In ''Literature/{{Dune}}'', the Fremen leader "Liet" and the Planetologist "Dr. Kynes" are actually [[GivenNameReveal Liet-Kynes]].
136* In ''Literature/TheFifthSeason'', the first book of the Broken Earth trilogy, it gets revealed that [[spoiler:the three characters the book follows the perspective of, Damaya, Syenite, and Essun]], are the same person at different times. Similarly, [[spoiler:Tonkee]] turns out to be [[spoiler:Binof]].
137* ''Literature/FightClub'': Tyler and [[spoiler:the narrator]]. In fact, at one point, the narrator even wonders if Tyler and [[spoiler:''Marla'']] are the same person, invoking this trope.
138* There's a number of examples of this in ''Literature/TheFirstLaw'' and its semi-sequels:
139** Early in the first trilogy, dashing soldier turned disfigured TortureTechnician Inquisitor Glokta has his BigFun former friend and comrade Salems Rews shipped to a penal colony in the North for defrauding the Crown. In the story line set in the North, one character who appears is the hideously burned convict and ex-soldier Pike. There's no real hint that Rews and Pike are the same person, and it is therefore a shocking twist when Pike/Rews pulls NoDoubtTheYearsHaveChangedMe on Glokta at the very end of the trilogy.
140** In ''Literature/BestServedCold'', the antiheroine Monza is nursed back to health after her attempted murder by a somewhat creepy man calling himself the Bone Thief. Also appearing in the novel is the seasoned ProfessionalKiller Shenkt. What makes the reveal that the two men are the same person a bit of twist is that the Bone Thief was established as an ally of Monza and Shenkt [[XanatosRoulette at least ostensibly]] accepted a commission to kill her.
141** In ''Literature/RedCountry'', although the real names of the characters are never said, the reader is to understand that TheSoCalledCoward Lamb is TheDreaded Logen Ninefingers/The Bloody Nine and [[MissKitty The Mayor]] is former [[MerchantPrince Merchant Princess]] Carlot dan Eider.
142** The magus Bayaz [[ManBehindTheMan has ruled the Union behind the scenes]] for centuries, something which he accomplished through multiple instances of this. Bayaz is [[BaldOfEvil bald]] as have been the lead advisers to various kings and Bayaz claims apparently truthfully that all of those bald men were actually just him. Among other things, he was Bialoveld, known for being TheGoodChancellor and producing Machiavellian political writings, as well as the arch-reactionary Zoller who founded the Inquisition and enforced the law through torture and repression. Additionally, Bayaz [[CorruptCorporateExecutive controls the powerful bank Valint and Balk]] and is both Valint and Balk.
143* ''Literature/ForeignAffairs1984'': Fred eventually figures out that his high-class actress girlfriend Rosemary, and Rosemary's foul-mouthed Cockney cleaning lady Mrs. Harris, are the same person. Rosemary, who 1) has long wanted to play working-class characters, but doesn't get offered such parts, and 2) is eventually revealed to be mentally unstable, has occasionally been masquerading as an otherwise non-existent cleaning lady for months.
144* ''Literature/FoundationSeries'':
145** ''Literature/TheMule'': [[spoiler:[[TheDogWasTheMastermind Magnifico Giganticus]], who claims to be the Mule's escaped jester]], is actually the Mule. The fact that nearly every description the reader gets of the Mule comes from Magnifico (it's explicitly pointed out that Magnifico is pathologically terrified of the Mule, making his descriptions gross exaggerations) helps obscure this.
146** ''Literature/PreludeToFoundation'': Cleon I's Chief of Staff, Eto Demerzel, is hiding a secret identity; [[spoiler:he's actually R. Daneel Olivaw, from ''Literature/RobotsAndEmpire'']]. Chetter Hummin is suspicious of him, and tries to help Hari Seldon avoid the man behind the throne, because Eto is hiding secrets and will want to use Seldon's work for selfish reasons. This works up until the climax, when Seldon encounters Eto Demerzel directly, and realizes that [[spoiler:Chetter Hummin is a false identity used by Demerzel to control his actions all along. The identity (Chetter Hummin) is a pun -- he's cheating at being human -- because [[RoboticReveal he's a robot]]]].
147* Creator/TomMcGrath's ''[[Literature/GatesOfIvoryGatesOfHorn Gates of Ivory, Gates of Horn]]'': [[spoiler:Cary and his nemesis/brother are different sides of the same person]].
148* In ''Literature/TheGirlWhoCircumnavigatedFairylandInAShipOfHerOwnMaking'', the lost Good Queen Mallow is now [[spoiler:the semi-villain Marquess]].
149* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'': This is done with [[spoiler:the Heir of Slytherin (the instigator of the attacks against Muggleborns at Hogwarts, and Tom Marvolo Riddle (the person who solved the crime the last time the Heir of Slytherin menaced Hogwarts. It turns out that Riddle is not only the Heir of Slytherin (he pretended to solve the crime by framing Hagrid), both identities [[HijackedByGanon are aliases of Lord Voldemort]], the resident BigBad of the series. Tom Riddle [[TomTheDarkLord is his birth name]], he is probably the Heir of Slytherin, and Lord Voldemort is an alias he chose for himself as a SignificantAnagram]].
150* ''Literature/AHeadFullOfGhosts'': Merry's memories are interspersed with chatty blog posts breaking down the exorcism show from "Karen Brissette". Merry ''is'' Karen.
151* Literature/HerculePoirot series:
152** ''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress'', [[spoiler:Mrs. Hubbard]] is actually [[spoiler: Linda Arden, Daisy Armstrong's grandmother]].
153** ''Literature/OneTwoBuckleMyShoe'', [[spoiler:Mabelle Sainsbury Seale is actually Mrs. Albert Chapman, who herself is ''really'' Alistair Blunt's first wife, Gerda, who's been posing as his cousin!]]
154* ''Literature/IDidNotGiveThatSpiderSuperhumanIntelligence'': CorporateSponsoredSuperhero Palooka Joe and his supposed sponsor Jake Bradley are the same man.
155* ''Literature/TheLastOfTheVenitars'' takes this to the extreme. [[spoiler:Tobias, James and the Beast are all revealed to be the same person, albeit in different time periods. Francis is also revealed to be "the old man".]]
156* Aragorn as Strider/Thorongil/whatever name he uses for adventuring and Aragorn as Elessar the Isildur's Heir in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. There's no surprise for the reader, but in-universe not many people know they are the same person. Barliman Butterbur particularly is very surprised when he learns that the King who Returned and Strider the strange vagabond he knew are one and the same.
157* Scylla/[[spoiler:Henry Levy]] in ''Literature/MarathonMan''. The novel makes a big secret out of it.
158* [[spoiler:Sylvia Daisy, the cruel governess]] and [[spoiler:Mrs. Pouncer, the wicked witch]] in ''Literature/TheMidnightFolk''.
159* In ''Literature/LesMiserables'', Jean Valjean is also known as Monsieur Madeleine, Ultime Fauchelevent, and Monsieur Leblanc which are both twists in-universe and out (although more so the former). Also, the Jondrettes later in the novel are revealed to be the Thenardiers.
160* ''Literature/TheNorbyChronicles'':
161** ''Literature/NorbyTheMixedUpRobot'': Ing the Ingrate is deceiving everyone by wearing a voice distorter and a mask to prevent people from learning his true identity; [[spoiler:Agent Two Gridlow]]. It isn't revealed until the penultimate chapter, and neither character is on-screen for very long.
162** ''Literature/NorbyFindsAVillain'': By chapter three, Threezy is revealed to be Ing, from [[Literature/NorbyTheMixedUpRobot Norby's first adventure]]. As Ing, he's malevolent and attempts to destroy the universe, but nearly dying and then getting healed by the Twintas causes a realigning of his priorities. Once he wakes again at the end of chapter fifteen, he chooses to remain as Threezy the funny clown who does magic tricks.
163* In ''Literature/ThePaleAssassin'', [[spoiler: Le Scalpel]] is actually [[spoiler:Guy Dechamps]].
164* [[spoiler:Gen is actually the Queen's Thief, Eugenides,]] revealed at the end of ''The Thief'', the first book in ''Literature/TheQueensThief'' series.
165* ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'': In ''Vampire of the Mists'', [[spoiler:Katya]] and [[spoiler:Trina]] are revealed at the end to be the same person.
166* In Philip [=MacDonald=]'s 1930 murder mystery ''The Rynox Murder'', [[spoiler:the chief suspect turns out to be an alternate identity of the "victim"]].
167* In ''Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan'', you know from as soon as he introduces himself that Harkat Mulds is a creature resurrected from a dead soul. What you don't know until book 10 is that [[spoiler:the person he was when he was alive is Kurda Smahlt, a vampire who featured prominently in the series before that point, and whose life overlaps with Harkat's presence in the story. Time travel was involved]].
168* In ''Literature/SardHarker'', Harker stumbles on a plot by a criminal named Hirsch to abduct and ritually murder a woman named Margarita Kingsborough. He spends most of the novel a few steps behind the villains, and doesn't meet either Hirsch or Miss Kingsborough properly until nearly the end -- and both of them turn out to be examples of this trope.
169** Part of Harker's backstory is that many years ago he met and fell in love with a woman called Juanita de la Torre, only to be parted from her in circumstances such that he was unable to find her again -- until he meets Margarita Kingsborough near the end of the novel, and immediately recognizes her. This is foreshadowed heavily from the outset and the eventual reveal is not so much "Señorita de la Torre and Miss Kingsborough are the same person" as "This is how it's possible that Señorita de la Torre and Miss Kingsborough are the same person".
170** [[spoiler:Father Garsinton]], an apparently friendly character Harker meets near the beginning of the book before stumbling on the kidnapping plot, turns out to have been Hirsch in disguise.
171** Also, when recounting the backstory of Harker's friend Don Miguel, mention is made of a man named Rafael who was involved in the death of Don Miguel's fiancée and escaped retribution afterward; the first time that Rafael's surname or Hirsch's given name is mentioned is when it is revealed that Rafael Hirsch is both of them.
172* ''Literature/TheScarletPimpernel'': The Scarlet Pimpernel and his everyday identity are introduced separately and treated as two distinct characters until Marguerite realises who the latter is, around two thirds of the way through the novel.
173* In ''Literature/TheSecretAdversary'', the heroes need to locate a missing woman before the villain learns an important secret from her, but are hampered by the fact that they don't know what either looks like. (They have the woman's name, but no photo or physical description, and the villain keeps both his true name and appearance secret even from his colleagues.) Both the villain and the woman appear in the narrative and interact with the heroes under other names before their true identities are revealed.
174* ''Literature/SirGawainAndTheGreenKnight'': Lord Bertilak and the Green Knight turn out to be the same person.
175* ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'' likes to do this.
176** In ''[[WhamEpisode Last Stand of Dead Men]]'', [[spoiler:[[EvilAllAlong Ravel]] reveals himself to be [[TheManBehindTheMan The Man with the Golden Eyes]] after [[MoralEventHorizon killing Ghastly and Anton]]]].
177** In ''[[SoftReboot Resurrection]]'', [[spoiler:Lethe is Savant]].
178* ''Literature/SoImASpiderSoWhat'': Shiraori, the BigBad to Shun, one of the main characters, and the one responsible for his brother's death [[spoiler: is Kumoko, the other main character, after she has ascended to a God.]]
179* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
180** In ''Literature/AGameOfThrones'', after being forced into retirement by Joffrey, Ser Barristan Selmy pledges to serve the rightful ruler and vanishes. A decent part of the next two books features various people vying for the throne wondering where the hell he went, until late in the third book he unmasks himself... [[spoiler:on the other side of the world, where he's serving Daenerys Targaryen and has been for some time, under the name Arstan Whitebeard]].
181** In ''Literature/AFeastForCrows'', Samwell Tarly briefly meets a girl called Cat. The reader knows all along that Cat is really Arya Stark, and that she is the sister of Samwell's friend Jon Snow, but he is oblivious to this.
182** Theon Greyjoy is knocked out at the end of ''Literature/AClashOfKings'', and then is missing for the next two books. Then in ''Literature/ADanceWithDragons'', a dirty, weak, and slightly insane character called Reek is introduced. Gradually, hints are made, until it is finally made clear that Reek is what is left of Theon after a year of physical and mental torture.
183* ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'': In book 3, ''The Woman Who Rides Like a Man'', a mysterious rogue named Claw turns up in Corus as part of an attempt to become [[KingOfThieves the Rogue]] himself, overthrowing the current Rogue, George. George gets suspicious that Claw may have been noble-born, and brings [[TheSpymaster Baron Myles]] in to see Claw secretly. Myles agrees with George's suspicions, and sets one of his agents to investigate. The investigation reveals that Claw is [[spoiler:Ralon of Malven, {{the bully}} page who troubled Alanna during her early years in knight training, before she managed to decisively beat him in a fight and cause him to quit training. He was unrecognizable due to facial disfigurements caused when the maid of a girl he tried to rape threw acid in his face]].
184* ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'': Jekyll and Hyde are the same person.
185* "Literature/TalmaGordon": At the end, [[spoiler:Dr. Thornton's hitherto unseen wife, who was mentioned only briefly at the start, is revealed to be none other than Talma herself]].
186* Cleverly used in the ''Literature/TerokNor'' book ''Dawn of the Eagles'', in which a single character is secretly both a member of the Orallian religious underground and a Central Command officer. Both roles use his ''real'' name, with the twist that the narration for one role is on a FirstNameBasis, and the other on LastNameBasis. Thus, TheReveal is as simple as him saying his full name, [[spoiler:Thrax Sa'kat]].
187* For most of ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'', even [[spoiler:Lobsang and Jeremy]] themselves don't realize they're the same person. This one is more confusing than most, because they're the same person but have separate bodies (it's complicated).
188* In ''Literature/TheThreeHostages'', the hero has several encounters with mysterious "sad, grey-faced" man who forms part of the villain's entourage, but doesn't learn his name until near the end, at which point he turns out to be a person who has been mentioned several times in another context.
189* ''Literature/TheWestingGame'': The entire point of the game is that [[spoiler:one man has set up three identities named for points of the compass, and the winner is the first person to realize this and look for a fourth]].
190* ''Literature/WhereTheCrawdadsSing'': The final chapter reveals that Kya, the main character, is also "lesser-known poet, Amanda Hamilton, published recently in the local newspaper", whose poems she would often quote throughout the novel, and which has seemed unusually seemed to parallel aspects of her life.
191%%* Double Helix in ''Literature/WildCards'', who is a shapeshifter. More detail, please.
192* ''Literature/TheWitchlands'':
193** Safi has a beef on Caden, aka the Chiseled Cheater, who "stole" all her money in a card game. Aeduan meets the commander of Prince Leopold's Hell-Bard bodyguards, a man named Fitz Grieg. It's eventually revealed that the two are one and the same: Hell-Bard Commander Caden Fitz Grieg.
194** In ''Sightwitch'', Eridysi finds out that the soldier she's fallen in love with and the Rook King's general she's been wanting to meet for some time are the same person. She calls him out on this, but he replies that he didn't lie to her: he ''is'' a soldier, just a really high-ranking one.
195** ''Bloodwitch'' reveals that the Ragnor, the Raider King of Arithuania, is really [[spoiler:the Rook King's General]].
196* In ''Literature/TheWordIsMurder'', [[spoiler:Robert Cornwallis, the funeral director]] and [[spoiler:Dan Roberts, Damian Cowper's thwarted RADA classmate]] are the same person.
197* ''Literature/TheZodiacSeries'': In the third book, ''Black Moon'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:Morscerta, the Aquarian ambassador who seemingly died in the armada,]] and [[spoiler:Crompton, the ''current'' ambassador who until then had seemed like a ReasonableAuthorityFigure,]] are not only the same person, they're also [[spoiler:Aquarius, the [[BigBad master]] who had been orchestrating all the tragedies in the series]].
198* ''Literature/ZonesOfThought'': A justifiably partial example appears in ''The Children of the Sky''. [[spoiler:What's left of Steel]] is disguised as [[spoiler:Screwfloss]] using fake dyed pelt-markings, but when one of his members is killed, he loses some cognitive capacity, which causes him to be lax in keeping the disguise maintained.
199[[/folder]]
200
201[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
202* In the second season of ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', the main focus for the protagonist is to find two people: Orion, the creator of the Intersect project whom no one he's spoken to has seen or heard from, and his estranged father, Stephen Bartowski. Naturally, [[spoiler:Stephen is Orion]].
203* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
204** [[spoiler:Captain Jack Harkness and the Face of Boe]], two vastly different characters that appeared in vastly different stories, are implied to be this by a line of dialogue in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E13LastOfTheTimeLords "Last of the Time Lords"]].
205** Season 3 name-drops a then-unseen character, Harold Saxon, several times. in ''The Sound of Drums'' it is revealed that Saxon was actually [[spoiler: The Master]] the entire time.
206** A number of characters introduced around the same time in series 6 [[spoiler:(Amy's baby, the girl in the astronaut suit, Amy's childhood friend Mels)]] turn out to be [[spoiler:[[KidFromTheFuture River Song]] at different ages]].
207** [[Recap/DoctorWho2016CSTheReturnOfDoctorMysterio "The Return of Doctor Mysterio"]]: Grant's employer, Mrs. Lombard, doesn't appear on screen until well into the episode, at which point it's revealed that she's [[spoiler:Lucy Fletcher, the IntrepidReporter that Grant rescued as his superhero alter ego. (Fletcher is her maiden name, which she still uses for professional purposes.)]] Grant knew all along, but the Doctor and Nardole find out at the same time as the audience.
208* From the ''Franchise/KamenRider'' franchise...
209** ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'': The series' BigBad, initially just called "The Red-Eyed Man", turns out to be Amanogawa High School's chairman Mitsuaki Gamou, former astronaut and implied by a {{Flashback}} at the start of the series to be the killer of [[TheSmartGuy Kengo Utahoshi]]'s father. One of his [[TheDragon Dragons]] is the incredibly powerful and ruthless Virgo Zodiarts, whose main job is making Gamou's enemies disappear...permanently. [[SixthRanger Kamen Rider Meteor]] has his supervisor Tachibana, who tracks Zodiarts from the satellite M-BUS that gives Ryusei the power to transform into Meteor. Later on we meet Dr. Kuniteru Emoto, a friend of Dr. Utahoshi's who is nervous and clumsy but very smart and willing to help Kengo. The big reveal: [[spoiler:Emoto is Virgo, Tachibana, '''and''' Dr. Utahoshi's killer. They were friends once, but he grew jealous and betrayed his friend -- and he's capable of generating the "red eyes" like Gamou. Over time he began to [[TheAtoner feel remorse for his actions and tried to redeem himself]] by helping the Kamen Riders as Tachibana in the hopes of stopping Gamou.]]
210** ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'': From the start of the series we have the "White Wizard", the enigmatic Rider-like mentor who appeared to [[TheHero Haruto]] after he survived the Sabbat, giving him the TransformationTrinket and training he needed to become Wizard. Partway through the series, a mysterious man shows up at the antiques shop and commissions "Pops" Wajima to craft him a magic ring; Haruto's contacts in the government identify the man as Sou Fueki, a physicist and college professor. [[spoiler:While Fueki being the White Wizard is obvious enough, the real reveal is that he's ''also'' Wiseman, the BigBad who's been commanding the Phantoms, and is really playing both sides to achieve his ultimate goal, resurrecting his deceased daughter. Post-series it was revealed that the White Wizard's official name is "Kamen Rider Wiseman", which was kept hidden for obvious reasons.]]
211** Played strangely in ''Series/KamenRiderGhost'' - the ghostly Sage who assists the heroes is obviously played by the same actor as the villains' Minister Edith, but they're so different in personality and goals that it's unclear whether this is at play or there's some other reason for their resemblance (further confused by implications that one or both characters can create [[ArtificialHuman Artificial Ghosts]]). Then the heroes start meeting with Edith, and he doesn't seem to recognise them or know who the Sage is. [[spoiler:The truth is revealed anticlimactically when at one of their meetings, Edith ''forgets to change out of his Sage outfit''.]]
212** ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'' does this legitimately with Blood Stalk, the mysterious and eccentric enemy commander who's present from the start of the series. [[spoiler:Fairly early on it's revealed that he's actually Soichi Isurugi, the mysterious and eccentric coffee shop owner who's been helping Build from the very beginning. Later on, it's revealed that "Stalk" is actually an alien entity named Evolt that was [[DemonicPossession possessing]] Isurugi and trying to reclaim his original power so he can destroy Earth.]]
213* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'': "[[Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS5E15Families Families]]": [[spoiler:Jason Connor uses the alias Barry Coyle]] to continue his long running affair and hide his second family from the first and the first from the second.
214* ''Series/{{Life on Mars|2006}}'': The Morton Brothers/[[spoiler:Vic Tyler]].
215* ''Series/{{LOST}}'':
216** [[spoiler:The Man in Black, Fake Locke, Fake Christian, and the Smoke Monster]] are all one and the same being.
217** Locke's father also turns out to be [[spoiler:"Sawyer", the con artist behind Sawyer's tragic childhood]].
218* ''Series/MagnumPI'': Magnum suspects this about Higgins, that he is secretly author Robin Masters, the never-seen owner of their estate. Higgins even seems to confirm this to him at one point, but then quickly walks it back.
219* A very minor example in universe occurs in ''Series/TheNewsroom'', [[spoiler: Both Will Macavoy and Charlie Skinner have sources that told them about war crime committed by the US government, while the story was pretty much a go at that point Will's source cinches the deal and galvanizes the crew. Since the story is told via flashback the audience is instantly aware that they share the same source, but none of the characters realize that till it's much too late.]]
220* ''Series/OddSquad'': In "[[Recap/OddSquadS1E10TheTroubleWithCentigurpsTotallyOddSquad Totally Odd Squad]]", Oprah tells the story of how she became the Director of Precinct 13579. Back in 1983, she was an Investigation agent and stopped a villainess known as the "Patternista", who had stolen the giant ball of gum from the town museum and kidnapped Oprah's boss. Despite her partner O'Donahue giving up and (presumably) quitting Odd Squad midway through, Oprah pushes on and manages to find the Patternista's location. However, when she arrives and confronts the villainess, she takes off her outfit and reveals that the "Patternista" is really Oprah's boss, who had been planning to retire and made up the entire case as a test to see if Oprah was fit to be her successor.
221* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
222** ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'': Astronema/[[spoiler:Karone]]. The former even gained a physical form so that they could fight for the latter's redemption.
223** ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'': Master Org turned out to be [[spoiler:Dr. Adler... until the real Master Org takes over Adler's body upon Adler's death]].
224** ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'' has the JekyllAndHyde type in Mesogog/[[spoiler:Anton Mercer]], but also Elsa/Principal Randall, who is both a SadistTeacher and TheDragon.
225** ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'': Koragg/[[spoiler:Leanbow]].
226** ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'': After his [[AnimalBattleAura animal spirit]] is injured, R.J. [[spoiler:begins turning in a werewolf and attacking the Rangers]].
227** ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'': It turns out that Tenaya 7 [[spoiler:is Dillon's sister and was previously held captive as Subject T-78]].
228* ''Series/StrangerThings'' Season 4 ups the ante by having ''four'' characters across two storylines all being the same person: [[spoiler: Victor Creel's son Henry, initially thought to be one of Vecna's first victims, had psychic powers, and was the one to actually kill his sister and mother, but the strain of using his powers like that put hin in a coma. The government took him and began conducting experiements in Hawkins Labratory, where he becomes the test subject number One. Later he is watching over the later subjects disguised as an orderly, and he manipulates Eleven into removing his PowerLimiter, after which he massacres the other inhabitants. When Eleven rejects his offer that WeCanRuleTogether, a psychic duel ensues that ends with him hurled into the Upside Down, where he becomes Vecna.]]
229* ''Series/TinMan'' had a mild example when the party went to find "The Seeker" in the realm of the unwanted, who could guide them to Ahamo, one of the Queen's helpers. Well, yes, they are the same fellow... and that same fellow's third alias was the Queen's consort (and DG & Azkedellia's father).
230* The ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' first season finale gives us two of these reveals.
231** We first found out that [[spoiler:the chivalrous, likeable William and the older, seemingly sociopathic Man in Black]] are the same person separated by 30 years, all of [[spoiler:William's]] scenes having actually been flashbacks.
232** Then we discover that [[spoiler:our protagonist Dolores]] is in fact Wyatt, the sinister cult leading boogeyman-like figure oft mentioned throughout the season (specifically, [[spoiler:Wyatt is a character who's code was merged with Dolores' decades earlier, and who she ends up channeling in full force once she achieves sentience).]]
233[[/folder]]
234
235[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
236* ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'': A True Fae can hold between zero and five Titles, each of which is for most purposes an entire separate character with its own goals, personality, powers, and resources. These Titles do not necessarily have to be related to each other in any way (especially since the Fae are constantly fighting to steal Titles from each other), and sometimes the only way to discover the relation between a Fae's Titles is to injure one of them and see who else gets angry.
237[[/folder]]
238
239[[folder:Theatre]]
240* In ''Theatre/JasperInDeadland'', Jasper has to rescue his friend Agnes from 'Deadland' before the place curses him with amnesia and he forgets who he is. On his journey he is assisted by an {{Afterlife Tour}}guide named Gretchen [[spoiler:who turns out to be Agnes, having forgotten her previous life]].
241* In Creator/TheUmbilicalBrothers' live show ''Speedmouse'', [[spoiler:the Brothers frequently interact with Tina the Stage Manager, who is heard but never seen, and the Roadie, a voiceless stagehand in a clown costume. The denouement features the Brothers discovering that Tina and the Roadie are one and the same]].
242[[/folder]]
243
244[[folder:Video Games]]
245* ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' has [[spoiler:Atlas, who turns out to be Frank Fontaine--an unscrupulous mobster who sparked the Rapture civil war and has been manipulating the player character throughout the game. He's had numerous other aliases in the past as he tricked others into doing his bidding as well]].
246* Two examples in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'': Robert and Rosalind Lutece turn out to be not twins, but different instances of the same person, who happened to be of the opposite gender in a different timeline. Also, [[spoiler:the protagonist of the game, Booker [=DeWitt=], and the BigBad Father Comstock likewise turn out to be the same person from different timelines. To kill Comstock for good, Booker has to go back in time to before the two diverged and kill himself]].
247* In ''VideoGame/TheCaseOfTheGoldenIdol'', [[spoiler:Lazarus Herst is the alter ego of Peter Cloudsley. Having used the idol's powers to make himself younger, Cloudsley fakes his death and resumes his work under his new identity.]]
248* In ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', [[spoiler:[[EvilOverlord Fiendlord]] Magus from 600 A.D. and Prince Janus from 12,000 B.C. are one and the same. TimeTravel is involved, so both Magus and Janus appear on-screen at the same time. Because both versions of this character were introduced in two different time periods, not to mention that Magus is a man and Janus is a boy, players are none the wiser about their connection. However, it's revealed that an incident caused Janus to be forcibly dragged into the year 580 A.D. with no way to return. 20 years later, he gained [[TheDreaded a terrifying reputation as the Fiendlord Magus]]]].
249* The Raincoat Killer in ''VideoGame/DeadlyPremonition'' is [[spoiler:George Woodman]].
250* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'': You’re informed fairly early that Dredgen Yor was [[FaceHeelTurn an evil Guardian]] and that his true identity was concealed from the public. You don’t learn until much later that his true identity is one of the ''other'' {{Posthumous Character}}s you hear a lot about; [[spoiler:Rezyl Azzir, the much-beloved GreaterScopeParagon. The Vanguard covered up the fact that he became Dredgen out of fear of what it would do to morale.]]
251* ''VideoGame/DetectiveGrimoire: Tangle Tower'' has this with the culprit revealed as [[spoiler:Penny Pointer and Hawkshaw as the same person, giving her and the disguise a surest {{alibi}} to cover their tracks.]]
252* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'' reveals [[spoiler:Arkham is Jester, but for their screentime in around the first half of the story, they are never present in the same scene, thus creating the impression that they are two different characters. Arkham is mostly seen accompanying Vergil, while Jester is mostly seen indirectly guiding Dante if the latter is stuck while exploring. Oftentimes however, Arkham has chances of separating ways with Vergil, justifying why he can still move somewhere as Jester. When TheReveal is made known to the other characters, Arkham constantly switches between his usual form and Jester]].
253* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'':
254** [[spoiler:King Krichevskoy and Mid-Boss]] in ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness''.
255** In ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'', [[spoiler:Rozalin and the real Overlord Zenon -- the FinalBoss is an impostor -- though Rozalin herself is unaware of this fact.]]
256* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'':
257** The Shadowhunter encountered in Patch 4.3 is a gunblade-wielding Garlean who claims to have history with the Scions and the Warrior of Light when he comes to Alphinaud's aid in the Burn. [[spoiler:This is because he's Gaius van Baelsar, and he's out to kill every Ascian he can get his hands on as revenge for manipulating him and for the destruction at the Praetorium.]]
258** Solus zos Galvus, the first emperor of the Garlean Empire, dies relatively early in the plot to illness. However, it's later revealed that [[spoiler:he is in fact Emet-Selch, the mysterious third Paragon of the Ascians, who used his death as Solus to plunge Garlemald into a bloody CivilWar.]]
259** The Shadowkeeper is a mythical figure from Norvandt's past who once terrorized the land and did battle with its Warriors of Light. In the wake of the Flood of Light, the Shadowkeeper has almost been deified as an embodiment of darkness while the Warriors of Light are scorned for nearly ending the world. [[spoiler:The Shadowkeeper is in fact Cylva, the barmaid at the Wandering Stairs, and once a Warrior of Light of the Thirteenth. She once journeyed alongside Ardbert's party and became the Shadowkeeper in a desperate attempt to save her world. But she later realized her folly and now hopes to preserve her friends' memory through the true story of their heroics.]]
260* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
261** Parodied with Devdan and Danved in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance''. [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown Despite doing absolutely nothing to chance his appearance]], Danved ''still'' claims [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial he's not Devdan.]] Played straight with [[spoiler:The BlackKnight and General Zelgius, and Sephiran and Lehran.]]
262** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'':
263*** The true name of "the goddess" worshiped by the Church of Seiros isn't revealed until a few months into the game: it's [[spoiler:Sothis, as in the young-looking girl whose spirit is bound to the protagonist's]].
264*** Saint Seiros and the Four Saints Macuil, Indech, Cichol and Cethleann were the legendary heroes who defeated Nemesis a thousand years ago. [[spoiler:They are still around as Rhea, Lord of the Desert, Lord of the Lake, Seteth and Flayn, respectively.]]
265* ''VideoGame/FreddyFazbearsPizzeriaSimulator'' throws a major curve-ball that has reverberations throughout the ''entire franchise'', which is further backed up [[AllThereInTheManual the Survival Logbook]]: [[spoiler: Mike Schmidt and "Eggs Benedict" are the same man, and any number of previous protagonists, Jeremy Fitzgerald, Fritz Smith, anf the unnamed night guard from the third game, could also be aliases of ''the same man''- Michael Afton]].
266* At the very end of ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'', it is revealed that Ray is [[spoiler:an aged Missile from another timeline where everything went wrong]].
267* The Origami Killer in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' is [[spoiler:Scott Shelby]].
268* There are quite a few examples in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'':
269** Comrade C, the leader of Imperial Liberation Front is actually none other than [[spoiler:Crow Armbrust, the lazy playboy who's just recently joined your class]].
270** Likewise, [[spoiler: the host of Abend Time, Misty and the famous opera singer Vita Clotilde turn out to be one and the same. And not just that, she's also the second Anguis of Ouroboros!]]
271* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
272** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', Agahnim is introduced as a wizard trying to release [[BigBad Ganon]] from the Dark World. [[spoiler: Agahnim is later revealed to be an alter-ego of Ganon that can operate in the Light World (In the Japanese version, Ganon specifically refers to Agahnim as a bunshin, or split soul).]]
273** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', it turns out [[spoiler:Impa remained in the Sealed Temple in the ancient past and, through TheSlowPath, became The Old One]].
274* ''VideoGame/LennasInception'': Beating each archangel boss gives Lenna a corrupted memory, a flashback that reveals some information about the backstory. A character who frequently appears in these is an archangel whose name is a glitchy mess. [[spoiler:The final corrupted memory, called [[TitleDrop "Lenna's Inception"]], reveals that this archangel is Lenna, who was transformed into a human.]]
275* In ''VideoGame/LoveLiveSchoolIdolFestivalAllStars'', it's revealed early on that [[spoiler:Setsuna Yuki and the StudentCouncilPresident Nana Nakagawa are actually the same person. Nakagawa's parents don't approve of her {{otaku}} interests or her love of [[IdolSinger school idols]], so she expresses that through her Setsuna Yuki alias]].
276* ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}} 2'' has [[spoiler:Danny Lamb/Leo Kasper]].
277* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Shepard inquires about the location of their friend and ally Garrus Valkarian, only to be told that he disappeared a while ago. Not long after, they are sent to recruit [[spoiler:an Omega vigilante called Archangel. Yup, one and the same]].
278* In ''VideoGame/MitsumeteKnight'', the enemy Generals love [[TheReveal to pull this]]: Salishuan the Spy is [[spoiler:Raizze Haimer]]; Zeelbis the Bloody is [[spoiler:Dolphan's High Priest]]; and Wolfgario the Ravager is [[spoiler:Dyunos Dolphan]].
279* In ''VideoGame/{{Myth}}'', Big Bad Balor is revealed to be Connacht, the greatest hero of the Wind Age.
280* In ''VideoGame/NEOTheWorldEndsWithYou'', Rindo has an online friend known as Swallow who he's never met in person, but learns that both of them are in Shibuya during the prologue. Interestingly, they're still able to communicate after Rindo gets dragged into the Reapers' Game and is cut off from contact with the outside world. This is because the account belongs to [[spoiler: Shoka, a Reaper who was using it to interact with the world of the living]].
281* ''VideoGame/PonyIsland'': By messing around with variables in the game's code, you can unlock a secret conversation with Satan. He'll let you in on a little secret of his: [[spoiler:Sometimes he likes to talk in other voices. When he tells you this, his VoiceGrunting and body color becomes that of the Hopeless Soul, massively throwing the entire plot of the game into question.]]
282* In the third episode of ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'', [[spoiler:Don Ted E. Bear and Harry Moleman]] turn out to be the same character.
283* ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'': It turns out that one of the festival's half-genies is an imposter. [[spoiler:Fillin the Blank being Rottytops, which isn't ''[[ConsummateLiar too]]'' surprising.]] In a rare case, you get to find out from Harmony that she used another alias when talking to her (Ima Goodgirl), so that's ''three'' aliases.
284* In ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'', [[spoiler:Penelope and the Black Baron]] are the same character.
285** It also happens in [[VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime the fourth game]], with [[spoiler:Penelope again, posing as the Black Knight]].
286* ''VideoGame/{{Smite}}'': In Myth/MayanMythology, one of the Hero Twins Xbalanque (male) is an incarnation of the previous moon deity Awilix (female). In this game, both of them are present and can either fight side by side or each other.
287* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': Perhaps the most famous (and most commonly spoiled) example in [=RPGs=] is probably the PlayerCharacter of ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', who turns out to have been [[spoiler:the brainwashed and amnesiac Darth Revan — a former BigBad, who was believed to have been killed by the Jedi in the {{backstory}} —]] all along.
288* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'':
289** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
290*** Regal Bryant, who manages to fit this trope despite never using an alias. The convict in your party is only referred to as Regal, while the Lezareno executive is consistently referred to as President Bryant.
291*** This is taken even further with Mithos, the half-elf child you meet and befriend after his home is attacked. [[spoiler:Not only is he the same Mithos as Mithos the hero, but his last name is revealed to be Yggdrasill, the older-looking main villain of the game who you've already met and battled at the time]].
292** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', it is revealed that [[spoiler:Raven, trusted member of your party and the guild Altosk, is actually Captain Schwann of the Imperial Knights]].
293* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', the killer referred to as "ASGORE" and [[spoiler:the friendly King Dreemurr]] are the same person. [[TheReveal The Reveal]] happens long before you meet him, however, and as none of the monsters are under any illusions as to [[spoiler:the king's]] full name, it's only a [[TomatoSurprise Tomato Surprise]].
294** A much bigger spoiler is [[spoiler:Flowey being the [[CameBackWrong "dead"]] prince, Asriel Dreemurr.]] This one is known to almost nobody and only ever gets revealed to you.
295* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' has the Composer being [[spoiler:Joshua]].
296** As well as the mysterious artist CAT being [[spoiler:Hanekoma]].
297* A major reveal in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' is that all of the Faced Mechon aside from [[BigBad Egil/Gold Face]] are [[spoiler:Homs who were captured and ReforgedIntoAMinion]].
298** Metal Face, TheHeavy for the first half of the game, is [[spoiler:Mumkhar, Dunban's friend and comrade who abandoned him in the Battle of Sword Valley and seemed to get killed by Mechon]].
299** Face Nemesis, the third major Faced Mechon fought, is [[spoiler:piloted by Fiora, Shulk's LoveInterest who appeared to be killed by Metal Face in Chapter 2, and possessed by Lady Meyneth, Egil's helper and the goddess of Mechonis]].
300** Jade Face, the last of the Faced Mechon fought before Egil/Gold Face, is [[spoiler:Gadolt, Sharla's missing fiancé who she spent the game tracking down]].
301* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'': The mysterious guy in the red gear who calls himself Id turns out to be [[spoiler: your main character Fei's alternate personality]].
302[[/folder]]
303
304[[folder:Visual Novels]]
305* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'':
306** Genocide Jack is an infamous SerialKiller. In [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc the first game]], [[spoiler:[[SamusIsAGirl she]] is revealed to be a SplitPersonality of shy bookworm Toko Fukawa.]]
307** Similarly, Sparkling Justice is a serial killer [[SerialKillerKiller that targets criminals]]. In [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair the second game]], [[spoiler:Peko Pekoyama assumes this identity. Subverted when it turns out she was just pretending to be Sparkling Justice, since the killer actually acts only in Spain.]] Possibly double subverted in ''Manga/KillerKiller'', which implies that Sparkling Justice is also the titular character, whose real name is Takumi Hijirihara, even though this has not been confirmed.
308** A major reveal of [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc the first game]]: [[spoiler:throughout the game, the BigBad is referred to as Monokuma and The Mastermind, but they are eventually revealed to be a robot avatar, and their real name is only revealed at the end of the game: Junko Enoshima]]. Throughout the rest of the series, [[spoiler:[[IHaveManyNames she picks up several other aliases]] and uses them to [[HijackedByGanon continue controlling the game]]]]- in [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair the sequel]] [[spoiler:she briefly creates a fake Makoto avatar to deceive the survivors]], the [[Literature/DanganronpaZero prequel novel]] has [[spoiler:her [[LaserGuidedAmnesia give herself amnesia]] and call herself [[TomatoInTheMirror Ryoko Otonashi]]]], and in [[VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls the interquel]] [[spoiler:both Shirokuma and Kurokuma are avatars she uses for RunningBothSides of the war in Towa City]]. In the first and second game, [[spoiler:Monokuma and The Mastermind were also considered the same]], [[VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls whereas]] [[Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool following]] [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony titles]] [[spoiler:consider them separate entities]].
309** A major reveal in [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair the second game]]: [[spoiler:[[UltimateLifeForm Izuru]] [[TheDragon Kamukura]] and [[TheHero Hajime]] [[TomatoInTheMirror Hinata]] were the same person; though with different personalities, they inhabited the same body]]. By the end of [[Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool the third installment]], [[spoiler:they have [[SplitPersonalityMerge merged into a single being]], with Hajime's personality being dominant but retaining Kamukura's memories and talents]].
310* ''Franchise/WhenTheyCry'':
311** ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'':
312*** In a couple of arcs, [[spoiler:Shion]] combines this with [[spoiler:TwinSwitch]] and {{mindscrew}}. [[spoiler:She [[TortureCellar imprisons]] her sister and becomes 'Mion' to the public eye, but continues to contact Keiichi as Shion.]]
313*** Later on, it turns out that the local god and BigBad Oyashiro-sama is [[spoiler:the small and [[TheScapegoat innocent]] Hanyuu Furude. The true BigBad, the false Oyashiro, is later revealed at the end of that same arc to be local nurse Miyo Takano]].
314** In ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', it's heavily implied and later confirmed in the manga that [[spoiler:[[DiscOneFinalBoss Beatrice]], Shannon and Kanon are all the same person; their true identity is Sayo Yasuda, who originally created them as "characters" that [[AmbiguousGender they]] pretend to be in order to cope with their low self-esteem and gender issues]]. However, in a twist on this trope, [[spoiler:while these three characters are often shown interacting with one another to the viewer, the catch is that no one InUniverse ever sees them together outside of fantasy scenes (which are narrated by Beatrice, so [[UnreliableNarrator you can't trust them]])]]. The conversations between these characters [[spoiler:are meant to represent Sayo's inner conflicts]].
315[[/folder]]
316
317[[folder:Webcomics]]
318* In the ''VideoGame/{{Bravoman}}'' web comic series, Bravowoman turns out to be Bravoman's lawyer.
319* In ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'', [[spoiler:Princess Azalea and Mr. R turn out to be the real identities of Saturday and Brambleby, respectively.]]
320* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', twenty years before the story starts, the continent was attacked by an unknown Spark simply called "the Other," who started by destroying Castle Heterodyne and kidnapping Lucrezia Mongfish, the wife of William Heterodyne, and attacked many more places before Klaus Wulfenbach returned. Except [[spoiler:Lucrezia Mongfish]] ''is'' the Other.
321* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', [[spoiler:the rude but seemingly harmless undyingUmbrage is later revealed to be the younger version of [[BigBad Lord English]].]]
322* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': [[spoiler:The elf ambassador Polozius turns out to be a fabricated name and disguise by [[TheBusCameBack Zz'dtri]].]]
323* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': Kusari is [[TheFaceless never seen outside her all-concealing ninja suit]] until her DramaticUnmask twenty years into the comic's run. More accurately, never seen except in her other identity as [[spoiler:Sasha. Unlike most examples, Kusari is able to share scenes with her other role since she is secretly a cloned HiveMind]].
324* In ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'', the identity of the mastermind behind the First Silver operation, "Delicieu", is revealed midway through the first arc. It's not until five chapters later that we learn that name is an alias adopted by [[spoiler:Cutter]], a character we've already met. Later it gets more complicated when [[spoiler:it turns out the original bearer of the name "Delicieu" was a different person, whom Cutter is essentially impersonating]].
325[[/folder]]
326
327[[folder:Web Original]]
328* Creator/EliezerYudkowsky's ''Masculine Mongoose'' stories have Baibhav Hegadi, known to the world in general to be the rather ineffectual and silly-looking superpowered individual Fastman (when he's not running an electric scooter dealership). Fastman is also known to be occasionally employed as a superspeed messenger (at standard rates) by the significantly more impressive superhero the Masculine Mongoose, who everyone in the world also knows is the millionaire Bruce Kent. Everyone, of course, except Bruce himself and Baibhav, who know that [[spoiler: the Mongoose is just another of Baibhav's aliases, set up as a cut-out because Baibhav has a fairly extended family and Bruce has none]].
329* ''Roleplay/NanQuest'' purposefully plays with reader expectations through this. One of the antagonists introduced early on is a creature called the Pilgrim. [[spoiler:During a later TimeTravel segment, Nan meets a man called Lorenzo, who describes himself as a pilgrim. The obvious assumption is that they are the same person, but this is actually a RedHerring. The Pilgrim is actually Henry, AWolfInSheepsClothing who pretended to be the LoveInterest.]]
330[[/folder]]
331
332[[folder:Western Animation]]
333* [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderZuko Zuko/Blue Spirit]] from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. Leads to a bit of hilarity in ''Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheEmberIslandPlayers'' since the playwright didn't know the two characters were one and the same and had one attack the other.
334* In ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries The New Batman Adventures]]'' episode "[[Recap/TheNewBatmanAdventuresE24JudgementDay Judgment Day]]", "The Judge" is revealed to be [[spoiler: Two-Face's new third personality]].
335* The second story arc in ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman'' features a bit character called Dane Lisslow, who later befriends Bruce Wayne. The rest of the arc later introduces [[spoiler: [[ArcVillain Deathstroke]] and a Batman impostor. The impostor is later revealed to be Lisslow, who was forced to dress up as Batman by Deathstroke, who held his son hostage. Lisslow seemingly dies after the reveal. Come the next episode, it turns out Lisslow faked his death and his backstory. He IS Deathstroke.]] The same voice actor voicing another unrelated character further maintained the mystery until the reveal.
336* In ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' episode "[[Recap/DuckTalesTheMaskedMallard The Masked Mallard]]", there is the titular character of the episode gone rogue and a reporter named Lawrence Loudmouth bad mouthing him. [[spoiler:It turns out he's the criminal]].
337* The first episode of season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' reveals that [[BigBad Hawk Moth]] and [[Characters/MiraculousLadybugHawkMoth Gabriel Agreste]] are one and the same.
338* The ninth season of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' features [[spoiler: [[AncientEvil Grogar]]]] as an alter-ego for [[spoiler: Discord, [[EngineeredHeroics who only wanted to gather some previous villains to mentally prepare Twilight Sparkle for her coronation]]]], something that isn't revealed until the GrandFinale.
339* ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'' has a case of ''three'' aliases, originally all believed to be different people, for one character, though one of these three plays with it a bit:
340** The straight example is that [[spoiler:the former hero [[TheLancer Laserblast]] survived the accident that was believed to have killed him, but was [[DePower de-powered]] during it and [[FallenHero turned to crime afterwards]], becoming the villainous [[MadScientist Professor Venomous]] by the present day]].
341** Then in a slightly more complex example, it's revealed that [[spoiler:[[KnightOfCerebus Shadowy Figure]] is Professor Venomous's Turbo form, created when the latter experimented on himself in an attempt to get his powers back. Where it gets complicated is that Shadowy Figure is more than just the SuperpoweredEvilSide for Venomous the way that T.K.O. is for K.O.; Shadowy is a straight-up SplitPersonality that Venomous himself doesn't know about until the episode where the audience also finds out. Shadowy always knew they were the same person, but didn't want Venomous to know, and actively took measures to keep him from learning this]].
342* In the second season of ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', we learn about a 17th century human named [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEmperorBelos Philip Wittebane]], who was trapped on the Boiling Isles before Luz, and whose journal Luz uses to try to find a way home. In the episode "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS2E12ElsewhereAndElsewhen Elsewhere and Elsewhen]]", it's revealed that Philip would later become none other than [[spoiler: ''[[BigBad Emperor Belos]]''. Luz simply failed to recognize Belos as Philip because in the meantime, he had aged significantly, shaved off his beard, and gained a band of horrible rot across his face due to the amount of palisman essence he had to consume to keep himself alive for over 350 years.]]
343-->'''[[spoiler:Belos]]:''' It ''does'' feel good to hear another human say that name. I had to change it after Philip was run out of too many towns.
344* In the sixth season of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', we meet Lu Kim, the Chinese owner of the Asian restaurant City Wok. Nine seasons later, one episode introduced Dr. Janus, who suffers a severe case of Multiple Personality Disorder. [[spoiler:The same episode reveals that his strongest personality was none other than Lu Kim.]]
345* In season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderman'', there's the Master Planner who is the BigBad for a 4-episode story arc. [[spoiler:He turns out to be Doctor Octopus, who's been pretending to be rehabilitated the entire time. He even explains the reason for this double-identity by stating that while Spiderman is looking for the Master Planner, he'll pay less attention to Doc Ock.]]
346* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'', the rebels have an informant who uses the codename Fulcrum. The first season finale reveals Fulcrum to be Ahsoka Tano from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''. After Ahsoka disappears from the scene, a new person uses the Fulcrum codename, ultimately revealed to be [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceTurn Agent Kallus]]]].
347* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E18ASinglePaleRose "A Single Pale Rose"]], it's revealed that [[Characters/StevenUniverseRoseQuartz Rose Quartz]] and [[Characters/StevenUniversePinkDiamond Pink Diamond]] are the same person, in a rather complicated gambit of RunningBothSides that ''really'' didn't go as planned. In a similar vein, [[spoiler:the [[Characters/StevenUniversePearl Pearl]] from the Crystal Gems who loyally served Rose Quartz turns out to have been Pink Diamond's Pearl, and helped Pink Diamond fake her death]].
348* There are two villains in the 2003 version of ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'': [[Characters/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003TheShredder The Shredder]] and Ch'rell, the evil Utrom prisoner that caused the Utroms to crash land on Earth millennia ago. Guess what is the result?
349* Robin/Red X in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003''--initially. [[TheRealRemingtonSteele Then someone else steals the Red X costume]] and never gets unmasked.
350* In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', the head of the Autobot Intelligence, Longarm Prime, is revealed at the end of his debut episode to be [[spoiler:[[CanonCharacterAllAlong Shockwave]], who is acting as TheMole.]]
351* On ''WesternAnimation/YogisSpaceRace'', the heroic Captain Good and the villainous Phantom Phink are one and the same, changing into one another at will, but nobody else in the race bothers to question why they are never seen in the same realm. Ditto for their animal sidekicks Clean Cat and Sinister Sludge.
352[[/folder]]
353
354[[folder:Real Life]]
355* One of the famous Iga ninja is rumored to have done this to confuse his enemies, even going as far as having his subordinates pretend along with him. His alias was a competing ninja leader in the same area.
356* With a bit of trope stretching, the morning and the evening star. Who are both Venus.
357* Online users who tend to make use of {{Sockpuppet}} accounts can often be this, especially if their sockpuppets tend to make up the bulk of their community. AstroTurf campaigns do something similar but on a far larger scale due to their role as companies, political parties, and other groups who masquerade as grassroots organizations .
358[[/folder]]
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