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[[quoteright:309:[[TheNuttyProfessor http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1996-the-nutty-professor-poster2_copy_copy_8372.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:309:Instant Ladies' Man, Just Add AppliedPhlebotinum]]

->'''Yugi''': "You're in love with me, right?"\\
'''Tea''': "Actually, I'm in love with your [[TropeNamer sexy alter ego]]."\\
'''Yugi''': "Oh. Well this is kind of awkward."
-->-- ''YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries''

This trope is for characters of any gender that have an alternate form or identity that is much sexier than their normal mode. It's not necessarily because their "civilian" mode is ugly, but it is generally more mundane or otherwise less appealing than their "heroic" mode. Depending on the genre, the changes can be accomplished through either regular means such as acting and swapping wardrobes or though various [[MagicAndPowers magical]] or [[AppliedPhlebotinum phlebotinum-driven]] methods. This usually involves a change in a character's physical appearance, but sometimes it's purely a change in personality traits and behavior, suggesting that the character in question is deliberately [[ObfuscatingStupidity making themselves appear unattractive]] to hide their SecretIdentity.

Naturally, it often results in LovesMyAlterEgo.

Given that sexual attractiveness is subjective, the best examples are those when the sexier nature of the alternate form is shown from the perspective of another character reacting to them with subtle flirting and innuendo that otherwise wouldn't be present. That said, it's generally pretty clear when the creators of the story are trying to change someone from HollywoodHomely (or even downright ugly) into MsFanservice or HelloNurse.

This often overlaps with SplitPersonality, {{Shapeshifting}}, OlderAlterEgo, and SuperpoweredAlterEgo.

Compare ADarkerMe. Compare also to ShapeshiftingSeducer where a shapeshifter capable of assuming many forms takes on several in an attempt to appeal to a specific person. SheCleansUpNicely should be used for when a character changes from their usually dull or unattractive wardobe, hairstyle and such to be more attractive (particularly at a formal event) however this new appearance is not associated with an alter ego or alternate physical form. Also see EvilIsSexy.

See also BishounenLine for when a villain gets sexier once they hit a certain power level.

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''MahouSenseiNegima''
** Negi Springfield and Kotaro both use age-up pills to change from AdorablyPrecociousChild and BadassAdorable to {{Bishonen}} from time to time.
*** The former case, which is called Nagi (Negi's father's name) by certain people, also ended up fooling Evangeline as well as infatuating Ako Izumi.
** [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampiric]] CuteWitch Evangeline A.K. Mcdowell is a similar case. She has the body of a 10 year old girl, but uses magic to become older and very much TheVamp.
** Chisame, a fairly normal looking, geeky girl, who combines cosplay, TheGlassesGottaGo and computer graphics editing to make herself into famous web idol Chiu. Eventually she gets an artifact that allows her to do much the same process magically.
* ''MeruPuri'' - Aram is under a curse that causes him to age up to a teenager when exposed to the dark, likewise changing him from a cute boy to {{Bishonen}}. Of course, to the girls in the manga, this might be viewed as a CursedWithAwesome ability.
* ''DNAngel'' - Daisuke changes into Dark, a [[TheCharmer suave]], TallDarkAndHandsome, older looking PhantomThief who is the heart throb of most of the ladies, except for Riku, who prefers Daisuke.
* In ''YuYuHakusho'', Koenma (usually in the form of an infant with a pacifier) is able to take on an older, more {{Bishounen}} appearance. Admittedly, an older more bishounen appearance with a pacifier, but its the thought that counts.
* In ''DGrayMan'', the [[BigBad Millennium Earl]] normally uses a goblin-like form but occasionally takes on a normal human form.
* In ''TenchiMuyo'' ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Washu Hakubi normally looks like a young teenager, and she pulls a fast one on Tenchi by unexpectedly transforming into her adult form to seduce him which is, needless to say, much more well endowed.
** Arguably applies to Sasame and Tsunami as well, although in this case it's more ''just growing up''.
* Yugi in ''Anime/YuGiOh'' is an {{adorkable}} cute boy, but the [[SuperPoweredAlterEgo spirit of the puzzle]] is a full out {{bishonen}}, who is far more successful at attracting [[LovesMyAlterEgo Tea's attention]] than Yugi. Lampshaded, of course, in ''YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'':
* ''TenjouTenge'' has Maya Natsume, who actually inverts this trope. Her real form is that of a voluptuous young woman, but she spends most of her time is spent in the form of a young girl, making most people think it is her regular form.
-->"Bob? If that weird little girl suddenly turns into the kind of stacked voluptuous chick you’d see working in a sketchy nightclub, what should I do?"
* When shy Aimi Komori applies her magic eye shadow, she becomes the sexy, superpowered cat burglar Manga/ShadowLady.
* In ''ZettaiKarenChildren'', there's a HospitalHottie who also happens to be a powerful [[PsychicPowers Esper]] with powers of illusion. It's eventually revealed that her perky-and-pretty appearance is ALSO an illusion, which she maintains whenever anyone's around - underneath it, she's got a face straight out of a ''HammerHorror'' movie - think 'Frankenstein' more than 'Dracula'.
* ''VisualNovel/KichikuMegane'' stars the adorable, shy, [[ExtremeDoormat door matty]] uke Saeki Katsuya, who turns into a [[BespectacledBastardBoyfriend sadistic and sexy]] seme when he puts on his glasses.
* Makoto in ''Manga/{{Nicoichi}}'' is much more attractive (and popular) in his [[WholesomeCrossdresser female persona]] than his normal self.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comics]]
* ''{{Spider-Man}}'' villain Stunner was an overweight and lonely receptionist who gained super strength and great beauty through virtual reality technology.
** Black Cat considered Spider-man himself to be this, as she tried very hard to get romantic with him, but was not remotely attracted to Peter Parker, and consequently the big moment where he unmasked himself to her as a sign of commitment ended with her asking him to put his mask back on. In the UltimateMarvel version she actually threw up, though this was just the {{Squick}} factor of realising how young he was.
* DC Character Looker was a frumpy librarian until she got her powers, and then she could turn into a redheaded hottie. Eventually, though, after she became a vampire, the sexy became her ShapeshifterModeLock.
* [[{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] - Not that Billy Batson is ugly, but Cap is better looking (not to mention Not Jailbait). This is explained in comics set in the future that show that Captain Marvel is what he looks like as an adult.
** Utilized in the ''Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam'' continuity, where Billy is stuck in a LovesMyAlterEgo situation with a LoisLane {{Expy}}.
* The titular ''Comicbook/{{WITCH}}'' are fairly average (albeit skinny) teenagers in their normal form. When transformed however, the are changed to look much more.. adult. Lampshaded on more than one occasion.
* Both Prime and Elven from TheUltraverse.
* Compare mousy Jennifer Walters to the AmazonianBeauty [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Green Skinned Babe]] that is the {{She-Hulk}}.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* Stanley Ipkiss, from ''Film/TheMask'' film. Note that he's not more physically attractive (unless you're into that sort of thing), but more confident and impulsive (and gets {{reality warper}} powers), and that's why he gets the {{love interest}} in the end.
** Actually the Mask only highlights personality traits already present, and brings out the ones the wearer keeps inside. Stanley, by the end of the film, has ''become'' a more confident and assertive person, meaning he had no need for the Mask anymore to become attractive to his love interest.
* This was a main plot point in both versions of ''TheNuttyProfessor''. In both versions, the titular professor invents a way to change him from a nerdy looking fellow in the original film (and a rather overweight guy in the remake) into a smooth ladies man. The original even concluded with [[spoiler: the titular professor coming clean to a large group of people while he lets the formula wear off. There are no cuts, and both the professor and his alter ego were played by Jerry Lewis, so the transformation is almost entirely just Lewis ''changing his physical mannerisms'' and putting on a pair of glasses.]]
* Anne Bowman from ''PsychoBeachParty'' (Chicklet's SplitPersonality) looks the exact same during her scenes but her confidence and behaviour, using her body language, makes her much more of a sex object than Chicklet's shy and Tomboy-behaviour. In-Universe, that is.
* Probably inevitably, there have been at least two versions of JekyllAndHyde in which Jekyll changes [[GenderBender from man to]] [[AttractiveBentGender (gorgeous) woman]]. The older version, ''Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde'', was a HammerHorror movie that dragged in Burke and Hare and JackTheRipper, to boot. The second was ''Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde'', which was more of a comedy, though Ms. Hyde was [[AlphaBitch still evil]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''God Stalk'', the first volume of P.C. Hodgell's ''ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'', Jame's tavern dancer persona, the B'tyrr, is this. It's partly the rather revealing and sensual Senetha costume she wears, described as revealing "much skin in unexpected places", but also the dance, which is magically seductive. Since this is so not Jame's persona otherwise, people who've seen her as the dancer generally don't recognize her regular persona in public.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''FamilyMatters'' - Steve Urkel had a machine that turned him into Stefan Urquel, a sexier version of himself who was a smooth ladies' man without a hint of nerdiness.
* The ''AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' episode "The Tale of the Dark Dragon" had two students taking a special serum that made them temporarily into their "true" selves (more good looking, confident etc). Once they were able to accept their deep psychological issues, the transformation became permanent.
* Candice from ''{{Series/Heroes}}'' casts illusions of her appearance (similar to Shapeshifting, but her shape doesn't really shift it just looks like it). She usually appears as a HotChick but her real appearance is a lumpy, acne covered mess named Betty.
* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Mudd's Women", Mudd has pills that he claims makes a woman more attractive. [[spoiler: It was eventually revealed that a placebo produced the same results, with the Aesop being that attitude and confidence is what makes a woman attractive. Of course, given that they clearly showed women physically changing as a result of the pill rather than just acting differently, it was something of a BrokenAesop.]]

* ''{{Jekyll}}'': Most people seem to consider Tom Jackman's [[EvilIsSexy alter-ego Mr.Hyde to be considerably sexier]] than Jackman, with even two lesbian characters agreeing that he's hot. Katherine Reimer (Jackman and Hyde's assistant) is seemingly the only person who considers Jackman better looking than Hyde.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' Minerva Mink had a nerdy wolf AbhorrentAdmirer who [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent turned sexy under a full moon]].
* Present in the ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' television series as well as the comic above. Cornelia even wonders at one point if she can date older boys in her Guardian form. [[spoiler:In Season Two does just that with Taranee's older brother.]]
[[/folder]]
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