History Main / CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown

* {{Conversed}} in Creator/RowanAtkinson's sketch [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmQKihNpsHk "The Actor's Art"]], where, as narrated by his StraightMan Angus Deayton, Atkinson acts out an Elizabethan version of this plot where TheGoodKing goes off to war and is erroneously declared dead, then comes back incognito to take his throne back from his evil brother who usurped it while he was gone.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}} Kiwami'', Kiryu can occasionally encounter a mysterious fighter known as Hannya-Man, a fearsome figure that stalks West Park. It's obviously [[TheRival Goro Majima]] wearing a hannya mask and a tuxedo [[labelnote:*]](although Kiryu never saw the latter)[[/labelnote]], with the only difference that he's far [[TheQuietOne less talkative]] than usual, as his hair's the same and he wears his eyepatch ''on'' his mask. Sure enough, Kiryu recognizes him, but is legitimately creeped out by his behavior.

** {{Discussed}} early on, when Tiger Mask recollects the story of a Tiger's Cave wrestler who didn't want to pay the organization 50% of his earnings used a different mask to wrestle and a SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome occurred: Tiger's Cave identified him ''immediately'' from his build and style and sent wrestlers with orders to hit him exclusively in the head [[DrivenToSuicide until he threw himself under a train]]. That's why, when Tiger Mask rebelled, he didn't bother to use a different mask.

[[quoteright:226:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/charliebrownFOT.jpg]]

[[folder:Comics]]

* ComicBook/SpiderMan got in on the act too when he was accused of murder; Peter Parker temporarily retired Spider-Man and took on no less than ''four'' new superpowered personas with technology to fake new powers (a brilliant move, as he realized a "new" superhero with similar powers showing up so soon would be blatantly suspicious, and using four identities meant that if one of them was exposed[[note]]and sure enough, one was[[/note]] he'd have others to fall back on) - superheroes Prodigy and Hornet and, in a rarity for this trope, super''villains'' Dusk and Ricochet. [[StickySituation The Trapster]] was heartbroken when he found out the real identity of his new BFF Dusk.

->''"I'm not Wrestling/HulkHogan, [[CharacterTic BROTHER!]]"''

->''"I'm not Wrestling/HulkHogan, BROTHER!"''

The TropeNamer is presumably ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', [[ThisIndexIsNotAnExample but no relation otherwise]]. Compare TheRealRemingtonSteele, which is when the "Charlie Brown" persona returns as a LegacyCharacter coexisting with the original.

** {{Justified}} during the Maskmen World Championship: Tiger Mask knows personally ''five'' of the other wrestlers, as two of them are fellow Tiger's Cave pupils who were trained with him and three others were their trainers, but in the tournament they wore heavily concealing costumes and he never saw any of them actually fight due three being trainers and the other two quite inferior to him.

** {{Justified}} in the manga with the fake Tiger Mask: for the impersonation Tiger's Cave picked a wrestler with identical build (to the point that, during their training, the coaches couldn't tell them from each other from behind) and trained him for ''years'' until he could mimick the original's style and ''voice'' to perfection, with even their ''weight'' when they finally fought being the same. And given Tiger Mask hides his identity from everyone, when Giant Baba claims Tiger Mask was with him when the fake crippled a wrestler, it was pointed out that he couldn't be sure which one was the imposter.

*** {{Justified}} with the new Tiger Mask and Tiger the Dark, as their pre-mask careers consisted literally of a single fight with each other before they disappeared from the wrestling scene for almost three years, after which they appeared with completely different styles.
*** Also {{Justified}} with Fukuwara Mask and Tiger [[spoiler:the Great]] the Third, as they completely changed their styles and on-ring personas from when they fought as [[spoiler:Keiji Tanaka]] and [[spoiler:Yellow Devil]], allowing them to go on unrecognized for three years. They recognized each other ''immediately'' when they fought (at which point The Third stopped pretending), but even that is {{Justified}} due them having been part of the same stable before changing gimmicks, and even then The Third managed to fool another member of their group for all that time.

* ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'':
** The Pre-Crisis versions of Star Boy and Dream Girl both left the Legion (Star Boy was expelled for violating ThouShaltNotKill in self-defense, while Dream Girl had joined under false pretenses and resigned.) A few months later, when Comicbook/{{Superboy}} and Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} temporarily [[BroughtDownToNormal lost their powers]], they nominated two ''new'' superheroes, Sir Prize and Miss Terious, to take their places. Guess who they were!

* Parodied in ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoTsu'', where if the player does well enough, the FinalBoss, Satan, is replaced by the TrueFinalBoss, Masked Satan. The first thing Arle does in the pre-battle cutscene is point out that he’s just Satan wearing a CoolMask, to which he insists otherwise.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}''. After the Tanker chapter, Snake is presumed dead, with his body fished from the bottom of the ocean. [[spoiler:Raiden runs into Iroquois Pliskin, Lieutenant Junior Grade Navy SEAL, who happens to look exactly like Snake, and is played by the same guy. The game makes it as obvious as possible that this guy is Snake, while having several characters aggressively claim that Snake is definitely dead. When Pliskin reveals that yes, he is Snake, you can practically hear Creator/HideoKojima laughing at you for believing Snake really was dead. The name he used for his alias was an even an obvious ShoutOut to [[Film/EscapeFromNewYork S.D.]] "''[[Film/EscapeFromNewYork Snake]]''" [[Film/EscapeFromNewYork Plissken]], not to mention that [[GeniusBonus Iroquois literally means Snake]].]]

* ''Anime/KaleidoStar'' had a variation on this [[spoiler: as Layla Hamilton, after Yuri Killian had taken over Kaleido Stage, decided to secretly aid Sora Naegino and her fledgling "Freedom Lights" troupe by occasionally appearing as "The Masked Star", performing spectacular feats to effectively be the main attraction of "Freedom Lights". Killian was not fooled, and wished to destroy Layla and the troupe, unmasking her at a Vancouver competition in front of her father, who rather had Layla performing in movies.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' once did a hilarious subversion of this basic trope in "Fear Of Flying". After Homer was banned from Moe's Tavern, a man who looks and sounds suspiciously like Homer wearing a top hat, suit, and fake mustache and who goes by the name "Guy Incognito" shows up and asks Moe if he may "trouble Moe for a drink." Moe roughs up "Guy" and throws him out of the bar; at which point a dejected Homer walks by and is shocked to see that [[IdenticalStranger Guy looks exactly like him]! [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny He is soon distracted by a dog with a puffy tail, however]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' once did a hilarious subversion of this basic trope; after Homer was banned from Moe's Tavern, a man who looks and sounds suspiciously like Homer wearing a top hat, suit, and fake mustache and who goes by the name "Guy Incognito" shows up and asks Moe if he may "trouble Moe for a drink." Moe roughs up "Guy" and throws him out of the bar; at which point a dejected Homer walks by and is shocked to see that Guy looks exactly like him! ([[AttentionDeficitOohShiny He is soon distracted by a dog with a puffy tail, however]].)

->''"I'm not Wrestling/HulkHogan, [[{{Catchphrase}} BROTHER!]]"''

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndBatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' sees Aquaman so desperate to hang out with a detective club Batman is a member of that he dons a PaperThinDisguise and sports a MauriceChevalierAccentt, calling himself [[Literature/HerculePoirot Quirot]] of [[UsefulNotes/ScotlandYard the Cleveland Yard]], to join the group -- though he later drops this.

[[folder:Film]]
* The SoBadItsGood b-movie ''Film/GruntTheWrestlingMovie'' after Mad Dog accidentally takes Skull Crusher Johnson's head off during a match (yeah, it's that kind of movie), he disappears for several years, only for the creatively-named masked wrestler The Mask to show up looking nearly identical and wrestling in the same style. Subverted in the movie's climax, when Mad Dog shows up to interfere in a Battle Royal being held to fill the vacant championship, to stop The Mask from taking Captain Carnage's head off the same way. The end of the movie features [[LampshadeHanging the filmmakers trying to figure out who the hell The Mask was if he wasn't Mad Dog.]]
* The film of ''Film/SpeedRacer'' appears to subvert this with Racer X (see the above Anime post) by having X unmask in front of Speed to look nothing like his supposedly dead brother Rex. [[spoiler:In fact, Rex underwent major surgery after faking his death.]]

* In the state of Florida (reprised in Jim Crockett's WTBS-based Wrestling/{{N|ational Wrestling Alliance}}WA territory from a suspension), Wrestling/DustyRhodes lost a "LoserLeavesTown" match to Wrestling/KevinSullivan. Just as Rhodes had left, a mysterious new superstar, The Midnight Rider, came onto the scene, looking awfully similar to Rhodes. Sullivan and heel manager Wrestling/JamesJDillon were not impressed, and tried to get Bob Geigel (the NWA president} to suspend Rhodes, using a promo as videotaped evidence. Sadly for them, Geigel told them to get better proof, and the Rider would team with good friend Wrestling/{{MagnumTA}} to win the tag team titles, only losing them after the Rider had to unmask. The Rider even won the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-h.html NWA World Heavyweight Title]] from Wrestling/RicFlair, but had to forfeit it after Geigel informed Rider that he would have to choose the mask or the title. Eventually, Rhodes was reinstated after the stipulation had expired, and brought several Midnight Riders to ringside for one of his many matches with Flair.

** When Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Wrestling/{{Christian}} lost a third [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Title]] match in a row against the [[Wrestling/MattHardy Hardy]] [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Boyz]], they were denied any more title matches until the Hardys lost the tag team titles. So then Los Conquistadors (who were in fact an actual tag team in the late 80's played by longtime jobbers José Estrada and José Luis Rivera) challenged the Hardys using the same in-ring tactics as Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Wrestling/{{Christian}}. The Hardys complained that the Conquistadors were Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Wrestling/{{Christian}} in disguise, but the two had hired local jobbers (Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels and Aaron Aguilera, dubbed "Rick" and "Sparky") so that the four could be seen at the same time. Once the Conquistadors won the titles, they allowed Wrestling/{{Edge}} and Wrestling/{{Christian}} to challenge for the titles. But, during the match it was revealed that these Conquistadors were the Hardys in disguise. This can be the only time in WWF/E history that a tag team has technically lost the titles to themselves.

* In ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', the first game, ''VideoGame/GuiltyGearTheMissingLink'', has an insane, 12 ft. tall, skinny-as-a-rail, [[MadDoctor evil]] [[DeadlyDoctor doctor]] named [[BaldOfEvil Dr. Baldhead]]. The sequel, ''VideoGame/GuiltyGearX'', and all subsequent games have an insane, 12 ft. tall, skinny-as-a-rail, and good doctor named Faust, [[BrownBagMask with a paper bag on his head]]. Characters who know about Dr. Baldhead make the connection, though.

** After Hitler is presumed dead, a man named Señor Hitler can show up as a Fascist leader [[ArgentinaIsNaziland in Argentina]], without any facial hair but featuring CoolShades and a NiceHat.

* One of the weirdest variations occurred in 2022. A new wrestler named Ezekiel debuted, claiming to be the younger brother of Wrestling/{{Elias}} (who had left after burning his guitar the year prior). The weird part is that Ezekiel doesn't wear a mask, but is actually the same wrestler clean-shaven, with a different hairdo, and sporting Wrestling/UltimateWarrior-style armbands. Only Wrestling/KevinOwens seems to see through the act.

** A more recent, heel example happened when Paul Burchill feuded with [[Wrestling/GregoryHelms the Hurricane]]; Burchill was trying to prove that Hurricane was really Gregory Helms (which isn't this trope, Hurricane is a superhero gimmick with a {{secret identity}}), so they had a match with the stipulation that if Burchill won, Hurricane would unmask, if Hurricane won, Burchill would retire. Hurricane won, and a week later he was assaulted by a masked villain known as The Ripper (as in GeneralRipper, whom Burchil was FanBoy of in OVW, or maybe [[UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper Jack]] because he's British). A week after that, The Ripper returned with a valet known as "The Beautiful Nightmare" (his "sister" [[Wrestling/KatarinaWaters Katie Lea]] in an [[DominoMask even less convincing mask]]) but Hurricane won again, de-masking Burchill and sending him home. Sort of a lost opportunity, really; Burchill was an outstanding performer, and the angle was so ridiculous that it couldn't help but be funny.

*** The Raw after he left WWE, the real John Cena showed up instead of Juan. Eventually, after Wrestling/WadeBarrett re-hired him, the character was completely scrapped aside from an one-off appearance with Lucha House Party.

* Parodied, as with so many tropes common to {{Shonen}} anime, in ''Manga/BoboboboBobobo''. After Tokoro Tennosuke (Jelly Jiggler) gets disqualified from a battle after being thrown out of the coin machine it was taking place in (ItMakesSenseInContext...as much as ''Bobobo'' can, anyway), Don Patch ("Poppa Rocks" in the English manga) proceeds to stick a mask on him ''in full view of their opponent'' and passes him off as a new competitor named "Masked Jelly".

* In ''Franchise/GuiltyGear'', [[VideoGame/GuiltyGearTheMissingLink the first game]] has an insane, 12 ft. tall, skinny-as-a-rail, [[MadDoctor evil]] [[DeadlyDoctor doctor]] named [[BaldOfEvil Dr. Baldhead]]. The sequel, ''VideoGame/GuiltyGearX'', and all subsequent games have an insane, 12 ft. tall, skinny-as-a-rail, and good doctor named Faust, [[BrownBagMask with a paper bag on his head]]. Characters who know about Dr. Baldhead make the connection, though.

* In ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', the first game has an insane, 12 ft. tall, skinny-as-a-rail, [[MadDoctor evil]] [[DeadlyDoctor doctor]] named [[BaldOfEvil Dr. Baldhead]]. The sequel, ''Guilty Gear X'', and all subsequent games have an insane, 12 ft. tall, skinny-as-a-rail, and good doctor named Faust, [[BrownBagMask with a paper bag on his head]]. Characters who know about Dr. Baldhead make the connection, though.

* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'''s [[CapcomSequelStagnation third revision]], ''Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition'' features a new character by the name of Oni... who bears a large resemblance to recurring character Akuma. Many have believed that Oni is merely a new super mode for Akuma, though so far [[ShrugOfGod Capcom hasn't said much on the subject]].
** The Japanese bio for Oni confirms that he is indeed Akuma, only as a ''literal'' demon instead of a metaphorical one. How he assumed such a form is currently unknown, with many suspecting that he trained to the point that the [[TheDarkSide Satsui no Hadou]] overtook his body.

* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'':
** Lee Chaolan is nowhere to be found in ''Tekken 3'' or ''4'', but in ''4'' there ''is'' a guy named Violet who looks almost exactly like him, only with dark purple hair. He also wears sunglasses that can be knocked off during a fight. And he has Lee as an unlockable alternate costume. Lee wasn't fooling anybody, and dropped the act for ''Tekken 5''. This particular case is justified in that Lee had been exiled from the Mishima Zaibatsu on the threat of death in ''2'' after being defeated by Heihachi. Though he abided by this for ''Tekken 3'', his curiosity was piqued by a recent attack on G Corporation by the Zaibatsu in ''4'' and he decided to investigate, leading to the creation of his Violet alias to protect his identity. It's ''still'' a pretty terrible "disguise", and Lee decided to say "screw it" for all games after.

** King of Dinosaurs, the "new" MaskedLuchador in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXIV'' is quite obviously [[VideoGame/GarouMarkOfTheWolves Tizoc]] in a new costume--one that mostly retains his red color scheme, at that--trying to be a Heel (he's pretty prone to slipping into Face thinking during his attacks). Terry, for one, isn't remotely fooled by the getup and compliments him on his new outfit and gimmick. It doesn't help that, despite his moveset being overhauled, two of Tizoc's trademark moves are still employed by King of Dinosaurs: Justice Hurricane and Big Fall Griffon (though they've been renamed Zetsumetsu Hurricane and Super Zetsumetsu Hurricane). Tizoc is basically doing this due to an off-screen loss to newcomer Nelson: he wants a grudge match, but that's not [[{{Kayfabe}} appropriate behavior]] for a Face.

* ''VideoGame/SNKGalsFighters'' has Miss X, the organizer of the Queen of Fighters tournament who is very clearly a crossdressing [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Iori Yagami]]. ''VideoGame/SNKHeroinesTagTeamFrenzy'' brings back Miss X as a DLC character, but because other male characters have been [[GenderBender gender-bent to fit in the roster]], Miss X now appears in both crossdressing and gender-bent forms.