History Main / IdentityImpersonator

* In RomeoXJuliet [[spoiler: Dr. Lancelot takes up the mantle of Red Whilwind to let Juliet escape from the guards. He dies for it, but Juliet is safe.]]

* ''{{Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends}}'', complete with superpower simulation and unwitting dupe.

* In the Comicbook/{{New 52}}, {{Lobo}} gets dramatically reinvented. Since "Classic Lobo" had already appeared in ''Comicbook/{{Stormwatch}}'', it was explained that the existing character was a fake Lobo.

* In the Comicbook/{{New 52}}, {{Lobo}} is dramatically reinvented. Since "Classic Lobo" had already appeared in ''Comicbook/{{Stormwatch}}'', it was explained that this was a fake Lobo.

Compare DeadPersonImpersonation, see also ConvenientlyUnverifiableCoverStory.

* J'onn J'onnz disguised himself as the President of the United States to protect the real President from a group of would-be assassins in DC Comics' ''[[ComicBook/LegendsDC Legends]]''.

* J'onn J'onnz disguised himself as the Presdient of the United States to protect the real President from a group of would-be assassins in DC Comics' ''[[ComicBook/LegendsDC Legends]]''.

* Used by George/Thermoman in an episode of ''MyHero'': Thermoman was scheduled to give a public appearance in Northolt and Janet's father threatened to cut off all ties with George if he didn't personally thank Thermoman for having saved Janet's life (his and Janet's first meeting). George made [[CloudCuckooLander Tyler]] wear the costume then erased his memory.

* In ''SailorMoon'', after Kaolinite discovers Usagi's secret identity, Minako uses Usagi's disguise pen to pose as Sailor Moon. In this form, she uses her own powers (being Sailor Venus), but wisely avoids [[CallingYourAttacks calling them by name]]... sort of... Hissatsu Love-Me Moon Chain compared to Venus Love-Me Chain...

** Additionally, Daredevil and {{Spider-Man}} have impersonated each other successfully given the similar build and acrobatics.

* A plot thread in early ''{{Daredevil}}'' comics involved Spider-Man assuming Foggy Nelson was Daredevil (because he'd never have guessed it would have been the blind guy next to him), and Foggy consequently trying to keep up the ruse so his friend Karen Page would warm up to him romantically. Things actually managed to continue to get more complicated after that. Matt didn't want Foggy to embarrass himself, but he couldn't stop him without revealing ''he'' was really Daredevil.
* [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Daniel Rand]] took over as {{Daredevil}} for a while when Matt Murdock was in prison. As this happened during the Comicbook/CivilWar story arc, it led to a bit of confusion (and parody) as to which Daredevil it was supposed to be in the main arc of that storyline.

* A Story Arc in ''{{Daredevil}}'' had an erzatz Daredevil running around Hell's Kitchen (the real Daredevil is in prison at the time), which turned out to be [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist.]]

* If ''Code Geass'' has an example, ''Manga/DeathNote'' should have an example where Light uses the other users of the titular ArtifactOfDoom to pose as Kira when he is under suspicion by the Kira Task Force.

* In ''[[AceAttorney Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations]]'' Phoenix clears Ron of theft charges by showing that he was in a completely different part of town when Mask*[=DeMasque=] was caught by Luke Atmey's security camera. [[spoiler: This wasn't Ron's plot, but Luke Atmey's. He dressed as Mask*[=DeMasque=] and had himself recorded well in advance, faking the time stamp on the footage, as part of his {{plan}} to be arrested for being Mask*[=DeMasque=]--and thus have an alibi for his real crime. ]]

* Vision did this for Kate Bishop in ''YoungAvengers: ComicBook/DarkReign''.

** It gets even weirder in the R season when it's obvious that Moonlight Knight is Endymion/Mamoru .... until the two are seen together. This confused, pretty much everyone, including undoubtedly the viewers until [[spoiler:it's revealed that Moonlight Knight is the SOUL of Mamoru who can ... for some reason ... leave his body and create a dublicate without his knowledge.]]

** C.C.? Platform shoes, boob bindings, and control-top pantyhose. Not that hard.

* In RomeoXJuliet [[spoiler: Dr. Lancelot takes up the mantle of Red Whilwind to let Juliet escape]]

* In an episode of ''{{Nightman}}'', a reporter becomes suspicious of Johnny, thinking (correctly) that he is Nightman. She tells Johnny that Nightman promised to give her an interview at a certain time. As Johnny tries to come up with an excuse to leave, she calls him out on this, only for him to point up at a flying figure. The reporter realizes her mistake. The viewers then see that it is Johnny's best friend Ralleigh who is wearing the suit, although he is not very adept at using the anti-grav belt.

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* In order to find his "missing memory", which he believes is the key to figuring out who the [[MacGuffinGirl Junction]] [[BarrierMaiden Point]] is, Ryotaro Nogami a.k.a. ''{{Kamen Rider Den-O}}'' impersonates [[spoiler:[[ItMakesSenseInContext himself in the past]], deceiving his sister, the one who knows who the Junction Point is, in that time period.]]

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The ruse can become more convoluted and more convincing if the hero has superhuman powers which the costumed decoy must duplicate, if his disguise doesn't involve a mask, or if the decoy is an unwitting dupe, but a clever hero can usually get around this.

A SecretIdentity is one of the most important secrets a costumed superhero can have, and the most carefully guarded. However, no matter how CrazyPrepared a hero thinks he is for any given contingency, eventually someone -- for purposes of this article, let's call him "Tucker" -- ''will'' stumble onto his secret. So how can one convince Tucker that he is mistaken, that the superhero and the civilian are not one and the same?

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* [[ImmortalIronFist Daniel Rand]] took over as {{Daredevil}} for a while when Matt Murdock was in prison. As this happened during the Comicbook/CivilWar story arc, it led to a bit of confusion (and parody) as to which Daredevil it was supposed to be in the main arc of that storyline.

* Comicbook/{{Batman}} and Comicbook/{{Superman}} have both done this a million times, most often in the SilverAge.

* More [[SupermanTheAnimatedSeries Superman!]] A clone (who later became Bizarro) rescued Clark Kent from falling to his death, right in front of Lois.

* WCW did this in the late-80's as the blow-off for the Midnight Rider angle. The Midnight Rider was Dusty Rhodes' masked alter ego and Dusty was slated to be in the Midnight Rider's corner for a match. That night, the Midnight Rider was portrayed by jobber The Italian Stallion (who didn't look anything like Dusty). This is a regular aspect of CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown.

* WCW did this in the late-80's as the blow-off for the Midnight Rider angle. The Midnight Rider was Dusty Rhodes' masked alter ego and Dusty was slated to be in the Midnight Rider's corner for a match. That night, the Midnight Rider was portrayed by jobber The Italian Stallion (who didn't look anything like Dusty).

* This actually was used in real life by AndyKaufman when it came to his alter ego Tony Clifton. Andy always insisted that Tony was not him, and at the end of his 1979 Carnegie Hall performance they performed together on the same stage, after Tony had served as the opening act. (Andy played Tony for the opening, then had his brother play Tony at the end.) Andy later handed off the role to friend Bob Zmuda, who did concert engagements and [=TV=] appearances as Tony with most people assuming it was Andy under the costume...in part because Andy was fond of going to the concert venues and making sure he was seen during the day to further the ruse.

* On ''Series//{{Arrow}}'' Oliver Queen is the vigilante the police refer to as "The Hood". When Oliver is arrested for being The Hood, his bodyguard Diggle puts on the costume and beats up some bad guys. The police have to release Oliver and apologize to him.