History Main / JuliusBeethovenDaVinci

* ComicBook/VandalSavage, from Franchise/TheDCU, was [[AncientEgypt Cheops]], UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat, UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar, UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan, UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler, and UsefulNotes/{{Blackbeard}}. And if there's any famous conqueror that he wasn't, he probably at least advised that person. At least that's his story. [[{{Retcon}} Every so often]], another immortal says he's making half of it up and Savage will also occasionally contradict himself (he has both claimed to have been Caesar and to have ''killed'' Caesar).

* The Immortal of ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' went by UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln at one point. And yes, he ''did'' serve as president. However, he seems to have a fairly average human memory, and so remembers very little of his distant past -- he has only a faint recollection of being Lincoln, and a far-future version of him barely remembered anything about his present-day life.
* ComicBook/TheEternals of Creator/MarvelComics have been everything from kings to [[GodGuise Gods]]. One even goes by the name [[Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh Gilgamesh]] (he also performed one of [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Hercules' Labors]], having been mistaken for the man himself, along with [[Literature/SamsonAndDelilah Samson]] and Atlas at other times). Their [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute hideously deformed]] enemies the Deviants have been the inspiration for various mythical monsters and demons.
* This is how the big bad of the first "[[ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} Abe Sapien]]" series got around through the entirety of human history. His cover is maintained through copious amounts of [[GrandTheftMe body hopping]] since he didn't actually live for thousands of years, but had his soul possess the bodies of many great figures in history.
* In ''Lillim'', the children of Myth/{{Lilith}} (the titular Lillim) have been masquerading as gods for centuries. And so [[Myth/NorseMythology Odin]] has been [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Set]], [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Zeus]], and [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology Enlil]]; Friga has been Hera and [[Myth/HinduMythology Kali]]; Cain is also known as Hod; and Loki (the protagonist and hero) has been Apollo, Prometheus, Gilgamesh, Horus, and [[spoiler:the serpent that tempted Eve.]]
* Franchise/TheDCU magic user ComicBook/MadameXanadu was originally named [[Myth/TheLadyOfTheLake Nimue]].
* Depending on which of the never-meant-to-be-resolved [[MultipleChoicePast and several, contradictory, accounts of the origins of]] ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger you elect to believe, The Stranger may have been [[FlyingDutchman The Wandering Jew]]. Post-[[ContinuityReboot New 52]], the Phantom Stranger is [[FlyingDutchman Judas]].
* In the ''Franchise/DoctorWho'' comic story ''Voyager'', mad time-traveller Astrolabus claims that "El Diablo", "Robin Hood" and "Santa Claus" were all names by which he was known over the years. The Doctor believes him to be a fellow Time Lord, while he claims to have originally been the royal astrologer of Ptolemy of Egypt before acquiring space-and-time-travel capabilities from AncientAstronauts.
* ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' has some unusual metafictional examples of this trope.

* ''Franchise/XMen'':

* ''ComicBook/TheDeadBoyDetectives'' 2004: UsefulNotes/TheCountOfStGermain is stated to be one of the aliases of UsefulNotes/{{Gilles de Rais}}, who had escaped his execution and maintained his immortality.

* In ''Film/TwelveMonkeys'', a psychiatric patient claims to be from the future, here to avert a disastrous, human-inflicted plague. She uses him as the basis of a mental illness called Cassandra syndrome, a disease she identified based on historical examples. What the viewer can tell and she can't is that all those historical examples are him, living in various times when his time machine malfunctioned (or other time travelers-we see one that gave the same warning to some English medieval peasants).

[[MST3KMantra Just don't ask]] [[FridgeLogic how many of these people have firmly established childhoods]].

** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' introduces the idea individuals who have the genetics and [[GeneticMemory thus memories]] of one of the AbusivePrecursors, Aita. This means that numerous historical figures (and potentially countless unknown persons) have been a variation of the same individual. Most purported Sages are unnamed, but in addition to [[spoiler:Bartholomew Roberts and the Count of St. Germain]] -- who play major roles in ''Black Flag'' and ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity Unity]]'' -- they also seem to include the Wandering Jew from the Bible, Jacques de Molay, and (seemingly) David Bowie.

** It was implied for decades and later confirmed in ''ComicBook/ImmortalXMen'' that [[SamusIsAgirl Mystique was]] Franchise/SherlockHolmes and Destiny, whose real name is Irene Adler, was ''the'' Irene Adler.

* ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}} was the in-universe inspiration behind several historical deities, including Set (Egyptian God of Disorder & Violence), Sauru (a demon from Persian Mythology), Huitzilopochtli (Aztec God of War & Sacrifice), and the Kali-Ma (a Hindu deity known as "The Dark Mother").

* ''ComicBook/TheDeadBoyDetectives'' 2004: Le Comte de Saint Germain is stated to be one of the aliases of Gilles de Rais, who had escaped his execution and maintained his immortality.

Long-living, [[{{Immortality}} nigh-immortal]] characters are a staple of SpeculativeFiction. Of course, there's the question of how they didn't get found out. Easy enough, actually — move around a lot, take on a new name every so often, and you're golden, especially in times when written records were rare and getting census information from anywhere further away than the next village required an Epic Quest. Having psychic and shape shifting powers helps a lot too.

* The Immortal of ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' went by UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln at one point. And yes, he ''did'' serve as president. However, he seems to have a fairly average human memory, and so remembers very little of his distant past — he has only a faint recollection of being Lincoln, and a far-future version of him barely remembered anything about his present-day life.

** Oliver Haddo from W. Somerset Maugham's ''The Magician'' is established to have had multiple identities; sometimes he faked his death and took on a new name, other times he outright possessed people. In all, he's been Karswell Trelawney (a double reference to M.R. James' ''Casting the Runes'' and Anthony Powell’s ''A Dance to the Music of Time''), Hjalmar Poelzig from Universal's ''The Black Cat'', Mocata from Creator/DennisWheatley's ''The Devil Rides Out'', Adrian Marcato from ''Film/RosemarysBaby'', Kosmo Gallion from ''Series/TheAvengers1960s'', Charles Felton from Robert Irwin’s ''Satan Wants Me'' and finally [[spoiler:Lord Voldemort]]. The linking factor is that most of these characetrs were based on Creator/AleisterCrowley.
* ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}} was the in-universe inspiration behind several historical deities, including Set (Egyptian God of Disorder & Violence), Sauru (a demon from Persian Mythology), Huitzilopochtli (Aztec God of War & Sacrifice), and the Kali-Ma (a Hindu deity known as "The Dark Mother").

** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' introduces the idea individuals who have the genetics and [[GeneticMemory thus memories]] of one of the AbusivePrecursors, Aita. This means that numerous historical figures (and potentially countless unknown persons) have been a variation of the same individual. Most purported Sages are unnamed, but in addition to [[spoiler:Bartholomew Roberts and the Count of St. Germain]]--who play major roles in ''Black Flag'' and ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity Unity]]''--they also seem to include the Wandering Jew from the Bible, Jacques de Molay, and (seemingly) David Bowie.

* Creator/DeanCain appeared on a season 7 episode of ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' as Doctor Curtis Knox, an immortal who had been, among other people, UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte and UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper. Who is very likely Vandal Savage mentioned above under Comic Books.
* Flint, from the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Requiem For Methuselah," claims to have been Music/JohannesBrahms, Creator/LeonardoDaVinci, Myth/{{Merlin}}, Lazarus, UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat, [[Characters/BooksOfKings King Solomon]], and Methuselah, among others, in addition to "a hundred other names that you do not know". His birth name was Akharin, a Sumerian soldier. In the (presumably non-canonical) Star Trek/Legion of Superheroes crossover comic series published by IDW, Flint also turns out to be the Trek universe doppleganger of the immortal DC Comics villain Vandal Savage (see Comics, above).

-->-- ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', “[[Recap/SmallvilleS07E04Cure Cure]]”

* Flint, from the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "Requiem For Methuselah," claims to have been Creator/JohannesBrahms, Creator/LeonardoDaVinci, Myth/{{Merlin}}, Lazarus, UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat, [[Characters/BooksOfKings King Solomon]], and Methuselah, among others, in addition to "a hundred other names that you do not know". His birth name was Akharin, a Sumerian soldier. In the (presumably non-canonical) Star Trek/Legion of Superheroes crossover comic series published by IDW, Flint also turns out to be the Trek universe doppleganger of the immortal DC Comics villain Vandal Savage (see Comics, above).

[[folder:Anime/Manga]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* Franchise/TheDCU magic user ComicBook/MadameXanadu was originally named [[Myth/KingArthur Nimue]].

* Jack from ''Film/HeNeverDied'' is an [[OurVampiresAreDifferent immortal cannibal]] who is old enough to have once been [[spoiler:UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler; and way before that, he was {{Cain|AndAbel}} of the Bible]].

* In the ''Franchise/DoctorWho'' comic story ''Voyager'', mad time-traveller Astrolabus claims that "El Diablo", "Robin Hood" and "Santa Claus" were all names by which he was known over the years. The Doctor believes him to be a fellow Time Lord, while he claims to have originally been the royal astrologer of Ptolemy of Egypt before acquiring space-and-time-travel capabilities from AncientAliens.

** '''''Who was Nobody? -The Life and Times of the Man We Knew as "Nemo"''''' covers the same immortal but speculates on some further identities for him. Induding (among others), SkyPirate Literature/RoburTheConqueror, [[Literature/SkylarkSeries Marc [=DuQuesne=], nicknamed "Blackie"]], Leonid Zattan (the archenemy of [[Characters/LaBrigadeChimerique the Nyctalope]]), John Sunlight (a major enemy of Franchise/DocSavage), and millionaire [[Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe Karl Stromberg]]

* Along with EveryoneIsRelated, and LegacyCharacter this is one of the central tropes of [[Creator/PhilipJoseFarmer Philip José Farmer's]] Wold Newton Universe. Franchise/DocSavage is also [[Film/TheThing1982 R.J. MacReady]] and [[Literature/TheTimeMachine H.G. Wells's Time Traveler]]. [[Creator/AlexandreDumas Joseph Balsamo]] later became Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo and then [[Literature/TheNarrativeOfArthurGordonPymOfNantucket Arthur Gordon Pym]] (inventing fictitious sympathetic backstories for both identities) before using alien super-science found at the North Pole as Pym to become [[Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Captain Nemo]], Literature/RoburTheConqueror, and eventually [[Film/ForbiddenPlanet Doctor Morbius]] (though [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Professor Moriarty]] briefly posed as Nemo without Balsamo's knowledge or permission before changing his name to [[Literature/TheSeaWolf Wolf Larsen]]).

* Norman from ''WesternAnimation/MightyMax''. At the very least, he was both [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Hercules]] and [[Myth/NorseMythology Thor]].

* Mr. Lordi of the eponymous band Music/{{Lordi}} is supposed to be a half goblin, half demon who has been, among others, UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan and UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler. As well, Ox was apparently the original [[ALoadOfBull Minotaur]].

[[folder:Comicbooks]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* The Emperor of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' is said to have been several influential people in Earth's history. So while He may be the CrystalDragonJesus in the game's universe, there's a possibility that, in His universe, He was the ''Jesus'' Jesus, too.
** It appears from one of the newest books that He was ''Myth/SaintGeorge''.
** Calling his flagship the Bucephalus hints He was likely Alexander the Great (which makes a lot of sense, given His Great Crusade).
** According to some fan theories, he was also [[VideoGame/{{Doom}} Doomguy]].

[[folder:Other]]
* Mr. Lordi of the eponymous band Music/{{Lordi}} is supposed to be a half goblin, half demon who has been, among others, UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan and UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler. As well, Ox was apparently the original [[ALoadOfBull Minotaur]].
* One of David D. Friedman's 'story suggestions' involves a popular writer - he suggests [[Literature/TheSaint Leslie Charteris]] or Creator/MickeySpillane - who is actually an immortal storyteller who changes his identity every fifty years or so to avoid detection and whose critics would be shocked to hear that he was, among others, Creator/GeoffreyChaucer and Creator/{{Homer}}.
* [[UsefulNotes/{{Hinduism}} The Hindu god Vishnu]] is said to reincarnate on Earth whenever the ''dharma'' is in peril, his most famous reincarnations being [[Literature/{{Mahabharata}} Krishna]][[note]]Or his brother Balarama. Or both of them. [[DependingOnTheWriter It depends on whom you ask]].[[/note]] and [[Literature/{{Ramayana}} Prince Rama]], but has also been said to have reincarnated as [[UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} Buddha]] (though [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation according to this view]], [[TakeThat he was actually trying to get a group of wicked people not to procreate]]). [[StealthPun God knows]] how many others he’s been over the ages...
* Along with EveryoneIsRelated, and LegacyCharacter this is one of the central tropes of [[Creator/PhilipJoseFarmer Philip José Farmer's]] Wold Newton Universe. Franchise/DocSavage is also [[Film/TheThing1982 R.J. MacReady]] and [[Literature/TheTimeMachine H.G. Wells's Time Traveler]]. [[Creator/AlexandreDumas Joseph Balsamo]] later became Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo and then [[Literature/TheNarrativeOfArthurGordonPymOfNantucket Arthur Gordon Pym]] (inventing fictitious sympathetic backstories for both identities) before using alien super-science found at the North Pole as Pym to become [[Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Captain Nemo]], Literature/RoburTheConqueror, and eventually [[Film/ForbiddenPlanet Doctor Morbius]] (though [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Professor Moriarty]] briefly posed as Nemo without Balsamo's knowledge or permission before changing his name to [[Literature/TheSeaWolf Wolf Larsen]]).
** Made more fun by the fact that [[Film/{{Highlander}} Connor MacLeod]], ComicBook/VandalSavage, and [[Recap/StarTrekS3E19RequiemForMethuselah Flint the Immortal]] (mentioned above) all exist in this universe.
[[/folder]]

A sub-set of BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy. Long-living, [[{{Immortality}} nigh-immortal]] characters are a staple of SpeculativeFiction. Of course, there's the question of how they didn't get found out. Easy enough, actually — move around a lot, take on a new name every so often, and you're golden, especially in times when written records were rare and getting census information from anywhere further away than the next village required an Epic Quest. Having psychic and shape shifting powers helps a lot too. Compare with AncientConspiracy.

See also InThePastEveryoneWillBeFamous for the related TimeTravel version and MyGrandsonMyself for cases where the character takes the identity of a younger family member. This character is sometimes prone to saying IHaveManyNames.

[[MST3KMantra Don't ask]] [[FridgeLogic how many of these people have firmly established childhoods]].

* According to ''Literature/TheIlluminatusTrilogy'', UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}, Simon Magus, UsefulNotes/HerbertHoover and Creator/JeanPaulSartre were all actually different personas of the same shape-shifting immortal [[TheTrickster trickster]] known as Malaclypse the Elder.

* Depending on which of the never-meant-to-be-resolved [[MultipleChoicePast and several, contradictory, accounts of the origins of]] ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger you elect to believe, The Stranger may have been [[FlyingDutchman The Wandering Jew]] Post-[[ContinuityReboot New 52]], the Phantom Stranger is [[FlyingDutchman Judas]].

* ComicBook/VandalSavage, from Franchise/TheDCU, was [[AncientEgypt Cheops]], UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat, UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar, UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan, UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler, and UsefulNotes/{{Blackbeard}}. And if there's any famous conqueror that he wasn't, he probably at least advised that person. At least that's his story. Every so often, there'll be a {{retcon}} in which another immortal will say he's making half of it up or Savage will even contradict himself (he has both claimed to have been Caesar and to have ''killed'' Caesar).

->'''Chloe:''' I came here for help, not to be cut open by some [[JackTheRipoff Jack the Ripper wannabe]]!\\

* ComicBook/VandalSavage, from Franchise/TheDCU, was [[AncientEgypt Cheops]], UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat, UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar, UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan, UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler, and UsefulNotes/{{Blackbeard}}. And if there's any famous conqueror that he wasn't, he probably at least advised that person. At least that's his story. Every so often, there'll be a {{retcon}} in which another immortal will say he's making half of it up.

** Oliver Haddo from W. Somerset Maugham's ''The Magician'' is established to have had multiple identities; sometimes he faked his death and took on a new name, other times he outright possessed people. In all, he's been Karswell Trelawney (a double reference to M.R. James' ''Casting the Runes'' and Anthony Powell’s ''A Dance to the Music of Time''), Hjalmar Poelzig from Universal's ''The Black Cat'', Mocata from Creator/DennisWheatley's ''The Devil Rides Out'', Adrian Marcato from ''Film/RosemarysBaby'', Kosmo Gallion from ''Series/TheAvengers'', Charles Felton from Robert Irwin’s ''Satan Wants Me'' and finally [[spoiler:Lord Voldemort]]. The linking factor is that most of these characetrs were based on Creator/AleisterCrowley.

* There is an old science-fiction short story which claimed that [[ScienceMarchesOn Martians]] have been disguising themselves as humans since at least the 15th century, as a way to explain the "chains" of great men in a field being born in the same year that another died. The only Martian appearing in the story apparently took the identities of Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti (1475-1564), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), UsefulNotes/IsaacNewton (1642-1727), Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) , Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), Creator/AntonChekhov (1860-1904), [[spoiler:the protagonist's friend, and, after said friend dies, the protagonist's newborn son.]]