History Main / TechnicallyNakedShapeshifter

* Cole in ''Series/{{Tracker}}'' takes his human form from an underwear billboard and conveniently creates the underwear as well so he's not totally naked.

* Most versions of ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain [[LegacyCharacter Clayface]] (there have been a few) are blobby clay-like shapeshifters who often form clothing out of their own substance as part of their disguises.
* Morph from the ComicBook/{{Exiles}} really likes talking about how he's technically naked all the time.
* ComicBook/HowardTheDuck's shapeshifter friend Tara Tam does this once, and complains that it's weird and gross. Howard comments that he'll never look at Mystique the same way again.
* Discussed in the Threeboot iteration of ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes''. Chameleon Boy gets jealous when his teammates receive updated uniforms, so he alters his appearance into a new form. That's when it awkwardly dawns on Star Boy that Chameleon Boy's "costume" is part of his body, to which the shapeshifter cheerfully replies that, yes, he's been naked the whole time.
* Like her film and animated counterparts, ComicBook/{{Mystique}} in ''ComicBook/XMen'' forms clothing, including her trademark white dress with yellow skull-motif belt, out of herself when she changes form. She tells an ally clothes are usually pretty easy, but zippers are the trickiest.

* PlayedWith: ComicBook/TheRay #4, Lucien Gates, has powers that instantly burn away any clothes that he tried to put on. He has MasterOfIllusion powers that let him ''look'' clothed, but he still feels awkward walking around naked all the time.
* ''ComicBook/SheHulk'' supporting character Jazinda, a Skrull, normally averts this by wearing regular clothing, but will resort to forming clothing if she has to. At one point after She-Hulk rescues her from an enemy who'd been keeping her nude, Shulkie asked where she'd gotten clothing from, at which point Jazinda said that she was wearing "the shapeshifter equivalent of body paint." She-Hulk, [[ReluctantFanserviceGirl who's had her own issues of unwanted shapeshifting-related nudity]], expresses a bit of envy.
* Longtime ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villain the Sandman, after coming into contact with some [[NuclearMutant radioactive sand]] (seriously), is changed into a shapeshifting sand creature. He can alter the color of his sandy body to resemble clothes, although it's largely cosmetic and not detailed enough to make a convincing disguise. It plays with the trope a bit, in that his clothes may actually ''be'' clothes, the ones he was wearing when he gained his powers, which have the same abilities he has, and just go along with his body (they may be fused ''to'' his body, also).

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2011'': ComicBook/TheNew52's Demeter has a rather malleable body formed of plant material and appears to be wearing a dress that looks like dried leaves, but the "dress" is later revealed to just be a part of her body.

* Comicbook/HowardTheDuck's shapeshifter friend Tara Tam does this once, and complains that it's weird and gross. Howard comments that he'll never look at Mystique the same way again.

* In the Live action adaptation of ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', they had no problem morphing clothing, even though they could only change skintight clothes in the book series

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction'': The fact that ComicBook/PlasticMan's clothes are part of his body is lampshaded a couple of times. While shapeshifting into winter gear to fight Mister Freeze, he notes that a parka doesn't make much difference if ''you're'' the parka. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-iTSwDFQqM In another episode]], Firestorm assumes Plas' clothes are made of "[[ComicBook/FantasticFour unstable atoms.]]"

** [[SelfDuplication Omokage]] usually appear to wear the same clothes as the humans they're duplicates of, but these are just constructed out of LifeEnergy like the rest of their bodies. [[spoiler:When the Gogyosen created an omokage of Matsuri that can pass for the original, both are rendered NakedOnArrival to obfuscate the difference.]]

* Jinyo in ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' can make and dissolve clothing from the shadowy material that composes their body. Oddly, Shadow Mei wears clothes Garaku bought her at least once, and Hinojiki appears to have lost this power after being injured, as he wears the scraps of his previous outfit.

* Shadow Mei from ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' is a {{downplayed|trope}} example. As an [[{{Doppelganger}} omokage]], her human creator's standard outfit became an extension of her body that she can remove, reform, or regenerate at will. But she has no shapeshifting powers beyond that, so Mei needs to physically acquire and put on any ''other'' clothing.

* ''ComicBook/SheHulk'' supporting character Jazinda, a Skrull, normally averts this by wearing regular clothing, but will resort to forming clothing if she has to. At one point after She-Hulk rescues her from an enemy who'd been keeping her nude, Shulkie asked where she'd gotten clothing from, at which point Jazinda said that she was wearing "the shapeshifter equivalent of body paint."
* Longtime ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villain the Sandman, after coming into contact with some [[NuclearMutant radioactive sand]] (seriously), is changed into a shapeshifting sand creature. He can alter the color of his sandy body to resemble clothes, although it's largely cosmetic and not detailed enough to make a convincing disguise. It plays with the trope a bit, in that his clothes may actually ''be'' clothes, the ones he was wearing when he gained his powers, which have the same abilities he has, and just go along with his body (they may be fused ''to'' his body, also). She-Hulk, [[ReluctantFanserviceGirl who's had her own issues of unwanted shapeshifting-related nudity]], expresses a bit of envy.

* Longtime ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villain the Sandman, after coming into contact with some [[NuclearMutant radioactive sand]] (seriously), is changed into a shapeshifting sand creature. He can alter the color of his sandy body to resemble clothes, although it's largely cosmetic and not detailed enough to make a convincing disguise. It plays with the trope a bit, in that his clothes may actually ''be'' clothes, the ones he was wearing when he gained his powers, which have the same abilities he has, and just go along with his body (they may be fused ''to'' his body, also).

* Defied by Miss Martian in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' who specifically notes that she wears [[MySuitIsAlsoSuper clothes that shapeshift according to her mental command]].

*** The novelization says Zygon shapeshifting can't mimic clothes, which they do with [[HolographicDisguise hologram shells]].
** The Tesselecta, first seen in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E8LetsKillHitler "Let's Kill Hitler,"]] replicates the uniform of both the janitor (used for infiltration) and the Nazi officer it intends to use to get close to Hitler. Later, when Rory and Amy steal the motorcycle that it is riding, the commander says, "This time, let's do the bike, too."

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Doppelgangers (unlike their changeling cousins) can mimic clothes alongside their changes of form, down to minute details. One old ''D&D'' module has an example of a doppelganger taking the statue of an old wizard as template for his appearance, wearing identical robes, including the exact same runic writing on the hem of it.

* In ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'', [[HornyDevils Cubi]] can form clothes from flaps of skin. Though if that gets cut it hurts, so a lot of them wear actual clothes. Though it is handy if one [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1132.php loses their pants]], or needs armor [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1142.php on the quick]]. Generally, the flaps of skin in question are their [[WingedHumanoid wings]], which the comic explicitly notes are very durable, much more so than the rest of the body, and thus there is real protection to be had by morphing them. The real disadvantage is that pants formed this way have NoOntologicalInertia, and [[NakedPeopleAreFunny spontaneously de-manifest]] upon their "wearer" passing out or falling asleep. Also, something with structure like a weaved fabric is harder to morph, so a lot of Cubi were happy when latex clothing came into style.

[[folder:FanWorks]]

* Cole in ''{{Series/Tracker}}'' takes his human form from an underwear billboard and conveniently creates the underwear as well so he’s not totally naked.

* Like her film and comics counterparts, Mystique in ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' forms clothing, including her trademark white dress with yellow skull-motif belt, out of herself when she changes form.

'''Firestorm:''' Your, uh, your - your uniform.\\
'''Plastic Man:''' ''(glances at himself)'' What uniform?\\
'''Firestorm:''' So you're saying you're not wearing any - OH, I gotta go! I gotta go! ''(flies off)'' Oh, my eyes!

* Heisenberg in ''Westernanimation/Phantom2040'' forms clothes and hair in various colours from his fractal components when he transforms. Since he doesn't actually have a fixed form, whether he looks naked is meaningless.
* Interestingly, the Mystique in ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' changes her costume between seasons once, from something [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/xmenevo/images/3/3f/Turn_of_the_Rogue-_Rogue_n_Mystique.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130223201220 comic-based]] to a [[http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/6400000/Mystique-x-men-6480433-232-458.jpg shiny black outfit]]. When passed out from Rogue's touch once, she reverted to her default blue-skinned form, complete with her by-now-long-established second outfit. It makes you wonder just what decides her default form, that when she changes outfits she reverts to the new one with no conscious control.

* Longtime ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villain the Sandman, after coming into contact with some [[ILoveNuclearPower radioactive sand]] (seriously), is changed into a shapeshifting sand creature. He can alter the color of his sandy body to resemble clothes, although it's largely cosmetic and not detailed enough to make a convincing disguise. It plays with the trope a bit, in that his clothes may actually ''be'' clothes, the ones he was wearing when he gained his powers, which have the same abilities he has, and just go along with his body (they may be fused ''to'' his body, also).

* Longtime ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' villain the Sandman, after coming into contact with some [[ILoveNuclearPower radioactive sand]] (seriously), is changed into a shapeshifting sand creature. He can alter the color of his sandy body to resemble clothes, although it's largely cosmetic and not detailed enough to make a convincing disguise. It plays with the trope a bit, in that his clothes may actually ''be'' clothes, the ones he was wearing when he gained his powers, which have the same abilities he has, and just go along with his body (they may be fused ''to'' his body, also).
* Like her film and animated counterparts, ComicBook/{{Mystique}} in ''ComicBook/XMen'' forms clothing, including her trademark white dress with yellow skull-motif belt, out of herself when she changes form. She tells an ally clothes are usually pretty easy, but zippers are the trickiest.

* ''ComicBook/PS238'': The stretchable superheroine Poly Mer says "I'm glad I don't have to worry about costumes", implying that what looks like a costume is just her body. This grosses out her friend 84.

* ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}'': Pantha, a woman who can [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent change into a panther]]. The way her transformations are depicted she is always automatically wearing her cat-print outfit ([[UnderwearOfPower basically just underwear]]) instead of leaving torn clothing in her wake or needing to go shopping for clothes whenever she turns back, but the FridgeLogic is never addressed.

* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Odo and the other Changelings are able to shapeshift so well that they can even fool sensor devices into detecting them as whatever sort of material they mimic, and typically form clothing out of themselves when they assume humanoid form. On a typical episode, the only part of Odo that's not made of himself is his comm badge, which he hides inside himself when he shifts into a form that doesn't include it.[[note]]The odd exception -- cases in which hiding his comm badge inside himself is logically impossible -- are subject to the MST3KMantra alongside his many JustForFun/{{egregious}} violations of ShapeshifterBaggage.[[/note]]
** The trope is demonstrated at the end of season 4 when [[spoiler:Odo is stripped of his shapeshifting abilities by the Great Link. After passing judgment on him, the ocean of Changelings returns Odo to the shore, biologically human and completely naked.]]
** When Odo has Garak tailor a uniform for him, he remarks how odd it feels to wear actual clothes instead of just forming them out of his own body.

* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' and [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2 its sequel]], spirits don't wear clothes; most of them just have a clothing-like appearance. This gets lampshaded when the male members of the party in ''2'' talk about Milla and Muzet being technically naked, only for Ludger to ruin their fun by suggesting the same thing about himself when he transforms into a Chromatus state.

* Interestingly, the Mystique in ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' changes her costume between seasons once, from something [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/xmenevo/images/3/3f/Turn_of_the_Rogue-_Rogue_n_Mystique.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130223201220 comic-based]] to a [[http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/6400000/Mystique-x-men-6480433-232-458.jpg shiny black outfit]]. When passed out from Rogue's touch once, she reverted to her default blue-skinned form, complete with her by-now-long-established second outfit. It makes you wonder just what decides her default form, that when she changes outfits she reverts to the new one with no conscious control.

The {{inversion}} is ShapeshiftingExcludesClothing, which also includes sizeshifting, {{Baleful Polymorph}}, and various other methods of changing form besides VoluntaryShapeshifting. SisterTrope to ShapeshifterWeapon, which is when a 'shifter can form functional weapons out of its own body, and InvisibleStreaker, whose nudity has to do with ''not'' being seen. Compare and contrast ClothingAppendage.

* Like her film and comics counterparts, Mystique in ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' forms clothing, including her trademark white dress with yellow skull-motif belt, out of herself when she changes form.

* Weaver in ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' is a liquid metal Terminator similar to the one in ''T2: Judgment Day'' above, and her shapeshifting includes all of her clothing as well.

* ''ComicStrip/ScaryGary'': Shape-shifter Sheila has clothes on when disguised as human women, but appears to be wearing nothing in her real form.