History Main / ThisWasHisTrueForm

* Drake in ''BladeTrinity'' actually managed to hold on to the last shape he shifted into for a few hours after death, [[spoiler:having mimicked Blade as a parting gift to fool the authorities into thinking he was dead.]]

* At the end of the ''{{Mistborn}}'' trilogy, [[BigBad Ruin]], the god of destruction, is killed, and he leaves behind- a human corpse, leaking the black smoke that had been previously identified as Ruin's divine power. [[spoiler:WordOfGod is that Ruin was actually a combination of a human intelligence named Ati and the cosmic force of entropy- his death knocked the two apart, leaving the human body of Ati behind.]]

This is both potentially useful and frustrating for {{heroes}}, since it removes evidence of the paranormal (which might be something that they want to [[{{Masquerade}} cover up]] or [[ParanormalInvestigation prove]]) while adding the eentsy little complication of making them liable to face murder charges. No {{Self-Disposing Villain}}s here.

** The pilot, "The Man Trap", has a shape-shifting alien that averts capture by mimicking different members of the ship's crew. It finally returns to its true (hideous) form after Spock is forced to put it down to save Kirk.

** The pilot, "The Man Trap", had a shape-shifting alien that averted capture by mimicking different members of the ship's crew. It finally returns to its true (hideous) form after Spock is forced to put it down to save Kirk.

* Inverted in ''Literature/WhoGoesThere?'', the short story that inspired ''Film/TheThing1982'', the alien starts off as a blue humanoid with three [[RedEyesTakeWarning malevolent red eyes]], [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe blue skin]], and [[PrehensileHair tentacles on its scalp]]. Then it eats someone and [[TheyLookLikeUsNow mimics him]].

->'''Counselor Tryhard:''' How do we tell which one is the real captain?
->'''Lt Barf:''' It is a simple matter. The alien will revert to its natural state when dead. We simply kill them both.

* In AndreiBelyanin's ''The Plot of the Black Mass'', a villain uses a spell to turn temporarily turn himeself into a fly in order to kill a suspect in jail. However, the guy left in charge is a simple-minded farmboy with enormous physical strength. He proceeds to swat the "fly" and smashes it against the wall. Cue the horrifying scream from the farmboy when the villain turns back into his human (albeit squished) form.

* Played straight in both the original ''Film/TheWolfman1941'' and [[Film/TheWolfman2010 its remake]]. In fact, in the original, this causes some problems for Larry - he beat a wolf to death with a cane, and is very confused as to why everyone keeps asking him why he killed a ''human''.

* In ''GIJoeRetaliation'', [[spoiler:when Storm Shadow kills Zartan, his appearance changes back to normal.]]

->'''Councillor Tryhard:''' How do we tell which one is the real captain?

->'''Councillor Tryhard:''' Which one is the real captain?

* Notably averted in TheElderScrolls. Werewolves have been around since Daggerfall, and they never resume human form when killed. (This allows for ghoulish trophies to adorn the walls of werewolf hunter's residences.)

* And then used straight in ''Series/{{Angel}}'', as it's said werewolves revert back to human form upon death and thus must be eaten alive. A possible explanation is that werewolves of the species Lycanthropus Exterus change back to human upon death, whereas the "common" werewolf does not.

* ''Sev Trek: Puss in Boots'' (an Australian CGI spoof of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''). The crew find themselves confronted with two Captain [[PunnyName Pinchhards]], one of them a shapeshifting alien. The crew wonder how they can SpotTheImposter. Lieutenant Barf responds, "Simple, we kill them both. The alien will revert to its natural form once dead." Needless to say the others tell him to think up another plan.

* CaptainAmerica's body turns into that of a very old man after his death (though it is implied this takes several hours.)
* TheHulk rarely (if ever) gets his ass kicked. Or at least takes a hit powerful enough to bring him down in one go. When he does however, occasionally it depicts him transforming back into Bruce Banner.
* ComicBook/NewAvengers: Someone they thought was {{Elektra}} is fatally injured...and turns into a Skrull. No-one had any idea she wasn't the real Elektra, including [[SuperSenses Wolverine]] and Comicbook/DoctorStrange, meaning that this faction of Skrulls has considerably improved their shapeshifting powers. Naturally, they start to wonder [[SecretInvasion who else]] might be an imposter...

* In ''GIJoeRetaliation''[[spoiler:when Storm Shadow kills Zartan, his appearance changes back to normal.]]

** ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' follows up on this (storyline-wise, while actually this game was released a few months before ''X8'') with the [[BigBad final boss]], [[spoiler:[[TreacherousAdvisor Colonel]] [[SdrawkcabName Redips]]. It's heavily implied between the lines that Redips was the product of [[ChekhovsBoomerang the same copy chip research that created the New Generation Reploids, illegally resumed]], enabling him to infiltrate the command team he sent to Giga City via the identity and form of [[DeathDealer Spider]]]]. By the end of the game, [[spoiler:he's grabbed the [[AppliedPhlebotinum Supra-force Metal]], transformed into a giant form called [[OneWingedAngel Great Redips]] (''God'' Redips in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}), and declared himself [[AGodAmI the ruler of the universe]]. He goes back to his regular [[ColonelBadass Colonel]] / [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Signas]] / [[StreetFighter M. Bison]] {{Expy}} form when he is FINALLY killed off in the end]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Mega Man X}}8'', when you defeat each Maverick in [[BossRush the requisite rematch stage]], you'll find that they are really next-gen Reploids who shifted into the Mavericks' forms, and they revert to their true forms before they blow up. Taken to its logical extreme when [[spoiler:even your first "Sigma battle" turns out to be a shapeshifter, and every minor enemy in the final stage is a next-gen Reploid imitating Sigma. They all shift back to their true form before they are destroyed.]]

** ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' follows up on this (storyline-wise, while actually this game was released a few months before ''X8'') with the [[BigBad final boss]], [[spoiler:[[TreacherousAdvisor Colonel]] [[SdrawkcabName Redips]]. It's heavily implied between the lines that Redips was the product of [[ChekhovsBoomerang the same copy chip research that created the New Generation Reploids, illegally resumed]], enabling him to infiltrate the command team he sent to Giga City via the identity and form of [[DeathDealer Spider]]]]. By the end of the game, [[spoiler:he's grabbed the [[AppliedPhlebotinum Supra-force Metal]], transformed into a giant form called [[OneWingedAngel Great Redips]] (''God'' Redips in {{Japan}}), and declared himself [[AGodAmI the ruler of the universe]]. He goes back to his regular [[ColonelBadass Colonel]] / [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Signas]] / [[StreetFighter M. Bison]] {{Expy}} form when he is FINALLY killed off in the end]].