I Know Youre In There / Comic Books

"Kara. Darkseid has taken control of your mind. This isn't you."

— Superman, The Supergirl from Krypton (2004)

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• All Fall Down: Members of the Pantheon try to reach out to Pronto this way. They don't quite succeed.
• Birds of Prey: Averted when Lady Blackhawk gets brainwashed. Huntress attempts this but pulls her punches since she doesn't want to hurt her friend, and gets beat up for it.
• Doctor Strange: In Strange (2022), when Clea takes on Stephen Strange's role as Sorcerer Supreme, her first threat is a series of heroes reanimated as undead monsters. While she doesn't use this exact line in her confrontations with the reanimated Thunderstrike, Clea reflects in hindsight that she only defeated him because a part of Thunderstrike's true heroic self was still in there holding back from going all-out against her. She explicitly acknowledges that she doesn't have this advantage when pitted against the second such reanimated superhuman, the ruthless "Shadowknight", who is nothing but a killer.
• Fantastic Four: Characters know not to bother trying it with victims of the Puppet Master because they're not being mind controlled, they're being body controlled and that's different.
• Green Lantern: Happens quite a lot during Blackest Night. Sometimes, the fallen hero's friends are actually "in there somewhere", but most of the time words are useless and the possessed Black Lanterns are nothing more than mindless shells with super powers.
  • Bonus points if the possessed mindless shell convinces the more gullible hero that s/he is actually in there somewhere.
• The Incredible Hulk: Attempted over and over again in World War Hulk — only for those who try it to discover that Bruce Banner is as angry as the Hulk, agrees with the Hulk, and is working with him.
• Les Légendaires: Danael tries this on Saryn after she was stung by a Darkhellion and turned into a Chaos Shade in Les Legendaires: Origines. It's horribly subverted, as turns out it's too late, and Jadina has to kill her to save Danael.
• The Legend of the Chaos God: In the first part, Rebecca ends up pulling one on herself against Solego's possession because her daughter ended up in danger. Solego later lampshades that this is why he's beginning to prefer possessing technology, since they can't fight him, lacking souls and all.
• Mega Man (Archie Comics):
  • Mega Man tries this on the first Robot Masters. It works on half of them, but the other half are determined to follow their new programming to destroy Mega Man. This leads to the two sides fighting it out, allowing Mega to slip away. The two sides eventually compromise by destroying the Copy Robot.
  • Done by the original Robot Masters to Mega Man after he has falling under Wily's control in the third story arc. It doesn't work at all.
• Mighty Avengers (2013): The team tries doing this to White Tiger when she's fully taken over by the Tiger God. Unfortunately, since the Tiger God's taken over because Ava let it (to kill the man who killed her family), it's not very successful. Though it does transpire afterward that Ava was Fighting from the Inside after all.
• Ms. Marvel: In Ms. Marvel (2006) #15, Wonder Man gets mind controlled by M.O.D.O.K.. For a variation, Ms. Marvel manages to break it by planting a passionate kiss on him.
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (IDW): This is attempted with Nightmare Rarity in issue #7. Nightmare Moon II insists she's in control, though Spike seems to momentarily get through.
• New Avengers: Subverted in the opening arc of vol 2. Luke Cage gets possessed by a demon, Jessica Jones tries appealing to him, and it apparently works... only it turns out the demon's just screwing with her.
• Ninja High School: Early in the series, Ordinary High-School Student Jeremy was brainwashed into being a sort of combination Mad Scientist and Evil Overlord (in a rather Nazi-looking uniform). On at least one later occasion, he relapsed. ("Using what I could salvage from your school's workshop, I was able to take control of every civilian satellite...." He'd also built a bunch of robot soldiers. All this in less than a day.) Ichi dragged him back to sanity by hugging him while tearfully saying, "Please. You're not this person. You're not this person."
• Paperinik New Adventures: in the issue Cross Fire, one of the four aliens who came to Earth to escape the Evronians is secretly a mind-controlled mole of the Evronians themselves, who unleash him on his companions at the climax. However, he stops attacking when his best friend puts himself in the way and begs him to remember him.
• The Powerpuff Girls: In issue #2 of the DC run, Him gives a boy whose affections to Buttercup were spurned a belt with a buckle that shoots out beams that make people hate. The beam hits Bubbles, but she's filled with so much love that the beam short-circuits her and knocks her unconscious. Blossom and Buttercup use The Power of Love to revive Bubbles.
• Rat Queens: in the Underpit a predator turns the Queens into People Puppets against each other, having this effect against the uncontrolled.
• Runaways: Gert pulls this on Victor in order to snap him out of his dad's control. Fortunately, it works.
• Shang-Chi: A variation when Shang-Chi fights "Dave Griffin", the corrupted and human embodiment of y Ddraig Goch, the ancient, iconic, Welsh dragon. The dragon slowly regains his true form and power through the fight, but it's not until he actually wins that Shang-Chi really gets through to him (at which point he pulls a Heel–Face Turn and saves Shang-Chi's life).
• Spider-Man: Spider-Man repeatedly tries reasoning with various mind-controlled opponents he faces, such as Venom. It never works, although his Alternate Universe daughter, Spider-Girl, has a considerably better track record when it comes to such things.
• Star Trek (IDW):
  • Kirk says this to try to stop the mutated Gary Mitchell, but he only regains his sanity long enough to tell him he can't kill himself before his eyes begin to glow again.
  • When Spock is consumed by the Pon Farr, Uhura attempts to calm him down by invoking this trope.
• Star Wars:
  • Star Wars: Kanan: Caleb reminds Grey of how the clones originally would have followed the Jedi wherever they went, and questions how Grey could have turned on and murdered Billaba after spending years as her loyal friend. He also points out that the Jedi died with the Republic, so the accusations that they betrayed it fall rather flat. This causes Grey's conscience to get the better of him, and he winds up performing a Heroic Sacrifice that enables Caleb and his friends to escape.
  • Cay Qel-Droma tries this on his brother Ulic in Tales of the Jedi. He tries to reach Ulic verbally numerous times, but Ulic is too invested in his plan to "pretend" turning to the dark side, and then genuinely the ally of a Sith Lord. Cay finally confronts him on Ossus, first in a starfighter dogfight in which Ulic shoots him down, and then a lightsaber duel. Ulic kills him in a rage, but the sight of Cay dead at his feet does finally snap him out of it.
• Superman:
  • Simultaneously played straight and lampshaded in Power Girl (2009) issue 10. When Terra was taken over by the Ultra-Humanite and fighting Power Girl she kept taunting PG.
    TerraUltra-Humanite: Let's have one of those totally cliched hero-slash-friend fights. You get to say things like, "I know you're stronger than this", or "You can fight it"... oh, and "This isn't you"! And I'll say things like... "I know your secret identity" and "All the people you care about are going to die!"
  • In Power Girl (2009)/Justice League: Generation Lost crossover, Power Girl has been brainwashed into believing that the members of the Justice League International are other heroes planning to conquer and rule humanity. The members of JLI, dreading the destruction and loss of life that would come from fighting Power Girl in earnest (Assuming they could survive such a fight), try to get through the brainwashing and have her recognize them.
  • In Supergirl (1982) #23, when Supergirl realizes the psychic mutant she is fighting is her professor Barry Metzner, she tries to reach him out:
    Barry: Metzner is dead! His pitiful consciousness submerged in my superior mind!
    Supergirl: No! I don't believe that! Barry Metzner... Whatever makes him the man he is... can't be lost!
  • In 2010 story arc Death & the Family, super-villain Insect Queen took over Supergirl's friend Lana Lang's body. While Kara beat her up, she tried to reach out to Lana.
    Supergirl: : Lana, if you can hear me— SAY something! Lana! I KNOW you're IN there! Let her body Go, you insect FREAK! Get OUT!
  • In Red Daughter of Krypton Siobhan runs into Supergirl right after her transformation when Kara is overwhelmed with rage. Siobhan wonders what turned her best friend into that rage monster (she suspects drugs or poison) and she tries to reach her out.
    Siobhan: Kara...? I'm your friend, remember? Whatever's happened, you don't have to hurt anyone.
  • In Demon Spawn as Nightflame and her minions try to take over Supergirl's mind and body, Geoff cradles her lifeless body, trying to wake her up.
    Underlying: What... What's this? Her helper is far stronger than I thought! Attuned to her thoughts! He's locked into certain parts of her mind! I can't dispel him!
    Supergirl: Whoever you are, keep it up! I can feel your influence growing stronger and stronger! Breaking through all the pain and torment!
  • In The Supergirl from Krypton (2004) Superman tries to reach Kara out when she is brainwashed by Darkseid. It doesn't work and he has to knock her down.
    Superman: Kara. Darkseid has taken control of your mind. This isn't you.
  • Subverted in Way of the World: When Aftermath commands Supergirl to kill Empress, the latter hero tries to make Kara snap out of his mind-control. But it turns out Kara's conscience has not yet been completely subsumed, so she whispers Empress to cancel Aftermath's spell out before it is too late.
  • Occurs in Adventure Comics #314. Superboy has been given the personality of Adolf Hitler by the Psycho Changer, Alaktor. Mon-El superhero tries to talk him out of it.
    Mon-El: Superboy, you can't be Hitler in personality! You've got to remember who you are...fight this off...
• Teen Titans:
  • The brainwashed Kid Devil gets talked out of an Unstoppable Rage by Miss Martian before he can kill a similarly brainwashed Hardrock.
  M'gann: Eddie. No. Eddie, Please Listen... This isn't you. You're not a killer. What they did to you — what Clock King said to you... None of it's true. You're not a monster. You're not alone. You're not unloved. You're a sweet boy who had a dream to be a superhero sidekick and got to live that dream. You're thoughtful, funny and earnest. You're a Teen Titan, Eddie. You're a good guy.
  • A vicious subversion in The Judas Contract. Turned out Terra wasn't the confused-but-good type she became in the animated series...
    • To cap it off, when Gar desperately asks Was It All a Lie?. She not only cruelly laughs at him, but digs the knife in further by sneering that kissing him made her "want to puke."
• The Transformers (IDW):
  • In a flashback in The Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Orion Pax meets with his friend Senator Shockwave. He's had his body disfigured and his head messed with so much, he's lost all emotions and empathy. He no longer sees any reason to have scruples and feels free from the experience. Orion tries to appeal to who he once was, a noble bot who fought for equality for all. It is a doomed effort.
  Pax: I know the real you — you can overcome what they did! I believe in you!
  Shockwave: (narrating) One day Orion Pax would stop believing...
  • During The Transformers: Dark Cybertron, Optimus gets another chat with Shockwave. This time, it works - because Megatron has already rattled Shockwave's control by doing something he couldn't have predicted: a Heel–Face Turn. While Shockwave is struggling, Optimus reminds him of their old friendship - simple things, like a bench with a busted leg. It works and the good Shockwave attempts Dying as Yourself by asking Optimus and Megatron to shoot him, but the resultant explosion throws him back in time, where he ends up reconciling his mental mess and ending up worse.
  • An undead Nightbeat shows up during The Transformers: Dark Cybertron, under the control of Nova Prime. Rodimus snaps him out of it by appealing to Nightbeat's strongest trait: solving mysteries. After noticing that Nightbeat seemed the most like himself when doing a Sherlock Scan on Cyclonus, Rodimus deliberately presents Nightbeat with a curious piece of information - that Rodimus has the numbers "89/101" engraved on his hand - and allows him to ask only one question to find out what it means. The question that Nightbeat asks, which frees him from the mind control, is "How many people are on your ship?" It's 190 - but 89 of them voted for Rodimus to no longer be captain after a string of screwups on his part, and Rodimus is keeping the tally as a reminder that he needs to win back their trust.
  • Brainstorm tries this on a sparkeater-ified Perceptor late in The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye. It doesn't work, and Brainstorm gets hurt trying - but at least he doesn't get killed, and Perceptor is subsequently cured by an experimental, slightly insane medical treatment cooked up by First Aid.
• Ultimate Marvel: Inverted in a team-up between the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. One of the Sentinels from the future, patterned on Wolverine, insists that (paraphrased) "I didn't do it, I'm still you inside". So far it's unknown if it was telling the truth.
• Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Diana has to fight a Circe brainwashed Superman without her lasso. She tries throughout the fight to get him to come to his senses but nothing works until she gets her lasso back and wraps him in it.
• X-Men:
  • Rogue and Gambit have at least two of them during the period in which Gambit has been turned into Apocalypse's Horseman of Death.
  • After Wolverine gets brainwashed by Apocalypse, the X-Men try this strategy... combined with beating the living hell out of him, blowing him through walls, and having Psylocke use her Psychic Powers to try to break the conditioning. Eventually his normal personality is restored by the power of Jubilee's love and Archangel's magic sparkly wings.
  • This seems to happen often with Apocalypse's servants. The first chronological example occurs in the 1996 one-shot Black Knight: Exodus, which focuses on Dane Whitman of the Avengers and X-villain Exodus's origin story. Turns out Exodus was best buddies with Dane's ancestor Eobar Garrington in the 12th century, and when Apocalypse abducted him and awakened his mutant powers, he decided it'd be a swell idea to pit Exodus against his closest friend. It was a close thing, but Garrington/Dane was able to get Exodus to snap out of it.
  • Danielle Moonstar has a link with Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane) also of the New Mutants. When Wolfsbane was mind-controlled by the Shadow King (via Karma's possession power) it took a direct mind-to-mind appeal to break through Farouk's control.
  • Happens with Rogue and Deadpool in Uncanny Avengers after the former gets mind-controlled by the Red Skull. Rogue attacks Deadpool, who dodges and screams for her to snap out of it. He avoids attacking her, and trying to shoot for Red Skull again, but Rogue jumps in the way of the attack. Luckily, Deadpool has Magneto's helmet in his backpack, which he manages to get on Rogues head, blocking Red Skull from her mind. Sadly, this wasn't done before he was beaten half to death by Rogue, who felt terrible afterwards.

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