Beneath the Mask: Difference between revisions

* ''[[Code Geass]]'' plays with this trope. Lelouch Lamperouge is a [[Brilliant but Lazy]] highschool student living in Area 11, a [[The Empire|Britannia]]-occupied territory formerly known as Japan. When we first see him, he's skipping class in order to do some high-stakes gambling. He seems to regard everything with indifference or disdain, and as we get to know him, it becomes clear that he has a strong sense of justice but has come to accept that there's nothing he can do to fix his government's deep-seated corruption and institutionalized racism. Then he gets [[Evil Eye|superpowers]]. He maintains his [[Rich Idiot With No Day Job]] facade to avoid suspicion, but secretly becomes [[Dark Messiah|Zero]], a masked [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|freedom fighter]] dedicated to dismantling the most powerful government in the world. The series heavily contemplates identity and character, and repeatedly addresses the irony that Lelouch needs to put on a literal mask in order to take off his metaphorical one.

** It should also be mentioned that in his conversations with CC Lelouch strongly implies that he was planing to overthrow Britannia since he was a child, gaining the Geass simply meant that he could start much earlier and move much quicker than he otherwise would have been able to. As such one can say that his hidden personality was already simmering in the depths of his lazy life before the story kicks in.

* The manga version of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' pulled off a Type C with Asuka: she acted like the stereotypical good girl around Misato and Kaji while being a total jerk to everyone else. Once Misato revealed that she knows Asuka's true personality and she doesn't have to hide it, Asuka became a full-blown [[Tsundere]] with an extra helping of [[Hair-Trigger Temper]].

* Essentially everyone in ''[[Princess Tutu]]'', but particularly:

** Ivan Karelin is another example. As the hero [[Secret Identity|Origami Cyclone]], he's loud, brash, and over-the-top. As Ivan, he's an awkward, insecure [[Shrinking Violet]].

* ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]'': Sometimes the only way to determine that Kyon has leaked a comment instead of internally snarking it is when another character responds to it. In addition the title character does not know that he's leading a conspiracy to keep her from her true abilities and so sees the silent snarking as silent support.

* In [[Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle]], [[Stepford Smiler|Fai]]'s personality change following the events of [[I Hate You, Vampire Dad|Acid Tokyo]] is a powerful example of this trope.

* Several characters in ''[[Life (manga)|Life]]'' are like this, typically to mask their [[Jerkass]] side.

* [[X-Men|Jean Grey's]] Phoenix persona was [[Retcon|retconned]] to be her actual innermost personality, not a separate entity. It is ''very'' different from her public persona.

** The notion that it was a separate entity was itself a [[Retcon]], and Phoenix was always supposed to be Jean Grey's more passionate, "dark" side. [[Master of Illusion|Mastermind's]] messing with her head was originally what made the [[Super-Powered Evil Side|"superpowered side" evil.]]

 

 

== Fan Fic ==

* Played straight in a Danny Phantom [[Fanfic]] called [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3831182/1/Masks Masks.] It is unusual in that Danny is actually wearing three masks to hide his true self. A surprisingly good read.

 

* In ''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]'', Rosalie Cullen. Though she acts cold to Bella at first, it is revealed that she actually envies Bella and is sad on the inside because of her inability to get pregnant.

* In [[The Dresden Files]], wizards have two major abilities related to this.

** The Sight shows the essence of how things are -- magical workings and their aftereffects are visible, people's mental and emotional trauma and strengths, etc. Anything seen with the Sight is permanently etched into the wizard's brain.

* The entirety of the [[Ciaphas Cain]] novels is about a '''[[Fake Ultimate Hero|HERO]] [[Memetic Mutation|OF THE]] [[All the Tropes Wiki Drinking Game|IMPERIUM]]''' who secretly regards himself as a [[Dirty Coward]] whose every action was motivated by self-interest. Whether or not you believe that depends very much on [[Alternate Character Interpretation|how you interpret his true character]].

* [[Electric Six]] has stated that they play disco dance music because it's "exactly what we are not."

* [[Pink Floyd]] sang of this trope in their song ''[[The Wall|In the Flesh]]'': "So ya, thought ya might like to go to the show/To feel the warm thrill of confusion--that space cadet glow/Tell me, is something eluding you, sunshine? Is this not what you expected to see?/If you wanna find out what's behind these cold eyes, you'll just have to claw your way through this disguise!"

* The song "[[True Colors]]" from Cyndi Lauper. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GzQ2IDzeRE Makes a mention to this trope].

* The song "Mr Roboto" by [[Styx]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIQsuNMncBo uses this trope]. "I am the Modren man/Who hides behind a mask/So no one else can see/My true identity."

{{quote|We all wear masks because deep down inside we are nothing but beasts. The question I ask you is, to which do you submit--the mask, or the beast?}}

* In the ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' series, we have Dahlia Hawthorne. She seems so sweet and innocent. She even dated Phoenix in college. She actually {{spoiler|has the most intended murder victims, at seven. One of which was Phoenix himself. She}} is a very nasty.

* In ''[[Halo 3]]'' the normally calm Prophet of Truth shows his true colors as a mad alien willing to kill his fellow prophets and an entire race of aliens while trying to [[A God Am I|reach godhood]]. This is a result of [[Becoming the Mask]]; in [[Contact Harvest]], Truth doesn't come off as particularly pious and initiates the human-Covenant war to conceal humanity's status as 'Reclaimers' and gain control of the Covenant. He's been lying for so long and with such conviction that by the time he dies, even ''he'' believes his lies.

** Both Guilty Spark and Medicant Bias hid their true intentions until their betrayals due to rampancy.

* ''[[Modern Warfare 2]]'': {{spoiler|General Shepherd betrayed Task Force 141 and killed them, revealing himself to be a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]}}. Very hard for Price and Soap to bear, though not too hard to believe.

* The [[Karma Meter]] system in ''[[Infamous (video game series)|In Famous]]'' (and really, any [[Video Game]] that [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|allows you to act like a complete asshole]]) is built around this trope, and deals with what ''you'' would do if you suddenly gained superpowers. Do you honestly [[Comes Great Responsibility|care about rebuilding the city and protecting its inhabitants?]] Or are you really just a selfish [[Jerkass]] who [[Beware the Superman|only cares about having control over everyone else?]]

** Toph Bei Fong pretends to be a weak well-mannered girl in front of her parents, but is a very powerful Earthbender and much more informal with her friends. Sometimes [[Played for Laughs]].

** Princess Azula infamously pretended to be a secure, strong, cold woman. It was revealed in the last episode that {{spoiler|she was a lonely woman that wanted someone to trust, but lost her friends and didn't have anyone to confide in, and was crazy and sad because she wanted her mother's approval}}. It wasn't a coincidence that when she became more powerful thanks to {{spoiler|nearly becoming the new Firelord and getting a power upgrade}} that [[Villainous BSOD|it became too much for her to handle]].

* Helga from ''[[Hey Arnold!]]'' expressed her true feelings for Arnold when alone.

* Trixie Tang from ''[[The Fairly Odd Parents]]'' is secretly a tomboy that likes comic books and disguises herself as a boy because she has fear of being judged and rejected due to the fact that she is a popular girl and the [[Alpha Bitch]] of her school.

** Dash's best friend, Kwan, has a facade in other to be accepted among the popular crowd. Deep down, he is insecure and unsure about the things he does (bullying and whatnot).

* Jack Skellington from ''[[The Nightmare Before Christmas]]'' seems to have shades of this trope. To the citizens of [[Halloweentown]], he's the charismatic, self-confident, [[Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant|terrifying]] Pumpkin King. What they don't know is that Jack is very unhappy and bored about doing the same thing every year and longs for something different. [[Curiosity Is a Crapshoot|Then he discovers Christmastown . . .]]

* In '' [[Beauty and the Beast]]'', Gaston is not as nice as he seems to be (see also [[Villain with Good Publicity]]).

* [[The Flash]] in ''[[Justice League]]''.

** As does Impulse. {{spoiler|His personality during his introductory episode is more or less an act that he uses to hide the fact that he comes from a [[Bad Future]].}}

* [[Kevin Spencer]], in his confrontation with [[Love Interest]] [[Axe Crazy|Shawna]], states that beneath all her sociopathic, murderous tendencies, she's really a popularity-obsessed bitch.

 

 

== Real Life ==

* Pretty much everyone ever [[GIFT|on the internet]].

 

[[Category:More Than Meets the Eye]]

[[Category:Internal Conflict Tropes]]

[[Category:Psychology Tropes]]

[[Category:Fame and Reputation Tropes]]

[[Category:Beneath the Mask]]