Enemy Within: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
▲{{quote|''"Pounding in your temples''<br />
''every muscle tense to fence the enemy within"''
▲''and a surge of adrenalin''<br />
A specific form of [[Split Personality]]. Maybe the [[Body Horror]] became a bit ''too'' fused with someone. Maybe the [[Unstoppable Rage]] is getting...too unstoppable. Perhaps [[The Atoner]]'s past is taking a life of its own. A [[Half-Human Hybrid|half-human's]] [[In the Blood|Demon]]/[[Dhampir|Vampire self]] is trying to take control, or that [[Deal with the Devil]] is hitting a bit too close to home.
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Often, since [[Evil Is Cool]] and [[Evil Feels Good]], other characters may realize the danger before the hero and need to convince him.
Contrast [[Enemy Without]]. Compare [[Jekyll and Hyde]]. See also [[Battle in the Center of the Mind]]. Usually part of their [[Anatomy of the Soul|Soul Anatomy]].
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Ichigo from ''[[Bleach]]'' regained tremendous [[The Grim Reaper|Shinigami]] powers, but the method he used resulted in the awakening of a dark personality, an "Inner Hollow" within his consciousness. Throughout the series a recurring theme is having to battle this inner demon for control of his powers made stronger by their dual existence.
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* One of [[The Hunter]] duo from ''[[Venus Versus Virus]]'' is a young girl who is an "Anti-Virus," a biological evolution against [[The Heartless]] monsters that plague mankind. However, this has resulted in a [[Split Personality]] that merely kills [[The Heartless]] first, and then turns on her partner. The [[Flash Forward]] at the beginning of the first episode implies that her two halves will become whole... but as a [[Face Heel Turn]].
** In the manga she eventually [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|learns how to control her virus side and use it to her advantage]].
* Guts from ''[[Berserk]]'' - on occasion, when he enters the eponymous [[Unstoppable Rage]], we see a hideous black houndlike entity hovering around him. Certain characters refer to it as the Beast, and it's hinted that his humanity will be lost to it if things keep going as they currently are.
* {{spoiler|Reito}} from ''[[
* There's a lot of debate in the ''[[Digimon Adventure 02]]'' fandom as to the true nature of Ken Ichijoji's Digimon Kaiser personality - how much of it was [[More Than Mind Control|his own doings]] and how much of it was a result of the Dark Spore? [[Alternate Character Interpretation]] suggests that it was a [[Split Personality]] (which isn't entirely illogical when you consider how different the [[Kick the Dog|Kaiser]] and regular [[The Woobie|Ken]] were) but it's more suggested that Ken is an example of how even the nicest person alive can turn nasty, making him more Enemy Within.
** (Hell, these characters are ''all'' practically an allegory for modern digital relationships on the internet. So... yeah.)
* Ryo Takatsuki from ''[[Project ARMS]]'' literally has an Enemy Within. Specifically, within his right arm. [[Super-Powered Evil Side|Tick him off enough, and he turns into the Jabberwock, a massive demonic humanoid capable of mass destruction.]] [[Alice in Wonderland|Beware the Jabberwock my son!]]
* [[Inuyasha]] has this in the form of his demon blood. Being a half demon, half human, his demon blood is considered too powerful for him to control. When it takes control, it turns him into a mindless animal that attacks purely on instinct, unable to tell friend from foe. Inuyasha's father gave him a safeguard in the form of his [[Empathic Weapon]] Tessaiga to keep it in check. As long as the sword remains in Inuyasha's possession, his demon side is suppressed, though he remains stronger than the average human for it.
* Senri from ''[[
* In ''[[D.Gray-man|D Gray Man]]'', it's revealed that {{spoiler|the 14th Noah wants to kill [[Big Bad|The Millennium Earl]] so ''he'' can become the next Millennium Earl. [[The Messiah|His host]], on the other hand, would rather not.}}
* [[White-Haired Pretty Boy|Ryo Bakura]] and Malik in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]''.
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== Film ==
* [[David Cronenberg]]'s [[
* ''[[Inception]]''. Dom's guilt over his wife's death leads into her showing up to screw up his plans in every subsequent [[Journey to the Center of the Mind|dream-visiting trip]] he does.
* ''[[Fight Club]]'': {{spoiler|Of course, Durden wouldn't phrase his relationship with the narrator this way.}}
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* In [[Orson Scott Card]]'s ''The Devil in Velvet'', the protagonist, Nicholas, makes a deal with the Devil to return in time to 18th century England to stop a murder most foul by, in essence, leaping INTO and taking over control of the body of his ancient ancestor. But the old boy is still there, trying to get out of the box, and whenever Nicholas is extremely stressed or emotional, Old Nick jumps out, seizes control of his body, and does dastardly things until our hero can regain control.
* ''[[Discworld]]'''s Sam Vimes contains an [[Unstoppable Rage]] ("the Beast") which he first kept in check with alcohol and then with [[Heroic Willpower|rigid self-control]]. Sometimes he and the Beast have a common goal, though, such as when his [[Berserk Button|family is threatened.]]
* In ''[[Forgotten Realms|Return of the Archwizards]]'' Galaeron Nihmedu overused the [[Toxic Phlebotinum|shadow magic]] despite his mentor's warning. This puts him into the "shadow crisis"
* The Status Civilization by Robert Scheckley. The protagonist is exiled to the planet of criminals as a convicted murderer. He doesn't believe he could have killed in cold blood but has to kill in self-defense in exile. In the end, he finds out the truth: {{spoiler|he was framed for a murder and he turned himself in because his subconcious considered him guilty and everyone on the Earth was [[Brainwashed]] to turn in themselves.}}
* In ''[[Scorpion Shards]]'', the protagonists are infected by otherworldly parasites that turn their superpowers to evil. Giving in to the corrupted, evil urges feeds the parasites.
* There is a classic treatment in Julian May's Galactic Milieu Trilogy (Jack the Bodiless, Diamond Mask, Magnificat), where a principal adversary is an immaterial being called Fury that turns out to be a subconscious manifestation of a major character.
* In the [[New Jedi Order]] series, after an attempt to brainwash her completely goes wrong, Tahiri ends up with one of these in the form of [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|Yuuzhan Vong]] personality Riina Kwaad. Riina's not ''evil'' exactly, but she ''is'' very messed up and her attempts to pull a [[Split Personality Takeover]] do a serious number on both their sanities. They end up doing a [[Split Personality Merge]] instead.
* Pretty much the whole point of ''[[Lord of the Flies]]''. The evil that the cast fears ("the Beast") is their own dark nature:
{{quote|'''Lord of the Flies:''' You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you? Close, close, close! I'm the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?}}
== Live Action TV ==
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* "Behind Blue Eyes" by [[The Who]]
* "[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Enemy Within]]" by Arch Enemy
* "Demon in the Mirror" by Witch Cross.
== Tabletop Games ==
* At the risk of too much "[[Trope Overdosed]]", ''[[Warhammer
** To emphasize this, Imperial propaganda reminds you that "[[Everything Trying to Kill You|For every enemy without there are a hundred within". Of course, they're talking about the Imperium itself, but what that means is that it's ''teeming'' with heretics, so many that they outnumber those actually loyal to the Emperor a billion to one. I suppose that means that the those higher up on the totem pole]] [[Viewers are Morons|think that the average Imperial subject failed math]] (which wouldn't be surprising). Regardless of how much it's emphasized, there's a bit a truth to it: Warhammer 40,000 has enemies within in spades, and all too often the enemy within wins.
*** Certain factions requires their members to conquer their enemy inside for them to join fully. The Space Wolves initiation rites have a phase in which you must conquer and learn to manage to maintain your beast within, or you'll turn into a Wulfen, a werewolf-like being. And not even once you have managed to pass this stage, it is not sure whether or not the curse is truly gone. Already initiated members can have the curse activate in the middle of the battlefield, and gain strength beyond even their already superhuman abilities. While this is usually temporary and the one affected will return to his normal form after the battle is over, this is the result of the curse not stabilizing completely during the initiation rites.
** Eldar warriors must contain the curse of Khaine within them, learning to don and doff their 'war mask' on command, lest they be trapped upon the Path of the Warrior and become an Exarch, forever imprisoned within the armor of his predecessors, bound into the gestalt consciousness that is the Exarch, incapable of peace and unable to die.
**''[[Rogue Trader]]'' specified a curious twist: one of the troubles possible in Warp travel is fake possession. This makes the victims ''think'' they are controlled by a daemon. In some ways it's not as bad as "[[Demonic Possession|the real thing]]": the victim is not augmented like a daemonhost and if caught, can be easily exorcised without even being scarred for life like those truly possessed. Yet it's also more subtle. Usually a warp entity's presence is detectable by any Navigator or psyker in range, while suggestions, even this powerful, are mere thoughts (mind-reading is rare, dangerous and likely to cause much unpleasantness if discovered). Also, many common daemons would simply go on a rampage, so ratings will run away screaming, armsmen and chaplains will run in with shockers, shotguns and prayers, and if they are lucky, may neutralize the one who got possessed quickly with minimal loss of life — but imprinted crewmembers still can think for themselves and understand their environment, thus are likely to murder with discretion or even sabotage the vessel.
* The Harrowed in ''[[Deadlands]]'' combine this and [[Came Back Wrong]]: very rarely, a potent human soul will be dragged back into its corpse kicking and screaming by [[The Legions of Hell|an evil spirit]]. The two cohabitate the deader's perpetually almost-rotting flesh, [[Gollum Made Me Do It|fighting for dominance]] on a daily basis. But, hey, [[Blessed with Suck|they get some nifty powers]]. [[Sarcasm Mode|Yay]].
* ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' has a large bit of its mythos based around this - each Vampire is at least partially under the control of "The Beast," the representation of their [[Horror Hunger]]. The Beast is their id; it makes them feed, it makes them run from fire and oncoming sunlight, and it makes them [[Unstoppable Rage|Frenzy]] if they get scared or hungry enough.
** The [[Arc Words|arc phrase]] of the game is actually "A beast I am, lest a Beast I become," which is an explicit statement that vampires are driven to do horrible things to control their [[Horror Hunger|inner hunger]], and that trying to avoid doing those things will essentially lead to you losing control entirely and becoming little more than a mindless monster that does nothing but kill and feed like an animal. Try to be humane, try to be "good", and you'll ultimately become a far worse monster than people who are willing to kill and feed in moderation.
* In [[Dungeons
== Video Games ==
* In ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', [[Rival Turned Evil]] Riku fuses with the villain from the first game. He redeems, but is struggling with the darkness within in the sequels.
* {{spoiler|Leo}} in ''[[Manhunt|Manhunt 2]]''. He is a [[Split Personality]] that is planted by {{spoiler|Dr. Danny Lamb}} in order to pay off his debts. However, it went wrong {{spoiler|when the Pickman Bridge malfunctioned, resulting in Danny being able to see and talk to Leo as if he was a real person}}.
* Emil, the main character from ''Tales of Symphonia'' Dawn of the New World, has a bad case of multiple personality disorder, in which his usually meek self is replaced with a powerful, badass red-eyed alter-ego whenever he needs to fight. Later this side of him becomes increasingly dominant and much more of a jerk. We later find out that Emil is really {{spoiler|being possessed by Ratatosk, the sentient-life-hating deity, that the supposed antagonist Richter has been trying to kill all along.}}
* The protagonist of ''[[Wild
* Both Leona & Iori from the ''[[King of Fighters]]'' series struggle with the curse of their bloodlines, which at times can cause them to regress into a [[Unstoppable Rage|berserker state]] know as "Riot of the Blood". Leona killed her entire family when she was in the Riot, and Iori has killed or severely wounded others as well.
* In [[The Very Definitely Final Dungeon]] of ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'', the [[Big Bad]] traps your mind inside a magic prison, where the personalities of three of your most powerful prior incarnations -- [[Axe Crazy|The Paranoid Incarnation]], [[Manipulative Bastard|The Practical Incarnation]], and [[The Atoner|The Good Incarnation]] -- [[Amnesiac Dissonance|splinter from your mind]] and start interacting with you. Reintegrating with your body is only possible through subduing or uniting all four fragments until [[There Can Be Only One|only one remains]], and the Practical Incarnation isn't particularly well disposed towards [[Grand Theft Me|letting]] ''[[Grand Theft Me|you]]'' [[Grand Theft Me|be the one to do this]].
** In fact, it's implied that being able to resurface and take over your body has been part of his plan all along - a means of surviving beyond death, if his initial plan to defeat the evil had failed.
* {{spoiler|Akachi}} in ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]: Mask of the Betrayer'' forces you to continually consume other spirits or have your soul consumed instead. The main quest of the game is figuring out a way to get rid of the curse. {{spoiler|The most extreme Evil ending actually involves you ''devouring Akachi's spirit itself'' to become a [[Eldritch Abomination|horrific, god-killing abomination.]]}}
* In ''[[Prince of Persia|The Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones]]'', the "Dark Prince" initially acts like a benign [[Exposition Fairy]], seeming to be just like the prince, only with fewer scruples. Strangely enough for this trope, he never makes an actual bid for control over the Prince's body until the very end, spending most of his time trying to corrupt the
* ''[[Condemned]] 2'' has the Alcohol Demon, a manifestation of Ethan Thomas' alcoholism. At numerous occasions through the game, Ethan is tormented by the damn thing {{spoiler|until he eventually "kills" it, in a bar no less. He was, however, trying to help you get yourself together. Of course, it doesn't die - it comes back a mission or two later, and points out it represents -all- his demons, not just alcohol.}}
* The final boss in ''[[Castlevania]]: Aria of Sorrow'' is the embodiment of Dracula's evil, which threatens to possess and overwhelm Dracula's reincarnated self, {{spoiler|Soma Cruz.}}
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** In ''[[Persona (video game)|Persona]]'', Guido's Persona {{spoiler|ends up taking over his body}}.
** In ''[[Persona 2|Persona 2: Eternal Punishment]]'', those who use the Joker Curse {{spoiler|[[Brainwashed and Crazy|become Jokers themselves]], gaining the Black Joker Persona in the process}}.
*** To elaborate, these last two examples may not really count... {{spoiler|because both involve hardcore [[Mind Rape]] and [[Body Horror]] inflicted by [[Eldritch Abomination|Nyar]][[Made of Evil|la]][[More Than Mind Control|tho]][[Complete Monster|tep]] rather than any true actual
** In ''[[Persona 3]]'', the members of Strega have Personas that actively try to kill them. To prevent this, they have to take suppressants that have nasty side-effects. {{spoiler|This is because their Personas were forcefully awakened}}.
** The Shadows. They're manifestations of humanity's worst flaws and suppressed dark thoughts. It's best shown in ''[[Persona 4]]'', in which the protagonists each have to face shadow versions of themselves.
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* In ''[[Sly Cooper]] 3: Honor Among Thieves'', The Panda King (one of the villains of the first game) is trapped within his mind of his failure against Sly. Eventually Sly himself enters his mind to convince him into an [[Enemy Mine]] and snap out of the trance to save his daughter, who's captured by a local warlord.
* A rather weird example played for laughs is found at the end of ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' DLC ''Old World Blues'', where you confront {{spoiler|your very own [[Brain In a Jar]], who is completely pissed off at you for the various wacky hijinks you've been getting into back in the Mojave at the expense of your body and hygiene. You then have to convince it to cooperate with you and if you want, rejoin your body.}}
* A variation is used in ''[[Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops]]''. {{spoiler|After the ICBMG is completed, Gene implies in his speech that there is a soldier under his employ that is ordered to kill them for their "betrayal." He then throws a knife at the unfortunate soldier that catches he eye, and the stabbing pain results in him firing his rifle at another soldier unwillingly. The soldiers then fire amongst themselves.}}
* Ryu from [[Street Fighter]] is a [[Blood Knight]] but also surprisingly in control and an overall nice guy. Thing is, the art he learned gave way for a darker side of him that he has to keep in control. When the power activates, he's called Evil Ryu. It's still Ryu, but he's driven mad and doesn't hold back anything at all. Basically, he comes closer to being the next Akuma.
* In the ''Wrath of the Lich King'' chapter of ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', one part of a quest involves the player character having to cleanse their "inner turmoil" via meditation. This results in a spirtual duplicate of the hero (literally called Inner Turmoil) to manifest and attack the player. Not a difficult fight, but kind of creepy.
== Web Comics ==
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* ''[[Breakfast of the Gods]]'' turns Sugar Bear's Super Bear form into one of these.
* {{spoiler|Sputnik for Cutman}} from ''[[In Wily's Defense]]''.
* In ''[[
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** The two actually have a little chat about this at the end of the episode where Beast Boy got said form.
* On a very similar show, season two of ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (TV series)|Legion of Super Heroes]]'' saw Brainiac 5 discover the power available by accessing evil Brainiac 1.0's memories. But then, well, ''this trope''. He ends up playing super-[[Chess]] in his head.
* On ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'', Nightmare Moon is this to Luna. Celestia has something similar in one episode, Daybreaker, which Luna manages to defeat by letting Nightmare Moon out and causing both of their Enemies Within to fight each other.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Identity (Film)]]▼
[[Category:Internal Conflict Tropes]]
[[Category:Evil Tropes]]
[[Category:Split Personality Tropes]]
[[Category:Villains]]
[[Category:
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