I Can't See Myself

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

This phrase, or something to the same effect, is uttered by someone who discovers, upon looking in a mirror, that he or she has just become invisible. Extra credit if the character's clothes, jewelry and accessories are still visible, or if the character was already nude. Bonus points if it's two invisible characters talking to each other, or if their invisibility causes them hardship: stubbed toe, hands where they shouldn't be, walking into a door, etc, etc.

If you start wondering how their retina is able to function when light goes straight through them, you're thinking too hard.

Compare You Can See Me?.

Examples of I Can't See Myself include:

Film

  • In the film Hollow Man, the main character says, "You'd be amazed what you're capable of when you don't have to look at yourself in the mirror any more." as he starts to go insane from the procedure.
  • In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry, upon first trying on his Invisibility Cloak, looks down at himself and exclaims, startled, "My body's gone!"
  • Averted in Mystery Men with Invisible Boy. He can become invisible only when nobody is looking, not even himself.

Literature

  • The Ganymede Takeover by Philip K. Dick: One of the Neeg-parts who's using an illusion machine to make himself invisible says he can't see himself even after the machine has been turned off, though everyone else can see him. In this case, it's a result of the psychological effects of the weapons, which drive the users crazy.

Live-Action TV

  • A variation occurred in one episode of Angel, "Spin the Bottle", where a spell caused Angel to forget he was a vampire. When he looked in the mirror, he thought he was invisible, but he actually wasn't.
    • The same thing happened in an earlier episode, Carpe Nocturne, where an old man stole Angel's body... and only later discovered he was a vampire.
  • In an episode of Eureka, Carter is exposed to a chemical that is slowly turning him invisible (including his clothes) and they have him wearing a special suit to let other people see him to deal with the issue.
    • In another episode, a camo-paint is applied to a cat's fur, causing the feline to become invisible.

Other

  • From an RPG session:

Player: How did I fall off the bridge?
DM: Because you were invisible and didn't know where are you ending.