Identity Amnesia: Difference between revisions

Just like other forms of TV amnesia, this variety is often rectified by [[Traumatic Toggle|just smacking the character in the head a second time]]; they are usually very resistant to seeking out help on their own. Once cured, they'll probably have no recollection of their alter-ego self, and will be puzzled as to why things have apparently moved forward by several hours/days.

A vast exaggeration of a [[Truth in Television]]|genuine mental disorder,]] known as a "Fugue State." This is when someone who believes themselves to be someone completely different. They may move to a different town and assume a different identity, without being aware the new identity is false. It is a very, very rare result of a psychotic break.

See also [[Brainwashed]], [[Wistful Amnesia]], [[Fake Memories]], [[We Want Our Jerk Back]], [[Traumatic Toggle]], [[Amnesiac Hero]], and [[Amnesiac Lover]].

* [[Amnesiacs Are Innocent]] -- the new character is child-like and innocent.

* A blow to the head during a [[Training Fromfrom Hell|weird training method]] involving [[Smashing Watermelons|watermelons]] changed [[Ranma ½|Kuno]] from an ineffectual, harmless buffoon with weird (but funny) romantic notions, to a nigh-unbeatable stalker who might have succeeded in [[Attempted Rape|forcing himself on]] female Ranma if she hadn't knocked him back to his senses first.

* Senri from ''[[Plus +Anima]]'' {{spoiler|gets this. TWICE. Once while he was young and went berserk}},({{spoiler|This prompted Crystala to give him his pressed flower book to remember people}}.) {{spoiler|the other time he goes berserk with Husky, Nana, and Cooro there. He can't remember them and tries to attack. He is eventually stopped when Cooro slaps his [[Eyepatch of Power]] on}}.

* Kirika Yumura of ''[[Noir]]'' starts out with this. She only knows what her name is due to it being printed on her student ID, and a comment from Chloe towards the end of the series implies that not only is 'Kirika Yumura' not her real name, it was entirely possible that nobody remembered what her real name ''was''.

* ''[[ToA AruCertain Majutsu noMagical Index|]]'': Kamijou Touma]] forgot a lot about who he was when he took a feather of St. George’s Sanctuary to the face and it is irrecoverable. He forgot a lot of people he knew; he forgot why he said people were indebted to him; school; he even forgot what his parents looked like ({{spoiler|plot point}}). While a thank you letter had allowed him to obfuscate competence and convince everyone that he's fine, at least twice he had to gamble that he should have known someone because they [[Highly-Conspicuous Uniform|dressed weirdly]]. {{spoiler|Eventually, he fesses up to someone about it.}}

* Happened in ''[[Justice League International]]''. One punch from [[Batman]] took down Guy Gardner. When he awoke, he was no longer an abrasive chauvinist. He was instead Sensitive Guy, who cared what women think, and was generally respectful and agreeable in every way that the true Guy wasn't. Random head bops (his powers protected him from -''real-'' damage) switches him around for the [[Rule of Funny]]. Years later, in his own book, this was [[Retcon|retconnedretcon]]ned as tied in to his earliest appearances, where he'd been neither Chauvinist Guy nor Sensitive Guy before entering a coma. His [[Evil Counterpart]], Dementor, had apparently been taking advantage of these states of unconsciousness to alter Guy's personality for his own amusement.

* In the 2011 film [[Unknown (2011 film)|Unknown]], Liam Neeson's character awakens from a coma after a car accident only to find that no one, not even his wife, recognizes him. Turns out that {{spoiler|he's actually an assassin, and the person that he thinks he is is actually only the cover identity given to him for this particular mission.}}

* Subverted in the [[Doctor Who Expanded Universe]] novel ''Father Time''. It seems that the Eighth Doctor, of whom it was once said that "he [[Why We're Bummed Communism Fell|lives in hope]]" of a communist revolution, and reacts worse to accusations of being bourgeoisie<ref>the [[Gorgeous Period Dress]] is not helping your case, Doctor!</ref> than threats against his life, but now has amnesia, has become "[[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher]]ism personified", and has a proper 9-to-5 job eliminating redundancies from companies, which is to say, getting people laid off.<ref>[[Karl Marx Hates Your Guts]] is not actually applicable, but he sure does</ref>. However, it is in short order revealed that he's doing it because he has [[Children Raise You|adopted a young girl]],<ref>a la [[Monster Is a Mommy]], if you, like him, would probably [[Why Don't You Marry It?|marry]] Karl Marx given the chance</ref>, and, [[Ditzy Genius]] that he is, doesn't see the full implications of what he's doing and merely sees it as a fun challenge. As in the rest of the novels in which he has amnesia, his personality remains fundamentally the same as before.

* In the episode "Slowly I Turn" of ''Dr. Shrinker'' (one of the features of the Krofft Supershow, 1976-771976–77), the fat loser character Gordie hits his head and is convinced by the bad guys that he is the mad scientist, Dr. Shrinker. Even numbered blows to the head revert him back to normal; additional odd-numbered blows turn him back into the Dr. Shrinker persona.

* [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] wrestler Perry Saturn, via a series of blows to the head, went from a hard-nosed brawler/submission expert to a [[The Ditz|ditz]] who was in love with a mop with a crudely drawn face on it.

* The Nameless One in ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'' has gone through this literally ''thousands'' of times, such is the nature of his existence -- heexistence—he never ages, and every time he dies (which is surprisingly often), he comes back to life with no memories of his prior existences and with a completely new and random personality. However, the Paranoid Incarnation managed to seek out an expert who was able to diagnose his condition and develop a temporary remedy for it. Unfortunately for the Paranoid Incarnation, the remedy would only kick in three deaths later, long after the Paranoid Incarnation had himself "died"... so the Paranoid Incarnation [[Murder Is the Best Solution|reacted the way he always does]], and in your current incarnation there's no one left in the planes who knows anything about how your head works.

* This happened to Zero before the ''[[Mega Man X]]'' series -- weseries—we learn in ''X4'' that he was an evil Maverick when Sigma first found him, and he lost his memory in the fight, waking up sane and sober. The [[Bad End]] of ''X5'' shows us what would happen if his Maverick self ever resurfaced, and it ain't pretty. There's been much debate over the years as to which one is the "real" Zero; [[Word of God]] has been less than conclusive and the revelations in [[Mega Man Zero|his own series]] just muddy the waters more. (He actually gets amnesia ''again'' in that series, but keeps the heroic personality.)

* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', Lil Evil drinks from the Lethe. Reaction? [https://web.archive.org/web/20111020215313/http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4035 Agh! Who's that weirdo in the river?]

* Related to the above: An episode of ''[[DuckTales (1987)]]'' involved Uncle Scrooge coming down with [[Identity Amnesia]] after tripping over a skateboard and believing himself to be an unemployed blue-collar worker (even going so far as to lose his [[Just a Stupid Accent|accent]]); he goes on to get a low-paying job at his own factory and begins a crusade to improve working conditions.

* In an episode of ''[[A Pup Named Scooby -Doo]]'', Shaggy loses his memory and believes that he's a fictional superhero, Commander Cool.

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