Impersonating the Evil Twin: Difference between revisions

The situation where [[Evil Twin]] is reversed -- the Evil Twin isn't pretending to be the character, but instead the character is pretending to be the Evil Twin. Never mind that the original character hasn't studied the Evil Twin's typical mannerisms, knows nothing of his background and may not have his abilities. Never mind that the Evil Twin may be wearing a mask or equivalent which the real character can't take off since it's his real face. They look alike, so it has to work, right? In fact, it works more often than it should, often stopped only by gross problems (such as the real Evil Twin walking through the door), not by the dozens of flaws in the impersonation that nobody notices. Frequently it works because the Evil Twin's [[Mooks]] are [[Bad Boss|too scared of him to question his changes in behavior]].

* Played both ways and then subverted multiple times in thriller ''The Third Twin'' by Ken Follett. Main character, [[Plucky Girl|plucky academic underdog]], has uncovered evidence that eight identical twins (including her boyfriend) were implanted secretly (and nonconsensually) in separate mothers during the early days of ''in vitro'' fertilization; boyfriend's [[Evil Counterpart]] and titular Third Twin, who was raised by the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] who ran the experiment, spies on her on his father's behalf. Evil Counterpart's cover is blown when he shows a behavioral tic she saw his dad use, and then captured when Boyfriend intervenes. Boyfriend then impersonates Evil Counterpart--and succeeds for nearly 12 hours--only to have ''his'' cover blown when he ''fails'' to show a behavioral tic (a family in-joke).

* In [[Keith Laumer|Keith Laumer's]] classic ''[[Imperium]]'', a man is recruited by an interdimensional empire that occupies alternate Earths. His mission is to replace the overlord of one of these realities, who is his alternate self. The ruse works perfectly until the first time he confronts one of the overlord's inner circle -- who, upon seeing him, immediately orders his arrest. {{spoiler|What no one except the inner circle knew was that the warlord had lost both his legs some time previously.}}

* ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'': Done when Hercules ends up in a [[Mirror Universe]]. In this case, though, he ''is'' undone by a flaw in his impersonation -- specifically, by an offer of his "favorite" food, which his [[Evil Twin]] actually hated.

* Weird example in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 2'', as it was coincidental. Solid Snake dresses as a fictional Navy SEAL in order to get into an offshore cleaning facility without arousing suspicion. He encounters Raiden, who instantly recognises him as being a dead ringer for Liquid Snake, another survivor of the [[Cloning Blues|cloning project]] which Solid Snake was born from -- because of this, he's unnaturally suspicious. It doesn't help that the disguise is paper-thin -- the director stated he wanted to make the disguise as transparent as possible to see how many players he could manage to fool nonetheless. (Add to this a third clone claiming to be Solid Snake while not even bothering to dress up, and you've got yourself a headache.) The game also credits the voice actor whenever a new character is introduced, so it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to put two and two together.

* This is toyed with in a storyline for ''[[Bob and George]]'' -- when the president is [[Shout-Out|kidnapped]] [[Bad Dudes|by ninjas]], Mike finds the ninjas obeying him without reason or rhyme, letting the president go without a fight. Later on, it's discovered that Mike's ''non''-alternate universe variant (as Mike came from an alternate universe with Mynd) is their real boss. [[You Have Failed Me|Well, was.]]

* Scarlett from ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' is a [[Master of Disguise]], but was typically horrible at actually impersonating somebody. In one episode, she attempts to impersonate an evil scientist's wife/partner. The trope is subverted in that she is immediately spotted because she did not greet "her" husband by insulting him. Typically Scarlett will get caught one way or another. Her evil counterpart -- [[The Baroness]] -- and [[Master of Illusion|shapeshifter/illusionist]] Zartan are much more competent.