Alter egos

In popular culture and fiction

• The title characters in Robert Louis Stevenson's thriller Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde represent an exploration of the concept that good and evil exist within one person, constantly at war. Edward Hyde represents the doctor's other self, a psychopath who is unrestrained by the conventions of civilized society, and who shares a body with the doctor. The names (Jekyll and Hyde) have since become synonymous with a split personality or an alter ego that can overpower the original self.
• In the novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, the main character Edmond Dantes, after escaping from the Chateau d'If, assumes three alter egos: the count of Monte Cristo, the Italian abbe called Giacomo Busoni, and the Englishman Lord Wilmore. In the novel, the Count of Monte Cristo rewards those who had been good to him while punishing those who contributed in one way or the other to his imprisonment. He leads M. Danglars to lose all his fortune, M. de Villefort to his madness, Fernand Mandego to commit suicide and others more to their fate.
• Norman Douglas in the late 1890s wrote a short story, "The Familiar Spirit", about a man who became aware while drowning of a conformist second self – "the presence within him of this Spirit, his alter ego, which is bent on crushing his ambition".
• Published in 1905, the Scarlet Pimpernel's titular protagonist is the prototype hero with a secret identity. Sir Percy Blakeney leads a double life: He appears to be just a wealthy fop, but in reality he is the Scarlet Pimpernel, a formidable swordsman and a quick-thinking master of disguise and escape artist who establishes a network of supporters, The League of the Scarlet Pimpernel, that aids his endeavors. By drawing attention to his alter ego, Blakeney hides behind his public face of a thinking foppish playboy (similar to Batman, who hides himself as Bruce Wayne).
• In comic books, superheroes and their secret identities are often considered the alter egos. The archetypal comic book hero, Superman, assumes the identity of the "mild-mannered" newspaper reporter Clark Kent to live among the citizens of Metropolis without arousing suspicion. The Incredible Hulk comic book series further complicates this theme, as Bruce Banner loses control to the Hyde-like Hulk whenever he becomes angry, yet also depends upon the Hulk's superpowers to combat villains.
• In the film and novel Fight Club, the narrator has an alter ego he loses control of, Tyler Durden.
• Several famous musicians have adopted alter egos over the years, usually to indicate a new creative direction or a deep dive into their emotions removed from their popular stage persona—notable examples including the Beatles (Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band), David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane) and Prince (Camille). Rolling Stone wrote Bowie's invention of Ziggy Stardust was "the alter ego that changed music forever and sent his career into orbit". Particularly during the 2000s, several big-name singers dedicated album eras to reveal their alter egos, including Janet Jackson with Damita Jo,Mariah Carey with The Emancipation of Mimi, and Beyoncé with I Am ... Sasha Fierce. Many rappers have also employed alter egos, notably Eminem (Slim Shady), Shock G (Humpty Hump), Nicki Minaj (Roman Zolanski), Tyler, the Creator (Wolf Haley, Igor et al.), and MF Doom (Viktor Vaughn and King Geedorah et al.).