Alter ego in the context of "Anemic Cinema"

He-Man is a superhero and the protagonist of the sword and planet Masters of the Universe franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books, and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by his superhuman strength and in most variations, is the alter ego of Prince Adam. He-Man and his friends attempt to defend the secrets of Castle Grayskull, the planet Eternia, and the rest of the universe from the evil forces of his archenemy Skeletor. He-Man is the twin brother of She-Ra.

The character was created by designer Mark Taylor, who based the character on his childhood drawings. One of Taylor's designs was used by Mattel designer Roger Sweet in his pitch to Mattel for a new action figure line. Sweet also chose the name "He-Man" and suggested that it have a twist-action waist. Sweet sculpted and presented three different versions of the figure to Mattel—including a soldier, spaceman, and barbarian—the barbarian version was chosen and developed into the character's current form. Afterwards, Sweet was taken off the project and Taylor was assigned principal design duties.

Catwoman is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she debuted as "the Cat" in Batman #1 (spring 1940). She has become one of the superhero Batman's most prominent enemies, belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery, as well as Batman's best known and most enduring love interest, with many stories depicting their complex love–hate relationship. Since 1993, Catwoman has had her own ongoing series, Catwoman.

Catwoman is the alter ego of Selina Kyle, a burglar in Gotham City who usually wears a skintight bodysuit and uses a bullwhip for a weapon. She was originally characterized as a supervillain and adversary of Batman, but has been featured in an eponymous series since the 1990s that portrays her as an antiheroine, often with a utilitarian moral philosophy. The character thrived in her earliest appearances, but she took an extended hiatus from September 1954 to November 1966 due to the developing Comics Code Authority in 1954. These issues involved the rules regarding the development and portrayal of female characters that were in violation of the Comics Code, a code which is no longer in use. In the comics, Holly Robinson and Eiko Hasigawa have both adopted the Catwoman identity, apart from Selina Kyle.

The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of The Incredible Hulk (May 1962). In his comic book appearances, the character, who has dissociative identity disorder (DID), is primarily represented by the alter ego Hulk, an immense, green-skinned, hulking brute, possessing a limitless degree of physical strength, and the alter ego Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, a physically weak, socially withdrawn, and emotionally reserved physicist, both of whom typically resent each other. Lee stated that the Hulk's creation was inspired by a combination of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Following his accidental exposure to gamma rays while saving the life of Rick Jones during the detonation of an experimental bomb, Banner is physically transformed into the Hulk when subjected to emotional stress, at or against his will. This transformation often leads to destructive rampages and conflicts that complicate Banner's civilian life. The Hulk's level of strength is usually conveyed proportionate to his anger level. Commonly portrayed as a raging savage, the Hulk has been represented with other alter egos like a gangster (Joe Fixit), a merged personality (Merged Hulk), a mindless, destructive force (War), a brilliant warrior (World-Breaker), a self-hating protector (Devil Hulk), a genius scientist in his own right (Doc Green), and several minor alter egos.

Like other Mesoamerican peoples, the Maya peoples recognize in their staple crop, maize, a vital force with which they strongly identify. This is clearly shown by their mythological traditions. In the Mesoamerican Classic period (200–900), the Maize God shows aspects of a culture hero. According to the 16th-century Popol Vuh, the Hero Twins have maize plants as alter egos and humanity was created from maize. The discovery and opening of Maize Mountain, the place where the corn seeds were hidden, remains one of the most popular tales.

Vecchio (Italian: [ˈvɛkkjo]; pl.: vecchi; meaning 'old one' or simply 'old') is a category of aged, male characters from Italian commedia dell'arte theatre. The primary members of this group are Pantalone, il Dottore, and il Capitano. Pantalone and il Dottore are the alter ego of each other: Pantalone being the decadent wealthy merchant, and il Dottore being the decadent erudite.

They are overwhelmingly the antagonists, opposing the love of the innamorati; the comic ending is produced when the Zanni manage to overcome them and unite the lovers.

Antoine Doinel (French: [ɑ̃twan dwanɛl]) is a fictional character created by François Truffaut (1932–1984) and portrayed by actor Jean-Pierre Léaud (b. 1944) in five films directed by Truffaut. Doinel is to a great extent an alter ego for Truffaut; they share many of the same childhood experiences, look somewhat alike and are even mistaken for one another on the street. Although Truffaut did not initially plan for Doinel to be a recurring character, he eventually returned to the character in one short and three features after introducing him in his debut film The 400 Blows (1959). In all, Truffaut followed the fictional life of Antoine Doinel for over 20 years, depicting his romance with Christine (Claude Jade) in Stolen Kisses (1968), then Antoine and Christine's marriage in Bed and Board (1970) and their subsequent divorce in Love on the Run (1979).

A secret identity is a person's cryptonym, incognito, cover and/or alter ego which is not known to the general populace, most often used in fiction. Brought into popular culture by the Scarlet Pimpernel in 1903, the concept was widespread in pulp heroes and is particularly prevalent in the American comic book genre, and is a trope of the masquerade.

In American comic books, a character typically has dual identities, one overt and one covert. The false or public identity being known to the general public as the "superhero persona" and the other being the secret identity. The private or secret identity is typically the superhero's legal name, true identity, and/or "civilian persona" when they are not actively assuming the superhero persona. It is kept hidden from their enemies and the general public to protect themselves from legal ramifications, pressure, or public scrutiny, as well as to protect their friends and loved ones from harm secondary to their actions as superheroes.

Black Cat is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and Dave Cockrum, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 in July 1979 as an adversary of the superhero Spider-Man, although she later becomes his on-off love interest and ally.

In the Marvel Universe, Black Cat is the alter ego of Felicia Sara Hardy, the daughter of renowned cat burglar Walter Hardy. Trained in martial arts and acrobatics, she follows in her father's footsteps and initially comes into conflict with Spider-Man until the two fall in love, leading to a brief partnership in crime-fighting. Their relationship is complicated when it becomes apparent that Black Cat has no interest in Spider-Man's civilian identity as Peter Parker. Despite their break-up, Spider-Man's positive influence motivates Black Cat to remain an antiheroine willing to do the right thing when push comes to shove, and routinely returns to the hero's life as one of his most trusted allies. Black Cat has gained and lost superhuman powers several times throughout her comic book history, most notably possessing a "bad luck" aura capable of inflicting people in her vicinity with misfortune.