History Main / FakeMemories

* When Rocket Raccoon was retooled for ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', the original ''ComicBook/RocketRaccoon'' miniseries was {{retcon}}ned to be fake memories created so that Rocket wouldn't remember the ''real'' reason he left Halfworld.

** The actions of the ComicBook/New52's ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|2011}} was later {{retcon}}ned as false implanted memories in ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth. Even her mother's design was changed in these memories[[note]]The New 52 version of Hippolyta is a blonde but the "real" version is the Post-Crisis black-haired incarnation.[[/note]].

* The ComicBook/BlackWidow's past as a ballerina was revealed to be a lie created by the Red Room. It turns out she was an orphan taken in by them and raised to be an assassin. The reason for the fake memories as a ballerina was to instill happy memories of Russia in her and thus make her feel more patriotic.

* [[Characters/CaptainAmericaHeroes The Falcon]] had a major case of FlipFlopOfGod concerning his Fake Memories. The original retcon in the 70s said that Sam's past as a social worker was the fake memories, that he was really a pimp and a criminal named "Snap" Wilson. Subsequent writers largely ignored this, so for many year it was unclear if this part of his backstory was meant to be non-canon or not. Flash forward to 2014 and Sam taking up the mantle of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, where it was finally clarified that the true memories were of him as a social worker and that the "Snap" Wilson memories were ones implanted into his mind by the [[Characters/MarvelComicsRedSkull Red Skull]] to not only discredit him, but hope that other people would be ''racist'' enough to follow up on it and attack him.
* When ComicBook/RocketRaccoon was retooled for ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', the original ''Rocket Raccoon'' miniseries was retconned to be fake memories created so that Rocket wouldn't remember the ''real'' reason he left Halfworld.

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': In ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018'', the ''ComicBook/SinisterWar'' story arc reveals that [[spoiler:the past storyline ''ComicBook/SinsPast'' was a result of this; ''Sins Past'' revealed that Gwen Stacy had an affair with Norman Osborn and conceived twins who grew to adulthood in less than ten years. Here the villain Kindred (the soul of Harry Osborn reborn as a demon) reveals that those twins were actually flawed clones of Harry and Gwen created to give them new bodies; while Norman Osborn and Mary Jane recall the affair and Gwen telling her about it respectively, these memories were 'implanted' by Mysterio to better sell the scheme]].

** ComicBook/PowerGirl from DC Comics had her original Earth-Two Kryptonian origin dismissed as a fake memory by Arion the sorcerer who reveals to her her at-the-time "true" ComicBook/PostCrisis origin of being his granddaughter who was genetically manipulated to be given Kryptonian-like powers. Later on, it turns out that her new "true" origin was in itself a fake memory and that she was truly an Earth-Two Kryptonian who had somehow survived the merging of the Earth universes to create the ComicBook/PostCrisis New Earth.

* Shadowplay can produce these in ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye''. Chromedome specifically leaves some in Overlord's mind subtly altering the Decepticon's memories of his greatest defeats for the purposes of creating a trigger word that would shut him down with fear when uttered.
* ''ComicBook/{{Venom}}'': ''ComicBook/VenomDonnyCates'' revealed that the symbiote had been doing this for years to gaslight Eddie into staying. These include faking memories of Eddie having a sister named Mary and an uncle named Dan who'd died of cancer and falsifying memories of Eddie's own "diagnosis" of cancer.

** In ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' Circe gave herself false memories as part of a gambit that involved tricking both Diana and Ares into believing a disguise was actually human. The trick worked a little too well and she became attached to her false identity, the morals she developed, and the friends she made which meant she was never quite the same after she changed back into Circe.

* ''Film/UltramanGingaSTheMovieShowdownThe10UltraBrothers'' has a powerful Space-Time Demon, Etelgar, who invaded and destroyed most of the peaceful planet, Zant, and abducted their Princess, Arena, implanting fake memories into Arena's mind so that she believes ''it's the Ultramen'' who wiped out her home planet, turning her into Etelgar's pawn to help him hunt down multiple Ultras.

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

* In ''Anime/HirogaruSkyPrettyCure'', [[spoiler:Empress Undergu bears grudge against Ellee and her predecessor Elleelain after the latter kills her father, Emperor Undergu, during the sudden back attack. This, however, was proven to be false, as the true main villain, Skearhead, ''is'' the one who killed him, and he edited Empress' memories to make her who she is at the beginning of the story. And when that finally wears off, she doesn't take it too well]].

* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': Connor is given a set of fake memories when he's removed from the cast, as are most of the other characters he interacted with during seasons 3 or 4.

* The point of the ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}''. It's a company which takes operatives called 'Dolls' whom they can program to be whomever they want; prostitute, spy, medical officer, assassin, perfect girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse, the list goes on. The Dolls are mostly volunteers who signed five-year contracts with the promise of having some personal trauma fixed at the end of their service, but some were... not volunteers. Each time the Doll has a full set of memories imprinted on them, at least until it's wiped and a new set is downloaded. Except, what happens if a Doll begins to keep his or her memories from past engagements? That's what begins to happen to the series protagonist, Echo.

* The point of the ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}''. It's a company which takes operatives called 'Dolls' whom they can program to be whomever they want; prostitute, spy, medical officer, assassin, perfect girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse, the list goes on. The Dolls are mostly volunteers who signed five-year contracts with the promise of having some personal trauma fixed at the end of their service, but some were... not volunteers. Each time the Doll has a full set of memories, at least until it's wiped and a new set is downloaded. Except, what happens if a Doll begins to keep his or her memories from past engagements?

* In ''Anime/HirogaruSkyPrettyCure'', [[spoiler:Empress Undergu bears grudge against Ellee and her predecessor Elleelain after the latter kills her father, Emperor Undergu, during the sudden back attack. This, however, was proven to be false, as the true main villain, Skearhead, is the one who killed him, and he edited Empress' memories to make her who she is at the beginning of the story. And when that finally wears off, she doesn't take it too well]].

* In ''Anime/HirogaruSkyPrettyCure'', [[spoiler:Empress Undergu bears grudge against Ellee and her predecessor Elleelain after the latter kills her father, Emperor Undergu, during the sudden back attack. This, however, was proven to be false, as the true main villain, Skearhead, is the one who killed him, and he edited Empress' memories to make her who she is at the beginning of the story. And when that
finally wears off, she doesn't take it too well]].

* In ''Anime/HirogaruSkyPrettyCure'', [[spoiler:Empress Undergu bears grudge against Ellee and her predecessor Elleelain after the latter kills her father, Emperor Undergu, during the sudden back attack. This, however, was proven to be false, as the true main villain, Skearhead, is the one who killed him, and he edited Empress' memories to make her who she is at the beginning of the story]].

* In ''Anime/HirogaruSkyPrettyCure'', [[spoiler:Empress Undergu bears a grudge against Ellee and her predecessor Elleelain after the latter kills her father, Emperor Undergu, during the sudden back attack. This, however, was proven to be false, as the true main villain, Skearhead, is the one who killed him, and he edited Empress' memories to make her who she is at the beginning of the story]].

* ''Film/DarkCity'' had an entire city of people whose memories were removed, remixed, and reinserted thousands of times. One police detective figures it out and commits suicide to escape.
* ''Film/Extinction2018'': [[spoiler: Peter, Alice]] and the majority of others had false memories implanted. In his case it gives him a created past history with his new children.

Of course, [[PygmalionSnapBack this never works as planned.]] Like an itch they can't scratch, the character with tampered memories will notice things aren't as they should be and scratch at the false memories like a scab, questioning their [[ConvenientlyUnverifiableCoverStory "Past"]] and [[BrokenMasquerade searching for the truth.]] Or go crazy trying. Occasionally, a hero will leave a NoteToSelf or instructions for friends to help. The irony being that the false memories tend to lead the character right back to the people who erased them with enough of an advantage to take them out.