History Main / MarqueeAlterEgo

** As another ''Mandalorian'' example, Chapter 19 inducts [[spoiler:Bo-Katan Kryze]] into the Children of the Watch, requiring her to never publicly unveil herself unless she decides to leave. However, the next episode briefly lets [[Creator/KateeSackhoff her actress]] still show her face to the viewers when the character eats all alone. It feels gratuitous when considering that when Din eats away from any humans, he still doesn't let the viewers see his face.

* Strangely, ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'' has Fiona turning back into a human for a while -- maybe just to get further mileage out of [[WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}} the first film]]'s model. Maybe the animators hoped to use it in promotional material that [[LateArrivalSpoiler wouldn't spoil viewers who hadn't seen the first one yet]].

** ''Film/AntMan1'' plays with it. Scott Lang actually does keep his mask on whenever he's using his powers (because in this continuity, the helmet is a life-support system, meaning he ''needs it to live'' while shrinking). However, when he has it on but isn't using his powers, he often flips up the face plate so we can see Creator/PaulRudd under the helmet. Like many of the examples above, the movie also has a huge number of scenes where Scott is not wearing the costume at all. {{Averted|Trope}} with ComicBook/TheWasp, who is ''only'' ever seen with her mask on in flashbacks since Creator/MichellePfeiffer wasn't yet cast to play her in the sequel.
** ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' does the same thing again, with both the title characters (same Ant-Man, but the daughter of the original Wasp) flipping up the face plate outside of action scenes. Antagonist Ghost also takes off her helmet at times.

** As another ''Mandalorian'' example, Chapter 19 inducts [[spoiler:Bo-Katan Kryze]] into the tribe that rose Din Djarin, requiring her to never publicly unveil herself unless she decides to leave. However, the next episode briefly lets [[Creator/KateeSackhoff her actress]] still show her face to the viewers when the character eats all alone. It feels gratuitous when considering that when Din eats away from any humans, he still doesn't let the viewers see his face.

** Despite the oath [[Characters/StarWarsTheMandalorianCharacterSheet Din Djarin]], played by Creator/PedroPascal, took as a Child of the Watch never to reveal his face to another living thing, it doesn't feel like he can ever go a whole season of ''Series/TheMandalorian'' without letting the viewers see it at least once. The first two seasons each have some disaster near the end require Din to remove his helmet for a scene or two, symbolizing him learning to let his guard down, and/or prioritizing his paternal responsibilities above a tradition that some Mandalorians have already abandoned.[[note]]The first such disaster leaves Din's face scarred and bloody, requiring him to undergo a bacta treatment. This ends up depriving viewers of a clean look at Pedro Pascal's visage until Season 2.[[/note]] The unmaskings also allow Pascal and the director to convey emotions too powerful for Din's subdued body language, though early instances have Din exploit a loophole to get away with reluctantly exposing his face to someone else. [[spoiler:The Season 2 finale breaks some of these trends. When Din bids farewell to Grogu, he willingly unveils himself to the Child, then keeps his helmet off for the remainder of the episode.]]

*** Steve ditches his helmet for the entire final battle, which is only explained in a deleted scene (the first thing he sees in Sokovia is graffiti of himself in full costume with "fascist" written over it).

*** Director Creator/TaikaWaititi wanted to play up Creator/JeffGoldblum's natural appeal, which is ''part'' of the reason the Grandmaster isn't blue-skinned as he is in the comics. The other part is that Goldblum had '''already''' played a blue-skinned extraterrestrial in ''Film/EarthGirlsAreEasy''! Instead, this Grandmaster has blue eyeliner and a chin stripe, along with blue fingernails and toenails. This look also makes his appearance more strongly resemble Creator/BenicioDelToro's Collector from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', as the characters are brothers in the comics continuity.

** ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'': Creator/BenMendelsohn plays Talos, the leader of the Skrulls, as well as ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} Director Keller. Unlike in the comics, where Talos lacks the Skrulls' classic VoluntaryShapeshifting abilities and instead has SuperStrength, here [[AdaptationalSuperpowerChange he does have the shapeshifting powers]], and in fact impersonates Director Keller for part of the movie to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D., allowing Mendelsohn to get out of his Skrull costume[=/=]prosthetics and show his actual face. It also serves as an example of Administrivia/TropesAreTools, as the Skrulls are shapeshifters, allowing them to adopt whatever guise serves their purpose.

** An interesting case with the Cobra Commander and Destro. In ''The Rise of Cobra'', Cobra Commander (played by Creator/JosephGordonLevitt) has his face covered by a half-mask most of the time and the visible part of his face is horribly scarred. When he finally removes his mask he only does so for a few seconds before exchanging it for an entirely new one that covers his entire face (we do get to see his actual face in flashbacks, though). In ''Retaliation'', he wears his iconic helmet all the time (possibly to cover the fact that he's played by an entirely different actor). Meanwhile, in ''The Rise of Cobra'', Destro's face is always shown as that of a regular human right until the end, where he gets disfigured and Cobra Commander injects him with a compound that turns his face metallic. In ''Retaliation'', his metallic face is only seen for a few seconds behind a glass pane at the beginning, and never again.

* ''Series/{{Jessica Jones|2015}}'': In a flashback in season 1 episode 5, Trish tries to get Jessica to don her iconic "Jewel" costume from the comics, which includes a DominoMask. Jessica turns it down, saying "The only place anyone is wearing that is trick-or-treating, or as part of some kinky role-playing scenario." So Jessica never wears any sort of mask at all.

** ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'': Creator/BenMendelsohn plays Talos the Skrull and Director Keller of ComicBook/{{SHIELD}}. Unlike in the comics, where Talos lacks the Skrulls' classic VoluntaryShapeshifting abilities and instead has SuperStrength here [[AdaptationalSuperpowerChange he does have the shapeshifting powers]], and in fact has some scenes where he disguises himself as Director Keller to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D., allowing Mendelsohn to get out of his Skrull costume[=/=]prosthetics and show his actual face for the part of the movie where Talos impersonates Fury's boss (to make it hard to realize it's still Mendelsohn, he adapts an American accent for these scenes, while using his own Australian accent in Talos's default form). It also serves as an example of Administrivia/TropesAreTools, as the Skrulls are shapeshifters, allowing them to adopt whatever guise serves their purpose.

** The cops also manage to take it off when they capture him, forcing him to fight with his face concealed. It also, conveniently, exposes his identity to Chief Stacy and lets Peter emote.

** ''Film/IronMan1'': While Tony is seen quite a bit out of the suit, having his mask come off in the final fight seems to be for this reason. The films are also full of shots showing Stark's face from inside the Iron Man helmet, although that may just be because shining some lights in Creator/RobertDowneyJr's eyes is much cheaper than fully animating the suit in flight. Behind-the-scenes interviews with the effects crew all but state outright that these HUD shots of Tony Stark's face are so RDJ, a noted character actor throughout his career, can act with his face despite his character being covered in robot. Such scenes also serve to make the in-flight conversations with Jarvis slightly less TalkingToThemself-ish, and they're relatively common in the source material anyway. And on a more meta-level, we have the very last line of the movie:

** ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' heavily redesigned ComicBook/{{Ultron}} so that rather than having a static Jack-O'-Lantern visage, he now sports a fully expressive and animated face. Creator/JossWhedon defended the choice by saying that it'd be a waste to hire an actor of Creator/JamesSpader's caliber and then ''only'' have him do a voice-over. Steve also ditches his helmet for the entire final battle, which is only explained in a deleted scene (the first thing he sees in Sokovia is graffiti of himself in full costume with "fascist" written over it).
** ''Film/AntMan1'' plays with it. Scott actually does keep his mask on whenever he's using his powers (because in this continuity, the helmet is a life-support system, meaning he ''needs it to live'' while shrinking). However, when he has it on but isn't using his powers, he often flips up the face plate so we can see Creator/PaulRudd under the helmet. Like many of the examples above, the movie also has a huge number of scenes where Scott is not wearing the costume at all. {{Averted|Trope}} with ComicBook/TheWasp, who is ''only'' ever seen with her mask on in flashbacks since Creator/MichellePfeiffer wasn't yet cast to play her in the sequel.

** In the comics, ComicBook/{{Hela}} wears a mask as part of her trademark CoolHelmet in order to hide her decaying face. In ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', Hela only has the mask in a select few scenes (even while wearing the helmet) and is still [[AdaptationalAttractiveness gorgeous without it]].
** Director Creator/TaikaWaititi wanted to play up Creator/JeffGoldblum's natural appeal, which is ''part'' of the reason the Grandmaster isn't blue-skinned as he is in the comics. The other part is that Goldblum had '''already''' played a blue-skinned extraterrestrial in ''Film/EarthGirlsAreEasy''! Instead, this Grandmaster has blue eyeliner and a chin stripe, along with blue fingernails and toenails. This look also makes his appearance more strongly resemble Creator/BenicioDelToro's Collector from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', as the characters are brothers in the comics continuity.

* For most of ''Film/{{Joker|2019}}'', the titular character appears as a normal man and doesn't wear his makeup except for a few important scenes, despite the marketing heavily featuring that look. Justified in that he has to apply it himself, and even gets a montage for it.

** More strikingly, [[Characters/TheDarkKnightTrilogyBane Bane]] spends the whole of ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' in a mouth-and-nose-concealing mask, with a brief, maskless view in a flashback. In the same movie, Comicbook/{{Catwoman}} wears driving goggles that look a little like her iconic mask but these scenes are few and far between.

** Director Creator/TaikaWaititi wanted to play up Creator/JeffGoldblum's natural appeal, which is ''part'' of the reason the Grandmaster isn't blue-skinned as he is in the comics. The other part is that Goldblum had '''already''' played a blue-skinned extraterrestrial in ''Film/EarthGirlsAreEasy''! Instead, this Grandmaster has blue eyeliner and a chin stripe, along with blue fingernails and toenails. This look also makes his appearance more strongly resemble Creator/BenicioDelToro's Collector from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', as the characters are brothers in the comics continuity.

* Not transformed back, but after Creator/JackNicholson becomes ComicBook/TheJoker in the 1989 ''Film/{{Batman|1989}}'' film, there are stretches where he puts on enough makeup to pass for normal. Well, [[UncannyValley almost]].

* ''Series/WhatWeDoInTheShadows2019'' tones down how much prosthetics Creator/DougJones wears as the Baron in one Season Four episode. [[spoiler:When Nandor wishes for the Djinn to cure the Baron's skin burns, and restore the lower half of his body, the Djinn also reverses the signs of aging on the Baron's face.]]

* Yūga Yamato doesn't wear a mask while portraying Tuxedo Mask ([[TheArtifact thus making the name somewhat inaccurate]]) in the ''Theatre/SeraMyu'' musicals. Past actors who played the character usually eschewed the mask as well.
* Rather famously, Creator/AndrewLloydWebber's stage adaptation of ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' altered the Phantom's mask (and underlying deformity) so that it now only covered half of his face, allowing Creator/MichaelCrawford and all subsequent Phantom actors to more easily sing and emote. The half-mask has become such an icon of the show, which ran for over three decades with advertisements in every corner of New York City, that it is likely now the first imagery to come to mind upon hearing "The Phantom of the Opera" even if you've never seen the show.

* Rather famously, the stage adaptation of ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' altered the Phantom's mask (and underlying deformity) so that it now only covered half of his face. There was a practical reason involved -- Michael Crawford found he had a much harder time singing with a more book-accurate mask, much less makeup.

** ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'': Creator/BenMendelsohn plays Talos the Skrull and Director Krenner of ComicBook/{{SHIELD}}. Unlike in the comics, where Talos lacks the Skrulls' classic VoluntaryShapeshifting abilities and instead has SuperStrength here [[AdaptationalSuperpowerChange he does have the shapeshifting powers]], and in fact has some scenes where he disguises himself as Director Krenner to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D., allowing Mendelsohn to get out of his Skrull costume[=/=]prosthetics and show his actual face for the part of the movie where Talos impersonates Fury's boss (to make it hard to realize it's still Mendelsohn, he adapts an American accent for these scenes, while using his own Australian accent in Talos's default form). It also serves as an example of Administrivia/TropesAreTools, as the Skrulls are shapeshifters, allowing them to adopt whatever guise serves their purpose.

* In ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' movie trilogy, Creator/AndySerkis felt depressed about his groundbreaking work as Gollum being relatively anonymous. So the filmmakers shot a flashback scene as Sméagol for him.

** ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'': In the comics, Talos lacks the Skrulls' classic VoluntaryShapeshifting abilities and instead has SuperStrength. In this movie, however, [[AdaptationalSuperpowerChange he does have the shapeshifting powers]], and in fact has some scenes where he switches to human form and infiltrates ComicBook/{{SHIELD}}. This gives Creator/BenMendelsohn an excuse to get out of his Skrull costume[=/=]prosthetics and show his actual face for the part of the movie where Talos impersonates Fury's boss (to make it hard to realize it's still Mendelsohn, he adapts an American accent for these scenes, while using his own Australian accent in Talos's default form). It also serves as an example of Administrivia/TropesAreTools, as the Skrulls are shapeshifters, allowing them to adopt whatever guise serves their purpose.

*** Spider-Man only wears his mask during battles because of the fallout of ''Far From Home'' making it useless outside of combat.

*** In the same fashion to ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'', Electro not only ditches the green and gold costume from the comics, but also the [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation blue skin]] from that movie, allowing Creator/JamieFoxx to show his actual face. However, there is a MythologyGag where Electro, when using his powers, manifests electricity to create a star-like pattern around his face to resemble the mask from the comics.

** Like ''The Winter Soldier'', ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' has several action scenes where the characters aren't wearing any costumes. The theatrical posters also often had Cap and Iron Man maskless, but this was taken UpToEleven for the individual characters posters, where ''none'' of the Avengers had on their masks. And of course, we once again have our obligatory scene where Spider-Man's mask is knocked off during a battle.

** Although Creator/RayFisher hasn't quite yet reached upper levels of stardom, his role as Victor Stone/Cyborg in ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' has more than a couple scenes of {{flashback}}s and digital world in which he's seen with his normal body and face.

** Despite the oath [[Characters/StarWarsTheMandalorianCharacterSheet Din Djarin]], played by Creator/PedroPascal, took as a Child of the Watch never to reveal his face to another living thing, it doesn't feel like he can ever go a whole season of ''Series/TheMandalorian'' without letting the viewers see it at least once. The first two seasons each have some disaster near the end require Din to remove his helmet for a scene or two, symbolizing him learning to let his guard down, and/or prioritizing his paternal responsibilities above a tradition that some Mandalorians have already abandoned.[[note]]The first such disaster leaves Din's face scarred and bloody, depriving viewers from a clean look at Pedro Pascal's visage until Season 2.[[/note]] The unmaskings also allow Pascal and the director to convey emotions too powerful for Din's subdued body language, though early instances have Din exploit a loophole to get away with reluctantly exposing his face to someone else. [[spoiler:The Season 2 finale breaks some of these trends. When Din bids farewell to Grogu, he willingly unveils himself to the Child, then keeps his helmet off for the remainder of the episode.]]

** Despite the oath [[Characters/StarWarsTheMandalorianCharacterSheet Din Djarin]], played by Creator/PedroPascal, took as a Child of the Watch never to reveal his face to another living thing, it doesn't feel like he can ever go a whole season of ''Series/TheMandalorian'' without letting the viewers see it at least once. The first two seasons each have some disaster near the end require Din to remove his helmet for a scene or two, symbolizing him learning to let his guard down, and/or prioritizing his paternal responsibilities above a tradition that some Mandalorians have already abandoned. The unmaskings also allow Pascal and the director to convey emotions too powerful for Din's subdued body language, though early instances have Din exploit a loophole to get away with reluctantly exposing his face to someone else. [[spoiler:The Season 2 finale stands out, when Din willingly unveils himself to Grogu. After he bids farewell to the Child, he keeps his helmet off for the remainder of the episode.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[ComicBook/CivilWar Comics]] vs. [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron Movies]]]]

* Creator/SylvesterStallone only spends about ten minutes with his helmet on in ''Film/JudgeDredd'', despite the fact that in [[ComicBook/JudgeDredd the comics]] we have ''never'' seen Dredd with his helmet off (at least, not when he wasn't wearing some face-altering disguise or covered in bandages).

** While [[Characters/StarWarsBobaFett Boba Fett]] never appeared in the Original Trilogy without his helmet, he regularly unveils himself in the Creator/DisneyPlus shows, as portrayed by Creator/TemueraMorrison. ''Series/TheMandalorian'' explains that Boba lost his armor some time after ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', and he doesn't regain it until Chapter 14. Even after that, his lack of affiliation to a Mandalorian tribe means that unlike such Mandos as the zealous Children of the Watch, he follows [[Film/AttackOfTheClones his father's lead]] of disregarding any rules that would prevent him from revealing his face to other people. ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' takes this trope to another degree, when the acid scars and bleached skin he developed in the Sarlacc Pit start healing, allowing Morrison to perform with less prosthetic makeup covering his face than in ''Mandalorian'' Season 2.

*** In the climax, [[spoiler: Sandman and the Lizard, who spent most of the movie in their sand and reptilian forms, respectively, [[BroughtDownToNormal gets transformed into]] Creator/RhysIfans and Creator/ThomasHadenChurch, respectively, when they are cured of their conditions.]]

*** Norman Osborn destroys the Green Goblin helmet early on in a failed attempt to purge his Goblin persona and doesn't bother making a new one when it reasserts.

** In ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', we get a lot of scenes showing Bruce Banner (Creator/EdwardNorton) untransformed, while the Hulk himself has less screentime. Ditto for Creator/TimRoth's Emil Blonsky, who looks like a normal human for most of the film and only transforms into the Abomination just before the final battle.

* ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' has his mask ripped off right before his final fight with ComicBook/TheKingpin, while Comicbook/{{Bullseye|MarvelComics}} doesn't wear a mask at all.

* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': While in seasons 1 and 3, Matt is generally very good about never taking off his Daredevil mask, season 2 has several points where he removes the helmet in scenes with Elektra, ostensibly so that Creator/CharlieCox can do scenes where he emotes with his eyes in addition to his mouth. ''Series/TheDefenders2017'' continues this, as Matt has a fair amount of time in his Daredevil costume where he doesn't have his helmet on, including a fair portion of the final fight with Elektra.
* ''Series/JessicaJones2015'': In a flashback in season 1 episode 5, Trish tries to get Jessica to don her iconic "Jewel" costume from the comics, which includes a DominoMask. Jessica turns it down, saying "The only place anyone is wearing that is trick-or-treating, or as part of some kinky role-playing scenario." So Jessica never wears any sort of mask at all.

* ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'' often had the majority of the focus on Creator/BillBixby's Dr. Banner, with Creator/LouFerrigno's Hulk often only showing up for fight scenes and action sequences. This is simultaneously an inversion, considering that the Hulk is the title character and Ferrigno himself is a name actor.