This is the genuine Son Goku. Your actual body. But the heart beating within...belongs to me, Zamasu! With the first wish I made to the Super Dragon Balls, you and I... switched bodies!
Hm? "Give it back?" No way. This body hurts much less. You gave it to me in the first place. Why should I have to give it back? Right...Viola?
— Viola (who is really Ellen), The Witch's House
At some point or another in life, everyone has wished or will wish that they could be someone else. We've all looked at a friend, coworker, family member of complete stranger with envy. Everyone has looked at another person with a heart that coveted. If only we could be stronger, luckier, smarter or kinder. Most people, reaching a certain age, will look at those around them and think "if only I could be a bit younger, if only I had a body like that."
Of course, the difference between the average person and the body thief is that the thief has found a way to see what they want in others and take it, usually by force.
Buffy: <Kara?>
Supergirl: <Yes, Buffy?>
Buffy: <We’re finished.>
Supergirl: <Good. I want my body back.>
Buffy: <With pleasure. But I gotta tell you, you’ve got a really great setup here. Do you think, maybe, sometime...>
Supergirl: <BUFFY.>
Buffy: <All right, all right.>
Supergirl: <Yes, Buffy?>
Buffy: <We’re finished.>
Supergirl: <Good. I want my body back.>
Buffy: <With pleasure. But I gotta tell you, you’ve got a really great setup here. Do you think, maybe, sometime...>
Supergirl: <BUFFY.>
Buffy: <All right, all right.>
This is so much better'n what I came for! Most bodies start wastin' away the moment I jump in. But this one feels different... [transforms into his original self] And look! I can be Kevin MacTaggert again! D'ye know how many years it's been since I've seen my own face? Who'd have thought Morph was the glass slipper I've been looking for? [transforms into Miss Marvel] I can be anyone... [transforms into Jack the Ripper] prey on anyone... [transforms into a little girl] ... and never get caught!
—Proteus, Exiles #80: World Tour - Future Imperfect Part 2
You're a loathsome murderer in a stolen suit of skin, aren't you?
— Loki's ghostly conscience, Young Avengers
When Pretty Emily woke one day,
She saw a world a different way.
Her eyes now looked with a stranger's guile,
Her dainty mouth smiled a stranger's smile,
Her hands now worked the stranger's wrath,
Her feet now walked a stranger's path.
Emily fed, another grew stronger.
The stranger's cravings drove her onward,
And no one who looked on Emily's face
Ever guessed who ruled in Emily's place.
— Delilah Copperspoon, Dishonored.
