Many stories have a main protagonist and a main antagonist. In Enemy Within, the antagonist and the protagonist are two sides of the opposite coin, and generally share the same body, or are alternate settings for the same person. Superpowered Evil Side is usually used to fight the true antagonist. It's the dark power that the protagonist is holding back but ultimately comes in handy to fight— it's the protagonist going over the deep end.
An Enemy Within doesn't power the character up, but will chew at their mind.
A Super-Powered Evil Side powers the character up, but whether it also chews at the person's mind depends on what the writer wants.
So they can overlap, but each can exist without the other.
Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. -Terry Pratchett
Sorcerer in training
- Ryo Bakura and Malik in Yu-Gi-Oh!.
Thief Bakura was an evil spirit inhabiting the Millennium Ring. Since he wasn't born from within Ryo Bakura's psyche, he doesn't fit the trope.
Malik, Evil Malik might be an example. I was never clear on whether Malik's mind fractured as a reaction to him being essentially tortured (they cut the tattoos in with a hot knife and did it all in one go!), or if an evil spirit took advantage of the situation. The first would be an example, the second wouldn't. If it is the first, feel free to plonk it in as a proper example.
Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. -Terry Pratchett
How exactly is Enemy Within different from Superpowered Evil Side? Aren't they essentially the same thing?
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