This trope Analysis was going to be written one day or another considering the total oversaturated stories where the MC has 'cool badass side that kicks ass for him' or something along the lines of an evil persona that takes over in tense moments.

Why is it this trope is so prevalent today in modern media? Well, I guess writers want their main character to do bad stuff without having to deal with the negative consequences it may have by blaming it all on a split personality they have no control over.

I've seen many stories where the MC loses himself to anger yet the people around him don't blame him for his outburst and instead decide to let him off since 'he was angry' and 'wouldn't usually blow up a building'. I find it a waste of potential when consequences are written off in such a way.

If your MC gets angry and has a drastic change in personality shown through his actions, don't just immediately wave off everything because he started to show some signs of being flawed human. If he gets an Alter Ego to deal with his pain and suffering, then it is even more of a reason he should be held accountable by those around him since people usually wouldn't know of his 'other self'.

Alter Egos can come in different forms: It can sometimes be a character showing one of the 'personas' they've created to cope with their situations in life (which is a step down from a split personality since the character is technically a hundred percent himself), it can be a sentient superpower that can take control in dire circumstances, it can be a super powered evil half that threatens to take over his body and mind.

Either way, the most important aspect of this trope isn't the effect it has on the world but how the main character comes to term with it. Sometimes the MC is oblivious to his Alter Ego and spends nearly the entire story until figuring 'Am I the baddie?'.

In cases he's fully or at least vaguely aware of his Alter Ego, there can also be times for internal and external conflict since the MC might not want to be in w peaceful relationship with his split personality.

Take Bruce Banner from The Hulk, as an example of this. Although he's portrayed as a victim anywhere other than the comics, there are times in his story where he goes out of his way to prepare ambushes for his Alter Ego and vice-versa. There was a time in the comics where Doc Green threatened Banner to never come out or else he'd use the traps in place to kill off his lover. Conflicts are bound to arise if you don't want to share your body with your Alter Ego.

Other times however this might not be the case since there are times Alter Egos want to help the MC instead, this forming a partnership that is not at all that interesting unless you throw some spice into the mix. Do other people accept that Ego? Is the good but quirky Alter Ego annoying at times?

Really, all you gotta consider when using this trope is how it makes the MC's life turn on its head instead of throwing it to the background when it's unneeded. I get the MC doesn't want it to come out all the time but there's no doubt your protagonist will always be thinking about it due to it affecting his livelihood.

If you wanna turn it into just a run-of-the-mill superpower that just so happens to speak, then you might as well mute it since there really isn't a need to characterise someone who will turn on and off at the Authors convenience. If he isn't his own standalone character then just having him as a 'nature' instead of fully-developed personality is just fine.

On a side note, it's not that I hate Alter Egos but I feel a great part of the trope would be wasted if you don't show how it interacts and affects the MC's life just by existing. Having another side to the MC doesn't need to be shown this way and there are a lot of other methods to characterise the MC without having him lose any of his positive charms.

If you've read Gun X Clover, you'd see there a lot of ways split personalities can be characterised through their individual thoughts or by how they affect the original personality secretly.

Though I won't say the Manga does the best job at portraying them, I feel that it's on the right track when you consider how the Heroine's split personalities are relevant throughout the story.

Thank you reading and let me know your thoughts! Also, which trope would you like next? Another Trope Analysis will be posted anyway even without feedback but example can help me with choosing~