Tropes and Cliches

Identity Crisis/ Loss of Identity

So you know in just about any series, whether it's a video game, a comic/manga, or tv show, there is somewhat of an identity crisis. Just think about. The protagonist find out some secret that changes everything and there is a subplot happening with the plot about how said incident changes how the protagonist and those around us. 
Identity crisis or Loss of identity is something many characters go through, whether they're the good guys, bad guys, or morally gray characters. They can lose a special ability they had, find out they aren't who they think they are, or find out something that changes a lot of things. 

So I should probably explain the source of the identity crisis before I dive deeper. Now a person's identity can be made of many things. A special skill, their family, basically what makes them who they are. And to strip them of that one thing or many things can crush a person. 

Major spoilers about certain parts of of this trope.

In Black Panther ( both the comics and live action movie..and the few cartoons), we find out Erik Killmonger is in line for the throne of Wakanda and the mantle of Black Panther. And was basically hidden from everyone. T'Challa goes there a slight crisis when it comes to who was in the right, his father who killed is own brother to stop another world war and abandoned his own blood or Erik who was right about the oppression of everyone with any type of melanin in their skin. 

Sasuke Uchiha has an all out breakdown when he finds out the truth behind his clan's slaughter. His brother confesses that he killed the Uchiha clan to stop a civil war in the leaf, but left Sasuke alive, thus branding him as a traitor to the Leaf Village. And we saw how well Sasuke took that new. 

A main theme in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, where Kairi's nobody, Naminé, was used by Organization XIII to rearrange and implant new memories into Sora's heart to make him a controllable pawn. Also happens to Sora's nobody, Roxas, who's memories are wiped by Ansem the Wise and placed in a simulated world with a completely new identity. Xion counts too. Her memories are just a copy of Sora's.As well as Xehanort (or Terra's body with Xehanort's soul), whose memory was erased after being beaten by Terra's possessed armor and transported into Radiant Garden in Birth By Sleep...and the villains, who appear not to remember Sora and his gang despite him kicking their asses in the earlier games.

In the Teen Titans animated series, Fixit tries to "repair" Cyborg by taking away all that made him human and replacing it with fully mechanical parts and a mechanical brain. Cyborg is justifiably freaked out, because, without his humanity, he'd be just a emotionless machine with his memories. Eventually, it is Cyborg's humanity that causes Fixit to remember what ''he'' lost. But let's be honest, they all had a crisis one time or another. 

The one I love the most is Zuko, from Avatar: The Last Airbender. He had a lot going on, from getting burned by his father, banished with condition of bringing the possibly dead avatar back to restore what was lost, being branded a criminal, turning on his uncle( the man who cared when no one else did),  living a facade and finding out that avatar was your grandfather, and turning on your nation to dethrone your father, almost dying a couple of time in the process, I'm surprised it he didn't have  complete mental breakdown like Azula. 

Now writing an identity crisis is sort of hard. Why? Well it depends on the work. If it's a word where magic run a muck, a character losing their powers is a start. Or with superheroes they can lose their powers, have their morals put to the test, or easily be filling in some pretty big shoes. Like Robin( in the Young Justice series) he wanted to be the Batman, but after a training simulator gone wrong, he full on questions whether he still wants to be Batman. Now they don't specify with he meant being Batman or being like Batman, so take that how ever you like. 

In the realm of evil dictators, have the hero ask if what they are doing going to be worth it in the end. Hell, even the villains can have these kind of crisis. Like they ask if their motives are worth the actions they take. This is shown in Captain America: Civil War. Zemo was consumed by vengeance to the point he questioned in the end if it was all worth it. 

In Disney, a loss of identity is normally fixed in a song. In Moana, the title character had one when she question whether the Ocean chose right. Her Grandmother comes and tells her it was okay to turn back but Moana hesitate. Moana is ask if she knew who she was, and in typical Disney fashion, there is a song and Moana realizes who she is. 

Just try to give your audience the jist of the situation. Person A lost something important (insert how it related to the character), they don't know what to do. It is basically a small part of a Hero's Journey, and an important piece to character development. If they don't that missing part of them, then who are they?