History Main / MistakenlyAttackedMole

* In ''[[ComicBook/MightyMorphinPowerRangersBoomStudios Power Rangers: Soul of the Dragon]]'' Tommy hunts for his missing son, JJ, and ends up him having joined an alien gang, and end up coming to blows. It's only later that Tommy learns that JJ was infiltrating the gang on the behalf of his superiors of SPD. Not that it matters, as JJ ends up the target of the gang's leader, the long-missing Scorpina, as JJ is chosen to be the sacrifice to bring Lokar to Earth.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': Miss Martian {{Mind Rape}}s Aqualad and destroys his mind as revenge for his murder of Artemis, leaving him catatonic. [[FakingTheDead Turns out Artemis' death was faked]] and she's acting as TheMole alongside Aqualad. Miss Martian finds out as she's destroying his mind and is horrified afterward. To twist the by knife even further, [[ObliviousGuiltSlinging an unaware Beast Boy applauded her for her actions]].

* In episode 37 of ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs. Warhammer 40K]]'', Mace Windu's meeting with the [[RebelLeader Axum rebel leaders]] gets interrupted by an AssassinationAttempt from a squad of [[EliteMooks Tempestus Scions]], who had infiltrated the Republic's command center on Axum as part of an Imperial Guard mission to [[DecapitationStrike eliminate their enemy's leadership in one fell swoop.]] Unbeknownst to the Scions, one of the rebel leaders at the meeting that they try to kill is actually an [[MoleInCharge undercover Inquisitor]], who had been infiltrating the ranks of the [[LaResistance Axum Resistance]] as part of an entirely separate mission by the Inquisition to assassinate [[spoiler:a Genestealer]] whose cult had taken over one of the rebel cells. Surprisingly, this actually helps the Inquisitor in his mission as he's skilled enough to avoid getting shot by the Scions and uses the chaos of the attack to covertly kill his target and escape unnoticed.

* In episode 37 of ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs. Warhammer 40K]]'', Mace Windu's meeting with the Axum rebel leaders gets interrupted by an AssassinationAttempt from a squad of [[EliteMooks Tempestus Scions]], who had infiltrated the Republic's command center on Axum as part of an Imperial Guard mission to [[DecapitationStrike eliminate their enemy's leadership in one fell swoop.]] Unbeknownst to the Scions, one of the rebel leaders at the meeting that they try to kill is actually an [[MoleInCharge undercover Inquisitor]], who had been infiltrating the ranks of the Axum Resistance as part of an entirely separate mission by the Inquisition to assassinate [[spoiler:a Genestealer]] whose cult had taken over one of the rebel cells. Surprisingly, this actually helps the Inquisitor in his mission as he's skilled enough to avoid getting shot by the Scions and uses the chaos of the attack to covertly kill his target and escape unnoticed.

* In episode 37 of ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs. Warhammer 40K]]'', Mace Windu's meeting with the Axum rebel leaders gets interrupted by an AssassinationAttempt from a squad of [[EliteMooks Tempestus Scions]], who had infiltrated the Republic's command center on Axum under orders from the Imperial Guard to carry out a DecapitationStrike of their enemy's leadership. Unbeknownst to the Scions, one of the rebel leaders at the meeting that they try to kill is actually an [[MoleInCharge undercover Inquisitor]], who had been infiltrating the ranks of the Axum Resistance as part of an entirely separate mission by the Inquisition to assassinate [[spoiler:a Genestealer]] whose cult had taken over one of the rebel cells. Surprisingly, this actually helps the Inquisitor in his mission as he's skilled enough to avoid getting shot by the Scions and uses the chaos of the attack to covertly kill his target and escape unnoticed.

* In episode 37 of ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs. Warhammer 40K]]'', Mace Windu's meeting with the Axum rebel leaders gets interrupted by an AssassinationAttempt from a squad of [[EliteMooks Tempestus Scions]], who had infiltrated the Republic's command center on Axum under orders from the Imperial Guard to carry out a DecapitationStrike of their enemy's leadership. Unbeknownst to the Scions, one of the rebel leaders at the meeting that they try to kill is actually an [[MoleInCharge undercover Inquisitor]], who had been infiltrating the ranks of the Axum Resistance as part of an entirely separate mission by the Inquisition to assassinate [[spoiler:a Genestealer]] whose cult had taken over one of the rebel cells.]] Surprisingly, this actually helps the Inquisitor in his mission as he's skilled enough to avoid getting shot by the Scions and uses the chaos of the attack to covertly kill his target and escape unnoticed.

* In episode 37 of ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs. Warhammer 40K]]'', Mace Windu's meeting with the Axum rebel leaders gets interrupted by an AssassinationAttempt from a squad of [[EliteMooks Tempestus Scions]], who had infiltrated the Republic's command center on Axum under orders from the Imperial Guard to carry out a DecapitationStrike of their enemy's leadership. Unbeknownst to the Scions, one of the rebel leaders at the meeting that they try to kill is actually an [[MoleInCharge undercover Inquisitor]], who had been infiltrating the ranks of the Axum Resistance as part of an entirely separate mission by the Inquisition to assassinate [[spoiler:a Genestealer]] whose cult had taken over one of the rebel cells.]] Surprisingly, this actually helps the Inquisitor in his mission as he's skilled enough to avoid getting shot by the Scions and uses the chaos of the attack to covertly kill his target and escape unnoticed.]]

* ''[[Film/TheAssignment1997 The Assignment]]'' (1997). The plot involves a {{doppelganger}} of terrorist Carlos the Jackal who is trained by the CIA/Mossad to impersonate him, so he can make contact with a former lover of Carlos. However she turns out to be an informant for French intelligence; they ambush the man they think is Carlos and he has to kill several agents in the process of escaping.

* In ''Film/FaceOff'', Sean Archer undergoes plastic surgery to assume the appearance and identity of Castor Troy. Due to some security lapses, Castor ends up forcing the surgeons to give him Archer's face and identity. Because Castor destroyed all the evidence of the switch, Archer's own FBI colleagues have no idea that he's now impersonating Castor. Castor is able to use this to his advantage as he leads an all-out raid on his former girlfriend and her brother while Archer is holed up with them and trying to get their help.

* In ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'', Gary, the newest member of the counterintelligence team, goes undercover to try to uncover the terrorist plot. While undercover, his teammates mistake him for a an actual terrorist despite his PaperThinDisguise and nearly kill him during a ChaseScene.

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* In the climax of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', Professor [=McGonagall=] and the rest of the teachers are done putting up with Snape and join forces to drive him out of the castle. It's shortly after he dies does Harry learn he had been Dumbledore's inside man [[spoiler:even Snape's supposed murder of him had been arranged between the two]], and that he had actually used his position as Hogwarts' headmaster to protect everyone from the Death Eaters. As such, by driving him out, there is no one to shield them from Voldemort, who decides to launch an all-out war against the castle.

* Nearly happens retrospectively to Felix Gaeta in ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'', when a semi-tolerated vigilante group who have been executing Cylon collaborators following the humans' escape from New Caprica nearly kill him because of his role as chief assistant to President Baltar under the occupation. In fact he was a mole for the resistance, which hardly anyone knew. Until he's rescued, Gaeta makes no attempt to defend himself, seemingly because he himself either believes that he deserves to die for the horrors that he [[DirtyBusiness had to be complicit in]], or simply [[DespairEventHorizon doesn't care about living any more]].

Sometimes, the worst thing about being TheMole or a ReverseMole is not the life-threatening lifestyle, the risk of getting caught by the enemy, being outed as a spy and being executed before you can complete your mission. No, sometimes, the worst part is the chance of coming under-fire by your own allies. That one [[CowboyCop loose cannon]] who wasn't informed of your mission, believes you've turned traitor, feels [[MurderIsTheBestSolution there's only one way]] to deal with [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil scum like you]], and in an impulsive act of what [[WithUsOrAgainstUs they think is patriotism]], shoots you on the spot.

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If there is DramaticIrony involved and the audience knows that the victim is a mole, it can make the misguided patriot look unreasonable and monstrous. To make the situation worse, the mole might try to explain the situation, [[CassandraTruth only for the attacker to refuse to listen/believe him until it is too late]]. If the rest of the mole's allies arrive in time to save him, that leads into HesAFriend. The attacker is likely to get YouFool and WhatTheHellHero for his actions, or inversely the attacker will dish it out [[NeverMyFault to the people that didn't tell him the guy was a mole]]. Even worse still if the mole does their mole thing by their own without telling any of their allies, causing all of them to believe that you've turned traitor and thus will hardly trust your words - but sometimes [[ZeroApprovalGambit this is intentional on their part]], and they may even expect to get attacked by their own (real) allies.

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* In ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', Holly Shiftwell ends the ChaseScene where Tomber flees from Finn McMissile by deploying her taser on Tomber. The minute they're alone, Finn interrupts Tomber's complaints to explain that Holly had no idea that Tomber was Finn's informant.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'' episode "Shiv Katall", when one of Zurg's brain pods defects, he sends for the titular assassin to eliminate the brain pod. Hearing this, Buzz goes off on the mission alone. Feeling Buzz needs help, Mira drags Booster and [[DidntWantAnAdventure a reluctant XR]] on a search for Shiv. While chasing Shiv's ship into Zurg's territory, Mira rams it with their star cruiser, at the cost of destroying its power source. It's only then when they're stranded on a planet with Shiv does Mira find out that Shiv was actually Buzz, who used the persona to secretly save those who defect from Zurg's empire. As a result of Mira blowing his cover, they need to come up with a new way to ferry decedents.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': Miss Martian {{Mind Rape}}s Aqualad and destroys his mind as revenge for his murder of Artemis, leaving him catatonic. [[FakingTheDead Turns out Artemis' death was faked]] and she's acting as TheMole alongside Aqualad. Miss Martian finds out as she's destroying his mind and is horrified afterward. To twist the knife even further, [[ObliviousGuiltSlinging an unaware Beast Boy applauded her for her actions]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'' episode "Shiv Katal", when one of Zurg's brain pods defects, he sends for the titular assassin to eliminate the brain pod. Hearing this, Buzz goes off on the mission alone. Feeling Buzz needs help, Mira drags Booster and [[DidntWantAnAdventure a reluctant XR]] on a search for Shiv. While chasing Shiv's ship into Zurg's territory, Mira rams it with their star cruiser, at the cost of destroying its power source. It's only then when they're stranded on a planet with Shiv does Mira find out that Shiv was actually Buzz, who used the persona to secretly save those who defect from Zurg's empire. As a result of Mira blowing his cover, they need to come up with a new way to ferry decedents.

Sometimes, the worst thing about being TheMole or a ReverseMole is not the life-threatening lifestyle, the risk of getting caught by the enemy, being outed as a spy and being executed before you can complete your mission. No, sometimes, the worst part is the chance of coming under-fire by your own allies. That one [[CowboyCop loose cannon]] who wasn't informed of your mission, believes you've turned traitor, feels [[MurderIsTheBestSolution there's only one way]] to deal with [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil scum like you]], and in an impulsive act of what [[WithUsOrAgainstUs they think is patriotism]], shoots you on the spot, believing they just [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves rewarded you as a traitor deserves]].

In other words, the ultimate case of PoorCommunicationKills.

If there is DramaticIrony involved and the audience knows that the victim is a mole, it can make the misguided patriot look unreasonable and monstrous. To make the situation worse, the mole might try to explain the situation, [[CassandraTruth only for the attacker to refuse to listen/believe him until it is too late]].

A subtrope of NiceJobBreakingItHero and RightHandVersusLeftHand. Similar to AcquittedTooLate where an innocent person dies in prison before their exoneration. Compare and contrast FlockOfWolves and FriendOrFoe where one didn't know that the mole was on their side in the first place. Can go hand in hand with VigilanteExecution, especially if the executioner [[TheFriendNobodyLikes isn't popular with the rest of your side]]. If the rest of the mole's allies arrive in time to save him, that leads into HesAFriend. The attacker is likely to get YouFool and WhatTheHellHero for his actions, or inversely the attacker will dish it out [[NeverMyFault to the people that didn't tell him the guy was a mole]]. If the mole went undercover [[FakingTheDead by orchestrating his own death]], see MistakenForOwnMurderer. If the guy seeking to off the mole is obsessed with it and won't stop pursuing until he's dead, see {{Determinator}} and SuperPersistentPredator. Another example of why being LockedOutOfTheLoop is a bad thing. See also TragicMistake and ATragedyOfImpulsiveness.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': Miss Martian {{Mind Rape}}s Aqualad and destroys his mind as revenge for his murder of Artemis. [[FakingTheDead Turns out her death was faked]] and she's acting as TheMole alongside Aqualad. Miss Martian finds out as she's destroying his mind and is horrified afterward. To twist the knife even further, [[ObliviousGuiltSlinging an unaware Beast Boy applauded her for her actions]].

Sometimes, the worst thing about being TheMole or a ReverseMole is not the life-threatening lifestyle, the risk of getting caught by the enemy, being outed as a spy and being executed before you can complete your mission. No, sometimes, the worst part is the chance of coming under-fire by your own allies. That one [[CowboyCop loose cannon]] who wasn't informed of your mission, believes you've turned traitor, feels [[MurderIsTheBestSolution there's only one way]] to deal with [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil scum like you]], and in an impulsive act of what [[WithUsOrAgainstUs they think is patriotism]], shoots you on the spot, believing they just performed RewardedAsATraitorDeserves.

Sometimes, the worst thing about being TheMole is not the life-threatening lifestyle, the risk of getting caught by the enemy, being outed as a spy and being executed before you can complete your mission. No, sometimes, the worst part is the chance of coming under-fire by your own allies. That one [[CowboyCop loose cannon]] who wasn't informed of your mission, believes you've turned traitor, feels [[MurderIsTheBestSolution there's only one way]] to deal with [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil scum like you]], and in an impulsive act of what [[WithUsOrAgainstUs they think is patriotism]], shoots you on the spot, believing they just performed RewardedAsATraitorDeserves.

* In Episode 10 of ''Anime/KabaneriOfTheIronFortress'', the cast is shown to have been captured by the villains, with one of the characters having performed a FaceHeelTurn. Most of the cast believed the betrayal was genuine, due to his previous status as the AloofAlly. So when the prisoners finally retaliate, the "traitor" is also attacked. It's up to the main character to intervene and explain that the "traitor" had spent the entire time passing him information about the villain's lair

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': Miss Martian {{Mind Rape}}s Aqualad and destroys his mind as revenge for his murder of Artemis. [[FakingTheDead Turns out her death was faked]] and she's acting as TheMole alongside Aqualad. Miss Martian finds out as she's destroying his mind and is horrified afterward. To twist the knife even further, an unaware Beast Boy applauded her for her actions.