History Main / OvertOperative

** Max Smart has been outed any number of times before friends, courts (complete with juries and an audience), police, etc., KAOS knows not only his identity but his address,and whenever he is near KAOS forces, someone says “That’s Maxwell Smart, one of COMTROL’s top agents!”;;and he still continues his career as a "secret" agent. And that's just in the first half of the first season! That's the magic of parody for you.

** Max Smart has been outed any number of times before friends, courts (complete with juries and an audience), police, etc., KAOS knows not only his identity but his address, and he still continues his career as a "secret" agent. And that's just in the first half of the first season! That's the magic of parody for you.

* In the original French movie ''Film/LaTotale'', the lead actor [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thierry_Lhermitte Thierry Lhermitte]] looks a lot more like the {{everyman}} and nobody would reasonably suspect this so-called computer salesman from being a top agent in a counter-espionage agency.

An [[DiscreditedTrope obsolete version]] of this is the supposedly-inconspicuous [[ConspicuousTrenchcoat trenchcoat]], [[CoatHatMask fedora and shades]], which most modern audiences would describe straight away as "[[SpyFi a spy outfit]]".

* ''ComicBook/GrooTheWanderer'': Groo once was given a job as a spy, thus proving that there are, at times, [[WhatAnIdiot people even dumber than Groo]]. Needless to say, things do not go as planned. Groo is apt at some things. Being "covert" is not one of those things.

* ''Film/MissCongeniality'': As Gracie learns while trying to catch bank robbers at the beginning of the sequel, the fame she acquired from the pageant makes it hard for her to do secret agent work without being recognized.

** DoubleSubversion in ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'' where Bond adopts the persona of 'Sir Hilary Bray', genealogist, complete with silly accent, glasses and kilt, who is actually a real figure who agreed to let Bond use his identity, so they don't even have to worry about flaws in the background check. Blofeld still knows it's him though, particularly when he's caught sneaking into the bedroom of one of the female guests for some Double-0-Rated action (though he actually catches him out by tricking him with an esoteric mistake on family records that only a real genealogist would know to correct).

* ''Weather Is Good on Deribasovskaya'': A KGB agent is secretly sent to America in order to help them fight the RussianMafia -- and then is publicly outed to everyone when visiting a restaurant (seemingly by a know-it-all Mafia or because of someone's stupid mistake), with his cover story blown for good. He later admits to his [[{{WhenHarryMetSvetlana}} American partner]], that in fact ''he outed himself'', since it's his preferred way of working -- [[{{BatmanGambit}} being the bait]].

* In the original French movie ''La Totale'', the lead actor [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thierry_Lhermitte Thierry Lhermitte]] looks a lot more like the {{everyman}} and nobody would reasonably suspect this so-called computer salesman from being a top agent in a counter-espionage agency.

Hollywood secret agents seem to have a habit of being remarkably unsecretive, whether it's by using their real names, lack of disguises, waving their weapons and performing stunts in public while dressed in a [[TuxedoAndMartini tuxedo]], or merely looking like Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger. Compare HighlyVisibleNinja and PaperThinDisguise. See also TheMenInBlack, who are also meant to be some kind of covert operatives, but are just as conspicuous.

** This high-profile lifestyle was not a hindrance to his career, since his 'spying' basically consisted of handing himself over to MI-5 as soon as he arrived in Britain, then spending the rest of the war sending the UsefulNotes/{{Abwehr}} fake information from fictitious agents as part of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Cross_System XX system]].

** Eddie Chapman, codenamed Agent Zigzag, was a very similar case: A criminal before the war, he was recruited by the Nazis and ran straight to MI5 to tell them all about it. As with Popov, he was James Bond before there ''was'' a James Bond, indulging his love of casinos, booze and women on a government tab; he also fed the Nazis numerous false reports that their V1 weapons were falling short of London, causing the targeting to be adjusted so they stopped hitting it and started overshooting.

[[RealityIsUnrealistic As a matter of fact]], this is often TruthInTelevision- RealLife spies will deny or cover-up the fact that they ''are'' spies, but otherwise they will try to keep their cover-story as near to the truth as possible (as permitted by the circumstances). This is for the very simple reason that it's far easier to get caught out in a lie if you are lying all the time, whereas you are more likely to be trusted (and thus do your job better) if a suspicious opponent digs into your backstory and finds that it's everything you said it was. Naturally, this also helps to avert YouJustToldMe and related slip-ups that might get you caught out. In addition, spies really do introduce themselves as their real names as James Bond does, because having a fake name is a good way to get caught.

* Member of [[TheSyndicate the Black Organization]] in ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' are supposed to be so secretive almost no one knows the organization exists, yet they always wear [[TheMenInBlack black suits]] and/or {{Conspicuous Trenchcoat}}s and one of its members drives a damn ''[[CoolCar Porsche]]'' everywhere. Said Porsche is not a 911, which is [[CoolCar cool]] but fairly common and well-recognized. It is an [[RareVehicles antique and rare Porsche 356]], which is something so unique that no one can possibly miss, even if they are completely car-dumb.

[[RealityIsUnrealistic As a matter of fact]], this is often TruthInTelevision- RealLife spies will deny or cover-up the fact that they ''are'' spies, but otherwise they will try to keep their cover-story as near to the truth as possible (as permitted by the circumstances). This is for the very simple reason that it's far easier to get caught out in a lie if you are lying all the time, whereas you are more likely to be trusted (and thus do your job better) if a suspicious opponent digs into your backstory and finds that it's everything you said it was. Naturally, this also helps to avert YouJustToldMe and related slip-ups that might get you caught out.

->'''Malory:''' Secret agents don't tell every harlot from here to Hanoi that they are secret agents!\\

* ''Series/ElChapulinColorado'': One story features the world's most famous spy. It is a case of RealityEnsues as, because of the spy's fame, nobody hires him. Once he gets word of a formula that made things invisible, he decides to steal it so he could use it to gain an edge his fame wouldn't ruin, by being able to enter places without being seen.

* General Okoye of ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'', commander of Wakanda's [[PraetorianGuard Dora Milaje]], might be a terrifying warrior, but she's a less than ideal infiltrator. During a covert operation in an underground casino, her warrior's posture and stern expression alone make her stick out like a sore thumb, to say nothing of the ill-fitting wig that's part of her disguise. [[spoiler:Sure enough, RealityEnsues when a guard catches on to her act, and a cover-blowing fight breaks out in seconds.]]

* In ''Series/{{Alias}}'', K Directorate operatives not only recognise Sydney on sight, they also know her name and appear to be well versed in her latest gossip. This gets her cover blown at least once.

An [[DiscreditedTrope obsolete version]] of this is the supposedly-inconspicuous [[ConspicuousTrenchcoat trenchcoat, fedora and shades]], which most modern audiences would describe straight away as "[[SpyFi a spy outfit]]".

* The ComicBook/BlackWidow has been a member of two very public superhero teams (the Champions and the Avengers), wears a very distinct SpyCatsuit (which doesn't come with a mask) and has a tendency to reveal who she is on her missions (assuming the people she's interacting with aren't already aware of who she is). She has been the subject of at least two nationwide manhunts and a limited series by Devin Grayson features a scene that shows a gossip magazine reporting Natasha and ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'s break up; even her love life is a matter of public knowledge.

* Russian spy [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Butina Maria Butina]] was known for posing in GQ wielding guns and became known to law enforcement in part because, on multiple occasions, she got drunk and bragged to her American University students about knowing spy secrets.

* Subverted in the Literature/{{Discworld}} book ''Literature/{{Maskerade}}'', with two operatives are extremely overt due to being Corporal Nobbs and Detritus, some of the Watch's best known and least deceptive members - who are there to distract attention from their real agent, who's been there for some time already.
** Vetinari uses a similar plan in ''Literature/GoingPostal'' when he had someone tailed by an incompetent agent: if you see Vetinari's spy, it's a spy he wants you to see.
** DoubleSubverted in ''Literature/{{Jingo}}''. Sergeant Colon and Corporal Nobbs are trying (and failing) to pretend to be Klatchian. However the Klatchians they are talking to assume that Colon and Nobbs must actually be Klatchians from a different part of Klatch pretending to be Ankh-Morporkians, since Ankh-Morpork would not use such obvious Overt Operative tactics.

** ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] on this while trying to [[JustifiedTrope justify]] it. After spending a scene going over the details of his cover identity (while flirting with Vesper), Bond simply checks in to their hotel under his real name. He explains to Vesper that Le Chiffre is a very connected man, so probably knows who Bond really is anyway, and Bond [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow knows that they know]], he justifies it as psychological warfare. And the fact that Le Chiffre will even continue with the game knowing there's an MI6 agent at the table is a sign that he's either desperate or overconfident. Vesper thinks Bond's just being reckless.

** Bond usually uses aliases, except when he says he is from Universal Exports, which seems to be a cover name for [=MI6=] in general (so he's technically telling the truth). Ironically, there are times he uses real name/fake job description, and he is given away by other means -- in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', Carver's hacker figures out Bond is a government agent from his suspiciously perfect employment record at the bank. His name is irrelevant.

** In ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', Bond needs to [[ItsRainingMen be covertly dropped via parachute]] to investigate a sunken British warship near China. The problem? The ship had been deliberately sent off course by Elliott Carver, and was sunk in Vietnamese territorial waters. Which shouldn't be a problem, as long as none of Bond's equipment identifies himself as being affiliated with the British or American governments. Which it naturally all does, since all of his equipment for this mission was issued out of US military stockpiles and is all marked as such.
** In ''Film/LicenceToKill'', Bond is able to infiltrate Sanchez's operation as himself, having just been kicked out of [=MI6=]. Sanchez already has ex-CIA members working for him, so ex-MI6 agent wouldn't be unusual and there's nothing there to make Sanchez be suspicious of Bond's background.

* ''Weather Is Good on Deribasovskaya'': A KGB agent is secretly sent to America in order to help them fight RussianMafia -- and then is publicly outed to everyone when visiting a restaurant (seemingly by know-it-all Mafia or because of someone's stupid mistake), with his cover story blown for good. He later admits to his [[{{WhenHarryMetSvetlana}} American partner]], that in fact ''he outed himself'', since it's his preferred way of working -- [[{{BatmanGambit}} being the bait]].
* ''Film/TrueLies'': Harry Tasker. Arguably acceptable in his case, because being played by Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger he does tend to stand out in a crowd. Except his own wife of 15 years hadn't even suspected about his double life.
* In the original french movie ''La Totale'', the lead actor [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thierry_Lhermitte Thierry Lhermitte]] looks a lot more like the {{everyman}} and nobody would reasonably suspect this so-called computer salesman from being a top agent in a counter-espionage agency.

** The Basterds themselves use incredibly overt and unsubtle methods, have a distinctive calling card of carving swastikas into their enemies' foreheads which makes their movements easy to track, cannot speak a word of French or German despite operating in German occupied France, and have undisguised American accents thick enough to float an aircraft carrier.
* While the movie is in many other ways a silly action romp, this is one of the few things Film/XXx gets right. After losing several GenreBlind agents to an anarchist cell, the NSA decides to send in a tattooed, extreme-sports fanatic, internet celebrity, anarchist of their own.

* By the time of ''Videogame/Persona4Arena'' happens, the remaining members of S.E.E.S from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' form the Shadow Operatives, an unofficial police-sanctioned organization made up of them and other authoritative members. While the group itself does well under the radar, the people in it have no concept of a low profile: Aigis, a RobotGirl, is one of its prominent members (and does a supernatural feat ''in broad daylight'' during her story mode), and [[DefrostingIceQueen Mitsuru]] and [[BloodKnight Akihiko]] are wearing [[PrettyInMink a fur coat]] over a SpyCatsuit and [[WalkingShirtlessScene is half naked]] save for a ridiculous-looking cape, respectively. Naturally, the other characters take pot-shots at their appearances, and Mitsuru in particular gets defensive about her outfit. To top it all off, they travel around in an eight-door limousine with high-tech equipment inside.

* ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. The game features a cut-scene in which Shadow puts two and two together and realises that a famous [[spoiler:government]] spy he's apparently familiar with (or has read about somewhere), Rouge the Bat, is the same character as the anthropomorphic female chiropteran who chased them, chose to help their world domination plan and referred to herself as Rouge.

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' subverts this. The Spy is [[ShapedLikeItself obviously a spy]], and [[TuxedoAndMartini dresses the part]] even when off-duty, as seen in the comics. But when he's on the job, the Spy is just as covert as he should be, thanks to an invisibility watch and sophisticated disguise kit that lets the Spy appear to be anyone, from the other eight classes in the game to Music/TomJones.

* Kay Faraday of ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'' is not as good at keeping her identity as the Yatagarasu as secret as her predecessor, [[spoiler:[[CollectiveIdentity a three-person group]]]]. This may stem from having a pin of a three-legged crow on her scarf and telling absolutely everyone that she is the Yatagarasu. [[TooDumbToLive Including Interpol agents.]] Then again, [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything she never actually steals anything]].

** The spy outfits also show up in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E20ItsAboutTime It's About Time]]", where Pinkie, Spike and Twilight break into the royal library. The guards easily spot them but don't care since Twilight has free access anyway.

* One interesting factor of the whole Valerie Plame scandal is that she was apparently a covert agent yet was an ambassador's wife well-known by a number of important people. Although in her case much of her covert activity had taken place before she'd been married and the CIA was in the process of moving her to "official cover" (that is, she'd be officially working for the US government but not officially the CIA) when she'd been outed.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Golden Age ComicBook/SteveTrevor was an intelligence agent who often was sent to gather intel in the field, even straight from enemy agents. For some reason he almost always did this ''in his full USAAF uniform,'' which helps explain why he was captured so often but not how incredibly effective he was at his job.

** ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] on this while trying to [[JustifiedTrope justify]] it. After spending a scene going over the details of his cover identity (while flirting with Vesper), Bond simply checks in to their hotel as "James Bond." His reasoning: since his target probably knows who he really is anyway, and Bond [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow knows that they know]], he justifies it as psychological warfare. Vesper thinks he's just being reckless.
--->'''Le Chiffre:''' Welcome, Mr. Beach. Or is that Bond? I'm a little confused.\\

** Bond usually uses aliases, except when he says he is from Universal Exports, which seems to be a cover name for [=MI6=] in general (so he's technically telling the truth). Ironically, there are times he uses real name/fake job description, and he is given away by other means -- in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', the villains realize he is a government agent from his suspiciously perfect employment record at the bank. His name is irrelevant.

** In ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', Bond needs to [[ItsRainingMen be covertly dropped via parachute]] to investigate a sunken British warship near China. The problem? The ship had been deliberately sent off course by the villains, and was sunk in Vietnamese territorial waters. Which shouldn't be a problem, as long as none of Bond's equipment identifies himself as being affiliated with the British or American governments. Which it naturally all does, since all of his equipment for this mission was issued out of US military stockpiles and is all marked as such.
** In ''Film/LicenceToKill'', Bond is able to infiltrate Sanchez's operation as himself, having just been kicked out of [=MI6=]. Sanchez already has ex-CIA members working for him, so ex-agent wouldn't be unusual and there's nothing there to make Sanchez be suspicious of Bond's background.