History Main / SeeThruSpecs

* In ''VideoGame/ColdWar'', Carter's camera gets replaced with a prototype weapon camera to frame him as an assassin, it can see through walls as well as fire a burst of radiation to knock out foes/detonate environmental objects.

* ''WesternAnimation/Bratz: Fashion Pixies'' features glasses that allow the protagonists to see through TheMasquerade of magic, including magical creatures like gnomes disguised as ordinary objects like fire hydrants.

* In ''VideoGame/ColdWar', Carter's camera gets replaced with a prototype weapon camera to frame him as an assassin, it can see through walls as well as fire a burst of radiation to knock out foes/detonate environmental objects.

[[/folder]]

* ''LetsPlay/WitchCraftSMP'': Pris obtains one from the guardian of the Spirit Realm in her 11th episode. The spyglass can be used to detect people who are possessed by spirits and ghosts, as they glow when seen through its crystal lens.

* The ''Literature/MerkabahRider'' has glasses which allow him to see spirits and other nasties in human form.
* In ''Literature/TheSpiderwickChronicles'', the main human characters have to look through a hole in a stone (also called a hagstone or adder stone, in the books, a "seeing stone") to see the fairy creatures when they don't want to be seen.
* In Piers Anthony's ''Literature/WithATangledSkein'', there is a pair of glasses that allows the wearer to actually see the wages of sin people are piling on themselves in Hell. {{Satan}} was trying to get people into Hell on the installment plan: for each level, you had to sacrifice 1% of your good. (There are hundreds of levels.) These looked tempting to live people and Incarnations without the glasses; with them, not so much.
* The hole-in-a-stone variation also appears in Neil Gaiman's ''Literature/{{Coraline}}'', where the heroine used one to find the souls of the other children.

%%* Vivian Vande Velde's ''Now You See It...''
* In the ''Literature/AlcatrazSeries'', many of the Lenses work like this, from the Oculator's Lenses that allow them to detect powerful magic and other Oculators, the Tracker's Lenses which let them track people by magic footprints, to the [[TranslatorMicrobes Translator's Lenses.]]
* In the Creator/RobertSheckley short story ''Is THAT What People Do?'', a man ends up with a pair of half-functional binoculars which let him peep in on a series of bizarre scenes which may or may not be actually happening. In the end [[spoiler: he looks in the other end of the binoculars, and sees a pair of enormous eyes, one of which winks at him.]]
* The Creator/StephenKing short story ''[[Literature/NightmaresAndDreamscapes The Ten O'Clock People]]'' has the WeirdnessCensor become broken by, of all things, moderate smoking. For some reason the chemicals in cigarettes let people see thru the monsters' disguises, but only if you ingest them at a rate somewhere between "smoke occasionally" and "chain smoking."
* In ''Literature/ThePhantomTollbooth'' Milo is given a magical spyglass that allows him to see things as they really are.

* Hans Christian Andersen's story ''Literature/TheSnowQueen'' involves a mirror that reflects only bad things. It does technically reveal things about people that are hidden but more importantly it hides the whole truth.
* In ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'', magicians possess magical glasses which allow them to see into the second and third planes. Djinn and other magical creatures can be invisible/disguised in this plane, and the glasses enable a human to see them in a true(r) form.
** Some of the citizens rules by magicians develop the ability to [[spoiler: see the djinnis in a similar manner without such contacts, or see the aura of magical creatures]], which becomes a rather important plot point.
* The Creator/{{Infocom}} novel ''VideoGame/{{Wishbringer}}'' involves a pair of apparent joke glasses that allow one to tell whether something is magic.
* In ''Literature/{{Midnighters}}'', anything that hasn't been touched by midnight is blurry to Rex. Since most things haven't, he wears glasses, but if something ''has'', it's blurry when he's wearing them (and clear when he's not). That is, until the second book, when [[spoiler:he becomes a halfling, then changes back, and no longer needs them]].
* Jeff Vandermeer's Literature/{{Ambergris}} novel ''Shriek'' has [[spoiler: the organic-tech glasses that Duncan gives Janice so that she can see a Grey Cap's-eye-view of the city]],
* In Roman Glushkov's ''Steel Loop'' (a part of the ''Death Zone'' series), Diamond Mongoose has 100-carat diamonds in various parts of his body as the result of an anomalous accident in one of the Zones. One of these is in place of his right eye. This diamond allows him to see trails of moving objects larger than a bird (not that there are any birds in the Zones). This is overlaid over his normal vision like a [=HUD=] projection.
* In Creator/PhilipKDick's short story, "Faith of Our Fathers", it's an anti-hallucinogenic drug [[spoiler:that neutralizes the hallucinogen in the water that makes everybody perceive the Party Leader as a human being. In actuality, it's not clear exactly what he is, but it's implied that he's some kind of godlike entity that feeds on humanity.]]

* ''Literature/TheHauntingOfTramCar015'' features "Spectral Goggles." The eyewear is standard issue equipment for agents of [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction The Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities]], allowing them to perceive spirits and magical creatures who could otherwise conceal themselves from the human eye.
--> He reached into his coat to pull out the small leather case where he kept his spectral goggles. The copper-plated instruments were standard Ministry issue. They fit like eyeglasses, though the pronounced round green lenses were far wider. Onsi had removed his spectacles to slip on his own pair. Eyesight mattered little when it came to the spectral world--which appeared the same to everyone in a haze of startlingly vivid, luminescent jade.

* In ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'', Geo Stelar has the Visualizer, a pair of glasses that lets him see the wave world
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': The Lens of Truth in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' is purported to see through illusions, as well as see invisible or hidden elements. Likewise, the Cross in ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' allows Link to see invisible enemies (namely Moas).
* This is one of the mechanics in ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsBartVsTheSpaceMutants''. Your X-ray specs show which people are disguised aliens.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** The Silph Scope in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' allowed the player to see the real form of wild ghost Pokemon.
** The ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' games have the Devon Scope, which allows the player to see invisible Pokemon. Though it only needs to be used once to progress, there are several other hidden Pokemon in the routes near Fortree and Lilycove.
** In the ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' spinoffs, Goggle Specs play a similar role to the Devon Scope, plus the ability to see traps.
** An eyepiece known as the Aura Reader exists in ''VideoGame/PokemonXD''; it allows the wearer to sense the dark aura of a Shadow Pokemon. It also serves as the restraining bolt, locking the Snag Machine's function as long as a Shadow Pokemon is not on the field.
* Much gameplay in ''Creator/TomClancy's VideoGame/SplinterCell'' revolves around using your military-grade goggles at opportune points. Night vision is easily explained away, otherwise you'd be playing a black screen half the time. A data stick provided by a neutralized enemy in the first game reveals that [[JustifiedTrope the mines around the compound Sam is infiltrating are designed to be visible to thermal cameras so that allies can see the mines and avoid them]]. Thermal vision also gets more unique uses as the series goes on; from ''Pandora Tomorrow'' alone it's used to identify a man with a [[ArtificialLimbs prosthetic leg]] in one mission, then much later to identify a group of terrorists who [[spoiler:are planning to detonate a smallpox bomb in an airport, and are running a high fever because they've recently vaccinated themselves as a precaution]].
* The premise of ''VideoGame/{{Flashback}}'' is that the protagonist created special glasses that allowed him to see the density of objects. As he walked around with them on, he noticed that [[AlienAmongUs some people]] were [[ShapeshifterBaggage much heavier than they should be]]...

* ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryII'' has X-ray specs which can be bought at one point in the game and serve no purpose other than to [[EasterEgg let you see]] [[FanService pixelated boobies]]. And [[KarmaMeter take a bite out of your Honor]].
* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', one of the functions of the Demon Summoning Program is to turn the electronic HUD of your Demonica armor into one of these -- only [[ByTheEyesOfTheBlind someone with this program installed to their Demonica]] can see the demons inhabiting the Schwarzwelt -- and even then, it has limitations.

* In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the protagonist and his [[TrueCompanions nakama]] are able to see inside of the T.V. world and fight the shadows there thanks to special glasses (or, at least the lenses are special) that are made by the resident mascot character, Teddie, because "he gets bored when left alone." Bonus points for, during the game's true ending, [[spoiler: having the protagonist discard his glasses--no longer needing them to see the Truth--and use his EleventhHourSuperPower against the Mistress of all of the fog and mystery, Izanami]].
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
** ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'': Despite being called the "X-Ray Scope", when Samus uses it, invisible objects appear, objects that aren't really there disappear, objects that require a specific weapon to destroy (Normal Bomb, Super Missile, Power Bomb, or Speed Booster) show an icon of that weapon, and Pit Blocks (the ones that crumble when you try to walk on them) are revealed.
** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'': The X-Ray Visor lets Samus see through fake and destructible objects, and reveals invisible things. It is the only way to keep Chozo Ghosts visible.
** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'': The Dark Visor allows Samus to see objects and elements that are either invisible, or cross-dimensional (between the Light and Dark Worlds).
** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'': The X-Ray Visor returns, now allowing Samus to see the symbols and characters of special keyboards she must use to write codes in Pirate Homeworld. She can also use the visor to see through Phazite plates and activate certain gizmos when using the Nova Beam.
* As in Film above, ''Franchise/JamesBond'' uses these.
** In ''VideoGame/AgentUnderFire'', they allow him to see hidden panels.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Nightfire}}'', they allow him to see enemies behind walls (their skeletons register as pink blobs against a blue background).
** Bond's erstwhile counterpart, [[VideoGame/GoldeneyeRogueAgent GoldenEye]], has MRI Vision thanks to his bionic eye-implant.

* In ''VideoGame/SpyroAttackOfTheRhynocs'', The Phoenix Shades, a pair of ruby-tinted heart-shaped glasses that allow Spyro to see invisible teleporters.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Faria}}'', the MadScientist's Magic Glasses allow you to see InvisibleMonsters.

* ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' reverses this. Its main character wears special glasses that ''hide'' the "lines of death" [[CursedWithAwesome which he is otherwise forced to see]].

* ''Manga/FrankenFran'' took this trope and applied it to a pair of eyes that the title character created and implanted in a painter. The eyes allowed him to see light and color spectra that normal humans couldn't see. Unfortunately, this caused him to see all sorts of EldritchAbomination that are usually invisible to humans. [[spoiler:He ends up falling in love with one of them]]. It is not insignificant to note that this is one of the ''happier'' endings in the series.

* It's not quite the glasses that does it in ''Manga/{{Arago}}'' - it's rather the cream that Joe applies to them that gives him the ability to see the monsters and ghosts in London otherwise invisible to the naked eye.
* This is how Kazumi learned the truth about Yuuji's [[MacGuffinSuperPerson status as a Torch]] in ''Literature/ShakuganNoShana'', after she was given an eyepiece that allowed normal humans like herself to see the waning flame of a human-turned-Torch (which, under normal circumstances, would mean that said human would soon [[RetGone retroactively vanish from existence]]).

* In ''Anime/HelloWorld'', younger Naomi is provided with a pair of sunglasses that he initially requires to see InvisibleToNormals homeostatic system programmes.
* A chapter of ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' (by the same artist as the ''To Love Ru'' example) has Matsuri possessed by an [[TheHeartless iyo]] embodying "perverted desires" that made him see through the clothing of anyone he knew (in this case, Suzu and Mei). Mei threw it into him for fun, not having any idea what it did. Matsuri is able to remove it from him, but not before getting a very intimate view of Suzu's crotch.

* The movie ''Film/TheyLive'' is built around this trope: the main character played by Wrestling/RoddyPiper finds a box of sunglasses and when he puts one on, he can see the hidden aliens among them, as well as signs saying "Consume," "Marry and Reproduce," and money printed with "This is your God" on it.
* On the pseudo-scientific side, ecto-goggles allowed the Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} to detect invisible ghosts and other psycho-kinetic anomalies visually. They turn up in the [[Film/Ghostbusters1984 original film]], the [[Film/GhostbustersII sequel]], and much of the spinoff media. [[http://www.freewebs.com/gbta/weapons&playsets/goggles.jpg There was even a toy.]]
* In ''Film/HellboyIITheGoldenArmy'', Johan Krauss obtains eyewear that enables the BPRD team to see through magical beings' [[GlamourFailure glamour]]. Including that of Hellboy himself. Even though he isn't really using glamour, as he physically broke his horns off and then filed them down.

* ''Film/XTheManWithTheXRayEyes'' starts out as a straight-up case of XRayVision but the protagonist's eyesight eventually starts to see ''something'' that can't be attributed simply to that.
* ''Film/TheWhispererInDarkness''. The protagonist is unimpressed when a man turns up with a photograph of a creature his father supposedly shot, yet there's nothing to be seen because they're allegedly made up of 'a different kind of matter'. Until one of the scientists uses a parallax viewer, revealing the creepy sight of a StarfishAlien Mi-Go.
* Film/JamesBond had a few pairs. First, in ''Film/AViewToAKill'', he had a pair of glasses with adjustable polarization, which allowed him to see through one-way mirrors. In ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'', the tinted lenses gave him quasi-X-Ray vision. He used them to see concealed weapons [[PowerPerversionPotential and lingerie]].

** Luna Lovegood's Spectrespecs, which allow her to see "wrackspurts," invisible creatures that float into people's ears and cloud their brains.

* The ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'' episode "Tale of the Super Specs," partially inspired by ''They Live''.

* In the fourth season premiere of ''Series/Charmed1998'', Piper and Phoebe enchant a pair of sunglasses so that the wearer can see the true form of evil beings. Phoebe tests them out by looking at Cole and seeing his demonic form Belthazor asking her if they work.

** This is referenced in one ''Thor'' comic - Thor enters Faerie in order to rescue a woman, and is accompanied by a retired soldier. They find a vial of ointment on a defeated fae soldier, but there's only enough for one of them; the soldier gets it, because Thor, being a god, can see the true face of Faerie (albeit hazily) and doesn't need it. [[spoiler:When the Dark Elf Malekith attempts to blind the soldier later, the plate in the man's head keeps him from losing his sight... but he ''does'' lose the effect of the ointment.]]

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has a spell called ''True Seeing'' which allows you to see through any illusions or glamors placed on an object. In theory, it is possible to enchant any object with ''True Seeing'', including glasses, other clothing items, and even light sources (sort of like an anti-illusion field).

* ''Webcomic/PennyBlackfeather'' has spirit glasses that let you see snow spirits and whatnot.
* In ''Webcomic/AvasDemon'', Ava is given these by Wrathia, which allow her to see haunted hosts and their demons. Through the lens, a pacted host appears as their demon while an unpacted host appears with a pattern associated with their demon that connects to where their demon is. It also shows injuries, such as Odin's bodily scar. At one point, the lens get cracked, causing strange starry fluid to leak from them. Odin gets some in his eye, which reveals that the fluid is responsible for the supernatural nature of the lens.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'' uses a magical amulet instead of glasses, but the effect remains the same.
* The opening of ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlackTheSeries'' shows a special visor that lets you see if someone is an alien in disguise.
* In the episode "Germs", ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' bought a pair of goggles that allowed him to see the (normally invisibly tiny) [[NightmareFuel teeming masses of bacteria covering everything and everyone]]. They even came in a [[HardLight holographic trial version]].

* Puff's smoke rings have this effect in ''WesternAnimation/PuffTheMagicDragon''. Looking through them allows Puff and jackie to see that the giant pirate Very Long secretly wants to be a baker.

-> "Have you got ''truth glasses''?! They're not allowed on this show!"
--> '''Creator/DavidMitchellActor''', ''Series/WouldILieToYou''

* This is how Kazumi learned the truth about Yuuji's [[MacGuffinSuperPerson status as a Torch]] in ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'', after she was given an eyepiece that allowed normal humans like herself to see the waning flame of a human-turned-Torch (which, under normal circumstances, would mean that said human would soon [[RetGone retroactively vanish from existence]]).

* ''Series/DoctorWho''
** In the TwoPartEpisode "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday," the Doctor wears a pair of old-fashioned red/green 3-D glasses designed to see the residual stuff from the void between universes.
** In a pre-movie introduction to the 3D "Day of the Doctor", he tells the audience to test their 3D glasses by closing one eye and looking at the person next to them. "If one of the spectacles has turned black, then that person is a Zygon and is going to eat you some time during the movie. [[ThisIsNoTimeToPanic Please, don't panic.]] It will only disturb everyone else and there's really nothing we can do to save you."

* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Scientific Method", the Doctor figures out there are invisible aliens on the ship and modifies Seven's Borg eye implant to detect them. When she opens her eyes again, she can see the aliens -- ''everywhere''. And they're doing [[NightmareFuel horrible things]] to the crew...
* In the fourth season premiere of ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', Piper and Phoebe enchant a pair of sunglasses so that the wearer can see the true form of evil beings. Phoebe tests them out by looking at Cole and seeing his demonic form Belthazor asking her if they work.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In the WesternAnimation/EverAfterHigh "Thronecoming", special, Cedar Wood gets a pair of these called revealer rays by her father, Pinocchio. Similar to the example pictured above, it has a little pixie that points out whether someone is lying.

--> '''Creator/DavidMitchell''', ''Series/WouldILieToYou''

->''"Put the glasses on! ''PUT 'EM ON!''"''
-->-- '''Roddy Piper''', ''Film/TheyLive''

** In ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'', Luka gets another pair of glasses that let him see into Purgatorio from Rodin in exchange for some genuine sake. However, he unfortunately forgets that being able to see things in Purgatorio is not the same as being able to touch them.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'', after starting her search for the Ghost Children, Coraline realizes the stone given to her by April Spink turns out to be the only thing capable of tracking down the Ghost Children's eyes.

* In the first ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' movie, ''[[TheMovie The Secret of the Lost Kingdom]]'', Bloom's sister Daphne gives her mask, which allows Bloom to see her home planet Domino as it looked before the Ancestral Witches froze it.

** In the TwoPartEpisode "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday," the Doctor wears a pair of 3-D glasses designed to see the residual stuff from the void between universes.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' reverses this. Its main character wears special glasses that ''hide'' the "lines of death" [[CursedWithAwesome which he is otherwise forced to see]].

* ''Anime/JojosBizarreAdventure: The Real 4-D: DIO's World'' is shown from the perspective of a Speedwagon Foundation agent, and among their equipment is goggles that allows them to see Stands.

* The Lens of Truth in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' is purported to see through illusions, as well as see invisible or hidden elements. Likewise, the Cross in ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' allows Link to see invisible enemies (namely Moas).

* The Silph Scope in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' allowed the player to see the real form of wild ghost Pokemon.
** The [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire games set in Hoenn]] have the Devon Scope, which allows the player to see invisible Pokemon. Though it only needs to be used once to progress, there are several other hidden Pokemon in the routes near Fortree and Lilycove.
** In the ''Mystery Dungeon'' spinoffs, Goggle Specs play a similar role to the Devon Scope, plus the ability to see traps.
** An eyepiece known as the Aura Reader exists in ''XD''; it allows the wearer to sense the dark aura of a Shadow Pokemon. It also serves as the restraining bolt, locking the Snag Machine's function as long as a Shadow Pokemon is not on the field.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', Luka can see the angels if he uses Cereza's glasses. Cereza herself says "[[GogglesDoNothing The glasses aren't magic]] silly, I can see the monsters without them".
** When handing them to him though, she does tap the lenses with her finger doing "Something" magical to them, if the brief flash of light that results is anything to go by.
* In ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'', Luka gets another pair of glasses that let him see into Purgatorio from Rodin in exchange for some genuine sake. However, he unfortunately forgets that being able to see things in Purgatorio is not the same as being able to touch them.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}},'' the protagonist and his [[TrueCompanions nakama]] are able to see inside of the T.V. world and fight the shadows there thanks to special glasses (or, at least the lenses are special) that are made by the resident mascot character, Teddie, because "he gets bored when left alone." Bonus points for, during the game's true ending, [[spoiler: having the protagonist discard his glasses--no longer needing them to see the Truth--and use his EleventhHourSuperPower against the Mistress of all of the fog and mystery, Izanami]].

* As in Film above, Franchise/JamesBond uses these.

* The first two ''[[VideoGame/DarkFall Dark Fall]]'' games feature special eyewear that lets you see ghosts, InvisibleWriting, and even into the past.

** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'': The X-Ray Visor returns, now allowing Samus to see the symbols and characters of special keyboards she must use to write codes in Pirate Homeworld. She can also use the visor to see through Phazite.
plates and activate certain gizmos when using the Nova Beam.

* The Dark Visor in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' allows Samus to see objects and elements that are either invisible, or cross-dimensional (between the Light and Dark Worlds).
** The X-Ray Visor in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' lets Samus see through fake and destructible objects, and reveals invisible things. It is the only way to keep Chozo Ghosts visible.
** Despite being called the "X-Ray Scope", when [[VideoGame/SuperMetroid Samus]] uses it, invisible objects appear, objects that aren't really there disappear, objects that require a specific weapon to destroy (Normal Bomb, Super Missile, Power Bomb, or Speed Booster) show an icon of that weapon, and Pit Blocks (the ones that crumble when you try to walk on them) are revealed.

* One chapter of ''Manga/ToLoveRu'' has Rito put on a special pair of glasses that Lala uses to work on her inventions. As this is ''[[{{Ecchi}} To Love Ru]]'', the glasses just happen to make him see through women's clothing.

* The plot of the ''Literature/GiveYourselfGoosebumps'' book ''Zombie School'' is kicked off when your character [[ClassClown horses around with the teacher's monocle]] and gets a good look at which of the students are mindlessly obedient zombies. It also provides a good look at the subliminal messages and so forth.

* In the fourth season premiere of ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'', Piper and Phoebe enchant a pair of sunglasses so that the wearer can see the true form of evil beings.

* Vivian Vande Velde's ''Now You See It...''