History Main / TheNonDescript

** To some [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/AspergerSyndrome Aspies]], most people are this.

* The Grey Men, assassins for the BigBad of the ''{{Wheel of Time}}'' series, have this going on at the "superpower" level, and use their nondescriptness to slip through crowds and get up close to their target. It is said that a Grey Man coming at you with a knife is less noticeable then the leg of a chair.

* In ''TheDresdenFiles'' Martin is noted as being nondescript, boring, and restrained in every possible aspect. In one book after he comes out of a pitched battle entirely unharmed Harry notes he's so good at this that it's like ''armor''. Anyone who sees him assumes there's someone more important to be paying attention to.

--> ''"Don't use seven words when four will do. Don't shift your weight, look always at your mark but don't stare, be specific but not memorable, be funny but don't make him laugh. He's got to like you then forget you the moment you've left his side. And no matter what you do, for the love of God don't, under any circumstances-"''
-->-- '''Robert "Rusty" Ryan''', ''Ocean's Eleven'', [[LostInTransmission shortly before being called away.]]

--> ''"You couldn't pick her out of a lineup of one."''
-->-- '''Maeby''' on Ann Veal, ''ArrestedDevelopment''

'''Examples:'''

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

** More appropriately, there's...um...that kid with the bald spot, who's completely un-noticeable as long as his comb-over is in place.

* Ayano Minegishi in ''LuckyStar'' is a SatelliteCharacter who usually only speaks one line at a time in her few appearances and has so little defining her that she has a boyfriend--which says a lot in a series where, supposedly, EveryoneIsGay.

* Natsumi Murakami of ''MahouSenseiNegima'', who hates the fact that she's like this. And now [[spoiler: her artifact essentially functions as an InvisibilityCloak, making her complex even worse, though she's given a ''very good'' stealth tool]].

[[AC:ComicBooks]]

* The title character of the indie comic [[MisterBlank Mister Blank]], a totally ordinary office-worker turned BadassNormal fighting an AncientConspiracy. He's so normal-looking the artist just drew the minimal facial features of eyes and a mouth.

* Believe it or not, ''Superman!'' At least during the SilverAge of comics. There were SO many people that *just happened* to look like him, from his father to a random thug, that he could often take a day off by having someone else replace him in either of his identities! (knowing that makes the whole ClarkKenting aspect more believable.)
[[AC:{{Film}}]]

* There's a creepy, possibly alien guy in horror movie ''TheForgotten'' with rather short brown hair, brown eyes, a blank, ordinary face... and he's ImmuneToBullets.
* Mr. Cellophane shoulda been his name, because Mr. Hart from ''{{Chicago}}'' is depressingly boring. (And in a GreyAndGreyMorality musical, it also makes him the only sympathetic character. Go figure.)

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

** Several other ''{{Discworld}}'' characters also exhibit the ability to become TheNondescript simply by dressing and standing inconspicuously (preferably in the shadows). Granny Weatherwax did it in ''[[{{Discworld/Maskerade}} Maskerade]]'', and young Vetinari did it in ''[[{{Discworld/NightWatch}} Night Watch]]''. Justified in that she's a witch and he's a self-taught expert in camoflage.
* Pops up in the form of Malden, a 'colourless' young psyker from the third ''CiaphasCain'' book.
* A ghoul assassin like this shows up in ''TheDresdenFiles'' book 4.
** And also Susan Rodriquez's associate Martin, the epitome of this trope, shows up in Death Masks. He deliberately cultivates this in every aspect, as a way of suppressing his [[VampireRefugee infection]]. This is also very handy in the battlefield, as the enemy fighters, wizards, and snipers do not consider him a threat ''at all.''
* A minor character in a ''TomSwift / HardyBoys'' crossover book was like this. He was a thief who stole rare documents by simply walking out with them, confident no one could remember enough about him to track him down.
** The 80s [[{{Reboot}} restart]] called ''The HardyBoys Casefiles'' featured a character called ''The Gray Man'' who was recruited as a secret agent because he was so nondescript.
* Someone once said that [[HitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Arthur Dent]] was so average that had he been any more average it would've actually hurt.
** Also in [[HitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy]], there is a device that generates a SEP (Somebody else's problem) Field, which makes people suddenly regard objects it is cast on "somebody else's problem", effectively making them invisible, so it is essentially a "The Nondescript" creator.

* The unnamed man in the dark suit in NeilGaiman's ''AmericanGods'' who appears in several scenes and is so elusive and indistinct that even his lines in the dialogue are obscured: we are merely told that he "said something" or "nodded in reply and made a comment". Each time Shadow asks his employer (possibly the single character who remembers anything about the unnamed god, including his name) who the man in the dark suit is, he finds his mind momentarily wandering so that he misses hearing the response.

* Also a Gaiman example, Nobody Owens (it's in the name) from ''TheGraveyardBook'' has this as an ability he learns from living among ghosts. He's so average looking that nobody even remembers he's there unless he wants them to.
* The Grey Men, assassins for the BigBad of the ''WheelOfTime'' series, have this going on at the "superpower" level, and use their nondescriptness to slip through crowds and get up close to their target, it is said that a Grey Man coming at you with a knife is less noticeable then the leg of a chair.

* MercedesLackey loves to have characters like this in her novels. They're usually thieves or assassins.
** At least one [[HeraldsOfValdemar Herald]] been picked out for "special training" specifically because he was so nondescript, if I recall correctly.

* In ''ASongOfIceAndFire'', the Tickler is a TortureTechnician in a company of particularly loathesome men-at-arms, but is in all other respects totally nondescript and ordinary. Also, Roose Bolton is an utterly amoral lord from a family that likes to skin their enemies alive. He looks ordinary except for his [[GoodEyesEvilEyes creepy "pale eyes."]]
* Grey Murphy in the ''{{Xanth}}'' series. His driver's license lists his hair as "hair-colored" and his eyes as "neutral."
* [[spoiler: Mr. Hopkins]] in ''TheBartimaeusTrilogy'' who turns out to be TheManBehindTheMan (or possibly the man behind the man behind the man).
** [[spoiler: He's still not the man at the back. The third book goes absolutely nuts with that. Farquarl is at the back, then Makepeace, then Hopkins, then Pennyfather and the mercenary and that guy from book one who died and it just goes on and on and on.]]
* The ancient Roman mystery ''Terra Incognita'' has an agent-with-special-powers, an aide to a senior military officer, named Metellus who is like this. He doesn't do any undercover work, but his lack of distinguishing features adds to his blandly amoral creepiness.

* Sue Grafton had a character like this who used his non-descript forgettableness to get into crime, specifically embezzling. I don't remember which book he was in.
* Jesus, of ''TheBible'', was this. Despite being a well-known Rabbi and an inflammatory political activist, Judas needed to greet him with a hug and kiss for the Roman authorities to recognize and thus arrest him.

* Dimitrios, the arch villain of ''ACoffinForDimitrios'' manages to escape capture despite all of his crimes and betrayals, because he's quite ordinary looking apart from his [[UhOhEyes terrifying eyes]]. The descriptions of him from a co-worker, an ex-lover, and a former employer are so general that they could fit thousands of people. At one point an older, well-dressed Dimitrios is described as looking like a diplomat at a state dinner, but a fairly unimportant guest who no one would pay attention to and would fade into the background.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* In one episode of ''ThePersuaders'', an assassin is set on the heroes' tail. He is just an aging, thin, unattractive man who is normal a reparman when he's not taking jobs like this. He attributes his success to the fact that he is always TheEveryman who no-one ever notices or suspects.

* The Mayor from ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' is just an average smiling politician, right? [[AffablyEvil Wrong.]]

[[AC:NewspaperComics]]
* One of Max Allan Collins's last storylines in ''DickTracy'' before leaving the title in the 80's, involved a criminal of this type. His face is never shown on-panel, and--highly unusually for a Dick Tracy story--he successfully escapes at the end, even though his evil plan was thwarted. When Tracy is asked for a description of the guy so the police can search, he has no choice but to shrug and admit he can't remember what he looked like.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Come on, you know you've SeenItAMillionTimes. You just can't remember who or where...
* Dan freaking Cooper ([[BeamMeUpScotty whose alias was most certainly not D.B.]]). It's possible that he didn't survive landing, but looking at his composite sketch it seems much more likely that they didn't catch him because ''he could be any living (and caucasian, male, and adult) human being.''
** Who tended to wear shades, don't forget that.
* The President of the European Council (not, technically, the "President of Europe" as is often incorrectly assumed) approaches the ideal. The ''Telegraph'' newspaper wrote after his appointment to the position in 2009 that "those who have met him [...] and can still recall the experience describe him as 'modest', 'introverted' and 'self-effacing'".
* One of the things that allowed Ted Bundy to go on killing for so long was the fact he was so ordinary looking, he was pretty much a natural master of disguise.
* Former Seattle Mariners catcher Dan Wilson fits this well enough that many people, after meeting him have stated that they would never recognize him if they saw him walking down the street. This includes someone who had looked up to him as a hero for most of her life!
* Most spies will probably use this to their advantage.

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* In the {{Champions}} adventure ''Red Doom'', the character Disinformer has this quality, which is why he's one of the KGB's top spies.
** Wait, how would that even work? Any player will say that when someone is inconspicous, he is automatically suspicious. A nondescript person stands out of the crowd by being nondescript.
* One of the ''DungeonsAndDragons'' splatbooks describe a nondescript box you can hide items in. It's not invisible, but anyone looking for it must pass a search check or they will ignore it. "It's just another plain box."

* Likewise, there is a magical ability called "Incognito" in ''{{Deadlands}}'' that does nothing to alter its user's appearance, but instead makes him or her really, really, ''supernaturally''...uninteresting. No surprise that it's under the purview of the Hucksters, arcane practitioners often described as "shifty."
* Having a nondescript appearance is a perk in {{GURPS}} that causes people to just naturally assume you're not involved in things.
* This is the focus of both a Merit (Occultation) and a Legacy (The Blank Badges) in ''MageTheAwakening''.
** Likewise "Arcane" in ''MageTheAscension''. The Ahl-i-Batin cranked it [[UpToEleven up to ten]] (not eleven--at eleven [[PuffOfLogic the universe forgets you exist]]).
*** Similarly, the VampireTheMasquerade power of "Obfuscation".

* DarkHeresy has the talent "Unremarkable", usually taken as a starting ability. Mind you, in this game you can also take chemical castration, nanite blood, and replacing half your brain with a computer as talents.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* [[{{Hitman}} Agent 47]] was deliberately engineered to be multiracial so he could fit in anywhere without drawing attention.
** Then they tattooed a barcode on the back of his head.
** And shaved him bald. Not to mention that he doesn't look nondescript at all, and that being a mix of all races should make you stand out pretty much anywhere.
** And then topped it off with a $3000 suit and custom handguns.
** This should be an evil overlord rule. "If I genetically engineer a nondescript unnoticeable man, I will not have him look like Jason Statham."
*** It should be "If I genetically engineer a nondescript unnoticeable man, I '''will''' have him look like Jason Statham." 47 was [[GoneHorriblyRight horribly successful]] throughout his career despite his appearance, while the [[MurderInc Franchise's]] [[EvilAlbino "Mark"]] clones were not.
* In KnightsOfTheOldRepublic, Hk47 gives a short lecture about assassination. He mentions how being a droid makes his job easy since most people tend to treat droids like furniture.

* The Stone Mask in ''TheLegendOfZelda: Majora's Mask'' has the ability to make the wearer to appear as unnoticable as a stone. This has a drawback: you get it by using the Lens of Truth to find a soldier who put it on, then suffered an injury. He laid there, hurt and forgotten, for days until you found him.
* Your U.L. Paper contact in [[GrandTheftAutoIV Grand Theft Auto 4]] - "To me? Who am I? There's a hundred guys in this building alone who fit my description. Middle aged men, paunchy, glasses... you bring them here? What's this? Empty office, leased to a man who died in the last days of Vietnam... Call me up. My number never existed." - also goes for {{MIB}}
[[AC:WebOriginal]]

* Huh? [[SCPFoundation SCP-055]]? That number isn't in use, is it?

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Samson the gerbil of CampLazlo, a case of AscendedExtra that isn't quite that. He once snuck into a guarded vault of candy just by waltzing in. When the owner of it found him, he actively stepped over Samson and blamed a fly for it.

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<<|PersonalAppearanceTropes|>>

** And also Susan Rodriquez's associate Martin, the epitome of this trope, shows up in Death Masks. He deliberately cultivates this in every aspect, as a way of suppressing his [[VampireRefugee infection]].

Related to HeWhoMustNotBeSeen. Compare TheSpook. Occasionally the {{MIB}} achieve this.

In KnightsOfTheOldRepublic, Hk47 gives a short lecture about assassination. He mentions how being a droid makes his job easy since most people tend to treat droids like furniture.

Basically, this trope is when a character is described as being "utterly unmemorable." They have a boring face, boring brown eyes, boring brown hair, they're not too tall or too short, they're not too fat or too thin, and their voice is often a CreepyMonotone (but not [[UncannyValley so creepy]] that it's memorable). They might even drive a Volvo. In short, the only reason they're interesting at all is because of how uninteresting they appear.

* One of Max Allan Collins's last storylines in ''DickTracy'' before leaving the title in the 80's, involved a criminal of this type. His face is never shown on-panel, and—highly unusually for a Dick Tracy story—he successfully escapes at the end, even though his evil plan was thwarted. When Tracy is asked for a description of the guy so the police can search, he has no choice but to shrug and admit he can't remember what he looked like.

* Tsukune Aono from ''[=~Rosario + Vampire~=]'' is described as being absolutely average in every respect, even taken to the comical extreme of ranking ''exactly'' in the middle of all the students scores on a mid-year exam.

* Jesus, of ''The Bible'', was this. Despite being a well-known Rabbi and an inflammatory political activist, Judas needed to greet him with a hug and kiss for the Roman authorities to recognize and thus arrest him.
** It was the middle of the night and everyone was wearing nondescript clothing. ([[{{Racism}} And the Romans probably thought the Jews all looked alike anyway.]])

* Moist von Lipwig from ''{{Discworld}}''. Unusual because in two books he is the main protagonist. He is a ConMan, and in the books it says he likes to wear a fake moustache (a "lip wig," get it?) or glasses or something, because that is invariably the only feature of his they remember after being conned, and it's easy for him to discard.