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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 6 | ->''"There's nothing better in life than the look on your enemy's face when they realize you've played them every step of the way. Why do you think I keep starting secret cabals trying to overthrow me?"'' |
| 7 | -->--'''Dread Emperor Traitorous''', ''Literature/APracticalGuideToEvil'' |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Simply put, this is when TheMole somehow ascends to the position of actually running the organization they have infiltrated. In effect, they try to cause the organization or group to self-destruct, work for their agenda, or [[BecomingTheMask they go completely drunk on the power this new position gives them and corrupt it for their own purposes]]. One variant is for the heroes to wind up in charge of the NebulousEvilOrganization they've been fighting, where they try to steer legions of PsychoForHire types to good ends... usually with mixed results. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Unlike LesCollaborateurs, the Mole in Charge keeps those loyalties secret. He does not need to be the single mole in the organization, there may be many others at strategic locations within it. This gives the hero a big problem, because some members of the organization '''are''' what they are supposed to be, and others are villains who [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse Look Just Like Everyone Else]]. By force, the hero goes paranoid at any given member of the organization, unable to know if he's one of the good or bad guys. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | May overlap with GoodRunningEvil or EvilRunningGood. A common cause of DividedWeFall, since other subordinates don't realize it, and the requirement for the RagtagBunchOfMisfits to save the day. Sometimes it overlaps with HiredToHuntYourself. May lead to the Mole in question RunningBothSides. Compare FlockOfWolves, where infiltrators take over a group by sheer numbers. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | '''This list contains spoilers.''' Read at your own risk. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | ---- |
| 18 | !!Examples: |
| 19 | |
| 20 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 21 | |
| 22 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 23 | * ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has probably the ultimate version of this when [[spoiler:Lelouch becomes Emperor in the final act of season 2, all with the intent of making ''everyone'' hate him and the Britannia policies so much they will turn away from it once he's assassinated]]. |
| 24 | * In ''Manga/CodeGeassTalesOfAnAlternateShogunate'', Lelouch is Zero, head of the Black Knights rebelling against Britannia, and also head of the Shinsegumi, which are tasked with capturing Zero. |
| 25 | * In ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'', Chisa Yukizome is the leader of one of the branches of the [[LaResistance Future Foundation]]. Only bad thing is that she is BrainwashedAndCrazy, and is part of the organization's main enemy, the [[NebulousEvilOrganization Ultimate Despair]]. |
| 26 | ** Chairman Kazuo Tengan himself, the head of the whole Foundation, is also a BrainwashedAndCrazy Despair agent, as well as the mastermind of the final [[DeadlyGame Mutual Killing Game]]. He is also TheStarscream, plotting to use [[GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul mass brainwashing]] to create a world of Hope, unlike his organization which wants Despair. |
| 27 | * In ''Manga/DeathNote'', [[Characters/DeathNoteLightYagami Light Yagami]] is suspected of being the mass murderer Kira, but manages to throw off suspicions enough that he's allowed to join the task force hunting Kira, partly so he can fully clear his name, partly so L can keep a close eye on him. Being TheChessmaster, he figures out a way to kill the people in charge and assume control of the task force without letting anyone else in the organization realize his involvement. |
| 28 | * King Bradley from ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' is the Führer and General of the Army of Amestris. Secretly, he's a homonculus working for the villain (the specifics depend on the version). In the manga, Father's agents have controlled the highest offices of the country [[ExaggeratedTrope for its entire 400 year history]] because ''[[AbusivePrecursors he founded it himself]]''. |
| 29 | * ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': Patterson is the chief of police while feeding William information on the police's internal workings. Played with a bit, as he joined William's team after realizing the police were corrupt and already worked there. |
| 30 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': |
| 31 | ** Arlong's ProtectionRacket in the East Blue went undisturbed by the marines because Captain Nezumi was on his payroll. |
| 32 | ** Vergo, a member of the Donquixote Pirates, infiltrates the marines and ends up becoming a Vice Admiral, the third highest rank in the organization, with a military base and hundreds of men under his direct control. |
| 33 | ** Stussy is the leader of a very popular red-light district and a major figure in the global underworld. She is also [[spoiler:a member of the CP-AIGIS 0, and thus a high-ranking government agent who uses her power and influence in the underworld to make contact with other highly influential criminals and arrest them. Or assassinate them, depending on the circumstances.]] |
| 34 | ** "Napping" Kyoshiro is the top Yakuza in Wano Country, and one of Orochi's strongest soldiers. [[spoiler:He's actually Denjiro, a member of the Akazaya Nine and loyal vassal to the late Kozuki Oden. His appearance was changed by his immense rage at failing Oden and his family.]] |
| 35 | * ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' has several examples, as major twists. |
| 36 | ** Kishou Arima is the most famous [[HunterOfMonsters Ghoul Investigator]], in charge of handling the most dangerous targets and guarding the vital Main Office for the organization. His duties also include pursuing the [[TheDreaded One-Eyed Owl]], and the legendary One-Eyed King. It's eventually revealed that ''he'' is the One-Eyed King, and has been the Owl's partner for more than a decade in a long-running plan to bring down the GovernmentConspiracy. |
| 37 | ** After the Washuu Clan are massacred, the late chairman's bastard son is named as the next leader of the CCG. Nimura Furuta is an insignificant investigator, but quickly proves himself as a natural-born leader and takes charge during a surge of brutal attacks by [[MonsterClown the Clowns]]. Of course, it helps that Furuta himself led the massacre, and the Clowns are carrying out the attacks on ''his'' orders. His experience as a DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent makes him an excellent actor, playing the role of a talented rookie with no confidence in order to propel himself into leadership. |
| 38 | [[/folder]] |
| 39 | |
| 40 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 41 | * This is the entire premise of ''ComicBook/AgentsOfAtlas''. |
| 42 | * One ''[[Comicbook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' story had the ComicBook/RedSkull become the U.S. Secretary of Defense. |
| 43 | ** This caused more than a bit of FanDumb as it was during the Bush presidency and the name the Red Skull was using at the time had the initials D.R. OK, admittedly that's a funny coincidence, but "Dell Rusk" ''is'' an anagram of "Red Skull", so what else should the writers have called him? |
| 44 | *** Furthermore, if "Dell Rusk" ''were'' a reference to a real life Cabinet member, it would probably be to ''Dean'' Rusk, who was Kennedy and Johnson's Secretary of State. |
| 45 | * ''ComicBook/Block109'': Zytek was first recruited by the anti-Nazi Admiral Wilhelm Canaris before the war to infiltrate the Nazi Party. Zytek's decision to assassinate Hitler ended up creating an even worse war than he feared, but he was eventually able to ascend to leadership of the Third Reich so he could dismantle it from within. |
| 46 | * Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} once found himself ostensibly running the evil ninja assassins called the Hand. [[spoiler:They corrupted him to the point that a demon actually possessed him briefly.]] |
| 47 | * The premise of the Creator/MarvelComics storyline ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' and especially the ''ComicBook/DarkAvengers'' series. |
| 48 | * In ''ComicBook/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', Haazen is the second-in-command and effective leader of the Jedi Covenant, a clandestine organization dedicated to keeping Sith artifacts out of the wrong hands. He is also secretly a Sith, and the Covenant are unwitting pawns in his scheme to take control of the Jedi Order. |
| 49 | * This seems to happen to ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} depressingly often in ''ComicBook/NickFury'' stories. As well after Carol Danvers is forced to step down Post Ultimatum. Her replacement is someone who in the 616 is known as ''Mentallo''. |
| 50 | * In ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' this turns out to be a typical Evronian tactic to deal with planets that may actually pose a threat to an invasion force: infiltrate ShapeShifter {{Super Soldier}}s into the appropriate position of power, and then attack the moment the mole has lowered the defenses. They applied this tactic against Xerba (the mole had replaced a government member and cast the decisive vote that led to [[WeComeInPeaceShootToKill the Xerbians signing the commercial treaty with Evron that led to them temporarily deactivating their orbital defenses, allowing the Evronians to destroy them and overrun the planet with a sudden attack]]) and Earth (they infiltrated Grrodon in the place of a [[Area51 Dept. 51]] officer planning to have him rise the ranks, only for him to be outed as a spy and imprisoned. They never found out he was an Evronian). The reboot also had them apply the tactic against Earth, neutralizing all nuclear arsenals and throwing the militaries into chaos right before their invasion. |
| 51 | * ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'': [[spoiler:Alex Wilder]] becomes the undisputed team leader, only for it to be revealed that [[spoiler: he was working with the Pride the entire time]]. |
| 52 | * For a long time, this was a running sub-plot of the Kree/Skrull war in the ''ComicBook/SilverSurfer'' comics; a Skrull (locked in the form of a Kree woman) had somehow risen to the very top of the hierarchy of the Kree Empire. |
| 53 | * In ''ComicBook/SupermanAndBatmanGenerations'', Batman ultimately ends up accepting Ra's Al Ghul's offer to become his heir, and turns his terrorist organization into a world-spanning anti-crime unit. |
| 54 | * In ''Franchise/{{Superman}}: [[ComicBook/NewKrypton World of New Krypton]]'', General Zod is severely injured before he can unleash his plan to invade Earth. While he recovers, the supreme commander of New Krypton's military forces is ... Commander Kal-El. Kryptonian foreign policy suddenly becomes a lot more diplomatic; unfortunately, it's temporary. |
| 55 | * In ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries'', the Decepticons have [[CaptureAndReplicate replaced numerous influential figures]] with [[ArtificialHuman Facsimiles]], including an American general, the leader of a [[{{Ruritania}} Brasnyan]] separatist movement, and a senator campaigning for the presidency of the United States. |
| 56 | [[/folder]] |
| 57 | |
| 58 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 59 | * In ''Fanfic/HurricaneSuite'' this is Akatsuki’s plan to bring peace within the five Great Villages. By installing shinobi loyal to them or their goal of peace as the Kages, they can all coordinate with each other to improve relations between the villages and work through disagreements peacefully. Naruto is acting as their agent in Konoha. |
| 60 | * ''Fanfic/IWokeUpAsADungeonNowWhat'': As far as most people know, the Central Resistance is first and foremost opposed to the PuppetKing that the two feuding empires have placed on the throne of Central. Only a very small inner circle know that the king is himself running the Resistance, allowing him to advance Central's interests without either empire realizing what he's up to. |
| 61 | * ''Fanfic/OutOfTheCornerOfTheEye'' has Director Joseph White. Nominally [[WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures Captain Black's]] superior, administrative leader of Section 13 and head of its psychological division, he's also a servant of the [[Literature/CthulhuMythos Outer Gods]] (in fact, he's implied to be a member of the [[Literature/TheDunwichHorror Whateley]] family). |
| 62 | * In ''Fanfic/PokemonShadowOfTime'', Giovanni appears to have manoeuvred himself into a position where not only does nobody in even the Elite Four know about his role as the boss of Team Rocket, but he is also officially ''in charge'' of the hunt for Team Rocket, using this as the excuse for him being absent from his gym 70% of the time. |
| 63 | * ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/1509638 Princess of the Isle]]'' is essentially a ''Film/{{Descendants}}'' fic with Creator/AngelinaJolie's Film/{{Maleficent}} in the role, with the result that Maleficent has actually maintained the barrier around the Isle from inside to keep the other villains contained, maintaining a link to outside the Isle so that she stays in contact with Aurora and Audrey. |
| 64 | * ''Fanfic/RuinOfTheYiga'': The Sheikah are so incompetent with the ancient technology that Ruin eventually gives up and starts impersonating researchers, including Purah herself, in order to keep the Divine Beasts in somewhat working order. This is surprisingly easy, because the Sheikah don't keep track of where their people are. |
| 65 | -->(As free advice: if someone tells you to keep a secret "even from me," it means they are a Yiga spy.) |
| 66 | * ''Fanfic/SeventhEndmostVision'': It's revealed early on that Shinra Executive [[spoiler:Barrett Wallace]] is AVALANCHE's spy in the corporation, working as a BenevolentBoss to his employees and earn their loyalty while taking advantages of how most of Shinra's executives [[BeneathNotice see him as a low-educated foreigner]] to spy on them and pass the information to Rufus. |
| 67 | * ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs Warhammer 40K]]'': One of the [[LaResistance Axum Resistance's]] leaders in Season 3 is an undercover Imperial Inquisitor [[AgentProvocateur who goads the rebels into taking borderline suicidal actions]] like trying to ZergRush a heavily-defended Imperial stronghold without any proper military support from the Republic and Jedi. |
| 68 | * In ''Fanfic/TheSwarmOfWar'', a lot of senior human military commanders (the most successful ones) are actually the Swarm's spies. Then, [[spoiler:Alena, the disguised Queen of Blades, makes herself the human queen]]. |
| 69 | * ''Fanfic/TheWarOfTheMasters'': Fleet Admiral Jorel Quinn, the head of Starfleet, is an Undine infiltrator who replaced the real Quinn. (This was a somewhat common {{WMG}} for ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' before it was {{jossed}} in the mission "Surface Tension".) As such, he is in a position to do serious harm to the Federation, and does so repeatedly, starting with signing off on the plan to forcibly resettle Klingon-border colonies and keeping Admiral Menninger in charge of the local Starfleet forces long after he should have been sacked. His [[TheDragon Dragon]] is Rear Admiral David Huntington, who is a human [[ApocalypseCult Masters cultist]] and recurring villain. There are various other Undine infiltrators in high positions as well. |
| 70 | * ''Fanfic/WeirderThings'': In a heroic example, Veronica uses her position as Director of the Office of Paranormal Investigations to keep the government away from the bulk of paranormal activity in Gravity Falls and to cover up her and Stan's attempts to reopen the portal. |
| 71 | [[/folder]] |
| 72 | |
| 73 | [[folder:Films — Animation]] |
| 74 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', Anna names Prince Hans regent while she goes off to look for Elsa. [[spoiler:At this point, his status as a villain hasn't been revealed yet.]] |
| 75 | [[/folder]] |
| 76 | |
| 77 | [[folder:Films — Live-Action]] |
| 78 | * ''Film/CambridgeSpies'' and all other retellings of the story of Kim Philby and his colleagues, Communist agents who rose to the top ranks of [=MI5=]. |
| 79 | * In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', this turns out to be the case with [[spoiler: S.H.I.E.L.D In the present day. Alexander Pierce, Fury's direct superior, is HYDRA.]] |
| 80 | * ''Film/TheDeparted'': [[spoiler:Frank Costello]] is an [[spoiler:FBI informant]]. Though that was ''after'' [[spoiler: he had built up his empire]] as a self-defense measure. A better example is Colin Sullivan, Frank's mole in the State Police, and the head of a special Task Force in charge of finding the mole in the State police. |
| 81 | %%* [[spoiler: Nikolai]] pulls this off by the end of ''Film/EasternPromises''. |
| 82 | * ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'' ends with [[spoiler:COBRA agent Zartan having replaced and imprisoned the real U.S. President]], and it continues on into its sequel, ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation''. |
| 83 | * This is the villain's objective in ''Film/{{Headhunters}}''. [[spoiler: Clas needs to land the job at Pathfinder to secure their technology and sell it to an American company.]] |
| 84 | * In ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'', [[spoiler:Arthur, the oldest and most senior of the Kingsmen]], is secretly one of Valentine's willing converts. |
| 85 | * In ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'', M brings the titular league together on the premise that he needs their help to bring down The Fantom, a renowned criminal mastermind. In reality, M is one of The Fantom's alter-egos, and his real reason for recruiting the league was to steal from the members who had superpowers ([[Literature/{{Dracula}} Mina Harker's]] vampire blood, a skin sample from the Invisible Man, and [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Jekyll's]] SuperSerum), duplicate their effects to add to his arsenal, then kill off the entire league in one swift blow. |
| 86 | * In ''Film/MenInBlackInternational'', it turns out that TheMole is actually [[spoiler: High T, the leader of the UK branch who was actually infected by the Hive and neuralized H into thinking he defeated them.]] |
| 87 | * In ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout'', Ethan Hunt is aided by the CIA's top agent August Walker to hunt down the Apostles and the mysterious terrorist John Lark. [[spoiler: It turns out that Walker is John Lark the entire time.]] |
| 88 | * In ''Film/MyFavoriteMartian'', the [[spoiler:man in charge of the organization hunting aliens]] is himself an alien stranded on Earth, apparently looking for a spaceship that can finally take him home. |
| 89 | * ''Film/NowYouSeeMe'': [[spoiler: It turns out at the end that the mysterious "Fifth Horsemen" giving the main character their orders, was Dylan Rhodes, a.k.a. Dylan Shrike, the [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist FBI agent]] who had been trying to capture them the entire movie.]] |
| 90 | * ''Film/RedSparrow'' has a heroic example. The mole in SVR that everyone's been looking for is [[spoiler:General Korchnoi, who turned to the Americans in hopes of saving Russia from its own leaders after SVR wouldn't let his beloved wife be treated in an American hospital, resulting in her death]]. |
| 91 | * ''Film/{{RoboCop|2014}}'' (2014): Crime boss Antoine Vallon has both the lead DPD detectives investigating him, [[spoiler:as well as the Detroit Chief of Police]] on his payroll. |
| 92 | * In ''Film/{{Salt}}'', the ending strongly suggests that [[spoiler: the President dies from his wounds, and the Vice President who ascends to succeed him is another Russian sleeper agent.]] There's also the fact that [[spoiler: the CIA agent in charge of hunting down the sleepers is actually a sleeper himself.]] |
| 93 | * In ''Film/SmokinAces'' it's revealed that the leader of the mob is really [[spoiler: an FBI agent who was burned by his handlers and had to become a criminal for real to survive, eventually rising up the ranks to the top position]]. |
| 94 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'': In the prequel trilogy, Senator Palpatine becomes Chancellor of the Republic and [[BigBad Darth Sidious]] is the mastermind behind [[Film/ThePhantomMenace the invasion of Naboo]] and [[Film/AttackOfTheClones the Separatist Crisis]], which turns into the [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Clone]] [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Wars]]. [[RunningBothSides They're the same person]], whose ultimate goal is the downfall of the Republic and destruction of the Jedi Order, to be replaced with his own Empire. [[TheBadGuyWins This succeeds.]] It then evolves into the conflict of the Galactic Civil War in the original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI). |
| 95 | [[/folder]] |
| 96 | |
| 97 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 98 | !!!'''Authors:''' |
| 99 | * Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/LetsGetTogether": At the end of the story, Lynn reveals that [[spoiler:Breckenridge is actually a spy for "Them". While he had assumed Breckenridge was a DoubleAgent, they had actually been [[KillAndReplace replaced]] by an eleventh [[DeceptivelyHumanRobots humanoid robot]]. The deception isn't completely explained until Lynn shoots Breckenridge]]. |
| 100 | * Creator/JohnLeCarre: |
| 101 | ** ''Literature/TinkerTailorSoldierSpy'' does this, [[spoiler:more or less. TheMole is ''nominally'' the number two man in the Circus, but is ''de facto'' in charge of it - the new "Control" having been selected specifically for his pliability.]] It was inspired by the unearthing of the Cambridge Five, who included Kim Philby (see below). |
| 102 | ** ''Literature/TheSpyWhoCameInFromTheCold'' does the same thing, [[spoiler:in reverse]]. Although he technically isn't the ''top'' [[spoiler:man in the Stasi, Mundt is the highest-ranking East German intelligence officer who appears in the story]] and it turns out that he'd been turned years prior to the events of the book. |
| 103 | * Creator/DavidWeber is ''very'' fond of this trope. |
| 104 | ** ''Literature/EmpireFromTheAshes'': In the third book, the BigBad turns out to be [[spoiler:the deputy governor of Earth, angling to make himself Emperor]]. |
| 105 | ** The ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' books managed to avoid them for quite some time, but then the Mesans, with an entire multi-generational network of moles, appeared. The entire Havenite Legislaturalist class were Alpha lines. |
| 106 | ** ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'': The highest-ranking members of the colony administration staff turned out to have no intention of following the original Operation Ark plan, instead setting up the HumanPopsicle colonists to follow a religion they'd invented tailored towards preventing the re-emergence of any kind of advanced technology. |
| 107 | %%** ''Wind Riders Oath'' in the [[Literature/TheWarGods Bahzell]] series has ''several'' of them. |
| 108 | %%** Much of the backstory and the conclusion of ''Literature/PrinceRoger''. |
| 109 | |
| 110 | !!!'''Works:''' |
| 111 | * ''Literature/AgentLavender'': The title is the codename of KGB agent Harold Wilson, who is also the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. This is based on a real-life conspiracy theory. |
| 112 | * In the ''Literature/ArseneLupin'' novel ''813'', the Head of the French Police, the best detective ever seen, the only man everyone trusts to be able to catch GentlemanThief Lupin... [[spoiler: turns out to be Lupin himself in disguise]]. |
| 113 | * An odd variant occurs in Creator/JackLondon's ''The Assassination Bureau, Ltd.'' when Winter Hall, having paid the Bureau to kill its own leader, is placed in charge of handling the Bureau's correspondence and finances -- the things the leader would normally do -- while said leader is on the run from his team. The members of the Bureau ''know'' Hall is out to destroy them, because he ''told'' them ... but they all have [[HonorBeforeReason an overpowering sense of ethics, and so they respect his honesty]] and consider him a friend. And he considers ''them'' friends, and now wants to find a way to destroy the organization without harming the members. |
| 114 | * In the ''Literature/ChooseYourOwnAdventure'' book ''Escape'', the head of the [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Doradan]] SecretPolice turns out to be a Turtalian agent. |
| 115 | * ''Literature/GarrettPI'': In the finale of ''Faded Steel Heat'', the head of [[spoiler:[[FantasticRacism xenophobic pro-human]] organisation is shown to be a shapeshifter.]] Hasn't been there for long, though. |
| 116 | * As told in ''Literature/HorribleHistories'', the story of Fernando Buschman, a Brazilian-German violinist who was executed during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI in the Tower of London for spying. He, as well as a group of spies, were all sent to their deaths by their spymaster, a British [[TheMole mole]] serving in Germany's intelligence wing. The Germans' entire "infiltration" method was a signal for the British Intelligence to quickly identify them and get them captured. |
| 117 | * ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': [[spoiler: Plutarch Heavensbee]] is the Head Gamemaker for the 75th Hunger Games.[[spoiler: And a key member of LaResistance.]] |
| 118 | * In ''Literature/TheIlluminatusTrilogy'', Hagbard Celine, leader of the Legion of Dynamic Discord, is also a Primus Illuminatus, as well as a high-ranking member of A.'.A.'.. Given his stated beliefs, the conflict of interest makes perfect sense. |
| 119 | ** Of course, he took the place in TheIlluminati purely to screw them up after he realized that he couldn't guide them to a more constructive path. His true loyalties, if such thing exists, lie with the A.'.A.'. |
| 120 | * OlderThanRadio: ''Konrad Wallenrod'' by Adam Mickiewicz is a classic of Polish Romanticism, in which he postulated using deceit (as opposed to direct action) against the occupiers. The plot involves a Lithuanian who rises in ranks of UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights, and after many years leads their army to a total defeat. |
| 121 | * ''Literature/TheLastAdventureOfConstanceVerity'': Connie was given Omega-level clearance in the United States Government after uncovering that the President was replaced by a cyborg-clone. |
| 122 | * ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'': In ''Second Stage Lensman'', Lensman Kinnison goes undercover into the enemy military and [[KlingonPromotion works his way up]] to become a military dictator, Tyrant of Thrale, to find out who TheManBehindTheMan is and to sabotage an upcoming battle. |
| 123 | * In ''Literature/TheLeonardRegime'', the mole also happens to be [[spoiler:the second in command of the entire rebellion.]] |
| 124 | * In the ''Franchise/MagicTheGathering'' novel ''Literature/TimeStreams'', Radiant, the archangel ruler of Serra's Realm, has charged her right-hand man War Minister Gorig with rooting out the Phyrexians that have infiltrated the realm and hidden themselves among the populace. But unbeknownst to Radiant, Gorig is a Phyrexian himself, and he uses his influence to gradually isolate Radiant from her people, stoke her paranoia, and direct her wrath against the innocent. |
| 125 | * In ''Literature/TheManWhoWasThursday'' [[spoiler: the protagonist discovers that the Council of Days, supposedly the supreme council of the British anarchist underground, is made up ''entirely'' of undercover police officers like himself.]] |
| 126 | * ''Literature/MediochreQSethSeries'': [[spoiler:Dean Kiwi Mashuga of St Merlin's University is secretly the head of the Sapphire Smuggling Syndicate. When an SSS member is asked - while attached to a lie detector - whether anyone in the university works for the SSS, she is able to truthfully answer 'no', because [[ExactWords technically, the SSS works for Kiwi]].]] |
| 127 | * At the end of the first ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' book, [[TheStoic Marsh]] becomes the head of the [[CorruptChurch Steel Ministry]], despite openly being TheMole. Marsh infiltrated the Ministry on behalf of the rebellion, impressing the [[HumanoidAbomination Inquisitors]] so much that they forcibly recruited him into their ranks. Right before [[ActionGirl Vin]] kills him, the Ministry’s god [[GodEmperor the Lord Ruler]] put the Inquisitors in charge of the Ministry, and since Marsh killed all the other Inquisitors, he’s left in charge. The other priests support him either because it was the Lord Ruler's last order, or because he's now [[TheDreaded one of the most terrifying beings in the Final Empire]]. |
| 128 | --> '''Marsh''': "I am the only Inquisitor left in Luthadel. ''I'' rule your church now." |
| 129 | * In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's novel ''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'', Adam Selene, figurehead of the Rebellion against the Lunar Authority, is in actuality a virtual construct of the Authority's main computer, who has quietly attained both sentience and a sense of humor. |
| 130 | * At the end of the ''Literature/PresidentsVampire'' novel ''Red, White and Blood'', Vice President Lester Wyman, who has been the [=Mole=] for the Shadow Company throughout the series, gives himself a KlingonPromotion. |
| 131 | * In Creator/VernorVinge's ''Literature/RainbowsEnd'', when Grünberk Braun discovers the existence of the MindControl virus, he turns for help to Albert Vaz, the man who has secretly created it as part of his plan to [[WellIntentionedExtremist save the world from itself]]. |
| 132 | * In ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'', [[spoiler:Ravel becomes [[BigGood Grand Mage]]. Then he [[TheReveal turns out]] [[TheMole to be]] [[TheChessmaster The Man with]] [[HeroKiller the]] [[GreaterScopeVillain Golden Eyes]].]] |
| 133 | * In the backstory of the ''[[Literature/JacksonLamb Slough House]]'' novels, [[spoiler:[=MI5=]'s [[DaChief First Desk]] for more than a decade, Charles Partner, was selling secrets and framing his [[TheAlcoholic recovering alcoholic]] [[GirlFriday assistant]], Catherine Standish, for the crime. When Partner's treason was discovered, he was assassinated by Jackson Lamb on the orders of [=MI5=]'s deputies, rather than let the whole scandal come to light. Lamb was "rewarded" with command of the newly-created [[ReassignedToAntarctica Slough House]] and elected to bring Standish with him, but never told her what really happened to Partner, whose death was staged to look like suicide]]. |
| 134 | * The ''Literature/StarTrekMyriadUniverses'' story ''A Gutted World'' imagines the Cardassians found the Bajoran wormhole and never left Bajor. They also found the Dominion with the Founders soon replacing key people across the galaxy as Changelings. They instigate a full on war between the Federation, Romulans and Klingons. It soon turns out changelings have replaced General Martok, Tal Shiar officer Koval and Gul Dukat, all to drag the war out longer and leave all sides weakened for when the Dominion invade. Starfleet is dubious when Kira and Odo tell them so Kira uses a device that causes a changeling to lose control of their form...and the Federation ''President'' transforms into a Founder. |
| 135 | * ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': In the ''Literature/XWingSeries'' novel ''Mercy Kill'', the A-plot follows a team of Wraiths assembled under Face Loran at the behest of his boss, General Maddeus, head of Galactic Alliance Intelligence. Their job is to look into the head of the army, General Stavin Thaal, and see if he has any connection to the "Lecersen Conspiracy", a plot by hard-line loyalists to return power to the Empire. It transpires that [[spoiler: not only is Thaal part of the conspiracy, but ''so is Maddeus''. He was worried that evidence might link them to the other known conspirators, so he sent Face to find it and report back to him, allowing him to tip off Thaal before the Wraiths could catch him. Then, he would eliminate both Face and the leaks he had revealed. Face [[KansasCityShuffle outmaneuvers him]] by arranging for two teams of Wraiths [[FeedTheMole while reporting on the actions of a third, fictitious, team]]; when Maddeus tries to warn Thaal about the fake Wraiths, his cover is blown.]] |
| 136 | * The ''Wingman'' pulp series by Mack Maloney begins when the United States Vice President, a Soviet mole, arranges for the assassination of the President and lowers the Star Wars missile shield, allowing the remnants of the USSR to nuke the United States in revenge for destroying them in WorldWarIII. |
| 137 | * In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', the [[VillainProtagonist Undersiders]] inadvertently [[spoiler: help Coil become this, as his civilian identity replaces the local [[CapeBusters PRT]] director, putting him in control of not only every supervillain but every superhero in the city.]] |
| 138 | [[/folder]] |
| 139 | |
| 140 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 141 | * ''Series/TwentyFour'' has given us versions of PresidentEvil who are really TheMole for hostile foreign powers. |
| 142 | ** In another case, the right-hand-man of the BigBad took over CTU in the final season to capture and kill Jack Bauer. |
| 143 | ** In ''Live Another Day'' [[spoiler: the director of the London branch of the CIA turns out to be a mole working for a currently unknown party, likely TheManBehindTheMan.]] |
| 144 | * In the ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' episode [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS2E6FracturedHouse "Fractured House"]], [[spoiler: Julian Beckers, Belgium's Foreign Minister]] is revealed to be a Comicbook/{{HYDRA}} agent. |
| 145 | * This happens on ''Series/{{Alias}}'' at least once every thirty seconds. [[spoiler:Between the "real" nature of SD-6, the loyalties of Derevko, the actions of Sark and the constant flip-flopping of characters between the CIA and other organizations... heck, there are even situations where a mole infiltrates an organization, rises to the top, then stages the infiltration of the organization they were moling for in the first place!]] |
| 146 | * ''Series/{{Andor}}'': |
| 147 | ** Lieutenant Gorn is in charge of security and duty rosters at the Aldhani garrison, making it a simple task to get the infiltration team inside by having them pose as transfers from a nearby airbase and clear out most of the staff from the route they take to the vault. |
| 148 | ** One of the [[StateSec ISB]] section heads is actually a Rebel infiltrator who feeds information about the goings on at ISB to the proto-Rebellion. |
| 149 | * While most of the fifth season of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' is a case of GoodRunningEvil, towards the end Angel pretends to have been corrupted by the experience, becoming more of a MoleInCharge. |
| 150 | * ''Series/BabylonFive'': Sheridan is this [[DoubleAgent twice over]] -- hired by the Clark government to spite the Minbari because of their perception of him as a war criminal, but actually a highly placed member of LaResistance, sent to determine the B5 crew's loyalty or lack thereof to the increasingly fascist [=EarthGov=]. |
| 151 | * Kim Wexler becomes an unintended example in the fifth season of ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Her client bank Mesa Verde tasked her with evicting a man from the planned site of a call center, but she came to sympathize with him, and so had her boyfriend Saul represent him legally. Kim actually tries to ''get off'' the case by pointing out the blatant conflict of interest, but the head of Mesa Verde insists she stay. |
| 152 | * Anti-[[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Supe]] Congresswoman Victoria Neuman in ''Series/TheBoys2019'' is revealed at the end of the second season to be the [[YourHeadAsplode head-exploding]] [[EvilInc Vought]] assassin that's been stymying the team's efforts. Season 3 starts with her as the head of a [[SuperRegistrationAct Supe-regulating government agency]] that [[CapeBusters the Boys]] become a part of, with her putting the {{pacifist}} NaiveNewcomer Hughie in charge as well as [[ObstructiveBureaucrat mountains of red tape]] in their way to reduce the team's impact on Vought's bottom line. [[spoiler:In the season 3 finale, thanks to Homelander she's on track to becoming [[PresidentEvil the Vice President of the United States]].]] |
| 153 | * In ''Series/{{Caprica}}'', Gara Singh is chief agent in the Caprica Global Defense Department and leader of the Soldiers of the One monotheistic terrorists on Caprica. |
| 154 | * In the ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'' episodes "Pandora" and "Linchpin" the villain is the second-in-command agent of a CIA operation. [[spoiler: Strike that it was really the number one in command and she framed him. It further turns out she was a KGB agent who infiltrated the CIA just as the USSR went under and was thus a double mole.]] |
| 155 | %%* Lena Smith in ''Series/CovertAffairs''. |
| 156 | * ''Series/CriminalMinds'': |
| 157 | ** When the BAU team was called in by the CIA to find a mole in their ranks, [[spoiler:the mole was the Deputy Director.]] |
| 158 | ** In "Amplification", the BAU is looking for someone who unleashed an anthrax attack onto a group of people in a park. The person who did it turns out to be a [[spoiler:high-ranking researcher for a government anti-terrorism agency. He unleashed the attack because he wanted the American populace to take terrorism more seriously and to demonstrate vulnerabilities in his agency's methods.]] |
| 159 | * ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'': In season 3, Special Agent in Charge Tammy Hattley, who oversees the FBI agents assigned to protecting [[ComicBook/TheKingpin Wilson Fisk]], turns out to have been blackmailed into working for Fisk, as have most of the agents on the detail. |
| 160 | * Scorpius from ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' is in charge of the Peacekeeper's wormhole weaponization project while being a double agent for the Scarrans. Except, it turns out Scorpius isn't ''really'' working for the Scarrans. He just lets them think that he is for as long as he can, so that he can develop wormhole weapons with which to destroy them. |
| 161 | * Played for laughs on ''Series/GetSmart'' when [[FlockOfWolves all four members]] of a KAOS cell turn out to be moles from different agencies: the CIA, the FBI, Naval Intelligence and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Scotland Yard]]. The only real KAOS agent had died years ago without being replaced. |
| 162 | * Played with on ''Series/{{Grimm}}''. Nick's boss, Captain Renard, is initially portrayed as TheMole and quite possibly the BigBad. However, we later discover that his loyalties are way more complex. [[spoiler: He is the illegitimate son of the head of the Royal Families but is also one of the leaders of the Resistance, a group of Wesen who oppose the Royals.]] |
| 163 | * In ''Series/{{Highlander}}'', the Watchers have a research division that's dedicated to finding Methos, the legendary [[TheOlderImmortal first Immortal]]. The lead researcher ''is'' Methos, and guarantees that they never find him. |
| 164 | %%* In ''Series/TheHour'' , the rumoured Soviet mole in Creator/TheBBC ultimately turns out to be [[spoiler:Clarence]]. Who exactly is that? |
| 165 | * On ''Series/Intelligence2006'', a seasons-spanning storyline involved the discovery of a CIA mole in the highest echelons of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and its fallout. |
| 166 | * The series finale of ''Series/Intelligence2014'' revealed that [[spoiler: Weatherly, the Director of Central Intelligence]] was a deep-cover Iranian mole. |
| 167 | * ''Series/{{Jeremiah}}'': :Lee Chen, the untrusting Thunder Mountain security chief, was planted in the community as a spy by Devon, although they want to protect the community (albeit by lying to Markus and the others) rather than sabotage it. |
| 168 | * ''Franchise/KamenRider'': |
| 169 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderDrive'' is a show about a special task force trying to catch a group of shapeshifting killer robots threatening Japan, with practically no help from the police at large. Sure enough, the first of the robots has been the Secretary of Defense for years, using his special ability to manipulate memories to rise to a position where he could cripple any efforts by the authorities to deal with the situation while maintaining a token task force to appease the public. |
| 170 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderSaber'': The entire second act of the show centers around trying to figure out the identity of the traitor within the Sword of Logos selling humanity out to the Megid, who turns out to be none other than its head. |
| 171 | ** ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'': The operations director of Fenix is killed and replaced by a demon in the first episode, although it takes until the thirteenth for anyone to notice. This helps cover for the bigger reveal that his boss, the head of Fenix, is also the ''founder'' of the demonic cult that Fenix was formed to oppose. |
| 172 | %%* ''Series/MacGyver2016'' has [[spoiler:Patricia Thorton, who was trying to stop Mac from finding out about Nikki being a deep cover agent trying to expose Patricia.]] |
| 173 | * ''Series/MadamSecretary'': [[spoiler:It turns out in "The Ninth Circle" that CIA Director Munsey is part of a RenegadeSplinterFaction trying for regime change in Iran to stop them from getting the bomb, rather than let Liz and President Dalton's peace talks run their course.]] |
| 174 | * One ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'' episode has the team trying to prevent a highly placed US mole inside the Iranian military from having his cover blown. At the end of the episode, they've managed to reinforce the cover of the general in question so well that he's been promoted to head of counterintelligence. |
| 175 | * In ''Series/PripadyPrvnihoOddeleni'', technician Strompf is kicked off the department when Maj. Kozak finds out that he's the bastard selling tips to TV. However, Strompf blackmailed Maj. Korejs (head of the department) who gives him great references, so the mole gets hired by Internal Affairs. He later tries to destroy some of his former colleagues out of spite and is put in charge to investigate Maj. Kozak who is suspected of getting around a warrant search. |
| 176 | * Subverted in ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'' episode "Free For All". Number 6 is elected to the position of Number 2, technically putting him in charge of the Village, but it turns out to be a cruel trick to break his mind. |
| 177 | %%* Happens twice in ''Series/TheSandbaggers'', complete with references to Philby. [[spoiler: Burnside makes sure they are both killed.]] |
| 178 | * The ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E16InterArmaEnimSilentLeges Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges]]" has this as a major twist that changes your perception of the events of the episode: [[spoiler:Koval, the chairman of the Tal Shiar (the Romulan Intelligence organization) and staunch opponent of the Federation-Romulan alliance against the Dominion turns out to have been a Federation agent all along. The entire thing was a plot to remove a less reliable Senator from power and lend additional force to Koval's turn to supporting the alliance.]] |
| 179 | * In ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', Commodore Oh is both Chief of Starfleet Security and a top agent of the Romulan [[AncientConspiracy Zhat Vash]] organization. |
| 180 | * In ''Series/Supergirl2015'', the leader of the Department of Extranormal Operations, a US government [[TheMenInBlack Men In Black]] group, turns out to be an alien in disguise who [[KillAndReplace killed and replaced]] the real guy. [[spoiler:In fact, he's the DC TV universe version of the ComicBook/MartianManhunter. Also the previous guy isn't really dead.]]. Subverted, since it's revealed that the original leader was a fanatical and malevolent xenophobe, while the infiltrator wants to change the agency to genuinely protect the Earth from evil aliens while acting as a benevolent immigration service for more moral ones. |
| 181 | * One episode of ''Series/YesPrimeMinister'' revolved around the revelation that a former head of [=MI5=] had, during his time in office, been a Russian agent - See the Real-Life section below re: Kim Philby for why this is not ''merely'' a comedic premise for a half-hour sitcom about the machinery of Government. |
| 182 | [[/folder]] |
| 183 | |
| 184 | [[folder:Pro Wrestling]] |
| 185 | * After the formation of the Wrestling/{{n|ewWorldorder}}Wo, The Giant (later Wrestling/TheBigShow) quickly became the leader of Wrestling/{{WCW}}'s makeshift resistance. That is, until he had a FaceHeelTurn and became a member of the nWo. Later, WCW's Executive Vice President, Wrestling/EricBischoff also joined the nWo, and revealed that he'd been working for them the entire time. |
| 186 | * When the [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels Aces and]] [[DeadMansHand Eights]] invaded Wrestling/{{TNA}}, [[Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys Bully Ray]] went out of his way to get the trust of Wrestling/HulkHogan and, seemingly inadvertently, the love of his daughter Brooke Hogan, which resulted in the Hogan family essentially anointing him as TheHero for TNA against the Aces and Eights and giving him a fast track to a World Heavyweight Championship match. The thing with that, as they painfully found out the night of said title match, is Bully Ray is [[EvilAllAlong the]] [[BigBad President]] of the Wrestling/{{Aces And Eights|Wrestlers}}. |
| 187 | [[/folder]] |
| 188 | |
| 189 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 190 | * Technically the case in ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'', which notes that there is a secret organization where [[FlockOfWolves every single member is a mole for some other secret organization]]. Which must, logically, include the guy at the top. |
| 191 | * A bit of ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' lore tells how an Anarchist infiltrated the [[KnightTemplar Harmonium]] so deeply and for so long that he ended up the head of the latter faction. The Anarchist then ordered the Harmonium to disband... which promptly lead to his being arrested and tried for treason, and revealed as TheMole. Depending on your perspective, either a tremendously ChaoticStupid move by a mole in a position of power making life more difficult for any moles who come after him, or a brilliant ParanoiaGambit to make the Harmonium forever wonder what damage he had done on the way up and hindering their ability to trust one another ever after. |
| 192 | [[/folder]] |
| 193 | |
| 194 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 195 | * In ''VideoGame/BioShock2'', Sofia Lamb put Stanley Poole in control of Dionysus Park, her sanctum. He was Andrew Ryan's spy all along. |
| 196 | * In ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezTheCartel'', the Mendoza Cartel's high-ranking mole inside the U.S. government turns out to be Department of Justice Deputy Assistant Director Shane Dickson, the head of the special task force assembled specifically to deal with the Mendoza Cartel. In fact, the task force was [[SpringtimeForHitler designed to fail from the beginning]], which explains why all 3 members work together so poorly and are so obviously corrupt and[=/=]or insane. |
| 197 | * The Imperial campaign in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'' reveals that [[spoiler:the President of the United States is an Imperial android]]. |
| 198 | * One of the key plot points of ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II: Chaos Rising''. [[spoiler:Towards the end of the game the Blood Ravens learn that their Chapter Leader is actually a follower of Chaos. The game ends with the Blood Ravens under the player's command going rogue and setting off to expose the traitor.]] |
| 199 | * ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'': In Act IV, the player characters learn that the leader of {{the Paladin}}s -- the "good" branch of the Divine Order, [[InterserviceRivalry in contrast]] with the firmly antagonistic KnightTemplar Magisters -- is secretly sworn to the GreaterScopeVillain, and is using the Magisters' crimes as a pretext to launch a bloody power grab. |
| 200 | * ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'': The leader of the vampire-hunting [[CreatureHunterOrganization Order of Virtuous Blood]] is secretly a vampire himself, using his position to [[FrameUp frame innocent people]] for his own murders. The player character can expose, [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt kill, and replace him]], even if they're a vampire too. |
| 201 | * The Federation storyline in ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity Nova'' features this (''Only'' the Federation storyline, mind -- despite the [[RashomonStyle Rashomon-y]] tendencies of the game, certain things only make sense if SchrodingersGun is in effect here): [[spoiler: Frandall, head of Rebellion Intelligence and former head of Federation Intelligence, turns out to be the real head of the Bureau]]. |
| 202 | * ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'': |
| 203 | ** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': There's a spy planted by Caesar in the New California Republic at Camp [=McCarran=] who's radioing out information, and they're trying to root out who it is. [[spoiler:It happens to be the officer in charge of the investigation.]] |
| 204 | ** In ''Videogame/Fallout4'', it's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:Mayor [=McDonough=] of Diamond City]] is actually a Synth infiltrator, with the real one having been [[KillAndReplace killed and replaced]] long ago. |
| 205 | * In ''VideoGame/TheFeebleFiles'', [[spoiler:TheDragon somehow manages to become the leader of the Resistance, and tricks everyone into getting themselves captured. It becomes Feeble's task to save them]]. |
| 206 | * In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV: A Realm Reborn'', [[spoiler:Ilberd, Captain of the Crystal Braves organization founded by your idealistic ally Alphinaud, turns out to be serving several other masters, as revealed when he and his underlings turn on you and your allies. The members loyal to the original cause are either murdered or imprisoned prior to the betrayal]]. |
| 207 | * In the first ''VideoGame/FossilFighters'' game, the PoliceAreUseless when it comes to keeping the BB Bandits under control. Even when they catch any Bandits, [[CardboardPrison the cells are usually empty]]. [[spoiler:That's because the BB Bandits' leader is the chief of police, Bartholomew Bullwort. He has a teleporter in the police station that connects to the BB Base, preventing any Bandits from staying locked up for too long.]] |
| 208 | * In ''VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalurReckoning'', the BigBad of the [[spoiler:House of Sorrows Faction questline]] is the faction's leader [[spoiler:who is actually a Tuatha agent]]. He is even the one who recruits the Fateless One into the faction [[spoiler:and successfully manipulates him/her into removing one of the few obstacles left to his plan to destroy the House of Sorrows and claim its powerful magic for the Tuatha]]. |
| 209 | * In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel II'', Rufus Albarea, the chief of staff of the entire Noble Alliance, [[spoiler:is actually trying to undermine the very same alliance for his real boss, Chancellor Giliath Osborne]]. |
| 210 | * In ''Videogame/LostJudgment'', it's revealed late-game that [[spoiler:Kazuki Soma, leader of the RK gang, is actually a government agent who created the gang as a way to centralize organized crime after the disbandment of the Tojo Clan in ''Videogame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', using them to to do the government's dirty work]]. |
| 211 | * Subtle occurrence in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', where the Illusive Man is leading Cerberus against both the Reapers and the Council whilst trying to gain control of the former, but ends up indoctrinated by the Reapers instead. |
| 212 | ** It's revealed the batarian leadership had been indoctrinated by exposure to a Reaper carcass they'd found, thus when the Reapers invaded through batarian space, the Hegemony collapsed without any resistance. |
| 213 | * ''VideoGame/MasterDetectiveArchivesRainCode'': [[spoiler:Makoto Kagutsuchi is both the CEO of Amaterasu Corporation ''and'' an impersonator of the WDO's Number One, being his clone. However, he's also infiltrating on ''another'' level, as he's actually a creation of the Unified Government, meaning his role as the CEO of Amaterasu Corp was never meant to happen in the first place, considering he just happened upon Kanai Ward and became the company CEO due to stopping the UG from consuming the aforementioned company.]] |
| 214 | %%* Big Boss, in the original ''VideoGame/MetalGear''. |
| 215 | * ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'': THE WHOLE DAMN POINT. Your goal as a Ranger with Wraith powers is to build an army out of Sauron's forces through mind control, thereby causing an EnemyCivilWar strong enough to take down Sauron himself. Bad News: his army numbers in the millions. Good News: Sauron uses a mind control hierarchy, so that mind-controlled warchiefs have limited mind control over their lieutenants, and the lieutenants have limited mind control over the grunts. You either need to dominate a lieutenant and kill his warchief, thus allowing your mole to be instantly promoted to warchief, or dominate the leader himself. |
| 216 | ** In a non-player caused example in the sequel, [[spoiler:Castamir]] betrays his people and causes their defenses to crumble (though one could argue it was going to fall anyways). He's surprised when the Witch King [[GenreBlindness of all people]] doesn't uphold his end of the bargain. |
| 217 | * In the 2005 remake of ''VideoGame/{{NARC}}'', the chief of the N.A.R.C. anti-drug task force is also the leader of K.R.A.K., the main drug cartel. It turns out she founded N.A.R.C. specifically to eliminate all the other competing drug cartels. |
| 218 | * A comedic example in ''VideoGame/PajamaSam 2''. Carrot infiltrates World Wide Weather believing it to be economically oppressing employees. A puzzle solution requires that Sam needs Carrot to get himself on the Board of Directors, and Sam leaves Carrot to act in his stead. Carrot quickly becomes very popular by introducing seating for all the board members and then he starts implementing employee benefit programs. In the end, when Sam returns to see Carrot running the company by himself, Carrot explains that he thought management was top-heavy and downsized the entire board of directors except himself. |
| 219 | * This is an alarming problem in ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'': |
| 220 | ** [[spoiler:Albert Wesker, in charge of the S.T.A.R.S. sent to the mansion]] in the first ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' is also working for the company that made all the zombies in the first place. |
| 221 | ** In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'' [[spoiler: head of the Federal Bioterrorism Commission Morgan Lansdale]] is responsible for the monster outbreak on board the Zenobia [[spoiler: so the world will be more afraid of bioterrorism and give the FBC more power]]. He is opposed by [[spoiler: the head of Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance Clive R. O'Brian, who sent in Jill, Chris, Parker, and Jessica to the Zenobia with incredibly lacking intel in an elaborate plan to expose Lansdale]], which, while well-meaning, was such a dangerous GambitRoulette that he deserves a little bit of scorn. |
| 222 | ** [[spoiler:National Security Advisor Derek Simmons]] is the one responsible for the president's assassination and the zombie outbreak in Tall Oaks in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6''. |
| 223 | * In ''[[VideoGame/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdomsKoei Romance Of The Three Kingdoms II]]'', you can hide officers in enemy territory to lower the loyalty of his officers. If his ruler dies, one of his officers (a relative if possible, the highest Charm officer otherwise) becomes the new ruler -- which means that your mole may become their new ruler (and, if he does, he will promptly [[FaceHeelTurn stop being a mole]]. |
| 224 | * ''VideoGame/RuneScape'': In "Azzanadra's Quest", it's revealed that [[spoiler:the Head of Operations of the Temple Knights, Sir Vey Lance, is actually the Zarosian demon Veilinius, who made sure that most of the Temple Knights' initiated members were indoctrinated to be devoted to Zaros, in spite of the organization's ties to Saradomin. When TheMasquerade falls apart and Zaros steals the Elder Crown from Saradomin, he whisks away with his faithful followers - comprising of at least ''half of the assembled knights'', including Eva Cashien, who the player worked with in a prior quest to kill Mother Mallum and the niece of Saradominist loyalist and Temple Knights Head of Recruitment Sir Tiffy Cashien]]. |
| 225 | * ''[[VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Sam & Max]]'' give us a literal example, since the mole inside the toy mafia takes over the mafia... and is actually a mole. |
| 226 | * In ''VideoGame/ScrapMetalHeroes'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:Johann Krauss, the leader of the military task force sent to investigate the robot malfunctions, is actually working for the BigBad who's causing the robot malfunctions in the first place]]. |
| 227 | * You can do this in the game ''[[VideoGame/SevenKingdoms Seven Kingdoms 2: The Frythan Wars]]'' using your spy units. The spy looks like any ordinary unit to everyone but the owner and the enemy treats it like an ordinary unit, including for being promoted to general status and running a fort. And even for promotion to king if their king is killed and the spy is a general. Having a spy as a general allows you to take control of a fort and make it switch colors as well as some of the units in it, depending on loyalty or simply screw with enemy operations by conflicting orders. If the spy becomes king then you automatically defeat that enemy. Be warned though, the AI is good at using spies against you too. |
| 228 | * In ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs2012'', [[spoiler:Wei Shen becomes a Red Pole in the Sun On Yee after Winston is killed. While he doesn't reach the top of the Sun On Yee overall, he's still this trope for the subsidiary Water Street Boys gang, making him one of the most powerful people in the Triad hierarchy, and if he had wanted to and found support, he could have moved to become Dragon Head. Ultimately however, he goes back to being a cop and the new Triad boss lets him walk away out of respect for eliminating her enemies.]] |
| 229 | * In ''VideoGame/SoldierOfFortune 2'', the ObviouslyEvil second-in-command of the anti-terrorist organization is also the leader of the main terrorist organization. It turns out he actually founded the terrorist organization to drum up business when the end of the Cold War caused a drop in demand for anti-terrorist services. |
| 230 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Strife}}'', the leader of [[LaResistance The Resistance]] is actually one of the 5 main leaders of [[ReligionOfEvil The Order]]. His actions vary between giving his men suicide missions designed to get them killed, and genuine strikes against the Order which are really power grabs in an attempt to gain dominance over the other 4 leaders. |
| 231 | * It's revealed in the True Mastermind Edition of ''[[VideoGame/TimeCrisis Time Crisis 5]]'' that [[spoiler:Robert Baxter, the one leading the investigation on finding a traitor within the VSSE, is the traitor all along]]. |
| 232 | [[/folder]] |
| 233 | |
| 234 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 235 | * ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'' has a major one. The head of [[spoiler:the Yatagarasu case]] ''is'' [[spoiler:the Yatagarasu, or at least one member of the group.]] Hell, the original [[spoiler:Yatagarasu]] was made up of [[spoiler:the prosecutor, detective, ''and'' the defense attorney]] on the case. Considering there's no jury in the ''Ace Attorney'' world and the Judge is an idiot, you can't get much more in charge than that. |
| 236 | * ''VisualNovel/{{Policenauts}}'': In addition to being a DirtyCop, [[spoiler:Gates Becker]] is [[BigBad Tokugawa's]] partner in their NebulousCriminalConspiracy, and insures that Beyond Coast's police force can't touch them. |
| 237 | * In ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}'', [[spoiler: the JUNKER chief Cunningham is revealed to be this when you discover his corpse in the morgue of Queen's Hospital. When he's exposed, he kills Harry and takes Mika hostage.]] |
| 238 | [[/folder]] |
| 239 | |
| 240 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 241 | * ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': [[spoiler: Ozpin has a secret circle of people who know the true history of Remnant, know of Salem's existence, and are aware that the Huntsmen Academies were designed to protect the four Relics that Salem is trying to collect. Leo, as Haven's headmaster, is privy to all this information but appears to be working for Salem. Not only does that put a man of dubious allegiance in charge of the next generation of Huntsmen who are supposed to battle against the Grimm, creatures that Salem can control, but he is also in charge of the Relic that's hidden at Haven Academy, and which Salem desperately seeks. Watts implies that Leo may have been Salem's informant for some time and Qrow observes that Leo hasn't been checking in with Ozpin for months]]. |
| 242 | [[/folder]] |
| 243 | |
| 244 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 245 | * In ''Webcomic/DragonMango'', Black Berry is the leader and founder of the Cell Knights, a military force tasked by the Square One government with crushing the revolutionaries. He is also secretly one of the founding members of the revolutionaries themselves, enacting a long-term plan to overthrow the Square One government and put an end to their evil experiments. |
| 246 | * Yu Hansung and Augusgus from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' are test directors of the regime of Jahad, supervising two of the most important floors of the Tower, yet in secret, [[spoiler:they are working for the terrorist syndicate FUG and know how to use their positions to their advantage]]. |
| 247 | [[/folder]] |
| 248 | |
| 249 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 250 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'': After Iron Man and Black Panther leave the team, [[spoiler: Skrull Captain America]] takes charge. |
| 251 | * In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Captain Planet|and the Planeteers}}'' Gaia gets body-switched with one of the bad guys, leaving one of them to run her organisation and Gaia to "run" the bad guy organisation (by tricking them into acting in eco-friendly ways). |
| 252 | * In ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', we discover in the last few episodes that [[spoiler: Numbuh 274/Chad, who became a very high-ranking member of the Teen-Ninjas]] was a FakeDefector still loyal to the KND. |
| 253 | * Heroic example in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'': Detective Matt Bluestone is an ally of the Manhattan gargoyle clan, and gets appointed to the NYPD Gargoyle task force sent out to capture them. It puts him in a position to keep the odds high that his gargoyle friends elude capture. |
| 254 | * ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeExtreme'' ended at least one season with the villain Iron Klaw masquerading as the military official in charge of G.I. Joe itself. |
| 255 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfVoxMachina'', General Krieg is in charge of the Arms of Emon. He is also secretly the blue dragon Brimscythe, one of the five evil dragons of the Chroma Conclave. He uses the position of his dual identity to set up mercenaries and soldiers where he can easily murder them, weakening Emon's defenses. |
| 256 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheModifyers'' had Agent Xero acting as a DoubleAgent to infiltrate [[BigBadWannabe Baron Vain's]] operation, by using her [[PerkyGoth Lacey Shadows]] cover identity. In the pilot episode, she's already become [[RightHandHottie his right-hand]], which gives her authority over [[{{mook}} Rat.]] |
| 257 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', [[spoiler:three of the nine Coven Heads turn out to be rebels. Abominations and Beastkeeping heads Darius and Eberwolf were investigating things on their own already, and Bard Coven head Raine turned out to be leading a rebel faction called the Bards Against The Throne, AKA the [=BATTs=]. The three of them eventually join forces and start planning out more coordinated attacks, eventually forming a new rebel group called the [=CATTs=] to stop the Day of Unity.]] |
| 258 | * In ''Westernanimation/{{Phantom 2040}}'', the enforcers' chief turns out to be on the payroll of [[{{megacorp}} Maximum, Inc.]]. |
| 259 | * ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' has a two-parter where [[ItMakesSenseInContext the US government imprisons all Peruvian pan-flute bands]]...and then [[{{Slurpasaur}} giant guinea pigs and derivative creatures]] go on the attack. The Department of Homeland Security director turns out to be a [[spoiler:guinea pirate]] in disguise, having assumed the role of DHS director to eliminate the pan-flute bands, as their music was the only thing keeping the guinea creatures contained. He also intentionally sent the boys and Craig to their doom in the Peruvian mountains because Craig was TheChosenOne per the Incans' predictions, not realizing/caring that Craig [[RefusalOfTheCall kept trying to walk away, having wanted no part in the weirdness]]... only for the Incans to have anticipated that and [[YouCantFightFate engineered things so Craig didn't have any choice in the matter.]] |
| 260 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In the Umbara arc from Season 4, Anakin is called away to a Jedi meeting in the middle of a battle. His unit is temporarily commanded by Master Krell, who has secretly fallen to the Dark Side. He intentionally gives his troops reckless orders that get them killed, and at one point even tricks two groups of clones into shooting at each other before he is found out. It should be noted that Krell has not yet linked up with the Sith. He's hoping to get Count Dooku's attention by sabotaging the operation on Umbara so that he will be picked as Dooku's apprentice. He doesn't know that Dooku himself is the apprentice to Darth Sidious, AKA Republic Chancellor Palpatine (see above). |
| 261 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' has this occur in season three with [[spoiler:Agent Kallus]] as the new Fulcrum due to a HeelFaceTurn. Their high rank in the empire's Lothal garrison, specifically as an [[spoiler: intelligence agent]], makes them a valuable ally. However, this was also the season Grand Admiral Thrawn was put in charge of the Lothal situation and Governor Pryce took more of a commanding role, limiting Fulcrum's abilities; making it closer to a "mole who would have been in charge if higher-ups hadn't gotten involved." |
| 262 | * ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': [[spoiler:Pink Diamond was publicly the ruler of Earth and the leader of Homeworld's forces against Rose Quartz. In reality, she ''was'' Rose Quartz, and started the rebellion [[RunningBothSides against herself]] because the other Diamonds didn't get that she'd had a HeelRealization and were forcing her to complete the colony against her will.]] It does make certain strategic decisions in the war make more sense in hindsight. |
| 263 | * ''WesternAnimation/StretchArmstrongAndTheFlexFighters''. Malcolm Kane, Rook Unlimited's Head of Security and essentially Jonathan Rook's right-hand man is really [[spoiler: Number One, the leader of the Tech Men who used his former identity to infiltrate Rook Unlimited and gain trust and power, and eventually plotted to take the company and its resources to fulfill the Tech Men's true goals]]. |
| 264 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', the head of [[spoiler: Autobot Intelligence]] is [[spoiler: Shockwave, a shapeshifting Decepticon spy.]] |
| 265 | * Taken even further in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'', where [[spoiler:the entire Autobot High Council turns out to be a group of secret Decepticons under a HolographicDisguise]]. |
| 266 | * ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''. [[spoiler:Aqualad/Kaldur, Black Manta's second in command]] is really a FakeDefector trying to get closer to the Light and their new partner. The show doesn't shy away from the moral dilemmas the mole has to face to maintain cover. |
| 267 | [[/folder]] |
| 268 | |
| 269 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 270 | %%Please limit these to confirmed examples. |
| 271 | * Infamous Soviet Agent Kim Philby ended up as the head of [=MI6=]'s ''anti-Soviet'' branch, Section IX, for quite some time before he was suspected of being TheMole and moved to a different position. He was well aware of the irony of this, and commented on the farcical nature of his position. |
| 272 | ** Anthony Blunt, another member of the Cambridge Five, held the position of Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures - the curator, essentially, of the Royal Family's extensive art collection. While not an official position of power, the sheer proximity he had to the Royal Family was ''profoundly'' embarrassing when it was revealed - as was the fact that they had ''[[UsefulNotes/KnightFever knighted him]]'' for his services. He was stripped of his knighthood... in 1979, fifteen years after he admitted to [=MI6=] that he had been a Russian spy, but about fifteen ''seconds'' after UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher made that fact public. Oh, did we mention he was also a third cousin of the Queen Mother? |
| 273 | * Admiral Wilhelm Canaris who was actually head of the UsefulNotes/{{Abwehr}} while also being part of the German Resistance. He was caught after the July Plot and was executed a few weeks before the war ended. |
| 274 | * Alfred Redl was the most devastating spy [[UsefulNotes/TheSoundOfMartialMusic Austria-Hungary]] ever suffered, giving UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia virtually every scrap of data he could get his hands on to the point where by the time he was found out and forced to commit suicide, over a year of preparation did not even start to repair the damage by the time UsefulNotes/WorldWarI started. Redl's role? Director of Austro-Hungarian Intelligence! |
| 275 | ** Though he was retired when he was found out. Interestingly, he was only found out because he had been so good at his role as a spy master for the Habsburgs: his reforms to the intelligence service had made the counter-intelligence branch quite effective at its job. |
| 276 | * Mark Felt, the associate director of the FBI, was put in charge of searching for Deep Throat, the source leaking information on the [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Watergate scandal]] to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of ''The Washington Post''. In 2005, he revealed that he was in fact Deep Throat himself after years of having been suspected as the primary or sole source for Deep Throat's revelations. |
| 277 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hanssen Robert Hanssen]] was an FBI counterintelligence agent who spied for the Russians for years. He also led various efforts to find moles within the FBI. |
| 278 | * Israeli spy [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Cohen Eli Cohen]], using the alias "Kamel Amin Thaabet", became Chief Advisor to the Syrian Minister of Defense and was third in line to succeed as President of Syria before he was caught and executed in 1965. |
| 279 | * None other than UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, who was sent by the German military to infiltrate what would become the Nazi Party when it had less than 60 members. NiceJobBreakingItHero doesn't even begin to describe it. |
| 280 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_P._Laurel José P. Laurel]], the 3rd President of the Philippines, was, unlike the others on this list, TheMole (for the exiled government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines), with a good measure of PromotedToScapegoat thrown in. TheMole who was supposed to be at the top, at that (so, he was TheQuisling too, albeit subverted). |
| 281 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevno_Azef Yevno Azef]], head of the Socialist Revolutionary Party's Combat Organisation in pre-revolutionary Russia, was also a double agent in the employ of the Okhrana. He got the top job by selling out his predecessor, who was arrested and sentenced to death (but escaped by hiding in a barrel of cabbages). |
| 282 | * During UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pham_Ngoc_Thao Phạm Ngọc Thảo]], a communist agent in South Vietnam managed to climb the ranks as high up as Colonel. When the South Vietnamese government tried to [[TrainingThePeacefulVillagers move the rural population into strategical hamlets]] to cut off Viet Cong guerrillas from their support base, Thảo was put in charge of the project. With this power, he accelerated the building of strategical hamlets to unsustainable speed. On one hand, this upset the peasants for disrupting their livelihood and leaving hamlets underfunded and insecure due to widespread corruption, thus gaining more support to the Viet Cong while [[LiesDamnedLiesAndStatistics giving the government false optimism with big numbers]]. Thảo was eventually caught and executed, but not for being a spy; rather, the President thought he was an ambitious general plotting a coup. |
| 283 | * During his tenure as President of the Screen Actors Guild, UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan was a secret FBI informant who got many of his colleagues [[UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist blacklisted]] for alleged or proven Communist sympathies. |
| 284 | * While not actually a member of the opposition, Lee Teng-hui was selected by the Kuomintang to be the first elected President of Taiwan, as well as the first native-born president. He promptly betrayed the KMT's goal of uniting with mainland China, and, by insisting on running his extremely unpopular vice-president, deliberately split the KMT's vote and enabled the independence-minded opposition to claim the presidency. [[/folder]] |
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