Line #1 Main/StealthyColossus


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10
11	->''"Unknown to them all, the Minotaur is hiding in the shadows behind her. \
12	This is not an easy thing to do when you're 10- feet-tall and your head is a cow."''
13	-->-- Creator/{{Seanbaby}}, [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/8-hilarious-moments-from-otherwise-terrible-movies/ 8 Hilarious Moments (From Otherwise Terrible Movies)]]
14
15	A Stealthy Colossus is a character or machine that is ginormously huge (relative to their size category, anyway) yet somehow manages to [[StealthExpert stay undetected whenever they want]], no matter how gigantic or noisy. [[http://jabootu.net/?p=587 Jabootu's glossary]] calls this trope "The Stealth Monster Rule". While a BarbarianHero might still conceivably sneak up on someone, these guys go even further. If the setting is comical, they will tiptoe behind their prey. Otherwise, they will enter the scene in a fittingly dramatic fashion, possibly with a SurprisinglySuddenDeath. This can either be used to establish the character as a GeniusBruiser or merely for RuleOfScary.
16
17	Compare SurpriseVehicle and SuspiciouslyStealthyPredator. Related to ImpossiblyGracefulGiant, {{Acrofatic}}, StealthExpert, WithCatlikeTread, NobodyHereButUsStatues, and possibly OffscreenTeleportation. Compare/contrast HighlyVisibleNinja.
18
19	----
20	!!Examples:
21
22	[[foldercontrol]]
23
24	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
25	* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' examples:
26	** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', this is initially the whole point of building [[HumongousMecha mobile suits]], as they have reactors whose byproducts mess with radars so they can sneak on battleships and hit them with nuclear weapons (this is how Zeon won in the Battle of Loum in spite of the enemy fleet outnumbering them three-to-one and having more powerful warships to boot: Zeon's mobile suits snuck on them during the battleships' shootout and let loose with nukes). In theory this could be applied to normal {{Space Fighter}}s, but in practice Zeon's experiments found that a humanoid vehicle is better in the necessary close range manouvers.
27	** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' has Deathscythe, which has the ability to cloak. When [[StealthInSpace used in deep space]], it fades ''Franchise/{{Predator}}''-style and blends seamlessly with the surrounding field of stars, effectively becoming invisible.
28	* The Zaibach Stealth Guymelefs in ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'' are HumongousMecha with equally humongous {{Magitek}} {{Invisibility Cloak}}s. Since they tend to be quite noisy when moving and leave huge footprints behind them, once you know they're there they're not hard to keep track of, although in the heat of battle they can still often get behind you while you're focused on fighting the one you ''can'' see. [[FridgeLogic Amusingly]], several {{Mook}}s act as though [[ConcealmentEqualsCover their imperfect stealth were an invincible trump card]].
29	* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' has the Colossal Titan. Possibly one of his biggest dangers is that he can appear and disappear at will, often only briefly showing up before breaking holes in a Wall for the other Titans to go through. [[spoiler: This is because, like Eren, the Colossal Titan is a Shifter.]]
30	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
31	** The biggest character in the series is [[RedBaron named]] Colossal Battleship and was somehow able to hide from a gigantic battle without anyone noticing him until he was pointed out.
32	** The Yeti Cool Brothers are two giant yetis who manage to sneak around undetected in the arctic half of Punk Hazard, partly because of their white coloration and their knowledge of the environment. Their stealthiness is represented by them appearing to FlashStep around the environment. In fact, they're so stealthy, the audience never gets a clear look at their faces.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Card Games]]
36	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has [[https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=32919 Elephant Ambush]], a card about an elephant somehow sneaking up on its victim.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Comic Books]]
40	* In ''The Middleman'' (comic and series), El Comelon ("the Glutton") is a Mexican Wrestler-Assassin who weighs 400 pounds, but has been known to "squeeze through spaces the diameter of a tennis racket."
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Fan Works]]
44	* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': In Chapter 9, Godzilla's arrival in the Yonaguni Rainforest goes practically unnoticed by the other Titans at his destination.
45	* A ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'' fan comic had the Kukla sneaking up on someone. The Kukla is a dragon the size of a mountain range. The character in question had fallen for the LookBehindYou trick with regard to the Kukla multiple times, and probably chocked this under CryingWolf.
46	* Several of the giant carnivorous dinosaurs encountered in ''Fanfic/PrehistoricParkReimagined'', despite their considerably large size, manage to avoid getting noticed by their planned prey (or even the rescue team sent back in time to rescue them and said prey; among other animals) until they're within one or two feet of lunging out of hiding.
47	* In ''Fanfic/TheWeaverOption'' the Venerable Ancient Pierre is a Dreadnought, a war walker that can stand 4 meters tall and weighs in excess of 10 tons. Despite this Pierre is still able to execute infiltration missions and in one instance was able to sneak up right behind a target without being noticed.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
51	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' has the villain in a multi-story mech at one point, sneakily hiding around corners while Tighten flies by at top speed.
52	* The Leviathan from ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' is somehow undetectable by the 'Ulysses'' infinitely more-advanced scanning equipment despite being a war machine almost 2 miles long. [[MechanicalMonster Like it wasn't scary enough already.]]
53	* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'': Unicron, despite being the size of a planet, manages to sneak up on unsuspecting targets without being noticed until he's within planet-chomping distance three times over the course of the film: once at the beginning, once when he finds Megatron (who takes a while to realize where the thing that's talking to him is, and who could at least be justified as being barely functional and probably thinking whoever was talking to him was on the planet and not the planet itself), and once when he attacks Moon Base One. Given that he's a robot GodOfEvil, maybe it's a power of his?
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
57	* ''Film/{{Aliens}}'': The enormous Queen deserves some credit for sneaking in a not too big dropship and remaining undetected for the entire flight back to the ''Sulaco''. However this is because she's hiding in the bay used for retracting the undercarriage.
58	* In ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'', the eponymous multi-ton, many-legged, several stories-high monster sneaks up on the protagonists [[spoiler:and bites the cameraman in half]].
59	* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'':
60	** 'Zilla from the 1998 ''Film/{{Godzilla\|1998}}'' is somehow able to sneak around and hide in the middle of New York City without ''anyone'' noticing him, for the most part.
61	** See below for [=MonsterVerse=] examples.
62	* ''Film/TheHobbitTheDesolationOfSmaug'': For a dragon the size of a large plane, [[Characters/MiddleEarthFilmSmaug Smaug]] can be real quiet and stealthy when he is not shaking the earth with his rage. At one point, he is even able to go unnoticed by the dwarves while climbing above them until a loose coin falls off his scales, drawing their notice.
63	* ''Franchise/JurassicPark'':
64	** The ''T. rex'' from the original ''Film/JurassicPark'' somehow pulls this off at the film's climax, sneaking into a building and attacking before either the humans or the raptors notice its presence, though the sheer level of commotion and danger abound in the scene could have helped on some level. Sort of unusual considering its footsteps were shown to cause BadVibrations beforehand but then again, [[FridgeBrilliance how else would it catch its prey]]?
65	** The ''Indominus rex'' from ''Film/JurassicWorld'' is engineered to be this, as an entire RedshirtArmy learns the hard way.
66	--->"[[OhCrap IT CAN CAMOUFLAGE!]]"
67	** In the opening scene of ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'', the now-enormous ''Mosasaurus'' manages to creep up on the small submarine and close her jaws on it without the men inside noticing her.
68	* ''Film/TheMeg'': As befits an aquatic ambush predator, the Megalodon is quite capable of sneaking up on people despite being the size of a large whale.
69	* ''Film/MinorityReport'': A particularly egregious case. When the Precops move to arrest Marks in the park, their hover vehicle is audibly making siren and engine noises as it takes off, but in the shot of its arrival, a kid on the playground somehow completely fails to notice it until the camera pans up to show the Precops landing, and only ''then'' does it resume making noise.
70	* Franchise/MonsterVerse:
71	** ''Film/Godzilla2014'': The 399-foot Godzilla pulls this twice; the second time is how he finally [[spoiler:kills the female MUTO]]. Meanwhile, the [[Characters/MonsterVerseMUTO MUTOs]] pull this off at least three themselves, once when the male is eating the submarine, once when the female left a ''hole in the side of a mountain and was marching on Vegas in broad daylight'' and no one noticed until looking from the inside of the mountain, and once when the female sneaks up on the train, although this time she did do so under cover of darkness- [[ThatsNoMoon her legs looked like tree trunks or part of the bridge trellis until she moved]].
72	** ''Film/KongSkullIsland'': Happens continuously, from the smaller monsters all the way up to Kong himself.
73	* ''Film/PacificRim'' has the {{kaiju}} Leatherback being completely undetected until it makes its DynamicEntry from underwater.
74	* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings: [[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing The Return of the King]]'': Shelob is terrifyingly quiet when sneaking up on her prey; no small feat when you're a GiantSpider the size of a small bus.
75	* ''Film/{{Transformers\|2007}}'' (almost) makes a joke of how easily massive robots can hide.
76	[[/folder]]
77
78	[[folder:Literature]]
79	* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', one of the characters that travels with Mat for a while is Chel Vanin, an exceptional former horse thief and poacher who also happens to also be particularly fat. Mat notes multiple times just how remarkable he is, given his fatness. Indeed, Mat judges him to be so good at what he does, he [[spoiler:makes him the head scout in the Band of the Red Hand - that's right, a balding, fat head scout]].
80	* In ''Literature/MythAdventures'', Skeeve has [[OurTrollsAreDifferent Chumley]] sneak up on and kidnap his apprentices, to teach them about judging people prematurely.
81	* In Creator/DanAbnett's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} novel ''Literature/{{Titanicus}}'', on one occasion a Titan is able to sneak up on infantry despite literally being large enough to shake the earth when it walks.
82	* The so-called "Phantom Mech" in ''Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse'''s ''Warrior'' trilogy made the [[HumongousMecha 10 story tall BattleMechs]] piloted by Morgan (and Patrick) Kell and Yorinaga Kurita completely invisible to all forms of electronic sensors, and all weapons fired at them would miss. It's [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane never elaborated]] as to whether it's a [[LostTechnology LosTech]] stealth system or destiny.
83	* In the spy novel ''Literature/SlowHorses'' and its sequels, former field agent Jackson Lamb is overweight, seemingly out of shape and practically silent. Sometimes lethally so.
84	* Shiraa of ''Literature/TheDinosaurLords'', an honest-to-god ''Allosaurus'', routinely manages to out-sneak and out-stealth people right in the open.
85	* ''Literature/IntoTheBrokenLands'': The [[ArtificialHuman mage-crafted]] HumanWeapon Nonee is a LightningBruiser who towers head and shoulders over most people, yet can move with incredible speed and silence that approaches OffscreenTeleportation. She frequently scares the pants off of humans by appearing right behind them.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
89	* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E5TheAngelsTakeManhattan The Angels Take Manhattan]]" reveals that the Statue of Liberty itself is a Weeping Angel, and for all the millions of people living in New York city, all the people working or out and about even at night, all those keeping a watch on the Statue of Liberty as part of their jobs, it found one brief moment where nobody was looking at it, giving it the chance to move off Liberty Island and right up to the hotel located across the street from Battery Park.
90	* ''Series/PrehistoricPlanet'' Season 2 has a pair of hunting scenes showing large predators managing to target prey without being seen or sensed:
91	** "Swamps"- a pair of ''Tyrannosaurus Rex'' set an ambush for a herd of ''Edmontosaurus''. Thanks to fleshy pads on their feet, the ''T. Rex'' sneak into place undetected and only reveal their location to unsettle the herbivores before launching their attack.
92	** "Oceans"- a ''Mosasaurus'' waits in the shelter of a reef for a pod of ''Turarangisaurus'' to swim by before launching itself at the elasmosaurs. The first attack misses, but the ''Mosasaurus'' is able to safely reset without scaring off the ''Turarangisaurus'' for a much more successful second try.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
96	* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'':
97	** Various powerful ECM systems exist, most of which are [[LostTechnology LosTech]]. The Chameleon Light Polarization Shield and the Null Signature System make a [[HumongousMecha BattleMech]] completely invisible to visual detection and sensors, respectively. The [[ChurchMilitant Word of Blake]] combined the two (otherwise mutually exclusive) systems in their Void Signature System and put it to good use in their ''Raptor II'' battlemech, which could fade in and out of combat. However, excessive production costs, heat and accuracy penalties made the Void system very rare.
98	** The "Phantom mech" ability seen in the ''Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse'' made Morgan Kell and Yorinaga Kurita's battlemechs completely invisible to any sensors when in combat; radar, infrared, and magnetic sensors wouldn't pick them up, targeting computers couldn't establish a lock, and dumbfired weapons would miss entirely. [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane It's never made clear what the Phantom Mech ability i]]s; destiny, or an extremely potent [[LostTechnology LosTech]] ECM system.
99	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
100	** Anyone attempting to use the Hide skill receives a bonus or penalty based on their size category, which can be offset by sinking enough points into it. Oddly enough (or not, see Real Life below) the Move Silently skill has no such size-based penalties, meaning you can have a red great wyrm (Klauth in ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''), that despite a Colossal size has a very respectable bonus there -- and this without factoring magic in.
101	** Though it's technically Huge instead of Colossal, the fog giant gets a respectable Hide bonus in sufficiently foggy conditions.
102	** Hide is also considered a class skill for certain types of dragons, and even if it isn't, as natural sorcerers they have access to spells to make up for it -- this is probably how the Gold Dragon depicted in the 3rd Edition ''Monster Manual'' is sneaking up on two tiptoeing Orcs.
103	** On the topic of dragons, part of the reason purple dragons (hailing from ''Magazine/{{Dragon}}'' magazine issues) are feared is because their inky indigo coloration makes them all but invisible when flying through the night sky, negating their size penalty and even granting them a bonus on their Hide checks. What's worse than a dragon swooping down to blast you with a cone of [[BlindedByTheLight blinding]], searing PureEnergy? Not seeing that dragon coming.
104	** When a treant stays still, its legs join together to resemble a single trunk and its facial features become indistinguishable from normal whorls and lines of tree bark. As long as it doesn't move, even people walking right across its feet will find it impossible to tell it apart from a normal tree.
105	** Bugbears have a natural affinity for moving quietly, despite being the bulkiest of the goblinoids and bigger than most humans.
106	** In 5th Edition, whether or not a character can hide is based on Stealth, a sub-form of the Dexterity ability score (Commonly rendered as "Dexterity (Stealth)"), which is independent of the individual abilities of a character's race or class. Meaning that a 7'10", 440lb Goliath Barbarian with full plate armor, a [[{{BFS}} Greatsword]], and a tower shield can potentially ''vanish'' if their player aces their stealth check, while a 2'9", 37lb Lightfoot Halfling Rogue with no armor, weapon, or shield sticks out like a sore thumb because their player tanked the check. And because of the way the rules are written, the above can happen even if they're standing right next to each other.
107	* ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'''s "Need for Steed" expansion introduced a Ninja Giant, while the ''Munchkin Fu'' game has a {{mecha}} ninja called the "Fifty Ton Master of Stealth".
108	* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Wood giants are fourteen feet tall and weigh well over 1,000 pounds, but can move through thick vegetation with unnerving speed and near-absolute quiet.
109	* ''TabletopGame/TheSpoils'' go to combat evasion ability is called "Covert." The flavor is that a Covert character knows how to get secret access to the enemy Faction, and thus a fully Covert party can only be stopped by another party of Covert characters. Of course, some Covert characters get very large. This being ''The Spoils,'' lampshades are hung on the increasingly unlikely size of Covert characters, culminating in the 12/12/3 Sneaky Mansion, a literal house that can kill most players in two hits.
110	* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' has a model, if not rules, for an Ogre Ninja. [[http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Ogre-Kingdoms-Ninja-Maneater Yes, really.]]
111	** For an even larger example, All Beastmen: from the typically larger & stronger than humans goatheaded Gors, the bloodthirsty Minitours, and even the building sized Cygors & Ghorgons, are noted to be be natural ambushers, able to appear and vanish from out of their dark woods with disturbing prowess. The only beings usually able to ambush the ambushers are the Wood Elves, and even then only within their woods.
112	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
113	** Space Marines are power armored super soldiers with a foot or two on normal humans, but several chapters such as the Raven Guard, Night Lords or Alpha Legion also manage to be quite stealthy as well, much to their enemies' dismay.
114	** The ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' novels describe Curze and Corax's ability to appear out of nowhere, despite being to Space Marines what Space Marines are to normal humans. Corax in particular manages to suprise a Night Lord, a Legion renowned for their own stealth, by appearing from a shadow far too small to have plausibly hidden him until then.
115	** Imperial Guard special character General Ursakar E. Creed had the ability to give units the Scouts rule, allowing them to move onto the table from reserve and outflank the enemy. Even if these reserves are Baneblade super-heavy battle tanks, or Reaver [[HumongousMecha Titans]]. MemeticMutation has taken [[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/File:1242252825237.jpg this to]] [[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/File:1242253576880.jpg hilarious]] [[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/File:Creeeeeeeed.jpg extremes,]] as evidence of Creed's incredible "Tactical Genius."
116	** Grey Knights special character Kaldor Draigo had a similar ability, though his only applies to infantry squads. In this case, psychic powers help explain how three units of Space Marine Terminators suddenly appeared on the enemy's flank.
117	** Orks are hulking green brutes who for the most part love loud noises and headlong charges, which is why some Imperial commanders refuse to believe that Ork "Kommandos" exist.
118	** The Tau's Stealth Suits are pretty bulky compared to their standard infantry, but have advanced camouflage systems that allow them to infiltrate ahead of the rest of their force.
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:Video Games]]
122	* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'':
123	** ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'': While the ''Hresvelgr'' doesn't contain any stealth capabilities, your base didn't know of it's approach until mere moments before it starts its bombing run (in fact, [[SpeakOfTheDevil they were about to send you out to go look for it]] before they realized that ''it'' was coming for ''them''). In the cutscene to scramble all jets before the runway was destroyed, you're left waiting for a few minutes before you're cleared to taxi, [[ControlledHelplessness helpless to do nothing but watch]] while the ship flies overhead.
124	** ''VideoGame/AceCombatXSkiesOfDeception'': A mechanized example: the aerial fortress ''Gleipnir'' is enormously huge yet its cloaking system allows it to make stealth incursions into enemy territory with impunity.
125	* ''VideoGame/AgeOfWonders'': The [[http://aow2.heavengames.com/aowsm/gameinfo/units/elves.shtml#treeman Treeman]] unit has concealment, which means that, if this wall-crushing behemoth stands in a forest, foes will not see it until it's one step away.
126	* ''VideoGame/BloonsTowerDefense'':
127	** The Dark Dirigible Titan (D.D.T.) is huge, being a blimp, but is also invisible to monkeys that can't detect camo, despite being many times their size.
128	** In ''6'', Phayze, the Reality Warper, a boss blimp even bigger than a D.D.T., was released on version 38.0. It has camo properties to prevent towers who can't see camo from damaging it, similar to the aforementioned D.D.T.
129	* ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'': The roadies haul enormous piles of amps on their backs to battle... but are completely invisible unless they attack. Why? Because they're roadies and [[BeneathSuspicion nobody ever notices roadies]]. Eddie, being a roadie himself, can also become invisible by jumping on top of said amps.
130	* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer3TiberiumWars'': Nod's Cloaking field can be applied to any vehicle, up to the massive Epic units. While they decloak when attacking, with Hold Fire stance it's possible to sneak on infantries and tanks before crushing them.
131	* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWarII: Retribution'':
132	** In his ending cutscene, Captain Bluddflagg manages to sneak up on an Inquisitor, despite being about a size of a [[MiniMecha Dreadnought]].
133	** One of Bluddflagg's lieutenants, Spookums ,is an Kommando Nob, an Ork stealth expert despite being about 8 feet tall and about 4 feet wide at his shoulders.
134	* ''VideoGame/Dota2'': Rooftrellen the Treant Protector is huge, fairly tanky, has the game's highest base attack damage, and his steps are accompanied by a very loud thumping sound... yet one of his skills makes him completely invisible and somewhat ''faster'' as long as he stands near trees. Somewhat justified by the skill representing [[NeedleInAStackOfNeedles a tree-man blending in with trees]] (and the game map has a lot of trees), but it goes back to being improbable when it works while standing next to one solitary tree.
135	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': This is a surprisingly easy build to pull off, as heavy armor only hurts your sneaking ability by slowing your movement rate and increasing how noisy your footfalls are, and the latter can be greatly if not completely mitigated with enchantments (or perks in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''). There's even a Daedric artifact called the Ebony Mail which encourages this build, as it's a Heavy Armor chestpiece with a built-in Muffle effect and a poisonous cloaking effect that activates when sneaking.
136	* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' has the Nightkin, a StealthyMook variant of the hulking Super Mutants who are surprisingly sneaky, even accounting for their [[InvisibilityCloak Stealth Boys.]] Unfortunately they've also become addicted to those Stealth Boys, hate being looked at, and most have developed schizophrenia. So they're not just sneaky brutes who can ambush you with [[{{BFS}} swords fashioned from helicopter props,]] they're ''crazy'', sneaky brutes who can ambush you with swords fashioned from helicopter props.
137	* ''Franchise/FireEmblem''
138	** Any GiantMook can become this when concealed by FogOfWar. God forbid the player fails to illuminate any passageways, and inadvertently places their vulnerable party members within reach of an enemy [[TheBerserker Berserker]] or [[TheCavalry Paladin]].
139	** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has the unintentionally stealthy Kellam. Kellam is a knight who wears massive armour and wields a huge shield and a lance, however his naturally quiet personality and near supernatural plain looks mean that most people never notice that he's even in the room.
140	* [[TheHero Rau]] from ''Mark of Kri'', and its sequel ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheKasai'', is a huge quasi-Polynesian that's easily double the size of his enemies. Sneaking around and stealth-killing is a major part of his gameplay. However, his huge size does come in handy: he's able to stealth-kill two guys at once.
141	* ''VideoGame/MechWarrior'': 20 to 100 ton [[WalkingTank bipedal tanks]] can become absurdly good at stealth when equipped with electronic counter-measures, despite the ground shaking under the force of their footsteps. One StealthBasedMission in ''[=MW4=]: Mercenaries'' has the player running from cover to cover (the cover being occupied enemy buildings) inside a densely patrolled enemy base; the people inside the buildings seem to not notice the walls shaking or the oddly painted and armed mech running around outside. In ''Living Legends'', it's possible to become ''completely'' invisible to sensors by hiding inside an Angel ECM bubble with your sensors disabled. Apparently, sensors in the future cannot detect nuclear fusion reactors, seismic vibrations, or the solid wall of armor and weapons that make up a battlemech.
142	* ''VideoGame/MechWarriorOnline'' continues the trend, as seen in content creator [=TheB33F=]'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqEn86H6ceI Spooky Atlas]] build. By equipping electronic countermeasures, foiling seismic sensors by timing your movements to match the enemy's, and making good use of the terrain, it's possible for even the tallest, heaviest 'Mech in the game to sneak up on and surprise foes with the ballistic equivalent of a HeyYouHaymaker. Occasionally, a good paint job and being very, very quiet [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh269Va6ln0 can be enough]].
143	* ''VideoGame/PoppyPlaytime'': Huggy Wuggy has to be at least ten feet tall, yet he somehow moves out of the player's line of sight after they get the power back on without being heard and spends the rest of chapter one mostly out of sight until the Make-a-Friend section.
144	* ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'' has the Reaper Leviathans, which manage to qualify for this trope despite being 55-meter-long {{Sea Monster}}s that [[HellIsThatNoise roar constantly]] (which is a form of echolocation - if you can hear a Reaper, it can "see" you). They tend to lurk in the murky waters around the ''Aurora'' crash zone, as well as the Mountains and the Dunes biomes, and unlike nearly everything else in the game avert the BioluminescenceIsCool trope, making them practically invisible at night. They're also smart enough to shut up when they get within striking distance of potential prey, circle around it, and attack from behind. So even if you hear their roars coming closer, Reapers are still likely to give you a JumpScare by lunging at you out of nowhere, grabbing your submersible in their MonstrousMandibles, and [[RoarBeforeBeating screaming in your face]] before crushing your vehicle.
145	* ''VideoGame/TangleTower'': Fitz Fellow is a massive gardener who is introduced lurking in the shadows of the back of the greenhouse, and it is surprisingly easy for the player to gloss right over him, even with his linework in SquiggleVision against the stationary painted backgrounds. When you first click on him, Grimoire will realize with horror that they're being watched, while Sally simply points out that Fitz is gigantic and has been standing in plain sight the whole time.
146	* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': The Heavy is a MightyGlacier HuskyRusskie with a 300-pound minigun that has to spin-up with a distinct whirring sound before it can fire, but some of his weapon options can help him surprise his opponents. The Tomislav machine gun is completely silent when readied, allowing a Heavy to bushwhack foes rounding a blind corner, while the Gloves of Running Urgently give the Heavy a tremendous speed boost at the cost of draining health, allowing him to quickly reposition or even out-flank opponents. And some veteran Heavy players use their knowledge of maps to find back routes to sneak up on enemies and even hit them with the Holiday Punch, [[LethalJokeWeapon mittens that make victims laugh uncontrollably]], leaving them helpless as the Heavy readies his minigun.
147	* ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammerII'' has the "Stalk" trait (unit possessing it will not be detected until they're very close to an enemy unit) that is either ingrained or can be gained by your units (by defeating Snikch in battle for your Lord, some skills for heroes, specific items or skill for units, etc...). The Lord with his trait will always be hidden until they're practically in charge range of the enemy, even if they're on a enormous chariot (Hellbron or Volkmar), mounting a hippogryph (Bretonnian Lords), or riding one of the biggest dragons in the setting (Imrik).
148	* ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'' has Kills-in-Shadow, a massive [[BeastMan beastwoman]] who towers over humans and [[OneHandedZweihander treats the game's massive two-handed blades as one-handed weapons]]. She's also a natural ambush predator who is called "Kills-in-''Shadow''" for a good reason.
149	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfTanks'': Quirks of the game engine, and the camouflage skill, means that some particularly large tanks can be surprisingly sneaky. This also means that the barn-sized KV-2 can be invisible to you if it's outside the maximum view range of your vehicle (which is not the same as the maximum render range). This can allow for some unrealistically sneaky tanks, such as the 80-ton TOG II* making its way undetected through cities despite being the size of a modest coastal patrol vessel.
150	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
151	** The [[RoamingEnemy Devilsaurs]] of Un'Goro Crater are notorious for being able to sneak up on players despite being the setting's equivalent of ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex''.
152	** The colossal Fel Reavers marching around Outland's Hellfire Peninsula are similarly notorious, despite [[BadVibrations the ground quaking from their footfalls]]. Someone who wasn't paying attention would notice the shaking, dash wildly in a direction they can't see the Reaver, and discover too late that it was approaching them from an angle and they've run right into its aggro radius. Even worse, during the beta, the Fel Reaver model was at one point accidentally switched to a much smaller black bear model.
153	** ''VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft'' has the Stealth ability that makes its bearer unable to be targeted until they've dealt damage. This includes the card Ogre Ninja, which is literally a very sneaky two-headed monster who is about twelve feet tall.
154	* ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'': The ''Enemy Within'' ExpansionPack adds MEC Troopers, {{cyborg}} soldiers that use huge mechanical suits to fight the alien threat. The same expansion adds the Ghost Grenade, an item that cloaks any units inside its effect radius, including said MEC Troopers.
155	* ''VideoGame/XCOM2'' has the SPARK Troopers added in the ''Shen's Last Gift'' DLC. They're the same size as MEC Troopers from the previous game, but just as capable of starting a mission in Concealment as the rest of your squad. Though at least they have the benefit of a minor stealth field to help blur their profile.
156	* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'' has a series tradition where one of the first [[BossInMookClothing Unique Monsters]] you'll encounter is a giant red [[KillerGorilla Gogol]] who roams around the starting area. Each game gives them a different name (Territorial Rotbart in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', Hayreddin the Territorial in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'', and Jingoistic Giganticus in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3''), but they're all basically the same archetype. While they're not exactly ''trying'' to hide, they [[ImpossiblyGracefulGiant move incredibly fast for their size]] and have a wide territory (hence the sobriquet), so it's frighteningly common to have the local Rotbart [[AlwaysABiggerFish drop in on you in the middle of fighting other enemies]] and proceed to [[CurbStompBattle pound your party flat,]] which is something of a rite of passage among fans.
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158
159	[[folder:Web Animation]]
160	* [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Union]] Behemoths from ''WebAnimation/GenLock'' are skyscraper-sized [[MechanicalMonster Mechanical Monsters]], serving as nigh-unstoppable walking carriers for the Union's [[SpiderTank Spider Tanks]], drones, troop transports and [[GreyGoo swarms of flesh-eating nanotech]]. They're also equipped with a "[[InvisibilityCloak quantum cloak]]" that can let them sneak up on cities and military bases.
161	--> '''Colonel Marin:''' What ''is'' that? And how the ''hell'' did it get that close?!
162	* Season 11 of ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' has a moment where Agent Washington is startled by the sudden appearance of [[MiniMecha Freckles]]. He's more astonished that such a large mech was able to sneak up on him than concerned for his safety.
163	--> '''Washington:''' For a behemoth, you hide really well!
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:Webcomics]]
167	* From ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', there's Mongo the Uberninja. He's a 7-feet-tall, colossally-muscled giant who habitually dual-wields CHAINSAWS (that is, chainsaw-chucks)... but he's still able to sneak up on ANYONE, even the main character, because... well, he's a NINJA!
168	* ''Webcomic/PixieAndBrutus'': After scaring Pixie, [[RascallyRaccoon Randal]] discovers that [[HeroicDog Brutus]] can move very quietly, despite his size.
169	[[/folder]]
170
171	[[folder:Web Videos]]
172	* ''WebVideo/ScreenRantPitchMeetings'': In the ''Film/JurassicPark'' pitch meeting, the T-rex manages to sneak up on the raptors at the end even though its footsteps caused mini-earthquakes earlier on in the film. The Producer asks if the T-Rex's "character arc" is about learning how to be sneaky, and the Screenwriter says yes.
173	[[/folder]]
174
175	[[folder:Western Animation]]
176	* Gossamer, the MadScientist's monster in WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoons.
177	* Parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' with the Megadoomer, an impractically large robot with a "stealth" mode. It turns invisible, but it trails its visible cord behind it, leaves enormous footprints, and doesn't cloak the rider.
178	* The ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'' episode "Breakout" has a large group of mecha-sized alien criminals released at one point. One of them appears to be a martial artist with a cloaking device, which he uses to move around silently and use hit and run tactics on Megas. This being ''Megas XLR'', he is defeated when Coop fires missiles in all directions at once.
179	* Despite being as tall as a house, Sentinels from ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' would occasionally manage to be stealthy when tracking their targets.
180	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinotrux}}'' has the massive Ty Rux, Tyrannosaurus Rex and Excavator combined, paint himself in camouflage to sneak past enemies. Though somewhat realistically, this only seems to work because the things he is using it on aren't that bright.
181	* In a ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' short, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidebehind Hide Behind]] is [[https://gravityfalls.wikia.com/wiki/Hide_Behind?file=Short6_The_Hide_Behind_tree.png the size of a small tree,]] yet is able to quickly hide when people turn to look in its direction.
182	[[/folder]]
183
184	[[folder:Real Life]]
185	* Despite their massive size, elephants are surprisingly stealthy. They actually make very little noise when walking and have been known to sneak onto farms and eat the crops without being noticed.
186	* Any large submarine. That's kind of the point of being a submarine.
187	* Several Examples from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII:
188	** The ''Bismarck'', despite being a massive ship, (50,300 t (49,500 long tons) at full load), was able to be this during the chase for it, although North Atlantic fog did conceal it somewhat.
189	** During the Battle of Cape Matapan, excellent light and noise discipline by the Royal Navy combined with the Italian lack of radar and inexperience with night fighting allowed three British battleships, the 37,000 ton ''HMS Warspite'', ''Valiant'' and ''Barham'' (and [[DidntThinkThisThrough a 29,000 ton fleet carrier]], ''HMS Formidable'', which was immediately ordered to withdraw, but not before she got a salvo off, making her probably the only fleet carrier to fire her guns at an enemy surface ship[[note]]Her gunnery officer figured Admiral Cunningham knew she was in the battle line, as she was third in the line, ''between'' two of the battleships. [[LeeroyJenkins He wanted his crew to be ready for any action they could get]] and had his crews perform every gunnery check he could of the 4.5" guns he could in anticipation of her fighting. Despite being significantly lighter, she was 100 feet longer and 5 feet wider than the battleships, due to her having significantly less armor.[[/note]]) to close to within 3500 yards of an Italian cruiser-destroyer squadron in the dark and open fire, which is the naval equivalent of this trope. [[CurbStompBattle The results were predictable.]]
190	** Because US air power kept the Japanese from operating in the area during the day, the Imperial Japanese Navy would only attempt to reinforce its troops on Guadalcanal at night, and naval side of the campaign in 1942 featured one example of this trope after another:
191	*** At the Battle of Savo Island on the night of August 8-9, a Japanese force of heavy and light cruisers and one destroyer surprised a numerically larger force of US and Australian cruisers and destroyers in pitch darkness at extreme close range (in at least one case, less than a mile), savaging them and getting away with relatively minor damage, despite some of the US ships having radar; this early in the war, they didn't trust it or know how to use it.
192	*** Two months later in October at the Battle of Cape Esperance the US fleet managed to pull off the exact same thing, despite some confusion, surprising a numerically superior force in the dark and this time taking advantage of their radar to sink several ships with comparatively fewer losses.
193	*** Then on November 13 at the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the US and Japanese forces of about 14 ships each managed to surprise ''each other'' in the dark, closing to within 3000 yards before the Japanese destroyer ''Akatsuki'' turned on her searchlights. Immediately every ship began firing guns and torpedoes at nearly every other ship, leading to numerous incidents of friendly fire and heavy losses on both sides, though it's generally agreed that the Japanese slightly got the better of the engagement. The chaos was so complete that no two ship's logs contain a completely matching set of events.
194	*** Finally on the night of November 14-15, the battleship USS ''Washington'' managed to pull this off against the Japanese battleship ''Kirishima'' and her escorts, thanks to the sacrifice of her escorting destroyers and the misfortune of USS ''South Dakota''. Early in the engagement the destroyers were torn up in fighting with the Japanese destroyer screen, and ''South Dakota'' wound up backlit by the burning destroyers while her own first gun salvo knocked out several of her electrical systems. The Japanese focused fire on ''South Dakota'' and she took about 26 hits... allowing ''Washington'' to sneak within 9000 yards completely undetected. She opened fire at point blank range for a battleship and put at least 26 shells of her own into ''Kirishima'', sinking her and driving off the Japanese fleet.
195	* This is also possible in real life thanks to the mental emphasis in both silhouettes and movement when trying to detect someone. As long as someone remains absolutely still, it becomes much more difficult to detect them in any given situation. This can then be compounded by not seeing what's expected because it's not at "head height", which causes the mind to not classify it as human. Meaning, in essence, that the same principles of stealth work in favor for both extremes of the height spectrum. The part that often causes issues is sound, with many disorders that cause height also affecting the nervous system in a way that causes a level of clumsiness and makes it difficult for the colossus in question to move quietly. In summary: if you are big, stand still in a place where no one is likely to focus on you, and whoever's looking your way is likely to [[FailedASpotCheck fail their spot check]].
196	* In the debate of which is superior between the two most common pistol calibers, 9mm rounds have quite a few advantages, most notably in that they are lighter, faster, and are easier to implement MoreDakka with; however, their speed also makes them somewhat louder. .45 ACP on the other hand is larger, and a MightyGlacier by comparison, but its slower speed reportedly makes it quieter, especially when used with a silencer.
197	** .45 ACP is easier to suppress being subsonic to begin with but subsonic 9mm ammo also exists by using a heavier than standard bullet with a lighter powder charge. A suppressor only reduces the sound at the muzzle, it's not breaking the sound barrier that makes the bullet relatively silent as well.
198	* The M1 Abrams is quite possibly the quietest tank in the world... as one Iraqi tank crew found out the hard way, when the Abrams they were sneaking up on [[RussianReversal was discovered to have already snuck up on them]]. Commanded competently, tanks in general ''are'' this trope despite all appearances; he who hides better will usually win, because being able to hide better usually means being able to fire first.
199	** The most triumphant example would have to be the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T28_Super_Heavy_Tank T28 Super Heavy Tank]], whose sole surviving prototype was lost for 27 years before being found in the middle of a field behind some bushes on a fairly major military base[[note]]One that, ironically, now acts as the headquarters for a fair number of military intelligence units[[/note]]. Nobody is entirely certain how it got there, as the base has never been used for vehicle testing[[note]]It was founded to host the various training schools for the Army Corps of Engineers, which it did until 1988, also did infantry training, became the headquarters of a light infantry division of the Virginia National Guard, and numerous Army and military intelligence unit headquarters were moved there in 2005. It isn't even in the same state as the testing grounds the tank was tested at are[[/note]].
200	* This is pretty much how a lot of [[LightningBruiser large predators]] hunt, particularly predatory fish; mostly due to camouflage or other adaptations and tactics that enable them to sneak up on prey, or lie in wait before attacking. The Giant Pacific Octopus is one such colossus...albeit at a smaller scale.
201	** It's indicated that large predatory dinosaurs such as ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'' would have had fleshy foot pads that greatly softened their tread, enabling them to sneak up on prey despite being the size of elephants. After all, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome it'd be pretty hard to get close to prey]] if one [[BadVibrations shook the ground as they walked]].
202	** [[PantheraAwesome Big Cats]] get in on the action as well, all of them with their own camouflage and/or tactics that enables them a higher chance of ambushing prey. Lions and tigers for example, have their fur, which enables them to hide in tall grass; meanwhile, Leopards like to [[DeathFromAbove hide in trees before dropping onto large prey items]].
203	* [[TheDreaded Infamous]] [[ProfessionalKiller mob hitman]] Richard Kuklinski better known as [[RedBaron "The Iceman"]] was 6'5", 270lbs. and his own family [[HarsherInHindsight described him]] as cat-like in how easily he could sneak up on people, though they only knew him as a prank-playing GentleGiant at the time.
204	* Stellar mass black holes in a way. Even if in real life [[GravitySucks gravity does not suck]], their [[UsefulNotes/BlackHoles tiny size]] despite their large mass (here the "Colossus" part) means one that was approaching the Solar System would likely not be detected until it began messing with the planet's orbits.
205	* Hilariously, [[https://youtu.be/2juH9RQSp0M?t=316 revealed in this interview]] for the promotion of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar by'' Creator/DaveBautista, of all people, who is tall and a [[HeroicBuild mountain of muscle]] that he has a weird ability to blend in with people, to the point that he went to the theatres to watch ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy\|2014}}'' and ''{{Film/Deadpool\|2016}}'' '''''[[SawStarWarsTwentySevenTimes six times]]''''' and was recognized '''''only once!''''' [[HilariousInHindsight Hilariously]], his character Drax does and says something very similar in ''Infinity War'' as well, which has become [[Memes/AvengersInfinityWar a meme]].
206	* Under certain conditions, trains can easily sneak up on people. Electric trains and especially [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push-pull_train trains operating with the locomotive at the rear]] can be extremely quiet, and even freight trains can be stealthy if downwind of the listener. This has resulted in numerous tragedies with a person walking along the tracks, often compounded by [[HeadphonesEqualIsolation listening to music or talking on the phone]].
207	* Believe it or not, UsefulNotes/{{Tornadoes}} can fit this trope, and terrifyingly well at that. You'd think that they'd be easy to spot and hear and see coming due to them being these giant, tall pieces of spinning cloud that make loud sounds, right? Well, that's not always the case. See, while tornadoes can be big and noisy, there are a few things that can make them hard (or impossible) to see or hear coming. See, sometimes, they may be obscured by heavy rainfall, which makes them look and (to a lesser extent) sound [[TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse like just another rain shaft]] from afar. Othertimes, given that they can happen any time of day, it might just be that a tornado happens [[DarknessEqualsDeath in the late evening or early morning]], which can make them very hard to see altogether, with only [[LightningReveal occasional lightning strikes or power flashes revealing their existence and location]]. Not to mention that nighttime is also the time when people are asleep, which, alongside the fact that tornadoes that happen at this time of day are more than twice as likely to be lethal as they are at any other time of day, gives them a very [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight "bump in the night" feel]]. Three notable (and [[NightmareFuel quite horrifying]]) examples of nighttime tornadoes in particular are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoYyeXybTnw the 2007 Greensburg, KS EF5 tornado]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5OqgeB7bvo the 2015 Garland-Rowlett Tornado]], and the more recent [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hwi6Ma09sA 2021 Western Kentucky Tornado]]. All three were large, powerful tornadoes which respectively took 11, 10, and 57 lives thanks to not only their high intensity (EF5, 4, and 4-5, respectively), but also the fact that people who weren't reached by warnings (and even those who were) couldn't see them coming in time.
208	[[/folder]]

Context Main / StealthyColossus