Line #10 Main/UndercoverCopReveal


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4	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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9	[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/ChickTracts https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/undercover_cop.gif]]]]
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11	At its simplest form, a character reveals himself to be an undercover police officer, FBI agent, what have you. Often, he's acting as TheMole, trying to get enough evidence on the villain to arrest him for ArsonMurderAndJaywalking. It's entirely possible that we, the viewers, won't find out until the rest of the characters do as well. Depending on what side of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism, this may or may not end badly for the cop.
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13	Subtrope of TheReveal. Closely related to TheInfiltration, which involves a law enforcement officer pretending to be a criminal in order to join/infiltrate the bad guys' organization. Compare BookedFullOfMooks. Contrast CanAlwaysSpotACop, where police officers are too obvious to ever get very far in their efforts to go undercover. Compare and contrast MustStateIfYoureACop where a police officer is forced to do this by someone else.
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15	!!Examples:
16
17	[[foldercontrol]]
18
19	[[folder:Advertising]]
20	* Happens in "Advertising/TheGreatCrunchieTrainRobbery". When the outlaws come out carrying the box of Crunchies, a [[DisguisedInDrag respectable looking matron]] leaps up and rips open "her" blouse to reveal a sheriff's star.
21	[[/folder]]
22
23	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
24	* ''Manga/BungoStrayDogs'': [[spoiler:Michizou Tachihara]] is the last member of the Hunting Dogs who infiltrated Port Mafia to replace Ango as the government DoubleAgent.
25	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
26	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'': Once she decides to [[GreatEscape escape]] from Green Dolphin Prison, Jolyne is attacked by a prisoner called [=MiuMiu=], who is actually the head of security keeping close tabs on escape attempts.
27	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureTheJoJoLands The JoJoLands]]'': While relaxing by a tree, Jodio is asked by a woman to be handed drugs. Despite his suspicions [[MustStateIfYoureACop after asking if she's a cop]], Jodio signals Paco for a hand-off, which immediately prompts the woman to pull out a gun and bring in a squad to arrest the two.
28	* ''Manga/OnePiece'': During a flashback to Trafalgar Law's time with the Don Quixote Pirates, Doflamingo had a mute, clumsy brother serving as an officer. Later on, Corazon reveals to Law that he's an undercover agent for the Navy, and his disability (But not his clumsiness) was an act.
29	* One ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl'' episode had one of these with an undercover Officer Jenny. There was a possible vague hint with Brock going into his usual routine when the group met her, but it was still hidden fairly well.
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Comic Books]]
33	* ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'':
34	** Happens in ''ComicBook/TheSimpingDetective'''s pilot strip ''Gumshoe''. Jack is working Angeltown as a PrivateInvestigator and is coerced into a back alley by a client, where he is accosted by ninjas. When he takes them down, the client gets the drop on him. He reveals that it was a feint and pulls out his badge, as his backup arrives.
35	** Subverted in a ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' story when Dredd inspects a PenalColony in the Cursed Earth where standards under the new warden have dropped considerably and the prisoners have free rein. Their leader lies about being an undercover Judge (Wally Squad) in the warden's office, which Dredd "accepts" for the moment so he can do a background check. The prisoner knew that Dredd would inevitably find out the truth, he was just stalling for time to prepare for an attack.
36	* Happens twice in the ''ComicBook/ChickTracts''.
37	** In "Bad Bob", Bob and his cousin deal drugs, and find out their buyer is a cop when he reads them their rights.
38	** In "Trust Me", the kid, to fund his drug habit, sells drugs to an undercover cop with a briefcase full of money, resulting in the cop pulling out a pistol and a badge, which is less surprising than most examples of the trope because he gets down on his knees and says "[[TitleDrop Trust]] [[SchmuckBait me]]!".
39	* ''ComicBook/{{Copperhead}}'' gets a short play when Sheriff Bronson infiltrates the Bastion brothel, grabs her target, and immediately takes him hostage.
40	* The second story of the fifth issue of the 1946 ''ComicBook/KidEternity'' had a man named Joe appear to be fatally shot, ultimately turning out to be a detective pretending to be with the gang who shot him in order to bring them down and having [[FakingTheDead staged his fatal shooting]] to make it easier to catch the criminals by surprise.
41	* Done twice in "A Night at the Rose Petal" in ''ComicBook/TheMazeAgency Annual'' #1. [[spoiler:Once with Jen disguised as an old drunk, and once with Lt. Bliss disguised as a hooker.]]
42	* Happened in most "Sgt. Streetwise" photo-comic strips in ''ComicBook/NewEagle'', as disguises were Sgt. Wise's specialty. Sometimes the reader would know which character was Wise was the beginning, and at other times not till he revealed himself when he sprung into action.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Fanfiction]]
46	* In ''Fanfic/AlvanAnTheChipmunks3TheSecondSqueakuel'', [[spoiler:Music/SnoopDogg]] turns out to be a member of the police.
47	* ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/1070625/chapters/2148371 Call Me Over to the Other Side]]'' by Kearlyn is a [[Film/PacificRim Pacific Rim]] AU in which Raleigh Becket joins the FBI to infiltrate Kaiju cults. Of course, the Kaiju-worshipping cultists don't trust him at first, and he's forced to take a bullet in order to win their trust. Thankfully, it's worth it, since he's able to [[spoiler: save the kidnapped pilot Chuck Hansen.]]
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
51	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheChipmunkAdventure'', the mysterious [[spoiler: Jamal]], believed to be a rival criminal of Klaus and Claudia, turns out to be working for Interpol. Of course, we don't see him undercover- just working out of an office while addressing his thug-like subordinates. The siblings' butler Mario, however, is first shown telephoning intel, so [[spoiler: Jamal]]'s true occupation also reveals him.
52	* [[spoiler: Roz]] in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'' turns out to be an undercover agent of the CDA. And not just an undercover agent, [[spoiler:but the head of the whole organization]].
53	* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'': [[spoiler:Beau, the gardener]], turns out to be an FBI agent investigating the disappearances on Moonscar Island.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
57	* ''Film/TheAppleDumplingGang:'' In the sequel, two RedHerring characters, [[spoiler:Private Reid and a trapper who visits Fort Concho]] are revealed to be undercover Army Intelligence agents when they meet to exchange notes.
58	* In ''Film/{{Assassins}}'', Robert and Miguel both get assigned to kill the hacker Elektra and the Dutch buyers who want her data. Miguel kills the buyers but find through their credentials that they are [=InterPol=] agents.
59	* In ''Film/BlackDog'', [[spoiler: Sonny]] reveals to Crews that he is an FBI agent after he is mortally wounded in a truck-jacking attempt.
60	* In ''Film/BreakheartPass'', [[spoiler:Deakin]] reveals himself as a Secret Service agent. [[spoiler:Rev. Peabody]] is his partner. However, the partner has been murdered by the time this revelation is made.
61	* In the final ending of ''Film/{{Clue}}'', [[spoiler:Mr. Green]] reveals himself as an FBI agent, just after shooting [[spoiler:Wadsworth who is the real Mr. Boddy]]. In the first two endings, it is [[spoiler:Wadsworth]] who is revealed as an FBI agent after unmasking the mastermind behind the murders that have taken place. In all three endings, the evangelist who knocked at the door just before the summary of who killed whom is also revealed as an FBI agent.
62	* ''Film/DasExperiment'': One of the prisoners (#38) is actually an agent for the German Federal Police, who have been investigating Dr. Thon for possible human rights abuses.
63	* Nikolai reveals he is undercover at the end of ''Film/EasternPromises''.
64	* On ''Film/FaceOff'', the stewardess that Castor Troy was fooling around with turned out to be an FBI agent.
65	* In ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious2001'':
66	** Brian O'Conner reveals to Mia that he is a cop at the end of the movie. The viewer has known this all along but it allows some drama between O'Conner and the girl he has been sleeping with and [[spoiler:eventually persuades her to help him track down the truck thieves]].
67	** Several scenes later, it's repeated when O'Conner calls for police back-up and an ambulance after rescuing Vince. Dom, who had [[EtTuBrute considered Brian his brother]] up to this point, has to seriously restrain himself from not beating the living shit of him. Instead, he takes off.
68	* In ''Film/GetawayPlan'', [[spoiler:Victor]] is revealed to be an undercover officer in the gang, one who is at a risk of BecomingTheMask...
69	* In ''Film/KangarooJack'', [[spoiler:Mr. Jimmy the NativeGuide]] is revealed to be [[spoiler:Senior Sergeant Jimmy Inkamala]] when he pulls a GunshipRescue.
70	* ''Film/ManWithAShotgun'': Masa, rival to Watari the sheriff, gets himself hired as chief enforcer to Nishioka, who runs an opium farm. At the end he reveals himself to be an undercover cop, arresting Mr. Kim, the drug lord who was going to buy Nishioka's opium.
71	* ''Film/MenInBlack3'' has the shocking revelation that the modern artist Andy Warhol was an undercover MIB agent.
72	-->'''Agent W''': "You gotta fake my death! I'm running out of ideas! I've started painting pictures of soup cans!"
73	* ''Film/NiteTalesTheMovie'': In "Storm", James the MonsterClown turns out to actually be an undercover detective tailing the [[ImpersonatingAnOfficer fake cop]].
74	* ''Film/ReservoirDogs'': Mr. [[spoiler:Orange]] gets two: one just after [[spoiler:killing Mr. Blonde to stop him from setting fellow cop Marvin Nash on fire]], and again when [[spoiler:he confesses it to Mr. White, who was shot and seriously wounded in defending him from accusations of being the rat]].
75	* ''Film/RunningScared1986''. When detectives Hughes and Costanzo try to arrest Gonzales and end up caught in an ambush, two of Gonzales' men reveal themselves as undercover cops Montoya and Sigliano and save the heroes' lives. This is an EmbarrassingRescue from their point of view, [[UngratefulBastard and they even try to blame the agents for stuffing up their arrest]].
76	* ''Film/{{Sheroes}}'': [[spoiler:Jasper]] turns out to be DEA, who's been investigating cocaine smuggled using Diamond's dad's jet.
77	* In ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog22022'', after Sonic interrupts Rachel and Randall's wedding, several of the guests [[spoiler:and ultimately Randall himself]] reveal themselves to be undercover GUN agents, using the wedding as part of a sting operation to catch Sonic. A horrified Rachel asks the priest whether he's an agent too, which he confirms by opening his Bible to reveal [[BookSafe a gun hidden inside it]].
78	* At the end of ''Film/TheSpanishPrisoner'', Joe is saved by [[spoiler: a pair of Japanese tourists]] who turn out to be undercover U.S. Marshals who have had Jimmy's con under observation since the start.
79	* ''Film/TheStandoffAtSparrowCreek'': When Gannon questions the other militia members one-by-one early on, it is revealed that Noah is an undercover cop keeping tabs on the militia (with Gannon being his SecretKeeper). Noah says his handler died during the shooting, so he will be unable to prove this and can’t use his status to help himself or the group during the investigation. [[spoiler:It turns out he is lying and faked the series of shootings as a FalseFlagOperation to wipe the militia out]].
80	* ''Film/TheTakingOfPelhamOneTwoThree''. A plainclothes transit cop is believed to be one of the hostages, but no-one can find out who he is. 'He' might even be a woman, it's suggested. It turns out to be the hippie, who in a BrickJoke is [[DudeLooksLikeALady mistaken for a woman]] by Lt. Garber because of his long hair.
81	* ''Film/TheTrialOfTheChicago7''; During the trial, we see a number of the protesters at the Democratic convention were actually undercover police or FBI agents. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Lee Weiner, one of the Seven, who wonders if there were 10,000 cops and only seven protesters in Chicago.
82	* In ''Film/{{Unknown 2006}}'', the protagonist is revealed to be TheMole, an undercover cop infiltrating a criminal gang. The point is, he doesn't know of this for most of the plot because of temporal amnesia.
83	* Ajax in ''Film/TheWarriors'' meets a woman sitting alone in the park and decides to keep her company. When he starts to get too aggressive with her and is about to sexually assault her, the woman manages to handcuff his arm to the bench and she reveals herself as a cop.
84	* In ''Film/TheWholeNineYards'' [[spoiler:the assassin the cheating wife hired to kill Oz was actually a cop recording their conversations. He wasn't outed until after being killed by Jimmy, scaring Oz's wife away]].
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	[[folder:Literature]]
88	* ''Literature/TheCatWhoSeries'': In book #3 (''The Cat Who Turned On and Off''), the last chapter casually reveals that [[spoiler: Hollis Prantz, one of the Junktown dealers]], is actually an undercover officer from Narcotics and was investigating a heroin ring in the area.
89	* ''Literature/ChocoholicMysteries'': Late in [[spoiler: ''Jewel Case'', Pete Falconer -- one of Lee and Joe's house guests]] -- turns out to be a private detective and former police officer who'd been hired to investigate the involvement of a man in what was ultimately revealed as a major burglary ring.
90	* Done in the very last word of Creator/MickeySpillane's ''The Deep'' when it turns out TheDreaded former teenage hoodlum who returned to his home town to find out who killed his friend, a notorious crimelord, had actually become a police officer.
91	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': ''Literature/{{Maskerade}}'' is set up to look like Andre might be the villain until he reveals that he is actually an undercover cop.
92	-->'''Andre''': I ... hang around in dark places looking for trouble.\
93	'''Granny Weatherwax''': Really? There's a nasty name for people like that.\
94	'''Andre''': Yes, it's "policeman".
95	* ''Literature/SergeStorms'': ''Hammerhead Ranch Motel'', one room at the motel holds two different drug gangs who are secretly undercover cops each of whom is trying to bust the other gang. They only discover this when a third jurisdiction of police shows up and tries to bust both of them.
96	* ''Literature/HerculePoirot'': Cyrus Hardman in ''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress'' is a PinkertonDetective posing as a TravelingSalesman.
97	* Creator/TimothyZahn's not-quite-''Franchise/StarWars'' SpaceOpera-Mystery-action book ''Literature/TheIcarusHunt''. To say more would be to spoil it, though if the reader is both paying attention and actively trying to put the pieces together, it's not ''that'' hard to figure it out ahead of time.
98	* ''Literature/KillerSpecies'': [[spoiler:Book 4 reveals that Dr. Newton, a science teacher at Tasker Middle School whom Emmet's suspected of being Dr. Catalyst, is actually an undercover agent for Interpol and has been after Dr. Catalyst for years.]]
99	* ''Literature/ALineToKill'': Maissa Lamar the poet turns out to not be a poet at all. She and the mysterious blond-haired man who followed her to the literary festival are French undercover cops who were on Alderney to investigate the corrupt business dealings of Charles le Masurier, who is then murdered. This trope is played out differently than how it usually goes, when master detective Hawthorne unmasks them both as bumbling dopes who found le Mesurier's body but didn't tell anybody, thus letting the scene go cold, and also left bloody footprints and a smear of blood in le Mesurier's office, further confusing the murder investigation.
100	* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/MagicInc'' the heroes are helped by an UndercoverCopReveal when, essentially, fighting the literal forces of Hell. An FBI agent masquerading as a demon.
101	* At the very end of Creator/PatriciaCWrede's ''Literature/MairelonTheMagician'', [[spoiler:William Stuggs, Jasper Marston's apparently dim-witted henchman]], calmly reveals himself to be a Bow Street Runner. This is helpful, as it means he's witnessed the entire climax and has no uncertainty about who to arrest.
102	* ''Literature/RiversOfLondon'': ''False Value'' begins with [[spoiler:Peter going to a job interview for a security position at a tech firm. Since he was put on suspension from the Met at the end of ''Lies Sleeping'', it looks like he lost his job with the police... however, several flashback chapters later, we learn that he was actually reinstated, but is making it look like he was fired as a result of the suspension for the undercover job he's on.]]
103	* ''Literature/TrickyBusiness'', a rare non-humor book by Creator/DaveBarry (although it does have its moments), is about an illegal casino ship that is also a base for drug dealers, things go wrong, etc. On of the POV characters is a pretty young lady who works as a cocktail waitress, hates her job, and her mother always tells her to quit because it's so dangerous... Makes perfect sense, until the very last part of the book when it's revealed that "cocktail waitress" was just a disguise: she is actually a badass undercover cop, and now everything suddenly sounds a lot smarter.
104	* In the first ''Literature/TruemanBradley'' novel, Trueman notices his taxi driver following him into the bank. It turns out the taxi driver is actually Detective Sam Buckley, who saw that Trueman was both extremely rich and very naïve and decided to follow him to prevent him from getting robbed.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
108	* ''Series/TwentyFour'': Kim gets roped into a drug deal in season 1. The guys she's with rip off the guy they are meeting. The guy then says "You're under arrest". Cue police officers storming the place.
109	* During an episode of ''Series/Adam12'', Reed and Malloy pull a car over for a traffic violation. The passenger starts getting argumentative with the cops, causing Malloy to run him and arrest him for an outstanding warrant. As they're transporting him to the station, he thanks them for not blowing his cover -- he's a Narcotics detective and the driver of the car is suspected of being a supplier. He also says that Malloy "arresting" him will make it easier for him to get close to the suspect.
110	* ''Series/TheAgency'''s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g39xIewgGaM infamous]] FlockOfWolves sting in which the [=CIA=], [=FBI=], [=INS=], and Secret Service all attempted a sting at the same time in a post office.
111	%%* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': Kate in her [[Recap/AngelS01E02LonelyHearts first appearance]].
112	* ''Series/TheBarrier'': While [[spoiler:putting up posters with photos of children that may have been taken away from their parents by the government under false pretenses]], Álex gets notices by a homeless man. The man is next seen accosting him while flashing a police badge.
113	* Happens in the episode of ''Series/TheBill'' that re-introduced Frank Burnside. Burnside was undercover with a gang of soccer hooligans that are busted by Sun Hill. Burnside headbutts one of the arresting officers to maintain his cover.
114	* ''Series/BreakingBad'': In the opening of "[[Recap/BreakingBadS2E8BetterCallSaul Better Call Saul]]" Badger, one of Jesse's friends and dealers in Walter's infant meth empire, gets arrested after being baited into selling an under cover cop meth by falling for the urban myth that undercover cops have to reveal themselves if asked about their secret directly.
115	* Michael Weston planned to do this in an episode of ''Series/BurnNotice''. While trying to score points with the boss of a gang, he sets up TheDragon to look like an undercover cop and then be the hero when he exposes him. Since the guy had no problem destroying valuable property just to scare people, Michael didn't feel too bad for the guy. [[spoiler: Turns out he actually was undercover. Oops.]]
116	* This trope has been used at least once on ''Series/{{Castle\|2009}}'', and probably several times. The protagonists are investigating a murder and an early suspect turns out to be an agent of the FBI or ATF who was investigating the victim (or employing the victim somehow, or investigating or another suspect) for their own reasons.
117	** The murder of a dog show judge leads the cops ([[AndZoidberg and Castle]]) all over the place. Eventually, they find a warehouse, where the victim's assistant claims that the guy was trying to cross-breed dogs. After digging around, they start to suspect that the victim was involved in bringing drugs from South America. They confront the "assistant", who immediately tells them that they will, in fact, find drugs hidden in the warehouse. He's a US Customs agent. The victim was employed to train drug-sniffing dogs (hence the drugs and the $10,000/month money transfers).
118	** Ryan does this in-universe in "The Wild Rover". If the audience didn't already know, that ending would've been pretty impressive.
119	%%* Liam in ''Series/TheChicagoCode''.
120	* In the ''Series/ColdCase'' episode "Jackals", the team search for the enforcer of a biker gang who somehow vanished for 30 years. They find out that he was a State Police officer who went undercover in the 1970's.
121	* In one episode of ''Series/CriminalMinds'' Morgan and Reid spot that the friend of a kidnapped girl's father is carrying a concealed gun; he's a Federal Marshal and the family are in the Witness Protection Program while waiting to testify against the Mob.
122	** Taken to an extreme in another episode. The BAU team is watching an apartment they believe belongs to the unsub. When they get confirmation, they cross the street to his building. ''Every person'' they pass pulls out a gun and joins the assault. The mail carrier, the trucker having engine problems, the couple with a stroller, the random guy with a Rasta hat, everyone. No word on how they cleared the area of civilians without tipping off the unsub, but it makes for a cool shot.
123	* In the ''Series/{{CSI}}'' episode "Hog Heaven", the [=CSIs=] are investigating the murder of outlaw biker Joey Niagra and run his prints, finding his criminal record for drugs and [[ILoveTheDead necrophilia]]. The next scene, Ecklie shows up to ask why they're running an undercover cop's prints. Apparently the biker gang "Joey" was undercover in takes their "IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten" scenarios '''very''' seriously.
124	* In episode 4 of series 1 of ''Series/DeathInParadise'', the MsFanservice in a group of treasure hunters turns out to be an investigator from an insurance company, which had been defrauded by the leader of the group. Camille, one of the main police officer protagonists, had immediately disliked her and thought she was guilty (mainly because she caught her superior officer and [[{{UST}} potential love interest]], Richard, ogling the woman), and when the woman reveals her true identity, Camille [[InsaneTrollLogic declares that she was proven correct]].
125	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E5TheRobotsOfDeath "The Robots of Death"]], one of the Sandminer's crewmembers is revealed to be an undercover agent — and [[spoiler:so is one of the robot drones, which is actually a highly advanced robot disguised as the most primitive and stupid model in use on the Sandminer]].
126	* ''Series/DoNotAdjustYourSet'': The undercover cop reveals himself to be one to a gang, now that he's got enough evidence to convict them... [[FlockOfWolves and then all of them turn out to be undercover cops.]]
127	-->'''Jenkinson:''' Blimey...we're all coppers...\
128	'''Johnsson:''' ...So what do we do now?\
129	'''Leader:''' ...Jenkinson, can you blow up a safe?
130	* In an episode of ''Series/{{Elementary}}'', Sherlock deduces that a member of a drug cartel is an undercover cop, who sneaks information to him under the pretense of staging a fight. [[spoiler: Unfortunately it turns out that said cop had [[BecomingTheMask Become the Mask]] in the worst way possible.]]
131	* An episode of ''Series/TheFamousJettJackson'' shows an episode of the ShowWithinAShow ''Silverstone'', where all the world's bad guys are invited to a remote mansion by a mysterious new villain named Mr. Kilimanjaro. Throughout the dinner, they start arguing and trying to one-up each other, revealing all their recent and latest plots. It turns out that the whole thing was a setup by Silverstone (in disguise as Kilimanjaro) to get recorded confessions from these guys and grab them all at once.
132	* ''Series/FastLane'' episode "Mighty Blue". When officers Van and Deaq confront a criminal gang, one of them reveals herself as an undercover police officer to save them.
133	* ''Series/FatherBrown'': In "The Owl of Minerva", Father Brown and Inspector Sullivan are cornered by the murderer and another member of the conspiracy, only for the other member to turn out to be an inspector from Special Branch who arrests the murderer.
134	* ''Series/FBIMostWanted'': In "[[Recap/FBIMostWantedS03E17 Covenant]]", the Fugitive Task Force is investigating a fundamentalist church and getting the runaround from the pastor and his wife. However, Remy picks up something off about the receptionist and confronts her when she leaves work. She reveals that she is an undercover investigator for the IRS, and is investigating the church for fraud. She is able to provide the task force with some of the missing information.
135	%%* ''Series/HawaiiFive0:'' Sid in "Mala Ka Aina"; Kono in "Ma'eme'e".
136	* Practically OnceAnEpisode on ''Series/HillStreetBlues'', usually some combination of Detectives Larue, Washington or Belker -and less frequently Sergeant Goldblum- at the climax of a sting operation.
137	* ''Series/HorribleHistories'': In the sketch about Victorian criminal, the new member of the gang that the others have to keep explaining the terminology, and therefore the scheme, to turns out to be this.
138	* ''Series/{{House}}'' had a patient brought in who was part of a drug-smuggling gang, who refuses to tell House where the hideout is as it might cause the upcoming raid to fail, despite House needing to know what he got sick from. His buddy (who doesn't know he's a cop) eventually lets them in, but [[spoiler:the cop's disease is fatal, and he dies without having blown his cover]].
139	* In one episode of ''Series/TheInvisibleMan'', Hobbes is revealed to have a history of StalkerWithACrush behavior toward his ex-wife, including suspicion of her boyfriends. He becomes suspicious of her current boyfriend, who has a criminal record, suspicions which seem to be born out when he and Fawkes catch the guy scheming with others to steal military tech and sell it on the black market. After they capture him, it turns out that he's an undercover FBI agent (and thus his criminal record is fake) and was involved in a sting operation which they [[NiceJobBreakingItHero nearly ruined]].
140	* ''Series/{{JAG}}'':
141	** The episode "Brig Break" has Meg Austin discover that [[spoiler: Petty Officer Quinn]] is an undercover agent for Navy Intelligence trying to infiltrate a group of gun runners. He ends up [[NoHonorAmongThieves getting killed]] by [[spoiler: Sergeant Lowell]] soon after Austin figures it out.
142	** PlayedForLaughs in "Boot". After everything she has put her through, Staff Sergeant Carrington is [[OhCrap stunned]] to discover that Private [=McEntire=], a problem recruit she had been singling out, was in fact Lt. Meg Austin. Austin assures her she knew it wasn't personal.
143	* In ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', Amanda has a gambling problem and racks up a sizable debt with a local casino. When she's identified as a cop, a couple of guys take her to the back room and check her for a wire. They, and their boss, immediately assume she's a dirty cop and start blackmailing her in order to do things for them that only a cop can do. Throughout all this, she has to deal with an overbearing Irishman named Declan, who appears to be the casino owner's NumberTwo and her chief enforcer. At one point, she fails in a task and they threaten to expose her. In desperation, she offers herself to Declan, who sends his underling out of the room and turns on a camera, before seemingly pushing her down to his crotch level. At the episode's climax, he reveals that he's actually Lieutenant Declan Murphy of NYPD. We then see the recording, where he actually stops short of anything indecent and tells Rollins (without an Irish accent) that he's in Vice and working undercover, and that since she's unwittingly worked her way into a position where she can help him, he's bringing her in officially as another undercover rather than busting her.
144	** In an earlier episode, the leader of a neo-Nazi group was on trial for setting up a shooting that killed a little boy. In the middle of the trial, his son and another of his followers shoot up the courtroom. The son injures Elliot and stands over him, preparing to finish him off, when he is shot by "Star Morrison" a woman who was supposedly a close friend of the defendant. In the following scene, she introduces herself properly to Munch as FBI Agent Dana Lewis.
145	** In another, Stabler is arresting the dealer who's been supplying his daughter with drugs when she mutters to him that she's a narcotics detectives. They go through the motions of an arrest so as not to blow her cover.
146	** In yet another episode, Olivia goes undercover as a homeless woman to catch a social worker who's been abusing his position to sexually harass women. Sure enough, he starts feeling her up while "helping" her fill out the form. Then they get to the part about most recent employer.
147	--->'''Olivia:''' That's an easy one. Special...Victims...Unit! (''Jumps up and pins the social worker on his desk to cuff him.'') Did I not mention that?
148	** Munch gets one in an early season episode where they're trying to catch a travel agent setting up sex tours for pedophiles. He pretends to be a prospective client, and the agent begins arranging a "special" trip for him.
149	--->'''Agent:''' When would you like to travel, Mr. Blackman -- or is there another name you prefer to use?\
150	'''Munch:''' Actually, there is. John Munch, but you can just call me Detective. (''Pulls out his badge'') Get up! Put your hands behind your back right now!
151	** During the infamous "Monkey in the basketball" episode, the bad guy is arrested by Elliott but then he says to check his belt buckle. Inside is a listening device. He was an undercover cop all along and getting arrested is part of his plan to bust the animal smuggling operation being ran out of prison.
152	** One episode had a undercover ''Secret Service'' agent get caught up in a search for a murderer of a college student with a gambling problem. The Secret Service agent had moved the body to ensure it was found, a mislead he apologizes for when he's off the clock.
153	* A mild version in ''Series/LieToMe'' where Foster starts dating a high school guidance councilor, only to get strange vibes from him. She then finds passports with different identities and evidence of drugs. After she confronts the guy about it, he admits that he's DEA, sent to uncover a school trafficking ring. He later reveals it to Cal as well, given that Cal can't help but stick his nose in other people's business.
154	* This happened to Sawyer in the "flash-sideways" on ''Series/{{Lost}}'' -- the scene deliberately echoed a season one flashback which showed him as a con man, only this time the mark called him on it, and he revealed that he was a cop.
155	* ''Series/MiamiVice'': Crockett and Tubbs are both undercover when they first meet. They don't realize they're both cops until Crockett tries to arrest Tubbs.
156	* On ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'' Eric Christian Olsen's first appearance is as an MMA fighter and murder suspect called Jason Wyler. It's not until halfway through the episode that Hetty reveals that he is LAPD Detective Marty Deeks, undercover.
157	** All the team members are highly trained and experiences in undercover work so this happens in-universe fairly often. Since they hate burning a cover identity, they will try to delay the reveal as long as possible. One of Callan's old girlfriends spent years believing that he was her brother's criminal friend who had to leave town after the cops got too close.
158	* ''Series/NCISNewOrleans''. As agents Pride and [=LaSalle=] raid a phony clinic, they encounter a woman who runs as soon as she's discovered. When they catch up with her, she informs them that she herself is a federal agent (ATF) and advises them, like the above example, to continue roughing her up in order to maintain her cover.
159	* On ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' one [=PoI=] is a robber who seems to be planning to murder a police officer. Reese sees the criminal breaking into the cop's house and is about to intervene when the cop's wife opens the door and greets her husband. The [=PoI=] is undercover in a gang of jewel thieves and he took some time off to see his family. Later on, the cop's cover is about to be blown so Reese outs himself as TheMole instead.
160	* Occurs in the first episode of ''Series/RookieBlue'', even though he tries to keep his cover even after being arrested. It's finally blown when an old friend greets him heartily as he is about to be processed.
161	* In ''Series/{{Suburgatory}}'', a student that Tessa assumed to be gay actually was an undercover narcotics agent.
162	* ''Series/TrueBlood'': When Sookie first meets Eric Northman at Fangtasia, she listens in on the thoughts of other human customers in the bar and determines that one guy is an undercover cop and the place is about to be raided.
163	* One episode of ''Series/VeronicaMars'', "Weapons of Class Destruction", involved a suspected plot to bomb the school. One of the prime suspects turned out to be an undercover ATF agent[[note]] Invoking an in-universe version of DawsonCasting, no less[[/note]] who was hoping to draw out the real bomber by making himself out to be a kindred spirit.
164	* ''Series/TheWire'':
165	** In season 1, Orlando (the Barksdale gang's frontman) decides to sell dope too. He meets with a guy who is willing to supply him. The guy shows Orlando ''something'' (probably his badge) which causes his face to go OhCrap.
166	** Orlando sets up a meet with undercover Kima along for the ride. They are instead both shot at. Wee-Bey also goes OhCrap and get out of town when he finds out that Orlando's girl was a cop.
167	** Hilariously subverted in the fourth season. Prez, formerly a cop [[spoiler: until he accidentally shot another cop]], becomes a school teacher, but Bubbles (formerly a police informant) sees him at the school, and not knowing Prez is no longer police, assumes Prez is setting himself up for this, and promises not to spill the beans. Prez, of course, has no idea what Bubbles is talking about.
168	* ''Series/WithoutATrace''. Two agents are questioning a prostitute who was the last person seen with a missing judge when she mutters under her breath, "I'm a cop, so make this look good." They promptly begin yelling at her and roughing her up to maintain the facade of her being uncooperative.
169	[[/folder]]
170
171	[[folder:Music]]
172	* In the video of Hobastanks' "Same Direction", which is a sequel to "The Reason" where the band stole a Ruby, the singer is revealed to be an undercover cop and then arrests his band mates.
173	[[/folder]]
174
175	[[folder:New Media]]
176	* Occurred in the skits for ''The Egypt File'' VBS. The custodian turned out to be an undercover cop on the trail of a notorious artifact smuggler, [[TheMole who had been disguised as a cop]].
177	%%Please don't add that one play we're not spoiling. You know the one.
178	[[/folder]]
179
180	[[folder:Video Games]]
181	* A sidequest in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has you encounter a NCR Ranger in disguise as he runs a sting on a crooked quartermaster. He reveals himself after you run afoul of him, forcing you to either turn in the crooked quartermaster, fast-talk the ranger, or just blast him.
182	* Doll in ''VideoGame/SagaFrontier'', during Red's game when investigating Berva.
183	* In ''VideoGame/SaintsRow1'', Troy Bradshaw is an undercover cop who infiltrated the Third Street Saints. He reveals himself after the rest of the gangs have been taken out by arresting Julius Little.
184	* Agent Shepherd in ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal: Head On'' reveals himself to be FBI rather than take a wish from Calypso. John Doe from ''Twisted Metal Black'' discovers that he's an FBI agent, but not until he gets his memory back after the tournament...and standing in front of the number two most wanted man in the world.
185	* ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs2012'' pulls this with ''the player character'', starting out InMediasRes while Detective Shen is involved in a sting operation that goes awry and has to run from his uniformed colleagues to maintain his cover.
186	* ''VideoGame/TurtleHead'': Mason Camdenburg, a friend of Harriet Lily and Emma Hawkins and seemingly a fellow ordinary high school student, is revealed to be a [[OlderThanTheyLook 27-year old detective]] in the true ending paths, tasked with catching the Turtle Head SerialKiller. It's also foreshadowed by his last name being the same as that of an officer being mentioned in a police report.
187	* In ''VideoGame/AWayOut'', [[spoiler:Vincent is revealed to be an undercover cop, using Leo as a way to find and kill Harvey. Emily, the pilot Vincent hired to take them to Mexico, was also an undercover cop working with Vincent.]]
188	* ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'': [[spoiler: reveals in the end that Arai was a undercover officer the entire time.]]
189	* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'':
190	** Niko's girlfriend Michelle confesses to him that she's a government agent (working with the [[UsefulNotes/{{CIA}} IAA]], specifically, as revealed in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'') at the end of the mission "The Snow Storm". She only started dating him to keep an eye on him and his criminal associates.
191	** A more minor example in the appropriately named mission "Blow Your Cover": The contact that Niko and Johnny are meant to do a drug deal with is a very thinly disguised undercover cop who gives up the act almost immediately, resulting in a large shootout.
192	* Late into ''Videogame/LostJudgment'', the protagonists end up deducing that [[spoiler:Kazuki Soma, the boss of the RK Gang, is actually an undercover cop whose job is to effectively centralize organized crime for his government superiors in the wake of the collapse of the Yakuza (as well as effectively having their own black ops unit operating as a street gang)]].
193	* ''VideoGame/WhyAmIDead'' reveals [[spoiler: Lucille, the mousy, bespectacled guest who appears to be a mild mannered bookworm. In reality she's at the hotel on the trail of a serial killer, but soon discovers the place is a front for a large crime syndicate. Unfortunately, the owner discovered her and she shot him in self defense. Also unfortunately, the young man investigating the murder turns out to be the owner's business partner.]]
194	[[/folder]]
195
196	[[folder:Western Animation]]
197	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' episode "Smuggler's Blues", Archer travels to Colombia to seek an alliance with the beautiful and feared cartel boss La Madrina, who turns out to actually be a high-ranking officer in the Colombian national police. She has him arrested for drug trafficking, but only after a night of heated passion.
198	* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Almost Got 'Im", as several of Batman's villains play poker at a seedy bar and exchange stories on how they had nearly killed Batman, Joker announces that he had just kidnapped Catwoman and was holding her at an abandoned catfood factory, where he planned to have her killed. Killer Croc then punches out Joker, and the other thugs discover that Croc is really Batman in disguise. When they decide to take him out, ''every other patron of the bar'' turns out to be a cop. The gathered cops, led by Commissioner Gordon and Detective Bullock, take down the villains, leaving Batman free to save Catwoman.
199	* The ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' episode "A Lad in a Lamp" opens with a man attempting to sell a smuggled antique lamp (which contains a genie) when a pelican working for Fat Cat snatches the lamp and the smuggler's payment is scattered in the confusion, at which point the contact reveals himself to be an FBI agent. When Chip and Dale [[ItMakesSenseInContext wish that the events of the episode never happened]], the scene cuts back to the dock, but this time the lamp doesn't get snatched and the payment doesn't get scattered. The following exchange occurs in both versions.
200	-->'''Smuggler''': My money!\
201	'''FBI agent''': Don't bother; they're all phoneys. (He opens his jacket to reveal his badge.) You're busted!
202	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', Cleveland talks to what appears to be a teenage boy, asking him if he wants to be friends with Cleveland Junior. [[ICallHimMrHappy Taking it]] [[MistakenForPedophile the wrong way]], the "teenager", in a deep voice, says the code word "Boomerang" into a hidden microphone, and several police cars show up on the spot.
203	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/DogCity'', the villain is posing as a school teacher to get into a mint under the cover of a field trip. He is thwarted when it turns out that only two of his students are ''not'' undercover cops.
204	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones: On the Rocks'': The beautiful woman who followed Fred and Wilma to Rockapulco (essentially a parody of the Christie Brinkley character from ''Film/NationalLampoonsVacation'') turns out to be a cop trying to catch a diamond thief. Fred is so dumbstruck that all he can say is, "You're a cop?"
205	* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': Summer's friend, Tammy, reveals herself to be an agent from the Galactic Federation during her wedding with Birdperson in "The Wedding Squanchers".
206	* Often happens in ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo''. They usually are working to take down the supernatural threat, but the kids usually beat them to it. Leaving the audience wondering how incompetent the officer has to be, since the target audience would be unaware of the rules of evidence required.
207	* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Butters' Bottom Bitch" has Sergeant Yates disguise himself as a prostitute and out himself to all the people who hire him. At the end, he ''marries'' a pimp and they live a happy life for a year before he outs himself.
208	[[/folder]]

Context Main / UndercoverCopReveal