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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wolf-in-sheeps-clothing1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[VisualPun The wool does not go over these eyes.]]]]

->''I'm gonna keep my sheep suit on\\
Until I'm sure that you've been shown\\
That I can be trusted walking with you alone\\
Owoooooooo!''
-->-- Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, "Literature/LittleRedRidingHood"

The phrase "wolf in sheep's clothing" pertains to a character who disguises themselves as nicer or more harmless than they really are to conceal their true identity, feelings, or motives. Characters that are disguised this way might not necessarily be evil or intend malice, but when their lie is discovered it usually causes at least feelings of betrayal and distrust.

A SuperTrope to BitchInSheepsClothing, where a {{Jerkass}} or evil character pretends to be nice to manipulate others, and BewareTheSillyOnes where a character appears silly or innocent but is actually more dangerous.

A sister trope to ObfuscatingStupidity, ObfuscatingInsanity, ObfuscatingDisability, and CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass, all of which also involve presenting themselves as less of a threat in various permutations. Compare with FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon, where an evil character looks like a good one, but whose appearance is not necessarily an affected disguise, and who is definitely evil rather than simply dangerous. Compare NiceCharacterMeanActor, where an evil character pretends to be a good one. May be a ChurchgoingVillain or a SinisterMinister. Contrast BewareTheNiceOnes, when the character actually is nice until you push them too far.

A form of HiddenDepths or BeneathTheMask. Often employed by TheMole in TheInfiltration. If everyone is putting on a mask they are a FlockOfWolves. When this trope is performed ''literally'', that is AssInALionSkin.

Surprisingly not related to SheepInWolfsClothing, which is when someone is partially turned into a monster but retains enough humanity to work against the monsters.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Advertising]]
* An advertisement for Sanofi flu vaccines depicts a literal wolf in sheep's clothing, mentioning that he's just the flu in a tone that states that there's nothing to worry about... while he causes flu-related side-effects with the people he passes by, going as far as to cause a guy to have an ambulance come after him to help him when he falls too ill to move, for example, ''just by walking past them''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/BlackClover'':
** Literally with Charmy Pappitson. [[spoiler:When she awakens her Dwarven heritage, the giant sheep she normally creates using Cotton Magic sheds its skin to reveal a gigantic hungry wolf.]] It signifies her dangerous side and voracious appetite, [[spoiler:gaining Food Magic to become a MagicEater]].
** [[spoiler:The ''Wizard King'' himself turns out to be one of these by the text definition.]] Few would have been believed that the benevolent [[spoiler:Julius Novachrono is a split personality of Lucius Zogratis, a megalomaniac who has been influencing most of Julius's suggestions to unleash a worldwide Holy War that ends all inequality and suffering.]]
* Most of the Homunculi from ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist''. Special mention goes to Lust and Pride in the [[Anime/FullMetalAlchemist2003 2003 series]] and Wrath and Pride in the manga, who manage to fool various members of the military and the protagonists.
* In ''Literature/HeavyObject'', the Scarlet Princess appears to be a luxury cruise liner, the perfect target for RuthlessModernPirates. It's actually a disguised Legitimacy Kingdom cruiser that specializes in counter-piracy operations.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'': Donatello Versus initially appears quiet and reserved. He does what Pucci orders him to do and needed help standing up from his chair, appearing weak and obedient. In the following battle with Jolyne, Donatello's true personality shows he's ruthless, selfish, and arrogant like his father, DIO.
** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureJoJolion JoJolion]]'': On the surface, [[spoiler:Toru]] appears as a NiceGuy. But he is actually the ruthless mastermind behind the Rock Humans.
* ''Manga/MariaNoDanzai'': [[SchoolNurse Maria Akeboshi]] portrays herself as [[CoolTeacher a kind teacher]] that [[FriendToAllChildren looks out for the students of the school she works at]], when in truth [[BestServedCold she's plotting to murder]] the [[GangOfBullies bullies]] responsible for [[KnightTemplarParent the death of her son]] in [[CruelAndUnusualDeath the cruelest, most painful manner possible]].
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': [[spoiler:Tobi of the Akatsuki]] [[TheLoad is a total goof and an irritating buffoon]] whom very few people take seriously. [[spoiler:[[ObfuscatingStupidity Exactly the way he wants it]]; once he drops the act and [[KnightOfCerebus starts playing for keeps]], it doesn't take him long to start a war against all five of the great ninja villages for control of the Tailed Beasts.]]
* Blackbeard in ''Manga/OnePiece'' to Whitebeard's crew. He spent a number of decades serving in the 2nd division, even passing up the opportunity to become division commander, and generally never tried to stand out. Then one day he murdered Thatch in cold blood, stole the Devil Fruit he found (which he joined the Whitebeard Pirates for the explicit purpose of finding it) and went on the run, before eventually amassing a powerful crew of his own and usurping [[WorldsStrongestMan Whitebeard's]] position as an [[TheDreaded Emperor of the Sea]] at the climax of the Summit War of Marineford.
-->'''Jimbei:''' Ever since he was on old Whitebeard's ship, no one's ever known his true nature.
* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'': Saitou's "Fujita Gorou" persona is pleasant, unassuming, and literally forehead-to-the-floor humble. In reality, he's a GoodIsNotNice JerkAss. The interesting thing is that it's not just for his undercover work; that's his civilian identity as well.
* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', ghouls that don't actively shun human society do this out of necessity. A predator living among their prey, they must work to constantly maintain a normal and harmless persona to avoid being discovered and hunted down by the authorities. Those that go a step further and maintain a human identity are said to be walking a tightrope, always having to keep their predatory instincts in check and avoid doing ''anything'' that could give them away. Sadly, it doesn't ''matter'' if their kindness is genuine or not. After all, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman ghouls aren't really people]], right?
%% ZCE * Yukino Azusagawa in ''Manga/YakitateJapan'' does it a lot to Azuma's gang.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
%% * ''ComicBook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws'': The Untitled sheriff of a small town. And of course, when Red Hood finally kills her/it, the body goes back to its human form, just as the local villagers are able to come out and see.
%% Functionally ZCE
* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Henry Pym is a wifebeater, but for everyone else, he has a happy marriage with Jan. Nobody suspected anything until he almost killed her.
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
** ''ComicBook/SensationComics'':
*** Joe Bamko tries to pose as a caring if down-on-his-luck family man, who has taken in his widowed sister-in-law and her kids out of the kindness of his heart, but in reality, he's a gangster and abusive {{Jerkass}}, and his sister-in-law ends up so worried that he's going to hurt her kids and she won't be able to stop him that she ends up planning to kill him to save her family.
*** When she first appears, Byrna is acting as a secretary at the Fair Weather Valley town meeting and is a local well-liked teacher. Then she's revealed as the Blue Snowman that's been terrorizing the town.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Etta runs into a high-level mobster who has been kept from being implicated in her group's criminal activity by playing the helpless victim. She is quite annoyed when Etta overhears her ordering her men to carry out insurance fraud.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'':
*** The White Magician, the villain who sabotaged Wondy's attempt to save Natasha in the last arc, has been posing as a hero in place of the missing Wonder Woman but it quickly becomes clear he's murdering people and arranging a media circus to make himself look a hero before the criminals and other unfortunates he's targeting even start their attacks.
*** Diana's new friend Donna Milton is a murderer who is inserting herself into Diana's life to help the BigBad of the arc defeat her. She ends up coming to care for Diana despite her original intent which becomes even more poignant with the later reveal that Donna is [[spoiler:Circe]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* One ''ComicStrip/{{Bizarro}}'' had a wolf dressed as a sheep confessing to a therapist that he's not wearing it to catch sheep anymore. It's the real him.
* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' did this a few times (being the {{Trope Namer|s}} for FlockOfWolves). Although sometimes, the wolves didn't exactly get it right:
-->'''Wolf:''' Hey, that's a good idea. "Sheep's" clothing. Let's get out of these gorilla suits!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': In this Franchise/MonsterVerse fanfiction, [[spoiler:the MegaCorp Apex Cybernetics]] are this once they approach Monarch. They freely show Monarch blueprints for vehicles and suits designed to enable human soldiers to survive amidst the Titans and they suggest that together [[spoiler:Apex]] and Monarch can put humanity on the Titans' power level with the aim of aiding Godzilla and his allies. That being said, the ending shows Apex have secretly [[spoiler:illegally bought trafficked [[HalfHumanHybrid Zmeyevich]] for their own ambitious purposes]].
* ''Fanfic/AllMixedUp'': Mariana Mag pretends to be harmless and treats Odd Squad with nothing but kindness right when she moves to town. However, it's all a facade as she's eventually revealed to be the BigBad of the story who targets and attacks Precinct 13579's agents left and right. Otto even calls her out on her niceness during the climactic battle between them.
-->'''Otto:''' I mean, what could you have against Odd Squad anyway, if you were so nice to us before?\\
'''Mariana Mag:''' Nice? Ha! That wasn't being nice. That was acting, flattery, and toleration.
* ''Fanfic/BloodAndRevolution'': Saitou, as with his canon counterpart, takes on unassuming and pleasant personae to deal with politics and go undercover. Fujita Gorou was probably the longest-running (as it was his civilian persona) but Ichinose Denpachi deserves special notice for changing his personal pronoun consistently to [[UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns 'boku']].
* ''Fanfic/ADarkerPath'': A major drug hub in Brockton Bay has been meticulously designed by Accord to look just like a regular suburban home, entirely forgettable and ignorable.
--> It bore all the hallmarks of belonging to a happy couple with two point three children and a dog, including a tricycle artfully displayed in the front yard, and a cutesy little sign saying, "Forget the dog, beware of the kids". Someone had put a lot of effort into making it seem even more normal than the neighbours.\\
...\\
Stepping into the front room of the house still looked absolutely normal. Another doorway, not in a direct line with the front door, led to the back of the house … and his mind was blown.\\
There was no kitchen, no bedrooms, no living room. Carefully hung curtains covered every window. Speakers played TV sounds, and the occasional noise of a baby crying. But the interior of the house had been gutted, and the resultant room was all made over to the division and packaging of drugs for supply to the population of Brockton Bay.
* ''Fanfic/TheMountainAndTheWolf'': The giant man who goes by the Wolf is ''openly'' a murderous servant of Chaos, but he's so crass and unsubtle in his methods no one can imagine him actually being serious, seeing him as TheFriendNobodyLikes who can be occasionally useful but not enough to willingly spend time around him (and from what we see of his real personality when there's no one around to require the mask, it's NotAnAct). Thus when [[spoiler:Daenerys is killed by his hand]], it's more shocking that he did so when there was no visible gain for him than his suddenly turning evil.
* In ''Fanfic/TheSearchForVictory'', Steve Rogers reflects that the Ori's habit of doing this makes them almost worse than Hydra, as at least Hydra are basically honest about their intentions whereas the Ori can pretend to be peaceful and caring before they unleash their plague to force people to worship them.
%% * In ''Fanfic/TheTaintedGrimoire'', Ewen went undercover using the false name [[spoiler:Fasullo]] to spy on Baron Beltorey.
%% False name is not actually context. Needs help.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}'' also does this with a VisualPun. Namely, [[IntrepidReporter the Wolf]] and Twitchy disguise themselves in sheepskins to infiltrate a flock and talk to a sheep that is one of the Wolf's best sources of information.
* ''Creator/{{Pixar}}'' likes this kind of villain. Although not all of their villains are hiding malicious intentions behind an affable face (some are {{Card Carrying Villain}}s and other films just have NoAntagonist), if a charismatic, affable man enters the scene, you have probably seen the introduction of the film's BigBad.
* [[WesternAnimation/TheThreeLittlePigs The animated version]] of ''Literature/TheThreeLittlePigs'' had the TheBigBadWolf attempt to enter the second pig's house by pretending to be a [[DoorstopBaby baby sheep]]. The two little pigs don't buy it.
-->'''Wolf:''' I'm a poor little sheep, with no place to sleep. Please open the door, and let me in!\\
'''Pigs:''' Not by the hair of our chinny-chin-chin! You can't fool us with that old sheepskin!
* The expression is referenced in ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' in the form of a VisualPun, where near the end Chief Bogo assigns a trio of officers to undercover, and the wolf of the group puts on a disturbingly convincing sheep costume. This is also exploited by the main villain, [[spoiler:who is literally a sheep]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/{{Coherence}}:'' Four couples at a dinner party realise that something weird is going on with the house down the road, and Mike shouts that he's going to kill the people in it. After it becomes apparent that the house is ''their house'' in multiple alternate realities, it's one of the other, calmer people who decides to KillAndReplace their double in a happier reality.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Natalie Brough in ''Literature/BeastTamer'' appears as your stereotypical cute and friendly receptionist at the adventurer's guild, but in episode 2, a known troublemaker makes the mistake of MuggingTheMonster by trying to hit on Kanade and challenging Rein to an arm-wrestling contest. When he's defeated, she comes out to see what the commotion's about only for this fool to grab and pull on her skirt. At this point, she grabs and flips over a several-hundred-pound wooden table and bashes the trouble-maker with it, and then dragging him, with the table still on his head, away and the table slowly falls off from friction.
%% * One short story includes the budding romance between two werewolves; one of them worries that the other may be "a sheep in wolves' clothing".(Zero-Context: Which short story?)
* Inverted in the ''Literature/DarkestPowers'' series by [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Derek Souza]]. He's standoffish and can be [[NoSympathy utterly tactless]] at times, but he's also a genuinely good person who still carries the guilt of the ''one time'' he accidentally hurt someone in self-defense. However, everyone, including a family friend who's known him since childhood, assumes he's a violent thug pretending to be harmless. The [[{{Muggle}} humans]] fear him because he's over six feet tall and 220 pounds of solid muscle at the age of 16, and the supernaturals fear him because [[FantasticRacism he's a werewolf]]. In short: Derek is usually assumed to be a wolf in sheep's clothing when, metaphorically, the opposite is true.
* Granny Weatherwax from the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series subverts this when she disguises herself as a “harmless old apple seller”. Not only by being a heroic character but also by the fact that nobody is fooled, they’re all just too scared of her to argue.
* Geryon, a monster from ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'' who guards Eighth Circle of Hell, is the biological manifestation of fraud. It may have the face of a beautiful man, but behind that face is the body of a massive winged serpent with a tail ripe with venom.
* In ''Literature/DragonBones'', there is an individual who pretends to be [[spoiler: a harmless escaped slave, while she's actually magically enslaved and working for her master all the time. She]] is actually quite a nasty person, but pretends to be nice.
* Famously in "Literature/LittleRedRidingHood", TheBigBadWolf tricks the title character by dressing in her grandmother's nightgown. "My, grandmother, what big teeth you have!"
* In ''Literature/RiverOfTeeth'', Archie, a cunning thief and con woman, likes to disguise herself as a [[SouthernBelle proper lady]] because nobody ever suspects a fat woman in a custom-made dress to have such nimble fingers.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', (being an entire series worth of {{Doorstopper}} sized [[GambitPileup Gambit Pileups]]), has no shortage of these, but one character who stands out for this trope is Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish. He's an interesting example because he doesn't pretend to be nice (his affable persona is a deliberately PaperThinDisguise); the real pretence is that he acts like a SmugSnake when he is in fact a full-fledged {{Chessmaster}}, so still fits the bill of pretending to be much less dangerous than he really is.
* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': In ''Tigerclaw's Fury'' and ''Blackfoot's Reckoning'', Tigerclaw offers to help [=ShadowClan=] during their sickness. Blackfoot is inspired by Tigerclaw's selflessness and willingness to help cats of another Clan, but Tigerclaw doesn't actually care about the welfare of the [=ShadowClan=] cats; he's just doing it in the hope that [=ShadowClan=] will accept him as their new leader.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Invoked if not actually used by the characters themselves in ''Series/{{Airwolf}}''. The design concept was a [[JustPlaneWrong supersonic attack helicopter]] whose weapons were hidden in pods so it could pass as a fancy executive transport. The flight suits' shoulder patches even featured a Wolf In Sheep's Clothing design.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': This trope aptly describes [[LovableAlphaBitch Marci Stahl]]. Marci is the only white-collar attorney we've seen across Landman & Zack or Hogarth Chao & Benowitz who actually shows compassion and selflessness towards others and isn't willingly engaging in illegal activity, and puts up a selfish front because she doesn't want to be seen as weak.
* ''Series/TheFrankensteinChronicles'': [[spoiler: Lord Daniel Hervey]], who initially comes off as a kindly physician concerned that the Anatomy Act may outlaw his practice (which is charitable for the poor) and implied to share his sister's religious objections as well. [[spoiler: However, it turns out that he is a multiple murderer who experiments on raising the dead with kidnapped children. [[HollywoodAtheist Oh, and he's also an atheist]].]]
* ''Series/KamenRiderGeats'': This is the entire visual pun behind Morio Koganeya/Kamen Rider Mary, who's based on a bighorn sheep. Initially presented as a jovial comic relief character, his facade steadily crumbles over the course of the first six episodes to reveal he's a backstabbing opportunist and career criminal.
* ''Series/LogansRun'': In "The Judas Goat", the Sandman Joseph 8 assumes the identity of the Runner Hal 14, an acquaintance of Jessica and a fellow member of LaResistance, using MagicPlasticSurgery. The Council of Elders order him to bring Logan and Jessica back to the City of Domes so that examples can be made of them. The faux Hal tells the two Runners that there is a full-scale rebellion brewing in the City and that their presence will inspire hundreds to rise up against the regime.
* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "Library Quiz", Miss Brooks dates an amorous butler pretending to be his wealthy employer.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': When the Prince of Hell Dagon comes to Kelly's and her unborn Nephilim baby's aid, the former at first presents herself as reassuring and supportive, but she drops this fairly fast once she has Kelly in her clutches and playing nice no longer benefits her.
* ''Series/{{Survivor}}'': This strategy is widely agreed to be among the best to use if you want to win the game. Appearing non-threatening ensures that people won't attempt to vote you out while also making it seem like you aren't the one running the game from [[TheManBehindTheMan behind the scenes.]] Granted, it's also among the hardest to get the Jury to see, so you better be really good at explaining your game if you want to win.
* ''Series/WhyWomenKill'': [[spoiler:Jade]] seems like a nice, ordinary woman at first (if an {{ethical slut}}), but she's later shown to be a [[spoiler:manipulative serial killer]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Multiple Media]]
* ''Franchise/JurassicPark'':
** ''Film/JurassicPark'': Nedry is approached by a friendly-looking dinosaur that almost seems like the dodo of dinos. Then it extends its frill and is revealed to be the ''Dilophosaurus'' -- cue Nedry's CruelAndUnusualDeath.
** ''WesternAnimation/JurassicWorldCampCretaceous'': Mitch and his wife Tiffany at first present themselves to the main cast as friendly eco-tourists but are in actuality big-game poachers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* In the song "Literature/LittleRedRidingHood" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, the singer (in the role of the wolf) mentions wearing a "sheep suit" to win the trust of the girl. It concludes with the wolf howling and then correcting himself: "I mean ''baaaaaaa''! Baaaa!"
* The aptly named song "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" by [[Music/SetItOffBand Set it Off]] describes such a character, although by the Tv Tropes definition, it actually seems to refer to a BitchInSheepsClothing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
%% * The Aesop fable of the hungry wolf that found a sheep's fleece on the ground and adorned himself with it in order to sneak into the flock and steal sheep without being noticed. The wolf was later killed when the shepherd went looking for a sheep to slaughter for his own dinner and mistook the wolf for a sheep, although some versions have the wolf howling out in an attempt to imitate a sheep's bleating and being caught that way.
%% Actually AssInALionSkin
* The {{Trope Namer|s}} is a sermon by Jesus recorded in the [[Literature/TheBible Christian Bible]]: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" ([[Literature/TheFourGospels Gospel of Matthew, 7:15]] -- King James Version). The sermon then suggests that their true nature will be revealed by their actions (by their fruits shall ye know them, verse 16).
** Elsewhere in the Bible, we're told, "Even {{Satan}} [[DivinelyAppearingDemons disguises himself as an angel of light]]. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds." ([[Literature/BookOfCorinthians 2 Corinthians 11:14-15]]).
* ''Literature/TheAchilleid'': Ulysses and Diomedes pretend to arrive in Scyros in search of love, but in reality, are just attempting to trick Achilles into joining the Trojan War. The narration explicitly compares them to wolves tricking a shepherd's guard dog into letting them prey on its master's flock.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' actually a monster called the wolf-in-sheep's-clothing. It does not resemble either a wolf or a sheep. It is a bizarre alien monster that resembles a tree stump and attracts prey using a lure that resembles a rabbit.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Dolly, the toy sheep, from ''The Asylum for Abused Cuddly Animals'' is a timid and mild, but she's actually a reversible toy. Her other side is a wolf trying to get out from the sheep side. [[spoiler: The trope is downplayed. Dolly's wolf side is simply a tougher, more assertive version of herself, and helps her confront her trauma over being used as a dog toy. By the end of Dolly's therapy session, she's actually befriended her wolf side.]]
* ''VideoGame/Castlevania64'': [[IntrepidMerchant Renon]] openly introduces himself as a demon but reassures you that since one "needs gold even in Hell these days" he'd rather exploit the niche market of adventurers who need supplies in the titular castle. Throughout the game, he is polite, gentlemanly, and has a real habit of leaving the contract necessary to summon him wherever you need it. [[spoiler:While it's possible to ''only'' see this side of him, he neglects to tell you about the [[ReadTheFinePrint contract's fine print]]: spend more than $30,000 and he ''owns your soul''. If this happens he goes full OneWingedAngel and becomes a rather gruelling OptionalBoss intent on taking what is now his.]]
* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'': Petrus of Thorouland quotes this word-by-word if [[spoiler: you get killed by him when you attempted to avenge Reah.]]
* ''VideoGame/MasterDetectiveArchivesRainCode'':
** To an outsider, Yuma is a very green detective in training with amnesia, who is overly reliant on the people around him and trusting of strangers to a fault. While all of the above is true, he's far from harmless. The reason he has amnesia is due to making a secret pact with the death goddess Shinigami, his memories in exchange for her powers. [[spoiler:Whenever he solves a mystery, the culprit behind it dies without ever knowing of the danger they're in. He's killed more than a handful of murderers this way, not that he's proud of it. Since the rules of the pact state he can't tell others about it, he keeps this side of himself hidden from his fellow Master Detectives.]]
** [[spoiler:The people of Kanai Ward seem like your average city folks, but all of them are actually defective homunculi. If they die, within a day they turn into mindless zombies craving human flesh. Exposure to sunlight also drives them into a berserk frenzy, which was the reason they unknowingly killed all the humans in Kanai Ward. Unusually for this trope, they're not the ones pulling the wool. That honor goes to Makoto, who built the rain machine and isolated the city from the rest of the world so they could live normal lives without discovering the AwfulTruth.]]
* ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Joker shows up in public quiet and reserved, wearing NerdGlasses he doesn't need and carrying an air of penitence he doesn't feel, but when he lets the mask slip, he can be cheeky, stubborn, and hard to control. As a PhantomThief, this mask completely falls away, becoming a flashy, passionate, knife-and-gun-toting, Shadow-eviscerating, bloodthirsty, GentlemanThief with incredible powers.
* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'': Leopald Strauss looks like a harmless old grandfather but is in truth an EvilDebtCollector who loans money out to desperate folks and then doesn't care if [[TheBrute Arthur]] has to literally beat the money back out of them. [[spoiler:[[HiddenDepths That said]], even after being kicked out of the gang by Arthur [[EvenEvilHasStandards as not even the rest of the gang can stomach his practices anymore]], [[UndyingLoyalty Strauss died under the torture of the Pinkertons and never spoke a single word of the gang's secrets]].]]
* ''VideoGame/SheepDogNWolf'': Done literally -- the player character (Ralph Wolf) can acquire and wear a sheep costume, and uses it to steal sheep.
* ''VideoGame/{{Wadanohara}}'': The traitor is eventually revealed to be [[spoiler:a shark in an unassuming dolphin's clothing]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:WebAnimation]]
* ''WebAnimation/TimberWolf'': Surprisingly ''not'' to hunt, but rather to get away from the forest. Unfortunately, he attracts lovelorn ewes, which in turn attracts the unwanted attention of the nearby herd's jealous ram.
-->'''Thomas:''' Lucky for her, I already [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent ett]].
* ''WebAnimation/WolfInSheepsClothing'': A [[LiteralMetaphor both literal and metaphorical example]] can be found with the Wolf. He dresses as a sheep and goes online to befriend a girl named Lena. While he does appear to be friendly, in reality, the Wolf is nothing more than just a SerialKiller who lures his prey to him by gaining their trust.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'': Played with in multiple fashions, particularly in the relationship between Corrie (a sheep [[note]]well, a half-wolf, half-sheep who mostly identifies as a sheep[[/note]]) and Bruno (a wolf). Corrie spent a period as a ''sheep'' in ''wolf's'' clothing since Bruno's best friend Rudy was opposed to carnivore/herbivore relationships.
* ''Webcomic/ZeroPercentDiscount'' has such a wolf, but he [[http://zeropercentdiscountcomic.tumblr.com/post/68681884216 gets killed]] by a ThreateningShark.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''WebOriginal/BosunsJournal'': An almost literal case in the changeling sphinxes, a species of quadrupedal, predatory posthumans who hunt woolly humies, another, sheep-like posthuman species. Male sphinxes, which are four times smaller than females and have thick woolly coats, pretend to be humie lambs and sneak into their herds in order to single out vulnerable individuals and lure them into ambushes where the females of the pride can take them down.
* ''Website/{{Serina}}'':
** The early carnivorous circuagodonts of the Pangaeacene would sometimes use their resemblance to their herbivorous cousins to their advantage by pretending to be herbivores themselves which would cause the plant-eaters to lower their guard and allow their clanmates to flank and ambush the herd and score multiple kills. However, this was only something that would work for a short time as after the first deception the herbivorous circuagodonts would become wise to this trick. There's also the fact that, as the carnivores become better adapted to a predatory lifestyle, their appearance will diverge further from the herbivores.
** Early gravediggers often traveled alongside their intended prey for long periods of time, letting them become used to them; because they didn't act aggressively towards them, the animals they stalked simply never associated the slow, small, plodding creatures with danger and barely even acknowledged their presence. This allowed the gravediggers to memorize their habitual routes, and thus to dig their traps in locations where they knew they would pass over soon.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'': In ''[[WesternAnimation/AquaTeenForeverPlantasm Plantasm]]'', Neil appears to be a very supportive person towards Frylock, he's secretly engineering the take over of several planets to be the dominant MegaCorp.
* ''WesternAnimation/Hero108'': Apetrully. Although he looks kind of robotic, he's a monkey wearing his best attempt at a human disguise, because he believes his troops wouldn't take orders from a monkey.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Juvenile piranhas insinuate themselves into schools of other fishes, finding safety from larger predators in the crowd. They also feed off their non-piranha schoolmates, biting off pieces of the fins of unsuspecting companions.
* Most fish would avoid attacking a Cleaner Wrasse and instead allow it to eat their parasites. The False Cleaner Wrasse's appearance resembles the real thing, allowing it to stay relatively safe while biting off pieces of fins from victims expecting a cleaning.
* Some types of livestock-guarding dog, such as the Great Pyrenees or Kuvasz, have been bred to look like sheep so they won't scare the herds they're supposed to be protecting. This also hides them from wolves, who get a surprise when the dog interferes with their hunting.
* In the [[UsefulNotes/YanksWithTanks United States Air Force]], there is an entire Fighter Wing that earned its nickname from an operation based on this concept. During UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, North Vietnamese [=MiGs=] were pouncing on American F-105 Thunderchiefs, older, clumsier fighters that had been relegated to doing bombing missions. The 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, under the leadership of [[AcePilot Robin]] [[NomDeGuerre "The Wolf"]] Olds, launched an operation where F-4 Phantoms would fly the same routes as the F-105s, flying close together so that two Phantoms would resemble a single Thunderchief on the North Vietnamese pilots' radar. When the unwary North Vietnamese pilots closed to engage what they thought were vulnerable bombers, they realized, often too late, that they had blundered into an ambush. Ever since then, the 8th TFW (now simply known as the 8th Fighter Wing) has been called "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Wolfpack.]]"
* "Auxiliary cruisers" are merchant vessels with concealed armament that are used for one of two things:
** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-ship Q-ships]] intended to lure enemy submarines into attacking them while surfaced. Theoretically also useful against small surface vessels, but the one time a Q-ship got involved in a scuffle with a surface vessel its opponent was a battleship.
** On the flip side there are commerce raiders, ex-merchant ships intended to surprise and capture/destroy other merchant ships with their hidden armament. In one case one of these (''Kormoran'') managed to lure a suspicious cruiser (''Sydney'') Into getting so close the former was able to surprise the late into sinking her with all hands (''Kormoran'' latter sank as well but most of the crew escaped onto lifeboats and were later rescued).
* "Sleeper" are high-powered cars with restrained styling, usually using the bodywork of a normal vehicle. The 2003 Mercury Marauder was a modern four-door 300hp+ muscle car, that shared the same body as a run-of-the-mill Ford Crown Victoria - a BoringButPractical police cruiser and taxi - the only thing identifying it as a sports car being the dual exhaust. Tuning can turn even the most unassuming cars into speed monsters, such as this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoQbqdMCLHA&t=25s Honda Insight blowing the doors of a V8 Camaro]].
* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [[http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/01/world/meast/israel-netanyahu-iran/ has used this analogy word-for-word]] to describe openly moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (claiming his predecessor, the far-more conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was a blatant [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk "wolf in wolf's clothing"]]).
* The Plains tribes and possibly other Prehistoric hunters would approach herds on all fours and covered in deer, bison, or wolf skins, in order to keep the animals from recognizing them as human and fleeing earlier.
* An [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5bTaWyIANw advertisement for a flu vaccine]] shows a wolf in actual sheep's wool passing through a crowd and infecting everyone with the flu while saying "Don't mind me. I'm just the flu. [[BlatantLies I'm harmless, really.]]" Obviously, the flu isn't harmless as the wolf explains how he could cause more serious complications that could hospilitaze people with pneumonia or heart attacks. Upon entering a hospital, the wolf encounters a nurse who isn't fooled by them and has a box of flu shots ready, which scares the wolf off.
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