History Main / VanInBlack

* ''Series/{{Obliterated}}''. Maya Lerner, TheSquad's [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection "Tech Chick"]] is introduced sitting in one of these, but as they're in Las Vegas the black van is covered in a lurid advertisement.

* Lampshaded with a vengeance in an early ''Series/{{Castle}}'' episode:

* The short story "The Van on Atlantic Street" by Desmond Warzel. Though the van is white, it is in other respects an example of this trope.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun'', Homer gets paranoid about these strange black vans around Springfield. While expecting them to be under the control of Mr. Burns, they later turn out to be [[SubvertedTrope pizza delivery vans.]]

See also BlackHelicopter. Commonly used in VehicularKidnapping, and every parent's worst fear is that one of these might be a CreepyStalkerVan. [[NonIndicativeName Despite the trope name]], any van of any color can qualify, for that matter it doesn't even have to be a van, just a non-descript nebulous organisation monitering someone in a vehicle. For the curious, the trope title is simply a pun on TheMenInBlack. Compare SinisterCar.

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* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6''. While Hiro and Baymax explore a pier at night where Yokai kept the microbots. They are being tailed by a slow-moving SUV, with no clue who's driving. Turns out the driver of the SUV was Wasabi, with [=GoGo=], Honey and Fred riding along, all wanting to help Hiro.

* GHOST employs these in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersEarthspark''. Hashtag accidentally scans one for her alt mode, and the built in surveillance tech that was installed in it gives her HollywoodHacker abilities.

* In ''Series/TwinPeaks: TheReturn'', Hutch and Chantal are professional hitmen and drive around in an unmarked, white van on their way to kill Dougie. They use the van to store guns and dead bodies.

* The Cleaners' vans in ''VideoGame/MaxPayne 2''.

* Black Vans appear occasionally in VideoGame/DeusEx, along with Black Helicopters.

* ''Series/TheProfessionals''. In "Look after Annie", a black van pulls up at the rear of the building where a female politician is due to speak, and a [[EvilWearsBlack gang of thugs in black leather]] jump out. They've been hired to kill the politician.

* ''Series/TheProfessionals''. In "Look after Annie", a black van pulls up at the rear of the building where a female politician is due to speak, and a [[EvilWearsBlack gang of thugs in black leather]] jump out. They've been hired to kill the politician, who of course is a WomanInWhite.

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* In ''Series/StrangerThings'', TheMenInBlack operate out of white vans, while pretending to be checking the power lines and street lights.

* In ''Film/TheGame'', Michael Douglas finds himself being terrorized by various cars marked "CRS." One's a cabbie ('''C'''rown '''R'''oyal '''S'''edans), another a maintenance van ('''C'''able '''R'''epair '''S'''ervices), etc.
* A scene in ''Film/OceansEleven'' involved the team attempting to ''purchase'' a VanInBlack. HilarityEnsues.

That large, menacing black van pulling over on the other side of the street the moment you go inside. Maybe you dismissed it as [[ConspiracyTheorist paranoid speculation]], just as TheMan wanted you to but you should know what it means -- [[AncientConspiracy They]] are watching you at this very moment from that very car. If {{Lampshaded}} there will be a honkin' big radar dish on top.

See also BlackHelicopter. Commonly used in VehicularKidnapping, and [[AdultFear every parent's worst fear]] is that one of these might be a CreepyStalkerVan. [[NonIndicativeName Despite the trope name]], any van of any color can qualify, for that matter it doesn't even have to be a van, just a non-descript nebulous organisation monitering someone in a vehicle. For the curious, the trope title is simply a pun on TheMenInBlack. Compare SinisterCar.

* In the finale of ''A Most Wanted Man'' (2014), German intelligence has successfully gained evidence that the head of a charity organisation is funneling money to terrorists. They do a NotMyDriver ploy to take him off somewhere quiet where he can be coerced into becoming an informant, only for several black SUV's to ram the car off the road and forceably abduct their target for extraordinary rendition.

* The Three Nemeseses in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' have a black van, which is rather less stealthy after one has the idea of painting a ''StarWars'' mural on the side.

[[caption-width-right:332:They're not always this subtle...]]

* ''Film/DanBrownsInferno''. The WHO team is driving one of these, giving them a villainous appearance that causes Langdon to flee. They turn out to be GoodAllAlong.

* One ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'' story has Tobias under surveillance by Controllers due to him being [[spoiler:Elfangor's son]], although they don't know he's human. He sees a rust-eaten van that's clearly been there for years... except the next day it's moved across the street.

* More often than not, RealLife surveillance vans are ''white'' since that's by far the most common color for commercial vans (being the easiest color for non-surveillance fleet users to put their logo in vinyl tape on dozens/hundreds of).

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* In ''[[Literature/NurseryCrime The Fourth Bear]]'', the [[TheMenInBlack Men in Green]], a mysterious, government affiliated organization, are always seen shortly after the mysterious, explostion-related deaths of famous cucumber growers.

* The van in ''Comicbook/{{Runaways}}'', although it's white and actually ''is'' fairly nondescript. Invoked by Chase, who went with it precisely because of vans' reputations for blending in:

-->'''Hawkeye''': Is it just me, or does that van look like a ''van''.
-->'''Mockingbird''': Even for you that makes no... Oh, wait yeah, that's definitely a ''van''.

* ''Series/TheBoys2019''. In "Get Some", Billy Butcher hires a cheap Pack-N-Go truck for their surveillance, commenting that a black van with flowers on the side would be far more conspicuous. This becomes a BrickJoke in the season final when Butcher sees a black florists van parked outside the hotel they're staying at, and drives past without stopping because he realises the rest of the Boys have been captured.