History Main / StealthExpert

** Despite having [[BadassNormal no Devil Fruit powers]], Sanji's ability to slip away from surveillance and sneak around unnoticed has saved the Straw Hats' collective asses multiple times. And then [[spoiler:[[EmpoweredBadassNormal his estranged family gives him a technological Raid Suit]] that works as an InvisibilityCloak, bringing his stealth ability up to another level.

* In the [[Literature/JackRyan Ryanverse]], former Navy SEAL and CIA agent John Clark is one, having the codename "Snake", the one whose footsteps the enemy never hears. He demonstrates this by, during a training exercise, sneaking up to the observation post and "killing" the Marine general in charge and several CIA observers...and then waiting around for them to complain that he never showed up before revealing himself to them. He served as a mentor and inspiration to two other members of this list, Chavez from
Inej Ghafa: The best spider in the barrel, the wraith and one of the most deadly criminals in Ketterdam. ''Film/ClearAndPresentDanger'' and Sam Fisher from ''VideoGame/SplinterCell''.

* Various ''[[TabletopGame/{{FUDGE}} Fate]]'' executions have different ways of doing this: anyone with Intrigue as their top Mode in ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'', for example, or anyone who puts Sneaky as their +3 in ''FAE''.

* In the [[Literature/JackRyan Ryanverse]], former Navy SEAL and CIA agent John Clark is one, having the codename "Snake", the one whose footsteps the enemy never hears. He demonstrates this by, during a training exercise, sneaking up to the observation post and "killing" the Marine general in charge and several CIA observers...and then waiting around for them to complain that he never showed up before revealing himself to them. He served as a mentor and inspiration to two other members of this list, Chavez from ''Film/ClearAndPresentDanger'' and Sam Fisher from ''VideoGame/SplinterCell''.

* Cyrus in ''VideoGame/DawnofWarII''. The fact that he and his scouts can be cloaked and sent in and plant extremely powerful traps and explosives almost makes him a GameBreaker with the right upgrades (using him in one mission is also the only way to avoid killing marines who are loyal, but think you've turned traitor, thus assuring you get the GoldenEnding).

** The [=ODSTs=] themselves can be stealty... when they want to be. [[ItsRainingMen Dropping from orbit]] behind enemy lines, in [[DropPod drop pods]] easily mistaken for meteor showers, dressed in all black combat armor, and equipped with suppressed [=SMGs=]... or drop directly on an enemy position, assault rifles and rocket launchers blasting. The player can even approach the hub level, "Mombassa Streets" of ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' this way, if it suits their play style. There's also nothing stopping them from ditching the silenced starting weapons in favor of louder and more powerful ones, and tearing up the war torn roads on a Mongoose, either. Interestingly, ''Literature/HaloGhostsOfOnyx'' seems to imply that the [=ODSTs=] have something not unlike the aformentioned SPI armor themselves, as when Kelly is revived on Onyx after suffering life threatening injuries in the previous book, she mistakes the Spartan-[=III=]s for [=ODSTs=].

** On the tactical level, this is the shtick of [[FourStarBadass Lord Castellan Ursakar E. Creed]]. Not content to merely sneak up on enemies, he sneaks ''tanks'' up on enemies. Any one unit in his army may, after everything else is set up, make an immediate move, representing that he has fooled the enemy into thinking the unit was in one position, while all along they were in their new location. {{Fanon}} takes this UpToEleven, giving him the ability to hide anything, even [[TankGoodness superheavy tanks]], [[BehindAStick behind lampposts]], [[MirrorScare in someone's bathroom while they aren't looking]], or [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou behind Internet users' monitors]], and, as his crowning achievement, disguising a tank ''as a [[ItMakesSenseInContext therapist]]''.

Supertrope of StealthyCephalopod, when this applies to octopuses or other cephalopods. Compare TheSneakyGuy, who might or might not use stealth. {{Ninja}}s are Stealth Experts, [[HighlyVisibleNinja or not]]. Contrast the stealth expert's mortal enemy, TheAnticipator. StealthyColossus is this taken to its logical extreme, when [[TheBigGuy someone who should not be able to hide their bulk]] is still quite good at doing so.

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': In the first campaign, [[LoveableRogue Vax]] and, to a slightly lesser degree, his twin sister, [[ForestRanger Vex]], were able to post absolutely absurd stealth scores. At one point near the end, with the additional buff of Pass Without a Trace, Vax rolled a stupidly high ''47'' on a stealth check.

** Despite having [[BadassNormal no Devil Fruit powers]], Sanji's ability to slip away from surveillance and sneak around unnoticed has saved the Straw Hats' collective asses multiple times. And then [[spoiler:[[EmpoweredBadassNormal his estranged family gives him a technological Raid Suit]] that grants the power of {{Invisibility}}]], bringing his stealth ability up to another level.

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': In the first campaign, Vax and, to a slightly lesser degree, his twin sister, Vex, were able to post absolutely absurd stealth scores. At one point near the end, with the additional buff of Pass Without a Trace, Vax rolled a stupidly high ''47'' on a stealth check.

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersGenerationOne'': Would you believe a giant alien robot can be one of these? Soundwave has a reputation for being able to sneak into all sorts of secret locations by hiding out as a 'harmless' tapedeck, though he's no slouch in getting into secret areas as a robot either. In one particularly humorous instance, he managed to remain undetected next to his Autobot nemesis Blaster... while ''inside'' Ironhide, another Autobot who had easily detected Decepticons in the past. Also counts as a StealthyColossus due to his robot mode size. More traditionally, Soundwave's most favored cassette, Ravage, is all kinds of sneaky, quiet, and hard to notice, thanks to the ability to nullify the sound of his footsteps and blend into shadows.

[[folder:Real Life]]

* The infamous [[UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain Jack the Ripper]]. Infamous for both the apparent surgical precision evident on his victims, and for never being apprehended. His identity remains unknown to this day.

* {{Ninja}}s were hired by the wealthy in [[JidaiGeki Feudal Japan]] to commit assassinations and espionage. However, they probably spent less time skulking about in black stagehand costumes and more time HiddenInPlainSight in [[MasterOfDisguise disguise]] as [[BeneathSuspicion peasants or servants]].

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* Himiko Toga of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' has a vaguely explained ability (completely unrelated to her Quirk) to disappear from people's perceptions by clearing her own mind. Chapter 266 shows that this only works against the 5 normal human senses, and characters with sensory Quirks can still detect her.

* While ''Anime/LupinIII'' often gets into buildings via disguise, he is also an accomplished second story-man. He can sneak in in a black SpyCatsuit, or cause enough distractions that his bright yellow tie and bright red jacket aren't noticed.

* Rajotel in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'', though this is an InformedAbility, as everything he does is offscreen.
* In ''FanFic/TheInfiniteLoops'', the Stealth Loopers are Loopers that can easily hide the fact they are Looping, even from people from their own universe (that thus should notice the personality changes). The most notable are ''almost every single Looper from the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' branches'', as they just don't want to deal with [[TimePolice Starfleet's Temporal Investigations]], and the Mystery Looper from the [[FanFic/TheWinxClubLoops Winx branch]], that is only known because he delivered a wedding gift for Flora and Tecna (there ''is'' a few people who know who he is, but four of them are from the Original Seven branches, thus just too experienced for him, and how [[spoiler:Diaspro]] found out is currently unknown).

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF6E-4G4n_M Caesar's spy]] in ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} and Cleopatra'' appears to have a literal "cloaking device" in his cloak, giving him the chameleon-like ability to blend with his background.

* Invisible Boy of ''Film/MysteryMen'' is great at being invisible -- as long as nobody's looking at him.

* Batman in [[Film/Batman1989 most of his]] [[Film/TheDarkKnight movie adaptations]]. This is shown subtly in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''. Whenever Batman is onscreen, the sound of his footsteps is simply not heard. Even at the end of ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', [[spoiler:when Batman has been shot and most likely has an injured leg, and the area is silent enough to hear his ''cape'' flutter, there is only one set of footsteps -- from Gordon's young son running down the steps]].

* The High-Elves in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' were capable of moving silently and unseen in the woods. Hobbits were also capable of great stealth, or so it seemed to a [[HypocriticalHumor big, clumsy human.]]
* The ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' [[{{Animorphism}} naturally excel at this]]. Flies, fleas and even roaches are among their most common morphs.

* In the ''Literature/XWingSeries'', Tyria Sarkin is brought into [[BadassCrew Wraith Squadron]] largely for her training in "silent movement in difficult terrain".

** Tyria herself is Force-Sensitive, though weakly so (her daughter, Jesmin, inherits both her Force sensitivity and her stealth skills - her son Doran, on the other side, only inherited the Force sensitivity).

* In the Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse, Garak. His identity in the Obsidian Order was "Agent Regnar" (a Regnar being a small animal capable of changing colour and texture so as to blend into its surroundings). Garak achieves his stealth through a meditative technique that allows him to "blend" his personal energy signatures into the background energy fields. It's hinted that all Cardassians could in theory learn the technique - if they were paying attention and weren't conditioned into ignoring the deeper realities of life around them. This is an important plot point in ''Literature/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineAStitchInTime''.
* ''Radio/TheShadow''
* The key ability of ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'', with the scouts being even better at it. Oan Mkoll is their scouts' chief and is thus an expert among {{Stealth Expert}}s.
* Ajatasutra, Narses personal henchman and HitmanWithAHeart in Literature/BelisariusSeries.
* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', Lord Vetinari was so much of one at the Assassins' Guild School that he failed his classes in stealth ''for nonattendance'' despite being there the whole time.
* Every single member of ranger corps from ''Literature/RangersApprentice''. Bonus points for showing/explaining stealth realistically.
* In ''Literature/WindAndSparks'' by Alexey Pehov elves are undisputed expert woodsmen. But plenty of humans can beat them in their own game. This includes two of the main characters: the NobleSavage scout Ga-Nor and ColdSniper archer Ness.
* In the Literature/McAuslan series, set in a Scottish regiment shortly after World War Two, the author describes a typical night exercise, in which men are dropped miles from a "home base" and have to sneak through an opposing unit. The trope is invoked by Lance-Corporal [=MacRae=], a former gamekeeper, and averted by nearly everyone else; the author notes that these exercises usually degenerated into an all-out brawl.

* In the [[Literature/JackRyan Ryanverse]], former Navy SEAL and CIA agent John Clark is one, having the codename "Snake", the one whose footsteps the enemy never hears. He demonstrates this by, during a training exercise, sneaking up to the observation post and "killing" the Marine general in charge and several CIA observers...and then waiting around for them to complain that he never showed up before revealing himself to them. He served as a mentor and inspiration to two other members of this list, Chavez from ''Film/ClearAndPresentDanger'' and Sam Fisher from ''VideoGame/SplinterCell''.
* ''Literature/{{Edgedancer}}'' (a novella of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''): Lift is definitely one; she first manages to sneak into Nale's house and eat his breakfast while he's in the next room over, then leave with him none the wiser, and later successfully tails a pair of his acolytes across an empty, straight-as-an-arrow corridor without them realizing that they're being followed.

* Because she spent her childhood undergoing classified military training that simultaneously broke her psychologically and gave her amazing abilities, River Tam from ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' is gifted at stealth. Sometimes it's plot relevant and sometimes it's just used to emphasize how damaged and weird she is, or played for comedy. There's even a scene where she glues herself to the ceiling and watches her brother and a crew member having sex.

* Kari Byron manages to fool a heat-detecting motion sensor using a bedsheet in ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}''.

* In ''Music/TheProtomen'', the band member the Nightwalker is described as this.
* ''Music/{{Sabaton}}'': "A Ghost in the Trenches" is about Francis Pegahmagabow, the most accomplished sniper of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. It describes him as a ghost roaming the battlefield making his way freely from trench to trench without being detected.

* Vampires are believed to be this. Creeping and stalking their potential prey, is essential for their survival as traditionally they have many weaknesses which can kill them.

* The Yuki-Onna can count too. With the appearance of just a Geisha or Kimono girl, it would be hard to tell if this creature was the monster or not? (even in the Western Regions). Some are even believed to be kind and caring, further adding difficulty to their identity, [[AnIcePerson but beware if you ever upset them.]]
* UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}, in the [[Literature/TheFourGospels canonical Gospels]], would occasionally slip away from the crowds he taught to pray to God alone. Being able to escape the notice of thousands of people (while being quite popular) definitely qualifies him.

** Some 4th Edition monsters had similar abilities. Most of these were "lurkers".

** Even da Orks have their own stealth experts -- the Kommandos. [[LeeroyJenkins Yes]], [[BoisterousBruiser really]]. One of the most famous examples of this kind of Ork is Boss Snikrot of Armageddon, who is said to be better than ''most Eldar'' at sneakin' about. Because sneaky Orks [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy distinctly lack the aiming ability for one-shot sniping techniques]] and are often physically weaker than most of their kin, they tend to prefer to ThrowDownTheBomblet. Spookums from ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II: Retribution'' is a Kommando Nob who specialises in grenades and explosives -- imagine being a Guardsman at a fortified checkpoint or position, when suddenly an Ork jumps out of bush shouting at the top of his voice "I AM SNEAKY!" and showering the area around you with grenades and rockets.

* Various ''[[TabletopGame/{{FUDGE}} Fate]]'' executions have different ways of doing this: anyone with Intrigue as their top Mode in ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'', for example, or anyone who puts Sneaky as their +3 in ''FAE''.

* Price and [=MacMillan=] during the ''All Ghillied Up'' mission in ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call of Duty: Modern Warfare]]''.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Commandos}}'' team.

* Cyrus in ''[[VideoGame/DawnofWar Dawn Of War 2]]''. The fact that he and his scouts can be cloaked and sent in and plant extremely powerful traps and explosives almost makes him a GameBreaker with the right upgrades (using him in one mission is also the only way to avoid killing marines who are loyal, but think you've turned traitor, thus assuring you get the GoldenEnding).
* ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight''

* There are several heroes in ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients'' and its sequel ''VideoGame/Dota2'' who rely on stealth, but the best example from these games is Riki, the Stealth Assassin. Whereas other stealth heroes need to use an ability to turn invisible, costing mana and being limited by cooldowns, Riki's invisibility is passive: if he doesn't attack for a few seconds, he automatically turns invisible, allowing him to roam around the map with impunity in search of backs to stab.

* Master thief Kasumi Goto and assassin Thane Krios in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. Infiltrator!Shepard gets the [[InvisibilityCloak Tactical Cloak]] ability.

* Solid Snake and Big Boss from the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series are iconic examples of this trope. Though the specifics vary between games (and the playstyle of the person controlling them), generally they prefer infiltration and evasion to simply shooting everything that moves.
** [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2 Raiden]] is this to a lesser degree, though he's mostly abandoned the stealthy approach by the time of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearRising''.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Zuko (a.k.a. The Blue Spirit) has demonstrated a high level of stealth during the course of the series; sadly it didn't last too long.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
** Amon and the Equalists used many forms of stealth, to back up how serious and ominous their goal is. However Amon himself looked and even sounded, underhanded and cunning to the point of making even [[HotBlooded Korra]] fear him.
** From Season 3, [[EvilCounterpart The Red Lotus]] have all proven to have a level of stealth, However [[BlowYouAway Zaheer]] and [[MakingASplash Ming-Hua]] seem to be on higher level of swift action, than brute force [[PlayingWithFire P'Li]] and [[MagmaMan Ghazan]] their theme even sounds [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwPCd1D2tZA stealthy.]]

* ''Webcomic/SweetBroAndHellaJeff'': Hella Jeff seems to have a great knack for hiding in vents and behind store shelves to observe Sweet Bro's shenanigans.

* ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'' demonstrates that it [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1352.php is possible to overdo it]].
* Bandit from ''Webcomic/TheWhiteboard'' is capable of sneaking up on just about anybody on the paintball field and good enough to even pull off the occasional StealthHiBye. Not only can he hide BehindAStick, but he manages to hide behind ''himself'' in [[http://www.the-whiteboard.com/autotwb2053.html this strip.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Due to how naturally quiet she is, a couple of times [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicFluttershy Fluttershy]] has been the one chosen on a stealth mission (to defeat Trixie with the Alicorn Amulet, and later to bring down Starlight Glimmer). Both time she succeeds with flying colors. She's less successful in "Sparkle's Seven" despite taking the precaution of gliding and not flapping, but then again the geese guarding the throne room make for a very efficient alarm system.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Mr. Cat, since he is a cat, can sneak up on anyone in any way without being noticed.

Supertrope of StealthyCephalopod, when this applies to octopuses or other cephalopods. Compare TheSneakyGuy, who might or might not use stealth. {{Ninja}}s are Stealth Experts, [[HighlyVisibleNinja or not]]. Contrast the stealth expert's mortal enemy, TheAnticipator. StealthyColossus is this taken to its logical extreme.

* Surprisingly, Sakazaki Yuuya in ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'', despite being an enormous and pure white fantail pigeon. [[spoiler:It's probably because he is a spy.]] He can move silently if he wishes and sneak around other birds undetected. In ''Holiday Star'' he watches Albert at Sakuya's mansion for three days and is undetected despite security and the fact that Albert himself [[spoiler:is an assassin and]] was tasked to keep an eye out for stealthy white things. A page in [[http://mangafox.me/manga/hatoful_kareshi/c011/4.html the manga]] suggests he's more visible to humans.

* Most ships in ''VideoGame/BattlefleetGothicArmada2'' can use the Silent Running stance to make themselves semi-invisible and untargetable while outside the enemy's detection radius. Drukhaeri, Aeldari and Tyranids, however, are the true stealth experts. Their fleets start out stealthed by default, and the former two can very easily slip back into stealth at a moment's notice even during open combat, allowing them to strike with impunity if the enemy lacks the means to detect or chase them.

** Jed Olsen, the game's version of [[Film/{{Scream}} Ghostface]], relies heavily on stealth. His exclusive skill, Night Shroud, makes him Undetectable and completely deactivates both visual and audio signs of his presence: the Terror Radius and Red Stain[[note]]think a bright red spotlight in front of the killer[[/note]]. He can also stalk survivors from cover, marking them as Exposed and as such down-able in one swing of his knife. That said, Night Shroud needs a full power gauge to be activated and if a survivor can see enough of his body for 1.5 second, Jed is revealed and cannot use Night Shroud for a full 30 seconds even if his power gauge is full. To his luck, thanks to his darker clothing, reduced size and [[YouHaveResearchedBreathing the rare ability to crouch]], he's also harder to pick out than Myers.

* ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight'' has [[Franchise/{{Halloween}} Michael Myers]], who uses a unique Evil Within system that radically alters how he plays compared to other killers. At Evil Within I, Myers is slower than other killers and has a pitiful lunge range... but his Terror Radius is tiny, at ''6'' meters. He is also immune to all survivor detection perks. You can even use certain perks and addons to reduce the Terror Radius to ''zero'', for a game loaded with ParanoiaFuel and a ton of {{Jump Scare}}s. Even in Evil Within II which puts Michael physically on par with other killers, his Terror Radius is still only 16 meters, half that of a normal killer. That said, you are a big guy in a bright white mask, so stealth will only get you so far.

** JC Denton can be this or an OneManArmy (Or a hybrid), depending on the upgrades the player has chosen.

* Kyle "Shadow" Simmons from ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance 2''.

** The Poison Type are generally based off animals who are well known for their stealth, such as spiders or ambush predators. Bonus points for being used by various stealthy trainers, most notably Janine and Koga.

%%* The Titular character of ''VideoGame/{{SlyCooper}}''.
%%* The Burger King in ''Sneak King''.
%%* Sam Fisher and his colleagues from ''VideoGame/SplinterCell''.
%%* Some classes in ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefront''.

* In ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', the titular organization has become this out of necessity, since they've gone from an elite multinational task force to a band of guerillas fighting to liberate VichyEarth. In most missions your squad starts in Concealment, and so long as you make good use of cover and don't step into the enemy's sight, you can position your units around an enemy patrol unawares to spring a devastating ambush. Your [[CloseRangeCombatant Rangers]] can further specialize in stealth with the Scout skill line, allowing them to always start in Concealment even if XCOM [[ComingInHot came in hot]] to the current battlezone, re-enter Concealment once per battle, or get bonuses to hit and damage when attacking from Concealment.
** The Reaper faction in the ''War of the Chosen'' expansion take this even further. Their main ability is Shadow, an even less visible form of Concealment than that of usual XCOM soldiers. When in Shadow, a Reaper moves faster while drastically reducing the enemy's detection radius. They can also fire their Vektor rifles with only a chance of being revealed, though even if the first shot doesn't reveal them, it widens the enemy's detection radius against the reaper and increases the reveal chance for the next shot. Abilities at higher ranks exploit Shadow concealment even further, such as allowing the Reaper to set off environmental explosives without being revealed (Remote Start), pick off enemies at low health without an increase in reveal chance (Silent Killer), or get a kill with their [[ExplosiveBarrel Claymore bombs]] that puts them right back in Shadow if they're revealed (Distraction). As a tradeoff, they're pretty poor at open combat: the Vektor rifle deals less damage than an assault rifle of comparable tech level, let alone a Sharpshooter's SniperRifle.