History Main / SunglassesAtNight

* Justified in ''Fanfic/{{Objective}}. The main villain, Bellisair, needs direct eye contact to brainwash his victims. The First League heroes rely on sunglasses or similar obstructions to protect themselves while hunting down Bellisair and finding Kotetsu, who had been brainwashed to find and kill his partner Barnaby.

* Cortez from ''Machinima/TheLeetWorld''. During a challenge battle set at night, Ahmad asks the nearly-blind terrorist why he doesn't take his sunglasses off. His response? [[HandicappedBadass "I do not need my eyes to kill a man."]]

* ''Machinima/VideoGameChampionshipWrestling'':

* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' [[FriendlySniper the Sniper]] always wears his amber colored tinted shades everywhere, [[TheEngineer the Engineer]] always wears welding goggles, [[PyroManiac the Pyro]] always wears a gas mask with tinted eye sockets, and other classes have cosmetics that include sunglasses. (including the infamous shuttered shades called "Dangeresque, Too?", which are part of the so-called "[[MemeticMutation Demopan]]" setup.)

* ''Film/SchoolForScoundrels'' has Creator/BillyBobThornton's "{{sensei|ForScoundrels}}" have his loser students do as part of their "training"; wear sunglasses all the time, day or night, inside and outside. Eventually, the main character gives up once he realizes that his mentor is full of crap and tells his friends (who keep doing that) that they look stupid.

* ''Webcomic/{{Paranatural}}'': Mr. Spender, a teacher who wears sunglasses in class. And while driving at night. And when going to ''sleep''. In fact, he has never been shown without them on. Justified: they're his tool and the source of his light powers. Furthermore, the spirit inside the glasses [[spoiler:is the only thing keeping the shadow spirit [[SealedEvilInACan in Spender's body contained]]]]. And even further [[spoiler: it hides the fact that his eyes have become pools of a strange black liquid and now he can only see clearly if it's dark]].

* Hom from ''Webcomic/WelcomeToRoom305'' never takes his sunglasses off. [[UpToEleven He wears them in bed as well]].

* PlayedForLaughs in an episode of ''Series/MyHero'': The crew walk down the street at night in shades. George starts to veer off to the side, and is pulled back by Tyler. He then remarks "Can't see a thing!"

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}:

* King Kai of ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. Master Roshi as well.
* Shizuo Heiwajima from ''{{LightNovel/Durarara}}'' evidently sees no reason to take off his sunglasses when the sun goes down or he's off the job. Given that they're implied to be a gift from Tom, he probably just clings to them like he does [[LimitedWardrobe his other]] {{Memento MacGuffin}}s.

* The pilot episode of the short-lived 1987 series ''Series/{{Werewolf}}'' has the protagonist ''driving'' at night while wearing sunglasses. It's before he gets the bite, so there's no supernaturally enhanced vision in play (though at least it's on a busy, well-lit city street). The scene is even accompanied on the soundtrack by "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" by [=Timbuk3=].

* Rude from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. In TheMovie sequel, when his glasses are knocked off and cracked, he simply reaches into his jacket and pulls out another pair.
* Auron from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' fits in the classes 2 and 3. Interesting in that they're merely spectacles instead of the common wraparounds. Doesn't detract from the cool factor, though.
* Nero tol Scaeva of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' starts wearing sunglasses by the time of the ''Stormblood'' expansion. He is first shown wearing them at night, ''in the middle of a lightning storm'', apparently for no other reason than to [[GlassesPull dramatically pull them off]] in front of his rival Cid.

* Wesker in ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series, but from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'' onward, he has a reason.[[note]]Who in their right mind would walk around exposing their cat-like eyes in public, anyway?[[/note]] Perhaps the most ridiculous use is when [[spoiler:flashbacks and pictures shows him wearing them in the lab]]--perhaps as a form of eye protection? Even before he injects his virus, he chooses to wear shades in a foggy nighttime forest and rather dark mansion.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''[='s=] sun glasses give your perception stat a bonus regardless of when they're worn, encouraging this trope. There is even a mod that gives the player a perk that causes all sun glasses to grant a massive charisma bonus, but only at night, with RuleOfCool serving as an in-game justification.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'': Proto Man has never removed his sunglasses/visor, in-game or out. The same applies to his [[WesternAnimation/MegaMan Ruby-Spears]] and [[VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork .EXE counterparts]]. (If one piece of art from ''8'' is to be believed, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment he even wears shades under his helmet's visor.]])

* Guido Kandori from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}''. [[EyeScream He has reasons.]]

* Johnny Smiles from Videogame/ProfessorLaytonVsAceAttorney does this for reason #3. Apparently the cool factor overrides the safety issues that may arise from wearing shades while patrolling a dark ship at night.

* ''Webcomic/{{Paranatural}}'': Mr. Spender, a teacher who wears sunglasses in class. And while driving at night. And when going to ''sleep''. In fact, he has never been shown without them on. Justified: they're his tool and the source of his light powers. Furthermore, the spirit inside the glasses [[spoiler:is the only thing keeping the shadow spirit [[SealedEvilInACan in Spender's body contained]]]]. And even further [[spoiler: it hides the fact that his eyes have become pools of a strange black liquid]].

** Peridot's green visor isn't dark-shaded, but she still wears it at all times (which [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/steven-universe/images/f/f5/Peridot_Valentine_by_Lauren_Zuke.jpg one piece of staff art]] pointed out should make it hard for her to see colors). It's worn so tight to her face, it's possible she [[TechnicallyNakedShapeshifter formed it around her head]] in such a way that she '''[[ClingyCostume can't]]''' take it off, since Peridot can't shapeshift without [[SelfConstructedBeing regenerating her whole body]]. Her second form replaces the visor with TriangularShades, and though she wears those at all times, she ''does'' take them off once.

** Garnet maintains her [[CoolShades mirrored glasses]] in any lighting, only removing them in a few circumstances. They cover up a ThirdEye, making the few moments when she does lose her glasses much more surprising.

* Johnny Smiles from Videogame/ProfessorLaytonVsAceAttorney does this for reason #3. Apparently the cool factor overrides the safety issues that may arise from wearing shades while patrolling a dark ship at night.
-->'''Phoenix:''' W-wait a minute! You were wearing sunglasses?\\
'''Smiles:''' Yeah! What's a security guard without a pair of shades? These babies are a part of me.

# To cover up [[UhOhEyes disturbing, blacked and/or missing eyes]]. (Another reason why blind people wear sunglasses in RealLife.)

* Matt in ''{{Manga/Dramacon}}'' wears sunglasses for the [[spoiler:second and]] third reason.

* Comicbook/{{Blade}} wears shades because his eyes are sensitive to light. [[InnateNightVision He can also see in the dark]], so wearing them at night is no big deal.

* The epoymous character from ''ComicBook/MrX'' always wears sunglasses. Presumably to cover up the damage that years of drug-assisted sleep deprivation have done.

* The vampire Cassidy from ''Comicbook/{{Preacher}}'' wears sunglasses 24/7, except during flashbacks to his human life. Towards the end of the comic's run, we find out why. [[spoiler:He was mistakenly buried alive once, complete with his eyes being stitched shut. He had to rip those stitches out, and his eyes are permanently damaged (think discolored plus bloodshot times a hundred) as a result.]] Before this revelation, every time his sunglasses come off we never saw his face, but someone reacted by asking "My god, what happened to your eyes?!?"
* The Corinthian from ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989''. {{Justified|Trope}}, in that he has [[TooManyMouths tiny mouths with razor-sharp teeth where his eyes should be]]. We get several brief sequences from his POV in ''The Doll's House'' that include a blue tint to show this. In the second scene with him it becomes extra-clear that he's wearing sunglasses (rather than just standing in shadow) when a would-be mugger knocks them off and he has to put them back on a few panels later. [[EyeScream Needless to say, you really shouldn't touch the shades]].
* ComicBook/SpiderMan's enemy [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttooctavius Doctor Octopus]]. (In the mini-series ''Spider-Man/Dr. Octopus Negative Exposure'', he tells a photographer that there's a reason for this: the accident that bonded his tentacles to him also made his eyes very sensitive to light. [[spoiler: In the final issue of the mini-series, the photographer uses this knowledge to help Spider-Man defeat him. After the villain's glasses are knocked off, he aims a camera with a flash directly in his face, which blinds him long enough for the hero to clock him.]]

* A different Mr. X, a ''Comicbook/{{Wolverine}}'' villain and former member of the ''Comicbook/{{Thunderbolts}}'', also wears sunglasses all day, every day. He's first encountered by his new T-Bolts teammates at a ballet performance; Paladin took care to notify him that he looked like an asshole wearing sunglasses indoors at night.
* For a time at least, ''Comicbook/WonderMan'' was a case 3, wearing sunglasses so the ionic energy constantly glowing in his eyes wouldn't freak people out. He eventually got over it.
* The Anarchist of ''Comicbook/XForce'' (later X-Statix) always wore his tinted sunglasses. Always. Even in a flashback to his childhood and when he was otherwise naked, like in the shower. It's implied that his eyes are overly sensitive to light, and that they're prescription.
* ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} of the ''ComicBook/XMen'' wears ruby-quartz sunglasses when he's in his street clothes to [[PowerIncontinence keep his eye beams at bay]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/DarkFury'', mercenary boss Junner is wearing sunglasses in a completely artificially-lit spaceship. Justified in the case of Riddick, since he's blinded by any sources of light.

* Phil Coulson wears them in the opening scene of ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' as befitting his G-man aesthetic.
* ''Film/BabylonAD''. The small army of Noelite goons sent to take possession of Aurora in New York all wear sunglasses as part of their outfit despite the sky being pitch-black. However, given [[AdvertOverloadedFuture all the neon ads everywhere]], they might actually have a point there.
* ''Film/TheBatman2022''. Mob boss Carmine Falcone wears tinted vintage glasses even at night or inside his dimly-lit nightclub. According to WordOfGod this is his version of the mask that Batman or the Riddler wear.

* ''Film/{{Blade}}'': Blade has trademark wraparound sunglasses as part of his fighting kit even though he hunts vampires at night. In the director's commentary of ''Film/BladeII'', director Guillermo del Toro states that when Blade is wearing his sunglasses, it's a visual indication that he's unbeatable.

* ''Film/DetectivePikachu'': Roger Clifford, Ms. Norman, and Lucy Stevens all wear sunglasses at night and other dark environments. The last of these is lampshaded by Tim Goodman, who points out its not even that great a disguise as it draws attention at night. However [[spoiler: its justified with the first two, they are Howard Clifford's ditto, who can copy other's appearances except for its beady eyes. It has to wear the sunglasses to hide this.]]
* Invoked in ''Film/TheEliteSquad'' when Renan is told to put on shades while indoors to hide his pink eye.

* Most films derived from Creator/HGWells' ''Literature/TheInvisibleMan'' include sunglasses in the disguise.

* Worn by the [[TheMenInBlack Men in Black]] soldiers in the cliche-ridden ''Film/MegaSharkVsGiantOctopus'', even in poorly-lit laboratories and interrogation rooms.
* The ''Film/MenInBlack'' films explain the presense of sunglasses in TheMenInBlack trope by giving them [[GogglesDoSomethingUnusual a specific function]]: keeping them from being affected by their [[LaserGuidedAmnesia Neuralizers]]

--> '''Ticket Agent:''' Something wrong with your eyes?
--> '''Thornhill:''' Yes, [[DeadpanSnarker they're sensitive to questions.]]

* ''Film/OuijaMummy'': There's a literal example in this movie. When Paul is being driven to his brother's and sister-in-law's housewarming party by his [=AA=] support guy, the latter is wearing sunglasses at the wheel, and it's visibly nighttime outside of the car.
* Riddick from ''Film/PitchBlack'' wears not just sunglasses, but welding goggles, because his eyes have been altered to be super-sensitive to any light, as recounted in ''VideoGame/EscapeFromButcherBay''. As a consequence, his eyeballs see things in just-next-to total darkness in high resolution, and anything overly bright burns them.
* ''Film/SchoolForScoundrels'' has Creator/BillyBobThornton's "{{sensei|forscoundrels}}" have his loser students do as part of their "training" - wear sunglasses all the time, day or night, inside and outside. Eventually, the main character gives up once he realizes that his mentor is full of crap and tells his friends (who keep doing that) that they look stupid.
* The ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}''.
** The [[Film/TheTerminator first one]] used sunglasses to hide his damaged eye (he only wore sunglasses after it was damaged). The [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay second one]] was entirely RuleOfCool. The [[Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines third film]] plays it for laughs by having the Terminator reach into the jacket pocket of the leathers he's procured from a male stripper only to put on pair of ridiculous star shaped shades. Being a {{Cyborg}} definitely helps with the vision problems normally associated with this trope.

* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''
** Cyclops has to wear sunglasses everywhere at all times or things tend to get destroyed by his eye beams.
** In ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'', Sabretooth taunts a young Cyclops by telling him that it's a little too dark to be wearing sunglasses. Of course, Cyclops [[EyeBeams kind of needs to wear them]].

* In ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'', the local pawnbroker Bird's Nest Roy wears sunglasses all the time he mans the counter in his dimly lit pawn shop. He turns out to have a pratical reason for it, namely that his trying to hide his eyes, which are yellow and bloodshot from his addiction to the psychedelic drug pyrholidon.

* Comicbook/{{Blade}} from Creator/MarvelComics wears shades because his eyes are sensitive to light. He can also see in the dark, so wearing them at night is no big deal.

* ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}, in his civilian identity, [[HandicappedBadass for obvious reasons.]] His mentor Stick did the same, for the same reason.

* The Corinthian of Neil Gaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman''. Justified, in that he has tiny mouths with razor-sharp teeth where his eyes should be. We get several brief sequences from his POV in ''The Doll's House'' that include a blue tint to show this. In the second scene with him it becomes extra-clear that he's wearing sunglasses (rather than just standing in shadow) when a would-be mugger knocks them off and he has to put them back on a few panels later. [[EyeScream Needless to say, you really shouldn't touch the shades.]]
* ComicBook/SpiderMan's enemy Comicbook/DoctorOctopus. (In the mini-series ''Spider-Man/Dr. Octopus Negative Exposure'', he tells a photographer that there's a reason for this: the accident that bonded his tentacles to him also made his eyes very sensitive to light. [[spoiler: In the final issue of the mini-series, the photographer uses this knowledge to help Spider-Man defeat him. After the villain's glasses are knocked off, he aims a camera with a flash directly in his face, which blinds him long enough for the hero to clock him.]]

* Aside from some early proto-appearances, Creator/AndyKaufman's AlterEgoActing persona Tony Clifton always wore large dark sunglasses in all settings by way of concealing his true identity...which became particularly useful when Kaufman had to hand off the persona to other people (such as his brother Richard or partner-in-pranks Bob Zmuda).

* Ian Hunter of Music/MottTheHoople has long worn shades indoors as his trademark appearance.