Line #3 Main/InternalDeathSquad


1	When an organization, particularly one that grants a lot of personal power to its agents, has a dedicated unit specialized in [[HuntingTheRogue hunting down and executing]] its rogue or unreliable members. Since the existence of such as a unit would be demoralizing to everyone else, it is usually [[NoSuchAgency held secret]], so its reveal can be a major spoiler to the audience.
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3	Compare InternalAffairs (who usually just investigate rogue elements, without the summary execution part), SecretPolice (a clandestine government agency investigating and often eliminating threats to the state), HunterOfTheirOwnKind (where the hunter is usually a former member of the group) and ThePoliticalOfficer (who may be portrayed as this trope, but is often also in charge of general morale). See also ThePurge, which may be carried out by this character.
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5	!!Examples:
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7	[[foldercontrol]]
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9	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
10	* Kenny Ackermann's Anti-Personnel Control Squad in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' [[spoiler:was formed in secret, (officially) to counter the Survey Corps in case they ever turned their attention from the Titans to internal politics. Like the Survey Corps, Ackermann's Squad is trained in the use of vertical maneuvering gear, giving them incredible mobility in urban warfare; unlike the Survey Corps, who are only equipped with anti-Titan swords, they have long-range handguns that are specifically designed to kill humans]].
11	* The eponymous warriors in ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' run a constant risk of Awakening into giant rampaging monsters, so sending warrior teams to kill their Awakened comrades is a normal thing for the Organization. What most warriors don't know, however, is that the Organization also has Number 10 (nominally the 10th strongest warrior of each generation) [[spoiler:specifically trained to disable and to kill un-Awakened warriors, in case they turn on the Organization]].
12	* According to the [[AllThereInTheManual liner notes]] in ''Manga/GhostInTheShell'', Section 6 is the only government organization who has the authority to put out kill orders on members of other Sections. When Section 9 learns that Section 6 put out a hit on the Major, Chief Aramaki rushes to their headquarters and threatens to shoot Section 6's leader at point blank unless he calls off the hit. The hit itself was part of shady deal to nab a wanted foreign general who was [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections too well protected]] from official due process.
13	* The [[AristocratsAreEvil Celestial Dragons]] of ''Manga/OnePiece'' are above the laws and consider themselves gods (to the point that attacking one will get [[PersonOfMassDestruction one of the three Admirals of the Marines]] sent after you). [[spoiler:Whenever there is some conflicts between Nobles, the "Holy Knights" are the ones mediating and administering judgment onto them, being the only organization with the authority to do so]].
14	* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', a comment from Kenshin implies that Saito, in addition to his duties as one of the captains of UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi, was also tasked with ferreting out and killing rogue members.
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17	[[folder:Comic Books]]
18	* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW'': The Decepticon Justice Division is a super-elite force of Decepticons who hunt down and [[MakeAnExampleOfThem torture]] to death any of those within the Decepticon ranks who need to be put down. Traitors, moles, deserters, basically anyone for whom TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil may apply — their names get put on The List, and the D.J.D. crosses them off. Their purview includes the occasional SuperSoldier, hence the need for them to be super-elite.
19	* ''ComicBook/TheBoys'':
20	** The MegaCorp Vought American is responsible for nearly everyone with superpowers, and uses The Seven (a takeoff on the Justice League) to police the rest. Most supers live a life of SexDrugsAndRockNRoll, and that's fine, but if they start doing anything that might make Vought look bad in ways their enormous political and financial clout can't bury or explain away, then The Seven get sicced on whoever isn't behaving. The result is often very, very bloody.
21	** The most powerful member of The Seven is SupermanSubstitute The Homelander, who was raised from birth by Vought to be their greatest star and the company's biggest showpiece, but they also realized [[BewareTheSuperman the potential danger of someone with his powers going rogue]], so they created a clone of him with augmented powers that could take him down in an emergency: [[spoiler:Black Noir]]. The trope then gets deconstructed, as it's [[spoiler:''Noir'']] who goes rogue. Turns out that being created for a single purpose and then being unable to fulfill it for decades does bad things to a person's mind, so [[spoiler:Noir eventually instigated/provoked Homelander into a mental breakdown and a series of actions with world changing consequences.]]
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24	%%[[folder:FanWorks]]
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26	%% Please add the title of the fanfic itself, not just the original work it is based on, before uncommenting following example:
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28	%% * The Shadow Coven from ''ComicBook/TarotWitchOfTheBlackRose'' are a coven of warlocks that that have dedicating themselves to enact vengeance on witches that endanger the magical community to prevent a second Burning Times. After Raven Hex's actions on Halloween, the Shadow Coven wished to enact justice on her. To follow the three fold law, they summon the Headless Horseman to kill her sister and mother, hopefully ending the Black Rose Coven forever. Meanwhile, the coven themselves hunt down Raven Hex, binding her with a poppet replica of herself with intentions of executing her. Raven Hex, in a hurry to raise New Avalon, manages to defend herself despite being bound up, remarking how they are not witches, but simply a band of warlocks trying to hide their own cowardice with fear and violence. When one of them intends to kill her using the poppet, Raven summons a group of goblins loyal to her to free the poppet and her by extension. Having won over the Shadow Coven, Raven Hex turns them all into crows as punishment.
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31	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
32	* ''Film/DoubleTeam'': Each member of "The Colony" has his own "overseer", one of the other retired spies that has the secret assignment to hunt down his respective member if he ever manages to escape. This is one of the complications that comes to bite Quinn in the ass when he does so on the third act, but thankfully his overseer happens to be a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and only asks Quinn for some hair so he can help him fake his death.
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35	[[folder:Literature]]
36	* ''Literature/BehindBlueEyes'' by Anna Mocikat is about the Guardian Angels, a cyberpunk group of assassins that work for the Olympias Corporation. While they work against foreign agents, they are primarily deployed as assassins against dissidents or separatists within their dystopian OneNationUnderCopyright.
37	* In ''Literature/TheBrokenEarthTrilogy'', the FunctionalMagic of orogeny is a capital crime for everyone except members of the Fulcrum, which is nominally run by [[TheEmpire Imperial]] orogenes. Behind them are the Guardians: [[TheAgeless ageless]] {{Mage Killer}}s with innate AntiMagic and [[WrongContextMagic strange powers]] who [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse forcibly recruit]] "feral" orogenes and kill Fulcrum orogenes who overstep their bounds.
38	* In ''Literature/MotherNight'', one of Howard Campbell's guards is a Hungarian Jew who got forged papers, joined a Hungarian SS unit, and was assigned to one of these to find out who was leaking information to the Jews (it was himself). He notes with pride that 14 SS men were shot on his recommendations.
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41	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
42	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
43	** The Space Wolves were originally the Emperor's executioners, being the ones who would take down their brother SpaceMarines if they went rogue. Leman Russ eventually changed their doctrine, leading to the more familiar "HornyVikings InSpace" theme. The role of anti-SpaceMarines SpaceMarines seems to have gone to the Minotaurs chapter, which answers only to the Inquisition.
44	** There is also the Ordo Sicarius, whose specific role is to monitor and if necessary eliminate members of the Officio Assassinorum, the official state assassins of the Imperium. They assassinate assassins...
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47	[[folder:Toys]]
48	* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'': The Cobalt Sentries are part of the Decepticon Secret Police, who wield unlimited power to weed out traitors to the Decepticon cause within its ranks.
49	* ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}'': The elite Dark Hunter Eliminator has the role of eliminating incompetent Dark Hunters and completing their missions. Because of this, he is despised by his fellow Dark Hunters and The Shadowed One keeps him away from the island of Odina, where the organization's headquarters is, to prevent attempts on Eliminator's life.
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52	[[folder:Video Games]]
53	* The Belkan Air Force in ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'' has the Schwarze Squadron, an eight-man team flying high-tech interceptor aircraft on standing orders to shoot down any Belkan aircraft attempting to defect. The player gets to engage them in the Mercenary route while they are chasing after Wolfgang Buchner, a.k.a. Pops from the [[VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar previous game]], as he attempts to defect to Osea.
54	* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'': The Zero Squadron is this for the [[TheEmpire NOL's]] army unit. It's an unofficial part of the army and answers directly to the Imperator. Their main duty is to look for and hunt any rogue members of the army, and kill them if needed.
55	* Christine Royce from ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas'' DLC ''Dead Money'' is a member of the Circle of Steel, a hardline faction within the Brotherhood of Steel who task themselves with assassinating those who betray the Brotherhood or stray too far from its core tenets.
56	* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'': The eponymous members of the [[CreatureHunterOrganization Hunter's Guild]] do not hunt for sport or glory, but rather to both preserve civilization and maintain ecological stability by culling monster numbers and keeping them manageable. If any one hunter decides to ignore the rules and starts killing monsters wantonly, the Guild Knights are sent in to take care of them -- permanently. Given that [[WorldOfBadass all hunters are strong enough to tackle monsters the size of a house on a regular basis]], sending [[HunterOfHisOwnKind a hunter specialized in killing hunters]] is not only completely {{justified\|Trope}}, but also [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption the only option]]. After all, the last time dragons were overhunted, [[GreatOffscreenWar they declared war on humanity and drove them to near extinction]].
57	* The Executioner (E) units in ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'' are a secret production line of [=YoRHa=] androids deployed by the Bunker to hunt down and to execute rogue agents like A2, or to keep a close eye on unreliable elements and to summarily execute them if necessary, like [[spoiler:2''E'' was keeping tabs on 9S..]].
58	* [[MegaCorp Nanotrasen]], from ''VideoGame/SpaceStation13'' can send in Death Squads equipped with incredibly lethal weaponry. Usually reserved only for the worst of cases...depending on admin discretion.
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Context Main / InternalDeathSquad