History Main / AWolfInSheepsClothing

* Granny Weatherwax from the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series subverts this when she disguises herself as an apple seller. Not only by being a heroic character but also by the fact that nobody is fooled, they’re all just too scared to argue with her when she states that she is “a harmless old apple seller”.

* Granny Weatherwax from the ''Literature/Discworld'' series subverts this when she disguises herself as an apple seller. Not only by being a heroic character but also by the fact that nobody is fooled, they’re all just too scared to argue with her when she states that she is “a harmless old apple seller”.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]

[[folder:MythologyAndReligion]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]

[[folder:WebComics]]

[[folder: RealLife]]

* ''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.

%% * ''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.

*** 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 wont 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 kept from being implicated in her group's criminal activity by playing helpless victim. She is quite annoyed when Etta overhears her ordering her men to carry out insurance fraud.

* ''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.

* 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 from 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.

* Geryon, a monster from ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'' who guards Eighth Circle of Hell, is the biologically 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.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''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.

* [[IntrepidMerchant Renon]] from ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania 64}}'' openly introduces himself as a demon, but reassures you that since one "needs gold even in Hell these days" that 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 BonusBoss intent on taking what is now his.]]

* Played with in multiple fashions in ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'', 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.

** 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 life boats and were later rescued).

* 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.

** ''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 wont be able to stop him that she ends up planning to kill him to save her family.

* ''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']].

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 a 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.

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. May be a ChurchgoingVillain or a SinisterMinister. Contrast BewareTheNiceOnes, when the character actually is nice until you push them too far.

* Most of the Homunculi from Manga/FullMetalAlchemist. Special mention goes to Lust and Pride, who manage to fool various members of the military and the protagonists.

* The expression is referenced in ''Disney/{{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.

* 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 "wolf-in-wolf's clothing").

* Leopald Strauss from ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedempton2'' 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]].]]

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-ship Q-ships]] are another example of this concept, merchant vessels with a disguised armament intended to lure enemy submarines into attacking them while surfaced. The flip side and more literal version of this is a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_raiders merchant raider]], a similarly fitted warship that attacks shipping. Both of these systems were used by the British and Germans respectively during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
* And on the flip side there are commerce raiders, ex-merchant ships that are armed with cruiser level armament to surprise and capture/destroy other merchant ships. 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 life boats and were later rescued).

* Literally with Charmy Pappitson in ''Manga/BlackClover''. [[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 Meal Magic to become a MagicEater.]]

--> '''Jinbe:''' Ever since he was on old Whitebeard's ship, no one's ever known his true nature.