History Main / CloakAndDagger

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* The ''Eberron'' setting has some of its own. Breland in particular has a couple of them, and then there's the former Karrnathi one, the Emerald Claw ("former" refers to its status as an official government agency; the group itself is still ... I'd say "alive", but "not dead" might be more accurate, given the nature of some of its members). The Breland groups are basically Bond types; the Emerald Claw is more like SPECTRE with real spectres.

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[[caption-width-right:350:Daring secret agents? Exotic locales? Beautiful women? Fiendish foreign villains? Imminent danger? Sounds like Cloak and Dagger to me!]]

Not to be confused with the Creator/MarvelComics characters Comicbook/CloakAndDagger, or with the original term for {{swashbuckler}} stories (cloak and sword).

** With the history of the organization revealed, it's even more complicated. Precursor organization FOX was developed as a special operations team within the CIA, with Naked Snake, Zero, Sigint and Paramedic existing as a complete unit (with the authority to request help as needed from other agencies). After [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3 1963]], Naked Snake left and the organization was repurposed and went through several iterations, eventually becoming special forces unit FOXHOUND, which was then disbanded in [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2 2015]]. And FOX also operated with the support of another organization of "cleaners" called [[spoiler: XOF]], which eventually became a fully special operations group in its own right in [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidV 1973]].

Spy agencies in real life are largely dull bureaucracies that exist to gather vast amounts of minute detail, then sort through it for anything interesting. Ian Fleming and the UsefulNotes/ColdWar as a whole changed all that by creating a vast horde of glamorous secret agents devoted to fighting for Queen and Country (or whatever leadership of whatever nation).

* In the later Literature/HonorHarrington books, [[ThoseTwoGuys Victor Cachat and Anton Zilwicki]] fill this role, ostensibly on behalf of the Kingdom of Torch. This is somewhat complicated by the fact that officially, Victor Cachat is an agent of the Republic of Haven, and Anton Zilwicki is an agent of the Star Kingdom of Manticore, two nations which are actually at war with each other [[spoiler: Until ''Mission of Honor'']]. They tend to team up to go after their nations' [[EnemyMine mutual enemies]], primarily the Mesan Alignment. Their respective governments rarely ''sanction'' these efforts, and at worst are occasionally frustrated to learn they have no idea just what their agents are up to, but they are [[AscendedFanon more than happy to reap the benefits]].

* Literature/TheNexusSeries: Imagine a cold war based around mind-hacking instead of nukes and you're halfway there.

Not to be confused with the Creator/MarvelComics characters Comicbook/CloakAndDagger.

** The SPECTRE organization had a short run in the Ian Fleming novels and was Bond's full-time archenemy in the movies for a while. Effectively, it is the first known example of a Rogue Intelligence agency devoted to its own profit.

** As of ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', the titular agency has reasserted itself as the archnemesis of [=MI6=] as a whole and 007 in particular, with preceding enemies in the Daniel Craig films even being retconned as having been - knowingly or otherwise - operating under SPECTRE control.

* The Black Organization in ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' seemed to have this going on, but subverted by some of its members decided to continue having relationships and friendships. [[spoiler:Akemi and Shiho (because they are sisters), Rena and Shuichi, Vermouth and "Ano Kata."]] Others perceive fellow members as tools (Gin).

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'', ISIS is a freelance spy agency that does contracted work for the government. Their rival organization is ODIN, who does the same for the KGB.

* Of course, England from ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'' would be the best spy for the allies.

** Mephala is a [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] whose sphere is "obscured to mortals", but who is associated with [[ManipulativeBastard manipulation, lies, sex, and secrets]]. Given all that is within her sphere, she could be considered the patron deity of spies and assassins. The [[OurElvesAreBetter Dunmer]] consider her as this directly, as she is the patron of the [[MurderInc Morag Tong]].

*** Opposing the good guys in this is Hydra, Leviathan, Department X/the Red Room, the Secret Empire, AIM, the Sons of the Serpent, and the Hand.

*** Examples: "Jinx" Johnson (Creator/HalleBerry) in ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', Xander "Triple-X" Cage (Creator/VinDiesel) in ''xXx'', Laurence Dominic (Creator/ReedDiamond) on ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'', and John Casey (Creator/AdamBaldwin) on ''{{Series/Chuck}}''; none of whom seem to be information analysts as their primary role (Cage and Casey are specifically recruited as adaptive enforcers, Dominic is TheMole within the titular organization, while Jinx is a straight-out assassin of similar stature to Film/JamesBond).

Spy Agencies in Real Life are largely dull bureaucracies that exist to gather vast amounts of minute detail, then sort through it for anything interesting. Ian Fleming and the UsefulNotes/ColdWar as a whole changed all that by creating a vast horde of glamorous secret agents devoted to fighting for Queen and Country (or whatever leadership of whatever nation).

* In the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'', this is the function of [[AncientConspiracy Tarot's]] Wands Division. One CIA analyst compared the Wands to "the KGB in the good old days of Communism... except the Wands have supervillains."

!!Examples

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* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''

* In VideoGame/Fallout4 the Railroad adopts this persona, especially the agent known only as “Deacon”. They use dead drops, safe houses, secret signs to provide information about areas, store weapon and supply caches for operatives all over, like to speak covertly and even use a sign and countersign to identify one another, even have their own equivalent of Q to make weapon and clothing mods and generally know a lot about the goings on in the Commonwealth. Ultimately subverted, as they aren’t an intelligence agency, they are actually a people smuggling operation looking to liberate all enslaved synths. Their adversary, the Institute actually has an even better intelligence gathering apparatus due to a long list of paid informants and synth doppelgänger double agents.

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* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', there are several groups spying on other groups. SAVAGE, Maar Sul's elite military corps, has the Covert Operations Department, the [[TheAlliance Grand Alliance]] has the Blades of Vigilance who are heavily involved in spying on the factions which oppose the Alliance, the [[LegionOfDoom Crimson Coalition]] has the Mullencamp spy network which monitors the Coalition territory and any non-Coalition faction it can gain access to, the [[TheMagocracy Magicracy of Alent]] has [[InternalAffairs Shadowstrike]] which keeps tabs on Alentian criminals but is also involved in internal affairs within the Anti Mage Police. Then there are also underworld organizations which use cloak and dagger methods, most notably the [[ArmyOfThievesAndWhores Union Workers]], the [[AncientConspiracy Order of the Black Rose]] and the [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Dwarven Triad]].
* Each of ''Roleplay/OpenBlue'''s major nations has one of these.
* In the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'', this is the function of [[AncientConspiracy Tarot's]] Wands Division. One CIA analyst compared the Wands to "the KGB in the good old days of Communism... except the Wands have supervillains."
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*** Examples: "Jinx" Johnson (Creator/HalleBerry) in ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', Xander "Triple-X" Cage (Creator/VinDiesel) in ''xXx'', and John Casey (Creator/AdamBaldwin) on ''{{Series/Chuck}}''; none of whom seem to be information analysts as their primary role (Cage and Casey are specifically recruited as adaptive enforcers, while Jinx is a straight-out assassin of similar stature to Film/JamesBond).

CloakAndDagger groups are those that have no real relationship to existing organizations but exist to conduct this kind of clandestine fun. When portrayed in a negative light, they are often filled with variations on the BadBoss who considers their agents disposable: YouHaveFailedMe and YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness may even be the entire point of the plot for the main character(s).

** The real-life MI6 is not known to have a "00 Section" made up of specially appointed assassins. In the films not only is it a major part of the organization, it's big enough to have its own section in MI6's headquarters and its own logo (as per ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'').

** [=MI6=] is actually an agency called SIS, with James Bond as the most JustForFun/{{egregious}} producer of this inaccuracy. It hasn't been called that since UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo, well before Ian Fleming served. The agency now has to use the title in its recruitment advert. Still, no apparent hard feelings as SIS has allowed its real-life headquarters building to be featured in the Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig films as the home of MI6 and its 00 Section.

* ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'' had The Firm, although it was an obvious stand-in for the {{CIA}}.

* The VCI from ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' seem to work mostly by [[StuffBlowingUp blowing things up]]. The G22 are a wee bit more discreet, but still do more ass-kicking than data-milling. The eponymous organization exists to carry out missions that the United States doesn't want to be officially involved with.
** While G22 and Alpha Protocol have no excuse, the VCI is actually a mercenary organization, not an espionage organization.

** With the history of the organization revealed, it's even more complicated. Precursor organization FOX was developed as a special operations team within the CIA, with Naked Snake, Zero, Sigint and Paramedic existing as a complete unit (with the authority to request help as needed from other agencies). After [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3 1963]], Naked Snake left and the organization was repurposed and went through several iterations, eventually becoming special forces unit FOXHOUND, which was then disbanded in [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2 2015]]. And FOX also operated with the support of another organization of "cleaners" called [[spoiler: XOF]], which eventually became a fully special operations group in its own right in [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid5 1973]].

* [[Franchise/MetalGear FOXHOUND]], anyone?

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* The d20 based game ''Spycraft'' existed for no other purpose than CloakAndDagger advernturing.