History Main / DressingAsTheEnemy

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'''s Starfire and Raven mug two random villains for their disguises in "All Revved Up" and get on a bus with other villains to catch up to the rest of their team. It works up until Starfire tells Raven "Bless you" in her language.

* On June 20, 1942, four members of the Polish anti-fascist resistance, Kazimierz Piechowski, Eugeniusz Bendera, Józef Lempart, and Stanisław Jaster, imprisoned as political prisoners in the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, successfully made their escape by dressing up in stolen SS-Totenkop uniforms, covertly hijacking a car belonging to one of the SS officers in the camp, and then driving right out the front gate. According to their accounts, the guard at duty first hesitated to open up the gate, but when Piechowski, the best German speaker among them, leaned out of the car so the guard could see his rank insignia and yelled at him to open the gate, the guard immediately did so with no further questions asked.

* ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': Zora grants Link the Zora's Mask to disguise himself and not look so conspicuous as he is sneaking around the Dark Palace. This is a nifty precursor to the actual Zora Mask first seen in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask''. (Rather than an actual mask, Zora plucks off one of his own scales and slaps it on Link's mug.)

* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': In a VillainProtagonist case {{played for drama}}, [[spoiler:Shion]] [[MuggedForDisguise kidnaps and impersonates]] [[spoiler:[[ImpersonatingTheEvilTwin her twin sister]] Mion]] throughout [[spoiler:the second half of ''Meakashi-hen'' (and of ''Watanagashi-hen''). She]] does this [[spoiler:[[MotivationalLie falsely believing]] [[WeUsedToBeFriends Mion and her associates were partly responsible for]] [[TheLostLenore her love interest Satoshi's disappearance]]; and [[LoveMakesYouEvil taking an opportunity]] [[ThisMeansWar to avenge him]]]]. However, [[spoiler:Shion's]] judgment is clouded by [[spoiler:Mion's position as their {{yakuza}} family's [[ParentalFavoritism favorite]] and successor--[[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask which sometimes requires her to pose as]] DaddysLittleVillain--as well as by Shion's ''own'' position as the [[TheUnFavourite Un-Favorite]]; thus {{justif|ied trope}}ying her [[CainAndAbel Cain-and-Abel]] [[SiblingRivalry rivalry]]. After she [[SiblingMurder offs the "evil" twin]], this trope [[ZigZaggingTrope zig-zags]] as she reassumes her true identity, and becomes a DisguisedHostageGambit / FakeoutEscape / FalseInnocenceTrick]].

** A particularly funny example from World War One also combined with ConfrontingYourImposter. The British and Germans both employed armed merchant ships (the Germans used them to attack British shipping, the British to hunt down German raiders), and often used fake markings, false smokestacks, and other elements to disguise them as the other side's ship. In the 1914 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Trindade Battle of Trindade]], the German SMS ''Cap Trafalgar'' encountered the British RMS ''Carmania'', both of which were disguised. The problem was that not only was ''Cap Trafalgar'' disguised as ''Carmania'', ''Carmania'' was also disguised as ''Cap Trafalgar''. At that early point in the war, neither side actually knew which merchant ships the other had converted into auxiliary cruisers, and thus both ships' captains made poor choices of disguise.
* On June 20, 1942, four members of the Polish anti-fascist resistance, Kazimierz Piechowski, Eugeniusz Bendera, Józef Lempart, and Stanisław Jaster, imprisoned as political prisoners in the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, successfully made their escape by dressing up in stolen SS-Totenkop uniforms, covertly hijacking a car belonging to one of the SS officers in the camp, and then driving right out the front gate. According to their accounts, the guard at duty first hesistated to open up the gate, but when Piechowski, the best German speaker among them, leaned out of the car so the guard could see his rank insignia and yelled at him to open the gate, the guard immediately did so with no further questions asked.

* ''Franchise/SpyKids'': This is done by Carmen Cortez in [[Film/SpyKids1 the first film]]. When she and Juni are running from the robot army in Floop's Castle, she falls into the puzzle floor trap Gregorio and Ingrid discovered earlier. Gregorio was saved by a protective barrier, but Carmen wasn't so lucky that time around. After she falls into the pit, she lands in the Thumb-Thumb maintenance room, where she disguises herself as one to avoid being caught by the robots and the Thumb-Thumbs, only to be tackled by Juni [[spoiler:after he frees himself and Floop from the Virtual Room after the latter was locked in there by Minion]].
-->'''Juni:''' This one's for my sister! ''[tackles the Thumb-Thumb, but it's soon revealed to be a disguised Carmen]''\\

'''Juni:''' ''[embarrassedly]'' Hola.

* ''Franchise/SpyKids'': Carmen Cortez did this in [[Film/SpyKids1 the first film]]. When she and Juni are running from the robot army in Floop's Castle, she falls into the puzzle floor trap Gregorio and Ingrid discovered earlier. Gregorio was saved by a protective barrier, but Carmen wasn't so lucky that time around. After she falls into the pit, she lands in the Thumb-Thumb maintenance room, where she disguises herself as one to avoid being caught by the robots and the Thumb-Thumbs, only to be tackled by Juni [[spoiler:after he frees himself and Floop from the Virtual Room after the latter was locked in there by Minion]].

-->'''Juni:''' This one's for my sister! ''[tackles the Thumb-Thumb, but it's soon revealed to be disguised as Carmen]''\\

* ''Franchise/SpyKids'': Carmen Cortez did this in [[Film/SpyKids1 the first film]]. When she and Juni are running from the robot army in Floop's Castle, she falls into the puzzle floor trap Gregorio and Ingrid discovered earlier. Gregorio was saved by a protective barrier, but Carmen wasn't so lucky that time around. After she falls into the pit, she lands in the Thumb-Thumb maintenance room, where she disguises herself as one to avoid being caught, only to be tackled by Juni [[spoiler:after he frees himself and Floop from the Virtual Room after the latter was locked in there by Minion]].

* ''Franchise/SpyKids'': Carmen Cortez did this in [[Film/SpyKids1 the first film]]. When she and Juni are running from the robot army in Floop's Castle, she falls into the puzzle floor trap Gregorio and Ingrid discovered earlier. Gregorio was saved by a protective barrier, but Carmen wasn't so lucky that time around. After she falls into the pit, she lands in the Thumb-Thumb maintenance room, where she disguises herself as one to avoid being caught, only to be tackled by Juni [[spoiler:after he frees himself and Floop from the Virtual Room after the latter was locked in there by Minion]].

*** What's more, during an earlier briefing, they reveal they have a stolen Fire Nation armor... only to pull out something that only looks ''vaguely'' like the armor we've seen. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome The commander admits it was stolen around 80 years ago, and, as Sokka notes, the Fire Nation's been updating their wardrobe during that time]].

* ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]]'':

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', in turn, requires you to knock out a GRU officer and steal his uniform. The officer in question looks suspiciously like Raiden. When playing in most of the uniforms, you can't do anything too weird (rolling around, beating up guards, etc.) or you'll be caught. As the GRU officer, you're explicitly allowed to do anything you want, because "Raikov's just like that". It's probably because no-one wants to tick off [[spoiler:the villain's boyfriend]].

* ''ComicBook/TheF1rstHero'': At the end of the "Fight For Your Life" storyline, when [[TheProtagonist Jake]] is hiding on the ceiling of a room with two [[CapeBusters Extrahuman Task Force]] soldiers below him, he knocks them out and takes one of their uniforms. This allows him to sneak out of the building undetected, barring Paul Kirksen ordering him to bring him Sgt. Alvarez.

* ''Film/{{The Avengers|1998}}'': Mrs. Peel may have done this with a copy of her clone's SpyCatsuit to infiltrate Sir August's base.

** Later Wallace and his allies infiltrate an English fort by disguising themselves as English soldiers.
-->'''English Commander:''' I have dispatched 100 soldiers to Lanark! They will be returning ''now''!
-->'''Wallace:''' What, were they dressed like this? Actually, it was more like 50.
* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', the heroes are busted out of a prisoner transport by an ally in enemy uniform--aided by the fact that said uniform includes exactly the type of face-concealing helmet the Evil Overlord List recommends against…
* ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'': Riddick disguises himself [[spoiler:as a stormtrooper to get inside the Lord Marshal's ship]]. Subverted, though. [[spoiler:Dame Vaako, one of the only Necromongers who actually knew what he looked like, still recognized him--she just decided to let him have his shot. He also had to kill a couple guards who caught onto him.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: Paula has one of her minions infiltrate Paradise Island by dressing like an Amazon. It doesn't work out well since it is an island of immortal women, so it is quickly realized that there is a woman on the island no one recognizes.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13545968/1/Wilhuff-Tarkin-Hero-of-the-Rebellion Wilhuff Tarkin, Hero of the Rebellion]]'', it's revealed that the uniforms of the Rebel Navy troopers are identical to the ones used by their Imperial Navy counterparts before the widespread adoption of the Death Star Troopers, only the Imperials had the Imperial Crest on a patch on their left shoulder. {{Justified|Trope}} in that the uniform style is described as quite old and used by both the Republic Navy, from which the Imperial Navy inherited it, and many planetary security forces, many of which were disbanded with the Rebels buying or stealing their uniforms and weapons-or just belonging to surviving planetary defense forces whose worlds support the Rebellion.

** In ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call Of Duty 4]]'', your squad briefly takes the uniforms of enemy soldiers to ambush a convoy. Griggs comments that "you look like a clown in that outfit" and "nothing like a Russian", which means it's a good thing you're high up on a tower away from that convoy.
** A major controversy erupted over a level in ''Modern Warfare 2'', in which the player goes undercover as a terrorist, infiltrates the villain's group, and then helps (optionally, the player can choose not to) gun down dozens of innocent civilians at a Russian airport. However, the villain [[spoiler:abruptly kills the undercover player at the end of the mission, framing the US for the attack and prompting a Russian invasion of Washington DC. However, the villain was actually told of the undercover player by US General Shepherd himself, who wanted to start a war in which he could use the full power of the US military]].

** ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII Black Ops II]]'' follows suit in a fashion, where one level starts off with you taking control of a deep-cover agent within Cordis Die, shooting at Yemeni soldiers and being assisted by the same mercenaries you've been shooting for most of the rest of the game, until the halfway point where you switch perspective back to the usual protagonist. The finale also has Menendez attempt this, stealing a SEAL's uniform to try and escape, though he's discovered almost immediately when one of the [=SEALs=] with you notices a friendly body (which turns out to be booby-trapped) stripped of his uniform.