History Main / SheepInSheepsClothing

* ''Film/{{Crush}}'' has a spoiler which it is certainly better not to highlight since this makes up for the entire resolution, and a few others, all quite unexpected:

* A recurring theme throughout ''WesternAnimation/MyAdventureswithSuperman'' is how people cannot believe that Superman doesn't have some kind of ulterior motive for helping people. Reporters like Lois try to dig up dirt on him to reveal his secrets to the world. Task Force X believes he's a scout trying to soften up Earth for an AlienInvasion. Alex openly espouses a BewareTheSuperman philosophy in an interview. No one save for Clark's parents and Jimmy can wholeheartedly believe that Superman is exactly who he say he is: someone who just wants to help.

* Maria de Alva in ''Literature/{{Victoria}}''. With the way the attractive and ever kind Maria is introduced, and her more than somewhat exotic backstory, it is easy to suspect that something is off and that she must really be some sort of spy or agent of influence -- for the [[TheCartel Aztecs]], or maybe even the [[AmazonBrigade Azanians]], as this is where they really begin to gather momentum as a major threat. [[spoiler:Actually, she is ''exactly'' what she presents herself as: a Spanish noblewoman who was enslaved by pirates after jealous underlings betrayed and killed her family, with no ulterior agenda but escaping her tormentors]].

* ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'': Played with. Martin Li runs a homeless shelter and is well known throughout New York as a humanitarian, and turns out to be the supervillain/crime boss Mr. Negative, causing a ''lot'' of damage throughout the city for the sake of getting back at Norman Osborn [[spoiler:as it was Osborn's experiments that gave him his powers and led to the deaths of his parents.]] However, Martin genuinely enjoyed being the head of the F.E.A.S.T. foundation, and he makes it clear that his desire to help those less fortunate than himself was sincere; Peter even finds a journal entry where Li openly questions going through with his plans on the grounds that if he succeeds, all of the good he's done will be ruined.

** Toriel is a seemingly benign and motherly figure who saves you from being killed by the first monster you encounter. From that point on she dotes on you, literally holding your hand through puzzles and even baking you a pie, though she hastily changes the subject if you ask her to show you the way out. It's easy for players to assume this is a facade masking underlying evil... but in the end, she's completely sincere. Her reluctance to let you leave is born out of a genuine concern that you'll die, but she ultimately decides to let you go.
** King Asgore Dreemurr is built up as the BigBad for most of the game, and Toriel states that he will kill you if you leave the Ruins. Other monsters speak of him as a great king and a bit of a fuzzy pushover who [[GiverOfLameNames can't name anything well]]. Papyrus even thinks he'll let you out of the Barrier if you just ask him nicely. While he will try to kill you (he's the second-to-last-boss), he is every bit the "King Fluffybuns" his subjects know him as. Why is he fighting you? Well, desperation. The monsters need seven human [=SOULs=] to release from their imprisonment in the mountain [[spoiler: and your player character is number seven. Other human children have fallen and met their end, though unsure if by his hand or the other Monsters they encountered. However, he really does not want to hurt anyone, but the kingdom is undergoing some severe issues that come with living underground, even with magic on their side and it's the best shot they have for a better life. Additionally, you would need his SOUL to leave the barrier since yours isn't enough (most Monster [=SOULs=] vanish instantly when killed, the exception being Boss monsters, being him and Toriel, which linger a little.)]] Hence why when you fight, he damages your MERCY button, because you're both unable to show the Mercy you'd want to do and the grim implications that he's committing SuicideByCop.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Lizzie from ''WebVideo/TheLizzieBennetDiaries'' imagines Bing Lee as a sexist BitchInSheepsClothing, because her StageMom tries to throw her daughters at him and she thinks he will take advantage of it and his social standing to manipulate her sweet, idealistic sister. He is actually a NiceGuy [[SickeninglySweethearts Sickeningly Sweetheart]] KnightInShiningArmor with two {{Token Evil Teammate}}s, one of which isn't [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold so bad]]. [[spoiler:When he leaves, those who read the book know that his actions were motivated only by the impression that Jane didn't reciprocate his feelings.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': [[BigGood Professor Ozpin]] is presented in the early seasons as a sort of Dumbledore-{{Expy}}, EccentricMentor and CoolOldGuy. However, it's made clear from the beginning that he keeps a lot of information secret; combined with the hints of his MysteriousPast and connections with the BigBad, a lot of fans began to strongly suspect that he wasn't as benevolent as he seemed, or that he was a ManipulativeBastard with secret schemes, all of which was echoed in-universe by characters who questioned his sincerity and encouraged the heroes not to fully trust him. This finally culminates in Volume 6 when Ozpin's history is forcibly revealed... and [[spoiler: he turns out to have been largely innocent; rather, he was hiding information that he feared would drive his allies over the DespairEventHorizon -- which it very nearly ''does'']]. It's played with in that he really ''did'' keep secrets that he shouldn't have which wound up causing more harm than good, and he gets called out on this.

* In ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'':
** In Queen-bee, Bee-Lzebub is presented in her debut episode "Queen Bee" as a good-natured life of the party. Her song "Cotton Candy" has Bee encouraging people, as the Sin of Gluttony, to indulge and over-consume their favorite vice, including [[FoodBasedSuperpowers using magic to make food and drink grow bigger around her party]]. Since Bee is a central focus of the episode, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and Tex's girlfriend (and thus Loona's romantic rival), the expectation is that the other shoe will drop and Bee will become an antagonist. She never does; this friendly party-host personality is what Bee is actually like, even making small chat with Loona and complimenting her. Despite Loona accusing Bee of having an ulterior motive for inviting her to the party, Bee's initial reason -- that she just wanted Loona to join one of her smaller parties as a chance for Loona to socialize and come out of her shell -- really is the reason that Bee invited her. Even when Bee loses a drinking contest to Blitzo, Bee is a GracefulLoser. The only time Bee actually gets angry during the episode is when she insists that Loona check on Blitzo after the drinking contest, and Loona initially refuses to do it while insulting Bee at the same time. Bee apologizes to Vortex for her outburst after calming down and says (sincerely) that she hopes everything works out.
** In C.H.E.R.U.B, Collin is a [[StealthPun literal example]],[[PunchClockHero Unlike his colleagues]], whose sweet nature is only a facade, Collin's completely genuine about that, sincerely trying to help people for the sake of goodness, and gets very unsettled when it comes the insulting antics of Cletus and Keenie, with him truly wanting to give chances at redemption to every being no matter how evil they are.

-->-- '''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}''', [[http://xkcd.com/767/ "Temper"]], on ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood''

* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': MP Adam Whiteley, A.K.A. the White Knight of London, is introduced as an up-and-rising politician who publicly fights for the common people's right. He's basically trying to achieve the same thing as the {{Villain protagonist}}s, but without the villainy. As his existence would make the protagonists' role redundant, one might reasonably suspect that Whiteley is hiding something that would prove him to be just as bad as Moriarty's previous victims. However, Moriarty soon confirms that his altruism is sincere and that Whiteley is just as he appears to be. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Milverton manipulates one of the officers guarding Adam to kill the entire Whiteley family, and Adam murders the perpetrator in rage. As this scandal would taint the hero's image and shatter the public's support for his ideals, Moriarty decides to take the blame for Adam's crimes by killing the MP in front of a crowd to preserve his legacy.]]
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': In the first Season 4 episode of the anime, a reporter named Taneo Tokuda comes to visit the U.A dorms seeking out to discover All Might's successor for a scoop. While he is a tad manipulative and tends to lead people on with sweet words and his charming smile to get what he wants (Aizawa correctly suspects he has ulterior motives to come and that his reason to be there isn't what he says), he's actually a good, ethical reporter who is a lifelong fan of All Might, who rescued his father when he was a child. [[spoiler:Despite correctly deducing that Midoriya is All Might's successor, [[SecretKeeper he decides not to write the story out of respect for Midoriya and admiration for All Might]]]]. Adding to this, even though he isn't able to give his fellow reporters the story he promised, he still gives them a story they can run.

* ''Film/TheInterpreter'' Kuman Kuman is introduced as a genial, humble-living opposition leader against a dictator, but later scenes emphasize his ties to banks and other big businesses while briefly suspected as having killed Xola, another more popular opposition leader, and possibly being behind the assassination plot of the president. Ultimately, he turns out to simply be a politically savvy man who is innocent of both crimes and says that he would have been willing to form a coalition government with Xola to oust President Zuwanie and rebuild their country's livelihood.

* ''Literature/SuperPowereds'': Vince Reynolds is almost painfully decent, kind, moral, and upstanding, so naturally the government agent tasked with watching him, Ralph Chapman, is convinced he's hiding something. After digging for a while, Chapman finally admits that Vince really is the NiceGuy he appears to be, but still considers him a danger because of how destructive his power can be.

* ''Literature/TheThreeInvestigators'': Some friendly suspects who seem TooGoodToBeTrue really are innocent. For example Gracie from ''The Scar-Faced Beggar'' is a brightly smiling young woman who is very friendly and informative towards Pete but also possesses the makeup skills, political loyalties, acquaintances, and knowledge about a bank guard's routine that the villain has. Nonetheless, she is innocent and is even nicer and more self-reflective than she seems at first glance.

* Anna on Series/TheVampireDiaries is first presented as a nerdy girl with an obsession with vampires who was later revealed to be a vampire herself. While she does kidnap Elena and Bonnie in an episode, it was only to free her mom from a tomb that she was trapped in. Throughout her run on the show, Anna remains one of the only vampires to never kill anyone and it's clear that all she wants is a happy life with her mom.

** Ironically, Reynard the Fox is this. Anna first meets him in a dark forest just outside of town, and while he gives her good advice, he seems secretive and maybe a little sinister, so Anna and Ben are a little wary of him. However, it turns out that, no, Reynard isn't working for anyone nor is he planning anything, he genuinely wants to help Anna, as proven when he travels out of his way to help Anna when she is caught by the guards. Even when he overhears Anna wonder out loud if Reynard will just betray her later, he only questions where her mistrust is coming from and then continues happily helping her without promise of a reward simply because he wants to.
** Jannike is more of a downplayed example, though a much more of a tragic one. When you finally meet her, she is every bit the wonderful queen and [[spoiler: mother]] she has been built up as. Given that Winfriede harbors such hatred for Jannike [[spoiler: despite being her sister]], one might think Winfriede must have actual good reason for it. However, [[spoiler:as the flashback chapter shows, Jannike was a sweet, if a little oblivious, child who loved her sister and was actually the only one to show Winfriede any compassion after she was accused of murder and cursed. Winfriede's hatred of her was born out of a misunderstanding after years of resentment due everyone, even their own mother, liking Jannike better]].
* ''VideoGame/BloodstainedCurseOfTheMoon 2'': The new character Dominique is [[spoiler:the BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight Ritual of the Night]]'' and proves herself to be extremely sociopathic and selfishly destructive.]] So she's PromotedToPlayable in this AlternateUniverse, but people fresh from the memories of ''Ritual'' are justifiably aware of her: [[spoiler:Her tenure as ''Ritual'''s BigBad showed herself as a faux-NiceGirl actually being a BitchInSheepsClothing]] and she did act nice in her appearance in ''Curse'', and her goal was 'to find a certain demon for reasons' which was very ambiguous. The newcomer Robert also distrusts the Church she's associated with. Advance through the game and... [[spoiler:this Dominique is really as nice as she acts, she willingly TakesTheBullet to save the party, and the second episode was dedicated to rescuing her (and it was genuine, she's not letting herself captured so she could claim the boss' power). After she rejoins for later episodes, she sticks with the party to the very end, there is no betrayal. The AdaptationalHeroism was genuine.]]
* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' gives us Mother Mayhem the psychic overseer of the games' alternate reality - Praetoria - with Mother being the bizarro version of the heroine Sister Psyche'. Everyone who reports to Mother emerges as smiling happy pseudo-zombies, with barely any trace of their old personalities and completely in-love with their dear, dear mother for fixing them; It's not hard to see why TheResistance added "Mayhem" to her title or how the CrapsaccharineWorld they live in got to this point, and the Resistance have nothing but horror stories to tell about her... But if you actually work with her, you find out she's completely genuine - she really does want to help spread a joyous mind-set and well being to all the people of Praetoria and the games' main reality as well. Don't relax though, because even if her intent it genuine, her mind is shot, she is completely delusional and legitimately thinks A. she is the actual mother of everyone, and B. that MindRape is the same thing as a talk-therapy; And even if she has no idea how messed up she is, her government do and are exploiting and egging on her delusion so she can keep them in power by pacifying the public for them.

** Father Donovan, a kindly Irish priest who takes Irish immigrants under his wing and helps settle in Concordia by finding jobs for them. [[spoiler:Then, the Concordian Flying Squad discover an exploitation scheme where those immigrants are pretty much sold into slavery, and it's all but assumed that Donovan is behind this. However, he turns out to be innocent, and he was eventually murdered when he tried to confront the true mastermind.]]

** Ferdinand from the same game also qualifies. It's very easy to assume that he has something sinister underneath his pleasant facade, given that most of his fellow Black Eagles cannot stand him initally (''especially'' Dorothea, who is pleasant to almost everyone else), and his father is a corrupt noble. However, his supports show that he really is the kind, thoughtful person he portrays himself as and is only InnocentlyInsensitive at worst.

** The first day of the second case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'' is spent building up Bonny de Famme, a sweet young magician who idolizes Trucy, as duplicitious and even possibly the culprit of the case after the heroes overhear her talking about how much she really hates Trucy. [[spoiler:As it turns out, both that and her appearance in court were actually her twin sister, Betty, doing a TwinSwitch (which, incidentally, is also the secret to Bonny's signature teleportation magic trick), and Bonny was entirely sincere and exactly as nice as she appears; though she was also party to the prank intended to ruin Trucy's reputation, it's implied that Betty pushed her into it. Even Betty is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold and UnwittingPawn of the real murderer.]]

** In Queen-bee, Bee-Lzebub is presented in her debut episode "Queen Bee" as a good-natured life of the party. Her song "Cotton Candy" has Bee encouraging people, as the Sin of Gluttony, to indulge and over-consume their favorite vice, including [[FoodBasedSuperpowers using magic to make food and drink grow bigger around her party]]. Since Bee is a central focus of the episode, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and Tex's girlfriend (and thus Loona's romantic rival), the expectation is that the other shoe will drop and Bee will become an antagonist. She never does; this friendly party-host personality is what Bee is actually like, even making small chat with Loona and complimenting her. Despite Loona accusing Bee of having an ulterior motive for inviting her to the party, Bee's initial reason -- that she just wanted Loona to join one of her smaller parties as a chance for Loona to socialize and come out of her shell -- really is the reason that Bee invited her. Even when Bee loses a drinking contest to Blitzo, Bee is a GracefulLoser. The only time Bee actually gets angry during the episode is when she insists that Loona check on Blitzo after the drinking contest, and Loona initially refuses to do it while insulting Bee at the same time. Bee apologizes to Vortex for her outburst after calming down, and says (sincerely) that she hopes everything works out.

* Zuko's uncle Iroh in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' seems to be a relaxed and silly old man who cares more about Pai Sho than being a bad guy, unlike his somewhat obsessive nephew. When we get to see more of him in action, we find that he's a TokenGoodTeammate for the Fire Nation (having had a HeelRealization years prior) is probably the ''only'' family member Zuko has who actually loves the poor kid, and was halfhearted about Zuko's quest to capture the Avatar because he knew it was the wrong path for Zuko to take. At one point in development, he ''was'' meant to be a BitchInSheepsClothing EvilUncle, but the writers abandoned that plotline in favor of giving Iroh much more positive HiddenDepths.
* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'': In "The Neighbors", Dan starts to get suspicious because his new neighbors are too nice. Even when he's mean to them. He suspects they're cannibals trying to eat him. They're not. They're really that nice... until Dan tells them about his preemptive revenge schemes against them (after bonding with them over similarities) and they decide to move to somewhere else.

* [[spoiler:Mr. Dinkleberg]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' is not only a sheep in sheep's clothing, but will ''actually pretend to be a wolf'' just to satisfy his neighbor's rampant paranoia.

* Anna on TheVampireDiaries is first presented as a nerdy girl with an obsession with vampires who was later revealed to be a vampire herself. While she does kidnap Elena and Bonnie in an episode, it was only to free her mom from a tomb that she was trapped in. Throughout her run on the show, Anna remains one of the only vampires to never kill anyone and it's clear that all she wants is a happy life with her mom.

* In ''Fanfic/TheSecondAgeOfHeroe'', Annabeth and Percy are very nervous and twitchy around Diana since she's a goddess and they're not used to deities that don't indulge in dog-kicking and ego-stroking. They slowly unwind and start to trust her after learning she wasn't raised as a goddess but as any other Amazonian.

* In ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'', Bee-Lzebub is presented in her debut episode "Queen Bee" as a good-natured life of the party. Her song "Cotton Candy" has Bee encouraging people, as the Sin of Gluttony, to indulge and over-consume their favorite vice, including [[FoodBasedSuperpowers using magic to make food and drink grow bigger around her party]]. Since Bee is a central focus of the episode, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and Tex's girlfriend (and thus Loona's romantic rival), the expectation is that the other shoe will drop and Bee will become an antagonist. She never does; this friendly party-host personality is what Bee is actually like, even making small chat with Loona and complimenting her. Despite Loona accusing Bee of having an ulterior motive for inviting her to the party, Bee's initial reason -- that she just wanted Loona to join one of her smaller parties as a chance for Loona to socialize and come out of her shell -- really is the reason that Bee invited her. Even when Bee loses a drinking contest to Blitzo, Bee is a GracefulLoser. The only time Bee actually gets angry during the episode is when she insists that Loona check on Blitzo after the drinking contest, and Loona initially refuses to do it while insulting Bee at the same time. Bee apologizes to Vortex for her outburst after calming down, and says (sincerely) that she hopes everything works out.

* In ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'', Bee is presented in her debut episode "Queen Bee" as a good-natured life of the party. Her song "Cotton Candy" has Bee encouraging people, as the Sin of Gluttony, to indulge and over-consume their favorite vice, including [[FoodBasedSuperpowers using magic to make food and drink grow bigger around her party]]. Since Bee is a central focus of the episode, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and Tex's girlfriend (and thus Loona's romantic rival), the expectation is that the other shoe will drop and Bee will become an antagonist. She never does; this friendly party-host personality is what she's actually like, even making small chat with Loona and complimenting her. Even when Bee loses a drinking contest to Blitzo, Bee is a GracefulLoser. The only time Bee actually gets mad is when she insists that Loona check on Blitzo after the drinking contest, and that's only because he was ruining everyone else's good time. Bee apologizes to Vortex for her outburst after calming down.

* In ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'', Bee is presented in her debut episode "Queen Bee" as a good-natured life of the party. Her song "Cotton Candy" has Bee encouraging people, as the Lord of Gluttony, to indulge and over-consume their favorite vice, including [[FoodBasedSuperpowers using magic to make food and drink grow bigger]]. Since Bee is a central focus of the episode, the Lord of Gluttony, and Tex's girlfriend (and thus Loona's romantic rival), the expectation is that the other shoe will drop and Bee will become an antagonist. She never does; this friendly party-host personality is what she's actually like, even making small chat with Loona and complimenting her. Even when she loses the drinking contest to Blitzo, Bee is a GracefulLoser. The only time Bee actually gets mad is when she insists that Loona check on Blitzo after the drinking contest, and that's only because he was ruining everyone else's good time. Bee apologizes to Vortex for her outburst after calming down.

This trope happens when you meet ''her''. In any kind of fiction, she is likely to be your rival ([[ToBeAMaster professional]] or [[BettyAndVeronica otherwise]]). In family pictures, she's most often a would-be stepmother. In thrillers, she's the key witness in a murder case... or the main suspect. But she's the same no matter what hat she wears. From the moment you meet, you'll start feeling something is off. [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy She's not jealous of you, even if you try to take the attention from her]]. [[TurnTheOtherCheek She's never angry, even when you try setting her perfect hair on fire]]. She's always kind to you and she [[PerpetualSmiler never takes off that radiant smile]], but you're GenreSavvy enough to know where this is going. When all comes to light, you'll prove that she's ''really'' a FemmeFatale GoldDigger StarfishAlien who wants to {{take over the world}}, take your job, dad, and friends away from you, and humiliate you at prom, AndYourLittleDogToo, because...reasons.

A Sheep in Sheep's Clothing is a deliberate subversion of a BitchInSheepsClothing. It's done either by showing the character is exactly as nice as they appeared to be or by revealing that they played another kind of nice than the usual one. Either way, the Sheep is ultimately just as decent as they appeared, if not even better.

It often delivers a lesson about how EvilCannotComprehendGood when the villain tries a BreakingSpeech and thinks that he has found something evil in the hero, but there isn't anything evil to find and the hero proves them wrong. Sometimes used as AnAesop to the AudienceSurrogate against believing certain stereotypes, causing shared audience guilt. In children's shows, it's usually followed with the Aesop that one shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

* In ''Film/MyBestFriendsWedding'', Julianne falls in love with her best friend only to learn to her dismay that he's planning to marry a wealthy girl named Kimberly who he's only known for a short amount of time. Kimberly comes across as a sweet if somewhat ditzy girl, but it's obvious that she's going to be eventually exposed as the RomanticFalseLead who either has a hidden mean streak or doesn't ''really'' love Michael the way Julianne loves him because that's the way it works in all romantic comedies... except that she isn't. She really is every bit as sweet and as deeply in love with Michael as she appears to be and loses her temper only when Julianne goes way too far with her petty determination to find or make up something about her that she can use to make her look bad to Michael, and Julianne concedes defeat to her in the end.

* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' gives us Mother Mayhem the psychic overseer of the games' alternate reality - Praetoria - with Mother being the bizarro version of the heroine Sister Psyche'. Everyone who reports to Mother emerges as smiling happy pseudo-zombies, with barely any trace of their old personalities and completely in-love with their dear, dear mother for fixing them; It's not hard to see why TheResistance added "Mayhem" to her title or how the CrapSaccharinWorld they live in got to this point, and the Resistance have nothing but horror stories to tell about her... But if you actually work with her, you find out she's completely genuine - she really does want to help spread a joyous mind-set and well being to all the people of Praetoria and the games' main reality as well. Don't relax though, because even if her intent it genuine, her mind is shot, she is completely delusional and legitimately thinks A. she is the actual mother of everyone, and B. that MindRape is the same thing as a talk-therapy; And even if she has no idea how messed up she is, her government do and are exploiting and egging on her delusion so she can keep them in power by pacifying the public for them.

** [[spoiler:Colias Paeleno]] from the final case of ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'' cooperates in nearly every way that they can with your investigation of crime scenes, a behavior which the franchise generally uses for guilty parties. Additionally, they have animations that lend themselves really well to a VillainousBreakdown. In the end, it turns out that it was a RedHerring: the developers were using expectations from the player, and the person really is just that helpful, which may be a first for the franchise. [[spoiler: His counterpart Quercus Alba, on the other hand...]]

** The first day of the second case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritofJustice'' is spent building up Bonny de Famme, a sweet young magician who idolizes Trucy, as duplicitious and even possibly the culprit of the case after the heroes overhear her talking about how much she really hates Trucy. [[spoiler:As it turns out, both that and her appearance in court were actually her twin sister, Betty, doing a TwinSwitch (which, incidentally, is also the secret to Bonny's signature teleportation magic trick), and Bonny was entirely sincere and exactly as nice as she appears; though she was also party to the prank intended to ruin Trucy's reputation, it's implied that Betty pushed her into it. Even Betty is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold and UnwittingPawn of the real murderer.]]

* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' (and given further detail in its novelization), Harvey Dent is presented as an [[TheAce awesome and incorruptible crusader for justice]], and is a romantic rival to Bruce Wayne. Especially since [[ForegoneConclusion everyone knows he becomes Two Face]], the obvious assumption would be that he's hiding a dark, corrupt side to his character. Turns out... he isn't. He really was the great guy he seemed to be (at least until he was DrivenToVillainy). Okay, he ''does'' psychologically torture one of the Joker's mentally unfit lackeys, but that was only because he was desperate to save his girlfriend's life.

This trope happens when you meet ''her''. In any kind of fiction, she is likely to be your rival ([[ToBeAMaster professional]] or [[BettyAndVeronica otherwise]]). In family pictures, she's most often a would-be stepmother. In thrillers, she's the key witness in a murder case... or the main suspect. But she's the same no matter what hat she wears. From the moment you meet, you'll start feeling something is off. [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy She's not jealous of you, even if you try to take the attention from her]]. [[TurnTheOtherCheek She's never angry, even when you try setting her perfect hair on fire]]. She's always kind to you and she [[PerpetualSmiler never takes off that radiant smile]], but you're GenreSavvy enough to know where this is going. When all comes to light, you'll prove that she's ''really'' a FemmeFatale GoldDigger StarfishAlien who wants to {{take over the world}}, take your job, dad and friends away from you and humiliate you at prom, AndYourLittleDogToo, because... reasons.

[[WellThisIsNotThatTrope Except not]]. As everyone could have told you, she really ''is'' that nice. And you should take a deep breath and a step back, because you've just been exposed as WrongGenreSavvy. Otherwise, you're being a ClingyJealousGirl, or this is your StartOfDarkness.

A Sheep in Sheep's Clothing is a deliberate subversion of a BitchInSheepsClothing. It's done either by showing the character is exactly as nice as they appeared to be, or by revealing that they played another kind of nice than the usual one. Either way, the Sheep is ultimately just as decent as they appeared, if not even better.

** Kaguya may be this to ''herself'': Shirogane is in love with her since she saved a girl from drowning. She pretended doing it so someone was indebted to her, but she was probably just keeping the selfish facade as she was raised for.

** During Tsubame's Christmas party — whose guests are mostly the cheer team —, an unknown guy hits on Iino. Then, after Iino accidentally gets drunk from eating too many whiskey chocolates, the unknown guy and another propose her to move somewhere more comfortable… [[TheWomenAreSafeWithUs and lies her on the sofa where everybody can keep an eye on her, and they cover her with a blanket]].

* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': At first, Fuutarou suspects that Yotsuba (the fourth sister) is faking her ChronicHeroSyndrome and purposely takes advantage of the sports clubs asking her for help to skip schoolwork. Later, however, he follows her to the Basketball Club room, where she apologetically turns down their offer to join them full time, because she has greater responsibilities, making him realize that she's genuine.

* In ''FanFic/WithThisRing'' Paragon!Orange Lantern to the Justice League. According to Wonder Woman, Orange Lantern had super-villain written all over him: no one is able to verify where he came from, he is literally powered by his own greed, refuses to tell anyone his name, and tried to buy Alan Scott's lantern off Scott. Through a deal to get the lantern, OL works for them for a year, and what she and the League finds out about him? That he's very compassionate, very diplomatic, and proactive. Even when given the power of a PhysicalGod and turned [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity crazy]], all he does is help the League and try to make his friends happy.

* Hugo Strange in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanGothamByGaslight'' has a creepy vibe about him and is obviously a version of a notorious Batman villain who hides behind a mask of respectability. However, he's just what he appears to be, a doctor trying to treat the insane as best he can given the knowledge and methods of his time. Which aren't ''great'', but it's not like that's Strange's fault.

* In ''Film/BlackSwan'', Lily at first comes off as a wild, reckless, and hard-drinking, but still nice and social girl who wants to be Nina's friend. However, she then has more and more moments that make her come off as a conniving ManipulativeBitch instead... except [[spoiler:that's all in [[TheOphelia Nina's]] head, her paranoia and insecurities being projected onto Lily. Outside of Nina's delusions, Lily seems like a genuinely sweet, friendly person. She's also amazingly supportive towards Nina, congratulating her on her beautiful performance, and is genuinely panicked when she sees Nina's bleeding at the end of the film. Too bad Nina's insanity won't let her see that Lily's not a threat.]]

* ''Film/SkyRiders'': Jonas Bracken is a rich industrialist, who is married to LovableRogue and TheHero Jim's ex-wife (who has a child with each man) and acts like a concerned husband and father when his family is kidnapped. It isn't an act, and in just about every scene where Bracken could act selfishly or obstinately, he doesn't. He sacrifices part of his empire to raise the ransom money, is a good husband, father and [[GoodStepmother stepfather]], and finances Jim's rescue operations while getting along well with him.

** [[VetinariJobSecurity Lord Vetinari]], the Patrician of the city, often frustrates the ruling classes by [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules honestly having no vices they can use to exploit him]] (although unlike Carrot, he's much more of a MagnificentBastard, just not a selfish one).

* Jane Fairfax from ''Literature/{{Emma}}'' is an OlderThanRadio example. She's just a ShrinkingViolet, well-known as a sweet and innocent person, who is secretly trying [[spoiler:to keep her secret engagement, well, secret]]. Too bad a nosy, charming, and manipulative heroine comes and almost ruins it all by beginning to flirt with [[spoiler:her fiancé]] and asking him what he thinks Jane is hiding, because of her InferioritySuperiorityComplex. [[spoiler:[[TheCharmer Said fiancé]] feels "forced" to play along to keep the engagement a secret]], so he begins to give her whatever "leads" come to his mind, then to flirt back, then to [[spoiler:toy with Jane's feelings]]. [[spoiler:Guilty and disgusted, Jane makes the very classy decision to try to break up with him and to resign herself to a life as a poor governess, but he finally goes back to her]].

* ''Literature/JohnPutnamThatcher:'' In ''Murder Without Icing,'' Franklin Moore is introduced as an amiable HonestCorporateExecutive. Then, an associate of Moore's reveals that his planned acquisition of a hockey team will involve upheaving all of the players and staff's lives by relocating the franchise to his hometown of Nashville. He's also rumored to be planning to try and push out a co-owner who lives for controlling the team. However, once the deal falls through, Moore is quite mellow about it. After his murder, it transpires that no one outside of the hockey franchise has any reason to hate him, as he was NiceToTheWaiter and treated his ex-wife and kids decently. [[spoiler: It also turns out that Moore wasn't going to relocate the team or push out his co-owner. The person who claimed that was lying to give everyone else motives for wanting Moore dead.]]

* ''Literature/MansfieldPark'' has Fanny Price, in-universe. She refuses to marry the young, rich and charming Henry Crawford, causing him heartbreak and robbing Sir Thomas Bertram, the baronet who brought her up since she was ten, from a lot of connections and honors, something she was expected to do as a thank you. Fanny (whose thoughts are conveyed by the narrator without comment) starts wondering if she is mean, willful, and self-involved... but when reading what follows, it is very clear that she is just ''sane''. Henry Crawford is a flirt who started a relationship with her married cousin, and she doesn't feel she should marry him to please him.

* Season 2 of ''Series/ThirteenReasonsWhy'' introduces Chloe Rice. She is the head cheerleader at the high school and is [[BigBad Bryce Walker]]'s current girlfriend. Throughout the season, it seems like she wants to get close to Jessica and make friends with her, despite hearing about the accusation of Bryce raping her, and deciding to side with his version of the story that nothing happened. Jessica even comforts her suspecting that she is scheming against her. Then we find out that Chloe really was trying to befriend and work with Jessica, despite her being Bryce's girlfriend and even realizes that Bryce isn't the nice guy she thought he was. Eventually, this leads to [[spoiler: Chloe herself finding out she was a victim of Bryce when he raped her while she was knocked out on drugs and booze at the boys' clubhouse. Even still, it seems like Jessica was right about Chloe when she promises to testify against Bryce but doesn't show up on her court date, making Jessica and others feel betrayed. Then the season finale reveals that she doesn't do so, because she finds out she is pregnant with Bryce's child and is conflicted on what to do. This is resolved in Season 3, but that's another story.]]
* ''Series/AgentCarter'' Season 2 pairs Peggy's new love interest up with a nurse called Violet. She seems to be a friendly and understanding sort - who knows all about Sousa's work in the SSR. But as Peggy encountered two characters who seemed friendly and benevolent (but were revealed to be deadly spies) in the previous season, suspicion is on her. Turns out she's neither a spy nor an enemy, but she does realise Sousa's unresolved feelings for Peggy and calls off their relationship.

** Billionaire inventor Eric Vaughn, from the episode ''The Squab and the Quail'' is introduced as a WealthyPhilanthropist whose first action after seeing someone die is volunteering his private jet to the man's family so they can claim the body, and talks about how his first invention was a heart valve motivated by his sister's death of a heart condition. Near the end of the episode, it briefly looks as if he might be the employer of the hired assassin in order to cover up embezzlement but it quickly turns out that a treacherous employee was guilty instead. [[DownplayedTrope That being said, Vaughn does attempt to seduce Beckett throughout the episode, even after finding out her relationship with Castle, although as he pointed out, Beckett did hesitate when he asked her just how strong that relationship was]].

* ''Series/{{Hawkeye|2021}}'': Jacques Duquesne, the fiancee of Kate Bishop's mother Eleanor, who Kate thinks is shady and suspects him for killing her uncle, with it later appearing that he's one of [[spoiler:Kingpin]]'s cohorts. Turns out, Kate's a bit biased, and he's a decent person who was framed. [[spoiler: By Eleanor.]]
* ''Series/{{Justified}}'' has Billy St. Cyr, a silver-tongued preacher who arrives in Harlan and charms the local population with his preaching and snake handling. It is easy to suspect him of being a SinisterMinister who cons the poor out of their money and whose true motives might be even more evil. However, he truly believes in what he preaches and only accepts enough money in donations to keep his ministry going. He helps drug addicts stop using drugs and helps a prostitute regain her self-respect and quit her former life. His only flaw is that he is a tad too fanatical in his beliefs and believes that God will never let any harm come to him. This leads to Boyd being able to talk him into [[spoiler: handling a wild snake which kills him with its poison]]. Even then, [[spoiler:Boyd actually seems to hold some personal regret about it (despite Billy's actions cutting into his drug sales) and gives him several chances for an out, even encouraging Billy's sister to try and talk him out of it]].

* ''Series/{{Monk}}'' has one episode where an old lady befriends Monk. Eventually, evidence in the latest case Monk's working on suggests that she could be the killer, and Monk recalls several times in the past where it looked like someone was trying to befriend or help him, only to turn out they were using him all along to try and commit some crime, leading him to think that history is going to repeat. As it turns out, nope, this time around she actually is unrelated to the crime and really was just being nice to him to be nice.

** Dr. Garrett Rossmore from ''In Extremis''. After Dr. Nelson costs him and his company millions by shutting down one of their drug trials, Rossmore shows up at Nelson's a bottle of wine at his celebration, assuring him that he isn't bitter and recognizes that he didn't have the data to support his theory and understands why Nelson made that call. While the average GenreSavvy viewer might expect him to be the murderer, he is in fact completely sincere, while the real killer is the person who profited off Nelson's ruling against Rossmore via insider trading.

** Two in ''Mission Creep''. First is Joey Dalloway, who seems like a caring boyfriend and decorated vet who's simply fallen onto hard times before the reveal that he's part of a crew of bank robbers and seemingly has a SecretOtherFamily. But it turns out that other family is the family of his dead friend from the service and the robberies are his way of supporting them. The second sheep in sheep's clothing, Detective Molina, is introduced as a reasonable, competent man who quickly allies with Carter, but the fact that Lattimer is taking orders from someone (not to mention robbing a police evidence locker) might make him a bit suspicious. But in fact, Lattimer's boss is an ArcVillain who won't actually be seen for several episodes while Molina is the honest cop he appears to be.

* ''VideoGame/{{Infernax}}'' has Caroline of Katsky. She sends you to kill a skeleton that terrorizes her family, only for him to refuse to attack you, tell you he is harmless and ask to be spared. Turns out it's Caroline who is telling the truth, the skeleton will kill her if you spare him.

* ''VideoGame/{{QUBE}}'': Your MissionControl Commander Nowak claims that you have boarded a mysterious structure to prevent it from impacting the Earth, but anybody who has played similar puzzle games such as ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' have every right to be suspicious considering [[MissionControlIsOffItsMeds what usually happens]], especially when 919 turns up and accuses her of being a liar. Every word Nowak says turns out to be true: 919, or Jonathan Burns, has long since succumbed to SpaceMadness, rendering him a distrusting paranoiac.

** When Kasuga and Nanba go to a Hello Work jobcentre early in ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', they're turned away for being homeless (because job applications require a contact address). Immediately afterwards, a mysterious old man tips them off about a grey-market job at a nearby bar that pays suspiciously well, and a savvy viewer will immediately assume they're being set up for something ghastly and exploitative. After they leave, the clerk who rejected them confronts the man for soliciting in the office because he's her boss, and she's annoyed at him bending the rules for people he likes.

** Iris from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'' surely ''seems'' nice, polite and innocent. She also has a secret connected with Phoenix's past and generally looks like a ''textbook'' example of BitchInSheepsClothing. Nope! NiceGirl all along. [[spoiler:In a double whammy she's also this in Phoenix's backstory. The reason Phoenix insisted that Dahlia Hawthorne ''cannot'' be possibly evil was that the girl he was dating at the time was Iris, not Dahlia. And while Dahlia hated his guts and tried to kill him, Iris really loved him just like he insisted.]]
** To a lesser extent in ''Trials and Tribulations'', Desiree [=DeLite=] is set up to be a GoldDigger, with her husband being afraid she'll leave him if she finds out he's been fired from his job, but expensive tastes aside she genuinely loves Ron and is a kind and friendly woman overall.
** ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' introduces Klavier Gavin as the new prosecutor. He was the prosecutor in the case that got Phoenix disbarred. Every ''other'' prosecutor has been some combination of jerk, incompetent, and/or downright murderous. The previous case showed that [[spoiler: his brother Kristoph]] was a murderous BitchInSheepsClothing. One of his close friends [[spoiler: is a smuggler and murderer]]. All this adds up to there being something fake about Klavier's friendly teasing and lack of grudgeholding, right? Well, wrong. Klavier is just as horrified by the above persons' actions as the player is, and ultimately goes through prosecuting them despite how clearly upset it makes him.

* Princess Marie from Season 15 of ''Webcomic/SurvivorFanCharacters''. Many characters and readers suspected her of being another [[BitchInSheepsClothing Bonnie]], especially after some comments from her that seemed just a bit too shady to fit with her seeming sweet girl nature. Execpt, Marie is just as nice as she seems, and her dubious explanation that she's just under a curse that causes her statements to sound more passive-aggressive than they should be turns out to be completely true.

* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': SCP-6930, or 'Paty', is a friendly V-tuber who caught the Foundation's eye when her streams began alluding to her being a [[EldritchAbomination Pattern Screamer]], an ''extremely'' dangerous class of entity that have, in the Foundation's experience, been universally hostile to all sapient life. During the Foundation's attempts to contain her, the researchers realize that Paty has overcome the issue that led to other Pattern Screamers' hostility; psychologically speaking, she's really not that different from a human teenage girl. After this, the Foundation changes its tactics into containing her by sponsoring her career, but making sure that no one ''knows'' she's an anomaly.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "All About the Mormons," Stan accuses the Harrison family of just acting ridiculously nice to trick people like his dad into thinking that their religion makes people happy. However, once they get kicked out of Stan's house it becomes apparent that they really ''are'' this happy and functional, unlike every other family in town. This ties into [[AnAesop the moral]] Gary gives at the end, that a religion can have good values even if its actual founding or mythology are ridiculous.

This trope happens when you meet ''her''. In any kind of fiction, she is likely to be your rival ([[ToBeAMaster professional]] or [[BettyAndVeronica otherwise]]). In family pictures, she's most often a would-be stepmother. In thrillers, she's the key witness in a murder case... or the main suspect. But she's the same no matter what hat she wears. From the moment you meet, you'll start feeling [[UncannyValley something is off]]. [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy She's not jealous of you, even if you try to take the attention from her]]. [[TurnTheOtherCheek She's never angry, even when you try setting her perfect hair on fire]]. She's always kind to you and she [[PerpetualSmiler never takes off that radiant smile]], but you're GenreSavvy enough to know where this is going. When all comes to light, you'll prove that she's ''really'' a FemmeFatale GoldDigger StarfishAlien who wants to {{take over the world}}, take your job, dad and friends away from you and humiliate you at prom, AndYourLittleDogToo, because... reasons.

* ''VideoGame/PonyIsland'': [The Hopeless Soul [[AmbiguouslyEvil may]] be an example; there are moments where he acts suspiciously (he does a brief, unsettling laugh during your second chat with him, after beating [[WarmupBoss Azazel]]), and the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent daemons]] lead you to believe that [[UnwittingPawn he's manipulating you]]. In [[EasterEgg a hidden scene]], [[BigBad Lucifer]] will even imply that [[TwoAliasesOneCharacter he is the Hopeless Soul]]. But even when the Soul turns out to be the TrueFinalBoss, he's just trying to [[OneHundredPercentCompletion satisfy the player's completionist urges]], and never really does anything malevolent.

** During Tsubame's Christmas party — whose guests are mostly the cheer team —, an unknown guy hit on Iino, his sugar talk raising Ishigami's suspicion. Then, Iino drinks too much alcohol (due to how jealous she is), the unknown guy and another propose her to move somewhere more confortable… [[TheWomenAreSafeWithUs he lies her on the sofa where everybody can keep an eye on her, and they cover her with a blanket]].