History Main / SpyCatsuit

* Uma Thurman briefly wears a catsuit/motorcycle racer suit hybrid in ''Film/KillBill Vol. 1''. This is a direct adaptation of one worn by Creator/BruceLee in ''Film/EnterTheDragon''.

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' uses the second type of subversion during the ''Painted Black'' arc, where three female characters are put into brightly-colored catsuits for an infiltration / rescue mission. This is only clear in the colored strips, though, not the standard black-and-white artwork.

As you may have imagined, this is not something real-life (or realistic fictional) female operatives would wear in the field, though a black turtleneck and cargo pants arguably pull off a similar look while being a bit more plausible. In fact, this trope originated not with spy fiction at all, but with ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}, whose iconic use of this outfit is both the {{Trope Maker|s}} and {{Trope Namer|s}}. A variant on this is the tendency of female ninja in {{anime}} and superhero comics to wear excessively {{stripperiffic}} outfits.

** A “battle suit” was also introduced in the SeriesFauxnale [[WesternAnimation/KimPossibleMovieSoTheDrama movie]] but [[HoldingBackThePhlebotinum it was retired]] in the PostScriptSeason because it was too much of a GameBreaker. Her [[RelationshipUpgrade Best friend-turned-boyfriend]] Ron also wore it once, but he was slim and [[TheCutie cute enough]] that it didn’t veer into FanDisservice direction. The same cannot be said for [[MadScientist Professor Dementor]] and her cousin Larry, who also put the suit on.

** A “battle suit” was also introduced in the SeriesFauxnale [[WesternAnimation/KimPossibleMovieSoTheDrama]] but [[HoldingBackThePhlebotinum it was retired]] in the PostScriptSeason because it was too much of a GameBreaker. Her [[RelationshipUpgrade Best friend-turned-boyfriend]] Ron also wore it once, but he was slim and [[TheCutie cute enough]] that it didn’t veer into FanDisservice direction. The same cannot be said for [[MadScientist Professor Dementor]] and her cousin Larry, who also put the suit on.

** Notably for a show about an ActionGirl, this trope is used very sparingly with the main character. Kim's usual mission wear is more practical, although in the early seasons it [[BareYourMidriff bares her midriff]]. A "Stealth Suit" was introduced for the SeriesFinale, but [[HoldingBackThePhlebotinum it was retired]] in the PostScriptSeason because it was too much of a GameBreaker. Also, the overweight GadgeteerGenius Wade wears [[FanDisservice one of his own]].

See also SuperheroesWearTights, FormFittingWardrobe, ImpossiblyCoolClothes, SensualSpandex.

As you may have imagined, this is not something real-life (or realistic fictional) female operatives would wear in the field, though a black turtleneck and cargo pants arguably pull off a similar look while being a bit more plausible. In fact, this trope originated not with spy fiction at all, but with ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}, whose iconic use of this outfit is both the {{Trope Maker|s}} and {{Trope Namer|s}}. A variant on this is the tendency of female ninja in {{anime}} and superhero comics to wear excessively {{stripperiffic}} outfits (see for example the female teachers from ''Manga/{{Naruto}})''.

* Arya from ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' wears a black, leather suit. Brings up some serious MoralDissonance, because she's a vegetarian on the basis that she finds killing an animal for food cruel.

** ComicBook/MadameHydra and Madame Viper, S.H.I.E.L.D. nemeses, were known for their green/black catsuits.
** ComicBook/BlackWidow, originally an ComicBook/IronMan[=/=]Daredevil/Avengers/S.H.I.E.L.D.[=/=]Franchise/SpiderMan nemesis and later a member of ComicBook/TheAvengers and the Champions, wore catsuits as a constant, often working alongside S.H.I.E.L.D.

* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'''s Samus Aran has been wearing a bright blue catsuit dubbed the Zero Suit underneath her [[PoweredArmor Power Suit]] ever since ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission''. This being ''Metroid'', however, you only actually get to play as her in it in three games, though her look in the Zero Suit is a regular at the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' games nowadays.

** ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Ann Takamaki wears a bright red skin-tight leather jumpsuit when engaging in PhantomThief activities. This is actually an InvokedTrope InUniverse, as the outfit manifests as a portrayal of what the user imagines as a “rebellious villain”--to Ann, that’s a sexy and alluring FemmeFatale. One might think that it only makes her highly visible, restricts her movements, and provides no real physical protection while fighting Shadows, but A) It looks really cool, so who cares?, and B) Given that her jumpsuit is literally supernatural in origin, it might not quite have those problems to begin with.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In "Dance Dance Infiltration", Cinder dons a very tight, cleavage-revealing catsuit to break into the communication tower. Her plan seems to have been to [[DistractedByTheSexy distract the guards with her provocative outfit]] and not to actually be even remotely stealthy.

** The uniform worn by the three teenage girl spies is a shiny plastic catsuit. The stealth part of the trope is usually subverted, as each suit is of a unique bright color. At other times, the suits can change appearance to look like more ordinary clothing, subverting the skintight aspect of the trope. And yes, they come with [[CombatStilettos high heels]].

** Wendy Padbury, as Zoe Heriot in the Second Doctor era, wore a sparkly catsuit, most famously in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E2TheMindRobber "The Mind Robber"]].

* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'''s Samus Aran has been wearing a bright blue catsuit underneath her [[PoweredArmor Power Suit]] ever since ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission''. This being ''Metroid'', however, you only actually get to play as her in it in three games, though her catsuit look is a regular at the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' games nowadays.

* Despite what PopCulturalOsmosis would have you believe, this trope has never been present in the ''Film/JamesBond'' movies. The [[GirlOfTheWeek Bond Girls]] that are spies themselves always dress appropriately for the occasion, whether it's an evening dress or khakis and sneakers. The only one that came close was Wai Lin from ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', who wore a wetsuit for the final battle on board a warship, but then again so did Bond.

** Naturally, this comes up again in ''Film/JayAndSilentBobReboot'' when the titular protagonists suspect that Milly and her friends, just like Justice and her gang before, are wearing these underneath their clothes and are planning on pulling off a heist. [[spoiler:Shan Yu actually is, provoking an IKnewIt reaction from Jay, because she turns out to be a Russian spy trying to sabotage the production of ''Bluntman v Chronic''.]]

* Similarly to the ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'' example, ArtificialHuman Girl One from ''ComicBook/TopTen'' wears what at first appears to be a full-body catsuit. In reality, she's actually nude -- her creators gave her an aversion to clothing, while at the same time giving her body the ability to hide this fact via built-in full-body tattoo/bodypaint that she can control at will -- she typically looks like she's wearing a full-body purple spandex catsuit with logos and patterns on it. [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar They didn't explain this until several chapters in]].

** ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Ann Takamaki wears a bright red skin-tight leather jumpsuit when engaging in PhantomThief activities. One might think that it only makes her highly visible, restricts her movements, and provides no real physical protection while fighting Shadows, but A) It looks really cool, so who cares?, and B) Given that her jumpsuit is literally supernatural in origin, it might not quite have those problems to begin with.

* Its sister series, ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'', also features some catsuits for good measure, both male and female. Apart from Hayabusa's own catsuit (which debuted in this series in ''Ultimate''), the most popular ones are Christie's WHITE catsuit and Kasumi's ninja catsuit in [=DOA5=] (which looks pretty similar to Hayabusa's). Not to forget Tina's infamous LITERAL catsuit.

* In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'', Rouge the Bat has a tight suit complete with a [[ChainmailBikini heart breastplate]] and a sleeve covering her tail. Her outfit in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' also qualifies.
* The Abyss Ranger alternate costume set in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' dresses everyone in the party up in these. They sort of look like sexy Power Rangers. Except Anise. She just looks awesome.
* In ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'', the main character, a guy, wears a skintight black rubber suit. He often wears standard BDU pants on it, though. He is, after all, meant to be sneaking around silently, and often needs to fit through small spaces or perform acrobatic feats which would be made difficult with standard fatigues. Fisher also wears flak jackets and other types of body armor [[http://www.the-nextlevel.com/features/events/pandora-tomorrow-world-premiere/sam-fisher.jpg over the spysuit.]]

* A few of the ''Franchise/TombRaider'' games have Lara in a catsuit.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}} 2: World in Flames''. Jennifer Mui's last unlockable costume is a catsuit with cleavage nearly reaching her navel. She will drop a LampshadeHanging when she puts it on. The male characters get a yellow chicken costume instead.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':
** In the ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' DLC ''Operation: Anchorage'', one of the rewards for completing the simulation is the Chinese Stealth Armor, which gives the wearer a permanent [[InvisibilityCloak stealth field]] while sneaking. Although both male and female characters can equip it, the enemies who wear it are all males. Unlike most examples here, the Chinese Stealth Armor is a great asset to an infiltrator, which makes this a justification or subversion, depending on your angle. It is also present in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', although without its InvisibilityCloak capability.
** The main game also has the Leather Armor, although it doesn't affect one's stealth stats, and the Recon Armor.
** Averted by the Reinforced Leather Armor in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', whose male and female versions are equally modest. The Assassin Suit and Stealth Suit Mk II from the add-ons play this trope straight, as well as both increasing the player's Sneak skill, although the latter has [[HighlyVisibleNinja fluorescent white stripes]] giving it away.
** ''VideoGame/Fallout4'''s Far Harbor DLC has the Marine Wetsuit.
* The Mrrshan spy from the first ''VideoGame/MasterOfOrion'' game.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** Downplayed by the [[MurderInc Dark]] [[PsychoForHire Brotherhood]] armor in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]''[='s=] ''Tribunal'' expansion. It is black and leathery, but it is still a bit bulkier than most examples of the trope.
** Played straight by the Dark Brotherhood's armor in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', now called "Shrouded Armor", which takes this appearance on females and a {{Ninja}}-like appearance on males.
** Shrouded Armor in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' looks much the same as it does in ''Oblivion'', but adds more red to its color palette.
* The [[{{Ninja}} kunoichi]] [[MsFanservice Kasuga]] from ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'' wears an especially {{stripperiffic}} black catsuit complete with some impressive AbsoluteCleavage.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** [[FemmeFatale Miranda's]] outfit is initially something of a subversion, as it's actually white, but then later played straight as it's upgraded to black. Miranda's outfit also has a cutout in the front stopping right above her breasts that is not commonly seen on outfits of this type. The second Appearance Pack DLC lets players swap out the catsuit for a far more practical suit of Cerberus armor.
** [[ClassyCatBurglar Kasumi]] has a similar outfit, but with less FanService.
** Every Quarian ever wears a skintight bodysuit, though they have [[BizarreAlienBiology a reasonable excuse]].
** Seems to be the normal outfit of Asari Commandoes. "Commando leathers" are mentioned a few times in explicitly fetishistic context.
** The [[ColdSniper Nemesis]] and [[HighlyVisibleNinja Phantom]] Cerberus troops of ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' are women dressed in these, in sharp contrast with other Cerberus soldiers who are men in PoweredArmor.
** Ashley's alternate armor in 3 has some catsuit qualities to it. In the same game, there's Eva Coré, who's kitted out in the same catsuit as Miranda, which can then later be put on [[spoiler:EDI]] for no fathomable reason.
* The Ghosts in ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' got the [[http://images.wikia.com/starcraft/images/7/71/Ghost_SC-G_Cncpt1.jpg Hostile Environment Suit]] which is designed act like a wetsuit while being undetectable by thermal sensors. It also supports [[InvisibilityCloak Personal Cloaking]].
* Natalya wears one in the last location of ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans 2''. Lampshaded in one conversation, wherein Krypto asks her how she managed to fit in it. Her response? "Shoehorns and lubricant."
* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'': C. Viper, a CIA DoubleAgent wears a black catsuit with a [[SexyBacklessOutfit heart-shaped cutout]] in the back as one of her alternate outfits.
* ''Videogame/EvilGenius'' is a videogame in which [[VillainProtagonist you play]] as the eponymous [[BigBad Evil Genius]]. As the videogame is essentially a big parody of spy fiction the agents sent after you from the forces of justice are all very colorful and stereotypical, making this trope inevitable.
* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'', [[spoiler:Jill Valentine]] sports a dark purple one while under Wesker's control. Even after she's free from Wesker's control, she still wears it when aiding Josh Stone in the ''Desperate Escape'' DLC due to not having time to change into anything else. She has subsequently appeared in it in ''Film/ResidentEvilAfterlife'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3''.
* Jenny sports a tight racing suit in ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution''.
* The Spy unit in ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} 4'' look like this, at least in the later eras. In elder times, she wears a robe and false beard.
* ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' gets special mention for sporting one of these with the [[AbsoluteCleavage zipper down]], showing off her MostCommonSuperpower [[ExposedToTheElements in sub-zero weather]].
* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
** Mitsuru from ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' onward wears one underneath her [[PrettyInMink white fur]] [[BadassLongcoat coat]].
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Ann Takamaki wears a bright red skin-tight leather jumpsuit when engaging in PhantomThief activities. One might think that it only makes her highly visible, restricts her movements, and provides no real physical protection while fighting Shadows, but A) It looks really cool, so who cares?, and B) Given that her jumpsuit is literally supernatural in origin, it might not quite have those problems to begin with.
* In ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'', you can purchase a number of different catsuits from [[TheMafia the Family]]'s fences, with the FlavorText actually stating that the Family provides them to operatives for important break-in jobs. This being a D&D-based fantasy setting, the catsuits are actually enchanted to confer numeric bonuses to stealth skills (as well as having a decent defense rating), making them a great alternative to regular clothes and armor. The only downside is that you cannot wear them in public, or [[DevelopersForesight the guards will identify you as a professional burglar on sight]]. While these regular catsuits don't have high heels, some high-level custom ones (like the Assassin's Waistcoat) do--but even then, their huge skill bonuses [[StatisticallySpeaking easily negate the high heels' -2 penalty on Move Silently skill]].
* In ''Ginga Fukei Densetsu Sapphire'', the protagonists wear cutoff, short-sleeved police jackets over solid-color catsuits.
* Both ''Videogame/PlanetSide 1'' and the sequel have infiltrators of both genders don a latex-like form-fitting suit that [[InvisibilityCloak allows them to cloak]]. The color schemes in the original game are subdued versions of the player's empire colors (red, blue, or purple) with heavy usage of dark grays, but the sequel goes all out and gives them [[TechnicolorNinjas brightly colored chest plates]] in the player's faction color.
* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'':
** As befitting her image as a FemmeFatale, Widowmaker rocks a skin-tight catsuit.
** When not in her mech, [=D.Va=] wears a skin-tight suit evocative of many {{Super Robot|Genre}} outfits.
* Unlocking the Intrigue outfit (by levelling all three of the Intrigue category's skills to at least 25) in ''VisualNovel/LongLiveTheQueen'' gives the player the option [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/longlivethequeen/images/2/2b/Catsuit.png/revision/latest?cb=20140119133504 to dress Elodie in one of these,]] complete with a [[HighClassGlass monocle.]]
* While the Film/JamesBond movies, as noted above, avert this trope, the Bond video game ''VideoGame/EverythingOrNothing'' plays it straight with the [[EvilIsSexy evil Bond girl]] Katya Nadanova (voiced by and [[InkSuitActor modeled after]] the supermodel Heidi Klum), who wears a shiny silver catsuit.
* Agent 47 of ''VideoGame/Hitman2'' usually wears a suit and tie or some kind of low-key civilian outfit befitting his subtlety, but the intro mission Nightcall starts 47 off in an all-black wetsuit with a red zipper on the back instead.

* [[GentlemanThief Jeremy Archer]] from ''Literature/ShadowOfTheTemplar'' wears one while he's "working". [[MrFanservice It's slick material and skintight]]. While [[FBIAgent Simon]] doesn't approve of Jeremy's job, he ''does'' [[DatingCatwoman approve of the catsuit]].
* Deconstructed in [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18591_the-5-most-impractical-aspects-superhero-costumes_p2.html this]] ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' article, co-written by a professional cosplayer who knows first-hand how impractical they actually are (no storage space, material doesn't breathe, etc.)

* The stand-in Emma Peel in Music/{{XTC}}'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Da9sc6YDBo "Mayor of Simpleton".]]

* Worn by Natasha Romanoff, ''a.k.a.'' the Black Widow, in Creator/SternPinball's ''[[Pinball/IronManStern Iron Man]]'', and prominently featured on the sides of the backbox.
* Worn by Vanessa Kensington on the left slingshot bumper of ''Pinball/AustinPowers''.

* As to be expected, [[Wrestling/GailKim The Queen of Cats La Felina]] wrestled in a black catsuit.

* The Wrestling/BellaTwins wore sleeveless and backless catsuits around 2011, with AbsoluteCleavage to boot.
* In a more modest example, Wrestling/SashaBanks and Wrestling/AlexaBliss both wore catsuits instead of their usual ring gear to [[https://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/12/wwe-sasha-banks-alexa-bliss-abu-dhabi-ring-gear-bodysuit wrestle a match]] in the UAE.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' has the ''catskin leather'' magic armor, which is described as a "supple suit of jet-black... leather armor" that grants the wearer several cat-themed bonuses (bonus to Acrobatics and Stealth checks, halved falling damage, [[CatsHaveNineLives saving the wearer's life]] at the expense of [[ClothingDamage being destroyed]]). (It's also not actually [[MadeFromRealGirlScouts made of cat skin]]... although it probably could be if a player really wants.)
* Frequent in ''TabletopGame/{{Infinity}}'', but justified in that anyone who's actually stealthy also has [[ChameleonCamouflage active camouflage]].

* The Abyss Ranger alternate costume set in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' dresses everyone in the party up in these. They sort of look like sexy Power Rangers. Except Anise. She just looks awesome.

* In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'', Rouge the Bat has a tight suit complete with a [[ChainmailBikini heart breastplate]] and a sleeve covering her tail. Her outfit in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' also qualifies.

* In the original ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' games, protagonist Ryu Hayabusa wears a traditional blue ninja outfit with no sleeves. The Xbox series changed this to a black outfit that is more in line with the trope (consisting of a tight-fitting synthetic bodysuit that wouldn't be out of place being worn by a modern espionage agent like [[VideoGame/SplinterCell Sam Fisher]] but retaining some trappings of the profession, such as ''tabi'') and given the title of "the Legendary Black Falcon".
* Its sister series, ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'', also features some catsuits for good measure, both male and female. Apart from Hayabusa's own catsuit (which debuted in this series in ''Ultimate''), the most popular ones are Christie's WHITE catsuit and Kasumi's ninja catsuit in [=DOA5=] (which looks pretty similar to Hayabusa's). Not to forget Tina's infamous LITERAL catsuit.

* ''Film/TheAvengers1998'': Mrs. Peel and her clone (Creator/UmaThurman) followed her predecessors' examples by wearing lots of skintight catsuits. It was in fact so tight she had to be ''sewn into it'' for every shot!
* Worn by the team during the raid on the compound and in the VFormationTeamShot behind the closing credits in ''Film/AngelsRevenge''.
* Black Widow in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse frequently wears these. In ''Film/IronMan2'', she even once changed out of her dress and into the suit in the back of a moving car. [[DistractedByTheSexy The driver nearly crashed the car]]. ''Film/TheAvengers2012'' also shows S.H.I.E.L.D. in full, showcasing how every other agent dresses. For the most part, it seems everyone wears either this, military fatigues, suit-and-tie/office wear, or something resembling Star Trek suits.
* The likely {{Trope Maker|s}} is Irma Vep in the 1915-16 French serial ''Film/LesVampires''. Musidora, the actress who played Irma, had been a circus acrobat and the catsuit is probably derived from her leotard and tights.
* Both Scarlett and the Baroness from ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'' wear these.
* Ironically subverted in the Creator/HalleBerry ''Film/Catwoman2004'' film. Patience dons a leather catsuit as part of her MakeoverMontage but she abandons it pretty soon and opts for something even more {{Stripperiffic}} -- that does at least look like it offers more mobility.
* Kitten wears one of these in one of her many [[FantasySequence fantasy sequences]] in ''Film/BreakfastOnPluto''.
* Amanda Benson in ''Film/{{Swindle}}'' wears a catsuit during the final confrontation against Swindell.
* Parodied, like so many other SpyFiction tropes, in ''Film/{{Spy}}'', which provides the page quote. Susan tells the BigBad Rayna that her skintight dress (the top half of which strongly [[https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMGMwYzk5NWQtNjVhMy00MDI4LWEwMGUtMjFjYTg4M2M2ZjZjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjEwNDMwNzI@._V1_.jpg invokes this]]) makes her look like a "slutty dolphin trainer".
* Jessica dons a spandex bodysuit when she [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted begins her fightback]] against the {{Evil Poacher}}s in ''Film/FairGame''.
* In ''Film/SpiceWorld'', a producer is trying to work out a film that they can make for the Music/SpiceGirls. One of the pitches is "Spice Force Five" - with the girls as secret agents and naturally all wearing some of these.
* In ''Film/DeathRing'', BodyguardBabes Bambi and Thumper wear black catsuits, possibly because their outfits were selected by DepravedBisexual Ms. Ling.