Van in Black: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"How do you know [[The Men in Black|they're]] watching us?"''
''"Because that pool cleaner's van has been parked out on the street for over four hours. No one's pool is ''that'' dirty."''|'''Sandra Bennet''', ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''}}
You've [[Seen It a Million Times]]
These vehicles provide a sense of foreboding mystery to the characters they follow and the audience. The vans appear in the background, and are viewed only from the outside. Unlike [[Spies in a Van]], it's common that neither the audience nor the protagonist ever find out exactly who is in the vans, or what they are doing. Occasionally, both tropes can occur in the same series, if there are competing vans. Or if the organization operating them determines [[The Hero]] is not their enemy and invites them into [[The Masquerade]].
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== Comic Books ==
* The van in ''[[Runaways]]'', although it's white and actually ''is'' fairly nondescript.
{{quote|
* [[Mooks]] driving around in a black van sedate Wallace and capture Esther in ''[[Sin City]]''.
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* The Zap 'Em Pest Control van in ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]]'' ironically serves as transportation for a [[Big Creepy-Crawlies|big bad bug]].
** Somewhat [[Lampshaded]] because half of his spaceship stuck out of the back and top.
* A scene in ''[[Ocean's Eleven]]'' involved the team attempting to ''purchase'' a
* In ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial|ET the Extraterrestrial]]'', the government forces use a van with surveillance equipment to find E.T.
* Played for laughs in ''[[Old School]]'', when the protagonists use one of these to kidnap their fraternity pledges, complete with Metallica soundtrack.
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== Literature ==
* Also used in ''[[The
* One appeared in ''[[Johnny and The Bomb]]'', though it was more of a limousine.
* The short story [https://web.archive.org/web/20121229041806/http://www.stanleythewhale.com/StW/index.php/issue-1/issue-1-short-stories/45-the-van-on-atlantic-street "The Van on Atlantic Street"] by Desmond Warzel. Though the van is white, it is in other respects an example of this trope.
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* The van driven by ''[[The A-Team]]''.
* This is how [[Badass Normal|Sandra Bennet]] reveals her [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|Hidden Badass]] in ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' volume 4, by noticing that [[The Men in Black]] have been staking out their house long before her daughter does, and gives us the above page quote.
* In the third season finale of ''[[Burn Notice]]'', Michael tells Simon that he's seen a certain van circling the block and that it's probably an FBI vehicle watching them. When he goes to it {{spoiler|it's actually just a regular van transporting alcohol. Michael just needed to get out of Simon's line of sight to use the delivery boy's phone to call Sam and Fiona.}}
* Frank's "Rape Van" from ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]''.
* The private investigator in ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' also used an "ice cream truck" for spying purposes.
* The conspiracy in ''[[Jekyll]]'' use a black van full of surveillance equipment to keep track of the
* The Three Nemeseses in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' have a black van, which is rather less stealthy after one has the idea of painting a ''[[Star Wars]]'' mural on the side.
* In ''[[Little Mosque on the Prairie]]'', when an agent of the Canadian Secret Service came to Mercy on holiday, the Muslim community got paranoid, and Baber noticed a delivery truck outside the Mosque. He claims it's a stakeout, and there are three agents there, one of them called "Sarge", and they're drinking coffee out of paper cups. At the end of the episode, the Secret Service really start surveillance on the Mosque [[Strange Minds Think Alike|there really are three agents there, drinking coffee out of paper cups, and one of them is called "Sarge"]]
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== Video Games ==
* The Cleaners' vans in ''[[Max Payne 2]]''.
* There are some Vans In Black in ''[[Mirror's Edge]]'' but seeing how you more often take the roofs, they are much less prominent than [[Black Helicopter
* The weird black vans throughout the first levels of ''[[The Simpsons Hit
* An absurdly oversized van in ''[[Silent Hill Origins]]'' (it's just a prop, but somebody forgot to scale it correctly) is treated as this in a [[Let's Play]].
* The famous [[Milkman Conspiracy]] level in ''[[Psychonauts]]'' doesn't have the classical black vans, but it has the next best thing: huge black limos... with radar dishes on top.
* Black Vans appear occasionally in [[Deus Ex]], along with Black Helicopters.
* Get a 5-star wanted level in ''[[Grand Theft Auto Vice City]]'' and ''[[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]]'' and the FBI will come after you in black tinted SUV's. Probably the best time to retreat to a safehouse before [[Tank Goodness|the army]] shows up.
* Agency vans in [[Syphon Filter]] 2.
* After Max becomes president in [[Sam and Max]] Season 1, a truck with the label, "Secret Serv-ice Cream" remains parked outside the duo's apartment.
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== Webcomics ==
* ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' has a white van marked "Innocent Plumbing". With a satellite dish on top. Lampshaded in [
* Although the van is not black, the concept is spoofed in [https://web.archive.org/web/20170830024330/http://scarygoround.com/sgr/ar.php?date=20080801 this] ''[[Scary Go Round]]'' strip, where the van has ''[[Paper-Thin Disguise|Unmarked Van Hire]]'' plainly written on its side.
* In ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]],'' Agent Ben And Agent Jerry, the local [[The Men in Black]], have a big black van [[Overt Operative|plainly labeled "F.B.I. Undercover."]] It has been referred to as "the MIB-Mobile" and "the Paranormal Paddy-Wagon."
== [[Web Original]] ==
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** Parodied again with similar vans labeled CIA, FBI, and ATF, which here stand for "Chinese Intelligence Agency", "French Bureau of Investigation", and "[[The A-Team|A-Team]] of Finland".
** In one episode Homer is sent into the Kwik-E-Mart with a hidden camera by the Channel 6 news team, which is monitoring him from a van parked out front, with "Ordinary Van" painted on the outside.
** ''The Simpsons: Hit and Run'' featured black vans as the catalyst for the plot, kicking off the first level with Homer trying to find out what they're
* Crocker in ''[[The Fairly
** Which proved horribly ineffective since he was immediately mobbed by kids. To drive them away, he converted the van into a spinach truck... and was immediately mobbed by [[Popeye (comic strip)|sailors]] instead.
* ''[[Jonny Quest]]'' TOS episode "The Quetong Missile Mystery". When the Quests drive away from their ship, we see a van with surveillance equipment inside that was keeping an eye on them. It drives off after them when they leave. It was sent by General Fong to keep watch on them.
* ''[[Superfriends]]'' 1973/74 episode "The Balloon People". Dr. Noah Tall uses his spy van the "Snoop Wagon" to perform surveillance before he attempts to kidnap the Balloonians.
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[[Category:Tropes in Black]]
[[Category:The Index Is Watching You]]
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