{{Article|hl1|featured}}
{{Otheruses|Assassin}}
{{Spoiler}}
{{Needsimages}}
{{Affiliation infobox
|image=FileBlack Ops all.jpg|250px
|name=Black Ops
|type=Assassins/Commandos group
|founding=
|constitution=
|headofstate=
|headofgov=
|commander=
|defacto=
|executive=
|legislative=
|judicial=
|types=
|affiliation=WikipediaFederal government of the United States|Federal government of the United StatesFileBlack Ops oldpromo.jpg
|capital=
|motto=
|weapons=*Female Silenced Glock 17, Mk 2 Grenade|grenades, melee
*Male MP5|SMG, Mk 2 Grenade|grenades, M40A1 Sniper Rifle, Mark IV Thermonuclear Device, melee
*HECU Sentry Gun|Sentry Turrets
*M2 Browning Machine Gun
*Black Ops Mortar|Mortar
*Black Mesa Crossbow (cut)
*Flash Grenade (cut)
|equipment=Cloaking device (non-canon)
|vehicles=*AH-64 Apache
*M35 cargo truck
*V-22 Osprey (cut)
|gender=Female / Male
|era=Black Mesa Incident
|formed=
|established=
|fragmented=
|reorganized=
|dissolved=
|restored=
|designer=Chuck Jones''Half-Life 2 Raising the Bar''
|voice=*Harry S. Robins
*Michael Shapiro
|model=
|entity=*monster_human_assassin
*monster_male_assassin
*monster_apache
|hidep=
|hides=
|hideh=
|hideg=
}}
{{Quote|Why do we always have to clean up a mess the grunts can't handle?|Male Assassin|Half-Life Opposing Force}}
The '''Black Ops''', sometimes hyphenated to '''Black-Ops'''''Half-Life Opposing Force Prima Guide'' and known in full as '''Black Operations''',''Half-Life Opposing Force'' are a commando group of trained government assassins briefly seen in ''Half-Life'' and later expanded upon and featured in ''Half-Life Opposing Force''. Soon after the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit|HECU, they invade the Black Mesa Research Facility to conceal any evidence of the Resonance Cascade.
While it is stated that the HECU and the Black Ops are officially known to enter the facility in the event of an emergency and work with the Black Mesa Security Force|Security Force as "a dangerous and very efficient clean-up crew"''Half-Life Blue Shift'' instruction manual (although some employees consider it a rumor''Half-Life''), they are shown to work independently, killing all living things inside the base, whether they are Black Mesa employees, HECU soldiers, or Xen lifeforms, and eventually destroying Black Mesa itself altogether through use of a Mark IV Thermonuclear Device|nuclear weapon.
They are divided into two groups the female and male Black Ops, also known as Female and Male Assassins.
==Appearances==
===''Half-Life''===
The Black Ops first appear in Sector E in ''Half-Life'' during the chapter ''Apprehension'', and later make one more appearance in Sector F, during the chapter ''Lambda Core''. Only Female Black Ops are seen by Gordon Freeman in the game.
Female Black Ops are strikingly nimble and agile, able to sprint faster than any other enemy and can jump to extreme heights. They wear a black jump suit and use night vision goggles that include a headset with a microphone, although none are ever heard speaking. They are armed with a silenced Glock 17 and Mk 2 Grenade|grenades. At close range, they use an array of kicks to fight the player.
The distinction between the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit and the Black Ops was not made at first in the original ''Half-Life''. Although the two groups never encountered one another in the game, Female Assassins were coded to fight on the same side as the Marines. Many players assumed this meant they were working with the military since assassins had no backstory, and as such, many fan-made maps included them fighting alongside each other. It can be assumed that the Black Ops fought along with the Grunts, but after the Grunts were ordered to retreat any that got left behind were then targeted with the rest of the Black Mesa Staff as the Black Ops secured the Bomb.It was not until the release of ''Opposing Force'' that more insight regarding the Black Ops was revealed.
===''Half-Life Opposing Force''===
Filemassn bomb truck.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Male Black Ops in ''Opposing Force''.
Black Ops are featured much more prominently in ''Opposing Force''. The reason for their presence at Black Mesa is also explained, something that was never made clear in the original game. ''Opposing Force'' explains that, after the initial failure of the HECU's clean-up operation, the Black Ops are sent to cover up the whole incident by destroying the entire facility. To do this, they intend to set off a thermonuclear device within the complex. Adrian Shephard locates the Mark IV Thermonuclear Device|bomb the Black Ops deliver in a parking garage and is able to disarm it, but shortly thereafter it is seen being reactivated by the G-Man. The flash of a nuclear explosion is later witnessed in the epilogue, indicating the successful detonation of this bomb.
During gameplay, Black Ops are shown to have utter contempt for the HECU soldiers, considering them incompetent and inept. One assassin angrily remarks to another, "Why do we always have to clean up a mess the grunts can't handle?". The Black Ops are openly hostile towards Marines, killing any who have not yet escaped as part of their mission. While the HECU are aware that the Black Ops group exists, they are utterly confused by their arrival and wonder if they are there to assist. However, the Black Ops soon start killing all of the non-Black Ops personnel they can find. HECU radio traffic shows that the Marines are at first totally taken by surprise, much like how the HECU initially overwhelms the Black Mesa personnel. Further evidence of their viciousness can be seen after discovering a Marine engineer who, after being brutally beaten and interrogated, is simply left for dead, trapped in a garage.
Along with the Female Black Ops, ''Opposing Force'' introduced the group's male variant. Male Black Ops wear black combat gear and ski masks that only expose their eyes. Some are seen wearing night vision goggles. Although not visible, they apparently have a communicator in their ear which they are seen listening to whenever they eliminate a target.
They are equipped with the same MP5|SMG with grenade attachment that the HECU use, but some male Black Ops have a M40A1 Sniper Rifle. They utilize equipment and vehicles, such as the M35 cargo truck, the AH-64 Apache, and the V-22 Osprey similar to the HECU, but black in color.
Black Ops soldiers can run much faster than the Marines, and up close, they use martial arts kicks and punches as melee attacks. They also have a little more health (as a Black Ops need five headshot from Glock to kill while a Marine need three). Also, unlike their Marine counterparts, Black Ops operate in total silence when in combat, refusing to even yell in pain when injured. Therefore, they come more of a surprise, as you can't hear the loud radio chatter, as from the HECU Marines.
===''Half-Life Decay''===
In ''Decay'', the Black Ops assassins are only featured in the bonus chapter, ''Xen Attacks''. In it they battle against the players' two Vortigaunt characters, R-4913 and X-8973, in the underground parking lot originally featured at the end of ''Opposing Force'', under Sector E's largest Sector E Biodome Complex Storage Facility|Ordinance Facility.
==Behind the scenes==
FileBm31.2.png|Early model, with a crossbow.|right|thumb
*The female Black Ops were originally to be armed with Black Mesa Crossbow|crossbows. The quivers used to hold the crossbow bolts are still featured in the model, attached to the belt.
*The early female Black Ops model features yellow goggles, turned red in the retail model.
*As seen in the ''Opposing Force'' model files, the male Black Ops were originally to use Flash Grenade|flash grenades.
*Early concept art for ''Quiver'' features special wikipediaSpecial Activities Division|CIA units, one of which is a female. The original Black Ops likely stem from it.
*The highly exaggerated bounce of the female Black Ops breasts when she walked held to much amusement by fans. This was removed in ''Opposing Force'' and in the PlayStation 2 console port of the original game.{{YouTube|url=ZWhF4s_frhw|text=In-game footage showcasing the exaggerated bounce}}
*The ''Half-Life 2'' successor from the female Black Op is the cut Combine Assassin.Playable Half-Life 2 Beta|''Half-Life 2'' Beta
*Originally, the WikipediaSpecial Activities Division|CIA was to send four types of units to Black Mesa that were cut or simplified in the final version. These include the two Black Ops classes kept for the ''Half-Life'' series the original female assassin, dubbed "Light Attack / CIA Soldier", which the final product kept much of the classes ability with a new clothing, and the original male assassin, dubbed "Special Weapons / CIA Assassin", cut from ''Half-Life'' and later reused in ''Opposing Force'', without most of his abilities such as to combat the player in water and throwing knives. The two classes that remained cut were the "Special Attack / CIA Psionic Soldier", a small man who was to use a "mind gun" linked to his oversized brain and possess psionic abilities similar to the Kingpin and a high level of intelligence, and the "Special Unit, aka The Butcher / CIA Soldier", who was to have powerful dual chainsaws apparently extending his arms.
*When playing in Hard mode (non-canon), female Black Ops also have a cloaking device, which they use to become partially invisible during combat.
==Trivia==
FileDead black op eyes.jpg|Dead Female Assassin, with flipped up goggles.|200px|right|thumb
*In some instances, if a Female Assassin is killed by being shot in the back while running, her nightvision goggles flip up, revealing blue (in ''Half-Life'') or brown (in ''Opposing Force'') eyes, and she will pull her legs together and lie dead on her left side.
*The Female Assassin model featured in ''Opposing Force'' has brown eyes, while they are blue in that of ''Half-Life''. It also does not have grenades attached to its belt. The textures are also of lower resolution and slightly different, such as a different, darker grey for the Glock's silencer. Its overall build is also thinner.
*In the DLC "wcborderlandsThe Secret Armory of General Knoxx|The Secret Armory of General Knoxx" for Gearbox Software's 2009 video game ''wcborderlandsBorderlands|Borderlands'', enemies named "wcborderlandsLance Assassin|Lance Assassins" look and behave in a way very similar to the female Black Ops. This may have been influenced by Gearbox's work on the ''Half-Life'' expansions.
*The Female Assassin in ''Half-Life Source'' has a higher rate of fire and will likely shoot in automatic mode, without a decrease in accuracy.
*The Female Assassin tends to jump or run away rather than use melee attacks if player is too close to them.
==Gallery==
===Pre-release===
FileCia female soldier.jpg|Concept art for the CIA Female Soldier.
FileCia assassin.jpg|Concept art for the CIA Assassin.
FileCia brainboy.jpg|Concept art for the CIA Brainboy.
FileCia butcher.jpg|Concept art for the CIA Soldier.
FileSurface tension plan.jpg|Plan for the ''Half-Life'' chapter ''Surface Tension'', with an "open area" for the Black Ops on the far right.
FileBlack Ops oldpromo.jpg|Early promotional image, featuring the crossbow and a real life rendition of the Female Assassin. ''"She's smart, has a great personality, and knows that the way to a man's heart is through his sternum."''
FileBlack ops render.jpg|Early hi-res model render.
FileEarly assassin female model.jpg|Early hi-res model render with knife.
===Retail===
FileBlack Ops fem.jpg|The female Black Op.
FileBlack Ops female kick.jpg|The female Black Op kicking.
FileBlack op lookout.jpg|The female Black Op in lookout animation.
FileBlack Ops female op4.jpg|The female Black Op, ''Opposing Force'' model.
FileBlack Ops male3.jpg|The male Black Ops assassin from ''Opposing Force''.
FileBlack Ops male1.jpg|Another skin of the male assassin.
FileBlack Ops male2.jpg|Ditto.
FileApache Black Ops.jpg|The Black Ops Apache.
FileOsprey Black Ops.jpg|The Black Ops Osprey(cut).
FileBo cloak glock.jpg|A female Black Ops firing at Gordon with her cloaking device on.
FileBo cloak duo.jpg|Two female Black Ops firing at Gordon with their cloaking device on.
FileBo cloak grenade.jpg|Another female Black Op throwing a grenade at Gordon with her cloaking device on.
FileBlackop firing.jpg|Black Op firing at Shock Troopers beneath a gibbed comrade.
FileFoxtrot Uniform0.jpg|A Black Ops truck with unloaded troops.
FileBlack ops browning.jpg|Black Op manning an M2 Browning Machine Gun.
FileBlack ops truck1.jpg|Black Ops M35 cargo truck transporting the Mark IV Thermonuclear Device.
FileOps bomb1.jpg|The same truck, with male assassins and the bomb.
FileBlack ops mortar.jpg|Black Op manning a mortar.
FileBlack ops apache fly.jpg|Black Ops Apache firing at a Voltigore.
FileBlack ops apache voltigore.jpg|Ditto.
FileBomb far.jpg|Male assassins arming the bomb.
FileBlack Ops truck.jpg|The truck on which the bomb is armed.
FileOp4 install2.jpg|Screenshot of Shephard and his comrades fighting Shock Troopers, Headcrabs and Black Ops in the area following the dam, featured during the Opposing Force installation process.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Black Ops}}
CategoryFactionsCategoryEnemiesCategoryBlack Ops
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