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* Comicbook/{{Batman}} had an emergency plan to start a GangWar as Matches Malone and secretly manipulate it so as few people died as possible. Unfortunately, [[Comicbook/RobinSeries Stephanie Brown]] didn't realize Matches' key role in the plan when she set it in motion.
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* Comicbook/{{Batman}} Franchise/{{Batman}} had an emergency plan to start a GangWar as Matches Malone and secretly manipulate it so as few people died as possible. Unfortunately, [[Comicbook/RobinSeries Stephanie Brown]] didn't realize Matches' key role in the plan when she set it in motion.
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* The ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} TabletopGame/{{Discworld}}'' spaghetti western setting "A Fistful of Dwarfs" naturally includes this as a scenario, featuring The Dwarf With No Name.
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* The ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} TabletopGame/{{Discworld}}'' ''TabletopGame/DiscworldRoleplayingGame'' spaghetti western setting "A Fistful of Dwarfs" naturally includes this as a scenario, featuring The Dwarf With No Name.
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* ''{{ComicBook/Torpedo}}'' once had Torpedo's BumblingSidekick be mistaken for a (competent) assassin and hired by a Jewish shopkeeper to kill his competitor. Rascal goes to see the guy, who offers him more money, goes to see the first, who offers him more... In the end, he drags them both out into the street to make up their minds. They have a fast-paced discussion in Yiddish, shake hands... and beat the crap out of Rascal.
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* ''VideoGame/WayOfTheSamurai'' has this as one of its plot routes, which is unsurprising given that {{Yojimbo}} is a major influence on the game.
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* ''VideoGame/WayOfTheSamurai'' has this as one of its plot routes, which is unsurprising given that {{Yojimbo}} Film/{{Yojimbo}} is a major influence on the game.
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* ''VideoGame/WayOfTheSamurai'' has this as one of its plot routes, which is unsurprising given that {{Yojimbo}} is a major influence on the game.
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Also a subtrope of WholePlotReference, in this case to ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars''. [[OlderThanTheyThink Although this plot actually predates the film,]] [[TropeCodifier it's the one that's most directly imitated and referenced.]]
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Also a subtrope of WholePlotReference, in this case to ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars''. [[OlderThanTheyThink Although this plot actually predates the film,]] [[TropeCodifier it's the one that's most directly imitated and referenced.referenced by later works.]]
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* ''Literature/RedHarvest'' (the {{Trope Maker|s}}) and ''Literature/TheGlassKey'', both written by Dashiell Hammett.
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* ''Literature/RedHarvest'' (the {{Trope Maker|s}}) and ''Literature/TheGlassKey'', both written by Dashiell Hammett. Both feature a detective who starts out as a pawn in a turf war between rival gangs but who quickly finds a way to leverage the situation to his own advantage (and his would-be controllers' dismay).
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Also a subtrope of WholePlotReference, in this case to ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', [[OlderThanTheyThink although this plot actually predates the film.]]
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Also a subtrope of WholePlotReference, in this case to ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars''. [[OlderThanTheyThink although Although this plot actually predates the film.film,]] [[TropeCodifier it's the one that's most directly imitated and referenced.]]
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So you have a pair of bosses in one realm. They're both corrupt, and they both sell a certain type of goods (e.g. guns, alcoholic beverages, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking fabrics]], etc.). The town they run is a virtual ghost town. Then a lone warrior (usually a stranger) shows up, usually unprepared, and after learning about the situation in the town, he decides to eliminate both bosses and free the realm from their grip. This involves an elaborate spy game in which he masquerades as a member of one boss's gang and works behind the scenes to ensure that both gangs are completely annihilated.
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So you have a pair of bosses in one realm. They're both corrupt, and they both sell a certain type of goods (e.g. guns, alcoholic beverages, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking fabrics]], etc.). The town they run is a virtual ghost town.town aside from their cronies. Then a lone warrior (usually a stranger) shows up, usually unprepared, and after learning about the situation in the town, he decides to eliminate both bosses and free the realm from their grip. This involves an elaborate spy game in which he masquerades as a member of one boss's gang and works behind the scenes to ensure that both gangs are completely annihilated.
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* ''VideoGame/FarCry2'' has the player manipulate both sides in a civil war to get information on The Jackal so he can kill him. [[spoiler: In the end, both sides pull an EnemyMine and the player winds up working for The Jackal to kill the leaders of both sides.]]
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Renamed some tropes.
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Sometimes, there'll be a DistressedDamsel held prisoner (often due to a gambling debt) by the gang of which the lone warrior is a member. If that's the case, he'll eventually free her and [[ShooTheDog send her (and, if present, her family) away with some money]].
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Sometimes, there'll be a DistressedDamsel DamselInDistress held prisoner (often due to a gambling debt) by the gang of which the lone warrior is a member. If that's the case, he'll eventually free her and [[ShooTheDog send her (and, if present, her family) away with some money]].
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* [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} "Showdown at Dark City"]] is pretty much ''Yojimbo''... [[RecycledINSPACE with Pokémon!]] And two rival gyms going too far with the SeriousBusiness! [[LighterAndSofter And rated TV-Y7!]]
* ''HokutoNoKen'' had one such episode where two rival gangs are laying waste to the town. Ken's actions finally end in the two gang leaders unwillingly crushing each other to death via PressurePoint-enhanced BearHug. Ken has a rare BondOneLiner at this point, saying they make a lovely couple.
* ''HokutoNoKen'' had one such episode where two rival gangs are laying waste to the town. Ken's actions finally end in the two gang leaders unwillingly crushing each other to death via PressurePoint-enhanced BearHug. Ken has a rare BondOneLiner at this point, saying they make a lovely couple.
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* [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} "Showdown at Dark City"]] is pretty much ''Yojimbo''... [[RecycledINSPACE [[RecycledInSpace with Pokémon!]] And two rival gyms going too far with the SeriousBusiness! [[LighterAndSofter And rated TV-Y7!]]
*''HokutoNoKen'' ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' had one such episode where two rival gangs are laying waste to the town. Ken's actions finally end in the two gang leaders unwillingly crushing each other to death via PressurePoint-enhanced BearHug. Ken has a rare BondOneLiner at this point, saying they make a lovely couple.
*
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* ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', the first of Creator/SergioLeone's [[Film/DollarsTrilogy trilogy]] of {{Spaghetti Western}}s featuring the Man with No Name, is the TropeNamer. Kurosawa sued Leone for plagiarizing ''Yojimbo'' and won, which is why this one wasn't released in the United States until three years after it was made.
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* ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', the first of Creator/SergioLeone's [[Film/DollarsTrilogy trilogy]] of {{Spaghetti Western}}s featuring the Man with No Name, is the TropeNamer.{{Trope Namer|s}}. Kurosawa sued Leone for plagiarizing ''Yojimbo'' and won, which is why this one wasn't released in the United States until three years after it was made.
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* ''Film/TheWarriorAndTheSorceress'', which is more or less ''Yojimbo'' [[RecycledINSPACE in space]]. Its star, Creator/DavidCarradine, went into a discussion with executive producer Creator/RogerCorman over this.
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* ''Film/TheWarriorAndTheSorceress'', which is more or less ''Yojimbo'' [[RecycledINSPACE [[RecycledInSpace in space]]. Its star, Creator/DavidCarradine, went into a discussion with executive producer Creator/RogerCorman over this.
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* ''Film/LuckyNumberSlevin'' is this, but there's a KansasCityShuffle involved to kill both rival gangs' bosses (if a lot of people even know what a KansasCityShuffle is, it's probably because of this movie)... and it's pretty much [[AntiHero all]] [[BestServedCold about]] {{revenge}}, rather than trying to find some kind of good in killing both sides.
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* ''Film/LuckyNumberSlevin'' is this, but there's a KansasCityShuffle involved to kill both rival gangs' bosses (if a lot of people even know what a KansasCityShuffle is, it's probably because of this movie)... and it's pretty much [[AntiHero all]] {{a|ntiHero}}ll [[BestServedCold about]] {{revenge}}, rather than trying to find some kind of good in killing both sides.
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* ''Literature/RedHarvest'' (the TropeMaker) and ''Literature/TheGlassKey'', both written by Dashiell Hammett.
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* ''Literature/RedHarvest'' (the TropeMaker) {{Trope Maker|s}}) and ''Literature/TheGlassKey'', both written by Dashiell Hammett.
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[[AC: TabletopGames]]
* The ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} TabletopGame/{{Discworld}}'' spaghetti western setting "A Fistful of Dwarfs" naturally includes this as a scenario, featuring The Dwarf With No Name.
* The ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} TabletopGame/{{Discworld}}'' spaghetti western setting "A Fistful of Dwarfs" naturally includes this as a scenario, featuring The Dwarf With No Name.
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* {{Daredevil}} does this from time to time with the identity of a mysterious mob enforcer called "[[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname shades]]".
* {{Batman}} had an emergency plan to start a GangWar as Matches Malone and secretly manipulate it so as few people died as possible. Unfortunately, [[Comicbook/RobinSeries Stephanie Brown]] didn't realize Matches' key role in the plan when she set it in motion.
* {{Batman}} had an emergency plan to start a GangWar as Matches Malone and secretly manipulate it so as few people died as possible. Unfortunately, [[Comicbook/RobinSeries Stephanie Brown]] didn't realize Matches' key role in the plan when she set it in motion.
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* {{Daredevil}} Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} does this from time to time with the identity of a mysterious mob enforcer called "[[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname shades]]".
*{{Batman}} Comicbook/{{Batman}} had an emergency plan to start a GangWar as Matches Malone and secretly manipulate it so as few people died as possible. Unfortunately, [[Comicbook/RobinSeries Stephanie Brown]] didn't realize Matches' key role in the plan when she set it in motion.
*
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Also a subtrope of WholePlotReference, in this case to ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars''.
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Also a subtrope of WholePlotReference, in this case to ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars''.
''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', [[OlderThanTheyThink although this plot actually predates the film.]]
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[[AC: Comics
* This is the plot of the MarvelMAX LukeCage series.
* This is the plot of the MarvelMAX LukeCage series.
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[[AC: Comics
Comics]]
* This is the plot of theMarvelMAX MarvelComics [[DarkerAndEdgier MAX]] LukeCage series.
* This is the plot of the
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[[AC: Comics
* This is the plot of the MarvelMAX LukeCage series.
* {{Daredevil}} does this from time to time with the identity of a mysterious mob enforcer called "[[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname shades]]".
* {{Batman}} had an emergency plan to start a GangWar as Matches Malone and secretly manipulate it so as few people died as possible. Unfortunately, [[Comicbook/RobinSeries Stephanie Brown]] didn't realize Matches' key role in the plan when she set it in motion.
* ThePunisher has been known to do this when his [[KillEmAll usual methods]] are too direct. Although at least once he did the opposite and secretly facilitated a massive peace conglomeration among mob families so the leaders would all eventually meet to negotiate and he could get them all at once in the same room.
* This is the plot of the MarvelMAX LukeCage series.
* {{Daredevil}} does this from time to time with the identity of a mysterious mob enforcer called "[[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname shades]]".
* {{Batman}} had an emergency plan to start a GangWar as Matches Malone and secretly manipulate it so as few people died as possible. Unfortunately, [[Comicbook/RobinSeries Stephanie Brown]] didn't realize Matches' key role in the plan when she set it in motion.
* ThePunisher has been known to do this when his [[KillEmAll usual methods]] are too direct. Although at least once he did the opposite and secretly facilitated a massive peace conglomeration among mob families so the leaders would all eventually meet to negotiate and he could get them all at once in the same room.
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* ''{{Yojimbo}}'', the most popular of Creator/AkiraKurosawa's films, was chiefly inspired by a 1942 [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]] of ''The Glass Key'', though the plot more closely follows that of ''Red Harvest''.
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* ''{{Yojimbo}}'', ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'', the most popular of Creator/AkiraKurosawa's films, was chiefly inspired by a 1942 [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]] of ''The Glass Key'', though the plot more closely follows that of ''Red Harvest''.
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* ''Support Your Local Gunfighter'', starring James Garner, is a parody about a gambler named Latigo who wanders into a jerkwater mining town led by, you guessed it, two mining bosses looking for gold. He pretends to be an enforcer for both sides. HilarityEnsues.
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* ''Support Your Local Gunfighter'', ''Film/SupportYourLocalGunfighter'', starring James Garner, is a parody about a gambler named Latigo who wanders into a jerkwater mining town led by, you guessed it, two mining bosses looking for gold. He pretends to be an enforcer for both sides. HilarityEnsues.
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* Pretty much Shintaro Katsu's ''{{Zatoichi}}'' had this as his M.O. whenever he walked into a town with two oyabuns/gangs/corrupt officials. You could bet that by the end of the episode or movie they'd all be dead after Zatoichi had been playing them or they'd played him for a fool and the blind anma had exacted bloody vengeance on them and their underlings.
* The JeanClaudeVanDamme movie ''Film/DesertHeat'', with two feuding criminal CorruptHick families (one rocking the AllBikersAreHellsAngels look and one which looks more like a CrazySurvivalist gang) and occurring deep in the New Mexico desert. JCVD's character is robbed of his CoolBike (an Indian) and LeftForDead, and he goes OneManArmy on both sides-with some help of the local townfolk on the final battle.
* The JeanClaudeVanDamme movie ''Film/DesertHeat'', with two feuding criminal CorruptHick families (one rocking the AllBikersAreHellsAngels look and one which looks more like a CrazySurvivalist gang) and occurring deep in the New Mexico desert. JCVD's character is robbed of his CoolBike (an Indian) and LeftForDead, and he goes OneManArmy on both sides-with some help of the local townfolk on the final battle.
to:
* Pretty much Shintaro Katsu's ''{{Zatoichi}}'' ''Film/{{Zatoichi}}'' had this as his M.O. whenever he walked into a town with two oyabuns/gangs/corrupt officials. You could bet that by the end of the episode or movie they'd all be dead after Zatoichi had been playing them or they'd played him for a fool and the blind anma had exacted bloody vengeance on them and their underlings.
* TheJeanClaudeVanDamme Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme movie ''Film/DesertHeat'', with two feuding criminal CorruptHick families (one rocking the AllBikersAreHellsAngels look and one which looks more like a CrazySurvivalist gang) and occurring deep in the New Mexico desert. JCVD's character is robbed of his CoolBike (an Indian) and LeftForDead, and he goes OneManArmy on both sides-with some help of the local townfolk on the final battle.
* The
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* The Second Doctor story "The Highlanders", in which the Doctor accidentally gets caught up in war between the Jacobites and the English, poses as a German and has a lovely time playing both sides off against each other by selling them fabricated information.
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* The Second Doctor ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "The Highlanders", in which the Doctor accidentally gets caught up in war between the Jacobites and the English, poses as a German and has a lovely time playing both sides off against each other by selling them fabricated information.
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* The Second Doctor story "The Highlanders", in which the Doctor accidentally gets caught up in war between the Jacobites and the English, poses as a German and has a lovely time playing both sides off against each other by selling them fabricated information.
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* ''{{Yojimbo}}'', the most popular of AkiraKurosawa's films, was chiefly inspired by a 1942 [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]] of ''The Glass Key'', though the plot more closely follows that of ''Red Harvest''.
to:
* ''{{Yojimbo}}'', the most popular of AkiraKurosawa's Creator/AkiraKurosawa's films, was chiefly inspired by a 1942 [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]] of ''The Glass Key'', though the plot more closely follows that of ''Red Harvest''.
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* ''[[Literature/{{Dragaera}} Jhegaala]]'' was referred to in one review as "Creator/StevenBrust doing ''Red Harvest''". The critic would be pretty much accurate in his assessment.
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* ''[[Literature/{{Dragaera}} Jhegaala]]'' was referred to in one review as "Creator/StevenBrust doing ''Red Harvest''". The critic would be pretty much accurate in his assessment. The plot involves ex-assassin Vlad Taltos returning to his hometown and finding it wracked with corruption and caught between a corrupt merchants guild and a "[[WeirdTradeUnion guild]]" of witches. Vlad naturally plays the two against each other.
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* ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', the first of SergioLeone's [[Film/DollarsTrilogy trilogy]] of {{Spaghetti Western}}s featuring the Man with No Name, is the TropeNamer. Kurosawa sued Leone for plagiarizing ''Yojimbo'' and won, which is why this one wasn't released in the United States until three years after it was made.
to:
* ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', the first of SergioLeone's Creator/SergioLeone's [[Film/DollarsTrilogy trilogy]] of {{Spaghetti Western}}s featuring the Man with No Name, is the TropeNamer. Kurosawa sued Leone for plagiarizing ''Yojimbo'' and won, which is why this one wasn't released in the United States until three years after it was made.
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[[AC:Video Games]]
* In the original ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', when you arrive to the Sith Academy world Korriban, you find yourself drawn into a power play between two top instructors, vying for control over the Academy. While you can support either of them, the most satisfying resolution is to let them both think of yourself as their double agent and ultimately triple-cross them into destroying each other.
* In the original ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', when you arrive to the Sith Academy world Korriban, you find yourself drawn into a power play between two top instructors, vying for control over the Academy. While you can support either of them, the most satisfying resolution is to let them both think of yourself as their double agent and ultimately triple-cross them into destroying each other.
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* ''Film/RoadhouseNights'' is a loose adaptation of ''Red Harvest'' from Paramount Pictures, coincidentally the same studio that adapted ''The Glass Key''.
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* ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', the first of SergioLeone's [[DollarsTrilogy trilogy]] of {{Spaghetti Western}}s featuring the Man with No Name, is the TropeNamer. Kurosawa sued Leone for plagiarizing ''Yojimbo'' and won, which is why this one wasn't released in the United States until three years after it was made.
to:
* ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', the first of SergioLeone's [[DollarsTrilogy [[Film/DollarsTrilogy trilogy]] of {{Spaghetti Western}}s featuring the Man with No Name, is the TropeNamer. Kurosawa sued Leone for plagiarizing ''Yojimbo'' and won, which is why this one wasn't released in the United States until three years after it was made.
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Note that for a conflict to qualify as this, the conflict already has to be underway by the time the lone warrior shows up. If he's the one who started the conflict in the first place, you may be looking for PlayingBothSides, of which it's a SubTrope. Also a SubTrope of WholePlotReference.
Compare DoubleAgent (who's usually genuinely on one side), ItsAWonderfulPlot, YetAnotherChristmasCarol, HowTheCharacterStoleChristmas. If this is presented as an option in a videogame, it may be an example of OmnicidalNeutral.
Compare DoubleAgent (who's usually genuinely on one side), ItsAWonderfulPlot, YetAnotherChristmasCarol, HowTheCharacterStoleChristmas. If this is presented as an option in a videogame, it may be an example of OmnicidalNeutral.
to:
Note that for a conflict to qualify as this, the conflict already has to be underway by the time the lone warrior shows up. If he's the one who started the conflict in the first place, you may be looking for PlayingBothSides, of which it's a SubTrope.
Also aSubTrope subtrope of WholePlotReference.
WholePlotReference, in this case to ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars''.
Compare DoubleAgent (who's usually genuinely on oneside), ItsAWonderfulPlot, YetAnotherChristmasCarol, HowTheCharacterStoleChristmas.side). If this is presented as an option in a videogame, it may be an example of OmnicidalNeutral.
Also a
Compare DoubleAgent (who's usually genuinely on one
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!!!Anime and Manga
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[[AC:Anime and
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!!!Film
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!!!Literature
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!!!Live-Action TV
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!!!Theatre
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!!!Webcomics
* Parodied/subverted in the ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' bonus strip "Uncivil Servant", which shows an incident from the backstory of HeroicComicSociopath TokenEvilTeammate Belkar. Belkar arrives in a town and sees men from two rival organizations demanding money from a shopkeeper. Both of them see Belkar slay a giant bug and each wants them on their side, because of his skills. Belkar ends up killing them both, and does a ShoutOut to Toshiro Mifune as he does so. However, in a darkly humorous TomatoSurprise, it turns out that Belkar misread the situation and killed innocent people [[spoiler: the two guys weren't gangsters- they were a policeman and a fireman each seeking donations for their organizations; the two organizations also have a volleyball game for charity, and each wanted Belkar because of his jumping skills]].
* Parodied/subverted in the ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' bonus strip "Uncivil Servant", which shows an incident from the backstory of HeroicComicSociopath TokenEvilTeammate Belkar. Belkar arrives in a town and sees men from two rival organizations demanding money from a shopkeeper. Both of them see Belkar slay a giant bug and each wants them on their side, because of his skills. Belkar ends up killing them both, and does a ShoutOut to Toshiro Mifune as he does so. However, in a darkly humorous TomatoSurprise, it turns out that Belkar misread the situation and killed innocent people [[spoiler: the two guys weren't gangsters- they were a policeman and a fireman each seeking donations for their organizations; the two organizations also have a volleyball game for charity, and each wanted Belkar because of his jumping skills]].
to:
* Parodied/subverted in the ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' bonus strip "Uncivil Servant", which shows an incident from the backstory of
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Came across it online and was able to read it- an interesting and funny parody
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!!!Webcomics
* Parodied/subverted in the ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' bonus strip "Uncivil Servant", which shows an incident from the backstory of HeroicComicSociopath TokenEvilTeammate Belkar. Belkar arrives in a town and sees men from two rival organizations demanding money from a shopkeeper. Both of them see Belkar slay a giant bug and each wants them on their side, because of his skills. Belkar ends up killing them both, and does a ShoutOut to Toshiro Mifune as he does so. However, in a darkly humorous TomatoSurprise, it turns out that Belkar misread the situation and killed innocent people [[spoiler: the two guys weren't gangsters- they were a policeman and a fireman each seeking donations for their organizations; the two organizations also have a volleyball game for charity, and each wanted Belkar because of his jumping skills]].
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* At least one killer in ''{{NUMB3RS}}'', particularly one who caused domino-effect killings (he shoots at Gang A, who retaliates against Gang B, who retaliates back, people get caught in the crossfire... repeat until about 150 people are dead) after his young son was murdered by gangsters. By the time the crew catches up with him, he is very clearly insane.
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* At least one killer in ''{{NUMB3RS}}'', ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'', particularly one who caused domino-effect killings (he shoots at Gang A, who retaliates against Gang B, who retaliates back, people get caught in the crossfire... repeat until about 150 people are dead) after his young son was murdered by gangsters. By the time the crew catches up with him, he is very clearly insane.
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* The CommediaDellArte play ''Servant of Two Masters'' is the UrExample, and is cited as a major inspiration for ''Fistful''.
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* The CommediaDellArte play ''Servant of Two Masters'' is the UrExample, and is cited as a major inspiration for ''Fistful''.''Fistful''.
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So you have a pair of bosses in one realm. They're both corrupt, and they both sell a certain type of goods (e.g. guns, alcoholic beverages, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking fabrics]], etc.). The town they run is a virtual ghost town. Then a lone warrior (usually a stranger) shows up, usually unprepared, and after learning about the situation in the town, he decides to eliminate both bosses and free the realm from their grip. This involves an elaborate spy game in which he masquerades as a member of one boss's gang and works behind the scenes to ensure that both gangs are completely annihilated.
Sometimes, there'll be a DistressedDamsel held prisoner (often due to a gambling debt) by the gang of which the lone warrior is a member. If that's the case, he'll eventually free her and [[ShooTheDog send her (and, if present, her family) away with some money]].
Note that for a conflict to qualify as this, the conflict already has to be underway by the time the lone warrior shows up. If he's the one who started the conflict in the first place, you may be looking for PlayingBothSides, of which it's a SubTrope. Also a SubTrope of WholePlotReference.
Compare DoubleAgent (who's usually genuinely on one side), ItsAWonderfulPlot, YetAnotherChristmasCarol, HowTheCharacterStoleChristmas. If this is presented as an option in a videogame, it may be an example of OmnicidalNeutral.
!!Examples
!!!Anime and Manga
*[[Anime/{{Pokemon}} "Showdown at Dark City"]] is pretty much ''Yojimbo''... [[RecycledINSPACE with Pokémon!]] And two rival gyms going too far with the SeriousBusiness! [[LighterAndSofter And rated TV-Y7!]]
*''HokutoNoKen'' had one such episode where two rival gangs are laying waste to the town. Ken's actions finally end in the two gang leaders unwillingly crushing each other to death via PressurePoint-enhanced BearHug. Ken has a rare BondOneLiner at this point, saying they make a lovely couple.
*Subverted in ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'' and ''Anime/KazemakaseTsukikageRan''. Both have a basically JidaiGeki setting, and both also have episodes that seem to be shout outs, having the ronin protagonists come to a town occupied by rival gangs. ''However'', in both works, one of the gangs is clearly the good guys (probably owing to the fact that in ''Yojimbo'' one was ALighterShadeOfBlack), and the protagonist(s) takes their side.
*''Anime/KazeNoYojimbo'': George Kodama arrives into a town divided by two rival syndicates and [[WrongSideOfTheTracks tracks]]. He's searching for a man called Araki Genzo and what happened to a [[TrainJob missing railcar]], and end up playing them.
!!!Film
*''{{Yojimbo}}'', the most popular of AkiraKurosawa's films, was chiefly inspired by a 1942 [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]] of ''The Glass Key'', though the plot more closely follows that of ''Red Harvest''.
*''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', the first of SergioLeone's [[DollarsTrilogy trilogy]] of {{Spaghetti Western}}s featuring the Man with No Name, is the TropeNamer. Kurosawa sued Leone for plagiarizing ''Yojimbo'' and won, which is why this one wasn't released in the United States until three years after it was made.
*''Film/LastManStanding'', set during the Prohibition era. Unlike ''Fistful of Dollars'', this one is an authorized remake of ''Yojimbo''.
*''Support Your Local Gunfighter'', starring James Garner, is a parody about a gambler named Latigo who wanders into a jerkwater mining town led by, you guessed it, two mining bosses looking for gold. He pretends to be an enforcer for both sides. HilarityEnsues.
*''Film/TheWarriorAndTheSorceress'', which is more or less ''Yojimbo'' [[RecycledINSPACE in space]]. Its star, Creator/DavidCarradine, went into a discussion with executive producer Creator/RogerCorman over this.
*''Film/MillersCrossing'', which is inspired chiefly by ''The Glass Key'' and is about a gang war that starts when one boss puts a bookie (who the other boss had put a hit on) under his protection, with TheDragon to the first boss (who, unusually for this trope, survives) PlayingBothSides.
*''Film/LuckyNumberSlevin'' is this, but there's a KansasCityShuffle involved to kill both rival gangs' bosses (if a lot of people even know what a KansasCityShuffle is, it's probably because of this movie)... and it's pretty much [[AntiHero all]] [[BestServedCold about]] {{revenge}}, rather than trying to find some kind of good in killing both sides.
*''Film/SukiyakiWesternDjango'' is about a lone gunman who joins forces with a prostitute to take down the Genji and Heike gangs a few hundred years after the Genpei War. Bonus points for including a character called Piripero (the name of the cooper in ''Fistful of Dollars'').
*Pretty much Shintaro Katsu's ''{{Zatoichi}}'' had this as his M.O. whenever he walked into a town with two oyabuns/gangs/corrupt officials. You could bet that by the end of the episode or movie they'd all be dead after Zatoichi had been playing them or they'd played him for a fool and the blind anma had exacted bloody vengeance on them and their underlings.
*The JeanClaudeVanDamme movie ''Film/DesertHeat'', with two feuding criminal CorruptHick families (one rocking the AllBikersAreHellsAngels look and one which looks more like a CrazySurvivalist gang) and occurring deep in the New Mexico desert. JCVD's character is robbed of his CoolBike (an Indian) and LeftForDead, and he goes OneManArmy on both sides-with some help of the local townfolk on the final battle.
!!!Literature
*''Literature/RedHarvest'' (the TropeMaker) and ''Literature/TheGlassKey'', both written by Dashiell Hammett.
*''Literature/TheSharpEnd'', written by David Drake. [[http://david-drake.com/2010/the-sharp-end/ Drake himself confessed to cribbing the plot]] from ''Red Harvest''.
*''[[Literature/{{Dragaera}} Jhegaala]]'' was referred to in one review as "Creator/StevenBrust doing ''Red Harvest''". The critic would be pretty much accurate in his assessment.
*Another potential subversion: ''Literature/RedCountry'' (a fantasy Western) has the protagonists go to a "town" that is being fought over by two rival saloon owners/brothel keepers and they fight on the side of the one that they interpret (possibly incorrectly) as the good guy.
!!!Live-Action TV
*At least one killer in ''{{NUMB3RS}}'', particularly one who caused domino-effect killings (he shoots at Gang A, who retaliates against Gang B, who retaliates back, people get caught in the crossfire... repeat until about 150 people are dead) after his young son was murdered by gangsters. By the time the crew catches up with him, he is very clearly insane.
!!!Theatre
*The CommediaDellArte play ''Servant of Two Masters'' is the UrExample, and is cited as a major inspiration for ''Fistful''.
Sometimes, there'll be a DistressedDamsel held prisoner (often due to a gambling debt) by the gang of which the lone warrior is a member. If that's the case, he'll eventually free her and [[ShooTheDog send her (and, if present, her family) away with some money]].
Note that for a conflict to qualify as this, the conflict already has to be underway by the time the lone warrior shows up. If he's the one who started the conflict in the first place, you may be looking for PlayingBothSides, of which it's a SubTrope. Also a SubTrope of WholePlotReference.
Compare DoubleAgent (who's usually genuinely on one side), ItsAWonderfulPlot, YetAnotherChristmasCarol, HowTheCharacterStoleChristmas. If this is presented as an option in a videogame, it may be an example of OmnicidalNeutral.
!!Examples
!!!Anime and Manga
*[[Anime/{{Pokemon}} "Showdown at Dark City"]] is pretty much ''Yojimbo''... [[RecycledINSPACE with Pokémon!]] And two rival gyms going too far with the SeriousBusiness! [[LighterAndSofter And rated TV-Y7!]]
*''HokutoNoKen'' had one such episode where two rival gangs are laying waste to the town. Ken's actions finally end in the two gang leaders unwillingly crushing each other to death via PressurePoint-enhanced BearHug. Ken has a rare BondOneLiner at this point, saying they make a lovely couple.
*Subverted in ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'' and ''Anime/KazemakaseTsukikageRan''. Both have a basically JidaiGeki setting, and both also have episodes that seem to be shout outs, having the ronin protagonists come to a town occupied by rival gangs. ''However'', in both works, one of the gangs is clearly the good guys (probably owing to the fact that in ''Yojimbo'' one was ALighterShadeOfBlack), and the protagonist(s) takes their side.
*''Anime/KazeNoYojimbo'': George Kodama arrives into a town divided by two rival syndicates and [[WrongSideOfTheTracks tracks]]. He's searching for a man called Araki Genzo and what happened to a [[TrainJob missing railcar]], and end up playing them.
!!!Film
*''{{Yojimbo}}'', the most popular of AkiraKurosawa's films, was chiefly inspired by a 1942 [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]] of ''The Glass Key'', though the plot more closely follows that of ''Red Harvest''.
*''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', the first of SergioLeone's [[DollarsTrilogy trilogy]] of {{Spaghetti Western}}s featuring the Man with No Name, is the TropeNamer. Kurosawa sued Leone for plagiarizing ''Yojimbo'' and won, which is why this one wasn't released in the United States until three years after it was made.
*''Film/LastManStanding'', set during the Prohibition era. Unlike ''Fistful of Dollars'', this one is an authorized remake of ''Yojimbo''.
*''Support Your Local Gunfighter'', starring James Garner, is a parody about a gambler named Latigo who wanders into a jerkwater mining town led by, you guessed it, two mining bosses looking for gold. He pretends to be an enforcer for both sides. HilarityEnsues.
*''Film/TheWarriorAndTheSorceress'', which is more or less ''Yojimbo'' [[RecycledINSPACE in space]]. Its star, Creator/DavidCarradine, went into a discussion with executive producer Creator/RogerCorman over this.
*''Film/MillersCrossing'', which is inspired chiefly by ''The Glass Key'' and is about a gang war that starts when one boss puts a bookie (who the other boss had put a hit on) under his protection, with TheDragon to the first boss (who, unusually for this trope, survives) PlayingBothSides.
*''Film/LuckyNumberSlevin'' is this, but there's a KansasCityShuffle involved to kill both rival gangs' bosses (if a lot of people even know what a KansasCityShuffle is, it's probably because of this movie)... and it's pretty much [[AntiHero all]] [[BestServedCold about]] {{revenge}}, rather than trying to find some kind of good in killing both sides.
*''Film/SukiyakiWesternDjango'' is about a lone gunman who joins forces with a prostitute to take down the Genji and Heike gangs a few hundred years after the Genpei War. Bonus points for including a character called Piripero (the name of the cooper in ''Fistful of Dollars'').
*Pretty much Shintaro Katsu's ''{{Zatoichi}}'' had this as his M.O. whenever he walked into a town with two oyabuns/gangs/corrupt officials. You could bet that by the end of the episode or movie they'd all be dead after Zatoichi had been playing them or they'd played him for a fool and the blind anma had exacted bloody vengeance on them and their underlings.
*The JeanClaudeVanDamme movie ''Film/DesertHeat'', with two feuding criminal CorruptHick families (one rocking the AllBikersAreHellsAngels look and one which looks more like a CrazySurvivalist gang) and occurring deep in the New Mexico desert. JCVD's character is robbed of his CoolBike (an Indian) and LeftForDead, and he goes OneManArmy on both sides-with some help of the local townfolk on the final battle.
!!!Literature
*''Literature/RedHarvest'' (the TropeMaker) and ''Literature/TheGlassKey'', both written by Dashiell Hammett.
*''Literature/TheSharpEnd'', written by David Drake. [[http://david-drake.com/2010/the-sharp-end/ Drake himself confessed to cribbing the plot]] from ''Red Harvest''.
*''[[Literature/{{Dragaera}} Jhegaala]]'' was referred to in one review as "Creator/StevenBrust doing ''Red Harvest''". The critic would be pretty much accurate in his assessment.
*Another potential subversion: ''Literature/RedCountry'' (a fantasy Western) has the protagonists go to a "town" that is being fought over by two rival saloon owners/brothel keepers and they fight on the side of the one that they interpret (possibly incorrectly) as the good guy.
!!!Live-Action TV
*At least one killer in ''{{NUMB3RS}}'', particularly one who caused domino-effect killings (he shoots at Gang A, who retaliates against Gang B, who retaliates back, people get caught in the crossfire... repeat until about 150 people are dead) after his young son was murdered by gangsters. By the time the crew catches up with him, he is very clearly insane.
!!!Theatre
*The CommediaDellArte play ''Servant of Two Masters'' is the UrExample, and is cited as a major inspiration for ''Fistful''.
