History Main / BetrayalByOffspring

[[folder: ComicBooks]]

* On ''Series/{{Justified}}'' Bo Crowder, his son Boyd and his nephew Johnny are career criminals. After being shot, Boyd has a HeelFaithTurn where he becomes convinced that he is on a mission from God to stop his father's drug dealing business. Boyd tricks Johnny into helping him destroy a truck full of drug-making supplies, which puts Bo into serious debt to TheCartel. Bo is furious and he gives Boyd a vicious beating, shoots Johnny and murders all of Boyd's followers. Boyd's betrayal forces Bo into desperate action to appease his cartel partners and ultimately [[spoiler: gets him killed.]]

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': The Literature/HorusHeresy was caused by half of the Emperor's genetically-modified sons falling to Chaos, with Horus and the Emperor duking it out on Horus' flagship. The Emperor held back for a time, but the one act that caused him to realize his son was irredeemable was seeing him mentally flay a non-enhanced soldier standing between the two (in other editions, the soldier was another SpaceMarine, or a Terminator-armored elite, or even an immortal human posing as a soldier and now revered as the patron saint of Guardsmen). While he struck Horus dead, the Emperor's wounds were too severe, and his quasi-corpse has been on the Golden Throne of Terra ever since.

** ''VideoGame/WildArmsMillionMemories'' re-uses this betrayal and takes it [[UpToEleven Up To Eleven.]] Lady Harken betrays Mother as her true self starts to emerge. Zed betrays her when he reveals her plans to the heroes. Siegfried's betrayal of involves him roping the main protagonist into an unlikely team up, but he even [[TakingTheBullet takes the bullet for him]] and pulls off a [[HeroicSacrifice Heroic Sacrifice.]]

* ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'': Lusamine declares herself betrayed and disowns her children when they refuse to go along with her plans and even take measures to stop her from putting them into action.
* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', at the end of chapter 1 of ''Knights of the Fallen Empire'', Arcann either (depending on player choice) frees the player character and gives them the opportunity to kill his father Valkorion, or kills Valkorion himself.

Exactly what type of action constitutes a child's act of betrayal varies. In more overt instances, it can be part of an intrafamily [[DeadlyDecadentCourt power struggle over control of a kingdom or empire.]] Here, Betrayal by Offspring is a supertrope of EvilPrince and can result in a SelfMadeOrphan if the act involves {{Patricide}} and/or {{Matricide}}. If this doesn't happen, OffingTheOffspring can be the reaction of the betrayed parent. In less violent situations, the intrafamily power struggle and the act of betrayal can be over business and/or financial matters. These usually have fewer bloody outcomes but the emotional wreckage is still high.

[[folder:Anime And Manga]]

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': This is one of the purposes of Lelouch's rebellion against his father, Emperor Charles, who abandoned him and his sister in Japan. Then it turns out that his mother, who is actually alive, is in league with his father and they both want to create a world without lies by destroying God, and try to convince their son to join them. Lelouch rejects them both by using the Geass on God, which not only thwarts their plans but also cause them to disappear into oblivion.

* ''Anime/KillLaKill'': At the end of episode 17, Satsuki backstabs Ragyo (quite literally) before crucifying her, claiming that she spent making Honnouji Academy to destroy her, rather than work for her. This is promted by Ragyo killing her father and baby sister when she was one years old. After Ryuko is revealed to be Ragyo's other daughter, Ryuko betrays her too. [[AbusiveParents To put it quite bluntly]], [[TheDogBitesBack Ragyo absolutely deserves it]].

[[folder:ComicBooks]]

** William Hayes an EvilOrphan adopted by a good family is one of those cases in which [[TheFarmerAndTheViper being evil was in the blood]], almost killed his adoptive father once and threatened him and his adoptive mother. By sacrificing his adopted sister (later revealed to be Secret, a Young Justice member) to the demon Fuzz, William gained powers and converted into the young supervillain Harm, the Archnemisis of Young Justice. After the group saved the day, Harm is [[TheDogBitesBack killed by his own father]], but [[DeathIsCheap eventually he'll come back]].

[[folder:Fan Works]]

[[folder:Film - Animation]]

* In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', we learn that Kylo Ren is actually the son of [[spoiler:Leia and Han Solo]], but he betrayed them and turned to the dark side of the Force. Later in the movie, when [[spoiler:Han Solo tries to convince Kylo to turn back, he pretends to agree before suddenly killing Han]].
* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'': Ego sees Peter's [[spoiler:shooting him after TheReveal that it was Ego who gave Peter's mother a brain tumor as this]], apparently thinking his BlueAndOrangeMorality applied to his son as well. Since WeCanRuleTogether is off the table, he resolves to use Peter as a living battery.

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]

* Children in ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' are encouraged to turn their parents in to the Thought Police for subversive behavior. [[spoiler:Parsons]] is arrested after his daughter (allegedly) hears him whispering "Down with Big Brother" in his sleep.

* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'' Season 6, Roose Bolton reveals to his household that his wife bore him a son. Ramsay, Roose's bastard son who is recently legitimized by the Iron Throne, doesn't take the news very well. So, when he congratulates his father, [[spoiler:he fatally stabs him on the gut]].
* ''Series/{{Ghoul}}'': Nida reported her own father to the authorities for his subversive activities, which she feels a great deal of guilt about. She later learns that he used to be imprisoned in the interrogation facility she has joined [[spoiler:and was also executed there]].

[[folder:{{Mythology}}]]

[[folder:{{Religion}}]]

[[folder:{{Theater}}]]

* The example from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' about children being encouraged by the government to turn in their parent for subversive behavior is what actually happened in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
** Actually as far as the USSR is concerned, this is propaganda; what really happened was, after a case where a child who told his teacher that his father and uncle were sexually abusing him was told to stop telling lies, and was subsequently murdered by his abusers, Stalin issued a decree that any child that made allegations of abuse was at least to be given the benefit of the doubt and the allegations fully investigated; this was given an unfavourable spin by anti-Soviet propagandists in the West.

* ChildSoldiers are usually trained to be human weapons since an early age to fight in a war or for being someone's personal army. In various cases around the world, one of the most known "baptisms of fire" is to shoot and kill their own parents without hesitation nor remorse.

* ''Anime/KillLaKill'': At the end of episode 17, Satsuki backstabs Ragyo (quite literally) before crucifying her, claiming that she spent making Honnouji Academy to destroy her, rather than work for her. This is promted by Ragyo killing her father and baby sister when she was one years old. After Ryuko is revealed to be Ragyo's other daughter, Ryuko betrays her too.

* Flashbacks in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' reveal that Zeke Yaeger, the Beast Titan and Eren's half-brother, sold out his own parents to the military as a kid, which ultimately resulted in Grisha, his and Eren's father, being sent to Paradis Island and escaping death only by the help of military official Kruger, who gave him the powers of the Attack Titan (which Eren currently possesses), while Zeke's mother was turned into the Titan who later ate Eren's mother and fueled Eren's desire to wipe out the Titans and join the Survey Corps. His motive is domestic abuse from his Eldian-pride fanatic parents, which caused him to latch on to a more grounded father-figure in LesCollaberateurs. He doesn't seem to regret it.

* Done near the end of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' where Gihren Zabi kills his own father with a WaveMotionGun when he tries to negotiate peace with the leaders of the Federation. Gihren's victory doesn't last long when his sister Kycilia arrives and kills him for what he did]].

* Flashbacks in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' reveal that [[spoiler:Zeke Yaeger, the Beast Titan and Eren's half-brother,]] sold out his own parents to the military as a kid, [[spoiler:which ultimately resulted in Grisha, his and Eren's father, being sent to Paradis Island and escaping death only by the help of military official Kruger, who gave him the powers of the Attack Titan (which Eren currently possesses), while Zeke's mother was turned into the Titan who later ate Eren's mother and fueled Eren's desire to wipe out the Titans and join the Survey Corps. His motive is domestic abuse from his Eldian-pride fanatic parents, which caused him to latch on to a more grounded father-figure in LesCollaberateurs]]. He doesn't seem to regret it.

** He's an adopted rather than biological son, but Teach's betrayal towards the Whitebeard Pirates (where the crew refers to Whitebeard as their "father") by killing his crewmate Thatch is treated like a son betraying his father, and thus Ace (one of Whitebeard's strongest crew members) takes it upon himself to hunt and punish Teach. Later on, [[spoiler: in the Battle of Marineford, Teach - now Blackbeard - assaults the place and kills Whitebeard.]]
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': This is one of the purposes of Lelouch's rebellion against his father, Emperor Charles, who abandoned him and his sister in Japan. [[spoiler: Then it turns out that his mother, who is actually alive, is in league with his father and they both want to create a world without lies by destroying God, and try to convince their son to join them. Lelouch rejects them both by using the Geass on God, which not only thwarts their plans but also cause them to disappear into oblivion]].
* Done near the end of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' [[spoiler:where Gihren Zabi kills his own father with a WaveMotionGun when he tries to negotiate peace with the leaders of the Federation. Gihren's victory doesn't last long when his sister Kycilia arrives and kills him for what he did]].
* The plot of Anime/{{Cross Ange}} is kicked off when Ange's brother reveals that not only is his sister a Norma but that his parents knew about this and hid it for years. He then usurps the throne, orders his sister arrested and exiled, has his mother killed when she attempts to protect Ange, and later [[spoiler: has his father executed]].
* ''Anime/KillLaKill'': At the end of episode 17, Satsuki backstabs Ragyo (quite literally) before crucifying her, claiming that she spent making Honnouji Academy to destroy her, rather than work for her. This is promted by Ragyo killing her father and baby sister when she was one years old. [[spoiler:After Ryuko is revealed to be Ragyo's other daughter, Ryuko betrays her too]].

** William Hayes an EvilOrphan adopted by a good family is one of those cases in which [[TheFarmerAndTheViper being evil was in the blood]], almost killed his adoptive father once and threatened him and his adoptive mother. By sacrificing his adopted sister [[spoiler:(later revealed to be Secret, a Young Justice member)]] to the demon Fuzz, William gained powers and converted into the young supervillain Harm, the Archnemisis of Young Justice. [[spoiler:After the group saved the day, Harm is [[TheDogBitesBack killed by his own father]], but [[DeathIsCheap eventually he'll come back]].]]

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'': The Literature/HorusHeresy was caused by half of the Emperor's genetically-modified sons falling to Chaos, with Horus and the Emperor duking it out on Horus' flagship. The Emperor held back for a time, but the one act that caused him to realize his son was irredeemable was seeing him mentally flay a non-enhanced soldier standing between the two (in other editions, the soldier was another SpaceMarine, or a Terminator-armored elite, or even an immortal human posing as a soldier and now revered as the patron saint of Guardsmen). While he struck Horus dead, the Emperor's wounds were too severe, and his quasi-corpse has been on the Golden Throne of Terra ever since.

* Flashbacks in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' reveal that [[spoiler:Zeke Yaeger, the Beast Titan and Eren's half-brother,]] sold out his own parents to the military as a kid, [[spoiler:which ultimately resulted in Grisha, his and Eren's father, being sent to Paradis Island and escaping death only by the help of military official Kruger, who gave him the powers of the Attack Titan (which Eren currently possesses), while Zeke's mother was turned into the Titan who later ate Eren's mother and fueled Eren's desire to wipe out the Titans and join the Survey Corps]]. He doesn't seem to regret it.

[[/fold

[[/folder]]

On the other hand, the child's act of betrayal does not always have to be unambiguous and outright. In fact, the child even could be trying to do something he or she thinks is the right thing. However, [[CategoryTraitor the parent considers it an act of betrayal]] because it conflicts with his or her religious beliefs, moral convictions, political ideology, cultural values, or family traditions. This, in turn, often leads to a scene where the parent proclaims, "IHaveNoSon (or Daughter)!" Sometimes, however, it is just because the child HatesTheirParent, and wants to see them fail. In examples where this trope is PlayedForLaughs, it also can be over [[SeriousBusiness something that's ridiculously minor]] but [[ComicalOverreacting the parent reacts as if the child has stabbed him or her in the heart.]]

On the other hand, the child's act of betrayal does not always have to be unambiguous and outright. In fact, the child even could be trying to do something he or she thinks is the right thing. However, [[CategoryTraitor the parent considers it an act of betrayal]] because it conflicts with his or her religious beliefs, moral convictions, political ideology, cultural values, or family traditions. This, in turn, often leads to a scene where the parent proclaims, "IHaveNoSon (or Daughter)!" In examples where this trope is PlayedForLaughs, it also can be over [[SeriousBusiness something that's ridiculously minor]] but [[ComicalOverreacting the parent reacts as if the child has stabbed him or her in the heart.]]

The inverse of ParentalBetrayal, Betrayal by Offspring is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin when a parent or parents is betrayed by one or more offspring.]] Similar to EtTuBrute except the act of betrayal is done by a son or daughter rather than a close friend thereby making it even more painful. Can overlap with instances of AntagonisticOffspring but can also arise in cases where the child and parent had a good relationship before the act of betrayal.

Exactly what type of action constitutes a child's act of betrayal varies. In more overt instances, it can be part of an intrafamily [[DeadlyDecadentCourt power struggle over control of a kingdom or empire.]] Here, Betrayal by Offspring is
a supertrope of EvilPrince and can result in a SelfMadeOrphan if the act involves {{Patricide}} and/or {{Matricide}}. If this doesn't happen, OffingTheOffspring can be the reaction of the betrayed parent. In less violent situations, the intrafamily power struggle and act of betrayal can be over business and/or financial matters. These usually have fewer bloody outcomes but the emotional wreckage is still high.

* The plot of Anime/{{Cross Ange}} is kicked off when Ange's brother reveals that not only is his sister a Norma, but that his parents knew about this and hid it for years. He then usurps the throne, orders his sister arrested and exiled, has his mother killed when she attempts to protect Ange, and later [[spoiler: has his father executed]].

* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheForce'' has Jacen Solo, aka Darth Caedus, betraying his parents not unlike his film counterpart. He even has them fired on and arrested at one point for what he views as being traitors.

* On ''Series/{{Justified}}'' Bo Crowder, his son Boyd and his nephew Johnny are career criminals. After being shot, Boyd has a HeelFaithTurn where he becomes convinced that he is on a mission from God to stop his father's drug dealing business. Boyd tricks Johnny into helping him destroy a truck full of drug making supplies, which puts Bo into serious debt to TheCartel. Bo is furious and he gives Boyd a vicious beating, shoots Johnny and murders all of Boyd's followers. Boyd's betrayal forces Bo into desperate action to appease his cartel partners and ultimately [[spoiler: gets him killed.]]
* Entirely justified in the made-for-TV movie ''Film/SmallSacrifices'', a dramatization of the 1983 attempted triple homicide of Diane Downs's children. At first, the Oregon police sought a vengeful carjacker as the culprit behind three children with gunshot wounds. However, detectives soon pieced together that their mother attempted to eliminate them as obstacles to her seduction of a married man. Karen[[note]]real name Christie[[/note]] Downs, recovering speech after a stroke caused by the shooting, gave a chilling pantomime in court of a heartless Diane systematically shooting her three children on a lonely farm road, then wounding herself in a WoundedGazelleGambit. Guilty on all counts, three life sentences without parole.

** In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', CorruptCorporateExecutive and WalkingWasteland Derek Powers is betrayed by his son Paxton, who [[TheDogBitesBack gets back at dad for years of abuse]] by setting up an EngineeredPublicConfession, siccing Batman on Derek, and them attempting to kill off dad for good.

* ChildSoldiers are usually trained to be human weapons since early age to fight in war or for being someone's personal army. In various cases around the world, one of the most known "baptisms of fire" is to shoot and kill their own parents without hesitation nor remorse.

* Flashbacks in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' reveal that [[spoiler:Zeke Yaeger, the Beast Titan and Eren's half-brother,]] sold out his own parents to the military as a kid, [[spoiler:which ultimately resulted in Grisha, his and Eren's father, being sent to Paradis Island and escaping death only by the help of military official Kruger, who gave him the powers of the Attack Titan (which Eren currently possesses), while Zeke's mother was turned into the Titan who later ate Eren's mother and fuelled Eren's desire to wipe out the Titans and join the Survey Corps]]. He doesn't seem to regret it.

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': This is one of the purpose of Lelouch's rebellion against his father, Emperor Charles, who abandoned him him and his sister in Japan. [[spoiler:Then it turns out that his mother, who is actually alive, is in league with his father and they both want to create a world without lies by destroying God and convince their son to join them. Lelouch rejects them both by using the Geass on God which not only thwart their plans but also cause them to disappear into oblivion]].

** In ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague: World Without Grow-Ups'', the OriginsIssue of Young Justice, there's Matthew Stuart, a 13yo boy who hates his parents and in general all adult authority. For his birthday, his archeologist father gave him an Atlantean relic from an excavation. Being upset with him and all the adults, he broke up the relic releasing a power that granted his wish of no more adults as well great power as RealityWarper, later known as Bedlam.

* On ''Series/{{Justified}}'' Bo Crowder, his son Boyd and his nephew Johnny are career criminals. After being shot, Boyd has a HeelFaithTurn where he becomes convinced that he is on a mission from God to stop his father's drug dealing business. Boyd tricks Johnny into helping him destroy a truck full of drug making supplies which puts Bo into series debt to TheCartel. Bo is furious and he gives Boyd a vicious beating, shoots Johnny and murders all of Boyd's followers. Boyd's betrayal forces Bo into desperate action to appease his cartel partners and ultimately [[spoiler: gets him killed.]]

** One king was fated to be immortal as long as he had a purple lock of hair on his head, which caused the besieging army no end of problems. The king's daughter fell in love with the enemy general and cut off the lock of hair before sneaking out of the presenting it to him. The latter was so horrified at the betrayal that he lifted the siege.
** When escaping by sea alongside Jason, Medea took her younger brother with them. When her father chased after them, she killed her brother and dismembered him, forcing her father's ship to waste time by fishing the grisly remains for burial.
* In some versions of the Myth/KingArthur myth, Mordred is Arthur's [[BrotherSisterIncest son and nephew]] (just nephew in older versions), betraying them to usurp his throne.

* Entirely justified in the made-for-TV movie ''Film/SmallSacrifices'', a dramatization of the 1983 attempted triple homicide of Diane Downs's children. At first, the Oregon police sought a vengeful carjacker as the culprit behind three children with gunshot wounds. However, detectives soon pieced together that their mother attempted to eliminate them as obstacles to her seduction of a married man. Karen[[note:real name Christie]] Downs, recovering speech after a stroke caused by the shooting, gave a chilling pantomime in court of a heartless Diane systematically shooting her three children on a lonely farm road, then wounding herself in a WoundedGazelleGambit. Guilty on all counts, three life sentences without parole.

* Entirely justified in the made-for-TV movie ''Film/SmallSacrifices'', a dramatization of the 1983 attempted triple homicide of Diane Downs's children. At first, the Oregon police sought a vengeful carjacker as the culprit behind three children with gunshot wounds. However, detectives soon pieced together that their mother attempted to eliminate them as obstacles to her seduction of a married man. Karen Downs, mute from the trauma, gave a chilling pantomime in court of a heartless Diane systematically shooting her three children on a lonely farm road, then wounding herself in a WoundedGazelleGambit. Guilty on all counts, three life sentences without parole.

* Seen in various stories of ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'' (TheNineties version of ''ComicBook/TeenTitans''):

** William Hayes, an EvilOrphan adopted by a good family, but this is one of those case which [[TheFarmerAndTheViper being evil was in the blood]], even almost killing his adoptive father once and threating him and his adoptive mother. By sacrificing her adopted sister to the demon Fuzz [[spoiler:(later revealed this girl is actually [[DishingOutDirt Secret]], one of Young Justice members)]], William gained powers and converted into the young supervillain Harm, a kind of ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} for the Young Justice group. [[spoiler:After the group saved the day, Harm is [[TheDogBitesBack killed by his own father]], but [[DeathIsCheap eventually he'll come back]].]]

[[/folder]]

On the other hand, the child's act of betrayal does not always have to be unambiguous and outright. In fact, the child could be even trying to do something he or she thinks is the right thing. However, [[CategoryTraitor the parent considers it an act of betrayal]] because it conflicts with his or her religious beliefs, moral convictions, political ideology, cultural values, or family traditions. This, in turn, often leads to a scene where the parent proclaims, "IHaveNoSon (or Daughter)!" In examples where this trope is PlayedForLaughs, it also can be over [[SeriousBusiness something that's ridiculously minor]] but [[ComicalOverreacting the parent reacts as if the child has stabbed him or her in the heart.]]

a supertrope of EvilPrince and can result in a SelfMadeOrphan if the act involves {{Patricide}} and/or {{Matricide}}. If this doesn't happen, OffingTheOffspring can be the reaction of the betrayed parent. In less violent situations, the intrafamily power struggle and act of betrayal can be over business and/or financial matters. These usually have less bloody outcomes but the emotional wreckage is still high.