History Main / ConflictKiller

* [[spoiler:Invoked]] in ''Fanfic/{{Stabilization}}''. The rivaling political factions of Genoa quickly learn to stand together against the hateful, duplicitous Paolo Albiani who suddenly goes from the Doge's loyal right-hand man to a powerful rebel who'd stop at nothing in pursuit of his (rather nebulous) goals. [[spoiler:In fact, he has carefully constructed such an image of himself for that very purpose]].

** ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': Once [[Characters/MonsterVerseKingGhidorah King Ghidorah]] takes over Godzilla's position as alpha over all the kaiju and causes things to go FromBadToWorse; he effectively kills both [[Characters/MonsterVerseMonarch Monarch]]'s conflict with the military about whether or not the Kaiju should be killed and also the military's own foolish fixation on intervening in {{Kaiju}} crises with [=WMDs=]; and even [[Characters/MonsterVerseEmmaRussell Emma Russell]] pulls a HeelFaceTurn once she realizes how dangerous Ghidorah is to the Earth. It leads to Monarch, all four branches of the military, the Russells, [[Characters/MonsterVerseGodzilla Godzilla]] and [[Characters/MonsterVerseMothra Mothra]] all effectively working together to see King Ghidorah brought down.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Zig-zagged. The [[HumanoidAbomination White Walkers]] represent a threat to all of the Seven Kingdoms, forcing some factions to resolve their differences to face the threat. Other factions stubbornly continue their conflicts regardless of their mutual enemy.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''. The Arishok seems to be this for the mage-Templar conflict in Kirkwall. He's the military leader of the most alien faction in Thedas (physically and philosophically), and it takes both sides working together to stop him once he's been provoked. However, that's just the second of the game's three acts -- afterwards, the prior conflict resumes. [[spoiler: He indirectly '''worsens''' tensions by killing the Viscount, leaving a power vacuum for the Templar leader to fill.]]
** Played straight in [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition the sequel.]] [[spoiler: The appearance of [[BigBad Corypheus]] acts as the catalyst to bring two major conflicts (the Mage/Templar war and the Orleasian civil war) to an end to face his far greater threat.]]

* In the Ultimate Universe during ''ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}'', Magneto launched a horrifying attack on New York that destroyed the city and killed millions. This put a ''hard'' stop to basically every storyline going on at the time as [[CrisisCrossover The Ultimates, Spider-Man, the X-Men and Fantastic Four]] had to scramble to save lives, counterattack and defeat Magneto before he destroyed the planet.

* In the SeriesFinale of ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperheroes'', Imperiex, who had been the BigBad for the entire second season, is KilledOffForReal by Brainiac-controlled Brainiac 5 ([[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou much to Superman X's rage]]), leaving the legion to deal with Brainy as the ultimate threat instead.

* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'': After the events of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', the Avengers are largely split up over the Sokovia Accords, but Thanos's arrival forces them to set aside their differences and join Earth's other protectors in fighting Thanos. [[spoiler:Subverted in that the old conflict isn't quite dead yet. Though a majority of the Avengers fight with Captain America on Wakanda, Iron Man still hasn't forgiven Captain America for what he did in ''Civil War'', so he can't bring himself to ask for Cap's help and instead runs off to handle things on his own. Since the Avengers can't form a united front, they lose. It's only after Cap and Iron Man put aside their differences in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' that they're able to defeat Thanos.]]

* [[BigBad Moo]] served as this for the world of ''Anime/MonsterRancher''. Created by the Pangeans in hopes of ending the [[ForeverWar Last War]], he did so by [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters turning against his creators]] and seizing control of all the other monsters. This led to them creating the Phoenix in hopes of bringing him down, with the remnants of humanity [[AfterTheEnd rebuilding afterwards]].

%%* ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. One word: "Adephagos." Turned a perfectly good ethical conflict into a "stop the KnightTemplar and the big bad monster thing" race with a final dungeon that came out of nowhere. (ZCE- what is the Adephagos, what conflict does it displace, and how does it kill the conflict? And please describe it in a neutral, non-complaining manner.
* The Scourge in ''VideoGame/WarCraft III'', which manages to mostly derail the Alliance-Horde conflict for three expansions of ''VideoGame/WorldofWarcraft''as well. The Scourge is an undead plague created by demons from space (no, seriously). However, more than just being extremely terrifying, the Scourge manages to wipe out the Kingdom of Lordaeron, [[FaceHeelTurn by turning Prince Arthas Menethil evil]]. They then precede to conquer the [[CityofGold "unconquerable" elf city of Quel'thalas]]. Everyone moves to the other side of the world, except for the Scarlet Crusade. The Alliance-Horde conflict returned in Cataclysm, only to get derailed again by [[BeastoftheApocalypse Deathwing]]. Other expansions have managed to mostly keep it going while having a certain elite group of operatives from both sides(including [[PlayerCharacters you, naturally]]) work together to stop the [[BigBad villain]]

* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' has what looks like a final conflict brewing between the Light Warriors and the Dark Warriors; but then the Other Warriors show up because they want to kill the Light Warriors too; but '''then''', the Fiends show up to kill the Light Warriors as well, so they look like the {{Big Bad}}s; but [+'''then'''+] Black Mage [[{{Anticlimax}} anticlimactically]] absorbs their power for himself which makes it seem as if he is the BigBad; but [++'''then'''++] Sarda reveals himself as the BigBad, (although he ''actually'' claims that the Light Warriors themselves are the {{Big Bad}}s, except Fighter, [[GuiltByAssociationGag who is collateral damage]]); but [++'''''finally'''''++] Sarda [[PhlebotinumOverload blows up due to absorbing too much power]], and becomes a portal for Chaos' who is the '''actual''' BigBad. All in all there are five Conflict Killer moments in succession at the end of the comic.
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' has [[spoiler:Jack]]. Usually just [[spoiler:an NPC used as a back-door quest to bypass a difficult fight]]. In the kids' session [[spoiler:he gets hold of a powerful artifact and goes on a rampage, utterly obliterating the chess-like battle between the kingdoms of Prospit and Derse]].

* ''WebVideo/AldriversDevourerOfCos'': Need to know how bad [[BigBad Joan Rivers]]' campaign was in her quest to devour [[ApocalypseHow the entire earth and then the entire universe]]? Franchise/{{Batman}}, Franchise/HannibalLecter, UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump, Creator/OprahWinfrey, and UsefulNotes/AlCapone all willing to team-up to take her down. On most normal days, they would be at conflict with each other (such as Batman investigating Lecter's murders and Oprah and Donald debating with each other).
* ''Literature/RedsARevolutionaryTimeline'': Nazi Germany ends up being this to pretty much all the major powers, to an even greater extent than real life because it headed off what could have become a three-way cold war between Soviet Russia, the newly-formed Union of American Socialist Republics and the remaining capitalist bloc led by the British and French empires. The outbreak of war forces the American and Russian socialist movements to set aside their growing doctrinal disagreements in the face of a common enemy, and the nascent Franco-British Union is forced to admit that the Nazis (who they'd been tolerating with increasing reluctance as a buffer state) were a bigger threat than the Communists ever were. Even [[TheRemnant "Americuba"]], a tiny rump state with delusions of being the GovernmentInExile of the "real" United States, makes something more than a token effort to mend fences with the UASR. It doesn't last, of course, but postwar tensions between the communist and capitalist spheres are never ''quite'' as high as they were in real life.

* A heroic example in ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania|2017}}'': the EnemyCivilWar between Dracula and Carmilla's forces is in full swing, and the two sides are duking it out in the entrance hall of the castle. But then they stop: [[VampireHunter Trevor Belmont]], [[HotWitch Sypha Belnades]] and {{Alucard}} have all come strolling into the castle. The vampires, [[OhCrap who are all but pissing themselves at this point,]] immediately turn their attention to the three.

** However, Megabyte's betrayal and imprisonment of Hexadecimal right after this ended her conflict with the heroes, and after being healed from damage by Bob she becomes the heroes' ally from then on. It helped that Hexadecimal was more outright insane than malicious.

* Britain and France had spent their entire histories being at each others' throats, until both realized that the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI Central Powers]] were too strong for either of them to take on alone. This led them to form the Triple Entente and later the Allied Powers.

* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs. Warhammer 40K]]'': The sudden introduction of the Imperium of Man to the ''Star Wars'' galaxy proves to be one for the Clone Wars as both the Republic and Separatists suddenly face simultaneous invasions by the Imperium, forcing the two warring governments to put their own conflict on hold as they recall nearly all of their military assets to defend their territories from this new threat.

* ''ComicBook/{{Annihilation}}:'' Discussed by Peter Quill and Nova during the DarkestHour, when they wonder what would happen if the Annihilation Wave reaches Earth, whose heroes are busy [[ComicBook/CivilWar fighting each other over government policy.]] Quill, normally the far more cynical of the two, thinks the heroes would get their act together and try to fight it off. Nova disagrees. Later on, an issue of ''What If...?'' shows Quill actually would've been right.

* Nationalist China and Chinese Communist Party were forced to briefly set aside the Chinese Civil War in order to unite against the Empire of Japan during the [[UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar Second Sino-Japanese War]].

* Nationalist China and the PRC were forced to briefly set aside the Chinese Civil War in order to unite against the Empire of Japan during the [[UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar Second Sino-Japanese War]].

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'': The emergence of the [[TerroristsWithoutACause Khaos Brigade]] is such a threat to the Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils that it forces their cooperation and ends the literally ''Biblical'' feud between them. It's downplayed a bit; there had been talks about peace for a while, but none of the leaders could extend the olive branch despite all figuring the war had become stupid and pointless a long time ago, because there were enough crazies working under them all to risk a humongous rebellion if they had. The Khaos Brigade was sufficient to mollify the more hotheaded subordinates and give them a reason to negotiate a more permanent peace.

* ''VideoGame/Destiny2'': Throughout the original ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' and this game, the Solar System has been a five way battleground between [[HumansAreWarriors the forces of the Last City]] (which includes [[TheChosenMany the Guardians]] and is allied with [[SpaceElves the Awoken of the Reef]]), [[SpacePirate The Fallen Houses]], [[WizardsFromOuterSpace the Hive]], [[StarfishRobots the Vex]], [[TheEmpire the Cabal]], [[TheUndead the Taken]], and [[{{Cult}} the Scorn]]. Then comes ''Season of Arrivals'', which sees [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the arrival of]] [[BigDumbObject the Black Fleet]] and, two years later, [[GreaterScopeVillain the Witness]], which shakes up the entire playing field. [[spoiler:As revealed in ''Lightfall'', the Witness is the true BigBad of ''The Saga of Light and Dark'' - it is the entity to which all Hive and the Vex of the Sol Divisive owe allegiance to, and is indicated to be the entity controlling the Darkness. The Taken, being its direct servants, immediately fall under their control, with the Scorn soon following suite. The events that follow see the Fallen and the Cabal finally forced to choose sides in the conflict of Light and Dark - the Fallen split between the City aligned House of Light under Mithrax and the Black Fleet aligned House of Salvation under Eramis, while the Cabal are divided between the Cabal Ascendancy serving Caiatl and the Loyalist serving her father Calus who align themselves with, respectively, the Last City and the Black Fleet. These events mean that, by the time of ''Lightfall'', the MeleeATrois for the system has turned into a binary conflict, with the stakes being ''higher than ever'', as it's made ''very clear'' that the Witness winning would likely result in [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the universe as we know it ceasing to exist]]]].

* The Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Part were forced to briefly set aside the Chinese Civil War in order to unite against the Empire of Japan during the [[UsefulNotes/SecondSino-JapaneseWar]].

* The Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Part were forced to briefly set aside the Chinese Civil War in order to unite against the Empire of Japan during the [[UsefulNotes/SecondSino-Japanese War]].

* The Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Part were forced to briefly set aside the Chinese Civil War in order to unite against the Empire of Japan during the ([UsefulNotes/Second Sino-Japanese War]).

* The Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Part were forced to briefly set aside the Chinese Civil War in order to unite against the Empire of Japan during the [[UsefulNotes/Second Sino-Japanese War]].

* The Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Part were forced to briefly set aside the Chinese Civil War in order to unite against the Empire of Japan during the Sino-Japanese War.

[[folder:Film]]

* Following the first arc of Literature/{{Worm}} the Undersiders were just gearing up for a conflict with [[ThoseWackyNazis Empire 88]] when [[spoiler: [[{{Kaiju}} Leviathan]] attacks the city, causing all of the major villains and heroes to team up to fight him, and killing Empire 88's leader in the ensuing battle]]. In the next arc, Coil and his subordinates are getting their plans to take control of the city from the PRT and the remaining supervillains when the Slaughterhouse Nine come to town, prompting another EnemyMine scenario to defeat them.

** ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': Once [[Characters/MonsterVerseKingGhidorah King Ghidorah]] takes over Godzilla's position as alpha over all the kaiju and causes things to go FromBadToWorse; he effectively kills both [[Characters/MonsterVerseMonarch Monarch]]'s conflict with the military about whether or not the Kaiju should be killed and also the military's own foolish fixation on intervening in {{Kaiju}} crises with [=WMDs=]; and even [[Characters/MonsterVerseHumans Emma Russell]] pulls a HeelFaceTurn once she realizes how dangerous Ghidorah is to the Earth. It leads to Monarch, all four branches of the military, the Russells, [[Characters/MonsterVerseGodzilla Godzilla]] and [[Characters/MonsterVerseKaiju Mothra]] all effectively working together to see King Ghidorah brought down.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia''. One word: "Adephagos." Turned a perfectly good ethical conflict into a "stop the KnightTemplar and the big bad monster thing" race with a final dungeon that came out of nowhere.

Compare PlotTumor and TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot. Nearly always present when a DebateAndSwitch is used. If this happens in a video game it may result in a BaitAndSwitchBoss, but only if said boss is driving the plot. Contrast the GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere that appears with no explanation. If the mystery surrounding him and/or the existing players' ignorance of him are plot points, this is OutsideContextProblem instead. This is a '''spoiler heavy''' trope, so read on at your own risk.

** The three first ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' games begin with Mario battling Bowser in Peach's Castle to stop him from kidnapping her, just before they find out about the true villains.