History Main / Evilcounterpart

* In Kabbalah the ten Sephiroths that represent ten different branches of the Tree of Life have the counterpart of the Qliphots which are dark/demonic shadows of the Sephiroths. Needdles to say Left Hand Path practicioners generally work with the Qliphots and not with the Sephiroths.

* TheAntichrist is the Evil Counterpart of [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Christ]]. In some interpretations the [[EndOfTheWorld Apocalypse]] has also an Evil Counterpart of the Trinity made by {{Satan}}, the Antichrist and the False Prophet as opposites of God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost.

In the MagicalGirl genre, they’re often a DarkMagicalGirl. Contrast with the WorthyOpponent. Applied to an entire team, they are ThePsychoRangers. Applied to an entire race, they are an EvilCounterpartRace. This trope is not to be confused with the ShadowArchetype, but the two can overlap.

[[InvertedTrope If the first character to be introduced is the evil one, the good one would be his Good Counterpart.]]

Compare CountepartArtifacts.

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* In ''Machinima/RedVSBlue'', we have [[spoiler: the {{Big Bad}}s of Season 15, the Blues and Reds. It doesn't seem like it at first, though, because [[FauxAffablyEvil they first act genuinely polite and friendly towards the heroes,]] the Reds and Blues. Later on, it's discovered that Church's EvilCounterpart is a SerialKiller that plans on destroying the UNSC. His name is Mark Temple and he is the leader of the Blues and Reds. Almost every member of the Blues and Reds is an evil counterpart to every member of the Reds and Blues (Surge to Sarge, Gene to Simmons, Buckey to Tucker, Loco to Caboose [[TokenGoodTeammate (sort of)]], Temple to Church, Cronut to Donut). Here, we have a rare case where not only the evil counterparts came chronologically before the heroes, but also where not all of them are evil and where not all of them meet at all (Biff and Loco, despite being Caboose and Grif's counterparts, aren't really evil themselves. Also, Biff and Church both died before Season 15, so neither of them met their respectful counterpart from each opposing team). ]]
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
** Mercury to Yang. Yang is a gold-themed, boisterous, outgoing BoxingBattler; she has a cybernetic arm, using {{Arm Cannon}}s and Fire Dust in battle. Her [[GoodParents father]] taught her through [[ToughLove compassionate wisdom]] to learn from bitter experience to fight smarter, use her Semblance as a last resort, and move beyond her pain; Mercury is a silver-themed, calculating, laid-back DanceBattler; he has cybernetic legs, using ArmedLegs and Wind Dust in battle. Mercury's [[AbusiveParent father]] taught him through [[SelfMadeOrphan abusive]] TrainingFromHell to fight unaugmented, [[MiseryBuildsCharacter trapping him]] in a cycle of pain after [[DePower stealing]] his Semblance. Both are protectors; Yang for her sister, Ruby, and Mercury for his friend, Emerald.
** Cinder could arguably qualify as one to Ruby. Both incorporate the color red in their attire, although Ruby accents hers with silver and Cinder with gold. Ruby wields a SinisterScythe that also functions as a sniper rifle and is typically a LongRangeFighter whereas Cinder wields dual [[SinisterScimitar Sinister Scimitars]] that can fuse into a bow and usually fights up close and personal. Although both [[TheLeader led their respective teams]], Ruby is caring, compassionate, and understanding towards her [[TrueCompanions teammates]] whereas Cinder is [[ManipulativeBitch manipulative]] and even [[BadBoss abusive]] to her subordinates, who she only sees as means to an end. Ruby is [[AllLovingHero selfless]] and wants to [[AWorldHalfFull make the world a better place]] and [[WeHelpTheHelpless Help The Helpless]] out of moral obligation; and has an IJustWantToBeNormal mentality, as opposed to the [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]] Cinder, who cares for no one other than herself and [[AmbitionIsEvil is only out for more power, strength, and fear]]. Both also possess supernatural powers outside of their Semblances, but while [[SuperpowerfulGenetics Ruby was born with her]] [[LightEmUp silver eyes]], [[PowerParasite Cinder had to steal]] [[PlayingWithFire the powers of the Fall Maiden]] for herself. In addition, while Ruby is usually a GenkiGirl and WideEyedIdealist but can be [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness frighteningly stoic]] when the situation calls for it, Cinder is a SmugSnake most of the time but prone to [[VillainousBreakdown Villainous Breakdowns]] when things don't go her way.
* ''WebAnimation/TheMostPopularGirlsInSchool'': In Season 5, the French team is this to the Cheer Squad. All even more jerkasses than them.

* Amaroq is this to Kitty in ''WebAnimation/NoEvil''. Kitty is a fox-spirit who's the TeamMom of the protagonists; Amaroq is a wolf-spirit who's the TeamDad of the antagonists.

* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': Whereas I.M.P. is a for-profit HitMan squad of, well, imps, the cherubs of their celestial counterpart C.H.E.R.U.B. work to save lives for free. Of course, "good" is a relative term in the show's CrapsackWorld and even cherubs can only be [[RageBreakingPoint pushed so far]].

* In ''WebVideo/TheCartoonMan'', Simon becomes Roy's evil counterpart when the same black ink that caused Roy's cartoon transformation turns him into a mustache-twirling cartoon villain.
* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'':
** Lord Vyce to Linkara. Both are extremely powerful due to using [[{{Magitek}} both magic and technology]], both are convinced they are in the right, and they both have {{Pride}} as their FatalFlaw. The difference? Linkara realizes he is going down a dark path -- Lord Vyce never did.
** [[spoiler: Holokara]] later becomes Linkara's ''literal'' evil counterpart. [[spoiler: He is a hologram programmed with Linkara's memories, and the two start off as basically identical. Linkara puts Holokara in charge of the show while he goes to find out why his magic stopped working, which turns out to be because Linkara, who had become increasingly arrogant and self-centered, was in danger of turning evil. Linkara, horrified at this realization, begins [[TheAtoner working on becoming a better person]]. Holokara, however, [[DivergentCharacterEvolution never receives this epiphany]], and eventually [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jumps off the slippery slope]] and becomes more and more AxeCrazy, culminating in a plan to [[DisproportionateRetribution blow up the Marvel offices]] [[SeriousBusiness if they don't undo all the damage they've done to the characters of his favorite superheroes over the years.]]]]

A character who has similarities to a good or not as evil character, but is evil(er). They may look like that character and have/had abilities and obstacles similar to them. Sometimes, but not always, a BigBad. Classically, an EmbodimentOfVice pitched against a correlating EmbodimentOfVirtue.

Frequently, the Evil Counterpart is the character equivalent of ForWantOfANail: they are a FallenHero that represents what our hero might have become had their {{backstory}} been slightly different -- or what they could still become should they succumb to TheDarkSide. They also save creators the trouble of thinking up new abilities to give their villains, especially for comic book heroes and video games (where new abilities have to be implemented). Because TheHero and the Evil Counterpart are such great {{foil}}s for each other, the counterpart has an excellent chance of being the hero's ArchEnemy or a ClassicVillain, although this is not always the case. If the hero is an AntiHero, a MrViceGuy, a GoodIsNotNice type or a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, the Evil Counterpart would have the same negative traits but none of their redeeming qualities.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Mercury to Yang. Yang is a gold-themed, boisterous, outgoing BoxingBattler; she has a cybernetic arm, using {{Arm Cannon}}s and Fire Dust in battle. Her [[GoodParents father]] taught her through [[ToughLove compassionate wisdom]] to learn from bitter experience to fight smarter, use her Semblance as a last resort, and move beyond her pain; Mercury is a silver-themed, calculating, laid-back DanceBattler; he has cybernetic legs, using ArmedLegs and Wind Dust in battle. Mercury's [[AbusiveParent father]] taught him through [[SelfMadeOrphan abusive]] TrainingFromHell to fight unaugmented, [[MiseryBuildsCharacter trapping him]] in a cycle of pain after [[DePower stealing]] his Semblance. Both are protectors; Yang for her sister, Ruby, and Mercury for his friend, Emerald.

Often leads to a NotSoDifferent moment.

** Alberich the Nibelung Dwarf is apparently an evil counterpart to Wotan, ruler of the Gods. While Wotan rules above, Alberich rules below. Alberich has renounced love for power, as cursing love enabled him to forge the RingOfPower. Wotan almost renounces the Goddess of love Freia for Valhalla, symbol of his power. However the play shows they are NotSoDifferent; eventually Wotan calls himself Light-Alberich and Alberich Dark-Alberich.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Mercury to Yang. Yang is a gold-themed boisterous, outgoing BoxingBattler; she has a cybernetic arm, using {{Arm Cannon}}s and Fire Dust in battle. Her [[GoodParents father]] taught her through [[ToughLove compassionate wisdom]] to learn from bitter experience to fight smarter, use her Semblance as a last resort, and move beyond her pain; Mercury is a silver-themed calculating, laid-back DanceBattler; he has cybernetic legs, using ArmedLegs and Wind Dust in battle. Mercury's [[AbusiveParent father]] taught him through [[SelfMadeOrphan abusive]] TrainingFromHell to fight unaugmented, [[MiseryBuildsCharacter trapping him]] in a cycle of pain after [[DePower stealing]] his Semblance. Both are protectors; Yang for her sister, Ruby, and Mercury for his friend, Emerald.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Mercury to Yang. Yang is a gold-themed boisterous, outgoing BoxingBattler; she has a cybernetic arm, using {{Arm Cannon}}s and Fire Dust in battle. Her [[GoodParents father]] taught her through [[ToughLove compassionate wisdom]] to learn from bitter experience to fight smarter, use her Semblance as a last resort, and move beyond her pain; Mercury is a silver-themed calculating, laid-back DanceBattler; he has cybernetic legs, using ArmedLegs and Wind Dust in battle. Mercury's [[AbusiveParent father]] taught him through [[SelfMadeOrphan abusive]] TrainingFromHell to fight unaugmented [[MiseryBuildsCharacter trapping him]] in a cycle of pain after [[DePower stealing]] his Semblance. Both are protectors; Yang for her sister, Ruby, and Mercury for his friend, Emerald.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Mercury to Yang. Yang is a gold-themed boisterous, outgoing BoxingBattler; she has a cybernetic arm, using {{Arm Cannon}}s and Fire Dust in battle. Her [[GoodParent father]] taught her through [[ToughLove compassionate wisdom]] to learn from bitter experience to fight smarter, use her Semblance as a last resort, and move beyond her pain; Mercury is a silver-themed calculating, laid-back DanceBattler; he has cybernetic legs, using ArmedLegs and Wind Dust in battle. Mercury's [[AbusiveParent father]] taught him through [[SelfMadeOrphan abusive]] TraininFromHell to fight unaugmented [[MiseryBuildCharacter trapping him]] in a cycle of pain after [[DePower stealing]] his Semblance. Both are protectors; Yang for her sister, Ruby, and Mercury for his friend, Emerald.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', [[TheBrute Mercury Black]] can be seen as this to [[TheBigGuy Yang Xiao Long]]. They're both {{Blood Knight}}s who serve as the muscle for the bad guys and the good guys respectively. Mercury is a DanceBattler with ArmedLegs, Yang is a BoxingBattler with {{Arm Cannon}}s. Yang is [[BruiserWithASoftCenter warm and friendly outside fights]], while Mercury is a FauxAffablyEvil {{Sociopath}}. [[spoiler:Mercury's legs are robotic prosthetics, and Yang, after losing her arm in Volume 3, gets a prosthetic replacement of her own.]] Both have issues with one of their parents; Yang's MissingMom Raven, and Mercury's [[AbusiveParents Abusive Father]] Marcus, additionally they were trained by their fathers though Yang's was supportive and kind. The two also [[spoiler:killed their tormentors who dismembered them, with Yang stabbing Adam in self-defense and Mercury murdering his father]] though Yang worked to move on from the pain and Mercury allowed it to control his decisions. In early volumes Yang over-relied on her Semblance, and later learned to use it as a last-resort while Mercury [[spoiler:had his Semblance stolen from him]] and was forced to learn to fight without it. Yang has a BigSisterInstinct for Ruby and Mercury tends to defend Emerald from threats like Tyrian. Yang has a bright, gold-themed color palette while Mercury's is dull silver and black. Maybe Mercury [[{{Pun}} should have been named]] ''[[{{Pun}} Yin]]''.

* ''Literature/{{Defection}}'': is a setting where travel between dimensions is relatively common, albeit only truly available to those on the larger end of the power pool, thus resulting in a lot of alternate versions of the same person.
* Trey and Troy, the "bad" Dimensional Guardians from the web fiction serial ''Literature/DimensionHeroes'' often pick fights with the protagonists.

!!Example Subpages:

!!Other Examples:

* Loki has been construed as the Evil Counterpart to Odin (and it is debatable as to whether or not he was misconstrued as such). Though Loki is ''not'' Odin's adoptive son in Myth/NorseMythology, he is his adoptive ''brother'' (where "adoptive" is more like with "brought into his family as an official member"). Both gods are [[TheTrickster tricksters]], are well-versed in magic, and are {{shapeshifter}}s.

* ''WebAnimation/HTFPlus'': FI Creepybloom is a murderous cannibal but when Nutty calls her on a phone in HTF+FI/RF 3 to bring him "bathroom candy" she refuses because she thinks it "sounds illegal".

Frequently, the Evil Counterpart is the character equivalent of ForWantOfANail: they represent what [[TheDarkSide our hero could have become]] as a result of a very small change in their {{backstory}}. They also save creators the trouble of thinking up new abilities to give their villains, especially for comic book heroes and video games (where new abilities have to be implemented). Because TheHero and the Evil Counterpart are such great {{foil}}s for each other, the counterpart has an excellent chance of being the hero's ArchEnemy or a ClassicVillain, although this is not always the case. If the hero is an AntiHero, a MrViceGuy, a GoodIsNotNice type or a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, the Evil Counterpart would have the same negative traits but none of their redeeming qualities.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', [[TheBrute Mercury Black]] can be seen as this to [[TheBigGuy Yang Xiao Long]]. They're both {{Blood Knight}}s who serve as the muscle for the bad guys and the good guys respectively. Mercury is a DanceBattler with ArmedLegs, Yang is a BoxingBattler with {{Arm Cannon}}s. Yang is warm and friendly outside fights, while Mercury is a FauxAffablyEvil {{Sociopath}}. [[spoiler:Mercury's legs are robotic prosthetics, and Yang, after losing her arm in Volume 3, gets a prosthetic replacement of her own.]] Both have issues with one of their parents; Yang's MissingMom Raven, and Mercury's [[AbusiveParents Abusive Father]] Marcus, additionally they were trained by their fathers though Yang's was supportive and kind. The two also [[spoiler:killed their tormentors who dismembered them, with Yang stabbing Adam in self-defense and Mercury murdering his father]] though Yang worked to move on from the pain and Mercury allowed it to control his decisions. In early volumes Yang over-relied on her Semblance, and later learned to use it as a last-resort while Mercury [[spoiler:had his Semblance stolen from him]] and was forced to learn to fight without it. Yang has a BigSisterInstinct for Ruby and Mercury tends to defend Emerald from threats like Tyrian. Yang has a bright, gold-themed color palette while Mercury's is dull silver and black. Maybe Mercury [[{{Pun}} should have been named]] ''[[{{Pun}} Yin]]''.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', [[TheBrute Mercury Black]] can be seen as this to [[TheBigGuy Yang Xiao Long]]. They're both {{Blood Knight}}s who serve as the muscle for the bad guys and the good guys respectively. Mercury is a DanceBattler with ArmedLegs, Yang is a BoxingBattler with {{Arm Cannon}}s. Yang is warm and friendly outside fights, while Mercury is a FauxAffablyEvil {{Sociopath}}. [[spoiler:Mercury's legs are robotic prosthetics, and Yang, after losing her arm in Volume 3, gets a prosthetic replacement of her own.]] Both have issues with one of their parents; Yang's MissingMom Raven, and Mercury's [[AbusiveParents Abusive Father]] Marcus. Additionally, they were trained by their fathers, Yang's relationship with Taiyang was supportive while Mercury's father, Marcus, was extremely abusive. The two also [[spoiler:killed their tormentors who dismembered them, with Yang stabbing Adam in self-defense and Mercury murdering his father]] though Yang worked to move on from the pain and Mercury allowed it to control his decisions. In early volumes Yang over-relied on her Semblance, and later learned to use it as a last-resort while Mercury [[spoiler:had his Semblance stolen from him]] and was forced to learn to fight without it. Yang has a BigSisterInstinct from Ruby and Mercury tends to defend Emerald from threats like Tyrian. They even have contrasting color palettes, with gold vs silver. Maybe Mercury [[{{Pun}} should have been named]] ''[[{{Pun}} Yin]]''.

Frequently, the Evil Counterpart is the character equivalent of ForWantOfANail: they represent what [[TheDarkSide our hero could have become]] as a result of a very small change in their {{backstory}}. They also save creators the trouble of thinking up new abilities to give their villains, especially for comic book heroes and video games (where new abilities have to be implemented). Because TheHero and the Evil Counterpart are such great {{foil}}s for each other, the counterpart has an excellent chance of being the hero's ArchEnemy or a ClassicVillain, although this is not always the case. If the hero is an AntiHero, a MrViceGuy or a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, the Evil Counterpart would have the same negative traits but none of their redeeming qualities.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', [[TheBrute Mercury Black]] can be seen as this to [[TheBigGuy Yang Xiao Long]]. They're both {{Blood Knight}}s who serve as the muscle for the bad guys and the good guys respectively. Mercury is a DanceBattler with ArmedLegs, Yang is a BoxingBattler with {{Arm Cannon}}s. Yang is warm and friendly outside fights, while Mercury is a FauxAffablyEvil {{Sociopath}}. [[spoiler:Mercury's legs are robotic prosthetics, and Yang, after losing her arm in Volume 3, gets a prosthetic replacement of her own.]] Both have issues with one of their parents; Yang's MissingMom Raven, and Mercury's [[AbusiveParents Abusive Father]] Marcus. Additionally, they were trained by their fathers, Yang's relationship with Taiyang was supportive while Mercury's father, Marcus, was extremely abusive. The two also [[spoiler:killed their tormentors who dismembered them, with Yang stabbing Adam in self-defense and Mercury murdering his father]] though Yang worked to move on from the pain and Mercury allowed it to control his decisions. In early volumes Yang over-relied on her Semblance, and later learned to use it as a last-resort while Mercury [[spoiler:had his Semblance stolen from him]] and was forced to learn to fight without it. Yang has a BigSister instinct from Ruby and Mercury tends to defend Emerald from threats like Tyrian. They even have contrasting color palettes, with gold vs silver. Maybe Mercury [[{{Pun}} should have been named]] ''[[{{Pun}} Yin]]''.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', [[TheBrute Mercury Black]] can be seen as this to [[TheBigGuy Yang Xiao Long]]. They're both {{Blood Knight}}s who serve as the muscle for the bad guys and the good guys respectively. Mercury is a DanceBattler with ArmedLegs, Yang is a BoxingBattler with {{Arm Cannon}}s. Yang is warm and friendly outside fights, while Mercury is a FauxAffablyEvil {{Sociopath}}. [[spoiler:Mercury's legs are robotic prosthetics, and Yang, after losing her arm in Volume 3, gets a prosthetic replacement of her own.]] Both have issues with one of their parents; Yang's MissingMom Raven, and Mercury's [[AbusiveParents Abusive Father]] Marcus. Maybe Mercury [[{{Pun}} should have been named]] ''[[{{Pun}} Yin]]''.

* ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'':
** The ambitious and brutal Blackstar was thrown out of the Guardsmen, the intergalactic superhuman police force, and is now the sworn enemy of the heroic Guardsman, defender of Earth.
** The Tyrants are a "mirror universe" version of the Global Guardians.