History Main / NotInThisForYourRevolution

* [[TokenEvilTeammate Alarak]] in ''VideoGame/StarCraftIILegacyOfTheVoid'' joins [[TheHero Artanis]]' Daelaam in their fight against Amon, not because he cares about Artanis' wish to save the Universe or rebuild his species' society, but because Amon betrays his own people, and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge he really wants payback for this]].

* ''Manga/{{Bastard}}'': Dark Schneider is fighting to keep his ex girlfriend and ex army from showing him up. At first.[[note]]For all of the anime because it was CutShort.[[/note]] Later his motivations become much more complex, but showing everyone who's the top banana remains one of the main among them.

* ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears'': In the Big Chapter Book ''and the Showdown At Chainsaw Gap'', Brother finds that Two-Ton Grizzly is joining the protestors who are trying to stop Birder's Woods, home of the endangered (and until recently, thought-to-be ''extinct'') Yellow Poppinjay, from being cut down. Brother is surprised because he didn't think Two-Ton (despite being a reasonable adult) cared about an endangered bird; Queenie admits that he doesn't, but he ''does'' like living and working in the wide open areas outside Beartown, and isn't happy about a new housing development -- which would be built with the wood gained from cutting down the trees -- being put up next to "his space".

See OnlyInItForTheMoney when wealth is the main motivation. Often overlaps with EnemyMine. Contrast TheOnlyBeliever, where only a single person associated with a cause truly believes in it, while others are around for more cynical reasons.

* As Han Solo demonstrates in the title and quote, he's in the events of ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars: A New Hope]]'' for the money. [[CharacterDevelopment At first, anyway]]. Even then he's mostly doing it for his friends. Especially Leia. One parody explains why he came back at the end of ''A New Hope'': After he said he was in it for the money, Leia wrote him a cheque. He later noticed that the cheque was from the First National Bank of Alderaan.

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'': The Assassin protagonist, Connor, is [[MixedAncestry the son of a Native American and a British colonist]]. He helps the Colonials in their fight against the British during the Revolutionary War, but his true interest is the Assassin/Templar conflict (both sides of which back the rebels). He is, however, much more sympathetic to the Colonies until [[spoiler:he finds out Washington has been attacking his people's villages.]] On the Templar's side, there's Thomas Hickey. Most of the high ranking Templars are {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s who believe eradicating TheEvilsOfFreeWill is necessary to creating [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans a utopian society under their command]]... Hickey's just a hired thug who sees the Templars as a good way for him to gain money and power, and openly mocks Connor for being an idealist.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'''s Squall is a mercenary by career, and as such takes no personal interest in the cause of the Forest Owls whom he is sent to assist. He starts becoming more clearly heroic after developing a crush on Rinoa. And even then he regulary announces that the problems aren't his. That is until [[spoiler: his adoptive mother gets almost killed by him, Rhinoa falls into a coma and is then supposed to be left in a coffin in ''space'']].

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' displayed [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Marceline]] as only helping [[KidHero Finn]] stop [[HumanoidAbomination her dad]] from sucking out souls to get back her bass guitar that he took.

* [[spoiler:Entrapta]] of ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower''. She couldn't care less about the war between Brightmoon and the Evil Horde. [[spoiler:She only joins the Horde later because it gives her a bounty of magical technology to play with.]]

* On ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', former Predacon Dinobot originally joined the Maximals not because he believed in their ideals, but only out of a desire to defeat Megatron. Similarly, Blackarachnia allies with the Maximals in the last season only to protect her existence as a Maximal protoform and as a promise to [[LoveInterests Silverbolt]], refusing to consider herself a Maximal until "Crossing the Rubicon", when her Predacon shell program was finally removed.
** Over on the Predacon side, Rampage was mostly loyal to the Predacons because Megatron took appropriate precautions (read: [[MadeASlave ripped out half of Rampage's soul and poked it with sharp things whenever Rampage got uppity]]). Without that incentive, it's likely he would have preyed on whoever was available, SerialKiller that he was.
* Toph Bei Fong from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' doesn't join the group out of any hatred of the Fire Nation, nor a sense of obligation to teach Aang earth-bending, but merely because she's tired of her family restricting her, and wants a taste of freedom.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' displayed [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Marceline]] as only helping [[KidHero Finn]] stop [[HumanoidAbomination her dad]] from sucking out souls to get her bass he took back.
* The ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Mermaid And Barnacle Boy V" had [[GrumpyBear Squidward]] only help Mermaid Man so Mr. Krabs wouldn't fire him. And Mr. Krabs only forced him to [[InsaneTrollLogic because no world meant]] [[OnlyInItForTheMoney no money.]]
** Similarly, in "Whatever Happened to [=SpongeBob=]?", upon learning that [=SpongeBob=] ran away after he accidentally upset them all (well, everyone except [[{{Jerkass}} Squidward]]), they decide to go look for him...except Squidward. When threatening to fire him doesn't work, Mr. Krabs is forced to bribe him with a rare Faberge Egg that Squidward needs for his collection to get him to come along.

* The Constructicons from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' don't even know what Cybertron is, they just work for [[Main/BigBad Megatron]] because he gave them good oil.

** Similarly, Mai agrees to help Princess Azula more because she's bored and wants something to do than anything else. [[spoiler: When she ''betrays'' Azula, its not because she's turned against her country, but because she loves Zuko. Ty Lee, in turn, acts out of friendship for Mai.]]

* Jason in ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' is only out to save his brother and friends from Vaas' pirates, but Dennis Rogers sees the spirit lof a warrior within him and encourages him to help the Rakyat reclaim their land from the pirates and slavers; Jason agrees because (along with being a good person) the experience and training he gets during the process will help him finally defeat Vaas. [[spoiler: Flipped on its head later when Jason ends up falling so deep down the rabbit hole that he has a very good chance of losing his way and adopting the revolution as his mission instead.]]

* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarI Italy and Romania joined the Entente Cordiale (in 1915 and 1916, respectively) and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers (in 1915) because both alliances' leaders promised them generous loans and material+technical aid to fight the war and large war-reparations and some territories from the defeated countries. Italy only entered because France promised her Austro-Hungary's Mediterranean coastline and parts of The Alps. Romania joined because Russia and France promised her the ethnically mixed Austro-Hungarian province of Transylvania and Bulgarian territories with Romanian minorities south of the Danube. Bulgaria joined because she had a military alliance with The Ottoman Empire and Germany and The Ottomans promised her all Romanian territory south of the Danube and a generous chunk of eastern and southern Serbia.

* ''Film/AFistfulOfDynamite.'' Juan. He was only interested in robbing a bank, but managed to get suckered into helping significantly in the Mexican Revolution. He drags his feet and gives a big speech about how revolutions are cyclical and only hurt the common people, but he eventually turns his ideals around.

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', Quina reminds blissfully unaware of the plot for most of the game. Quina just likes food. Lots of food.

* ''[[Fanfic/YugiohEQG Yugioh EQG: Ω Zenith]]'': Most of the Omega Zealots want to revive their master Zeronull so he will destroy both the Earth and Duel Monsters Spirit World, and allow them to keep "living" in a perfect dream reality. However, Flaming Emperor Hellfire, the [[SixthRanger newest official member]], doesn't actually care about Zeronull or his promised dream reality. All Hellfire wamts is power, enough that prove that he isn't weak and will not die like those he sees as being weak, and wants revenge on the humans who humiliated him in the Double X championship. This eventually leads to [[spoiler:him disobeying orders and going after Flash and his friends himself to complete the Zealots mission, while denouncing Zeronull in the process]].

* ''Manga/OnePiece''

* In ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' Cosmo Entelecheia are [[KnightTemplar ruthless]], but have a [[WellIntentionedExtremist valid]] reason for it. Tsukuyomi helps them only for the opportunity to [[BloodKnight kill.]]

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise:''

* ''FanFic/BetweenMinds'': When [[{{Videogame/Portal}} Chell]] helps out [[VideoGame/HalfLife Judith Mossman find Dr. Freeman,]] she doesn't do it for humanity but so she can get a lift out of the Arctic.

* ''FanFic/{{Hivefled}}'':

* In ''Fanfic/MementoVivere'', a VideoGame/FinalFantasyX fanfiction, Rikku doesn’t initially want to help Braska on his Pilgrimage.
* ''FanFic/QueenOfShadows'': Most members of the [[LaResistance Shogunate in the Shadows]] aren't in it solely for the virtue of liberating Japan from [[TheEmpire the Shadowkhan]]: Rosuto, Gurando, and Kyouaku are only in it for material and social gains, Yasashi wants revenge on the Shadowkhan for destroying and enslaving her family, and Himitsu and Nonki want access to the Shadowkhan's libraries as a means of finding the keys to their own goals ({{immortality|seeker}} and Nirvana after death, respectfully).

* In ''FanFic/WinterWar'', Grimmjow joins up with the heroes for two reasons: to recover his strength, and to have a chance to fight Aizen. At first, that is. He develops an actual sense of loyalty to his companions- and a bit of compassion and conscience- as the fic goes on.

* Even more true in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone'', when they're dragged back to C'hou by the Pyar gods in order to fight the Black Tower and its minions. Being [[ActualPacifist Actual Pacifists]], they are utterly opposed to participating in the war, and say on more than one occasion that if they could pick up and leave right away, they would, and to hell with C'hou. Still, they attempt to help the various Power Groups put together the Nine-part Key, again just so they can go home with their magic at the end of it. However, given that [[spoiler: they're actually in a giant telepathic MMORPG and every single thing is fake]], this trope abruptly stops applying at the end of ''The Soft World''.

* In RWBY/Hetalia crossover ''FanFic/WeightOfTheWorld'' [[spoiler: England and the other nations (with the exception of Canada and America)]] do not care about Ozpin's war against the Grimm and Salem. Their only goal is to [[spoiler: retrieve Canada and America]] and go home.

** [[Comicbook/EscapeFromNewYork The comic sequel series]]:

* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' Mask of The Betrayer the central movitive is [[spoiler:saving yourself from a curse that is slowly killing you.]]\\

* In the original ''[[VideoGame/SilentHill1 Silent Hill]]'' game, [[spoiler:Dr. Michael Kaufmann]] actually fits this trope ''twice''. The first time, [[spoiler:he was working with the cult to produce the [[FantasticDrug drug "P.T.V."]], a highly addictive hallucinogen that both gained the cult proselytes (who wanted to continue their "religious experience" and/or ensure their supply) and [[MainliningTheMonster allowed Kaufmann to profit]] from their addiction]]. However, [[spoiler:since learning of the cult's plans to cleanse the world by fire, and him along with it, he [[TheChessmaster develops a plan]] to undo their god's rebirth and save his own life]]. This plan ultimately serves to [[spoiler:help Harry defeat the god and, [[{{Reincarnation}} more or less]], reclaim his daughter]]. Of course, in either of the two good endings, [[spoiler:Kaufmann's [[TheAggressiveDrugDealer past transgressions]] come back [[UnfinishedBusiness to haunt him]]]].

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''

* In ''[[VideoGame/JustCause Just Cause 2]]'', Rico Rodriguez is only in Panau to stop the country's corrupt President and clear the name of his mentor Tom Sheldon, and doesn't care about the revolutionary goals of Reapers and Ular Boys. As the Roaches are a cartel, basically a mafia outfit trying to control the business in Panau through force, they don't count as revolutionaries. Rico is really only in bed with these guys because they just so happen to be against Panau's corrupt President -- the enemy of my enemy is my friend -- he actually goes so far as to dismiss them as criminals when talking in private with Tom Sheldon. During the first meeting with the factions Rico says very clearly that his goal is finding Tom Sheldon and that he will do any job they ask in exchange for information. Despite stating the rules of their partnership the Reapers' and Ular Boys' leaders "test" Rico's loyalty on multiple occasions and even ask him about his stance on the politics of the situation in Panau, with Rico standing there stiff as doorknob not even responding to their inquiries. Amusingly Rico doesn't actually talk much to the faction leaders during the game, aside from their initial agreement and a few DeadpanSnarker exchanges.

* In ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', both the Smuggler (the resident Han Solo Expy) and the Bounty Hunter (the Boba Fett Expy) can be played as mercenaries who don't care about their respective factions and are simply working for them because they're the ones paying them. The Smuggler in particular can eventually be played as being a legitimate patriot of the Republic whose final decision determines whether or not they wish to become a Republic privateer or a pirate lord out for themselves. The Bounty Hunter however keeps a purely business relationship with the Empire, at best acknowledging a certain level of respect for certain individuals.

* The Vault Hunters in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' are somewhat ''variably'' dedicated to the cause. Axton is mostly in it for glory, cash and revenge; Krieg is in it for love and (again) revenge; and [=Zer0=] just wants a challenge worthy of his skills - and everyone concerned would love to have Handsome Jack off their backs.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''WebComic/StandStillStaySilent'', Onni is introduced with a RefusalOfTheCall statement. While his younger sister and cousin go on the expedition, he still plans to keep contact via the latter, who's a fellow mage. When they manage to make contact again, Onni annnounces to Lalli that communicating via mage-space is no longer an option because it involves at least one of them leaving his safe space and some danger that is simply called "it" had started looking for them "again". Next time we see Onni, he joins MissionControl, willing to do any work they give him. He also makes a beeline for the radio used to contact the expedition.

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' has Braig/Xigbar, a villainous example. All the other villains, incarnations of the same man, are in it out of a desire to remake the world. Xigbar? He just wants to inherit the main villain's special weapon, and is willing to put up with whatever asinine plan that villain has concocted in the meantime so long as it ends with that weapon being given to him.

* The post-reboot ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' has a villainous example: Eggman's henchmen are divided between those who genuinely believe in his cause and those who not only don't believe in it, but are outright disdainful of Eggman and only joined out of fear or to fulfill their own agendas. Cassia and Clove take this the furthest; they secretly only joined to exploit Eggman to find a cure for Cassia's illness and plan to split as soon as she's cured. [[spoiler:Clove doesn't realize until it's too late that Eggman figured out their scheme before they even joined. He lied about being able to cure Cassia and instead gave them a chemo-esque machine that stops the disease from getting worse but does nothing else. [[MagnificentBastard That way they have to start being in it for the revolution to keep Cassia alive]].]]

* Following in the footsteps of Han Solo is ''Series/TheMandalorian'', only this time it's lead has a much more nobler goal. Din Djarin is tasked by his clan to return an infant member of Yoda's species to his people, and seeks out others of his kind to help him. He ends up being rescued by some of them after getting double-crossed, but quickly gets incensed when they take off their helmets, as it violates the creed he was raised under. Of course, their leader, [[spoiler: [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Bo-Katan]] believes this sect of Djarin's to be a cult, and after angering him further with this insult, [[spoiler: she]] has to rope him into helping them raid an Imperial transport by not only saving him and the baby again, but offering to [[spoiler: reveal the location of a Jedi]] upon the completion of the job. He only begrudgingly goes along with it for the information, but when the plans change and they instead go to take the ship, he cites this trope. [[spoiler: Bo]] mocks his very creed by pointing out that [[spoiler: she]] still has something he needs, thus he is forced to go along with this sudden change of plans.