History Main / OpportunisticBastard

* Governor Ratcliffe from ''WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}}''. Openly [[FantasticRacism racist]] towards the Native Americans, he was plotting to wage war on them from the start. When John Smith is captured by the Powhatan tribe and threatened with execution for killing Kocoum (actually done by Thomas, who shot Kocoum to save Smith), Ratcliffe immediately seizes the chance to rally his men.

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', the pro hero Mount Lady makes her debut by upstaging fellow hero Kamui Wood, [[KillSteal delivering the final blow]] to the villain he'd been battling and subsequently hogging all the media attention for herself while Kamui sulks miserably on a nearby rooftop.

* René Belloq from ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk''. He's not as successful an archaeologist or adventurer as Indiana Jones is, so he usually lets Indy do all the work before swooping in to steal the artifacts his nemesis recovers. After Indy retrieves a golden idol at the beginning of the movie from a boobytrapped temple, Belloq just takes it from him by conning the local Hovitos into helping him. Later he helps the Nazis steal the Ark of the Covenant from Indy after the latter discovered its rightful location. The {{Novelization}} says Belloq's essentially made a career out of doing this to Indy, not just stealing artifacts from him but also plagiarizing an essay in graduate school and excavating a dig site while Indy spent months preparing.

** [[SmallNameBigEgo Marillion]], [[WanderingMinstrel a bard]], shows what can happen if you only have the skills to partially follow through. He manages to ButtMonkey his way into Catelyn's entourage at same time Bronn spots his chance to make good. From there, he successfully becomes the court minstrel of the Eyrie when [[ProfessionalButtKisser he flatters]] [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Lysa Arryn]] enough. Unfortunately, Marillion's an [[SmugSnake unlikable]] SlimeBall who manages to make himself so [[HateSink thoroughly disliked]] by most of the nobles of the Vale that, when he is made into TheScapegoat in a scheme aimed at facilitating a regime change, ''nobody'' cares to look too hard into it, let alone question it, [[spoiler: especially before his actual and very convenient death. There are hints that some Vale factions may be poking into the events surrounding Marillion's judicial murder for their own opportunistic reasons (since they are being fairly discrete), but this does him absolutely no good ''now''.]]

** Tywin Lannister. Joffrey himself points out that during Robert's rebellion, Tywin effectively hid underneath Casterly Rock and only supported King Robert when all was decided. He effectively pulled a Walder Frey ''before'' Walder Frey.

** Mickey Doyle, a Polish bootlegger working in Nucky's organization who has [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder a habit of betraying anyone]] if it looks like he can get more power from the other side. He betrays Nucky to the D'Alessio brothers in season one, then betrays the brothers to Nucky before the season's out, then he betrays Nucky again in favor of Jimmy's coup in the second season. After that fails, he somehow manages to not only survive again but once again weasel his way back into Nucky's organization, where he stays until the final season. [[spoiler:He finally meets his end when he attempts to betray Nucky for a third time in the middle of a MobWar, this time to "Lucky" Luciano and Meyer Lansky. At this point, Luciano's in no mood for his crap and [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves shoots him in the throat]] just to finally shut him up.]]

* [[spoiler:Hans]] from ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' who admits to not having a real plan. [[spoiler:He first intended to woo Elsa. When he realised she was an IceQueen, he turned his attention to her sister, Anna, intending to arrange an accident for Elsa. Then Elsa reveals her powers and runs away, with Anna in pursuit, and he tries to ingratiate himself to the public while they are gone. Finally, when Anna comes home, he tries to have her killed, then tells the assembled nobles that they got married, making him king; when she and Elsa turn up alive he tries to kill them both to cover his tracks.]] At no point does he have a master plan; he's just [[spoiler:aiming to be king]] through whatever means are available.
* Governor Ratcliffe from ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}''. Openly [[FantasticRacism racist]] towards the Native Americans, he was plotting to wage war on them from the start. When John Smith is captured by the Powhatan tribe and threatened with execution for killing Kocoum (actually done by Thomas, who shot Kocoum to save Smith), Ratcliffe immediately seizes the chance to rally his men.

Hierarchically they could be anyone from a minor character to the BigBad himself. Some of the less ambitious can be [[TheCreon Creons]] if they are fine with someone else getting the lion's share as long as they get their piece. Compare/contrast TheChessmaster. See also ManipulativeBastard and XanatosSpeedChess. Can easily become a WildCard. Likely to be a DirtyCoward or to suffer from ChronicBackstabbingDisorder. Might belong to LesCollaborateurs or even become TheQuisling. Always personifies the 12th of UsefulNotes/TheThirtySixStratagems.

* Cousin Greg from ''Series/{{Succession}}'' has no discernible goal beyond keeping his job at Waystar, and proves himself to be adept at hitching rides on the shoulders of more powerful people, aligning himself with whoever seems to be in a more advantageous position at any given moment.

* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire''
** Gaston Bullock Means is a shameless manipulator and back-stabber who acts only to swindle as much money as he possibly can out of whomever he's currently conning. Means spends most of his time in season three PlayingBothSides on the [[TheDon Nucky Thompson]] and [[CorruptPolitician DA Daughtery]] power struggle, waiting to ally himself with whichever one comes out on top. In season four, he again pretends to be on Nucky's side only to sell out information about him to the FBI to save his own ass. Even when he's being [[spoiler:raided by the CIA]] he spends his remaining seconds trying to extort increasingly exorbitant amounts of money out of Nucky for information on TheMole in Nucky's organization.
** Mickey Doyle, a Polish bootlegger working in Nucky's organization who has [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder a habit of betraying anyone]] if it looks like he can get more power from the other side. He betrays Nucky to the D'Alessio brothers in season one, then betrays the brothers to Nucky before the season's out, then he betrays Nucky again in favor of Jimmy's coup in the second season. After that fails, he somehow manages to not only survive again but once again weasel his way back into Nucky's organization, where he stays until the final season. [[spoiler:He finally meets his end when he attempts to betray Nucky for a third time in the middle of a MobWar, this time to "Lucky" Luciano and Meyer Lansky. At this point, Luciano's in no mood for his crap and [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves shoots him in the throat]] just to finally shut him up.]]
* ''Series/BlackSails'' has John Silver (later to be known as "Long" John Silver) who is a self-described opportunist and will latch onto any chance to advance his position or at least keep himself from getting killed. When told that in a few months [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness his usefulness will be gone and he will probably be killed]] he merely sees this as a time to make friends with his captors. Most of the other major characters have some sort of plan or goal they are working toward but Silver simply jumps at any opportunity that presents itself and goes where it takes him. This almost backfires on him in season 2 when he volunteers to join Flint on a SuicideMission convinced that Flint has some brilliant plan to get them out of the trouble they are in. To Silver's horror, Flit fully intents to go through with the mission.
* Crowley from ''{{Series/Supernatural}}'' has worked his way from a demonic salesman to the King of Hell by working his way into various situations, betraying those he works with and being fully willing to subvert situations to his benefit. He takes advantage of Dean and Sam's wish to kill Lucifer to aid them while keeping his involvement secret. Crowley later uses Sam and Dean to defeat Lucifer, and takes the opportunity to seize control of Hell by becoming its king. Crowley spends the next few seasons playing up and shifting alliances with various characters, always ready to seize an opportunity when it presents itself.

* Ashur from ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'' decides, after he is crippled by the Gladiator Crixus, that his only goals in life are revenge and rising in power. Using his cleverness to ingratiate himself to his master Batiatus, Ashur becomes his errand boy and supporter, hoping to tie his fortunes to Batiatus's own. When he is indebted to Gladiator named Barca, Ashur quickly makes it appear as if Barca has betrayed Batiatus and arranges his death. Ashur takes advantage of Batiatus's gratitude to steal Crixus's lover, and after Batiatus falls, Ashur simply aligns himself with Praetor Gaius Claudius Glaber and uses Spartacus's rebellion to get Glaber to assign him his own private squad of enforcers with which he terrorizes Capua. Ashur uses his intelligence and lack of morality to make himself invaluable to those he serves while simultaneously using their favor to push himself higher.
* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'': The various incarnations of the title Edmund Blackadder will take any chance that offers itself to make money and gain influence, with the exception of the First World War incarnation, who is more concerned with getting out of the trenches. And even he qualifies as he chose to become a soldier of fortune as an easy and safe way to make money and travel around the world and only kill enemies with weapons too primitive to be considered weapons. Actual plans made by Blackadders tend to spiral into chaos during the first 25 minutes of the episode, but spontaneous opportunities are seized, exploited, and turned into admittedly temporary profit. [[spoiler:Most obvious when his Regency incarnation had swapped places with the Prince Regent in order to duel the Duke of Wellington; when Wellington shot the "butler" and killed the Prince Regent, Blackadder effortlessly replaced him and ended up as King George IV.]]
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
** Turk Barret tends to take dirty jobs rather than spearhead any plans himself. This is why he'll betray criminals to dangerous bosses, like selling the Russians out to Fisk, or ratting out Chico to Cottonmouth.
** In ''Series/JessicaJones2015'' Malus refers to Dr. Kozlov as such, citing he stole Malus' drugs to develop the combat enhancers for the military.
** Hernán "Shades" Alvarez from ''Series/LukeCage2016'' is always try to get in the graces of someone with more power than him, be it a corrupt guard at Seagate or Diamondback, the latter even calls him out on it when he guessed that Shades planned on being Mariah's right hand man and EvilMentor as he saw more potential with her than with Diamondback.

* One of Wrestling/{{Edge}}'s {{Red Baron}}s is "The Ultimate Opportunist." He earned it after saving his Wrestling/MoneyInTheBank contract (the first ever, no less) for a rainy day -- e.g., if [[Wrestling/JohnCena the then-Champion]] were already exhausted after an Wrestling/EliminationChamber match.

** [[SmallNameBigEgo Marillion]], [[WanderingMinstrel a bard]], shows what can happen if you only have the skills to partially follow through. He manages to ButtMonkey his way into Catelyn's entourage at same time Bronn spots his chance to make good. From there, he successfully becomes the court minstrel of the Eyrie when [[ProfessionalButtKisser he flatters]] [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Lysa Arryn]] enough. Unfortunately, Marillion's an [[SmugSnake unlikable]] SlimeBall who manages to make himself so [[HateSink thoroughly disliked]] by most of the nobles of the Vale that, when he is made into TheScapegoat in a scheme aimed at facilitating a regime change, ''nobody'' cares to look too hard into it, let alone question it, [[spoiler especially before his actual and very convenient death. There are hints that some factions may be poking into the events surrounding his judicial murder for their own reasons, but this does him no good ''now''.]]

** [[SmallNameBigEgo Marillion]], [[WanderingMinstrel a bard]], shows what can happen if you only have the skills to partially follow through. He manages to ButtMonkey his way into Catelyn's entourage at same time Bronn spots his chance to make good. From there, he successfully becomes the court minstrel of the Eyrie when [[ProfessionalButtKisser he flatters]] [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Lysa Arryn]] enough. Unfortunately, Marillion's an [[SmugSnake unlikable]] SlimeBall who manages to make himself so [[HateSink thoroughly disliked]] by most of the nobles of the Vale that, when he is made into TheScapegoat in a scheme aimed at facilitating a regime change, ''nobody'' cares to look too hard into it, let alone question it.

* One of Wrestling/{{Edge}}'s {{Red Baron}}s is "The Ultimate Opportunist" -- which he earned after deciding to use his Wrestling/MoneyInTheBank contract (the first ever, no less) right after then-champion Wrestling/JohnCena had already exhausted[=/=]injured himself in an Elimination Chamber match.

* In ''[[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins Origins]]'', a ''MassEffect''[=/=]''StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, the Republic Intelligence Service's director slides into this territory. There's no evidence he or his organization knew that [[spoiler:the Flood]] was coming, but boy does he take advantage of it like no tomorrow, using it as an excuse to receive ever greater power along with increasingly-unaccountable budgets. He even implies in press conferences that yes, RISE [[TheChessmaster knew about this whole thing]] in advance to buy more credibility.

Then you've got this guy. The Opportunistic Bastard doesn't have a plan, or at least not a clearly outlined one. He may have a vague goal that he's working towards, but when it comes to getting there, he's winging it. Other times the Opportunistic Bastard doesn't even have that going for him, and just latches onto other people's schemes in the name of making as much short term profit as he can. The most evil ones often choose to align themselves with a BigBad that can offer them a share in his power and a lof of rivalry may ensue regarding who will get the biggest share from the others.

As the name suggests, characters like this excel at grabbing onto the opportunities that others present. Unlike TheChessmaster, who often fails when things don't go according to plan, the Opportunistic Bastard typically rolls well with unexpected results, exploiting every new circumstance to his own advantage. Where they tend to suffer is in the long term--a good opportunist can keep his head above water on any given day, but is ultimately going to crash and burn because they lack the vision to stay in it for the long haul. A particularly capable Opportunistic Bastard might actually be able to give the impression of being a Chessmaster, due to their ability to adapt to new situations, but even then, they are liable to paint themselves into a corner due to their lack of forethought.

Opportunists of this type are usually motivated only by their own self-interest. If their actions do benefit someone else, it's either accidental, or because that person belongs to the [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes select group of people that our opportunist actually cares about]]. Similarly, they are rarely loyal to any cause larger than their personal self-advancement, or at best, the well-being of themselves and [[MoralMyopia a select group]]; if an Opportunistic Bastard has an ideology, it is likely to be ill-defined, self-serving, and/or shallow. As a result, this character is liable to be an {{antihero}} at best, and outright villain at worst. Unlike TheStarscream who has a pretty clear goal and lives for the moment that he will manage to become the new BigBad, many of these opportunists will gladly take over and become a DragonAscendant if it so happens, but in general do not have such grande visions and just try to grab as much as they can without caring about the status quo.

* EnigmaticMinion Char Aznable from the original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' is a competent planner, and is able to stay a step ahead of most people, but he's more of a short-term opportunist than a long-term schemer, and more often than not is flying by the seat of his pants. He has the vague goal of "eliminate the Zabis" but no real plan for doing it--instead he just hangs around with them, hoping to get the chance to murder them. He hangs around with Garma Zabi, and is able to betray him, leading to his death in battle. He then just bounces around from commander to commander and mission to mission until the very end of the show when he's able to take a shot at Kycilia Zabi, who by then (no thanks to Char) is the only Zabi left. He spends most of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta]]'' hoping the AEUG will force the world to follow his father's philosophy without him having to lead it; when things go south, he abandons the cause after his defeat by Haman Khan. Even in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack CCA]]'', when he does take power in Neo-Zeon, it's not through planning--he just waits until everybody else with a claim to the throne (Haman Khan, Glemmy Toto, Mineva Zabi) is dead or in hiding, and declares himself leader.

** Madara Uchiha had a plan with an actual claim to {{Chessmaster}} status before his resurrection. However, he was returned to life with a series of mishaps: his former apprentice having hijacked his old plan and him being revived by the dark Impure World Resurrection technique rather than the true resurrection he expected, and since then has been trying to improvise his way to victory. Madara proceeded to wait for an opportunity to break free of the caster's control before finding his apprentice Tobi had already revived the monstrous Ten-Tailed Beast with no intention of sharing that power with Madara. Then Madara tries regain control of the situation using his back-up plan but eventually got OutGambitted from Tobi. [[spoiler:Further Madara sits and waits for until the Alliance weaken Obito sufficiently, in order to have Black Zetsu force him to revive Madara.]]
** Sasuke Uchiha is no better; his role as an antagonist is a series of him merely betraying a more ambitious and powerful villain and hijacking their resources or achievements for his own use. First Orochimaru, then Tobi [[spoiler: and then Kaguya. At the conclusion, he finally executes his master stroke, waiting until all of the most powerful threats amongst the heroes and villains had eliminated each other, with only Naruto to stop him.]]

* Malty of ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' has a habit of jumping on any opportunity for amusement, revenge, or personal gain without considering the consequences fully. As this usually [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder comes at the expense of her comrades]] she makes a lot of enemies while gradually increasing the potential rewards if she succeeds. This escalates from getting a better Hero while stealing Naofumi's money to [[spoiler:killing her sister to gain the throne, killing her ''family'' to gain the throne, and finally killing her family ''and'' the Heroes for world]].

* Tenzen Yakushiji from ''{{Manga/Basilisk}}'' is a vicious ninja who takes advantage of the shogun succession war to seize control of the Iga clan and routinely seizes any opportunity he can get to control the war and eliminate the Koga, while trying to make the Iga leader Oboro his own. Later attaching himself to the entourage of the potential heir Takechiyo, and his caretaker, Tenzen intends on using them to rule the Shogunate from the shadows himself, constantly using and abandoning those he comes across as is convenient.

* [[spoiler:Hans]] from ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' who admits to not having a real plan. [[spoiler:He first intended to woo Elsa. When he realised she was an IceQueen, he turned his attentions to her sister, Anna, intending to arrange an accident for Elsa. Then Elsa reveals her powers and runs away, with Anna in pursuit, and he tries to ingratiate himself to the public while they are gone. Finally, when Anna comes home, he tries to have her killed, then tells the assembled nobles that they got married, making him king; when she and Elsa turn up alive he tries to kill them both to cover his tracks.]] At no point does he have a master plan; he's just [[spoiler:aiming to be king]] through whatever means are available.

** [[BigBad Lord Cutler Beckett]], for all his pretensions of being TheChessmaster, mostly accomplishes his goals by relying on other, more-capable people of doing his dirty work for him. Whenever the opportunity arises, Beckett will make a deal with whomever seems most likely to give him what he wants, like Will, Elizabeth, Norrington, Governor Swann, Sao Feng, and even his nemesis, Jack Sparrow. However, he's just as like to betray them afterwards depending on what he considers "good business."

* Loki Odinson from the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse has a knack for adapting to most situations. In ''Film/{{Thor}}'', he originally sneaks some Frost Giants into Asgard [[ItAmusedMe as a prank]], then capitalizes on the fallout to ruin his brother's reputation, and takes advantage of Thor's banishment and his father's coma to try to wipe out the Frost Giants and prove himself worthy of the throne. He is quick to make and [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder break]] chance alliances with Thanos in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' and the Grandmaster in ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' so as to {{take over|TheWorld}} the Earth and Sakaar, respectively. After Thor temporarily frees him in ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', he seizes the opportunity to secretly oust Odin, and becomes the FakeKing of Asgard. In ''Ragnarok'', after Thor anticipates Loki's most recent betrayal, he points out how limiting and predictable his actions make him, [[spoiler:which Loki takes to heart causing a HeelFaceTurn]].
* René Belloq from ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk''. He's not as successful an archaeologist or adventurer as Indiana Jones is, so he usually lets Indy do all the work before swooping in to steal the artifacts his nemesis recovers. After Indy retrieves a golden idol in the beginning of the movie from a boobytrapped temple, Belloq just takes it from him by conning the local Hovitos into helping him. Later he helps the Nazis steal the Ark of the Covenant from Indy after the latter discovered its rightful location. The {{Novelization}} says Belloq's essentially made a career out of doing this to Indy, not just stealing artifacts from him but also plagiarizing an essay in graduate school and excavating a dig site while Indy spent months preparing.

* Esketra from ''[[Literature/{{Kane}} Dark Crusade]]''. She has no qualms about using her good looks to her advantage, first seducing aspiring general Javro and then, when her city is overrun by the Dark Crusade, living in comfort as its leader Orted Ak-Ceddi's lover. And she would betray anyone if she thought it would help her. Unfortunately for her, women are immune to her charms and there is one that really wants to get her {{Revenge}} and [[spoiler: righty suspects that Esketra would be able to convince Javro to forgive her]].

** Season 5's Daryl Crowe Jr. is described as such by his right-hand man, Jean-Baptiste, who comments on Daryl's penchant for finding employ with someone else, and then making their business his. He did this to the Muchado family's sugar smuggling operation in Florida. After coming to Kentucky he first tries to take over his cousin Dewey's brothel, leading to conflict with Boyd Crowder, then hires himself out to Boyd as an enforcer. Most recently, while on a job for Boyd in Mexico, he and his brother Danny have sabotaged Boyd's operation in an attempt to weaken Boyd enough that he will not have a choice but to offer Daryn an equal partnership. If anything, this unpredictability, and general lack of attention to detail makes Daryl ''more'' dangerous, as nobody can really anticipate how he'll try to take advantage of the situation, only that he will.

* ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'' had Jilly Kitizgenger. An opportunist, fast talking PR rep, she was mostly concerned with getting work. She represented the evil cooperation and the crazy murderer/child molester even she admitted was off putting, but her loyalties lie with whatever will get her to the top. Before approaching the murderer, she approached a doctor working with the heroes for the exact opposite goals.

** Mickey Doyle, a Polish bootlegger working in Nucky's organization who has [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder a habit of betraying anyone]] if it looks like he can get more power from the other side. He betrays Nucky to the D'Alessio brothers in season one, then betrays the brothers to Nucky before the season's out, then he betrays Nucky again in favor of Jimmy's coup in the second season. After that fails, he somehow manages to not only survive again, but once again weasel his way back into Nucky's organization, where he stays until the final season. [[spoiler:He finally meets his end when he attempts to betray Nucky for a third time in the middle of a MobWar, this time to "Lucky" Luciano and Meyer Lansky. At this point, Luciano's in no mood for his crap and [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves shoots him in the throat]] just to finally shut him up.]]
* ''Series/BlackSails'' has John Silver (later to be known as "Long" John Silver) who is a self described opportunist and will latch onto any chance to advance his position or at least keep himself from getting killed. When told that in a few months [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness his usefulness will be gone and he will probably be killed]] he merely sees this as a time to make friends with his captors. Most of the other major characters have some sort of plan or goal they are working toward but Silver simply jumps at any opportunity that presents itself and goes where it takes him. This almost backfires on him in season 2 when he volunteers to join Flint on a SuicideMission convinced that Flint has some brilliant plan to get them out of the trouble they are in. To Silver's horror, Flit fully intents to go through with the mission.

* Ashur from ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'' decides, after he is crippled by the Gladiator Crixus, that his only goals in life are revenge and rising in power. Using his cleverness to ingratiate himself to his master Batiatus, Ashur becomes his errand boy and supporter, hoping to tie his fortunes to Batiatus's own. When he is indebted to Gladiator named Barca, Ashur quickly makes it appear as if Barca has betrayed Batiatus and arranges his death. Ashur takes advantage of Batiatus's gratitude to steal Crixus's lover, and after Batiatus falls, Ashur simply aligns himself with Praetor Gaius Claudius Glaber, and uses Spartacus's rebellion to get Glaber to assign him his own private squad of enforcers with which he terrorizes Capua. Ashur uses his intelligence and lack of morality to make himself invaluable to those he serves while simultaneously using their favor to push himself higher.

* ''Videogame/FinalFantasyIX:'' This trope applies to Kuja, from disc 3 onward. In the first two discs, Kuja had a true EvilPlan, but it gets immediately curbstomped the second that [[spoiler:his boss, Garland, decides that [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he has outlived his usefulness]].]] Kuja immediately goes into hiding and, with his treachery revealed, has no choice but to acquire power any means he can. He tries a few things that also fail, before opportunity shines and one of the good guys taps into their SuperMode right in front of him. From that moment on, his plan is to [[spoiler:let the heroes fight both him and Garland, and win, and then [[TurnsRed Turn Red]] and invoke his own SuperMode ''permanently''.]] ''And it works.'' At that point, Kuja had everything he needed to take over the world, but there was one thing he didn't count on...

* The Bounty Hunter Player Character from ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' gets two opportunities to address a huge audience. They're expected to either make inspiring speeches or threaten The Republic. But instead you can... make a sales pitch. Heck you're never going to get a better chance than this!

* Hondo Ohnaka from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' and ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels''. Hondo is quick to side with and backstab anyone if he thinks he can make a quick profit out of it.
* The ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' incarnation of Starscream tends to fall into this trope. He's not got the brawn to overthrow Megatron by force, and Megatron is cunning enough to spot and foil most planned gambits, so his best chance is seizing on events as they come up. To this end he's ended up both working with and against Decepticons and Autobots alike... sometimes at the same time. In a subversion, he ends up growing out of the trope somewhat and seems genuinely content to be second in command (though he turns his attentions to keeping that position.)
* Prince Zuko in the first two seasons of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. He's hellbent on capturing the Avatar to restore his former position in the Fire Nation, but unlike his {{Chessmaster}} sister, Azula, he never has a concrete plan in place for how he's going to accomplish it. He spends most of his time tracking Aang, winging it as he goes, teaming up with anyone from pirates to bounty hunters so long as it gives him an opportunity to capture Aang. Eventually Iroh calls him out on his lack of longterm planning, pointing out the times he's nearly died because [[AndThenWhat he never thinks through what he should do after achieving his immediate goal.]]

** The show version of Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish falls into this category. While the book version is adept at seizing opportunities that come his way, he predominantly relies on long-term plans to get what he wants. The show version of Littlefinger puts much more emphasis on sowing chaos explicitly for the purpose of reaping any opportunities that arise in the fallout, with the nebulous end goal of sitting on the Iron Throne with Sansa Stark as his queen. His unpredictability ends up coming back to bite him, first by arranging Sansa's marriage to the psychotic Ramsay Bolton he destroys any goodwill he'd earned from her, and second, [[spoiler:trying to turn Sansa against Arya results in the exposure of his crimes and subsequent execution]].

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Tywin Lannister. Joffrey himself points out that during Robert's rebellion, Tywin effectively hid underneath Casterly Rock and only supported King Robert when all was decided. He effectively pulled a Walder Frey ''before'' Walder Frey.

* Angelus in Season 2 of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' has no real plan beyond "screw with Buffy". It isn't until the last few episodes that Acathla arrives and gives him an actual goal to work towards, and even that falls into his general attitude of "[[ForTheEvulz I will be as big a dick as I can]]."

* ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Secret Rings]]'': Early on, the [[BigBad Erazor Djinn]] tries to shoot Shahra with a flaming arrow, but Sonic [[TakingTheBullet took the hit]] and was afflicted with a life-draining curse. Erazor uses it to his advantage, telling Sonic he'll remove the arrow and break the curse if Sonic gathers all of the World Rings for him. [[spoiler:As it turns out, he just intends to sacrifice Sonic in order to obtain full mastery of the World Rings for himself since he couldn't use their true power as long as their collector is alive, but settles for [[TakingTheBullet Shahra]] instead when she jumps in front of the killing blow]]. This ends up biting him in the ass [[spoiler:because not only does this ''[[ImperfectRitual not]]'' give him the full mastery he desired, a rip-roaring pissed Sonic ends up stealing three of the Rings from him and using them to power up and [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown rip him a new one]]]].

** Lucius Malfoy is a SmugSnake of an opportunist, latching onto anything that will either help his ambition or help him save his own hide. He doesn't usually have a plan either--he'll let somebody else do the thinking, and try to benefit from their work. In the backstory, he joins [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]] for the power involved, and also because its [[ANaziByAnyOtherName racist cause]] adhered with his prejudiced mindset. After Voldemort's power is shattered and the Dark Lord disappears, Lucius abandons his master and pretends his deeds were because of brainwashing, allowing him to escape justice. Perhaps the best example of Lucius's "planning capabilities" is how he orchestrated the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. He simply [[spoiler:plopped Tom Riddle's diary into Ginny Weasely's lap, let Tom Riddle do all the work,]] and sat back, taking advantage of the chaos for his own ends. When Lord Voldemort returned to power in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', Lucius goes back to Voldemort to avoid incurring the Dark Lord's wrath, and once again carries out Voldemort's will. Throughout the series, Lucius only has one consistent loyalty and that's [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes to his family.]] Eventually, [[spoiler:when Voldemort's cause endangers his son's life, Lucius defects from the Death Eaters for Draco's safety]].
** [[EvilFormerFriend Wormtail]] is a humbler example as a DirtyCoward and [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder chronic backstabber]] who just looks for the biggest shadow to crawl and live in. First he "befriended" the Marauders at Hogwarts because they were popular, then he betrayed them as an adult, becoming TheMole for the Death Eaters in the Order of the Phoenix because Voldemort was gaining more and more power. Wormtail sold out his "friends," the Potters, and their one-year-old son to their deaths, just to secure his position, then after that backfired, he went framed his other "friend" Sirius and went into hiding. It speaks volumes of Wormtail's level of cowardice and self-interest that he was willing to live as a rat for over a decade, just on the off chance Voldemort returned and he needed to offer Harry up as a sacrifice to get back in his good graces. It's only when he has literally no other option that he seeks out Voldemort and helps him return to full power, just to have the protection of someone powerful again.

Then you've got this guy. The Opportunistic Bastard doesn't have a plan, or at least not a clearly outlined one. He may have a vague goal that he's working towards, but when it comes to getting there, he's winging it. Other times the Opportunistic Bastard doesn't even have that going for him, and just latches onto other people's schemes in the name of making as much short term profit as he can.

Opportunists of this type are usually motivated only by their own self-interest. If their actions do benefit someone else, it's either accidental, or because that person belongs to the select group of people that our opportunist actually cares about. Similarly, they are rarely loyal to any cause larger than their personal self-advancement, or at best, the well-being of themselves and [[MoralMyopia a select group]]; if an Opportunistic Bastard has an ideology, it is likely to be ill-defined, self-serving, and/or shallow. As a result, this character is liable to be an {{antihero}} at best, and outright villain at worst. Unlike TheStarscream who has a pretty clear goal and lives for the moment that he will manage to become the new BigBad, many of these opportunists will gladly take over and become a DragonAscendant if it so happens, but in general do not have such grande visions and just try to grab as much as they can without caring about the status quo.