History Main / TreacherousAdvisor

** Played straight, however, [[spoiler:with Edo Phoenix's adoptive father DD. He was a criminal who murdered Edo's true father and stole the Ultimate D card, becoming a vassal of the Light of Ruin in the process; the whole reason he took Edo under his wing was to throw suspicion off of himself. Eventually, he confronted Edo and the truth came out, but Edo defeated him (ironically, using a card that his father designed to defeat the Ulitimate D card) and DD perished in the resulting fire.

** Then there was Ezekiel. This mysterious man whose powers seemed to be the same as Spidey's (except mystical in nature, not scientific) helped him several times against Morlun and Shathra, predators of supernatural origin bent on preying on the hero. Ezekiel told Spidey that the spider that had bitten him was not mutated by the radiation, but actually ''trying'' to give him its powers before the radiation killed it. This meant that Spider-Man was now part of the supernatural food chain, and had become a target for other totems and beings who feed on totems (Hence why so many of Spider-Man's foes were based on animals; on some level, they 'sensed' that Peter was a true totem while they were merely impostors and were thus driven to destroy him. [[spoiler:But it was all lies. It was later revealed that Morlun and Shathra were really after Ezekiel, and Ezekiel attempted to direct the consequences of gaining his powers onto Spider-Man himself, taking Spider-Man to the temple where he had been given his own powers and drawing blood to attract a massive spider that would take the 'false' totem warrior as a sacrifice. At the last moment, however, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he realized that he had done nothing but selfish things with his powers]], while Peter had selflessly risked his life to save others again and again. With that in mind, he attacked the spider, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath sacrificing himself to save Peter]].]]

** Then there was Ezekiel. This mysterious man whose powers seemed to be the same as Spidey's (except mystical in nature, not scientific) helped him several times against Morlun and Shathra, predators of supernatural origin bent on preying on the hero. Ezekiel told Spidey that the spider that had bitten him was not mutated by the radiation, but actually ''trying'' to give him its powers before the radiation killed it. This meant that Spider-Man was now part of the supernatural food chain, and had become a target for other totems and beings who feed on totems (Hence why so many of Spider-Man's foes were based on animals; on some level, they 'sensed' that Peter was a true totem while they were merely impostors and were thus driven to destroy him. [[spoiler:But it was all lies. It was later revealed that Morlun and Shathra were really after Ezekiel, and Ezekiel attempted to direct the consequences of gaining his powers onto Spider-Man himself, taking Spider-Man to the temple where he had been given his own powers and drawing blood to attract a massive spider that would take the 'false' totem warrior as a sacrifice. At the last moment, however, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he realized that he had done nothing but selfish things with his powers]], while Peter had selflessly risked his life to save others again and again. With that in mind, he attacked the spider, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath sacrificing himself to save Peter.]]

* In ''SpiderMan'', when NYPD criminologist Carlie Cooper discovers Officer Vin Gonzales is part of a conspiracy to frame Spidey, she goes straight to the precinct sergeant. He turns out to be deeper in it than Vin, and quite prepared to pin the whole thing on Vin and Carlie.

* ''FinalFantasyX'' can be considered the apotheosis of the concept. The party's initial quest is a voyage to seek aid in destroying the monster Sin; [[spoiler: the ultimate end of this quest is the spirit of Lady Yunalesca — who, in TheReveal, turns out to be an insane nihilist who has been complicit with Sin's cycle of reincarnation since the beginning, having offered her own husband as the first Final Aeon (which would also make him the second Sin). And the Maesters of Yevon are being advised on how to defeat Sin by Maester Seymour, in [[TheReveal The ''other'' Reveal]], turns out to be an insane nihilist who is plotting to merge with Sin so he can destroy all life on Spira.]]

* ''{{Ultima VII}}'' plays with this a bit by linking it to a ChainOfDeals. In order to contact the Time Lord, whose help is necessary to stop [[BigBad the Guardian]] from dominating Britannia, you need to get help from the Wisps - interdimensional information-brokers who, in exchange for the help, want you to acquire information for another client of theirs. The information in question is a notebook on the Guardian and [[PathOfInspiration his puppet church, the Fellowship]], composed by one of the [[OnlySaneMan few Britannian scholars]] aware of the Guardian's existence. Turns out, their client ''is'' the Guardian, who, having found out what his opposition knows about him, then has him murdered.

** ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan had Jean DeWolffe. Her regular 616 Marvel universe counterpart was a by the book cop who had a soft spot for Spider-Man, and who's death was a tragedy. Her UltimateUniverse counterpart seemed to be shaping up to be similar, sending Spider-Man to potential bad guys' hideouts but in the end turned out to be working for the [[BigBad Kingpin]] and unceremoniously shot by ThePunisher because he knew she was a bent cop.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'' has [[spoiler:Barlowe teaching Shanoa how to use glyphs and such, so she can use the Dominus glyph to destroy an artifact that, when destroyed, will allegedly destroy Dracula. He keeps secret from her two things: that using Dominus will kill the user ([[ViolationOfCommonSense you can even use it and die in regular gameplay, once you have all three parts]]), and that destroying said artifact, in actuality, will [[NiceJobBreakingItHero bring about the return of Dracula and his castle]], which was his goal all along.]]

** CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow had Zobek, not put in spoilers because the cast is ever so small, who else could it be? He turns out to be [[spoiler: one of the eponymous Lords of Shadow and heavily implied to be [[TheGrimReaper Death]], but before he can usurp the mask's powers SATAN kills him.]]
* In ''VideoGame/SystemShock 2'', [[spoiler:the voice of Dr. Janice Polito is played by very special guest star... [[OhCrap SHODAN]].]]

* Amethos from VideoGame/UnluckyHero seeks to kill off the younger princess of the kingdom, so that he can marry the ruling princess and take over. This happens in basically the first ten minutes of the game, so it's not really a spoiler.

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'', the high-ranked Paladin Orson leads Prince Ephraim and his group into a direct trap, having betrayed his country since the enemy promised to revive his deceased wife.

* The French series ''LaQueteDeLOiseauDuTemps'': [[spoiler:Mara, the old witch-princess who sends the heroes on the quest in the first place]], secretly wishes to steal the powers of the GodOfEvil as opposed to [[SealedEvilInACan sealing him]].

** After his defeat, Lord Tourma fakes a HeelFaceTurn and acts as advisor. [[ObviouslyEvil No one's fooled]], except [[AllLovingHero Princess Christel]].

* In ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'', [[spoiler:the Golden Spider]] offers Asura cryptic advice several times in the game [[spoiler:while he is in Naraku]] to aid him in his battle against the Deities. [[spoiler:The Spider is actually the BiggerBad behind the rise of the Gohma (and consequently the Deities' villainy as well) which was apparently a test of the Deities' worthiness to wield Mantra, and he's only aiding Asura because he wants to claim Mithra as his vessel.]]

* Subversion in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'', especially on Mizal Touval, the Shura Advisor (because, he is not on the player's side all the time). He actually had plans on his own, that is to overthrow the BigBad and usurp his power on his own. But he never got lucky in his endeavor, because: [[spoiler:He either gets killed before he could pull the treachery off (Compact 3), or said BigBad is dead first, and his successor killed him before he could do anything else (OriginalGeneration Gaiden).]]

* Subversion in SuperRobotWars, especially on Mizal Touval, the Shura Advisor (because, he is not on the player's side all the time). He actually had plans on his own, that is to overthrow the BigBad and usurp his power on his own. But he never got lucky in his endeavor, because: [[spoiler:He either gets killed before he could pull the treachery off (Compact 3), or said BigBad is dead first, and his successor killed him before he could do anything else (OriginalGeneration Gaiden).]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Colonel Tom Parker. While he indeed elevated Elvis to international superstardom, he was domineering and exploitative of his young charge, controlling every single aspect of the singer's life and career. The reason Elvis never toured overseas? Parker was an illegal immigrant to America and didn't want to leave in case he couldn't get back. Parker's first thought upon hearing Elvis had died was not "My friend of several decades had just died!" but "how can I make money from this?" He made his way to New York to meet with merchandising associates and RCA executives, instructing them to prepare for a huge demand in Presley products and the funeral he persuaded Presley's father to sign over control of Elvis' career in death to him.
[[/folder]]

* Subverted in one episode of StarGateAtlantis: When visiting the ruins of a ship that had the crew both in stasis and believing that they were still flying the vessel in a virtual reality setting, the second in command apparently was planning to do something against her boss. However, its later revealed that the actual second in command was killed long before the events of the episode by a Wraith, and a Wraith (presumably the same one that killed her) was impersonating as her.

** In a variation, in '''all three''' ''Metal Gear Solid'' games, [[spoiler:TheDragon, Revolver Ocelot]], is advising and betraying the game's BigBad on behalf of a singular third party. How does he keep getting away with this? [[MagnificentBastard Impressively]].

* ''FinalFantasyX'' can be considered the apotheosis of the concept. The party's initial quest is a voyage to seek aid in destroying the monster Sin; [[spoiler: the ultimate end of this quest is the spirit of Lady Yunalesca — who, in TheReveal, turns out to be an insane nihilist who has been complicit with Sin's cycle of reincarnation since the beginning, having offered her own husband as the first Final Aeon (which would also make him the second Sin).And the Maesters of Yevon are being advised on how to defeat Sin by Maester Seymour, in [[TheReveal The ''other'' Reveal]], turns out to be an insane nihilist who is plotting to merge with Sin so he can destroy all life on Spira.]]

* [[spoiler: Master Li]] in ''JadeEmpire'' [[spoiler:He is, in fact, the BigBad, who uses the player character to unseat his brother, the assumed BigBad, and usurps TheDragon's services as well. Said Dragon appears, until about a third of the way through the game, to be the BigBad. Confused yet?]]
** He's particularly insidious because [[spoiler:[[{{Sabotutor}} he deliberately built flaws into the style that he taught you so that he could use them to take you out]] upon TheReveal]].
*** Oh, man...He was running one hell of a {{plan}} the entire time, with [[spoiler:your player character]] as the UnwittingPawn. [[spoiler:He raised you from infancy as a tool, designed flaws into your fighting style, arranged for every other student and the entire village nearby to be killed in order to "motivate you properly," set you against his own brother, and to gether the {{Plot Coupon}}s so he could seize the throne and the power of a goddess for himself.]] MagnificentBastard in every way.

** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]'' [[spoiler:makes it look like Snape is one, too, only to invert it in the [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]].]]

* J.K. Rowling really likes this trope in the Literature/HarryPotter books.
** [[spoiler:Professor Quirrel]] in ''Philosopher's Stone''.
** [[spoiler:Tom Riddle aka Young Voldemort]] in ''Chamber of Secrets''.
** Subverted in ''Prisoner of Azkaban'' when [[spoiler:it looks like Lupin is one of these as well]].
*** Although not canon, many fanfiction writers speculate that [[spoiler:[[TheQuisling Peter]] was the one who planted suspicions of Remus's loyalty in Sirius's mind.]]
** [[spoiler:Alastor Moody (Barty Crouch, Jr. disguised as him, to be precise)]] in ''Goblet of Fire'', whom Harry and co. frequently consult for help solving the mysteries.
** ''Half-Blood Prince'' [[spoiler:makes it look like Snape is one too, only to invert it on the seventh.]]

* Captain Korso in ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE''.
** A rare example who goes to the trouble of searching out the not-yet-hero, convincing him to join their quest if only for a nicer place to live, inspiring him to believe in a cause other than his own self-interest or personal profit... and then revealing himself to have been working for the bad guys all along just for a big check? Why bother turning the cynical youth into a heroic idealist just to get him to lead you to what you want? Just offer the cynical youth a cut of the cash (and THEN betray him anyway if you don't feel like sharing).
*** Because he figured, possibly incorrectly, that Cale was an idealist who couldn't be bribed, like his dad. If he offered him money, Cale would start being suspicious of his motivations. If he offered him money from ''the alien species that destroyed Earth'' Cale would likely [[BerserkButton try to kill him]].

WARNING: Examples can be major '''spoilers''' for a climactic [[TheReveal reveal]]. Read ahead at your own risk.

* [[spoiler:Lt. Neil Briggs (Hal Holbrook)]] in ''MagnumForce''
* [[spoiler:Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson)]] in ''{{Unbreakable}}''.

* [[spoiler:Teddy Gammel]] in ''Film/{{Memento}}''.
* Los Angeles Narcotics Detective Alonzo Harris from ''TrainingDay'' is THE poster boy of this trope.

Also called a MentorMole, a TreacherousAdvisor character is the type the {{heroes}} consult when they're digging up an AncientConspiracy, or something of the sort, and have hit a dead end. Surely he's in a position to be helpful? After all, he's the scholar/politician/military man/whatever, and just likely to have the information they need. Not to mention he can keep a secret.

** Zead of ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCurseOfDarkness'' also qualifies as a TreacherousAdvisor. At first, he is seen giving Hector helpful hints and advice in his quest to get revenge on Isaac for killing his wife. Naturally, St. Germain knows what Zead's true purpose is, thus why the two are enemies with one another as Germain himself tries to stop Hector from going after Isaac and therefore playing any more of his role in Zead's plans. Eventually, it is revealed that Zead was using Hector to find a perfect host for the resurrection of Dracula, and that, indeed, Zead was Death, TheDragon to Dracula himself, [[MasterOfDisguise in disguise]].

Not to be confused with the EvilChancellor. Contrast SarcasticDevotee and DeceptiveDisciple. Compare RegentForLife. Despite its name, the EvilMentor and this trope rarely overlap as the Evil Mentor will not try to hide its true nature.

!!Examples

[[folder:Film]]

* Captain Korso in ''TitanAE''.
** A rare example who goes to the trouble of searching out the not-yet-hero, convincing him to join their quest if only for a nicer place to live, inspiring him to believe in a cause other than his own self-interest or personal profit... and then revealing himself to have been working for the bad guys all along just for a big check? Why bother turning the cynical youth into a heroic idealist just to get him to lead you to what you want? Just offer the cynical youth a cut of the cash (and THEN betray him anyway if you don't feel like sharing).
*** Because he figured, possibly incorrectly, that Cale was an idealist who couldn't be bribed, like his dad. If he offered him money, Cale would start being suspicious of his motivations. If he offered him money from ''the alien species that destroyed Earth'' Cale would likely [[BerserkButton try to kill him]].

* [[spoiler:Odin]] in ''HeavyMetal2000''.

* [[spoiler:Teddy Gammel]] in "Memento".

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

** CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow had Zobek, not put in spoilers because the cast is ever so small, who else could it be? He turns out to be [[spoiler: one of the eponymous Lords of Shadow and heavily implied to be [[TheGrimReaper Death]], but before he can usurp the mask's powers SATAN kills him.]] [[IGotBetter He Gets Better]].

* [[spoiler:Obadiah Stane]] from the Film/IronMan movie. Not a big secret to those who know his history from the comics, but in the film, [[spoiler:he founded Stark Industries with Tony's dad and pretends to be Stark's friend and mentor, but when the film begins, he pays to have Tony killed while on a trip showing off some of his new weapons (they don't, because they weren't told who he was). Later, he ends up building his own armor suit. Which he powers with the power source he pulls out of Tony's chest. Which was all that was keeping him alive.]]

* Saruman in the ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' books (and especially in the movies). Grima Wormtongue also qualifies.

* In ''VideoGame/WarioLand 3'', Wario gets advice from a sealed away mysterious figure, who will apparently give him riches and power if released. But sadly for him, it turns out this figure is actually Rudy the Clown, an EvilClown who conquered said pocket universe the game is set in, and transformed all the people into monsters.