History Main / TreacherousAdvisor

* Subverted by [[spoiler: Mr. Match]] in ''VideoGame/MegamanBattleNetwork6CybeastGregarAndCybeastFalzar'', as he is not truly treacherous. [[spoiler: After Megaman is lured into a trap by WWW ([[OddlySmallOrganization World Three]]) and kidnapped, several members decide to betray WWW and start up their own organization, taking Megaman with them.]] He then arranges a meeting with Lan to explain [[spoiler: that he has actually been working for WWW in order to repay a favor from a higher-ranking member, his involvement in the near-burning of the school during the first day, and that he helped kidnap Megaman before finding out about the traitors. Mr. Match then tells Lan where Megaman might currently be, verbally beats himself up for being a hypocrite, and [[VillainsWantMercy asks for forgiveness]] before leaving.]]

* In ''VideoGame/SuikodenI'', one of the first characters to join you is CoolOldGuy Sanchez, one of the members of LaResistance under Odessa. He generally comes across as a fairly unremarkable [[SmartGuy Smart]] NonActionGuy, right up until the point he, well, lands himself on this page by revealing [[TheMole he was reporting to the Emperor the whole time]].

** Exaggerated in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', Chrom randomly introduces a never mentioned character with a [[PaletteSwap re-colored]] {{Mook}} [[ReusedCharacterDesign design]], the Hierarch, in Chapter 7. Chrom says the Hierarch was his elder sister Emmeryn's advisor and caretaker when she was young. Less than a minute after this, the Hierarch walks over unseen to the enemy commander, tells him he led Emmeryn and her friends into an ambush, [[spoiler:the enemy commander then [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves rewards him with death]].]] This event and the Hierarch are both [[AbortedArc never mentioned again]], which becomes odd as the characters never learn he betrayed them in the first place, but [[ForgottenFallenFriend just forget about him]].

* ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'': [[spoiler: The ADAM AI who's been guiding you throughout the game is actually the BigBad Raven Beak, impersonating ADAM ever since he and Samus lost contact in the begining. Raven Beak tricked Samus into cultivating her latent Metroid powers so that instead of simply extracting her DNA to create an army of Metroids, he can turn Samus into the ultimate Metroid and clone ''her'' once he defeated her.]]

* 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, a MonsterClown who conquered said pocket universe the game is set in and transformed all the people into monsters.

* ''VideoGame/PonyIsland'': Played with. [[spoiler: The Daemons tell you the Hopeless Soul isn't to be trusted, and if you collect all the tickets...he still does absolutely nothing to seem he isn't on the up-and-up, he just decides to become the TrueFinalBoss to give a satisfying conclusion to the completionist run. However, After you beat the game then tamper certain variables in the save file, come back into the game and hit continue will lead you to a screen where the typical 'devil head' sprite will appear blue and talk first with the sound effect of Lucifer, berating the player messing with game files, but afterwards switching to the sound... of the Lost Soul. Then it will let you in on a secret -- sometimes he talks "in different voices", and he asks you to "not to tell [[{{God}} dad]]".]]
%% * [=GLaDOS=] from VideoGame/{{Portal}}. "The Enrichment Center is required to remind you that you will be baked and then there will be cake."

%% * In ''VideoGame/SystemShock2'':
%% ** [[spoiler: The voice of Dr. Janice Polito is played by very special guest star... [[OhCrap SHODAN]].]]
%% ** [[spoiler:Who then forms a [[EnemyMine fragile alliance with the player and guides them against]] [[BodyHorror The Many]]. [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder No prizes for guessing how this one ends]].]]
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', [[spoiler:Van, the main character's mentor and pseudo-father figure, aids the party and [[TheMentor provides advice and counsel]] to the main character for the first third of the game. He then not only betrays the party and leaves them to die, but also turns out to be the BigBad. He manages to [[KickTheDog rub even more salt in the wound]] by casually telling the main character that, in fact, Van [[LukeIAmYourFather created]] him to be nothing more than an [[ReplacementGoldfish inferior duplicate]] of one his minions, to be sacrificed as a pawn in his plot to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroy the world]]. Ouch. The fact that Van turns out to be more of a NecessarilyEvil villain never alleviates the bitter sting of this [[EtTuBrute personal betrayal]].]]

* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX''
** Subverted with Daitokouji-sensei, Judai's teacher and ally, who was revealed to be TheMole, and then later TheMole for the good guys.
** Played straight [[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.]]
%% * [[spoiler:Kabuto]] in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'''s Chuunin Exam TournamentArc.

%% * [[spoiler: Kirei Kotomine]] in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', though neither Rin nor Shirou trust him very much anyway.

* BigBad [[spoiler: Albert Maverick]] from ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' is this to [[spoiler: Barnaby. He steers Barnaby to become a highly marketable (and easily-manipulated) corporate-sponsored {{superhero}} who works tirelessly for the company and TV channel of which he is the CEO. Barnaby constantly looks to Maverick for guidance (and obviously considers him to be a ParentalSubstitute) for more than two-thirds of the series.]]
* In the ''Franchise/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' series, MentorMascot Kyubey is revealed in the original anime and manga as the true BigBad and a HiveMind species who set up the Puella Magi system so contracted magical girls will inevitably [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie become witches]], and intends the [[KillAllHumans destruction of humanity]] to use their energy to power the universe. In almost all installments, they deceive the girls into contracting and get them to make a wish that will [[JackassGenie almost inevitably backfire]], leaving out critical information about being a magical girl and justifying it by saying YouDidntAsk, to intentionally drive the girls to despair, which will turn them into witches. The only exception is ''Manga/PuellaMagiTartMagica'', where Cube, the Incubator unit, is completely honest to Jeanne and actually grows to care about her to some extent.
* In the ''Anime/DevilmanLady'' anime, [[spoiler:Lan Asuka]] is a member of the Human Alliance and the one who recruits Jun to help them defeat the Devil Beasts who are attacking humanity, but as the final episodes reveal, [[spoiler:Asuka]] wants to dominate humanity and was merely using Jun to get rid of the competition. [[spoiler:She proceeds to become the Child of God and abandons Jun, then tries to kill her when she gets in the way.]]

* In ''Comicbook/{{Bookhunter}}'', after the Library Police finally retrieve the stolen book, Agent Bay realizes that the stolen copy was actually another forgery--because the original book had already been stolen by the Chief of Library Security.

%% * In ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'', [[spoiler:AIQ Squared]] is this to Siphon and the Pantheon. Mildly subverted in that he is legitimately looking out for IQ Squared's best interests.
* The French series ''ComicBook/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]].
* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': Ali Ben Khadir, the young leader of Dhabar, meets Ulysses Armstrong, otherwise known as "The General", and is impressed by someone near his own age with so much military knowledge. The two become friends while talking strategy and military history and Ali invites Ulysses to come back home with him as a military advisor. After arriving in Dhabar Ulysses gleefully uses his new position to try and start a war even though Ali wants peace.

* Captain Korso in ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'' is 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.

* Nizam, the main antagonist in ''Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'', who killed his brother the king and plans to kill his nephew for the throne, all while masquerading as a mentor.

* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'': Walter Donovan, the businessman who funded Indiana's search for the Holy Grail, is secretly working for the Nazis and desire immortality for hismself.

* [[spoiler:Lt. Neil Briggs (Hal Holbrook)]] in ''Film/MagnumForce''. His dismissal of Harry's CowboyCop methods is just him blowing smoke. He's a far more extreme VigilanteMan KillerCop than Harry himself.
* Elijah Price in ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}''. Everything Elijah teaches David is so that he can be a great superhero and save people from other villains, but he has ulterior motives for guiding David on his journey. He wants David to be the hero so he has an enemy to fight and justify his role.
* The B-movies ''Full Contact'' (1992), ''Dragon Fire'' (1993) and ''Bloodfist 2050'' (2005) all use ''exactly'' the same plot: a kickboxer who participates in the underground pit-fighting circuit in order to find the guy who has killed his brother. In each one, it turns out that the killer is the very guy who trained him.
* ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'' adds shades of this to the relationship between [[spoiler:Dan and Adrian, due to the fact that unlike in the graphic novel, they're close, affectionate friends in this version]].

%% * Palpatine is like a father to Anakin in the Franchise/StarWars prequel trilogy -- he's also Darth kriffing Sidious.
* Lieutenant Howett in ''Film/CarryOnJack''. He hates being second-in-command to the wimpy Captain [[IronicName Fearless]], who turns away from an opportunity to fight the enemy the best that he can. When Howett eventually loses his thread with him, he and the rest of the sailors on their voyage organise a fake mutiny (with "unconscious" sailors covered in jam/blood) to scare the captain away, and he wins. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for him, Howett makes everything worse for the voyage, due to his greediness and BloodKnight mentality. Within at least 30 minutes of being in charge, the crew are arrested by the Spanish Armada and forced to work for them, in exchange for public execution.]]

* In ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' [[spoiler:HAL 9000]] is supposed to be an omniscient guide for the rest of the Discovery crew, but after Frank Poole's death, it is clear he no longer wants Dave alive.
* ''Film/{{Scanners}}'': Dr. Paul Ruth presents himself as some sort of benevolent mentor figure who wants to teach Cameron how to harness his psychic abilities for the betterment of his kind, when in fact Ruth is actually a MadScientist and AbusiveParent who is simply using Cameron to eliminate an outside threat to his employers.
* ''Film/NowYouSeeIt2005'': Max approaches Danny and convinces him to become his wizard apprentice, promising him that he'll help him gain control over his powers. However, his true motivations are soon revealed to be much more sinister- he wants to kill Danny and forcibly steal his powers. In fact, [[DeceptiveDisciple he killed his own mentor this way.]]
* In ''Film/{{Jungle}}'', Kurt proves to be nowhere near the seasoned jungle guide he claims to be. The WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue reveals that he was wanted by the police and that the lost tribe he claimed to know did not exist. His motives for leading Yossi, Marcus, and Kevin into the jungle remains a RiddleForTheAges.
* ''Film/{{Eraser}}'': John Kruger learns from his mentor, Robert [=DeGuerin=], that there's a mole within WITSEC murdering witnesses. This entry's existence on this page should tell you who TheMole is.

%% * Saruman in the ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' books (and especially in the movies). Grí­ma Wormtongue also qualifies.
%% * Captain Dudley Smith in ''Literature/LAConfidential''.

* In Boris Akunin's ''Fiction'', we have Ivan Panteleevich, leader of an elite Soviet sports club. Sergei Dronov, one of the superpowered protagonists, was discovered and saved by him early in the book and has followed "the Sensei's" advice ever since, leaving the life of crime and becoming a sports celebrity and a powerful businessman during the Perestroika. In the end, it turns out that the Sensei was [[spoiler:working for the GovernmentConspiracy all along -- and indeed is one of its leaders. What's more, Dronov remains loyal to him and is all too happy to join a secret superhero team for the conspiracy. To this we may add that, under the pseudonym of Alexander Aleksandrovich, he is also the father of another protagonist's daughter (becoming something of an advisor to him as well, though not nearly as trusted as in the first case), and brings that protagonist in as well, though he is more skeptical after being told the truth.]] Mind you, he's not ''necessarily'' evil, inasmuch as he seems to genuinely want to help Dronov and is mostly concerned with [[spoiler: fighting off an alien conspiracy that runs counter to the government conspiracy.]]
* The Oracle of delphi in the ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' series is this trope, just as she was in Myth/ClassicalMythology. Often she gives vague ExactWords style prophesies, or the heroes assume she's talking about one person, when she means another, after all she only speaks in prophesies, so she can't just tell them outright. [[spoiler:after she is finally released from her AgeWithoutYouth immortality and allowed to die, Apollo appoints Rachel Elizabeth Dare to be the new oracle. She still holds this position in ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus''.]]
* In ''Literature/TheWinterQueen'' (an earlier Boris Akunin novel), there is Ivan Frantsevich Brilling, hero to and mentor of the protagonist, rookie detective Erast Fandorin. Fandorin is none too pleased to find out that Brilling is part of the evil conspiracy.
* Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms has several, including one who served Liu Bei but was tricked into serving Cao Cao; he refused to give meaningful advice from then on and kept his mouth shut when he saw through the ruse at Chi Bi. More importantly, [[spoiler: it's the descendants of Sima Yi, Cao Cao's strategist, who ends up unifying the three kingdoms; one Cao son even gets ''murdered in broad daylight'' by the Sima clan]].

%% * [[spoiler:Dusk]] in Laini Taylor's ''[[Literature/FaeriesOfDreamdark Silksinger]]''.
%% * From ''Provost's Guard'' in the Literature/TortallUniverse, [[spoiler: Tunstall]], though only for the second half of the final book. He didn't ''want'' it to go so far, but it got out of hand, quickly.

%% * ''[[Literature/DeltoraQuest Deltora Quest]]'' has a textbook example with [[spoiler:Mother Brightly]] in its TournamentArc, the Rithmere Games.
* In ''Literature/TheDragonWaiting'', Gregory uncovers evidence of a conspiracy at the English court and takes it to [[spoiler:the Duke of Buckingham]] -- who, unfortunately for Gregory, is in on it.
-->"Your Grace." He reached into his bag, produced the translation of Mancini's letter. "We have a great deal of trouble. I hope that these are men you can trust."\\
"Yes, Professor, they are absolutely loyal to me," [[spoiler:Buckingham]] said, and signaled for his men to close the door.
%% * In ''Literature/TheDragonHoard'', the sorceress Maligna arranges to become one to the heroes in order to prevent their quest from succeeding.
%% * In ''Literature/TheSpiritThief'', it eventually turns out that [[spoiler:Lenette]] has been poisoning her queen for years and is in fact a DeepCoverAgent for the Immortal Empress.

* Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish is this to Eddard Stark during the first ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' novel, aiding Eddard in navigating the DecadentCourt out of his friendship for Eddard's wife Catelyn. It eventually turns out he's been playing both Eddard and Cersei at the same time, and openly supports the latter when they come to blows [[spoiler:following Robert's death]].

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E7Revelations Gwendolyn Post]] (played by Serena Scott Thomas), the dark magician who poses as Faith's new Watcher.
** "Doc" (played by Joel Grey), seems to be a strange but mostly harmless old sorcerer/demon willing to help Dawn out but turns out to be the closest thing to TheDragon to Glory's BigBad role in Season 5.
%% * [[spoiler:Boyd Langton]] from ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}''
%% * ''[[Series/TheFlash2014 The Flash]]'': [[spoiler:Dr. Wells turns out to be the Reverse Flash AKA the Man in Yellow. He is later revealed to be Eobard Thawne, who used a device to kill the real Dr. Wells and [[FaceStealer steal his identity]]]].

%% * [[spoiler:Harry Wolfe]] in Season 2, ep. 2 of ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}''.
* Subverted in "[[Recap/StargateAtlantisS02E09Aurora Aurora]]", an episode of ''Series/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, it's 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 her.

* In ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'', Rip Hunter is revealed to have absconded with the ''[[TimeMachine Waverider]]'' against the orders of the Time Masters to try and stop Vandal Savage. His mentor then shows up and tries to convince Rip to go back, so the Time Masters can start repairing the damage to the timeline done by Rip and his team. Mick Rory, who has been listening in on the conversation, immediately tells him that the Time Master plans to betray and kill him, along with the rest of the team. Rip is reluctant to believe him, but he does bring backup during their next meeting. It turns out Mick was right. The Time Master shows up with the BountyHunter Chronos, who was paid to kill Rip and the others. Mick and Jax/Stein save him.

* At the 2015 ''Guerra De Reyes'', it was revealed all the problems faced by La Artillería Pesada in the World Wrestling League were caused by their manager, El Profe, who revealed this after he betrayed Thunder and Lighting to Jose Chaparro and Legion, handing Kronya and Spectro the {{tag team}} title belts.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]
* In ''Theatre/{{Pippin}}'', the [[spoiler:Lead Player is deliberately guiding Pippin down a path that is supposed to end with Pippin's dramatic suicide.]]

%% * [[spoiler: The Elder]] in Terranigma. Also [[spoiler: Yomi or dark side Yomi.]]

%% * [=GLaDOS=] from VideoGame/{{Portal}}. "The Enrichment Center is required to remind you that you will be baked and then there will be cake."
* In both ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'':
** The player-hero receives advice via radio [[spoiler: much of which is revealed to come from each respective game's BigBad.]]
** In a variation, in '''three out of four''' ''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? [[TheChessmaster Impressively]].
** ''Subverted'' in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4''. Drebin [[spoiler:was put in place by the AncientConspiracy...in order to help Snake defeat the BigBad]]. He also makes it clear from the beginning that he [[WildCard works for everyone who can pay him]], and is telling the truth when he says he won't betray his customers, Snake included. He even saves the man's life on occasion.
* ''VideoGame/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.]]
* In the first ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 Ratchet & Clank]]'' game, our heroes initially try to alert local superhero Captain Qwark to the Blargg threat, but discover that he's actually working ''with'' Chairman Drekk, who's offering him a substantial amount of money and fame for sponsoring their new homeworld.

* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}:''
** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' features a variation; in both games, the Time Count provides useful services -- ones that can't be gotten anywhere else in Eternal Punishment. He turns out to actually be an avatar of Nyarlathotep, the BigBad. Unlike most examples, it's not part of some overarching scheme -- being a trickster and manipulator, he decided it'd be more fun this way, and arrogantly believed that even if he helped them, the heroes couldn't possibly defeat him.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'', [[spoiler: it turns out that Shuji Ikutsuki was actually trying to summon Nyx and end the world since long before the game even began, and that serving as the mentor for SEES was his way of using them as a weapon to accomplish this task. Without his own Persona, he had no way of defeating the Full Moon Shadows who needed to die in order to free Nyx, so he found some people who could get the job done, and...]]
* ''VideoGame/PillarsOfDust'': Almera and Elmer give Carlton and Gregg the mission of exploring Alluriga and learning about their heritage. [[spoiler:Almer and Elmer turn out to be Almorigga in disguise, who wants to kill Carlton and Gregg in order to use their royal blood to undo the seal on his powers.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Vexx}}'', [[spoiler:the player is given advice by an old mentor figure named Darby about finding the Wraithearts in order to eventually defeat the BigBad. Of course, Darby actually IS the BigBad with the EvilPlan.]]
* ''VideoGame/UltimaVII'' 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 [[WillOTheWisp 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.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'', the high-ranked [[spoiler: 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.]]
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'', [[spoiler:Izuka combines this with EvilChancellor and tricks [[NaiveEverygirl naive Prince Pelleas]] into selling out his country to the greedy Begnion senators. Those same Senators, in turn, betray and attempt to murder their own Empress for passing policy they don't approve of. Except for Sephiran, her closest and most trusted advisor and guardian... who betrays her for a ''different'' reason]].
** Exaggerated in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', Chrom randomly introduces a never mentioned character with a [[PaletteSwap re-colored]] {{Mook}} [[ReusedCharacterDesign design]], the Hierarch, in chapter 7. Chrom says the Hierarch was his elder sister Emmeryn's advisor and caretaker when she was young. Less than a minute after this, the Hierarch walks over unseen to the enemy commander, tells him he led Emmeryn and her friends into an ambush, [[spoiler:the enemy commander then [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves rewards him with death]].]] This event and the Hierarch are both [[AbortedArc never mentioned again]], which becomes odd as the characters never learn he betrayed them in the first place, but [[ForgottenFallenFriend just forget about him]].
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', [[spoiler:Van, the main character's mentor and pseudo-father figure, aids the party and [[TheMentor provides advice and counsel]] to the main character for the first third of the game. He then not only betrays the party and leaves them to die, but also turns out to be the BigBad. He manages to [[KickTheDog rub even more salt in the wound]] by casually telling the main character that, in fact, Van [[LukeIAmYourFather created]] him to be nothing more than an [[ReplacementGoldfish inferior duplicate]] of one his minions, to be sacrificed as a pawn in his plot to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroy the world]]. Ouch. The fact that Van turns out to be more of a NecessarilyEvil villain never alleviates the bitter sting of this [[EtTuBrute personal betrayal]].]]
* Subversion in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'', especially on Mizal Touval, the Shura Advisor (because he is not on the player's side all the time). He actually had plans of 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 (''Original Generation Gaiden'').]]
* In ''VideoGame/UnrealIITheAwakening'', the main character's rather paternal commanding officer sends him on a FetchQuest to assemble {{Plot Coupon}}s, ostensibly under orders from TheFederation to keep it out of the hands of the AlwaysChaoticEvil Skaarj. [[spoiler: It turns out he just wants the assembled ArtifactOfDoom for himself to take over the universe]].
* In ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', in the first case, [[spoiler:the eponymous attorney is working under Kristoph Gavin, who serves as his co-counsel in this case. Kristoph turns out to be the murderer. Then in the fourth case he turns out to be the Big Bad ''of the whole game''.]]

%% * In ''VideoGame/SystemShock2'':
%% ** [[spoiler: The voice of Dr. Janice Polito is played by very special guest star... [[OhCrap SHODAN]].]]
%% ** [[spoiler:Who then forms a [[EnemyMine fragile alliance with the player and guides them against]] [[BodyHorror The Many]]. [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder No prizes for guessing how this one ends]].]]
%% * ''VisualNovel/PrincessWaltz'':
%% ** [[spoiler: When the dizzy, cute, HaremNanny April turns out to be stone-cold evil... [[DissonantSerenity and doesn't change her mannerisms or expression!]]]]
%% ** Or [[spoiler:not. The ending suggests she was good all along, and possibly the heroes' strongest ally. She might have been lying, of course, she was certainly capable of that]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Mantra}}'', the plot of the game is that Saric (the player character) is supposed to retrieve the Mantras of [[ElementalRockPaperScissors fire, earth, water, air, and force]] to help out his master, the Ambassador, in his negotiations with the evil magician Balther. Late in the game, however, you find out that [[spoiler:the Ambassador is actually Balther]].
* Subverted by [[spoiler: Mr. Match]] in ''VideoGame/MegamanBattleNetwork6CybeastGregarAndCybeastFalzar'', as he is not truly treacherous. [[spoiler: After Megaman is lured into a trap by WWW ([[OddlySmallOrganization World Three]]) and kidnapped, several members decide to betray WWW and start up their own organization, taking Megaman with them.]] He then arranges a meeting with Lan to explain [[spoiler: that he has actually been working for WWW in order to repay a favor from a higher-ranking member, his involvement in the near-burning of the school during the first day, and that he helped kidnap Megaman before finding out about the traitors. Mr. Match then tells Lan where Megaman might currently be, verbally beats himself up for being a hypocrite, and [[VillainsWantMercy asks for forgiveness]] before leaving.]]
* The original ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}'' has Josef oust Sergei as leader of the Mafia near the end of the game; probably not all that surprising, since 1) this is TheMafiya we're talking about, 2) Sergei is an airheaded SmallNameBigEgo, 3) Josef is ex-KGB, and 4) Sergei tried to have the player character ''and'' Josef taken out by the North Koreans first, which obviously failed 5) they foreshadow the hell out it by showing Josef having practically undisguised contempt for Sergei's bumbling and snotty attitude.
* ''VideoGame/SongBirdSymphony'': [[spoiler: The Owl sets up a quid-pro-quo exchange with the PlayerCharacter, Birb, at the start of the game - if Birb can learn the songs of every bird in the forest and power up the Owl's [[MacGuffin artifact]], the Owl will tell Birb what his true species and [[LukeIAmYourFather parentage]] is. In truth, the Owl is using Birb to claim mastery over the power of music and rule the forest, even if he has to [[FinalSolution wipe out the Lyrebirds]] to accomplish this goal.]] While the player has elements to understand who the BigBad is, [[PlayerCharacter Birb]] is only a child, and he doesn't see anything coming until [[spoiler: the Owl]] devolves into EvilGloating about his plans.
* In ''VideoGame/BunnyMustDie'', Bunny, upon receiving her curse, meets up with a fat messenger of God ([[spoiler:read: Dechronos]]) who offers to lead her to the Cave of the Seven Devils to remove said curse -- and gets gored by a stag shortly upon their arrival. By the time she's slagged all the other devils and beaten Chelsea to a pulp, she finds him, fresh as a daisy, and he tells her that he set the plant to blow once she was near it. All of this just to give her a reason to get him all his power back.
%% * King Lemele in ''VideoGame/The7thSaga''. [[spoiler:Or, rather, the ''BigBad'' Gorsia, who had already killed Lemele and was impersonating him when the game started.]]
%%* [[spoiler:Grumpos Matavastros]] in ''VideoGame/{{Anachronox}}''.
%%* [[spoiler:Darth Vader]] in ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed''.
%%* [[spoiler:Tapir]] in ''VideoGame/{{Cocoron}}.''
* In ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'', [[spoiler:General Shepherd, the main US Army commander, is TheChessmaster and ultimate BigBad, having manipulated the massive invasion of Washington DC and the war between the US and Russia to demonstrate the US's military might as revenge for having 30,000 of his troops nuked in the first ''Modern Warfare'']].
%% * [[spoiler: Kor]] in ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade'' is the Metal Head Leader.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', you wind up consulting High Priestess Rao for help fixing the cursed mess that is Sei-an City and the Ryoshima Coast. Too bad she'd been killed months earlier, and you turn out to have been dealing with Demon Lord Ninetails, who was responsible for a lot of it and had been trying to use you as a MacguffinDeliveryService for the [[ArtifactOfDoom Fox Rods]] or, failing that, get you killed. It works pretty dang well, too, and only some very quick thinking and a HeroicSacrifice on Queen Himiko's part allow Ammy to stop Ninetails.
%% * In ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', [[spoiler: Coach Oleander]] is the real Big Bad behind Doctor Loboto.
* 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, a MonsterClown who conquered said pocket universe the game is set in and transformed all the people into monsters.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Sacrifice}}'', [[spoiler:Mithras, a blind prophet and benevolent advisor to the gods is revealed to be EldritchAbomination Marduk in a cunning disguise.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheSettlers 7'' campaign, Princess Zoe is sent by her father to save the kingdom of Tandria from the evil Lord Wolverine who usurped the good King Balderus. She is assisted by a kind old barkeep who [[spoiler: is actually [[BigBad King Balderus]] in disguise. As added insult to injury, Wolverine usurped Balderus because he was a Tyrant and Balderus told Zoe that she was helping to free the people from Wolverine's evil rule.]]
* ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'': Many, but the gold medal goes to [[spoiler:the ''entire'' staff of the eponymous agency. There's one [[TheMole mole]]; ''everyone '' else was complicit in the decision to abandon and kill you in Saudi Arabia.]]
* In ''VideoGame/DarkStarOne'', [[spoiler:Robert]] give Kayron his father's eponymous ship and sends him on his quest. In the end, he turns out to be Kayron's father's killer.
* 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 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 and is grooming him to be his heir.]]
* Luigi has [[HeroOfAnotherStory an offscreen adventure]] in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' where he collects the pieces of The Marvelous Compass to rescue Princess Eclair under Minister Crêpe's guidance. [[spoiler:Minister Crêpe reveals himself to be an EvilChancellor who set up the princess's kidnapping to [[MacGuffinDeliveryService make Luigi rebuild the compass]] for his own nefarious purposes.]]

* In the first ''VideoGame/BookwormAdventures'' game, [[spoiler:Professor Codex appears to be happy to help Lex the bookworm rescue [[DistressedDamsel Cassandra the oracle]]. However, Lex learns that the BigBad who kidnapped Cassandra wasn't {{Dracula}}, as Codex told him, but Professor Codex himself, who used his imprisonment of Cassandra (and Dracula's apparent kidnapping of him) to maneuver Lex into fighting the books' monsters and unknowingly breaking the chains of fiction that kept them in the books. Thanks to Lex [[NiceJobBreakingItHero doing such a great job]] with these monsters, Codex can now control them as his minions.]] Fortunately, he gets a final boss battle to set things right.
* In ''VideoGame/SuikodenI'', one of the first characters to join you is CoolOldGuy Sanchez, one of the members of LaResistance under Odessa. He generally comes across as a fairly unremarkable [[SmartGuy Smart]] NonActionGuy, right up until the point he, well, lands himself on this page by revealing [[TheMole he was reporting to the Emperor the whole time]].
* ''VideoGame/UnluckyHero'':
** Amethos 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.
** After his defeat, Lord Tourma fakes a HeelFaceTurn and acts as advisor. [[ObviouslyEvil No one's fooled]], except [[WideEyedIdealist Princess Christel]].
%% * Glade from ''VideoGame/BeyondTheBeyond''.

* ''VideoGame/PonyIsland'': Played with. [[spoiler: The Daemons tell you the Hopeless Soul isn't to be trusted, and if you collect all the tickets...he still does absolutely nothing to seem he isn't on the up-and-up, he just decides to become the TrueFinalBoss to give a satisfying conclusion to the completionist run. However, After you beat the game then tamper certain variables in the save file, come back into the game and hit continue will lead you to a screen where the typical 'devil head' sprite will appear blue and talk first with the sound effect of Lucifer, berating the player messing with game files, but afterwards switching to the sound......of the Lost Soul. Then it will let you in on a secret -- sometimes he talks "in different voices", and he asks you to "not to tell [[{{God}} dad]]".]]
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
** The troll Yeh'kinya guided players through deciphering a prophecy about the return of Hakkar the Soulflayer and how to seal him away. Under his guidance players confronted the weakened soul of Hakkar and sealed it in an ancient vessel, supposedly to bind him. In fact, Yeh'kinya knew that sealing Hakkar into the vessel was a necessary step to allow his rebirth, leading to Hakkar's rise in Zul'gurub.
** Drakuru in Grizzly Hills seems like a reasonable troll compared to his bloodthirsty kin so helping him in fighting them off seems like the smart move. In fact, his directions resulted in the trolls losing control of their main defense against the Scourge, hastening their empire's fall and gaining Drakuru praise from the Lich King.
** Wrathion became this for Horde players in ''Mists of Pandaria''. He sent them to defeat Garrosh to "save the Horde" while fully believing the Alliance would subsequently subjugate it. He's rather dismissive of whatever complaints the player might have had about being used.
** On the Timeless Isle Kairoz had players empower his Vision of Time to see visions of the future if either the Horde or Alliance proved victorious. In a subsequent novel, Kairoz used the Visions to allow Garrosh's escape to Draenor, intent on using the Vision to build an army across multiple timelines.
* ''VideoGame/FullThrottle'' had Adrian Ripburger, who murders his employer Malcolm Corley in order to kill biker culture by turning the world's last dedicated motorcycle manufacturer into a maker of minivans. What sets ''Full Throttle'' apart from most examples of the trope is that ''Full Throttle'' actually spells out the reason Corley keeps Ripburger around. Corley is primarily a visionary and idealist, but a self-aware one, who realizes he needs someone with business savvy and killer instinct (like Ripburger) to keep him from chasing too many wild dreams and running his company into the ground. Corley also makes no attempt to hide his personal loathing for Ripburger, though he claims to respect him on a professional level.
* ''VideoGame/RandalsMonday'': [[spoiler:The business bum is using Randal to regain the power of the ring.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheNightOfTheRabbit'' some characters insinuate that the Marquis de Hoto, mentor to the protagonist, has malevolent intentions. [[spoiler: Subverted: he does not. However, he is also only a ''memory'' of the real Marquis de Hoto as he was before a FaceHeelTurn, so the concerns were not exactly ill-founded]].
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': For aiding Hyrule and its people, the King appoints Agahnim to be his chief adviser. Then Agahnim gets rid of the king, brainwashes the soldiers, and makes Hyrule Castle his base of operations.
* The central plot twist of ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire''. [[spoiler:Your wise OldMaster who set you on the epic quest to begin with is the real BigBad, having raised you as LaserGuidedTykeBomb that would destroy his enemies and allow him to claim the Water Dragon's power, at which point he would [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness kill you]] using [[{{Sabotutor}} the flaws in your training that he deliberately planted]].]]
* ''VideoGame/TheTiamatSacrament'': Ry'jin was once a scholar and adviser to King Khytiel, but eventually formed a coup against him. [[spoiler:As "Faen", he acts as an advisor to Az'uar and Xandra in the first half of the game and helps them find the Soul Gems of the Great Seven Dragons. This is all a plot for him to steal the power of the Great Seven from Az'uar.]]
* A rare meta example occurs in ''VideoGame/YomawariMidnightShadows''. [[spoiler:The game's tutorial is actually an evil spirit called Malice who lured Yui into committing suicide through its commands, and intends to do the same to Haru once she climbs the mountain at the end of the game.]]
* Much of [[spoiler:the Rat God]]'s guidance in ''VideoGame/MadRatDead'' is a ploy to [[spoiler:lure Mad Rat into getting eaten by a cat.]]
* TheProfessor in ''Detective Barbie 2'' is a local historian that the detectives depend on in the treasure hunt and share their evidence with, but he also can turn out to be out to steal the treasure for himself in the ending where he is the culprit.

** ''VideoGame/SomaSpirits'': Form and Dissonance, the Great Spirits, both try to act as mentors for the brothers Heart and Soul, guiding them to collect orbs of Joy and Sorrow, respectively- though of the two, Form behaves as the more standard mentor while Dissonance is an openly antagonistic StealthMentor. Regardless, when you collect all six orbs, the mentor representing the orb you got less of (Form for Joy and Dissonance for Sorrow) will reveal their agenda to destroy the other world and betray the heroes, becoming the final boss- unless you got equal orbs of Joy and Sorrow, in which case ''both'' mentors betray you and try to destroy all of Soma.

* ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'': [[spoiler: The ADAM AI who's been guiding you throughout the game is actually the BigBad Raven Beak, impersonating ADAM ever since he and Samus lost contact in the begining. Raven Beak tricked Samus into cultivating her latent Metroid powers so that instead of simply extracting her DNA to create an army of Metroids, he can turn Samus into the ultimate Metroid and clone ''her'' once he defeated her.]]

* Miranda West in ''Webcomic/TheWotch'', given that she's keeping some very big secret from protagonist Anne and that she's willing to totally destroy the lives of a few people in order to make sure nobody interferes.
%% * ''Webcomic/{{Panthera}}'' has Reynder/Ari, who turns out to be [[BigBad Oosterhuis]].
* In Webcomic/{{Pibgorn}}, [[http://www.gocomics.com/pibgorn/2005/01/22/ a succubus can see that our heroes still find him useful]].

%%* [[spoiler:Longarm/Longarm Prime/Shockwave]] in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''.

** For most of season one, Malcolm Kane is Rook's grouchy head of security, who also mentors the Flex Fighters in teamwork and combat, despite his distrust of them. He seemingly bonds with them, and when he pursues them in season two, it's because he believes they're criminals and is unaware of [[spoiler:Rook's]] true nature. [[spoiler: Late in season two, Kane is revealed to be the leader of the Tech Men, a villainous organization, who played the long game as Rook's right-hand man to take his company and resources under him. He was also aware of Rook being Stretch Monster. Kane betrays the heroes and Rook, and becomes a large enough threat that forces them all to team up to stop his plans.]]

* ''VideoGame/SongBirdSymphony'': While the player has elements to understand who the BigBad is, PlayerCharacter Birb doesn't see anything coming until [[spoiler:The Owl]] devolves into EvilGloating.

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

* ''VideoGame/SomaSpirits'': Form and Dissonance, the Great Spirits, both try to act as mentors for the brothers Heart and Soul, guiding them to collect orbs of Joy and Sorrow, respectively- though of the two, Form behaves as the more standard mentor while Dissonance is an openly antagonistic StealthMentor. Regardless, when you collect all six orbs, the mentor representing the orb you got less of (Form for Joy and Dissonance for Sorrow) will reveal their agenda to destroy the other world and betray the heroes, becoming the final boss- unless you got equal orbs of Joy and Sorrow, in which case ''both'' mentors betray you and try to destroy all of Soma.
* ''VideoGame/SomaUnion'': Captain Guidance, leader of the Starship Virtue, sends Zero, Reca, and Lumen on their mission to collect the four orbs supposedly to use them to repair the shattered Soma. In truth, the orbs are pieces of [[EldritchAbomination Absolution]] and he intends to resurrect it to ''destroy'' what remains of Soma, so he can create a perfect world where Spirits can live their own lives instead of being slaves of Professor M.

* ''VideoGame/SomaSpirits'': Form and Dissonance, the Great Spirits, both try to act as mentors for the brothers Heart and Soul, guiding them to collect orbs of Joy and Sorrow, respectively- though of the two, Form behaves as the more standard mentor while Dissonance is an openly antagonistic StealthMentor. Regardless, when you collect all six orbs, the mentor representing the orb you got more of (Form for Joy and Dissonance for Sorrow) will reveal their agenda to destroy the other world and betray the heroes, becoming the final boss- unless you got equal orbs of Joy and Sorrow, in which case ''both'' mentors betray you and try to destroy all of Soma.

* Nizam, the main antagonist in ''Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'', who killed his brother the king and plans to kill his nephew for the throne, all while masquaradaing as a mentor.

%% * The main antagonist in ''Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime''.

%% * ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade.'' Both [[spoiler: Walter Donovan and Dr. Elsa Schneider]] would qualify.

* Subverted by [[spoiler: Mr. Mach]] in ''[[VideoGame/MegamanBattleNetwork Rockman.EXE]] 6'', as he is not truly treacherous. [[spoiler: After Rockman is lured into a trap by WWW ([[OddlySmallOrganization World Three]]) and kidnapped, several members decide to betray WWW and start up their own organization, taking Rockman with them.]] He then arranges a meeting with Netto to explain [[spoiler: that he has actually been working for WWW in order to repay a favor from a higher-ranking member, his involvement in the near burning of the school during the first day, and that he helped kidnap Rockman before finding out about the traitors. Mr. Mach then tells Netto where Rockman might currently be, verbally beats himself up for being a hypocrite, and asks for forgiveness before leaving.]]

* In the game ''Anime/DevilmanLady'', [[spoiler:Lan Asuka

Another common trait of Treacherous Advisors is storing the {{Plot Coupon}}s [[MacGuffinDeliveryService the heroes are fetching]], revealing themselves once they have the last one. In these cases, a common giveaway is their seeming a little too interested in the {{Plot Coupon}}s, more specifically in the act of taking them. A dead giveaway is if he doesn't let the hero look at the ones he's already collected. The hero will sometimes catch on as he's returning the last one, but never before then.

* Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish is this to Eddard Stark during the first ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' novel, aiding Eddard in navigating the DeadlyDecadentCourt out of his friendship for Eddard's wife Catelyn. It eventually turns out he's been playing both Eddard and Cersei at the same time, and openly supports the latter when they come to blows [[spoiler:following Robert's death]].

They appear to be benevolent {{Mentors}} or ReasonableAuthorityFigure, until their TheReveal shows their true nature. On rare occasions, such as in a ConspiracyThriller, ''everyone'' of importance whose help the hero seeks is a mole; the hero's only real allies are the ones with no power or influence.

* In The Settlers 7 campaign, Princess Zoe is sent by her father to save the kingdom of Tandria from the evil Lord Wolverine who usurped the good King Balderus. She is assisted by a kind old barkeep who [[spoiler: is actually [[BigBad King Balderus]] in disguise. As added insult to injury, Wolverine usurped Balderus because he was a Tyrant and Balderus told Zoe that she was helping to free the people from Wolverine's evil rule.]]

* In ''VideoGame/RuneScape''':

* ''VideoGame/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.]]

* More of a rival than anything, but during ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog''[='s=] less-fondly-remembered era, Geoffery St. John was recruited by Elias Acorn to be his advisor when he was asked to take over the throne when King Max was incapacitated. However, St. John was heavily biased against the Freedom Fighters and Sonic in particular and had the team disbanded in favor of St. John's Secret Service and Sonic stripped of his knighthood. After a series of humiliations, St. John stepped aside, especially when Elias disappeared in shame.

* ''Film/{{Eraser}}'': John Kruger learns from his mentor, Robert DeGuerin, that there's a mole within WITSEC murdering witnesses. This entry's existence on this page should tell you who TheMole is.

[[folder:Theater]]
* In ''Theatre/{{Pippin}}'', the [[spoiler:Lead Player is deliberately guiding Pippin down a path that is supposed to end with Pippin's dramatic suicide.]]
[[/folder]]

* When Mike and Sully first uncover Randall's plot in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', Sully tries going to their boss Mr. Waternoose for help. Five minutes later, he's asked them [[HaveYouToldAnyoneElse if anyone else knows about it]] and has banished them to the human world.