History Main / Wildcard

* Bigmouth in ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' can play either friend or villain of the Smurfs, depending on what will get him more food.

** Zevran is originally sent to kill the [[PlayerCharacter Grey Warden]], then surrenders to their command. Because this fantasy is [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism far too cynical]] to believe DefeatEqualsFriendship, his motivations and loyalty aren't convincing. He can do a genuine turn, but if his RelationshipValues are neglected, he remains the Wild card.

** In the third game Shepard is reinstated in the Alliance Military, but that doesn't mean that s/he does everything they tell him/her to or in the way they hoped s/he would. However, by the time there's no intergalactic politics to meddle in in the game and most of the organizations more or less admit that WeAREStrugglingTogether. Shepard is more of the BigGood at this point, being the symbol of hope and unity as well as the Reapers' feared enemy. So you could argue that most other factions that don't get their shit together and side with him/her are the Wild Cards. There are, of course, still plenty of occasions to piss people off and blur the line between friend and foe.
** In fact, this trope is the whole point of the Spectre rank. They're given a lot of backing by the Council, with no oversight, so they're allowed to be as much of a wildcard as they want in pursuing their goals (which the Council hopes are in line with theirs). It's so extreme that, for a Spectre to have their status revoked, they have to become enough of a political threat for the status to be just a formality to them.

--->'''Illusive Man:'''Shepard, you're making a habit of costing me more than time and money.

--->'''Illusive Man:''' You're making a habit of costing me more than just time and money, Shepard.

* [[PsychoForHire Ladd Russo]] in ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}''. He mostly just wants whatever to satisfy his sadism, regardless of who he's teaming with.

* Izaya Orihara from ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'', a BigBad example. There's nothing he loves more than stirring up conflict between people and watching the human drama unfold. He's probably helped out ''and'' back stabbed every significant character in the series just ForTheLulz... except for [[ArchEnemy Shizuo]]. With Shizuo, there is no question that Izaya's every action regarding him is driven by pure hatred.

* Sagara Sousuke from ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' was apparently originally this, before [[DefrostingIceQueen becoming attached to his friends at Mithril and Kaname]]. It's implied that the reason he joined Mithril as a Wild Card was because Kalinin was part of Mithril, and he decided to join him there. Sousuke especially fits this trope in the section of Wild Cards that fall in love. He originally had no conflicting emotions, since his world and goals only revolved around getting the job done. However, it's made clear that falling in love with Kaname is his bane, making him much weaker. [[StalkerWithACrush Gauron]] is less than pleased with this change...

* Xellos from ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' does follow Zelas' will, but however he chooses to do that, and what that will actually is, is a mystery to everyone else, which means no one can predict which side he works for at any given time. It doesn't help that he frequently misleads the people he's helping, and often isn't on the side he seems to be.

* DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent: "I'm under too many concurrent layers of pretending to be TheMole to the opposing faction."

* DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent: "I've hidden myself under too many concurrent layers of deception pretending to be TheMole to the opposing faction too many times."

* DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent: "I've hidden myself under seventeen layers of deception with allegiance to [[MeleeATrois too many opposing forces]] as a massive GambitRoulette."

* DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent: "I've hidden myself under seventeen layers of deception with allegiance to too many opposing forces as a massive GambitRoulette."

* DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent: "I've hidden myself under many layers of deception as a massive GambitRoulette."

* DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent: "I've hidden myself under so many layers of deception that I don't know whose side I am on anymore."

->''"Regimes may fall and fail, but I do not."''
-->-- '''Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord'''

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* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', Zelos is TheChosenOne of Tethe'alla, but he always has his own agend. When asked which side he'd want to fight for, Zelos answers "[[IFightForTheStrongestSide the one that's likely to win]]", even if he admits that he'd want to SaveBothWorlds if push came to shove. [[spoiler:He's actually helping all three factions in the game -- the party, the Renegades and the Angels -- so that he can side with whatever faction seems to be on top at the end. His loyalty is eventually rewarded in kind, and in [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld the sequel]], he's the only one who never wavers that Lloyd is innocent of a charge of mass murder.]]

* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', Zelos mentions several times that he's only helping Lloyd to be on the "winning team." [[spoiler:He's actually helping all three factions in the game -- the party, the Renegades and the Angels -- so that he can side with whatever faction seems to be on top at the end. Still he will always side with you, as long as you don't reject everyone at a certain event]].

* From ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'', all three members of [[AntiHeroTeam Team Dark]]. In spite of ending up doing the right thing, they have shaky allegiances. [[TheRival Shadow]] fights whoever gets in the way of his goals; Rouge is only interested in jewels; and Omega attacks whatever the former two point him at.
** This is played with in [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog Shadow's own game]]. You can switch Shadow's allegiance at any time, even during a mission. Sometimes your allegiance will be changed for you if you accidentally collide with a different Mission Character.
** Similarly, Sonic's other rival, Knuckles the Echidna, is always ready to fight without hesitation anyone who seeks to steal the Master Emerald or threatens his mission to protect it. This gets exploited by [[BigBad Dr. Eggman]], who has a tendency of tricking him into believing that Sonic is his enemy. In fact, before {{Flanderization}} and MotiveDecay kicked in, the Rad Red was more of a neutral character than a hero.

* Rodan from ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters'' is described by director Mike Dougherty "a bit of a rogue...you never quite know where his loyalties lie". When he is first introduced, he levels an entire city by flying over it and completely obliterates Monarch's gold squadron. He then attacks Ghidorah when the humans lure him towards Monster Zero, but later becomes Ghidorah's [[TheDragon sidekick]] after the latter defeats Godzilla and takes control of the rest of the Titans. He fights Godzilla and Mothra in the climax, but becomes the first to bow to Godzilla after the latter defeats Ghidorah and reclaims his position as the Alpha titan. The end credits later reveal that he's moved to Fiji, where he becomes a tourist attraction, indicating that he's no longer as hostile towards humans as he was initially.