History Main / Wildcard

** Ymir, due to playing her cards ''very'' close to her chest. While most can agree she's devoted to [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold Krista]], her true motivations and allegiances are a mystery to everyone. [[spoiler:As an unaffilitated Titan Shifter, it seems she has loyalty to all of two people: Krista and herself. Her HeelFaceRevolvingDoor and unwillingness to share what she knows leaves everyone but Krista justifiably suspicious of her]].

* Ryuk from ''Manga/DeathNote'' makes it clear early on that he's not on anyone's side; he only goes along with Light for as long as it makes things interesting for him. [[spoiler:This is proven when in the manga, after Light runs out of plans and ideas and turns to Ryuk to save him, Ryuk kills him]].

* The Colorless King from ''Anime/{{K}}'', a BigBad example, is called this InUniverse by the other Kings, due to the fact that his power "to affect other Kings" is unknown until it manifests in a particular generation. [[spoiler:The character himself counts as this as well, once he is finally revealed]].

** Evangeline's partner Chachamaru, being a robot, will fight whoever she's ordered to by her mistresses, including the people she otherwise acts friendly around. [[spoiler:That is, until she falls in love with [[ChickMagnet Negi]], after which she [[LoveRedeems remains firmly on his side]]]].

** There is also [[PsychoLesbian Tsuku]][[AxeCrazy yomi]], who will betray her side and remain hostile to the other side at the drop of a hat if it looks like [[BloodKnight fun]]. Unlike most others of her sort, you can't even point her at your enemies and let her loose -- but she ''will'' make you ''think'' you can, right up to the point where she slices your limbs off.

** All these above examples ''pale'' in comparison to Big Mom during the Wano Arc, who changes sides so many times that not even the readers are sure which side she's on anymore. First she tries to enter Wano to kill Luffy in revenge for the events of the Whole Cake Island arc, despite knowing damn well that doing so risks war with Kaido. [[spoiler:Then her ship is tipped over, she lands in the sea, and washes ashore with LaserGuidedAmnesia, and subsequently befriends Chopper, Tama and co. Chopper then uses her to try and break Luffy out of Udon Prison via her obsession with o-shiruko, whereupon she gets into a fight with both Queen, one of Kaido's top enforcers, and ''Luffy'' over said o-shiruko, until Queen manages to get a lucky shot in and knocks her out, in the process reawakening her memories. Queen then drags her to Onigashima, where she then gets into a fight with Kaido, which lasts several days until they decide to [[VillainTeamUp team up]] and TakeOverTheWorld together. And '''then''', during the FinalBattle, she turns ''against'' Kaido's forces after learning that they destroyed Okobore Town, which showed her hospitality when she was amnesiac. She then goes back to trying to kill the Straw Hats]].

** ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': Jason Todd (aka The Red Hood) is a definite example. While Commissioner Gordon normally relies on Batman to do the dirty things he won't, Jason will do the dirty things ''Batman'' won't. He will kill criminals, initiate crime wars, recruit gangsters (only to betray them at the right moment), resort to torture to get information (or just because he feels like it), and so on and so forth. It is all part of his vendetta against crime and vision of a better world. Or something like that. While he does truly think he's doing some good for Gotham, his actions sometimes cause innocents to be casualties. He will attempt to kill whoever gets in his way, which on some occasions has included members of his former "Bat-family." Sometimes it isn't even just about them being in his way but him just feeling competitive. It is hard to classify him as hero or villain, but it's clear he is not someone to be messed with.
** ComicBook/TheJoker is through-and-through an evil character. The reason he's listed here is because even most of his fellow ''villains'' want almost nothing to do with him, and rightly so. When you're a bad guy and have a choice of which other baddie you want to work with on your latest scheme, you don't want the one who may just try to kill you for no other reason than [[ForTheEvulz because he thought it would be funny]]. However, it's a completely different situation if the Joker ''comes to '''you'''''. Because it's not like he's the type to take "no" for an answer. And he might be a harmless prankster one minute, and then decide to be a back-stabbing, murderous psychopath the next. This is a big reason why [[TheDreaded he's feared even by supervillains far more powerful than he]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}'' is usually this, although the character becoming more likely to swing over the good side of the fence as the years go by means Batman doesn't go nearly as hard on her as he does other criminals.
* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'': He usually has no rational reason to do ''anything''. And being both liked ''and'' loathed by people in both sides of the hero/villain community (sometimes even liked and hated ''by the same person'') certainly qualifies him.

* [[ComicBook/{{Lobo}} Lobo, The Main Man]] has fought against and along side with several of the most powerful DC heroes and villains. Most of the time he does it because he's a bounty hunter, and he gets paid for what he does, or he felt like doing it.

* Harvey Dent[=/=]''[[ComicBook/TwoFace Two-Face]]'', although not so much a wild "card" but a wild "coin," as his morality is entirely dependent on what side his coin lands. There are very few times in the Batman mythos that he goes against the ruling of his coin, and [[ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumASeriousHouseOnSeriousEarth one time]] even had fans questioning the possible dubiousness of the action when it was [[WordOfGod meant to be a genuinely sincere moment]]. Although one central part of his character is that he is both Harvey Dent and Two-Face, so anyone savvy enough (Gordon or Batman) is able to exploit that by forcing a confrontation between Two-Face and Dent. At the very least, it'll make Two-Face act fairly, because Dent still believes in justice, no matter how much of a monster he is now.

* ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'' in many of his comic portrayals proves to be something of an AntiHero Wild Card -- while usually on the side of [[ComicBook/XMen the good guys]], he's violent, dangerous, unreliable and extremely intelligent. While he may not swing fully from Villain to Hero and back again, like many Wild Cards enjoy doing, his comic incarnation especially has a high number of team affiliations, and he has frequently worked on his own.

** ''ComicBook/{{Mystique}}'' is similar; there's some contention of whether she belongs here or in HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, i.e., whether she's actually changing sides as the plot demands or just allying herself with whoever's convenient. Not that most of them are under any illusions.
** ''ComicBook/EmmaFrost'' is an ally of the X-Men but occasionally sides with the villains depending on what she can get out of it.

* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' fanfic ''Fanfic/NewKidOnTheBlock'', Wally is one of these. As long as he doesn't get caught, he'll do things that help and hurt both sides.

* ''Franchise/JamesBond'': Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the nefarious head of [[NebulousEvilOrganization SPECTRE]] and 007's biggest ArchEnemy, likes PlayingBothSides by loaning out his services to any nation that is willing to pay him while secretly enabling them to weaken each other so SPECTRE could TakeOverTheWorld. Being a [[PrivateMilitaryContractor mercenary]], he only cares how much SPECTRE is going to profit from their {{Evil Plan}}s. Throughout the franchise, it's shown that both sides of the Cold War are using his services, such as [[Film/{{Thunderball}} rubbing out defectors]], [[Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice conducting nuclear blackmail]], etc. to cover their tracks. Also, this quote from ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' best sums up his long-term EvilPlan:

* Loki in ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' has changed or (pretended to change) his allegiance so many times that you'll get tired of counting. He is always on ''his own'' side, the rest "varies from moment to moment". He finally ends up on his brother Thor's side at the end of ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', [[spoiler:just in time [[RedemptionEqualsDeath to get killed off]] in the opening scene of ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'']].

* Sadi, Chief Eunich of the Nyssian Royal Court in the ''Literature/{{Belgariad}}'' really shows hints of this in the sequel series, the ''Mallorean''. He shanghais the heroes to escape from some rivals' plots (Of course, his part in the prophecies didn't help matters either), manages to trick the leader of the Dagashi (ninja-like assassins) to the point that even said leader is impressed with his cleverness, and then near the end, represents his government (despite at that time having no legal standing whatsoever) in a set of very lucrative accords, and uses his standing in the accords to buy himself back into his queen's good graces.

* ''Literature/CodexAlera'' features the ironically-named spy Fidelias, who starts the events of the first book when he turns traitor in an attempt to replace the aging First Lord with a new ruling noble, Aquitaine. He believes that what he is doing is no different than the many acts he has previously performed as a loyal spy, acting to preserve the long-term stability of Alera. [[spoiler:In the later books, he turns again upon realizing that TheHero is the heir to the throne and would make a far better ruler than Aquitaine]].

** Sethra Lavode is a strange example. She might count as a LawfulNeutral Wild Card, given that she is loyal above all to TheEmpire but not necessarily the current emperor or empress on the throne. She is also rather a {{Chessmaster}}, along with being eons old and ultra-powerful -- it's noted in the ''Literature/KhaavrenRomances'' sub-series how some villages view her as the EvilOverlord to be defeated in their fairy tales, while she is considered a "fairy godmother" /PhysicalGod the next village over. In the ''Taltos'' sub-series, her actions are more unambiguously good, and she experiences BecomingTheMask [[spoiler:in her kindly and likeable persona as ClassyCatBurglar Kiera]], which was initially just a scheme to monitor organized crime in the Empire.

* [[spoiler:Grant Ward]] from during the second season of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD''. After [[spoiler:his escape from prison]] his motives are completely unclear and his actions both benefit and hinder Coulson's team.

* Gaius Baltar from ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003''. His final line in the PilotEpisode is, in fact, "[[EstablishingCharacterMoment I'm on nobody's side]]." So there you go. He certainly does his best to muck up Admiral Adama's command while recruiting groupies wherever he goes; first he tries to seize power politically, but when that plan goes bust, he embraces the mantle of the 'martyr', founding a sect of monotheists (a novelty in the Twelve Colonies, which are devoutly ''poly''theistic) and [[PassionPlay running afoul of some Romans]], i.e. President Roslin. However, he never quite embraces the Cylons despite prodding from various incarnations of Six. The finale reveals that a [[InMysteriousWays higher power]] was manipulating Baltar's greed for their own purposes.

* Lila from ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy''. She's introduced in the second season as Diego's love interest, but then it turns out she's an assassin sent to kill him but fell InLoveWithTheMark. But even then, she's still a villain to the ''rest'' of the Hargreeves siblings. It's later revealed that she was born from the same BizarreBabyBoom as the rest of them but was adopted early on by [[BigBad the Handler]]. When the Handler betrays Lila and leaves her for dead, Five saves her life and she escapes. She returns in the third season to reveal to Diego that their tryst had produced a child, and while she's on the siblings' side for most of the season, it's partly out of love for Diego but mostly because their interests are aligned with her own. It's also worth noting that her special ability is [[PowerCopying copying the powers of other "Children,"]] making her a ''literal'' wild card.

** [[CainAndAble Rollo]] frequently switches side against his brother [[TheHero Ragnar]] and later against [[spoiler: his own son]] Bjorn, making it hard for anyone to tell which side he really is on. [[spoiler: This eventually leads to him finally losing both Bjorn and Lagertha]].

* Wrestling/AJStyles' 2013 FaceHeelTurn has him saying he's sick and tired of doing the right thing and instead he'll do his own thing. During the Wrestling/{{TNA}} roster's war with Wrestling/{{Aces And Eights|Wrestlers}}, Styles refuses to join either side and instead viciously attacks both sides. Eventually settles into a "dark hero" role, taking the World Title off of Aces & Eights for good and using it to try to make Dixie Carter pay for her managerial mistakes over the years.
** Then in WWE, when the brand split happened and he got put on [[Wrestling/WWESmackDown [=SmackDown=] Live]] while his buddies in [[Wrestling/BulletClub The Club]] went to Raw, Styles's heel run really ended up just being this. He's still incredibly cocky, insults the audience, and complains whenever he got put in a situation he didn't like, but he's still acknowledged, in and out of kayfabe, as a phenomenal wrestler, he never backs down from any fight he gets booked in, and while he does cheat sometimes, he always cheats by himself, as opposed to guys like Wrestling/TheMiz who bring in outside help. The result is that he gets cheers everywhere he goes, even against beloved faces like Wrestling/DeanAmbrose.

* Rogue CIA agent Steven Heck of ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'' has no real loyalties to anyone save for himself due to the fact that he's completely insane. He is however an ally of Michael Thorton provided that he stays on Heck's good side. [[spoiler:Though it is possible that he was Halbech's contact in Taipei that sent [[RightHandVersusLeftHand Mike against Deng]]]].

** 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 sequel, providing if you let him go after being chased by his former employers, he will help during the FinalBattle. Also, both Flemeth and her daughterMorrigan qualify, having ''nothing'' to do with the Blight or the later Mage-Templar War and they are only in it due to personal reasons.

*** Delita is the ultimate ChessMaster; he manipulates absolutely everybody, and is more often on nobody's side than on any particular side.

-->'''Lapis Lazuli:''' ''[laughing]'' [[MakesSenseInContext Why don't you put that corn in a mirror for thousands of years and then see how it feels about the table]]?! IT WOULD REALLY HATE THE TABLE!

** All three members of [[AntiHeroTeam Team Dark]] have shake allegiances. In spite of doing the right thing most of the time, they usually take much more violent and/or morally dubious ways of getting the job done. Shadow fights whoever gets in the way of his goals, Rouge is only interested in jewels and hunting for treasures, and Omega attacks whatever the other two point him at. The three of them are even ostensibly willing to work with BigBad Dr. Eggman, and have in the past, but it's all for their own sake and no one else's. Most of the time, the reason they're willing to work with Sonic and friends is [[EvilVersusOblivion they're taking on a world-ending threat, which would clearly not benefit Team Dark]].

* The page quote comes from Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord, a French diplomat who embodied this trope a couple of hundred years ago. He started out under the Gallic Church and King Louis XVI, switched sides to the anti-Church, anti-Royalist Republic, ditched them to help Napoleon seize power, converted ''back'' just as Napoleon had allied with Russia, convened the Senate that legally dismissed Napoleon, and finally threw his support to the Citizen King Louis-Philippe. All this time he remained powerful and influential, and even managed to stay out of prison. Website/TheOtherWiki says he was known as "The Prince of Diplomats" but Napoleon himself came up with the perhaps equally fitting (if less flattering) label "shit in a silk stocking." More recent scholarship suggests that he saw himself not as betraying any particular regime, but [[LoyalToThePosition always serving the interests of France as a state and nation]].

* The [[{{Retronym}} First]] [[UsefulNotes/{{TheColdWar}} Cold War]] provides several examples:

** [[UsefulNotes/{{France}} France]]. After the Second World War, the United States pressured the country into withdrawing from Vietnam. France responded by threatening to re-align itself with the SovietUnion. In 1965, CharlesDeGaulle had his government cash its entire reserve of US Dollars in exchange for gold, which helped end the Gold Standard. Finally, in 1966, De Gaulle effectively withdrew France from NATO in protest of the "special relationship" between the United States and Britain (it rejoined in 2009).

* Italy is famous for "changing sides" in both world wars. In the first, they stayed neutral until 1915 because technically their alliance with Germany and Austria had been ''defensive'' only (not that it mattered to any other European power, all claiming to be fighting defensive wars) until they joined on the ''Allied'' side because France and Britain promised a better deal in case of victory. After said victory a certain Benito Mussolini exploited the sense of some Italians of a "mutilated victory" consisting in the Allies not delivering on their supposed promises of 1915. So Italy ultimately joined forces with Nazi Germany, only to change sides again when Mussolini was removed from power. It ended giving Italy no major loss of pre-war territory and they even held onto some of their colonies after 1945. Of course Piedmont-Sardinia, the state that would gobble up the rest of the Italian peninsula in the 19th century did similar things, allying as the need arose with France to beat the Austrians, with revolutionary movements to unify Italy, with reactionaries to crush "too left wing" movements (like Democracy and Republicanism) and ultimately (de facto at least) with Prussia against France. If there was one thing constant about Piedmont-Sardinia's / Italy's foreign politics between 1848 and 1948, it was that whoever tried to ally with them usually got screwed, one way or another.

** 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 sequel, providing if you let him go after being chased by his former employers, he will help during the FinalBattle.
** Both Flemeth and Morrigan qualify, having ''nothing'' to do with the Blight or the later Mage-Templar War.
** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Hawke is treated as this by every faction in the game. This ultimately leads to them getting wrongly blamed for causing the Mage-Templar War, when they actually had very little influence on the underlying problems that sparked the conflict and were merely the RightManInTheWrongPlace. The problems of the war are already there even before Hawke arrived to Kirkwall to take refuge.
** The player character of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' will lead what is nominally a Chantry organization, but have no pre-determined allegiance in practice. You can thus pick and choose your allies as you see fit. This becomes a problem in Trespasser DLC, in which both major nations either want the Inquisition to be disbanded or put them on Chantry's leash.

** 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 ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', he appears as a HeroOfAnotherStory with enough GenreSavvy not to meddle in yours. He still appears to be the Wild card in his own story.
** Hawke is treated as this by every faction in the game. This ultimately leads to them getting blamed for causing [[spoiler:the Mage-Templar War]], when they actually had very little influence on the underlying problems that sparked the conflict and were merely the RightManInTheWrongPlace.
** The player character of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' will lead what is nominally a Chantry organization, but have no pre-determined allegiance in practice. You can thus pick and choose your allies as you see fit. This becomes a problem in the final DLC, in which both major nations either want the Inquisition to be disbanded or put them on the Chantry's leash.

** The player character of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' will lead what is nominally a Chantry organization, but have no pre-determined allegiance in practice. You can thus pick and choose your allies as you see fit.

** Heck, his ship is even called [[JustForPun The Wild Karrde]]!

* ''LetsPlay/RatsSMP'': Tubbo is ''extremely'' prone to starting conflicts for no reason and is, in essence, a menace to rat society. Heck, the first thing he does on the server is try to start an uprising, and Apo strongly suspects that he might have "ratbies" (rat rabies).

** The Ice King is originally presented as a villain with a stereotypical penchant for [[SaveThePrincess kidnapping princesses]]. It slowly becomes clear that he's less evil and more mentally ill, and he never intentionally ''harms'' anyone, so he's more like an IneffectualSympatheticVillain, and he'll even pitch in to help against existential threats to Ooo or the Candy Kingdom. Problem is, even when he's more or less "good," he's still ''crazy'', so [[UnwantedAssistance his "help" is often unhelpful]] or he might get confused about what the "good" side is. [[spoiler:His alter-ego Simon Petrikov is unambiguously good, but he's very seldom in control]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndHarleyQuinn'', Batman explicitly calls out Harley Quinn on this when she asks to [[EnemyMine help him]] and Nightwing stop Poison Ivy and Floronic Man and lists examples of the possible [[InsaneTrollLogic on-a-whim]] reasons as to why she might turn on them, including "Because it's Thursday!". In the climax, he turns out to be right, and she [[IronicEcho ironically echoes]] the Thursday reason as she does it.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' has Varrick, a businessman who initially allies with Team Avatar against Unalaq because his blockade on the Southern Water Tribes is hurting his shipping business and even backs a war with the Northern Water Tribe. Later on, he seeks to prolong the war for the sake of [[WarForFunAndProfit profit]] and is willing to use his friends to his ends by [[spoiler:bankrupting Asami's corporation so that he can buy her out and framing Mako for a crime when he learns of the former]]. Later on, he's found staying at Zaofu, only to sign on with Kuvira's Earth Empire as their head scientist, [[spoiler:though eventually he has a legitimate change of heart after they force him to create {{Fantastic Nuke}}s and sides with the heroes to stop her]].

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' has Lapis Lazuli. [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe While she's more than willing to protect Steven]] [[spoiler:and treasures her friendship with SixthRanger Peridot]], she's far more interested in her own self-preservation and living a peaceful life than anything else, blaming both the Crystal Gems and Homeworld for the TraumaCongaLine the past 5,000 years have been for her. As a result, she's spent just as much time on the show being a serious threat that the main characters need to placate as soon as possible as she has as an AloofAlly that can easily crush any foe they're dealing with that week, sometimes being ''both at once''. [[spoiler:She officially becomes a Crystal Gem towards the end of the fifth season, after realizing the care she feels for Peridot and Steven overrides everything else. That, and the fact the Diamonds would [[WithUsOrAgainstUs consider her a member of the Crystal Gems regardless]].]]

* 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 who were attempting to lure him away from inhabited areas. 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.

** Captain Jack Sparrow.

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%% This trope is represented in the Pantheon/TropePantheons by Lambdadelta of ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', in the House of Pantheon/{{Ambiguity}}.
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Neutral characters of the said three neutrality alignments can qualify as this (with Chaotic Neutral being more notorious with this trope, but because neutrality is by definition not joining either side, this is by no means a guarantee). Basically there are some neutral characters of the three impartial alignments that are deemed Wild Cards, while some others are not.

* Ylana Skyfire, a mercenary in ''{{Website/Neopets}}''.

** [=CP9=]. Following the Enies Lobby arc and the World Government dismissing their [[PsychoForHire Psychos for Hire]] and turning them into outlaws for losing to the Straw Hats, the group was left listless, only concerned with their own wellbeing and safety, though they did make a brief return to their homeland to see the next generation of CP9 being trained. [[spoiler:Post-timeksip, however, it's gradually revealed that they were all re-recruited into the World Government as members of the higher-rank CP0, so evidently their murderous talents were not completely missed.]]

** Nico Robin used to be one, jumping from crew to crew to find the Poneglyphs until she got in with the Straw Hats.
** Also Trafalgar Law. He's extremely powerful but backstabs people quite frequently. [[spoiler:It's still unclear whether or not he'll betray Luffy at some point as well, now that they are in an alliance...]]
** [=CP9=]. Now that the World Government has dismissed their [[PsychoForHire Psychos for Hire]] and turned them into outlaws, the only thing known for sure about their goals is that they don't plan on being apprehended... though it's pretty obvious that Spandam, at least, hasn't seen the last of them.
** On the subject of those no longer employed by the World Government, we have Kuzan (former alias: Admiral Aokiji), though it may be a subversion; now that [[MoralSociopathy Moral Sociopath]] Sakazuki (former alias: Admiral Akainu) is Fleet Admiral, and it's clear [[GrayAndGreyMorality just how corrupted the world is, government and pirates]], it seems that Kuzan is only looking out for his friends. His first appearance since the Time Skip proves this, when he [[spoiler:shows up [[BigDamnHeroes just in time to keep]] [[AxCrazy Doflamingo]] from killing Smoker. But, the following arc reveals that he's now working with Blackbeard for some reason, and even Jesus Burgess doesn't know if they should just him.]].
** The Straw Hats are seen as a whole crew of Wild Cards by the world at large. There are certain unspoken rules that pirates are expected to follow. The Straw Hats do not follow them. When Zoro almost attacks a World Noble (the penalty for which is being hunted down by a Marine Admiral), a bystander notes, "I heard the Straw Hats were crazy, but..." Most pirate crews are motivated by money or power. The Straw Hats do whatever amuses Luffy and legitimately don't care what the consequences are. This has led to them taking down three of the [[CarnivalOfKillers Seven Warlords of the Sea]], declaring war on the [[OneWorldOrder World Government]], and picking a fight with one of [[TheDreaded the Four Emperors]].

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog''

* {{Cloudcukoolander}}: "I'm not really sure what's going on, so ... how 'bout I give the diamond necklace to a salmon. Will that help anything?"

* Boxter Hamdon from ''WesternAnimation/SheZow'' would on occasion support the episode's villain because he dosen't like it when [=SheZow=] steals his thunder.

* FemmeFatale Blackarachnia from ''{{Transformers}}: WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' starts out as an example of an evil Wild Card. First of all, she was Starscream's BastardUnderstudy in the episode ''Possession''. After learning the ways of treachery from him though, she displayed genuine Wild Card traits by using her new skills on him before the episode ended. Later on she fell in love with Silverbolt, an action which changed her to a more moral person, although it didn't keep her from shooting him in the leg. Later versions of Blackarachnia (''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'', for example) were less unreliable and more faithful to the Maximals.
-->'''Silverbolt:''' You shot me!\\
'''Blackarachnia:''' He was going to blow your head off!
** Tarantulus, also form ''Beast Wars'' begins the series working for Megatron, but as time goes by it is revealed that he has his own agenda, and frquently betrays Megatron then will ally himself with Megatron again, all while working towards his own goals. At the end of Season 2 it is revealed that he originally joined Megatron's crew to spy on him for the Tripredacus council, who have their own agenda.

* Wrestling/AJStyles' 2013 FaceHeelTurn has him saying he's sick and tired of doing the right thing and instead he'll do his own thing. During the Wrestling/{{TNA}} roster's war with Wrestling/AcesAndEights, Styles refuses to join either side and instead viciously attacks both sides. Eventually settles into a "dark hero" role, taking the World Title off of Aces & Eights for good and using it to try to make Dixie Carter pay for her managerial mistakes over the years.

** Similarly, Marceline the Vampire Queen, while she cares about her friends, is whimsical and at times amoral. Despite being one of the more powerful beings in the Land of Ooo, she very seldom pitches in against even the most powerful threats unless she's got some personal stake. In one episode, when her Dad, [[SatanExpy Hunson Abadeer]], seems intent on sucking out the souls of every living creature in Ooo, she tracks him down only to retrieve her treasured axe.

** The titular Henry Stickmin. While the first three games show him as a selfish criminal, ''Infiltrating the Airship'' lets him become a bounty hunter, a government agent, the Toppat Leader or just remain as a thief. And while ''Fleeing the Complex'' doesn't rumble with Henry's morality that much, ''Completing the Mission'' does: Henry can remain as the Toppat Leader, bounty hunter or government agent, or become a Toppat recruit, a special covert ops agent, [[ItMakesSenseInContext the owner of a space resort]], [[spoiler:dead]], a retired criminal, or once again remain a selfish criminal, with a partner or not.
** Ellie Rose is an even bigger example than Henry himself. While she's also a criminal, her morality completely depends on Henry's actions in ''Airship'' [[UndyingLoyalty out of her sheer loyalty to him]]: She either becomes a government agent, a retired criminal, a Toppat recruit, [[TheDragon Henry's Right Hand Lady]], or remain a criminal alongside Henry. And that's assuming Henry even decides to help her in the first place: Either he can simply ignore her or [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential outright abandon her when she lend him a hand to escape]], and she disappears from the story after that... unless Henry is choosing the latter as [[spoiler:the Toppat Leader]]. If so, [[LaserGuidedKarma expect one of the biggest hits of karma in the entire series]] as Ellie [[spoiler:becomes the Toppat Leader]] while Henry [[spoiler:is dethroned and has only three people on his side]].