History Main / WrongSideAllAlong

And they turned us into this

* In ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'', it turns out [[spoiler:Carol Danvers and Nick Fury are unwittingly helping the genocidal and imperialistic Kree exterminate the innocent Skrulls. Carol in particular is ''pissed'' that she was being played like a cheap kazoo for the past six years, and pulls a HeelFaceTurn to stop them.]]

* This gets ZigZagged in ''{{VideoGame/Nier}}''. Early on in the game, the main character's daughter/sister gets abducted by the mysterious Shadowlord, who's ostensibly the leader of malevolent monsters or Shades that have been terrorizing the people. You therefore embark on a quest to get her back, cutting down anyone who stands in your way. [[spoiler:However, it's eventually revealed that the Shades are the ''original'' humans who separated themselves from their bodies in as a last-ditch effort to save themselves from extinction, and a lot of the Shades you killed weren't malevolent at all. The characters you've been following were Replicants that were meant to be vessels that the Shades could inhabit when the time was right. The ''real'' villains of the story turn out to be a pair of {{WellIntentionedExtremist}}s who were manipulating everyone to ensure that all the Shades would get assimilated, at the cost of the Replicants essentially being [[GrandTheftMe overwritten]]. And the Sahdowlord is both the main character's original incarnation, and the only one who can prevent all the Shades from degenerating into mindless beasts. Since the game ends with you successfully killing the Shadowlord, you've inadvertently doomed humanity to extinction in order to save the ones you love.]]

* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] and, per a [[AllThereInTheManual interview]], ultimately [[InvertedTrope inverted]] in regards to [[spoiler:the Crimson Flower route]] of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses.'' Part I of the game sets up [[CrystalDragonJesus the Church of Seiros]] - the major religious institution of the continent of Fodlan and the primary ally of the Officers' Academy, which is the educational institution that [[TheProtagonist Byleth]] is made to teach at for the year - as well-intentioned yet [[KnightTemplar far-reaching]] and suspicious, and its Archbishop, Rhea, ultimately turns out to [[spoiler:have less-than-savory intentions for Byleth, hoping that their [[AssimilationPlot consciousness is hijacked with that of her mother (and Fodlan's matron goddess), Sothis.]] While the church is ultimately less than ideal, their status as an all-encompassing evil is something of a RedHerring, and most routes of the game involve Byleth either siding with them directly (Silver Snow, where you reject [[IceQueen Princess Edelgard's]] plans to [[VestigalEmpire bring Fodlan under the Adrestian Empire's rule]]) or as a major ally (Azure Moon, where you side with [[DarkAndTroubledPast Prince Dimitri]] of Faerghus, or Verdant Wind, where you side with [[TheSchemer Duke Claude]] of the Leicester Alliance); Furthermore, these routes all have the church go under serious reforms, with the faith being far less encompassing than it was in the past. Siding with Edelgard paints her as a revolutionary and involves having her assimilate the other two countries under her rule and destroying the church entirely, proclaiming both it as well as the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Nabateans]] - the draconic race that Sothis, Rhea, Seteth, Flayn, and a few others are a part of - as being responsible for all of Fodlan's ills since time immemorial. While game does not condemn Byleth for siding with Edelgard, even with the contradictions that her version of history has with the other routes or the misgivings that her allies have, [[AllThereInTheManual the creators of the game]] noted in an interview that the game's worldbuilding is based on Silver Snow by default; In addition to being one of two routes that reveals Rhea's history and Byleth's origins, it is also the default path that the player is put on when they teach Edelgard's class - one has to [[GuideDangIt go through several hoops]] to actually support Edelgard.]]

* ''Manga/KamikazeKaitouJeanne'', Finn Fish is the right-hand woman of Lucifer who has been using Jeanne, and the rival angel is trying to stop Finn as he knows that she has been possessed by evil.

Normally, the villain or rival is trying to stop the hero ForTheEvulz or perhaps just out of selfishness. However, sometimes things are not what they seem. The [[ZenSurvivor mentor]] the party has come to trust throughout the story [[TreacherousAdvisor has been using them, or perhaps corrupting them]], and the [[DiscOneFinalBoss apparent]] BigBad [[GoodAllAlong was actually trying to save the world and make the heroes understand them]], or something of that nature. Expect a HeroicBSOD or three.

* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] and, per a [[AllThereInTheManual interview]], ultimately [[InvertedTrope inverted]] in regards to [[spoiler:the Crimson Flower route]] of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses.'' Part I of the game sets up [[CrystalDragonJesus the Church of Seiros]] - the major religious institution of the continent of Fodlan and the primary ally of the Officers' Academy, which is the educational institution that [[TheProtagonist Byleth]] is made to teach at for the year - as well-intentioned yet [[KnightTemplar far-reaching]] and suspicious, and its Archbishop, Rhea, ultimately turns out to [[spoiler:have less-than-savory intentions for Byleth, hoping that their [[AssimilationPlot consciousness is hijacked with that of her mother (and Fodlan's matron goddess), Sothis.]] While the church is ultimately less than ideal, their status as an all-encompassing evil is something of a RedHerring, and most routes of the game involve Byleth either siding with them directly (Silver Snow, where you reject [[IceQueen Princess Edelgard's]] plans to [[VestigalEmpire bring Fodlan under the Adrestian Empire's rule]]) or as a major ally (Azure Moon, where you side with [[DarkAndTroubledPast Prince Dimitri]] of Faerghus, or Verdant Wind, where you side with [[TheSchemer Duke Claude]] of the Leicester Alliance); Furthermore, these routes all have the church go under serious reforms, with the faith being far less encompassing than it was in the past. Siding with Edelgard]]

* At first it's not clear that ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' even has an [[NoAntagonist antagonist]]. Then Milo finds out that the rest of the crew led by Rourke are actually mercenaries out to steal Atlantis' PowerCrystal so they can sell it to the highest bidder, and are (at first) willing to doom the Atlanteans in the process. Fortunately, all of them but [[BigBad Rourke]] and Helga (and their small army of mooks) make a HeelFaceTurn.

* The opening plot of ''WesternAnimation/SheraAndThePrincessesOfPower'', has young protagonist, Adora, finding out she was raised and trained to fight and serve the oppressive, conquering Horde Empire, and her mentor Shadow Weaver was using and grooming her all along. After she discovers she is the next chosen one to become She-Ra, she joins the rebellion against them.

* In ''VideoGame/ContraShatteredSoldier'', you discover the Alien invasion that began in the original game, happened because an AncientConspiracy group called the Triumvirate, had a private army invade the Alien planet and steal their technology to make themselves more powerful in ruling the Earth. The Aliens were trying to reclaim what was wrongfully taken from the all along. Bill Rizer's partner Lance Bean finds this outs and turns against them.

* In ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', TheSyndicate has been plotting for years to annihilate all Contractors, which [[LaResistance Evening Primrose]]’s leader Amber, thought to be the BigBad, was actually trying to stop. Not that surprising for the morally ambiguous Syndicate the protagonists work for, but it is surprising that TheSyndicate also controls intelligence organizations (like [=MI6=]) and the police that the supporting characters work for, with Director Yoshimitsu Horai being a high-ranking member of the Syndicate and the other BigBas, essentially making the majority of the cast bad guys.

* In ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', TheSyndicate has been plotting for years to annihilate all Contractors, which [[LaResistance Evening Primrose]]’s leader Amber, thought to be the BigBad, was actually trying to stop. Not that surprising for the morally ambiguous Syndicate the protagonists work for, but it is surprising that TheSyndicate also controls intelligence organizations (like MI6) and the police that the supporting characters work for, with Director Yoshimitsu Horai being a high-ranking member of the Syndicate and the other BigBas, essentially making the majority of the cast bad guys.

** ''VideoGame/FarCry5'': Somewhat disputable, but while it's clear that Joseph Seed's cult isn't doing a good job of "keeping people safe from the apocalypse", what with the various lieutenants screwing up on the keeping people alive thing, the citizens aren't paying attention to the local broadcasts on the global crisis that explains their panic. ''Like Moscow getting nuked''. Also, the Seeds are adamant that the player character is not what they seem, has a greater influence on the world than they realize, and is promptly fucking everyone over by destroying everything the cult tries to build.

## Your sexy partner is liable to betray you. In the last episode, Jack considers ChronicBackstabbingDisorder a "human" trait that he has evolved from. Fortunately for him, his partner doesn't backstab him and instead the MissionControl you have for the entire game is the one who turns on you at the end of the game, although at a rather ill-conceived time.
## Jackal decides that after twenty years of selling low-grade firearms to unstable countries, he's had enough. You, an assassin hired to kill him, end up turning on your former contacts to help him isolate the warring factions (which have now banded together in order to take over Bowa-Sekao as warlords) from 2,000,000 human targets.
## The pirates and privateers that control the North and South Rook Islands deal in international human trafficking (slavery) and drugs. You dismantle their operations and kill the bosses so the native tribe can retake their island. Then the tribe's leader tries to force you into killing your friends. If you do as she says, she'll murder you while you're fucking her so that she can have undisputed worship from both islands.
## This game is the one that focuses on Wrong Side All Along: Pagan Min, the "King of Kyrat", is a looney Fidel Castro with an iron grip on Kyrat. You join the local rebels to depose him from power. You also eliminate one of the dissenting rebel leaders to keep infighting at a minimum. While you're taking a vacation across the newly freed Kyrat, you discover that the surviving rebel leader has continued the dictatorship, and shifted its priorities to an extreme. Sabal will order religious purges to restore Kyrat's strange and unique religion (and with Pagan's cult of personality permeating the country for decades, along with western influences thanks to the efforts of media rebels such as Rabi Ray Rana Rebel Air, that's pretty much 90% of Kyrat). Amita will attempt to turn Kyrat into one giant drug farm, and conscripts children into her armies to enforce her rule.
## Somewhat disputable, but while it's clear that Joseph Seed's cult isn't doing a good job of "keeping people safe from the apocalypse", what with the various lieutenants screwing up on the keeping people alive thing, the citizens aren't paying attention to the local broadcasts on the global crisis that explains their panic. ''Like Moscow getting nuked''. Also, the Seeds are adamant that the player character is not what they seem, has a greater influence on the world than they realize, and is promptly fucking everyone over by destroying everything the cult tries to build.

* ''VideoGame/BlueDragon'', the henchman of the BigBad (after the BigBad has supposedly been defeated) reveals that the party is being used to open up the DarkWorld by their leader. Of course, they don't realize this until ''after'' helping almost destroy the world.
* In the third ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' movie, poor Shinji falls victim to two instances of this: Just after having left the RenegadeSplinterFaction of the organization he used to work for, he finds out that said organization, ''including his own father'', has been plotting doomsday for quite a while, and, in fact, sucessfully [[NiceJobBreakingItHero set him up to cause it]] ''for them'' in a futile attempt to save his love interest, and, in fact, brought the two of them together for that exact purpose. Then, he gets told that he can fix the now nigh-inhabitable planet by obtaining a certain ArtifactOfDoom, which he sets out to get, having to [[WeUsedToBeFriends fight his former roommate and friend Asuka]] in the process. When he actually gets his hands on the artifacts, they do, [[UnwittingPawn obviously]], cause yet another near-apocalypse as Shinji [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone stares in horror.]]
* ''Manga/KamikazeKaitouJeanne'', Finn has been using them, and the rival angel is trying to stop Finn as he knows that she has been possessed by evil.
* In ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', TheSyndicate has been plotting for years to annihilate all Contractors, which Evening Primrose, thought to be the BigBad, was actually trying to stop. Not that surprising for the morally ambiguous Syndicate the protagonists work for, but it is surprising that TheSyndicate also controls intelligence organizations (like MI6) and the police that the supporting characters work for, essentially making the majority of the cast bad guys.

[[folder: Comics ]]

[[folder: Film - Animation ]]

* At first it's not clear that ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' even has an [[NoAntagonist antagonist]]. Then Milo finds out that the rest of the crew led by Rourke are actually mercenaries out to steal Atlantis' PowerCrystal so they can sell it to the highest bidder, and are (at first) willing to doom the Atlanteans in the process. Fortunately, all of them but Rourke and Helga (and their small army of mooks) make a HeelFaceTurn.

[[folder: Film - Live Action ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* This is the twist in ''Literature/TheSwordOfGood''. The "good guys" are actually agents of a malignant status quo, while the "villain" is one of the only people in the setting who sees that it's broken and is trying to do something about it. Tellingly, the hero is only able to unleash the Sword's full power when he cuts down his former allies.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* In ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'', [[TheEmpire Eternia]] and its Jobmasters, under the leadership of the supposed BigBad Brav Lee, have been trying to usher in an era where people are not dependent on the elemental Crystals. The party opposes them, told by ExpositionFairy Airy that by Awakening the Crystals, they would summon the Holy Pillar to cleanse evil from the world. It turns out, Airy is in fact the true BigBad and by Awakening the Crystals, the party is further destabilizing all the different Luxendarcs. [[MultipleEndings Either]] they [[ExplosiveOverclocking Over-Awaken]] a Crystal to destroy it and set back the villain's plans by several centuries, or they resolve to persist, hoping that in the end they could face off against and destroy the GreaterScopeVillain, Ouroboros.

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* ''Literature/{{Starwalker}}'': Starwalker and her crew find out that the person who hired the SpacePirates was the avatar of our sun who didn't like be used as a doorway 40 years ago (see StableTimeLoop) especially as using the star step drive shortens the life of stars. The crew realise that the star step technology is something that man is not supposed to know (especially as some people would probably look to optimize its destructive potential). They decide to rebel against the project, do what they can to heal the stars and destroy all the copies of information that exist about the project.

Normally, the villain or rival is trying to stop the hero ForTheEvulz or perhaps just out of selfishness. However, sometimes things are not what they seem. The [[ZenSurvivor mentor]] the party has come to trust throughout the story [[TreacherousAdvisor has been using them, or perhaps corrupting them]], and the [[DiscOneFinalBoss apparent]] BigBad [[GoodAllAlong was actually trying to save the world, and redeem them]]. Expect a HeroicBSOD or three.