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11->'''Ash:''' You wanna help?\
12'''James:''' Of course!\
13'''Jessie:''' We don't want the world destroyed!\
14'''James:''' Even if we survived...\
15'''Jessie:''' ...there'd be no one left to steal from!\
16'''James:''' We'd be out of work!
17-->-- ''Anime/Pokemon2000''
18
19Our first character or faction is a villain with either [[PragmaticVillainy a sense of self-preservation]], [[ForTheEvulz a taste for others' misery]] or a plan to TakeOverTheWorld. They're evil, no mistaking it, but they happen to ''enjoy'' their life and would prefer that the world continue existing, if only so that they can continue their EvilOverlord rule, indulging their greed, lust, and/or generally pursuing their own evil interests and schemes.
20
21Our second character is a StrawNihilist, a MisanthropeSupreme, an OmnicidalManiac, or an EldritchAbomination and wants to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Even if the first villain would be able to somehow escape from this disaster unharmed, there likely wouldn't be anyone left to rule over or torment for their own twisted pleasure. Thus, the first villain surprisingly steps in to [[EnemyMine help save the day]], if only to prevent the second from upsetting the status quo that allows them to continue being evil on their own terms.
22
23Now, in the darkest times, when the world is about to be destroyed by Oblivion, here comes its last chance. [[HeroicSpirit Good held out as best it could despite the futility]], but Evil climbs into the ring to fight, and Oblivion is in for a whole new level of combat unlike before.
24
25A subtrope of EvilVersusEvil where the story averts TooBleakStoppedCaring by offering two reasonably different flavors of evil, which usually either falls into BlackAndGrayMorality or ALighterShadeOfBlack. May overlap with EvenEvilHasStandards and EnemyMine or result in a MeleeATrois with the heroes. Often present in worlds with AngelsDevilsAndSquid, with the Devils representing Evil and the Squid representing Oblivion. Villains opposing TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt can be on any part of the "evil" side of CharacterAlignment, although LawfulEvil ones are a bit more common since they rely on an established system of rules to benefit themselves, which would be upset by a threat of this scale. ChaoticEvil and NeutralEvil examples generally have the "I'm having too much fun to stop now" motivation in comparison. On the flipside, the oblivion side can be the sympathetic side too, especially if the villain in question is a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds wanting to destroy the world to end the cycle of suffering caused by the evil side by any means necessary. After all, if the universe is already in a state of endless suffering, it is a lot easier to end the cycle by destroying it all than trying to restore it.
26
27A typical stock justification the usual villain uses to gain the heroes' trust (which pretty much ''always'' works and is reliable) is to say "This planet is my home too."
28
29This trope has a FridgeBrilliance side: it justifies many heroes for their ThouShaltNotKill attitude. The FridgeLogic side is that a villain who sides with the hero to prevent world destruction should realize it's not that smart trying to kill the hero in the next episode. They may achieve world domination, then end up having the world destroyed because the hero is not there to fight the greater evil any more. See PragmaticVillainy for more examples. It also [[TropesAreTools helps the writer]] keep the hero from being forced over the MoralEventHorizon or suffering a "MyGodWhatHaveIDone" moment by having a character who is much less worried about the potential legal or moral ramifications of their actions. After all, [[ThouShaltNotKill if Alice would never kill a person]], but Bob ''has'' killed in narrative, then [[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork Bob can do the deed and spare the writers from putting the guilt on Alice.]] It also serves as a way for the writer to display just ''how'' dangerous the Evil actually is. Bob is able to demonstrate the full extent of his power that Alice routinely defeats, and gets to do so against an opponent where nobody will begrudge him for doing so. At the end of the day, Bob can still be evil after this encounter, but nobody would think any less of him as a villain seeing as he is just doing what he already does.
30
31A subtrope of TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil and EvilVersusEvil.
32----
33!!Examples:
34
35[[foldercontrol]]
36
37[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
38* The two antagonistic humans in ''Manga/AnimalLand'', Jyu and Giller represents Evil and Oblivion, respectively. The former is a sadistic psychopath who takes pleasure in inflicting conflict, pain and suffering, and completely thrives on being [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters "the most evil animal on the planet"]]; while Giller sees life as unfair and humans in general as corrupt, and thinks they can only be [[DeathEqualsRedemption "purified" through death.]]
39* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', this turns out to be the dynamic between Eren and Zeke. [[spoiler:And zig-zagged, to boot. Zeke starts off as the Oblivion, the StrawNihilist that wants to exterminate the Eldians by using the Founding Titan's power to sterilize them and let them end their suffering this way, but gets countered by Eren, who drops his moral compass to give freedom to the Eldians. Once Eren shows his true goal -- wanting to destroy the rest of the world so that only the Eldians on the Island of Paradis remain and remove all hatred from the world -- he becomes the Oblivion.]]
40* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', [[spoiler:[[EvilCounterpart Grimmjow]]]] agrees to help fight [[GreaterScopeVillain Yhwach]] purely because he wants to have a rematch with Ichigo, which he won't be able to do if Hueco Mundo is destroyed. Likewise, [[spoiler:[[PredecessorVillain Aizen]]]]'s stated reason for fighting against Yhwach is to, in his own words, "[[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu eviscerate any who might try to rule over and control him]]". That Yhwach wants to [[MergedReality merge all the realms]] and reign immortal over all of reality [[NotInThisForYourRevolution is an unrelated matter]] for both.
41* In the "International Assassins Arc" of ''Manga/ChainsawMan'', [[spoiler:ArcVillain "Santa Claus" is a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] PsychoForHire contracted to kill Denji. However, she allows the contract to take a backseat to her attempt to kill Makima, who's revealed to be the first of the HorsemenOfTheApocalypse and plotting to create a WorldOfSilence.]]
42* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' opens with [[AliensAreBastards alien invader Raditz]] coming to find his younger brother Kakarot (Son Goku) and obliterate all life on Earth. Naturally, previous BigBad Piccolo would rather rule the world himself and as a result teams up with Son Goku to defeat him. [[spoiler:This event ultimately leads to him taking a HeelFaceTurn after befriending Goku's son, Gohan, while training to prepare for the arrival of Raditz's even more powerful comrades.]]
43** Before Vegeta's HeelFaceTurn at the end of the Freeza Saga, Vegeta teams up with Krillin and Gohan to fight Freeza. Despite the impossibility of victory, Vegeta is actively scared of Freeza, his power, and his wanton cruelty. Ultimately Krillin and Gohan team up with Vegeta not just because he is willing to help (if only to kill Freeza), but because Vegeta's evil behavior is much less extreme than Freeza (whom they've seen [[WouldHurtAChild kill a whole village, including the children]]).[[note]]It is worth noting that Vegeta has destroyed a planet, killed his right hand man, and had a transport copter unnecessarily blown up, but most of what happened occurred while Vegeta was under Freeza's employ. Vegeta admits to the heroes that he has been forced to aid Freeza by virtue of not being strong enough to oppose him. If given the chance, Vegeta probably ''would'' have been Oblivion, but Freeza beat him to it[[/note]]
44** Happens literally in the Tournament of Power arc in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', where heroes and villains from various universes have to team up in order to prevent their universe from being erased. The situation is so serious that Goku and Freeza actually fight as teammates.
45** In ''Anime/SuperDragonBallHeroes'', Turles, Freeza, Cooler, and Cell help the heroes face [[spoiler:Goku Black]] since [[OmnicidalManiac he wants to wipe out all mortal life]].
46* Jinnai of ''Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld'' is the main characters RivalTurnedEvil and a self-proclaimed YoungConqueror. [[spoiler: However he's quick to join with the heroes when the true BigBad tries to destroy the world. Claiming that meaningless destruction is anathema to a true conqueror.]]
47* ''[[Literature/FailureFrame Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells]]'' ''invokes'' this. Goddess Vysis summons "Heroes" from other worlds every few centuries to stop the apocalyptic extinction of mankind on her world. Problem is, she's completely morally bankrupt, and toys with entire countries, placing the most corrupt people she can find in charge, just to slake her boredom, and woe to those who sour her mood.
48* In ''Manga/FullMetalAlchemist'', Greed conflicts with his fellow homunculi because they consider humans worthless and expendable, whereas he considers them his valuable possessions. He eventually joins with the heroes partly out of a lack of options, but partly because he wants to rule the world rather than help destroy a big chunk of it.
49* While mostly doing anything for amusement, Alucard of ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'''s stated reason for working for the good guys is that if vampires in general won, they'd eat all the humans, and there wouldn't be any left.
50* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'', ThoseWackyNazis get into an EnemyMine with the protagonists against the Pillar Men, as the former's plans for conquest would be rather inconvenienced by the Pillar Men [[ToServeMan devouring humanity]].
51* ''Manga/MajinTanteiNougamiNeuro'' had Neuro, a demon who feeds on solving mysteries (like solving who killed someone) faces down Sicks, who wants to kill every human because, if every human was dead, who would kill each other and provide mysteries?
52* In the final arc of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', Milliardo Peacecraft plots to destroy Earth out of a misguided belief that the people of the Space Colonies were purer in purpose than those of Earth, who he saw as hopelessly tainted with the specter of the planet's bloody history and could never achieve lasting peace. Among the people arrayed against him is Treize Khushrenada, the leader of OZ, who the protagonists have fought on many occasions. For all his faults, he loves the Earth and does not want to see his people destroyed. [[spoiler:It's implied that Treize and Milliardo cooked up the war between them to exhaust humanity's will to fight and demonstrate the foolishness of war once and for all...and it sort of works.]]
53** And by, it sort of works, it ends the Earth vs Space Colonies conflict that defines the Gundam Wing Universe. [[spoiler:For a couple of months, before another warmongering lunatic starts up a coup right as everyone else was disarming themselves. Naturally. Of course, the people then tell the new BigBad to fuck right off, and after getting cornered by the heroes, he's ultimately shot by one of his own men.]]
54* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
55** An odd variation in ''Manga/PokemonDiamondAndPearlAdventure'': [[WellIntentionedExtremist Cyrus's]] plan is to wipe out the universe and create a new, perfect one. When he realizes that the [[OlympusMons legendary Pokémon]] he summoned to do it will only destroy everything ''without'' the ability to recreate anything, he decides that even a horrifically flawed world is better than no world at all. Basically, he played this trope on ''himself''.
56** In the second arc of ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'', this is the reason [[TheDon Giovanni]] stands up against [[OmnicidalManiac Lance]]. Giovanni would also help much later to prevent the entire world from being blown up in the ORAS arc.
57** In ''Anime/Pokemon2000'', Ash is bewildered when [[TerribleTrio Team Rocket]] assists him against the threat. They explain that they are ''thieves''; they have no interest in killing, and definitely don't want the world to be destroyed.
58*** Team Rocket (as in Jessie, James, and Meowth, not the organization as a whole) tend to do this a lot, especially whenever they're faced with another, more competent villain.
59** In Best Wishes 2, Giovanni eventually loses control of the MacGuffin that allows him to control the three Forces of Nature and is possessed by the malfunctioning MacGuffin, turning him into an OmnicidalManiac. Since Team Rocket's goal is world domination and not the destruction of the world, Jessie, James and Meowth stop him from his rampage and he regains control of his self. Since he would be unable to control the Forces of Nature again, he orders Team Rocket to retreat. He's actually mildly amused that he let himself go like that.
60* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' has [[spoiler: the conflict between [[MentorMascot Kyubey]] (Evil) and [[EldritchAbomination the witches]] (Oblivion). Unlike most examples, however, it's the ''{{Omnicidal Maniac}}s'' who are portrayed sympathetically, since [[ManBehindTheMan Kyubey is the one who]] [[DealWithTheDevil tricked them into becoming]] {{Magical Girl}}s and later [[WasOnceAMan witches]], [[AMillionIsAStatistic getting millions of innocent people killed in the process and not giving a crap,]] all in the name of [[WellIntentionedExtremist saving the universe from heat death]]. The witches, by contrast, want to ''[[DarkMessiah save]]'' humanity from the Incubators' rule, albeit [[MercyKill in their own twisted way]] by [[DrivenToSuicide driving them to suicide]]. It's rather ironic that the villains trying to ''destroy'' the universe are widely considered [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds more sympathetic]], while the one trying to ''[[SaveTheWorld save]]'' it is considered a [[EvilerThanThou greater evil]], a [[TheSociopath heartless bastard]], and [[HateSink the most hated character in the series]]]].
61* The major villains from ''Anime/ReCreators'' work like this. BigBad Altair/Military Uniform Princess wants to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy the world]] because of what "the gods" (i.e. real humans) [[DrivenToSuicide have done]] to her creator. RealityWarper Magane joins the good guys in their quest to stop her, because without the world there won't be any people to cheat and kill, and no place where to satisfy her depravity and hedonistic urges.
62* ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'':
63** ''Slayers Try'' has Xellos, who wants the world to be destroyed -- [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou but by locals]]. So when aliens try to do it, he works against them.
64** Xellos in ''Slayers NEXT'' takes the side of Evil against the rogue Dark Lord who wants to destroy the world. The end-of-the-world fails and Xellos was entangled in this all. Complete with [[spoiler:him appearing healthy and smiling]] right after destruction of the strongest Dark Lord who tried to bring it all down. It seems that he and his boss are more interested in power struggles between their kin than in serious apocalyptic activity. And then there's...[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNLazPR48Ww "My Evil Plan to Save the World"]] AMV with Xellos.
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Comic Books]]
68* ''Franchise/TheDCU'':
69** ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' and ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'': A wide variety of supervillains attempt to aid the heroes, as the apocalypse is something they all want to avoid. Special note goes to the Crime Syndicate in the first Crisis, who die trying to save Earth-3 from the Anti-Monitor, and Darkseid who finally lifts a finger when he realises that the Anti-Monitor threatens Apokolips as well as Earth.
70** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' involves Ares sowing chaos among the world's military leaders to kickstart World War III. He would have succeeded if Diana didn't show him the truth, that humanity would be wiped out. Without humanity, there will be no war, and Ares will fade away.
71** ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfWonderWoman2016'': Ares seems to be the BigBad, plotting to unmake the barrier around Themyscira by sacrificing [[ComicBook/SteveTrevor an innocent]] in order to move freely and instigate more brutal wars in a bid to change his source of power to the conflicts themselves [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly to survive]]. Then it's revealed that Zeus, who has been presenting himself as the BigGood fighting Ares has his own plan for surviving the fading of their power; killing all sentient life on earth outside of a handful of humans who will have their free will stripped from them and be forced to sacrifice each other and live entirely to [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly worship]] the Olympians. Cruel as he is Ares wants free will to be preserved.
72** [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] has done this repeatedly.
73*** In ''ComicBook/{{Aztek}}'', ''ComicBook/OurWorldsAtWar'', ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', and several other events, he allies himself with Franchise/{{Superman}}, his {{Archenemy}}, to try and prevent the end of the world. During the Russian General Zod's attack on the States, it's actually Luthor who saves the day, turning the sun yellow again and allowing Superman to overpower the red sun-fuelled Zod. This makes sense, since Luthor, as a DiabolicalMastermind, VillainWithGoodPublicity, and briefly PresidentEvil, needs a world within which to function.
74*** ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'': It's shown that, despite being a miserable sociopath, a tiny sliver of Luthor loves life enough to revolt against Darkseid.
75*** His involvement in ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'' ends with a strong dose of this, [[spoiler: but in a change from the above examples ''Luthor'' is the Oblivion, being petty and monstrous enough to wish to destroy the world rather than, as he pretended, ''threaten'' to destroy the world for blackmail. When this comes out, Luthor's partnership with Doctor Octopus quickly falls apart.]]
76*** This is why Gaslight Luthor sides with the heroes in the comic book RecursiveAdaptation of the ''VideoGame/InfiniteCrisis'' video game. When Batman worries that he'll betray them for the power to become a god, he replies "I can become a god another day. You can hit me another day. All things are possible ... provided the multiverse continues and other days are allowed to dawn."
77** ''ComicBook/{{Lucifer}}'': Fenris the Wolf wants to destroy all Creations. Lucifer wants to save at least his own Creation. Various factions assist and ally with both parties.
78* ''ComicBook/LesLegendaires'': Played with. [[EvilSorcerer Darkhell]] gladly tries to help in preventing the reviving of OmnicidalManiac [[GodOfEvil Anathos]] on his native world Alysia, but only because this requires killing his [[ArchEnemy Arch-Enemies]] the Legendaries to ensure Anathos won't reincarnate in one of them; other than that, he could hardly care less about Alysia's fate. Later however, when Anathos still succeeds in coming back, he still helps the Legendaries escape and fight Anathos, even committing a HeroicSacrifice in the process. This time, it is motivated by his desire to protect his beloved daughter Tenebris.
79* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
80** ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'': A good way to make an EnemyMine with Kang the Conqueror, assuming the problem isn't his fault, is if it's a threat to him and his empire. Hard to rule nothing whatsoever.
81** ''ComicBook/AvengersBackToBasics'': In the first story arc, Loki tries to prevent the destruction of Midgard not because he has any particular interest in its welfare, but because its demise would bring about Ragnarok and thus the destruction of everything, including himself.
82** ''ComicBook/ChaosWar'': Amatsu-Mikaboshi is trying to reduce the entire universe to nothing and that includes evil entities like Nightmare and even the Marvel universe version of ''{{Satan}}''.
83--->'''Satan:''' We all assume a role, Chaos King. [[NotSoDifferentRemark You and I are not so different]]. Each of us in our own world was cast to play the villain-- \
84'''Amatsu-Mikaboshi:''' [[ShutUpKirk I am NOT like you]]. You choose evil over good. I choose nothingness.
85** ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'': In issue #10 of ''ComicBook/Deadpool2019'', Sauron joins Deadpool's efforts to stop the world from being covered in black goo. When asked why he wants to help since [[CallBack all he wants to do is turn people into dinosaurs]], Sauron points out he can't turn people into dinosaurs if the black goo kills everyone.
86** Doctor Doom has helped save the world almost as many times as he's tried to conquer it. Notable instances include fighting against Thanos and the titular villain in ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}''. He also pulls a lot of {{Enemy Mine}}s with Richards against stuff like rogue Celestials or the Over-Mind.
87** ''ComicBook/EarthX'': A strange example. Mephisto very much wants to keep the multiverse from ending, because he wants to evade God's final judgement. Trouble is, his plans involve wrecking entire time lines so that desperate survivors will use time travel to create more. And the worst part? He's not really the Devil, and there's no real God to judge him, so it's all for nothing.
88** Galactus has the unusual distinction of being ''both'' sides of this trope. When he shows up to devour Earth he's "oblivion". Yet against universe-scale threats (ComicBook/{{Annihilation}}) he's "evil". Serving in the latter role may also be his true ''purpose'', the [[NecessarilyEvil reason higher powers put up with him going around devouring planets]]. As an example, he's what keeps the Abraxas (an OmnicidalManiac [[EldritchAbomination that's actually powerful enough to destroy the multiverse]]) [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]].
89** This is what got Loki to turn against Surtur. Loki wants to conquer Asgard, but [[OmnicidalManiac Surtur]] just wants to burn everything. This leads to a trope-summarizing battlecry as three gods charge into combat:
90--->'''Odin:''' For Asgard!\
91'''Thor:''' For Midgard!\
92'''Loki:''' For myself!
93** ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008'': The Hood and his group of villains rally against the Skrulls, alongside ComicBook/NormanOsborn who's running a team of psycho ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}''. Even death gods like Atum the Godeater and Amatsu-Mikaboshi team up with ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules and [[ComicBook/AlphaFlight Snowbird]] to wage battle against the pantheon of the Skrulls.
94** ''ComicBook/TheSentry'': As the heroes are gathered to stop [[BigBad the Void]], ComicBook/SpiderMan notices Doctor Octopus (one of his many {{Archenem|y}}ies) lined up with them. When he asks what the latter is doing doing there, Octopus replies that he doesn't want the world destroyed any more than anyone else -- but next time they meet, he'll still try to kill him.
95** Thanos ends up in this position more than once:
96*** ''ComicBook/InfinityAbyss:'' Omega and the other defective Thanos clones, the Thanosi, are attempting to destroy the universe. Thanos himself, who's temporarily abandoned his original nihilism, aids the heroes and points out that he lives in the universe and doesn't want to see it destroyed.
97*** ''ComicBook/TheThanosImperative:'' Thanos helps the ''very'' reluctant Guardians of the Galaxy because the alternative is letting the Many-Angled Ones take over the universe (and for a DeathSeeker, a universe where no-one can die literally is a FateWorseThanDeath).
98** ''ComicBook/XMen'':
99*** No matter what side of the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor he's on at the moment, Magneto can always be counted on to help out when a greater evil shows up. After all, a nutjob who's trying to blow up the planet is as much of a threat to the well-being of mutantkind as AllOfTheOtherReindeer. He can also be relied upon to show up on the side of the good guys any time Red Skull or the rest of ThoseWackyNazis rear their heads, although that has at least as much to do with [[ItsPersonal his bitter and extremely personal grudge against them]] as it does this trope.
100* ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': [[TheSyndicate The Organization]] is a group of illegal time-travelers bent on stealing from the past and trying to change it to become the supreme rulers of the future. But when the whole timeline was about to be deleted, they quickly ally with Paperinik to save themselves and their job (they were planning a double-cross when the danger was gone).
101%%* ''ComicBook/PS238'': This trope motivates Victor and Zodon to help save Earth from an AlienInvasion.
102* ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'': In one story from the early 1950s, Captain Marvel finds [[MadScientist Dr. Sivana]] fighting on his side against [[OmnicidalManiac King Kull]], because Kull wants to destroy the Earth while Sivana's goal has always been to rule it.
103* ''Franchise/StarWars'': The comic "Betrayal" in the ''Jabba the Hutt: The Art of the Deal'' miniseries has Bib Fortuna leading a conspiracy to overthrow Jabba and gain control of his criminal empire... only to find himself outmaneuvered by ''another'' plot by a third party, this one with the goal of ''killing'' Jabba by having him eaten by a horde of ravenous, weasel-like beasts called freckers. Fortuna then orders his men to shoot the freckers; when one of them asks why they should bother saving the life of a creature they all hate, Fortuna points out that 1) Jabba must be kept alive so that he can be interrogated about where all his secret stashes of loot are located and 2) (more importantly) freckers kill ''everything'' they see that isn't officially allied with them, meaning that Fortuna and his henchmen are on the menu too.
104[[/folder]]
105
106[[folder:Fan Works]]
107* ''Fanfic/ShenVsKai'': In this ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' fanfiction, this trope is one of the main reasons why the Furious Five end up reluctantly siding with Shen in the EvilVersusEvil conflict. Shen, as evil as his methods and end-games are, is genuinely aiming to ''rule'' China and aims for there to be a country and a people left for him to rule, whereas Kai is liable to just burn down everything in his way like a rampaging disaster made flesh.
108* In the Sonic/Mega Man crossover ''WebAnimation/SonicsQuestForPower'', Sonic uses this quite succinctly to explain to X [[EnemyMine why he's working with Eggman]]:
109-->'''Sonic:''' Eggman wants [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]], Sigma wants world ''destruction''.
110* In ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'', in the season 2 finale, [[EvilVersusEvil Yami Marik/Melvin duels Yami Bakura]] much like in the original. However in the abridged version, Bakura makes it clear he's fighting to keep the series from being cancelled, which is Melvin's end goal. Bakura's reasons are that he has yet to receive the screen time he was promised in his contract.
111* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'':
112** One could broil down the EvilVersusEvil battle between [[Literature/NESGodzillaCreepypasta Red]] and the [[OmnicidalManiac unnamed main villain]] to this. One delights in torture and agony, but requires life to do so. The other only wants to unmake everything that lives. [[spoiler: Played for horrifying implications when Red loses.]]
113** Similarly, the Nightmare Forces send Rarity a nightmare in an attempt to warn her about the main villain's plans, as they require living beings to plague with nightmares.
114* The crux of ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'' is the final battle between [[{{Satan}} Maledict]] and [[EldritchAbomination Dark Tails]]. One is a ruthless [[WellIntentionedExtremist but principled]] HumanoidAbomination who wants to rule the entire universe, the other is an incomprehensible OmnicidalManiac.
115* In ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', [[TheChessmaster Rational!Quirrelmort]] wants to prevent [[spoiler: [[ScienceHero Rational!Harry]]]] from accidentally destroying the world. [[spoiler: Just as Dumbledore planned.]]
116* In ''Fanfic/AshesOfThePast'', Team Rocket has an entire department dedicated to fighting potential world-ending crises, because in order for Team Rocket to rule/steal from/extort the world it has to exist. Also it's good PR, and it's easier to get power if people actually like you.
117* ''Fanfic/EarthsAlienHistory'': The threat of the [[Franchise/MassEffect Reapers]] to all sentient life in the galaxy is enough to even get groups like the [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Space Pirates]] and the [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Decepticons]] to join in on the war effort against them.
118* Though they're not actively opposed in ''FanFic/ChildOfTheStorm,'' even AxCrazy OmnicidalManiac Gravemoss, who completely averts EvenEvilHasStandards in almost every way, does have one standard: He refuses to fully use the power of the Darkhold and unleash the power of [[EldritchAbomination Cthon]], who would destroy everything, due to a combination of this trope and ImmortalsFearDeath.
119* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13131858/1/A-Little-Less-Conversation-a-Little-More-Action-Please A Little Less Conversation, a Little More Action Please]]'', almost every villain who's not completely insane (and a few who are) fights the [[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Imperium]] as regardless of their own goals, humanity's extinction clashes with them.
120* ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'': [=MissingNo.=] is a glitch entity who delights in making others (especially Ash Ketchum) suffer. So when he finds himself facing against his "offspring" ZZAZZ, whose goal is to erase the current reality altogether into nothingness, he takes it upon himself to prevent that from happening, if only to keep his sources of amusement safe.
121* Maiko Ogure in ''Fanfic/NaturalSelection'' is firmly on the side of evil in this equation, only joining the anti-REVOCS movements the second she learns about Ragyo's and the Life Fiber's plans to destroy the Earth and devour mankind. Although she does demand payment in the form of Honnouji for her services, making it clear that her motives are still entirely self-serving.
122* In the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' fanfic series ''Fanfic/OperationGEAR'', specifically its third installment ''The Angel of Reckoning'', Team Rocket opposes Polaris, a cult dedicated to forcing the world to follow its beliefs through sacrificing it to a CosmicHorror. Team Rocket can't keep making money through their comparatively small-scale schemes if that happens, so the longtime villains end up on the heroic side for a change.
123* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'': In the chapter ''The Calm Before the Storm'', [[spoiler:Steeljaw, Sky-Byte, Thundercracker, and Slipstream all learn of Megatron’s Neo-Ragnarök plan. The plan involves using two Codes and Dark Energon to connect the Sword of Akasha and C’s World to Cybertron’s Core, the Well of Sparks. From there, Megatron would then erase all individuality in the universe, making every lifeform an extension of his will, essentially turning Megatron into a god. Upon realizing this, the four of them plan behind Megatron’s back to help the Autobot-Black Knight Alliance to stop him.]]
124[[/folder]]
125
126[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
127* Played straight in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths'': When the Crime Syndicate learns that one of their members plans to destroy all of creation, [[SuperSpeed Johnny Quick]] instantly volunteers to help stop it, saying that his world is in jeopardy too.
128* In ''Animation/HappyHeroes 3: The Stones'', Big M. opposes a bomb that is strong enough to destroy Planet Xing being started, saying that he only wants to ''invade'' Planet Xing, not ''destroy'' it.
129[[/folder]]
130
131[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
132* {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''Film/XXx''. Xander tells the agent he works for "when you hire somebody to save the world, make sure they like the world the way it is." It zigzags back to straight since Xander is horrified when he later witnesses Yuri [[BadBoss murder dozens of his own scientists]] to test his new super-virus, and leads the effort to stop him before it can reach Prague.
133* ''Film/TheMummyReturns'' opposes O'Connell, Imhotep, and the Scorpion King. They are trying to save, conquer, and destroy the world, respectively.
134* This may be Lucifer's motivation in ''Film/TheProphecy'' for intervening against Gabriel's plan to destroy humanity. He describes Gabriel's dream world as "another Hell," which is one Hell too many for him. Whether Gabriel's world would really be TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt is not clear, and of course Lucifer could be lying anyway (he's famously good at that), but if we take him at his word, then he is indeed Evil Against Oblivion.
135* Max Shreck [[InvokedTrope tries to appeal to Batman this way]] during the climax of ''Film/BatmanReturns'': his goal of constructing a giant capacitor to harness all the electrical energy in Gotham City and selling it back to the citizenry obviously clashes with the Penguin's desire to ''blow up'' Gotham City [[OmnicidalManiac (and, if he only had the resources, every other city on Earth as well)]]. In addition, Shreck's great plan won't be able to go forward if he's not alive to get it started, which is why he's grateful to Batman (despite obviously being another foe of his) for saving him from being murdered by Catwoman. But when Shreck tries to tell Batman, [[IAmTheNoun "You're not just saving one life; you're saving a city,"]] the hero cuts him off with a harsh ShutUpHannibal
136* Also happens at the climax of ''Film/TheRocketeer'', when the FBI and Eddie Valentine's mob stand shoulder to shoulder, unloading their tommy guns at a Nazi army invading Los Angeles. Though natural enemies, they all stand to lose equally if Nazi Germany conquers the country. Eddie reacts to the Fed's surprise:
137-->'''Eddie Valentine:''' I may not make an honest living, but I'm one-hundred percent American!
138* ''Film/ResidentEvilFilmSeries'':
139** This is the motivation behind [[spoiler:Albert Wesker]]'s actions in ''Film/ResidentEvilRetribution''. [[spoiler:He forges an alliance with Alice and reinfects her with the T-virus because humanity's on the brink of extinction, and he does not want to go down with it.]]
140** In ''Film/ResidentEvilTheFinalChapter'', [[spoiler:it's revealed that Wesker was actually manipulating Alice into aiding the Umbrella Corporation's plans to wipe out all humans not actually part of Umbrella, who would then inherit the Earth. The [[AIIsACrapshoot Red Queen]], who turns out to have been GoodAllAlong (in a very much GoodIsNotNice way), helps Alice save the world]].
141* Inverted at the end of ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods''. [[spoiler:Dana and Marty, after seeing how far the Controllers are going to prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, decide that Oblivion, in the form of [[EldritchAbomination the Ancient Ones]] rising and destroying the world, is preferable, if only to give a species less amoral than humanity their own shot at building civilization.]]
142-->'''Dana:''' It's time to give someone else a chance.\
143'''Marty:''' [[spoiler:Giant evil gods.]]\
144'''Dana:''' I wish I could've seen it.\
145'''Marty:''' I know. [[PassThePopcorn That would've been a fun weekend.]]
146* ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'': The second glimpse of the [[BadFuture Knightmare future]] reveals that several supervillains, including the Joker, Deathstroke and Harley Quinn, banded together with Batman and remnants of the Justice League in the aftermath of Darkseid's invasion and Superman's fall to the Anti-Life Equation.
147* Inverted at the end of ''Film/EscapeFromLA''. Snake decides that the impending war between the [[EvilStatesOfAmerica far-right, theocratic United States]] and the [[DirtyCommunists communist Shining Path forces]] that have taken over Latin America is a battle of EvilVersusEvil in which both sides deserve to die, [[spoiler:so he sides with Oblivion by entering the "world code" into the Damocles {{EMP}} KillSat system, plunging the whole world back into the Dark Ages]].
148* ''Film/{{Glorious}}'': Ghatanothoa may be pretty friendly towards Wes, but he remains a ravenous EldritchAbomination. However, he is miles better than the hateful EldritchAbomination that spawned him and wants to return the universe to the void that it once ruled. [[spoiler:In the climax, Wes almost decides that ''Oblivion'' is the better option and tries to summon Ghat's father.]]
149* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'': Rocket says the group are all criminals and asks why they should care about Ronan's plan to destroy the galaxy. Peter Quill points out the obvious fact that, "We ''live'' in the galaxy!" This gets Rocket on board to stop Ronan.
150[[/folder]]
151
152[[folder:Literature]]
153[[AC:Examples by author:]]
154* Creator/KimNewman:
155** "Another Fish Story", essentially a VillainEpisode for his recurring archvillain Derek Leech, has Leech sabotage an attempt to bring about the end of the world -- not because he wants to save the world, but because it's unsubtle and uncreative, and his own plan for the end of the world is much better.
156** The stories "Literature/ColdSnap" and ''Literature/SevenStars'' have Leech forming EnemyMine alliances with the Literature/DiogenesClub for similar reasons. (Also siding with the Diogenes in "Cold Snap" are a pair of cultists who are preparing for the rise of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s and Jago, from [[Literature/{{Jago}} the book of the same name]], who wants a Biblical apocalypse. Catriona is rather uncertain about getting help from people whose main problem with the end of the world is that it's the wrong kind.)
157[[AC:Examples by work:]]
158* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', Harry often gets help from John Marcone, the crime lord of Chicago. This is because Marcone realizes that if the latest supernatural threat takes over a significant portion of the world, or blows up a large part of Chicago, it would be very bad for business.
159** Of course, it doesn't hurt that he has a tendency to gain something every time, whether it be the appearance of having a wizard on his payroll, [[spoiler: becoming an independent power under the Unseelie Accords]], or what have you.
160** ''Literature/GhostStory'' implies that Marcone has actually become Chicago's [[spoiler: main defender against the supernatural]] in the wake of [[spoiler: Harry's apparent death]].
161** Lara Raith has sided with Harry against far greater evils for similar reasons, because it's hard to coyly prey upon the human population when it's been decimated.
162** In ''Literature/ColdDays'' this trope basically sums up the conflict between [[spoiler:[[TheFairFolk the Winter Fae]] and the [[EldritchAbomination Outsiders]].]]
163* Crowley from ''Literature/GoodOmens'' is a demon who rather likes the world and doesn't want the apocalypse to come and ruin everything. In order to avert it, he conspires with Aziraphale, an angel who has spent too much time on Earth and now considers heaven unbearably boring, and wouldn't mind postponing the final battle between good and evil.
164* [[spoiler:Stitchface]] gives this as his reason for helping the protagonists in ''Literature/TheHauntingOfAlaizabelCray.''
165-->"I'm a monster, Miss Cray. But even monsters want to live."
166* In the ''Literature/HIVESeries'', we have the Global League of Villainous Enterprises (G.L.O.V.E.), which is a band of supervillains who keep each other in check, making sure that there's still a world for them to rule over. The [[AcademyOfEvil H.I.V.E.]] itself teaches the Alphas not to commit senseless acts of violence, a major theme of their lessons being "we are not common criminals."
167* In ''[[Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy Mistborn]]'', [[spoiler:the [[EvilOverlord Lord Ruler]] is revealed after his death to have been holding an OmnicidalManiac god at bay. But since [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the heroes killed him]]...]]
168* The big twist at the end of Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Literature/ANightInTheLonesomeOctober'' uses this. [[spoiler: The Count ([[{{Dracula}} yes, that one]]) faked his own death to improve his side's odds in the ritual that will either save or destroy the world...and he wants to save it. "I like the world as it is."]]
169* ''Literature/PleaseDontTellMyParentsImASupervillain'': It's understood that if the Conquerors attack Earth, Spider will be on Earth's side. With Spider comes a large chunk of the US's supervillian population. The aforementioned Fridge Brillance is fully in effect here.
170* ''Literature/RiverOfDancingGods'': In ''Demons of the Dancing Gods'', there is a sorcerer plotting to bring about the end of the world. Every other evil sorcerer in the world is against him, once they find out, because they've all done a DealWithTheDevil to enhance their power and consequently, want to postpone Judgement Day as long as possible.
171* In the later books of ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheApt'', this is how the conflict between [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Empress Seda]] and [[EldritchAbomination the Worm]] plays out; Seda wants her empire to conquer the world, while the Worm wants to kill most everyone and [[AssimilationPlot assimilate]] the rest (the fact that Seda feels a certain degree of [[TheAtoner guilt]] for popping the Worm out of its [[SealedEvilInACan can]] doesn't hurt either). [[spoiler: Of course, Seda's WorthyOpponent Che eventually reams her for the appalling nature of her plan to shut the Worm away again - with a BloodMagic ritual of genocidal proportions, that some of her own minions end up refusing to help with - and the monster is ultimately overcome with minimal input from the Empress]].
172* In ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror,'' everything [[EvilOverlord Dayless]] did with [[TheEmpire the Dawn Empire]] was ultimately to prepare for the Shade, who ceaselessly attempt to plunge the world into TheNightThatNeverEnds and [[ApocalypseHow wipe out humanity]]. The Shade themselves seem to view ''him'' as the oblivion, mocking him for coming closer to destroying the world than they ever did.
173* This is part of why the alliance between Morgoth and Ungoliant comes undone in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. He wants to conquer the world and rule it as an EvilOverlord. She just wants to eat everything in view, especially light--and if Morgoth isn't going to let her eat those Silmarils she helped him steal, she'll eat ''him.'' He only manages to escape when some of his underlings hear his cries of agony and rescue him.
174* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', [[spoiler: [[HeroicBastard Jon Snow]]]] persuades the Night's Watch to make a ''very'' uneasy alliance with [[spoiler: wildlings, giants, King Stannis and Melisandre the Red Priestess/Sorceress]] in order to prevent [[GreaterScopeVillain the Others]] from bringing about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt and in his efforts to save everyone from the ZombieApocalypse. Some characters are sufficiently open-minded about the BlackAndGrayMorality of their world to recognize that their allies are not necessarily "evil" and the wildlings are people too, but the less even-handed ones who nonetheless accept the alliance do so because of this trope.
175* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
176** While the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' series doesn't have complete and total oblivion as its endgame (except in the frankly insane mind of the ManBehindTheMan) the [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Yuuzhan Vong]] devastate the galaxy so much, killing trillions, devastating hundreds of planets, and causing the extinction of multiple species, that [[TheRemnant the Imperial Remnant]] ends up fighting them as well in order to survive (however, by this point the Imperials are no longer straight evil, as they were reformed by Pellaeon).
177** ''Literature/FateOfTheJedi'' served as a DistantPrologue to the ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'' comics, and the final novel sees[[spoiler:the ''Legacy'' BigBad Darth Krayt make an appearance to help Luke Skywalker finish off the EvilGod Abeloth]].
178* [[EvilOverlord Emperor Jagang]] in ''Literature/TheSwordOfTruth'' opposes the Keeper of the Underworld on these grounds: The Keeper wants to unmake the world, whereas Jagang wants to [[TakeOverTheWorld take it over]]. His primary action against the Keeper is the MindRape and enslavement of the Keeper's servants, the Sisters of the Dark.
179* ''Literature/VillainsByNecessity'' by Eve Forward centers around a group of evil characters trying to stop the world from being destroyed, by unleashing evil back into the land.
180* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' teases this heavily in relations between the various bad guys, though it never actually spills into combat. [[TheDragon Ishamael]] (who was literally a nihilist philosopher before the BigBad entered the world) does however spend some time mocking the other baddies for thinking that they're fighting for Evil when they're actually working towards Oblivion. This also works between the Forsaken and [[FromNobodyToNightmare Padan Fain]]. [[spoiler:While [[TheAntiGod the Dark One]]'s plans for the world are referenced several times in the final book, it actually wants to destroy creation and remake it InTheirOwnImage in some way, making him and his forces members of "Evil". Fain, over the course of the series, eventually places killing the Dark One and other acts of rampant mass murder on his list of things to do as Mashadar progressively takes over, placing him more in the category of "Oblivion".]]
181* This regularly happens in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', where giant {{Kaiju}} with ruinous superpowers known as the Endbringers regularly emerge from the ocean, the center of the earth, and the upper atmosphere, select a target (usually heavily populated or otherwise vital) and proceed to do their absolute best to wipe it off the face of the planet. It's common, codified practice for superheroes and supervillains to join forces against them, because the Endbringers are doing a ''very'' good job of slowly wiping out humanity and the majority of supervillains simply ''aren't that evil.''
182** Likewise, it justifies ThouShaltNotKill on both sides of the equation; the more powerful and troublesome a hero is for the villains, the more needed he tends to be against the giant monsters. One character describes the normal interactions between heroes and villains as "like a big game of cops and robbers."
183** To a ''very'' slightly lesser degree, there's [[TheDreaded The Slaughterhouse Nine]], who didn't get their name because they were all Kurt Vonnegut fans: They're one of the few supervillain groups who ''are'' that evil, regularly massacring entire communities for no better reason than [[ForTheEvulz because they think it's good sport]], and a prominent exception to the aforementioned ThouShaltNotKill rule. Even the literal neo-Nazi faction will agree to a ceasefire for the duration when they show up in town.
184** [[spoiler:In the final stages of the story, the Endbringers themselves join the fight against the final BigBad. While it's never made clear exactly ''why'' they decide to do so, the protagonists' successful attempt to recruit them included invoking this trope, among many other arguments.]]
185* In ''Literature/{{Xenos}}'', the thieves' and assassins' guilds have occasionally aided the Church against servants of the Destroyer, the setting's {{Satan}} and GreaterScopeVillain. A leader of the thieves stated that he could ultimately confess his crimes, repent and even seek salvation, but collaborating with the Destroyer would damn his soul for eternity.
186[[/folder]]
187
188[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
189* In the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E22BecomingPart2 Becoming, Part 2]]", Angelus is planning to perform a ritual that will bring about the end of the world. Spike sides with the heroes to stop him, and tells Buffy that under the big talk of wanting to end the world because they're evil, a lot of vampires like the Earth just as it is -- millions of people running around helpless like "Happy Meals with legs", and a comparative small handful of people who hunt and kill them. Angelus is just one of the few vampires insane, fanatical and (most importantly) dickish enough to actually ''do'' it, which Spike doesn't want.
190* In ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019'', this is subverted at first with Lex Luthor, who went and took the time to travel the Multiverse killing as many Supermen as he could while whole universes were getting destroyed. However eventually played straight when all the Infinite Earths cease to exist and it's just him and the Paragons, where he finally joins forces to fight with them in restoring the universe.
191-->'''Lex:''' If there's anyone who's going to take over the universe, '''it's going to be me!'''
192* In ''Series/Charmed1998'', the Hollow can be restrained only by a YinYangBomb spell of good and evil.
193* Cyrus Crabbe in the ''Literature/{{Dinotopia}}'' TV movie joins with the Scott brothers to save the island from the rampaging pteranodons, even though he hates the Dinotopian way of life and wants to leave.
194-->'''Crabbe:''' Don't you get it? I'm trying to save this hell of a place. Not 'cause I like it, but 'cause I'm trying to save me own skin.
195* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
196** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis Logopolis]]" has the Master teaming up with the Doctor to prevent the universe from getting destroyed (sure, the Master inadvertently caused the whole mess, but still).
197** The Master against Rassilon in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime The End of Time]]", though it's for more personal reasons.
198--->'''The Master:''' ''[fires electrical blast at Rassilon]'' You did this to me! All of my life! ''[fires second bolt]'' You made me! 1! ''[fires 3rd bolt]'' 2! ''[fires 4th bolt]'' 3! ''[fires 5th bolt]'' 4! ''[fires last bolt]''
199** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E12ThePandoricaOpens The Pandorica Opens]]", [[spoiler:the Daleks and most of the Eleventh Doctor's RoguesGallery]] form an alliance to capture the Doctor because they believe he will destroy the universe and all of them along with it.
200** Throughout the ''Time Lord Victorious'' [[ExpandedUniverse multi-media event]], [[ArchEnemy the Daleks]] find themselves fighting alongside first the Tenth Doctor, then the Eighth Doctor. Though the Daleks are an OmnicidalManiac species, they at least want a future where ''they'' get to live. Therefore, they team up with the Tenth Doctor against the Hond, a species that wants to wipe out everything including themselves, and with the Eighth Doctor to prevent timeline changes that would erase them from existence completely.
201* ''Series/TheFlash2014'': When Firestorm suffers a SuperpowerMeltdown, Eobard Thawne helps stabilize him. His AI partner Gideon points out that helping is putting his plans behind schedule, but he says the schedule will be meaningless if Central City goes up in a mushroom cloud. Besides, he is a villain from the future, so even if he escapes the blast, destroying his home town and killing his ancestors would obviously erase him.
202* ''Series/{{Heroes}} ''has Sylar. Head-splitting serial killer of specials by day, but would rather not have New York explode since it doesn't fit his agenda. [[spoiler:He comes around when he gets a vision of the future where it ''does'' fit his agenda.]]
203* ''Franchise/KamenRider''
204** The post-series movie of ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'' has an Oblivion vs. Oblivion example. [[spoiler:Both [[BigBad Evolt]] and [[GreaterScopeVillain Killbus]] want to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy the universe]], but Evolt wants to survive past it while Killbus wants to destroy anything and everything, including himself, just so he can go down in what he considers a DyingMomentOfAwesome. This leads to Evolt [[EnemyMine allying with the heroes]], if only out of self-preservation.]]
205** ''Series/KamenRiderOutsiders'' is about a [[spoiler:gathering of returning past villains in the franchise banding together against an [[TheComputerIsYourFriend artificial intelligence bent on subjugating humanity to cleanse the world of evil]] as the eponymous team]]. Most of the villains who end up being part of Project Outsiders [[spoiler:hate the idea having an authoritarian A.I. [[BigBrotherIsWatching keeping the entire world under constant surveillance]].]]
206* ''Series/Loki2021'': He Who Remains argues that his actions, utterly monstrous though they are, keep a far worse version (or ''versions'') of him from coming into existence and laying waste to the multiverse, purely for the sake of conquest.
207* In season 8 of ''Series/StargateSG1'', Ba'al, the last of the Goa'uld System Lords, joins forces with the SGC to keep the [[GreyGoo Replicators]] from eating the galaxy. And then to stop his boss Anubis from wiping out all life in it. Also later helps out against the Ori. The team gets used to him being willing to do this, but never forgets that he ''is'' still the bad guy, which he ''does'' prove now and again. [[spoiler:In fact, in the end, he becomes the BigBad of the final SG-1 movie]], having outlived Anubis, the Replicators, and the Ori, mostly by being very cunning.
208* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' two-parter "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS3E25S4E1Scorpion Scorpion]]", this is Captain Janeway's reasoning for "making an appeal to the devil" and offering to aid the Borg against Species 8472. Sure, the Borg's catchphrase is "Resistance is futile", but Species 8472 introduce themselves with "the weak shall perish," and they're soundly kicking the Borg's ass, with no indication that they'll stop with them. A season later, when her decision is thrown back in her face by someone whose species was assimilated by the Borg, she uses this as her justification.
209* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
210** In season 5, [[MagnificentBastard Crowley]] -- a powerful, successful and very evil demon -- helps the brothers to combat Lucifer and the world-shattering threat of the Apocalypse, as he's quite enjoying himself. Earlier in the same season, a group of pagan gods who would otherwise happily engage in human sacrifice briefly joined in an anti-Apocalypse alliance as they were ''not'' happy with the plans of either Heaven or Hell, until Lucifer personally intervened to wipe them out.
211** In season 7 Crowley does this again, as the Leviathans are organizing the wholesale slaughter of mankind, every other monster race besides themselves, and threaten to destroy the demons if they weren't occupied elsewhere. Over the course of the season he subtly aids the Winchesters to find a means to kill the Levi leader and destroy their army.
212** In season 11, Lucifer, Crowley, all the other demons, and [[WickedWitch Rowena]] all [[EnemyMine join forces]] with the Winchesters and the angels in order to prevent [[TheAntiGod the Darkness]] from [[OmnicidalManiac destroying all of creation]], since obviously that would destroy them, too.
213** In season 13, Lucifer himself eventually goes into an [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal]] [[VillainousBreakdown hissy-fit]] after his half-angel son Jack finally rejects him for his evil actions, stealing Jack's grace so he can wipe out all Creation. Dean decides that teaming up with a "merely" genocidal version of Michael is worth it to stop Lucifer for good.
214* Franchise/TheWalkingDeadTelevisionUniverse:
215** While there are countless human antagonists, many of them show a willingness to help the heroes fight off the undead, since the undead don't care about the latest power struggle, they just want to consume everything. Daryl even points out in the series finale of the original show that it's pointless for groups of survivors to be fighting since they should ''all'' be fighting the dead together.
216** One notable subversion are the Whisperers, led by the nihilistic Alpha who actively targets any organized community to destroy with her horde due to believing her way of living like animals in the wild is the only way to proceed. She is both Evil and Oblivion, and the threat she poised was dire enough that former BigBad Negan helped the survivors against her.
217[[/folder]]
218
219[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
220* OlderThanDirt in Myth/EgyptianMythology. Set is a fratricidal god of chaos and evil who seeks to usurp just about every throne he can find, but every night he still takes the role of Ra's personal guard to help slay the world-ending serpent Apep. After all, there would be no world worth terrorizing, and no thrones to usurp, if the Sun, Moon, Heavens, and Earth were destroyed and returned to the primordial void/waters (same thing to the Egyptians).
221[[/folder]]
222
223[[folder:Roleplays]]
224* Team Mecha of ''Roleplay/TheChaosZone'' seeks to rule over the roleplay's main "universe" for themselves, hoping to take advantage of its near-lawless nature. Which means they aren't very happy when villains like Regulus or Beta Devil threaten to ''destroy'' it, forming a brief EnemyMine team-up with the RP's more heroic figures in the case of Regulus, but handling their plans by themselves when it comes to Beta Devil.
225[[/folder]]
226
227[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
228* ''TabletopGame/ThirteenthAge'' has demons versus, well, everyone. Even the ChaoticEvil Diabolist, who messes around with summoned demons, is more interested in keeping them [[SealedEvilInACan trapped by the Great Gold Wyrm]] than she is in letting them loose, because that way she's the one with the power. The LawfulEvil Crusader, meanwhile, has dedicated his entire career to kicking demons around.
229* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''
230** ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'':
231*** Inverted. Shiva peacefully sits in the big vortex on Negative Energy Plane and presumably (it's not like even planars can be trusted in such matters) contemplates his role in the destruction of the Multiverse -- when its time will come, that is. Every once in a while someone stumbles on the same bright idea: "Hey, maybe this guy does requests?" and visits him to check. As far as anyone knows, these supplicants just go in and never return.
232*** From the same setting, there's the [[EvilVersusEvil Blood]] [[ForeverWar War]]. While how much this trope factors into the overall motivations behind it is debateable, the result boils down to this. The LawfulEvil devils eternally battle the ChaoticEvil demons for reasons long since forgotten by anyone (unless it's 4e, where Asmodeus nicked a shard of the Heart of the Abyss, and the demons are mad about that), but if the demons ever won, they would eventually overtake the whole of the multiverse through weight of sheer numbers and consume everything, which the devils don't want because it's a bit hard to rule the shredded remnants of a cosmos crawling with demons. 'Course, this goes both ways, as the constant demon attacks are preventing the devils from amassing enough power to challenge the Upper Planes, and at least if the demons gain the upper hand, they're usually too chaotic to take advantage of the opportunity and blow it with infighting. So it's generally in everyone's best interest for ''nobody'' to win. Even Asmodeus, since the constant pressure from demons keeps his devil subordinates from backstabbing each other and him too hard.
233** In "The Plane Below" for 4th Edition, it goes into the psychology of [[ChaoticEvil Archons]]. Created by the Primordials to wage war on the non-elemental creatures that served the Gods, they still exist and still regularly attack and kill non-elementals. However, they need battle and slaughter like humans need shelter and companionship, so they stop just short of pure genocidal mayhem. If they ever actually destroyed every other creature, then they wouldn't have anything to fight anymore.
234** On a larger scale, the gods verse the Primordials themselves. The Primordials are ancient beings even more powerful than the gods who created the universe, but if they had their way, it wouldn't exist long enough for life to begin as they constantly destroyed and remade it (think of a kid who smashes his sandcastle as soon as he's finished with it, only to immediately start again, ad nauseam). The Primordials aren't all inherently evil, but they are all inherently destructive; compared to the gods, who even the most evil and chaotic among them prefer a somewhat stable universe to influence; this leads to both good and evil gods uniting to overthrow and imprison the Primordials, and makes them all loathe to ever fight each other, lest the Primordials rise again.
235** ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'': The Zhentarim are an international crime syndicate with ambitions of ruling the world, and the Red Wizards of Thay are a totalitarian magocracy ruled by an evil lich. In the ''TabletopGame/TyrannyOfDragons'' storyline, both groups want to stop the Cult of the Dragon from summoning Tiamat and will ally with good-aligned organizations to do so. After all, they can’t exactly rule the world if Tiamat and her dragon hordes destroy human civilization.
236** ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'': The various gods are usually at opposition with one another along alignment lines, though even similarly aligned gods will have WeAreStrugglingTogether moments (especially St. Cuthbert and Pholtus). However, nearly all of the pantheons of Oerth would band together in an instant if there is even a whisper of a rumor that [[OmnicidalManiac Tharizdun]] had broken free from his imprisonment. This is because Tharizdun's endgame is the destruction of the multiverse itself.
237* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'':
238** The Neverborn, the tormented, undead remnants of the murdered Primordials; the Deathlords, ancient and powerful ghosts sworn into their service; and the Abyssal Exalted they corrupted from stolen Solar shards, all want to drop Creation into the Well of Oblivion. Absolutely no one else wants this to happen, including the other "bad guy" factions, such as TheFairFolk and the Infernal Exalted. Even the Ebon Dragon, the personification of evil, cruelty, treachery, and general assholery, opposes them, if only because nonexistence would put a severe crimp in his plans to bring about eternal suffering and torment. [[note]]Note that the Dragon inverts the usual EvilerThanThou arrangement -- one supplement specifically notes that, horrible and nihilistic though it would be, the utter extinguishing of all Creation would be better for everyone than letting the Ebon Dragon remake it in his image.[[/note]]
239** The Fair Folk have their own variation on the theme -- some of them want to unmake the world back into Pure Chaos in which they will continue to play their games for eternity, while the others like the tasty mortal souls too much to just kill them all at once. (They both wouldn't like the Oblivion of the Neverborn.)
240* ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'': The Sleeping Void is seen as not being truly evil, because it simply wants to end everything, while the forces of the Shadowlands ARE evil, and want to conquer the world.
241* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Even the most selfish planeswalkers (multiverse-travelling mages) sometimes help the good guys to thwart something even more horrible.
242** In the ''Zendikar'' and ''Innistrad'' storylines, the planeswalker Sorin Markov is not exactly a nice guy, being an arrogant, hedonistic vampire who goes around eating people and so forth. But even he had the decency to go out of his way (even risked his life?) to prevent {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, demons, and other vampires from depopulating entire planes of all intelligent life.
243** In the ''Time Spiral'' storyline, Nicol Bolas, an Elder Dragon planeswalker and one of the oldest and most evil characters in the game, actually offered some help in preventing the time rifts from destroying the whole multiverse. Not that he stooped to sacrificing his own planeswalker spark to do so; [[spoiler:he killed Leshrac and used his instead]]. Then again, Nicol Bolas is also the bastard who mucked up Sorin's plans and let the plane-eating Eldrazi loose again, for no particularly discernible reason. What a jerk.
244** The multiplayer format ''Archenemy'' has players take the role of planeswalkers forced into alliance against another planeswalker who is about to set in motion some world-destroying magic, represented by the Scheme deck. Archenemy deck names include "[[ZombieApocalypse Bring About the Undead Apocalypse]]" "[[GaiasVengeance Trample Civilization Underfoot]]", and "[[DoomsdayDevice Assemble the Doomsday Machine]]".
245* ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'' has the Imperators and the Excrucians. The former include [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Angels]], [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demons]], [[KrakenAndLeviathan Aaron's]] [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Serpents]], [[MadGod Wildlords]], Lords of the {{Light|IsNotGood}} and {{Dark|IsNotEvil}}, and a smattering of [[AllMythsAreTrue other god-like entities]], all of whom tend to follow BlueAndOrangeMorality. The Nobles, their semidivine servants (which includes the {{Player Character}}s), are human enough that they can be nicer than their bosses, but also human enough that their malice can arise from genuine sadism rather than disinterest, ignorance, or alien mindsets. Not exactly a nice bunch, but at least they're a better group than the Excrucians, who want to unmake reality to the point of it never having existed in the first place. They've already succeeded in part, but the extent of that success is by nature unknown and unknowable.
246* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'': As a rule, demons -- outside of the older Princes who remember the original Fall, and some of the more wantonly destructive sorts -- don't actually want the world destroyed. Demons ''like'' Earth, which they view as something of a vacation spot, and a lot of infernal Words and favored vices would depend on the continued existence of the Earth and mankind -- for instance, Nybbas wants to preserve human civilization because you can't really have the Media without it, while Mammon wants to safeguard the world because that's where he keeps all his stuff.
247** The backstory has a few instances where Heaven and Hell have come together to destroy a rogue Demon Prince who attempted global devastation. Most notorious was Legion, the second Prince of Corruption, but the Prince of Pestilence, who kicked off the Black Plague, had to be taken down as well.
248** Several Princes of Hell actively seek to prevent Armageddon in ''The Final Trumpet'', mostly to preserve their own interests and avoid obsolescence; a few also aren't confident that Hell would win the Final Battle. As such, it's quite possible to play a mixed party of angels and demons whose Superiors have struck a temporary agreement for cooperation against their respective sides' war parties.
249* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'':
250** The LawfulEvil devils want to crush the universe under their heel and the ChaoticEvil demons want to corrupt and destroy everything they can, but the NeutralEvil daemons want to [[OmnicidalManiac extinguish all life]]. They all tend to clash together thanks to their mutually exclusive goals.
251** The LawfulEvil god Asmodeus (who is modeled largely on {{Satan}}) [[EnemyMine aided the Good gods]] against Rovagug, the ChaoticEvil god of destruction. When Rovagug was imprisoned by the other gods, it was Asmodeus who made the lock. The ChaoticEvil god Dahak (god of evil dragons) also joined in: he initially thought to use the DivineConflict as cover to get close enough to [[AntagonisticOffspring attack his father Apsu]], but realized during the fight that if Rovagug won, [[PragmaticVillainy he (Dahak) would be destroyed, too]].
252* ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'': This is more or less the heart of the [=OblivAeon=] (no pun intended) game mode, to the point where one of the new playable heroes is ''Baron Blade''. Some of the mission rewards include [[SuperSupremacist Citizen Dawn]] showing up to hurl a Devastating Aurora at the villains, [[GladiatorGames Kaargra Warfang]] leading the Bloodsworn on a rampage, Ra mustering [[Myth/EgyptianMythology the Ennead and Anubis]] for an all-out strike on [=OblivAeon=], and a world-conquering alternate-universe Tempest making reluctant common cause with you because if all reality is destroyed he goes down too.
253* ''Franchise/TheWorldOfDarkness'':
254** ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'':
255*** The Seers of the Throne have "maintain [[EldritchAbomination the Abyss]]" as one of their commandments. "''Maintain''" is the key word in that phrase -- the Seers keep humanity fractious and miserable to prevent them from Awakening. They do not take kindly to people like the [[OmnicidalManiac Scelesti]] actively [[TownWithADarkSecret serving]] the Abyss, and a Scelestus is one of the few things the Seers and the Pentacle Orders will [[EnemyMine work together against]].
256*** There's also a slight inversion when it comes to the Lower Depths, which count the Inferno amongst their number. In one fiction piece, a Scelestus argues to his interrogator that at least the Abyss just wants to annihilate reality; the dwellers of the Inferno want to make it bleed. He's right: the Lower Depths are natural allies against the Abyss as well, since they are worlds that are devoid of one of the ten Arcana and they want to attain that "missing piece of Reality" for themselves. Therefore, they oppose the Abyss's desires to destroy reality.
257** ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'': The Technocracy distrusts the Traditions but recognizes that the [[OmnicidalManiac Nephandi]] and [[RealityWarper Marauders]] are far worse. And vice versa -- while Tradition mages see the Technocracy as oppressors trying (for the most part successfully) to enslave humanity, they will [[WeAreStrugglingTogether grudgingly]] work with them against the Nephandi and Marauders.
258** ''TabletopGame/SirenTheDrowning'': This is the reason Sirens from the [[StrawNihilist Current of Acheron]] are hated not only by the Celestial Currents, but also by their peers from the other Abyssal Currents: their goal is to ''fasten'' [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the Deluge]] because [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum they honestly think the world is crappy enough that it deserves to be destroyed]]. Aside from nobody beside them being insane enough to want this, the other Abyssal Currents, as evil as they are, still ''need'' the world saved for their own agenda.
259* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': This trope is the main thing that distinguishes the "Good Guys", such as the brutal, LawfulEvil [[TheEmpire Imperium]], the [[ManipulativeBastard ultra-manipulative Eldar]], and the vengeful, imperialistic Necrons, from the "Bad Guys", the {{Omnicidal|Maniac}} legions of Chaos and the perpetually hungry [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Tyranids]]. The Orks, on the other (third?) hand, [[BloodKnight just like fighting.]]
260** From 6th Edition onwards, under the Alliance rules, just about everyone except Chaos and the Tyranids can end up in an EnemyMine. Even the forces of Chaos don't want the Tyranids to win, since they would just devour all life and deprive the Dark Gods of their power.
261** And in earlier editions, Chaos vs. Necrons. Madmen serving the gods of murder, rape, disease and mutation vs. robots that want to rid the universe of life down to the bacterial level (which would cause the Chaos gods to die out). After 5th Edition's retcon to the Necrons, only some dynasties still want to do this, but all Necrons find Chaos abhorrent and the non-omnicidal Necrons can instead cut off sections of reality from the Warp, which Chaos finds very objectionable.
262* In ''TabletopGame/TheOthers2015'', a number of the units that you can use are demons, cursed humans, or mutants, but all of them are F.A.I.T.H. agents through and through... but then there's the Sons of Ragnarok, a completely human biker gang that is so dangerous, F.A.I.T.H. knows the group of eight can take on almost any threat they come against while actively being a menace to society at the same time. Should the player choose to play as the members, then you have a group of vicious bikers working to stop the decimation of the worlds at the hands of the Hell Club and Avatar of Sin.
263[[/folder]]
264
265[[folder:Video Games]]
266* This is why the EnemyMine between the humans and [[Franchise/{{Predator}} the Yautja]] happens in ''VideoGame/AlienVsPredatorCapcom'': both factions know that [[Franchise/{{Alien}} an Xenomorph outbreak]] on Earth would be bad news for everyone, and so the Yautja, despite [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame their hobby of killing humans for sport]], decide to help save the world.
267* The primary villain of ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'', [[spoiler:Kerghan the Terrible]], is a necromancer who has seen the [[TheNothingAfterDeath place where souls go to die]]. He decided it was much better than the mortal and spiritual planes, which were both full of suffering - and elected to share this eternal peace with the world. The player character can recruit many companions of varying - and often enough questionable - morality over the course of the game, only one of whom will actually side with [[spoiler:Kerghan]] if the player chooses to fight him.
268* [[MadScientist Relius Clover]], [[SatanicArchetype Yuuki Terumi]] and [[EverybodyHatesHades Hades Izanami]], the three primary villains of ''Franchise/BlazBlue'', had the former two representing "Evil" and the latter representing "Oblivion". The three villains share a common goal in that they all seek to obtain The Azure, but they all have different ideas on what it should be used for and their allegiance falls apart when the inevitable backstabbing ensues:
269** Relius wishes to use The Azure in order to evict [[PowersThatBe The Origin]] from the [[DeusEstMachina Master Unit: Amaterasu]], replace her with Relius' own PerversePuppet, Ignis, and erase free will from the universe... not so much because he wants to get rid of TheEvilsOfFreeWill, but much more so {{For Science}} That, combined with the fact that Relius is a neat freak who finds the chaos of free will distasteful.
270** Hades Izanami, being the incarnation of death and the AnthropomorphicPersonification of The Origin's SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum, wishes to use The Azure in order to bring death to The Origin in the only way that a capital-G God ''can'' be killed: By killing everything, everywhere, at every point in time, all the way down to a metaphysical level, and reducing it all to inert [[{{Mana}} Seithr]].
271** Terumi, for his part, wishes to obtain The Azure so that he may [[ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil break reality and reduce it to a]] [[TimeCrash timeless]] [[AndIMustScream cesspool of endless hatred, fear, misery and despair -- an inescapable hellscape in which he reigns supreme for the rest of eternity and in which everyone else kills everyone they love on an endless loop,]] all of it for his own sick enjoyment... It's generally regarded as the worst case scenario by everyone else.
272* ''[[VideoGame/CityOfHeroes City of Villains]]'' has a few storylines where you, an aspiring supervillain, get to save the world. This is also the justification for teaming up with heroes in the end-game "incarnate" content.
273** There's also a badge for heroes who do a specific mission called "Saved the world". If you become a villain (via the morality system), the name of the badge changes to "Saved the world... for later" The flavor text explicitly says that the reason you foiled the evil plot is because it wasn't ''your'' evil plot.
274* The plot of ''VideoGame/CrashTeamRacing'' involves the alien Nitrous Oxide coming to Earth demanding to challenge the world's best racer, and if he wins he destroys the world and enslaves its inhabitants. The various heroes and villains of the world come together and organize a racing tournament among themselves to determine the best candidate to challenge Oxide and save the planet. Even Uka Uka, the series GodOfEvil, lends a hand because, after all, if the entire world's destroyed there will be nothing left for he and his villains to conquer.
275* ''VideoGame/DCUniverseOnline'' shows the obvious problem for villains having this attitude: Lex has to time-travel to find the Justice League to help him save the world. Because previously, he ''won'' against the League. So if you don't want oblivion, villains, maybe you shouldn't try to kill the heroes at all.
276* ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'': [[spoiler: In the face of multiple characters contemplating opening more Dark Fountains, Ralsei ''[[OOCIsSeriousBuisness snaps]]'' and informs everyone present that more Dark Fountains would bring about the Roaring, essentially TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. One of the characters present is the ArcVillain Queen, who is [[EvenEvilHasStandards just as horrified by the prospect as the others]]. She merely wanted to TakeOverTheWorld, not destroy it. This revelation even causes her to pull a HeelFaceTurn on the spot and allows the heroes to seal her fountain. Even she realizes the Fountain she worshipped the entire time was ''not'' worth it .]]
277* In ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans2'', the VillainProtagonist PlayerCharacter Cryptosporidium-137 is a member of a race of [[TheGreys Grey aliens]] called the Furons who came to Earth to harvest the brainstems of humans, which, thanks to some [[MarsNeedsWomen Furon sailors impregnating human women]] back in prehistoric times, contain trace amounts of pure Furon DNA that can be used to save his species from CloneDegeneration. This requires killing countless thousands of people, hence why the Furons sent Crypto, a psychopath who sees killing PunyHumans and blowing stuff up as perks of the job, to do it. The villains are [[spoiler:the Blisk, a race of [[GiantEnemyCrab lobster-like aliens]] originally from Mars who the Furons committed genocide against, but whose last survivors escaped to Earth (causing TheTunguskaEvent in the process), disguised themselves as humans, and took over Russia. By 1969, the year the game takes place, they plan to use their shadow control of the USSR to cause WorldWarIII in an act of HostileTerraforming to make Earth more hospitable to them, at the expense of all native life on Earth, humans included.]] Needless to say, Crypto has reason to find common cause with humans to prevent that from ever happening. After all, you can't harvest human brain stems if there are no humans left alive.
278* ''VideoGame/DiabloIV'': [[spoiler:Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred and one of the Prime Evils, helps [[PlayerCharacter the Wanderer]] because Mephisto has not yet reconstituted himself fully, and BigBad Lilith intends to consume his essence before he can. Mephisto is very forward about how [[EnemyMine the partnership between himself and the Wanderer is entirely through shared opposition to Lilith]], and that they remain enemies. However, Mephisto also knows that it's either work with a Prime Evil or humanity dies, as Lilith intends to wipe out humanity so it can be ruled by her and her alone. So the Wanderer has no choice but to accept Mephisto's help.]]
279* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'': One of the obstacles blocking your way into the Frenzied Flame Proscription is a projection of Mohg, Lord of Blood. And while Mohg's prospective dynasty is one of the worst possible outcomes for the Lands Between, he at least wants there to ''be'' a Lands Between, while the Frenzied Flame sees the entirety of existence, presumably including Mohg himself, as a divine mistake that [[ApocalypseHow needs rectifying]].
280* ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'': Devils are... well, devils, but even THEY won't take a soul that has been corrupted by the all-consuming devourer [[EldritchAbomination Mr. Eaten]], a being whose agenda is "give me everything so that I may give you ''nothing''". If they catch you, they will strip you of all your belongings so that your meaningless self-sacrifice won't give the enemy enough new material to corrupt other souls with.
281* Because of the way the narrative of ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' works, it is possible to work for any particular faction whether you're good or evil, and thus the player can essentially roleplay the Courier through this ideal. You can be a murderous thief who wanders the Mojave killing indiscriminately and is utterly loathed by most people, but as long as you don't upset the NCR, you can still help them kill the Legion for whatever justification you want (given the Legion will enslave and kill everyone in the Mojave themselves). Theoretically you can also be the Oblivion part, where you fight for an independent Vegas while committing genocide and murdering every NPC in the game, and then have both the NCR (the de-facto good guys) and Caesar's Legion (the default villains) both trying to kill you to no avail as you eventually behead both factions and ruin the Mojave wasteland.
282** The Divide DLC paints these sorts of battles as the great equalizer of humanity, that singular acts can have huge ramifications. It also allows the Courier to launch a nuke. The Courier can play this trope further by being an evil Courier, but still firing the nuke at Caesar's Legion, or be Oblivion and launch one nuke each at NCR and The Legion.
283* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'':
284** It uses this trope to justify why Chaldea can summon even the most villainous Heroic Spirits and get their help: the main villain of the game is basically threatening mankind's place in the space-time continuum, and Chaldea represents the last bastion of humanity against this villain. Even those who want to subjugate the world don't want to see someone else do something even worse to it, which is why they help the player.
285** A consistent point reiterated by people who are in the know about the MythArc of ''Cosmos in the Lostbelt'' is that oblivion is ''far more'' preferable than whatever the BigBad has been planning this whole time with the bleached Earth. In the sixth Lostbelt, the Chaldean makes the argument that oblivion would be better for Earth via the various [[BeastOfTheApocalypse Great Calamities]] spawned by Faerie Britain that threaten to destroy the planet since he believes that the BigBad's evil plan for Earth would be much, much worse in comparison to simple destruction. In the seventh Lostbelt, the Crypter Daybit Sem Void [[spoiler:spends the entire story attempting to awaken the InscrutableAlien ORT just to let it destroy the planet as his first line of resort to stopping the Foreign World.]]
286* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
287** [[EvilOverlord Emperor Gestahl]] of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' objects to Kefka assuming supreme magical power because then there wouldn't be much of a world left to rule afterwards.
288** Similarly, the Shinra Corporation in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' wants to stop Sephiroth just as much as the protagonists do. Too bad their incompatible methods mean teaming up isn't an option. Especially since Shinra's plan to thwart Sephiroth wouldn't actually have worked even if the heroes ''hadn't'' interfered.
289** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV''
290*** In the Legacy storyline, [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Gaius van Baelsar]] subtly assists the player in their efforts against his countryman [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Nael van Darnus]] to halt [[ColonyDrop Project Meteor]], preferring to conquer Eorzea rather than destroy it. [[spoiler:Later in ''Stormblood'', it is revealed that he halted the development of a DeadlyGas weapon called "Black Rose" for much the same reason.]]
291*** ''Much'' later, in ''Endwalker'', the [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]] is aided in the final battle by none other than [[spoiler: Zenos viator Galvus, who ironically enough was initially one of the very people trying to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt in the first half of the expansion. Unlike most examples though, he's not helping because he cares about the world. He just wants to fight the Warrior of Light again. He thought that the threat of the Final Days would be an interesting motivator to make the Warrior fight him, but once his associate, Fandaniel, hijacks the plan and starts the Final Days himself, Zenos finds himself sidelined since the Warrior of Light is too preoccupied by the fate of the world to give him a serious fight. After getting his nihilistic outlook called out by Allisae, and giving her words much contempation, he decides that even if he doesn't particularly care about the world, then he might as well save it so that the Warrior of Light won't be "distracted".]]
292** The VillainTeamUp in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' begins to fracture along these lines, dividing the group between the characters who want to [[TakeOverTheWorld rule the world]], those that just [[OmnicidalManiac want to see it go boom]], and those who don't care one way or the other. And that's not even including the ones that [[GoodAllAlong aren't really evil to begin with]].
293* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'', ''you'' are playing for the oblivion side. Kratos destroys another part of the world with each god he slays in ''[[VideoGame/GodOfWarIII GOWIII]]''. The gods are fighting to preserve the world. By the end of the game civilization, the order of nature including the afterlife, and nearly all if not all of the entire human race is gone. Even the "evilness" of the gods is questionable. They could be [[JerkAssGods major jerks]] to humans, but only became truly evil after being infected with the evils from Pandora's Box.
294* The "Earth Defenders" (IE: Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, Anguirus, Baragon, King Seesar, and Varan) in ''VideoGame/GodzillaUnleashed'' fall under this. While most of them couldn't care less about what happens to ''humanity'' in particular, they are more than willing to protect the Earth (hence their title) from any threat that wants to destroy it.
295* The Doomsday Heist from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoOnline'' is this in a nutshell. You have to prevent WorldWarIII because as much as you are a criminal kingpin, you couldn't possibly have a profitable criminal empire and [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster enjoy your mansions, penthouses, nightclubs, guns, and supercars]] in a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic wasteland]] with no workers, buyers, or fuel, now could you?
296* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' has an odd example of what could be considered ''oblivion vs oblivion''. The Gravemind wants to consume all life in the galaxy, leaving nothing but a pestilent mass of Flood, while the Prophet of Truth wants to activate the Halo rings and thus wipe out all organic life in the galaxy (under the mistaken impression that it will [[GodhoodSeeker ascend him and his followers to a higher plane of existence]], [[spoiler:which in reality is an ''incredibly'' determined effort to prevent the revelation of the fact that the Covenant's entire ReligionIsWrong]]). If you factor in 343 Guilty Spark (who has the same goal as Truth, but [[ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure for wholly different reasons]]), then you have an unprecedented 3-way war in which ''each side'' wants to destroy the galaxy.
297** In ''VideoGame/Halo3'', this results in [[spoiler:a truce between Humanity, the Elites, 343 Guilty Spark, the Ark's army of Sentinels, and for a very brief period of time, ''the Flood'', all just to stop Truth from firing the Halo Array. The Flood go back to fighting everyone and everything immediately after Truth is killed, and Spark goes rampant and ends up killed by the Chief, with the Sentinels turning hostile, too]].
298** In ''VideoGame/HaloWars2'' during the ''Awakening the Nightmare'' campaign where the antagonistic Banished are playable, they wind up accidentally [[spoiler:releasing the Flood from the ruins of High Charity and frantically trying to lock them back up and exterminate the ones that escaped]].
299* ''VideoGame/Injustice2'': This is why most supervillains end up fighting against Brainiac in one way or the other. Since he is a OmnicidalManiac who harvests all planets he invades from all valuable content for his collection and destroys the rest, he represents a threat to everyone including [[FallenHero the Regime]], who promptly side with their former comrades who are still good, and Grodd's Society, a supervillain group assembled to TakeOverTheWorld. Though their case is a little complicated, since they initially assist in Brainiac's invasion in the Story Mode, when its revealed he wants to destroy Earth they disband rather than help the heroes fight him. They do end up fighting him in their own Arcade Mode just like everyone else.
300* In ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'', the appearance of the Aurum, an alien army that threatens to completely destroy the world, forces a truce between Palutena (the BigGood), Viridi (a nature goddess who wants to exterminate humanity), and Hades (the BigBad) to [[EnemyMine deal with a common foe]].
301* In ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', [[AnIcePerson Lissandra]] betrays the [[EldritchAbomination Watchers]] by locking them in true ice at the bottom of the [[EldritchLocation Howling Abyss]], even while [[{{Fratricide}} sacrificing her own sisters]] [[WeHaveReserves and their armies]], to stall their [[AlienInvasion invasion]] over Runaterra, as they intend to turn the world into a cold, lifeless place.
302* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'': [[spoiler:A rare case where you're on the side of oblivion. The Nightmares are trying to keep the Wind Fish asleep forever to preserve themselves and Koholint Island. Granted, the Nightmares are doing this in order to ''rule'' the island, but still. If Link wants off the island, he has to wake the Wind Fish, thereby causing a DreamApocalypse]].
303* This is the entire plot of ''VideoGame/LegoDCSuperVillains'', where the Legion of Doom discover that the "Justice Syndicate" are actually the evil Crime Syndicate, and working with Darkseid who wants to conquer the universe by eliminating free will via the Anti-Life Equation. With the Justice League out of the picture and the other heroes not listening to them, the villains decide to save the world, then get back to conquering it after.
304* In ''VideoGame/LegoMarvelSuperheroes'', once they find out that Loki’s plot is to manipulate [[PlanetEater Galactus]] into destroying Earth, other villains like Green Goblin, Magneto, and even Doctor Doom help the heroes to stop him.
305* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
306** In the first-day DLC of ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', "From Ashes", it's revealed that [[spoiler:the Protheans were a highly militarist [[TheEmpire Empire]] that considered themselves the galaxy's MasterRace, and went around eradicating and/or enslaving every race they could find]], making their struggle against the [[EldritchAbomination Reapers]] a case of this trope and AbusivePrecursors versus AbusivePrecursors rather than [[spoiler:BenevolentPrecursors versus AbusivePrecursors as originally thought]].
307** Cerberus in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': they're a human supremacist organization that, just this once, isn't going to complain about working with alien allies. Why? If the Reapers wipe out the galaxy, that's obviously not in humanity's best interests, and the Illusive Man is smart enough to know that humanity cannot defeat the Reapers on its own. [[spoiler:Then they wind up more or less switching sides in ''Mass Effect 3'' when a botched bid to take control of the Reapers gets the man in charge [[MindControl indoctrinated]].]]
308** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', the crime lord Aria T'Loak is willing to cooperate and send a massive fleet of mercenaries and criminals to aid in the fight against the Reapers. After all, can't live a profitable life of ruling the WretchedHive of Omega if the Reapers kill everyone, right?
309* Inverted in ''VideoGame/MastermindWorldConqueror'': [[spoiler: the Mastermind apparently believes that conquering the Earth and blowing it up are in fact the same thing (he looked it up)]].
310* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
311** ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11: Aftermath'' takes place after the main game, where the threat of a [[ApocalypseHow/ClassZ Class-Z Apocalypse]] forces Liu Kang and Raiden to ally with Shang Tsung: while the wicked sorcerer has caused no shortage of trouble for Earthrealm, he doesn't have any desire for the universe to be destroyed, and has knowledge which would prove instrumental to preventing a permanent TimeCrash.
312** Can be invoked in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' for the FinalBattle; [[spoiler:there is nothing preventing the player from selecting any of the more amoral or outright villainous characters such as [[ToServeMan Nitara]], [[ItsAllAboutMe Sub-Zero]] or even [[BombThrowingAnarchists Havik]] to prevent Titan Shang Tsung from [[MultiversalConqueror destroying the New Era and conquering other timelines]]]].
313* ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysofEurope'', an Axis victory mod for ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIron IV'', has the potential conflict between Himmler (controlling the SS-Ordenstaat Burgundy) on one side and all four of the main contenders in the German Civil War, [[spoiler: but especially, and surprisingly, Heydrich]]. Himmler has managed to ''radicalize even further'', believing that National Socialism is too compassionate and peaceful and from that coming to desire and scheme causing nuclear war to destroy humanity as it is, allowing the Aryan race to rise from the ashes and recolonize the world. Two of the contenders for Führer, Bormann and Speer, can move to isolate and condemn Burgundy and Himmler's actions, with Göring's Militarists being able to ''eventually'' invade (though, this obviously ends in nuclear war and the end of the world.) [[spoiler: Heydrich, however, initially starts off as loyal to Himmler, being unaware of Himmler's true plan, and is "just" a fervent proponent of the Burgundian System. However, upon winning the German Civil War, Heydrich is let in on the plan by Himmler personally, and is ''horrified'' by what he learns, realizing Himmler's insane. This leads to Heydrich initially moving against Himmler subtly, slowing down Himmler's plans, but it quickly gets leaked that Heydrich has turned on Himmler, and the German Reich explodes into multiple warlord fiefdoms as the SS tears itself apart over who they remain loyal to, and a few resistance groups make their moves, including remnants of the other three GCW contenders' forces. Heydrich is forced to gather an Anti-Himmler Coalition from the wreckage of Germany, revealing Himmler's grand plan to several members of the SS, and gain control of enough of Germany's nuclear missiles to neuter Himmler's ability t respond to invasion. Throughout this struggle, Heydrich is forced to face the failures of the system he helped bring to ascendancy, and to work with people he otherwise considered sub-human, including the remnants of both the Polish Home Army and the Red Army Faction... who deal with him fairly, despite having ''every'' reason not to. By the time he succeeds and kills Himmler, Heydrich is a broken man with nothing left, having driven away his family, and having his entire worldview shattered. He ends up committing suicide out of despair, realizing that after everything he'd done, he is completely beyond redemption, and the only thing he could do to ''begin'' to fix it was to make public his realizations in a way that couldn't be covered up, and deal the final deathblow to the Reich, by having the Führer kill himself.]]
314* ''VideoGame/NintendoWars'': In ''Advance Wars: Dual Strike'', Hawke becomes troubled by the new BigBad Von Bolt and his plan to drain all of the vitality and resources from the world, pondering what the point is of taking over the world if it's a dried-out resource-stripped lifeless husk. [[spoiler:Von Bolt responding with a classic YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and sending [[BlobMonster Oozium 223]] after them, and their subsequent [[SaveTheVillain rescue by Jake]], makes Hawke and Lash defect and begin aiding the Allies in stopping this plan out of self-preservation and saving the world they intend to take over, though the duo does [[ReformedButNotTamed soften up somewhat]] along the way.]]
315* The Guardians in ''VideoGame/{{OFF}}'' may be huge {{Jerkass}}es and {{Bad Boss}}es with little regard for the Elsens they rule over, but in the end they end up fighting to try and save their respective Zones from [[spoiler:[[VillainProtagonist The Batter]] purifying them, which would erase everything in existence since they are propping reality up by living]].
316* {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondandPearl Pokémon Platinum]]'', as Oblivion ends up being the one to save the day this time. SatanicArchetype Giratina, the [[OlympusMons god of antimatter]] who was banished to an empty VoidBetweenTheWorlds for its aggressive nature, [[DarkIsNotEvil is the one who stops]] [[BigBad Cyrus]] from [[RageAgainstTheHeavens using its siblings]] [[TimeMaster Dialga]] & [[SpaceMaster Palkia]] to remake reality into a WorldOfSilence. After Cyrus is DraggedOffToHell by it, he's disgusted by the emptiness of the Distortion World and wanders off, vowing to [[AGodAmI one day create his ideal world]] [[DisneyVillainDeath and is never seen again]].
317* In ''VideoGame/Portal2'', this is the motivation of [[spoiler:[=GLaDOS=] for helping Chell stop Wheatley; his incompetence will inevitably result in the destruction of the Aperture Science facility... which will also result in HER destruction]].
318* ''VideoGame/{{Sacrifice}}'': There's a prophecy that one of the gods is going to bring about the end of the world, and suspicion immediately falls on Charnel, the god of death and suffering. He denies it, pointing out that if the world ends, there will be no more people left to suffer and die, so it's in his interest to keep the world as it is.
319* In ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'', you play as a new member of one of the three [[AncientConspiracy secret societies that controls the world from behind the scenes]], one of which is [[TheIlluminati the literal Illuminati]]. Given that this is a game rooted in real-life ConspiracyTheorist lore, it goes without saying that these are not nice people. Even the Templars, who are [[ALighterShadeOfGrey the lightest shade of grey]] among the three, are still [[GoodIsNotNice ruthless]] in how they [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade police their secrets]]. But they sure as hell beat the various {{Eldritch Abomination}}s and other assorted monsters that they face off against. (The Illuminati will outright say that [[PragmaticVillainy they can't get rich if the world is destroyed]].) In many ways, in fact, they are NecessarilyEvil, as a BrokenMasquerade would likely unleash occult and supernatural forces all over the world and hasten the apocalypse.
320* Most of the mainline 3D ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' games generally end up with this conflict as justification for Dr. Eggman fighting alongside the heroes against some ultimate evil in the True Ending, usually one that he [[EvilIsNotAToy released himself]]. It started in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', and the trend wasn't really bucked until ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' (where Eggman couldn't care less what Dark Gaia was up to, as long as he could harness the thing's power for his own) and ''VideoGame/SonicColors'' (where Eggman ''is'' the BigBad).
321** ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' plays with it, as Time Eater captures Eggman no less than twice throughout the game, seemingly against both parties. [[spoiler:Except that both Classic and Modern Eggman control Time Eater; these were actually elaborate escape plans to throw Sonic off their trail.]]
322** In the game ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', Dr. Eggman still wants to conquer the world to create the Eggman Empire, and ends up facing off against Black Doom in the process, due to the fact that he [[spoiler:wants to turn all of humanity into a food ranch]]. Depending on your choices, Shadow himself can qualify, siding against either Eggman or Black Doom.
323--->'''Eggman''': Those idiots! They're destroying everything! How can I take over the city and build my Eggman Empire if there IS no city!? I'm at my limit. I have no choice. Send in the Eggman fleet! CHARGE!
324* In ''VideoGame/SpiderManWebOfShadows'', Kingpin teams up with Spider-man and Black Cat to stop an outbreak of symbiotes.
325* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'', the [[MysteriousEmployer mysterious]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive shady]] [[AmbiguouslyEvil Mr. Grizz]] seems to be the Evil to the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil ravenous Salmonids']] Oblivion. [[spoiler:Key word there is ''seems''. If anything, it's the ''other way around''--the Salmonids might be aggressive, but they're ultimately just protecting their territory and eggs from someone who wants to use them to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt end the world in a Hairmageddon]][[note]][[Memes/{{Splatoon}} Don't call it Hairmageddon. HR doesn't like it]][[/note]].]]
326** This carries into ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'': [[spoiler:During the final battle with Mr. Grizz, Agent 3 is knocked loose from [[AstralFinale the spaceship they're fighting on]]. Grizz's goal of destroying marine life on Earth seems assured... [[BigDamnHeroes until DJ Octavio swoops in with his October L3.Gs to rescue them]]. His mech is directly controlled by Agent 3 while Agent 3 has to occasionally leave the cockpit and face the incoming enemies, and the two of them remove the Fuzzy Ooze bubbles from Grizz to weaken him while [[{{Kaiju}} Hugefry and Grizz]] smack each other around. Despite Octavio's desire for power, he cares for himself and his Octarian army, and isn't about to have some giant furball ruin his world.]]
327--->[[spoiler: '''DJ Octavio''']]: [[spoiler: You're not dropping this beat on OUR turf!]]
328* ''VideoGame/StarControl II'' takes place in the middle of a war between two factions of Ur-Quan: The Ur-Quan Kzer-Za and the Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah. The Kzer-Za are the BigBad of the previous game, and wanted to enslave all other sentient races in the galaxy to ensure that no other race [[NeverBeHurtAgain will rise up to enslave them.]] For the same reason, the Kohr-Ah want to [[AbsoluteXenophobe kill every race that isn't an Ur-Quan,]] because no one can enslave your race if [[OmnicidalManiac there aren't any other races existing to begin with.]] While the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za do not view you or any of your allies positively, they believe in reducing potential enemies to harmless slaves being better than outright genocide, which is why they oppose the Kohr-Ah. Unfortunately, the Kohr-Ah end up winning this war, and the Kzer-Za are forced to let the Kohr-Ah begin their Death March, which is essentially them killing every alien race they encounter, and eventually humanity itself if they aren't stopped.
329* ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault'': Star Wolf teams up with Star Fox to take on Pigma, and later the Aparoids, with this line of logic. Wolf and his crew may be much more morally ambiguous about the jobs they take than Fox, but they're not about to watch the entire galaxy get turned into a HiveMind.
330* The ''Franchise/StarWars'' video games have their fair share of this trope:
331** In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', one of the Sith Emperor's top enforcers joins with the Hero of Tython (the Jedi Knight PlayerCharacter) to stop the Emperor from [[OmnicidalManiac consuming all life in the galaxy]]. In the games's backstory, he had worked with [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic Revan and the Jedi Exile]] with the same goal, only to turn on them when he had a vision revealing the Hero of Tython as the one who would stop the Emperor – that betrayal earned him his position and the long life that ensured he would still be around to later work with the Hero.
332*** In the ''Shadow of Revan'' expansion, Darth Marr forms a temporary alliance with Satele Shan to deal with Revan since his plan to awaken the Sith Emperor will cause the latter to consume the entire galaxy. [[spoiler:Come ''Fallen Empire,'' that alliance is more or less permanent, as both the Republic and Empire are under siege by Valkorian (yet another guise of the former Sith Emperor). Marr is killed, but later seen as a Force Ghost accompanying Satele.]]
333*** The TieInNovel ''Literature/StarWarsFatalAlliance'' has a third, in which the Jedi and the Sith must combine forces to deal with an army of robots who, given time, will strip-mine the entire galaxy and wipe out all its inhabitants. Darth Chratis, after all, will have a hard time being promoted to the Dark Council if Dromund Kaas is a wasteland covered in mining scars and dead bodies.
334** In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', even a Dark Side Exile will end up throwing down with Darth Nihilus, because Nihilus's [[HorrorHunger intrinsic need to devour the life energy of Force-sensitives]] is not only bad for you, but also bad for entire planets and will, at best, end in the Exile being the only person left in a galaxy of barren, depopulated rocks. [[spoiler:Then they're forced to do it again with [[ObviousJudas Darth Traya]] immediately after, whose RageAgainstTheHeavens plot would at best turn reality into a WorldOfSilence and at worst [[OmnicidalManiac end all life]].]]
335* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'':
336** This is a consequence of the end-game crises, in which the galaxy is attacked by a force that threatens to wipe out all life. All galactic empires that aren't genocidal exterminators, and even certain [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Fallen Empires]], will open their borders to each other in order to fight off the threat, whether they're the heroic [[TheFederation Federation]] or the race of slave-driving conquerors that they've been locked in a SpaceColdWar with for a hundred years.
337** In the ''Nemesis'' DLC, an empire can aspire to become a crisis themselves by building a DoomsdayDevice called the Aetherophasic Engine, which is supposed to tear the barrier between the physical universe and the Shroud to pieces, allowing the empire which built it to conquer the Shroud and AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence. In this case, every other non-crisis empire and the Shroud entities, including the End of the Cycle, will band together to try and stop the crisis empire, as the Aetherophasic Engine's activation will also cause every star in the galaxy to go nova and collapse into a black hole afterwards.
338* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': Bowser is often portrayed this way in RPG titles. Generally, Bowser wants to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom, but he doesn't want it ruined or destroyed; as such, he will readily oppose other villains who would conquer it before him, plunge the world in darkness and despair, or outright destroy the universe. Bowser also still is the ''King'' Koopa, and if something threatens his subjects or his reign, he'll try to stop it. This is prominently used in ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' where he's actually playable and fulfills a role in the prophetic group of heroes, and in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory''; there, [[spoiler:Dark Bowser]], an ancient apocalyptic demon [[spoiler:taking form of an even more frightening-looking version of Bowser himself]], wants to destroy the kingdom, but Bowser will have none of that, otherwise there won't be a kingdom for him to rule. This results in what's probably one of the coolest speeches from Evil against Oblivion out there, in the midst of an all-consuming storm of darkness that's trapped most life in the kingdom:
339-->'''[[spoiler:Dark Bowser]]''': Still here? Has the dark power not crushed your puny hopes? Soon this kingdom will vanish along with all who dwell within. And you, too, will sleep eternally in the dark power's embrace.\
340'''Bowser''': GWAHAHA! [[CasualDangerDialogue Great dark hurricane! Seriously, perfect backdrop for an awesome final battle! You really sweat the details!]] Listen up! [[BadassBoast You're saying the kingdom will vanish? NOT TODAY! THIS KINGDOM IS ALL MINE!]] SO YOU VANISH!
341** ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' takes this a step further by having [[spoiler:Count Bleck, the story's BigBad, and his minions, aid the heroes in the final fight against Super Dimentio by having their devotion to the Count reenergize the Pure Hearts, giving Mario and co. the chance they need to stop him once and for all. Even further still, He (and Tippi) sacrifice themselves to contain the Chaos Heart that Dimentio rigs to go out of control and consume everything [[TakingYouWithMe in his final moments]].]] This is an interesting case in terms of just who is Evil and who is Oblivion, as [[spoiler: Bleck himself ''is'' on the side of Oblivion for most of the story, albeit [[TragicVillain not proudly so]] and under the impression he had [[IveComeTooFar come too far in ensuring the destruction of all worlds to be able to back out]], while Dimentio's actual end-goal ''is'' to recreate every world to rule, simply in his own wicked image. The rest of Bleck's minions, some of which were arguably nastier than the Count himself, are under the impression there would be a world to rule after the Oblivion, making them something of an in-between. Either way, Dimentio's dying curse represents a cruel Oblivion who unites the [[HeelFaceTurn remorseful Bleck]] and his Evil minions [[UndyingLoyalty who stand by him and genuinely love him]] [[BenevolentBoss for treating them well]] together with the forces of good (and the aforementioned Bowser).]]
342* The adventure campaign of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' has the BigBad, [[LightIsNotGood Galeem]], wipe out ''the entire universe'' to rebuild it on his image, imprisoning all the fighters (with the exception of [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamland Kirby]] who managed to escape) and killing all the inhabitants and placing their spirits in clones of the playable cast to be under his servitude. Understandably, every playable character is selectable in this mode to go against him once they're rescued, including the villains (and a mook) in the roster: [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 Bowser]], [[VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine Bowser Jr.]], [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 Piranha Plant]], [[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry King K. Rool]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ganondorf]], [[VideoGame/Metroid1 Ridley]], [[VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes Dark Samus]], [[VideoGame/Tekken2 Kazuya]] and even the morally ambigous [[VideoGame/StarFox64 Wolf]], [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Mewtwo]] and [[VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2SixGoldenCoins Wario]]; of whom the worst is a sadistic serial killer that still has been shown to have survival instincts. This also extends to the spirits of villainous characters, who can be freed and then join the heroes to be equipped and grant various boosts in battles like any spirit.
343** This also comes into play in the last act of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'''s scenario. While the villains were happy to work under [[BigBad Master Hand]]'s orders for their own benefit, right down to consuming the world in Subspace and [[TakenForGranite Trophifying just about anyone who gets in their way]], once [[TheManBehindTheMan Tabuu]] reveals himself and [[OmnicidalManiac makes it clear that he's got no interest in preserving anyone but himself]], everyone sets aside their grudges to beat Tabuu down and put the world back as it was.
344** Subverted with [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]]'s reveal trailer, as it has him ''[[TheWorfEffect slicing Galeem in half]]'', proceeding to beat the weakened fighters, and knowing his intention in his game of origin, his disposal of Galeem falls more under 'Oblivion Versus Oblivion.' Played straight in gameplay, where controlling him in the adventure campaign is no different from any other character in their rally to restore the universe as it was.
345* In ''VideoGame/ThatWhichSleeps'', TheChosenOne doesn't ''have'' to be good-aligned. The only prerequisite is that they're willing to fight [[EldritchAbomination the Old One]], and since said Old One would destroy or otherwise utterly reshape the world, even an evil ChosenOne has every reason to follow Fate's path.
346* The two major villain groups in ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' and ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', the [[TheLegionsOfHell Burning Legion]] and the [[EldritchAbomination Old Gods/Void Lords]], have a remarkable dynamic going on with this trope, because they ''both'' count as both "evil" and "oblivion". They both want to destroy the universe in their own way rather than have it destroyed in the other's way. The Burning Legion wants to burn Azeroth, along with all other worlds, while the Old Gods are fighting to break out of their prisons and rule Azeroth like they did ages ago -- and then use Azeroth's Titan spirit to allow their Void Lord masters to enslave the ''entire'' universe. This has in the past prompted both factions to either fight or help the other faction, depending on what would serve their own goals. For example, the Old Gods meddled in the Legion's invasion during the War of the Ancients, subtly helping things progress but intending to hijack the payoff at the last moment. The Burning Legion consider itself to be the lesser evil, because Sargeras believes that it is better for the universe to be destroyed than to be enslaved by the Void, the Void being something like "nothingness, except evil."
347* ''VideoGame/TheWhisperedWorld'': [[EvilOverlord Great Loucaux]] wants to stop [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the End of the World]], even if that means keeping it in stagnation. [[spoiler: Ironically, [[PlayerCharacter Sadwick]] is on side of '''both''' good and oblivion]].
348* In ''VideoGame/WildArms1'', the Demons want to TakeOverTheWorld. They thought their [[TheMaker Mother Of Monsters]] wanted to do so too; but she wants to destroy everything instead. So they engage in the UriahGambit and let the heroes kill the Mother.
349* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'': [[spoiler:The BigBad, Megumi Kitaniji, is actually in a game with the Composer to decide the fate of Shibuya. Neku happens to be unknowingly playing for the Destroy Shibuya team.]]
350* ''VideoGame/NeoTheWorldEndsWithYou'': This turns out to be the real reason Minamimoto allied with the Wicked Twisters [[spoiler: for the first week. He still wants to [[TheStarscream kill Joshua and take his job as Shibuya's Composer]], but Shiba and his crew are out to destroy Shibuya entirely, and he can't take over if it's gone.]]
351* In ''VideoGame/YuGiOhTheDuelistsOfTheRoses'', if you choose the evil side, when the BigBad is summoned by you and Kaiba, you have to turn on him because he wants to destroy the world.
352[[/folder]]
353
354[[folder:Visual Novels]]
355* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'''s third and final route, ''Heaven's Feel'', comes down to this for the two major villains, but it's a little more complicated on the Oblivion side in a way that actually makes it more sympathetic than Evil. [[spoiler: [[TragicVillain Kotomine Kirei]]]] is on the side of Oblivion, but unlike most examples, destroying everyone and everything isn't his end goal. It's just a foreseeable consequence of [[spoiler: allowing a creature of "ultimate evil" to be born]]. His true goal is answering the question of whether anything can truly be "evil" if all it does is act according to its nature.
356* In ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'' [[spoiler:Zero II, a.k.a. Brother, head of [[ReligionOfEvil Free the Soul]], reveals that he only engineered the [[ThePlague Radical-6 pandemic]] because he knew that [[GreaterScopeVillain a crazy religious fanatic]] was going to spark a nuclear war that would wipe out all of humanity. He didn't know the fanatic's identity, so he figured that if he let loose a virus with a 75% fatality rate, the fanatic would most likely die, and at least 25% of humanity would survive, which is better than nothing]].
357[[/folder]]
358
359[[folder:Web Animation]]
360* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' has a few. [[spoiler:In all three cases, Evil wins the match.]]
361** One episode pit the AxCrazy [[Characters/TheFlashEobardThawne Reverse-Flash]] against OmnicidalManiac [[Anime/DragonBallSuper Goku Black]] (a.k.a. [[JerkassGods Zamasu]]). Zamasu appears in his timeline and immediately butchers a crowd of people, prompting Thawne to attack him... and use one of the civilians as a HumanShield [[KickTheDog unnecessarily]].
362** Another had the OmnicidalManiac [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Lich King]], Arthas, against the EvilOverlord [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]]. Arthas sought to exterminate all life and replace it with undead to rule from his throne, whereas Sauron wanted to rule over all life (and admittedly kill any life that refuses to bend the knee) in his own brand of order and confronts Arthas.
363** Galactus vs Unicron (NecessaryEvil who only feeds for existing and Omnigenocidal incarnation of hatred that hates all life) had Galactus overcome the Chaos Bringer.
364* In ''WebAnimation/SonicsQuestForPower'', this is why Dr. Eggman [[EnemyMine teams up with the heroes]] to fight [[BigBad Sigma]], and why Sonic is so willing to accept him as an ally. As Sonic himself puts it, "Eggman wants world domination, Sigma wants world ''destruction''."
365* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In Volume 8, [[BigBad Salem]] isn't just pitted against the heroes, but against other villains who are trying to stop her from destroying the world. [[spoiler:[[FallenHero Ironwood]], despite his fall from good, is doing everything possible with his remaining forces to impede her forces in the war, despite the military casualties and exhaustion of last volume and his broken mental state. Meanwhile, Salem's allies besides Tyrian, Cinder and Watts begin questioning her and even turn against her. After being kidnapped by Salem, Oscar convinces Ozpin to help him try and turn Salem's subordinates against her. Together, they tell Hazel that Salem's true end-game isn't a new world order, but planetary destruction, not knowing Emerald's eavesdropping. Once Hazel and Emerald have both been convinced it's true, Hazel decides to get both Emerald and Oscar as far away from Salem as he can. This requires him fighting Salem to the death to buy time for the others to escape, but it also buys Oscar enough time to set off a FantasticNuke that leaves Salem indisposed just long enough for the heroes to evacuate the kingdom's people before she returns.]]
366[[/folder]]
367
368[[folder:Webcomics]]
369* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
370** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0442.html In this strip]], EvilOverlord Xykon explains why he won't let the world be destroyed by the [[EldritchAbomination Snarl]]:
371--->'''Xykon:''' I like the world. Some of my best evilness took place here. I wouldn't mind ruling it, in fact. I'm certainly not about to destroy it unless I get really, '''really''' bored.
372** His Dragon, Redcloak, walks the line. The plan is to give his god, the Dark One, the ability to unleash the Snarl at will to threaten the other gods into giving goblins a better lot in life. Though if things go south and the Snarl winds up destroying the world (again), the Dark One will get a say in how the next world is created, ensuring that the goblins of that world get a better deal. So whether Evil or Oblivion wins, [[XanatosGambit so does the Dark One]]. [[spoiler:At least, so he thinks. Thor later reveals that the Dark One hasn't gathered anywhere close to enough godly power to survive the transition between two worlds, and would certainly undergo the divine equivalent of starving to death if he tried. It's unclear whether the Dark One is aware of this.]]
373** Later, Tarquin promises to help Elan, despite being on opposite ends of the alignment scale, precisely because he knows Elan is on a quest to save the world and, as the power behind the throne of a good-sized kingdom, he has a vested interest in seeing that happen. Although Tarquin also wants Elan to save the world quickly so Tarquin himself can become the BigBad of Elan's story.
374** The deity Loki opposes his [[AntagonisticOffspring daughter]] Hel's plot to force a vote to end the world, and worked for some time with his [[FriendlyEnemy friend/enemy]] Thor in order to limit her influence. Loki's stated rationale for not wanting to vote to end the world is that he finds the world's inhabitants entertaining and wishes to give them a chance to contain the Snarl before jumping the gun. [[spoiler:Loki's ''actual'' reason is that he has a plan to ''permanently'' seal away the Snarl. But he needs the assistance of the Dark One (the first mortal ever to [[DeityOfHumanOrigin ascend to godhood]] completely on his own rather than with the aid of a pre-existing pantheon), and thus needs the Dark One to survive long enough to be convinced to help. If the Dark One wasn't a factor, then he'd happily support Hel's plan.]]
375--->'''Hel:''' I am most looking forward to taking the soul of Thor's high priestess. My dear puppy Garm is in dire need of a new chew toy, after all.\
376'''Loki:''' Humiliating Thor is not enough of a reason to do this, Hel. It's a pretty ''funny'' reason, sure, but not ''enough'' of one.
377** Lampshaded when [[spoiler:Vampire Durkon]] gives his reasons for supporting Hel as "I'm evil now". Roy points out that this isn't a reason.
378--->'''Roy:''' Xykon is an Evil lich. Tarquin's an Evil human. Neither one of them wants to destroy the world. Heck, Belkar is an Evil halfling and he's like 70% toward wanting to save it.
379** {{Discussed|Trope}} by one of the guardians of Kraagor's Gate. She'd [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1229.html rather]] let Xykon win the Gate and TakeOverTheWorld for a while if the alternative is to destroy the Gate and risk the Snarl destroying the world, since it's a choice between lots of people dying and ''everyone'' dying.
380--->''"My job is to protect the world. Not the status quo."''
381* ''Webcomic/KidRadd'' has three villains. [[spoiler:Crystal wants to conquer the world, in revenge for the wrongs she has endured. GI Guy wants to destroy the world, out of despair after two failed utopias. The Seer wants to conquer the world then destroy it before moving to the next planet and repeat the process, because that's what a ComputerVirus does (with a dose of sadism too).]] Their actions indirectly serve or complicate each other's plans.
382* ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'': During the Maze of Many arc (in which thousands of alternate versions of Minmax, Forgath, and Kin are competing to complete the dungeon crawl), a Psionic version of Minmax is attempting to revert the extradimensional maze to Oblivion. He plans to alter the rules of logic and prove that [[DivideByZero One equals Zero]], proving that nothing in the maze has ever existed. Naturally, anyone in the Maze at that point would revert to Oblivion as well. While the protagonists are good-aligned, most of the alternate versions of Minmax, Forgarth, and Kin are evil, and when they find out about Psionic Minmax's plans to preemptively erase them from existence, they immediately stop fighting each other and ZergRush him.
383* ''Webcomic/TrueVillains'' takes a turn in this direction when the squad of unrepentant {{Villain Protagonist}}s faces the forces of [[spoiler:Malanor, the First Vampire]], who seeks to wipe out all life on the continent. The extremity of the situation even forces [[spoiler:Sebastian's resolutely Good and thoroughly estranged sister Alyssa]] into an EnemyMine alliance.
384* In [[http://ffn.nodwick.com/?p=2124 this arc of]] ''Webcomic/FullFrontalNerdity'', Lewis's computer gets infected by a malware video game called Darkunhaus Necroquest that threatens to overwrite his entire hard drive if he stops playing. Lewis's computer is saved when a different malware program (anthropomorphized as a LondonGangster) which is using Lewis's computer to mine bitcoin for [[TheMafiya shady businessmen in Siberia]] destroys the video game.
385* This is eventually revealed to be the status quo of ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': After the [[BigBadEnsemble Seven]] conquered Creation in the wake of the Universal War, one of their number, Jagganoth, was visited by an angel [[MissionFromGod and given a holy task]] [[OmnicidalManiac to annihilate the Multiverse]]. Lacking the ability and [[DividedWeFall the mutual trust]] to openly attack and defeat Jagganoth, the other six made a pact of self-defence that if any of their number (i.e. Jagganoth) ever openly moved against any of the others the rest of them would unite and strike them down with all possible force. By the time Allison enters the picture the pact is fraying at the edges, Jagganoth is constantly gathering power while the others are trapped in their {{Epiphanic Prison}}s, TheProphecy of [[TheChosenOne the Successor]] has thrown the Seven into disarray, and [[spoiler:Incubus has thrown his lot in with Jagganoth to use Allison to tear the pact apart for good.]]
386* In ''Webcomic/DragonBallMultiverse'', this is the logic that King Piccolo uses to justify fusing with Kami when the Saiyans attack (which, due to his terms, would leave him in control of the resulting superwarrior). He's a horrible bastard, bordering on MadeOfEvil, but he's content to act as an EvilOverlord, ruling over the populace with an iron fist and occasionally blowing up a city. The Saiyans, meanwhile, would simply exterminate all sapient life on the planet inside of a week before selling the planet off.
387[[/folder]]
388
389[[folder:Web Original]]
390* Happens in the backstory of ''AudioPlay/RefletsDAcide'' when the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demon Lord]] Bélial shew up for the first time. His arrival resulted in EvilOverlord Alkor joining force with [[TheMagocracy King Mage]] [[BigGood Maender]], presumably for this reason. Notably, it seems the alliance actually survives after Belial was defeated.
391* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': One of the Foundation's many, many contingency plans in the event of the destruction of most of humanity is to release the rapists, murderers, and other locked-up scum of humanity, in the hopes that there still ''be'' a humanity.
392[[/folder]]
393
394[[folder:Web Videos]]
395* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' has Lord Vyce and The Entity. The former claims he started as a genuine hero, merely warning alternate realities of the danger they were in, but became a ruthless MultiversalConqueror after [[NecessarilyEvil everything else failed]]. Also, [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Doctor Insano]] is not only willing to call a truce, but even ignore Linkara stealing his prized deathbot in order to defend the stability of hypertime.
396[[/folder]]
397
398[[folder:Western Animation]]
399* ''WesternAnimation/ActionMan2000'': In the finale, [[DarkActionGirl Asazi]] defects from Dr. X and joins up with Action Man to stop him once X unveils his plan to kill all of humanity by [[ColonyDrop dropping an asteroid on the planet]]. (He had the rest of his Council of Doom believe that it was just a bluff.) Asazi notes that this would be bad for [[ProfessionalKiller her line of work]].
400* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' episode "The Joining" has the inmates of Arkham Asylum and the G.C.P.D. fighting off an AlienInvasion side-by-side. The Joker even makes a direct reference to the trope after watching Mr. Freeze and Commissioner Gordon covering each other.
401--> '''Joker''': Apologies for the inhospitality... but terrorizing Gotham is my job!
402* In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', this is Blackarachnia's primary motivation for defecting to the Maximals. Realizing Megatron's plan to [[MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight erase the Maximals in the present by assassinating the Autobots in the past]] would also erase ''her'' from the timeline, as she came from a Maximal protoform, she teams up with Silverbolt and helps defend and repair the original Optimus Prime. Granted by this point she ''had'' begun to be [[LoveRedeems won over by Silverbolt's affections]], but not wanting to die was officially why she had enough of Megatron's plans.
403* ''Franchise/Ben10'':
404** ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Alien Force]]'': Even [[Characters/Ben10VillainsAlienForce Darkstar]] doesn't want the Earth to be destroyed, and fights alongside Ben's team during the Highbreed invasion.
405** ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse Omniverse]]'': As shown in "So Long and Thanks For All the Smoothies", even [[Characters/Ben10SupportingCharacters Argit]] doesn't want the Universe to be destroyed.
406-->'''Argit''': The Universe is where I keep all my stuff!
407* In Season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'', it's confirmed that Dracula is on the side of Oblivion, determined to completely wipe out mankind as revenge for the murder of his wife. Every other vampire on his army is firmly on the side of Evil: They appreciate the opportunity to slaughter humans, but they are annoyed that Dracula's strategy restricts them from feeding. They are also concerned that with all humans wiped out, they will be out of a food source altogether, but they figure that they will be able to convince Dracula to spare a few to keep as livestock. [[spoiler: This is one (most of them yet undisclosed) of the reasons why Carmilla plots to double-cross Dracula: In his extreme grief and hatred, Dracula's ultimate goal is to kill all humans, and then allow vampires to follow shortly after.]]
408* In ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', in the episode "Marabounta", XANA and the lyoko-warriors fight together against Jémérie's out-of-control weapon Marabounta which is going to destroy Lyoko.
409** In the episode "Common Interest", Jémérie finds out the super computer is failing, but as a middle school student, he has no hopes of obtaining a new plutonium core for the computer. Of course, XANA also doesn't want to die, so he steals one for him to install (along with a radiation suit apparently). Not being GenreBlind, Jémérie knows the moment he installs the core, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness XANA is going to try and kill him once this is over]], and calls for backup during one of the power outages.
410* The finale of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' has all the recurring ghost villains help Danny save the world from a meteor. Not entirely altruistic, though: the Ghost Zone is tied to the Earth, so the ghosts will share Earth's fate should the meteor hit.
411* In ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', Megavolt teams up with the gang after accidentally "galvanizing" Negaduck and turning him into a PersonOfMassDestruction. They ask why he'd help them, and he says that if Negaduck destroys St. Canard, there'll be nothing left to rob.
412* [[MagnificentBastard Xanatos]] sometimes takes the "evil" side against [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Demona]] standing in for "oblivion" in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}''. Now, Demona doesn't want to destroy ''everything'', but she ''does'' want to wipe out the human race (which, as far as those of us who belong to the human race are concerned, amounts more-or-less to the same thing), something the largely amoral Xanatos's sense of self-interest and self-preservation is far too strong to allow.[[note]]Xanatos wants money, power, and immortality. As of the show proper, he has the first two and is busy using them to try and get the third. The end of the world, or of humanity, would put an obvious crimp in his plans.[[/note]] To give some specific examples, he pulls a straight-up EnemyMine with the clan in "City of Stone", and though he doesn't show up in ''[[GrandFinale Hunter's Moon]]'' until the battle is already won, he's certainly grateful enough that humanity is saved to provide a very timely airlift out of trouble.
413* Skeletor from ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' usually takes the evil side, even teaming up with He-Man, against destructive forces like Evil Seed and Sh'Gora. Evil Seed wanted plants to take over the world, and had no interest in teaming up with Skeletor. The Sh'Gora would have destroyed the world entirely.
414* And again in ''WesternAnimation/MastersOfTheUniverseRevelation'' when Evil Lyn becomes a supporting TokenEvilTeammate to Teela's team. With magic gone ''her'' magic is gone too, and eventually the very planet itself will die, and she can't have that. [[spoiler:Though she does lighten up a bit and even comes to like them somewhat, particularly [[OddFriendship Orko]].]]
415* PlayedStraight or {{Subverted|Trope}}, depending on how you interpret Zim's goals in ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'', Zim [[EnemyMine teams up with Dib]] to prevent Tak from destroying Earth. Zim's motivation isn't so much to prevent Earth's destruction, he just doesn't want Tak to take the glory and destroy [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou what he wanted to conquer and or destroy himself]].
416** In the episode "Planet Jackers", another race of aliens steals the earth in a DysonSphere intending to use it like firewood to keep their sun alive. Zim immediately decides he has to stop them since if they do this, ''he'' can't be the one to destroy the earth.
417* The season 3 SeriesFauxnale of ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'' has Johnny enter an EnemyMine situation with several of his nemeses to stop [[OmnicidalManiac Dark Vegan]] from destroying all life on Earth by cutting down all of the trees and draining the oceans, arguing that they want to take over the world and can't do that if there's no world.
418* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' finale "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS3E13Destroyer Destroyer]]", Lex Luthor's Legion of Doom ''teams up with the League'' to [[spoiler:stop the reborn Darkseid from devastating Earth]]. Most amazingly and hilariously summed up by ''Atomic Skull'' of all people:
419-->'''Superman:''' Oh, ''come on!'' It's Lex flipping Luthor! Why should we trust him?!\
420'''Atomic Skull:''' Hey, it's our world too!
421* The first season of ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'' ended with the ninja teaming up with Lord Garmadon to stop an omnicidal EldritchAbomination that would otherwise have consumed all of the land.
422* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': When an alien CaptainErsatz of Galactus wants to destroy the world, Mojo Jojo defeats him [[CurbStompBattle single handedly]]. He angrily loses it when the alien openly uses his own plans to great effect, and ultimately destroys the threat to prove he is the most evil there is. [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Of course, the city is more estatic that Mojo Jojo defeated the alien than afraid of him.]]
423* in ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'', this is the primary conflict between the two viruses infecting Mainframe, [[MagnificentBastard Megabyte]] and [[{{Tsundere}} Hexadecimal]]. [[TakeOverTheWorld Megabyte wants to rule over Mainframe with an iron fist]], while [[AxCrazy Hex is so intent on causing chaos that she doesn't care if she destroys the system with her in it]]. Given Megabyte's [[KickTheDog actions]] and Hex's [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity obvious insanity]], not to mention how Hex is largely content to just keep to herself and only rarely bothers Mainframe, it's a rare case where the "oblivion" side is the more sympathetic of the two.
424** This is similarly both Megabyte ''and'' Hex's motivation with helping fend off The Web creatures: Megabyte can't conquer a deleted system (especially since he'll be deleted along with it), and Hex isn't about to stand idle while something threatens to annihilate the system she has so much fun messing with. [[spoiler:It also presents them with a ''fantastic'' opportunity to take out Bob, which goes off without a hitch.]]
425* In ''WesternAnimation/SonicPrime'', The Chaos Counsel are the {{Arc Villain}}s of Seasons 1 and 2, as they want to use the power of the Paradox Prism to rule over the different realities created by the Shatterverse. [[spoiler:However, [[EvilerThanThou they quickly get usurped by Nine in the Season 2 finale and all of Season 3]], who is perfectly willing to let every other reality die if it means being able to create his own personal haven within The Grim. Naturally, the Chaos Counsel is not happy about this, and [[TeethClenchedTeamwork begrudgingly]] allies with Sonic and the other Shatterverse heroes if it means preventing Nine from causing an ApocalypseHow [[ApocalypseHow/ClassX5 of multiversal proportions]]. It helps that the Chaos Counsel are all extensions of Dr. Eggman, who was never privy to the idea of complete oblivion to begin with.]]
426* In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' the [[DiabolicalMastermind Kingpin]] places his considerable resources at Spider-Man's disposal when the Spot's technology threatens to destroy the planet.
427-->'''Kingpin:''' There is no profit to be made in the destruction of the planet. It is very bad for business.
428* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' season 4, [[SmugSnake Slade]] helps the Titans take down [[GodOfEvil Trigon]] partially for this reason.... [[ItsAllAboutMe but mostly to get back at Trigon for backstabbing him]].
429* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'':
430** In Season 3, the Triceratons are trying to destroy the Earth, and Splinter pleads to Shredder to help stop them. [[spoiler:To the horror of everyone, including [[EvenEvilHasStandards Shredder's second-in-command]], Shredder is a huge believer in RevengeBeforeReason, and kills Splinter when he was about to try to stop the doomsday device.]]
431** In the first arc of Season 5, Tiger Claw summons the [[DragonsAreDemonic demodragon]] Kavaxas from the Netherworld, intending to [[spoiler:use his power to resurrect the Shredder, who was killed by Leonardo in the season 4 finale. He learns the hard way that EvilIsNotAToy when the Shredder [[CameBackWrong comes back wrong]] as Kavaxas' zombie slave and destroys the [[RestrainingBolt talisman]] Tiger Claw was using to control him, giving Kavaxas free reign to begin TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. This is the ''last thing'' Tiger Claw wants, and he unhesitatingly helps the Turtles put a stop to it.]]
432* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'':
433** Dr. Arkeville from ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' multi-parter "The Ultimate Doom" helped the Decepticons with a mind-control plot, in exchange for world domination, until he found out the ultimate goal would leave the earth a lifeless husk.
434--->'''Arkeville:''' I will be ruler of a dead world!!\
435'''Megatron:''' A simple problem, Doctor, for such a brilliant mind.
436** Not so much evil as ''selfish'' versus oblivion: When Megatron warps Cybertron into Earth's near orbit to have their gravity field tear Earth apart and generate energon, Wheeljack asks the Dinobots for help. They refuse until Wheeljack points out that Earth is about to be destroyed ''while they're still on it.''
437** In later incarnations of the [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} metaseries]], Megatron (or, for more unhinged Megatrons, the more sane evil Decepticons) will at least try to team up with the Autobots to combat Unicron for "if he eats us I can't rule" reasons. It almost never works out for Megatron and he ends up doing Unicron's bidding semi-against his will, but it's the thought that counts.
438*** He does rather better at resisting Unicron's control in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', and directly aids the Autobots in defeating him so that "this time, there ''will'' be a planet left for me to rule!"
439* When [[spoiler: Ch’rell begins erasing the TMNT multiverse]] in ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever'', several villains turn against him. For a moment, it looks like it will culminate in a fight between him and [[spoiler: Krang]], [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever as giants]], but the latter [[CurbStompBattle is quickly defeated]].
440* The second season of ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' introduces Lord Dominator, who, unlike Lord Hater, who is out for conquest and glory, appears to be out to destroy the galaxy by sucking the magma off planets to fuel her ship. Hater and Peepers resolve to save the galaxy from Dominator, so that they can then conquer it.
441* ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021'': In the timeline in which the genocidal AI [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron Ultron]] successfully wiped out humanity and expanded his mass killing campaign to the universe, last survivors Black Widow and Hawkeye reactivate a copy of [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier Arnin Zola]] so he could help to defeat him. He agrees, since Ultron's killing spree foiled his and HYDRA's plans of world domination.
442* Chase Young, Wuya, and Jack Spicer in ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' each [[EnemyMine join forces]] with the Xiaolin Warriors on a couple of occasions to face a foe neither side can defeat on their own. Here it's definitely of the "if the world is destroyed then I can't rule it" variety.
443[[/folder]]

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