Line #32 Main/ICanRuleAlone


1	->"''Why do I need you, Jerec, when I can take all the power of the Valley myself?''"
2	-->-- '''Kyle Katarn''', ''VideoGame/JediKnightDarkForcesII'' [[AlignmentBasedEndings Dark Side ending]]
3
4	A subversion of WeCanRuleTogether. The hero joins the villains, but then one side betrays the other because they had no intention of sharing power in the first place. It tends to manifest in one of three ways.
5
6	* '''Hero betrays Villain''' The villain tells a "hero" who has built up lots of [[KarmaMeter bad karma]] and [[KickTheDog kicked lots of dogs]] (think FallenHero, TragicHero, ByronicHero, certain types of AntiHero, or a SociopathicHero) that [[WeCanRuleTogether they can rule together]], fully expecting him to accept. The former hero likes the idea... except for that little "sharing" detail. As he's likely to point out, there is absolutely no reason for him to ''not'' simply slay the villain and take the throne or CosmicKeystone (or whatever else is on offer) for himself, ruling solo.\
7	Or, to sum up: Villain offers a chance to rule together, "hero" kills villain, takes MacGuffin and uses it to dominate the world himself.\
8	A word of advice to villains: if you're dealing with the kind of people who are willing to betray their [[TrueCompanions true friends and comrades]] for a taste of power, [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder don't be surprised if they're willing to do the same]] [[GenreBlindness to you]]. This is typically a StartOfDarkness for the former hero, but it can also be [[MultipleEndings one of the possible endings]] in a game that allows the player to choose FactionSpecificEndings or simply [[OmnicidalNeutral make everyone the enemy]].
9	* '''Villain betrays Hero''': Some [[MagnificentBastard especially cunning]] villains give the [[WeCanRuleTogether we can rule together]] speech, allow the hero to fall by accepting the offer, and then reveal that...''gasp''...they were [[ILied lying]] about the sharing part, and were making the offer just to [[TheCorruptor watch the hero fall]].\
10	Alternatively, the offered FaceHeelTurn was merely [[SecretTestOfCharacter a test]] of the hero's trustworthiness. If the offer is accepted, the villain betrays the former hero, either because the villain [[EvenEvilHasStandards has a code of honor]] that demands [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves traitors be punished]], or simply because the villain [[PragmaticVillainy knows]] better than to trust the [[NoHonorAmongThieves kind of person]] who would betray all of their closest companions for personal gain.
11	* '''Villain betrays Villain''': Two or more villains decide on a mutually beneficial VillainTeamUp but when they achieve their goal, often only partially, the more ruthless of the two decides that they really don't feel like sharing the fruits of victory and that their partner has [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlived their usefulness]].\
12	Often, one villain will betray the other ''before'' victory is secured, surprising their "ally" who thought they could still be trusted for now (with the common drawback of fighting the heroes alone, often leading to their defeat).\
13	This can sometimes be used an example of EvenEvilHasStandards, in that the betrayed partner might have honestly thought [[IGaveMyWord they could trust their betrayer]], only to be told "ILied!". More often the betrayed party [[InevitableMutualBetrayal knew they would betray one another]], and is indignant because they didn't get the chance to stab the other villain in the back first.
14	----
15	!!Examples:
16
17	[[foldercontrol]]
18
19	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
20	* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': During the Future Trunks Saga, Zamasu, declaring all mortals are evil, decides to embark on a crusade to wipe them all out in Future Trunks' timeline, teaming up with the like-minded [[EvilTwin Goku Black]] [[spoiler:(who happens to be an alternate version of himself who stole Goku's body)]] to do so. In addition to doing this, the EvilDuo also wipe out all the gods in that timeline on the grounds that "one god is all the cosmos needs."
21	[[/folder]]
22
23	[[folder:Comic Books]]
24	* ''ComicBook/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Season 12'': [[ComicBook/{{Fray}} Harth Fray]] comes to the present day to [[ConquerorFromTheFuture conquer the past]], enlisting the help of numerous demons, including [[spoiler:a resurrected Mayor Wilkins]]. When Illyria sacrifices herself to force most of them into a portal to a hell dimension, [[spoiler:Wilkins]] remarks it works in their favor, as that means there's much less to share after they TakeOverTheWorld. Harth agrees with his point... and promptly chops his head off.
25	-->'''Harth''': The future's mine, you idiot! You think I'm going to share it?
26	* ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk1962'': In the final issue, the Metal Master asks the Hulk to take over the world with him. Hulk seriously considers it for a moment... then decides he'd much rather just do it himself. The Metal Master turning on him seems to put any thought of world-ruling out of the Hulk's mind.
27	[[/folder]]
28
29	[[folder:Fan Works]]
30	* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/27420301?view_full_work=true The Ones Who Rebuild Us]]'', Kylo Ren tries to lure Rey to the Dark Side so that he can rebuild his power after she killed Snoke and the Resistance dismantled the First Order. Rey, who ''had'' been influenced by the darkness while hunting him down, asks why she has to share the power with him and attacks.
31	-->'''Kylo:''' It can be ours. We’re not limited, not anymore. All its power is ours. We can make it what we want.\
32	'''Rey:''' Ours?\
33	'''Kylo:''' Whatever we want.\
34	'''Rey:''' (''smirks evilly'') Why would I include you?\
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
38	* The ''WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGobots'' movie ''[=GoBots=]: Battle of the Rock Lords'' had the Renegades' leader Cy-Kill form a BigBadDuumvirate with Magmar, leader of the evil faction of the Rock Lords, only to turn against him to take the power scepter for himself.
39	* ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfTheGuardiansTheOwlsOfGaHoole''. Invoked by Metalbeak to [[spoiler:Allomere]].
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
43	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse''
44	** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'': [[BigBad Ronan]] spends most of the movie trying to retrieve [[MacGuffin the Orb]] for [[GreaterScopeVillain Thanos]] in exchange for the latter destroying Xandar for him. However, when Ronan realizes that the Orb contains [[spoiler: an Infinity Stone]], he decides to keep it and destroy Xandar himself, and [[TheStarscream destroy Thanos]] as well for good measure. In this case it wasn't so much Thanos and Ronan ruling together as having a bargain that Ronan decides he no longer needs to bother with.
45	** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'': [[spoiler:Ego]] wants Peter to join him in his AssimilationPlot. When Peter refuses, [[spoiler:Ego]] declares he can just use Peter as a living battery for a few thousand years and see if he changes his mind after that.
46	* ''Film/MegaMonsterBattleUltraGalaxyLegends'': An Alien Zarab frees [[BigBad Ultraman Belial]] from his prison and gives him back his Giga Battle Nizer only asking to form a partnership to rule the universe as equals, [[UngratefulBastard Belial kills him on the spot for it]] while stating that the universe will only be ''his'' to take.
47	* ''Franchise/StarWars''
48	** While Anakin does offer [[WeCanRuleTogether to make Padme his Empress]] in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', with his powers and her lack thereof, it's pretty obvious who'd have been doing all the ''real'' ruling if she'd accepted his offer, and he also goes so far as to tell her about his plans to overthrow his master Palpatine and rule the galaxy himself. The movie takes this trope to extremes as Emperor Palpatine is well aware of his apprentice's ambitions and even boasts to Yoda that he's certain Darth Vader will one day be even more powerful than himself.
49	** About fifty years later in ''Film/TheLastJedi'', [[spoiler: Anakin's grandson Kylo Ren ends up defaulting to this after Rey turns down his WeCanRuleTogether offer for the second time. After their falling-out and her departure, he then has to deal with General Hux, who was his political equal in the chain of command while Snoke was still alive and doesn't want to take orders from him. One ForceChoke later (to remind Hux who's got all the real power now that Snoke is dead), Kylo Ren has completely secured his KlingonPromotion and is the First Order's new Supreme Leader.]]
50	* After he discovers the conspiracy in ''Film/TheyLive'', Nada is offered two chances to join the aliens. However both times they either don't mean it, or it's not really plausible. The two aliens disguised as cops are only making the offer to get Nada to a quiet place where they can kill him, and [[spoiler:Holly]] offering it at the end would never work out, since at this point Nada had already killed dozens of aliens and would obviously be killed in retaliation.
51	* In ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', Magneto agreed with everything [[BigBad Sebastian Shaw]] said. Shaw's [[YouKilledMyFather having killed his mother]], however, just absolutely ''killed'' Shaw's suggestion that they ought to ally with each other.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Literature]]
55	* Quite common in ''Franchise/StarWars''. In fact, this is more or less the modus operandi for Sith in general in the series, given that betraying and killing their masters is built into their dogma. The Rule of Two allows for a lot of Dark Jedi, even Dark Jedi with a bit of Sith training, but only two true Sith, and of those two, if the apprentice doesn't kill the master, the master ''will'' try to kill the apprentice. This is assumed from the start of pretty much every apprenticeship - the student will hold off on killing the master until enough has been taught or the master looks too weak, and the master will refrain from killing the apprentice until the apprentice becomes worryingly powerful, or until they've done all the errands the master wants, or until a more promising apprentice has been found and taken well into hand. The whole point behind the Rule of Two was to harness this natural Sith tendency for betrayal into something that would still strengthen the Order (by ensuring two weaker apprentices can't gang up on their master, so when the betrayal comes, only the best Sith survives) instead of causing it to destroy itself periodically.
56	** In the novelization of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Anakin starts plotting to overthrow Palpatine the moment he turns to the dark side. However, he doesn't get a chance to put his plans into action.
57	** The novelization of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' also indicates that while Luke was tempted to kill Darth Vader and take his father's place at Emperor Palpatine's side as offered, he was already feeling the further temptation to kill the Emperor too and take everything for himself. It helps that Luke ''already'' wanted to kill Palpatine even before he started to be tempted by TheDarkSide.
58	** Played with in ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor''. Luke is set up as Palpatine's heir apparent and ''pretends'' to be the Emperor to execute a mass HeelFaceTurn from the Imperial soldiers. It doesn't work out. (Hint: [[spoiler:That black armor isn't paint!]])
59	** In the ''Franchise/StarWars'' novel ''Literature/DarthPlagueis'', this was part of Sidious' TheReasonYouSuckSpeech towards Plagueis while the former is killing the latter with Force Lightning; their original plan was that, after Sidious was elected Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, he would promote Plagueis to co-chancellor, and form a BigBadDuumvirate.
60	** ''ComicBook/{{Legacy}}'' has the Sith abandon the Rule of Two for the Rule of One - that 'one' being the Sith as a whole, meaning that there are a lot of them and they actually can work together, if uneasily. [[spoiler:Until [[TheEmperor Sith Emperor]] [[BigBad Darth Krayt]] is severely wounded and left for dead by the heroes. [[TheDragon Darth Wyyrlok]], who'd never before hinted at the ambition to usurp Krayt, found him clinging to life...and decided at that moment [[KlingonPromotion to kill him off and seize control of the empire]].]]
61	** In the Darth Bane books, Bane's problem was that his apprentice [[BastardUnderstudy Zannah]] seemed willing to wait for him to die of old age so she could claim his rank without fighting. [[FridgeLogic If they did not fight to the death, how would they know who had truly been the strongest?]] Bane acknowledges that waiting for an enemy to grow weak is a valid and normally wise strategy, but this was a special case because it was essential for Zannah to be stronger than him once she became the Sith Lord, otherwise the Sith Order would stagnate.
62	** In ''Literature/FateOfTheJedi'', and its ''Lost Tribe of the Sith'' [[ExpansionPackPast tie-in]], the aforementioned tribe seems to avert this. In the series proper, when their High Lord [[spoiler: Taalon gets [[InTheBack cut open from behind]] by Vestara, she]] has to get out of Dodge, to avoid being killed in revenge... Also, earlier, a Sith ship's captain and entire crew just ''let themselves get executed'' as a scapegoat, 'for the good of the tribe'.
63	* Literature/TheStainlessSteelRat is seeking to depose a planetary dictator by fair means or foul in ''The Stainless Steel Rat for President''. At one stage the dictator meets with Jim [=DiGriz=] in private and suggests WeCanRuleTogether -- he'll run the government, [=DiGriz=] will run the opposition, and they'll quietly eliminate anyone who's a real threat. [=DiGriz=] refuses outright because he believes in democracy and thinks the dictator is a total scumbag. The dictator rejects this [[EvilCannotComprehendGood as all politicians are out for themselves]]. Fine, says [=DiGriz=], and goes on a spiel about how he wants all the goodies for himself, "All the power, the money, the women" causing the dictator to shed ManlyTears. "[[YouRemindMeOfX You remind me of myself when I was young]]." The truth is that [=DiGriz=] is doing all this for fun, [[spoiler:so he fakes his death at the end to get out of running the planet.]]
64	* ''Literature/KingdomsOfThornAndBone'': During their confrontation at the end of the series, [[spoiler: Stephen]] tells [[spoiler: Anne]] that they can divide the power of the faneways between them and rule as King and Queen. [[spoiler: Anne]] agrees that they ''could'', but since she's already has a lot more power than him, she might as well just rip his from him and rule alone.
65	* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'': While there seem to have been no deals made between Scabandari Bloodeye and Silchas Ruin regarding what they would do ''after'' conquering the new world they came to, Scabandari reasons that in due time there would be conflict between their people. As he puts it: "One must rule. Two cannot." NothingPersonal, though. Silchas surely would enjoy [[BuriedAlive eternal imprisonment]].
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
69	* Subverted in ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E13Doomsday "Doomsday"]], the Cybermen offer an alliance to the Daleks. The Daleks completely refuse to consider the possibility, deciding the Cybermen are useless even as pawns.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Video Games]]
73	* ''Franchise/StarWars'' videogames (see also ''Star Wars'' under Literature):
74	** Kyle Katarn in the dark side ending for ''VideoGame/JediKnightDarkForcesII'', as mentioned above.
75	** Likewise in ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'''s DarkSide ending, Jaden Korr will kill Tavion and take the Scepter of [[SealedEvilInACan Ragnos]] for themself. It's not a case of betrayal; (s)he declares his/her intentions clearly after falling to the Dark Side, so the player fights most of the same battles either way.
76	** ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'' has [[DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation Jedi Master Shaak Ti]] tell Starkiller, "The Sith always betray one another. But I'm sure you'll learn that soon enough." And indeed, not long after that Vader turns on his secret apprentice.
77	** In the ''[[VideoGame/StarWarsEpisodeIIIRevengeOfTheSith Revenge of the Sith]]'' videogame, one of the the endings has Anakin/Vader killing Obi-Wan on Mustafar, then subsequently killing Palpatine to take control of the Empire.
78	* A cutscene in ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors 2'' (and ''Empires'') shows Akechi thinking exactly this as he initializes the Incident at Honnoj, turning on his former master, Oda Nobunaga. His expanded reasoning is that he initially agreed to follow Nobunaga because he believed him able to put an end to these war-torn times... but then, watching the damage caused by Nobunaga's armies, he changed his mind. "Fuck that," he said "I'll just knock him off and become a lord ''myself''. Then ''I'll'' bring peace to these troubled times." And so he did. 'cept for the 'bring peace to these troubled times' bit, maybe.
79	* In the [[MegaCorp WorldCorp]] endgame for ''VideoGame/TheNamelessMod'', Trestkon can elect to ban Scara before he completes the final objective.
80	* In the bad ending of ''VideoGame/{{Darkwatch}}'', after defeating Cassidy and helping Tala secure ultimate power, Jericho Cross [[VampireBitesSuck rips Tala's jugular open]] and goes on to presumably take over the Wild West.
81	* In ''VideoGame/TheSuffering: Ties That Bind'', Blackmore encourages Torque to kill Jordan, despite the fact that she's his most powerful ally and the two have a WeCanRuleTogether moment in the game's evil ending if you ignore him and spare her. Then again, this may simply be because Blackmore has zero impulse control.
82	* ''VideoGame/TheNeverhood'' game allows to choose this trope as one of its endings. Either you kick out the villain and take the crown for yourself, or rescue the legitimate king.
83	* In ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld II'', Mors Gotha presents the WeCanRuleTogether offer to the Avatar. However, it's merely a ruse to get you to hand over a weapon; if you accept, she tells you that power was never meant to be shared, and proceeds to attack you.
84	* Inverted and subverted in ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' where Sindri is almost backstabbed by [[spoiler:Brother-Librarian Isador]] for this reason but is quite ready for the attempt and betrays [[spoiler:Isador]] first.
85	* Near the end of ''VideoGame/{{Dragon Quest\|I}}'', the [[BigBad Dragonlord]] gives you the standard WeCanRuleTogether offer. If you accept it, he tells you "take a long, long rest." Cue the [[NonstandardGameOver red text]]...
86	** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestBuilders'' shows the Dragonlord ''did'' make good on his promise to give half the world to the Fallen Hero. [[spoiler:You find him on the throne of the tiny keep known as [[ExactWords Half The World]].]]
87	* One of the possible ending choices in ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'', depending on choices you make in the game. Depending on the contacts you made throughout you have varying levels of success with the aftermath - up to and including changing the entire course of global politics.
88	* The first ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage'' has Mr. X posit the usual "join me and we can rule this town" spiel. Accepting it only serves to toss you back two stages. Two-player, however, works differently; both players can answer the question. If both answers are the same, it's akin to the single-player answers; if both players answer differently, however, a battle between the two players initiates. If the player who agreed to join Mr. X wins, the question is posited again; this time, you can say "no" and invoke this trope. The final boss with Mr. X begins as usual, but winning gives an exclusive "bad ending" showing you in charge of the X Syndicate.
89	* In the original ''VideoGame/OgreBattle'', if you win with a low reputation, you take the throne of Zenobia by force. This is generally a DownerEnding, though one such ending is potentially less of a downer from your perspective. [[spoiler: If you have a low alignment but a good Charisma, you build a Black Empire using dark magic.]]
90	* You can pull this at the end of ''VideoGame/{{Singularity}}'', where you can just [[TakeAThirdOption vent both Barisov and Demichev]] rather than go with either of their options. [[spoiler:This leads to the [=USSR=] collapsing, Katorga-12 blowing up, E99 mutants invading East Russia and you becoming supreme dictator of the United States of America.]]
91	** Demichev has a global empire in which he's offering you a high-level position if you play ball. [[spoiler:The ending implies you eventually pull this on him anyway.]] Barisov is the one not offering you anything, he's just playing to your conscience.
92	* In ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'', you can certainly TRY this [[spoiler:by killing [=LaCroix=] and opening the Ankharan Sarcophagus yourself. Only it doesn't work at all like you had hoped. There's a ''reason'' you're repeatedly cautioned in-game not to open it.]]
93	* This is the fourth possible ending in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' and can be either good or bad depending upon your actions throughout the game. The more people you helped the smoother the transition of power becomes in the ending montage and the people are more likely to accept you as their new ruler.
94	* In ''VideoGame/DarkMessiah'', this is one of Sareth's options. Xana will actually advise you to do this instead of freeing the Demon Sovereign, since by that point she'd rather follow your lead than his. Or she just finds you more manipulable.
95	* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', this was the ultimate fate of Ner'zhul, Arthas took up the throne of the Lich King and killed the last of his humanity. Ner'zhul intended for the two to rule as two minds in one body, Arthas didn't feel like sharing the throne and killed him too, merging their personalities with Arthas' as the dominant one.
96	* In ''VideoGame/DeusEx'', this basically sums up [[spoiler:Majestic-12's intentions. As an offshoot of the Illuminati, its main leaders in Bob Page and Walton Simmons basically intend to usurp power to become the ultimate MegaCorp over all other corporations and secret organizations around the world which have previously been working together to hold global domination via their Gray Death.]]
97	* In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', Black Doom wants Shadow to help him take control over the Earth, essentially serving as his minion. One of eleven possible endings allows Shadow to betray Black Doom at the last second and state that, as the Ultimate Lifeform, he is going to conquer the universe himself.
98	* In a Genocide run of ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', Flowey seems perfectly happy to rule together with you even if he's subordinate. In fact, towards the end he states he wouldn't mind just living a peaceful life with you and not even ruling at all. When you make it clear that your objective is to kill ''everything'', he realizes that he's no exception, so he makes a very brief HeelFaceTurn and tries to warn Asgore about you, and tries to rejoin you when that fails, insisting he can be useful to you. [[spoiler:It takes you eight stabs to reduce his physical body to dust.]]
99	* ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'': After defeating [[BigBad Mundus]], [[spoiler:Vergil reveals that he had planned all along to take Mundus' place as ruler of the world, insisting that HumansAreFlawed and need to be protected from themselves. While he originally planned to [[WeCanRuleTogether rule alongside his brother]], when Dante adamantly refuses to do so, Vergil straight-up tells Dante to stand aside so he can rule alone. Cue the FinalBoss.]]
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:Webcomics]]
103	* ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'': [[TheDragon Neilen]] pulls this on [[MagnificentBastard Jacob]] [[http://dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2009-09-02 here]].
104	-->'''Jacob:''' Neilen. Excellent. Now we can '''URGK!'''\
105	'''Neilen:''' "We"? What do you mean "we"?
106	* Villain-on-villain example in ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' during D'rizzl and Thief's short-lived alliance during the final confrontation between the Light and Dark Warriors. (For context, the Light Warriors are ''significantly'' [[VillainProtagonist more monstrous]] than [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain the Dark Warriors]].)
107	-->'''D'rizzl:''' Anyway, I re-teamed up with my team to destroy you guys.\
108	'''Thief:''' Hold it! We had a plan to backstab our teams into bloody lumps of our own personal glories.\
109	'''D'rizzl:''' We did. Right up until I backstabbed you for my own personal glory.\
110	'''Thief:''' You backstabbed me? How unforeseeable. Alternately: ''Oh.''\
111	'''Black Mage:''' You don't ''get'' to be pissed off! You were colluding with the enemy!\
112	'''Thief:''' [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder I would have double-crossed him to death before double-crossing you guys.]]\
113	'''Black Mage:''' That's not ''as'' bad.\
114	'''D'rizzl:''' So, all that talk about elven solidarity was a lie.\
115	'''Thief:''' [[NotHelpingYourCase But in my defence, I only lied because I thought your death would benefit me.]]
116	* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', Snacklford and his cult succeed in summoning a monster from another dimension and transfering its power to Snacklford.
117	-->'''Snacklford:''' Yes! Yes! I have done it! The second breakthrough! My mind - humming with possibilities! Everything is so clear!
118	-->'''Cheering cult members:''' Congratulations, you lordship. A magnificent triumph. What glory the world will behold when we [[AGodAmI all take our places as gods]].
119	-->'''Snacklford:''' Yesss... about that- [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness [Kills all the cultist with his new powers]]]
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Western Animation]]
123	* Used in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'': After Eris slips up during her WeCanRuleTogether speech to Mandy, and says, "You'll be the ''second'' most powerful person on Earth," Mandy declines, saying only ''[[VillainProtagonist she]]'' can be the most powerful.
124	* In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', ComicBook/RedSkull turns his son into a creature of immense power, Electro, and then proceeds to expand on how he is now going to conquer the world with Electro by his side. Electro asks why he should stand by anybody's side when he is the one with all the power, zaps his surprisingly [[GenreBlindness unsavvy]] daddy, and takes off to claim the world for himself. Except the Skull is CrazyPrepared enough to have a plan in the event of such a betrayal.
125	** His son also brings up the point that [[AbusiveParents the Red Skull risked his life in the experiment]]. The Red Skull dismisses his son's complaints, saying that the risk was "minimal". This didn't exactly endear him to Electro.
126	* In the [[AlignmentBasedEndings bad ending]] of the ''WesternAnimation/ElTigreTheAdventuresOfMannyRivera'' special "The Good, The Bad, and the Tigre", El Tigre accepts the BigBad Sartana's WeCanRuleTogether offer, only to betray her alongside her grandson Django. El Tigre then betrays ''Django'' and takes control of the world alongside his ChildhoodFriendRomance Frida.
127	* Used in an episode of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears'', when Duke Igthorne makes the mistake of putting Toadwart, his subservient dwarf ogre sidekick, into a suit of magic armor...
128	* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}: Web of Shadows'': The Visorak King Sidorak has long offered to share his throne with his second-in-command Roodaka in the form of UnholyMatrimony. She bided her time to take him up on it, however, until she manipulated things in her favor; soon after which she said this and left him to die fighting a very strong, very ''angry'' enemy beast. (Unfortunately for her, the puppet general she'd set up flipped the script and gave Sidorak's armies an out, permitting them to reject her rule and abandon her for her treachery. Surprisingly, she seemed much more willing to engage in WeCanRuleTogether with him, or at least with him as her subordinate.)
129	** BigBad Makuta [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Teridax]] used his Brotherhood to complete his grand plan to seize power, committing GrandTheftMe on the resident PhysicalGod and basically ''becoming one'' with the entire known world (revealed to be a [[SapientShip truly gigantic robot]]), allowing him to control everything inside of it and then use it to conquer other planets. The moment this hijacking works out (and even a bit before that) he begins killing off his own species, as he believed the Makuta were the only ones with the knowledge and power required to execute "The Plan" (and this was the ''second'' purge he carried out; the first was the one that weeded out the Makuta who refused to follow him and "The Plan" in the first place). While the original plan was for the rest of the Brotherhood to rule alongside their leader, only a few of them even thought of the possibility that they could be betrayed (and the two that did ultimately became TheStarscream to try and stop it, only to fail and die, one of them even trying to warn the others of their upcoming betrayal before being killed). Since their entire motivation for overthrowing the Great Spirit in the first place was pride and jealousy at being eternally below him on the ladder of power, of course Teridax didn't trust any one of them to not try and do it against ''him''.
130	* A variation in the ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'' original series story "The Riddle of the Gold": the Maharaja tells Dr. Zinn's agent that soon they'll be the richest, most powerful men in the world. The agent poisons the Maharaja and declares, "There is room for only one richest, most powerful man in the world ... and he is Dr. Zinn." The agent is ''NOT'' Zinn in disguise. That's loyalty.
131	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''
132	** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 Twilight's Kingdom Part 2]]", Lord Tirek convinces a post-HeelFaceTurn Discord [[WeCanRuleTogether to join his side]] and help him conquer Equestria instead of easily stopping him. However, Tirek pulls this trope the moment he's drained enough magic to become more powerful than Discord, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness draining him as well]]. In a bit of irony, Discord's HeelRealization as a result is what solidifies his true HeelFaceTurn.
133	** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E1TheBeginningOfTheEndPart1 The Beginning of the End Part 1]]", the [[BackFromTheDead newly resurrected]] King Sombra rejects Grogar's [[spoiler:(really a disguised Discord)]] offer of a VillainTeamUp with him, Chrysalis, Tirek and even Cozy Glow and goes to conquer the rest of Equestria on his own. [[NearVillainVictory Sombra gets close but fails]], and Grogar still allowed him to do this [[MakeAnExampleOfThem as a point to the rest of the villains]].
134	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ICanRuleAlone