Friendly Enemy / Western Animation

Friendly Enemies in Western Animation.

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• Adventure Time:
  • This is how the Ice King thinks of his relationship to Finn (and Jake). In reality, not so much, though they are willing to help him out sometimes, such as when he tries to learn how to be happy. It's eventually revealed that the reason he thinks of them as friends is because they stop him from hurting those around him, which was one of his last conscious requests before going completely insane.
  • Finn (and Jake) and Marceline count, as she forcibly holds onto the "enemy" part for a while, until she's forced to admit she enjoys their company and drops it. Her relationship with Princess Bubblegum has also been characterized as a "friendly rivalry", according to Word of God, though we later learn through context clues and Word of Gay that they're ex-girlfriends.
• Batman: The Animated Series:
  • The Joker himself even lampshades this in "The Man Who Killed Batman" during a jewelry store robbery — he fully expects the Caped Crusader to show up and defeat him, describing their fights as "having some laughs". It's so severe that when the Joker mistakenly believes that Batman is dead, he tells his accomplice Harley Quinn to return the stolen jewels, becoming furious when Quinn thinks he's joking: "Without Batman, crime has no punchline."
  • It could be argued that Batman has this dynamic with all of his foes (with a few exceptions, like the Sewer King). He doesn't want to kill them, or even see them locked up — he wants them to get better and reform.
    • While he isn't convinced, Batman compliments the Penguin's attempt to reform in "Birds of a Feather" once the latter shows off a bit of jewelry he'd bought for Veronica Vreeland.
    • When it seems as though Poison Ivy has stopped her criminal career, he mentions that he genuinely wants to believe that she's finally cleaning up her act (unfortunately, she isn't).
    • Similarly, when Harley Quinn passes a competency hearing and is legally released from Arkham in "Harley's Holiday", he offers her a congratulatory handshake and does his best to help her stay out of trouble. When she ends up back in the asylum (largely through a series of misunderstandings, and with the hope that she'd recover in time), Harley thanks Batman with a quick smooch...and likes it so much that she plants a much bigger kiss on him immediately after.
    • Batman helps Arnold Wesker/the Ventriloquist break his reliance on Scarface, the hand puppet that manifests his dissociative identity disorder, and even helps Arnold reenter society by giving him a job at Wayne Enterprises.
• Bianca Dupree of Beverly Hills Teens; while being the closest the show has to a recurring villain, she's frequently seen hanging out with many of the other characters, even joining in on some of their fun such as a Slumber Party and a road race.
• Tammy Larson on Bob's Burgers is an interesting case. Tina once tried to be friendly with her and described her as her "frenemy", but lately she's been a lot less tolerant of Tammy's bullshit. Still, Tammy always ends up being part of the group during adventures.
• The words Friendly Enemy occur in the Theme Song to the British Kids' show Cloppa Castle. The villains, the Hasbeens, are punch clock villains who sit down for a friendly cup of tea with the good guys, the Bygones, at the end of each day's non-lethal battle.
• Lovable Alpha Bitch Sissi Delmas and the heroes have developed this relationship by Season 4 of Code Lyoko. Most of the antagonism is kept between her and Odd, and even it has become pretty light-hearted and somewhat obligatory. A prime example is when Sissi makes a degrading comment, receives an insult (from Aelita on Odd's behalf since his mouth is full), and when Sissi seems satisfied by this, her accomplice Herb remarks "Y'know, sometimes I wonder if you actually ask for it!"
• Codename: Kids Next Door:
  • Captain Stickybeard to Numbuh Five. Due to their mutual love of candy, they've helped each other out on several occasions, and Numbuh Five often calls him by the oddly Affectionate Nickname of "Stickybuns".
  • Sector E are good friends with the Rowdy Hooligans from Across the Square; despite being on opposite sides, they dismiss the idea they have to hate each other as a ridiculous American notion.
• Danny Phantom:
  • By the end of the series, Danny was frenemies with most of the recurring ghost characters. When dealing with a problem bigger than he could handle on his own, he'd often turn to one of them for help. The fact that he was able to convince nearly the entire population of the ghost zone to help save Earth cemented that status.
  • Vlad in particular implied that he sees his relationship with Danny like this, stating "I'm sorry, but funny, joke-around Vlad isn't here today" before attacking him. This is a relationship Vlad often saw with Danny during most of the series' run on account of the villain's desire to have Danny as his surrogate son; his role as an Unwitting Pawn notwithstanding.
  • Played with in the Alternate Timeline in "The Ultimate Enemy." Danny seeks Vlad's help when his friends and family are killed, and Vlad is genuinely sympathetic when Danny arrives at his door.
• In The Deputy Dawg Show, Deputy Dawg was often out to arrest Muskie Muskrat and his friends for causing trouble, but would just as frequently be on good terms with them.
• Roger Klotz to the titular character on Doug. Though Roger is a bully and occasional rival for Patti Mayonnaise's affections, he occasionally shows genuine affection for Doug. In one episode, it's Roger who organizes an anniversary party celebrating Doug's move to Bluffington, and in another, the pair bonds over their both appearing on an embarrassing children's TV show; the end of the episode sees the two having a genuinely good time at Doug's house, eating popcorn and burning the tapes of their episodes from the show.
• Spildit is this to the Urpneys in The Dreamstone. While it comes partially out of childish obliviousness, she is shown to feel sorry for Blob's men on occasions and makes friendly banter with them, at one point even helping them back to Viltheed after they get stranded in the Land of Dreams. Not so much with the other heroes, who wouldn't trust an Urpney if their life depended on it, and usually mistake Spildit's friendly meetings with the Urpneys as kidnap attempts.
• Duck Dodgers and the Martian Commander. In one episode, convinced that they're both about to die, the Martian admits that Dodgers is his best friend. Dodgers, of course, responds "Ha! What a loser!" However, in another, when Dodgers learns that the Martian considers the Mad Scientist Dr Woe to be his archenemy, he reacts like X-2 is cheating on him.
• In Ever After High, Raven and Apple frequently hang out, despite one being destined to poison the other. Both have expressed respect and admiration for the other, and in fact, Apple insists on sharing a dorm with Raven in the first episode.
  Briar: But why are you doing this for Raven?
  Apple: Because she's such an important part of my story! When she poisons me, it changes everything. Then the prince can wake me, and I become queen. That's when I get my happily ever after. I need her!
• On The Fairly OddParents!, Dark Laser seems to have this relationship with Timmy by letting him borrow the Death Ball for a party and willing to tell him about his irritable bowels.
• In Family Guy, while Peter and Ernie the Giant Chicken are fighting for the third time in "No Chris Left Behind", Peter interrupts the fight by wondering what they were even fighting about. They apologize to each other, and, to make up, the chicken invites him to dinner. After the meal, they argue over who pays the bill and become enemies again, continuing the fight at the restaurant.
• On Fantastic Four: The Animated Series, the titular superheroes developed this relationship with none other than Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds. In one instance, Galactus came to Earth to seek their help—he was starving because he'd lost his Herald, whose duty it was to find planets for him to drain the life from; this was after the Four had prevented him from destroying the Earth in the first place. Mister Fantastic quickly finds another uninhabited planet for Galactus to absorb (the entity has to eat planets that can support life, so they don't necessarily have to actually have life on them), and the whole team helps him get there. At the end of the episode, Galactus remarks that Earth is the only planet where he actually has something like friends. In another case, the Four deliberately sought out Galactus to help them defeat Ego the Living Planet, and he agrees.
• In Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Madame Foster is mad that her rival Flo Jerkins has bribed her bowling team into joining her, and at Mac's suggestion, hires him and the Imaginary Friends to be her stand-in bowling team. The episode plays it off like Foster and Jerkins are rivals that hate each other, especially when Jerkins bribes Bloo to join her too. At the end, Foster's team wins (fifth place), and all of the sudden, they're discussing about their date for tea and crumpets. They're heated rivals, but that doesn't mean that they can't act civilized now and again. Case in point, a later episode when the cast is trying to go to Europe, Foster invited Flo and the girls to a wild tea party (expecting everyone to have already left) and then they all hitch a ride to Europe after stealing Mac's tickets.
• Freakazoid! is like this with quite a few of his Rogues Gallery, most notably The Lobe and to a lesser extent, Cobra Queen.
• Bender and the Robot Devil in Futurama. The Robot Devil has kidnapped and tortured Bender, tried to consign him to eternal damnation repeatedly, and even used him as a pawn in a plot to kill his closest friend, none of which have precluded casual socializing, party invitations and visits to Hell for workshops. It might help that Bender is still possibly the eviler of the two.
• David Xanatos and the Gargoyles had a pretty rocky, ally-again/enemy-again relationship until the former finally performed a final Heel–Face Turn after the latter helped save his baby from a superpowerful fairy. Because you just can't stay mad at anyone who helps save your baby from superpowerful fairies. Xanatos sees Goliath in particular as a Worthy Opponent; he asked Goliath to be the best man at his wedding!
• God, the Devil and Bob: The Devil and Bob, to the point that they're really only enemies as an extension of the Devil's Fantastic Racism towards all humans. Andy even tells Bob that "the Devil's your friend" in one episode.
• Invader Zim: One interpretation of Zim and Dib's relationship is this given the examples listed below:
  • Especially in the unfinished episode they were both miserable without each other. This trope is at its most overt in the Pilot where Dib cheerfully compliments Zim's plan and Zim graciously thanks him for it, though shades of it sometime show up throughout the rest of the series (such as Zim prefacing the explanation of his brilliant, evil plan to Dib in "A Room With a Moose" by saying that Dib is the only one smart enough to really appreciate it).
  • Another example could be the episode "Hamstergeddon", where a giant hamster (altered by Zim) is destroying the town. Zim fights his mutated creature since it does not obey him, and Dib is pleasantly surprised. But Zim crashes his ship, and Dib is conflicted on whether to capture him or let him continue protecting the humans. Zim wakes up before Dib's decision, where Dib then thanks Zim for the good he's doing. Zim denies helping anyone but they have a temporary truce.
  • A third example is the cancelled episode "Mopiness of Doom", in which Dib drops his rivalry with Zim out of frustration and goes on to pursue "real science" like his father. He eventually finds it to be incredibly dull, and Zim becomes listless with depression over the loss of his own personal arch-enemy. The last few minutes of the episode are almost like a happy reunion, in which Zim and Dib gleefully exchange death threats and laser blasts in a way that is almost affectionate.
  • A comic drawn by creator Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon Magazine made this very explicit. The comic ends with Zim successfully taking over the earth. Dib's upset at what he's done to humanity lasts only as long as it takes for Zim to offer to take him into space to drink sodas and ride space bunnies.
    Zim: NOW PREPARE HUMANS! PREPARE FOR YOUR DOOM!
    Dib: Not today, not ever, Zim!
    Zim: Who Dares?
    Dib: Yes! It is I, DIB!!! Your sworn enemy!! The sole protector of Earth! Woo!!
    (beat)
    Dib: (cheerful) So! Whatcha doin'?
  • It's almost a Running Gag that other characters refer to Zim and Dib as friends, including Dib's family and Zim's robot sidekick. Both the series and the comic have instances in which an antagonist of one tries to use the other as a bargaining chip, taking their "friendship" for granted.
• Stormer from Jem is the Token Good Teammate of The Misfits. While she keeps up "a bitch act" to fit in with her band, she has been shown to be the only one to get along with Jem and her friends. She even becomes friends with Kimber in one episode (and dates her in the comic reboot), though they began the episode hating each other before Duet Bonding.
• Lucius Heinous VII of Jimmy Two-Shoes' relationship with Jimmy is similar to that of Plankton. However, this is entirely one-sided, as Lucius has nothing but contempt for Jimmy.
• Johnny Test: Bling-Bling Boy frequently admits that the titular protagonist is both his Arch-Enemy and his Only Friend. It helps that the only reason they are in conflict with each other is because Bling-Bling has a crush on Johnny's sister Susan (much to her ire) and commits his villainous actions to win her affection — otherwise they'd probably be best friends.
• The Flash and The Trickster are like this in Justice League Unlimited, with the latter being more delusional than villainous.
  Flash: (admonishingly) James, you're off your meds again, aren't you?
  Trickster: Better off without 'em! Take 'em if I start feeling down.
  Flash: You know that's not how the medicine works. You're not well!
  Trickster: I'm fine! (brightens up) You wanna throw some darts?
  Flash: No... Listen, James, you're wearing the suit again.
  Trickster: I am? (looks down at his costume) Well, what do you know...
  Flash: Here's the deal, buddy: Tell me where those guys went and I promise to come see you in the hospital. We'll play darts, the soft kind.
  Trickster: (smiles widely) Okay, they're gonna ambush you at the Flash Museum!
  Flash: See? That's all we needed! (to Batman and Orion) Come on, we better get over there.
  Orion: What about your enemy?
  Flash: Oh, right. Dude, as soon as you finish your drink, turn yourself in!
  Trickster: (raises mug) Got me again, Flash!
• Kim Possible:
  • Shego and Kim exchange pleasantries and fashion tips during their fights, albeit with a lot of sarcasm and snark. She saves Kim from imminent death a couple of times (though she claims that's because she's The Only One Allowed to Defeat You), and they team up to save the day from a bigger threat. When Shego was temporarily turned good by a Mirror Morality Machine, she and Kim quickly became the best of friends, and Kim said that it was like having a big sister. That's how their relationship is normally, except they keep beating each other up and trying to put the other in jail or in a grave.
  • True also for Kim and Dr. Drakken, her Arch-Enemy and Shego's employer. He threw a Christmas party for everyone, once (albeit with the promise that everything will be "back to normal" after the holidays). He did an Enemy Mine in the last episode, which led to Drakken getting an award from the UN for saving the world.
• Looney Tunes:
  • Several cartoons starred a pair called Sam the Sheepdog and Ralph the Wolf (the latter looks curiously like Wile E. Coyote). They'd talk amicably, punch the clock, and share lunch together. However, when they were on the clock, it was Ralph's job to try and steal sheep and Sam's job to stop him at all costs. While it got comically brutal (this was Looney Tunes, after all), the characters recognize that it was just business.
  • Sylvester the Cat and Tweety Bird could also be this. In the "Holly-Daze" Christmas CD recorded by Mel Blanc, Bugs is surprised to catch them going Christmas shopping together, although they're plotting to buy each other presents that will sabotage their respective plans.
    Bugs: Dat's friendship if I ever heard it!
  • Bugs Bunny himself often acts as one to his foes due to his trademark easy-going persona. While perfectly willing to defend himself against their schemes, he has matter of fact and sometimes outright sympathetic exchanges to them, and gets on rather amicably with them until they draw the first blow. This is particularly evident with Daffy Duck, who he hangs out with and frequently rescues, despite the latter's constant backstabbery and occasionally murderous envy.
  • Played with during a Cartoon Network bumper made in a "touring the studio" style; one scene shows a door opening to Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner sitting on the couch and watching TV together, until they notice the camera...at which point they exchange looks and quickly begin chasing each other around the couch.
• The Duke of Detroit is this to the Burners in Motorcity, part of his Heel–Face Revolving Door.
• While Oggy and the Cockroaches do not get along well, in the episode "So lonely" Oggy is show to care about them: after he successfully traps the Cockroaches in a can and throws them away, he is happy at first, but then he starts to miss them and have dreams and hallucinations (he sees some shadows that resemble them, but they're just a spoon, a fork and a knife; he dreams of them coming back), and eventually tries to save them after a truck full of cans crashes near his house.
• On Oh No! It's An Alien Invasion the Brainlings' leader Emperor Brainlius III gets along fairly well with the heroes, mainly because he's too stupid to remember they're supposed to be enemies.
• Skipper and Julien from The Penguins of Madagascar. They spend most of their shared screentime arguing and generally being annoyed by the other, but Skipper will go out of his way to help Julien, and Julien has gone to Skipper to have his problems fixed. It was to the point that they were mistaken as 'BFF's by Skipper's Arch-Nemesis Dr. Blowhole... and the other penguins agreed with him.
  Julien: So I face danger and the adventure of a lifetime and nobody will ever know about it?!
  Skipper: Welcome to my world. That makes you an honorary penguin.
  Julien: Does that mean I am your BFF?
  Skipper: Eehh... we'll keep that code on the QT.
• Phineas and Ferb:
  • Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Perry the Platypus take this unusually far; in one episode, Doofenshmirtz refers to Perry as his best friend (right before Perry punches him in the face). Perry has also saved Doofenshmirtz's life several times and helped him set up his daughter's birthday party and when they are not busy fighting each other they don't mind hanging around or going shopping together. It's such a friendly arrangement that Doofenshmirtz has given Perry the keys to his lair, so he doesn't kick the door down on his way in. In "This Is Your Backstory", after a lifetime of being abused by his parents, shown up by his brother, rejected by women, and repeatedly blown up, the two things which prevent him from going completely insane are the heartwarming moments he's had with his daughter and the good times he and Perry have had together. In episodes set after the end of the series (in which Doof reformed) they're just best friends.
  • Buford and Baljeet. Officially, they're a bully and a nerd, but like Doof and Perry, they're more likely to spend the day together than fighting. In "Lotsa Latkes", they even get a musical number about it!
    Cause we're frenemies
    We like disliking one-another
    Cause we're frenemies
    He's like my least favourite brother!
• Many a Popeye cartoons started out with Popeye and Bluto being the best of chums — until Olive Oyl appears and they start fighting over her. Even this isn't the case when Minute Maid is involved.
• On Ready Jet Go!, this seemed to be the case with Jet and his friends, and Mitchell. Mitchell often spies on them, and is sometimes even antagonistic towards them, but in other episodes, they get along just fine. Deconstructed in the Christmas Episode.
• Recess:
  • Lawson and the heroes. TJ lampshades it at one point when he's insulted that someone actually doesn't like him, using Lawson as an example of "even my worst enemy likes me!"
  • The Recess Gang also has this dynamic with Miss Finster. On the surface, she's an antagonist, as she's the playground monitor who enforces strict rules, much to the chagrin of the kids and their many schemes. However, Miss Finster has a Hidden Heart of Gold and genuinely cares about the children in her care, and they in turn have a good deal of respect for her. It reaches its apex in "The Fuss Over Finster," when Muriel inadvertently sprains her leg and ends up on crutches. At first everyone takes advantage of her condition to pull off pranks, but the Recess Gang eventually realizes that without Miss Finster as an enemy, winning just isn't fun. They convince the whole playground to be on their best behavior until Muriel heals, giving her a much-needed break; at the same time, though, T.J. assures Miss Finster that once she's back to normal, it will be "business as usual," and Muriel happily declares that she "wouldn't have it any other way."
  • T.J. and Principal Prickly. Though T.J. often ends up called into the principal's office for his complex plans, the two's relationship comes across as more of a mentor/mentee than genuine antagonism. Prickly even goes out of his way to keep T.J. safe in "Taking the Fifth Grade," and agrees to a friendly challenge of a Senor Fusion trivia contest to win the whole school the chance to see a new movie starring the superhero.
  • The Recess Gang's rough-and-tumble play often puts them at odds with the Ashleys, a group of trendy debutantes with a love of fashion. On some occasions, though, they are civil, and even nice, to each other, especially when they have a common enemy to unite against.
• Rick from Rick and Morty generally has this opinion about all his enemies, typically preferring to not even bother with fighting them so long as they leave him alone, particularly during parties. When he throws a party at the end of Season 1 you see a few members of the Council of Ricks in attendance, Gearhead appears at his concert after he destroys The Vindicators, and when a gang attacking him turns out to be just a meth gang (and not assassins like he believed) he immediately begins talking to them like old friends. He explains to Morty that so many people try to kill him so often that he is so desensitized to it that he has no problem kicking back with them once the fight is over.
  Rick: Morty, twenty people try to kill me every week. I end up getting high with half of 'em.
• Lars from Rocket Power could be considered the Rocket crew's Arch-Enemy, but he has also helped the crew out on several occasions, like helping defend their sand castle from a rising tide and filling in for Otto on the street hockey team after the latter broke his leg. Twister even acknowledges Lars and his team as their greatest rival while recruiting him when he remarks, "I thought we really had a shot at this, especially since your team is already eliminated."
• Dudley Do-Right and Snidely Whiplash on Rocky and Bullwinkle. In The Movie, Snidely is talking with Dudley and calls him "my good friend and worthy foe".
• On The Simpsons:
  • Bart and Mrs. Krabappel have this in a few episodes. In one notable example, Bart studies like mad to try to actually pass a history test, but he still fails by one point; he breaks down completely and pours his heart out to Edna, who does her best to comfort him. When Bart mentions that he now understands how George Washington felt after a particular defeat, Edna is so impressed at his demonstration of applied knowledge that she gives him extra credit and bumps his grade up to a D-, allowing him to pass. In another instance, Bart tries to help Mrs. Krabappel win "Teacher of the Year" by writing the nominating committee and pointing out that anyone who could survive being his teacher was clearly worthy of the honor. The committee, stunned that the infamous Bart was real, immediately enter Edna into the competition; later in the episode, Bart speaks with genuine appreciation for her and even risks his own reputation as a troublemaker to bolster her chances. The late Marcia Wallace (Mrs. K's voice actress) once went on record saying she felt Edna was incredibly fond of Bart, and that their mutual antagonism was a "game" that both were playing to amuse themselves (and one another).
  • Bart and Principal Skinner have a relationship akin to Bart and Edna's. Despite the relentlessness of their sparring, the episode "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" has their relationship turning into a happy Intergenerational Friendship after Skinner is fired, implying that it's really only their respective roles as school troublemaker and Non-Giving-Up School Guy that come between them. After Skinner re-enlists in the army to have something to do, Bart decides to get him his job back even though it will pit them against each other again.
    Bart: It's weird, Lis. I miss him as a friend, but I miss him even more as an enemy.
  • Class bully Nelson Muntz and teacher's pet Martin Prince also gradually developed a dynamic similar to that between Buford and Baljeet.
  • Marge's sisters Patty and Selma Bouvier are quite open about their hatred of Homer, openly insulting and humiliating him at every possible opportunity; Homer feels the same way about them and calls them the "gruesome twosome." However, his and Selma's relationship has actually become warmer over time: in one episode, Selma tries to take care of Bart, Lisa, and Maggie for a day, fails miserably, and expresses admiration for Homer's ability to parent; in return, he comforts her. In another instance, Homer was willing to pretend to be Selma's husband to help her adopt a child from China.
  • Mr. Burns is probably the closest thing the show has to a regular antagonist, as his greed and obsession with profits often kick off whatever zany plot the Simpsons get involved in that week. He usually displays a particular distaste for the lazy Homer, who in turn despises the old man to the point where he remarks that killing his boss is "the American Dream." But despite their animosity, they do occasionally show each other some affection. In "King Sized Homer," for example, Mr. Burns is so grateful to Homer for preventing a nuclear meltdown that he offers him any favor he wants, and Homer happily accepts by asking Burns to help him lose weight (he'd ballooned up to 300 pounds to qualify as disabled and thereby get to work from home). Burns agrees and, after a failed attempt at exercise, pays for liposuction.
  • Even Bart and his would-be killer Sideshow Bob have this going on, though it's typically one-sided in whichever direction. For instance, Bob is insulted in "Day of the Jackanapes" when Bart gives him a friendly greeting as it's clear evidence of his Villain Decay. On the other hand, his efforts to make nice with Bart always fall through because Bart doesn't buy it. Critically, Bob finds he can't bear to go through with killing Bart when he has an easy chance to as the kid has grown on him. Neither is immune to the occasional duet.
• SpongeBob SquarePants:
  • SpongeBob is pretty friendly with Plankton when he's off the clock. In several episodes, SpongeBob is the one who helps Plankton get through whatever he's going through at the moment, such as repairing his marriage with Karen several times, preventing him from committing suicide and even helping him get revenge on Mr. Krabs for nearly making him do so in "One Coarse Meal" and trying to befriend him in F.U.N when SpongeBob thinks that Plankton is evil because he has no friends (though in the last case Plankton was just taking advantage of SpongeBob's naiveté).
  • Plankton and Krabs are a downplayed and zig-zagged case of this. Normally, they're arch-enemies and business rivals, but certain episodes such as "Frienemies" will show them palling around with each other. And "Welcome to the Chum Bucket" states that they've been playing cards together every Thursday for over fifteen years.
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars:
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi and Asajj Ventress frequently exchange pleasantries and compliments while battling each other, and holding back from killing each other when one has the advantage in spite of their mutual animosity. In later seasons they became allies-of-sorts when they teamed up against Darth Maul and Savage Opress.
  • Obi-Wan's relationship with the pirate Hondo Ohnaka is also an example, with the two working together as often as enemies (and Hondo always insisting it's nothing personal when betraying him). When Hondo shows up again in Rebels, he lists Obi-Wan as one of his best friends, although he admits he was never sure if it was mutual.
• The Sushi Pack have this kind of relationship with various members of The Legion of Low Tide from time to time.
• Teen Titans (2003): Red X and Robin don't do anything but the frenemy routine.
  • Red X appears in only two episodes^note  actually three, but just a cameo in "Homecoming" Part 2, but both times, he and Robin end up on the same side. In "X", despite having battled each other for most of the episode, Red X tracks Robin down to the villain's lair, saves his life, and proceeds to help Robin save the city — he even averts the I Was Just Passing Through excuse.
    Robin: I thought you didn't like to play the hero.
    Red X: Doesn't mean I don't know how.
  • In "Revved Up", it's Robin who saves Red X's life this time, and Red X proceeds to destroy the vehicles vehicles of nine supervillains in a grand total of forty seconds in order to ensure that Robin wins the race (and thus wins back what was stolen from him).
• Tom and Jerry have this dynamic Depending on the Writer. In "The Lonesome Mouse", Jerry gets Tom kicked out of the house, but finds that he misses being chased and schemes with the cat to get him back in. In "Springtime for Thomas", Jerry gets jealous when Tom spends all of his time with a girl cat, and introduces Butch to break the two up.
  • Tom and Jerry will also come to the others' aid when one of their lives is in danger. One example is in "Just Ducky," in which Jerry not only saves Tom from drowning, but also nurses him back to health, wrapped him in a blanket, and and fed him soup when the cat caught a bad cold. They also wave good-bye to the duck happily at the end of the cartoon.
• Numerous relationships on Total Drama are like this, since friends/Love Interests are often put on opposite teams. The usual "good/evil" version of this is also present in Heather's friendships with Harold, Leshawna, and Cody. (Though the writers seem to have forgotten about those first two.)
• The Venture Bros.:
  • In the third season, Dr. Venture's new archenemy is Sergeant Hatred, who is much friendlier and sociable than one would expect from a guy with "HATRED" tattooed down the front of his body. In fact, it was his intention to be Dr. Venture's arch and then be as nice to him as possible to get back at The Monarch for stealing tech from him. However, he does seem to have some pedophilic tendencies. In the fourth season, he makes a full Heel–Face Turn, replacing Brock (who's got business to take care of) as the Venture bodyguard.
  • Dr. Venture and Mrs. The Monarch. Girlfriend believes that Rusty is like The Monarch and is usually not hostile towards the Ventures compared to her husband. By Season 4, they're quite amicable towards each other when they have time to talk though she typically finds him repulsive whenever he tries to come onto her.
  • Henchman 21, especially (and surprisingly enough) after he becomes Two-Ton 21 is this to Hank and Dean. Not only do they share several mutual interests, but 21 even seems to consider them friends and is willing to help them out and do favors for them off the clock. It still doesn't stop him from trying to kill them when ordered to, though, but it's quite clear it's just par for the course for villains in this show. Similarly, both The Monarch and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch are much less hostile towards the boys and are at least fairly sympathetic towards their troubled upbringing.
  • Dr. Z, former nemesis of "Action Jonny" has over the years come to develop a paternal affection for Jonny since he's the only person from his glory days that he has any meaningful relationship with, to the point that as his way of settling affairs offers to help him get his life back together. Jonny, who is now a drug-addled mess in-part due to Dr. Z doesn't really return the affection but is willing to indulge him and reminisce of old times.
• Played all over the place in Wander over Yonder:
  • Wander is an All-Loving Hero who consciously strives to befriend the many Card-Carrying Villain types that inhabit his universe in order to bring them to an eventual Heel–Face Turn. While his primary target, Lord Hater, is initially resistant to his friendship, they start to edge into this dynamic in Season 2, cumulating in his capturing Wander for the purpose of helping him ask another villain out on a date. Their respective Cloudcuckoolander's Minder sidekicks similarly bond over being Mirror Characters and increasingly tag-team to deal with the antics of their friends and to take down the Big Bad.
  • Among the villains, Lord Hater and Emperor Awesome are bitter rivals who have been known to spend a night out partying together, though Awesome blows it when he bullies Commander Peepers.
• Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?: Carmen Sandiego and the Acme Detectives were often friendly rivals helping each other at times within the scope of their roles. It helps that she only became a criminal to experience more of a challenge and she quickly relinquishes any of her loot when it is found. One episode showed that she's a Trickster Mentor training them to be her replacements in VILE.
• WordGirl is often humorously polite to the villains.
  Chuck The Evil Sandwich Making Guy: I HATE WordGirl!!... No... hate is a strong word... I don't like WordGirl AT ALL!!!
  • In a short, WordGirl enters Dr. Two-Brains' lair, and Two-Brains decides to take a quick break for a mixed-fruit beverage. He offers one to WordGirl, who says no at first, but then decides to join him.
• In Xiaolin Showdown, there seems to be a bit of this from time to time between Jack Spicer and the title heroes. One episode in particular, seems to showcase this a lot between Omi and Jack. Omi himself also seems to have this relationship a bit with Season 2 Villain, Chase Young. Despite being on opposite sides, Omi and Chase both do have a genuine respect for each other and both have lamented how unfortunate it is the other is on "the wrong side".
• X-Men: The Animated Series:
  • This dynamic is played up with Professor X and Magneto. They spend the entire second season working together to escape from the Savage Land. In the finale, Magneto describes the Professor as "my greatest enemy... and perhaps my only friend."
  • Also in the season finale, when Jean asks Magneto if he loves Charles, he's insulted that she even feels the need to ask. It's not even that she asked if he loved him, but how much.
• In Young Justice (2010), Conner and Icicle Jr develop into this after bonding when Conner went undercover with M'Gann in Belle Reve in Season 1 as the Terror Twins - both had to deal with being overshadowed by/trying to live up to majorly influential fathers (Superman and Icicle Senior, respectively), and actually got on very well. When they run into each other again in Season 3, Junior's still holding a little bit of a grudge for being tricked, but has largely mellowed out, and the two of them seem pleased to see each other. In fact, Junior is downright delighted when Conner says that he and M'Gann are engaged, enthusiastically congratulating him. Oh, and they're carrying on this discussion in the middle of a fight.

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