A character who looks like the protagonists and has/had abilities and obstacles similar to them, but is evil. Sometimes, but not always, a
Big Bad. Classically, an
Embodiment of Vice pitched against a correlating
Embodiment of Virtue.
Frequently, the Evil Counterpart is the character equivalent of
For Want of a Nail: he represents what
our hero could have become as a result of a very small change in his
backstory. They also save creators the trouble of thinking up new abilities to give their villains, especially for comic book heroes and video games (where new abilities have to be implemented).
Often leads to a
Not So Different moment.
Often a
Dark Magical Girl; contrast with the
Worthy Opponent. Applied to an entire team, they are
The Psycho Rangers. Applied to an entire race, they are an
Evil Counterpart Race. Because
The Hero and the
Evil Counterpart are such great
foils for each other, the counterpart has an excellent chance of being the hero's
Arch-Enemy, although this is not always the case.
Sister Trope to
Evil Twin (evil biological twin),
Evil Knockoff (intentionally created evil duplicate), and
Criminal Doppelgänger (evil
Identical Stranger).
If the first character to be introduced is the evil one, the good one would be his Good Counterpart.
Examples:
Tropes That Are Evil Counterparts of Other Tropes
- Affably Evil is the evil counterpart of Good Is Not Nice.
- Always Chaotic Evil is the evil counterpart of Always Lawful Good.
- The Antichrist is the evil counterpart of Messianic Archetype and Anti Antichrist.
- Anti-Villain is the evil counterpart to Anti-Hero .
- Asshole Victim is the evil counterpart to Too Good for This Sinful Earth
- Bad Guy Bar is the evil counterpart to Good Guy Bar.
- The Bad Guy Wins is the evil counterpart to The Good Guys Always Win.
- Bastard Bastard is the evil counterpart to Heroic Bastard.
- Being Evil Sucks and This Is Your Brain On Evil are both evil counterparts of Being Good Sucks (or may be the other way around).
- Beware the Silly Ones is the evil counterpart to Beware the Nice Ones.
- Bigger Bad is the evil counterpart to Big Good.
- Black Knight is the evil counterpart of Knight In Shining Armour.
- Black Magic is the evil counterpart of White Magic.
- Character Alignment: Each one has an evil counterpart.
- Complete Monster (a character who is pure evil) is the evil counterpart of Incorruptible Pure Pureness (a character who is pure good).
- Cut Lex Luthor A Cheque is the evil counterpart of Reed Richards Is Useless.
- Deal with the Devil is the evil counterpart of Bargain With Heaven
- Deep South is the evil counterpart of Sweet Home Alabama.
- Designated Villain is the evil counterpart of Designated Hero (or arguably the other way around).
- Demon Lords and Archdevils is the evil counterpart of Celestial Paragons And Archangels.
- Diabolus ex Machina is the evil counterpart of Deus ex Machina.
- Disc One Final Boss is the evil counterpart of Decoy Protagonist.
- The Empire is the evil counterpart of both The Federation and The Kingdom.
- Evil Albino is the evil counterpart of Heroic Albino.
- Evil Chancellor is, obviously, the evil counterpart of The Good Chancellor.
- Evil Feels Good is the evil counterpart to Good Feels Good.
- Evil Is Sexy is the evil counterpart to Beauty Equals Goodness.
- Evil Mentor and Treacherous Advisor are evil counterparts to The Obi-Wan and Big Brother Mentor, with Cynical Mentor occupying the middle field.
- Evil Orphan is the evil counterpart of Heartwarming Orphan.
- Evil Teacher and Sadist Teacher are evil counterparts to Stern Teacher, Cool Teacher and (specially) Badass Teacher.
- Face Heel Turn is the evil counterpart of Heel Face Turn. Usually accompanied by an Evil Costume Switch or Good Costume Switch
- Fat Bastard is the evil counterpart to Big Fun.
- Fallen Angel is the evil counterpart of Ascended Demon and Our Angels Are Different.
- Fantasy Axis of Evil is the evil counterpart of Five Races.
- Faux Affably Evil is the evil counterpart of Noble Demon.
- Five-Bad Band is the evil counterpart of a Five-Man Band.
- Four is Death is the evil counterpart of Numerological Motif.
- God of Evil and Jerkass Gods are evil counterparts to God of Good.
- God Save Us from the Queen is the evil counterpart of both The High Queen and The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask
- Head In The Sand Management and Drunk with Power are both meaner counterparts of Reasonable Authority Figure and Benevolent Boss.
- Heel Face Door Slam is the evil counterpart of You Are Better Than You Think You Are.
- Hobbes Was Right is the evil counterpart of Rousseau Was Right.
- Humans Are Bastards is the evil counterpart of Humans Are Good.
- Invincible Villain is the evil counterpart of Invincible Hero.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing and Jerk With A Heart Of Jerk are the meaner counterpart of Jerk with a Heart of Gold and Jerkass Façade.
- Kick the Dog is the evil counterpart of Pet the Dog.
- Legion of Doom is the evil counterpart of Super Team.
- The Legions of Hell is the evil counterpart of Council of Angels.
- Light Is Not Good and Dark Is Evil are the evil counterparts of both Dark Is Not Evil and Light is Good.
- A Lighter Shade of Black is the evil counterpart of A Lighter Shade of Grey.
- Love Makes You Evil is the evil counterpart to Love Redeems.
- Made of Evil is the evil counterpart to Made of Good.
- Manipulative Bastard is the evil counterpart to the Guile Hero.
- Mind Rape is the evil counterpart to Care Bear Stare.
- Minion with an F in Evil is the evil counterpart to Hero with an F in Good.
- The Mole is the evil counterpart of Reverse Mole.
- Monster Clown is the evil counterpart of Non-Ironic Clown.
- Mooks are the evil counterparts to Red Shirts.
- Motive Rant is the evil counterpart of Kirk Summation.
- Multiversal Conqueror is the evil counterpart to Guardian Of The Multiverse.
- Murder the Hypotenuse and If I Can't Have You are evil counterparts to I Want My Beloved to Be Happy.
- The Omniscient Council of Vagueness is the evil counterpart ot Law Enforcement, Inc. or Heroes R Us.
- Orcus on His Throne is the evil counterpart to Take Your Time.
- Orphanage of Fear is the evil counterpart of Orphanage of Love.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain is the evil counterpart of Nice Job Breaking It, Hero.
- Peer Pressure Makes You Evil and With Friends Like These are both evil counterparts to The Power of Friendship.
- The Power of Hate and Destructive Romance are evil counterparts to The Power of Love.
- Psychopathic Manchild is the evil counterpart to Man Child.
- Religion of Evil, Path of Inspiration and Corrupt Church are all evil counterparts of Saintly Church.
- Ron the Death Eater is the evil counterpart of Draco in Leather Pants (or maybe that's the other way around).
- The Remnant is the evil counterpart to La Résistance.
- The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized is the evil counterpart of The Revolution Will Not Be Villified.
- Every other Screw the Rules, etc. trope and Just Following Orders is the evil counterpart of Screw the Money, I Have Rules! and Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right.
- Sealed Evil in a Can is the evil counterpart of Sealed Good in a Can.
- Seven Deadly Sins are the evil counterparts to the Seven Heavenly Virtues.
- Sex Is Evil is the evil counterpart to Sex Is Good
- Sinister Minister is the evil counterpart of Good Shepherd and Dark Shepherd.
- Stupid Evil is the evil counterpart to Stupid Good and Good Is Dumb
- Those Two Bad Guys is the evil counterpart to Those Two Guys.
- Token Evil Teammate is the evil counterpart to Token Good Teammate.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm story arcs features the downfall of a Reasonable Authority Figure by their evil counterpart.
- Villain Antagonist is the evil counterpart of Hero Antagonist.
- Villain Ball is the evil counterpart of Hero Ball.
- Villain Protagonist is the evil counterpart of Hero Protagonist.
- Villain Sue is the evil counterpart of Mary Sue.
- Villain with Good Publicity is the evil counterpart of Hero with Bad Publicity.
- Villainous Breakdown is the evil counterpart of Heroic BSOD.
- Wicked Cultured is the evil counterpart of Gentleman and a Scholar.
