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I’ll be your foil, Laertes. In mine ignorance
Your skill shall, like a star i' th' darkest night,
Stick fiery off indeed.
Jewelers often put shiny metal foil underneath a gem to make the stone shine brighter. A literary foil is someone who highlights another character's trait, usually by contrast, but sometimes by competing with him, hanging a lampshade, making snarky remarks, or egging him on.
Sidekicks often serve as foils to the hero by being something the hero himself is not (a calm and pragmatic sidekick when the hero is hotheaded, for example). In the classic good-guy versus bad guy scenario, both the hero and villain can each be considered the other's foil, in that each acts to show how the other behaves in certain situations.
These are far from the only possible pairings, however, as virtually any story with multiple characters can contrast the characters to show greater depths to them, regardless of what side they are on in the good versus evil equation. Good versus evil doesn't have to come into the picture at all.
Sometimes a foil is a flat secondary character that comes on stage, sparks a response, then fades from the story. More often, though, the foil is a recurring character that has a personality, or an opinion of things, that is different from another recurring character. This character can be the opposite of the character in many ways — or perhaps very, very, very similar, except for a crucial difference.
Many intentional foils are depicted as physical contrasts to the main character. Thin vs. fat and tall vs. short are among the most common ways of setting up a contrast. Similarly, when the hero's Love Interest is blonde, the villainess tends to have dark or red hair; when the villainess is blond, the hero's Love Interest tends to be dark or red haired.
As implied earlier, virtually any two characters or character types can serve as foils to each other if they're put together properly and a little good writing goes into them. However, there is a surprisingly large number of character types that exist primarily for the purpose of being a foil, usually to the main character, or in the case of a set of characters, to each other.
If you're feeling a little poetic and look around at your surroundings enough, you'll probably discover that this trope is a bit of Truth in Television.
Nothing to do with fencing or the preferred headgear of a Conspiracy Theorist. See also Duo Tropes.
Common Foils
Compare Shadowland, which applies to settings.
Examples
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Anime and Manga
Comic Books
- In Watchmen, Dr. Manhattan acts as the Foil to both Rorschach and Ozymandias.
- Watchmen is full of these. Rorschach and Ozymandias are very obviously foils, since their lifestyles, methods and ideologies are the exact opposite (Rorschach is apathetic while Ozymandias is empathetic, Rorschach is ugly while Ozymandias is handsome, Rorschach lives in squalor while Ozymandias is rich, Rorschach is Asexual while Ozymandias is homosexual {or ambiguously so} etc). Another obvious pair is Nite Owl II and Manhattan, enhanced by Laurie having had a relationship with both of them (Dan is receptive while Jon is distant, Dan is out of shape and middle-aged while Jon is in perfect shape and eternally thirty, etc)
- Very common element in most Super Hero comics is for heroes to have villains that are either their Foil, or are Not So Different. Even more common is for a villainous foil to be their Arch-Enemy:
- Batman and The Joker. The Joker is possibly the only villain who Batman cannot defeat through his M.O.s of reasoned deduction and intimidation.
- The two are also philosophical foils in The Killing Joke. The Joker is a Nietzsche Wannabe who believes life is one big joke and the only way to deal with that is by giving in to madness. Batman is an Anti Nihilist who also believes life is meaningless but decided to create his own purpose.
- Superman and Lex Luthor. They are the two most influential people in Metropolis by a long shot. Their differing attitudes (and forms of influence) towards their precious city are the reason why It's Personal between them.
- Superman and Brainiac as well. The former is an alien who has allowed himself to become fully human. The latter is the very cold, remote alien that people like Luthor expect Superman to be.
- For a more allied/friendly flavor, Batman and Superman are often this to each other.
- X-Men and all anti-mutant organizations.
- Charles Xavier and Magneto, as well. Former friends with similar goals (acceptance for mutants), but vastly different philosophies and methodologies (helping humanity and proving their worth in the process vs. warring against humanity and overthrowing or exterminating them).
- The Cosmic Empires of Kree and Skrulls fit this.
- Spider-Man and Green Goblin, where the foil occurs in their completely different characters and social status.
- Black Bolt and Maximus. After Maximus' Heel Face Turn, Vulcan filled the void during War of Kings.
- Interesting example comes from The Authority - while they are a big subversion of common superhero tropes, during Warren Ellis' era all their enemies were very typical and schematical.
- Kherubins and Deamonites in Wildcats., at similar level to the Kree and Skull example.
- Captain America and Red Skull. One's a World War II hero and the symbol of the American Dream. The other is the ultimate Nazi.
- Iron Man and Mandarin: Being opposites on the Tech vs Magic scale. Additionally, where Tony is the ultimate futurist and is firmly ensconced within capitalism, The Mandarin is a feudalist who longs for a return to the past.
- The Incredible Hulk and The Leader. Also Hulk and Thunderbolt Ross.
- The Mighty Thor and Loki - again, one is Flying Brick, the other is trickster.
- Silver Surfer and Mephisto. One is pretty much the personification of the devil, and hates the other just because he's so damn good.
- Reed Richards and Doctor Doom. They have very similar personalities (bossy, arrogant, brilliant, fascinated by science, prone to Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness), with jealousy being the culprit for Doom's Face Heel Turn-inspiring hatred for Reed. The fundamental difference between them is exemplified by their divergent reactions to their respective Greatest Failures.
- In The Avengers, Iron Man and Captain America can be seen as foils to each other. Especially in Civil War.
- In Hellblazer, The protagonist John Constantine has his best mate and sidekick Chas Chandler as an example. Both these two are good friends, but often different in many ways. John is cynical, while Chas is an optimist. John is a lazy bum who is a addicted to adventure, while Chas is a hardworking taxi driver who wants nothing more than to keep himself in one piece. But these two are inseperatable even in the hardest times of their friendship.
- In Jeremiah, by Hermann: The protagonist's partner, Kurdy Malloy, is much more cynical, streetwise and childish than he is. Jeremiah is no fool by any means, and he is an action guy, but he is much nobler and more romantic than his friend, and puts more trust in others.
- Corto Maltese, by Hugo Pratt: he does not have a permanent "sidekick", but many times he has adventure partners who are much crazier and more violent than him: Rasputin, an Ethiopian warrior, A Chinese Assassin girl. He also has had partners who are more of the "professor" type, which turns him into the guy who leads the action.
Fanfic
Film - Animated
- Brent and Flint in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, especially in the first two acts of the film. At first, Brent is everything Flint is not: famous and well-liked by the whole town, if not the smartest fish in the school. But once Flint's invention gets going, their positions flip, with Flint being cheered by the crowds and Brent largely forgotten.
- Gru and Vector in Despicable Me. Gru was motivated by his “Well Done Son” Guy from his mother and became a Jerkass With A Heart Of Gold because of his desire to become an astronaut and go to the moon. Vector on the other hand isn't shown being motivated by anything and is a spoiled rich kid thanks to his father Mr Perkins. Gru struggled to get where he is and is legitimately talented and likes making friends (as seen with the Minions, Dr Nefario and eventually the girls). Vector doesn't have any real talent presumably getting all his technology from his dad, has a no non-aggressive contract with anyone except his father and no one is invited to his house. Even their houses play off of each other. Gru's house is normal, though slightly large and foreboding, with a secret underground lair and is between other houses. Vector's house just screams look at me! look at me! and is all alone.
- For Beauty and the Beast, Disney gave the story an antagonist in the form of Gaston to contrast with the Beast, with the Beast being ugly but having a heart of gold and Gaston being handsome but having the heart of a pig. The earlier French film adaptation did something similar with Avenant, further driving the comparison home in the ending where Avenant turns into the Beast and the Beast turns into a handsome prince who looks suspiciously similar to Avenant.
- Quite a few foils appear in Wreck It Ralph:
- First off, Ralph and Felix. The former is giant and destroys things while the latter is short and fixes things. Not to mention Felix is universally loved by everyone while Ralph isn't.
- There is also the cheerful, Adorkable Felix with the cynical, rough Calhoun.
- The most major one would be Ralph and King Candy/Turbo, who is a dark reflection of what Ralph's dissatification could have led to. Both leave their game in order to take what they think is due but whereas Ralph is ultimately good-hearted and makes up for his mistakes, Turbo cares for no one except himself and never learned from his mistakes in attempting to take control of other games. Also, Ralph was the antagonist of his game but becomes a hero where Turbo started as the hero of his game but becomes a villain.
Film - Live Action
- Reservoir Dogs
- Will and Jack from Pirates of the Caribbean.
- As the commentary to the first film notes, Barbossa is basically Jack, except just slightly more ruthless and greedy- enough to be an Anti-Villain to highlight Jack's role as an Anti-Hero.
- The heart of much of the humor and drama in The Avengers is the similarities and differences of the leads.
- Steve Rogers vs. Tony Stark: Both are tied to Howard Stark and motivated by a sense of American patriotism and to bring peace. But where Steve is idealistic, sweet-natured, well-mannered and uses his intelligence to defeat his enemies, Tony is cynical, snarkish, rude and rushes in to fight.
- Bruce Banner vs. Tony Stark: Both are genius scientists with genuine respect for each other. They both have a dark side, but they have different personalities. Bruce is mild and cautious to control his id while Tony's flamboyance and irresponsbility are the tip of his self-destructive behavour.
- Steve Rogers vs. Thor: Both are old-fashioned in ideals and aesthetics, initially unease on modern Earth and are driven with a sense of duty for their homeland.
- Loki himself has traits that resonate or clash with each of the Avengers. He's from Asgard and of royalty (Thor). He's clever and loves theatrics (Tony). He manipulates emotions (Bruce). He blatantly disregards human life and freedom (Steve). He lacks empathy (Black Widow) and disregards free will (Hawkeye).
- Villain Silvia in Skyfall has elements that make him similar to Bond, Q and even M. He was a MI6 agent who uses multiple gadgets like Bond. He's an expert hacker like Q. He makes very dark decisions and leads his organization like M.
Literature
Live Action TV
- The Smallville version of Clark Kent and Lex Luthor, naturally.
- Jonathan Kent and Lionel Luthor to a lesser degree.
- Clark and Oliver. It highlights their conflicting idealism and their willingness to act.
- Chloe and Oliver start out somewhat similar to the above pair, shown best when Oliver kills Lex. But Oliver says she is Not So Different when it comes to protecting Clark. This, combined with her bearing witness to the fallout of Doomsday, lead to Chloe taking a more hard-boiled approach to fighting crime in Season 9, and she and Oliver cease being foils for each other, and instead jointly become foils against Clark's more idealistic methods of crime-fighting.
- Xena: Warrior Princess: Xena's companion Gabrielle acts as a foil as her compassionate and innocent nature contradicts Xena's bitter and ultra-violent disposition. This dynamic makes up for many of the show's subplots as well as main ones (usually when Xena's foes attempt to separate the duo by showing them the extent of their differences). See The Lancer also.
- It's been pointed out that on Firefly, Jayne's character exists largely to show what a true Jerk Ass and amoral character would actually be doing every time that Mal is trying his best to pretend he's those things.
- Professional Wrestling example: This trope was basically the angle of the Wrestlemania XXV match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid cast himself as the "Light" that is fated to defeat the "Darkness" embodied by the evil Deadman, and consequently end the latter's legendary winning streak.
- Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill often serve as foils to each other in Stargate SG-1. (Idealism vs. cynicism, brains vs. brawn (although Jack is not as stupid and Daniel is not as wimpy as they'd like you to think) naivety vs. experience, etc.) This becomes less apparent over the years.
- Leverage
- Parker and Sophie seem to have this feel. Sophie is classy, social, and likable, but fake, while Parker is crazy, has No Social Skills and thus is off-putting, but honest (if blunt).
- Peggy is also this to Parker as a normal citizen. She is also one of the nicest characters on the show.
- While not on the same show, Ace Of Cakess Duff and Cake Bosss Buddy. Duff is relaxed, has his friends as his coworkers, and is exclusively a cake chef while Buddy is considerably more tense, surrounded by family (including his mother and four older sisters), and runs a working bakery in addition to being a provider of amazing cakes.
- The Wire loves this device. There's a lot of parallels between different characters, both those in direct contact with each other (like McNulty and Kima) and some from across different storylines entirely (like D'Angelo Barksdale and Nicky Sobotka). Most conspicuous are the duos of Herc and Carver and Bubbles and Johnny. Herc and Carver are both thuggish and brutal police officers, but Carver shows himself to be more sensitive and thoughtful over time. Johnny is Bubbles's protégé in the streets, but is much more blasé about their predicament and has an "us vs. them" mentality towards the police. Eventually, the underlying differences in both pairs lead the characters in very different directions.
- Fifteen Love: High School Hustler Gary "Squib" Furlong and Dean Bitterman Harold Bates may spend the entire show opposing one another, but at the core of things they're very similar, being a pair of Manipulative Bastards with flexible attitudes towards the rules, no time for stupidity, and an amazing ability to convince others to do things for them. Don't tell Squib, but Bates is exactly what he is going to look like at thirty-five.
- Arthur and Lancelot from Merlin. Everything from their temperament to their social standing to their hair/eye colour is designed to contrast with the other, as do their relationships with both Merlin and Guinevere. In the last case, even their kisses with Guinevere are shot as stark opposites: Arthur's is a Lip-Lock Sun-Block, whereas Lancelot's takes place in a darkened tunnel.
- Also Guinevere and Morgana. At the beginning of the show Gwen was Morgana's haidmaiden and the two of them were close friends, only to be gradually estranged as the show went on, what with Gwen falling in love with Arthur, and Morgana falling to the Dark Side. Essentially, the higher Guinevere ascends, the lower Morgana falls.
- 24 had Jack Bauer and David Palmer. Both are willing to do whatever it takes to save the world even if it means resorting to questionable means but David has the added ability to mask his true personality behind a face of amiability.
- In How I Met Your Mother, Marshall and Barney are this to each other, as the Good Angel, Bad Angel advisors of Ted. Barney's mission is to have as many one-night stands as possible, and believes marriage is A Fate Worse Than Death. Marshall loves committing and being married. Many episodes revolve around Barney egging Ted on to live the single man's life and Marshall encouraging him to commit.
- In Game of Thrones, Joffrey and Stannis, (rivals for the throne) become very direct foils to each other in the climactic Battle of the Blackwater. Stannis, instead of leading from the rear as he does in the books, becomes an Adaptational Badass who is Authority Equals Asskicking all the way and personally leads the assault on the capital. This shows that for all of Stannis' Lawful Stupid Jerkassery, he truly believes in his cause and is willing to fight and put himself in tremendous danger for it. Joffrey, meanwhile, is Dirty Coward who brags endlessly about what he'll do while being a useless, entitled Royal Brat who prevails because other people are doing all the work for him, and he chickens out at the first signs of a setback.
- In Lost , Jack and John Locke are practically the poster boys for this. Jack's the Man of Science, John Locke's the Man of Faith. But by the end Jack becomes the Man of Faith himself, with John Locke dead and Jack knowing that, if it weren't for him, if he had only believed John Locke, he would've still been alive, he finally begins to believe.
Theatre
- Phantom of the Opera: Erik portrays dark and passion, Raoul light and clear thinking.
- In Wicked, Galinda and Elphaba. Galinda acts like a stereotypical blonde, pretty, popular, and not much going on in her head. Elphaba is (viewed as) ugly and a bookworm. Elphaba is also much more responsible and mature, and when faced with a discovery that turns their world upside-down, one spreads the word, reputation be damned, and one uses it to her advantage.
- William Shakespeare has many, many foils in his plays (appropriate since he's going for dramatic effect):
- In Hamlet, Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway is a foil to Hamlet, having none of the latter's introspection when it comes to avenging his father's death. Another classic example of Hamlet's foil is his friend, Horatio, whose level-headedness clearly serves as foil to Hamlet's rash nature.
- Several other characters serve as a foil to Hamlet as well. Before they engage in the climactic swordfight, Hamlet describes himself as a foil to Laertes ("I'll be your foil, Laertes: in mine ignorance your skill shall, like a star i' the darkest night,stick fiery off indeed."). Of course, it is in fact the other way around, and Laertes can tell that Hamlet is mocking him. This passage may be the Trope Namer.
- Hamlet is also making a play on words, since "foil" is the term for the flexible sword-like weapons used in fencing practice.
- Macbeth has Macbeth and Macduff, and (more obviously) Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff.
- Falstaff is the foil to Prince Hal in the King Henry plays. And oh, what a foil he is.
- Mercutio is Romeo's foil: he's brash, upbeat and joking while Romeo is always moping and mooning around.
- Arguably, Caliban and Ariel are foils for each other, or they're both foils for different sides of Prospero (id and superego, respectively). Caliban is ugly, crude, hated by Prospero, not too smart, and an unwilling slave; Ariel is airy, graceful, beloved by Prospero, and serves with his best efforts (at least until his contract is up).* In Antony And Cleopatra, the two nations of Rome and Egypt play foil to each other, with Rome with a superego, duty before self set of ideals while Egypt is far more hedonistic and leans towards the id.
- In Sweeney Todd, Anthony Hope is clearly meant as a foil to Todd.. Also, to a lesser degree, Johanna and Mrs. Lovett. Both are madwomen, but have entirely different ways of expressing their issues.
- In Dorothy L. Sayers's The Emperor Constantine, Helena awaits the arrival of the ex-husband who divorced her for a political match, and then took her son away when he was eleven, with calm and dignity, while her elderly servant fumes over the indignities she was subjected to. (Thus also making clear what it takes for her to be calm and dignified.)
Video Games
- The Sonic series has Sonic and Shadow, Sonic representing the fun loving adventure seeker and Shadow as the dead serious lethal enforcer, and while both are heroes both of them have contrasting methods on how to take action which usually ends in both of them fighting each other. Sonic himself has many foils in the series, but these two are the most emphasized.
- Fable III: Reaver is an Faux Affably Evil owner of an Industrial firm that uses child labor, and routinely shoots his workers for a variety of reasons. Once the player becomes the Ruler of Albion, Reaver recommends almost every evil option in the game. Page, the leader of the Bowerstone resistance, detests child labor and the abuse of the workers of Bowerstone. While Reaver disregards the lives of Bowerstone's citizens, Page fights for them. Page's Good Is Not Nice demeanor is the opposite of Reaver's Faux Affably Evil nature.
- For many of the judgements as the ruler of Albion, its Page stating her case against Reaver. In the first half of the game, much of the antagonism between the two is shown, especially in the emansion sequence.
- In World of Warcraft Varian Wrynn is a foil to Thrall. Thrall is an orc raised by humans, with the cunning and patience more associated with humans, while Wrynn was forced to fight in orc gladiatorial matches, giving him a bloodlust and vendetta against orcs, things found in orcs more often. Their histories also mirror each other's (Thrall had his clan destroyed when the humans defended themselves and had to rebuild it, while Wrynn had his kingdom destroyed by the orcs in Warcraft I and also had to rebuild it).
- Back in Warcraft III, Thrall's story arc seemed to very strongly mirror Arthas'. Thrall starts off as a slave but eventually becomes the warchief and saves the world through his sheer charisma and decision to ally with his peoples' former enemies. Meanwhile, Arthas has everything going for him in the beginning but his single-mindedness and arrogance lead to his becoming a slave to the Lich King and the death of his people. Unfortunately, this relation doesn't get any spotlight in the game itself.
- Word of God is that Garrosh Hellscream is also this to Thrall. Whether he replaces Varian as this or is just another to highlight different points has yet to be seen.
- Also in Warcraft III, Arthas and Kael'thas are both princes who lost their entire countries to the Scourge invasion. Their desires to avenge their fallen people and save the survivors manifest in different ways -Arthas goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge while Kael'thas becomes a Well-Intentioned Extremist- but they both end in fighting too many monsters, making a Deal with the Devil, and becoming Drunk on the Dark Side.
- In Tides Of War, Garrosh and Jaina are foils. Garrosh is described by author Christie Golden as a weak person with a malleable core, who is molded by his environment. By contrast, Jaina is often wounded by traumatic events, such as the destruction of Theramore, but her "core" remains intact.
- Gorath and Owyn from Betrayal At Krondor can be considered this for each other, starting with their appearance - a towering menacing-looking dark elf warrior with greying slate black hair in armour and a cloak, and a very scrawny 19-year-old human boy mage apprentice with fair hair, innocent blue eyes and wearing a light robe in warm, sunny colours. Then there's the personalities - stoic, reserved, guarded and pragmatic vs. bubbly, expressive, emotional and generally trusting and eager like a puppy.
- Final Fantasy games are fond of this.
- Final Fantasy VI had Kefka and General Leo, the two main generals of The Empire. Kefka was a Bad Boss, whereas Leo was a Worthy Opponent. The two were more or less polar opposites in every way, the latter existing primarily as contrast to the former. Terra and Celes, fellow magitek knights and the main characters of the game, also are foils of Kefka...while Terra and Celes learn the value of human life over the course of the game, Kefka sees human life as more meaningless as the game wears on.
- In Final Fantasy VII, the Arch Enemies Cloud and Sephiroth are opposites or mirror images in just about every way. Even their appearances were apparently designed on this basis. whereas Sephiroth was the absolute elite of SOLDIER apparently even as a teenager, Cloud never made it to their ranks at all. Both angsted at some point that they were the result of a terrible experiment. Sephiroth at first seemed to find out that it wasn't that bad after all, that he was merely built to be the last of the Ancients, but in fact it was if anything even worse than he had thought at first. Cloud seemed to find out that he was nothing but a soulless clone, but actually it was much less severe than that. where through the course of the game we find out how Sephiroth progressively stops caring about humanity, the Ancients and the Planet Cloud goes from Only in It for the Money to caring about AVALANCHE, the Planet's plight and everyone through the course of the story. For each, the time when they find out the whole truth is when they fully became the hero and villain they are.
- To another extent, Aeris and Jenova are also foils in relation to their influence over Cloud and Sephiroth respectively.
- Final Fantasy VIII
- Almost the entire game revolves around the head-butting relationship between Squall and Rinoa. But that just makes it all the sweeter as the game progresses and the player witnesses Squall's multiple occasions of emotional 180. Also, THE ENDING SCENES.
- Also features the prominent example of Squall versus Seifer. They're both top grade students, specialized in a difficult (and slightly unconventional) to manage weapon, and stand out amongst the crowd going decidedly against the flow. They've also butted heads against each other since forever. However, while Squall appears aloof while being introvertedly struggling with whatever issues that comes to his mind, preferring not to be bothered by other people. Seifer is very much outrovert, enjoying excersizing his status as Head of the Disciplinary Comittee, being very vocal about his goals and ambitions, and clearly likes the leader role of his posse. They can both come off as rude, Squall because he doesn't get other people, Seifer because he likes being rude. As the game progresses, Squall grows closer to his party, while Seifer grows more distant from his posse. As Squall overcomes his past issues, Seifer becomes more obsessed and trapped in his. They both become Sorceress Knights, Seifer to fulfill his childhood romanticiced dream, Squall as a natural step in the chain of events. Also, the stronger and more confident person Squall becomes, the more ragged and dragged down Seifer becomes. They also both had a relationship with Rinoa, Seifer had a brief summer romance, Squall a longer relationship evolving from initial meh, to very real romantic feelings.
- The Mega Man Classic series has it. The most prominent is Bass and Mega. The coloring of there armor and armor, Mega perfering brighter colors and simplistic design to Bass's Darker and more complex looking armor. The reasons why they fight are different, Mega fights to protect people and asked to become a fighter, where as Bass was created to fight and continues only to prove that he is the strongest.
- Two examples from The Legend Of Zelda Twilight Princess. The first example is Midna for Zelda. Midna is a Tsundere, whereas Zelda is a Proper Lady. Midna is a Deadpan Snarker, whereas Zelda is far less abrasive in her words. And let's not forget that they're both princesses. The second example is Zant for Ganondorf. Zant is secretly a Psychopathic Manchild who maintains a calm demeanor up until the very end, whereas Ganondorf is deathly calm inside and out. Zant borrows the power of another being in order to achieve his ends, whereas Ganondorf had gained his power by means of his own resourcefulness and deceit.
- Word Of God states that Ghirahim from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was specifically designed to contrast with Ganondorf. Hence, Ghirahim is a Bishōnen, a Fashion Victim Villain, a Psychopathic Manchild, and an Evil Albino. Especially fitting because Demise, Ghirahim's boss, not only resembles Ganondorf, but is also the one who pretty much creates Ganon.
- Ghirahim is also a foil of Fi. While she is stoic, subdued, reserved, and very technical, Ghirahim is flamboyant, lets all his feelings out, and is a drama queen. Turns out both of them are sword spirits.
- From No More Heroes, Henry to Travis, "Don't look at me. I'm just the cool, handsome foil, who also happens to be your twin brother."
- Ryu and Ken. One is a world famous martial artist, the other a wandering warrior.
- Kain and Raziel. One's a vampire, one's a wraith. One feeds on blood, the other on souls. One wields a sword that feeds on blood, the other wields a wraith-blade version of the same sword that feeds on souls. One has telekinetic powers that allow him to fling people around like ragdolls, the other can just knock people over with them. One transforms into mist and walks through barred doorways, the other shifts into the spectral realm and phases through them. One spends most of the series running a very complex scheme across time and space, the other spends most of the series being manipulated by anyone with half a brain. One of them has a very concrete desire to rule the world, the other swings between wanting revenge, wanting to understand himself, and wanting to save his own life. One's a king, the other used to be his right-hand man... and yet, both of them are messiah-figures.
- Villains Sergei Vladimir and Albert Wesker are foils to one another in Resident Evil The Umbrella Chronicles. Both are undead gunmen created to serve as dragons to Big Bad Ozwell E. Spencer. Both are capable Chessmasters, and are The Man Behind the Man to numerous events in the series. Both are Large Hams who chew enough scenery that it's amazing there's any set left. Yet while Wesker is an Evil Brit Wild Card with Chronic Backstabbing Disorder, Sergei is a delightfully cliche Renegade Russian, who serves as Spencer's Dragon-in-Chief until the very end and is characterised by his Undying Loyalty. Their battle at the conclusion of Umbrella Chronicles beautifully highlights their similarities and differences, while showing the audience just how bad Wesker is. At least Sergei has his loyalty. Wesker has nothing.
- In Lusternia, all of the major organizations have a foil: Celest V Magnagora, Gaudiguch V Hallifax, and Serenwilde V Glomdoring.
- The World Ends With You's game manual openly states that Neku and Beat are a complete opposites. The former is a Deadpan Snarker who gradually learns to open up to people and fight for the sake of people besides himself, while the latter is especially devoted to his partner and sister to the point where he would join with the Reapers in the hopes of restoring her to normal.
- And, depending on how you see it, Beat and Rhyme, too. Beat seems Hot Blooded and devoted to becoming the best skater ever, while Rhyme is calm, but doesn't have a dream of her own. It eventually turns out that they're the opposite of how they seem at first; Beat initially lacked motivation, while Rhyme "had a million reasons to live", in Beat's words, and she kept believing in him.
- Lots and lots of foils in the Mass Effect series, almost all of them with Shepard. No matter how you play as Shep, the following foils apply:
- Shepard and Garrus. They have exactly the same morals, but where Shepard is confident and certain, Garrus is confused and looking for guidance. He's basically the living embodiment of the game's Karma Meter.
- Shepard and Saren. Both are charismatic individuals who can convince anyone to follow them. The differences are large when you're Paragon, and almost minimal when you're Renegade. Whereas Saren used trickery, false promises and mind-control to gain the support of the Geth, Krogan and Rachni, Paragon Shepard can earn their loyalty through trust, cooperation and mutual respect.
- Shepard and Javik. Both hold the rank of Commander and lead the fight against the Reapers during their respective Cycle, causing them to be revered throughout the Galaxy. However Javik is essentially a more hardened version of Shepard, one who lost his ship, his crew and ultimately his entire race to the War.
- In Borderlands 2, we have Handsome Jack and Mister Torgue. Both are CEO's (and in the latter case, founder) of their respective corporations, and are basically exact opposites of each other. Jack is soft-spoken, intelligent, and has the muscle mass of a beanpole. He's also a violent, backstabbing, misogynistic coward who tortures people for fun and has no problem killing children for no good reason. Torgue is LOUD, foul-mouthed, dumb as a brick, and built like a dump truck. He's also kind, friendly, acts as Mission Control for his DLC, a Friend to All Children, and considers being nice to women the pinnacle of badassery. Also, while Jack got his position of Hyperion through manipulation and murder, Mr. Torgue personally founded his corporation through his skills as a weapons designer.
- In Katawa Shoujo, Hisao points out Shizune and Misha contrast with Lilly and Hanako. Lilly is elegant, refined, calm and popular in the school (although she doesn't let many people close to her), whereas Shizune is brutally honest and driven, which has resulted in her being somewhat unpopular (despite her desire to have friends and make people happy). Misha is cheerful, energetic, but also blind to social cues, while Hanako is meek, timid, and pays careful attention to social cues.
Webcomics
- The following quote comes from this
 [[The Order of the Stick Order of the stick strip, featuring Jirix and the Anti-Villain Redcloak talking about their Card-Carrying Villain partner Xykon. Coincidentally, this strip occurs just after several in which the paladin O-Chul and Redcloak had served as different but excellent foils for each other.
Jirix: But... aren't we all on the same side?
Redcloak: That is a complicated question ... Our alliance with Xykon is one of the most powerful tools we have, and we cannot afford to screw that up. That does NOT mean we should trust him. I know he seems funny and charming, but believe me, when you see for yourself the depths to which he'll sink, you will never sleep well again.
- In Gunnerkrigg Court, Zimmy and Gamma, "two strange girls", work as a pair of foils to the main characters Annie and Kat, the other "strange girls". Jack is Kat's own foil: both are technical-minded, curious and slightly mischievous people who have a dramatic meeting with the supernatural world. Kat is baffled but eager to understand it, while Jack becomes suspicious and frustrated after a traumatic experience with psychic powers.
- In The Indefensible Positions we have Foil (no pun intended) and Frank. It's revealed that Foil was Frank's imaginary friend. After they split up, without him Frank's personality was changed to completely opposite of Foil's.
- Shadowgirls: On one side we have Becka McKay - dark hair, rock-style clothes, Chain of Command and Cool Loser with golden heart. On the other side there's Misty Snow - blonde and very popular girl, typical combination of Spoiled Brat and the Alpha Bitch. Similarly with their mothers - Charon McKay and Christmas Snow. Two Eldritch Abominations that lives inside them, Shadowchild and Mother Hydra.
- Lightbringer, a superhero who believes in an objective morality and bent on doing the right thing; and Darkbringer, a supervillain who believes in an objective morality and finds Lightbringer to have misplaced what is right and wrong.
- Candi Levens has two primary love interests: Denny and Donte. Denny is usually associated with light clothing, in spite a history of piracy. Donte is usually associated with dark clothing. Denny is very accommodating as opposed to Donte being slightly more jealous; more ambitious about life while Donte is more resigned. Denny is a Red Shirt compared to Donte being a Flying Brick with cancer. Denny makes Candi's home life more bearable; Donte makes Candi's job more bearable. Donte also represents Candi being faithful to her destiny, complete with the frustrations this brings. Denny represents pragmatic alternatives, complete with all their flaws.
- In The Dreamer, there are several foils: Alexander and Alan, Alan, and Nathan, Beatrice, and Alan, Yvette and Liz, Beatrice and Yvette, Beatrice and Liz, and Ben and Alan.
- In Girl Genius, Gil and Tarvek are increasingly making foils of themselves. Tarvek is a well-bred, thoughtful, mannerly aristocrat; Gil is an energetic, sometimes rash, son of a self-risen dictator. They both are in love with Agatha, they're both powerful sparks, and they both want to "ally with" the last Heterodyne and bring peace to Europa — but in different ways. They were also friends at school and now they apparently hate each other.
- Squid Row: Randie has an organized goal-setting friend who tries to persuade her out of her lack of planning.
- Tedd and Susan of El Goonish Shive are foils for each other.
- In Bobwhite, Ivy goes to the library at Redding University (rival to Bobwhite University) and gets annoyed by three guys. Marlene and Cleo realized that these guys are the evil reverse-gender doppelgangers of themselves (though Ivy interjects that her supposed counterpart really looks nothing like her). Which makes things kind of weird when Ivy later starts dating one of these guys (the one who's pretty much a male version of Marlene).
- Many, many possible constructions in Homestuck, given the enormous character roster.
- The concept of moirallegiance (a friendly relationship characterised by complementing or pacifying the other member's extremes) seems to lend itself to this relationship.
- Feferi, the highest in the caste system, is friendly and just wants to help everyone and barely manages to keep Eridan's genocidal urges in check.
- John, Terezi, Kanaya and Jade manage to bring out the sensitivity behind Karkat's apoplectic rage.
- John's unassuming trust and friendliness to Vriska's casual sociopathy; it actually has quite the effect on her and makes her reconsider her ways.
- Rose's shrewdly analytic mind in cutting through Dave's coolkid persona.
- Rose and Kanaya's different brands of "snarky horseshit."
- Dave is a stoic Deadpan Snarker, while Terezi laughs at everything and is cheerfully weird, and where Dave is cynical but honest, Terezi is a Magnificent Bastard Guile Hero.
- Kankri was intended to represent the worst of social justice bloggers (being overly obsessed with details, giving sermons instead of having conversations, being generally arrogant and consescending) and Porrim the best (articulating her point clearly and concisely, sorting through bullshit and real problems, and generally having a life outside social justice).
- John and Rose have foils in Tavros and Vriska, who could be described as "John and Rose if they grew up on a dystopian Death World." John and Tavros are both Breath heroes with similarly sweet, naive, trusting, and amiable personalities; Rose and Vriska are both Light heroes who exhibit questionable morality and get played by Doc Scratch even while they're trying to play him.
- Jade has several foils amongst the female trolls, particularly Aradia (both self-prototyped their sprites, were seen as weird by their peers, had precognition earlier than most of their co-players and tried to control their timelines with mixed success, and they have similar typing styles after Aradia comes back to life) and Kanaya (both Space players, both had highly unusual guardians, woke up early on Prospit, and have similar theme colors).
- Dave and Karkat serve as foils to each other, both being mouthy smart-alecs (in totally different ways) who use snark to cover for their raging inferiority complexes. They're both Knights, have red as their color motif, and even have similar taste in girls (Terezi, Jade).
- The B2 kids serve as foils to the B1 kids, especially Dirk/Dave and Roxy/Rose, and the A1 dancestors do the same for the A2 trolls, especially Kankri/Karkat, Latula/Terezi, Aranea/Vriska, and Rufioh/Tavros.
- There are three main foil types in the main adventuring group in Our Little Adventure. Angelika and Rocky are one, Julie and Lenny are another, and Julie and Angelika make the third.
- Sinfest's Percy and Pooch: arrogant, bored, and cynical vs. humble and excitable.
- Several foils exist in ''Pokémon.
- First is the rivals, gain their starter from the same place as the protagonist, go on parallel journeys and are often the few trainers that get a varied team in contrast with the mono-flavoured teams everyone else has.
- Several Pokemon themselves foil each other, Magikarp Power Magikarp and Feebas turn into a water dragon, one with power and embodies wrath, one with beauty and embodies peace.
- The man made Legendaries Mewtwo and Genesect are also foils to each other. Both created to harness the power of ancient mons from a remaining piece of dna, and both are a warped reflection of the being that they where created from (Mewtwo is larger and masculine to the androgynous Mew, Genesect is a cyborg with a cannon) and have opposite types. Where Mewtwo is a Blood Knight in the games and has a mostly special based movelist, Genesect is obedient to whoever controls it and has a physical based movelist. Its implied, both in universe and out, that this was deliberate.
Web Original
Western Animation
- Hank and Dean Venture of The Venture Brothers are an interesting example - they started out with identical personalities (parodies of eager Hardy-Boys type characters who were forever looking for mysteries to solve while having little to no real world experience), before becoming basically the complete opposite in every way. Where Dean is sensitive, Hank is masculine; where Dean is shy and afraid of girls (thus failing to win their affections), Hank is overeager and thinks of himself as a ladies man (while failing to win their affections); and most importantly, where Dean just wants to be normal, Hank just wants to be badass.
- Aang and Zuko in Avatar The Last Airbender. In a far more complex way, Zuko and his sister Azula.
- Not as noteworthy but still present are Katara & Toph, Sokka and Zuko, & Katara and Azula.
- ''The Legend Of Korra gives us Korra and Asami. Both girls are involved in the resistance against Amon and the Equalists and both are extremely badass. Korra, as the Avatar, has spent her entire life being trained to master the four elements and is pretty much the embodiment of all bending. She also is a buff Action Girl who doesn't show a ton of interest in feminine pursuits. Asami is a nonbender and, though unknowingly, the daughter of a guy heavily supporting the Equalists who fights using stolen Equalist technology and spent her life indulging in various hobbies such as racing and watching Pro-Bending. She also is very elegant, dressing fashionably and enjoying classy things.
- Korra and Tahno as well. They're set up as rivals right from the start, being waterbenders on opposing teams. They both see their bending as a huge part of their identity. Ultimately, both have their bending taken by Amon and become depressed over it.
- The Legion Of Super Heroes cartoon has a few of these:
- In The Boondocks, Huey and Riley Freeman take Sibling Yin-Yang to new heights.
- The cast of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has a surprisingly complex dynamic, with almost every pair of characters able to act as foils in some way.
- Among the six main characters, there are two girly ponies (Rarity and Fluttershy), two tomboy ponies (Applejack and Rainbow Dash), and two in between (Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie). Each pair are foils for each other: Twilight (The Smart Guy) and Pinkie (the Cloud Cuckoo Lander) make up a basic Adventure Duo; Applejack (the level-headed, reliable farm girl) and Rainbow Dash (the Hot Blooded but lazy stunt-flier) are All Work vs. All Play with a major Friendly Rivalry; Rarity (glamorous drama-queen) and Fluttershy (Shrinking Violet Moe Quiet One) are a Light Feminine and Dark Feminine Odd Couple.
- Rarity and Applejack are a Tomboy and Girly Girl pair, and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are occasionally paired similarly.
- Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie share a strong friendship thanks to their mutual hedonistic, sometimes-mischievous natures despite the fact that Rainbow is more liable than perhaps any of the other characters to be annoyed by Pinkie's behavior.
- Twilight and Pinkie can act as foils for (or be foiled by) any of the other characters because they're both "outsiders" - Twilight because she's the main character who serves as the lone, sane commentator to everything that happens, and Pinkie Pie because she's just inscrutably crazy.
- It is also seen within the girls of the same race. The unicorn duo is the socially awkward hero and the cultured lady, the pegasus duo is the wall flower and the braggart, and the earth pony duo are the cloud cuckoo lander and the down to earth pony.
- Most of the ponies have pets that act as be foils to them.
- Introverted Fluttershy's aggressive Angel Bunny often pushes her beyond her (very small) comfort zone.
- Ladylike Rarity owns an evil cat named Opalescence. (If you had a name like that, you'd have a bad attitude, too.)
- The hyperactive and easily-excitable Pinkie Pie has Gummy, a baby alligator whose sole personality trait is to pay no heed to anything happening around him. Pinkie, oblivious, has been known to project her own concerns onto Gummy and hold serious conversations with him.
- Twilight's owl, Owloysius/Owlowicious, is not a foil for her, but rather for Spike, who is himself a foil for Twilight.
- As of Season 2, the high-flying speedster Rainbow Dash has acquired a pet tortoise (not turtle) named Tank.
- Finally, you notice it in a few of the oneshot rivals that have appeared.
- Twilight, who is afraid of others perceiving her as arrogant due to her magical prowess, inadvertently found a rival in Trixie, who likes to outshine everyone despite being an entirely average practitioner of magic.
- The under-confident Fluttershy found hers in her one-time mentor Iron Will, an overly aggressive minotaur.
- Rainbow Dash, the very Element of Loyalty, had a foil in Lightning Dust, who tends to be self-serving and doesn't care who she hurts. The contrast is only highlighted in that other than this, they're nearly identical.
- For the duration of the "This Day Aria" in "A Canterlot Wedding", the real and fake Princess Cadance are made foils for each other, getting some ironically similar but opposite lines, contrasting the former's urgent despair and genuine love for the groom with the latter's smug triumph and callous intent to use him.
- Shego in Kim Possible highlights Dr. Drakken's ineptitude and Kim's earnestness with her sarcastic commentary.
- SpongeBob and Squidward Tentacles in Sponge Bob Square Pants. SpongeBob is described as perpetually optimistic, and happy, cares for others, and loves his job whereas Squidward is unhappy, self-absorbent, hates his job, and is a Perpetual Frowner. This is perhaps the reason why Squidward was appointed as the manager over SpongeBob in The Movie since he was more mature for the job while SpongeBob acts childish despite being an adult.
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