Basic Trope: An unambiguously evil character fights against someone (or an entity) who would cause The End of the World as We Know It, because it's difficult to rule over or exploit an empty wasteland.
- Straight: Emperor Evulz is an Evil Overlord, but he allies with Alice against Bob, the Progenitor of Dark Ages; because if Bob wins, Evulz, along with everyone else, loses big time.
- Exaggerated:
- Charlie the Complete Monster fights against Satan because he wants to cause the apocalypse, and if Charlie dies, he knows he's going straight to Hell.
- Evulz won years ago; all the heroes who opposed him are dead. So when the Progenitor of Dark Ages comes, Evulz and his forces are the only ones left to save the world they worked so hard to conquer.
- Downplayed:
- Bob is The Unfettered and thinks that a 1% chance of destroying the world is an acceptable risk for taking down Evulz.
- Evulz explicitly refrains from hindering the heroes or exploiting openings left when they're focusing on Bob, but doesn't actively help.
- Justified:
- Evil is not one big happy family. Evulz the Evil Overlord, Charlie the Complete Monster, and Bob the Omnicidal Maniac Progenitor all have mutually exclusive goals, which they use their evil to fulfill. Just because they're all evil doesn't mean they have to like each other.
- Pragmatic Villainy: if the world is destroyed, there won't be anything for Emperor Evulz to rule over.
- Pride: Under no other circumstances would Evulz even lift a finger to help Alice or this planet... that was until Bob humiliated him. It doesn't matter how badly he will get beaten down, Evulz refuses to ever be forced to his knees, and he will get vengeance, even if he saves the planet in the process.
- Evulz witnesses that Bob has the heroes on the ropes, and if he sides with Bob and destroys them, then Evulz will get to rule as he desires over the new one as promised by Bob, and the heroes will be killed. Evulz still turns on Bob and immediately fights him to the death, because, while he is absolutely evil, Bob harmed his loved ones. Nothing else matters anymore, because Evulz would throw it all away to teach Bob a lesson he shall never forget.
- Bob is a Knight Templar who opposes how the heroes arrest the villains instead of just killing every criminal outright. He intends to remake the world into a new utopia by his definition and rule. Evulz is an agent of chaos who absolutely loves anarchy and would never enjoy such a world. The heroes don't want either villain in charge, but they want Bob even less since he is more powerful, and Evulz doesn't like the heroes and their world of order, but absolutely hates the totalitarian society Bob intends to create.
- Inverted: Bob may be an Omnicidal Maniac, but even he finds Evulz's reign disgusting, and attacks it first.
- Subverted: Evulz at first looks like he's going to ally with Alice to defeat Bob, but then he backstabs her and allies with Bob.
- Double Subverted: ... And then it turns out that he was just doing that in order to get close to Bob and backstab him as well.
- Parodied: Evulz at first wants to help Bob out of evil solidarity, but changes his mind when Alice points out that with the world destroyed, he'll no longer get his Trademark Favorite Food.
- Zig-Zagged: Evulz is a total Wild Card and no one can predict whose side he'll be on next.
- Averted: Evulz does not take part in the struggle against Bob.
- Enforced: Executive Meddling demands that our Obviously Evil Villain Protagonist face against The End of the World as We Know It, to ensure the audience roots for the protagonist.
- Lampshaded: "You think I'll root for you just because you're evil? I don't want the world destroyed- it's where I keep all my stuff!"
- Invoked: Alice draws Evulz's attention to Bob in order to provoke an Enemy Mine.
- Exploited:
- Evulz creates Bob to get Alice to team up with him so he can betray her later.
- Alice risks her life against Bob which forces Evulz's hand as only he is allowed to kill her.
- Defied:
- Bob kills Evulz first, because he knows that not only would Evulz be a powerful opponent, he would fight against Bob because Evulz likes the world the way it is.
- Evulz knows how to survive the end of the world that Bob is planning, and lets it happen so that he can build his new empire from the ashes of the old one.
- Discussed: "You're only helping me save the world so you can take it over later, right?"
- "Go attack some other planet! This one is mine, and I'll be damned if I lose my fun to someone else!"
- This exchange:
"Evulz? Why do you want to save the world?" "Because I can't rule the world if there's no world to rule.""I guess we're teaming up for once?" "As the expression goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend." - Conversed: "This is the 'Stalin vs. Hitler' discussion: doesn't matters which evil dude wins, we lose. Why bother?" "…because we could probably still be around to get rid of Stalin."
- Deconstructed: Evulz and the heroes both want Bob stopped. The problem is, they'd prefer the other side make the sacrifices, because each knows it's back to business as usual after the fight. Bob wins, or at least causes far more damage than he would have if the two sides had cooperated efficiently.
- Reconstructed: Evulz and the heroes would prefer the other side make all the sacrifices, sure. But they have been fighting so long they understand one another, in their own ways — and this understanding allows them to reach an agreement that deals with Bob, that both sides will actually follow, and that doesn't upset the status quo.
- Played For Laughs:
- Evulz arrives on the battlefield which causes Bob and Alice to immediately stop fighting and start debating as to why Evulz would support their respective side. They do this in the form of a "Rap Battle" until Alice wins, resulting in Bob being defeated.
- Evulz attacks Bob and is swiftly disposed of in a single hit. Bob turns his attention back to Alice, but suddenly Evulz rises again and attacks Bob, forcing him to attack and knock down Evulz again. Bob turns for a second time to Alice, and Evulz rises yet again, and the normally stoic Bob angrily shouts "WHY WON'T YOU STAY DEAD?!"
- Played for Drama: Alice and Evulz hated one another until Bob managed to make both of their lives a living hell. As they were forced to work together, either Evulz makes a Heel–Face Turn or Alice makes a Face–Heel Turn resulting in the two becoming close allies. Through masterful planning, the two heroes (or villains) defeat Bob and create a strong friendship... for now at least.
- Evulz fights Bob to the death, with both sides perishing. In the end, the heroes realize Evulz was a bad-guy, but he still loved his world enough to give himself for it.
- Evulz fights Bob to the death... his own death. With Bob victorious, he turns his attention to the battered heroes who are far too weak to possibly stand a chance against him. As Bob raises his hand to deliver the final blow, he suddenly stops as he looks down. Evulz, with his dying breath, drove his sword through Bob's heart. Evulz falls to the ground and dies almost immediately after one last Evil Laugh, and Bob tries to stay standing and attack, but eventually falls over dead as well without another word.
- Played for Horror:
- Alice embraces a Face–Heel Turn thanks to Evulz making her understand (in one way or another) that The Dark Side Will Make You Forget, and becomes a whole lot more evil than Evulz or even Bob.
- It does not matters which side wins, the "oblivion" part of the equation still comes to pass, one way or another, as collateral damage of the conflict. Bob only gets the dissatisfaction of the world not burning as much as he wanted, or being alive to do the "throw a party" part of his plan.
- Evulz performs his sudden but inevitable betrayal as a Cruel Twist Ending and is the only faction left standing at the end.
Back to Evil Versus Oblivion
