Basic Trope: A rival character becomes more of a threat to the hero.
- Straight: Charlie was The Rival of Bob until he made a turn for the worst.
- Exaggerated: Charlie was a rival to Bob, but turns into a psychopathic foe killing thousands of innocents.
- Downplayed: Charlie was a Friendly Rival to Bob, but then becomes a bitter one.
- Justified:
- Charlie was sick and tired of being surpassed by Bob and turns to the dark side to make himself stronger than him.
- Charlie was getting sick of Bob ignoring him, and sides with the villains just so he can take him more seriously.
- Charlie’s been brainwashed into siding with the villains.
- Charlie feels that his (grudging) respect for Bob has made him weak.
- Charlie just hates Bob to the point that turning evil is just an opportunity to destroy him.
- Charlie was always number one in his and Bob's rivalry, but when Bob finally overtook and started surpassing him at every turn, Charlie doesn't know how to cope with in a healthy way.
- Inverted:
- Rivals Team Up.
- Charlie was a rival to Bob, but circumstances made him his friend.
- Charlie was an enemy to Bob, but after switching to the side of good, he is less of a threat.
- Evil Turned Rival. Charlie was an enemy to Bob who pulled a Heel–Face Turn but still maintained a rivalry with Bob.
- Subverted: Charlie turns out to not even have been present at whichever incident that convinced Bob that he has turned evil.
- Double Subverted: ...But he was the main force behind it.
- Parodied: The Academy of Evil has a strict hierarchy for villain ranks: Before the Evil Overlord is The Dragon, and just before is "Hero's Rival".
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted: Charlie remains an honorable (if jerky) rival.
- Enforced: "We need more enemies for Bob. How about we turn Charlie evil?"
- Lampshaded: "I don't believe you, Charlie! You went from my greatest opponent to my worst enemy!"
- Invoked: Evulz spreads distrust and resentment between Bob and Charlie to have them fight each other instead of him.
- Exploited: Evulz makes Charlie his personal right-hand man after his fall from grace, as having someone who knows Bob's strengths and weaknesses is quite useful.
- Defied: Charlie refuses to give in to the dark side and remains a rival for Bob.
- Discussed:The Watson: "What's the deal with you and this Charlie guy? Every time we fight him it's like you know exactly what he's gonna do! You two had some kind of history?"
- Conversed: "Did- Did Charlie just cross the Moral Event Horizon? He used to be a good guy! ... Kinda!"
- Deconstructed:
- Bob becomes suspicious of Charlie once the plot starts rolling, expecting him to turn evil even if he hasn't done anything to warrant it. This puts distance between them and makes Charlie that much more likely to turn Bob's suspicions into a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.
- Charlie ends up getting subjected to a "The Reason You Suck" Speech where someone tells him to his face how pathetic he is over throwing what amounts to a temper tantrum over being beaten by Bob, and that he has crossed a line by dragging innocent people into his rivalry with Bob. This causes Charlie realize just how far he's fallen and sinks into a deep depression because of it.
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