Follow TV Tropes

Following

Vitriolic Best Buds / Webcomics

Go To


  • Black Mage and Fighter of 8-Bit Theater. Fighter thinks BM just likes to kid around, even when BM stabs him in the head. (Fighter is dumb and gullible and more or less indestructible, so Black Mage's stabbing attempts either deal no damage at all anyway, or on the rare occasions they do, the resulting brain damage once even made Fighter smarter! Either way, he never seems to take offense.) Also, by the time of the epilogue, they're still together as adventuring partners despite the fact that the rest of the team has since broken up. Not like Black Mage is happy about this...
    Fighter: Black Mage and I are bestest buddies!
  • The Adventures of Wiglaf and Mordred: Wiglaf and Mordred started out as type one and later morphed into type two as the characters began to show their true personalities.
  • Alfdis & Gunnora has Gunnora and Fulla, who swear at and tease each other.
  • Bear and Tiger certainly have this in Bear and Tiger where it's taken to the logical extreme that they're both still friends even though they poop in each other's hats... No really.
  • Andrew and Marie-Ange, in addition to being Platonic Life-Partners, are an example of this in Autumn Bay, constantly teasing and picking on each other.
  • Avania: Una and Charlotte often direct snarky remarks at one another as part of their running banter, but when faced with real danger, they show a deep concern for each other. Hans and Rick also hint at this relationship dynamic, though it is tempered by the former being an officer and the latter being an enlisted man.
  • Basic Instructions: Scott Meyer and his friend Ric apparently have this dynamic in real life, having been constantly making fun of each other for literal decades by this point, and Meyer imported it into the comic for the character based on Ric, imaginatively named Rick. Constant verbal sparring, mostly but far from exclusively from Scott's end, is the order of the day; in one strip, we learn that Scott actually keeps a list of insults he's either used or is planning to use on Rick, and gives him a bonus insult to make up for accidentally repeating one.
  • Beyond the End: Michael and Uriel constantly seem at each others throats, with Uriel being an uncontrollable wildcard that loves to break the rules, and Michael being the hardline of the law. Despite Michael seeming seconds from crushing Uriel under his foot most days, they're actually Heterosexual Life-Partners, with Michael breaking down when he thinks he might have actually killed Uriel by accident.
  • Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire:
    • Buck and Whree.
      Ambassador Whree: I... have never found a sentient I enjoy hating more than I hate you.
    • This works on the scale of species: Klegdixals seems to be easily irritated (it takes a lot to make one say "I... I feel positively un-unhappy!") and have jerkass reputation in turn. Humans happily drive them mad or blackmail, given a chance.
      I predict that a Klegdixal/Humanity partnership will produce a unique dynamic, one that to outsiders will appear quite doomed, but...
  • Casey and Andy room together, and are best friends since high school. They also kill each other on a regular basis. (not try to kill but kill). On the other hand, they have saved each other from deadly threats.
  • Tony and all his friends in Charby the Vampirate but especially Zeno. While Zeno considers Tony his best friend, this hasn't stopped Tony from delighting in Zeno's rejection and humiliation. Menu is a major offender here too.
  • In Cobweb and Stripes, this is the relationship between Betelgeuse and Jacques. It doesn't seem, the way they interact in their earliest scenes together, like they particularly like one another. But as in the cartoon, Jacques and his wife Ginger are Betelgeuse's only real friends in the Neitherworld and he's actually rather (quietly) fond of them.
  • The cast page of Commander Kitty paints CK and Socks' relationship as such, though with socks being an Intelligible Unintelligible, it's kind of hard to tell on his end. CK and Nin Wah are also shaping up to become this.
  • Ctrl+Alt+Del:
    • Rob seems to think that he and Ethan have this in . Ethan just seems to hate him.
    • Ethan and Lucas, too. While smiling broadly:
      Ethan: Happy Winter-een-mas, jackass.
      Lucas: Happy Winter-een-mas, whore.
  • Enigma and all seven of his brothers in Dragon Tails. Despite threatening death to any who touch his lake and using memories of his brothers' past idiocy to fuel his rage-filled fighting style, Enigma will do pretty much anything to protect his family, risking his own life and limb to ensure their safety. There's also Lemuel and Norman. Norman often schemes to use Lemuel as a disposable pawn in his quest to conquer the world, or as a bodyguard or slave. Lemuel...has a pet food dish labelled "Normie".
  • In Dumbing of Age, Becky insists that Dorothy is her nemesis, due to being a competing claimant for the title of "Joyce's best friend", but because they do both care about Joyce, they frequently work together and eventually show every sign of being pretty close friends themselves, with Becky's "emnity" coming across more as a running gag she won't let go of than anything else. Dorothy, for her part, starts of being oblivious to this, then bewildered, then finally settles into resigned amusement, but makes it quite clear to Becky that she's not going to engage with the concept. On the one occasion Becky does manage to upset Dorothy, she immediately works on trying to find a way to apologise and make up without admitting she's doing anything of the sort.
  • El Goonish Shive:
  • Ennui GO!: Izzy and her group of friends are True Companions, but that doesn't mean they don't snark, insult, annoy or threaten each other each with violence at various points in the comic.
    • Likewise, Max and his friends, especially when he's around Cricket. At one point, the two boys end up coming to blows once Max snarks at his friend getting new glasses.
  • Exterminatus Now has a four-way version: the entire main cast is horrifically abusive to each other (verbally and physically), but they're all close friends. Especially Lothar and Rogue. One of the more noticeable examples of this is when Lothar actually goes out of his way to save Harry, Syrus, and Rogue, despite repeated claims that he only keeps them around to be meat shields.
  • Freefall:
    • Sam develops this kind of relationship with almost everyone who's ever met him. The police chief, in particular, seems to respect Sam's cunning and creativity almost as much as he resents Sam's active hostility to order and willingness to do stupid things for a laugh.
    • Henri Mer and Dr. Bowman have a very friendly relationship that is nevertheless laden with verbal sparring. The latter is generally more likely to launch the attacks, but Mer has been known to launch a few salvos in response.
    Henri: What are you carrying?
    Bowman: Pancakes. Real pancakes. Made with real bananas. I figured this should buy me at least fifteen minutes of unmonitored access before you hit the alarm that I've escaped again.
    Henri: You'd get a full half hour if you weren't such a lousy cook.
  • In Girl Genius Gilgamesh and Tarvek fluctuate somewhere between "best friends" and "hate each other's guts". Agatha ironically predicted they'll like each other before discovering they're already acquainted.
    Gil: [with Tarvek in a choking hold] Listen to everything this duplicitous snake says!
Even funnier during the Si Vales Valeo sequence.
Tarvek: Snitch.
Gil: Sneak.
Tarvek: Libertine!
Gil: Fop!
  • The Greatest Estate Developer: Over time, this becomes Lloyd's and Javier's relationship. Both of them snipe at each other constantly, with Lloyd damaging Javier's pride with menial tasks and Javier struggling to hold in his laughter at Lloyd's inability to get a date. But both of them thoroughly believe in each other's abilities and hold a great deal of respect for one another.
  • The Guide to a Healthy Relationship: Julian is permanently grouchy, not afraid of calling Apollo out on his idiocy, and obviously exasperated with him, but they still take care of bringing Apollo home safe when the sunlight is practically blinding him due to his ocular albinism. Apollo is immensely insensitive about Julian's problems and often calls them weird, but he still tries his very best to help them and is always checking for Julian's health.
  • Hanna Is Not a Boy's Name:
  • Homestuck:
    • The Trolls are largely a species of Jerkasses, and their form of friendship is largely being jerks to each other, but they more or less get along. They ultimately grow out of it and into genuine friendship...offscreen.
    • Even among the trolls, Karkat is a standout example. He cares deeply for others, but he's also a perpetually angry jerk, meaning that this kind of friendship is about the only kind he has. Lampshaded by John when thinking about how he'll greet his friends after a long journey:
      John: ...and I'll push Karkat down a flight of friendship stairs!
    • The most textbook example for Homestuck has to be Karkat and Sollux:
      Karkat: HAS A FEMALE EVER LOOKED AT YOU WITHOUT AT ONCE TURNING SKYWARD AND ERUPTING LIKE A VOMIT VOLCANO, ANSWER ME THAT.
      Sollux: thii2 ii2 2o iimmature, iim ba2iically ju2t laughiing here at how iimmature you are.
      Karkat: I GUESS THESE CONVERSATIONS WE HAVE DO GET KIND OF EMBARRASSING IN RETROSPECT.
      Karkat: ARE WE NOT FRIENDS ANYMORE BECAUSE OF STUFF I SAID.
      Sollux: eheheheh you LIITERALLY a2k me that every tiime are you jokiing.
    • Dave and Karkat are another particularly good example. They're apparently "bros" now, and Karkat even refers to Dave as his "best friend" at one point, despite the fact that they spend virtually all of their shared screen time insulting each other. And they might possibly be something more...
    • Rose's relationships with everyone tend to be based on a mixture of friendly sarcasm, biting sarcasm, semi-gentle mockery, and armchair psychology.
    • And then there's Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff...
  • Dorothy and Elanor in Kevin & Kell tend to be antagonistic to each other (once even indirectly causing a broken hip), due to natural prejudices (Dorothy's a rabbit, Elanor's a wolf), disagreements over how to manage Aby's business, and their mutual granddaughter's diet (Dorothy is trying to push a more vegetarian diet on the naturally omnivorous Coney), but they agree that they are each other's best friends, partially because between old age and predation, they don't really have anyone else left to call friends.
  • The Last Days of FOXHOUND: Pretty much nobody in FOXHOUND is capable of functional human relationships. Affectionate hostility is about the best they can manage, especially when it comes to the likes of of Mantis (who hates everyone in the world) and Ocelot (who no-one in the world is stupid enough to trust). The two spend so long trying to murder each other that it manages to loop around and approach friendship from the other side.
  • Largo and Piro from MegaTokyo are total opposites in many ways, with Piro spending a lot of time making snarky comments about his friend's loose sanity and total lack of social skills. For his part Largo seems to think of Piro as a weak hearted, easily manipulated fool who is easy prey for the forces of evil (They're both right). This makes the moments of true friendship they show all the sweeter.
  • Nebula: Mars finds Earth to be intrusive, annoying, and far too invested in everyone else's business, and frequently tells her to go away; she just wants to have friends and keeps at it anyway, refusing to take it personally. Mars does care about her though, and when he thinks things are getting outright dangerous he goes to her first to try and warn her before anyone else.
  • Sara and Jane of Nobody Scores! (dis)function like this. They're constantly snarking at or pranking each other but they've been friends since high school and are now roommates. The horrors inflicted on Beans are more an afterthought.
  • In Nodwick, this dynamic is clear between Yeagar and Arthax, who consider each other equals but take every opportunity to snipe at the other for being (respectively) Dumb Muscle and a Mad Scientist. Arthax and Nodwick exhibit this dynamic as well, as Arthax seems to respect Nodwick's common sense even though he constantly abuses him. Yeagar and Nodwick are closer to mutual Sitcom Arch-Nemesis status: Yeagar is usually the first to go for the "mistreat the henchman" solution, while Nodwick frequently snarks at, belittles and annoys Yeagar with verbal barbs. Although they probably hang out more than any other combination of the group, Comedic Sociopathy usually rules the day between them.
  • The Order of the Stick:
    • One-sided example with Roy Greenhilt and Elan, namely the former with the latter. Roy is often very exasperated and annoyed with Elan's eccentricities, but he still cares a lot for his bard and he often gives credit when credit is due to Elan, especially as the latter Takes a Level in Badass. Elan meanwhile has nothing but respect and adoration for Roy, seeing him as like an older brother (which becomes more symbolic when one recalls Roy lost his younger brother, who was a Cheerful Child and hypothesized to have likely ended up as a bard had he grown up.) Though this starred from strip 162 onwards. Prior to that, Roy saw Elan less as a member of the team, and more as an obstacle they overcame on a regular basis.
    • In one of the books, it's revealed Elan wrote a five-act rock opera for Roy in dedication to the man and why Elan holds him in high regards (this was after Roy was resurrected.) Roy is annoyed for how long it is, but he still listens to the whole thing because Elan worked so hard at it.
    • Vaarsuvius and Belkar are a pretty good example of the less benign version. They constantly attack, insult, sic animals on, and berate each other, but both have saved the other at least once, and have risked themselves for the other. And then there was the event...
  • Our Little Adventure: Rocky and Angelika. They snark and bait each other on a regular basis, but they are obviously very good friends, and have protected each other since before meeting up with Julie and Lenny.
  • Out There is something of a World of Snark, so many of the close friendships therein follow this (Miriam and Sherry, Sherry and Steven, Araceli and Rod, James and Chuck), or think they do (Miriam and James, Sherry and Clayton, Miriam and Clayton). The schizophrenic nature of these relationships is well represented here; Miriam and Sherry's volatile friendship borders on a parody of this trope at times; when they're not sniping at each other, they're often caressing each other.
  • Penny Arcade:
    • Gabe and Tycho, who constantly share petty insults and at times have been shown to violently murder each other.
    • Writing The Rant attached to the comic, Both Mike Krahulik (Gabe) and Jerry Holkins (Tycho) have depicted themselves as a parasite riding on the talent of the other.
  • Questionable Content:
    • Faye and Dora in this strip. Also many others, but in this one Raven describes it: “Sometimes I can’t tell if you guys are friends or if you hate each other.”
    • At Marten's dad's wedding, his mother meets an old friend and they trade really nasty barbs. Claire looks a bit shocked, but Marten just comments that his own taste in friends (ie Faye and Dora) suddenly makes sense.
  • Rain (2010): Rudy and Gavin constantly annoy each other, the former more than the latter, but they genuinely care for one another and will support each other when in need.
  • The Nordics in Scandinavia and the World, of course. Especially prominent with Sweden and Denmark, but Norway tends to go out of his way to remind them of how they treated him for centuries, or rub his immense wealth in their faces. Truth in Television, some of the most common jokes found in Scandinavia are about a Swede, a Dane and a Norwegian doing something foolish, with the fool being switched around depending on country.
  • Though Duster and Cliff from Slightly Damned are great allies, they still show it in odd ways.
  • In Sluggy Freelance, Bun-Bun and Kiki. Bun-Bun shows that he actually does like Kiki in this strip.
  • Pretty much everyone in Something*Positive insults everyone else constantly and to their faces, as Davan explains here. Sometimes it's hard to see the difference between the way they treat their friends and the way they treat people they'd be happier without, even for the characters. There's more than one genuine hatred mistaken for affection relationship. Kharisma and Mike especially are prone to being on the unliked end of them. Then again, all the core cast are in vitriolic relationships, so it's hard to blame them for the mistake. Worth pointing out as well, though PeeJee, Davan and Aubrey collectively torment, insult and play with each others emotions or lack there of to a degree, all three would literally rip through hell to get at someone who'd wronged the other considering even Davan forgives Eva before the noose is loosened around her neck by any of his friends short of Jason.
    PeeJee: Sometimes I hate you so much I worry it might be love.
    Davan: Talk like that is why people speculate about us, y'know.
  • Stand Still, Stay Silent: Lalli towards Emil, especially after their Odd Friendship stops running on a platonic version of Language of Love and they can speak to each other. Both Emil and Lalli have some form of No Social Skills, but Lalli's are so bad that the average person's Brutal Honesty and Innocently Insensitive are normal speech to him. Meanwhile, Emil is in the middle of ironing the "jerk" out of his childhood Rich Jerk attitude and the "rich" part has lead him to having a sheltered childhood, the combination of the two regularly resulting in behavior that annoys the Enraged by Idiocy Lalli. This results in Lalli regularly being quite vitriolic towards Emil, who in turn has a surprisingly high tolerance towards it.
  • Tower of God:
    • Twenty-Fifth Bam, Khun Aguero Agnes, and Rak Wraithraiser are the story's core True Companions, but Hot-Blooded Rak and coldly calculating Khun are always insulting each other and arguing. Rak still acts almost like he did at the start right after he'd been trying to hunt the other two for sport and been forced to team up with them; he'll barely admit to caring about Bam, who's basically a human puppy dog, let alone Khun, who's not very nice at all on the surface and gives as good as he gets.
    • Endorsi and Anaak. By the end of the first season, they've been fighting bitterly and ostensibly trying to kill each other, but when Endorsi is given the choice to let Anaak killed for opposing the Jahad Family that Endorsi herself belongs to, she rather chooses to endanger her status by refusing, and to fight a vastly superior opponent.
    • Among more side characters, Boro, Daniel, Aka, Sachi and Roen became Fire-Forged Friends after they boarded the Hell Train several times together, and started going there just to meet each other, but a flashback from their last time on the train shows the three first ones still treating each other with apparent contempt and saying they're sick of seeing the same faces every time.
  • Similar to the Black Mage/Fighter example is that of Dominic and Steve in the Magic: The Gathering webcomic UG Madness. As the author himself says, the best thing about Steve is that "he is far too intent on becoming your friend to ever get angry with you. You can even smash his car with a hatchet- it's cool."
  • unOrdinary: Blyke and Isen are best friends who will blast each other through a wall over something like pen and enjoy fighting. They live in a world where so long as someone is conscious their injuries can almost always be healed up less than a couple of hours, and help each other to the infirmary after their spats. They're still constantly endangering others with their "playful" fights and it demonstrates their lack of concern for other people, though Blyke is always careful with aiming his power since he doesn't want to kill anyone this isn't clear to John.
  • VG Cats: Aeris and Leo, the main characters, do stuff to annoy the hell out of each other. It even got to the point where, in one strip, Aeris went back in time to abort an unborn Leo out of existence. But all said and done, there are moments when they show they actually do care for each other — "The Perfect Gift" is an example.
  • Anthem and Gilgam in The Water Phoenix King — they're really the only two people who can, or would dare, to tease each other, until recently. Seriously, he's the Really 700 Years Old, battle-scarred Proud Scholar Race Guy who helped defeat her people's side in the war, and she's the Ax-Crazy Dark Magical Girl who goes Dark Willow at the drop of a hat, and they both know all this about each other almost from the start and don't care. A more perversely-beautiful friendship you could hardly imagine.
  • As you'd expect from a group of teenage boys, the protagonists of Weak Hero spend as much time ribbing each other as they do watching each other's backs and strengthening their bonds. Ben and Alex in particular have been friends since childhood, but that doesn't stop them from picking petty fights with each other all the time.
  • Winter Moon: The entire guild is this, especially Risa and Florence, since Gideon does get along with both of them for the most part. They constantly bicker and call each other names, but Florence doesn't hesitate to back Risa up when it comes to facing her older brother.


Top