History EvilVersusEvil / LiveActionTV

[[caption-width-right:350:Place your bets: the [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Evil Queen]] or the [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Wicked Witch of the West]]?]]

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** Playing the trope more straight, Species 8472 versus the Borg in the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' story "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS3E25S4E1Scorpion Scorpion]]". (That was how they met Seven of Nine.) A later episode {{retcon}}s their OmnicidalManiac tendencies (they had no qualms about [[EarthShatteringKaboom blowing up planets]], and Kes clearly [[PsychicPowers read]] murder in their minds) into a simple misunderstanding. The game ''VideoGame/StarTrekArmada II'' retcons them ''back''.

* ''Series/TwentyFour'': Does this A LOT; probably because most evil plots involve groups of bad guys working together (a bit of TruthInTelevision). But since they're bad guys, they'll turn on each other in a heartbeat.

* ''Series/MastersOfHorror'': The episode "Pick Me Up" has Wheeler, a serial killer truck driver, V.S. Walker, a serial killer hitchhiker. The eventual winner? [[spoiler: The serial killing ambulance driver duo who pick them up at episode end.]]

** Playing the trope more straight, Species 8472 versus the Borg in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. (That was how they met Seven of Nine.) A later episode {{retcon}}ned their OmnicidalManiac tendencies (they had no qualms about [[EarthShatteringKaboom blowing up planets]], and Kes clearly [[PsychicPowers read]] murder in their minds) into a simple misunderstanding. The game ''VideoGame/StarTrekArmada II'' retcons them ''back''.
** The ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'' story "In a Mirror, Darkly" is also an example of this trope-- being set entirely in the mirror universe, there are no good guys, and the [[VillainProtagonist protagonists]] delight in backstabbing one another at the least possible opportunity as well as fighting the Tholians.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': The TwistEnding of "Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up?" reveals [[spoiler: not only is Ross a [[MultiarmedAndDangerous three-armed]] Martian spy plotting the invasion of Earth, but Haley is a Venusian spy with a ThirdEye, who brags that his people have intercepted the Martian fleet and have their own plans for Earth.]]

* The first half of ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' focused on future Saul Goodman facing off against [[spoiler:his own brother, who prevented him from moving upwards in law, and gets very ugly by the end.]]
** Similarly part of the first half and the second half focuses on Gus's war against the Salamancas (while currently on goodwill with the Cartel). Initially Gus succeeds by [[spoiler:stopping Hector's care so that he would spend his days as the DarkLordOnLifeSupport we know him in ''Breaking Bad'']], but then Hector's nephew Lalo arrives on the scene as Lalo decides to destroy Gus's business and reputation. Things get very heated, but in the end [[spoiler:Gus succeeds by killing Lalo and erasing all investigation Lalo made against him.]]

* ''Series/Loki2021'' has one of the Loki variants vs [[spoiler:the TVA itself, who have been pruning trillions of beings across space and time for minor as well as major deviations. The former is a murderer and trickster, but is more sympathetic due to being shaped by the TVA.]]

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone'': The TwistEnding of "Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up?" reveals [[spoiler: not only is Ross a [[MultiarmedAndDangerous three-armed]] Martian spy plotting the invasion of Earth, but Haley is a Venusian spy with a ThirdEye, who brags that his people have intercepted the Martian fleet and have their own plans for Earth.]]

** ''Series/KamenRiderZeroOne'' gave us a Rider Vs Rider example of this trope, with Kamen Rider Horobi, who wants all humans extinct, fighting against CorruptCEO Kamen Rider Thouser.

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order.

** An example in season 4 was Gus versus the Cartel. During that conflict, Gus's organization was portrayed in ALighterShadeOfBlack, though even that was demolished shortly afterward when Gus threatened Walt that he would [[spoiler: kill Walt's entire family, including his infant daughter if he got in his way to eliminate Hank.]] The cartel, particularly Hector, serves as the secondary antagonist to Gus for most of the series and as such it is fitting that [[spoiler: Gus and Hector go out together]].

** Cersei against the High Sparrow in Season 5 and 6. On the one hand, Cersei is a horrible human being who lied, stole, and killed to try to stay on the throne. On the other hand, the High Sparrow is a misogynistic and religious fanatic.

* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': Has the conflict between [[spoiler: Ben Linus and Charles Widmore]] in seasons 4 and 5, as they vie for control of the island. In season 6, it seems to be setting the stage for another one in addition: [[spoiler: Charles Widmore versus the show's real BigBad, The Man In Black.]] By the end of the series, [[spoiler: Ben gets redeemed. And Charles seemed to be on that track, but then Ben killed him... His full redemption doesn't come until after that.]]

** Ingrid and Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin fit this trope in season 4a. In Season 4b, Maleficent and Rumple, who began as a BigBadDuumvirate, eventually dissolve into this when Maleficent fears Rumple will betray her and betrays him first.

* ''Series/TheOriginals'': The entire show is evil vs evil. The Mikelson siblings are vampires who don't care about anyone outside of their family and don't have a problem with murder or torture as long as it isn't happening to them or their loved ones (although they even go after each other sometimes). Yet, the viewer still roots for them because there are even worse bad guys. Ex. In season 2, their aunt of questionable sanity wants to kidnap Klaus Mikelson's infant daughter Hope and she doesn't care who gets hurt. In the current season, season 4, a ghost known as "The Hollow" wants to return to physical form and seeks to do this by sacrificing innocent children, including Hope Mikelson. The sibling's actions are still reprehensible, but you can't help but want them to defeat the bad guys who seek to harm Hope, who is just an innocent child.

** There's also [[spoiler:Project Castor]], revealed in the season 2 finale. It's goal was to [[spoiler:raise a set of male clones from birth to be the ultimate soldiers, but in the present their leader plans to use the clones' unique biology to create a biological weapon]]. At the end of season 3, [[spoiler: Sarah manages to get Ferdinand to go after them]].
** In the same AmbiguouslyEvil category there's Topside, a shadow cabal that seems to control elements of Dyad and other companies/projects, possibly including [[spoiler:Castor]]. It all comes back around to [[spoiler:Neolution running everything behind the scenes]] by the season 3 finale.
** Season four gives us [[spoiler:several Neolution factions against each other, none of whom are ultimately suggested to be particularly heroic but some of whom are undoubtedly more sinister than others. However, by the season finale, while a number of other long-running mysteries of the show have been resolved, Neolution's internal politics have proven to be more complex and inscrutable than ever, and it's difficult to know even where anyone's loyalties lie.]]

*** The Trust is a shadowy group of Earth businessmen who try to assassinate Senator Kinsey in season 6, then briefly take the Earth/Goa'uld war into their own hands in season 8.

** Crowley becomes the instigator of this again in Season 6; it's eventually revealed that [[EldritchAbomination The Mother of All]] came to Earth and started building armies of monsters in response to Crowley's plans to steal all the souls from Purgatory - the Mother's domain. And when the Mother's killed, the last few episodes of the season are still spent dealing with this trope, as the Winchesters find themselves stuck in the middle of the power struggle between the remaining [[BigBadEnsemble contenders for the position of]] BigBad: Crowley, Raphael, and [[spoiler:Castiel]], who has [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jumped off the slippery slope]] to prevent [[spoiler:Raphael from turning the planet into a graveyard by restarting the Apocalypse.]] In the end [[spoiler:Castiel decides to cut Crowley out of the deal, in response to which Crowley teams up with Raphael, but Castiel {{Out Gambit|ted}}s them both. He kills Raphael, ascents to [[AGodAmI godhood]], and makes Crowley his servant not much later. In season 7 he's killed due to the strain of containing inside himself, in addition to millions of souls, the Leviathans - absolutely ancient creatures from Purgatory who wish only to consume. Which leads to...]]
** Crowley instigating this ''again'' in season 7. He attempts a VillainTeamUp with the [[EldritchAbomination Leviathans]]' nominal leader, but is brusquely rejected. Then he orders his demonic forces to ignore the Winchesters so they can hunt Leviathans around the clock.

** In season 4, it's [[spoiler: Kate Argent]] vs. The Benefactor.

** In season 4, [[BigBadDuumvirate Marnie Stonebrook and Antonia Gavilan]] are trying to kill vampires. While Antonia has does have her reasons against the vampires some of them are innocent, however, some of them are evil, leading to this trope.
** In the season 5 finale, [[BigBad Lilith]] begins pitting the Authority members against one another by telling each of them they are chosen to lead her army. As a result, the villains begin trying to kill the others who oppose them.

** By the end of the first season, Regina ([[Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs the Evil Queen]]) and Mr. Gold (Literature/{{Rumpelstiltskin}}) have all but declared war on each other. It really starts when Regina uses the theft of Gold's TragicKeepsake to force him to admit that he remembers who he really is, then [[BigBadDuumvirate team up]] to [[spoiler: frame Mary Margaret (Snow White) for murder]], only for Regina to [[OutGambitted realize too late]] that Gold manipulated the whole thing so that by the end [[spoiler: it was obvious that Mary was framed and all of the evidence pointed at Regina]].

* Netflix's ''Series/ElChapo'' and ''Series/LaReinaDelSur'' are different from other Latin American narco series in that it's all black and black morality; the protagonists are cold-blooded killers who have no qualms with resorting to {{Child Soldier}}s or ColdBloodedTorture exactly like the antagonists, and it's a CrapsackWorld where everyone is evil.

** In Season 5, the AntiHero Stannis Baratheon sets out with his army to take Winterfell from the Boltons, whose two leaders are Roose, the man who betrayed his king Robb Stark, and Ramsay, a psychopath and rapist. Under these circumstances, the viewer would root for Stannis... [[spoiler:until the penultimate episode of the season. With the army trapped in a snow storm, starving and with constant desertions, Stannis despairs and sacrifices his only daughter, in an attempt to win the grace of the Red God whom he follows. After that, Stannis becomes at best, a tragic figure and, at worst, a villain as despicable as the Boltons, making the whole conflict an example of this.]]
** Cersei against the High Sparrow in Season 5 and 6. On the one hand, Cersei is a horrible human being who lied, stole and killed to try to stay on the throne. On the other hand, the High Sparrow is a misogynistic and religious fanatic.
** In the penultimate episode "The Bells", Daenerys Targaryen, who has been one of the protagonists and heroines of the show since the beginning, faces a battle against Cersei and the Lannisters' army in King's Landing. [[spoiler: Daenerys wins the battle with ease, and the Lannisters surrender... but Daenerys, to the surprise and shock of almost everyone, decides to remain fighting and orders the destruction of the city, including the death of not only soldiers, but even civilians, women and children. Daenerys' allies like Jon, Davos and Tyrion are horrified and desperately try to intervene in the situation, without success, while even Cersei is watching everything shocked and silent, apparently surprised to see her enemy proving to be as monstrous as she.]]

* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': Has the conflict between [[spoiler:Ben Linus and Charles Widmore]] in seasons 4 and 5, as they vie for control of the island. In season 6, it seems to be setting the stage for another one in addition: [[spoiler:Charles Widmore versus the show's real BigBad, The Man In Black.]] By the end of the series, [[spoiler: Ben gets redeemed. And Charles seemed to be on that track, but then Ben killed him... His full redemption doesn't come until after that.]]

** By the end of the first season Regina ([[Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs the Evil Queen]]) and Mr. Gold (Literature/{{Rumpelstiltskin}}) have all but declared war on each other. It really starts when Regina uses the theft of Gold's TragicKeepsake to force him to admit that he remembers who he really is, then [[BigBadDuumvirate team up]] to [[spoiler: frame Mary Margaret (Snow White) for murder]], only for Regina to [[OutGambitted realize too late]] that Gold manipulated the whole thing so that by the end [[spoiler: it was obvious that Mary was framed and all of the evidence pointed at Regina]].

* ''Series/DeadliestWarrior'': InvokedTrope at least once a season: TheMafia vs. the {{Yakuza}} [[spoiler: the Mafia won]]; the [[UsefulNotes/TheTroubles Irish Republican Army]] vs. the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror Taliban]] [[spoiler: the IRA won]]; the [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Viet Cong]] vs. the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Waffen SS]] [[spoiler: the SS won]]; the [[TheCartel Medellin Cartel]] vs. [[RuthlessModernPirates Somali pirates]] [[spoiler: Somalis won]]; UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein vs. [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Pol Pot]] [[spoiler: Hussein won]]; and [[SociopathicSoldier Hernan Cortez]] vs. [[AxCrazy Ivan the Terrible]] [[spoiler: Cortez won]]. They even did one between two legendary horror monsters: {{Vampire}}s vs. {{Zombie|Apocalypse}}s [[spoiler: Vampires won]]. When an Evil Versus Evil battle was up, the show would append to its standard DontTryThisAtHome disclaimer [[AndThatsTerrible that the program in no way encourages or endorses the views of either participant or group thereof]].

* ''Series/DeadliestWarrior'': InvokedTrope at least once a season: TheMafia vs. the {{Yakuza}} [[spoiler: the Mafia won]]; the [[UsefulNotes/TheTroubles Irish Republican Army]] vs. the [[TheWarOnTerror Taliban]] [[spoiler: the IRA won]]; the [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Viet Cong]] vs. the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Waffen SS]] [[spoiler: the SS won]]; the [[TheCartel Medellin Cartel]] vs. [[RuthlessModernPirates Somali pirates]] [[spoiler: Somalis won]]; UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein vs. [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Pol Pot]] [[spoiler: Hussein won]]; and [[SociopathicSoldier Hernan Cortez]] vs. [[AxCrazy Ivan the Terrible]] [[spoiler: Cortez won]]. They even did one between two legendary horror monsters: {{Vampire}}s vs. {{Zombie|Apocalypse}}s [[spoiler: Vampires won]]. When an Evil Versus Evil battle was up, the show would append to its standard DontTryThisAtHome disclaimer [[AndThatsTerrible that the program in no way encourages or endorses the views of either participant or group thereof]].

** The ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'' story "In a Mirror, Darkly" is also an example of this trope- the being set entirely in the mirror universe, there are no good guys, and the [[VillainProtagonist protagonists]] delight in backstabbing one another at the least possible opportunity as well as fighting the Tholians.

* ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'': The Sons are an outlaw biker gang who spend the series alternately allied with or fighting against DirtyCops, [[ThoseWackyNazis Neo Nazis]], [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Chinese Traids]], [[TheCartel Mexican drug cartels]], [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels other biker gangs]], [[WesternTerrorists the IRA]], [[RuthlessForeignGangsters the Russian Mafia]], GangBangers and a CorruptCorporateExecutive.

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E10TheEatersOfLight "The Eaters Of Light"]], a Pict settlement, about to be wiped out or enslaved by the Ninth Roman Legion, try to harness an evil creature, which they were pledged to protect the world from, to defeat the conquerors. They were hoping they'd wipe each other out...

* The Originals: The entire show is evil vs evil. The Mikelson siblings are vampires who don't care about anyone outside of their family and don't have a problem with murder or torture as long as it isn't happening to them or their loved ones (although they even go after each other sometimes). Yet, the viewer still roots for them because there are even worse bad guys. Ex. In season 2, their aunt of questionable sanity wants to kidnap Klaus Mikelson's infant daughter Hope and she doesn't care who gets hurt. In the current season, season 4, a ghost known as "The Hollow" wants to return to physical form and seeks to do this by sacrificing innocent children, including Hope Mikelson. The sibling's actions are still reprehensible, but you can't help but want them to defeat the bad guys who seek to harm Hope, who is just an innocent child.

* The ''Series/NightGallery'' segment "The Devil is Not Mocked" revolves around Nazi officers meeting Count Dracula during World War II. In his introduction, Rod Serling describes the story as Evil colliding with Evil.

** Season 8 had this OncePerEpisode with TheMaster and whatever monster he had [[TheStarscream allied]] himself with. Some larger-scale examples include: the Sontaran-Rutan war, the Dalek-Movellan war, the Dalek civil war, and the Dalek-Cyberman battle ([[CurbStompBattle such as it was]]).
** And now, it appears [[spoiler: that the war between the Time-Lords and Daleks became this.]]
** The war between the Kaleds and the Thals started out as BlackAndGrayMorality or even BlackAndWhiteMorality, but by the time of the classic ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks Genesis of the Daleks]]'', it had become very close to being Evil Versus Evil: the Daleks and Thals are both prepared to commit outright genocide against the others (which the Thals actually do, although their genocide is not complete), and the Thals (who up until that episode had been presented rather sympathetically) utilise slave labour and do not care in the slightest about the mortality rate of their slaves. Despite that, the Kaleds and Thals are both presented as generally less evil than the Daleks and Davros, and in a clear case of EvenEvilHasStandards, plenty of Kaleds are appalled by Davros' genetic manipulation of the Daleks into {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s. Indeed, more Kaleds are presented sympathetically in this episode than unsympathetically, despite the fact that the episode doesn't scrimp on the not-very-subtle Nazi allegory and makes it plain that Kaled society at large is monstrous.[[note]](While the Thals' more monstrous portrayal in this episode might seem to be a case of HeWhoFightsMonsters or TookALevelInJerkass, this episode was set ''before'' any other portrayal of the Thals, so this would mean that chronologically, this would be an ''inversion'' of TookALevelInJerkass. On the other hand, the war is described as having gone on for hundreds of years, so it is quite possible that neither the Thals nor the Daleks were anywhere near so monstrous at the start of the war).[[/note]] It's revealed in the ''first'' Dalek story from the Thals themselves that there weren't "good guys" during the original war, have changed in the years since, and aren't proud of their history. They wonder if the Daleks, whom they haven't seen in a while, have un-taken their level in {{Jerkass}}. ([[OmnicidalManiac They haven't, of course]].)
** In the Doctor Who Comic ''Deathworld'', the Ice Warriors and Cybermen battle over the planet Yama-10.
** In Black Legacy the Cybermen fight against the Apocalypse Device, which was so terrible it wiped out its Creators, the Deathsmiths of Goth. Finally Cyberleader Maxel self-destructs his ship to prevent it escaping its world.
** In the Series 9 premiere, Missy (aka [[spoiler:the Master]]) came up against the Daleks, and was delighted to finally get to meet and potentially match wits with [[spoiler:Davros]].

-->'''Doctor:''' There were strangers at the door, and a guard dog in the attic.

** When the third season brings the Wicked Witch of the West in gunning for Regina, the promos hype it as "Wicked Versus Evil." Less prevalent in-series, as Regina's HeelFaceTurn has really started to take hold, and [[spoiler:is what enables her to defeat the Witch in "Kansas."]]

---> '''Mesogog''': Looks like this planet has one too many evil villains, and I have no intention of leaving.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
** We have the tyrannical Goa'uld fighting each other over territory and other things and have the Replicators (except for the later human-form replicators they're not evil per se, but [[HordeOfAlienLocusts a threat to all life]]) fighting everyone, including the Goa'uld.
** The Trust is a shadowy group of Earth businessmen who try to assassinate Senator Kinsey in season 6, then briefly take the Earth/Goa'uld war into their own hands in season 8.
* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'':
** The Asurans battled the Wraith, erasing human life to deplete the Wraith's "food sources". In the end the Asurans proved to be by far the greater threat, leading to an [[EnemyMine alliance]] between the humans and a Wraith faction to eliminate them.
** The Wraith are no more friendly amongst themselves than the Goa'uld -- that alliance contains ''nine'' factions, not the three you'd assume at first glance.
** There's a less direct example in the episode "Critical Mass". The Trust, having been taken over by the Goa'uld, plans to blow up Atlantis in order to prevent the Wraith from gaining access to the city, making their way to the Milky Way and gaining a foothold in our galaxy. The fact that it would have dealt a significant blow to Earth was just the icing on the cake. With the SGC, the Tok'ra, the Free Jaffa Nation, the Ori and the Lucian Alliance to contend with, the last thing that the few remaining Goa'uld needed was another enemy to fight. Unfortunately, we never got to see a proper encounter between the Goa'uld and the Wraith.

** Season 13's BigBadEnsemble is this. Lucifer, who wants to get back to his world and find his son, Asmodeus, who wants to keep the power that comes with being King of Hell, and the Apocalypse World's Michael, who wants to bring his crusade to the main reality. [[spoiler: Asmodeus ends up being burned alive by [[TheDogBitesBack Gabriel]], whom he imprisoned and tortured for years, thus taking him out of the game.]] Meanwhile, in "Exodus", Lucifer has to team up with Team Free Will and friends in order to escape the alternate world safely, thus pitting him directly at odds with Michael, who had briefly captured him earlier on in the season. [[spoiler: And then Lucifer's VillainousBreakdown in the season finale forces Michael to ally himself with Team Free Will in order to defeat a powered-up Lucifer, who fed on his own son's {{Nephilim}} grace.]]