History Main / BothOrderAndChaosAreDangerous

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' mostly focuses on ChaosIsEvil, but occasionally plays with the idea that order is equally as bad. Nabu for example requires enslaved hosts and doesn't much care for anything unless it involves chaos, while the trial in which they speak through Phantom Stranger reveals them to be apathetic to the chaos Child is causing on earth. Vandal Savage himself is flat out compared to a Lord of Order by Child.

* ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'': The main characters are {{Sociopathic Hero}}es who [[DestructiveSavior cause wanton destruction wherever they go]], while their rivals are [[CoDragons enforcers]] to the BigBad, who [[spoiler:runs the city as its mayor]] and looks to TakeOverTheWorld.

** There's also the Lords of Order and Chaos, opposite ends of a BlueAndOrangeMorality scale who all consider themselves AboveGoodAndEvil and have little regard for humanity compared to their views on how the world should operate. Both sides have empowered and antagonized both heroes and villains.

** ''The Saga of Crystar'' pitted Crystar's forces representing Order against his brother's [[MagmaMan Magma Men]] representing Chaos, with their uncle playing balance by keeping either of them from claiming the throne until they've reconciled. Crystar's the hero, while Moltar's an AntiVillain, but despite both being generally reasonable guys, they refuse to settle their differences in any way besides attempting to kill one another.

* This is the theme of ''Film/DemolitionMan'': A cop is brought from the past to enforce order but quickly shows everyone that strict order can be just as evil as absolute chaos. Simon Phoenix, an AxCrazy and chaotic {{warlord}} who loves being evil and terrorizing people, and Dr. Raymond Cocteau, the founder of San Angeles who uses order to repress anything that ''might'' offend any of his citizens (including bodily contact and swearing), are both portrayed as evil. In the end, the two moderate leaders that represent chaos and order -- [[RebelLeader Scrap leader Egdar Friendly]] and [[DaChief Chief George Earle]] -- find they have to negotiate with each other in order to find a good balance.

* This is the theme of ''Film/DemolitionMan'': A cop is brought from the past to enforce order but quickly shows everyone that strict order can be just as evil as absolute chaos. In the end, the two leaders that represent chaos and order find they have to negotiate with each other in order find a good balance.

* ''VideoGame/SincereDeceit'': God/[[spoiler:Zaphkiel]] and The

-->-- The Principia Discordia

** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' further underscores the point by showing how easy it is for both sides do to basically whatever they want by tying themselves in logical knots. The Angels (Law) side with a MightMakesRight faction, because in a world where the strong subjugate the weak God would be at the very top, which is a proper expression of order. A large number of Demons (Chaos) side with an attempted WorldOfSilence because in a world of total equality, everyone is equal to God, which is about the biggest middle finger one can give to YHVH.

*** ''ComicBook/TheSandman'': Representatives from both Order and Chaos show up to try to claim Hell after Lucifer decides that he's done managing Hell and it's time to move on with his life. Neither comes off as better than the other: Order seems to suffer from quite a case of CreativeSterility, has mindless slaves, and wants to take over Hell and make into a "more efficient" realm, while the representative from Chaos incarnates as a psychopathic brat who threatens Dream with eternal war should he turn Hell over to anyone else, and later reveals that Chaos never really wanted Hell, but simply wanted to prevent Order from getting it. Both are surprisingly {{Graceful Loser}}s though, when Dream doesn't give Hell to either of them, albeit in different ways and for different reasons.

* In Creator/MichaelMoorcock's Eternal Champion sagas, it ultimately does not matter if the Champion serves Chaos or Law. In the end, every manifestation of the Champion - and the Eternal Enemy - discovers his purpose is to maintain the Balance, a state lying beyond Chaos and Law, two states which in their absolute form only bring sterility and barren endings. And in less extreme forms, both excess Law and excess Chaos make for unpleasant societies, with the former leading to oppressive totalitarianism and the latter brutal lawlessness. The champion ''Literature/{{Corum}'' goes one further - he is the unwitting servant of the Great Old Ones, who physically destroy all the Gods of chaos and law, demonstrating that Mankind doesn't need them and must make its own way.

* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' falls under the subtrope [[Administrivia/InternalSubtrope Balance Between Order And Chaos.]] In the setting, a cosmic war between two gods is being waged, the "gods" can be split in 3 categories, the cosmic forces of Light and Darkness, which are universal constants, the entities behind each force, the Gardener and the Winnower, and the avatars of each god, the Traveler and the Black Fleet. Even though, morally speaking, the Gardener is the correct one (at least as far as human morality can be applied to a cosmic being, which also leads to both a justification, and somewhat of an inversion of the OrderIsNotGood trope, as the Light and Creation deity, which normally represents order, actually represents chaos. Her frustration and later disobedience of the rule set of the game which she and the Winnower played led to the accidental creation of the universe), the universe still requires both to exist, and even if it didn't, a universe composed of only one of the extremes would be a horrible one to live. Some characters speculate that "balance" does not necessarily mean a 50/50 split, saying:

* Dragons in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'' tend to be members of one of three major factions: The "Order" faction who serve the gods, the "Chaos" faction who seek to overthrow the gods, and the "Spectator" faction who want nothing to do with the overall OrderVersusChaos war. Within the Order faction are dragons who [[LawfulEvil go out of their ways to cause strife among the humans]], such as by demanding {{Human Sacrifice}}s to solve problems they could easily amend, others who abuse human laws to [[GodhoodSeeker make themselves revered as gods]], [[BloodKnight some who just want the excuse to lawfully kill Chaos dragons]], and some who are borderline LawfulStupid. Dragons in the Chaos faction include [[KnightTemplar Knights Templar]] who think that HumansAreTheRealMonsters who kill their friends and family, many who object to [[FantasticRacism humans labeling dragons as]] AlwaysChaoticEvil, [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinists]] who think that dragons are never morally fallible as long as they can kill anyone who tries to stop them, and many who are simply ChaoticEvil.

** Firstly, this is the original definition of the TrueNeutral alignment; somebody who sees Law, Chaos, Good and Evil as all being equally dangerous, and thusly works to keep all of these forces in check. In practice, this tended to come across as StupidNeutral, and so the alignment's definition was reworked.
** Secondly, players who play LawfulNeutral or ChaoticNeutral characters have a tendency to slip into LawfulEvil or ChaoticEvil. Though Chaotic Neutral is often [[ChaoticStupid misinterpreted as being batshit insane]].

* In Creator/MichaelMoorcock's Eternal Champion sagas, it ultimately does not matter if the Champion serves Chaos or Law. In the end, every manifestation of the Champion - and the Eternal Enemy - discovers his purpose is to maintain the Balance, a state lying beyond Chaos and Law, two states which in their absolute form only bring sterility and barren endings. And in less extreme forms, both excess Law and excess Chaos make for unpleasant societies, with the former leading to oppressive totalitarianism and the latter brutal lawlessness. The champion Corum goes one further - he is the unwitting servant of the Great Old Ones, who physically destroy all the Gods of chaos and law, demonstrating that Mankind doesn't need them and must make its own way.

** ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception'' introduces the realms of Orderrealm and Chaosrealm to the greater cosmology of the series. Orderrealm's characters consist of Hotaru, a KnightTemplar who aids the BigBad, Onaga; Darius, a man rebelling against Orderrealm's establishment who set up the deaths of Dairou's family to get turn him against the Seidan Guard; and Dairou himself, a {{Hired Gun|s}} who is said to take jobs no matter how inhumane they are. From Chaosrealm, there is Havik, a Cleric of Chaos who managed to [[TheCorrupter help]] get Kabal [[HeelFaceTurn back into the Black Dragon after he tried to reform]], goes and aids Shao Kahn in his ''Deception'' ending, and is part of the Forces of Darkness in ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon Armageddon]]''.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/order_and_chaos1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:When Order and Chaos end up being a MortonsFork]]

* AllWorkVsAllPlay (All Work favoring Order, All Play favoring Chaos)
* FalseDichotomy, this work is averting the choice of Order or Chaos.
* GodAndSatanAreBothJerks (God is usually representing Order, while Satan is representing Chaos)