History Main / CainAndAbel

* In the first ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' movie, [[spoiler:Cha Cha and Dong Dong, who spend most of the film fighting each other during the war between the White Bull Kingdom and the Black Bull Kingdom, are revealed to be brothers]].

[[caption-width-right:350:[[TropeNamers The brothers,]] "ironing" out their differences.\\
[-Image from Art/TheGhentAltarpiece by brothers HubertAndJanVanEyck-]]]

** Umbra and Pentumbra resented Celena for being the heir to the throne and the most beautiful of the siblings, and manipulated their brothers into tampering with Celena's potions, causing an explosion and putting Celena close to death. Antumbra, while not above bullying her older sister, found that EvenEvilHasStandards and turned her triplet sisters in. Umbra was sent to another kingdom [[ReassignedToAntarctica under the guise of being an ambassador]] and Penumbra was eventually disowned entirely. Ironically, Umbra's son would marry Celena's daughter.

[-Image from Art/TheGhentAltarpiece by Creator/{{Hubert|VanEyck}} and Creator/JanVanEyck-]]]

* One of the greatest Emperor of Tang Dynasty, Emperor UsefulNotes/TaizongOfTang is this trope. In an infamous incident known as the ''Xuánwǔmén zhī biàn'' (the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuanwu_Gate_Incident Xuanwu Gate Incident]]), he ambushed his older brother Li Jiancheng (the crown prince) and his younger brother Li Yuanji. He killed his older brother personally, forced his father to make him crown prince only to make it proper for his father to surrender his throne to him just two months later.
** Oh ya, he also killed the sons of both Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, and made Li Yuanji's wife his concubine. That's just some badassery.
** And it's true that he's a noble Emperor.
** Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji were also plotting against Li Shimin (brother number two). Li Jiancheng was jealous of his second brother because Li Shimin was more capable in almost every respect, and may have feared losing his crown prince position to him as a result. He recruited his third brother who was similarly jealous, and the two of them were in fact preparing an ambush/attack of their own at the very moment they themselves were ambushed. Or so it has been recorded. (History tending to be written by winners who become emperors…)

* One of the greatest Emperor of Tang Dynasty, Emperor Tang Taizong is this trope. In an infamous incident known as the ''Xuánwǔmén zhī biàn'' (the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuanwu_Gate_Incident Xuanwu Gate Incident]]), he ambushed his older brother Li Jiancheng (the crown prince) and his younger brother Li Yuanji. He killed his older brother personally, forced his father to make him crown prince only to make it proper for his father to surrender his throne to him just two months later.

[-Image from Art/TheGhentAltarpiece by Hubert and Creator/JanVanEyck-]]]

[-Image from Art/TheGhentAltarpiece by Hubert and Jan van Eyck-]]]

** In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', Gamora and Nebula have a relationship very similar to Thor and Loki's. Including being adopted siblings, the Cain having resentment issues because the Abel is the favorite of a father figure and Cain and Abel having very tangled love/hate relation.

** Sky and Etheria had a sibling rivalry due to being too close in age to each other (Etheria was born the same year Sky was), and Etheria resented the attention Sky got both as heiress to the throne and because of her diminutive stature. Eventually the tension escalated enough that a drunk Etheria tried to stab Sky. She was sent to St. Olga's Reformatory School for Wayward Princesses in response (a response that even her harshest critics thought was too much). It's both this, and Etheria seizing the regency while Sky was on her honeymoon, that caused Sky to [[spoiler:name their younger sister Comet regent and adoptive mother of Moon on her deathbed.]]

** Umbra and Pentumbra resented Celena for being the heir to the throne and the most beautiful of the siblings, and manipulated their brothers into tampering with Celena's potions, causing an explosion and putting Celena close to death. Antumbra, while not above bullying her older sister, found that EvenEvilHasStandards and turned her triplet sisters in. Umbra was sent to another kingdom [[ReassignedToAntartica under the guise of being an ambassador]] and Penumbra was eventually disowned entirely. Ironically, Umbra's son would marry Celena's daughter.

* Zeus and Hades in ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}''. Hades [[GreenEyedMonster jealously loathes]] his older brother, the benevolent Zeus, because the latter is [[UniversallyLovedLeader loved by all of the other gods]] while EverybodyHatesHades, combined with being stuck as lord of the Underworld. [[DrivenByEnvy Bitter and envious of]] his brother's success, he decides to [[TheUsurper overthrow Zeus]] and kill baby Hercules so he can install himself as TopGod and king of Olympus. He's widely despised on Olympus, and it's done to show how estranged and out-of-touch he is with them. They aren't happy at his appearance at Hercules's birthday, and his lame pun is met with scowls. But when Zeus makes a similar lame joke about his workaholic nature, the pantheon bursts into laughter, while Hades storms out in anger.

* Zeus and Hades in ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}''. Hades [[GreenEyedMonster jealously loathes]] his older brother, the benevolent Zeus, because the latter is [[UniversallyLovedLeader loved by all of the other gods]] while EverybodyHatesHades, combined with being stuck as lord of the Underworld. [[TheResenter Bitter and]] [[DrivenByEnvy envious of]] his brother's success, he decides to [[TheUsurper overthrow Zeus]] and kill baby Hercules so he can install himself as TopGod and king of Olympus. He's widely despised on Olympus, and it's done to show how estranged and out-of-touch he is with them. They aren't happy at his appearance at Hercules's birthday, and his lame pun is met with scowls. But when Zeus makes a similar lame joke about his workaholic nature, the pantheon bursts into laughter, while Hades storms out in anger.

* Zeus and [[EverybodyHatesHades Hades]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}''. Hades [[GreenEyedMonster jealously loathes]] his older brother, the benevolent Zeus, because the latter is [[UniversallyLovedLeader loved by all of the other gods]] while EverybodyHatesHades, combined with being stuck as lord of the Underworld. [[TheResenter Bitter and]] [[DrivenByEnvy envious of]] his brother's success, he decides to [[TheUsurper overthrow Zeus]] and kill baby Hercules so he can install himself as TopGod and king of Olympus. He's widely despised on Olympus, and it's done to show how estranged and out-of-touch he is with them. They aren't happy at his appearance at Hercules's birthday, and his lame pun is met with scowls. But when Zeus makes a similar lame joke about his workaholic nature, the pantheon bursts into laughter, while Hades storms out in anger.

* Zeus and [[EverybodyHatesHades Hades]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}''. Hades [[GreenEyedMonster jealously loathes]] his older brother, the benevolent Zeus, because the latter receives HundredPercentAdorationRating from all of the other gods while EverybodyHatesHades, combined with being stuck as lord of the Underworld. [[TheResenter Bitter and]] [[DrivenByEnvy envious of]] his brother's success, he decides to [[TheUsurper overthrow Zeus]] and kill baby Hercules so he can install himself as TopGod and king of Olympus. He's widely despised on Olympus, and it's done to show how estranged and out-of-touch he is with them. They aren't happy at his appearance at Hercules's birthday, and his lame pun is met with scowls. But when Zeus makes a similar lame joke about his workaholic nature, the pantheon bursts into laughter, while Hades storms out in anger.

* Serial killer Leonard Lake is strongly believed by authorities to have murdered his missing younger brother Donald. However, Donald's body was never found, and Leonard killed himself shortly after his arrest. Thus, the exact circumstances of Donald's death will likely never be known, but overwhelming circumstantial evidence points to Leonard killing him to steal his identity.

* Serial killer Leonard Lake is strongly believed by authorities to have murdered his missing younger brother Donald. However, Donald's body was never found, and Leonard killed himself shortly after his arrest. Thus, the exact circumstances of Donald's death will likely never be known, but circumstantial evidence points to Leonard killing him to steal his identity.

* Serial killer Leonard Lake is strongly believed by authorities to have murdered his missing younger brother Donald. However, Donald's body was never found, and Leonard killed himself shortly after his arrest. Thus, the exact circumstances of Donald's death will likely never be known, but circumstantial evidence points to Lenard killing him to steal his identity.

* Serial killer Leonard Lake is strongly believed by authorities to have murdered his missing younger brother Donald. However, Donald's body was never found, and Leonard killed himself shortly after his arrest. Thus, the exact circumstances of Donald's death will likely never been known, but circumstantial evidence points to Lenard killing him to steal his identity.

* One of the victims of serial killer duo Leonard Lake and Charles Ng was Lake's own brother.

In cases where the Cain turns out to be TheUnfavourite, he's likely to be viewed from [[SympatheticPOV a more sympathetic angle]]. Of course, this would partially also depend on the sibling's attitude in all this. Sometimes the siblings will become TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou. If the hero isn't aware of the relation until late in the series, it's also a LukeIAmYourFather. WeUsedToBeFriends and EvilFormerFriend also count if the siblings in question were former friends with each other. Compare OedipusComplex. Contrast SiblingTeam. Also contrast BashBrothers, where the two people (who may or may not be brothers) beat up other people instead of each other. When Cain is gunning for mom and dad instead of Abel see AntagonisticOffspring.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', the [[RoyallyScrewedUp royal family]] of the Fire Nation exhibits this with ''two'' sets of siblings. As above, in both cases, the younger sibling is the [[EvilerThanThou outright sociopath]] of the two. On one occasion Azula outright attempts to kill Zuko her brother, as she shouts, "I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child!" Later comics has Zuko, despise that their relationship is one of battle & tears; that he hates and is tired of fighting his own sister in near death scenarios. When Zuko irrevocably proves to Azula that he does care for her as a person, it actually triggers a genuine sense of sisterly care from Azula, [[HazyFeelTurn although this did not necessarily prevent further conflict between the two.]] It remains to be seen whether the two ever truly reconciled or not. It can also be inferred that preventing this trope is the reason why Zuko has only one child. And it is unknown whether this trope is in effect among Izumi's two children.

** Abimelech in the book of Judges murdered all of his brothers, but he missed his youngest brother Jotham. Likewise, Jotham put a curse on him.
** When Israel split in 2, Northern Israel is definitely Cain while Southern Judah is the Abel. Israel was wealthier and more influential but had the political stability of a game of Jenga while Judah was more spiritual and moderate. When these fight, Israel is usually the aggressor.

** The four sons of king David: Absolom, Amon, Solomon, and Adonijah. Absolom killed Amon to avenge the rape of their sister Tamar and Solomon sentenced Adonijah to death because the latter had the audacity to ask the hand of their father's widow.
* Cain and Abel also appear in ''Literature/TheQuran'', but the story is even shorter than in the bible and doesn't actually give the two brothers names. In this story, The Prophet was told to tell the early Muslims about 'the two sons of Adam'. After his sacrifice was not accepted, the Cain figure told his brother that he would kill him. The Abel figure replied that God would only accept the offerings of people that listened to him and that a murderer would go to Hell burdened by his own sins and those of their victim (the victim would be forgiven as a result of his unjust death). This version of Abel also refused to "stretch out my hands to kill you, even if you stretch out yours to kill me", and said that he feared God and would rather his brother burn in the fire for murdering him than sin himself. Cain was prompted by his 'wicked soul' to kill his brother, and instantly became a lost person for that act. Since he had no clue what to do with the body, God sent a raven to dig up the ground and show Cain how to bury his brother. Cain was mortified and guilty because of the fact that the raven (who had buried another raven) knew what to do, but that he couldn't even give his brother a proper burial. Cain lived out the rest of his life tormented by regret and guilt. This story was meant to explain why Muslims shouldn't murder anyone.

* ''Art/BeastFables'': Wereamphibian mythology tells of [[https://www.deviantart.com/nazrigar/art/Weretober-2022-Ancient-Werebeasts-Part-3-934773737 two brothers]], an older ''Mastodontosaurus'' and a younger ''Prionosuchus''. The younger one fell in love with a mer-woman, which angered the older brother, so he killed the younger brother.

%% * See Michael Myers and his sister from the ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' movies for the slasher flick take on this.