History Main / CollidingCriminalConspiracies

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* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' combines this with the odd case of MuggingTheMonster, with everything from [[spoiler: trains full of rival mobsters encountering a conductor who's an AxCrazy assassin with a twisted [[KnightTemplar sense of justice]] (and a great deal of respect for the [[ItsPersonal colleague they murdered to infiltrate the train]]) to [[AncientConspiracy immortals]] having their elixir of life stolen by random muggers]].

* In the ''ComicBook/TheFlash'' storyline "Crossfire," the Rogues launch their long-planned takeover of Keystone City... only to have the Thinker choose the same time to launch his own attack on Central City and the battle of the two forces allows the Flash to defeat them both.
* ComicBook/ThePunisherSuicideRun: When ComicBook/ThePunisher is arrested and held in the little town of Laastekist, the town finds itself in the middle of a war zone when everyone whose out to get Frank sets their foot in there. This includes the FBI, fellow vigilantes, the VIGIL organization, TheMafia, [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels a biker gang]] and various smaller criminals.
* One ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' story begins with ''seven'' Supervillains all hitting on the same “attack the White House” scheme at once and promptly get into a huge fight over who thought of it first. The JLA arrives to find the bad guys beating each other up and pretty much just stand back to watch.

** Likewise, ''Film/PsychoII'' features a more straightforward albeit [[BlackAndGrayMorality still downplayed]] example of [[spoiler:Lila Loomis's]] and [[spoiler:Mrs. Spool's]] competing agendas: in the former case, to drive a mentally-recovered [[TheAtoner Norman Bates]] back into murderous insanity and get him recommitted to the asylum before he can harm anyone again, in the latter case to protect Norman from persecution and suspicion by [[spoiler:murdering his enemies]] and revealing herself to him as [[spoiler:his loving "mother"]] ([[spoiler:Mrs. Spool]] seems to prevail against [[spoiler:Lila]], only to find out in turn that EvilIsNotAToy and [[ChronicVillainy Norman]] himself may not share the exact same HappilyEverAfter scenario she had in mind).

* ''Film/LockStockAndTwoSmokingBarrels'' is the intersection of four lowlifes trying to pay off a gambling debt, a group of thugs stealing from a black gang's pot-growing operation, and a crimelord ordering the theft of some valuable muskets.
* Played with in ''Film/HardRain'' where a fairly simple plotline about a bunch of criminals trying to rob an armoured truck becomes more complicated when [[spoiler: the local law enforcement decide to steal the cash themselves and the van's guard and the lead robber end up in an EnemyMine]].
* Worst case yet must be ''Film/DeepRising'', where a GambitPileup has a thief, mercenaries on their way to a heist, a transport crew hired by those mercenaries willing to look the other way, a captured cruise ship run by a guy attempting to pull off an insurance scam, and a pack of sea monsters [[spoiler:that are actually just the tentacles of a larger sea monster]].

* ''Film/ManOnFire'' had this as the cause of the main plot. The ransom drop-off went [[GoneHorriblyWrong horribly wrong]] because several groups got too greedy. Aside from the Voice and his gang (the actual kidnappers), [[spoiler: a group of [[DirtyCop cops]] tried to steal the ransom money for themselves]], as well as [[spoiler: the victim's family [[AmoralAttorney lawyer]] stealing half the ransom as it was being transported]]. Creasy ends up unraveling the plots of each group as he hunts each of them down and kills them.

* ''Film/DontBreathe'': A group of hapless thieves learns the hard way that the blind old man they’re planning to rob is actually a deranged rapist/murderer, and they’ve just interrupted his attempts to [[{{Squick}} produce an heir]].

* ''Literature/{{Dortmunder}}:'' In the short story "Too Many Crooks," Dortmunder and Kelp tunnel into a bank right as it's being robbed by a quintet of armed gun men. [[RightPlaceRightTimeWrongReason They pretend to be hostage rescue cops when they find the bank vault is filled with hostages. Moments later, the gunmen come down to the vault. Dortmunder is mistaken for one of the hostages and dragged out of the vault to be held at gunpoint as a warning to the police, while Kelp helps the hostages escape through the tunnel]]. Kelp also [[RefugeInAudacity tricks the hostages into carrying all of the money out through the tunnel (so the robbers won't get it)]] and take it to his getaway car (which he claims is an unmarked squad car).

* ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'': Tails and Amy infiltrate Prison Island in order to free Sonic who has been captured by G.U.N. At the same time, Dr. Eggman, Shadow and Rogue also infiltrate the island to steal the Chaos Emeralds G.U.N. has in their possession. The two sides end up clashing, unaware of each other's true motives other than that they happen to be at the same place through coincidence.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Just within the Order of the Knights of Jove there are multiple conflicting conspiracies against the heroes that lead to villains slaughtering each other. There's also the murderous ambitious Queen of Dawn who is being hunted by those loyal to the Other, and [[spoiler:started out as the Order's fake Heterodyne]].

* In the ''Columbo'' episode "A Bird in the Hand," Harold [=McCain=] tries to kill his rich uncle with a car bomb, a plan that goes badly awry when Big Fred's trophy wife kills him first in a hit-and-run.

* ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'': Tails and Amy infiltrate Prison Island in order to break out Sonic out who has been captured by G.U.N. At the same time, Dr. Eggman, Shadow and Rogue also infiltrate the island to steal the Chaos Emeralds G.U.N. has in their possession. The two sides end up clashing, unaware of each other's true motives other than that they happen to be at the same place through coincidence.

* When the ComicBook/ThePunisher is held in a small town cell during ''ComicBook/ThePunisherSuicideRun'', The little town of Laastekist finds itself in the middle of a war zone when everyone whose out to get Frank sets their foot in there. This includes the FBI, fellow vigilantes, the VIGIL organization, TheMafia, [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels a biker gang]] and various smaller criminals.

* When the ComicBook/ThePunisher is held in a small town cell during ''ComicBook/ThePunisherSuicideRun'' event, several criminal enterprises set out independently to get him, turning the town into a war zone.

* The French movie ''Film/TheNest'' has a great example of this. A big warehouse complex is being used as a hideout by some fairly mundane thieves but ends up as the site for a huge battle between terrorists and a good-guy military squad.

* The French movie ''The Nest'' has a great example of this. A big warehouse complex is being used as a hideout by some fairly mundane thieves but ends up as the site for a huge battle between terrorists and a good-guy military squad.

* Worst case yet must be ''Film/DeepRising'', where a GambitPileup has a thief, mercenaries, a transport crew hired by those mercenaries willing to look the other way, a captured cruise ship run by a guy attempting to pull off an insurance scam, and a pack of sea monsters [[spoiler:that are actually just the tentacles of a larger sea monster]].

* Worst case yet must be ''Film/DeepRising'', where a GambitPileup has a thief, mercenaries, a captured cruise ship run by a guy attempting to pull off an insurance scam, and a pack of sea monsters [[spoiler:that are actually just the tentacles of a larger sea monster]].

** "The Bank Shot Job", the team's attempt to take down the corrupt Judge Roy hits a snag when Nate, Sophie and the judge are taken hostage in a bank by a father and son duo. It is then revealed that the duo are only robbing the bank because the mother has been taken hostage by drug dealers the boy owes money to. And then Roy, getting wise to the fact that Sophie and Nate are trying to con him, gets his hands on a gun and becomes the hostage taker.
** ** "The Rashomon Job" reveals that all five members of the team were present in the same place years before they all teamed up. While Nate was still an insurance investigator at the time while Parker, Eliot, Hardison and Sophie were each trying to steal a valuable dagger from a museum for their own reasons while unaware of each other's goals. [[spoiler:Between Nate's investigation and the commotion caused by the four thieves, it is revealed that the dagger's owner had actually sold it and replaced it with a fake as part of an insurance scam.]]

See also: GambitPileup, BigBadEnsemble, EnemyCivilWar. Contrast NebulousCriminalConspiracy, where seemingly unrelated crimes are actually all connected.

** ''Film/PsychoIII'' features [[spoiler:attempted rapist and overall slimeball Duane Duke]] attempting to blackmail Norman after finding employment at the Bates Motel and uncovering evidence of his MommyIssues (to put it mildly), only to realize he got himself into more than he bargained for.

** Likewise, ''Film/PsychoII'' features a more straightforward albeit [[BlackAndGrayMorality still downplayed]] example of [[spoiler:Lila Loomis's]] and [[spoiler:Mrs. Spool's]] respective plots: in the former case, to drive a mentally-recovered [[TheAtoner Norman Bates]] back into murderous insanity and get him recommitted to the asylum before he can harm anyone again, in the latter case to protect him from persecution and suspicion by [[spoiler:murdering his enemies]] and revealing herself to him as [[spoiler:his loving "mother"]] ([[spoiler:Mrs. Spool]] seems to prevail against [[spoiler:Lila]], only to find out in turn that EvilIsNotAToy and [[ChronicVillainy Norman]] himself may not share the exact same HappilyEverAfter scenario she had in mind).

*** Also, Norman firing Pat Toomey for his sleazy activities (renting out rooms for drug use, prostitution, and underage sex) while managing the Bates Motel in his absence causes Toomey to nurse a grudge against Norman and begin hassling him, proving an annoyance to [[spoiler:Lila's accomplice and daughter, Mary]], while ultimately putting him in the [[AffablyEvil protective]] [[spoiler:Mrs. Spool's]] crosshairs as her first onscreen victim.

* ''Film/{{Curtains}}'': [[spoiler:Samantha]] seeks revenge and shoots her former collaborator Stryker and the woman who was sleeping with him to obtain the main role in ''Audra'' [[spoiler:originally intended for her after [[AssholeVictim Stryker]] abandoned her in an insane asylum]], but in so doing runs afoul of the even more unhinged [[spoiler:Patti's]] own plot to break into dramatic acting and land the same role by [[RemovingTheRival offing the other contenders for the part]] and anyone else who stands in the way of her ambitions.

* In the ''Columbo'' episode "A Bird in the Hand," Harold tries to kill his rich uncle with a car bomb, a plan that goes badly awry when the wife kills him first in a hit-and-run.

See also: GambitPileup, BigBadEnsemble. Contrast NebulousCriminalConspiracy, where seemingly unrelated crimes are actually all connected.

* ''Film/{{Psycho}}'': A secretary runs off with several thousand dollars and holes up in the Bates Motel. Things end poorly for her.

* ''WesternAnimation/EvilConCarne'': This trope was the reason Hector decided to start the League of Destruction.

* When the ComicBook/ThePunisher is held in a small town cell during the ''ComicBook/SuicideRun'' event, several criminal enterprises set out independently to get him, turning the town into a war zone.