History Main / DefendsAgainstTheirOwnKind

* Monsters Jimmy Sullivan and Mike Wazowski from Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' go to extraordinary lengths to hide the human toddler Boo from the authorities. It bodes ill when one monster returns from the human world with a mere sock stuck to his fur: a code 23-19 is called which treats the sock like a contaminated bomb. Further, Mike and Sully rescue Boo from the clutches of TheDragon in his MadScientistLaboratory.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The [[Characters/DoctorWhoTenthDoctor Tenth Doctor]]'s final episode revealed that [[spoiler:he basically became this in the final days of the Time War, choosing to destroy his own people along with the Daleks because the Time Lord's plan to end the War would have also destroyed the rest of the universe]].
** Rusty, the damaged Dalek from ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E2IntoTheDalek Into the Dalek]]'' is this trope mixed with PredatorTurnedProtector. Being repaired by the Twelfth Doctor, he also shown him life itself and he finally decided to choose life and goes against his own race and being the protector of life, being more known as a "good" Dalek.

* A major motif in the Franchise/KamenRider franchise is that the Hero often draws his powers from the BigBad or the same source that the BigBad uses. In a few cases, the Hero might be the villain's failed attempt at a MonsterOfTheWeek.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':

* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
** Teal'c's goal in defecting to Earth may have been to take steps to liberate his fellow Jaffa from the Goa'uld, but he is also their best candidate to oppose the Jaffa in battle due to his greater-than-human strength and knowledge of their tactics.
** The Tok'ra may operate covertly rather than waging a more active war, but they still work to bring down the Goa'uld despite the two being essentially the same species.
** In contrast to the complete non-interference policy of their fellow Ascended, Orlin and Oma Desala were more willing to offer assistance to the SGC, and [[spoiler:Merlin and Morgan Le Fay take a particularly active role in helping SG-1 defeat the Ori, who are essentially the EvilCounterpart of the other Ascended]].
* In ''Series/Supergirl2015'', [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} the titular heroine]] and ComicBook/MartianManhunter routinely have to protect National City from villains like rogue Kryptonians and other species of Martian.

* The resourceful young Viking Hiccup captures a Night Fury dragon in Dreamworks' ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2010'', and learns firsthand that dragons are not mindless hostile antagonists, negating everything he'd been taught about them. However, when Hiccup's father Stoick learns that his son has gotten friendly with a dragon, he disowns Hiccup and seizes the Night Fury with the intent of using him to locate the hidden stronghold of all dragons.

* Blue Sky Studio's ''WesternAnimation/IceAge1'' has Diego the saber-tooth tiger working as a double agent, leading Manfred the woolly mammoth, Sid the sloth, and Bonebag the human infant to Glacier Pass. However, after being rescued from fiery doom by his companions, Diego undergoes a HeelFaceTurn, and actively defends Manfred from Soto, the ruthless leader of the tigers.

* Monsters Jimmy Sullivan and Mike Wazowski from Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' go to extraordinary lengths to hide the human toddler Boo from the authorities. It bodes ill when one monster returns from the human world with a mere sock stuck to his fur: a code 23-19 is called which treats the sock like a contaminated bomb. Further, Mike and Sully rescue Boo from the clutches of TheDragon in his MadScientistLaboratory.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'', the ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes figure out they're dealing with a Kryptonian clone so they call Supergirl and send her, Dev-Em -another Kryptonian- and Laurel Kent -Franchise/{{Superman}}'s descendant- out.
* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''/''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' crossover ''Fanfic/TheVampireOfSteel'', Buffy and the Gang call Supergirl to help them out when a Kryptonian criminal gets turned into a vampire.
* The Defender faction in ''Fanfic/TheBridge'' are a group of kaiju who protect Terra and in some cases, humans directly, against other kaiju. When four of their number are transported to Equestria and need the ponies' help to get home, they agree to help safeguard Equestria from any other kaiju who might end up there as well.
* In the ''[[Film/Underworld2003 Underworld]]'' AU fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10323818/1/The-Vampire-Leader The Vampire Leader]]", after the vampire Sonja escapes the fortress while her lycan lover Lucian dies, she becomes the lycans’ leader against the vampires due to her tactical expertise and training as a Death Dealer, although she tends to rely on Raze to act as her 'public face' with only a few other lycans aware of her existence.

* Similar to the above, in ''Film/ThePianist'', the Polish Jew Wadyslaw finds an unlikely protector in Wehrmacht Captain Wilm Hosenfeld, who helps him hide during the last weeks of the occupation.

* ComicBook/LadyDeath in the Creator/AvatarPress continuity ended up in the Labyrinth after making a deal with specters to survive being burned at the stake. Her arch-enemy in that version was the undead wizard [[OurLichesAreDifferent Sagos]] who made a deal with the same specters for ultimate power and sought to sacrifice the Labyrinth's population just to gain his own dark domain in the afterlife.
* ComicBook/{{Vampirella}} is a vampire who protects humans from other vampires and monsters, some of which are members of her own family.

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', [[LegoGenetics Coordinator]] Kira Yamato defends the Naturals on ''[[CoolShip Archangel]]'' against other Coordinators.
* ''Manga/FairyTail'': A big part of the backstory reveals that roughly 400 years ago, the [[PhysicalGod Dragons]] were split between those who saw humans as allies and friends and those who saw them as food and entertainment. When these tensions eventually boiled over into a civil war, the outnumbered pro-human side chose to bolster their numbers by enchanting and teaching their specific magic to humans, creating [[TheDragonslayer the first Dragon Slayers]]. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for everyone involved, what nobody expected was how human bodies would react to the magic of Dragons, with many of those Slayers being overwhelmed by their enhanced senses, going insane, and in the worst-case scenarios [[{{Weredragon}} becoming dragons themselves]]. This last fate in particular befell the strongest and most bloodthirsty Dragon Slayer Acnologia, who promptly started slaughtering ''every'' dragon and Dragon Slayer he could find and [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt crowned himself the "Dragon King" of a nearly extinct race]].]]

** [[AllTrollsAreDifferent trolls]] and [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarfs]] who join the Ankh-Morpork City Watch tend to find themselves in this position due to the [[ElvesVersusDwarves ancestral hatred]] between the two species, and the fact that [[TheRealHeroes as Watchmen they have to intervene]].

* In ''Literature/{{Sunshine}}'', Con is a good vampire helping the titular character against bad vampires who want to kill them both.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManX'': The Maverick Hunters are a {{R|idiculouslyHumanRobot}}eploid military agency that is tasked with defending humanity against renegade/"Maverick" Reploids.

* A major motif in the Franchise/KamenRider franchise is that the Hero often draws his powers from the BigBad or the same source that the BigBad uses. In a few cases, the Hero might be the villain's failed attempt at a MonsterOfTheWeek.

* ''ComicBook/{{Blade}}'' is a dhampir who defends the innocent against other vampires.

** Odo and Garak basically take on this role for the most part, helping the Federation's efforts to defeat the Founders and the Cardassians during the Dominion War in particular.

* At the end of ''Film/ManOfSteel'' story ''Fanfic/DaughterOfFireAndSteel'', Kara lets herself be arrested and jailed. However, Amanda Waller hopes being able to recruit her and shape her into a weapon to fight off aliens as herself.

* The resourceful young Viking Hiccup captures a Night Fury dragon in Dreamworks' ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'', and learns firsthand that dragons are not mindless hostile antagonists, negating everything he'd been taught about them. However, when Hiccup's father Stoick learns that his son has gotten friendly with a dragon, he disowns Hiccup and seizes the Night Fury with the intent of using him to locate the hidden stronghold of all dragons.

* Blue Sky Studio's ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' has Diego the saber-tooth tiger working as a double agent, leading Manfred the woolly mammoth, Sid the sloth, and Bonebag the human infant to Glacier Pass. However, after being rescued from fiery doom by his companions, Diego undergoes a HeelFaceTurn, and actively defends Manfred from Soto, the ruthless leader of the tigers.

* ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} and Hawkwoman helped ComicBook/AdamStrange defend Planet Rann from Thanagarians. Because of this, they were branded as traitors and exiled from Thanagar. Which is fine with them since they regard Earth as their home. They also defend humans against their own people during ''The Shadow War'' and [[Comicbook/InvasionDCComics Invasion!]].
* Franchise/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} are the ones to fight and stop Kryptonian criminals and outlaws who manage to escape from the PhantomZone. Their unwillingness to let anybody invade Earth and turn it into a ComicBook/NewKrypton has gotten them labeled as traitors to their kin by people like Zod or Faora.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManX': The Maverick Hunters are a {{R|idiculouslyHumanRobot}}eploid military agency that is tasked with defending humanity against renegade/"Maverick" Reploids.

* AnimalWrongsGroup: Humans (wrongly) defends animals against other humans.

* DamselInDistress, WifeBasherBasher and DateRapeAverted: Men must defend women against other men.

This trope is often {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by {{Fantastic Racis|m}}ts, who will argue to the one defending that the group they seek to protect isn't worth harming their own kind for. The smaller and more fantastical of a group X is, the more likely this sort of argument is to work. It can lead to accusations that the protector is a CategoryTraitor. A man who refuses to defend a woman against another man, for instance, is a HeManWomanHater, but a vampire who kills other vampires will certainly have at least a moment's pause about killing vampires to save humans. On the other hand the protector can fire back by pointing out to the Fantastic Racists that their behavior is no justification to harm, bully, or kill the group they are protecting, especially if said racist continue on endorsing things like genocide and cruelty hence the justification for protection and rights groups to exist in the first place.

** After barely surviving an attack by an Apostle-form Wyald, the Band of the Hawk continues on their way... only to be stopped by the still-living but badly wounded Wyald. He grabs Griffith, demanding that he use his Behelit to save him... and then Zodd shows up to kill Wyald once and for all, since the time for the Eclipse wasn't right.

** Ban was [[LovableRogue (and is)]] a thief who tried to steal the Fountain of Youth. Along the way he met a fairy who explained to him that the Fountain was vital to keeping her home forest alive, and he left the WretchedHive where he had to steal to survive, and [[HeelFaceTurn so when the next guy trying to steal the Fountain came along, Ban fought to protect it]]. Eventually he became one of the forest's foremost protectors.

* In ''Fanfic/AForceOfFour'', ''ComicBook/PowerGirl'' is the only who can fight three Kryptonian criminals who attack Earth-Two.

* The resourceful young Viking Hiccup captures a Night Fury dragon in Dreamworks' ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'', and learns firsthand that dragons are not mindless hostile antagonists, negating everything he'd been taught about them. However, when Hiccup's father Stoick learns that his son has gotten friendly with a dragon, he disowns Hiccup, and seizes the Night Fury with the the intent of using him to locate the hidden stronghold of all dragons.

* Blue Sky Studio's ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' has Diego the saber-tooth tiger working as a double agent, leading Manfred the woolly mammoth, Sid the sloth and Bonebag the human infant to Glacier Pass. However, after being rescued from fiery doom by his companions, Diego undergoes a HeelFaceTurn, and actively defends Manfred from Soto, the ruthless leader of the tigers.

* Small kitten Oliver from Disney's ''WesternAnimation/OliverAndCompany'' makes an insane leap between speeding vehicles in order to compel the villain to loosen his grip on young Jenny Foxworth. Sykes seizes Oliver, and flings him into the back seat, where his vicious dobermans bare their teeth at the hopeless kitten. Suddenly, the mutt Dodger makes the leap into the villain's sedan, willing to tussle with two dobermans to save this plucky kitten.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'' ran with an inversion, at least in ''Legends'' canon. The Sith Order (not the species) were fallen Jedi who saw themselves as superior to the Muggles the old Jedi dedicated themselves to helping, and broke off in a civil war, meeting up with the Sith species who had a similar social darwinist outlook. Intermarriage and power struggles led to the formation of the longest incarnation of The Empire.

** The title character is a Program who fought malicious Programs in defense of Users. He was successful against Master Control and Sark, but not so much when it came to [[Film/TronLegacy Clu's]] forces, though his sacrifices ''did'' help Flynn. There were others who sided with Tron in the struggle; Yori, Ram and Dumont in the first film. [[WesternAnimation/TronUprising Beck]] and [[VideoGame/TronEvolution Anon]] in the ''Legacy'' canon.

* In ''Literature/{{Congo}}'', Amy the domesticated gorilla defends the expedition from hordes of wild {{Killer Gorilla}}s, though she doesn't physically fight them. Instead, she deciphers the wild gorillas' language, and helps record an audio message instructing them to leave the humans alone. This message winds up being a more effective deterrent than guns or electric fences.

* A major motif in the Franchise/KamenRider franchise is that the Hero often draws his powers from the BigBad or the same source that the BigBad uses. In a few cases, the Hero might be the villains failed attempt at a MonsterOfTheWeek.

* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': Elnor is the TokenHeroicOrc of the series, so he protects Picard, Hugh and Soji from his fellow Romulans, who are the BigBad in Season 1.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' has half-demon Dante not only defending humans against demons but also against his own brother. In the past, their father Sparda was a high-ranking and powerful demon, but he came to care about humanity that he sided with them, fought off numerous demons, and separated the human world from the demon one.

** Jacob, Miranda, and Shepard all turn against Cerberus when it becomes clear they're {{brainwashed}} extremist who kill in the name of humanity but are actually carrying out the will of the Reapers.

* DistressedDamsel, WifeBasherBasher and DateRapeAverted: Men must defend women against other men.

This trope is often [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racists]], who will argue to the one defending that the group they seek to protect isn't worth harming their own kind for. The smaller and more fantastical of a group X is, the more likely this sort of argument is to work. It can lead to accusations that the protector is a CategoryTraitor. A man who refuses to defend a woman against another man, for instance, is a HeManWomanHater, but a vampire who kills other vampires will certainly have at least a moment's pause about killing vampires to save humans. On the other hand the protector can fire back by pointing out to the Fantastic Racists that their behavior is no justification to harm, bully, or kill the group they are protecting, especially if said racist continue on endorsing things like genocide and cruelty hence the justification for protection and rights groups to exist in the first place.

* In ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', [[TheHero Jake Sully]] and several other members of Avatar Program [[DefectorFromDecadence defect to Na'vi side]] to protect Pandora from the [[MegaCorp RDA]] and its [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Sec-Ops forces]]. [[BigBad Colonel Quaritch]] [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this by essentially calling Sully a CategoryTraitor.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManX''. the Maverick Hunters are a [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot Reploid]] military agency that is tasked with defending humanity against renegade/"Maverick" Reploids.

* GodOverDogma: A "pure" religious hero stands against a corrupt religious villain.

* ''Manga/SevenDeadlySins'':

* ''Manga/NanatsuNoTaizai'' has both species and mundane examples.
** Ban was [[LovableRogue (is)]] a thief who tried to steal the Fountain of Youth. Along the way he met a fairy who explained to him that the Fountain was vital to keeping her forest home alive, and he left the WretchedHive where he had to steal to survive, and [[HeelFaceTurn so when the next guy trying to steal the Fountain came along, Ban fought to protect it]]. Eventually he became one of the forest's foremost protectors.

* ''ComicBook/{{Blade}}'' is a dhampir who defends the innocents against other vampires.