History Main / DrivenByEnvy

** Princess Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon because she was envious of all the attention her sister Celestia received. After being banished for a thousand years, she is finally cleansed of her evil and envy by the Elements of Harmony and makes amends with her sister.

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': The motivation for Catra's VillainousBreakdown in the third season is her out-of-control envy of Adora, with the incident that set it off being Shadow Weaver's defection to the Rebellion, which she sees as Shadow Weaver choosing Adora over her again. [[spoiler:It gets to the point where she tries to destroy the world because she refuses to let Adora get another win in the form of ''saving it''.]]

A sub-trope of GreenEyedMonster, Driven by Envy is a trope that deals specifically with a character acting on his envy. It is related to AlwaysSecondBest. [[EvilCannotComprehendGood Expect the character to think the one he envies is as preoccupied with him as the other way around, and even that he deliberately excels in order to rub the envious character's nose into it.]]

* It could be argued that Dr. Evil in ''Film/AustinPowersTheSpyWhoShaggedMe'' is an example of this trope. In order to defeat Austin, he steals Austin’s mojo. He states that Austin’s mojo is his "libido, the life force, the essence, the right stuff." Given that Austin has this all powerful libido and Dr. Evil does not, aside from wanting to hurt Austin and leave him "shagless", it is possible that he stole it partly out of envious, wanting Austin’s sexual prowess for himself. We can see this in the scene where he drinks some of Austin’s mojo, suddenly becoming horny for Frau and wanting to take the stolen sexual potency for a test drive.

** King David sends the handsome and charismatic Uriah on a suicide mission to dispose of him. This also frees up Mrs Uriah for royal attention later.

-->'''Barry:''' Is this what this is about? Because you couldn't be me?\\

* ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'':

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', The Ace Chad Dickson, a.k.a. Numbuh 274, was considered to be THE best operative on the planet up until his defection. Afterwards, it was believed that Nigel Uno, a.k.a. Numbuh 1, leader of Sector V, was the best. [[spoiler:The fact that Nigel is still considered the best even though he is still an active (undercover) operative angers Chad to no end, as Chad is ''obsessed'' with being the best. The envy eventually causes him to try and kill Nigel in his last appearance on the show.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', The Ace Chad Dickson, f.k.a. Numbuh 274, was considered to be THE best operative on the planet up until his defection. Afterwards, it was believed that Nigel Uno, a.k.a. Numbuh 1, leader of Sector V, was the best. [[spoiler:The fact that Nigel is still considered the best even though he is still an active (undercover) operative angers Chad to no end, as Chad is ''obsessed'' with being the best. The envy eventually causes him to try and kill Nigel in his last appearance on the show.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'': If he's not committing crimes for sheer [[ForTheEvulz sadistic enjoyment]], then this is the main motivation behind Katz's crimes. In "Katz Kandy", he attempts to turn Muriel into taffy because she always beats him in the Nowhere Sweet-Stuff contest, and in "Katz Under the Sea", he attempts to demolish a SUB Standards Inc. submarine because they get more customers than Katz Submarine Cruise.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]

* ''Series/{{Hunter}}'': In season 1 there's an episode where a guy on a bike goes around killing cops in QuickDraw-style shootouts. This is because of a WildWest arcade game in his favorite bar where he's routinely the best, and he goes after people who beat his high score. Rick Hunter deliberately scores higher on the machine precisely because he knows it will draw out the cop killer.

* ''Fanfic/ScarletLady'': [[RichBitch Chloé]] constantly accuses others of [[YoureJustJealous being jealous of her]], both as the SpoiledBrat daughter of [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections the mayor]] and {{Nominal Hero}}ine Scarlet Lady. But this applies better [[PsychologicalProjection to Chloé herself]] -- she gets ''insanely'' envious of others, especially [[NiceGirl Marinette Dupain-Cheng]]. Whenever she sees evidence that somebody else has something that ''she'' wants, she spitefully attempts to ruin their lives... or at least get them akumatized. [[spoiler:Or ''killed''.]]

* A combination of envy, arrogance, and stubbornness prove to be the driving motivation of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' BigBad [[spoiler:Madara Uchiha. While he and future 1st Hokage Hashirama Senju considered each other a WorthyOpponent while their families were at war, Madara went mad with envy when he ended up AlwaysSecondBest to Hashirama in the final days of the war and the early days of the Hidden Leaf Village their families founded together. Many of Madara's future actions can be chalked up directly to spite against his arch-rival's descendants; even nearly a century after the final battle between the two of them, Madara's ''still'' not over the fact that people chose to follow Hashirama's vision of the future instead of his own. What's tragic is that, while Madara made a reasonably good point that Tobirama would be elected Hokage after Hashirama's tenure, [[FantasticRacism which could lead to the Uchiha being ostracized]], ultimately this only came to pass ''because'' [[SelfFulfillinfProphecy Madara allowed his envy to consume him.]]]]

* Vegeta of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' has this as his sole reason for, in order, leaving Earth to look for Goku in space, staying on Earth after failing to ind Goku, achieving his own SSJ transformation, and training further. Up to the Buu Saga, his AlwaysSecondBest status was taken for granted, but in his Majin state, he finally let it out and accepted that Goku's purity led to his strength always eclipsing his own.

* In ''Manga/CaseClosed'', this is why [[spoiler: Motoyasu Tsukumo]] killed [[spoiler: Yashiro Kinoshita]]: he was envious and fearful of his pupil's raw talent as a magician, so [[spoiler: he tampered with the supplies of the water escape and as a result, Yashiro [[DrowningPit drowned]] while practicing.]] ''Too bad'' he didn't count on [[spoiler: Yashiro's little sister Mako, who saw the whole thing, she becomes his apprentice herself as part of her plot to get revenge for Yashiro's death.]]

* Vegeta of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' has this as his sole reason for, in order, working with Goku and his allies on Namek, staying on Earth, achieving his own SSJ transformation, and training further. Up to the Buu Saga, his AlwaysSecondBest status was taken for granted, but in his Majin state, he finally let it out and accepted that Goku's purity led to his strength always eclipsing his own.

* Cavendish from ''Manga/OnePiece'' is this, being resentful of Luffy and the rest of the Worst Generation for overshadowing his fame (Cavendish was a Super Rookie from a year before the story's beginning). He tells this to "Lucy" without realising who is really under the fake beard, [[spoiler: and, predictably, Luffy is revealed in front of Cavendish, who then tries to murder him. Until the Donquixote Family [[UnPerson turns him]] [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil into a toy]] and the Straw Hat crew saves him, that is.]]

* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul[=:Re=]'', [[TokenEvilTeammate Urie]] and [[spoiler: Takizawa]] are both fueled by envy towards [[TheAce Sasaki]]. While Urie is merely petty and driven to push himself too hard in his quest to become better than Sasaki, [[spoiler: Takizawa]] gives a MotiveRant concerning his desire to claim his rival's place as [[MadScientist Dr. Kanou]]'s "masterpiece" prior to brutally torturing him. It seems this factored into his FaceHeelTurn, with constant comparison to his predecessor feeding into his [[AlwaysSecondBest inferiority complex]] and helping twist him into his current state.

* Let's just say in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'', envy was a ''major'' reason Germany and Japan [[spoiler:ended up [[CockFight beating the crap out of each other]]. If Italy had not intervened in time, it would have gotten ''much'' [[MurderTheHypotenuse worse]]]].

* ''Series/ResurrectionErtugrul'': A driving factor behind many of [[TheRival Ural Bey’s]] reprehensible actions, which includes having his men burn all the carpets the Kayis had sewn as they were being delivered and [[spoiler: hiring hitmen to kill those working against him at a few different points]], all to retaliate against Ertugrul after he sets up shop in the Hanli Bazaar.

** What drives a good part of the conflict between Travant of Thracia and Quan of Lenster in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar''. Thracia is a mountainous land that borders on CrapsackWorld, while Lester is more peaceful and fertile; this drives Travant to desire at first for the well-being for his people, and then to [[spoiler: cruelly murder Quan and his wife Ethlyn and take their daughter Altena hostage]] so his land will have the upper hand.

** ''Literature/CupidAndPsyche'': Aphrodite did not take well to people claiming that Psyche was more beautiful than her. In Aphrodite's case, she ordered her son Eros to make Psyche fall in love with a monster... which backfired when Eros fell in love with Psyche and married her.

** Scientist and CEO/perfume magnate (depending on the continuity) Veronica Cale is the [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] to Diana's ComicBook/{{Superman}}, believing that she, and not Wonder Woman, should be viewed as the ultimate icon of female empowerment.

%%* ''Literature/TheIliad'': The entire deal behind the Judgement of Paris.
* Saruman's fall from grace in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' was mostly out of envy that just about everybody liked Gandalf more than him. Saruman even started smoking pipeweed in secret to imitate Gandalf.

* Satan from ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', as an Angel, envies God and leads a rebellion against him/her/it on the grounds that he/she [[TheStarscream would make a better lord of all creation]]... never mind the fact that the God of ''Literature/ParadiseLost'' [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption is all-powerful, all-knowing,]] and thinks Satan unfit for the position for his lack of power (and general {{Jerkass}}itude).
* In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', Morgoth's main motivation for trying to destroy reality is that he is envious of Eru's ability to create. This later morphs into envy for all his creations: the Valar, Elves, Men and ''Middle-Earth itself''.
* Zhou Yu, of ''[[Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms Three Kingdoms]]'' quasi-fame manages to envy himself ''to death'' when confronted again and again (and, crushingly, again) with Zhuge Liang's downright unfair genius.

* In Literature/TheBible, King David sends the handsome and charismatic Uriah on a suicide mission to dispose of him. This also frees up Mrs Uriah for royal attention later.
%%** Joseph's brothers, in the Book of Genesis.
* Myth/GreekMythology:
** Athena, who hated losing a weaving contest so much that she turned the winner into a spider. [[YouAreWhatYouHate Ironi]][[DramaticIrony cally]], Arachne (the above spider) may also have been driven by this -- as well as pride. Arachne could have been content with being (merely) one of the most genius weavers humanity had ever known... but she boasted, ''constantly,'' about how her skills surpassed both those of mortals ''and'' gods. Even when someone urged her to be more humble and not to taunt Athena (the goddess of weaving), she replied; [[TemptingFate "I am not afraid! Let Athena come, if she dares!"]]
** Aphrodite did not take well to people claiming that Psyche was more beautiful than her. In Aphrodite's case, she ordered her son Eros to make Psyche fall in love with a monster... which backfired when Eros fell in love with Psyche and married her.

* Jack Horner in ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'' is envious of all the attention magical beings are showered with due to his career as a child entertainer ending when his audiences flocked to Pinnochio instead, and thus he wants to use the titular wish to obtain all the magic in the world. He's already a wealthy pie magnate and a powerful crime lord, but it's still not enough for him.

* Queen Grimhilde in ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' tries to kill Snow White for being "the fairest of them all."

%%* Joseph's brothers, in [[Literature/TheBible the Book of Genesis]].

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
* Myth/GreekMythology:
** Athena, who hated losing a weaving contest so much that she turned the winner into a spider. [[YouAreWhatYouHate Ironi]][[DramaticIrony cally]], Arachne (the above spider) may also have been driven by this -- as well as pride. Arachne could have been content with being (merely) one of the most genius weavers humanity had ever known... but she boasted, ''constantly,'' about how her skills surpassed both those of mortals ''and'' gods. Even when someone urged her to be more humble and not to taunt Athena (the goddess of weaving), she replied; [[TemptingFate "I am not afraid! Let Athena come, if she dares!"]]
** Aphrodite did not take well to people claiming that Psyche was more beautiful than her. In Aphrodite's case, she ordered her son Eros to make Psyche fall in love with a monster... which backfired when Eros fell in love with Psyche and married her.
** Apollo, who hated losing the first round of a music contest so much that he changed the rules of the second round to make it impossible for his competitor to win, then ''skinned the other guy alive''.
** The inventor Daedalus threw his nephew Perdix off a cliff because he realized the boy's natural genius would someday surpass his own -- or already had -- and Daedalus couldn't handle that. (Athena rescued Perdix by turning him into a bird and branded Daedalus to mark him as a murderer forever.)
* In Literature/TheBible, King David sends the handsome and charismatic Uriah on a suicide mission to dispose of him. This also frees up Mrs Uriah for royal attention later.

[[/folder]]

* Bass, TheRival in the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' series, is envious of Mega Man's status as a world champion, which is why he wants to eliminate Mega Man.

* This is the motivation of some of the Garleans in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' -- there's Nero tol Scaeva, for instance, who is pissed off that Cid Garlond and his dad got the attention he struggled so hard for. Similarly, Livia sas Junius' hatred for the Warrior of Light is motivated in no small part because Gaius is giving them all his attention. Nero eventually grows out of it for the most part, but there's still a slight undertone of envy in his every move.
* Reed Wahl of the ''VideoGame/BioShock2'' DLC "Minerva's Den", who became crazy and paranoid from [[PsychoSerum ADAM]], ratted out his former partner Charles Milton Porter to the Ryan's security in order to get the [[MasterComputer Thinker]], thinking he could get universal knowledge and predict the future from his superior capacities.
* Wario's plot to take over Mario's castle in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2SixGoldenCoins'' was fueled by his lifelong envy of Mario.
* The story of ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' exists because of this. Years before the first game, Geese Howard and Jeff Bogard were both students of the martial arts master Tung Fu Rue. Tung Fu Rue chose Jeff to learn the secret arts of the Hakkyokuseiken style. Geese, outraged that he wasn't chosen, attacked and killed Jeff, an act witnessed by Jeff's adopted sons, Terry and Andy. The two swore to avenge their father, and years later, when Geese announced the King of Fighters tournament, the two saw their opportunity...
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': Antonio Salieri himself appears as a Servant, with his personality being based entirely around his envious hatred of Mozart. The game and Salieri himself acknowledge that the historical Salieri did not possess this trait, but due to the popularity of ''Film/{{Amadeus}}'', enough people ''think'' he did that his Servant form has become a warped caricature of the real Salieri, which he isn't happy about but his irrational hatred of Mozart doesn't subside.
* ''Franchise/MegaMan'':
** ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'': Dr Wily perpetually played [[AlwaysSecondBest second banana]] to his colleague and best friend Dr Light (he was the five consecutive year runner-up of the LIT Manual Design Contest, won the silver prize at the World Technology Award and was a nominee for the Nobel Prize in Physics. Guess who was always the winner.) This eventually drove Wily insane and his dreams of world conquest are in part to prove everyone that he's better than Light.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'': Lord Wily's research into robotics was pushed aside in favour of [[TheHero Lan]]'s grandfather Dr. Tadashi Hikari's vision of computer sciences and the further development of the internet. From here on, Wily turned into a life of crime on his quest to destroy everything that the technology his hated rival stood for.
* ''VideoGame/SonicForces: Episode Shadow'' reveals that Infinite suffered a crushing defeat by Shadow, and now wants to prove his strength by one-upping him.
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', The Isle of Armor DLC introduces one of the tutor moves known as "Burning Jealousy". It is a fire-type damaging move that inflicts burn on opponents that boosted their stats, hence the "jealousy" part.

* Hoh from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod''. He is very envious of fellow Wave Controller Bam's incredible talent. [[spoiler: He eventually attempts to kill Bam during a test that would have in all likelihood failed Hoh and kicked him out of the Tower, ending his dream forever. Upon the failure of his plan, rather than face leaving the Tower, he commits suicide]].

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', The Ace Chad Dickson, f.k.a. Numbuh 274, was considered to be THE best operative on the planet up until his defection. Afterwards, it was believed that Nigel Uno, a.k.a. Numbuh 1, leader of Sector V, was the best. [[spoiler:The fact that Nigel is still considered the best even though he is still an active (undercover) operative angers Chad to no end, as Chad is ''obsessed'' with being the best. The envy eventually causes him to try and kill Nigel in his last appearance on the show]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', [[spoiler:Korra speculates that this is the real reason why her uncle Unalaq got his older brother Tonraq, Korra's father, banished. Tonraq was a well-respected Northern Water Tribe general who was next-in-line to become chief. Unalaq, out of envy and his hunger for power, would arrange the incident that would get Tonraq banished. Korra also suggests that Unalaq's desire to teach her stems from further envy of the fact that in spite of the shame Tonraq "brought" on the family and Unalaq's own spirituality, Tonraq would go on to sire the next Avatar.]]

* A combination of envy, arrogance, and stubbornness prove to be the driving motivation of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' BigBad [[spoiler: Madara Uchiha. While he and future 1st Hokage Hashirama Senju considered each other a WorthyOpponent while their families were at war, Madara went mad with envy when he ended up AlwaysSecondBest to Hashirama in the final days of the war and the early days of the Hidden Leaf Village their families founded together. Many of Madara's future actions can be chalked up directly to spite against his arch-rival's descendants; even nearly a century after the final battle between the two of them, Madara's ''still'' not over the fact that people chose to follow Hashirama's vision of the future instead of his own. What's tragic is that, while Madara made a reasonably good point that Tobirama would be elected Hokage after Hashirama's tenure, [[FantasticRacism which could lead to the Uchiha being ostracized]], ultimately this only came to pass ''because'' [[SelfFulfillinfProphecy Madara allowed his envy to consume him.]]]]

--> '''Barry:''' Is this what this is about? Because you couldn't be me?\\

* In ''Fanfic/SpectacularSeven'', DarkMagicalGirl Moondancer is envious over Sunset Shimmer getting what Moondancer feels she deserves - the power of magic, friendship, and the love of Twilight Sparkle. As the story goes on, Moondancer gradually morphs into a possessive {{Yandere}}, resorting to [[spoiler:using an AmplifierArtifact to increase her powers at the cost of [[ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil gradually-slipping sanity and self-control]]. After Moondancer believes MurderIsTheBestSolution and tries to kill the Spectacular Seven (including Twilight Sparkle), she suffers a VillainousBreakdown when her worldview is proven wrong and loses a fight to Sunset Shimmer when the dark magic boost still isn't enough to defeat ThePowerOfFriendship]]. Towards the end of her plans, Moondancer goes into a MotiveRant about how she [[IJustWantToBeSpecial just wants someone to like her the most]], which Twilight sees as the final straw, [[DisappointedByTheMotive calling out Moondancer for being so driven by envy]].
* Let's just say in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'', envy was a ''major'' reason Germany and Japan [[spoiler:ended up [[CockFight beating the crap out of each other]]. If Italy had not intervened in time, it would have gotten ''much'' [[MurderTheHypotenuse worse]].]]
* In ''Fanfic/EquestriaAHistoryRevealed Equestria'', it is strongly hinted that the LemonyNarrator's reasoning for writing this essay is out of her envy for Celestia, and to an extent, the unicorns. This consequently causes her to [[PlayedForLaughs bash them whenever she can.]]
* The Takotsuboya K-ON Trilogy is often compared to ''Amadeus'', with Yui taking on the Mozart role and Mio becoming the Salieri. This being the kind of story it is, things end well for neither of them.
* ''Fanfic/WhatItTakes'': Another reason why Felicity tries to keep Oliver away from Starling is because she fears that this new crisis might push him into forgetting about her and getting back together with Laurel. Ironically, while Oliver does still love Laurel, he's convinced that all their baggage means they no longer have a future together, so he's committed himself entirely to giving his relationship with Felicity a chance. [[spoiler:In the end, it's Felicity's own actions and insecurities that causes him to end their relationship, not his love for Laurel or anyone else for that matter]].

--> ''[[BlatantLies I never had much growing up]]\\

* [[EverybodyHatesHades Hades]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' is this. It is implied in [[WesternAnimation/HerculesTheAnimatedSeries the animated series]] that Zeus put him in charge of the Underworld, knowing that it was the cosmic equivalent of janitorial duty and was dang to begin with. He's often seen as the resident ButtMonkey by his fellow gods for his workaholic-ism. This ultimately spirals into a CainAndAbel situation where Hades is willing to overthrow Zeus and murder Hercules so he becomes the King of Olympus while Zeus is banished to Tartarus. Zeus does not realize it until the climax, and is visibly appalled when Hades betrays him by releasing the Titans from their prison.

* Pitch Black's motives in ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians'' are driven by the fact that the titular Guardians are [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly believed in]] and loved by the children of the world, while he, the Boogeyman, is feared by them. Supplemental materials reveal that when the Guardians were first formed, he was offered a place among them, but rejected it because he thought they were upstarts who were stealing his place in the world.
* Prince Charming in the ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' films resents the title character, who married the princess and received the acclaim that Charming felt was his own due.
* Thrax in ''Film/OsmosisJones'' is motivated by envy -- not of the heroes, but of diseases more famous than he is, like Ebola and Influenza. As a virus with immense killing power but no fame or reputation, his aim is to rack up a body count big enough to be noticed by the medical community and be the most infamous illness of all.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Tyler's envy of Mei's strong friendships seems to be why he bullies her. [[spoiler: He stops bullying her once he joins her friend group.]]

* In ''Film/IronMan2'', Justin Hammer ''tries so hard'' to out-cool Tony Stark, but his efforts are doomed to failure.

%%* Eddie Brock Jr. from ''Film/SpiderMan3''

* It could be argued that Dr. Evil in ''Film/AustinPowersTheSpyWhoShaggedMe'' is an example of this trope. In order to defeat Austin, he steals Austin’s mojo. He states that Austin’s mojo is his "libido, the life force, the essence, the right stuff." Given that Austin has this all powerful libido and Dr. Evil does not, aside from wanting to hurt Austin and leave him "shagless", it is possible that he stole it partly out of envious, wanting Austin’s sexual prowess for himself. We can see this in the scene where he drinks some of Austin’s mojo, suddenly becoming horny for Frau and wanting to take the stolen sexual potency for a test drive.

* Satan from ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', as an Angel, envies God and leads a rebellion against him/her/it on the grounds that he/she [[TheStarscream would make a better lord of all creation]]... never mind the fact that the God of ''Literature/ParadiseLost'' [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption is all-powerful, all-knowing,]] and thinks Satan unfit for the position for his lack of power (and general {{Jerkass}}itude).

* Isaac Boxtel of ''Literature/TheBlackTulip'', envious of the hero's talent at horticulture and success at creating a black tulip, frames him and tries to steal the tulip's discovery for himself.
* In the ''Literature/MythAdventures'' book, ''Little Myth Marker,'' small-time magicians envious of Skeeve's success hire a "character assassin" to sabotage his career and destroy his reputation.
* Zhou Yu, of [[Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms Three Kingdoms]] quasi-fame manages to envy himself ''to death'' when confronted again and again (and, crushingly, again) with Zhuge Liang's downright unfair genius.
%%* The entire deal behind the [[Literature/TheIliad Judgement of Paris]].
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', at least three of the Forsaken - Sammael, Be'lal and most especially Demandred - have hatred and envy of Lews Therin Telamon as their primary motivation for turning to the Shadow. Demandred in particular is noted for being basically Lews Therin Lite in almost every way, and when their rivalry drove him to the Shadow, it's noted that ''no one'' hates Lews Therin more than him. Maybe no one hates ''anything'' more than Demandred hates Lews Therin. Considering just how hateful the Forsaken in general are... that's a ''hell'' of a lot of hate.
* In Zora Neale Hurston's ''Literature/MosesManOfTheMountain'', Moses's uncle Ta-Phar plots against him because Moses upstaged him with his tactical genius.
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Literature/OnlySenseOnline'' during the [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]] Tournament organized by the Crafting Guild in volume 5, when a group of participants with unlucky love lives form an ad hoc alliance and gang up on participants who they deem lead wholesome lives in and outside the game[[note]]a.k.a. riajuu[[/note]], in the style of the [[Literature/BakaAndTestSummonTheBeasts FFF]].
* In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', Morgoth's main motivation for trying to destroy reality is that he is envious of Eru's ability to create. This later morphs into envy for all his creations: the Valar, Elves, Men and ''Middle-Earth itself''.

* Despite the fact that the Shadowhunters are effectively the dominant power in the supernatural world, Valentine from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' greatly resents the Downworlders for their unique abilities, such as the vampires' ability to change shape or the magic wielded by the faeries and the warlocks.
* Saruman's fall from grace in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' was mostly out of envy that just about everybody liked Gandalf more than him. Saruman even started smoking pipeweed in secret to imitate Gandalf.

* In ''Literature/TheTwelveKingdoms'', Princess Shoukei from Hou had a playmate who was very pretty and graceful. Shoukei's mom, Queen Kakai, was so upset by the girl being "better" than her little girl... that she falsely accused her mother (one of her own handmaidens) of accepting bribes, which led to both mother and daughter being executed. [[spoiler: After King Chuutatsu is overthrown and killed, the RebelLeader Gekkei captures Kakai and Shoukei, and harshly calls the queen out for killing the two maids before he [[OffWithHisHead beheaded her as punishment]].]]

* Erik of Laus in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' in regards to Hector and Eliwood.
* What drives a good part of the conflict between Travant of Thracia and Quan of Lenster in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar''. Thracia is a mountainous land that borders on CrapsackWorld, while Lester is more peaceful and fertile; this drives Travant to desire at first for the well-being for his people, and then to [[spoiler: cruelly murder Quan and his wife Ethlyn and take their daughter Altena hostage]] so his land will have the upper hand.

* [[spoiler:Joseph Bertrand]] of ''VideoGame/{{Infamous 2}}''. His reason for [[spoiler:wanting all Conduits dead, is because of his raw deal as a Conduit. While people like Cole and Nix got easily manageable powers, Bertrand's Conduit form is a mindless, [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever enormous]] monstrosity. His envy and anger over this is what leads him to brand Conduits as 'Abominations'.]]
* In ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' there is the hashihime [[note]]a kind of {{youkai}} associated with jealousy[[/note]] Parsee Mizuhashi who feeds on jealousy and envy and can manipulate it in others. At this point she is, herself, closer to being an AnthropomorphicPersonification of jealousy and envy more than anything else: She becomes envious of someone if she thinks they're happier than she is; if they are about on the same level, she'll boast about how she is more unfortunate; if she thinks the other person is the unfortunate one yet they aren't envious ''of her'' she'll become envious of their forbearance and if they ''are'' envious of her, then [[EmotionEater their envy becomes her sustenance]]... Either way, the person is screwed because Parsee can get violent if she's envious of someone and she would likely attack if she got enough power from another's envy to overpower them.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'': While it was bad enough in the films, the Evil Stepsisters' envy towards the extremely beautiful and kindhearted WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}} was enough to drive them towards their attempt [[MoralEventHorizon to]] [[CainAndAbel murder her]] after the glass slipper fits her, which grants her not only freedom but also the prince's hand in marriage. Not only that, this very act made their hearts go deathly black, making them the opposites of Cinderella, who's a Princess of Heart; [[spoiler:''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' implies that ''[[NiceJobFixingItVillain this]]'' is what caused Cinderella to become a New Light, as unlike [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snow White]] and [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Aurora]], her pure light was not detected right away]].

* The true BigBad of ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' [[spoiler:Hugh Darrow, the inventor of Augmentation]] enacts a plan that will sour humanity on augmentation forever [[spoiler:by using a signal to drive every Augment alive insane]]. He claims that it's for the greater good so that people will see how dangerous augmentation is. In reality, he's simply envious of Augments because [[spoiler:his own body cannot accept augmentation. Darrow is willing to drive a good chunk of the populace mad, causing global panic and destruction, just because he's envious of other people who can replace bad limbs with augments while he's stuck walking with a cane.]]
* Arl Howe, in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', is consumed with envy for his best friend and liege lord, Teyrn Bryce Cousland. As illustrated in the Human Noble Origin, this envy leads him to ally with [[spoiler:Loghain]] and murder the Teyrn and nearly his entire family and household.

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series' primary CreationMyth, Padomay is TheAntiGod [[AnthropomorphicPersonification personification]] of the forces of change, chaos, and darkness. He is the [[CainAndAbel twin brother]] to Anu, the GodOfGods personification of the forces of [[OrderVersusChaos stasis, order, and light]]. Their interplay in the great "void" before creation led to creation itself, sometimes personified as the female entity "Nir". Nir favored Anu, which angered Padomay. Envious of Nir's love, Padomay killed Nir and shattered the twelve worlds she gave birth to. Anu then wounded Padomay, presuming him dead. Anu salvaged the pieces of the twelve worlds to create one world: Nirn. Padomay returned and wounded Anu, seeking to destroy Nirn. Anu then [[TakingYouWithMe pulled Padomay and himself outside of time]], ending Padomay's threat to creation "forever". It is from their spilled and intermingled blood that the series' famous [[OurGodsAreDifferent Aedra and Daedra]] would emerge.
* Dominus Ghaul from ''VideoGame/Destiny2''. For all his talk of conquest and leading [[ScaryDogmaticAliens the Cabal]] into a brighter future, his ''real'' motivation for laying siege to the City and waging war against the Guardians is a mixture of envy and insecurity. He’s can’t understand or accept that [[CrystalDragonJesus the Traveler]] chose the PunyHumans as it’s [[TheChosenMany champions]], while he was ignored despite being one of the mightiest warriors in the universe. The crippling blow to his ego has left him [[WellDoneSonGuy obsessed with gaining the Traveler’s attention and proving to it that he’s not weak or a failure]], even if he has to kill millions to do it.

* In the fan-made VillainSong ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHJEoCrK56o Jack Horner's Song]]'', [[WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish Jack Horner]] is motivated entirely by his envy of anyone who has it slightly better than him regardless of his already-existing privilege and wealth.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''LightNovel/OnlySenseOnline'' during the [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]] Tournament organized by the Crafting Guild in volume 5, when a group of participants with unlucky love lives form an ad hoc alliance and gang up on participants who they deem lead wholesome lives in and outside the game[[note]]a.k.a. riajuu[[/note]], in the style of the [[Literature/BakaAndTestSummonTheBeasts FFF]].

* In the fan-made VillainSong ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHJEoCrK56o Jack Horner's Song]]'', [[WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish Jack Horner]] is motivated entirely by his envy of anyone who has it slightly better than him irregardless of his already-existing privilege and wealth.

* Cavendish from ''Manga/OnePiece'' is this, being resentful of Luffy and the rest of the Worst Generation for overshadowing his fame (Cavendish was a Super Rookie from a year before the story's beginning). He tells this to "Lucy" without realising who is really under the fake beard, [[spoiler: and, predictably, Luffy is revealed in front of Cavendish, who then tries to murder him. Until the Donquixote Family [[UnPerson turns him]] [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil into a toy]] and the Strawhat Crew saves him, that is.]]