History Main / EnemyMine

A scenario where foes must work together to achieve a common goal. (The trope name comes from [[Film/EnemyMine one particularly famous example]].) Note that this is different from VillainTeamUp or LegionOfDoom: although all three involve two parties working together to achieve a common goal, this trope usually involves two rivals that have opposing views (such as being good vs being evil) while the latter two involves characters that share similar views (such as both of them are evil), though they [[EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily don't necessarily like each other]].

* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'': Happens between the goats and wolves whenever forced to work together; for example, in the third movie, the goats work with Wolnie and Wilie to help them find Wolffy and defeat the Gourd King.

* In the ''Podcast/RedPandaAdventures'' episode "Stop the Presses", the Red Panda is forced to work with his self-proclaimed arch nemesis the Mad Monkey when Nazi spy Archangel arranges a hostage situation at the newspaper where his wife and partner, the Flying Squirrel, works. This results in situations such as the Red Pandas getting the willies when the Monkey uses the Squirrel's CatchPhrase of "Yes, Boss" at him and arguing about whether or not using their combined hypnotic powers to make their enemies ignore them counts as invisibility. In the end, they stop Archangel but the Mad Monkey reveals that while all this has been going on his army of mind controlled baboons has been robbing the city and he gets away because the Red Panda can't chase him ''and'' tie up Archangel's goons.

More short-term deals fall under CooperationGambit. When there's no common enemy ''per se'', it's GoKartingWithBowser. If the villain saves the day without the hero's help, then BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork. If the villain in question is [[DemonicPossession possessing the hero]], but there's a greater threat the two must conquer together, this can result in a SymbioticPossession. Any western children's show is bound to have the main characters do this with MrMeanie at some point.

More short-term deals fall under CooperationGambit. When there's no common enemy ''per se'', it's GoKartingWithBowser. If the villain saves the day without the hero's help, then BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork. If the villain in question is [[DemonicPossession possessing the hero]], but there's a greater threat the two must conquer together, this can result in a SymbioticPossession.

* ''Podcast/OldGodsOfAppalachia'': The Dead Queen, the ArcVillain of Season 2, is an aberrant force of [[WalkingWasteland force of death and decay]] so powerful and dangerous that when she awakens from her seal [[RegularlyScheduledEvil every seven years]], it leads to [[GaiasVengeance the Green]] and [[EldritchAbomination the Inner Dark]] working together to [[SealedEvilInACan lock her away again]].

* In the ''[[WebVideo/OutsideXbox Oxventure]]'', this has happened a few times:

* The one thing that will unite the Pro-Godmodder, Neutrals, and Anti-Godmodders in ''Roleplay/DestroyTheGodmodder'' is some giant boss that [[KillEmAll wants to kill everyone]].

A poetic way of saying "my enemy", similar in meaning (though [[BeamMeUpScotty not actually related]]) to the Sanskrit proverb "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Another phrase used to describe this is "War makes for strange bedfellows." This results in a scenario where foes must work together to achieve a common goal. Note that this is different from VillainTeamUp or LegionOfDoom: although all three involve two parties working together to achieve a common goal, this trope usually involves two rivals that have opposing views (such as being good vs being evil) while the latter two involves characters that share similar views (such as both of them are evil), though they [[EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily don't necessarily like each other]].

'''Obviously, beware spoilers.'''

-->'''Doctor''': -sigh- [[YaoiFangirl The fangirls are going to have a field day with this...]]

-->'''Doctor''': -sigh- [[YaoiFangirl The fangirls]] [[FoeYay are going to have a field day with this...]]

* Played with in ''{{Theatre/Coriolanus}}''. After the title character is banished from his native Rome, he teams up with his former nemesis Aufidius (and just to be clear, these guys hate each other so much that they've each sworn repeatedly [[FoeYay (and graphically)]] to kill the other) in order to help Aufidius conquer Rome. [[spoiler:It doesn't work out for either of them.]]

A good source of FoeYay, whether because the villain secretly does harbor feelings for the hero (a direct example) or simply realizes how boring and/or aimless his life would be without them. Compare EmbarrassingRescue and GondorCallsForAid. See also EnemyCivilWar or ElvesVersusDwarves (with which it often overlaps). Anti-villains are more prone to this trope than most, and less likely to backstab the goodies afterwards.

Compare NominalHero, a character who fights for good even though their intentions are not heroic at all; MediationBackfire, where someone tries to get between two quarreling characters, only for them to put aside their differences to abuse the peacemaker; and ConflictKiller, who suddenly and permanently defuses the conflict of others, causing the others to join forces against the former. Contrast with PersonalHateBeforeCommonGoals and WeAreStrugglingTogether, where you have putative allies who end up backstabbing and/or infighting with each other. When this trope is averted completely, one has a MeleeATrois or MexicanStandoff. See also AnOfferYouCantRefuse, CollidingCriminalConspiracies, ContemptCrossfire, DoWellButNotPerfect, GenghisGambit, InevitableMutualBetrayal, and TallPoppySyndrome. A defining feature of the StandardSciFiSetting. May be a result of the Good and the Bad teaming up in a TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil scenario. It can be caused by TheHorseshoeEffect.

-->-- '''[=GLaDOS=]''', ''Videogame/Portal2.''

Compare NominalHero, a character who fights for good even though their intentions are not heroic at all; MediationBackfire, where someone tries to get between two quarreling characters, only for them to put aside their differences to abuse the peacemaker; and ConflictKiller, who suddenly interrupts the conflict of others, causing the others to join forces against the former. Contrast with PersonalHateBeforeCommonGoals and WeAreStrugglingTogether, where you have putative allies who end up backstabbing and/or infighting with each other. When this trope is averted completely, one has a MeleeATrois or MexicanStandoff. See also AnOfferYouCantRefuse, CollidingCriminalConspiracies, ContemptCrossfire, DoWellButNotPerfect, GenghisGambit, InevitableMutualBetrayal, and TallPoppySyndrome. A defining feature of the StandardSciFiSetting. May be a result of the Good and the Bad teaming up in a TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil scenario. It can be caused by TheHorseshoeEffect.

* EnemyMine/{{Theatre}}

* EnemyMine/WebVideo

* EnemyMine/{{Podcasts}}

* EnemyMine/{{Radio}}
* EnemyMine/{{Roleplay}}

[[folder:Theme Park]]
* Only the beginning of ''Ride/GodzillaVsEvangelionTheReal4D'' is about [[Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion Shinji, Rei, and Asuka]] taking on [[Film/ShinGodzilla Godzilla]]. The real conflict is [[spoiler:Godzilla and the Children fighting King Ghidorah]].

[[folder:Toys]]
* ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}'':
** In one of the books, [[VoluntaryShapeshifter Krahka]], who had previously fought the Toa Metru and then temporarily worked for [[FemmeFatale Roodaka]] against them, [[HeelFaceTurn switched sides]] at the last minute to [[TakingYouWithMe trap]] the [[ScaryScorpions Zivon]] in the [[PocketDimension Zone of Darkness]] along with her and the [[{{Kaiju}} Tahtorak]].
** In another book, [[BigBad Makuta Teridax]] and Vakama make a truce while they try to find the Mask of Time before the Dark Hunters do. When they do eventually run into The Shadowed One, the leader of the Dark Hunters, Vakama informs him [[CannibalismSuperpower what Teridax did]] to the two Dark Hunters he came there to find.

A shorter form of the Sanskrit proverb "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Another phrase used to describe this is "War makes for strange bedfellows." This results in a scenario where foes must work together to achieve a common goal. Note that this is different from VillainTeamUp or LegionOfDoom: although all three involve two parties working together to achieve a common goal, this trope usually involves two rivals that have opposing views (such as being good vs being evil) while the latter two involves characters that share similar views (such as both of them are evil), though they [[EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily don't necessarily like each other]].

Not to be confused with the Dennis Quaid movie/Barry Longyear story ''Film/EnemyMine'', although that work ''is'' an example of the trope, and is named for the same [[OlderThanTheyThink pre-existing]] phrase. We also sincerely hope that you did not have a slip of the finger and ended up here instead of at EnemyMime. For an enemy that ''is'' a mine, see ActionBomb, and for a different kind of mine which is filled with enemies, see DugTooDeep. As might be gathered by this point, this article [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant is also unrelated]] to [[SeaMine passive defensive weapons]] planted by one's foes. Also not related to mines of the underground type; for that, see UndergroundLevel or MinecartMadness. [[OverlyLongGag Wholly unrelated to]] QuoteMine, which refers to the propaganda tactic of being very particular in quoting someone the propagandist disagrees with to convey an inaccurate conception of their actual opinion and/or why they said that.

* EnemyMine/ComicStrips

Compare NominalHero, a character who fights for good even though their intentions are not heroic at all; MediationBackfire, where someone tries to get between two quarreling characters, only for them to put aside their differences to abuse the peacemaker; and ConflictKiller, who suddenly interrupts the conflict of others, causing the others to join forces against the former. Contrast with WeAreStrugglingTogether, where you have putative allies who end up backstabbing and/or infighting with each other. When this trope is averted completely, one has a MeleeATrois or MexicanStandoff. See also AnOfferYouCantRefuse, CollidingCriminalConspiracies, ContemptCrossfire, DoWellButNotPerfect, GenghisGambit, InevitableMutualBetrayal, and TallPoppySyndrome. A defining feature of the StandardSciFiSetting. May be a result of the Good and the Bad teaming up in a TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil scenario. It can be caused by TheHorseshoeEffect.

!!Example subpages

Frequently, if it is a goodie-baddie partnership, the baddie will look for opportunities to pull something that gets them a profit (or, in the case of ''really'' bad baddies, allows them to stab the goodie in the back). If the villain doesn't betray the hero right away, but there is still animosity between them while they are working together, then you have TeethClenchedTeamwork. If the Status Quo is not maintained there could be a creep towards FriendlyEnemy status. Can become a HeelFaceRevolvingDoor if it happens more than once.

Sometimes the baddie is more the hero's WorthyOpponent than a villain and the external threat will be truly evil. In this case, the hero will recognize that the third party is [[EvilerThanThou the bigger/more dangerous threat]] and the WorthyOpponent will be offended that the third party intruded on a 'private game'. Afterwards it's a pity to see them go back to their old rivalry, because together they're an unstoppable fighting force. (If they ''don't'', they've become FireForgedFriends.)

A good source of FoeYay, whether because the villain secretly does harbor feelings for the hero (a direct example) or simply realizes how boring and/or aimless his life would be without them. Compare EmbarrassingRescue, GondorCallsForAid. See also EnemyCivilWar or ElvesVersusDwarves (with which it often overlaps). Anti-villains are more prone to this trope than most, and less likely to backstab the goodies afterwards.

Compare NominalHero, a character who fights for good even though their intentions are not heroic at all. Contrast with WeAreStrugglingTogether, where you have putative allies who end up backstabbing and/or infighting with each other. When this trope is averted completely, one has a MeleeATrois or MexicanStandoff. See also AnOfferYouCantRefuse, CollidingCriminalConspiracies, ContemptCrossfire, DoWellButNotPerfect, GenghisGambit, InevitableMutualBetrayal, and TallPoppySyndrome. A defining feature of the StandardSciFiSetting. May be a result of the Good and the Bad teaming up in a TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil scenario. It can be caused by TheHorseshoeEffect.

Compare MediationBackfire, where someone tries to get between two quarreling characters, only for them to put aside their differences to abuse the peacemaker. Compare ConflictKiller who suddenly interrupts the conflict of others, causing the others to join forces against the former.

->"''Look, even if you think we're still enemies, we're enemies with a common interest: Revenge. You like revenge, right?'' EVERYBODY likes revenge! ''Well,'' let's go GET SOME!"

Compare MediationBackfire, where someone tries to get between two quarreling characters, only for them to put aside their differences to abuse the peacemaker.