History Main / FriendlyEnemy

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''

* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena''

* In ''Manga/UQHolder'', Episodes 4 & 5 (chapter 14). Sees this with Kaito & Tota [[spoiler: Beginning of episode 4 and latter half of episode 5. His evil attitude begins to taper off when he sees Tota improve with his Martial Arts.]]

** ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'' is the defining example: after the Joker commits probably his most evil act in a long career full of them, the graphic novel ends with [[spoiler: the Joker finishing a joke [[ActuallyPrettyFunny that makes Batman laugh]], and the two of them laughing together as the police sirens draw closer.]]

** There's also The Riddler, who considers his rivalry with Batman a game and who, like Catwoman, is generally not harmful enough to warrant being treated as a serious villain. He eventually takes this to its logical conclusion, by going straight and becoming a detective competing with Batman rather than against him - he still gets the buzz of the rivalry, but Batman isn't allowed to punch him anymore.
** The Penguin can also be considered this, since he's one of the few sane villains Batman comes across. When he's not committing some sort of crime, he runs a semi-innocent nightclub in Gotham. Batman will occasionally turn to him for information such as rumors flying about the criminal underworld, and The Penguin will usually treat them as a business deal.

* ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'': ComicBook/DoctorDoom and Reed Richards vary between this and blind, relentless hatred, depending on the day of the week. Another example is Reed Richards and Namor the Comicbook/SubMariner, mostly because Reed's wife is the love of both of their lives. In the 2008 ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' one-shot "What if ''this'' was the Fantastic Four?", the Fantastic Four had been killed (or possibly disappeared) and the unlikely foursome of Franchise/SpiderMan, [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]], Comicbook/{{Wolverine}}, and Comicbook/GhostRider took over the title to uphold the legacy (as they had briefly done in the nineties). They fight a massively powerful enemy who nearly kills them all, when...Doctor Doom steps in to take out the enemy, proclaiming that "None may kill the Fantastic Four... save Doom." That's right, he'll save their bacon simply because they're upholding his enemies' name; because he won't let that name be tarnished by being defeated by an unworthy opponent (that is, anyone but Doom). On a less serious note, Doom has no problem with Comicbook/SquirrelGirl entering his sanctum and doing whatever she pleases. Either he respects her, or he's just afraid she'll beat him up again if he protests.
* In ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans New Teen Titans]]'', ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} the Terminator and Changeling (now Beast Boy) developed a relationship like this in the '80s. [[spoiler: [[https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/6393690.html Changeling was about to fight him to the death when Deathstroke appealed to his humanity by showing up without his mask, stating that it was the faceless mask that he wanted to kill, not the person behind it. They later talked things over in a diner.]]]]

* Despite both being heroes, ComicBook/NamorTheSubMariner and ComicBook/BlackPanther have frequently been this. Both are kings of sovereign land (Atlantis and Wakanda, respectively), and due to diplomatic connections have on many occasions come close to war with one-another. However, they both share many allies and serve many of the same teams, so they're also just as likely to be on the same side. It was particularly prominent during the Incursions storyline, but even as far back as the 90s they were shown engaging in diplomatic squabbles and dealings.
** Similarly, and in a straighter example, both maintained this dynamic with ComicBook/DoctorDoom and Magneto, when the latter pair were heads of state themselves (Latveria and Genosha, respectviely). They openly noted the latter as enemies of their allied heroes, but had no problem inviting one-another for dinner and diplomatic discussions.

* ''LightNovel/FateZero''

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''

* Literature/HarryPotter

* ''Literature/TortallUniverse''

* In the Literature/AmeliaPeabody Series, from the third book until sometime late in the series, Amelia Peabody-Emerson and the Master Criminal a.k.a Sethos, were enemies, mainly because the Emerson family were Egyptologists and the Master Criminal was, well, ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. mainly dealing in forging antiquities. Though there were bitter enemies, they had mutual respect for one another, to the point where Sethos often rescued Amelia or any member of the family from danger from any of the book's main antagonists. It wasn't until the book, He Shall Thunder in the Sky, that it is discovered by Amelia's son Ramses, who was working as a spy for British Intelligence in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI that Sethos was related to the Emerson family because he was the illegitimate brother of Amelia's husband Radcliffe Emerson, more commonly known as Emerson.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek''

* ''Series/{{Glee}}''

** ''Series/ThePractice'': The first seasons had Helen (the ADA) & Lindsay (a member of the firm) as room-mates sharing an apartment. When Lindsay got married to Bobby, she had Eleanor (another member of the firm) move in with Helen.

* ''Series/TeenWolf''

--->'''Peralta''' "Alright now you're taking it too far, [[spoiler:Judy]]. I don't need relationship advice from my criminal archnemesis."

* This is largely the dynamic between the Pranksters and the titular characters in the 2009 revival of ''Series/TheElectricCompany.'' As their group name implies, the Pranksters love to make mischief, especially when it causes the Electric Company to look bad-- but at the end of the day, they're also just as likely to to split an order of curly fries with them, help the heroes with school assignments, or even work together toward a common goal. It helps that the Pranksters' actions are [[HarmlessVillain largely silly and easily rectified]], and mostly center on contests and games rather than anything serious.
* [[BettyAndVeronica Fran Fine and C.C. Babcock]] occasionally have this dynamic on ''Series/TheNanny.'' C.C.'s antagonism toward Fran is largely because she sees her as a rival for Maxwell's affections, while Fran sees through C.C.'s frigid act and realizes that she's desperate for companionship. In just two different examples: Fran helped C.C. reconcile with her father and even sacrificed tickets and backstage passes to a Creator/BarbraStreisand concert to do it (despite Fran quite literally ''worshiping'' Barbra), while C.C. became Fran's agent when she encountered a brief stint of fame on ''The Rosie O'Donnell Show.''

* Done beautifully on ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryCoven'' with Madame Delphine [=LaLaurie=] and Queenie. Delphine is a nineteenth-century Southern aristocrat who took special delight in torturing, mutilating, and using the blood of her slaves for beauty rituals; even ''other slave owners'' [[EveryoneHasStandards considered her actions revolting]] and wanted nothing to do with her. As revenge, Marie Leveau, the Voodoo Queen, [[BlessedWithSuck cursed Delphine with immortality and unchanging age]], then [[BuriedAlive sealed her in a coffin underground]], [[AndIMustScream chained, gagged, and utterly unable to free herself or die]]. Queenie, meanwhile, is an obese African-American teenage witch and mathematical genius who attends the titular coven in the present day. When the witches discover Delphine and set her free, Fiona, the head of the coven, decides to exact revenge by making her Queenie's personal slave. Delphine naturally hates the idea and initially loathes Queenie, and Queenie herself, when she discovers [=LaLurie's=] true identity, makes it clear that she would torture Delphine herself if she could. However, as time passes, the two develop a genuinely close bond: Queenie protects Delphine from one of her former slaves (also kept alive with magic), and Delphine returns the favor by saving Queenie from one of her own daughters when she comes back as a zombie; after killing the undead girl, [=LaLaurie=] breaks down in Queenie's arms and sobs, and the witch comforts her. In one particularly memorable scene, the two get a massive order of fast food at 3:00 AM and chow down in the car, swapping insults while enjoying each other's company (Delphine even calls Queenie "ma cher," or "my dear"). [[spoiler: That makes it all the sadder when Delphine remarks that the other coven witches will never accept Queenie, prompting the witch to betray them and join the voodoo practitioners...who demand [=LaLaurie=] herself as their price for taking Queenie in. The betrayal shatters Delphine and puts her right back on a violently racist path, although it's debatable [[GreyAndGreyMorality just how much she really could have reformed]].]]

* Big Boss and Ocelot in the ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series. Big Boss, at the beginning, decides not to kill Ocelot because of his youth, and slowly starts pseudo-mentoring him with each subsequent fight, while Ocelot comes to hero worship Big Boss by [=MGS3=]'s conclusion. This culminates when Ocelot joins Big Boss as a member of Foxhound [[spoiler: and having an invitation for Big Boss to join the Patriots be his condition for joining himself]].

* Almost all of the characters you get in the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' games used to be enemies. In dialogues before entering battles, you'll usually see a single character with a face and a name, saying "I can't possibly fight against these people!", and you can recruit him or her by talking to them.

* Franchise/{{Kirby}} and the AffablyEvil AntiVillain, King Dedede. Outside of fighting each other over random stuff (most of which is either a misunderstanding, Dedede being possessed, or Dedede just being a greedy asshole in some of the older games), they enjoy racing and competing against each other in friendly competitions. He's outright playable in ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards'', ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand,'' and ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe'', and in ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe,'' he picks up the DistressBall and the game actually consists of ''rescuing'' him! Also, in the [[VideoGame/TheSubspaceEmissary adventure mode]] of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl'', King Dedede [[TheGlomp glomps]] Kirby! [[spoiler:After he (that is, ''Dedede'') saves the day.]]

* [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic and Dr. Eggman]] are like this [[DependingOnTheWriter sometimes]].
** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] during a ''Twitter Takeover'' when SEGA asked them if they hang out a lot or are actually frenemies. [[BerserkButton This angers Eggman]], who furiously storms out of the room declaring that he and Sonic are mortal enemies... [[HypocriticalHumor then asking Sonic if he wants a leftover chilli dog from the fridge.]]

** An outstanding example is N, whose developing friendship with the player character despite their opposing causes drives the plot of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', as it [[GrayAndGrayMorality forces him to reexamine what exactly he's fighting for]].

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/NinjaPizzaGirl''. When encountering her first enemy mook, Gemma seems to expect that they'll be this, treating each other with professional courtesy and respect despite working for competing pizza companies. Sadly, the enemy mooks are a bunch of [[JerkAss Jerk Asses]] who go out of their way to be as awful to Gemma as possible.

* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''

* Roger Klotz to the titular character on ''Series/{{Doug}}''. Though Roger is a bully and occasional rival for Patti Mayonnaise's affections, he occasionally shows genuine affection for Doug. In one episode, it's Roger who organizes an anniversary party celebrating Doug's move to Bluffington, and in another, the pair bonds over their both appearing on an embarrassing children's TV show; the end of the episode sees the two having a genuinely good time at Doug's house, eating popcorn and burning the tapes of their episodes from the show.

** Especially in the unfinished episode they were both miserable without each other. This trope is at its most overt in the Pilot where Dib cheerfully compliments Zim's plan and Zim graciously thanks him for it, though shades of it sometime show up throughout the rest of the series (such as Zim prefacing the explanation of [[MyBrilliantEvilPlan his brilliant, evil plan]] to Dib in "A Room With a Moose" by saying that [[WorthyOpponent Dib is the only one smart enough to really appreciate it]]).

* Lawson and the heroes in ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}''. TJ lampshades it at one point when he's insulted that someone actually doesn't like him, using Lawson as an example of "even my worst enemy likes me!"

** Bart and Mrs. Krabappel have this in a few episodes. In one notable example, Bart studies like mad to try to actually pass a history test, but he still fails by one point; he [[TearJerker breaks down completely]] and pours his heart out to Edna, who does her best to comfort him. When Bart mentions that he now understands how George Washington felt after a particular defeat, Edna is so impressed at his demonstration of applied knowledge that she gives him extra credit and bumps his grade up to a D-, allowing him to pass. In another instance, Bart tries to help Mrs. Krabappel win "Teacher of the Year" by presenting himself to the committee and pointing out that anyone who could survive being his teacher was clearly worthy of the honor. The committee, [[TheDreaded stunned that the infamous Bart was real]], ''immediately'' hands Edna the prize.
*** The late Marcia Wallace (Mrs. K's voice actress) once went on record saying she felt Edna was incredibly fond of Bart, and that their mutual antagonism was a "game" that both were playing to amuse themselves (and one another).

* WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants is pretty friendly with Plankton when he's off the clock. In several episodes, [=SpongeBob=] is the one who helps Plankton get through whatever he's going through at the moment, such as repairing his marriage with Karen several times, preventing him from committing suicide and even helping him get revenge on Mr. Krabs for nearly making him do so in "One Coarse Meal" and trying to befriend him in F.U.N when [=SpongeBob=] thinks that Plankton is evil because he has no friends (though in the last case Plankton was just taking advantage of [=SpongeBob=]'s naiveté).

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'':[[RiddleForTheAges Red X]] and Robin don't do anything ''but'' the frenemy routine.

* In ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'', Madame Foster is mad that her rival Flo Jerkins has bribed her bowling team into joining her, and at Mac's suggestion, hires him and the Imaginary Friends to be her stand-in bowling team. The episode plays it off like Foster and Jerkins are rivals that hate each other, especially when Jerkins bribes Bloo to join her too. At the end, Foster's team wins (fifth place), and all of the sudden, they're discussing about their date for tea and crumpets. They're heated rivals, but that doesn't mean that they can't act civilized now and again. Case in point, a later episode when the cast is trying to go to Europe, Foster invited Flo and the girls to a wild tea party (expecting everyone to have already left) and then [[spoiler: they all hitch a ride to Europe after stealing Mac's tickets.]]
* On ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'', this seemed to be the case with Jet and his friends, and Mitchell. Mitchell often spies on them, and is sometimes even antagonistic towards them, but in other episodes, they get along just fine. Deconstructed in the ChristmasEpisode.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheDeputyDawgShow'', Deputy Dawg was often out to arrest Muskie Muskrat and his friends for causing trouble, but would just as frequently be on good terms with them.

* The treatment of the tens of thousands of Anglo-American prisoners of war the Germans captured contrasted sharply with their treatment of other countries', though this might have had something to do with just ''how few'' Anglo-American prisoners there were - combined with the humanitarian sensibilities of their home countries, this made them ''far'' more useful as well-treated barganing chips (in the various [=PoW=]-for-food &c negotiations) than for slave labour. 3.5 of the 4.5 million Soviet soldiers the Germans captured were of course starved to death in open-air camps (1941-2) or worked to death as slave labour (1942-45), and the 2 million French and Italian [=PoW=] were also put to work as slaves. But in any case, German treatment of Anglo-American prisoners was so reasonable that some of the guards ''became friends with'' the prisoners, and some of the friendships made between enemies persisted after the war ended! Ironically, one of the most criticized aspects of the sitcom ''Series/HogansHeroes'' is the depiction of a friendly relationship between English-speaking [=PoW=] and their German captors, even though it's fairly close to TruthInTelevision. The unheard-of cordiality of the Germans' behavior regarding this (racial) category of prisoner is documented in the books and movies ''Film/TheGreatEscape'' and ''The Wooden Horse''.

* This is how many diplomatic analysts describe the relationship between the United States and Mainland China. Not only are both strong economic trading partners and strongly economically dependent on each other, but both are willing to work together to stop worldwide terrorism, nuclear proliferation and maintaining world peace. On the other hand, both China and the United States are suspicious towards each other politically and militarily. Certain political issues like China's treatment of dissenters, stated intent to annex Taiwan, and separatist/terrorist problems in Tibet and Xinjiang are usually the hotbed topics between the two countries. The relationship is further complicated by the small ''cyber''-warfare they are engaged in. Thus, any fiction that depicts a hypothetical military war between China and the United States usually falls under YouFailEconomicsForever. No two leading countries have been quite so economically intertwined as the US and China. Washington & Beijing, New York & Shanghai all have the others by the [[GroinAttack short ones]]; nobody's fighting anybody anytime soon. In fact it would be mostly in each country's interest to ''help'' the other one in the event a truly serious situation came up, bar one which the folks back home couldn't stomach (e.g. Chinese-Taiwanese War with both sides petitioning the US for military intervention).

* On screen, Jon Stewart and [[Series/TheOReillyFactor Bill O'Reilly]] couldn't be more different, and take pot-shots at each other's shows every once and a while. However, the two are on friendly terms off-screen and even did a debate where the proceeds went to charitable causes.
** Stewart used to have a similar friendship with John [=McCain=], but [=McCain=] hasn't been on ''Series/TheDailyShow'' since the 2008 election. Nobody has said whether it's because of some sort of falling out or just because of the logistics that happen sometimes with a busy entertainer and a busy senator, though [=McCain=] did show up to send Stewart off in his final ''Daily Show'' episode.

* Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, two US Supreme Court Justices who are about as far apart ideologically as possible without either of them committing high treason, have been friends for 40 years and like to go to the opera together.
** It was more than just the opera--the two went on ''vacations'' with each other, leading to adorable images of the two of them parasailing and riding an elephant ([[http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/02/14/17/3133DE4B00000578-0-image-a-4_1455471161211.jpg here's a picture]] for those curious). They also listened to each other's legal arguments, and gave constructive criticism on them. Notably, after Scalia died in February 2016, Ginsburg released a statement calling them "best buddies" and expressed genuine affection for him. Scalia offered similar comments throughout his life--when Ginsburg's husband died, he openly wept, and during an interview, he remarked: "I attack ideas. I don't attack people."

** One interesting ''Batman: Black and White'' (the first volume) story had ComicBook/TheJoker and Franchise/{{Batman}} as arch enemies...[[PunchclockHero but only because]] [[PunchclockVillain it's their job to be so]]; after the climactic comic book scene (which is treated as a movie-style shoot), they're completely cool with [[GoKartingWithBowser stopping by the local cafe to pick up lunch]]. In fact they even ''[[CrowningMomentOfFunny talk about their family lives!]]''

* [[GeniusBruiser Anton Zilwicki]] and [[TheUnfettered Victor Cachat]] from ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' are ''technically'' enemies, as their respective governments are still lobbing salvos at each other but it's hard to find a time when the guys ''didn't'' work together. They're just like two {{buddy cop|Show}}s, and they pop [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome CMOAs]] like...[[{{Pun}} popcorn]].The defining factor here is that even though they are technically spies for two warring factions, what they're actually up to is a separate shadow war against a third, mutual enemy. On the otherside of the fourth wall it's an Author Collaboration where one is a naval historian with libertarian leanings and the other is a former mining union organizer with socialist leanings. They're {{Author Avatar}}s who [[TheyFightCrime Fight Crime]].

'''Gandhi:''' I am passively resisting the fact that you suck. I am celibate because ''[[CrowningMomentOfFunny I don't give a]]'' '''''[[CrowningMomentOfFunny fuck!]]'''''

*** Similarly, when Harley Quinn passed a competency hearing and was legally released from Arkham, he offered her a congratulatory handshake and did his best to help her stay out of trouble. When she ended up back in the asylum (largely through a series of misunderstandings, and with the hope that she'd recover in time), Harley thanked Batman with a quick smooch...[[CrowningMomentOfFunny and liked it so much that she planted a much bigger kiss on him immediately after.]]

* UsefulNotes/BillClinton has been friends with the whole Bush family for a long time, and has started to regard the elder Bush as something of a father figure (seeing as Clinton's own father died when he was a child, it makes more sense than it sounds.) When Clinton's daughter Chelsea was pregnant with her first child, George W. Bush (who was already a grandfather) had an event and let Clinton know what to expect about being a grandfather: [[HeartwarmingMoment To fall in love all over again]], and [[ButtMonkey be last on the totem pole for literally everything.]]

* Relations between Turkey and Iran are often like this. The two are regional powers and neighbors in a region where such status tends to bring about conflict. Iranians are suspicious of Turkey's closeness to the United States. Meanwhile, secular Turks disdain Iran due to a perpetual fear of becoming TheTheocracy while religious Turks disdain Iran because of confessional differences. The two are also on the opposing ends of the Syrian Civil War. And yet, the two have fairly strong business relations, linguistic and cultural ties and a tendency for EnemyMine when it is expedient. This leaves vocally defending Iran against sanctions [[HypocriticalHeartwarming even as Turkish politicians criticize Iran at every opportunity]].

* Relations between Turkey and Iran are often like this. The two are regional powers and neighbors in a region where such status tends to bring about conflict. Iranians are suspicious of Turkey's closeness to the United States. Meanwhile, secular Turks disdain Iran due to a perpetual fear of becoming TheTheocracy like Iran while religious Turks disdain Iran because of confessional differences. The two are also on the opposing ends of the Syrian Civil War. And yet, the two have fairly strong business relations, linguistic and cultural ties and a tendency for EnemyMine when it is expedient. This leaves vocally defending Iran against sanctions [[HypocriticalHeartwarming even as Turkish politicians criticize Iran at every opportunity]].

* Relations between Turkey and Iran are often like this. The two are regional powers and neighbors in a region where such status tends to bring about conflict. Iranians are suspicious of Turkey's closeness to the United States. Meanwhile, secular Turks disdain Iran due to a perpetual fear of becoming TheTheocracy themselves while religious Turks disdain Iran because of confessional differences. The two are also on the opposing ends of the Syrian Civil War. And yet, the two have fairly strong business relations, linguistic and cultural ties and a tendency for EnemyMine when it is expedient. This leaves Turkey criticizing world powers slapping sanctions on Iran [[HypocriticalHeartwarming even as Turkish politicians criticize Iran at every opportunity]].

* Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Royal Crown, and Doctor Pepper, American soda pop companies, all get along rather swimmingly with each other despite all being competitors with each other. While you would never see Coke and Pepsi be sold on fountain alongside each other, Doctor Pepper is often sold alongside Coke, Pepsi, or RC at restaurants. At one point, in the days of rampant corporate espionage, there were some culprits who made off to Pepsi with Coca-Cola's "secret recipe," hoping to be given corporate positions, only for Pepsi to take the formula, turn them in, and then call Coca-Cola to give back the formula without copying it down or otherwise profiting from it.

** The same could be said about Fleur Delacour and Victor Krum in ''Goblet of Fire'' during the Triwizard Tournament. None of the four competitors showed any real dislike for any of the other three. Note that one could say "perfectly normal, this is what sportsmanship is about" and it was a sport competition, not a war. However, Harry ''refused an easy victory over Cedric'' '''even as Cedric was now a romantic rival for Harry''. Also, there are hints that the mentor of each competitor DOES try to cheat and, whenever it's possible, harm the other kids.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': Zidane and Kuja have a moment of this after [[spoiler: Kuja saves the team from the collapsing Memoria and Iifa Tree and Zidane decides to stay to save Kuja from the depths of the Iifa Tree]]. Then again, they are [[spoiler: brothers]] and this brief moment of friendliness doesn't continue in their appearances in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''. Though that can be explained as having most of their memories wiped; doubly so in Kuja's case, in fact. It's revealed in the prequel game ''Duodecim 012'' that, in the previous cycle of conflict, Kuja, despite having been chosen by Chaos, actually wanted to help Zidane and his friends. [[spoiler:He masqueraded as having been chosen as one of Cosmos' warriors, and that he was acting as a mole within Chaos' ranks. Kefka caught wind of this and engineered a plot to get Kuja outed as a Chaos warrior in front of Zidane. Kuja, no longer able to proceed as he wanted, declared himself to have deceived Zidane, and was forced to fight against him. After the fact, Kefka used his magic to meddle with Kuja's memories so that, in the next cycle, he would have no memory of ever being in any way friendly with Zidane.]]

* Despite both being heroes, ComicBook/NamorTheSubMariner and ComicBook/BlackPanther have frequently been this. Both are kings of sovereign land (Atlantis and Wakanda, respectfully), and due to diplomatic connections have on many occasions came close to war with one-another. However, they both share many allies and serve many of the same teams, so they're also just as likely to be on the same side. It was particularly prominent during the Incursions storyline, but even as far back as the 90s they were shown engaging in diplomatic squabbles and dealings.
** Similarly, and in a straighter example, both maintained this dynamic with DoctorDoom and Magneto, when the latter pair were heads of state themselves (Latveria and Genosha, respectfully). They openly noted the latter as enemies of their allied heroes, but had no problem inviting one-another for dinner and diplomatic discussions.

->''[Aziraphale was] The Enemy, of course. But an enemy for six thousand years now, which made him a sort of friend.''

** Similarly, Littlefinger and Varys share a mutual respect and banter back and forth, due to being the two smartest guys in the room not called Lannister. Varys even admits that he enjoys Littlefinger's company, however, since Varys is all about maintaining order and peace, while Littlefinger's goal is to create chaos that benefits him, their respective schemes are diametrically opposed.

** A comic drawn by creator Creator/JhonenVasquez for Nickelodeon Magazine made this very explicit. [[spoiler:The comic ends with Zim successfully taking over the earth. Dib's upset at what he's done to humanity lasts only as long as it takes for Zim to offer to take him into space to drink sodas and ride space bunnies.]]

** The ComicBook/TwoFace story ended with Two-Face ''waiting'' for Batman to come take him away after committing a murder. Harvey Dent is one of Bruce's close friends, and one of the few relationships where the Bruce-centric version of their relationship seems more important than the Batman-centric version of the relationship to him.
*** In another story that tracks a day in the life of Gotham City, Batman stops outside the window Two-Face's cell at Arkham Asylum to continue a one-move-a-night Chess game they're playing.

** In ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'', Luthor spends half an interview complimenting Clark Kent -- saying he writes like a poet, for instance. Some of it is backhanded, of course, and he derides Superman at the same sentence. It largely amounts to, "Clark, you're a good guy. Kind, strong, and intelligent, and you might amount to something if Superman wasn't making you look bad."

** Taskmaster is a True Neutral at heart, so while he'll happily gun for anyone he's hired to kill, its never personal. Like Bullseye, he actually became really good friends with Deadpool despite frequently being hired to kill him (in fact, when Deadpool hits a low, Tasky gracefully accepts losing to him and gives him a YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAreSpeech), and after being forced to join the Secret Avengers, he actually took a liking to Mockingbird, despite being just as willing to kill her when his memory problems lead him into thinking he's loyal to AIM. His kindness to her is rewarded, as while brainwashed and ordered to kill him, Bobbi deliberately aims for a part of the brain [[BadassBookworm she knows will survive a gunshot wound without causing permanent brain damage]].

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Zeetha is cultivating such a relationship with Bangladesh DuPree in the aftermath of the Beast of The Rails arc. Both are eagerly anticipating testing each other's mettle in a fight (but can't at that time due to Sanctuary rules at the Corbettite depot). Granted, the high probability that it was [[spoiler:Bang's pirates that originally kidnapped Zeetha (and thus, Zeetha who took out the entire pirate fleet) means that they're both looking for vengeance on each other and]] the "friendly" aspect of this Trope might well be short-lived.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', Obi-Wan Kenobi and Asajj Ventress frequently exchange pleasantries and compliments while battling each other, and holding back from killing each other when one has the advantage in spite of their mutual animosity. In later seasons [[spoiler:they became [[EnemyMine allies-of-sorts]] when they teamed up against Darth Maul and Savage Opress]].

* Jimmy Kimmel and Creator/MattDamon take this to hilarious extremes, as shown during the 2017 Academy Awards, when Kimmel spent large portions of the show trolling Damon extensively.

* It's said that, despite being truly bloodthirsty against each other's armies during the Crusades, UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionheart and Saladin often exchanged gifts and had great respect for one another insofar as their roles allowed. Saladin supposedly offered his physician when Richard fell ill, for instance. Amusingly, when Richard's army was dying of heat stroke on the march to Jerusalem, Saladin allegedly had snow sent to them. For a brief period they talked of their joining their families through the marriage of their children, with Jerusalem as the dowry. For the most part, they had similar ideals of honor and understood that they were both fighting for their religions. They even had the same taste in music and were patrons of the arts and sciences. It's possible that each saw the other as a WorthyOpponent, and were hoping to eventually end the war so that they could get along and possibly convert the other to their own religion. In other words, a RealLife version of ''Literature/TheSongOfRoland'' when the poem speaks of the mightiest of the Moorish champions: "O! If only he were Christian."

** Rider as well, although his concept of "friend" baffles even the other Servants.