History Main / FriendlyEnemy

* Bender and the Robot Devil in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. The Robot Devil has kidnapped and tortured Bender, tried to consign him to eternal damnation repeatedly, and even used him as a pawn against his best friend Fry. It might help that [[EvenEvilHasStandards Bender is still possibly the eviler of the two]].

* Bender and the Robot Devil in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. The Robot Devil has kidnapped and tortured Bender, tried to consign him to eternal damnation repeatedly, and even used him as a pawn to kill his best friend Fry. It might help that [[EvenEvilHasStandards Bender is still possibly the eviler of the two]].

* Bender and the Robot Devil in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. The Robot Devil has kidnapped and tortured Bender, tried to scam him out of his soul repeatedly, and even used him as a pawn to kill his best friend Fry. It might help that [[EvenEvilHasStandards Bender is still possibly the eviler of the two]].

* Bender and the Robot Devil in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. The Robot Devil has kidnapped and tortured Bender, tried to scam him out of his soul repeatedly, and even used him as a pawn to kill his best friend Fry. It might help that [[EvenEvilHasStandards Bender is possibly the eviler of the two]].

** Vampires, the White Court particularly, tend to be very respectful and polite, even to their enemies. [[OccultDetective Harry Dresden]] and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Lara Raith]] generally respect each other and end up working towards common goals more often than against each other. Every now and then the "Friendly" part goes away when Lara does something that reminds Harry that she is a monster who preys on humans and really wants to eat him or convince him to be her partner in crime or her sex slave. At one point when frustrated that his allies keep fighting while he's away, Harry complains that not old would he expect better behavior from Vampires once he invited them in, he would almost certainly get it.

* ''Theatre/PrinceIgor'': the eponymous Prince Igor and Khan Konchak. They often meet in battlefield… and because of that, know each other quite well and respect each other's honesty, determination and courage. When Igor's taken prisoner, he is in for something more like a five-star vacation than captivity – Konchak's ready to present him with his own hawks, slaves, even his sword, and gives permission for his daughter to wed Igor's son. Which eventually happens.

** This is how [[AnIcePerson the Ice King]] thinks of his relationship to [[TheHero Finn]] (and [[TheLancer Jake]]). In reality, not so much though they are willing to help him out sometimes, such as when he tries to learn how to be happy. It's eventually revealed that the reason he thinks of them as friends is because [[spoiler: they stop him from hurting those around him; his last request before going completely insane]].
** Finn (and Jake) and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Marceline]] count because she's dropped the "enemy" part entirely. Her relationship with [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Princess Bubblegum]] has also been characterized as a "friendly rivalry", according to WordOfGod.

** By the end of the series, Danny was frenemies with most of the recurring ghost characters. When dealing with a problem bigger than he could handle on his own, he'd often turn to one of the ghosts for help. The fact that he was able to convince [[spoiler: nearly the entire population of the ghost zone to help save Earth]] cemented that status.
** Vlad in particular implied that his relationship with Danny is like this, stating "I'm sorry, but funny, joke-around Vlad isn't here today" before attacking him. This is a relationship Vlad often saw with Danny during most of the series' run on account of the villain's desire to have Danny as his surrogate son; his role as an UnwittingPawn notwithstanding.

** In the ''Literature/BekaCooper'' books, the Dogs (guardsmen and women, that world's version of police officers) often have friendships with criminals. The main character even shares a lodging-house with a bunch of them.

* In ''Disney/WreckItRalph'', since Ralph is a PunchClockVillain and Fix-It Felix a PunchClockHero, neither bears the other any particular enmity and they actually get along pretty well in their off hours, Felix even trying to keep an anniversary celebration a secret so as not to hurt Ralph's feelings, and inviting him in when he does find out so Ralph doesn't feel left out.

* Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog: Sonic and Dr. Eggman are like this [[DependingOnTheWriter sometimes]]. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d 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.]]

* ''Theater/PrinceIgor'': the eponymous Prince Igor and Khan Konchak. They often meet in battlefield… and because of that, know each other quite well and respect each other's honesty, determination and courage. When Igor's taken prisoner, he is in for something more like a five-star vacation than captivity – Konchak's ready to present him with his own hawks, slaves, even his sword, and gives permission for his daughter to wed Igor's son. Which eventually happens.

* 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 Turkey vocally defending Iran against sanctions [[HypocriticalHeartwarming even as Turkish politicians criticize Iran at every opportunity]].

** In ''[[Literature/DaughterOfTheLioness Daughter of the Lioness]]'' the spymaster of the Copper Isles and the spymaster of Tortall are on great terms and only work against each other because their jobs demand it. Justified as [[spoiler: They are family; daughter and father respectively]].
** In the ''[[Literature/ProvostsDog Provost's Dog]]'' books, the Dogs (guardsmen and women, that world's version of police officers) often have friendships with criminals. The main character even shares a lodging-house with a bunch of them.

** It could be argued that Batman has this dynamic with ''all'' of his foes (with a few exceptions, like [[WouldHurtAChild the Sewer King]]). He doesn't want to kill them, or even see them locked up--he wants them to get better.

* James Carville helped run UsefulNotes/BillClinton's 1992 Presidential campaign. Mary Matalin helped run UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush's 1992 re-election campaign. They had previously dueled in lower-level campaigns, and called each other {{archenem|y}}ies. They have been HappilyMarried since 1993 and have two daughters.

* Viridi from ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' more or less becomes this in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series. Like in her game of origin, [[GaiasVengeance she's still hell-bent on destroying humanity for upsetting the natural order]]. This, of course, makes her an enemy of Pit and Palutena, whose jobs are to ''save'' humanity. Despite this, the Palutena's Guidance {{Easter Egg}}s in the Palutena's Temple stage show she has no issues casually speaking with her enemies or vice versa, and actually tends to give Pit advice for fighting his opponents. In fact, ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' shows she's perfectly willing to let Pit use the Lightning Chariot in her possession as a [[LimitBreak Final Smash]]. [[EvilCounterpart Dark Pit]] also counts to some extent due to [[EnemyMine affiliating with Viridi]], though he usually only does what serves ''his'' needs at any given moment.

* Viridi from ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' more or less becomes this in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series. Like in her game of origin, [[GaiasVengeance she's still hell-bent on destroying humanity for upsetting the natural order]]. This, of course, makes her an enemy of Pit and Palutena, whose jobs are to ''save'' humanity. Despite this, the Palutena's Guidance {{Easter Egg}}s in the Palutena's Temple stage show she has no issues casually speaking with her enemies or vice versa, and actually tends to give Pit advice for fighting his opponents. In fact, ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' shows she's perfectly willing to let Pit use the Lightning Chariot in her possession as a [[LimitBreak Final Smash]]. [[EvilCounterpart Dark Pit]] also counts to some extent due to affiliating with Viridi, though he usually only does what serves ''his'' needs at any given moment.

* Viridi from ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' more or less becomes this in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series. Like in her game of origin, [[GaiasVengeance she's still hell-bent on destroying humanity for upsetting the natural order]]. This, of course, makes her an enemy of Pit and Palutena, whose jobs are to ''save'' humanity. Despite this, the Palutena's Guidance {{Easter Egg}}s in the Palutena's Temple stage show she has no issues casually speaking with her enemies or vice versa. In fact, ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' shows she's perfectly willing to let Pit use the Lightning Chariot in her possession as a [[LimitBreak Final Smash]]. [[EvilCounterpart Dark Pit]] also counts to some extent due to affiliating with Viridi, though he usually only does what serves ''his'' needs at any given moment.

** [[OccultDetective Harry Dresden]] and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Lara Raith]] generally respect each other for the other's skills at manipulation, deceit, and fighting prowess, and generally end up working towards common goals more often than against each other. Every now and then the "Friendly" part goes away when Lara does something that reminds Harry that she is a monster who preys on humans and really wants to eat him or convince him to be her partner in crime or her sex slave.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has [[HumanAliens Dhaos]], a being from another would who has been time-traveling, summoning demons, and making all kinds of trouble. Turns out he wanted to rescue mana, which they destroyed 100 years later by misusing magic. Once they defeat the terrible villain, they find out that most of his villainy was really just PoorCommunicationKills.

** * ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has [[HumanAliens Dhaos]], a being from another would who has been time-traveling, summoning demons, and making all kinds of trouble. Turns out he wanted to rescue mana, which they destroyed 100 years later by misusing magic. Once they defeat the terrible villain, they find out that most of his villainy was really just PoorCommunicationKills.

* Most of the Founding Fathers fell into this kind of dynamic.
** UsefulNotes/JohnAdams and UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson could write this trope. During [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution the Revolution]], they supported each other in the Continental Congress, and later, as ambassadors to the French, Spanish, Austrian, etc courts; Abigail Adams treated Jefferson's daughters as her own. Later, they were political rivals on the opposite sides of many issues, especially federalism versus states' rights. The early elections rules caused Jefferson to be Adams's vice president because he came in second. The following election, Jefferson's revolution of 1800, was the source of what seemed to be the final bitter dispute between them. Despite a quarter century of political bickering, they were convinced to reconcile and wrote letters to each other after they retired from public life, including Adams' vow "While I live, I will be your friend." John Adams' last words, when he died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, were: "Thomas Jefferson still survives." Ironically, UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson had died earlier that day.

* ''Manga/{{Gunnm}}''

** A lot of lower-level criminals (including ComicBook/{{Hitman}}) have this sort of relationship with Superman; it's been repeatedly noted that since Superman is so damn friendly and nice to everyone as long as they don't try to hurt or kill other people, very few non-super criminals dislike him. In one annual collection of short stories, it's made into a gag where a member of a gang of bank robbers' [[TitleDrop opening question]] "Why Metropolis?" (of all cities to rob a bank in), is answered, after a long discussion about those assholes in [[Comicbook/GreenArrow Star City]], [[Franchise/TheFlash Keystone City]], and [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham]], when Superman catches them and politely hands them over to the police while recommending the Metropolis reform program to get their lives back together: "Because when ''he'' catches you, he's not a jerk about it."

* Professor X and ComicBook/{{Magneto}} from ''Comicbook/XMen''. It's rare when either actively seeks to harm the other, and when they do it's a ''really'' big deal. They've been compared to Malcolm X (Magneto) and Dr. King (Xavier) because they both want what's best for mutants as a whole, but disagree on what this is and the methods for getting there. Another RealLife analogy for these two would be Eric Raymond (Xavier) and Richard Stallman (Magneto), the two ideological leaders of the Free/Open Source Software movement; in terms of Raymond seeking reconciliation with the corporate world, and Stallman insisting that compromise is impossible. ''Film/XMen1'' shows them playing chess. However there are exceptions to this.

* In ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans New Teen Titans]]'', ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} the Terminator and Changeling (now Beast Boy) developed a relationship like this in the '80s. Changeling was about to fight him to the death when [[spoiler: [[https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/6393690.html 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.]]]]

** While Bullseye has nothing but hatred for his usual punching partner {{ComicBook/Daredevil}}, he's formed a strange friendship with {{SelfDemonstrating/Deadpool}}. Deadpool is fully aware that Bullseye is a scumbag, but the two find each other to be oddly relateable thanks to their shared difficulties interacting with others. Even when they're trying to murder each other it comes off more like friendly ribbing than a serious situation. Bullseye has said that Deadpool is the only person he actually likes in any way and when Wade was believed to be dying, Bullseye ''cried''.

** Taskmaster is a True Neutral at heart, so while he'll happily gun for anyone he's hired to kill, it's 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 YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre speech), 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]].

* ''Film/CatchMeIfYouCan'': Frank Abagnale Jr. (Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio) and Carl Hanratty (Creator/TomHanks). This is based on real life. While Hanratty was a compilation of the men that chased Abagnale throughout his criminal career, he remained friends with several of them after he went straight.

* Subverted in ''Film/TheWatcher'' between David Allen Griffin (Creator/KeanuReeves) and Joel Campbell (James Spader). David ''thinks'' that this is what their relationship has become, but Joel does ''not'' agree.

* ''Film/TheyShallNotGrowOld'': British veterans of UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne featured in the documentary almost universally praise the captured Germans, describing them as boys much the same as the British who just wanted the war to end. There are many shots of British soldiers and German [=POWs=] posing, smiling and playfully exchanging hats. One veteran appreciatively notes how so many Germans would immediately volunteer for stretcher duty without being asked.

* Literature/HarryPotter:

* Largo and Ed of ''Webcomic/MegaTokyo''
** Ed and Dom too, for that matter.
* The majority of the characters on ''Webcomic/SuperStupor'' fit this trope, whether they are on the same side or not.

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', [[CaptainErsatz Dark Laser]] seems to have this relationship with Timmy by letting him borrow the Death Ball for a party and willing to tell him about his irritable bowels.

** Played with during a Cartoon Network bumper made in a "touring the studio" style; one scene shows a door opening to WesternAnimation/WileECoyote and the Road Runner sitting on the couch and watching TV together, until they notice the camera...at which point they exchange [[OhCrap looks]] and quickly begin chasing each other around the couch.

* 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, were friends for 40 years and liked to go to the opera together. They also 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. Their careers - and close friendship - was even the subject of an ''opera'', believe it or not. 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."