History Main / NoHonorAmongThieves

In short, this is ChronicBackstabbingDisorder or even just chronic lack of trust, applied as a persistent AchillesHeel of the bad guys. Subtrope of EvilWillFail. Often results in an EnemyCivilWar or EvilVersusEvil. Compare with TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong and EvilCannotComprehendGood. See also CheaterGetsCheatedOn for examples of this trope in regards to adultery. The opposite is EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily and of course, HonorAmongThieves. May be averted on a personal scale by a VillainousFriendship. Could be considered a form of [[PVPBalanced PVP Balance]], to make up for the fact that the heroes [[WhatTheHellHero aren't allowed]] to cross the MoralEventHorizon to prevent TooBleakStoppedCaring.

* ''In the Literature/ForgottenRealms'' ''[[Literature/LegacyOfTheDrowSeries Siege of Darkness]]'' Drizzt Do'Urden notes that while dwarves will fight tooth, nail, and beard for their brethren, dark elves have no such luxury. Their defeat is partly because they can't count on each other for cohesiveness.
** Let us not forget how The Dark Elf Trilogy opens: With the Do'Urden House outright exterminating a rival house for political gain. And the destruction of House Do'Urden in Exile.

* In ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'', Sauron doesn't dare let his orcs know he's looking for the Ring of Power (some orc would likely steal it). So he can't tell his armies, "If you find a hobbit, kill it and send any rings it has back to me." Instead, he orders them to take hobbits alive and transport them (with all their possessions, even weapons) back to him. Naturally, this lets several hobbits escape from orcs at key moments--especially because while the orcs may not know what's so important, they ''do'' know that the captives are very valuable, so they end up fighting over the hobbits anyway.
** And of course, Saruman may have gone over to Sauron, but they both know that given the slightest chance, he'll grab the Ring for himself--which limits their ability to work together effectively.
** And this attitude spreads to their minions as well; along with whatever scheming is happening between the two factions in Bree, Shagrat, and Gorbag the Orcs come to blows over prisoner Frodo and his possessions.

In short, this is ChronicBackstabbingDisorder or even just chronic lack of trust, applied as a persistent AchillesHeel of the bad guys. Subtrope of EvilWillFail. Often results in an EnemyCivilWar or EvilVersusEvil. Compare with TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong and EvilCannotComprehendGood. The opposite is EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily and of course, HonorAmongThieves. May be averted on a personal scale by a VillainousFriendship. Could be considered a form of [[PVPBalanced PVP Balance]], to make up for the fact that the heroes [[WhatTheHellHero aren't allowed]] to cross the MoralEventHorizon to prevent TooBleakStoppedCaring.

** There are a couple of these in the Wano Arc.

* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':

** ''ComicBook/Supergirl1984'': Selena, a black magician with world-domination aspirations, constantly abuses her mentor Nigel, turning on him when she considers she does not need him anymore.
** ''ComicBook/GirlPower'': Darkseid says Luthor can use black Kryptonite to awaken a Kryptonian's dark side, without clarifying what it exactly entails. Luthor then tests it on Supergirl, assuming she will turn evil and become his minion. When his black Kryptonite creates an evil Supergirl twin, Luthor tries to persuade her that they should obviously be allies, but she wants nothing but to kill him.

Evil has a lot of things going for it. [[EvilFeelsGood It feels great]], [[EvilTastesGood it tastes great]], [[VillainousFashionSense it looks great]], and [[EvilIsCool it's just plain cool.]] For most of a given story, Evil can be expected to give the heroes a very rough time. And if the EvilOverlord and his {{Mooks}} are competent enough, they will come [[NearVillainVictory alarmingly close to victory]] before the end of the story.

But for all it has going for it, Evil is just not very conducive to teamwork.

You see, [[TrueCompanions one of the keys for a team to really work well together]] is that there has to be at least some level of mutual trust among the team members. People on the same side, Good ''or'' Evil, need to know their friends will be there to [[BigDamnHeroes bail them out in a tight spot]], and [[FaceHeelTurn won't sell them out to the enemy or abandon them for some selfish gain at a bad moment]]. They need to know that, when the going gets tough, or when some temptation arises, their allies will still be right by their side, through thick and thin. For the most part, such willingness to put the group before oneself is inherently at odds with the whole idea of being a bad guy.

And so we have this trope. Some two thousand years ago, Cicero of the early Roman Empire wrote "Quin etiam leges latronum esse dicuntur, quibus pareant, quas observant." Loosely translated, this means "There are said to be the laws of robbers, by which they obey, and which they observe." Over the centuries, a common plotline throughout fiction has been subverting or averting the meaning behind this phrase to show that there is, in fact, No Honor Among Thieves. Whenever the heroes' RoguesGallery form [[VillainTeamup an alliance]], there is a good chance that this trope will happen, because Evil just can't stand playing nice with anybody.

[[caption-width-right:250:A RussianReversal -- or rather, a [[{{Ruritania}} Pottsylvanian]] Reversal -- of gender expectations.\\

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* ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'': The ''chibi'' Sivana in ''The Multiversity Guidebook #1'' thinks the Legion of Sivanas are there to help him conquer his Earth. Instead, the snake, vampire, and torture porn versions attack and eat him.

--->'''Scientist:''' "I don't care! When the S.C.T.F. hired me to design this trap for your elaborate hoax... There was nothing in the contract that said I had to take the fall, too-- if the operation went sour!"\\
'''Crook:''' "Desertin' us--?! Why, you dirty--"

--->'''Saturn Queen:''' ''"Luthor! Wait! ... The double-crossing rat took off without us!"''\\
'''Lex Luthor:''' ''"It's every man for himself! There's just enough fuel to propel me to my destination!"''

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}''. Chaos, Orcs, and Skaven especially.

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'' has an example in which this trope goes both ways. [[spoiler:[[EvilFormerFriend Darius]]]], Therion's former partner-in-crime (literally, as they're thieves), [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder betrays anyone and everyone (Therion himself included)]] [[ItsAllAboutMe at the promise of greater power and wealth for himself]], only to meets his end after Therion confronts, defeats, and leaves him in a battle. He intends to take his wealth somewhere else and start anew, but his lackeys, who hold no loyalty to him, seize the opportunity in his weakened and vulnerable state, [[KarmicDeath deal mortal wounds to him]] and steal the wealth he's hoarded, making off like bandits. He's left in his final moments DyingAlone, feebly and futilely calling for a long-left Therion.

While the heroes cling to ThePowerOfFriendship and trust in their TrueCompanions to see them through, the villains simply cannot trust one another. Even when their victory seems closest, it seems to always come undone because the bad guys are inherently treacherous and suspicious of one another. If the EvilOverlord is near to victory, you can expect TheDragon to make some [[TheStarscream bid for personal power]] at the last minute that gives the heroes enough breathing room to gain the victory. And if you have a team of more-or-less equal [[CardCarryingVillain Card Carrying Villains]] in it ForTheEvulz, expect them to fall prey to this in no time at all, with their momentary shared goals falling by the wayside the second any of them sees an advantage in turning on their 'friends.' This is the reason why trust and willingness to work with each other is one of the EvilVirtues.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': In the episode "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E10AnInsideJob An Inside Job]]", Sly Sludge is perfectly willing to run out on Dr. Blight and MAL if it means he can save himself. Blight, in turn, is perfectly willing to shrink him along with four of the Planeteers in revenge.

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* ''Anime/SailorMoon'': The third season didn't need the Senshi or a BadBoss to off the QuirkyMinibossSquad - they ended up saving everyone the trouble quite nicely. However, this only happened between the first three members -Eudial, Mimete, and Tellu - who took out each other in order. Tellu, Viluy, Cyphrine, and Ptolil were all taken out by the Senshi.
* ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'': Placido is so rotten he even steals from his partner Lucciano to accomplish his own - unauthorized - plan. (This becomes far more serious when [[TheReveal it is discovered later]] that the Three Nobles of Yliaster - which Placido and Lucciano were members of - are three embodiments of one being, Aporia, meaning Placido was so full of hostility, it even extended towards himself.)

* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** In ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire'', Han Solo tries to recruit the help of Mako Spince, the man who [[Literature/TheHanSoloTrilogy helped him out]] when Han was first getting into the smuggling business, someone he considers a friend. Mako sells him out.
** Most of Han's old friends sell him out by ''Literature/TheNewRebellion''. Even [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack Lando]] had, though Lando had [[SadisticChoice a very good reason]] and had later doubled back to help him at great personal risk. The smuggler community actually regarded Han, and Lando to a lesser extent, as unrealistically honorable and idealistic even before they went straight.

* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'': In "A Little Knowledge", a small-time crook discovers the secret identity of local crimefighter Jack-In-The-Box. As he tries to figure out how to use this for his gain, he becomes worried that his colleagues will also find out... and screw him out of the proceeds.
* ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'': All five of the Sinister Six sell each other out about as often as they make speeches about how great teamwork is, and that they see the others as friends. And they seem to be sincere about this, it's just not a reason to ''not'' sell the others out.

* ''Fanfic/TheBaggesTakeOstania'': Katz promises his henchmen to give them half of the profits he will receive from his Westalian group. However, he instead leaves them to be slaughtered by the Thorn Princess citing the trope as a justification.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAssaultOnArkham'', the surviving members of the Suicide Squad fight over a helicopter even though it's big enough for all of them and they'd have a better chance of using it to escape if they cooperated.

* In the Literature/ModestyBlaise novel ''The Night of Morningstar'', the villains recruit a team of ruthless killers for a terrorist attack, which is prevented when sabotage by the heroes causes their ship to sink suddenly and catastrophically, leaving those who weren't killed outright floating in open water and struggling with each other for possession of bits of flotsam capable of supporting them. The Big Bad is knifed by one of his own underlings over a lifejacket, and that underling is shortly afterward served the same way by another.
* Allen Drury's novel ''The Promise of Joy''. The Soviets and Chinese work together against the U.S. throughout most of the book, but near the end, they start a limited nuclear war with each other.
* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' has quite a few backstabbing thieves. The most notable is Cheesethief for trying to make himself the leader of Cluny's horde. [[BackstabBackfire It does not go as planned,]] and to add insult to injury, Cluny manages to make it look like the complete accident that killed him off was all according to ''his'' plan.
* ''Literature/TheStainlessSteelRat''. Inskipp [[BoxedCrook drafts]] [=DiGriz=] into the Special Corps to catch worse criminals. The Rat baulks at the idea of becoming a rat, saying that even crooks have a code. Inskipp points out that [=DiGriz=] has [[IWorkAlone always worked alone]] and so he's never met another crook, and if he did he'd gladly turn him in for the reward money.
* ''The [[Literature/TheWheelOfTime Wheel of Time]]'' allows just as much ... [[PoorCommunicationKills individualism]] among the antagonists as the protagonists. Indeed, one member of the Black Ajah speculates that the [[SealedEvilInACan Dark One]] may select for treachery among his servants. Back when there were more than 13 random [[TheDragon Forsaken]], however, they had apparently worked well enough together to be on the verge of winning the war.

* In Creator/MatthewReilly's books ''The Six Sacred Stones'' and ''The Five Greatest Warriors'', several factions of bad guys are forced to work together to complete the tasks necessary to save the world and gain Ultimate Power. They are even forced to work with the heroes from time to time. Needless to say, they don't trust each other and try to backstab each other at every opportunity.
* In the Literature/ForgottenRealms ''[[Literature/LegacyOfTheDrowSeries Siege of Darkness]]'' Drizzt Do'Urden notes that while dwarves will fight tooth, nail, and beard for their brethren, dark elves have no such luxury. Their defeat is partly because they can't count on each other for cohesiveness.

* According to ''Literature/TheZombieSurvivalGuide'', bandit groups AfterTheEnd will inevitably wipe themselves out from in-fighting.
* "And he wondered, even as the sword came butchering between his ribs, how he had ever thought that the East, whose essence was treachery, could ever stand."\\
-- ''Empire of the East'', Creator/FredSaberhagen

* In David Eddings' ''Literature/TheRedemptionOfAlthalus'', the protagonists are a close-knit group more like a family than anything else, they have a major goddess in their fold (who fills the role of their mother), they have full command of said goddess' extradimensional house (allowing them to go literally anywhere they want), and they have an immense army of the best soldiers the world has to offer. The villains are ''supposed'' to mirror them (including having similar supernatural abilities), but they are constantly fighting with each other for authority, their god terrifies them and offers little help, and their house is a horror filled with flames which they do not use to much effect at all. And while they have an army of their own, their commander is obsessed with stone-age culture and at best allows flint weapons, as well as only rudimentary tactics.

* In ''[[Literature/TheCanterburyTales The Pardoner's Tale]]'', the three {{Villain Protagonist}}s end up killing each other out of greed. They were told they'd 'find Death' under the oak tree, but instead found a large pile of gold. They all ended up killing each other off so they wouldn't have to split it into thirds, therefore [[ExactWords finding death under the oak tree]].
* In Jan Guillou's ''Ondskan'' (''The Evil'' in Swedish), the story starts with the young VillainProtagonist and his gang running several well-paying rackets at his school, including organized shoplifting at various record stores. Being rather clever, he's laid down a few ground rules for his gang to follow, including never hitting the same store more than once in a row; also, if anyone gets caught in any way, they are to keep their mouths shut no matter what, as the authorities can't punish them very much if they don't have anything solid to charge them with. When the goons end up working alone (as the protagonist is temporarily occupied otherwise), they quickly mess up by sealing from the same store several times in a row (thereby making the staff suspicious and going on alert) and get caught. They then throw the protagonist under the bus by revealing everything they've got going on and holding him responsible, insisting that he forced them to do it against their will.

* In "Cemetery Bait" by Creator/DamonRunyon, Lou Adolia is supposed to arrange to return the stolen jewelry, collect a payment from the insurance company, then split the loot with the other conspirators. He gets as far as collecting the payment.
* All but the last of the thieving crews that Vin worked for in ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' consisted of backstabbers who betray anyone, in or out of the crew. Early in the first book, her crew teams up with another crew to rob some Ministry boats under the guise of genuine teamsters, but her crewleader accepts the down payment early and leaves the others out to dry. [[spoiler:The third book reveals that had they properly robbed the boats, they would have been unimaginably rich]]. When Vin realizes that something was wrong with the negotiation, she tries to run, but not before warning her only friend--who informs on her to the boss. The reason why Vin is attracted to [[HopeBringer Kelsier's]] crew is that they're genuine TrueCompanions who don't betray each other; she's shocked when [[GrumpyOldMan Clubs]] initially walks away from the job, and nobody tries to have him killed.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. Orks and Chaos, ''especially'' Chaos. The Dark Eldar {{avert|edTrope}} this: although backstabbing your superior is by far the most common of the very few ways to advance in Dark Eldar society, one of their ''very few'' standards is 'No treason in realspace'. Realspace raids are essential to the Dark Eldar as they need to capture slaves to feed on their suffering. Having that collapse due to infighting would just make their whole civilization wither. Once the raid is over, though, anyone's fair game.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}''. Chaos, Orcs, and Skaven especially.
* Titan Avatars in ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'' are frequently at loggerheads. Muspelheim's avatars (Prometheus in particular) all plan to waylay Surtr once Ragnarok is over. The Drowned Road's two strongest avatars, Mami Wata and Ran, ''act'' aligned but will someday go for each other's throats, while Nu sits in the background and makes its own plots. Terra is led by Gaia, but the other avatars are open to offers. Sobe-no-Kumi is led by Mikaboshi... only because he arranged for Erebus to be pinned down in a deep part of the Titan. The list goes on; the only core Titan without avatar issues is Akhetaten, and that's because Aten is its ''only'' avatar.
** Why is Aten the only avatar, you ask? That's because he ''ate all the rest.'' No honor among thieves doesn't begin to describe that.
** This doesn't come up for the non-core Titans, in large part because most of them get only one or two avatars of theirs covered with little to no mention of their relations with each other. Hundun, however, explicitly doesn't have avatar issues since it can't manifest them in the first place, being unable to create defined, unique individuals. Instead, it grants its power to willing gods.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' pretty much says flat-out that even if the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Yozis]]' grand attempt at [[HellOnEarth the Reclamation]] is successful in any way, the Ebon Dragon is going to turn on the other Yozis and try to keep them permanently locked up in Malfeas while he alone escapes. Why? Because he's the ''[[GodOfEvil Ebon Fucking Dragon]]''. Treason isn't just what he does, it's what he '''[[AnthropomorphicPersonification is]]'''. If he were to be capable of ever truly aiding others, even if it would benefit himself too, he would not be the Ebon Dragon.

* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' setting, the yugoloths are a race of greedy Lower Planar merchants who work for both sides of the eternal Blood War (or pretty much anyone else who will pay them) and they show no loyalty to ''anyone''. A yugoloth is willing to betray his employer at the drop of a hat if the employer's enemy offers more money, and would abandon the mission in a heartbeat if its life was threatened. The worst part is, this is hardly a secret, but the demons and devils keep hiring them, mostly because no one else is willing to be their suppliers, agents, and hired troops. (Some stories and sources hint that the leaders of the yugoloths do this because they are engineering the entire Blood War and prolonging it on purpose as a grand experiment to discover which type of Evil is superior.)

* The ''TabletopGame/{{Fiasco}}'' roleplaying game is very much built on this trope (for the sake of BlackComedy), with character creation making the players define their relationships with each other and their final goals, and then making it difficult for them to reach those goals without tossing somebody to the wolves.

* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}''. In-game, merely used as an excuse for CivilWarcraft, the later backstory makes it clear that [[TheHorde the Orcish Horde]] lost the second war because Gul'dan and Orcish clans loyal to him abandoned the Warchief at a decisive moment in favor of Gul'dan's own plans to find [[SealedEvilInACan Sargeras]].
** To be fair, Gul'dan never planned to stay loyal. He was always the true power behind the previous Warchief Blackhand. Orgrim betrayed Blackhand and then threatened to kill Gul'dan. Gul'dan swore loyalty, planning on breaking his oath the moment he saw fit.
** In fact, it was Orgrim's own sense of honor that doomed the Horde more than Gul'dan's betrayal. Not wanting Gul'dan to escape unpunished, he sent a huge chunk of his own forces to hunt him down. Not only did it force him to lift his siege of Lordaeron, but the forces sent after Gul'dan suffered heavy losses killing the traitor clans and were then further obliterated on the way back by a surprise attack at sea by Admiral Proudmoore, leaving only a few thousand warriors. Had Orgrim chosen to continue the siege instead of seeking revenge, he would have razed Lordaeron, likely winning the war.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' has a classic case of this when Shepard encounters the "MSV Strontium Mule", which has been recently invaded by a group of Blue Suns mercs. When the commander takes down the group's leader, Captain Vorhess, we soon find out [[TheStarscream Sergent Bootis]] deliberately held back his men, so Vorhess would be killed, leaving him in charge and more loot for the survivors. "The fewer men left, the bigger the prize for each of us". Needless to say, not combining all your available forces against Commander Shepard is essentially suicide. His betrayal only grants him a swifter death. [[TooDumbToLive This is made into an even stupider move]] when he notes [[TheDreaded how big of a threat Shepard is in a datapad.]]
** Also shows up with Zaeed's {{Backstory}}. His business partner for the [[PrivateMilitaryContractors private military company]] the two started had this mindset. He hired terrorists and such, leading to a case of EvenEvilHasStandards from Zaeed, resulting in said criminal further cementing his belief in this trope by hiring Zaeed's own men to kill him.
* This seems to be one of the main themes of ''VideoGame/MafiaII'', with the various intrigues between the 3 major crime families and the many betrayals committed by pretty much every Mafia member against each other and the player character. This is in sharp contrast to the much more idealized vision of The Family seen in the [[VideoGame/MafiaTheCityOfLostHeaven first game]].
* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' Tommy Vercetti believes that among the family nothing is more important than [[HonorAmongThieves honor and loyalty]]. However, as the story progresses, he soon realizes he was very much alone in this belief as Sonny has screwed him at every turn.
** In the intro, Sonny pretty much states that he intends to come in and take over after Tommy has managed to establish himself in Vice City.
* This trope is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in an optional conversation in ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV Grand Theft Auto V's]]'' "Hood Safari" mission, should [[PlayerCharacter Player Characters]] Trevor and Franklin flee from the cops together after being lured into a scam drug deal. After he and Franklin are clear, Trevor claims that opportunistic betrayals are part of the gang mentality, and mocks those who try to rely on the criminal element being trustworthy.
* It's brought up in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' as the reason TheLegionsOfHell have never been able to win against TheArmiesOfHeaven in the Eternal Conflict -- whenever the demons got close to victory, they'd turn upon each other over the spoils they'd had yet to win. [[spoiler:When Diablo becomes the Prime Evil, with all Seven Great Evils combined in him, there is no such division, allowing him to direct the forces of Hell with a singular mind and overwhelm the forces of Heaven]].
* In episode 303 of ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'', General Skun-Ka'pe and Monsieur Papierwaite team up over a mutual hatred of Sam. Max can talk to them both individually and find that there's a bit of tension bubbling under the surface. Exploit this and...
-->'''Skun-Ka'pe:''' I can't ''believe'' I've allied myself to a snivelling irritant like you!\\
'''Papierwaite:''' ''Irritant?'' Do you think I ''enjoy'' having my schemes yoked to an uncouth half-naked ''space-'''fascist''''' who can't even capture a ''six foot tall dog in a suit?!''\\
'''Skun-Ka'pe:''' I assume you can do better, you half-witted conjurer?!\\
'''Papierwaite:''' ''Watch me.''
* ''VideoGame/{{Neverend}}'' starts with two members of Agavaen's bandit group making off with the gold and Agavaen's amulet in the middle of the night.
* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'' has an example in which this trope goes both ways. [[spoiler:[[EvilFormerFriend Darius]]]], Therion's former partner-in-crime (literally, as they're thieves), [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder betrays anyone and everyone (Therion himself included)]] [[ItsAllAboutMe at the promise of greater power and wealth for himself]], only to meets his end after Therion confronts, defeats, and leaves him in a battle. He intends to take his wealth somewhere else and start anew, but his lackeys, who hold no loyalty to him, seize the opportunity in his weakened and vulnerable state, [[KarmicDeath deal mortal wounds to him]] and steal the wealth he's hoarded, making off like bandits. He's left in his final moments DyingAlone, feebly and futilely calling for a long-left Therion.
-->'''Someone... help me... Partner... Please...'''
* ''VideoGame/RaveHeart'': Count Vorakia Estuuban's conspirators are willing to betray each other, as shown when [[spoiler:Eryn has Gwen and Ira kidnapped for experimentation, despite Lady Marselva's insistence that they be spared]].
* In the ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' games, this is what sets the villains apart from the [[HonorAmongThieves Cooper Gang]] and their allies. The main trio of Sly, Bentley, and Murray only steal from other criminals and villains. Their foes engage in dishonorable actions like forgery[[labelnote:*]]Dimitri and The Grizz[[/labelnote]], [[GRatedDrug spice]] dealings[[labelnote:*]]Rajan and Jean Bison[[/labelnote]], illegal mining[[labelnote:*]]Australian miners[[/labelnote]], forced weddings[[labelnote:*]]General Tsao[[/labelnote]], sinking heritage buildings[[labelnote:*]]Don Octavio[[/labelnote]], selfish exploitation of others[[labelnote:*]]Neyla and Penelope[[/labelnote]] and so forth.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': According to the manual backstory, Ganondorf and his band of thieves found the entrance to the Sacred Realm and the Triforce together. Then, instead of sharing the power, the thieves turned against one another in order to claim the Triforce uncontested. Ganondorf emerged victorious and touched the Triforce with the blood of his followers still fresh in his hands.
* It's the name of the game in ''VideoGame/FiftyCentBloodOnTheSand'', where Fiddy is told early on to trust no one, and sure enough other than Fiddy and his G-Unit partners, [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder everybody betrays everybody else at just about every opportunity]]. [[spoiler:Wilder]] even quotes the trope by name when [[spoiler:he calls up Leila before the final fight just so Fiddy knows he's been betrayed yet again and she then tells Wilder she's making off with [[MacGuffin the skull]]]].
* Despite the fact that the various monsters in ''VideoGame/PumpkinJack'' are the Devil's making and Jack is on a mission on the Devil's behalf, monsters still make up the majority of enemies. This is explained that the monsters are mindless and soulless, thus all they care about is causing destruction with no sense of loyalty.
* ''VideoGame/{{Brawlhalla}}'': According to his lore entry, [[AristocratsAreEvil Lucien]], the highwayman, used to lead a gang of thieves, until he decided he was better as a lone thief and turned them all in for the reward money.

* The ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Welcome To Genosha": after the attempted mass breakout is foiled, Cameron Hodge reveals the informer who grassed on the entire prison- Gambit! But when he is put into a jeep with two mooks and sent to the other end of the island, he is freed after the jeep is blown up and the mooks killed by...Cable! Who takes his restraining collar off and then TRUSTS HIM WITH THE KEY, telling him to go back to the prison and free all the other mutants with it.

In short, this is ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, or even just chronic lack of trust, applied as a persistent AchillesHeel of the bad guys. Subtrope of EvilWillFail. Often results in an EnemyCivilWar or EvilVersusEvil. Compare with TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong and EvilCannotComprehendGood. The opposite is EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily and of course, HonorAmongThieves. May be averted on a personal scale by a VillainousFriendship. Could be considered a form of [[PVPBalanced PVP Balance]], to make up for the fact that the heroes [[WhatTheHellHero aren't allowed]] to cross the MoralEventHorizon to prevent TooBleakStoppedCaring.

* ''Anime/SailorMoon'': The third season didn't need the Senshi or a BadBoss to off the QuirkyMinibossSquad - they ended up saving everyone the trouble quite nicely. However, this only happened between the first three members, -Eudial, Mimete, and Tellu- who took out each other in order. Tellu, Viluy, and Cyphrine and Ptolil were all taken out by the Senshi.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': This comes up quite a bit. With so many pirates, sailors and Marines of differing moralities, how long an alliance lasts in this series is quite up in the air.

*** Played with in another VillainTeamUp between [[spoiler:Kaido and Big Mom, two of the Four Emperors]]. They decide to ally for now to take over the world, and kill each other after that's done. Since they mutually agree on this and make no secret of their intention to go to war, it's not much of a backstab as it is a temporary truce.

* ''ComicBook/AllStarComics'': The criminals tied to Professor Able's orgainization all start betraying and killing each other at the drop of a hat, which makes it very difficult for the JSA to interrogate any of them since all the ones they manage to capture alive are quickly killed or drugged into insanity.

* ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'': The ''chibi'' Sivana in ''The Multiversity Guidebook #1'' thinks the Legion of Sivanas are there to help him conquer his Earth. Instead the snake, vampire and torture porn versions attack him and eat him.

** In ''ComicBook/TheStrangeRevengeOfLenaLuthor'', a scientist hired by the a criminal gang abandons his partners as soon as he realizes Supergirl has figured out his hoax.

** In ''ComicBook/TheSuperRevengeOfLexLuthor'', ComicBook/LexLuthor, ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}, and three members of the Legion of Super-Villains -Saturn Queen, Lightning Lord and Cosmic King- are trying to come up with ways to escape from an asteroid prison. When Luthor manages to salvage the remains of a crashed spaceship and build a spacefaring flying suit, his fellow inmates think he has found a way out for them...until he takes off, gloating he only cares for himself.

** ''ComicBook/GirlPower'': Darkseid says Luthor he can use black Kryptonite to awaken a Kryptonian's dark side, without clarifying what it exactly entails. Luthor then tests it on Supergirl, assuming she will turn evil and become his minion. When his black Kryptonite creates an evil Supergirl twin, Luthor tries to persuade her that they should obviously be allies, but she wants nothing but killing him.
** "ComicBook/SupermanAndSpiderMan": Doctor Doom breaks Parasite out of containment and enlists his help, but their alliance is not congenial. Doom treats Parasite as a slave and refuses to reveal his scheme, despite Parasite supposedly playing a key role in it. When Parasite gets mad and attempts to absorb Doom, Doom just blasts him in the chest, reveals he obviously insulated his armor against his power and commands his "ally" to return to his chambers and wait for Doom's summons. Parasite pretends to obey meekly, as inwardly swearing that Doom will pay for this humiliation.

* ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'': This is noted as a major issue with the Death Eaters. As long as Lord Voldermort was around to enforce order from the top, they work together beautifully. But because they were only loyal to him, not to each other or a unifying higher cause, once he goes down they don't last two weeks, with some backstabbing the group to go back to regular society and others getting sent to Azkaban because no one is willing to protect them.

* ''Fanfic/WithThisRingGreenLantern'': Star Sapphire and Hector Hammond team up to destroy Hal Jordan but they can't stand each other. Carol delights in deliberately and relentlessly screwing up with Hammond's mind, and Hammond would love turning Carol's brain off telepathically.

* The norm in ''Film/FiveFingers1952'', as it was in the real life events during World War II that the film loosely depicts. The valet turned spy codenamed "Cicero" is betrayed by his confederate and would have been betrayed by his German spymasters had he not betrayed them first. He betrays his British employer during the main part of the movie, then cheerfully defects back to the British once it becomes clear that the Germans believe he has outlived his usefulness. Then he gives the slip to both sides, taking with him the money the Nazis paid him. [[spoiler: The counterfeit money]].

* ''Film/CityOfIndustry'': A recurring theme. Roy Egan is a career robber who is betrayed by his newest partner Skip Skovitch because the latter wants to keep the money they previously stole for himself. Skovitch later gets betrayed by some new "friends" of his own when they suspect that he's holding out on them. Egan specifically notes that he's going to retire because the younger generation of criminals don't hold themselves to the same old school standards that he used to.

* ''Film/CradleOfFear'': When Sophie and Emma find the old man's hidden stash of cash, and discover there is thousands of pounds instead of the hundreds they were expecting, Sophie kills Emma so she can keep all the loot for herself.

* ''Film/DesertNights'': Steve, Diana, and their three fellow jewel thieves rob a diamond mine and escape into the desert. Steve and Diana's three accomplices decide to try their luck heading back rather than crossing the Kalahari, and ask for their share of the diamonds. After they leave, Steve reveals to Diana that he gave them fake glass diamonds.

* In ''Film/Firestorm1998'', Shaye has no intention of sharing the $37 million in hidden loot with the convicts with the convicts who help him escape. Instead he murders each one once they stop being of use to him. It is later revealed that during the TrainJob that netted him the $37 million in the first place, he collapsed a tunnel on top of the train: killing not only the guards and train crew, but also all of his gang.

* ''Film/JudasKiss'': [[spoiler:The entire kidnap scheme is revealed to have been a ploy by Junior to manipulate Coco into killing the senator's wife. He then gets paid off, kills Ruben, and leaves the rest of the gang to be killed Hornbeck's henchmen as they come to torture Dyson.]]

* In the 1950 FilmNoir ''Film/TheKillerThatStalkedNewYork'', Francie admits to her sister Sheila that she and Sheila's husbamd Matt were planning on cheating Sheila out of her share of the diamond smuggling affair. By the looks of it, Matt was planning on ripping Francie off too, keeping all the profits for himself.
* ''Film/KingOfThieves'': The cracks begins to show when Ken decides to use his brother-in-law Billy as fence without consulting the rest of the gang. However, things really fall apart when Terry, Danny and Kev decide to stiff Basil of his share of the take.
* In ''Film/LustForGold'', Walz and Wiser tail Peralta and Ludi into the mountains to learn the location of the lost mine. Once Peralta and Ludi incover it, Walz and Wiser murder them. However, when Walz discovers how much gold is in the mine, he murders Wiser to keep it all for himself.

* In ''Film/OneFootInHell'': Mitch Barrett intends to murder the other criminals he recruits for his scheme of robbery and revenge so he can keep the $100,000 for himself. He manages to kill two of them, and might have killed the other two if not for a SpannerIntheWorks.
* ''Film/{{Parker}}'': Parker refuses to throw in with his partners and pool his share of the loot with them so they can pull a second job. His partners shoot him, take his share of the loot and [[LeftForDead leave him for dead]].

* In ''Film/SonOfAGun'', Sam tries to screw the gang over and keep the gold for himself. When Lynch confronts him, he even uses the exact phrase: saying that he did not expect honor among thieves, but he disappointed that there is not even a little remorse on Sam's face.

* ''Film/TheThieves'': The casino heist dissolves into a complex web of double and triple crosses, as the various members of the CaperCrew each pursues their own ends.

* This is the basis for the classic Prisoner's Dilemma. It goes as follows: Alice and Bob have been taken prisoner. The police know they committed a minor crime (with a sentence of one year), and suspect they committed a larger crime (with a sentence of two years). But they need a confession to pin the larger crime on someone. So they offer both criminals a deal: Admit that your partner committed the larger crime, and we'll pardon you for the smaller crime. The best option for ''both'' of them is that both stay silent (and thus each get one year), but the best personal option is to betray while the other stays silent (The traitor goes free, the other gets 3 years), and the worst personally is to ''not'' betray while the other does. Therefore, the prisoners, who are both thinking only of themselves, will betray each other and each be charged for the larger crime, thus doubling the time both spend in prison because they just can't trust each other.

* Allen Drury's novel ''The Promise of Joy''. The Soviets and Chinese work together against the U.S. throughout most of the book, but near the end they start a limited nuclear war with each other.

* In ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'', Sauron doesn't dare let his orcs know he's looking for the Ring of Power (some orc would likely steal it). So he can't tell his armies, "If you find a hobbit, kill it and send any rings it has back to me." Instead, he orders them to take hobbits alive, and transport them (with all their possessions, even weapons) back to him. Naturally, this lets several hobbits escape from orcs at key moments--especially because while the orcs may not know what's so important, they ''do'' know that the captives are very valuable, so they end up fighting over the hobbits anyway.

** And this attitude spreads to their minions as well; along with whatever scheming is happening between the two factions in Bree, Shagrat and Gorbag the Orcs come to blows over prisoner Frodo and his possessions.

* In Jan Guillou's ''Ondskan'' (''The Evil'' in Swedish), the story starts with the young VillainProtagonist and his gang running several well-paying rackets at his school, including organized shoplifting at various record stores. Being rather clever, he's laid down a few ground rules for his gang to follow, including never hitting the same store more than once in a row; also, if anyone gets caught in any way, they are to keep their mouths shut no matter what, as the authorities can't punish them very much if they don't have anything solid to charge them with. When the goons end up working alone (as the protagonist is temporarily occupied otherwise), they quickly mess up by sealing from the same store several times in a row (thereby making the staff suspicious an going on alert) and get caught. They then throw the protagonist under the bus by revealing everything they've got going on and holding him responsible, insisting that he forced them to do it against their wills.

* All but the last of the thieving crews that Vin worked for in ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' consisted of backstabbers who betray anyone, in or out of the crew. Early in the first book, her crew teams up with another crew to rob some Ministry boats under the guise of genuine teamsters, but her crewleader accepts the down payment early and leaves the others out to dry. [[spoiler:The third book reveals that had they properly robbed the boats, they would have been unimaginably rich]]. When Vin realizes that something was wrong about the negotiation, she tries to run, but not before warning her only friend--who informs on her to the boss. The reason why Vin is attracted to [[HopeBringer Kelsier's]] crew is that they're genuine TrueCompanions who don't betray each other; she's shocked when [[GrumpyOldMan Clubs]] initially walks away from the job, and nobody tries to have him killed.

* ''Series/TheATeam'', "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E18ItsADesertOutThere It's a Desert Out There]]". Al Driscoll is the former leader of the Scorpions, but is planning on turning state's evidence on them. To prevent this, they're planning on stopping the bus he's taking to L.A. and killing him.

* ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'': The four villainous Greeeds certainly earn their name. Despite working together to reclaim their lost Core Medals, each have no compunctions about hoarding any they happen across that belong to the others, despite having no practical use for them. Even when called out on it, getting them to give up the stolen medals is tantamount to pulling teeth.

* In ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', the criminal community of Camden turns on Earl when he reports the theft of his car to the police, with Earl getting called a snitch. In the old days, the thieves would have returned the car to him as a courtesy to a fellow thief. Since Earl had gone straight, they felt that he was no longer covered by that code. However, when one of the criminals gets picked up on Earl's info, they in turn accuse another thief who has committed a more serious crime in order to get immunity. The cherry on top is that Earl figured out ''all'' the thieves giving him grief were snitching themselves because he noticed they each had an item from the drawer of cheap toys the cops offered him as a reward for snitching. So Earl makes sure he's standing outside the police station as they get released to show them he knows that they too have snitched, and that all their bragging of thieves "hanging together" is just that -- empty bragging.

* In one episode of ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'', [[SentientVehicle Storm Blaster]] managed to escape from Divatox's minions (having been taken prisoner along with Lightning Cruiser in the previous series. Divatox called Astronema, and asked (nicely) for her to keep an eye out for it, only for the current Princess of Evil to tell her straight out that she would ''keep'' it if she did find it. (This turned into a case of NiceJobFixingItVillain, because Storm Blaster quickly found Justin who attracted the current Rangers, who were able to rescue Lightning Cruiser too, despite Astronema's attempts to catch the escapee; if the two villains ''had'' cooperated, it might have been harder for the heroes.)

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In season 7, the [[EldritchAbomination Leviathans]] start killing off the other monster races, since they don't feel like sharing their food supply (namely humans).

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}''. Chaos, Orcs and Skaven especially.

* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' this is a staple of drow society, whether you're a thief, mercenary, ruler... basically anything. It's hard to find a drow who ''hasn't'' double-crossed an ally in order to get ahead. In their society, a drow who isn't good at stabbing people in the back is just going to be killed by someone who is. The ruler of the drow, Lolth, is a ChaoticEvil goddess who actively encourages ChronicBackstabbingDisorder in her people, so it's even hardcoded into their laws. In Lolth's mind, if you were cunning, wicked, powerful, and just plain murderous enough to kill someone in the name of power, then you clearly deserved that power and the vicitm deserved to die for being too weak. The drow captial city of Menzoberranzan is a WretchedHive as a result, to the point where Lolth has had to personally step in when the drow got a little too murdery and backstabby for their own good.[[invoked]]
* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' setting, the yugoloths are a race of greedy Lower Planar merchants who work for both sides of the eternal Blood War (or pretty much anyone else who will pay them) and they show no loyalty to ''anyone''. A yugoloth is willing to betray his employer at the drop of a hat if the employer's enemy offers more money, and would abandon the mission in a heartbeat if its life was threatened. The worst part is, this is hardly a secret, but the demons and devils keep hiring them, mostly because no-one else is willing to be their suppliers, agents, and hired troops. (Some stories and sources hint that the leaders of the yugoloths do this because they are engineering the entire Blood War and prolonging it on purpose as a grand experiment to discover which type of Evil is superior.)
* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', The Orzhov Syndicate (or any White/Black pairing, really) tries to marry Black's greed and individualism with White's selflessness and collectivism by having having a council of ghosts running the guild, but keeping that council small. In theory, this group of individuals each view the other members as an extension of themselves, and act that way in kind. In practice, however, you get this trope; Each individual would gladly backstab the group and strike out on their own, but they can't handle the sudden loss of their power base coupled with having the rest of the group unified against them. So the guild continues on in this mockery of teamwork, because they can't afford not to.

* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}''. In game, merely used as an excuse for CivilWarcraft, the later backstory makes it clear that [[TheHorde the Orcish Horde]] lost the second war because Gul'dan and Orcish clans loyal to him abandoned the Warchief at a decisive moment in favor of Gul'dan's own plans to find [[SealedEvilInACan Sargeras]].

** ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves'' (go figure). From the get-go there's all kinds of back-stabbing and betrayals going on, even from our hero, Nathan Drake. Good thing [[SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan Elena]] shows up to set him straight.

* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' Tommy Vercetti believes that among the family nothing is more important than [[HonorAmongThieves honor and loyalty]]. However as the story progresses he soon realizes he was very much alone in this belief as Sonny has screwed him at every turn.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': According to the manual backstory, Ganondorf and his band of thieves found the entrance to the Sacred Realm and the Triforce together. Then, instead of sharing the power, the thieves turned against one another in order to claim the Triforce uncontested. Ganondorf emerged victorious, and touched the Triforce with the blood of his followers still fresh in his hands.

* Despite the fact that the various monsters in ''VideoGame/PumpkinJack'' are the Devil's making and Jack is on a mission on the Devil's behalf, monsters still make-up the majority of enemies. This is explained that the monsters are mindless and soulless, thus all they care about is causing destruction with no sense of loyalty.

* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': Starfish, a murderer whose buisness is kidnapping people into slavery, gleefully kills one of his own wounded men. Ana and Toby plot to turn on their criminal boss Stockyard, who in turn murders Toby rather than properly question a man who had long been his friend and followed him across borders to start a new criminal enteprise together. In general the criminals are constantly back-stabbing each other, and in Sharteshane, where criminals are running the show, it is common for gangs to be overtaken when their boss is killed by one of their own underlings.

** Throughout the series and ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', the villains try forming a Secret Society/Legion of Doom multiple times, but it always fails because their bickering and conflicting goals leads to at least one of them backstabbing the others.

** In the episode "Lisa's First Word", it is revealed that Grandpa won his house in a rigged 60's game show, and he proudly says, "I ratted on everyone and got away scot-free!"
** In "Bart the Murderer", Bart gains the favor of the local mafia, making them drinks and even becoming accomplice to some minor crimes. Once they're suspected of killing Bart's principal (which turns out to have never happened), the mob immediately make Bart their FallGuy, [[EasilyCondemned with an absurd amount of success]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Welcome To Genosha": after the attempted mass breakout is foiled, Cameron Hodge reveals the informer who grassed on the entire prison- Gambit! But when he is put into a jeep with two mooks and sent to the other end of the island, he is freed after the jeep is blown up and the mooks killed by...Cable! Who takes his restraining collar off and then TRUSTS HIM WITH THE KEY, telling to go back to the prison and free all the other mutants with it.

** Subverted obviously on the thief part, but it has been claimed by others before that The Seperations of Powers of the United States Government apparently unintentionally evokes this. The Founding Fathers believed that all forms of government, even a Republic, would eventually be corrupted. The limits on each branch's powers and abilities generally mean that the Government is too busy fighting itself to turn onto the people. In order for anything to happen in the Federal Government, it must meet the approval of a majority of 545 individuals (100 Senators, 435 Representatives, Nine Supreme Court Justices, and One President) to work a law of the land. That's not getting into pleasing constituency that can vote to kick out the bums and put in someone who will do the job proper. And we're not getting into UsefulNotes/AmericanFederalism that can also gum up the system. Considering that even with a single party majority party rule, it's very difficult to push through changes through.

** Taken to the extreme with Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski. While its debateable if he was a hitman who did jobs for the mafia, one thing everyone agrees on, is how he used to set up potential buyers of illegal goods, only to murder them and steal the money they brought to make the deal.

* In ''Literature/TheStainlessSteelRat'' when Inskipp drafts [=DiGriz=] into the Special Corps to catch worse criminals. The Rat baulks at the idea of becoming a rat, saying that even crooks have a code. Inskipp points out that [=DiGriz=] has [[IWorkAlone always worked alone]] and so he's never met another crook, and if he did he'd gladly turn him in for the reward money.

%%* ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}''

* In the ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' story "A Little Knowledge", a small-time crook discovers the secret identity of local crimefighter Jack-In-The-Box. As he tries to figure out how to use this for his gain, he becomes worried that his colleagues will also find out... and screw him out of the proceeds.