History WorthyOpponent / Literature

* ''Literature/SpinningSilver'': The [[OurElvesAreDifferent Staryk king]] comes to see [[GuileHero Miryem]] as this after she bests his seemingly impossible task of turning all of the silver within three enormous store rooms into gold. While she manages to transform the silver in the first two rooms within the deadline, she realizes that she'll never manage to do the third, so she [[TakeAThirdOption instead has the servant cart the remaining silver out of the third store room, leaving it empty]]. Meaning she has [[ExactWords technically satisfied their agreement]]. He's so impressed with the act, that it's what finally causes him to see her as an equal as opposed to another [[CantArgueWithElves puny mortal]].

** In ''Literature/DarkLordTheRiseOfDarthVader'', Roan Shryne and Darth Vader come to see each other as this. On Vader's side, this seems to be because Shryne reminds him of the Jedi he used to be, and [[spoiler:he considers killing Shryne to have brought him closer to the dark side]]. When they finally duel, they are evenly matched in swordsmanship, and [[spoiler:Vader only wins by withdrawing and using {{telekinesis}} to throw a storm of planks and splinters at Shryne]].

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Foundation'' has at least three Worthy Opponents. Two are individuals: Bel Riose, general for the doomed Empire, and the magnificent Mule. Both fight honorably, respect their opponent (the Foundation itself, rather than any one individual), and are honestly trying to do their best to improve conditions for everyone in the Galaxy. The third is the Second Foundation. The two Foundations are both mirrors and inversions for each other. They function as allies and rivals, and the relationship changes a great deal over the course of several books.

* The marlin that nearly kills Santiago in ''Literature/TheOldManAndTheSea'' is strongly portrayed this way.

* In Creator/BernardNewman's SecondWorldWar thriller ''Literature/MaginotLineMurder'' the idiosyncratic French detective PapaPontivy and his British partner (the writer's namesake) are confronted with a mutilated corpse found in a fortress of the MaginotLine in the tense time of July 1939, just prior to the outbreak of war. With virtually no shred of proof, Pontivy follows his hunch - that a French officer with a seemingly impeccable record is in fact a German spy, who had committed the murder in order to protect his secret. Gradually Pontivy and Newman do find pieces of evidence pointing to a highly resourceful spy, whose true name was Schmidt, who originally enlisted in the FrenchForeignLegion, took the identity of a French officer killed while on colonial duty in Morocco, came to Metropolitan France and gained an appointment to the sensitive Maginot Line - there to start a major espionage and sabotage network. The more Pontivy and Newman discover of him, the greater their respect and indeed admiration for a man who was able to carry out to perfection such an elaborate masquerade over years upon years, alone among his country's enemies. This is reflected in the dialogue when they finally come to arrest him. "What can I say? You won, Monsieur Pontivy. Take me, I have to pay for my failure. But don't hold me in contempt. All that I did, I did for my country". "I don't contempt you, I admire your courage. That is why I came to arrest you in person. (...) I am not too happy about this business. You are too good for the guillotine. You have served your country with great courage, it is not your fault that you failed. I can't regard you as a common murderer." - "Thank you". -" I have here your pistol, with a single bullet in the chamber. If you want, we can go out and leave you alone in this room". - "I am not afraid, but it is sad to die alone. I don't suppose you would want to shake the hand of a German spy?" - "I would not shake the hand of a German spy, but gladly would I shake the hand of a brave man!" Pontivy and Newman shake the doomed man's hand and leave. When the fatal shot rings out, the tough Pontivy wipes a tear, muttering "There goes a man! I wish we could have let him escape...". Adding to the story's poignant end is the fact that a few months after it was published in London, Germany launched its great armored offensive, effortlessly bypassing the supposedly impregnable Maginot Line and occupying France. Thus, the present-day reader knows that but for Pontivy's gallant gesture, the spy Schmidt would have spent a few months in a French prison and then been liberated by his country's army in June 1940.

* In his poem [[http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/american_rebellion.html "The American Rebellion"]] Creator/RudyardKipling wrote of Washington and King Georege's soldiers: "Each for his land, in a fair fight,/Encountered, strove, and died,/And the kindly earth that knows no spite/Covers them side by side."

* Irene Adler to ''Literature/SherlockHolmes''.

** Also, Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty: at their fateful last encounter, gentleman Moriarty lets Holmes write a farewell letter to Watson before starting their fight to the death, and Holmes knows he can trust Moriarty to wait patiently until the letter is finished and not to push him into the nearby falls while his attention is on the paper.
** We have John Clay in ''The Red-Headed League'', who is so hard to catch that he and Holmes never see each other until the story. This trope kicks in near the end-Clay outright praises Holmes for his arrangements and quick thinking, while Holmes compliments Clay for his excellent scheme and how close it came to succeeding. Furthermore, although Clay is outright rude to Inspector Jones, he bows to Holmes and Watson as he heads off to jail.

** Supervillains are careful to cultivate this reputation with superheroes. That way, when they inevitably retire, they'll be treated well instead of hunted down in revenge. Villains who get too violent (especially against children) find themselves fighting Mourning Dove, [[TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch who is notoriously bad at bringing in opponents alive]].

* Lancer and Saber in ''LightNovel/FateZero''. Neither one is really a bad ''or'' good guy, they just happen to be on opposite sides pursuing the same goal. And their Masters are both a lot less noble.
** Another example would be Rider and Archer. While Rider is generally affable and respectful against everyone (including the aforementioned Lancer and Saber) unless they show themselves as despicable, Archer is an incredible elitist who considers Rider one of the only beings in the world worth actually respecting. They consider each other worthy opponents to the point that before their final clash, they stop to finish their wine and have one last conversation before each casually walks to the starting positions of the duel.

* RudyardKipling's ''The Ballad of East and West'' is a prolonged exploration of this trope, culminating in the purportedly villainous character being so impressed with his enemy that he sends his own son to serve as the hero's bodyguard.

* In his poem [[http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/american_rebellion.html "The American Rebellion"]] RudyardKipling wrote of Washington and King Georege's soldiers: "Each for his land, in a fair fight,/Encountered, strove, and died,/And the kindly earth that knows no spite/Covers them side by side."

* In post-apocalyptic ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', Hauptsturmfuehrer Halsing of the neo-Nazi Landwehr proves to be this in his interactions with protagonist John Rumford. While Rumford and the rest of the Northern Confederation quite despise the Nazi ideology, Halsing's resourcefulness, erudition, politeness and unselfish devotion to his own cause earn him their grudging respect when they capture him. He seemingly reciprocates the feeling after escaping.

* In post-apocalyptic ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', Hauptsturmfuehrer Halsing of the neo-Nazi Landwehr proves this in his interactions with protagonist John Rumford. While Rumford and the rest of the Northern Confederation quite despise the Nazi ideology, Halsing's resourcefulness, erudition, politeness and unselfish devotion to his own cause earn him their grudging respect when they capture him. He seemingly reciprocates the feeling after escaping.

* In the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series, BigBad Visser Three is revealed to see [[TakeUpMySword Prince Elfangor]] this way. Later, he comes to regard team leader Jake as such too, repeatedly complimenting his tiger morph. Near the very end of the series, a former hostage of the enemy says they should listen to Jake- a sixteen year old boy- because he's the only person Visser Three is afraid of.

* In the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series, BigBad Visser Three is revealed to see [[TakeUpMySword Prince Elfangor]] this way. Later, he comes to regard team leader Jake as such too, repeatedly complimenting his tiger morph. Near the very end of the season a former hostage of the enemy says they should listen to Jake, a sixteen year old boy, because he's the only person Visser Three is afraid of.

* The Earl of Thirsk is regarded by the protagonists in ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'' to be the single most dangerous commander the enemy has. Given that he was able to score the first victories against the otherwise [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomping]] Imperial Charisian Navy, this assessment is completely justified.