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"I have something called Osteogenesis Imperfecta. It's a genetic disorder. I don't make a particular protein very well and it makes my bones very low in density, very easy to break. I've had 54 breaks in my life... So that's how it popped into my head. If there is someone like me in the world, and I'm at one end of the spectrum, couldn't there be someone else, the opposite of me at the other end? Someone who doesn't get sick, who doesn't get hurt like the rest of us?"
— Elijah Price to David Dunn, Unbreakable

Films with their own pages

  • The live-action remake of Aladdin clearly establishes Aladdin and Jafar as foils to each other, as Jafar reveals that he was once a street thief like Aladdin (stealing a pendant Aladdin had previously borrowed from Jasmine to demonstrate his skills), to the point that Jafar uses his pickpocketing skills to steal the lamp from Aladdin. However, while Aladdin and Jafar each express a desire for respect beyond their humble origins, Aladdin never seeks that respect at the expense of others and is content to just be comfortable rather than all-powerful, while Jafar will never be satisfied unless he is at the top of the table and controls everyone else.
  • The Batman (2022): Batman and the Riddler. Batman is a violent vigilante capable of using his intellect to track down criminals, while the Riddler is a genius who unraveled a conspiracy but can use deadly targeted violence when the situation calls for it. Batman works in the shadows and never explains himself to bystanders, the Riddler sets up a streaming site and leaves plenty of clues so that everyone knows why he is doing what he's doing. Batman never kills, the Riddler only kills. This all culminates near the end, when we find out that the Riddler thought they were allies. He assumed that Batman had the exact same motives and goals as he did, and that he was helping the Riddler upset the corrupt officials and make them easier to kill on purpose. This is part of what leads Batman to realize he needs to lean away from the Terror Hero and become a Hope Bringer if the city has any chance of real change—again contrasting the Riddler, who doesn't care that his actions will lead to nothing but death and destruction.
  • In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, there's Batman and Superman, a dark Badass Normal vigilante who relies on fear and terror contrasted with a superpowered alien who tries to bring light and hope. There's as much foils as Bruce and Clark, a billionaire whose only family is a surrogate father figure in Alfred, contrasted with a reporter who lives in a fairly small apartment with his girlfriend, and whose family is his adoptive mother. Even there personas are foils — the "Bruce Wayne" that the world sees is false, he's really himself when he's Batman, whereas while the Superman persona isn't completely false, Clark is much more himself when he's just Clark, putting on a more authoriative and confident persona as Superman.
  • The Sesame Street film Big Bird in Japan has Big Bird and Barkley get lost in Japan. Along the way, they meet a girl who turns out to be the Bamboo Princess from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Big Bird desperately wants to get home and dreads that he'll never be able to, while the girl dreads going back home to the Moon but knows it's inevitable, that it's her destiny.
  • Bird Box: Malorie and Olympia, the two pregnant characters. Olympia mentions that Malorie is much tougher than she is, as she considers herself soft and spoiled. They even look very different; Malorie is thin and brunette, while Olympia is blonde and chubby.
  • Blue Bayou: Parker is a contrast to Antonio. In contrast to the poor, scruffy illegal immigrant Antonio, Parker is an elegant woman with a big, loving family who obtained citizenship through refugee status. However, the two bond over how they're both running out of time, as well as their shared Asian-American backgrounds.
  • Blue Is the Warmest Color:
    • Adèle and Emma to each other. The former is a more naive, plain-spoken woman from a poorer background, the latter middle class, cerebral and very cultured.
    • Emma serves as this for Thomas, Adèle's boyfriend Thomas before the two meet, in terms of how they satisfy her or fail to. Adèle's lovemaking with Thomas and her discontented reaction afterwards compared to the overwhelming tears that she had after she and Emma make love for the first time.
    • Emma and Adèle's dinner with Emma's mom and stepfather who are supportive of her homosexuality and passion in art, compared to Adèle's parents when the couple had dinner at their home. Adèle's parents are more concerned with practical matters such as money and prioritizing it over one's artistic pursuits. Additionally, her father is apparently reserved about Emma's tomboyish appearance.
    • Cocky, suave, and flirtatious Emma in the bar, compared to the older, sensitive, and more quiet Emma in the café.
  • Rachel and Michael in Crazy Rich Asians contrast how different she and he react as a lower-class person dating the richest of the rich. Where Michael lets it break them and makes them miserable, insecure and bitter, Rachel faces it head on and becomes stronger for it and proves their value to the Young-Leong family.
  • The Crossing draws this kind of contrast between the Continental Army and the Hessians. The Hessians (as several people remind Washington) are disciplined, uniformed, well-equipped and professional soldiers. The Continental Army doesn't even all speak the same language, its leaders are often fractious, and the men's lack of uniform is matched by their present lack of spirit. Washington factors this into his desperate plan, betting that the Hessians will be flummoxed if they're attacked before they can form up into their disciplined battle lines—and this plays out in the battle. The Continentals don't bother forming up and just attack while the Hessians are still getting dressed and falling in.
  • Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari in Ford v Ferrari. Both are heads of massive automobile companies that bear their surname. However, while Ford prefers to sit in his office most of the time, Ferrari prefers to sit in his factory, nearby the Scuderia Ferrari racing cars. Ford leaves with his wife in a helicopter for dinner part way through the Le Mans race, while Ferrari stays for the entire race to watch his team, even after all of his cars have crashed out of the race. However, while Ferrari berates his pit crew when they make a mistake, Ford calmly asks what is wrong, such as when Ken's door would not shut at the start of the race.
  • Forrest Gump: Lieutenant Dan Taylor to Forrest. Lieutenant Dan is extremely intelligent albeit utterly fatalistic (his family has lost a man in each war US has been in) and has incredibly bad luck. Eventually him getting crippled but surviving the war breaks the vicious cycle of his family, and he and Forrest form a team where he is the brain and Forrest is the heart. Marrying a Vietnamese girl later in the film implies Dan has finally made peace with his past.
  • Freddy vs. Jason: Freddy and Jason's differences come into sharp relief now that they're in a movie together. Jason was killed by drowning while Freddy was burned to death. Freddy is a sadist who loves to play with his prey before killing them and draws out their suffering, while Jason's kills, though brutal, are quick and sudden. Freddy is loud, bombastic, and darkly humorous while Jason is quiet and deadly serious. Freddy can kill anyone anywhere on earth so long as they dream, requiring an elaborate conspiracy to keep him from killing, while Jason only stalks Camp Crystal Lake and won't bother anyone beyond its borders unless forced. During their final duel, Freddy uses every dirty trick he can think of, while Jason plows forward to beat the crap out of him.
  • In Halloween (2018), Doctor Sartian is essentially this to Doctor Loomis, as both of them are clearly obsessed with Michael beyond what is expected or healthy for a doctor/patient relationship; however, while Loomis was obsessed with keeping Michael contained while adhering to the letter of the law, Sartian is so obsessed with understanding Michael's warped psychology that he not only may have contributed to Michael's escape, but later kills a police officer who was about to kill Michael so that he can try to understand how Michael might feel when he kills, followed by Sartian taking the unconscious Michael to Laurie's house so that he can see what happens when they face off again.
    • As well as this, the character of Vicky in this film can also be seen as a foil to Annie in the first film. Both are babysitters who initially appear as not being the least bit interested in their charges, instead aiming to use the empty house to host her boyfriend and friends to get high. However, unlike Annie, Vicky genuinely cares about her charge Julian, even telling him he's her favourite kid at one point, and stops making out with her boyfriend to make sure he's alright after she hears noises, in sharp contrast to Annie's self-interested attitude towards Lynsey. When said noises turn out to be Michael, she even tells Julian to run as Michael attacks her, essentially sacrificing herself to give the boy time to run down the stairs and out of the house.
  • Hearts Beat Loud: Frank and Sam; Frank is stuck in the past whereas Sam is looking forward to the future and open to new experiences. In time, both characters come to understand each others' perspectives as Frank starts to realize how to move on and Sam understands that moving on is hard, as she falls in love with Rose but has to leave for school.
  • In the British Cult Classic Highlander, MacLeod is an honourable and good man who has had many friends and loved ones over the course of his immortal life, such as Heather, Ramirez, Brenda and Kastagir. The Kurgan on the flip side only sees mortals and immortals as potential victims. MacLeod used his immortal life to learn about the world and grow as a person, while the Kurgan remained unchanged over the centuries. Conversely, MacLeod is somewhat tormented over his immortal existence and all the people he has lost, while the Kurgan believes that Living Forever Is Awesome, perhaps because unlike his rival he has no love or empathy for others.
  • In The Hobbit, Radagast the Brown provides a Foil to the kind of wizard Saruman would become in The Lord of the Rings. Radagast is a gentle and humble Druid-like fellow who lives alone in the woods in a ramshackle cabin which appears to have been torn down and rebuilt multiple times to accomodate the growing tree in the centre of it. Saruman meanwhile operates from his Evil Tower of Ominousness and only sees trees and nature as resources to be ruthlessly plundered for fuelling his industry, an approach that eventually bites him in the ass massively.
  • I Dream In Another Language: Lluvia to Martín. While the former does not care at all about preserving the old Zikril language and wants to learn English so she can get a job in the United States, the latter intends on keeping Zikril alive at all costs, even if it ends up leading to heightened tension between the last two speakers of the language.
    • Evaristo to Isauro. The former is hot-headed, refuses to communicate in Zikril even though he knows how to speak it, and only thinks about the future, while the latter is calm, only speaks Zikril, and is happy to associate himself with the language and its culture.
  • James Bond:
    • Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond's biggest Arch-Enemy, serves as an Evil Counterpart to both M and Bond.
    • The World Is Not Enough: Elektra King and M are powerful women who have very different ways of exercising control within a patriarchal system. Elektra overuses her femininity to manipulate the men around her, whereas M suppresses her femininity to maintain her authority over her employees (especially male chauvinists like Bond); when handling Elektra's kidnapping, M even explicitly states that she went against her instincts as a mother.
    • Skyfall: Raoul Silva is basically an anti-Bond. He possesses similar skills and tactics, has a similar past, and was also screwed by M. What sets them apart is that Bond forgave his adopted "mother" and remains loyal to her, while Silva became a Rogue Agent and attempts to kill her. The nature of Bond's job as a Professional Killer means that he is basically being eaten alive from the inside out by guilt, and he knows that he is basically forfeiting his soul in the name of patriotism, but he can hold himself together, whereas Silva [[spoiler:snapped when put to the same test.
    • No Time to Die: Bond's replacement as 007 after his retirement, Nomi, is almost his exact opposite, and this leads to a lot of antagonistic banter between them before they settle on being Vitriolic Best Buds. Aside from the surface level difference of Bond being a middle-aged white man while Nomi is a young black woman, Nomi is an ambitious and enthusiastic By-the-Book Cop, while Bond is a Knight in Sour Armor Cowboy Cop who frequently rejects authority. Nomi's car, the Aston Martin DBS, is a modern version of Bond's classic DB5, highlighting their young up-and-comer versus old guard dynamic.
  • Juice: Highlighted in an argument between Bishop and Q. While Bishop wants to gain respect through fear so that no one will mess with him, Q wants to earn respect legitimately (presumably through other passions like DJing).
  • The Jungle Book (2016):
    • Bagheera to Shere Khan. They are both big and fiercely determined felines well-known in the jungle and tied to Mowgli's life. While Shere Khan is feared because of his savage nature and utter disregard of the laws of the jungle, Bagheera respects those laws to the point of near dogmatism and is respected as a result. They both have a certain amount of alienation towards humanity, but while Shere Khan is openly hostile towards the mankind and adamantly wants Mowgli dead, Bagheera would rather keep the jungle and the things related to the Man separated, resulting in him forbidding Mowgli from utilizing his human ability in making tools.
    • Bagheera to Baloo. Whereas Bagheera is rule-abiding, reserved and easily irritated, Baloo is easy-going, more charming and has little qualms (at the beginning at least) to use Mowgli - and previous to him other animals - to get honey for him. The bear also encourages Mowgli to use his tricks and be himself, while Bagheera forbids him the use of his tools and wants Mowgli to behave more like a wolf.
    • Baloo to King Louie. During Mowgli's journey to the Man-Village, both take an initial interests in Mowgli's abilities for selfish reasons: Baloo for a easier way to get access to food and Louie in hopes of learning the secret to create fire. They both put on an affable facade in order to win over Mowgli's trust. And they both also happen to be some of the largest animals in the jungle. The difference is that Baloo gets legitimately attached to Mowgli and even shows him the way to the Man-Village if he really wants to leave. Louie more-or-less holds Mowgli hostage, stating that he'll offer him protection in exchange for learning how to make fire.
    • Baloo to Shere Khan to a lesser extent. While Baloo often speaks against the Jungle Law, referring to it as "propaganda" and stating that it was made to be "bent and reinterpreted", he still follows it, and is the first to recite it in the climax. However, while Shere Khan speaks of the law, for example pointing out that man is forbidden in the jungle, he truly holds little regard for it and violates it whenever it suits him.
  • In the Jurassic Park franchise, Owen Grady is basically a Good Counterpart to Robert Muldoon. Both are park employees hired to work with the raptors. The difference is Muldoon is a grim Kenyan Great White Hunter who views the Velociraptors as Worthy Opponents and wants them all exterminated, while Owen is a cheerful Fluffy Tamer who imprints on his Velociraptors and has a special relationship with them based on mutual respect.
  • The Leopard Man: Rival dancers Kiki and Flo-Clo. Kiki is an emotionally reserved, financially successful Caucasian woman from out of town and needs publicity stunts to stand out. Clo-Clo is a local Mexican woman who is hard up for money but depends on her talent and has a sunnier disposition.
  • The Lord of the Rings: Éowyn and Faramir are both stuck in roles that don't match their personality. She is a shieldmaiden who wishes to earn renown and glory on the battlefield, but she's always ordered to stay behind and care for the women and children, so the duties that come with her gender make her feel like she's trapped inside a cage. He's a man of peace who is required by circumstances to be a man of war, and because his inclination is more cerebral than martial (he's called a "wizard's pupil" in the Extended Edition, and he admits to Pippin that warfare never suited him), this results in him being The Un-Favourite of his father. Éowyn and Faramir lose a brother figure (Théodred and Boromir) and their father figure (Théoden and Denethor). They're both gravely wounded in battle, and their injuries force them to stay behind while their allies march to the Black Gate of Mordor.
  • The Lost Daughter: Callisto is an excited, expectant mother who is naturally nurturing. This contrasts her with her relative Nina, a younger and exhausted mother, and the older Leda, who has regrets about the way she raised her own kids.
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe:
    • The heart of much of the humor and drama in The Avengers is the similarities and differences of the leads.
      • Steve Rogers vs. Tony Stark: Both are tied to Howard Stark and motivated by a sense of American patriotism and to bring peace. But where Steve is idealistic, sweet-natured, well-mannered and uses his intelligence to defeat his enemies, Tony is cynical, snarkish, rude and rushes in to fight.
      • Bruce Banner vs. Tony Stark: Both are genius scientists with genuine respect for each other. They both have a dark side, but they have different personalities. Bruce is mild and cautious to control his id while Tony's flamboyance and irresponsibility are the tip of his self-destructive behavior.
      • Steve Rogers vs. Thor: Both are old-fashioned in ideals and aesthetics, initially unease on modern Earth and are driven with a sense of duty for their homeland.
      • Doctor Stephen Strange vs Tony Stark: Both start out as being self-centered, reckless men who care about pleasure and success until a life-changing accident brings them down a few pegs. The difference is Tony (as Iron Man) uses technology while Strange uses Magic. Additionally, Stark gets the chance to stroke his own ego for good by becoming a beloved superhero, while Strange learns humility by fighting battles kept away from the public eye.
      • Loki himself has traits that resonate or clash with each of the Avengers. He's from Asgard and of royalty (Thor). He's clever and loves theatrics (Tony). He manipulates emotions (Bruce). He blatantly disregards human life and freedom (Steve). He lacks empathy (Black Widow) and disregards free will (Hawkeye).
    • In Guardians of the Galaxy, Yondu Udonta serves as a foil to Thanos on a personal level. Both have a fearsome reputation, and "adopt" alien children and raise them to serve their own agendas (Peter as a Ravager and Gamora/Nebula as Thanos's personal muscle) and eventually their adopted kids betray both of them. However, Yondu genuinely cares about Peter, while Thanos abuses Gamora and Nebula. Most importantly Yondu sacrifices himself to save Peter while Thanos sacrifices Gamora for his own gains.
    • In Ant-Man, Scott and Hank. Hank is a gruff Jerkass, a respected scientist, an experienced hero, and a widower with a poor relationship with his daughter. Scott is a cheerful Nice Guy, a rookie hero, has a criminal record, and is a divorced man but has an excellent relationship with his daughter.
    • In Captain America: Civil War, both Peter Parker and T'Challa are independent superheroes noted for their agility who side with Tony Stark to catch Steve and Bucky. However, Peter regularly makes quips, wears a red and blue costume, worships the Avengers, comes from a relatively poor background and joins Tony out of a desire for adventure. In contrast, T'Challa hardly expresses himself, wears a black and silver suit, distrusts the Avengers, was born into a wealthy royal family and joins Tony to avenge the death of his father.
    • Black Panther
      • Nakia and Killmonger. Both make the argument that Wakanda should use its power and resources to improve the lives of black people everywhere. However, Nakia actually believes it, while Killmonger is the Big Bad because he's mostly using his stated agenda as an excuse to grab power and get some payback on the world that hurt him.
      • Nakia and Okoye. Both are Action Girls who accompany T'Challa and offer advice on Wakanda's role for the future. However, Nakia is a spy who wants to open up Wakanda to help oppressed black people around the world while Okoye is a bodyguard who believes Wakanda should look after its traditions and people first and foremost. When Killmonger defeats T'Challa to take the throne of Wakanda, Nakia immediately moves to betray him, while Okoye insists she must remain loyal to the throne no matter who sits on it. They even have different fighting styles with Nakia using guns, ring blades, her high heels, and anything she can her hands on, while Okoye prefers using only the traditional Vibranium spear.
  • M.F.A.: Detective Kennedy to Noelle. He doesn't agree with vigilantism, saying it could never be justified and even if her victims were rapists that doesn't excuse murdering them. Shane, on the other hand, is one for the rapists themselves. Unlike them he's nice, but even more, makes sure that Noelle is fully consenting while they're moving toward having sex. When she breaks things off (triggered by a flashback of her rape) and orders him to leave, he does this at once. Later he says it's unneeded when she apologizes.
  • The Mummy Returns: Rick and Evey O'Connell are this to Imhotep and Anck-su-namun. Best shown in the climax of the film: When the Scorpion King's temple is collapsing and Rick and Imhotep are dangling over a ledge over an abyss into the afterlife, Rick pleads Evey to just run and save herself and Evey braves the falling debris to come save him. Imhotep pleads to Anck-su-namun to come save him... and Anck-su-namun just books it. Anck-su-namun buys it falling into a scorpion pit on the way out, poor Imhotep lets go of the ledge after giving Rick and Evey a last admiring look, and the O'Connells make it out alive. The selfless and loving couple are rewarded with life, and the selfish couple who didn't want to die are rewarded with death.
  • Nightfall (1988): Sor and Aton have a number of similarities. Sor is a blind man leading a religion, while Aton is a visionary scientist who leads the city. Aton privately admits to "that woman" that when he was younger, he used to have poor vision and blackouts. He noticed that his eyesight improved as he studied astronomy by watching the stars. This is the inverse to Sor, who deliberately blinds the people who follow him so they won't see the Darkness during the upcoming nightfall. The two leaders give charismatic speeches to their followers and engage in debates multiple times throughout the film. Roa used to be married to Aton, but Sor has seduced her away and makes her his equal in their religion.
  • In Pacific Rim, Mako and Chuck are both young and exceptionally talented pilots with varying issues with their fathers. Mako initially made a rude comment about Raleigh when she first meets him. Chuck was initially friendly with Raleigh (or as friendly Chuck could be) but when he found out Raleigh worked on the Kaiju Wall, he became rude and condescending to Raleigh. Whereas Mako immediately learned from her mistakes and treated Raleigh much nicer, it took Chuck a little longer to respect Raleigh.
  • The young, muscular, stupid and aggressive Daniel Lugo is hunted by the old, frail, cunning and even-tempered Ed Du Bois in Pain & Gain.
  • Pirates of the Caribbean:
  • Prey: Naru is a young Comanche woman intent to prove herself as a huntress, and the Feral Predator is implied (and confirmed by the director) to be an Unblooded participating in its first hunt on Earth. Naru has some early missteps in the first act (in fact she nearly dies three times, which makes the male warriors' protesting her participation somewhat a case of Strawman Has a Point) but demonstrates over the film that she is actually rather clever and resourceful, using Awesomeness by Analysis to create new weapons and tactics on the fly based on what she learns over the story. The Feral Predator, on the other hand, just relies on its alien physiology and advanced technology to defeat its enemies and grows more reckless and arrogant with each kill; it eschews stealth and ranged weaponry in favour of direct confrontation in melee, makes clear tactical blunders which allow its enemies to score multiple wounds against it, and seemingly does not understand how the laser targeting system of its speargun works. One prospective hunter grows and develops, the other doesn't.
  • Reservoir Dogs
  • Rocky uses Paulie and Rocky as foils to each other over the entire franchise, with Rocky certainly seeming like a better man when next to Paulie.
    • Rocky exemplifies Dumb Is Good. Additionally, he is physically fit, generally well-meaning, learns from every encounter, optimistic, idealistic, and forgiving (especially of Paulie). Rocky has no envy and is genuinely welcoming to everyone. He earns success despite his limitations through very hard work and grit. He also shows off good ol' salt-of-the-earth working-class values. He treats Adrian with affection and rarely speaks ill of anyone.
    • Paulie is a lower-class scumbag. He is overweight and aging, violent, frequently drunk, jealous of Rocky and others, judgmental, racially intolerant, and prone to falling for get-rich-quick schemes. Paulie never learns no matter how often he is proven to be wrong. He frequently feels entitled despite showing no real merit and never being shown to work hard for what he wants. He lashes out often at Rocky despite riding Rocky's coat-tails to a better life. He is terrible to Adrian. Paulie also has a hell of a mouth, often taunting professional boxers face-to-face. Paulie is so scuzzy he makes it easier to forget that in the first movie, Rocky was a leg-breaker for a loan shark or bookie, and Paulie's conflict with Rocky was that Paulie wanted to be a leg-breaker while Rocky wanted out.
  • In Searching, David and Detective Vick are both parents who can and will become a Papa Wolf and Mama Bear to their children respectively while dealing with their own worries regarding their kids. David doesn't seem to know anything about Margot while Vick knows her son very well. Vick was willing to do anything to protect her son, even going as far as framing and killing someone. David was pretty close to doing so himself, accusing his brother of preying on Margot and assaulting a teenager for making a tasteless joke about Margot's disappearance, but ultimately learns from his mistakes.
  • SHAZAM! (2019):
    • Billy is an age-shifting Kid Hero who is Wise Beyond His Years. Sivana is a petty Psychopathic Man Child who refuses to move on from the slights he received as a child. Their personal trinkets also contrast each other, as both are objects associated with finding a desired outcome. Billy's compass keychain points you to the right direction. Sivana's Magic 8-Ball only tells you what you want to hear at best.
    • The Sivana family and the Vasquez family. Sivana's biological family are abusive and belittle him constantly, blaming him for things beyond his control. The Vasquez family are a supportive, loving family to Billy despite not being related.
    • There is also the contrast between the Vasquez couple and Billy's biological mother. Whereas Rosa and Victor actively wanted to be involved in Billy's life and showed him and each other unconditional love and kindness, Billy's mother doesn't want anything to do with Billy, even coldly rejecting an embrace from the latter, and is in an unhappy relationship.
  • In Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) we have Agent Stone to Dr. Robotnik. While the "good doctor" is a sadistic scenery-chowing misanthropic sociopath with a volume setting that's all over the place and aspirations to Take Over the World, Stone is an unremarkably normal soft-spoken person that seems like a decent guy who takes everything his boss does completely for granted.
    Robotnik: CAN YOU FEEL IT, STONE?!
    Stone: I can feel it, doctor.
  • Star Wars
    • Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in A New Hope. The former is a young naive hero who trusts the Force, while the other is the older, cynical, streetwise anti-hero who prefers to trust his gut and some cold hard steel.
    • Kylo Ren to Rey in The Force Awakens. Aside from being the Villain, where she's The Hero, they contrast each other in many ways. Rey was abandoned by her family, and waited over a decade with the promise that they would return. Ren came from a Heroic Lineage, but his seduction to the Dark Side culminated with him betraying his family and slaughtering his fellow apprentices. Throughout the film, Rey comes to view Han Solo as a father figure, while Ren, Han's biological son, makes a desperate attempt to sever all ties to him by killing him.
    • Also, Rey to Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker. Palpatine is ultimately destroyed by his own obsession with staying an all-powerful galactic monarch for eternity, while Rey refuses his offer to take his throne, in doing so letting go of her obsession with her biological family and remaining just herself. In doing so Rey discovers that her family is her friends and tutors whom were always there for her, while Palpatine never had any real friends, only brainwashed people who bowed before him and did his bidding.
    • Rogue One:
      • Orson Krennic and Darth Vader. Krennic wears a flashy white tunic and a cape, and is a intel administrator Non-Action Guy. Contrast with Vader, who is a frontline enforcer for the Emperor and wears practical black armor (with a cape). He fights alongside white-clad Stormtrooper grunts, while Krennic likes to hand things over to his elite black-clad Death Troopers (but isn't actually lacking in bravery himself). Vader is motivated by anger and self-loathing, while Krennic is motivated by pride, vanity, and ambition. Vader uses an old-fashioned lightsaber, Krennic uses an old-fashioned blaster. Krennic also has better people skills, and he's good at data analysis, while Vader is a good mechanic.
      • Krennic and his chief rival for control of the Death Star project, Governor Tarkin. Krennic is hammy, prone to throwing temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way, and seen as a nobody in the Imperial hierarchy despite the success of his life's work. Tarkin is a Soft-Spoken Sadist who always remains calm and composed, and is arguably the Emperor's most trusted lieutenant besides Vader. Krennic is unafraid to wade into battle himself when necessary, while Tarkin is strictly a Non-Action Big Bad.
  • Surrounded: Tommy Walsh is one for Mo. Like her, he's suffered greatly in the past, including losing relatives. Unlike her though, he uses his past sufferings as justification to rob and murder people, feeling that the world owes him with a clear chip on his shoulder. Mo does kill people, but only when they try to murder her (or once as a Mercy Kill). She specifically says that Tommy's sufferings are no excuse for what he's done.
  • Terminator: Dark Fate: The villainous Terminator, the Rev-9, is this to the good Terminator, the T-800 aka "Carl". While Carl is the last remaining T-800 and as a result, the final remnant of Skynet which had been doomed to never exist, the Rev-9 is the first in what will probably be many Terminators sent back in time by Skynet's successor, Legion. In addition, while Carl is the typical large, lumbering bodybuilder that T-800s typically are, the Rev-9 is literally just some Mexican guy with no discernible differences from the average male. Lastly, Carl had long grown past his programming and even gained a conscience due to now understanding the magnitude of his murder of John Connor, while Rev-9 is just another relentless Punch-Clock Villain who does not care about anything apart from getting his mission done and setting the sparks for the fire that will be Legion's rising.
    Rev-9: You and I were built for the same purpose. Legion's the only future.
    T-800 / "Carl": I came from a future like that. It failed.
  • Thelma: Played with, and with the two seemingly polar opposites having a confluence in the final act.
    • Fire and water.
    • Anja wearing a black swimsuit and Thelma wearing a white nightdress and with the last swimming pool scene which is reminiscent of the yin yang symbol.
    • Urban and rural.
    • Natural bodies of water (Lake) and man-made (swimming pools).
    • Dark and light.
    • Purity (milk) and blood.
    • Faith and doubt.
    • Traditional male and traditional female displays in society.
  • Trumbo:
    • Dalton Trumbo (Happily Married, wealthy, healthy, eventually gets his reputation back) vs. Arlen (divorced, poor, dies of cancer; a composite character symbolizing all the blacklisted creators who weren't as lucky as Dalton).
    • Dalton (committed Communist) vs. Edward G. Robinson ( betrays the others to save his career and lifestyle).
  • Unbreakable: Explored as a concept. David is nearly invulnerable, while Elijah is exceptionally weak. It turns out that this is because they're really each other's Arch-Enemy.
    Elijah: In a comic, you know how you can tell who the arch-villain's going to be? He's the exact opposite of the hero. And most times they're friends, like you and me!
  • Valentine: Kate and Dorothy. Both seemed nicer to Jeremy Melton at the middle-school dance than their friends but while Kate rejected Jeremy nicely, Dorothy accepted his offer only to frame him for assaulting her when it proved inconvenient. Kate is dismayed by what her friends did to Jeremy, Dorothy shows no remorse. The consequences of how they acted towards Jeremy play out in their fates; Jeremy spares Kate and intends to live out his life with her while he murders Dorothy and frames her for the massacre.
  • X-Men Film Series:
    • X-Men: First Class:
      • Shaw serves as one to Xavier. Both are doctors of genetics who are interested in maximizing Lehnsherr's potential, but whereas Sebastian uses torture to uncover his raw power, Charles utilizes emotional intimacy to give Erik greater control. Erik grows to love Charles as a brother, but vehemently opposes the latter's peaceful approach to human-mutant relations. Magneto wholly embraces Shaw's mutant supremacist views, but loathes the man for murdering his mother.
      • Charles and Erik are juxtaposed in their respective Oxford pub and Argentinian bar scenes. The inebriated Xavier is the life of a party when he and his fellow graduate students celebrate the successful defense of his PhD thesis, and he later tries to flirt with Agent MacTaggert. The sober Lehnsherr is all business when he's hunting down Nazis, and he murders three men (including the bartender) in cold blood after taunting his prey.
        Bryan Singer: Ultimately, they come from different places. Erik Lehnsherr is a victim of the Holocaust, he probably left the war with nothing, and is very much a solitary man, while Xavier had a life of privilege, became a professor at Oxford, was surrounded by peers, has an intimate relationship with Mystique since childhood, so he's quite loved, and therefore quite idealistic, less embittered, and just has a very different view from Lehnsherr.
    • X-Men: Days of Future Past:
      • Both past and future Magneto contrast each other in the film. 1973 Magneto continues to move forward with mutant supremacy by attacking Xavier and his group, while 2023 Magneto is fighting to protect both mankind and mutants while lamenting his pointless struggles with Charles in their younger years. Past Erik is very much on his own, but his elderly counterpart is a valuable team member.
      • Past Magneto and Past Xavier were both inactive and isolated in between 1963 and 1973 (the former due to imprisonment, the latter due to depression). Erik shows signs of wanting to repair some of their previous friendship, but a bitter Charles isn't interested for the most part. Magneto tries to kill Mystique while Xavier tries to protect her. Hank remains unwaveringly devoted to Charles, but Erik loses Mystique's loyalty after the murder attempt. In X-Men: First Class, Erik personified "rage" while Charles embodied "serenity," but their roles are reversed in 1973. Xavier is now the one who is full of pain and anger, and therefore has great trouble wielding his telepathy, whereas Magneto is (relatively) calm and controlled, still possessing great mastery over his power despite being deprived of metal for a decade. (We even see Erik adopt a meditation pose in his prison cell, which makes him appear almost Zen-like.)
      • Wolverine and the younger Magneto are violent individuals who love Xavier, but whereas Jerk with a Heart of Gold Logan possesses Undying Loyalty towards Charles, Jerk with a Heart of Jerk Erik is quick to betray him.
    • X-Men: Apocalypse: Has its own page.
    • Deadpool (2016):
      • Deadpool to Ajax, in terms of powers. Whereas Deadpool has a Healing Factor that is capable of regenerating severed hands, he is capable of feeling the pain of every blow he takes. Ajax, on the other hand, Feels No Pain, and can take as many hits as Deadpool, but these injuries heal at an average pace, and will eventually burn out his body.
      • Colossus to Deadpool. Chaste-mouthed, paragon-like, gentle giant, boy scout X-Man contrasted to Deadpool's foul-mouthed, sardonic, violent, psychotic freelancer.
        Colossus: We can't allow this, Deadpool. Please... come quietly.
        Deadpool: You big, chrome cock-gobbler!
        Colossus: ...That's not nice.
    • Deadpool 2: Yukio to her girlfriend, Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Yukio is a cute, bubbly, Genki Girl who loves Deadpool and always greets him with an enthusiastic "Hi, Wade!" Negasonic Teenage Warhead is a moody, cynical Emo Teen who is always irritated by Deadpool's presence.
    • Logan: Logan is a bitter, traumatized soldier who is simply waiting to die. Laura was also raised to be a weapon, but unlike her dad still retains some innocence and a chance at a normal life.

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