Faith in the Foe

"Nobody knows him like I do. He's an ill-tempered, overbearing cross-patch. But he was no Cardassian collaborator, and he's no killer."

— Quark regarding Odo, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "A Man Alone"

It has been said that no one knows you like your enemies. And sometimes that includes having faith in their foe, even when no one else does.

This swings both ways on the hero/villain spectrum, between The Rival, and Noble Demons.

This can range from believing someone innocent of a crime they didn't commit to being in a dire situation against a mutual enemy and trusting that your usual foe will arrive to save the day in time.

This sort of opinion carries a lot of weight with it. After all, no one is surprised when a person speaks well of a friend, but when they speak well of an enemy, whom they have no incentive to feel altruistic towards, that tends to turn some heads. It can mark the beginning of a Heel–Face Turn or be a hallmark of the Worthy Opponent. May lead to a Beg the Dog or Teeth-Clenched Teamwork moment if the villain suddenly finds themself in desperate need of the hero's skills or abilities.

Smart villains can also use it as the basis for a Batman Gambit, trusting in their foe to behave a particular way, and then using that insight to plan for a favorable outcome.

Compare Villain Takes an Interest, which may either lead to or be a result of this trope. May also arise out of an Enemy Mine situation.

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Examples:

Anime and Manga

• Dragon Ball: When Goku is confronted by a foe that consumes light, turning off his Super-Saiyan powers, Goku powers up again. Vegeta tells the others to have faith, that Goku isn't going to get himself eaten.
• Fullmetal Alchemist:
  • Ed, Ling, and Envy are trapped within Gluttony's stomach with no way out. Ed theorizes he could get everyone out by opening the Portal of Truth to bring them back to reality but makes it clear that it's highly risky and there's no way to know if it will work. Nonetheless, Envy has enough confidence in Ed's skill as an alchemist to willingly allow him to use their Philosopher's Stone to pay the toll to open the portal. However, they go back to fighting right after they're free.
  • While trapped together in Hohenheim's dome, Al taunts Pride over the fact that Father's plans hinge on the sacrifices doing exactly what he wants, and how everything would fall apart if they just decided to abandon Amestris. Pride replies that some people would risk their lives to save others, and the Elric brothers' heroism is beyond even that, so the homunculi's faith that Ed and Al would never turn their back on their country to save themselves was not misplaced.
• Moriarty the Patriot: Sherlock and William tend to believe in each other even against all odds and both remark that they're only truly understood by each other.
  • Sherlock quickly realizes William is a sort of "noble criminal" who doesn't kill needlessly
  • William knows Sherlock will solve whatever case he's after, and after a quick test, easily predicts his motions in most of their adventures together.
  • Sherlock even says at one point that he knew William was the Lord of Crime because "there's no one else it could be."
• Tiger & Bunny: When Wild Tiger is being chased down by his fellow heroes because they've been brainwashed by Albert Maverick into believing that he's responsible for the murders, Lunatic, the vigilante NEXT who is Wild Tiger's enemy, saves him, knowing Tiger well enough to know he'd never murder innocents despite how wild he can be. It helps that Lunatic's civilian identity, Yuri Petrov, is the city's prosecutor who investigated the murders and believes that Wild Tiger is indeed innocent.

Comic Books

• Fantastic Four: A godlike being called a Celestial has enacted a "Freaky Friday" Flip, namely housing Reed Richards's mind in Doctor Doom's body, and vice versa. The other Four members journey to Latveria, aiming to undo this process. Part of the ruse involves the Human Torch incinerating Reed's body in Doom's throne room. Though Johnny Storm could have ended the Four's mortal enemy then and there, he instead controlled the flames so precisely that Doom was only warmed by the heat. Doom actually spells this out to Reed as both men recover their rightful forms.
• Spider-Man: In one issue of Spider-Man Team Up, Spidey has been framed for murder, again. And Abe Jenkins, formerly The Beetle, now MACH-1, is certain of his innocence because he knows who Spidey is as a hero.

Fan Works

• Breaking Novikov: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfic, Spike is the only one who realizes something is wrong when Buffy and Faith swap bodies.
• In Juno Songs' adaptation of the Stapler boss fight from Paper Mario: The Origami King, Bowser states his faith that Mario's capable of stopping Olly based on his long history of being bested by the plumber.
  I know Mario, he's stubborn as a mule
  He's gonna snap in half your stupid office tool
  For many, many games, I've felt the hurt he brings
  So I know he'd never hail the Origami King!
• The Mountain and the Wolf: Only one person consistently praises Tyrion for his intellect, courage and valor. Unfortunately, that person is the Wolf, a Champion of Chaos whose oafish mannerisms and crassly obnoxious behavior infuriate everyone (including Tyrion). It's not even a feint, as we see him claim to a fellow Chaos follower that Tyrion will be the one to convince the forces of Westeros to fight instead of surrender.

Film — Animated

• Raya and the Last Dragon: This trope, along with trust, is a major theme of the movie. Raya, followed by the rest of her party, trusts Namari to put the Dragon Gem pieces back together after the rest of them are turned to stone by the Druun. This works, as the key to defeating the Druun is an epic show of trust. Not only is it enough to destroy the Druun and restore those turned to stone, but it brings back the dragons (who revive Sisu).

Film — Live Action

• In Prince Caspian, Edmund is sent with a guard and a white flag to King Miraz in order to offer the terms of a one-on-one battle between Miraz and Peter. When the enemy sees him approaching, Miraz's advisor wonders if the boy is coming to surrender. Miraz knows that the Pevensies care far too much about Narnia to leave it in his hands.
  "They are much too noble for that."

Literature

• The Devil is a Part-Timer!: Sauriel has captured Chiho and Emi, and is torturing Emi in order to reclaim her Celestial sword, Better Half. Despite being his enemy, Emi explains that Sadao will show up to rescue Chiho, as she's a MgRonald's employee under Sadao's care.
  Emi: You hurt that girl and you will literally have the Devil to pay.
• In Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series the Canim have a word for such a relationship: Gadara, or honored enemy. They are much more likely to trust a gadara over anyone else.
• In the Young Wizards series, the most dangerous thing any wizard can do is give another creature control over their power. You should only do it with someone you trust completely. In the climax of Deep Wizardry, book 2 of the series, Nita Callahan is playing the Silent One in the Song of the Twelve, a magic ritual to bind the Lone Power (that series' equivalent of Satan). The Song has just gone drastically off track because the Lone Power is cheating. So when Ed the Master-Shark — who may not be technically Nita's enemy, but is certainly not her friend given that his role in the Song is to kill and eat her — asks her to give him her power before she "does what she must", it's an act of supreme, blind trust for her to obey him.

Live-Action TV

• Battlestar Galactica (2003): Baltar and Roslin's relationship during their election run for President of the Twelve Colonies is not in the least bit amicable. Roslin, especially, distrusts Baltar and suspects (with good reason) that he has collaborated with the Cylons. So much, in fact, that she chooses to rig the election when it looks like popular support is turning against her. Zarek, Baltar's VP, is immediately suspicious at their sudden reversal of fortune, but Baltar insists that Roslin isn't the type of person to resort to such underhanded tactics and tells Zarek to drop the subject.
• Doctor Who, "The Magician's Apprentice": Believing that he is going to die, The Doctor sends his Confession Dial to the person he trusts to take care of it... Missy, his best friend turned archenemy, who has often tried to kill him herself.
• Leverage:
  • In "The Last Dam Job", the team recruit Chaos, who had once tried to murder Sophie, to help perform the hacking since the Big Bad of the episode was familiar with and prepared for Hardison's software. They also recruit Mr. Quinn, who once beat down Eliot. In Quinn's case, it helps that he's a professional who is in it for the money and has no actual enmity with Eliot. The Leverage team knows they'll both get their jobs done.
  • Chaos demonstrates faith in the Leverage team, though in his case it was part of a Batman Gambit. He staged a credit card heist at a mall, then sent the Victim of the Week to the Leverage team knowing they would be able to shut down his digital credit theft. But in doing so, they cut off the security to a nearby bank that the maintenance tunnels under the mall had access to.
  • Sterling recruits Nate and his team to help steal a specially made weight for a nuclear centrifuge. In truth, this was one of Sterling's objectives, but not his sole, or even primary objective. The Leverage Team was there to serve as a distraction while Sterling rescued his daughter from the clutches of her stepfather, a corrupt businessman who was selling the weight to a hostile nation. But Sterling knew that the Leverage team would also succeed in rendering the weight non-functional (It was revealed earlier in the episode that if so much as a speck of dust landed on the weight, it would be useless), keeping a dangerous foreign power from obtaining a functional nuclear centrifuge.
  • Sterling trusts Nate and Sophie enough that when they inform him that the paintings in an art collection are all forgeries, he takes them at their word. He didn't expect the suspect to flee when he asked point-blank about it, though.
• Outlander: Throughout the series, Claire Fraser develops a reputation of being able to heal the sick and injured with a proficiency that approaches miraculous. Despite being an arch-nemesis of the Highlanders in general and the Frasers in particular, Captain Jack Randall is certain she can heal his younger brother's ailment. Perhaps it's because Claire's husband Jamie is not only alive but actively commanding an army even after the brutal and systemic torture Captain Randall inflicted on him. Randall has so much faith in Claire's ability as a healer, that he's even willing to trade military intelligence to entice her to help his brother.
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: In "A Man Alone", Odo is accused of being a collaborator. Quark is quick to defend him.
  Quark: Nobody knows him like I do. He's an ill-tempered, overbearing cross-patch. But he was no Cardassian collaborator, and he's no killer.
  Zayra: I can't believe you're defending him, Quark. You're his worst enemy.
  Quark: Guess that's the closest thing he has in this world to a friend.
• The Wire: While detective Bunk Moreland certainly considers Omar a part of Baltimore's crime problem and even makes this clear to Omar at one point with a passionate "The Reason You Suck" Speech, he is also immediately suspicious when Omar is framed for the murder of a civilian, and goes out of his way to clear Omar's name.

Tabletop Games

• In BattleTech, this trope is why Theodore Kurita accepts the word of Hanse Davion during the Outreach Conference in 3050 that Hanse, liege lord of the Federated Suns and lifelong enemy of Theodore's father Takashi Kurita, would not invade the Draconis Combine. Hanse is every bit as devious and cunning as his nickname "The Fox" implies. Theodore reasons, correctly, this also extends to Hanse's foresight regarding the Clan Invasion. Yes, Hanse could attack the Draconis Combine while its back is turned to face this new invader, and very likely break the Combine's diminished defenses, but this would also cost him a valuable buffer zone against the (at the time) wholly alien and seemingly unstoppable Clans. The rest of House Kurita's leadership thinks Theodore mad for believing Hanse Davion's promises, even threatening to kill him when Davion-allied mercenary Dropships appear over the Combine homeworld... only to be put in their place when the mercenaries broadcast that Davion has purchased their services as reinforcements for the Draconis Combine to fight the Clan invaders, vindicating Theodore's judgment.

Western Animation

• Avatar: The Last Airbender, when Katara worries that Prince Zuko having captured Aang and being trapped in a blizzard will spell their end, her Badass Normal brother Sokka says “they won’t die in the blizzard. If there’s one thing we know it’s that Zuko never gives up”.
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Batman is being framed for various crimes by Owlman. Who is the person who believes in Batman's innocence and comes to his aid to help prove it? None other than The Joker.
• Gravity Falls: Dipper gets Gideon to pull a Heel–Face Turn using this trope. He uses the fact that Gideon's feeling for Mabel, while creepy and possessive, were genuine. He tells him that if he's only siding with Bill so he can be with Mabel, then ask himself what Mabel would actually want. This is enough to make him have a Heel Realization, and he becomes an ally to the Pines family from then on.
• Justice League: When confronted by an equally powerful, but morally corrupted version of himself, Superman turns to none other than Lex Luthor to save the day, knowing that Luthor had figured out a way to depower him, trusting Luthor to use it on Superman's dark reflection without turning it on the proper Superman himself.
• The Owl House: Hunter and Amity battle for the portal key, arriving at a deadlock. However, Hunter admits that Amity is strong enough that he believes she will beat him and escape with the key should they continue to fight. Thus, he switches tactics and explains that if she doesn't hand over the key now, he can come after her and her girlfriend with the rest of the Emperor's Coven later, forcing her to give it to him.
• The Spectacular Spider-Man: In "Reaction", Dr. Octopus forces Spider-Man into a Sadistic Choice via this trope. He knows that Spider-Man is an All-Loving Hero who will do anything to keep innocent people from being hurt. Leading to him throwing the MacGuffin so he can save Liz Allen.

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