Basic Trope: Two heroes are at odds with each other due to their different views on how to save the world.
- Straight: Doctor Hope and Free Radical want to liberate their country from an occupying force, but disagree how. Doctor Hope wants to use peaceful resistance, while Free Radical prefers terrorist tactics against the occupiers.
- Exaggerated: Doctor Hope and Free Radical disagree so violently about how to free their country that it devolves into We ARE Struggling Together, leaving the occupying Romaniac Empire unopposed.
- Downplayed: The dueling Messiahs disagree on methods, but not so much as to sabotage their mutual end goal, and agree to at the least not get in each other's way.
- Justified: Free Radical actually created her own nemesis, Doctor Hope. When one of her terrorist bombings ended up killing his wife and children, Doctor Hope decided to dedicate his life to peace.
- Inverted: Though Free Radical and Doctor Hope couldn't be more different, both are great friends and have found a way to become a Messianic Duet, bringing everyone together.
- Doctor Hope and Free Radical are Dueling Antichrists, and they're conflict revolves around ending the world on their own terms.
- Subverted: The scene is set, Doctor Hope leads her people in a peaceful protest and Free Radical marches her forces towards his... but instead of fighting, they join Doctor Hope in a peaceful demonstration. The symbolic joining of both factions strengthens both sides and their cause.
- Double Subverted: ... only for Free Radical to detonate a hidden bomb, as part of a False Flag Operation meant to make the Romaniac Empire seem like the attacker. Doctor Hope is furious at the betrayal, and they part ways.
- Parodied: Doctor Hope and Free Radical's vision puts them at odds... as well as Molotov X, Pipe Bombon, Professor Love, and many other messiahs that crawl out of the woodwork, to the point the Romaniacs become so confused over so many Messiahs they decide to leave this mess to sort itself out.
- Zig-Zagged: Doctor Hope and Free Radical's different worldview puts them at odds, but it's actually an act, Doctor Hope funnels money to Free Radical, but Free Radical fully intends to assassinate Doctor Hope once the revolution succeeds.
- Averted: Free Radical makes an effort to avoid harming innocents, and Doctor Hope pointedly refuses to condemn Free Radical, noting it'll be history who decides who was in the right.
- Enforced: The Romaniacs frame Free Radical for a bombing of a peaceful protest by Doctor Hope, and let Poor Communication Kills break down their tense cooperation.
- Lampshaded:Doctor Hope: We don't need to fight, we could work together!Free Radical: My idea of a "peaceful protest" is gassing a barracks with nerve gas. I don't think we can play along.
- Invoked: Free Radical makes a speech and badmouths Doctor Hope as being an ineffectual do-nothing, hoping it'll radicalize the populace in her favor.
- Exploited: Romaniac Maximus does everything he can to make Doctor Hope and Free Radical publicly fight to keep the resistance divided.
- Free Radical is actually a Psycho Supporter for Doctor Hope. She wants to take advantage of the division to mobilize as many people as people to join Doctor Hope by being purposely despicable, and plans to give control after victory to Doctor Hope, since he's better suited to uniting the country afterwards.
- Defied: Knowing their division only helps the Romaniacs, Doctor Hope and Free Radical share a joint Radio Address inviting everyone to "resist in your own way" rather than shaming people into joining one or the other.
- Discussed: "Just once, can we have the most inspirational people agree to disagree and get along?"
- Conversed: "It's ironic, instead of inspiring people to a higher calling or forgiveness, we're fighting each other more viciously than our real enemies."
Back to Dueling Messiahs.
