Token Evil Teammate/Playing With

Basic Trope: A group of heroes has one member who is not very heroic at all- they can range from being a jerkass to actually being as evil as some of the villains the heroes fight.
 * Straight: Inexplicably, Captain Awesome and Amazing Girl tolerate Dark Blood who is treacherous and a casual murderer.
 * Exaggerated: Captain Awesome, Amazing Girl and their good friend Dark Blood, who's even worse than the villains.
 * Downplayed: Amazing Girl and Captain Awesome are not that Good. Dark Blood is just somewhat worse then them.
 * Amazing Girl and Captain Awesome are both good examples of a Knight in Sour Armour. Dark Blood is a Type IV Anti Hero.
 * Justified: By having them on the team, the heroes are able to keep the character from doing more evil than they would otherwise, hereafter known as the Bitterleaf Argument.
 * Alternately: the token evil teammate's only virtue is loyalty, and that loyalty happens to be to a good character.
 * Dark Blood who is Chaotic Evil would rather join the Chaotic Good heroes then the Lawful Evil Big Bad.
 * Inverted: Token Good Teammate
 * Subverted: Dark Blood isn't really that bad and in some ways might actually be more moral than the Captain Awesome and Amazing Girl.
 * Double Subverted: Dark Blood doesn't seem really that bad and in some ways might actually be more moral than the Captain Awesome and Amazing Girl...Then, he shows his true colors later on.
 * Parodied: Dark Blood is a comical Dastardly Whiplash.
 * Deconstructed: Other good characters are disgusted by Captain Awesome and Amazing Girl putting up with such a horrible person and/or the heroes tarnish their reputation by allowing the teammate to do nasty things in pursuit of their goals.
 * Reconstructed: Captain Awesome and Amazing Girl can be really soft and don't deal out the tough love/justice that they should- so this guy does it for them.
 * Zig Zagged: Dark Blood just kicked a dog! Wait, he only did it to save the old woman. So... why is he throwing her into traffic??
 * Averted: All of the heroes are solidly good and it's clear that even the least heroic is no worse than a Lovable Rogue.
 * Enforced: "Audiences like a Heroic Comedic Sociopath character so we'll have an evil member of the Five Man Band."
 * Lampshaded: A hero remarks on how the teammate is more evil than many villains they fight.
 * Invoked: A villainous character knows he'll have more opportunity for mayhem if he fights with the heroes, so he asks to join them.
 * Defied: Captain Awesome and Amazing Girl don't let Dark Blood join them because that character is evil.
 * Discussed: "Why is it every team I've been in has a villain or a jerk (or Crystal Dragon Jesus Save Us, both)?"
 * Conversed: "Everyone on this team is so nice! ... wait, does that mean I'm the Token Evil Teammate? Crap! I suck at being Jerkass!"
 * Played For Laughs: Being a Heroic Comedic Sociopath, the appalling behaviour of the character is so over-the-top that it gets funny.
 * Alternatively, Dark Blood is a Harmless Villain-type and his 'evil deeds' are all Poke the Poodle.
 * Played For Drama: Dark Blood may step over the Moral Event Horizon, and may also be The Starscream.

Back to Token Evil Teammate