Not What I Signed on For: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

When two or more people team up to achieve a goal, it's generally assumed that their goals are reasonably similar. At the very least, what one of them wants to achieve shouldn't conflict with what the others want to achieve. Otherwise, why would they team up?

 

See also [[You're Insane!]]

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* In ''[[Dragon Ball]]'', Adjutant Black, the right hand man of Commander Red of the Red Ribbon Army, believed that his commander was after the wish-granting Dragon Balls in order to conquer the world. However, when he learns that the commander intended to make himself taller using the wish, and that he was willing to throw away all of his men's lives for his selfish wish, Black promptly shoots him dead.

 

* In [[Marvel Comics]]' ''[[Age of Apocalypse]]'', Sabretooth is an X-Man. In his backstory, he revolted when he learned that Apocalypse hired him for a much more lethal plan than he had realized, and he regards this as [[The Atoner|atonement]].

 

== [[Film]] ==

* In ''[[The Rocketeer (film)|The Rocketeer]]'', gangster Eddie Valentine enthusiastically assists criminal mastermind Neville Sinclair in the latter's attempt to steal the rocket pack... Until he finds out that Sinclair is planning on handing the thing over to the Nazis rather than use it to pull bigger crimes. As Valentine says, "I may not make an honest buck, but I'm 100% American..."

* In ''[[The Rock]]'', Ed Harris' character has no intention of actually going through with his threatened chemical attack if his demands aren't met. He finds out at the end that his associates feel differently.

* One of Xander Drax's underlings in ''[[The Phantom (film)|The Phantom]]'' is uncomfortable with the idea of obtaining power through occult means. He's ''speared in the back'' for his trouble.

* In ''[[The Muppet Movie]]'', Max warns Kermit that Doc Hopper is trying to kill him.

* Used almost verbatim in ''[[The Bourne Series (film)|The Bourne Ultimatum]]'' by Pam Landy.

* In ''[[Rainbow Six]]'', the ex-KGB agent hired by the [[Strawman Political]] environmentalists to provoke terrorist attacks does a [[Heel Face Turn]] after discovering that their ultimate goal is killing off most of humanity.

* In ''The Ear, the Eye and the Arm," the She-Elephant feels this way after learning the Masks are intending to kill the Matsika children, as opposed to simply indoctrinating them into their gang.

** That could also have something to do with Voldemort's treatment of [[Even Evil Has Loved Ones|Kreacher]].

*** In ''Order of the Phoenix'', Sirius mentions that there were a number of Old Name families like his own who initially thought that Voldemort had the right idea, but then quickly changed their minds about him when they saw how far he was willing to go for Pureblood Supremacy.

** A rare non-heroic example: Gilderoy Lockhart joined up to the Defense of the Dark Arts teaching profession at Hogwarts. However, when he discovered that a girl was kidnapped. He attempted to flee, and implies that he's doing so because "saving students was not part of the job description."

 

* In ''[[Lost]]'', after witnessing why Keamy's mercenary team was ''really'' sent to the Island, their fellow freighter passenger Miles almost quotes the trope name verbatim.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* In the third ''[[Spyro the Dragon]]'' game, the Sorceress and her apprentice Bianca steal dragon eggs and take them to their Forgotten Worlds. Bianca does it because the magic in their worlds is disappearing without the presence of dragons to maintain it. When she discovers the Sorceress' real reason for wanting the eggs, she promptly does a [[Heel Face Turn]] and joins Spyro and his friends in trying to stop her.

{{quote|"I served [[Utopia Justifies the Means|the dream of a world you spoke of, the Savior you preached of]]... But you {{spoiler|used my sister, Kyrie, who has '''nothing''' to do with this}}, and [[This Is Unforgivable!|that is beyond forgiveness.]]"}}

* Kazuhira Miller in ''[[Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker]]'' worked with Cipher as a neutral business partner and have Big Boss rejoin the organization with the intention of expanding the Militaires Sans Frontieres. After it became apparent that Cipher was perfectly willing to ruin the Militaires Sans Frontieres should Big Boss refuse to rejoin by having one of their agents launch a nuclear weapon from their defense system at the East Coast of the United States and then frame Militaires Sans Frontieres, it is heavily implied that Miller quit working with Cipher.

** How could we forget Otacon in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]''? He helped build Metal Gear REX without any idea that it was gonna be used for nuclear assaults.

** Also, in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]'', President James Johnson defected from the Patriots to Solidus's Sons of Liberty group and hijack Arsenal Gear. However, whereas he himself wanted to use it as a bargaining chip to be put in the inner circle of the Patriots, Solidus himself desired to use it to actually destroy the Patriots. When Johnson discovered this, he was implied to have refused to cooperate any further, only for it to be too late.

* This is Elle Cutleaf's reason for helping you against her Blackwold brethren early in the Combe segment of the Race of Man storyline in ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]''. The Blackwolds were originally petty brigands until their leader Skunkwood made a deal with the forces of Angmar, a greater evil than Elle was willing to have any kind of part of. Among other things, they took several dogs that Elle had supplied them with and bred them with monstrous Wargs, which did not sit well with her at all.

* In [[Wizard 101]] when the player is retrieving the pieces of the stone of Mazzaroth, the final piece is held by Vesna Shadowscar. Upon the player arriving she refuses to fight the player and tells the Shadow Weavers that fighting wizards was not part of the bargain. [[Genre Savvy|She'd heard of the player before.]] This may explain why she's one of only human besides the player that is still alive in [[After the End|Dragonspyre]].

* Happens in ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' when [[The Mafiya|Mafiya]] boss Noah Zark reveals his plan to [[Animal Wrongs Group|help animals by wiping out humanity]].

{{quote|'''Noah Zark:''' I will use your telecommunications satellites to broadcast my signal all over the vorld! ''Destroying humanity so zat only my beloved animals vill remain!''

'''Noah Zark:''' Ve'll talk later, Yuri. }}

* The premise of the webcomic ''Watchdogs'' hinges on this trope. An honest man living in a city overrun by crime and vice is sick of living in fear and wants to fight back, Batman-style. He finds a neighbor with similar ideal and access to the necessary gadgets, and they become vigilantes. Soon after, the man finds out that his partner is actually a white supremacist and wants to use their team to attack minorities. When confronted, the neighbor's excuse is ''that he forgot to tell his partner he was racist.''

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

{{quote|'''Jebediah:''' People, our search is over. On this site we shall build a new town, where we can worship freely, govern justly and grow vast fields of hemp for making ropes and blankets.

'''Shelbyville:''' Because they're so attractive. I thought that was the whole point of this journey? }}

** {{spoiler|Hawkgirl}} willingly signed on to infiltrate Earth and learn the weaknesses and abilities of the planet's society, military strength and its heroes in order to {{spoiler|help the Thanagarians subjugate the planet to build their hyperspace bypass. Once she learns the bypass will destroy the Earth, she defects and helps the League destroy it.}}

* In ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' movie, Mojo Jojo persuades the girls to use their powers to build his "Help The Town And Make It A Better Place Machine" - which, it turns out, is actually a device to allow Mojo to create his own army of primates powered by Chemical X.

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