Reliable Traitor: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

A minion of the [[Big Bad]], down from [[Les Collaborateurs]] up to and including [[The Dragon]], who is motivated by pure [[Ambition Is Evil|self-interest.]] They talk back, dislike their associations, and overall make clear they don't like the antagonist. The [[Big Bad]] is nonetheless assured this will be [[Conservation of Competence|their best]] [[Evil Minions|minion]] (until they [[Heel Face Turn|desert]]) because they are not concerned with sucking up, just getting results and getting out of whatever debt or obligation makes them work with villains in the first place.

 

Compare [[The Starscream]], [[Lovable Traitor]], [[Self-Proclaimed Liar]]. Often prone to [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]].

 

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* Happened more than once in ''[[Sailor Moon]]''. This was lampshaded in the [[Live Action Adaptation]], where Queen Beryl explains to an annoyed minion that she's aware her generals don't always particularly like her, so she allows the in-fighting between them as a distraction that pushes them to be more creative against each other.

* The Black Beauty Sisters in ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]''.

* Subverted in ''[[Soukou no Strain]]'': the traitor openly plots against Ralph for ages, but {{spoiler|gets killed off before he can do anything. He simply wasn't a threat.}}

* Ichimaru Gin of ''[[Bleach]]''. He tells you straight to his face that he's a [[Animal Motifs|snake]].

* Aquarius from ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' will attack everyone indiscriminately, friend and foe alike. But when all's said and done, she usually ends up being helpful overall.

* Mycroft Holmes invokes this with regards to Campion Bond in ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]''. When Mina asks if Bond will be punished for his deeds, Holmes replies in the negative, saying, "It is often useful to have employees whom you know to be treacherous."

* In ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', Eggman has stated that he knows full well that [[The Starscream|Snivley]], Lien-Da, and several others are planning to overthrow him, but because of that they will work the hardest for him, because they want to inherit a strong empire. He actually goes through the trouble of saving Lien-Da simply because he was impressed by her attempt at his position.

* It was recently revealed that [[Loki]] allowed himself to die at the end of "Siege" and be reborn as a child because he realized he had become a Reliable Traitor. As a god of trickery and chaos, he could not bear to be ''predictable''.

* The One Sith in ''[[Star Wars Legacy]]'' try very hard to avoid being Reliable Traitors. The self-serving nature of the Dark Side makes it very difficult.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

** Kharn the Betrayer. Almost everyone ''knows'' that he'll kill anything near him just for being near him, enemy or not. It's a testament to Kharn's bloodlust (and his compatriots' insanity/stupidity) that this doesn't usually save them.

* In ''[[Exalted]]'', this is the very core of Ebon Dragon's being: you can count on him betraying you at some point. In fact, he can count in him ''betraying himself'' at some point.

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* In ''[[Transformers]]: [[Beast Wars]]'', Megatron thinks of Tarantulas this way, who presents a facade of loyalty and fools Megatron about as often as Megatron sees through it.

** The other spider, Blackarachnia, fits into this trope much more neatly, often voicing her dissatisfactions. Notably, her ambitious personality was purposely designed by Tarantulas, whose [[Mad Scientist]] expertise first converted her from a Maximal. Turns out she was pretty much like that anyway even without the cerebro shell, which makes you wonder what the point was.

** Yet ''another'' example is Rampage, who openly has no loyalty to Megatron, but is kept in line by routine reminders of the [[Restraining Bolt]] and the upside of opportunities to terrorize and demolish.

** Ironically, this occurred to the original Starscream as well, who came back as a ghost.

** In ''[[Transformers Prime]]'', Megatron admitted he kept Starscream around because [[It Amused Me|his repeated failures were entertaining]]. {{spoiler|When Airachnid let Starscream be captured, Megatron was furious because as second-in-command, Starscream had valuable knowledge.}}

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Betrayal Tropes]]

[[Category:Villains]]