Worthy Opponent: Difference between revisions

The [[Worthy Opponent]] is rarely a recurring character, but is usually likely to evolve into a [[Friendly Enemy]]. More often, he is killed (sometimes by a fanatic on his own side) after one or two episodes, prompting the hero to [[What a Senseless Waste of Human Life|mourn the loss of such an honorable but misguided soul]].

 

 

When worthy opponents are of different genders, it can develop into a situation of [[Dating Catwoman]].

** Before that, there was Grey from [[Choujin Sentai Jetman]], who formed this type of relationship with [[The Lancer]], Gai. Over the course of the show, the two dueled every time they saw each other. This culminated when {{spoiler|the two had their final duel (which Gai won), and ended with Gai lighting a cigarette in remembrance of Grey. In the end, they were [[Not So Different]].}}

*** Ecliptor, from [[Power Rangers in Space]], can count too, as can a few [[Power Rangers Lost Galaxy]] characters.

** While not precisely canon, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhh9BNbyCuM "The Destiny of the Doctors"] has The Master express this sentiment toward his longtime adversary. Interestingly, he does not feel this way about ALL of The Doctor's incarnations. He talks smack on Four, Five, Six and Seven, but seems to genuinely have great respect for Three. One and Two also seem to fall under Worthy Opponent.

* When Taylor and Mira have to team up to save themselves in ''[[Terra Nova]]'' from some slashers, Taylor finding out Mira's backstory leads them both to this understanding. When they've survived, they peaceably go their separate ways back to their communities.

** In the same vein as Erwin Rommel, the German WWII officer Hans von Luck (seen by Rommel as a sort of adoptive son) could count. He was all over the map in WWII, being first of the German Panzer forces to the sea, furthest into Moscow, in the Africa campaign (he even captured the founder of the SAS, who escaped during a lavatory break), on the defense during the battle of Pegasus Bridge, and eventually spent years in a Stalag before arriving back in West Germany. When he visited the site of Pegasus Bridge, the British commandoes, to a man, pretended he was polish to get him past the embittered old woman who had been liberated decades before. He also gave lectures to former Allies' military trainee officers, and generally was completely accepted. His opinion of the Allies in WWII was more of the same - he mentions that he and the Allied desert scouts had a ceasefire every night at 6pm, arranged prisoner exchange, and on one occasion, his car was attacked by a fighter - which refused to shoot until the Germans were out of the vehicle.

** Hasso von Manteuffel, a German panzer commander who later became a German politician and named the Bundeswehr, Germany's post-war armed forces. Eisenhower invited him into the White House and the Pentagon, and he worked as an advisor on many American war films. He was pretty [[Badass]] too - when he served under Rommel, he commanded for several days without food or rest, beating back Allied attacks, before he collapsed. When he was defending Berlin, Soviet troops broke into his command post. He shot one and killed another in a knife fight.

* The rivalry between Takeda Shingen and Uesegi Kenshin, two Daimyos in Japan. Although ruling different territories, and often waging war against one another, legend says they developed a deep respect for one another, to the point where Kenshin reportedly wept openly and loudly at the death of Shingen, and never again attacked Shingen's territory.

** Kenshin went so far as to break a blockade against Shingen during his opponent's most dire hour, sending him salt (for preserving food) and saying: "Wars are to be won with swords and spears, not with rice and salt."

* One of the first things the [[Israelis With Infrared Missiles|Israel Defense Forces]] did after the [[Useful Notes/Arab-Israeli Conflict|conquest of Jerusalem in 1967]] was to build a memorial to the [[Useful Notes/Warriors of Desert Winds|Jordanian Arab Legion]], who had defended East Jerusalem and the West Bank valiantly but suffered from a complete lack of air support (the IDF had taken out more or less the whole Royal Jordanian Air Force within 45 minutes of the opening of the war).

* Australians and Turks respect one another a lot. Why? Because they were the very embodiment of this trope to one another in [[World War One]], during the Gallipoli campaign - Australia was Turkey's worthy adversary, and Turkey was Australia's. Though both sides fought with [[Determinator|extreme tenacity and dedication]], they also fought one another with a great degree of honour. The Turks eventually renamed the beach where the invasion took place "ANZAC Cove" in honour of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps; in return for this, the Australians established the only war memorial in the Australian capital ever dedicated to a former enemy - a tribute to the Turkish commander at Gallipoli, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

* Many of the old guard in the United States military regarded the Soviet Union as having been a fine and worthwhile adversary - at least when the prospect of nukes wasn't involved. The two superpowers stood toe-to-doe for decades without managing to get into a [direct] shooting war with each other, and often copied each others' tactical doctrines and combat innovations. Especially among the United States Navy and double among the submarines, now largely without a job, it's not unknown for senior American officers to lament the fall of the Soviet Union - fighting terrorists just isn't the same, and mileage varies on the idea of China as a replacement adversary.

** Many upper intelligence officers and diplomats of both sides found a strange comfort in the certainties of the Cold War. The enemy was clearly defined, (mostly) equally armed, and, in many ways, [[Not So Different]]. After the Cold War, things went upside down and, suddenly, you have [[The War On Terror|a shadow whose existence you are unsure of but can hit you anywhere and hurt]], a [[China Takes Over the World|rapidly rising "Communist" superpower that practices Capitalism]] who [[Friendly Enemy|you can't live with but can't live without]], a [[Useful Notes/Russians With Rusting Rockets|bankrupt former-superpower who is now supposed to be your friend]] but [[Make the Bear Angry Again|is still feeling raw about what happened in the 90s]], and [[Eagle Land|a lone, seemingly-aimless superpower who is behaving in increasingly erratic ways]]. No wonder [[Why We're Bummed Communism Fell|people are bummed that communism fell]].

* There are several instances of the Victoria Cross being awarded (posthumously) in World War II partly or, in one case, entirely on the recommendation of German officers:

* During the [[Thirty Years War]], the Protestant King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden apparently respected devout Catholic commander Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, enough that he sent his personal physician to tend to the man's wounds as he lay dying. Tilly, in turn, told the physician, "Your king is truly a noble knight."

* [[Adolf Hitler]], who had fought Canadians in [[World War One]], paid his respects to the Vimy Ridge Memorial. During the Germany occupation of France in [[World War II]], he posted guards to make sure that the site was not desecrated in any way.

* In the special features of one DVD version of ''[[We Were Soldiers]]'', [[Colonel Badass|Hal Moore]] says that he would like to meet the NVA commander.

* Perhaps all the more poignant for the fact that the [[Worthy Opponent]]'s name or even his unit is not known, Israeli pilot Asher Snir's story of an encounter with a Syrian [[Mi G]]-17 during the 1970 War of Attrition: [http://www.mirage4fs.com/iaf_m3cj.html The Man in the MiG]

* At [[The American Revolution|The Battle of Bemis Heights (Second Battle of Saratoga),]] Daniel Morgan ordered sharpshooter Timothy Murphy to kill British General Simon Fraser with these words: "That gallant officer is General Fraser. I admire him, but it is necessary that he should die, do your duty."

[[Category:Badass]]

[[Category:Worthy Opponent]]