Worthy Opponent: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}{{Featured Article}}

[[File:jojowham_8060jojowham 8060.jpg|link=JoJo's Bizarre Adventure|frame]]

{{quote|''"I regret that we meet in this way. [[Not So Different|You and I are of a kind.]] In a different reality, I could have called you friend."''|'''Romulan Commander''', ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', [[Star Trek/Recap/S1 E14 Balance of Terror|"Balance of Terror"]]}}

{{quote|''"You may have only enemies whom you can hate, not enemies you despise. You must be proud of your enemy: then the successes of your enemy are your successes too."''|'''Zarathustra''', ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'' ([[Peep Show|not to be confused with]] ''[[Chicken Run]]'')}}

The equal and opposite enemy to the hero, who, save for the tragic circumstances of his life, upbringing, political ideology, or financial situation, might have been the hero's best friend. Unfortunately, though, he must be the hero's opposition. Evenly matched, with a sense of honor that allows the hero to trust him about a select few things, and an honest respect for the hero, the [['''Worthy Opponent]]''' also fights to the same standards of fairness as the hero; he will not shoot you [[In the Back]], and may even prevent someone else from doing so; in military situations, he will obey [[The Laws and Customs of War]]. The [[Worthy Opponent]] will also do things like [[I Gave My Word|negotiate honestly]] or allow the wounded hero to escape to fight another day. He will invariably even the terms of a fight when he possesses a clear advantage, often being unwilling to fight an unarmed foe (either discarding his weapon or [[Give Me a Sword|allowing the protagonist to reclaim his own]]), and waiting until an unconscious enemy has woken and can engage in an honorable [[Duel to the Death]], because they must settle things [[Let's Fight Like Gentlemen|like gentlemen]]. He may not [[Kick Them While They Are Down|dispatch the wounded hero]] even when the hero tells him to [[Get It Over With]]. Sometimes found in the role of [[The Dragon]], but is almost never the [[Big Bad]]. If he's a commander, he may be [[A Father to His Men]]; indeed, [[The Men First|his men]] may prove a sticking point with the [[Big Bad]]. Assassins, manhunters, and various wandering duelists frequently invoke this trope, often choosing their profession to engage in a test of skill by [[Hunting the Most Dangerous Game]]. Such characters rarely share the same values as their employers and are often disparaged for fighting fair or letting the hero go out of respect.

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]].

See also [[Antagonist in Mourning]], [[Anti-Villain]], [[ToucheTouché]]. [[Noble Demon|Noble Demons]]s tend towards this trope, as do members of [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Proud Warrior Races]]. Contrast with the [[Evil Counterpart]], [[Dark Magical Girl]], [[Unknown Rival]] and [[Minion with an F In Evil]]. The [[Noble Bigot with a Badge]] is a subtype--whensubtype—when they're not the protagonist, anyways. Very likely to become a [[Friendly Enemy]], though respect does not always equal friendliness. Works with strong espionage, political, or underworld themes will sometimes use the related [[Beware the Honest Ones]], in which characters feel comfortable opposing one another precisely ''because'' they both use underhanded means to pursue selfish goals. More distantly related to [[The One Thing I Don't Hate About You]].

** He was this in the OVA, too -- ittoo—it's just that, for most of the series, he was ''Kashue's'' [[Worthy Opponent]], not Parn's (or rather, Parn had to level up quite a bit to be a worthy opponent for ''him'').

* Yusuke Urameshi and Younger Toguro in ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]''. Younger Toguro even {{spoiler|has to pretend to kill [[The Lancer|Kazuma Kuwabara]] in order to greatly increase Yusuke's [[Power Level]] for him to truly become his [[Worthy Opponent]]}}

** From ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'', Graham Aker is this to Setsuna F. Seiei, and Soma Peries is this to H/Allelujah Haptism, {{spoiler|who happened to be [[Forgotten Childhood Friend|Forgotten Childhood Friends]]s}}. Sergei Smirnov has traits of this as well.

* Although they are enemies, Ankoku Daishogun and Tetsuya Tsurugi (both from ''[[Great Mazinger]]'') respect each other as warriors, and when the first falls, Tetsuya gave him a salutation for being a [[Worthy Opponent]]. Obviously, this gets carried over in [[Super Robot Wars]].

* Nanoha and Fate quickly become [[Worthy Opponent|Worthy Opponents]] of each other in ''[[Lyrical Nanoha|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', complete with adorable, pre-teen [[Foe Yay]] and [[Defeat Means Friendship|inevitable]] [[Heel Face Turn]]. In the second season, [[Sword Fight|Fate and Signum]] pair off similarly, maintaining a friendly rivalry even after the ''second'' inevitable [[Heel Face Turn]] (never mind that Fate's [[Just a Kid]] when they meet and Signum is [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old]], respect is respect). Nanoha and Vita, on the other hand, are more like [[The Rival|rivals]] due to the latter's attitude.

* In ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]'', Tsukumo Shiratori and Captain Akiyama seem to consider themselves the [[Worthy Opponent|Worthy Opponents]] of the "[[Unlucky Everydude|heroic]]" mecha pilot Akito and the "[[Genius Ditz|brilliant]]" captain Yurika, neither of whom really seem to care. The pilot pair do become friends for a brief while before, yep, {{spoiler|Shiratori gets offed by a scheming fanatic on his own side}}.

** [[Blood Knight|Gaou]] regards anyone who has the guts to face him as a [[Worthy Opponent]] and expresses an open liking to them, particularly Banba, Riku and Kurita. In fact, Gaou's [[Berserk Button]] is if anyone insults those he considers to be his [[Worthy Opponent]] and he will go on a rampage to find said person to tear them to pieces.

* Although he starts out their match aiming to injury Tezuka (and succeeds), rival captain Atobe from ''[[The Prince of Tennis]]'' ends the match considering Tezuka a [[Worthy Opponent]] (and becomes it himself, in turn), to the point that once he finally wins the match after a ridiculously long tiebreaker, the first thing Atobe does is raise Tezuka's hand in a sort of shared victory.

* ''[[Code Geass]]'' gives several examples of this relationship. The most obvious example is Suzaku and Kallen in their piloting skills. Lelouche and Schneizel have this in their [[Magnificent Bastard|Magnificent Bastardry]]ry.

** Vice Admiral Garp was the [[Worthy Opponent]] of none other than Gold Roger himself. So much so that Roger, {{spoiler|knowing he would soon die, entrusted Garp with the life of his unborn child.}}

** Mihawk's goal in life is to find one. Initially, he thought it would be Shanks, but he gave up the rivalry with him after Shanks lost his left arm and (mostly) retired. While he hasn't truly found one yet, he feels Zoro has the potential to become such. In fact, Mihawk sees Zoro so much as his [[Worthy Opponent]] that not only does he decide to spare Zoro's life after their first battle, he also {{spoiler|'''trains Zoro during the timeskip!'''}}

* Hisoka of ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]'', being an [[Ax Crazy]] [[Blood Knight]], is always searching for a [[Worthy Opponent]] to fight and kill. He believes that Gon and Killua could grow up to become such opponents, and has taken steps to help them do just that. He is also trying to {{spoiler|restore Chrollo's}} nen abilities in exchange for a chance to fight him.

* Subverted, and played straight, in ''[[Black Lagoon]]'''s Japan arc. [[Jerkass|Chaka]] sees [[Dark Action Girl|Revy]] as a [[Worthy Opponent]]...however, she doesn't see him the same way...and, later on, we find that Revy ''does'' see Ginji that way.

* In ''[[Star Blazers]]/[[Space Battleship Yamato]],'' Desslok is a very honorable opponent. In the first season, when the Star Force escapes traps which he'd thought unbeatable, his reaction is typically to send them a message of congratulations rather than strike them again while they're wounded. The main reason for it, at that point, is that he doesn't consider them a serious threat, yet. In the second season, when he has been reduced to being Zordar's [[The Dragon|dragon,]] he takes them ''very'' seriously and is on a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]--but—but, in the end, {{spoiler|when he has Wildstar and Nova at his mercy and can finally strike them down, he realizes that he's come to respect them too much to do it. He declares their conflict over, offers them a bit of advice on how to defeat Zordar, and [[Heel Face Turn|departs in friendship.]]}}

* There's also an incredibly minor subtext of this in ''[[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]]'', between Reed Richards and his '''ARCHNEMESIS!!!''' [[Doctor Doom]]. The two of them regularly top canon and fanon lists of the smartest men in the Marvel Universe, and Reed steps in and out of feeling guilty for what happened to Doom in college. Part of it comes from the fact that they don't have to talk down to each other -- smartestother—smartest men in the world and all that.

** But wait! There is more! As Mar-Vell reaches Death's door...He sees [[Thanos]] [[Omnicidal Maniac|of Titan]], who was dead at that time. He walks up to him and says that an end like this was unworthy of [[Worthy Opponent|his greatest enemy]] and then proceeds to battle him, [[The Undead|calling forth upon the souls of defeated enemies of the Captain]] until he reaches Death, and hence, relief and rest from life's burdens. Some say this is Starlin's best work.

* [[The Flash]] and his Rogues have great respect for one another in nearly ever incarnation to varying degrees. In fact most of the time the rouges plans are just ways to get Flash to become a better hero.

* [[Villain Protagonist]] Tyrin Lieph and the [[Man Behind the Man|advisor]] to the krogan overlord, Halak Marr, in ''[[Mass Effect]]: The Council Era''. A [[Villain Protagonist]] and [[Magnificent Bastard]] (well, he might not fit the Trickster part of the criteria, but that's it) plays [[Xanatos Speed Chess]] with a [[The Chessmaster|Chessmaster]] for the control of the galaxy. Halak even admits that if the two had been born of the same species, they would've been unstoppable as a team.

* Katara and Azula in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender Revised]]''. Over the course of various battles and confrontations, the two develop a begrudging respect for each other.

* The World War II movie ''The Enemy Below'', in which U-boat captain Von Stolberg (Curt Jurgens) was the [[Worthy Opponent]] of destroyer escort captain Murrell (Robert Mitchum).

* ''[[Star Trek: Nemesis]]'' is quite literally about an equal and opposite opponent to Picard, a clone of him who grew up in different circumstances.

** She does, however, consider O-Ren Ishii a [[Worthy Opponent]], once they're down to one-on-one combat, and likely the only DiVA she honestly respects.

* ''[[Monty Python and Thethe Holy Grail]]'' has an explicit example. When Arthur has just cut off the Black Knight's arm, he utters: "Now stand aside, worthy adversary!"

* ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' gives us Captain Lorth Needa, who sacrifices himself to save his crew from [[You Have Failed Me...|Vader's wrath]].

* In [[Dan Abnett]]'s ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' ''[[Eisenhorn]]'' novels, Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn regards the [[Sealed Evil in a Can]] Pontius Glaw as a being who is intelligent, erudite, charismatic, and likable, and regretfully remarks that if Glaw hadn't chosen to follow Chaos, then they would have been the best of friends.

* The titular magicians from ''[[Jonathan Strange and& Mr. Norrell]]'' never lose their mutual respect for each other's abilities, even as their rivalry grows more intense.

* Rana Sanga in the ''[[Belisarius Series]]'' is the [[Worthy Opponent]] to Belisarius as a general, and to Raghunath Rao and Valentinian in individual combat. {{spoiler|He has the latter healed and treats him as an honored guest after (just barely) defeating him in single combat and taking him prisoner; when Sanga's army is forced to retreat from the invasion of Persia, he releases Valentinian. In the last two books, Valentinian's role in protecting Sanga's wife and children from a plot against them by Link and the Malwa dynasty is key to Sanga's Heel Face Turn, and he eventually sends his own son and heir to be Valentinian's apprentice in the art of combat.}}

** Also, Domodara, to a lesser extent, and {{spoiler|before ''their'' [[Heel Face Turn|Heel Face Turns]]s, Kungas and Vasudeva}}. In fact, the Rajputs and the Kushans in general, being [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Proud Warrior Races]], kind of qualify for this.

* Varr in [[Ben Counter]]'s ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' novel ''[[Soul Drinkers|Chapter War]]''. When he learns that the Soul Drinkers are renegades, he admits to being in a penal unit for having revolted, for much the same reasons. He does not fight them until compelled by the Howling Griffons, and apologizes for it.

* In [[Wilkie Collins]]'s epistolary novel ''[[The Woman in White]]'', [[Affably Evil|Count Fosco]] spends a great part of the few pages he narrates rambling about his [[Worthy Opponent]] [[Action Girl|Marian Halcombe]]. Granted, part of the rambling is because he's also in love with her. But still.

** It is extremely common throughout the [[Star Trek: The Original Series|original series]] (and its movies) for the opponent to be a [[Worthy Opponent]] of Kirk or, at the very least, have a very healthy respect for him (albeit one full of hatred). Most notable of these was Khan Noonien Singh, originally a [[Worthy Opponent]] of Kirk-- asKirk—as well as the only one who was also an actual Earth-man (vs. simply a metaphor); in ''[[Star Trek/Recap/S1 /E22 Space Seed|Space Seed]]'', the two [[Worthy Opponent|Worthy Opponents]] parted in mutual respect and honor, with Kirk dropping all charges against Khan and granting him his original wish of a new world to command.

* FBI Agent Alexander Mahone, [[Worthy Opponent]] to ''[[Prison Break]]'' protagonist Michael Scofield in the second season. Mahone frequently expresses his professional admiration of Michael, and is the only person that Michael really fears will catch him (out of, you know, the entire United States law enforcement community). However, while he fulfills every other requirement to a T, Mahone brutally subverts one aspect of the trope by being genuinely committed to killing Michael, and offs a fair few other characters along the way.

* The Doctor, from ''[[Doctor Who]]'', is seen as a [[Worthy Opponent]] by just about anybody with the slightest martial tilt to their culture. Notably, [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|Dalek]] machinery that normally needs to scan in pure Dalek DNA to work will also accept the Doctor's testimony of an individual's Dalekness instead.

* The Folksong "Vive el matador" has the matador praise the bull as a [[Worthy Opponent]].

* ...along with ''[[The Epic of Gilgamesh]]'': the very reason Enkidu was created was to be Gilgamesh's [[Heterosexual Life Partners|best friend]] and [[Worthy Opponent]] and give him another way to expend his power and [[Super Strength]] besides sleeping with every woman in Uruk.

== [[Newspaper CartoonsComics]] ==

* Parodied in [http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2004-08-01/ this] ''[[Dilbert]]'' strip.

* Nikita Koloff started out as a standard [[Evil Foreigner]], then became a [[Worthy Opponent]] to Magnum T.A.; when Magnum's career was ended by a car accident, Nikita became an [[Antagonist in Mourning]], which eventually led to a [[Heel Face Turn]]. Whew!

* [[Warhammer 4000040,000|Da Orkz]] closest thing to the concept of a best friend is "best enemy".

* ''[[1776 (musical)|1776]]'' has John Dickinson for John Adams. When Dickinson {{spoiler|refuses to sign the Declaration, saying he cannot in good conscience sign such a document while still hoping for a reconciliation with England, he then says that while he cannot sign, he "regards America no less than does Mr. Adams" and vows to "join the Army and fight in her defense"}}. Adams' response to this is to {{spoiler|lead a standing ovation, saying, "Gentlemen of the Congress, I say, 'Yea, John Dickinson.'"}} In real life, Dickinson would go on to {{spoiler|become aan author and signer of the United States Constitution}}.

* It is stated repeatedly throughout ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]'' that one of the primary reasons Phoenix became a defense attorney is that he could meet his childhood friend Miles Edgeworth in court, as Edgeworth is a prosecutor. Despite their positions as adversaries in court, their mutual desire for justice leads them to jointly take down quite a few criminals. In the fourth game, Apollo Justice gets his own [[Worthy Opponent]], Klavier Gavin.

* The ''[[Drakengard]]'' games have two examples. The first game has Caim and Inuart. Inuart bemoans early in the game how he is never as strong as Caim, but when [[Rival Turned Evil|he turns evil,]] he gains the power of a pact with a dragon and handily defeats Caim in a tense cinematic. They hold each other to a certain standard as Inuart doesn't take advantage of the situation to kill Caim. The second game has Caim appear as the [[Worthy Opponent]] to Nowe, the protagonist of that game. Caim's duel with Nowe is only a formality as Nowe isn't the one Caim wants dead, and Caim only fights Nowe long enough to weaken him and achieve his real objective, which, once learned, is actually [[Anti-Villain|quite sympathetic.]]

* ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'' features an...unusual [[Worthy Opponent]] in the form of Forcystus, one of the [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|Desian grand cardinals]], who is posthumously constructed as a [[Worthy Opponent]] in a discussion between Kratos and Lloyd and is easily the most tolerant and sensible of the lot. However, considering that he's still a spluttering [[Humans Are BastardsJerkass|racist]] who enslaved humans and used them as [[Human Resources]], repeatedly [[Kick the Dog|kicked the dog]] by going beyond the call of duty in retaliating against you by turning Marble into a monster, and finally died when he tried to shoot [[And Your Little Dog, Too|an innocent bystander]] [[In the Back]], their discussion on how racism and war makes noble people enemies comes off as a little...[[Family-Unfriendly Aesop|odd]].

** B) You are an enemy who isn't actually villainous, but has a moral code which forbids you from suddenly going against your boss/nation. Someone from the hero's forces, usually [[The Hero]] himself, will try to [[Last Second Chance|convince you that the person you fight under is a bastard and to get out of the his way]]. If you don't take the hero's offer to at least step down, chances are, you're a [[Worthy Opponent]]. Expect [[Honor Before Reason]] to show up.

** Generals Selena, Duessel, and Glen from ''[[Fire Emblem: theThe Sacred Stones]]'' are all reluctant villains who are well-respected by the heroes.

* In ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]'', Ocelot and Naked Snake view one another as [[Worthy Opponent|Worthy Opponents]] even though they stand at opposite sides of the Cold War. This causes Ocelot to act like a [[Stalker with a Crush]].

* ''[[Ace Combat]] 04: Shattered Skies''' Yellow Thirteen calls [[AFGNCAAPFeatureless Protagonist|Mobius]] [[Player Character|One]] this after Mobius One makes a name for himself, and it's reinforced after Mobius One {{spoiler|destroys Stonehenge and shoots down Yellow Thirteen's wingman, Yellow Four}}. Mobius One, however, proves that he's actually ''better'', {{spoiler|shooting Yellow Thirteen down during the Siege of Farbanti}}.

** ''[[Ace Combat]]'', as a rule, tends to do this quite a bit, throwing entire ''squadrons'' of Worthy Opponents at the player. In fact, the [[Karma Meter|Knight path]] in ''The Belkan War'' was specifically designed for the player to be a [[Worthy Opponent]] to the enemy aces. Also, from the Soldier Path, Erich Hillenberand (Schnee 1) considers Cipher a worthy opponent and says that he would be glad to fly with him again (even though he became a civilian pilot instructor after the war).

* Admiral Gregorio in ''[[Skies of Arcadia]]''. A completely honourable man and the adoptive uncle of [[Defector From Decadence]] Enrique, he is killed by [[Big Bad]] Galcian after the latter betrays the Valuan Empire. Intriguingly, even Galcian seemed to consider Gregorio a [[Worthy Opponent]] and insists that his body be shipped back to Valua with the highest honours.

* The Amarr and Minmatar roleplayers in ''[[EveEVE Online]]'' view each other this way. Out of character, they recognize that the only real difference between them is which fictional nation they chose to fight for.

* Boomerang and Lucied from ''[[Wild ArmsARMs 1]]'', what with them being [[Blood Knight|Blood Knights]]s and all.

* Played with in ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'', where Grunt, the resident [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] who was apparently built from the ground up to be the ultimate example of the krogan species, lays out the ''krogan'' definition of a [[Worthy Opponent]]: an enemy who does indeed test you in battle, but then whom you ''utterly destroy''. Apparently, the krogan mindset says that the greatest honor that can be offered to an enemy is to completely wipe them out; to the krogan, the worst insult they can offer is to say someone isn't worth fighting and slaughtering.

*** Unlike the Illusive Man's [[The Dragon|right-hand man]], Kai Leng, who stubbornly refuses to accept how skilled s/he really is and to really take him/her as a true threat. The Illusive Man continuously warns him not to underestimate him/her and to respect his/her [[Badass|badasserybadass]]ery. {{spoiler|He doesn't listen and it ends up being his undoing.}}

{{quote|'''Arishok''': (To Hawke) "You alone are Basalit-an.<ref>an outsider worthy of respect</ref>." (To the nobles) "This is what respect looks like bas! Some of you will never earn it!"}}

** Although minor in their appearance, the [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja|Garo]] [[Ninja|Ninjas]]s consider Link a worthy opponent. They not only praise him upon their defeat, but also provide him with some helpful tips as a token of their respect before they finally [[No Body Left Behind|dispose of their own bodies]].

* In ''[[Distorted Travesty]]'', The Darkness reveals near the end that the Shroud Lord considers Jerry to be its [[Worthy Opponent]], and it insists on having a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWWFe-GQ_ZQ final showdown] with him before {{spoiler|allowing the peace talks to go any further.}}

** More recently, [[Evil Overlord|General Tarquin]] views [[The Hero|Roy]] as one, respecting him as an intelligent, resourceful warrior. It gets to the point that he {{spoiler|appoints himself to the Linear Guild in place of [[The Brute|Thog]], who Roy does ''not'' view as either a proper [[Evil Counterpart]] or [[Worthy Opponent]]}}, just to get the chance to fight Roy himself.

* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' had first Colonel Pranger's [[Private Military ContractorContractors|mercenary company]], Pranger's Bangers, from ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' functions as a one-time opponent in the House Phica story arc; they're portrayed as equally competent and equally skilled, if not more so, than the protagonists. Later on, {{spoiler|due to [[Time Travel]] fun, [[The Captain|Tagon]]'s crew actually ends up ''hiring'' Pranger's Bangers [[Set Right What Once Went Wrong|for that same mission]]. There's a good deal of mutual respect between Tagon and Pranger.}}

* Robin and the second Red X in ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]''. One could argue that Slade considers Robin a [[Worthy Opponent]] but Robin simply sees Slade as a diabolical villain.

** A warrior cursed by Aku to spend eternity encrusted in the rockbed but who then managed to shape himself into a huge lava monster actually ''begged'' Jack to become his [[Worthy Opponent]] and strike him down in a battle in order to lift the curse and free his spirit.

* ''[[Peter Pan]]'' has Captain Hook, who views Peter as this. Peter doesn't really care, but when Hook thinks he's killed Pan, he says "So passes a [[Worthy Opponent]]."

* WWI German fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, better known today as the [[Red Baron]], was greatly admired among the Allied powers. Upon his death, he was given a full military funeral by his Australian opponents. Erwin Rommel, the Wehrmacht Field Marshal from World War II, known as the Desert Fox by his enemies, was similarly praised by his opponents, especially his legendary archrival, George Patton. Both the Red Baron and the Desert Fox were the living [[Magnificent Bastard|Magnificent Bastards]]s of their time (in fact, the trope [[Magnificent Bastard]] was ''named'' after Rommel). It should be noted that Rommel, while not a member of the Nazi party, was still under the command of Adolf Hitler. However, he had Jewish friends and consistently defied orders to execute both Jewish and non-Jewish prisoners of war. In fact, his Afrikakorps was well known for being fairly humane and were not charged with any war crimes under his command. Though not directly involved, he knew enough about the German Resistance's July 20 plot to kill Hitler to become entangled in the aftermath and was given the choice of suicide over execution. The fact that he managed to become the only German general from the Second World War with his own museum just shows how well he exemplified both Magnificent Bastard and Worthy Opponent.

*** There's a very clear reason why he didn't like Hitler, unlike Rommel - with halfmost of his force made up of local soldiers, his men were ''living proof'' that Hitler's ideas were bullshit.

** Another [[World War OneI]] example was German fighter ace [[wikipedia:Werner Voss|Werner Voss]]. After his skillful flying managed to let him go toe-to-toe against seven British aircraft for over ten minutes, one of the British Aces he fought against had these to say:

{{quote|'''[[wikipedia:James McCudden|James McCudden]]:''' As long as I live I shall never forget my admiration for that German pilot, who single-handed fought seven of us for ten minutes, and also put some bullets through all of our machines. His flying was wonderful, his courage magnificent, and in my opinion he is the bravest German airman whom it has been my privilege to see fight.<br />

** [[Ulysses S. Grant]] was similarly well respected by Lee, who, after the war, never, ever tolerated an unkind word about Grant in his presence. Joseph Johnston was similarlylikewise disposed towards his rival. Considering that the rival in question was the oft-villainized William T. Sherman, that's saying something. Johnston even served as a pallbearer at Sherman's funeral, and refused to cover up despite poor health and the bone-chilling cold. Because of this, he caught pneumonia and died shortly afterwards. When a friend advised him to at least put on his hat (hats aren't worn at military funerals as a sign of respect), he told him "If I were in his place and he were standing here in mine, he would not put on his hat."

** Isoroku Yamamoto, the architect of Pearl HarbourHarbor, had a tremendous respect and appreciation for the military power of the United States, gained whilst working as a Japanese naval attache in Washington. He repeatedly advised the Japanese government not to pursue a course of war against the USA and was vocally opposed to the Tripartite Pact (the alliance with Germany and Italy), which led to him receiving death threats. When ordered to present a plan for a sneak attack on the US fleet, he judged it futile, claiming that even in the best-case scenario (the destruction of the US carriers), all he would gain is six to twelve months of freedom of action in the Pacific before the US gained the upper hand, and sure enough, the US achieved this by winning the Battle of Midway just six months after Pearl HarbourHarbor. Whilst Yamamoto's respect for the military and naval power of the United States was high, this was not entirely reciprocated, as his role in planning the 'cowardly' Pearl HarbourHarbor attack made him more a figure of hate than respect. That said, the Americans did 'honour' him by going to the trouble of sending a long-range intercept mission to shoot down his aircraft when they learned its flight-plan through code intercepts.

** The problem with this is, while it sounds nice and fine when you talk about it theoretically in your peaceful home, in real wars, people always developedevelop hatred and contempt for their opponent. It's always "exceptional" when it's real. Turn on the TV. When was the last time you saw any soldier bow to their enemy's guts or cleverness?

** Since a good deal of Saladin's praise comes from christianChristian monks who chronicled the events, it's hard to argue. On the other side, muslimMuslim chroniclers exclaimed that Balian, who had defended Jerusalem, held a rank in their eyes equal to a king. He had asked Saladin for leave to evacuate his wife and children from the Holy City, and Saladin agreed on the condition that he does not return to take up arms. When Balian got there though, the people implored him to stay, citing the greater need of Christendom. He stayed and defended the city, and when the time came to negotiate terms with Saladin, the sultan reportedly held no ill feelings to Balian for breaking his oath, and sent an escort to guide his family back to Tripoli.

* In Budapest's historic Castle District, which had seen hard fighting in 1686 when a Christian army (re)conquered it after 150 years of Turkish rule, can be seen "The Monument of the last Turkish governor" erected by the victors, with the following epitaph:"Here fell the last Turkish governor, Pasha and commander of Buda, Abdurrahman Abdi Arnaut on 9 late-summer month of 1686, in his 70th year of age. He was a noble enemy and a hero, may he rest in peace." [https://web.archive.org/web/20111105190614/http://www.multigotours.com/eng/travels/view/52\]

* Australians and Turks respect one another a lot. Why? Because they were the very embodiment of this trope to one another in [[World War OneI]], 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.

* 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 OneI]], paid his respects to the Vimy Ridge Memorial. During the GermanyGerman occupation of France in [[World War II]], he posted guards to make sure that the site was not desecrated in any way.

* The legendary [[World War II]] dogfight between [[wikipedia:Sabur%C5%8DSaburō Sakai|Saburō Sakai]] and [[wikipedia:Pug Southerland|James 'Pug' Sutherland]], which saw both men display astonishing courage and skill in a dogfight that lasted several minutes in an era where dogfights were typically over in seconds. It eventually ended when Sakai shot down the crippled and disarmed Hellcat, but he had such respect for its pilot that he took care to aim his finishing shot at the engine rather than the cockpit so as to give the pilot a fighting chance of surviving. He did, but unfortunately died in a jet training accident in 1949.

* 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]

* [[The Ace|Duke Cunningham]] also found a [[Worthy Opponent]] with the still not reliably identified North Vietnames fighter pilot variously called Nyugen Toon or [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Tomb ]] who engaged him in a dog fight he only managed to win by the hair of his teeth.

* The Canadians in general were well respected and feared by the German soldiers in [[World War OneI]], and earned the nickname "shock troops". There is even a quote from notorious German WWI veteran [[Adolf Hitler]]: "Give me Canadian men and American equipment and I'll win the war."

[[Category:WorthyRedemption OpponentTropes]]