History Main / ChronicBackstabbingDisorder

* Raven Branwen in the ''Fanfic/RubyAndNora'' series has a bad case of it. "Never trust bandits" is kind of her CatchPhrase whenever she makes a deal with someone. She always manages to turn her back on someone when she can get away with it. [[spoiler:{{Deconstructed|Trope}} since it comes back to bite her in the ass when asking Summer for undeserved mercy after betraying her for the last time. [[BewareTheNiceOnes It appears that even Summer has her limits to what she'll put up with from her.]]]]

** In ''Revenge of the Island'', [[Characters/TotalDramaScott Scott]] constantly sabotages his team, so he can eliminate any possible threats and lull the other team into a false sense of security. Halfway through the season, Chris, who is the host puts him on the other team... and he starts sabotaging his new team's efforts instead.

** While not as bad as Heather, Courtney too has her fair share of betrayals throughout the series, ranging from friends, enemies and even love interests:

** This was the only way Heather got to the final rounds more than once. However, it's also been known to backfire on her and has done so twice. Lindsay and Beth, two victims of Heather's abuse still won't associate with her after ''Island''. She also failed this in ''World Tour'', having her hands on the money for all of three seconds before losing it and ending up with nothing.
** In ''Revenge of the Island'', Scott constantly sabotages his team, so he can eliminate any possible threats and lull the other team into a false sense of security. Halfway through the season, Chris, who is the host puts him on the other team... and he starts sabotaging his new team's efforts instead.

* Rourke from ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire''. Towards the end, while he's trying to get away with [[MacGuffin the Heart of Atlantis]], his zeppelin isn't going very high, so he decides to throw Helga, the ''only'' specialist still supporting him by this point, off. After hitting the ground, [[LastBreathBullet she uses her flare gun to shoot the main balloon]], making it sink and helping Milo stop him.

* [[FollowTheLeader/ProfessionalWrestling Thanks to]] Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, its rare to find a successful {{tag team}} in the continental United States that doesn't break up for petty reasons and in fact has become more common for long-lasting tag teams to be formed out of rivals who have feuded with each other so long it has gotten old or have put aside their differences to show how much these particular tag team title belts are really worth.

* Wrestling/CarlitoColon has betrayed his own family multiple times, starting when he left WWC for OVW and claimed he had no brother, Ray González when they teamed up against La Artilleria Pesada (though Ray had betrayed Carly first), Wrestling/RicFlair who he was seemingly becoming friends with after a spat, Wrestling/TorrieWilson who he started seeing after Trish Stratus's retirement, Chris Masters in the Wrestling/RoyalRumble, "The Manager of Champions" Rico Casanova for inadvertently costing him Ecuadoran War title belt and probably many more. Wrestling/JimRoss started calling his finishing move, a lung blower/back cracker, "the backstabber".
* Wrestling/ShawnMichaels was teaming up with Wrestling/JohnCena to become a championship tag team. Given that they were slated to compete at Wrestling/WrestleMania for the WWE Championship, the team seemed shaky but HBK was determined to keep Cena at 100% for [=WrestleMania=]. Cena was consistently worried that HBK would turn on him as he had done with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq_u89b-SIk every single person and team he had ever worked with.]] Inevitably, yes, HBK turned on Cena. Shawn even lampshaded it during the 2013 Slammy Awards when he won the Double-Cross of the Year award, finding it strange that despite the number of times he's betrayed someone over his storied career, only three years after retirement does he actually win an award for it.

** Much like his father Paul Bearer, Wrestling/{{Kane}} has his share of betrayals as well. The Undertaker is his prime victim as Taker puts up with him & always accepts him back more than anyone else. In 97, Kane is under command of Paul Bearer and wants revenge on Taker for killing their parents. They do everything to provoke him into a fight, and nothing works until Kane literally sets Taker on fire. They feud afterwards but iron out their differences until Taker betrays Kane at Judgement Day 98 during his Ministry period. This is the only time Taker betrayed Kane. All of their subsequent feuds were started by Kane.

* In ''Fanfic/ThreeStrikes'', [=McKinsey=] is a triple agent providing [[spoiler:Osean intel to Erusea. He didn't hesitate to imply that Matthews was a traitor in his call with Pixy. After he escapes from his [=MP escort=], he goes to an Erusean base comprised of defected Oseans and gives Mimic Squadron all the information he has on the former Spares. He betrays Clemens by telling Mimic to go after Strider during their next operation despite Clemens’s orders not to, hoping that Clemens will be caught red-handed and forced on the run. He even goes as far as to sabotage one of the Mimic twins' ejection seats.]]

* ''Literature/LoneWolf'': The Darklords, full stop. Although it's only implied in the gamebooks, the novelizations expand on how the Darklords spend more energy plotting against each other, in the hope of becoming the new Archlord of the Darklands, than against the rest of the world (which they were explicitly created by their dark god to conquer in the first place). Only when an iron-fisted Archlord emerges and keeps the others in check do they focus their efforts on conquering Magnamund -- and even though this ''does'' generally set the Darklords in place to curbstomp all opposition, the backstabbing doesn't stop, it just gets more discreet. Every time the current Archlord is offed by Lone Wolf, it ''always'' results in a civil war between the various Darkland factions. Best demonstrating this is the fact that most Darklords' personal weapons are ''[[WeaponOfXSlaying Weapons of Darklord-Slaying]]''. Being otherwise {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le, they are more worried about facing their rivals than any hypothetical hero reaching them and turning their own weapons against them.

* ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} is just as untrustworthy in the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse as he is in the comics, which he demonstrates in ''one episode''. First, he convinces the WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague to help him fight off ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}'s invasion of Apokolips. Then he betrays Superman to Brainiac in exchange for Apokolips' safety. Then Darkseid betrays Brainiac by using a Mother Box to take control of him in a bid to discover the Anti-Life Equation and rewrite the universe. This left an impression on Brainiac -- in a later episode, Brainiac was reluctant to make a mutually beneficial deal with Luthor because his experiences with Darkseid taught him that organic beings couldn't be trusted.

* In the sequel series ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':

* This is Monstroso's M.O. on ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' He, being a supervillain lawyer, is also known as the "king of the doublecross." This doublecrossing is actually ''encouraged'' by the [[WeirdTradeUnion Guild of Calamitous Intent]]. In his debut episode, he works with [[BigBad The Monarch]] to torment [[NominalHero Dr. Venture]] by using [[LoopholeAbuse litigation and paperwork]] to seize Dr. Venture's estate, fully planning to backstab the Monarch and seize ''his'' estate as well.

* Apocalypse from ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' has a habit of making promises to people and then breaking them at the worst possible moment. He promised Deathbird he would kill her sister, only to kidnap one of Lilandra's telepaths instead; when Deathbird reminded Apocalypse he said he would destroy Lilandra, he simply replied "ILied". He tricked the Friends of Humanity into helping and dispersing a plague for him, then planned to discard them as soon their usefulness had ended. He lied to Magneto about his intentions in regards to creating a reality where mutants ruled over humans, instead planning to destroy all of reality and remaking it in his image, though Magneto saw this betrayal coming.

** [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEmperorBelos Emperor Belos]] seems incapable of making a deal without [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness betraying his allies the instant he gets what he wants]]. Over the course of the series, he has betrayed [[SiblingMurder his brother]], [[BadBoss his subordinates]], [[FinalSolution every single witch and demon on the Boiling Isles]], and even [[GooGooGodlike The Collector]].

AesopAmnesia is a frequent symptom of this. Frequently happens when a MagnificentBastard plays the EnigmaticMinion. Related to TheStarscream, except that character type ''doesn't'' succeed (most of the time, anyways, and when they do, they usually don't get to revel in it for long) and DeckOfWildCards (where every single person tries pulling a Starscream). These characters are also commonly ChaoticNeutral, ChaoticEvil, ChaoticStupid, StupidEvil, or StupidNeutral. (Lawful and/or good characters tend to see betrayal as a big no-no, and NeutralEvil characters (probably) won't betray their current allies just for the hell of it.) Often a characteristic of TheStarscream who has his own ruling plans but just as often an OpportunisticBastard who doesn't mind being a follower and living in the shadow of the strongest side.

Frequently happens when a MagnificentBastard plays the EnigmaticMinion. Related to TheStarscream, except that character type ''doesn't'' succeed (most of the time, anyways, and when they do, they usually don't get to revel in it for long) and DeckOfWildCards (where every single person tries pulling a Starscream). These characters are also commonly ChaoticNeutral, ChaoticEvil, ChaoticStupid, StupidEvil, or StupidNeutral. (Lawful and/or good characters tend to see betrayal as a big no-no, and NeutralEvil characters (probably) won't betray their current allies just for the hell of it.) Often a characteristic of TheStarscream who has his own ruling plans but just as often an OpportunisticBastard who doesn't mind being a follower and living in the shadow of the strongest side.

* There's a reason one of [[Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's]] nicknames is "The Rattlesnake".

** Interestingly, this gets {{Inverted}} against [[spoiler:Belos by Luz, once he's chronologically aware of her true identity as another human. Twice he attempts to make a deal for her aid and cooperation in enacting his plans, and actually sincerely seems to be willing to uphold his end, even if it inconveniences him, and both times, ''Luz'' is the one to ultimately 'betray' him and renege on her end of the deal, causing him significant trouble [[labelnote:*]] She accepts his deal to trade the portal door for Eda's life, but booby-traps the portal with flame Glyphs, and makes a deal with him to spare her and her friends for supporting his claims of 'protecting humanity' only to get close enough to brand him with a sigil [[/labelnote]]. In both occasions, it seems to be a combination of Belos's perception of Luz as [[UnderestimatingBadassery a mere child]] and inability to accept that [[FantasticRacism a human would turn against him to protect monsters]] that blinds him to her intentions.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'''s Megabyte suffered from Chronic Backstabbing Disorder and was brave enough to admit it. "I double-cross whomever I please." Good for you, Megabyte. You know, the first step to recovery is admitting there is a problem.

* In ''WebVideo/SMPEarth'', Tommy is an [[InvertedTrope inverted example]] -- he just can't seem to stop getting betrayed, with his ally Wisp leaving him for the Antarctic Empire, and other potential allies betraying him at the first chance they get.

* In ''WebVideo/SMPEarth'', Tommy just can't seem to stop getting betrayed, with his ally Wisp leaving him for the Antarctic Empire, and other potential allies betraying him at the first chance they get.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEmperorBelos Emperor Belos]] seems incapable of making a deal without [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness betraying his allies the instant he gets what he wants]]. Over the course of the series, he has betrayed [[SiblingMurder his brother]], [[BadBoss his subordinates]], [[FinalSolution every single witch and demon on the Boiling Isles]], and even [[GooGooGodlike The Collector]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEmperorBelos Emperor Belos]] seems incapable of keeping a promise and not betraying his allies the microsecond he gets or even just thinks he's gotten what he wanted and needs them no longer.
** He murdered his own brother for getting close and very implicitly falling in love with a witch, though he views it as Caleb betraying ''him'' first given his own bigotry.
** He's killed ''countless'' Golden Guards for questioning him or even just slightly wavering in their devotion to the cause, and nearly kills Hunter, too--who he ''raised''.
** He promised Lilith he'd cure Eda's curse and spare her in exchange for loyalty, but never had any intentions of following through and immediately tried to petrify her once delivered to him.
** He rewards Kikimora's loyalty by demoting her and casting her aside once she quits being of use, then in "King's Tide" he leaves her to die by the Draining Spell's effects and tells her to find a hole to rot in. This backfires when she retaliates by bringing King to the Collector and freeing them to get back at him.
** He promises the Coven Heads (and other prominent figures on the Isles, like the Blights) that [[YouWillBeSpared they'll survive the Day of Unity]] and reign over the "new world" with him, but in reality, he planned to kill them along with everyone else.
** He betrays the ''entire Boiling Isles'', who practically worship him, pretending to be a benevolent leader while secretly planning to [[FinalSolution commit genocide against them]]. Even worse is that he engineered his own rise to power and killed countless witches beforehand to become their Emperor to begin with.
** He promise to set the Collector free in exchange for help with the Draining Spell, but tosses them into a pit to be forgotten as soon as the spell's underway just so he can't ever share the knowledge Belos learned with others. Like Kikimora, [[LaserGuidedKarma this bites him squarely on the ass later]].
** This gets ''gloriously'' [[ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine turned against him in the end]], as Luz manages to convince him to make a bargain with her to spare her life in exchange for her teaching him about the modern world and providing proof of his claims to have killed countless witches that were 'threatening humanity'. However, like Philip whenever he made his prior bargains, Luz never actually intended to honor her side of the deal at all, and only used it as an excuse to get close enough to brand Philip with an invisible branding glove, allowing him to become a target for the draining spell as well, aiming to use the fact that he's now as much in danger as the rest of the Boiling isles denizens to convince him to turn the spell off. Unfortunately, Lutz didn't consider Philip [[IrrevocableOrder couldn't turn it off]] because [[DidntThinkThisThrough he never considered he'd need to]] or that he would just undergo a VillainousBreakdown both mentally and [[OneWingedAngel physically]] as he decides to just kill her and her friends then and there.

** This gets ''gloriously'' [[ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine turned against him in the end]], as Luz manages to convince him to make a bargain with her to spare her life in exchange for her teaching him about the modern world and providing proof of his claims to have killed countless witches that were 'threatening humanity'. However, like Philip whenever he made his prior bargains, Luz never actually intended to honor her side of the deal at all, and only used it as an excuse to get close enough to brand Philip with an invisible branding glove, allowing him to become a target for the draining spell as well, aiming to use the fact that he's now as much in danger as the rest of the Boiling isles denizens to convince him to turn the spell off.

* Wrestling/{{Christian}} turned on ''every'' partner he's ever had, until Wrestling/AJStyles & Tomko turned on him to join the [[Wrestling/KurtAngle Angle]] Alliance and Christian underwent a HeelFaceTurn, which carried over to his second WWE run. Lampshaded early in his TNA run, as Wrestling/JeffJarrett pointed out to Wrestling/{{Sting}} that Christian couldn't be trusted, and Christian retorted that Wrestling/{{Edge}} & Wrestling/ChrisJericho would vouch for his loyalty; before immediately remembering that he did betray them and remarking that calling them wouldn't be a good idea. Subverted at [=WrestleMania=] XXVII in a MetaTwist: everyone and their mother was expecting Christian to turn on Edge (who had been ThoseTwoGuys all their careers) during the match with Wrestling/AlbertoDelRio and yet amazingly, this wasn't even hinted at during the match. Christian never turned and everyone was rather surprised and happy. When Edge retired days later to a legit injury, it meant that instead of having Edge's last match be a loss due to the betrayal of his best friend, it meant he went out and retired as the champ. And then this would come back in Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling where after weeks of managing Jurassic Express and siding with them to help them win the tag titles, once they lost the titles to Wrestling/TheYoungBucks their partnership didn't end with a pat on the back but rather a Killswitch and Con-Chair-To to Jungle Boy, [[KickTheDog right in front of his family]].

* Agent South of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' is revealed to suffer from this. It's apparently a survival reflex. Agent Washington suffers from an {{inver|tedTrope}}sion: Almost everyone ''he's'' ever worked with, including South, have betrayed him at some point, [[spoiler:the sole exception being the Reds and the Blues]].

* This is a gameplay mechanic in Creator/WilliamsElectronics[='=] ''Pinball/{{Joust}}'' pinball; each time you completed a set of targets, you'd receive a set of points ''and'' reset your opponent's efforts to do the same.

** This gets ''gloriously'' turned against him in the end, as Luz manages to convince him to make a bargain with her to spare her life in exchange for her teaching him about the modern world and providing proof of his claims to have killed countless witches that were 'threatening humanity'. However, like Philip whenever he made his prior bargains, Luz never actually intended to honor her side of the deal at all, and only used it as an excuse to get close enough to brand Philip with an invisible branding glove, allowing him to become a target for the draining spell as well, aiming to use the fact that he's now as much in danger as the rest of the Boiling isles denizens to convince him to turn the spell off.

* Apocalypse from the ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' animated series has a habit of making promises to people and then breaking them at the worst possible moment. He promised Deathbird he would kill her sister, only to kidnap one of Lilandra's telepaths instead; when Deathbird reminded Apocalypse he said he would destroy Lilandra, he simply replied "ILied". He tricked the Friends of Humanity into helping and dispersing a plague for him, then planned to discard them as soon their usefulness had ended. He lied to Magneto about his intentions in regards to creating a reality where mutants ruled over humans, instead planning to destroy all of reality and remaking it in his image, though Magneto saw this betrayal coming.

* In ''[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/Legionnaire Legionnaire]]'', the Khans seem to be unable to maintain honesty for any longer than it becomes convenient to betray someone, even if it would be a retarded idea, like trying to murder an Equestrian princess in their own quarters in a fort full of troops.

** Rouge originally helps Eggman, then she betrays him to serve Maledict for [[OnlyInItForTheMoney jewel payments]], then she helps Sonic and friends [[spoiler: before betraying them and giving the Chaos Emeralds to Maledict]], then she betrays Maledict and joins with Eggman again, before finally teaming up with Sonic. Rouge flat out says she doesn't care what side she's on, as long as she gets something out of it

* Raven Branwen in the ''Fanfic/RubyAndNora'' series has a bad case of it. "Never trust bandits" is kind of her CatchPhrase whenever she makes a deal with someone. She always manages to turn her back on someone when she can get away with it. [[spoiler: {{Deconstructed|Trope}} since it comes back to bite her in the ass when asking Summer for undeserved mercy after betraying her for the last time. [[BewareTheNiceOnes It appears that even Summer has her limits to what she'll put up with from her.]]]]

* Red from ''Roleplay/WhatHappenedInEdmonton'' and ''Roleplay/WhatHappenedInOregon'' is a yandere who gets around, often by killing her previous love interests. Born and raised in Miami, she's backstabbed her way across America before making her way to Canada. Her level of involvement in the deaths of numerous High Epics has varied from watching potentially deadly encounters go down, such as in the case of [[spoiler:Nighthound]] to using her powers to [[spoiler: choke Crimson and Gem from inside their stomach]] when she feels [[YouHaveFailedMe they've disappointed her]].

** BitchInSheepsClothing [[spoiler: Dahlia Hawthorne steals a two million dollar gem from her father, frames the guy who was in love with her (twice!) kills her stepsister, puts her cousin's mentor in a coma via poisoning, kills her second boyfriend, tries to kill her third boyfriend, tries to kill her other cousin, inadvertently causes the death of her aunt in the process, and locks her twin sister in a freezing and unstable cave to steal her identity and commit perjury in her name. She almost qualifies solely through the sheer number of times she betrayed Terry Fawles. The ways she betrayed him consisted of: convincing him to commit extortion and then letting him get arrested for it, possibly lying to him about who was in on the plot, probably pretending to love him back, being involved in getting him shot, letting him get blamed for kidnapping when it was consensual, framing him for murder twice and hiding the information that could get his death sentence cancelled, letting him mourn her when she was still alive, cheating him out of his cut of what they stole (or intending to), perjuring against him, (presumably) falsely accusing him of trying to kill her, giving him poison and instructions to drink it if a likely situation occurred (possibly without him knowing it was poison), and watching him drink it]].

** It's starting to look like Nale of has a case of backstabbing disorder. The jury's still out on whether he works for the fiends, Xykon, [[spoiler:his father]], or himself. Oh, he definitely works for himself. He only works for Xykon and Tarquin when it's convenient (and when it keeps him alive), and as for the Fiends, he doesn't even know about them -- he's being [[UnwittingPawn manipulated]] by them, via Sabine [[spoiler: and Qarr]].

* Anthem, from ''Webcomic/TheWaterPhoenixKing'', in the Torture Lord's temple, having lost her sword ''again'', uses [[spoiler: Vish!]] as a weapon against the monsters and proclaims herself this:

* [[DepravedBisexual Sahar]], of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse''. She started out backstabbing as an orphan in Beirut, and then got superpowers and was recruited by the CIA as a trainee. While her main ability was mentally impressing a SelfFulfillingProphecy of Doom on an opponent, she also had a talent for copying the psi powers of those she was intimate with. At [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] she went from clique to clique, picking a target, seducing them, getting a copy of said target's powers, backstabbing them, and then moving on. Even the Alphas fear her. She doesn't betray a target to join with the new one. She just betrays a target so she can start over, finding a new power to copy! Best one was when she pulled this trick to a guy ''and'' his girlfriend! [[spoiler: Ironically, she pulled a heel face turn before the series started, and attempts to redeem herself.]]

* [[spoiler: Deuce]] from the second season of ''WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed''. There isn't a single alliance he makes that isn't simply one of convenience and broken as soon as he has what he wants from it.

** [[spoiler: Lotor has thus far betrayed his father, by going behind his back to proceed with his secret plans and later killing him, and his generals by straight-up murdering one of them.]]
** [[spoiler: His generals aren't much better. First they basically betray the empire by helping Lotor, then they betray Lotor due to the abovementioned straight-up murder, then they betray Haggar to help Lotor again, then they betray Lotor, AGAIN, when he turns psycho, and when the empire is scattered and they are sovereign warlords Acxa betrays the other two for good measure.]]

* Wrestling/CarlitoColon has betrayed his own family multiple times, starting when he left WWC for OVW and claimed he had no brother, Ray González when they teamed up against La Artilleria Pesada (though Ray had betrayed Carly first), Wrestling/RicFlair who he was seemingly becoming friends with after a spat, Wrestling/TorrieWilson who he started seeing after Trish Stratus's retirement, Chris Masters in the Wrestling/RoyalRumble, "The Manager Of Champions" Rico Casanova for inadvertently costing him Ecuadoran War title belt and probably many more. Wrestling/JimRoss started calling his finishing move, a lung blower/back cracker, "the backstabber".

*** When Taker returned as The American Badass in 2000, he & Kane had a strained relationship, especially with both going after the WWF title. However, Taker did offer Kane advice before matches & watched out for him a bit. It came to an end when Kane chokeslamed him through the ring, injuring his ribs. Taker returned the following night to confront Kane who refused to give him an explanation. Kane went to leave the ring as Taker yelled at him and relented in frustration, but as soon as Taker's back was turned, Kane ambushed & brutalized him. They feud into Summerslam where Taker unmasked Kane causing him to run from the arena.
*** Eventually all is forgiven and they form a tag-team as ''The Brothers of Destruction'' in 2001 with their bond being stronger than ever. Though the brand split separated them, a small scene in 2002 showed they were still on good terms despite being on different brands. This ended in 2003 when Kane attacked Taker at Survivor Series and helped Vince bury him alive. Kane later says Taker had become too human & was a shell of his former self, a fake. This leads to their feud in 2004 when Taker returned as The Deadman once again and defeated Kane at Wrestlemania.

* Wrestling/TheYoungBucks show it's possible to stab someone in the back by kicking them in the front. They betrayed the original frontman of Wrestling/BulletClub, [[Wrestling/FergalDevitt Prince Devitt]]. They betrayed the ''second'' frontman, Wrestling/AJStyles, and installed their friend Wrestling/KennyOmega. Then after gathering their friends from Wrestling/RingOfHonor and other promotions for their event ''All In'', they betrayed the promotion that helped them put it on to form their own promotion, AEW. ''Then'' they betrayed the ideals of Bullet Club, and were subsequently [[HoistByHisOwnPetard finally]] kicked out by remaining Bullet Club original member [[{{Wrestling/GuerrillasOfDestiny Tama Tonga]] and his cohort. Prior to Nick's paternity leave for his third child, they were even feuding with their fellow Elite members Omega and Hangman Page over the AEW tag belts.