History Main / EvilWelcomesDefectors

* ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': In the first arc, Cyclops got tired with the slow pace of Xavier's methods, so he left the X-Men and joined the Brotherhood. He had some concerns about the unneeded slaughter of civilians, but stayed on board. But, when Magneto takes control of an army of Sentinels, and head to Washington DC to raze the city, that was too much and he returned to the X-Men... convincing Quicksilver to betray his father in the meantime.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', the Horde welcomes in one of the princesses with open arms. [[spoiler:After GadgeteerGenius Entrapta is mistakenly thought dead by the Rebellion, Entrapta becomes a member of the Horde, and Hordak welcomes her in. Even so, Entrapta joins less because she feels betrayed and more because [[ForScience the Horde has better access to First Ones tech]].]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', the Horde welcomes in one of the princesses with open arms. [[spoiler:After GadgeteerGenius Entrapta is mistakenly thought dead by the Rebellion, Entrapta becomes a member of the Horde, and Hordak welcomes her in. Even so, Entrapta joins less because she feels betrayed and more because [[ForScience the Horde has better access to First Ones' tech]].]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', the Horde welcomes in one of the princesses with open arms. [[spoiler:After GadgeteerGenius Entrapta is mistakenly thought dead by the Rebellion, Entrapta becomes a member of the Horde, and Hordak welcomes her in. Even so, Entrapta joins less because she feels betrayed and more because [[ForScience the Horde has better access to First Ones tech]].]]
* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'' where Emperor Zurg takes over a planet Roswell and happily accepts the traitorous resident who offered allegiance as an evil henchman after he played up his negative traits to impress Zurg.

'''Defector:''' Well, yeah ''(nervously laughs)''\\

'''Zurg:''' Sold! We'll start you in the [[YesMan Yes-man]] pool.

Contrast RewardedAsATraitorDeserves, where villains dispose of enemy deserters, and WelcomeBackTraitor where the heroes are the ones to welcome a traitor into their ranks. Compare EqualOpportunityEvil.

* The Forces of Chaos in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' consist in huge part of former imperials who fell to Chaos for one reason or another. Chaos Space Marines, in particular, are almost exclusively made up of former champions of the Imperium who switched their allegiance during the Horus Heresy, or during the ten thousand years that followed. In this case, the Forces of Chaos specifically value treachery and other negative emotions, plus Chaos explicitly has EvilMakesYouForget as an effect.

* The Forces of Chaos in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' consist in huge part of former imperials who fell to Chaos for one reason or another. Chaos Space Marines, in particular, are almost exclusively made up of former champions of the Imperium who switched their allegiance during the Horus Heresy, or during the ten thousand years that followed.

'''Zurg:''' Sold! We'll start you in the S-Man pool.

Contrast RewardedAsATraitorDeserves, where villains dispose of enemy desenters, and WelcomeBackTraitor where the heroes are the ones to welcome a traitor into their ranks. Compare EqualOpportunityEvil.

* Wizard Vilgefortz, the BigBad of ''Literature/TheWitcher'' novels, is perfectly happy to accept new members into his faction, even if those members have goals largely incompatible with his own agenda. In ''Tower of Swallow'', he recruits Stefan Skellen and Leo Bonhart into his ranks and treats them as full-fledged members from there on. He also attempts to bring Geralt over to his side several times, though his honesty is rather questionable.

* The Forces of Chaos in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' consist in huge part of former imperials who fell to Chaos for one reason or another. Chaos Space Marines in particular are almost exclusively made up of former champions of the Imperium who switched their allegiance during the Horus Heresy, or during the ten thousand years that followed.

* The Linear Guild, a group of minor villains in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is constantly looking for new members to resupply their ranks and aren't above recruiting people from the opposing sides of the conflict. In their first appearance, the leader of the group attempts to recruit his good-aligned borther, an offer which gets swiftly refused. Later they make a similar offer to a fallen paladin Miko, which is then met with a rather violent refusal. Finally they attempt to recruit [[spoiler:vampirised Durkon]] after killing his master, to which he responds by turning on them immediately.

* PlayedForLaughs in WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand where Emperor Zurg takes over a planet Roswell and happily accepts the traitorous resident who offered allegiance as an evil henchman after he played up his negative traits to impress Zurg.

-->'''Zurg:''' You're a spineless turncoat who would sell out his own planet for a chance to be on the winning side!
-->'''Defector:''' Well, yeah (nervously laughs)
-->'''Zurg:''' Promising. Any other bad traits?
-->'''Defector:''' I'm vengeful, cruel, and vain. Oh, I like to make people cry.
-->'''Zurg:''' Sold! We'll start you in the S-Man pool.

Bringing your enemies over to your side can be a powerful tool -- it allows you to weaken your opponent and strengthen your forces at the same time. However, there are some problems associated with such a strategy. For one, it makes infiltrating your forces rather easy, since sneaking in a spy shouldn't be too hard, but even genuine defectors might hold views incompatible with your goals and methods. Done on a large scale, assimilating former enemies into your forces may render said forces uncoordinated and prone to inner conflicts due to the differences between its members and groups.