History Main / FairPlayVillain

** [[DarkMessiah Nagato]], the leader of the Atasuki, during his haunt for Naruto, asks the residents of Konoha for Naruto's location. If they comply, he spares them. If they don't, he kills them.

* A serious example with ''Literature/TheArtOfWar'': Sun Tzu stresses that when the enemy army is cornered you should always give them room to retreat, because enemies with no way out will fight more fiercely and cause you additional losses.

* Monokuma from ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'', and by extension The Mastermind behind him. He sets rules for his DeadlyGame that he too is also bound by, purely through choice. While he ''does'' break his rules occasionally by framing students for crimes that they didn't commit, Monokuma is willing to submit to demands when called out on it. [[PragmaticVillainy Granted, this is not done out of a sense of honor]], but because [[spoiler:Junko Enoshima and Tsumugi don’t want to disappoint/piss off [[TrumanShowPlot the audience watching all of this carnage]] by blatantly screwing over the cast. This would ruin the point of the ImmoralRealityShow, which is to get the students to kill each other and give into their despair. And in [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair the second game]], since Junko is an AI, she physically cannot defy the laws of the [[LotusEaterMachine Neo World Program]]. Junko, Tsumugi, and Monokuma frequently point out that it creates better despair if people have hope first, and just killing all of them without hope would be boring]]. As such, Monokuma and the Mastermind are willing to play within the rules of the game, even if [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem they do stretch the interpretation of these rules to the breaking point]] quite often with liberal uses of YouDidntAsk and ExactWords.

* In ''VideoGame/Persona5 Royal'', the TrueFinalBoss could just snap his fingers and either brainwash you into becoming his slaves or wink you out of existence, but he chooses not to because he wants to give you a chance to accept his ideology of your own free will.

* This is one of the few positive traits of Gruntilda in ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' and its sequels. She's selfish, greedy, spiteful and cruel...but she gives the bear and bird ample opportunities to beat her, is willing to wait an ''incredibly long time'' to let them arrive there, and abides by the rules of the game show she sets up, to the point of handing over Tooty without a fight when Banjo wins. In ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'' she'll even hand over free resources like red feathers or fire eggs if you get lucky when visiting her fortune-telling tent.

** Some versions of theRiddler are quite fair about riddles and death traps. If his victim (usually Batman) escapes his death traps or solves his riddles, the Riddler will usually hold up his end of a deal or accept the result, even if he is [[PsychopathicManchild rather whiny about it]]. In Riddler's mind, he's [[InsufferableGenius the smartest man in the entire world]], and he won't lower himself to "baser instincts" because that would mean he isn't as smart as his victim. Of course, the Riddler has also been known to cheat like hell, so this should be taken with a grain of salt.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':
** The Characters/BatmanTheJoker takes an almost perverse pleasure in seeing his plans be foiled by the Batman. This helps justify why he continues to give Batman a way out instead of just executing him when the opportunity arises.
** The modus operandi villain ComicBook/TwoFace, who believes that chance (specifically, a coin toss) is the only fair thing in the world, and will flip a coin to make any major decisions. How "fair" this is can become skewed, such as flipping a coin to decide whether or not he should honor an agreement when the other party already held up their end of the bargain or doing multiple coin flips for every petty little thing.
** Some versions of ComicBook/TheRiddler are quite fair about riddles and death traps. If his victim (usually Batman) escapes his death traps or solves his riddles, the Riddler will usually hold up his end of a deal or accept the result, even if he is [[PsychopathicManchild rather whiny about it]]. In Riddler's mind, he's [[InsufferableGenius the smartest man in the entire world]], and he won't lower himself to "baser instincts" because that would mean he isn't as smart as his victim. Of course, the Riddler has also been known to cheat like hell, so this should be taken with a grain of salt.
* ''ComicBook/LadyShiva'':
** [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor Sometimes anti-heroine/sometimes villainess]] Lady Shiva is a BloodKnight martial artist who is constantly seeking a WorthyOpponent [[DeathSeeker to defeat and kill her in hand-to-hand combat]]. During one battle against ComicBook/RichardDragon, Richard had technically defeated her and was ready to deliver a killing blow when one of Shiva's minions interrupted the fight to save her life. An angry Shiva killed the minion for interfering and restarted the fight with Richard. However, this time, she won.
** On a different occasion, Lady Shiva battled against [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2000}} Batgirl]] (later revealed to be her own daughter, Cassandra Cain) and "killed" her by stopping her heart for a length of time and then reviving her. Batgirl, as a former [[ChildSoldiers Child Assassin]] that became TheAtoner, was a DeathSeeker just like Shiva, which is something Shiva didn't find particularly sporting, so she killed and resurrected her enemy just to give Batgirl a taste of death that would ease her guilty conscience. It worked, and Batgirl went on to win their duel.
* Marvel has Arcade, whose M.O. was trapping heroes in carnival-themed death traps and getting his kicks on seeing them try to escape. He claims that his Murderworlds are designed so that the heroes all have a chance to escape. A small chance (which may well depend on realizing that Arcade ''can't'' actually be trusted and [[TakeAThirdOption thinking outside the box]] rather than falling for the "obvious" challenge), but a chance nonetheless. It may also be Arcade's own way of justifying his continuous failures to kill any superheroes.

** Zero II in the third game, ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'' ... is ''not'' this trope, and let's leave it at that.

* Señor Senior Sr. from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' became a supervillain not for evil purposes, but because he's a [[RichBoredom bored, retired billionaire who needed a fun hobby to pass the time]], and Ron happened to mention that his mansion looked like a supervillain lair. As such, he deliberately adheres to ContractualGenreBlindness and plays things absolutely fair in his confrontations with Kim. His son Señor Senior Jr. isn't any more evil than him and would much rather be partying than plotting villainous schemes (Sr. forces him to tag along as a father-son bonding activity), but he is far more {{pragmatic|Villainy}} and usually asks WhyDontYouJustShootHim, only to be chastised by his father because that sort of thing isn't what "proper" villains do.
* Carmen Sandiego, the titular character of ''WesternAnimation/WhereOnEarthIsCarmenSandiego'', is a fair-play villainess who will give Zach and Ivy a chance to thwart her by leaving complex clues for them to solve.
* Reconstructed with The Weeper from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': he's seen as a HarmlessVillain by most people because EvenEvilHasStandards, but when Batman goes KnightTemplar and spreads SinisterSurveillance all over Gotham causing Weeper to see a child trying to steal a candy bar recoil in horror at the sight of the Batsignal in the sky he becomes motivated enough to stop him.

[[folder:Comics]]

Obviously, Fair Play Villainy is not (usually) based on pragmatism. The villain may be AffablyEvil or a KnightTemplar who regards giving the hero a chance as 'ethical'. Perhaps the villain just wants to see how skilled the hero ''really'' is, or give him the option of getting himself out alive ''or'' rescuing somebody else. The villain may have NighInvulnerability and believes VictoryIsBoring, so that the hero's victory becomes a SelfImposedChallenge. Or the villain may be a NobleDemon who really does want to ''earn'' his victory. Or, more rarely, it's a [[SlaveToPR PR or reputation]] thing.

* Akuma of ''StreetFighter'' fame is a BloodKnight who seeks someone with the raw skills to defeat him. He will openly mock any character that obtains power by artificial methods (Seth and Bison) or that utilizes weaponry (Vega and Crimson Viper). By contrast, he rejects any opponent too weak to pose a challenge.

* While he's [[AntiHero not always a villain]], Meta Knight in the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series will almost always provide Kirby with a blade in order to have a proper swordfight, [[HonorBeforeReason even if he's in a near-death situation]]. If he ''doesn't'' provide a sword, it's a tip-off that [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness somethig's not right]]. Masked Dedede apes this behavior in ''[[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Kirby Super Star Ultra]]''[='s=] "Revenge of the King" mode, providing Kirby with a hammer before their cage match.

* While he's [[AntiVillain not always a villain]], Meta Knight in the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series will almost always provide Kirby with a blade in order to have a proper swordfight, [[HonorBeforeReason even if he's in a near-death situation]]. If he ''doesn't'' provide a sword, it's a tip-off that [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness somethig's not right]]. Masked Dedede apes this behavior in ''[[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Kirby Super Star Ultra]]''[='s=] "Revenge of the King" mode, providing Kirby with a hammer before their cage match.

* Señor Senior Sr. from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' became a supervillain not for evil purposes, but because he's a [[RichBoredom bored, retired billionaire who needed a fun hobby to pass the time]], and Ron happened to mention that his mansion looked like a supervillain lair. As such, he deliberately adheres to ContractualGenreBlindness and plays things absolutely fair in his confrontations with Kim. His son Senñor Senior Jr. isn't any more evil than him and would much rather be partying than plotting villainous schemes (Sr. forces him to tag along as a father-son bonding activity), but he is far more {{pragmatic|Villainy}} and usually asks WhyDontYouJustShootHim, only to be chastised by his father because that sort of thing isn't what "proper" villains do.

* Senor Senior, Sr., a villain from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', became an arch-villain not for good ''or'' evil purposes but because [[ItAmusedMe he's a billionaire seeking amusement.]] He has studied the failures of genre-blind villains and regards them as important traditions. Lampshaded in one episode, when [[MinionWithAnFInEvil Senor Senior, Jr.]] asks why they're leaving the room while a ConveyorBeltOfDoom finishes off the heroes. Sr. Senior, Sr. explains that [[BondVillainStupidity leaving the room to allow Kim a chance to escape]] is what a "[[VillainBall proper villain]]" would do.

Obviously, Fair Play Villainy is not (usually) based on pragmatism. The villain may be AffablyEvil or a KnightTemplar who regards giving the hero a chance as 'ethical'. Perhaps the villain just wants to see how skilled the hero ''really'' is, or give him the option of getting himself out alive ''or'' rescuing somebody else. The villain may be NighInvulnerable and believes VictoryIsBoring, so that the hero's victory becomes a SelfImposedChallenge. Or the villain may be a NobleDemon who really does want to ''earn'' his victory. Or, more rarely, it's a [[SlaveToPR PR or reputation]] thing.

Examples in fiction are ''usually'' male, but this is not a 'male only' trope. Compare WhyDontYaJustShootHim, the logical question that this trope answers. May overlap with LetsFightLikeGentlemen, JustToyingWithThem, HuntingTheMostDangerousGame, HonorBeforeReason, OpponentInstruction, and MercyLead. See also the SpiritedCompetitor and WorthyOpponent. Can be related to the SadisticChoice. Contrast the NoNonsenseNemesis, who goes for the kill in the most efficient method possible, honor be damned.