History Main / MeleeATrois

** "[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS3E14WitchesOfTheMist Witches of the Mist]]" gives us the franchise's first ''three-way'' lightsaber duel, between Count Dooku, Asajj Ventress, and Savage Oppress.

** A three-way battle occurs between [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/StarFox Fox's]] Team vs. [[VideoGame/IceClimber The Polar Bears]] vs. [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Eggman's badniks]]]] in "Shadow Moses". [[spoiler: WordOfGod states that [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft the Worgen]] were also going to be involved as yet another separate faction]].
** In the ''Remastered'' version of "High-Poly", there's the heroes vs. Eggman [[spoiler: and his [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog Shadow androids]]]] vs [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros the Fighting Polygons]] (Who are working for [[VideoGame/PlaystationAllStarsBattleRoyale Polygon Man]])]].

[[folder:Web Originals]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'':

* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
** Way back in the original ''Manga/DragonBall'', this happened briefly in the Red Ribbon arc with Goku, Pilaf, and the Red Ribbon Army all chasing after one of the balls at the same time.
** This appears in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' early in the Freeza arc. You have three separate factions (Gohan and Krillin vs Freeza and his men vs. Vegeta) all looking for the Dragon Balls and trying to undercut each other at the same time.
** Happens again in the middle of the Cell arc. The Z team wants to stop the Androids, who want to kill Goku and treat it like a game. Then Cell shows up and wants to ''eat'' the Androids...so he can attain his perfect form and begin his own reign of terror.

* About two thirds of the way through ''Manga/DeathNote'', [[spoiler:following the end of the original Light vs. L feud, two new characters are introduced: Near, replacing L as the new mind-gaming uber-sleuth, and Mello, a criminal mastermind. All three have very good reasons to eliminate the other two, although Near and Mello's relationship is a tad more confusing, and Light treats the whole thing as an extension of fighting L.]]
* At the end of ''Anime/OutlawStar'', Gene and the crew of the Outlaw Star vs. the [=MacDougal=] Brothers and Gwen Khan vs. the Kei pirates. The C'tarl C'tarl Empire also shows up outside the Leyline but is unable to get in.

* In ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', just about [[SpyVersusSpy every intelligence agency in the world]] is out for every other one's blood, which is only exacerbated by the activities of TheSyndicate and [[GovernmentConspiracy PANDORA]]. And ''then'' [[spoiler:[[WhatMeasureIsANonSuper Evening]] [[LaResistance Primrose]]]] gets involved, making the already GrayAndGrayMorality into an even more tangled mess. Things do not get any easier in the second season, either, where we have the CIA, [=MI6=], Japanese special forces, bits of TheSyndicate, and Madame Oreille all playing their own games with what's going on, plus [[spoiler:messages left by Amber, making her a postmortem [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]]]].
* Happens fairly often in ''Anime/CodeGeass'', particularly in the second season with [[spoiler: Lelouch vs. Schneizel vs. Charles, the father of the previously mentioned two.]]
** In ''Manga/CodeGeassNightmareOfNunnally'', most of the battles involving Nunnally have this, with Britannia trying to suppress the Japanese, the Japanese trying to defeat Britannia, and Nunnally trying to stop the violence.
* In the first season of ''Anime/{{K}}'' HOMRA and Scepter 4 oppose each other, while both are trying to hunt down the protagonists Kuroh and Shiro. This comes to a head at the end of the season, when [[OneManArmy Kuroh]] ends up fighting both sides (particularly Red and Blue's strongest fighters, Misaki and Saruhiko).
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'''s Bount arc, Byakuya and Ichigo fight Kariya, but Byakuya doesn't seem to care if he hits Ichigo with his attacks, so it looks like this trope at times.
* ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' descends into a four-way war between [[ThoseWackyNazis Millennium]], [[KnightTemplar Iscariot]], [[NinetiesAntiHero Hellsing]], and [[DrunkWithPower Enrico Maxwell]] (who conducts ThePurge against all Protestants and Catholics who disagreed, including Iscariot).
* The Synchro Dimension arc of ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'' has multiple factions warring against each other. The first are the [[BigGood Lancers]], the main characters, who came to the Synchro Dimension to rally people against the second faction, [[BigBad Academia.]] Academia has kidnapped people who are important to their plot while turning people into cards and using their souls for their grand scheme. A third faction is introduced in this arc: Jean-Michel Roget and his Security. He defected from Academia and has worked his way into a position of power in the Synchro Dimension, and fights the other two factions to keep them from getting in the way of his own power. A fourth faction exists in the city council, who Roget works under. Roget wants to overthrow them and take more power for himself, while the city council only acts to preserve their own interests. They hinder all other sides and only side with the Lancers in the end when they offer them protection from Academia and Roget.
* In the [[spoiler:Arcobaleno Fight arc]] in ''Manga/Reborn2004'', there are ''seven'' teams all doing this; the number seven [[ArcNumber is kind of]] an ongoing thing in this manga.
* Volume 15 of ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' is this. Five organizations from the dark side of Academy City made up of four people each fight it out. Add in how three of the groups have [[SuperPowerLottery Level 5's]], one group hires 5000 mercenaries and a subordinate of one of the organization's rebels, and you have one book practically made of awesome moments.
* ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' has aspects of this, both of the indirect type and the very direct type. There are several "groups" involved- Mitsuko, Kiriyama and 3 or 4 minor characters, all out actively hunting all the other students (and thus, each other), although 3-way confrontations are rare. However, there is the moment when Kyoichi confronts Shuya/Noriko, and Shogo appears, aiming at them both (although mainly at Kyoichi because he has clearly snapped. And, obviously, who could forget the Melee a Cinq/Six in the lighthouse?
* ''Manga/FairyTail'' has [[{{Determinator}} Erza]] vs. [[AloofDarkHairedGirl Kagura]] vs. [[SmugSnake Minerva]]. While both Kagura and Erza hate Minerva for holding their mutual friend hostage, Kagura is also after Erza because [[spoiler: [[StarCrossedLovers Erza is in love with Jellal]], whom Kagura wants dead because [[YouKilledMyFather he murdered her brother]].]]
* In ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'', the main plot revolves around three fractions in midst of a war. There is Lady Eboshi and Irontown who wants to protect Irontown and expand their mining, the spirits of the forest who want to protect their homes from Irontown's expansion and a samurai warlord who wants Irontown for its wealth. And that's not including Ashitaka who became involved to find a way to cure his curse and Jigo who plays Lady Eboshi and the forest spirits to find the Deer God.
* In ''Manga/FoodWars'', [[spoiler:the final match of the Tootsuki's 43rd Autumn Election is between Souma, Hayama and Kurokiba. It's the first time in the history of Tootsuki that a three-way final is held.]]
* In the anime of ''Anime/NinjaScrollTheSeries'', there's the Hiruko [[spoiler:and Jubei's group]] vs. the Kimon vs. [[spoiler:the Yaguya]].
* In ''Manga/BlackButler'', at the climax of the ''Campania'' arc. When the mastermind behind the zombie dolls is revealed to be [[spoiler: Undertaker the rogue shinigami]], Ciel and Sebastian try to arrest him to answer to the Queen for his crimes, while Grell and Ronald try to bring him in to answer to their superiors how he was able to revive the dead. This conflict of interests leads to Sebastian fighting the reapers for arresting rights, at the same time both sides are trying to overpower [[spoiler: Undertaker]].
* In the ''Anime/YuGiOh'' film, ''Anime/YuGiOhTheDarkSideOfDimensions'', Aigami, Yugi, and Kaiba have a 3-way conflict, with Kaiba trying to get the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle from both Aigami and Yugi, and Aigami wanting to foil Kaiba's plans and destroy Yugi, while Yugi had opposed both Kaiba and Aigami on separate occasions.
* In ''Literature/{{Gate}}'', teams of special forces from America, Russia, and China all collide in their efforts to capture the royals from beyond the gate. Then, [[PragmaticAdaptation in the manga and anime]], [[OurGodsAreDifferent demigoddess]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Rori the Reaper]] [[FromBadToWorse joins the battle]].

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': In what will be adapted as the fourth season, [[spoiler: the plot becomes a four-sided conflict between Eren, Zeke, the government of Paradis, and Marley. The former three all disagree on how to combat Marley, with constant betrayals and alliances between these four factions.]]
* In ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'', the Team Rocket Trio consisting of Jessie, James, and Meowth tends to serve as a wild card in major conflicts (typically when another villainous team shows up). They usually start out as a third distinct side, but eventually team up with the side that has most of their interests in common, reserving the right to betray them and/or switch teams at any given moment.
** Interestingly enough, it comes to the forefront most noticeably when they're fighting ''another'' Team Rocket group, Butch and Cassidy. Jessie and James hate Butch and Cassidy too much to ever work with them, but they are technically all on the same team, so usually Jessie and James will attempt to sabotage Butch and Cassidy's plans and steal the credit/spoils, while both groups are in opposition to Ash & co. and sometimes the local authorities.
* The Overhaul arc of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' culminates in the heroes attacking [[{{Yakuza}} Shie Hassaikai]], who have entered in an alliance with the League of Villains [[spoiler: or so it seems; Tomura Shigaraki sent Twice and Toga to infiltrate the yakuza and then betray them to the heroes as revenge for Overhaul killing one of Shigaraki's followers and daring to speak down to the villain, and ultimately gets the last laugh when he ambushes and cripples Overhaul as he's being sent to jail by the victorious heroes.]]
** The Meta Liberation Army arc culminates in a final battle with Shigaraki's League of Villains vs the titular terrorist group vs [[OurGiantsAreBigger Gigantomachia]] (who's normally allied to the League but has been fighting them due to feeling Shigaraki is an InadequateInheritor to former leader [[BigBad All for One]]).
* ''VisualNovel/SteinsGateZero'' culminates in a three way battle between DURPA, Stratfor and Russia. DURPA [[spoiler:(led by Judy Reyes)]] and Stratfor [[spoiler:(led by Alexis Leskinen)]] want to acquire the TimeMachine. While Russia [[spoiler: want to destroy it so they remain as the only one with TimeMachine technology]]. Add in Okabe and [[TokenEvilTeammate SERN Rounders]] [[spoiler: (FB and Moeka)]] that aims to protect [[spoiler: Suzuha and Mayuri who are going to use the TimeMachine to go back to the past so they can complete Operation Archlight and prevent WorldWarIII.]]

* In ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'', ''The Two Criminals'' arc culminates in a confrontation between William Moriarty, Charles Augustus Milverton, and Sherlock Holmes before Sherlock and William turn on Milverton as one without prior discussion. Once Milverton has been dealt with, Sherlock and William have a brief discussion and then both retreat for the time being.
* ''Literature/RebuildWorld'': In the chaotic Inner Kuzusuhara Ruins Assault, all communications have broken down, and Akira ends up in one of these against both [[spoiler: Katsuya and Tiol]] on the top of his AwesomePersonnelCarrier being driven through the war zone. Akira uses the StickyShoes function of his PoweredArmor to take cover standing off the back of it, [[spoiler:Tiol]] uses his VoluntaryShapeshifting to fight from another side, and [[spoiler:Katsuya]] just hangs on with one hand. The stray bullets from the three fighting make holed up hunter squads in the area think they’re being attacked and fire back, and a feral monster jumps onto the vehicle mid-battle too. So it’s a Melee a Cinq.

* After KnightOfCerebus was applied, the conflict in ''Manga/GushingOverMagicalGirls'' at first is Enormeeta vs Tres Magia vs Lord's Legion, until the last faction gets dismantled and subsumed by the first. Come chapter 35, it becomes Enormeeta vs Tres Magia vs [[spoiler:Shio-Chans]], who make it clear that although they're on the same side as Tres Magia, they are not going to work together with them and are in fact condescending and openly, violently hostile to their nominal comrades.

* ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'': No less than eight distinct factions, what with San and the Wolves, Ashitaka, Eboshi and Irontown, Jigo and his hunters, the Boars, the Apes, the Deer God, and Asano's samurai. All at cross-purposes. Of course, they aren't all actively trying to kill every other faction, but the resulting tangle is pretty impressive.

** ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'': The crew of the ''Black Pearl'' vs James Norrington and the British vs Will Turner and Sparrow. Until Sparrow starts betraying everyone, and it seems to all ''almost'' work out in the end. Turner betrays Norrington to make sure it does.
** ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'': Will Turner vs. Jack Sparrow vs. James Norrington, with Elizabeth standing disgusted on the sidelines. Notably, does not feature two of the sides joining temporarily. Unless you count Will and Norrington both attacking Jack and ducking out of each other's way, but that doesn't last long. There are also Davy Jones' crews who have come to recover the titular chest while the three is busy fighting, and it's up to Elizabeth to [[EnemyMine team up]] with [[BumblingHenchmenDuo Pintel and Ragetti]] to keep it out of their hands.
** ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd''

* ''Film/{{Swordsman}}'': ''The East is Red'' ends with a lengthy [[EpicShipOnShipAction naval battle]] between the film's constantly-feuding parties: the Portuegese conquistadores, Japanese Man-O-War, and the Ming Navy. With Asia the Invincible the AntiHero protagonist manipulating the three behind the scenes.
* The Hong Kong heist film ''Film/ThreeAgainstTheWorld'' concerns three parties constantly trying to outsmart each other to gain possession of a priceless Quran. So basically, Mêlée à Trois the movie.

* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode ''Warrior of the Lost World'' features a big fight meet between the various rag-tag gangs who eventually team up to overthrow the evil Empire.
* Sheridan's forces in ''Series/BabylonFive'' engineer one of these against the Vorlon and Shadow fleets.

* ''Series/TheTonightShow'': The Great Series/LateNight [[Creator/{{NBC}} Debate]] [[ExecutiveMeddling of 2009-2010.]]
* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' developed a three-cornered fight between the Atlantis team, the Wraith, and the Asuran Replicators. Although there was never a three-way ''battle''; the closest is when Atlantis pulled an EnemyMine with the Wraith to take out the Replicators.
* Has happened more than once in the various ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' series. It's a sort of tradition to have TheDragon [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou interrupt a]] MonsterOfTheWeek [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou about to win so he can beat the Ranger(s) himself]]. Whether this results in a Mêlée à Trois or not varies from series to series.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' develops one in the lead-up to the Dominion War. The Klingons launch an invasion of a newly democratic Cardassian Union.[[note]]Based on the grounds that, [[InsaneTrollLogic there's no possible way a civilian uprising could overthrow a military government -> the Cardassians have been infiltrated by changelings.]][[/note]] The Federation tells their erstwhile allies to knock it off, to which the Klingons respond by breaking off the alliance and then attacking the Federation when they provide protection to the Cardassian government. The real winner in this is the Dominion, which hasn't gone to open war yet but is working in the shadows to play the Klingons, Federation, and Cardassians off against each other to pave the way for their invasion. All they had to do was plant the suggestion and then [[HonorBeforeReason let the Klingons be Klingons]].
* ''Series/ZNation'': "White Light" consists primarily of a battle between the main group, a group of bounty hunters, and Murphy who doesn't want to go with either.

* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' does this a fair bit, with most seasons having several different factions all fighting each other. Season 2, for example, had S.H.I.E.L.D. vs. HYDRA vs. the US military vs. Skye's father, [[spoiler:Calvin Zabo]], and later S.H.I.E.L.D. vs. HYDRA vs. Ward vs. the Inhumans vs. [[spoiler: the self-proclaimed "Real S.H.I.E.L.D."]].
* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' may have different villain factions fighting each other while fighting the Rangers. But ''Series/KaitouSentaiLupinrangerVsKeisatsuSentaiPatranger'' redefines the concept, with Rangers fighting each other as well as the monsters. Time will tell if cops Rangers and thieves Rangers will finally team up.
* ''Film/MostDangerousGame'' Season 1 consists of a few brief examples. While the hunters are all collectively chasing Dodge and not each other, they are not working as a team and want to be the sole person to kill Dodge. Near the beginning, Nixon sees Reagan taking Dodge to another location with a knife at his side, and Nixon proceeds to stop the escalator they are on to allow Dodge to run away before pursuing Dodge himself. A couple scenes later, at the Subway, Nixon and Reagan have a brief stand off which ends rather quickly. Later, when Dodge is captured by a group of thugs, one of the hunters breaks in and rapidly shoots all of the thugs, as well as another one of the hunters also trying to get in, before attempting to kill Dodge once more.
* ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'': The climax of the season 3 finale involves one in Wilson Fisk's penthouse, between Dex (who wants to kill Vanessa out of revenge for Fisk killing Julie, and Matt too while he's at it), Matt (who wants to bring down Fisk and Dex, clear his alter ego's name, and also stop Dex from killing Vanessa) and Fisk (who wants both Dex and Matt dead and keep Vanessa safe). Fisk eventually takes Dex out of the equation by breaking his spine, so it's just him and Matt now.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Doomsday", there is theoretically a three-way battle between the Daleks, the humans, and the Cybermen. However, it was effectively a one-sided CurbStompBattle by the Daleks against everything else.
** Also, in the 1965 serial "The Chase", The Doctor and his companions visit several different planets and time periods, each new stop introducing them to a new antagonist of some sort. However, the entire time they are also being chased by The Daleks in their own time travel device who simply want to kill The Doctor and his friends. For every different location The Doctor and his companions visit, the Daleks end up fighting whatever new enemy is there as well, although the "Daleks vs new foe" bits are used mainly as a gag, which reaches its climax in the final battle between the Daleks and the Mechanoids which ultimately results in them destroying each other while also unintentionally buying The Doctor and co enough time to escape both enemies within the chaos.
* Series 7 of ''Series/WaterlooRoad'' featured the rival gangs of the Dale Sken Crew and the Murray Set Boyz clashing in and near Waterloo Road school, with the school's faculty attempting to purge said gang warfare from the facility.
* ''Series/SekaiNinjaSenJiraiya'' often has [[TheHero Jiraiya]] vs. the [[StandardEvilOrganizationSquad Sorcerers Clan]] vs. the [[MonsterOfTheWeek World Ninja of the Week]] in each episode. Occasionally the latter two will team up, though the Sorcerers Clan usually end up [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder betraying them]].

* In the setting of the RPG ''TabletopGame/CthulhuTech'', the Aeon War is a grand Mêlée à Trois between the New Earth Government, who want to live; the alien Migou, who want humanity to die so they don't learn more of the mythos and accidentally wake up the Old Ones; and the Cults of the Old Ones, who want the Old Ones to wake up which would result in the death or massive alteration of everyone else. It's a fun time all around.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' has the official agenda of The Computer, the clandestine agendas of over a dozen secret societies, the office politics of several service groups, plus the personal goals of six [=PCs=] and as many [=NPCs=] as Friend Gamemaster can keep track of. Any two of these ''may'' sort-of-align at any given moment (in the sense of "yes, this person will screw me over, but this other person will screw me over faster and harder"), or may pretend to do so. Some official missions up the ante by having everyone pursue the same MacGuffin at once, generally in ways that are as mutually-exclusive and GambitPileup-inducing as possible.
* Since even the heroes of the setting are professional domestic terrorists, ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' tends to turn into this. Corps hire runners to do their dirty work and even if a lot of runners shun wetwork (outright assassination contracts), they aren't above sabotage, bombings, espionage, theft, and occasionally offing some security guards if things get messy. As a result, runners tend to be grey-area men and women working for bad people against other bad people. Other teams of runners rarely cooperate past a pulling a big job together and many will betray each other for the sake of a bigger cut. To quote one book's fluff:
-->''The only mate a runner should trust is himself... unless some corp brainwashed him into one of those sleeper sorts who go blow themselves up when they [[TriggerPhrase heard the phrase "warm bacon"]]. Then he probably would be best off not trusting himself either.''

* Happens sometimes in random missions in ''VideoGame/BattleTech2018'', particularly ones to kill specific enemies: a third party will occassionally arrive who also wants to kill the target. This is actually a good thing if the target happens to be in a big, nasty mech since you can pull back and let both sides pound each other for a few rounds before you swoop in with your fresh lance to mop up the survivors. It also happens at the end of the Heavy Metal flashpoint, when you find yourself going up against Natasha Kerinsky *and* the Bounty Hunter, and each of their overpowered lances- the only chance you really have is to [[LetsYouAndHimFight make sure they spend more time shooting each other]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'', the conflict eventually becomes [[OneManArmy Iji]] vs. Tasen vs. Komato. [[spoiler: Of course, the Komato outgun the Tasen completely, and eventually the Tasen either end up siding with a pacifistic Iji who promises to keep the few safe and very likely makes good on it with Tor of the Komato, or the Tasen are killed to a man and Iji instead just tries to talk Tor out of Alpha Striking the remains.]]

* ''VideoGame/Tetris99'': As expected from a battle royale game, this tends to happen a lot. You have manual targeting and badges that increase your attack power (that you can only get by K.O.ing other players), so the dynamics can get interesting.
** This [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsM2ac6EpZ0 top 3]].
* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', Skyrim finds itself in the middle of three different wars: an active war between the [[VestigialEmpire Cyrodilic Empire]] and the [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters Stormcloaks]], a cold war between the Empire and the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]], and everyone versus the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]]. One of the missions you can elect to take during the main mission chain is to call a meeting between the three factions to get them to stop their fighting and [[EnemyMine accept a truce in order to fight the dragons]]. Meanwhile, the [[TheRemnant Forsworn]] want to kill all the Nords in one part of Skyrim and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Harkon's vampires]] want to make the sun never rise again in order to rule over the mortal world. And to top it all off, the player themselves can be a force to be reckoned with, following their own agenda, if they so wish.
** Before that, ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' featured seven specially named goblin tribes whose lairs contain totem staves, which the player can steal and give to another tribe to provoke a war. The only time most players encounter this mechanic is a sidequest where a farmstead placed right between the caves of two warring goblin tribes asks the player to stop them fighting nearby. The players' options range wildly here, from wiping one or both tribes out, returning the staff one tribe stole from the other, or stealing them both yourself and dropping them somewhere else to simply move the fighting.
** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'' has the Aldmeri Dominion (High Elves, Wood Elves and Khajiit) vs. the Ebonheart Pact (Nords, Dark Elves and Argonians) vs. the Daggerfall Covenant (Orcs, Bretons and Redguards). Naturally, [=PVP=] devolves into this quickly.
* The final mission in ''VideoGame/TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction'' is a frenetic chase and final boss battle between the Hulk, the Abomination, and General Ross' troops.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroANewBeginning'': In the level Dante's Freezer, Spyro arrives right when the Ice Soldiers and the apes are in the middle of a war. Neither of them is pleased to see him. They spend a lot of time bombing each other as well as Spyro, which can sometimes mean that the gigantic mass of enemies in front of you that you're sweating over is wiped out in ten seconds by the other side.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'':
** In the main story, "Land of Twilight" starts out as Hyrulean Forces vs. Cia's Dark Forces, but partway through the stage, [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Midna]] shows up with her own army. She teams up with the Hyrulean Forces afterward.
** In [[VillainEpisode Cia's Tale]], this happens twice. The Dark Forces fight both the Gorons and Volga's army in "The Dragon of the Caves", and both Zant and Midna in "The Usurper King".
** In the midst of the battle in the Temple of Souls between the Hyrulean forces and Cia's, Ganondorf bursts in with his own army to fight them all.
** Some battles in Adventure Mode task you with defeating two enemy armies, while others have you in a BodyCountCompetition with another army.

* The Flash video series ''WebAnimation/SuperMarioBrosZ'' pits the Mario team (Consisting of Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic and Shadow]]) against the Koopa Bros (From ''VideoGame/PaperMario'') and the Axem Rangers X (Upgraded versions of the Axem Rangers from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG''), in a fierce battle on Yoshi's Island. Later, Mecha Sonic appears, who fights against all three, though only one team at a time. He enters the battle by [[spoiler:ramming into the Koopa Bros, taking them out instantly.]] With them down, he then proceeds to [[spoiler:nab the Axem Ranger's Chaos Emerald and destroy their gunship. The Rangers attack him, but he systematically beats and then kills them.]] This leaves only the heroes, Mario, Sonic and the gang, to take on Mecha Sonic, and the rest of the episode revolves around this fight rather than the earlier Melee A Trois.
* In the Recollection saga of ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', it's the [[RagtagBunchofMisfits Blood Gulch Crew]] vs. Project Recovery (and, by extension, the [[TheFederation UNSC]]) vs. The Meta. Though, with the introduction of other characters and elements, the sides shift quite constantly.

** A three-way battle occurs between [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/StarFox Fox’s]] Team vs [[VideoGame/IceClimber The Polar Bears]] vs [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Eggman's badniks]]]] in “Shadow Moses”. [[spoiler: WordOfGod states that [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft the Worgen]] were also going to be involved as yet another separate faction]].
** In the ''Remastered'' version of “High-Poly”, there’s the heroes vs Eggman [[spoiler: and his [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog Shadow androids]]]] vs [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros the Fighting Polygons]] (Who are working for [[VideoGame/PlaystationAllStarsBattleRoyale Polygon Man]])]].

* In ''WebAnimation/MonkeyWrench'', the titular duo is ambushed by Queen Tyneen's crew of {{space pirate}}s and the Scratch Cat Gang just as they're about to complete their contract to deliver Nobert to Oberon station. Then Scratch and Tyneen's second-in-command Ricket start arguing about which group has a better claim to the massive bounty on Nobert's head, leading to a three-way fight for possession of the bird.
* Exaggerated in the ''[[WebAnimation/TheCyanideAndHappinessShow Cyanide & Happiness]]'' short "High Noon", where a cowboy, bandit, sheriff, native american, pirate captain, rich pimp, U.S. soldier and a fly-like alien are willing to get their hands on the treasure the old prospector found in the desert, all for different reasons. One guy insists the real treasure is friendship, but they simply don't care. [[spoiler:Turns out, he was right.]]

* During the "Stormbreaker Saga" from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', a straightforward battle between the kingdoms of Trent and Mercia is interrupted by K'Z'K attacking both sides with its demon army. Whether any of the Trents or Mercians join sides (besides Torg and Zoe) is unclear.
* An appropriate quote from ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'':
-->''The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy. No more, no less.''

* In the webcomics of ''VideoGame/UrbanRivals'', the B team have to protect their captured leaders from Zlatars robot ninjas and the Ghiest clan.

* ''Webcomic/GoneWithTheBlastwave'''s premise is three armies (the protagonists' faction Red, plus Blue and Yellow) fighting a ForeverWar in a bombed-out city. [[spoiler:An AprilFools [[http://www.blastwave-comic.com/index.php?p=comic&nro=73 page]] has the Red protagonists find their way out of the city to find that the entire war is a giant museum exhibit or memorial to a war that, for everyone else, ended centuries ago.]]
* ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'': The "situation" in Manhattan starts with alien bounty hunters trying to capture Maxima and tangling with the rest of her team, but it soon gets complicated by the meddling of local supervillains that are after the alien tech, and also inside intel on ARCHON.
* ''Webcomic/{{Evon}}'': [[TheHero Hero]] and [[SendInTheClones Evee]] take on [[BigBad Sevarian]], [[TheDragon Ferneris]] and Ferneris' right hand, Freya, in a bid to rescue Evon. The fight suddenly turns into both sides fighting for their lives against a DrunkOnTheDarkSide [[TheBrute Maximus]]. [[spoiler: Maximus wins]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' episode "[[Recap/TeenTitansS2E9WinnerTakeAll Winner Take All]]", the final battle among friendly competitors is between Robin, Speedy, and Wildebeest. The competitors hold no grudges and are only playing to win the tournament. The fight becomes a one-on-one once Wildebeest loses.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' episode "[[Recap/YoungJusticeS1E4DropZone Drop Zone]]", on the Team's first mission, they find themselves going up against Bane and the cult organization Kobra, who are also warring against each other.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E4DaringDont Daring Don't]]", [[MacGuffin the Ring of Destiny]] is fought over by Daring Do with the Mane Six, who need to destroy it, Dr. Caballeron with his henchponies, who want to sell it for the money, and Ahuizotl, who wants it to use for his dark ritual.

* Happens sometimes in random missions in ''VideoGame/BattleTech'', particularly ones to kill specific enemies: a third party will occassionally arrive who also wants to kill the target. This is actually a good thing if the target happens to be in a big, nasty mech since you can pull back and let both sides pound each other for a few rounds before you swoop in with your fresh lance to mop up the survivors. It also happens at the end of the Heavy Metal flashpoint, when you find yourself going up against Natasha Kerinsky *and* the Bounty Hunter, and each of their overpowered lances- the only chance you really have is to [[LetsYouAndHimFight make sure they spend more time shooting each other]].

* The final boss battle in ''VideoGame/{{Bloodrayne}}'' is a 3-way fight between Rayne, the super-powered Nazi Commander, and the Devil.
** Earlier in the game prior to the aforementioned final boss battle, there are also 3-way fights between Rayne, the Nazis and various Vampire creatures. And before that we also get Rayne vs the Nazis vs the Daemites.
* The final few missions of the main story in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' see the protagonist mowing down dozens of both Crimson Lance soldiers and the indigenous "Guardian" aliens as the two also battle each other.

* Near the conclusion of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'', after [[spoiler:General Shepherd's betrayal]], the player is caught in a battle between Makarov's men and [[spoiler:Shepherd]]'s, though you're encouraged to let them kill each other off (because, as always, [[GangUpOnTheHuman they'll all drop everything to focus on you]] if you make your presence known).
* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' series:

* Tom Clancy's ''VideoGame/EndWar'' pits [[{{Eagleland}} the United States]], [[UnitedEurope the European Federation]] and [[MakeTheBearAngryAgain Russia]] against each other in a three-way conventional war; they simply don't nuke each other into oblivion due to a nuclear missile defence shield covering the territories of all combatants.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':

** In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'':
*** You have four different factions: the Brotherhood of Steel, the Minutemen, the Railroad, and the Institute, all with their own agendas. Aside from the Minutemen and Railroad, who mostly don't care about each other, all of them oppose all the others. In the story mission The Battle of Bunker Hill, you actually have a three-way brawl between the Railroad, the Institute, and the Brotherhood. At that point in the game, it's entirely possible to be working for all three factions, so they'll all treat you as a friendly. Even if you're busy slaughtering them. Yeah, this is basically HilarityEnsues: The Mission. And the battle can get even more complicated if an outside force like Raiders, Super Mutants, or a hungry Deathclaw get attracted by all the fighting.

[[folder:Web Original]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' episode "Hail Hydra!", there is an EnemyCivilWar between HYDRA and A.I.M., with the Avengers trying to stop it, and S.H.I.E.L.D. trying to stop ''everyone''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'': Batman vs. Catwoman vs. Ragdoll, as they fought over stolen goods.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Beware the Creeper", the Joker and Harley Quinn are trying to take down the Creeper, since the Joker feels that he's ruining his "act". The Creeper is trying to get revenge on the Joker (and seduce Harley) for turning him into the Creeper. Batman and Robin are trying to stop all of them from causing even more chaos than they already have. HilarityEnsues.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Birdman|1967}}'', the evil organization F.E.A.R. mind controls the leaders of three nations to go to war with each other as part of their plans.

* Happens frequently on ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'', often unintentionally.

** In the episode "Flirting with Disasters", it was Danny vs. [[DatingCatwoman Valerie]] vs. Technus. Danny's prime target is Technus, though he has to shake Valerie off without hurting her. Valerie primary aims for Danny, though being a ghost hunter, she would eventually have aimed for Technus. Technus concentrated more on world dominating, but he would have warded off both of them as he attempted throughout the episode.
** Also, briefly, Danny vs. Vlad vs. Valerie in "Reign Storm" before they all decided to [[EnemyMine team up]] against a bigger foe.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has the episode "Daring Don't" which features [[MacGuffin The Ring of Destiny]]. This is fought over by Daring Do with the Mane Six who need to destroy it, Dr. Caballeron with his henchponies who want to sell it for the money and Ahuizotl who wants it to use for his dark ritual.

* ''War Planets'', a.k.a. ''WesternAnimation/ShadowRaiders'', involved an ages-long war between four planets, until they are all forced to cooperate because they are attacked by a fifth, far more powerful enemy.

** "Witches of the Mist" gives us the franchise's first ''three-way'' lightsaber duel, between Count Dooku, Asajj Ventress, and Savage Oppress.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Teen Titans|2003}}'' episode "Winner Take All", the final battle among friendly competitors is between Robin, Speedy, and Wildebeest. The competitors hold no grudges and are only playing to win the tournament. The fight becomes a one-on-one once Wildebeest loses.

* The ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' episode "The Battle Royale" features nearly every villain in the series introduced up to that point fighting over an [[MockGuffin allegedly]] all powerful ring of invincibility. A particularly large example, with no less than ''eleven'' sides fighting all at once (although [[HarmlessVillain Something the So and So]] barely even counts as his own side), six of which are supported by their respective armies of {{Mooks}}. And that’s just before [[KnightOfCerebus Lord Dominator]] shows up.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Young Justice|2010}}'' episode "Drop Zone", on the Team's first mission, they find themselves going up against Bane and the cult organization Kobra, who are also warring against each other.

** At issue 162-164, it's initially The Freedom Fighters vs. Mammoth Mogul and the Destructix vs. Ixis Naugus and the Arachne fighting for the [[MacGuffin Crown and Sword of Acorn]]. Naugus joins forces with Mogul half-through when he is being told by Mogul that he is the founder of the Order of Ixis and therefore Naugus' master, turning the battle into a simple two-sided war. The battle was interrupted by Dr. Eggman, however, and he captures Mogul, Naugus, and their forces back to his capital prisons, leaving The Freedom Fighters as the victors, but with the cost of [[spoiler:Sir Connery]].

* ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament''[='=]s Team Deathmatch and Domination gametypes can support up to 4 teams.
* ''VideoGame/VandalHearts II's'' main plot thread starts off as a simple East vs. West civil war in the country of Natra, and then things get complicated when the heroes form a third side, the Central faction, with the help of some disillusioned nobles and generals. Things get even ''more'' complicated when it turns out there are also at least three other outside factions who are manipulating the entire civil war for their own benefit, all of them acting independently of each other (the [[CorruptChurch Church of Nirvadia]], the [[ApocalypseCult Kudur Cult]], and [[TheEmpire the Zora-Archeo Empire)]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} 3'' has a few missions where this occurs.

* In the Drak'theron Keep dungeon of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', the Scourge is attacking the Drakkari ice troll-controlled keep. Both sides are hostile to the player. At the Wrathgate battle, the Horde and Alliance put aside their differences to fight the Scourge until [[spoiler:Putress launches the New Plague that kills the living and the Undead at the Alliance, Horde and Scourge forces, killing many and starting a war between the Alliance and the Horde. Both factions then invade the Undercity, which Putress' master Varimathras has taken over; the Alliance hopes to reclaim Lordaeron while the Horde wants their city back]]. As a result, in Icecrown Citadel, the player must fight through soldiers of the opposing faction, and board their faction's gunship to fight off the other side's.

** An earlier episode has a three-way battle between the Gaang, the Fire Nation, and pirates.

* ''[[VideoGame/KKnD2 KKnD2: Krossfire'': The Survivors vs. [[{{Mutants}} the Evolved]] vs. the Series 9 robots. Some missions involve your faction attacking (and being attacked by) ''both enemy factions at the same time''.

* ''Film/TheMatrix'':

** In the sequels overall, it was the humans vs. the Machines vs. [[TheStarscream Smith]] and his clones. By the end of the last movie, Smith is a sufficient threat to unite the other two against him, leading to a ceasefire.

* The fourth to last mission in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars OriginalGeneration 2'' takes place in space, just next to a battle between the Einsts and the Shadow Mirrors/Inspectors. Your team arrives to destroy everybody still standing.

** At issue 162-164, it's initially The Freedom Fighters vs. Mammoth Mogul and the Destructix vs. Ixis Naugus and the Arachne fought for the [[MacGuffin Crown and Sword of Acorn]]. Naugus joins forces with Mogul half-through when he is being told by Mogul that he is the founder of the Order of Ixis and therefore Naugus' master, turning the battle into a simple two-sided war. The battle was interrupted by Dr. Eggman, however, and he captures Mogul, Naugus, and their forces back to his capital prisons, leaving The Freedom Fighters as the victors, but with the cost of [[spoiler:Sir Connery]].

** At issue 162-164, it's initially The Freedom Fighters vs. Mammoth Mogul and the Destructix vs. and Ixis Naugus and the Arachne fought for the [[MacGuffin Crown and Sword of Acorn]]. Naugus joins forces with Mogul half-through when he is being told by Mogul that he is the founder of the Order of Ixis and therefore Naugus' master, turning the battle into a simple two-sided war. The battle was interrupted by Dr. Eggman, however, and he captures Mogul, Naugus, and their forces back to his capital prisons, leaving The Freedom Fighters as the victors, but with the cost of [[spoiler:Sir Connery]].

** At issue 162-164, an all-out battle for the crown of Acorn was fought between The Freedom Fighters, Mammoth Mogul and the Destructix, and Ixis Naugus and the Arachne. Naugus joins with Mogul half-through the battle when he is being told by Mogul that he was the founder of the Order of Ixis, turning the battle into a simple two-sided war. The battle was interrupted by Dr. Eggman, however, and he captures Mogul, Naugus, and their forces back to his capital prisons. This leaves The Freedom Fighters as the victors, but at the cost of [[spoiler:Sir Connery]].

* The first two missions in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' have the local militia vs [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Ocelot's P.M.C.s]] vs [[WildCard Snake]]. Of course, [[TakeAThirdOption this changes quite quickly]] if you make it clear to the rebels that you are [[EnemyMine out to get the P.M.C.s]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder'' episode "The Battle Royale" features nearly every villain in the series introduced up to that point fighting over an [[MockGuffin allegedly]] all powerful ring of invincibility. A particularly large example, with no less than ELEVEN sides fighting all at once (although [[HarmlessVillain Something the So and So]] barely even counts as his own side), six of which are supported by their respective armies of {{Mooks}}. And that’s just before [[KnightOfCerebus Lord Dominator]] shows up.

'''Tycho:''' Not exactly. In ''this'' setting, the enemy of your enemy is still a floating, greasy, armored brain.\\
'''Gabe:''' Well, what about ''his'' enemy? Maybe you could be friends with ''him''.\\

* China has the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" period that was pretty much this trope. In fact, this trope can be easily summed up in just three battles of this time period: Chibi, where western Shu and eastern Wu alliance to battle against northern Wei; Fan Castle, where Wu betrays Shu with the help of Wei to take control of an incredibly important part of central China; and Yi-Ling, where Shu responds to the betrayal by attacking Wu, losing a huge chunk of troops and their leader, and eventually surrendering to Wei, which, after undergoing a mostly bloodless coup and becoming Jin, quickly sweeps up the rest of the empire.

** Late into ''Series/UltramanTriggerNewGenerationTiga'', shortly after the arrival of Trigger Dark Ultraman Trigger fights him and while still battling his counterpart a new monster of Hudram's arrives: Metsu-Orga who goes on a rampage to devour everything in sight, Ultraman Trigger and Trigger Dark included. For most of the battle the two Ultras spends as much time beating up each other as they did fighting Metsu-Orga, but eventually they have to put aside their differences when Metsu-Orga morphs into its OneWingedAngel form: Metsu-Orochi.

** ''Series/UltramanTaro'' have another predator kaiju, [[GiantFlyer Birdon]] attacking its prey, [[BigCreepyCrawlies Kemjila]], and [[TheHero Ultraman Taro]] getting in between them. [[spoiler:It didn't end well, because Taro ends up getting killed by Birdon while fighting Kemjila, and Kemjila ends up getting killed soon after ]].

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': In ''Film/RogueOne'', during the ambush of a kyber crystals convoy on Jedha City, Saw Guererra's partisans attack Imperial soldiers. Jyn and Cassian gets caught in the crossfire; they mostly fight stormtroopers to get out of the danger zone, but at one point Cassian shoots a partisan that is about to throw a grenade in Jyn's direction, and the explosion kills several others. Unsurprisingly, when the duo is caught by them at a later time, the partisans aren't happy with him.

** And then in ''Knights of the Fallen Empire'' (the newest and to date, largest expansion) we have the biggest example of this yet. The Eternal Empire of Zakuul, a powerful new faction hailing from a region in space not fully explored. This new Empire reveals itself to the galaxy, wages war against both the Republic and the Sith Empire....[[TheBadGuyWins and WINS!!]] Thus beginning [[LaResistance the Fallen Empire storyline]].

* On June 26, 1944, a "Tri-Cornered " UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} Game was held in UsefulNotes/{{New York|City}} between the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, and New York Giants. The exhibition match was held to raise War Bonds for the American effort in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and raised $5.5 million USD ($73.8 million USD adjusted for inflation) in bonds. [[labelnote:link]] http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/1944-ny-baseball-teams-faced-support-war-effort-article-1.1787483[[/labelnote]]

* ''Film/MostDangerousGame'' Season 1 consists of a few brief examples. While the hunters are all collectively chasing Dodge and not each other, they are not working as a team and want to be the sole person to kill Dodge. Near the beginning, Nixon sees Reagan taking Dodge to another location with a knife at his side, and Nixon proceeds to stop the escalator they are on to allow Dodge to run away before pursuing Dodge himself. A couple scenes later, at the Subway, Nixon and Reagan have a brief stand off which ends rather quickly. Later, when Dodge is captured by a group of thugs, one of the hunters breaks in and rapidly shoots all of the things, as well as another one of the hunters also trying to get in, before attempting to kill Dodge once more.