History Main / PickOnSomeoneYourOwnSize

** [[CharClone Chronocle Asher]] is mocked for being beaten by the 13-year-old [[TheHero Uso Evin]] in ''Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam''. This troupe also led to the suicide of a [[TheEmpire Zanscare pilot]], who couldn't handle the shame of being defeated as well as the fact that a mere child had been forced to fight.

* Fairly common on ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', partially due to the fact that they're [[KidHero kid heroes]]. Sometimes their villains actually are old people (Mad Mod being a prime example).
** Slade has an [[StalkerWithoutACrush obsession]] with Robin based on both spite and admiration. At first, he wanted to [[TheCorrupter blackmail Robin into becoming his apprentice]]. After that fails, Slade seems to just want Robin dead, but still seems fascinated at the same time.

* Gozaburo Kaiba molded Seto into filling the role for him in Seto Kaiba's {{Backstory}} to ''Anime/YuGiOh''.
* Gauron's fixation on Sousuke in ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'' takes this trope to [[StalkerWithACrush irrationally extreme levels]]. [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou Killing Sousuke]] or being killed by him -- [[TheBerserker either suits him just fine]]. It should probably be mentioned that it's worse than that -- it's irrational to the point where he actually wanted to kill Sousuke when he was ''[[PaedoHunt eleven]]'' and canonically wanted to ''[[ILoveTheDead rape his dead body]]''. C'mon, the boy is at ''least'' forty years younger than him -- you'd think he'd cut Sousuke some slack. It also gets even creepier when one realizes that their countless encounters are most likely not entirely coincidence... and that Gauron is heavily implied to be [[StalkerWithACrush stalking]] him, actively choosing missions/jobs that would put him in a position to see his "precious boy."

* Hisoka from ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' towards Gon and Killua. Although he ''is'' shown trying to resist the urge to kill them, and "enjoy the fruit" when they become stronger and "ripen". And if that sounded creepily like a [[PaedoHunt pedophile]] that's waiting for young boys to grow up, it's supposed to.
* In ''Manga/DGrayMan'', Tyki is noticeably older than Allen (who is 15), but is ''very'' obsessed with killing him. Sure, [[BigBad The Earl]] ordered him to eliminate Allen, but he is quite noticeably very eager and excited with the idea of fighting and killing him; during their fight on the Ark, he said, "This is giving me the thrills! [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything I'll break you, one more time, with this hand!]]"
** An interesting case shows up with Road and Allen. In terms of appearance, she looks younger than him, but in reality, she's actually older than him. And [[VillainousCrush has kissed him once on the lips.]]
* In ''Manga/GetBackers'', Takuma Fudou (age 28, and called an "old man" by a lot of other characters) towards Ban Midou (age 18). Fudou became obsessed with Ban back when Ban was, at oldest, 16 years old. Initially, Fudou's obsession with Ban is simply explained by Ban to be because he's mad at Ban for ripping his arm off. Except...as the series goes on, it becomes more and more evident that Fudou's obsession stems from much more than just being pissed off about losing a limb from a fight. In fact, later on, he even manages to get a fully functioning, good-as-new arm from Kyouji Kagami...which Kagami even tells him is really what he wants, right? Except even after eliminating the reason he should be so obsessed with Ban, he ''still'' goes after Ban and tells him his greatest happiness and desire is to continue to fight him forever. Fudou's obsession with Ban is so irrational, he even tells Ginji that he hates him because "when you're around, Midou doesn't even notice me. Midou's eyes are not on me, [[MurderTheHypotenuse because you're around!]]"
* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', since Luffy is just a teenager, many of his opponents are usually much older than him. There's Buggy the Clown, who in addition to despising Shanks (Luffy's [[IntergenerationalFriendship friend/mentor]]) also hates Luffy for beating him in battle once.
* [[StraightMan Moriaki-sensei]] sees [[GenkiGirl Hotori]] as her "second natural enemy" in ''Manga/AndYetTheTownMoves''.
* Yuu of ''Manga/SeraphOfTheEnd'' has the centuries-old vampire Ferid fixate on him at age 16.
* ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'': Akira Takaoka fixates on Nagisa Shiota, a ''middle-schooler'', as an ArchEnemy just because the kid beat him at his own game and humiliated him in his introduction arc, [[spoiler:even going as far as trying to murder half of Class 3-E with a deadly virus in retaliation.]]

* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'': The Time Trapper first appeared to have no reason to menace the Legion other than a severe dislike for teenage superheroes. Later, this evolved into several elaborate retcons. These retcons include that he was fighting Mordru in a game of 4th-Dimensional chess and that he was Cosmic Boy.

* In another rare intergender example, the [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3052814/1/Quirk_of_Fate_Part_1_The_Octopus_Strikes ''Quirk of Fate'']] fanfiction series, a ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' AlternateUniverseFic where Mary Jane Watson was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker, has the teenage heroine becoming first the [[{{Squick}} object of lust]] of an adult Doctor Octopus, and then becoming his archenemy when she flatly rejects him.
* Mary Jane seems to have really bad luck with this whenever she becomes a superhero. Another series, ''[[Fanfic/UltimateSpiderWoman Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With The Light]]'', set in a separate universe, has [[PsychopathicManchild the Brothers Grimm]] develop a weird, Batman/Joker-like fixation with her as the "straight woman" in his performance art, and deliberately stages kidnappings and robberies to attract her attention and force her to fight him.
** And the Brothers Grimm isn't necessarily even the only one. [[spoiler:Jack O'Lantern, alias Steven Mark Levins]], has developed a psychopathic obsession with his teenage nemesis for continually interfering in his fun and coming to represent everything he hates about the world.

* In ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', King Candy is ''Sugar Rush'''s best racer. But then you remember that his opponents on the race track are a bunch of small children. [[spoiler: Which fits perfectly with his AttentionWhore tendencies and his extreme need to be the best racer.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'', Simba tries to invoke this on the hyenas after torturing Zazu. [[InsultBackfire It doesn't go as planned since the hyenas then turn their pursuit to him and Nala instead.]] "Oops", indeed.
-->'''Shenzi:''' Like... ''you''?\\

* A female example comes from the film version of ''Film/{{The Wizard of Oz}}'' when the adult Wicked Witch of the West becomes obsessed with destroying the teenage Dorothy Gale, who accidentally killed her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East. Since the Witch of the West also wants the [[ClingyMacGuffin Witch of the East's ruby slippers, which just happen to be stuck to Dorothy's feet]], she has double the reason to want Dorothy dead.
* In a distinctly non-humorous example, Christabella, the leader of the [[ReligionOfEvil evil cult]] in ''Film/SilentHill'', is revealed near the end of the movie as having had an extreme vendetta against her sister Dahlia's daughter, who was born out of wedlock. After ten years of her daughter [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer being put through hell by the children of other cult members]], Dahlia decides to allow Christabella to 'purify' her daughter. This ends [[BurnTheWitch exactly how you would expect.]]
* Taken to an extreme extent in ''Film/KungPowEnterTheFist'', which initially features the villain against a newborn baby.

** The original film is a textbook example of this. After young teenager Jim Halsey manages to thwart serial killer John Ryder's attempt to add him to one of his list of victims, Ryder becomes [[VillainousCrush completely obsessed]] with [[StalkerWithACrush stalking]] Halsey and [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou killing or being killed by him]]. Ryder himself looks to be around 40 - 50 years old.

* A female example occurs in the film ''Film/DropDeadGorgeous'' when beauty pageant contestant Amber Atkins is targeted by her jealous rival Becky Leeman. When Becky's attempts to drive Amber out of the competition get her killed, her mother Gladys goes crazy and becomes obsessed with trying to murder the teenage Amber.

* ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'': Ed Rooney's disproportionate obsession with taking down Ferris Bueller is pretty much the only thing that makes him a proper villain; if he stayed within his jurisdiction as Ferris's principal and just punished Ferris for constantly skipping school and breaking rules rather than stalking him, breaking into his house and assaulting his family's dog, you'd have to side with ''him''.

* An intergender example occurs in the Creator/JamieLeeCurtis / Creator/LindsayLohan remake of ''Film/{{Freaky Friday|2003}}'', where Lohan's character is being taught by an old flame of her mother. Said teacher never got over being dumped by Curtis's character, and he takes out his grudge on her daughter. Curtis's character doesn't believe her daughter's claims until their [[FreakyFridayFlip bodies are switched]] and then experiences it for herself.

* ''Film/TheKarateKidPartIII'': The [[BigBadDuumvirate main villains]] of this movie are Terry Silver and John Kreese, two adult karate senseis who conspire to psychologically terrorize teenager Daniel [=LaRusso=] as revenge for Daniel defeating Kreese's protégé back in [[Film/TheKarateKid the first film]] which lead to all of Kreese's students walking out on him and his dojo closing down.

* An intergender example is between the adult Mr. Hagen and the teenage Jenny Jeffers in R.L. Stine's ''The Babysitter'' series of novels.
%% * Mrs. Dubose in ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird''.
%% ** [[spoiler:Bob Ewell attacking Scout.]]

* Miss Havisham in ''Literature/GreatExpectations'' uses Pip as a proxy for the man who left her at the altar. Only at the point of death does she [[HeelRealization realize just how unfair she has been]] to both Pip and Estella. Not only age and gender but also social class factor into the power disparity: Havisham is a very wealthy dowager; Pip an orphan apprenticed to a blacksmith.
%% * ''Literature/ALittlePrincess'': All the adults and Sara.
* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': In the novella ''Redtail's Debt'', Tigerclaw orders Redtail to attack the [=WindClan=] apprentice Sorrelpaw, who's accidentally strayed across the border. When her mentor arrives, he rightfully calls out the two full-grown warriors for attacking a young apprentice on her own who's just made a mistake.

* There are multiple female and intergender examples on ''Series/{{Buffy the Vampire Slayer}}'', one of the most memorable being [[SadistTeacher Principal Snyder]] who openly admitted to getting a "warm, tingly feeling" from making life hell for Buffy.

* ''Series/ThirtyRock'' has an intergender example where the older one is a main character: Jack regards his boss' teenage granddaughter Kylie Hooper as the main obstacle to him becoming CEO of Kabletown, and when asked about their relationship simply identifies himself as her nemesis. She shares his attitude.
* In ''Series/RaisingHope'' Jimmy's young daughter Hope and his great-grandmother "Ma-Maw" frequently fight over [[SeriousBusiness the last piece of taffy]]. Jimmy's father Burt says that he wants to have a baby rival when he's Ma-Maw's age.
* In ''Series/QuantumLeap'', one rather unbalanced woman named Leda Ader made life hell for a little girl named Abigail Fuller because she believed that Abby was involved in her own daughter's disappearance. [[spoiler:She wasn't.]] Leda was so persistent in her efforts to destroy Abby that Sam had to Leap into her life ''three times in a row'' to save her. In the end, Leda [[spoiler:snuck into Abby's house and slit her own throat with Abby's kitchen knife to frame her for murder. Sam as Abby's attorney proved her innocence, ending the threat Leda posed to Abby for good.]]
* Spoofed in ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' when John Reese finds himself facing off with a seven-foot neo-Nazi bruiser.
-->'''Reese:''' Pick on someone your own size! [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Well someone a little...closer to it.]]

* ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'': [[Characters/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness Vyers]] (also known as Mid Boss) constantly challenges [[Characters/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness Laharl]] to fights, and sees him as a rival (though Laharl [[UnknownRival hardly thinks of him as such]]). This is because [[spoiler: he was testing Laharl, trying to get him to become a strong and caring overlord because Laharl was still quite young]].

* When Hinoken/Mr. Match is defeated by Lan/Netto in the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' series, he becomes determined to beat the kid in a rematch and becomes a recurring foe throughout both the anime series and the games they're based on.
* Present in some form or another in pretty much every ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' title. To demonstrate, the MassiveMultiplayerCrossover ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', starring the main hero and villain from the first 10 titles: The ''oldest'' hero with a known age is 21. The ''youngest'' villain with a known age is 24.
* Happens twice in the ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' series:
** Said word-for-word by the villain to Daxter in ''VideoGame/{{Daxter}}'', while the villain [[spoiler:is transforming into a monster twice his original size]]. [[TalkingAnimal Daxter's]] response is a nervous chuckle and the comment, "Yes, well... technically, you ''are'' actually a lot bigger."
** In ''VideoGame/JakXCombatRacing'' 31-year-old Razer has it in for 19-year-old Jak. Jak literally tells him to pick on someone his own size.
* Present in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', where adult Ganondorf takes on child Link years after he was defeated by the Hero of Time in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina Of Time]]''.
* The eponymous Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog is below legal age (specifically fifteen) [[KidHero and so are most of his friends]]. His ArchEnemy Dr. Eggman is a middle-aged MadScientist who's likely somewhere in his fifties or even sixties.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': While one could say that the immensely powerful adult Captain Planet is the eco-villains' ArchEnemy, he's around relatively rarely, and it's no secret that they absolutely hate the Planeteers. Most of the group are teenagers (Kwame, Linka, and Wheeler) or children (Ma-Ti). Gi, who is implied to be in her early twenties[[note]]in "Two Futures", the thirty-years-older future Gi describes herself as over fifty[[/note]] is the only exception. None of this keeps them from doing nasty things to their underage nemeses (up to and including attempted murder) constantly.

--->'''Cartman:''' ''[[MockingSingSong Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah!]] [[FamilialCannibalismSurprise I made you eat your par-ents!]]''

** Melvin says the trope name upon confronting Monsieur Mallah and then commands Bobby -- a giant teddy bear -- to beat the crap out of the killer gorilal.
* Plasmius and Danny on ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom''-- Apart from being Jack and Maddie Fenton's son, Danny was the only human apart from Vlad with ghost powers, which was reason enough to attract Vlad's attention.
* Zhao and Prince Zuko on ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. What, does Jason Isaacs just hate [[Literature/HarryPotter kids with scars]]?
* Present but with a twist with Dr. Drakken and ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''. The gender relationship is quite uncommon, and Drakken discovered much later that she's the daughter of the former best friend who was [[StartOfDarkness the main cause]] of his descent into villainy. This doesn't come to light until Kim's self-starting heroism has made her his ArchEnemy on her own merits.
** Another twist is that the conflict is sharper and more personal between Kim and [[ItsPersonalWithTheDragon Shego]] (whose exact age [[VagueAge is unclear]] but definitely closer to Kim's), who does the actual fighting [[NonActionBigBad on Drakken's behalf]].
** Also there is the rivalry between Ron and Monkey Fist who hates Ron for being the true chosen one rather than himself.
** Not to mention, Ron's battle with ''both'' Warhok and Warmonga.
* Sideshow Bob and Bart in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', quite literally.
** The reason why Bart specifies that he has "two" mortal enemies? Due to some NoodleIncident, he has apparently also made an enemy of Creator/DrDemento.
** On a lesser scale, Principal Skinner is another of Bart's enemies, with their rivalry being compared by Lisa to the enmity between Literature/{{Sherlock Holmes}} and Professor Moriarty, or between Mountain Dew and Mello Yellow.
** An episode has Lisa being antagonized by a substitute teacher (Creator/AmyPoehler) because she thinks Lisa is one of the "popular girls" that pick on bookworms like her (not knowing Lisa is one herself). After hearing that, Lisa forgets her problems because now she knows that someone actually thinks she's popular.
%% * Female example: Vexus' obsession with Jenny on ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot''.
* An intergender example occurs in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Phantom 2040}}'' cartoon with the heroic young [[LegacyCharacter Kit Walker Jr.]], son of the previous Phantom, and the villainous adult Rebecca Madison, widow of the man who killed Kit's father. To be fair, Kit does pose a serious threat once he becomes the Phantom himself.
* Zim to Dib in ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' qualifies, although not in the literal sense -- they ''are'' the same size. Even by Irken standards, Zim isn't a child, though you could make the case he should be considered one mentally, and while it was Dib who actually kicked off their conflict it has become apparent that Zim's fixation goes beyond merely considering him a threat. Without that conflict, he loses all motivation.
%% * Vicky to Timmy (or [[ChildHater children in general]]) in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', and Mr. Crocker towards any child.
%% * Van Kless towards the titular ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex''.
* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'': Vilgax initially had a very logical reason to go after then ten-year-old Ben - he wanted the [[ClingyMacGuffin Omnitrix]] from him for his own purpose, and couldn't care less about what happened to Ben once he would have it. However, after accumulating several failures against him, he ends up hating Ben and wanting to kill him as much as to get the Omnitrix.
** Similarly, [[EvilSorcerer Hex]] developed a grudge on similarly young Gwen/Lucky Girl, and made her his ArchEnemy after she foiled his original plot.
** ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'': It's unclear exactly what Ben Tennyson did to piss off Will Harangue, but the pundit seems single-mindedly determined to make his life a living hell.
* WesternAnimation/DangerMouse uses this phrase to a gorilla who was conjured as a proxy to DM's evil alter ego (episode "The Good, the Bad and the Motionless"). The gorilla shrinks to DM's size, which gives him the idea to defeat it by saying "Pick on someone bigger than you."
* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': Louise Belcher is only 9 years old. Her {{Sitcom Archnemesis}}, Logan, is in his mid- to late teens. That doesn't stop Logan from openly threatening Louise physically. "Large Brother, Where Fart Thou?" has Logan chase Gene and Louise down to give her a painful (and smelly) wrestling hold; the only reason he lets her go is because Gene takes it for her.
** In "O.T. The Outside Toilet," Gene comes across [[ItMakesSenseInContext a hi-tech talking toilet in the woods]] and "befriends" it. However, a grown man who introduces himself as "Max Flush" is also looking for the toilet, and he begins following Gene around when he realizes the latter is aware of its location; this results in a race against time when Gene needs to recharge the toilet while also keeping it away from Max. [[spoiler: It turns out Max Flush's real name is Tim Jones (aka The Bathroom Burglar), and he was looking for the toilet because he stole it. Thankfully, he's arrested before he does anything to Gene.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCupheadShow'': The Devil, an adult, wants to steal the soul of Cuphead, who is (at most) an adolescent. As time goes on, the repeated/failed attempts to obtain said soul result in Cuphead becoming a ''huge'' {{Berserk Button}} for the Devil.

* Snape and Harry in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books, due to Harry's being the spitting image of his dead father in numerous ways, whom Snape did '''not''' get along with at all [[spoiler:because they both had a crush on the same girl]]. In spite of this, [[spoiler:it turns out that Snape, who has been one of the good guys after all, had been watching out for Harry and helping him all along. Helping Harry ''survive'' and get to the point that he can defeat Voldemort, that is; [[GoodIsNotNice Snape still very much wanted to make life unpleasant for Harry]]]].
** Lord Voldemort on the other hand ''thinks'' that it's BecauseDestinySaysSo, not realizing that the prophecy that drove him to hunt down the boy was the self-fulfilling kind and that it's precisely his obsession with it that makes him engineer himself a perfect ArchNemesis. His unhealthy conviction in the boy's significance and threat leads to some increasingly stupid moves, each of which makes the boy more and more dangerous, which in turn feeds the obsession until this chain reaction explodes right in V's noseless face.
** Snape seems to have no excuse when it comes to Neville, but [[FridgeBrilliance if you think about it]], had Voldemort gone after Neville's parents that night instead (the prophecy could have been about either Harry or Neville; Harry ended up as the ChosenOne because ''Voldemort chose him''), Lily would still be alive. Yes, that's [[NeverMyFault messed-up logic]], but Snape is a messed-up character.
** Similar with Lucius and Harry, as he does seem to pick on Harry. Like father like son, eh?

%% ** [[spoiler: Bob Ewell attacking Scout.]]

'''Dream:''' I don't think it'll ever be over. You're too ''fun.''

* While Dream from the ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'' (21 at the time) started out as an antagonist to L'Manburg as a whole, in Season 2 he became completely fixated on [=TommyInnit=], who was 16 at the time. He started seeing Tommy as the source of all attachment on the server, believing that, by controlling Tommy, he could control everyone else as well. This led him to [[TraumaCongaLine make Tommy's life a living hell]] by forcing [[PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure his best friend]] to exile him, psychologically torturing and {{gaslighting}} him for weeks, constantly threatening to destroy his [[NumberOneDime discs]] if he didn't obey, destroying L'Manburg, destroying his house, framing him for the destruction of the Community House, taking him and [[HeterosexualLifePartners Tubbo]] hostage, and if [[BigDamnHeroes Punz and the others hadn't intervened]], he would have [[ForcedToWatch killed Tubbo in front of Tommy]] after he [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlived his usefulness]], and locked Tommy up in [[TheAlcatraz Pandora's Vault]] to ensure he wouldn't be able to escape Dream's torture again.

* The eponymous Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog is below legal age (specifically fifteen) [[KidHero and so are most of his friends]]. His ArchEnemy Dr. Eggman is a middle-aged MadScientist who's likely somewhere in his fifties.

* Dr.Eggman, an elderly MadScientist is the arch enemy of the 15 year old Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog.

* ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff'': Ed Rooney's disproportionate obsession with taking down Ferris Bueller is pretty much the only thing that makes him a proper villain; if he stayed within his jurisdiction as Ferris's principal and just punished Ferris for constantly skipping school and breaking rules, you'd have to side with ''him''.

* In another rare intergender example, the [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3052814/1/Quirk_of_Fate_Part_1_The_Octopus_Strikes ''Quirk of Fate'']] fanfiction series, a ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' AlternateUniverseFic where Mary Jane Watson was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker, has the teenage heroine becoming first the [[{{Squick}} object of lust]] of an adult Doctor Octopus, and then becoming his archenemy when she flatly rejects him.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'': although Solid Snake isn't a teenager (he was in his thirties), Revolver Ocelot is a lot older than him, and is really really obsessed with fighting and defeating him. Some of that obsession might be due to the [[StalkerWithACrush obsession]] he had with Big Boss, but that was understandable because [[EvenTheGuysWantHim everyone wants Big Boss]].

** While ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} of the DCU is an equal opportunity criminal mercenary, he holds a personal grudge against the Teen Titans (and former Teen Titans) who are all much younger than him -- ''especially'' [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]]. This all started when the H.I.V.E offered him a contract to kill the Teen Titans. He dismissed the contract out of hand, and the H.I.V.E. passed the contract onto his estranged elder son, Grant. Grant, blaming the Titans for everything that had gone wrong in his life, accepted chemical enhancements that would make him equal or surpass Deathstroke. The effects of the drugs caused Grant to die, even as Deathstroke had been trying to talk him out of the job. Blaming the job, and by extent the Titans, for the loss of his son, Deathstroke swore to take up the contract Grant had died trying to fulfill.

* ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'': While ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} of the DCU is an equal opportunity criminal mercenary, he holds a personal grudge against the Teen Titans (and former Teen Titans) who are all much younger than him -- ''especially'' [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]]. This all started when the H.I.V.E offered him a contract to kill the Teen Titans. He dismissed the contract out of hand, and the H.I.V.E. passed the contract onto his estranged elder son, Grant. Grant, blaming the Titans for everything that had gone wrong in his life, accepted chemical enhancements that would make him equal or surpass Deathstroke. The effects of the drugs caused Grant to die, even as Deathstroke had been trying to talk him out of the job. Blaming the job, and by extent the Titans, for the loss of his son, Deathstroke swore to take up the contract Grant had died trying to fulfill.

* While the adult ComicBook/GreenGoblin originally fixated on the then-teenaged ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' because he thought Spidey would be an easy target, the Goblin soon became obsessed with the idea of making the much younger Peter Parker the "heir" to his legacy as the Green Goblin, seeing in Peter Parker the traits he wanted his heir to carry on, but found lacking in his own son.
* The Time Trapper of the ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' first appeared to have no reason to menace the Legion other than a severe dislike for teenage superheroes. Later, this evolved into several elaborate retcons. These retcons include that he was fighting Mordru in a game of 4th-Dimensional chess and that he was Cosmic Boy.
* A rare example of an adult male villain and a teenage female heroine can be found in ''ComicBook/SpiderGirl'', where the adult Hobgoblin that used to clash with her dad returns to torment May Parker.
* Having already [[CutLexLuthoraCheck become extremely wealthy with his inventions]], the brilliant Wizard sought a new intellectual challenge and decided that capturing the then-teenaged [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Human Torch]] would be a worthwhile test of his abilities. Although he initially started out just hating Johnny Storm, it didn't take long for the Wizard to develop a mad-on for the entire ComicBook/FantasticFour, particularly Reed Richards.
* Inverted in the ''ComicBook/{{Darkhawk}}'' comics, where the teenage Chris Powell makes it his mission to make life hell for crimelord Phillip Bazin, who's harassing his district attorney mother and policeman father for investigating Bazin's illegal activities.
* While ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} of the DCU is an equal opportunity criminal mercenary, he holds a personal grudge against the ComicBook/TeenTitans (and former Teen Titans) who are all much younger than him -- ''especially'' [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]]. This all started when the H.I.V.E offered him a contract to kill the Teen Titans. He dismissed the contract out of hand, and the H.I.V.E. passed the contract onto his estranged elder son, Grant. Grant, blaming the Titans for everything that had gone wrong in his life, accepted chemical enhancements that would make him equal or surpass Deathstroke. The effects of the drugs caused Grant to die, even as Deathstroke had been trying to talk him out of the job. Blaming the job, and by extent the Titans, for the loss of his son, Deathstroke swore to take up the contract Grant had died trying to fulfill.
* The premise of ''ComicBook/AvengersArena'' is Arcade trying to re-establish villain cred by trapping a bunch of teenage superheroes in Murderworld and make them fight to the death.
* There was a period in TheNineties, mostly but not entirely in comics by Creator/ChuckDixon, where Two-Face decided he hated ComicBook/{{Robin}} more than ComicBook/{{Batman}}. While this mostly meant ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}, he wasn't averse to taking shots at [[ComicBook/Robin1993 Tim Drake]].
* ''[[ComicBook/SpiderGwen Spider-Gwen]]'' features CowboyCop and InspectorJavert [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Frank Castle]] develop an obsession with capturing Spider-Woman and bringing her to "justice".
* Crazy Quilt started out battling the Boy Commandos, before shifting his focus to ComicBook/{{Robin}}: not realising that more than one teen wore the Robin costume. Of course, given Quilt's motivation for becoming a criminal involves him being almost blind, perhaps this isn't surprising.

* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'': Dr. Arthur Light began his villain career as one of the earliest foes of the Justice League, but gradually became better known as an enemy of the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' as well as a few other child or teenaged heroes. Rather than menacing, it served to make Light look pathetic, with his lowest point being his defeat at the hands of the nonpowered Little Boy Blue and his Blue Boys. This eventually caused Light to develop an intense resentment against junior heroes, culminating in him killing a KidHero named Sparkler during a mission as part of the Suicide Squad.

[[folder:Comic Books]]

* The premise of ''Comicbook/AvengersArena'' is Arcade trying to re-establish villain cred by trapping a bunch of teenage superheroes in Murderworld and make them fight to the death.
* There was a period in TheNineties, mostly but not entirely in comics by Creator/ChuckDixon, where Two-Face decided he hated Comicbook/{{Robin}} more than Comicbook/{{Batman}}. While this mostly meant Comicbook/{{Nightwing}}, he wasn't averse to taking shots at [[Comicbook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'', Simba tries to invoke this on the hyenas after torturing Zazu. [[InsultBackfire It doesn't go as planned since the hyenas then turn their pursuit to him and Nala instead.]] Oops, indeed.

* Mrs. Dubose in ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird''.
** [[spoiler: Bob Ewell attacking Scout.]]

* ''Literature/ALittlePrincess'': All the adults and Sara.

* Female example: Vexus' obsession with Jenny on ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot''.

* Vicky to Timmy (or [[ChildHater children in general]]) in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', and Mr. Crocker towards any child.
* Van Kless towards the titular ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex''.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'':, Axel is initially a bit ''too'' keen on becoming best friends forever with Roxas (who is only 15- or rather, his soul is 15, Roxas himself is only less than a year old). After Roxas left, Axel goes into this trope full throttle, and many many scenes where it looks like Axel is unhealthily obsessed with defeating and taking Roxas back.
** [[AuthorsSavingThrow This was eventually explained]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'': The relation between Axel and Roxas (and Xion) is shown to be more of a BigBrotherInstinct of Axel's towards his younger cohorts, who are both only a few days old at the beginning of the game. By the end of the game, however, Axel's role as the "big brother" of the gang starts to get [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder rather]] [[ConflictingLoyalty murky]] ...

** Rather averted when he only upholds this until the third game from which he turns from a villain to a hero. He even becomes a teacher in BN6 and allowing Heatman to become Netto's cross Navi. Given the choice as well, you can even operate him to rescue Rockman.

* Setsuna and Ali in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]''. Ali manipulated Middle Eastern children so that they would kill their parents, become ChildSoldiers, and fight a jihad that would eventually destroy their own country, the Kurdish Republic. Setsuna was one of the children who survived. Years later, Setsuna has grown up to pilot a powerful mech, Ali has become a mercenary, and it goes without saying they're not too pleased to see each other.
** [[spoiler:When season 2 came round Graham got into the act as well, so Setsuna now has ''two'' people "his own size" picking on him.]]
** Another ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' example is Kamille and Jerid in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Zeta Gundam]]''. Camille is also the victim of a beating by a Titans MP in the first episode. Later in the episode, he steals a HumongousMecha and comes after the MP, saying "Wanna know how it feels to be picked on by somebody bigger than you?".
** [[CharClone Chronocle Asher]] is mocked for being beaten by the 13-year-old [[TheHero Uso Evin]] in Victory Gundam. This troupe also led to the suicide of a [[TheEmpire Zanscare pilot]], who couldn't handle the shame of being defeated as well as the fact that a mere child had been forced to fight.
** Ramba Ral from the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam first series]] was shocked when he discovered that the White Base's crew, including Gundam pilot Amuro Ray, were so young.

* Gauron's fixation on Sousuke in ''Lightnovel/FullMetalPanic'' takes this trope to [[StalkerWithACrush irrationally extreme levels]]. [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou Killing Sousuke]] or being killed by him -- [[TheBerserker either suits him just fine]].
** It should probably be mentioned that it's worse than that - it's irrational to the point where he actually wanted to kill Sousuke when he was ''[[PaedoHunt eleven]]'' and canonically wanted to ''[[ILoveTheDead rape his dead body]]''. C'mon, the boy is at ''least'' forty years younger than him - you'd think he'd cut Sousuke some slack. It also gets even creepier when one realizes that their countless encounters are most likely not entirely coincidence... and that Gauron is heavily implied to be [[StalkerWithACrush stalking]] him, actively choosing missions/jobs that would put him in a position to see his "precious boy."
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

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-->'''Shenzi''': Like...''you''?\\
'''Simba''': [[OhCrap Oops.]]

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