History Main / RewardedAsATraitorDeserves

** ''Literature/BooksOfSamuel'': Baanah and Rechab were commanders that worked for Ishbosheth (Saul's son). Having heard of his father's defeat, Ishbosheth lost heart. While he was resting on his bed in the afternoon, Rechab and Baanah killed him. They proceeded to behead him and bring the head to David. They expected reward but things turned out differently:
-->'''2 Samuel 4:9-12''' David replied to Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, "As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every adversity, when a man told me, 'Behold, Saul is dead,' thinking that he was bringing good news, I seized and killed him in Ziklag, to reward him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous and just man in his own house on his bed, shall I not require his blood from your hand and remove you from the earth?" So David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them beside the pool in Hebron. But they took Ish-bosheth's head and buried it in Hebron in the tomb of Abner [his relative].

[[folder:Film — Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/WonderWoman2009'': Subverted. Body language right before the fact strongly implies that Ares will sacrifice Persephone — who betrayed her fellow Amazons to free him — to open the gates of Hades, but he simply uses one of his cultists as a sacrifice instead.

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Long Feng, who is revealed to hide the truth of the Hundred Year War and is imprisoned, allies with Princess Azula to launch a coup on the Earth King and his cabinet all so that he gets to rule it. After the Earth King is deposed, Long Feng tries to betray Azula but Azula having anticipated it, gets the Dai Li to turn against him.
** Similarly, in the finale, Azula in midst of a VillainousBreakdown, banishes the Dai Li. Despite the organization being loyal to her, Azula replies she doesn't trust them as thet have also turned on Long Feng without much impetus.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'', Hector, one of Dracula's most loyal human servants, lets [[TheStarScream Carmilla]], one of his generals, manipulate him into betraying his master. This along with other factors led to Dracula's defeat. Afterwards, Carmilla rewards Hector by savagely beating him into submission while laughing and makes it clear he is her slave now, [[spoiler: and the real reason she fooled him into betraying Dracula was because she needed a [[MookMaker Forgemaster]] of her own to create an army of demons to take over and rule in Dracula's place.]] In the long-run, however, it's something of a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] as well. [[spoiler: Carmilla's abuse of Hector while he's her slave causes him to plot against her, setting in motion a chain of events that ultimately lead to her death. If Carmilla had actually shown Hector some gratitude, he may have actually stayed loyal to her.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk'': Mildew, the local Berk {{Jerkass}}, betrays his tribe (his chief's son most specifically) to the Outcasts. The result? He spends his residence with the Outcasts in constant terror of being disposed of by his new BadBoss and has to repeatedly come up with new plans (that [[YouHaveFailedMe always fail]]) for attacking his homeland to convince Alvin he has not [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlived his usefulness]]. Once the Outcasts are taken over by Dagur and his Berserker tribe, he's demoted to a servant assigned to feeding/taking care of the trained dragons (the creature he hated enough to prompt his betrayal in the first place).

* Narrowly averted in ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002''. Evil-Lyn is offered to be '[[ExactWords honored above all others]]' if she betrays Skeletor and joins the ranks of King Hsss. It turns out that, as far as Snake people are concerned, [[BlueAndOrangeMorality there is no higher honor than to be devoured by your king...]] but Hsss decides to spare her when he decides she's of more use to him alive.
* ''[[WesternAnimation/HotWheelsBattleForce5 Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5]]'': [[spoiler: This is the final fate of Grimian. Grimian was an ambitious Vandal who emerged to challenge Kalus' position as Vandal Warlord. As it turns out, however, Grimian was secretly working for Krytus, intending to bring the Vandals under his command. When this is finally revealed in "Grimian's Secret", much of the Vandals reject the idea of having Grimian as a leader as a result. Hatch then destroys his vehicle before Kalus sends him into exile. in "Rumble In The Jungle", Grimian ends up suffering this again when he assembles the remaining Vandals under him to eliminate Kalus and his army. Grimian was aided in this move by Krytus, only to find out too late that Krytus intended to betray him. Kalus calls Grimian out on how he's pretty much doomed the Vandals by doing so; if it weren't the Kharamanos' Phase-Nullification Bomb, the Red Sentients and Red Sark would've wiped out the Vandals for good. After this, the remaining Vandals finally affirm their loyalty to Kalus. As for Grimian, the final scene we have of him is him getting cornered by the Vandals before Kalus approaches him with a spear and a SlasherSmile. Given how Grimian doesn't appear in the series' epilogue, it's safe to say that Kalus finally executed him.]]
* Played with and ultimately averted in the ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' episode "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS3E12Alive Alive!]]". In the aftermath of an EnemyCivilWar, Luthor's side has beaten Grodd's, and Luthor asks if any of them can give a reason they shouldn't [[ThrownOutTheAirlock continue following Grodd]]. Killer Frost, one of Grodd's cabal, steps forward, turns around and immediately freezes all the others on her side. This even unnerves the villains on Luthor's side.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SkeletonWarriors'', [[BigBad Baron Dark]] frequently rewarded people who betrayed the rebels by turning them into more Skeleton Warriors. Since the transformation burned all of the goodness out of a subject, it effectively turned them into a BlackShirt and partially falls under the exception mentioned near the end of the trope description.

* In the final episode of ''WesternAnimation/TalesOfTheJedi'', a villager sells Ahsoka out to the Empire [[UngratefulBastard after she uses the Force to save his sister]]. When an Inquisitor arrives to investigate, Ahsoka isn't there, so the Inquisitor believes he's lying and razes the village to the ground. When Ahsoka finally arrives, the Inquisitor agrees he can have his "reward", and prepares to kill him. Ahsoka manages to save him, though.

* ''WesternAnimation/WonderWoman2009'' subverts this. When trying to stop Ares from entering Hades' domain, Diana and Steve discover that a HumanSacrifice is required to do so. We then cut to Ares staring menacingly at [[TheDragon Persephone]]--who betrayed her fellow Amazons to free him out of LimaSyndrome. Just when it looks like he's about to use her as a sacrifice, he grabs one of his [[{{Mooks}} cultists]] instead. Apparently betrayal doesn't count when it's done out of [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes love]].

* Played with and ultimately averted in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' finale. In the aftermath of an EnemyCivilWar, Luthor's side has beaten Grodd's and Luthor asks if any of them can give a reason they shouldn't [[ThrownOutTheAirlock continue following Grodd.]] Killer Frost, one of Grodd's cabal, steps forward, turns around and immediately freezes all the others on her side. This even unnerves the villains on Luthor's side.

* In the Iliad, Dolon was captured by Odysseus and Diomedes and interrogated. To save his life, he quickly tells everything he knows. Then Diomedes kills him for speaking too easily.
* King of Pisa, Oenomaus challenged the suitors of his daughter Hippodamia in a chariot race and killed the losers. He was always winning as his own horses were gifts of his father the god Ares. Pelops bribed the king’s charioteer, Myrtilus son of Hermes, to sabotage the chariot in exchange for half the Kingdom and one night with Hippodamia. Pelops then casted Myrtilus in the sea later named the Myrtoan Sea.
* Scylla, daughter of king of Megara Nisos, fell in love with invader Minos, the king of Crete. Nisus had a single lock of purple hair which granted him invincibility. When Minos saw the princess presenting Nisus' hair, he cursed her and left her alone or threw her into the sea depending on the versions.
* In the Aesop Fable, "The Lion, the Fox and the Donkey" a fox and a donkey who are best buds encounter a hungry lion. The fox, only thinking about saving his own selfish ass rather than his companion ass, secretly makes an offer to the lion to trick the donkey jumping into a pit where he can't get out, in exchange for sparing his own life. The lion agrees to the fox's proposal, but immediately goes back on his word and devours the fox once he's sent the donkey into the pit.
* ''Literature/TheBible'' brings us Baanah and Rechab. They were commanders that worked for Ishbosheth (Saul's son). Having heard of his father's defeat, Ishbosheth lost heart. While he was resting on his bed in the afternoon, Rechab and Baanah killed him. They proceeded to behead him and bring the head to David. They expected reward but things turned out differently:
-->'''[[Literature/BooksOfSamuel 2 Samuel 4:9-12]]''' David replied to Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, "As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every adversity, when a man told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ thinking that he was bringing good news, I seized and killed him in Ziklag, to reward him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous and just man in his own house on his bed, shall I not require his blood from your hand and remove you from the earth?” So David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them beside the pool in Hebron. But they took Ish-bosheth's head and buried it in Hebron in the tomb of Abner [his relative].

* ''[[WesternAnimation/HotWheelsBattleForce5 Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5]]'': [[spoiler: This is the final fate of Grimian. Grimian was an ambitious Vandal who emerged to challenge Kalus' position as Vandal Warlord. As it turns out, however, Grimian was secretly working for Krytus, intending to bring the Vandals under his command. When this is finally revealed in "Grimian's Secret", much of the Vandals reject the idea of having Grimian as a leader as a result. Hatch then destroys his vehicle before Kalus sends him into exile. in "Rumble In The Jungle", Grimian ends up suffering this again when he assembles the remaining Vandals under him to eliminate Kalus and his army. Grimian was aided in this move by Krytus, only to find out too late that Krytus intended to betray him. Kalus calls Grimian out on how he's pretty much doomed the Vandals by doing so; if it weren't the Kharamanos' Phase-Nullification Bomb, the Red Sentients and Red Sark would've wiped out the Vandals for good. After this, the remaining Vandals finally affirm their loyalty to Kalus. As for Grimian, the final scene we have of him is getting cornered by the Vandals before Kalus approaches him with a spear and a SlasherSmile. Given how Grimian doesn't appear in the series' epilogue, it's safe to say that Kalus finally executed him.]]

** Basically the same scenario occurs in another issue of the above series, when the Holwers and the resistance in a French town are sold out to a Nazi occupying force by a [[TheQuisling collaborator]]. The snitch later approaches the leader of the Nazi squad (Baron Strucker), who promptly orders the rat to be [[DeadlyEuphemism "taken away"]]. Odds are his reward was.... not what he expected.

* Narrowly averted in ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002''. Evil-Lyn is offered to be '[[ExactWords honored above all others]]' if she betrays Skeletor and joins the ranks of King Hisss. It turns out that, as far as Snake people are concerned, [[BlueAndOrangeMorality there is no higher honor than to be devoured by your king...]] but Hisss decides to spare her when he decides she's of more use to him alive.

* ''Film/Batman1989'': [[DirtyCop Lt. Eckhardt]] gets offed by [[ComicBook/TheJoker Jack Napier]] at the beginning of the film.

** Basically the same scenario occurs in another issue of the above series, when the Holwers and the resistance in a French town are sold out to a Nazi occupying force by a [[TheQuisling collaborator]]. The snitch later approaches the leader of the Nazi squad (Baron Strucker), who promptly orders the rat to be [[DeadlyEuphanism "taken away"]]. Odds are his reward was.... not what he expected.

** Basically the same scenario occurs in another issue of the above series, when the Holwers and the resistance in a French town are sold out to a Nazi occupying force by a [[TheQuisling collaborator]]. The snitch later approaches the leader of the Nazi squad (Baron Strucker), who promptly orders the rat to be "taken away". Odds are his reward was.... not what he expected.

** Basically the same scenario occurs in another issue of the above series, when the Holwers and the resistance in a French town are sold out to a Nazi occupying force by a [[TheQusiling collaborator]]. The snitch later approaches the leader of the Nazi squad (Baron Strucker), who promptly orders the rat to be "taken away". Odds are his reward was.... not what he expected.

* In ''Film/ThePatriot'', when Tavington rounds up an entire town suspected of aiding Martin's soldiers, he offers them forgiveness if they give up any relevant information. One of the townspeople ends up talking, but Tavington has the entire town killed anyways, saying that they can get their forgiveness from God.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/SonicUnderground'', a black-market dealer, angry with Sonic and his siblings for not paying him for some vital information, sells them out to [[ThoseTwoGuys Sleet and Dingo]]. Sleet promises him, "I'll make sure you get everything that's coming to you". The dealer assumes this means money. [[UnwillingRoboticisation It doesn't.]]

* In ''ComicBook/{{Thorgal}}'', when a group of cultists shows up in the village to kidnap Thorgal's son, an elderly woman leads them to his house for a promise of reward. Once they capture the child, one of them tears off her tongue.

* In the Aesop Fable, "The Lion, the fox and the donkey" a fox and a donkey who are best buds encounter a hungry lion. The fox, only thinking about saving his own selfish ass rather than his companion ass, secretly makes an offer to the lion to trick the donkey jumping into a pit where he can't get out, in exchange for sparing his own life. The lion agrees to the fox's proposal, but immediately goes back on his word and devours the fox once he's sent the donkey into the pit.

* ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'': [[spoiler: Blackguard]] apparently sold out Team A to thr military army before the mission even began, and when he steps forward to reveal himself as the source, he gets shot in the face.

* ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'': Blackguard sells out the squad to the Corto Maltese army in the prologue...and is the first one to be killed by them in the ambush.

So, the traitor gets the "reward" of being put to death or being reduced to menial slavery. Not such a pleasant outcome for him, is that? Frequently, this is accompanied by a speech of [[TreacheryIsASpecialKindOfEvil withering contempt for treachery]], which demonstrates that the villain is an [[NobleDemon honorable enemy]] or WorthyOpponent to some degree — though in most cases this only serves to make the villain look like a great big {{hypocrite}} (after all, he did solicit and employ a traitor, and by invoking this trope, ''betrayed them'') and an UngratefulBastard. In other cases, it could be more PragmaticVillainy; as noted above, trusting a proven traitor is never a good idea. In a variation, the hero refuses to turn, and [[SecretTestOfCharacter is rewarded and praised for his loyalty]].

* A mild version occurs in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Bart Sells His Soul". Bart pulls a prank at church by switching the opening hymn with "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida". Milhouse ends up ratting him out and is praised by Rev. Lovejoy for it, who then takes Bart away from punishment... and drags Milhouse along, too, saying, "You too, snitchy."