Enemies Equals Greatness

"You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life."

— Winston Churchill

They've insulted you for your physical appearance. They've beat you up and stuffed you into the locker. They've told nasty rumors about you liking an unattractive girl. They tried to get the boss to fire you. Scratch that. Your boss wants to get rid of you, too. Heck, they even made an attempt to kill you, for goodness sake! Those jerks will do many nasty things to you just for the sake of making your life miserable.

Wait. You think that your enemies are the best thing to ever happen to you?

This is the trope where the hero has the ideology that having enemies is good, beneficial, or necessary for his life. Here are some common reasons why the hero puts up with them day after day:

• Moral character: The hero has gained a lot of enemies because he stood up for something that is right. After all, they're too cruel and nasty to understand it. This character usually believes that Peer Pressure Makes You Evil, and hanging with his boring friends is better than hanging with the wrong crowd.
• Motivation: Another reason could be that the hero sees their scorn as some sort of motivation. The more they hate him, the stronger and better he will become in the long run.
• Honesty: It could be that the hero knows that it's better to have openly honest enemies than untrustworthy friends. Reason 2 from above would be that enemies are lighting up the fire in the hero whereas friendships are just there to bring down the hero.
• Jealousy: They are torturing the hero for being different from them, but deep down, they envy him for being gifted with many talents and accomplishing so much in his life. This is what commonly creates a very dangerous villain for the hero.
• Culture: Plain and simple, the hero belongs to — or finds him/herself immersed in — a warrior culture in which the number and quality of your enemies is a measure of your achievements: the more people want you dead, the more important/powerful/dangerous they are, the greater your honour and reputation. As the page quote indicates, this is Literal Truth in Television for a good many Real Life cultures throughout history. Having this kind of reputation will often lead to people picking fights with you in order to build up their own reputation.

Other reasons may vary. Because of these reasons, it's no secret that the hero wouldn't bother changing the status quo and it's also no secret that he remains physically, emotionally, and morally strong.

Note that this doesn't always have to be exclusive to the heroes. Villains like the Visionary Villain can apply this philosophy to their goals, although that doesn't mean they wouldn't give their enemies a smug gloat if they have succeeded. Other versions would have an oppressive tyrant enjoy being hated because he believes they fear him. Even the hero would rub it in all of their faces for being inferior towards him, especially if it's reason 1 from above. Jerkass characters will use this trope to excuse their behavior towards others. Arrogant characters will often have this belief.

This is more of an alternate version of The Power of Friendship where a hero's friends and allies are the reason why he has accomplished his goals. Replace friends and allies with enemies and you have this trope in a nutshell.

Compare Misery Builds Character if opposition or mistreatment from others is what makes a character stronger. Compare Good Needs Evil if having enemies is a necessity. Obviously on the idealistic end of the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism. If so, it can be served as An Aesop if played right. Can be the belief of a Blood Knight as far as fighting is concerned. Can be Truth in Television for many politicians. See also Tall Poppy Syndrome. Characters with this mentality are likely to be Offended by an Enemy's Indifference.

Contrast Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond.

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Examples:

Advertising

• An Audi ad featured Ricky Gervais and his niece sitting in a car while she reads his hate mail to him from a tablet:
  "Uncle Ricky, what does all this mean?"
  "It means I'm doing something right."

Anime & Manga

• Son Goku of Dragon Ball has allowed then-enemies Piccolo and Vegeta to escape from their respective fights because of this; he enjoyed the challenge of fighting them so much that he wanted to do it again, even though both have tried to kill him. Even when obliterating Kid Buu, Goku wished he would reborn again (as a good guy) so they could fight, a wish that came true in the Distant Finale.
• One Piece:
  • The World's Greatest Swordsman, Dracule "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk. While he takes pride in his title, he's also bored of it because there isn't a swordsman in the world that can seriously challenge him for it. Only Shanks ever stood a chance, and he ceased to be a challenge for Mihawk when he lost his sword-arm saving Luffy when the latter was seven. Without a serious rival, the weight of the title decreases significantly, something that Mihawk is bitterly aware of. One of the reasons he took an interest in Zoro, to the point of training him during the Time Skip, is because Zoro is the first swordsman in years to show the potential, determination, and ambition to reach Mihawk's level.
  • Among pirates, it is a commonly held belief that making enemies, especially among the Three Great Powers, is vital to their way of life and reputation. This rule is considered to be of the utmost importance, and it is followed by all pirates who take pride in their profession.
  • Under the leadership of their captain Luffy, the Straw Hat crew has garnered a notorious reputation for their unparalleled prowess in defeating anyone and anything that stands in their way, regardless of their affiliation with the Three Great Powers. Their unyielding determination and incredible combat skills have made them a force to be reckoned with and a name that strikes fear into the hearts of their enemies.
• In YuYu Hakusho, our heroes have to fight through the Dark Tournament against teams of demons. Demons also make up the entirety of the tournament's spectators, so whenever Yusuke (a human who polices demons that arrive on Earth) starts fighting the crowd will begin booing or entering into loud chants like "Kill The Human!" This all just makes Yusuke more eager to kick ass. To fit the Trope even further, Kuwabara (Yusuke's friendly rival fighting on his team) winds up jealous the demons don't boo him as loudly.

Comic Books

• Batman: The Joker thinks this. He values his bitter feud with Batman far more than any ally he’s ever had. Some stories suggest he’s worked out Batman’s identity but refuses to acknowledge it any more than he’ll confirm his own, because he couldn’t stand having some ordinary guy as his archenemy.
• In the Weird West Justice Riders, Beetle is impressed to learn Sheriff Prince has made an enemy of Maxwell Lord.
  Beetle: If a man — or woman — is to be judged by her enemies, then you rank rather high.
• Rob Liefeld has referred to himself as "the most hated man in comics".
• The second volume collection of The Sandman (1989) opens with Destiny recapping the first arc. This involves Morpheus retrieving his lost helmet from a demon, and earning the enmity of Lucifer himself in the process.
  "They say we are known by our enemies. If this is so, then Morpheus is to be highly regarded."
• In a story from the Mickey Mouse Comic Universe, Detective Casey stands by with a uniformed officer while Mickey and the Phantom Blot duke it out near them, Casey saying it's part of their ritual and remarking that "a man is defined by his enemies". The uniformed officer slyly responds "Is that why you don't have any?"

Fan Works

• Rivals Series: Played with, but ultimately deconstructed. Viktor's fans who also tend to serve as Yuuri's haters only serve as even more motivation for Yuuri to beat Viktor; while this drive eventually causes him to succeed in his goal, their constant ridicule even after the fact and his failure to repeat the feat at the Grand Prix Final the following season does a number on his already fragile mental health and nearly drives him to a breakdown.
• Something Lost Something Found: Apep fully believes this, considering it proof that an exile like her is once again being taken seriously by the other Outer Gods. This makes her only more interested in claiming Morgan as her own Foreigner as the others would see it and relay to their patrons that Apep is back in business. And if they send their own Foreigners to Shinjuku for Apep to slaughter once she's crossed over to Earth? An even better announcement that she's back in the game.

Film

• American Gangster has a scene where Frank Lucas, a Villain Protagonist, is advised by Domonic Cattano that he can be successful when he has enemies, but unsuccessful when he has friends.
• Cinderella: Lady Tremaine and her two daughters treated Cinderella like utter crap, but this stems from the fact that Cinderella was the center of attention of Lady Tremaine's late husband.
• The Dark Knight: Gotham is a Wretched Hive. So if Harvey Dent doesn't have enemies (and a lot of them), then he's no doubt corrupt, as Rachel playfully reminds him after Dent foils an attempt on his own life in the middle of a mobster's trial.
  Rachel: C'mon, Harvey, you're Gotham's DA. You're not getting shot at, you're not doing your job right.
• In Easy A, Olive is (initially) pleased when other students notice her presence enough to jeer at her when she walks down the hall. In this example, it's less a sign of confidence than the exact opposite: she feels like she needs attention of some kind to give her life worth, even though she’s happy in all other respects.
• The Interview has Dave Skylark routinely boasting "they hate us 'cause they ain't us!" Kim Jong-un had a similar, less catchy, line, "they despise us, because they are not us." He's quick to adopt Dave's version after he hears it.
• This is the reason why Jeremiah Johnson ends up with a sizable list of mortal enemies from among the local Native American tribes; it's a small relief that the other natives respect him precisely because of this.
• This was discussed in Lords of Dogtown where Skip tells the boys how they have made enemies in the skating contest, but Montoya replies that it's good to have enemies.
• White Chicks has a memorable line said by "Party Boy" Russ:
  "Don't hate me 'cause you ain't me!"

The Internet

• Some people who get put on "Blocklists" (a compilation of blogs that range from deliberately inflamatory to unironically racist, sexist, etc) take it as a point of pride that they got "the snowflakes to melt."
• This is the point of the "Haters Gonna Hate" meme. No matter how awesome you are, the purpose of a hater is, in fact, to hate you for being awesome.
  Dita Von Teese: You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches.
• Texts From Last Night:
  Someone wrote that you're a whore in one of the bathroom stalls.
  I didn't know I was popular enough to be hated. This is awesome.

Literature

• The Art Of Worldly Wisdom by Baltasar Gracián has this proverb which seems to also apply to the Right Way/Wrong Way Pair:
  "A wise man gets more use from his enemies than a fool from his friends."
• Any work written by Ayn Rand, particularly Atlas Shrugged, is designed with this trope in mind. The good guys are always some sort of genius, exceptional, or determined person. The bad guys are always those who hate their success.
• The Canim of the Codex Alera actually believe that a good enemy is better to have than a good friend and have multiple words for it, in much the same way Eskimos are said to have multiple words for snow. Most prominent of these is their word, gadara, which roughly translates to a "trusted enemy." Fathers and sons actually refer to one another by it.
• Sam Vimes of Discworld's City Watch books takes great pride in having assassins constantly out for his head, because it means he's annoying people who ought to be annoyed. In fact he's almost offended when he eventually learns that the Assassin's Guild has stopped taking contracts on him.
• Harry Potter — A fledgling Voldemort is seen using a variation of this trope in a Pensieve Flashback to explain why Dumbledore has heard so many bad things about him; "Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies." While this statement may have some truth to it, Dumbledore does not believe for a second that it applies to Voldemort.
• Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack has the proverb "love your enemies, for they tell all your faults", which means that even though your enemies will cruelly tell you what you're failing at, this gives you the opportunity to improve yourself for the better, much to their displeasure.
• This quote in Gone To Texas: The Outlaw Josey Wales published by Forrest Carter:
  "It is good that a man's enemies want him dead, for it proves he has lived a life of worth."
• The quote in Bennett Cerf's Shake Well Before Using: A New Collection of Impressions and Anecdotes Mostly Humorous in 1949 has some shades to this trope which also go along with the Be Yourself moral:
  "Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."
  • This quote was then used by Bernard Baruch, who was the presidential advisor of former presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt, in response to Igor Cassini's question in regards to the seating arraignments of dinner parties.
  • The quote was also then used by Dr. Seuss in one of his books, but without the citation of the work.
• In Watership Down, the rabbits' ancestral hero is called "Prince with a Thousand Enemies". Since rabbits are prey animals, their mythology is based around this concept; rabbits are awesome because every predator around them wants them dead. However, it's also noted that this is also a divine punishment-the Pw1000E thought he was more awesome than God, and so God said, "If you're so neato, everyone's going to hate you enough to want to eat you because of it."

Live-Action TV

• Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory states that the neighborhood kids hated him because they were jealous of his intelligence. Mary, his mother, doesn't think that was really the reason.
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In the episode "Checkpoint", Buffy points out that the reason she keeps being belittled by The Watcher's Council was because they wanted to keep her from realising that she had the power. She explains that Glory talked down on her and never bothered to finish her for the same reason: Buffy had The Key, and that gave her power over Glory who needed it.
• Chappelle's Show: Played for Laughs in the skit "The Playa Hater's Ball" where people hate each other for being great... at doing very dirty, low-down things because they wish they were doing them. It makes a lot of sense considering this is one of the terms for "player hater".
• Doctor Who
  • Missy is deeply offended when the Doctor refers to Davros as "his greatest enemy", because that's her role. She also wants them to be friends again. She'd probably say that only a limited human mind would see a contradiction there.
  • In "Victory of the Daleks", the Evil Plan of the Daleks is simply to get the Doctor to acknowledge that he's their enemy, as a Dalek Progenitor Device refuses to accept them until the Doctor—their archenemy, does so.
  • In the Big Finish Doctor Who episode I, Davros: Corruption, a Thal suicide squad attacks a meeting hosted by the Supremo who rules Kaled society. However their target turns out to be not him but Davros, whom their statistical computer has identified as the greatest threat. Davros's mother takes a pride in the implication that her son is the most important person on the planet.
• Elementary: In one episode Detective Marcus Bell's life has been threatened and Sherlock goes through his case files for possible suspects. After going through his case files and finding too many people put away to easily pin down who might want him dead, Sherlock compliments Detective Bell in these terms.
• The pilot episode of Glee has aspects of this trope. There's Will encouraging Rachel that it comes with a price for showing her talents and there's Finn giving Puck this moving speech:
  Finn: Don't you get it, man? We're all losers! Everyone in this school! Hell, everyone in this town! Out of all the kids who graduate, maybe half will go to college, and two will leave the state to do it! I'm not afraid to be called a loser because I can accept that's what I am.
• NCIS: Gibbs takes the fact that bad guys are trying to kill him as a sign that he's doing his job.
• NCIS: Los Angeles: In the episode "The Debt", Sam, G. Callen, and, of all people, Hetty use the "Haters Gonna Hate" quote.
• On Psych, Detective Lassiter takes great pride in the fact that there are a lot of criminals who might want to kill him.
• Invoked by Lex Luthor in the Grand Finale of Smallville, as part of what turns out to be a remarkably affable and inspiring Rousing Speech (which Clark needs because Apokolips is coming down to destroy the Earth, which Lex would like intact as much as everyone else).
  "You know, I used to think it was our families that made us who we are? Then I hoped it was our friends. But if you look at history, the great men and women of the world have always been defined... by their enemies."
• In The Crown, Churchill himself provides an example when he's having trouble crafting George VI's eulogy and is unable to find the right words. Upon learning that Eden is challenging his leadership and wants him to retire, Winston rises up to the occasion once more and produces another of his magnificent speeches.

Music

• A lot of rap songs, especially from the Glam Rap and Swag Rap subgenres, are all over this trope. There are too many to list, but common songs include "Hate Me Now" by Nas, "Motivation" by T.I., and "Hi Hater" by Maino.
• The first lines of Shinedown's "Bully" implies this:
  It’s 8 AM, this hell I’m in,
  Seems I’ve crossed the line again,
  For being nothing more than who I am.
• Fozzy's "Don't You Wish You Were Me".
• "People Hate Me" by Murderdolls.
• Eminem, who had used Winston Churchill's quote above the page, also said this:
  "Behind every successful person lies a pack of haters."
• "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera.
• Ally Burnett's "Talk Of The Town".

Philosophy

• The point of Objectivism is to explain this trope. Ayn Rand professes that the elite and exceptional are what's good and right in the world, and true evil comes from attempts by the unexceptional to drag them down to their level. Rand opposed socialism in any form, and Objectivism was established to condemn it in any fashion.

Professional Wrestling

• According to the WWE, the reason John Cena is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, star today is because not only for having a large fanbase, but also having a huge pack of haters. In this case, it doesn't really doesn't matter whether he's cheered or booed, what counts is that he has the biggest reaction out of everyone else.
  • In his heel days as the Doctor Of Thuganomics, he freestyled about this just days after losing to Kurt Angle at No Mercy 2003:
  "And all you people hate me just 'cause I'm better than you?!"
• The Miz's promo during his run as the United States Champion has this Wham Line:
  The Miz: "I'd rather you all hate me for who I am than love me for something I'm not!"
  • He again boasts to his detractors in a promo in November 2010 after winning the WWE Championship from Randy Orton the previous week.
• Part of CM Punk's infamous "pipebomb" promo in June 2011 states that ever since he came to the WWE, he was strongly hated because Paul Heyman saw something in him that they don't want to admit. In short, he's a Paul Heyman guy.
  • His speech against John Laurinaitis points out that the reason Laurinaitis has been getting under Punk's skin for the past months is because he's jealous of his success as the WWE Champion. This is what also let Big Johnny to snap.
• During his feud with Hulk Hogan in mid 2005, Shawn Michaels insults the Montreal crowd for hating him because he's everything they wish they could be. This is one of the guys who claim that he screwed Bret Hart.

Religion

• The Bible deals with this trope a lot, making this Older Than Feudalism.
  • The reason why people have many enemies is because of them choosing to follow God and His laws. It's one of the reasons why Jesus wants His followers to love and pray for their enemies.
  • The reason why Joseph was hated by his ten half-brothers was for three things: 1.) Being favored by Israel, thus being granted with the "coat of many colors". 2.) Sharing his dreams to his family, which said dreams were given by God. And 3.) Being the most loved son of his father, Jacob.
  • David was resented by King Saul just for being the only one to defeat Goliath. King Saul lost God's favor for disobeying His orders of killing the Amalekites.
  • Job is a good example of a person who is doubted by others (his wife and his close friends) due to putting their trust in God during a Crisis of Faith.
  • Stephen was hated and brutally stoned to death all because he was witnessing to others about Jesus, cementing himself as the first Christian martyr in history. For this matter, a Christian being persecuted for their faith in God is a sign of honor and rewards, especially in heaven.
  • Jesus Himself. He was hated, tortured, mocked, and was nailed to a cross for performing miracles that some thought was impossible to believe, preaching doctrines that the Pharisees strongly disagree with, angrily rebuking merchants for defiling His Father's house, and most importantly, being the Son Of God.
  • The Beatitudes and Woes are a contrast that explicitly bring up this trope, pointing back to Israel's history and saying that the real prophets were always oppressed and scorned by the people, while the false prophets were always lauded and fawned over.
  • Some scriptures assures that it is better for a believer to have enemies than to be an enemy of God. John 15:18-20 is an example of this:
    "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also."

Sports

• Real Madrid football player Cristiano Ronaldo was given huge heat for allegedly forcing the referee to send off Wayne Rooney in the World Cup 2006, although it was said that the two were close friends. Despite the hatred he received from the fans, Ronaldo states that their boos and insults is motivating him to train harder than ever. His quote in 2010 sums up this trope:
  "Maybe they hate me because I'm too good."
• Legendary basketball player Isaiah Thomas had experienced being hated along with the rest of the Pistons in the early 90's and states that it isn't such a bad thing. Here's this quote:
  "Hate is not a bad thing in sports . . . That means that you're pretty good, you're touching people's emotions, a little controversial, and you're being talked about. That's what sports is all about. It's not about the good guy all the time. If they're chosen as the bad guys that means they're going to be on television a lot, they're going to be written about a lot, and they're going to win a lot of games."
• In Australian Rules Football, the Collingwood Magpies seem to take pride in how much fans of other teams hate them. One commercial had fans of other teams talking about how much they hate Collingwood, with a voiceover at the end saying, "Give 'em the bird. Sign up for Magpies membership today."
• This is the reason elite boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr. changed his boxing nickname from "Pretty Boy" to the more heel oriented "Money". Because he had a lot of detractors who were tired of seeing him win all the time and wanted to witness him lose. This led to many big paydays from his boxing events, because the majority of people who purchased his fights, did so in hopes of seeing him finally lose. He retired undefeated and very rich.

Video Games

• In The Bard's Tale, a barbarian chieftain tells the Bard that the locals "Loathe you! Despise you! They'll curse your name for a thousand years! Ahh, what I wouldn't give for fame like that...!"
• The official tagline for Batman: Arkham Origins was "Your Enemies Will Define You".
• According to the Kurohyo Ryu Ga Gotoku Shinsho PSP spin-offs of the Yakuza series, the reason why Kiryu is often accosted by random thugs throughout the series is that surviving a fight with him is a common initiation ceremony for local gangs. Kiryu may not realize that this trope, or the other trope, Gang Initiation Fight, are in effect, but it's clear that he's a respected (though constantly pestered) Legend, with nearly everyone in Kamurocho attempting to fucking murder him.
• Played with in BlazBlue. Hazama needs people to hate him to stay in the world.
• In Dragon Age: Origins, Loghain will remark that his late friend King Maric once told him that a man can be judged by the quality of his enemies. He wonders if that's more a compliment to you or to him.
• In Dragon Age: Inquisition, Leliana's epilogue in the Trespasser DLC if she's softened and becomes Divine would use the uprisings against her as proof that she's on the right track.

• Fallen London: Apparently, having people trying to kill you is something to be proud of, as you're "important enough to be worth murdering" in the game's own words. The person who gives you the quest is even jealous, having only gotten a few petty criminals after her. Then again, it might just be the tamer side of this trope combining with the fact Death Is Cheap and resulting in even the friendliest of rivals killing each other regularly.
• A game mechanic in Fallout 3. Having Good Karma causes Talon Company to be sent to hunt you down while Bad Karma has the Regulators sent after you. Either way, you get enemies for have any notable effect on the world, but No Points for Neutrality.
• Piper in Fallout 4 believes that a journalist shouldn't be considered a success until they've rattled the cages enough for someone to threaten their life. In that regard, she considers herself very successful.
• Mass Effect:
  • This is a core belief of the Krogan race. They love to fight and their culture reflects this. The more challenging the enemy, the greater the glory when they are killed. If you manage to impress a shaman, he'll tell you "May your foes be strong enough to keep you sharp!" If you don't, he'll give you a backhanded insult by saying "May your enemies give you exactly what you deserve."
  • Urdnot Dagg (the third game's stand-in for a dead Grunt) specifically says he envies Shepard as the only organic to be considered a personal enemy by the Reapers.
  • During the "From Ashes" mission in the third game, Shepard can mention this to Ashley.
    "They say you can judge a man by his enemies."
    "Well, we've got the best."
  • This is the very reason why most krogan have so much respect for Shepard, despite him/her being a human. Grunt decides to follow, and declares Undying Loyalty to the Commander immediately once Shepard describes the scale of the enemies that s/he's fighting against. Even Urdnot Wreav, a krogan supremacist that believes them to be the apex race and has almost nothing but contempt for everyone else, admits to having a grudging respect for Shepard based solely on the fact of making an enemy of the Reapers.

Webcomics

• Among the superheroes in Basic Instructions, The Knifeketeer isn't considered badass because heroes are judged by their recurring villains, and all of his enemies are dead.
• Stanley invokes this early on in Erfworld. Parson assumes they're "the bad guys" on the basis that almost everyone else in the setting is coming to wipe them out. Stanley retorts that everyone being out to get him proves he's doing something right.
• Dellyn in Goblins believes that how badly a person's enemies want to kill them decides whether or not they're worthy of being described as 'legendary'. Not that he'll let anyone he wants to kill be described as legendary.

Western Animation

• In an episode of The Boondocks, we have Huey and Riley discussing this matter in "Shinin'":
  Riley: I can't wait for niggas to start hatin! I can't wait!
  Huey: So you judge your success by the amount of ill-will you generate from those around you?
  Riley: Hey, if niggas ain't mad at you, then you doin' something wrong.
  Huey: By that definition then, you have a very bright future.
• DuckTales (2017): During a press conference, Mark Beaks unveils a a self-driving robot car he calls B.U.D.D.Y. Launchpad and Gyro both immediately voice their displeasure (Launchpad because such an invention would replace him and Gyro because he doesn't believe Beaks could actually create such an innovation). Beaks immediately gloats to the audience that since Scrooge McDuck's personal driver and chief inventor feel threatened by the robot, that means it's a great product.
  • Scrooge himself also seems to take pride in how many enemies he has made: "If I Had a Nickel... for every person who cursed me with their dying breath, I'd be twice as rich as I already am!" This trope is deconstructed in "The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck" when he realizes that he made an archenemy out of Magica for refusing to save her brother even when she begged him to help, which in turn causes him to realize that having so many enemies may not be such a glamourous thing.
  Scrooge (to Louie): I assumed that if you lived as long as I have, you make a lot of sworn enemies. But when you rack up enough of them, you do have to wonder if you might be part of the problem.
• In The Fairly OddParents! special "Channel Chasers", Timmy revealed that if he was never miserable with an evil and mean babysitter like Vicky, he would never had Cosmo and Wanda in the first place.
  • It was also learned that in "Vicky Gets Fired", Timmy having Vicky as his babysitter was for the greater good of the world, since having her rule the city, country, or the world would have been worse.
• Happens in Kim Possible. Even Drakken admits she was a worthy foe.
• An episode of The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack sees the trope Played for Laughs when K'nuckles tells Flapjack that great adventurers have many enemies, so Flapjack sets out to make as many enemies as possible.
• Milo Murphy's Law: Believing Milo Murphy is intentionally trying to prevent him and Vinnie Dakota from fulfilling their assignment makes Balthazar Cavendish happy because he takes it as a sign their assignment isn't meaningless.
• One episode of the Spider-Man: The Animated Series featured an alternate universe version of Peter Parker who was an arrogant prick (who was also reckless and less skilled) because he didn't have his Hero with Bad Publicity status in that universe.
• Teen Titans Go!:
  • In the episode "Starfire the Terrible", Robin is depressed that he has no archenemy. Having an archenemy is a status symbol because it means a villain's whole motivation, the goal of their Evil Plan, is taking you down. To make him feel better, Starfire becomes his archenemy.
    Robin: Why doesn't anyone want to kill me?!
  • Part of the plot of the show's feature film, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, involves the Titans trying to get Slade to become their archenemy in order to earn some respect among the superhero community.
• In The Venture Brothers, Dr. Orpheus actually says he's jealous of Dr. Venture because he has archenemies, saying that having one is "romantic."
  • Also played with in the Running Gag that the Monarch is insulted by the fact that Dr. Venture usually doesn't consider him much of a threat.

Real Life

• In the United States, John Hancock is best known to this day for signing the Declaration of Independence with an especially large signature. An apocryphal story claims he did it so King George of England could read it without spectacles and put twice as high a price on his head as any other who signed the document.
• In competitive gaming, there are a variety of saying that say something to the effect of, "The more racial slurs an enemy player screams at you the more you know you are good player." After all, they wouldn't be nearly as bothered if you weren't doing well.
• When the contents of Richard Nixon's Enemies List was publicly disclosed during the Watergate investigation, the people named on the list took it as a point of pride that they made it. Actor Paul Newman claimed it was better than winning an Oscar. Writer Hunter S. Thompson was upset that he wasn't on the list.
• Stephen Fry once wrote an article claiming that one of his favorite possessions is a badge reading "Hated by the Daily Mail", gifted to him by Phill Jupitus when the British newspaper attacked him for signing a letter objecting to the Pope making a state visit to the UK.
• One of Benito Mussolini's most known quotes was "molti nemici, molto onore" which means "many enemies, much honor".
  • The paternity of said quote belongs to the german Georg von Frundsberg a military commander in the Holy Roman Empire.
• Invoked by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his comment about the moneyed interests who opposed his New Deal policies: "They are unanimous in their hate for me — and I welcome their hatred."

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