Good Versus Good: Difference between revisions
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This can be a philosophical struggle where [[Lawful Good]] and [[For Great Justice]] stand against the forces of [[Chaotic Good]] and [[For Happiness]]. In this case, the conflict is between a [[Hero Protagonist]] and a [[Hero Antagonist]]. It can also be when unambiguously good characters find themselves on different sides of a [[Grey and Grey Morality]] conflict. In either case, they are often reluctant to fight each other but can have a hard time understanding each other's point.
This trope is closely related to [[White and Grey Morality]], but when that trope is played completely straight there can be no conflict beyond mere misunderstandings.
Compare with [[Both Sides Have a Point]], [[Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters]] and [[Utopia Justifies the Means]]. Contrast to [[Black and White Morality]] and [[Evil Versus Evil]]. Might end in a [[Downer Ending]], often with one ultimate message, that [[An Aesop|when the Forces of Good fight, the only victor is Evil.]]
{{examples}}
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** However, most of the Dragons of Earth could care less about saving the Earth.
* Most arcs of [[Mahou Sensei Negima]] end up being this in some form or another, as almost every antagonist turns out to have a rather justifiably heroic motivation, although their methods are usually uncomfortably pragmatic. The exception, of course, is [[Psycho Lesbian|Tsu]][[Axe Crazy|ku]][[Depraved Bisexual|yo]][[Complete Monster|mi]], who's just nuts and horny.
* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
** Let's put it this way: in entire thing, closest thing to "evil" is Book of Darkness {{spoiler|[[
* In [[Suzumiya Haruhi]], it is stated that the Organization, Koizumi's faction, and the time travelers, Mikuru's faction, are fiercely against each other. However, both sides are just out to maintain the status quo, and protect the titular character. Meanwhile, Yuki's faction are formless data entities, with their own inner power struggles and wars. On the whole, they prefer to maintain the status quo by not interfering except to maintain [[Masquerade|the masquerade]], while trying to learn how Haruhi's powers work. As for the three agents, they have stated that should their factions go to war, they will stand by the SOS Brigade, breaking ties if they have to.
* Good guys duel each other all the time in [[Yu-Gi-Oh!]], but the struggle of [[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's|Team 5D's]] versus Team Ragnarok really stands out. They may be dueling in a tournament match, but it's a full-on conflict of genuinely good-hearted heroes chosen by their respective gods to destroy the evil antagonists in the next round. Each side believes the other fights for good, but is also unworthy and incapable of defeating the Lords of Yliaster.
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* The [[Let's You and Him Fight|"misunderstanding fight"]] is a ubiquitous trope in superhero comics: X mistakes Y for an enemy and the punching begins. It's particularly likely to happen when two heroes meet for the first time. Any semblance of plot is just for show: this is largely an excuse to show the readers the spectacle of two powerhouses duking it out. [[Superman]] and [[Shazam|Captain Marvel]] have had a lot of fights like this, despite being two of the most unambiguously good guys in the DCU.
* The ''[[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]'' crossover in the [[Marvel Universe]], where superheroes fought each other over a [[Super Registration Act]]. (At least, this trope was the intention - there's a lot of [[Depending on the Writer]] involved as to "who's right" and if/how much the other side gets demonized. Final score tends to rule that the pro-registration heroes were ultimately the "bad guys".)
* The ''X-Men vs Avengers'' crossover back in the 80's, where the two teams were fighting over the fate of Magneto, who [[Heel Face Revolving Door|at the time]] had reformed and joined the X-Men. The
** It's happening again in 2012 (as ''Avengers vs X-Men'' this time); now over Hope Summers, who is expected to become the next host of the Phoenix Force. The X-Men again want to protect one of their own, the Avengers [[The Dark Phoenix Saga|justifiably]] see the Phoenix as a potential threat.
* Just prior to the latter scrap with the Avengers, the X-Men (mainly Cyclops and Wolverine) fought amongst themselves in ''Schism'' over whether or not the younger members should be involved when the group faces life-or-death battles.
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* In probably the only true manifestation of this trope, the two main characters from [[The Iron Monkey]] are both doctors and expert martial artists. It's no surprise that they end up fighting side-by-side at the end, but for most of the movie, one is motivated by fighting the corrupt government, while the other is motivated by preventing said corrupt government from holding his son hostage by catching the other one. Neither side has the moral high ground.
* T-800 versus the police in [[Terminator]] 2:Judgment Day. Arnie wants to ensure the destruction of Cyberdyne, whereas the police merely do their job, stopping an apparent terrorist act.
* The conflict between Woody and Buzz in the first ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]]''.
* Unfortunately a big downer in [[The Matrix]]. Neo and his allies frequently kill/injure law enforcement agents, who are simply not aware being part of the Matrix.
** They are also [[Moral Dissonance|extremely ruthless about it]]; in the first movie especially they don't so much ''fight'' law enforcement officers as ''massacre'' them, particularly in the Hallway scene (Neo even machine guns a guard who was ''reading a newspaper''). Morpheus gives their stone cold philosophy on the subject early on- everyone they are trying to save is plugged into the system,<ref>
* [[The Fugitive]] has US Martial Sam Gerard, whose job is to capture murder suspect Richard Kimble. Richard Kimble is innocent however, and his job is to find the real murderer and clear his own name.
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== Tabletop Games ==
* When a non-evil party goes up against non-fallen celestials in ''[[Dungeons
** Discussed in ''[[Forgotten Realms|Champions of Valor]]''. To paraphrase the author, good-on-good violence is unlikely to occur in FR since good-aligned characters and nations are likely to have bigger fish to fry.
* In ''[[Talisman]]'', characters of the "Good" alignment are supposed to fight each other just like everyone else, and in the endgame they HAVE to fight each other.
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* The ''[[Soul Calibur]]'' series. With the exception of three or four characters, they're mostly heroes who will battle whoever it takes to obtain Soul Edge.
* The ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' series. Especially the N64-version. Not a single 'evil' character.
* In ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', the main conflict between Alliance and Horde is [[Grey and Grey Morality]], but it contain pockets of
* Very, very common in the ''[[Tales (series)]]'', although the good side ''not'' controlled by the player is generally more "ends justify the means" and willing to employ genuine evil in their pursuit of noble goals.
* In [[Metroid|Metroid Prime Hunters]], at least one rival ([[An Ice Person|Noxus]]) is unambiguously good. Samus and he fight anyway.
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