In the world of cinema and entertainment, there have been several plot twists that see two good friends going about their business, and one fateful event changes everything they had going on for them. One of the friends goes through a psychological imbalance and blames his friend for everything bad that has ever happened to him following that horrific event, which turns them into arch-rivals. Until one of them takes care of the other one for good or does not give up on his old pal and pull through to make lasting memories which is an extremely rare occasion in situations like these. Below we are counting down a list of the best of friends who turned arch-rivals and then things took a turn for the worst or in some cases for the best.
Mr. Fantastic & Dr. Doom
This is a friendship that has transcended the brunt of times. Since their college days, Victor had always disliked Reed, but would often exchange intellectual advice to help each other out in situations they often found themselves stuck together in a battle of the wits. One fateful experiment later the readers saw the hatred of Victor cross all bound even after Reed had warned Victor of the repercussions which may arise during the course of the experiment. Victor took up the name of Dr. Doom and traveled the planet, adopting mystical armor while becoming the greatest threat in the Marvel Universe.
Wonder Woman & Cheetah
Barbara was Diana’s translator and her first female friend in the human world. But a series of events transpire with Barbara and see her getting wedded to a plant god which transforms Barbara into a superpowered anthropomorphic cheetah. Barbara blames Diana for her transformation and a battle of a lifetime ensues their friendship.
Green Lantern & Sinestro
This battle sees the Sensei turn bad in comparison to the later version of the Plot. Thaal Sinestro was the mentor to Hal Jordan when he joined the Green Lantern Corps, which later on turned into a bond of friendship. A twisted fate of events saw Thaal being sent to the antimatter universe by the Guardians. There Sinestro becomes the first Yellow Lantern, using fear to fuel his powers and assemble an army of Yellow lanterns and till date become the greatest threats to the Green Lantern Corps.
Superman & Lex Luthor
Yes, Superman and Lex Luthor in the distant past showed Lex Luthor to be Superboy’s biggest fan. In one particular strip of the comic, we see a young lex plowing a kryptonite meteor away from a weakened Superboy. Later on, in the story a chemistry lab built by Superboy for his friend Lex Luthor catches fire and Superboy tries to blow out the fumes with his super-breath and ends un encompassing Lex in toxic fumes which eventually makes him hairless. Since that day Lex had promised to take his revenge on Superboy.
Nightwing and Saiko
Dick Grayson aka Nightwing and Raymond McCreary aka Saiko were performers in a circus that was secretly training members to be a Talon assassin for the Court of Owls. During their ordeal, Grayson somehow managed to escape and was also the best candidate seen as the Talon assassin. With Grayson gone and later on adopted by Bruce Wayne, the entire responsibility came on the shoulders of Raymond McCreary who was subjected to intense torture in an attempt to make him stronger. But he is unable to make it work and is let go of the program and left to die in the wild. Somehow, he survives the ordeal and blames Grayson for what happened to him, and becomes Saiko to avenge his ruined childhood from Nightwing.
Hawkeye & Trickshot
Clint Barton and Barney Barton were more than mere brothers, they were good friends. Through a series of events, Clint becomes Hawkeye, and Barney through the army joins the FBI. In a fateful mission with the Avengers, Barney sacrifices himself to destroy a paralysis ray, only for his body to be recovered by the villain Egghead. Baron Helmut Zemo discovers Barney and alters Barney’s mind to make him believe that Clint was a bad guy. They have fought each other in multiple battles and are on much better terms now than before.
Captain America & Winter Soldier
We are all aware of the story of probably the most ancient friendship which has withstood the tides of time. Bucky Barnes was battling the Hydra bases with his trusted friend and the Super soldier captain America. In a turn of events, Bucky fell from a train where Captain was unable to save his friend only for Bucky’s body to be recovered by Dr. Arnim Zola. Dr. Zola put Bucky’s body in a deep stasis stage only being brought back into action through mind control procedures performed on Bucky’s body while being thawed out of stasis for performing heinous acts of murder. Eventually, Captain can bring Bucky back and hand over his mantle to Bucky.
Batman & Hush
Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend Thomas Elliot had a hatred towards the Wayne family because he despised Bruce’s father for saving Tommy’s mother from a fateful accident that claimed the life of Tommy’s father which was in reality orchestrated by Elliot himself. An encounter with Riddler later revealed to Elliot, that his childhood friend Bruce and Batman were the same people. This provoked Elliot to take up the mantle of Hush to battle out Batman, but always got his ass handed to him by his childhood friend.
Professor X & Magneto
Escaping the horrific ordeals of the Holocaust Max Eisenhardt changed his name to Erik ‘Magnus’ Lehnsherr and reached a psychiatric hospital in Israel, where he met Charles Xavier. Their debate on politics was often intriguing and their views about the politics of mutants and whether Humans and mutants would ever be able to co-exist peacefully on earth. Later on, in an event that saw Hydra attack the hospital, both of them reveal their powers also understanding in the process that both of them have very separate ideas about a mutant loving world. They have been seen battling it out, but on many occasions have kept apart from their differences and come together to pull something extraordinary like the creation of the mutant nation Krakoa.
Spider-Man & Green Goblin
This duo probably ranks on top of the list for the sole reason being the number of times they have battled out with each other. Before college Peter and Harry did not even know each other, but once they got talking they became the best of friends. In a cruel twist of events Peter while battling Harry’s father Norman as the Green Goblin jumps out of the way of the goblins glider which embeds its blade in Norman eventually killing him. Harry takes up his fathers’ mantle and promises to avenge his death by killing the Spider-Man. Since then, through many storylines, their friendship has been tried and tested and finally, they are back together being the best of friends.
