And you think your Thanksgiving's awkward? Some fathers just really don't do well by their kids, at all. Some are aloof, remote, and offer scant praise for their children's achievements. Some expect their kids to act like adults from an early age and offer no guidance, whatsoever. Some will abandon their kids. Some will come to betray their children at a crucial moment. Some are just downright abusive. Some will even go so far as to try Offing the Offspring.
A select few will go the extra mile to take every action and every opportunity to foil their children's plans and ruin their lives and become an Archnemesis Dad or a Foe Pa. This trope is a father or father figure who also happens to be a prime candidate for the title of a character's arch-enemy. He could be anywhere on the Sorting Algorithm of Evil , but whether he's the Big Bad , The Dragon , or something else entirely, any story featuring him is likely to be emotionally charged at the least.
Compare Child Supplants Parent , the general archetype of children seeking to ovterthrow their parentsβnot necessarily because they're archnemeses, but because they're young people coming into their own.
See Abusive Parents and Parental Neglect for the more mundane version. This may also explain why someone Hates Their Parent. A common subversion of the trope is the Anti-Climactic Parent reveal that usually shows the father as a rather harmless Sitcom Arch-Nemesis to their child rather than an actual antagonist. Sometimes this happens when the father is a Notorious Parent , as in most wanted by any or every authority. Its Distaff Counterpart is the Evil Matriarch , with whom this character type is rarely ever paired up with.
(mh=PabDomi0YI5x8JPM)9.jpg "Prostitutes in Bend")
The inversion is Antagonistic Offspring. Compare this trope to Like Father, Unlike Son , as well. See Evil Uncle for when it's not dad but his brother who goes out of his way to ruin your day. See Cain and Abel when the conflict is between siblings. The Good Counterpart of this trope is Papa Wolf , where the father in this case becomes instinctive.
