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List of fratricides

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Following is a list of notable fratricides.

Contents

Legend and mythology

  • Medea killed her brother Apsyrtus in order to help Jason escape Colchis after obtaining the Golden Fleece. (Greek myth)
  • In Völuspá, the forecast of the world in Nordic mythology, one of the signs of the end of the world is an increase in fratricides.
  • Höðr murders his brother, Baldur in Nordic mythology.
  • Romulus killed Remus, his twin brother and co-founder of Rome.
  • Osiris, one of the principal deities of Egyptian mythology, was murdered by his evil brother Set. His wife and sister Isis resurrected him and he became the god of the dead and the underworld.
  • Eteocles and Polynices kill each other in ensuing battle over the throne of Thebes, Greece in Sophocles' Antigone (Sophocles).
  • When both change into different armor, Sir Balin and Sir Balan kill each other in a duel, with Balin shortly outliving his brother and realizing what had happened, according to Arthurian Legend.
  • The Biblical story of Cain and Abel.
  • The Biblical story of 2 Samuel 13, where Absalom kills Amnon after King David, their father, fails to punish Amnon for raping Tamar, their sister.
  • The Pandavas killed their brother Karna in the epic Mahabharata but they did not know that Karna was their brother, at the time of his killing.
  • Genghis Khan killed his older brother following a dispute.
  • Literature and film

  • Claudius killed King Hamlet, his brother, and married his sister-in-law, Gertrude, in order to become King of Denmark in William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
  • In the Thomas Harris novel Hannibal, Margot Verger kills her brother Mason as revenge for his abuse of her when they were younger, as she was encouraged to do by her former therapist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
  • In William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!, Henry Sutpen murders his half-brother Charles Bon.
  • In Kathryn Lasky's series Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Kludd attempts to kill his brother Soren by pushing him out of the nest.
  • In the ninja anime series Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha kills his brother Itachi Uchiha to avenge the murder of their family.
  • In Idylls of the King Balin and Balan kill each other mistakenly
  • In Ludwig Kakumei, Julius makes several attempts to kill his step brother Ludwig, but fails. Julius thought he succeeded in his most recent attempt on Ludwig's life in the final chapters, but Ludwig was revived thanks to Dorothea's efforts.
  • In Invincible, the last book in the Star Wars: Legacy of the Force series, Jedi Knight Jaina Solo is forced to kill her twin brother Jacen in a lightsaber duel, after Jacen turns to the Dark Side and becomes a Sith Lord.
  • In The Vampire Diaries, it is revealed that, in a moment of extreme grief over losing the woman they both loved, brothers Damon and Stefan Salvatore get swords and duel, where Damon kills Stefan, but Stefan manages to plunge his sword into Damon before he himself dies. Later, they both wake to find that they have become vampires.
  • In the Armageddon arc of the Spawn comic book series, God and Satan constantly attempt to kill each other due to their excessive squabbling over how the human world should be run.
  • In Angel Sanctuary, Rosiel begs his sister Alexiel to kill him, but his sister is unable to perform the deed.
  • In John Cheever's short story "Goodbye, My Brother," the narrator nearly kills his brother, Lawrence, with a blow to the head.
  • In anime series Dragon Ball Z, the main character, Son Goku kills his brother Raditz with the help of Piccolo.
  • In One Piece Donquixote Doflamingo kills his younger brother Rocinante after his treason is confirmed.
  • In The Skin I Live In Dr Robert Ledgrad kills his half-brother Zeca, unaware that they are brothers.
  • In A Song of Ice and Fire Stannis Baratheon kills his vain and ambitious younger brother Renly Baratheon when they attempt to usurp the throne and kill him, via a Shadow assassin created by Stannis impregnating the witch Melisandre. However in the books it is ambiguous whether Stannis is aware of his role in Renly's death. Euron Greyjoy is suspected of murdering his brother Balon Greyjoy, enabling him to seize rule of the Iron Islands, and later reveals he also slew his half-brothers Harlon and Robyn Greyjoy.
  • In the prequel series The Tales of Dunk and Egg Prince Maekar Targaryen (later Maekar I), accidentally kills his oldest brother Prince Baelor Targaryen in a trial by combat. One of their father Daeron's half-brothers, Brynden Rivers, is mentioned to have killed another half-brother, Daemon Blackfyre, in battle when Daemon rebelled against Daeron.
  • Another prequel The Princess and the Queen mentions the twin knights Ser Arryk Cargyll and Ser Erryk Cargyll, who slew each other.
  • Film and television

  • Michael Corleone (in The Godfather Part II) has his brother Fredo shot.
  • Scar murders his older brother Mufasa in order to usurp his throne in The Lion King.
  • In the 1979 anime, Mobile Suit Gundam, Kycilia Zabi kills her brother, Gihren Zabi, to avenge her father's death.
  • In Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, Flurious destroys his own brother Moltor, by freezing him and shattering him.
  • Dan Scott killed his older brother Keith Scott on One Tree Hill for what he thought was an attempt on his life. Later it was revealed that he killed his brother for no reason when his ex-wife Deb confessed to the deed.
  • In Metalocalypse, Pickles attempts to kill his brother whenever he becomes extremely annoyed with his behavior and criminal tactics.
  • In the anime Code Geass, Lelouch Lamperouge kills his half-brother Clovis la Britannia as an act of (partial) revenge, in order to stop a massacre ordered to cover up the loss and recovery of an illegal research subject.
  • In the anime Shaman King, Yoh Asakura kills his twin brother Hao in order to prevent his genocidal agenda against humanity.
  • In the season 1 finale of Dexter, Dexter murders his older brother, the "Ice-Truck Killer". This is the conclusion of a major story arc in the first season.
  • In the second episode of season 3 of NCIS Mossad Officer Ziva David shoots her paternal half brother Ari Hazwari she is also his control officer in defence of Gibbs. As Hazwari had killed Gibbs agent Caitlin Todd. Gibbs took responsibility for the death. It was revealed in the season 6 finale and second episode of season 7 it is revealed that their shared father Eli David ordered the killing of his son and gain NCIS trust but Ziva shot Ari to save Gibbs not to kill her brother.
  • Nino Brown kills his brother G Money in "New Jack City" for disloyalty, and as the only way for Nino to start over. G Money asks "am I my brother's keeper".
  • In From Dusk till Dawn, Seth kills his brother Richie, who has turned into a vampire. Kate is forced to do the same with her brother, Scott.
  • In Avatar: The Last Airbender Iroh is asked to kill his brother Ozai, in the absence of Aang, but refuses to do so.
  • In Harper's Island Henry Dunn kills his brother JD at a rainy boat dock.
  • In Star Trek: The Next Generation Data is forced to kill his brother Lore.
  • In Halloween H20: 20 Years Later Laurie Strode allegedly decapitates her older brother serial killer Michael Myers with an ax, but in the following film it's revealed that the latter switched places with a paramedic.
  • In One Tree Hill In Season 3, Episode 16, Dan Scott kills his older brother Keith Scott during a school shooting, because he believes he tried to kill him first in a fire.
  • Video games

  • In Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, when twin girls were not available, twin brothers were used in a ritual in which one brother strangles the other. The one documented occurrence of this is when Itsuki Tachibana killed his brother Mutsuki. It is implied that Ryokan Kurosawa, the father of Yae and Sae Kurosawa, also killed his twin brother.
  • In Final Fantasy XII, Vayne Solidor, the main antagonist and eventual final boss, kills two of his older brothers at the order of his father, Emperor Gramis Solidor (whom Vayne eventually kills as well), only before he is ironically killed by the player's party with assistance from his brother, Larsa.
  • In Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Raziel kills his vampire brothers as he seeks out his creator Kain.
  • In the Metal Gear series, Solid Snake commits fratricide, patricide and, unknowingly, matricide.
  • In Devil May Cry, Dante kills his twin brother Vergil (under the guise of Nelo Angelo), unaware of the fact that Nelo Angelo was actually his twin brother. In the novels, he thought he had killed Vergil after shooting him while he was under the guise of Gilver.
  • In Mortal Kombat: Deception, Noob Saibot's (non canon) ending shows him violently murdering his own brother, Sub-Zero with the help of Smoke by ripping him in half.
  • In World in Conflict: Soviet Assault the overzealous and brainwashed Soviet Captain Malashenko kills his commanding officer Colonel Orlovsky, who is also his uncle, after the Colonel goes against orders to save his men.
  • In Galerians, protagonist Rion Steiner kills his "brother" Cain, who strongly resembles him.
  • In Portal, the player earns the "Fratricide" achievement upon destroying the Weighted Companion Cube.
  • In one of the endings of Baroque (game), the protagonist kills his twin brother.
  • In Grandia II, the protagonist Ryudo is forced to defeat (and thus kill) his demon-possessed brother Melfice.
  • In Baldur's Gate, the player character will fight against, and kill, his or her brother Sarevok.
  • At the end of the storyline of the video game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Huang's uncle Kenny Lee is found out to be the one who had Huang's father killed by two men, who was Kenny Lee's brother, which Huang was trying to find out at the start of the game, and avenge his father's death.
  • In Undead Knights, Romulus Blood, a human knight turned demonic necromancer, accidentally kills his younger brother Remus in an exhausted rage.
  • In Grand Theft Auto IV the playable character, Niko Bellic will be given a choice of killing one of two brothers, who each have asked him to kill the other.
  • In Hatoful Boyfriend Yuuya Sakazaki was ordered to murder his brother, but killed his half-brother instead.
  • In Overwatch, when Genji Shimada refused to change his behavior for the good of his family's business, his brother Hanzo was forced to kill him.
  • References

    List of fratricides Wikipedia