History Main / CombatByChampion

** A [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver]][=/=][[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze]] Franchise/{{Superman}} comic featured one of these as part of Krypton's history. In its early days, the planet didn't rotate in the right fashion to support life, so the two largest Kryptonian tribes each selected a champion to decide who would have access to the last bits of food and water. During the fight, their weapons got tangled in a way that helped them discover a means of altering the planet's rotation, thus turning the planet into a paradise.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Spellfire}}: A player sends out one of his champions[[note]]which included Hero, Wizard, Clerics, and Monsters[[/note]] to raze an enemy's realm, and the opponent tries to stop it by sending one of his champions to block him.

* ''TabletopGame{{Spellfire}}: A player sends out one of his champions[[note]]which included Hero, Wizard, Clerics, and Monsters[[/note]] to raze an enemy's realm, and the opponent tries to stop it by sending one of his champions to block him.

* In the climax of ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'', [[spoiler:King Andrias launches his invasion of Earth]], but offers to call it off if Anne can defeat him in single combat. Since Anne has the advantage of [[spoiler:a SuperMode]], Andrias levels the playing field by showing up in a HumongousMecha and aiming to [[spoiler:stall her until she runs out of power]]. It ''almost'' works, but [[spoiler:the discovery of a letter from his former companion Lief [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone completely destroys his will to fight]] and he allows Anne to win, calling the invasion off]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'', this isn't just a battle of honor, it's intergalactic law when it comes to invading armies that their two strongest warriors can fight to decide the winner, which Vilgax uses to conquer 10 worlds.
* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' had Jack in a battle with Aku to settle things once and for all, but Jack couldn't use his sword and Aku had to be human and not use his powers. Aku cheated right from the start. Too bad that Jack expected it...

* In ''Film/BlackPanther2018'', any one of the four major tribes of Wakanda, as well as the Jabari outcast tribe, are allowed to choose a champion to challenge the present Black Panther, the King of Wakanda (with their heightened physical abilities stripped from them) for the throne.

** In "The Sworn Sword," the water dispute between Ser Eustace and the Red Widow is resolved by a combat by champion. Dunk fights for Eustace and Ser Lucas fights for Lady Rohanne.

* During the siege of Cuzco, where UsefulNotes/FranciscoPizarro's brothers and their allies were besieged by an Inca rebel army, one of the Inca captains challenged the defenders to a duel. Pizarro's native lieutenant, Chilche, accepted and came out to fight, and eventually defeated his opponent and beheded him with his war axe. The result ultimately decided nothing, but demoralized completely the Inca because Chilche was a prince of the Cañaris, a tribe that had previously subjected (brutally) to them, and the victory was seen as a symbol of their revenge.

* The ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' card, [[https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Last_Turn Last Turn]] forces the duel into one of these. If you have less than 1000 Life Points left, you choose one monster you have out on the field and the opponent chooses one from their deck, which then battles your monster. Whichever player's monster is left standing wins the duel automatically.

* Prior to an 1810 battle between the Mthethwa and Buthelezi tribes in Africa, a young UsefulNotes/ShakaZulu, at the time a common soldier in the Mthethwa army, defeated a Buthelezi champion in a duel and went on to lead the Mthethwa army to victory. Shaka earned a promotion for this and took his first step on a journey that would see him rise to become one of the most powerful emperors in African history.
* The A.D. 1380 Battle of Kulikovo Pol'e ("the field of snipes") was opened by the Russian and Mongol armies each putting forth a champion before the battle, probably in hopes of inspiring the winner's side. The Mongols sent Temir-murza, while the Russians sent the WarriorMonk [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Peresvet Alexander Peresvet.]] [[MutualKill Both champions died in the fight]], and the battle proper took place thereafter. The Russians won the day.

* Similarly, when the Muslim armies were invading the Sassanid Empire during the early Islamic expansion, it was common for Sassanid and Muslim commanders to engage in a public duel before the battle, on the ground between the armies. The battles would often hinge on these combats, as the loss of the commander would demoralize the losing side and make it much easier to rout them.
* The trope was common for a Roman soldier, at least early in the Republic's history. The Horatii vs the Curiatii (3 on 3), and the original Torquatus and Corvus/Corvinus were famous examples. And there was the idea of the ''spolia opima'' or Spoils of Honour, an enemy commander's armour taken from him in single combat by a Roman commander. Romulus was one of only three or four to ever take them.

* In 545 BC, The Spartans and their arch rivals the Argives both sent exactly 300 of their best men for a battle. The battle ended with two surviving Argives and only one remaining Spartan. The Argives considered themselves victors because they had more men left alive while the Spartans felt they had won because their man had stayed put while the two Argives had run off to tell about their victory. Since neither side was willing to concede defeat, a conventional battle was needed to settle matters, which the Spartans won.
* The Catechism of the Catholic Church orders the excommunication of anyone willingly involved in a duel unless it falls under this trope.
* Largely {{subverted}} by the Mongols. The Mongols were the most highly organized and disciplined warriors for their time. During the Mongol invasions of Europe and Japan (both highly devoted to individual combat), the other side would oftentimes send out champions, as per custom. The Mongols would usually greet them with a shower of armor-piercing arrows. As the Japanese poem Hachiman Gudōkun states: “According to our manner of fighting we must first call out by name someone from the enemy ranks, and then attack in single combat. But the Mongols took no notice at all of such conventions. They rushed forward all together in a mass, grappling with any individuals they could catch and killing them."
* Up until the Mongols turned up, this was the standard way of battle in Japan: combatants would not only declare their names and their desire to duel, they'd recite large amounts of their family history as well.

* In ''A History of Warfare'' John lKeegan records observations of primitive tribes who would settle quarrels by assembling at a ceremonial place where the young men would shoot at each other with bows and the elders would watch, ready to intervene if it got too bloody.

* Sitting Bull had a battle scar from a duel with a champion from a rival tribe.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_North_Inch The Battle of the North Inch]] was a formally defined group combat between 30 representatives from each of two Scottish clans to settle a dispute between them. In some versions of the tale, they were fighting over who got the honor of a more significant field position in an upcoming battle against a mutual enemy.
* The 1602 Battle of Teișani between Wallachia and the Crimean Khanate ended with a duel between the Khan's son-in-law and the Wallachian commander Stroe Buzescu. Stroe won but was heavily wounded and died a few days later.
* When forces led by Vlad III Dracula and Vladislav II of Wallachia met at Târgșor, the two commanders agreed to settle the matter through personal combat. Dracula killed Vladislav in the duel and began his second reign as voivode of Wallachia.

* In the old DOS ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' game ''VideoGame/PoolOfRadiance'', the party is ordered to deal with a lizardman colony that is threatening Phlan. While it's entirely possible to eradicate the lizardmen altogether, you can also resolve the matter by settling an internal conflict between the elderly (and relatively peaceful) chieftain of the tribe and a younger insurgent who's the main reason why Phlan wants the lizardmen dealt with in the first place (and he's also taking orders from the game's BigBad). The conflict is settled in this trope's manner. The chieftain is too old to fight, so he's allowed to select a champion to fight in his place (read: one of your party).

* David and Goliath from Literature/TheBible. After David wins, the Philistines flee and the Israelites slaughter them.

* Defied in ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero''. After a week of trashing {{Yakuza}}, culminating on [[CurbStompBattle Kyon, Tsuruya and Yuki fighting 20+ men]] [[ConservationOfNinjutsu in favor of the]] [[NominalImportance named characters]], Kyon and Tsuruya managed to convince {{Yakuza}} boss Masao not to end everything in CombatByChampion. After all, nobody was dead and the only thing Tsuruya wants is a photo Masao's men have from her while changing clothes deleted before it reaches the Internet.

* In Matthew Arnold's reworking of the old Persian epic of Sobrah and Rustem, a father and son find themselves in two different armies and end up in a CombatByChampion. Interestingly this was one of Creator/CSLewis s favorite poems, as much for the descriptive power as for the plot itself.

* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', the pre-Valen Minbari had a tradition of CombatByChampion by ritual suicide.

* In one episode of ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'', Xena manages to save a bunch of soldiers from being annihilated by the barbaric Horde when she stops seeing them as monsters and learns that they respect CombatByChampion. She fights and defeats their strongest warrior, and the Horde departs.

* The Clans in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' have built an entire system and protocol revolving around CombatByChampion. Opposing factions will "bid" down their forces to the minimum practical amount, selecting a few of their best warriors who meet in a proxy battlefield called the "Circle of Equals". Pretty much every big dispute in Clan life is ultimately solved by a few champions killing each other to decide who's right. These battles are known as Trials, with various types. Trials of Position have Clan warriors fighting for rank, Trials of Possession have Clans fighting for a place or resource, Trials of Refusal have one Clan disputing the actions of another, etc. During the early months of their invasion of the Inner Sphere, they even try this with Inner Sphere forces. The IS factions, not being [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Guys]] like the Clans, of course lie about what the number and disposition of their forces. HilarityEnsues as the Inner Sphere takes full advantage of the Clans' honor and naivety at every turn. There were two major exceptions though: [[ChurchMilitant ComStar]] declared and won the Trial of Possession for Earth against the Clans fair and square; and when the IS finally arrived at the Clans' doorstep, Victor Steiner-Davion declared a Trial of Refusal against the Clans invading the Inner Sphere, and also won that fairly, which ended the Clan Invasion.

* In the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812, HMS ''Shannon'' challenged the USS ''Chesapeake'' to a CoolVersusAwesome CombatByChampion. The ''Shannon'' won in a contest that was short but within its time one of the bloodiest and toughest engagements of the age of WoodenShipsAndIronMen.

* In Anne [=McAffrey's=] ''Dragonflight'', Leesa (rightful heir to Ruatha) maneuvers F'lar (a bronze dragonrider) into becoming this against the illicit Lord Fax. However, she ends up being the victim of her own scheme, in an unusual way.

** Years later in ''The King's Justice'', Sicard [=MacArdry=] asks for single with Kelson to end the war with the Mearans, and Kelson refuses.

* ''ComicBook/XWingRogueSquadron'': In "Battleground: Tatooine", the Rogues and some Imperials both want a smuggler, and the smuggler's relative has been well-bribed by both sides and can't decide who to hand the smuggler over to. The Rogues are smallish pilots, the Imperials are enormous seasoned troopers, so there's no truly fair form of combat. So two from each side are armed with a BladeOnAStick, allowed to inflict non-lethal injuries, and told to compete to reach a specific goal. This [[http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/3103/blz13.jpg still]] favors the Imperial troopers, and they win, but ultimately it doesn't matter.

* The reason behind the existence of the LightNovel/{{Kampfer}}s.

** In "ComicBook/SupermanVsMuhammadAli", an alien race offers to pit their greatest champion against Earth's, winner take all. To decide Earth's champion, Superman and Muhammad Ali had to face each other in a ring with red sunlight lamps to take away Superman's powers and make it fair. After Ali won, he faced the alien's champion in the ring. Ali won, but the aliens dishonorably tried to invade Earth anyway, only for Superman to reveal he anticipated their treachery and sabotaged their fleet.

** In the second Superman comic ''ever'' the Man of Steel ends a war in South America by abducting the chief general of both sides and ordering them to settle the issue between themselves. [[spoiler:At which point it gets revealed that neither side has anything against the other and the war was started by munitions companies to up their sales. The generals shake hands and the war ends.]]

** In ''Superman VS UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli'', an alien race offers to pit their greatest champion against Earth's, winner take all. To decide Earth's champion, Superman and Muhammad Ali had to face each other in a ring with red sunlight lamps to take away Superman's powers and make it fair. After Ali won, he faced the alien's champion in the ring. Ali won, but the aliens dishonorably tried to invade Earth anyway, only for Superman to reveal he anticipated their treachery and sabotaged their fleet.
** In another Bronze Age story, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} is chosen by the ruler of planet Liquel II to be her champion:

* In a Creator/CarlBarks story, the Duckburg branch of the Junior Woodchucks and the Goosetown branch participated against each other in several events. After the last event, each branch had an equal number of victories and it was decided their instructors would decide the competition's winning branch by having a boxing match against each other. Unfortunately, the Duckburg branch's instructor wasn't available and Donald Duck had to be their stand-in.
* In an ''Comicbook/{{ABC Warriors}}'' {{flashback}} story, the UN passes a resolution that all international wars be settled by a duel to the death between the leaders of the nations in question.
* in ''[[ComicBook/{{Swordquest}} Swordquest: Waterworld]],'' one is used to settle a fight between the air-breathers and the [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent Aqualanians.]]

** Creator/BertoltBrecht wrote a play, ''Die Horatier und die Curiatier'' based on the Roman story (or myth), although here the three champions on each side represent three armies, in the way a general would represent his troops as well in Peking Opera.

* One notable subversion was during the War of the Sicilian Vespers when one monarch challenged another and was refused. No one expected it to be accepted and it was really a propaganda move.
* What sometimes happened in several wars was that aristocrats from either side would challenge each other, not to decide the battle, ''but simply because they were bored''! As one of the most unspoken but most present hardships of war is simply tedium (and the nervousness and physical discomfort that goes with it), one can see why a trained warrior might actually prefer fighting.
** There were several incidents of this between British and French cavalry pickets during UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars.

* In 545 BC, The Spartans and their arch rivals the Argives both sent exactly 300 of their best men for a battle. The battle ended with two surviving Argives and only one remaining Spartan. The Argives considered themselves victors because they had more men left alive while the Spartans felt they had won because their man had stayed put while the two Argives had run off to tell about their victory. Since neither side was willing to concede defeat, a conventional battle was needed to settle matters which the Spartans won.
* The Catechism of the Catholic Church orders the excommunication of anyone willingly involved in a duel UNLESS it falls under this trope.
* Largely {{subverted}} by the Mongols. The Mongols were the most highly organized and disciplined warriors for their time. During the Mongol invasions of Europe and Japan (both highly devoted to individual combat), the other side would oftentimes send out champions, as per custom. The Mongols would usually greet them with a shower of armor-piercing arrows. As the Japanese poem Hachiman Gudōkun states:
** “According to our manner of fighting we must first call out by name someone from the enemy ranks, and then attack in single combat. But the Mongols took no notice at all of such conventions. They rushed forward all together in a mass, grappling with any individuals they could catch and killing them."
** Up until the Mongols turned up, this was the standard way of battle in Japan: combatants would not only declare their names and their desire to duel, they'd recite large amounts of their family history as well.
** Some of the Mongols later adapted single combat (see the entry about the Battle of Kulikovo).

* The 1602 Battle of Teișani between Wallachia and the Crimean Khanate ended with a duel between the Khan's son-in-law and the Wallachian commander Stroe Buzescu. Stroe won but was heavily wounded and died a few days later

* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. In "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS3E12DeathWatch Death Watch]]", two planetary systems fight wars this way, with the loser surrendering a couple of planets and a large part of their spacefleet. Two champions [[SpaceWestern fight with handguns]] with their duel [[GladiatorGames televised for entertainment]], but one side cheats by [[RobotsAreJustBetter using an android with a faster]] QuickDraw. Turns out it's a conspiracy to start a real war by exposing the deception. Once the two sides fight each other to exhaustion, the Federation will step in to 'restore order'.

* The classic episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' "Arena", pitting Captain Kirk against the Gorn.
* ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}'': When Queen Rhea's fleet attempts to invade Earth, Supergirl challenges her to a sacred duel called Dakkam Ur to decide the fate of the planet. If Supergirl wins, Rhea's fleet must leave Earth alone, but if Rhea wins, Supergirl won't stand in their way. Rhea cheats by using kryptonite and orders her fleet to attack in the middle of the duel. When Mon-El calls her out on violating the sacred rules, she sneers and says she doesn't care. Supergirl then defeats her and she ''still'' refuses to call off her fleet. However, Supergirl had also cheated by preparing a bomb that saturates the atmosphere with lead particles (lead is like kryptonite to Daxamites) in the event that she lost. Since Rhea won't back down, Supergirl orders the bomb detonated, killing Rhea and forcing her soldiers to leave Earth.

* ''Series/WonderWoman'': "Wonder Woman’s Return": After being in a stalemate with Dr. Solano, he proposes to Wonder Woman a sword fight. "Winner gets all." [[spoiler: It’s a trap]].

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