History Main / IneffectualLoner

* Wrestling/MercedesMartinez declaring open war on Wrestling/{{Daffney|Unger}}'s [[PowerStable All-Star Squad]] didn't workout so well for her. She could consistently beat most Squad members in one on one matches but any provocation beyond that lead to her facing them 2 on 1 or even ''4'' on 1. Them being a baby {{face}} stable was probably why they didn't gang up on her from the get go, [[{{Heel}} as Valkyrie did]] to solve their Martinez problem much quicker. After returning from that particular failure, Martinez picked a fight with four members of [=VALkyrie=], who backed off, [[ISurrenderSuckers then jumped Martinez from behind]]. After ''that'' Martinez joined with Wrestling/TheaTrinidad to fill in for the indisposed Wrestling/{{La Rosa|Negra}} in Wrestling/{{Ivelisse|Velez}}'s SHINE Sicarias, then for good measure, brought in Shayna Baszler to act as her bodyguard, who she had already swept up with Nicole Savoy for her own Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} Trifecta, to act as a bodyguard when the other Sicarias weren't around.[[/folder]]

** [[WorldsStrongestMan Jiren]] of Universe 11 from ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' is this due to his DarkAndTroubledPast [[spoiler:where his family, mentor and many friends were killed by a villain and the rest abandoned him, causing him to view friendship and trust as fleeting [[MightMakesRight and strength as the only true absolute in the universe]]]]. As a result, he's cold and aloof even to his fellow Pride Troopers [[spoiler:and in fact only views them as tools to help him achieve his goals]], and seeing ThePowerOfFriendship at work is one of his {{Berserk Button}}s, since it denies everything he's ever been or believed in. [[spoiler:He goes absolutely ''ballistic'' on Goku during their final battle when Goku states the reason he can still stand against him is because of the HeroicWillpower he gains from fighting for the sake of his friends and family, causing him to try and kill them to prove his ideals are right]].

* Homura Akemi, from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', has been going through a GroundhogPeggySueLoop in order to save Madoka and prevent her from forming a contract. After being subjected to a CynicismCatalyst, she kind of stopped trying to save the other Magical Girls in the series. And every single loop, either Madoka died or she made a contract.

* Kai Hiwatari, from ''Manga/{{Beyblade}}'' is this massively all the way through season 1 ("There's no Kai in team!", anyone?), is less obnoxiously so in ''V-Force'' (re. goes off to fight Jack's Sickle Weasel alone), reverts back to season 1 persona in ''G-Revolution''. And never beats Takao/Tyson. Bless.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* Subverted with Paultin in ''WebVudeo/DiceCameraAction because either [[RealLifeWritesThePlot Nate, his player, is absent doing his own thing) in which case the GM has him drunk and/or brooding in a corner somewhere or, and he has a disturbing habit of this, he gets kidnapped and forced into someone else's agenda.

* Knuckles from ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' started out as one due being constrained in a solitary duty to guard the Master Emerald in Angel Island. After forging a friendship with Sonic and Tails, he has somewhat grown out of his shell, though he still sometimes has gruff and anti-social tendencies.

* Played straight, subverted as part of CharacterDevelopment, and then sort of zig-zagged with Piccolo from ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. He ''always'' lives alone, constantly training himself mentally and physically. Even when he starts getting some concept of ThePowerOfFriendship, he still prefers to do things his own way. Often times being the only one who can even remotely stand up to the BigBad of the arc, up until around the time Cell finishes up becoming Perfect, but the only finishing blow he gets against a serious fighter requires a HeroicSacrifice by his then-WorthyOpponent. The zig-zag comes around because, even though he (eventually) openly admits that some threats are simply too big to fight alone, the only time he's shown spending any time with anyone else is when they're in the middle of training to combat said big threat.
* George Schyuter of ''Manga/MuhyoAndRoji'', quoted above, has a FreudianExcuse that because his assistants ended up dying so often, he attracted a bad reputation and decided to avoid causing or being blamed for others' deaths by practicing Magical Law alone with a spescial sword and envoy. He initially obstructs Muhyo and Roji's efforts to deal with Vector by threatening to revoke their licenses if they interfere, before setting out to deal with him alone. This doesn't go very well, and he ends up being forced to pull a YouShallNotPass in order to buy time for Roji to wake up Muhyo, who proceeds to finish the fight with Vector.
* Jean-Pierre Polnareff from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' started out like this, as he was mainly driven by vengeance against J. Geil, the man with two right hands who killed his sister. He insists to do it alone when the gang arrives in India, upon knowing that he is there. He grows out of this after [[spoiler:J. Geil and Hol Horse kill Avdol, and Kakyoin helps him track down J. Geil and give him the thrashing of his life]], and afterwards, ''he'' 's the one who's preaching about working together in order to defeat Dio.

* [[WorldsStrongestMan Jiren]] of Universe 11 from ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' is this due to his DarkAndTroubledPast [[spoiler:where his family, mentor and many friends were killed by a villain and the rest abandoned him, causing him to view friendship and trust as fleeting [[MightMakesRight and strength as the only true absolute in the universe]]]]. As a result, he's cold and aloof even to his fellow Pride Troopers [[spoiler:and in fact only views them as tools to help him achieve his goals]], and seeing ThePowerOfFriendship at work is one of his {{Berserk Button}}s, since it denies everything he's ever been or believed in. [[spoiler:He goes absolutely ''ballistic'' on Goku during their final battle when Goku states the reason he can still stand against him is because of the HeroicWillpower he gains from fighting for the sake of his friends and family, causing him to try and kill them to prove his ideals are right]].

* Elizabeth Bathory in ''Literature/CountAndCountess''.
* Rafael in ''Literature/GivesLight'', but he gets better.

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Katniss Everdeen.

* Raphael of the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, during his AchillesInHisTent moments.

* Twilight Sparkle of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' starts out as this. More interested in studying than spending time around anyone who isn't her {{Mentor}} Princess Celestia, she's less than thrilled when she's sent off with the none-too-subtle suggestion that she should meet new ponies and try making friends. Doesn't help that she thinks she's the [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Pony]] around...

* Antimony from ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' used to be self-sufficient. She's apt to become good pals with any beings from {{psychopomp}}s to the Minotaur to a {{trickster}} god, but didn't interact with living humans on her own initiative. Even Kat is her best friend only because she approached Annie first. From the chapter 19 or so she occasionally noticed the problem and tried to communicate. By 28 and 30 her failure to cooperate even with the teacher whose help she'd request when things gone wrong or fellow Mediums-in-training was an obvious crippling flaw.

* [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles Mr. Incredible]] mostly insisted on working alone. This partially lead to Syndrome StartOfDarkness (he was a HeroWorshipper for Mr. Incredible until Mr. Incredible snapped at him for trying to help apprehend a criminal- though to be fair, the guy ''was'' being TheLoad at the time). Interestingly enough, this seems to partially be a product of an InferioritySuperiorityComplex- the reason he gives for fighting [[spoiler:the Omnidroid]] alone in the FinalBattle is because he's "not strong enough" to protect his family (His wife's answer? "[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming If we work together, you won't have to be]]").

* Asuka Langley Soryuu from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is introduced in a manner very similar to Jung Freud (same director, same company). However, instead of fading into the background after her first (slight) comeuppance, she is promoted to [[LoveInterest love interest]] (a ''much'' more dangerous position in a [[Creator/StudioGainax Gainax]] giant robot story) and then to central cast member. She still suffers like most {{Ineffectual Loner}}s - it's just longer in coming and much nastier when it happens.

* The X-Laws from ''Manga/ShamanKing'' are an entire ''team'' of ineffectual loners.

* This is the ultimate FatalFlaw of the heroes of ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', and is also the biggest reason for the villains being incredibly likely to succeed (on top of PoorCommunicationKills). Most of heroes constantly bicker and in-fight with each other and would rather mind their own businesses than realize the common threat and work with each other, which ends up leaving them surprisingly useless when dealing with people like [[{{Troll}} Terumi]] and [[MadScientist Relius]] because they tend to fight them alone. It's only after they start working with each other beginning on ''Chronophantasma'' than any meaningful progress is made.

** Natsuki Kuga from the same series is a by the numbers case of this. Pretty much every solo action we see her undertake onscreen doesn't work, or blows up in her face. Her attempt to dissuade any Hime from showing up to Fuuka in the first episode really sets the stage for this. From there, there's her plan to deal with the [[spoiler:panty thief orphan]], her discovering and attacking [[spoiler:Alyssa Searrs]], and her attempts to deal with [[spoiler: the seemingly traitorous Nao]]. Ironically, this all leads up to her final confrontation with [[spoiler:Shizuru]], which she only wins because she acknowledges that she's not alone in the world, and thus [[spoiler:super-powers up Duran to the same level as Shizuru's Kiyohime]], allowing her to carry out her plan: [[spoiler:eliminate Shizuru (and by extension, herself) in order to give Mai a clear shot at ending the entire Festival, thus sacrificing herself for the good of others.]] Quite the full circle of CharacterDevelopment. Her special in the 25th episode even has her acknowledging the power of [[PowerOfFriendship friendship]] and [[PowerOfLove love]].
-->"The feelings Shizuru had for me and the feelings Mai and Tate had for each other made me realize people can't live alone. It might seem obvious to anyone else, but it was an important truth I discovered only recently."

** He heads back towards being a straight example from about his fight with Itachi onwards, as he only got out of that because the fight was thrown, he goes back to being bailed out by his ''new'' team in his next fight[[spoiler: though he fought Danzo alone, it was mainly thanks to Karin continually supplying him information through the fight that he won]], and it generally seems as if he's never going to achieve anything he aims for.

* The Doctor in ''Series/{{Doctor Who}}''. Especially in the New Series, the Doctor likes to get in this mode [[HeartbrokenBadass after losing a companion]]. For example, the Tenth Doctor after [[spoiler:he had to [[VictoryGuidedAmnesia wipe Donna's memory]] after she became the Doctor-Donna.]] Another example is the Eleventh Doctor [[spoiler: [[AchillesInHisTent when Amy and Rory are sent back in time]].]]

** [[spoiler: Actually, it was because of that, which is why he conceived of such a philosophy, as he was tired of being so dependent on the hero.]]

* [[spoiler: Magus]] from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''. He is defeated ''twice'' by Lavos before figuring out he needs to join Chrono's party to destroy it. Though he never quite buys in to ThePowerOfFriendship...

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': [[spoiler: Garrus Vakarian]] starts out this way, causing trouble to the gangs of Omega. [[spoiler:He worked with a team of 11 other people up until the gangs joined forces. The only reason Garrus is alone when you first meet him is because the rest of his team was killed. He's quite happy to join Shepard and, outside of a burning hatred for the man who sold out his team, is not bitter about the concept of teamwork.]]

** Also, Girard Draketooth, [[spoiler: whose approach to guarding his gate was to entrust his family, and no one else, with the duty. This distrust of in-laws almost led the Linear Guild right to them (as the Guild tracked down a woman who had born a child for and then been abandoned by a Draketooth), and left no one to guard the gate after they were Familicided by Vaarsuvius. They also distrusted paladins to the extent that they would not let a LawfulGood cleric revive them. This left no one to protect the gate, resulting in its destruction.]]

* This, as it turns out, is the Author's problem in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', best described in the {{Defictionalization}} of ''[[Literature/GravityFallsJournal3 Journal 3]]''; While he was ProperlyParanoid in regards to his dream-demon arch nemesis possessing people, his solution to keep ''everyone'' away created more problems than they solved. Not giving his assistant all the details on his research caused that assistant to leave him, and his attempt to use his estranged friend hide said research backfired with him [[spoiler: being trapped in another dimension for 30 years.]] As he admits in Journal 3, if he had opened his circle just a little bit more and gathered TheChosenMany, the BigBad would have been defeated, but instead he focused on launching a one-man assault that failed and led to his capture.
* [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles Mr. Incredible]] mostly insisted on working alone. This partially lead to Syndrome StartOfDarkness (he was a HeroWorshipper for Mr. Incredible until Mr. Incredible snapped at him for trying to help apprehend a criminal- though to be fair, the guy ''was'' being TheLoad at the time). Interestingly enough, this seems to partially be a product of an InferioritySuperiorityComplex- the reason he gives for fighting [[spoiler: the Omnidroid]] alone in the FinalBattle is because he's "not strong enough" to protect his family (His wife's answer? "[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming If we work together, you won't have to be]]").

** This is also one of the main flaws of The Great And Powerful Trixie. She usually assumes that she doesn't ''need'' anypony else. She may be learning better, based on her actions in the comic book series.

* Wrestling/MercedesMartinez declaring open war on Wrestling/{{Daffney|Unger}}'s [[PowerStable All-Star Squad]] didn't workout so well for her. She could consistently beat most Squad members in one on one matches but any provocation beyond that lead to her facing them 2 on 1 or even ''4'' on 1. Them being a baby {{face}} stable was probably why they didn't gang up on her from the get go, [[{{Heel}} as Valkyrie did]] to solve their Martinez problem much quicker. After returning from that particular failure, Martinez picked a fight with four members of [=VALkyrie=], who backed off, [[ISurrenderSuckers then jumped Martinez from behind]]. After ''that'' Martinez joined with Wrestling/TheaTrinidad to fill in for the indisposed Wrestling/{{La Rosa|Negra}} in Wrestling/{{Ivelisse|Velez}}'s SHINE Sicarias, then for good measure, swept up Shayna Baszler and Nicole Savoy for her own Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} Trifecta.[[/folder]]

* Wrestling/MercedesMartinez declaring open war on Wrestling/{{Daffney|Unger}}'s [[PowerStable All-Star Squad]] didn't workout so well for her. She could consistently beat most Squad members in one on one matches but any provocation beyond that lead to her facing them 2 on 1 or even ''4'' on 1. Them being a baby {{face}} stable was probably why they didn't gang up on her from the get go, [[{{Heel}} as Valkyrie did]] to solve their Martinez problem much quicker. After returning from that particular failure, she joined with Wrestling/TheaTrinidad to fill in for the indisposed Wrestling/{{La Rosa|Negra}} in Wrestling/{{Ivelisse|Velez}}'s SHINE Sicarias, while she swept up Shayna Baszler and Nicole Savoy for her own Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} Trifecta.[[/folder]]