History Main / MoreExpendableThanYou

** Subverted during an escape from a Cardassian prison camp when four Bajorans stay behind to hold off the guards so that Li Nalas, a hero of the Bajoran resistance, can escape. Turns out Nalas is an AccidentalHero and carries a lot of guilt over people sacrificing themselves or looking up to him when he's not worth it. Nalas ends up [[DeathSeeker gratefully]] TakingTheBullet to protect Sisko.

* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Worf is about to sacrifice himself to delay a pursuing enemy. The aged and crafty [[OldMaster Dahar Master]] Kor knocks him out and takes his place piloting the damaged ship (Worf is a young warrior in his prime, with many battles left to fight in this war and others, while Kor's mind is starting to slip and he has no more chances for a glorious death). His last words to the unconscious Worf are a promise that when he gets to [[WarriorHeaven Sto'vo'kor]], he will tell Worf's dead wife of his bravery.

* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': Unable to talk the title character out of risking his life, Doyle knocks him off the ledge instead, then disarms the bomb himself, [[HeroicSacrifice dying in the process]].

''':Peko:''' I did it ''because'' I know. There is no way I can let that happen to you...

* At the end of ''Film/Thoroughbreds,'' [[spoiler: When Lily and Amanda are sitting together watching TV, Amanda moves to take a sip from the glass she's holding, but Lily suddenly stops her and confesses that she drugged it so she could go murder her stepfather upstairs and pin the crime on Amanda, who would have no alibi. She apologizes for almost throwing her under the bus like that, but Amanda just looks at the glass and chugs it anyway, content with being locked up if it means that the one true friend she's ever had will go to college and be happy.]]

* ''VideoGame/SaGa3'' One of the underlings of the BigBad is defending the barrier machine that prevents the heroes from traveling to the Mt. Goht, the heroes try using the Mystic Swords that would kill the beast, but the barrier prevents even that from occurring, A bomb was planted in Dion in case of an emergency and he charges the machine and destroys it. Allowing the Heroes to defeat the enemy and advance. He is brought back to life through biomedical cloning at the end of the game.

* ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey: [[spoiler: Huntress]] chooses to challenge Lady Shiva to a death duel, arguing that [[spoiler: ComicBook/BlackCanary]] would be more sorely missed.

* A rather horrifying case in Literature/{{Warbreaker}}, [[spoiler: dozens of Hallandren priests attack a squad of Lifeless unarmed to protect Susebron for a few more seconds.]]

* The season four finale of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' sees Archer, Lana, Cyril and Ray trapped in a room at the bottom of the ocean that's quickly filling with water and only three sets of submarine suits available to swim out and to the surface. The dying station captain they're with tells them that one of them will have to drown and die, hopefully temporarily, while the other three got themselves to safety and tried to resuscitate the volunteer. [[spoiler: Archer [[HeroicSuicide immediately volunteers]] after [[ImperiledInPregnancy Lana reveals that she's pregnant.]]]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "Princess Twilight Part 2", when the Mane Six and Spike venture into the dangerous Everfree Forest to investigate why it's expanding uncontrollably, they are attacked by a Cragodile. After defeating it, Applejack suggests (and the other ponies agree) that Twilight should [[YouCanTurnBack go back to Ponyville]] and let the others continue the mission without her, because[[spoiler: she is the only princess left in Equestria at the moment and]] they can't afford to lose her.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', if you reject Morrigan's proposal and take [[spoiler:Alistair]] with you (and are female and pursued a romance with him), Alistair will sacrifice himself instead of you in order to kill the BigBad.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', if you reject Morrigan's proposal and take [[spoiler:Alistair]] with you (and are [[spoiler:female and pursued a romance with him]]), [[spoiler:Alistair]] will sacrifice himself instead of you in order to kill the BigBad.
** Prior to that [[spoiler: Riordan volunteers, reasoning that since he has been a Gray Warden for far longer than the other characters, he has much less time left before the taint kills him. However, Riordan ultimately fails to kill the Archdemon, necessitating one of the other characters to make the sacrifice.]]
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', on Virmire, [[spoiler: Ashley tells Shepard to save Kaidan over her because he outranks her. Unfortunately, [[SadisticChoice Kaiden makes the same plea]], not wanting one of his soldiers to die because of him. It's up to Shepard whether to decide who to agree with, but [[MortonsFork neither is a desirable choice]].]]
* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', When the Jedi Knight and his group plan [[spoiler: to attack Korriban to kill or imprison the Emperor, Scourge mentions that the Jedi Knight's life takes priority because he is the only one who can face the Emperor.]]

* In ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', the situation of the kids' captivity is such that one who kills another will almost certainly die themselves. Even so, in chapter two, [[spoiler:Fuyuhiko still wants to take revenge on Mahiru for her role in his sister's death...but just as he's about to strike, his bodyguard/assassin/best friend Peko steps in and attacks her on his behalf. Fuyuhiko is devastated; Peko doesn't care.]]
-->'''[[spoiler:Fuyuhiko]]:''' What the hell did you do!? You already know, right? What's going to happen after you kill someone!\\
'''[[spoiler:Peko]]:''' I did it ''because'' I know. There is no way I can let that happen to you...
** Something similar happens during chapter four. [[spoiler: All the kids have been trapped in a building devoid of food and water and are told that they won't be able to leave until someone dies. They all try to stave off starvation until they wake up and see that Nidai has been murdered, and when Gundam is eventually unveiled as the culprit, he reveals that he and Nidai had met in secret and agreed that one of them had to die so everyone else could live, so they engaged in a DuelToTheDeath to decide.]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': [[spoiler:Rose]] does this to [[spoiler:Dave]] during the sequence with Doc Scratch's scrapbook. Using a ball of yarn, no less. Then things get weird. [[MindScrew Well, weirder]].

* * In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', When the Jedi Knight and his group plan [[spoiler: to attack Korriban to kill or imprison the Emperor, Scourge mentions that the Jedi Knight's life takes priority because he is the only one who can face the Emperor.]]

* In ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', Adam disables Samus with his ice gun, and specifically says "I'm no galactic savior" to her before going on to sacrifice himself in the destruction of Sector 0 and its invincible Metroids.

* One of the season finales of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' sees Archer, Lana, Cyril and Ray trapped in a room at the bottom of the ocean that's quickly filling with water and only three sets of submarine suits available to swim out and to the surface. The dying station captain they're with tells them that one of them will have to drown and die, hopefully temporarily, while the other three got themselves to safety and tried to resuscitate the volunteer. [[spoiler: Archer [[HeroicSuicide immediately volunteers]] after [[ImperiledInPregnancy Lana reveals that she's pregnant.]]]]

* One of the season finales of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' sees Archer, Lana, Cyril and Ray trapped in a room at the bottom of the ocean that's quickly filling with water and only three sets of submarine suits available to swim out and to the surface. The dying station captain they're with tells them that one of them will have to drown and die, hopefully temporarily, while the other three got themselves to safety and tried to resuscitate the volunteer. [[spoiler: Archer [[HeroicSuicide immediately volunteers to drown]] after [[ImperiledInPregnancy Lana reveals that she's pregnant.]]]]

* One of the season finales of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' sees Archer, Lana, Cyril and Ray trapped in a room at the bottom of the ocean that's quickly filling with water and only three sets of submarine suits available to swim out and to the surface. The dying station captain they're with tells them that one of them will have to drown, hopefully temporarily, while the other three got themselves to safety and tried to resuscitate the volunteer. [[spoiler: Archer [[HeroicSuicide immediately volunteers to drown]] after [[ImperiledInPregnancy Lana reveals that she's pregnant.]]]]

* One of the season finales of ''WesternAnimation/Archer'' sees Archer, Lana, Cyril and Ray trapped in a room at the bottom of the ocean that's quickly filling with water and only three sets of submarine suits available to swim out and to the surface. The dying station captain they're with tells them that one of them will have to drown, hopefully temporarily, while the other three got themselves to safety and tried to resuscitate the volunteer. [[spoiler: Archer [[HeroicSuicide immediately volunteers to drown]] after [[ImperiledInPregnancy Lana reveals that she's pregnant.]]]]

* One of the season finales of ''WesternAnimation/Archer'' sees Archer, Lana, Cyril and Ray trapped in a room at the bottom of the ocean that's quickly filling with water and only three sets of submarine suits available to swim out and to the surface. The dying station captain they're with tells them that one of them will have to drown, hopefully temporarily, while the other three got themselves to safety and tried to resuscitate the volunteer. [[spoiler: Archer [[HeroicSuicide immediately volunteers to drown after Lana reveals that she's pregnant.]]

* In ''Film/TheYoungVictoria'', Albert takes a bullet that was meant for Victoria. When she later asks him why he did it, he says "I am replaceable and you are not".

** Something similar happens during chapter three. [[spoiler: All the kids have been trapped in a building devoid of food and water and are told that they won't be able to leave until someone dies. They all try to stave off starvation until they wake up and see that Nidai has been murdered, and when Gundam is eventually unveiled as the culprit, he reveals that he and Nidai had met in secret and agreed that one of them had to die so everyone else could live, so they engaged in a DuelToTheDeath to decide.]]

** In a flashback, Hiashi Hyuga kills a Cloud ninja who'd tried to kidnap Hinata, resulting in the Cloud village demanding his death to appease them. The elders of the clan propose passing off Hiashi's twin brother Hizashi as him, since Hiashi is the head of the clan, while Hizashi is part of the branch family (i.e. more or less a servant to the clan). Hizashi himself approves of this plan, and knocks Hiashi down with a blow to the solar plexus when Hiashi objects.
** There's a later one with Asuma and Shikamaru where Shikamaru wants to use a more sure fire strategy that also happens to put himself at greater risk. The plan is shot down because of this. Oddly enough, it's actually more like 'Kotetsu and Izumo and more expendable than you' because Asuma would be on the frontlines anyway. [[spoiler:But Asuma is the one who dies.]]

* In yet another variation one ''Anime/NadiaTheSecretOfBlueWater'' story has Grandis volunteering to take her tank (and her two minions) out to clear a minefield that's pinned in the ''Nautilus'', mostly to show off to Nemo. Her ''boy's'' reaction? Sanson cold-cocks her and leaves her in the cabin while they go out on a near suicide mission. Fortunately Jean stows away on the tank, and he is NOT expendable, even in a Gainax show.

* Double... no, triple... okay, [[ZigzaggingTrope multiply]] subverted in the end of ''Anime/GaoGaiGar''. The Mobile Unit enters the body of the Z-Master. One by one, each hero holds back an enemy so that Guy can reach the boss (straight). Then, when he gets there, they aren't dead and come back to join him in the final battle (subverted). Then he never even has the opportunity to offer to sacrifice himself, because King J-Der does it for him (double subverted). Then, the character gets better enough to return in ''[[Anime/GaoGaiGarFINAL FINAL]]''. Oh, and then the battle with Zonuda ''re''subverts with all the heroes getting absorbed one by one, then [=GaoGaiGar=] himself ''also'' getting absorbed and a surprise DeusExMachina saving the day.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', when [[TheChick Orihime]] and [[TheBigGuy Sado]] are about to go and save some [[InnocentBystander innocent bystanders]] from Yammy and Ulquiorra, he asks her to grab her friends and run, and leave the fighting to him - because she can heal people and he can't, so he's more expendable. She agrees, but comes back just in time to stop the scene from doubling as a HeroicSacrifice.

** There's also the first Comic Book Resurrection, Lightning Lad's - Mon-El reveals a process that can revive a person, but it requires that person to be struck with a powerful bolt of lightning, which will kill the person struck, but revive the dead. Saturn Girl, [[ItsAllMyFault blaming herself for Lightning Lad's fate]], plots to use a special metal that attracts electricity more so she can revive the fallen Legionaire, but Chameleon Boy's pet, the shapeshifting Proty, decides otherwise and lures Saturn Girl away, taking her place and sacrificing itself.

* At the climax of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'', the Cauldron Born have been created and dispatched to conquer the world, and the only way to prevent them from doing this is that someone must jump into the titular cauldron, and thus, die. The hero, Taran, is ready to do so, until his ally Gurgi stops him. After explaining that "Taran has many friends, Gurgi has no friends", the furry guy makes his heroic leap, halting the [[DemBones undead warriors]] in their tracks. Even though this is a ''dark'' Disney animated film (arguably THE darkest), it is still a ''Disney'' animated film, [[DisneyDeath so Gurgi's life is brought back in trade for the Black Cauldron at the end of the movie]].

* ''Film/AirForceOne'' plays this straight, inverts it and then subverts it. The Secret Service agents on board the plane perform {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s to get the President to safety but in the end it is the President who stays on board to fight the terrorists after the rest of his (expendable) staff are evacuated. It's played straight again at the end of the movie where the damaged plane is about to crash and the remaining military personnel on board insist that the President evacuate the plane before them. However, TheMole is not willing to die for the President and fights him for the last evacuation slot. The President wanted to get his family off and MEDIVAC a wounded staff member before saving his own life.

* Perhaps the most famous example of the trope is found in ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities'', when Sydney Carton takes the place of his look-alike Charles Darnay to be executed on the guillotine. He did this because [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy he loved Darnay's wife]] and because he'd never before done anything he considered truly worthwhile. The origin of the "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done..." quote.

* This happens to Thalia Ng in ''Literature/ThePrefect'' by Creator/AlastairReynolds. She's trapped with a bunch of civilians in an orbital habitat that's been taken over by rogue robots; she comes up with an escape scheme that begins by blowing up a bunch of structural supports, and then discovers that the timer on her explosives isn't long enough to make it away safely. The civilian she's been confiding in knocks her out, drags her away from the supports, and sets the explosives himself.

* In ''London'', Peter and Thomas drug their brother-in-law in his prison cell so that Peter can take his place, before he can be burned for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as the new head of the Church. Notable in that, for Peter to be free to visit the prison, he had to first swear that ''he'' accepted the king's decree, which means he's fairly certain that he'll be ''going to Hell'' when he agrees to lay down his life. No "far better resting place" expected, in this case, yet he does it anyway so their sister's family won't be left without a husband and father. [[spoiler: Subverted in that Peter, who's been ill for a while, has a heart attack and dies of natural causes before Thomas can smother him as they'd planned.]]

* ''Literature/BernardSamsonSeries''. Bernard is sent to break into a safe, but the safecracker convinces him to stand guard because if a British intelligence officer is caught breaking-and-entering on British soil there'll be questions in the House of Parliament, whereas as if he's caught the reporters won't even bother to ask his name. As a result Bernard is the only one not killed when the booby-trapped safe explodes.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Daario is sent to fight Meereen's champion despite being the ''fourth'' to volunteer, after Dany declared Grey Worm, Barristan Selmy, and Jorah Mormont too important to risk.

** Midshipman Clayton steps in in the first episode to get the title character out of a duel with a particularly violent bully.

* At the end of season 3 of ''Series/{{Lost}}'', Charlie volunteers to swim to the Looking Glass, which Sayid had intended to do. Then Sayid convinces Jack to lead the group to the radio tower while Sayid takes on the invading Others, because Jack is the leader.

** Happens in the fourth series premiere. They need to sacrifice someone to heal the veil between the worlds, and Arthur thinks it should be him. Merlin wants to take his place, since, as a servant, his life is more expendable. When the time comes to sacrifice someone, Merlin knocks Arthur out, and offers himself to the gatekeeper of the spirit world. [[spoiler: As they're talking, Lancelot sneaks behind him and walks through, providing the necessary sacrifice]].

* A non-lethal example in ''Series/StargateSG1'', where the team finds a second [[{{Precursors}} Ancient]] [[ForgottenPhlebotinum database]], which can only be accessed by uploading it in its entirety into a brain. Unfortunately, modern humans haven't quite evolved to the point of surviving such an upload for long periods of time. [[AdventurerArchaeologist Daniel]] tries to use it on himself when they are attacked, but Jack, who previously had one in his head, tells him that Daniel is the only one who ''can't'' do it, since he's their only expert on the Ancient language and has to translate the ramblings of the "possessed" person. Jack then uses the device on himself again and ends up saving the Earth from an alien invasion. The two-parter ends in a sad moment when Jack has the team put him into a suspended animation chamber indefinitely in order to survive the sheer amount of knowledge.

* Subverted in Myth/ClassicalMythology. A Greek king, Admetus had a deal with Death: he could send someone else in his place when it was his time to die, provided the person went willingly. Admetus thought, well, no problem, I'm a beloved king with a devoted family and I'm an all-around nice guy. But when it comes time for him to die... no-one steps up to the plate. His elderly father won't do it, none of his subjects love their king enough to die for him, all across the board. So Admetus returns home to his palace, frustrated, only to find that his wife, Alcestis, has quietly gone down to Hades for him. So Admetus got to live, but with the knowledge that the one person who loved him enough to die for him was gone forever. (It has a happy ending, though. Heracles heard of Alcestis' love and loyalty, and made a point of rescuing her next time he was sojourning in the Underworld. Or in some versions, Hercules simply [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu beats the crap out of Death]] before it can takes Alcestis' soul.)

* ''VideoGame/SaGa3'' One of the underlings of the BigBad is defending the barrier machine that prevents the heroes from traveling to the Mt. Goht, the heroes try using the Mystic Swords that would kill the beast, but the barrier prevents even that from occuring, A bomb was planted in Dion in case of an emergency and he charges the machine and destroys it. Allowing the Heroes to defeat the enemy and advance. He is brought back to life through biomedical cloning at the end of the game.

* Used and then discussed in the ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' episode "Failsafe". The Earth is being invaded by aliens, which have already killed off 99% of the Justice League. Our heroes are making an evacuation via teleportation, but can only do so one at a time. A normal human general they've come accross insists on going last, since the super-powered individuals are more valuable than him, but TheLeader Kaldur insists to at least let a wounded private escape first. When the aliens arrive, Kaldur than sacrifices himself so that Superboy could escape. Later, the characters realize that saving the private's life at the expense of their leader's was not a good tactical decision. [[spoiler:Fortunately for everyone involved, it turns out to [[AllJustADream just be a]] [[UnwinnableTrainingSimulation training simulation]] [[GoneHorriblyWrong gone wrong]].]]
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'', Peter, Ray, and Winston use a device to go to the Netherworld to rescue Egon from a demon named Tolay; while searching the demon's dungeon complex, they meet another prisoner, an alchemist named Heironymus who has been there since 1690. Heironymus offers to help them find Egon and escape, but he has a condition - he wants to go with them. This becomes a problem when they manage to bust Egon out, because the device they used can only transport four people back to Earth (no more, no less). Unwilling to break their promise, the four heroes start a four-way argument like this (not the best time, as a demonic army is closing in) but Heironymus then says he prefers to stay, saying that from what they've told him about how Earth has changed, he'd be even more out of place there. (They give him a proton pack before leaving to give him a fighting chance.)

* In ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', the situation of the kids' captivity is such that one who kills another will almost certainly die themselves. Even so, [[spoiler:Fuyuhiko still wants to take revenge on Mahiru...but just as he's about to strike, his bodyguard/assassin/friend Peko steps in and attacks for him. Fuyuhiko is not okay with that; Peko doesn't care.]]

* Classic example from a Jim Shooter ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}} story in which Ferro-Lad punches Superboy unconscious so that Ferro-Lad can be the one to martyr himself stopping the Sun Eater instead, on the grounds that the world needs Superboy more. This has since been aped repeatedly.