History Main / RagtagBunchOfMisfits

!!Examples

* Comicbook/TheDefenders, comprised of heroes who don't work well with others, and who often get into fights in the middle of their missions, still manage to be successful because they are comprised of some of the most powerful heroes in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. They're even famously known as a "non-team", because the concept of teamwork is completely alien to them. This is all in spite of the fact that the founding Defenders (Comicbook/DoctorStrange, the SilverSurfer, [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk]], and [[Comicbook/SubMariner Namor the Sub-Mariner]]) are among the most powerful Marvel heroes of all.

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'''This is usually {{justified|Trope}} in one or more of several ways:'''

* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' focused (or was supposed to be focused at least) on Ben assembling a team from various HalfHumanHybrid{{s}} to stop an AlienInvasion. In the finale, he assembles said team, which ends up made of himself, his MagicalGirl cousin Gwen, [[TheAtoner his former Nemesis Kevin Levin]], {{Time Travel}}ling scientist Paradox, his {{Love Interest|s}} Julie and her alien pet [[BigDamnGunship Ship]], Half-[[MagmaMan Pyronite]] Alan Albright, [[TheSmartGuy Technopath Cooper]] and [[TokenEvilTeammate temporary allied supervillain Darkstar]]. And that's just those who are in the battle from the beginning.

** In the Soyokaze's case, the reason it's a RagtagBunchOfMisfits is because the aging, broken-down destroyer has been assigned as the official dumping ground for all the lunatics, incompetents and misfits of the UPSF. In other words, every trouble-maker or disruptive element that accidentally manages to get into the military is invariably assigned here, so they'll be out of the way. The doctor is an alcoholic who's been drinking since he was three years old, the marines are all violent slobs, TheAce is arrogant and full of himself, as is the navigator, and the captain is, as far as the military higher-ups are concerned, either [[TheFool an absurdly lucky moron]] or [[GeniusDitz possessed of genuine great insight but limited common sense]]. The only outright military and competent crewmembers are Lieutenants Yamamoto (who was assigned as the First Officer in the hopes he could somehow cover for Tylor) and Yuriko (who volunteered to join the Soyokaze in the hopes that she could somehow reform the crew).

** To be more specific: the protagonist crew consists of members who are noted as being the best at their respective roles, but who otherwise don't really mesh in a uniform way like most other crews in the series. The crew currently consists of a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} RubberMan, a BloodKnight, a ClassyCatBurglar, a [[BlatantLies blatant liar]], a [[GoodSmokingEvilSmoking chain-smoking]] ChivalrousPervert, a [[VoluntaryShapeshifter form-changing]] [[TalkingAnimal talking reindeer]], a [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer global pariah]], an eccentric {{Cyborg}}, and [[DemBones an undead skeleton]].

* In ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'', the members of the Occult Research Club include: [[BadassPrincess the club leader who's also the younger sister of one of the four lords of hell]] [[spoiler: who apparently loves anything Japanese related]], [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot the vice-club leader who's a half-human half-fallen angel turned devil who's also a]] {{Miko}} and a sadist, three very [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} ditzy]] believers of God (the first being a former nun turned devil who's also {{the ditz}}iest of the three, the second being a former exorcist turned devil who has NoSocialSkills, and the third being a reborn angel who has her priorities mixed up), a quiet CatGirl turned devil and the resident LittleMissSnarker, a [[WholesomeCrossdresser cross dressing]] [[{{Dhampyr}} half vampire-half human]], [[{{Bishonen}} the most handsome guy on the school campus]] and is TheAce of the group, a former {{Valkyrie|s}} turned devil who has a lot of MoneyFetish, a MadScientist leader of the fallen angel faction, a phoenix who can bake [[SweetTooth cakes]], [[AndZoidberg and last]], the ChivalrousPervert LovableSexManiac protagonist who's a human turned dragon-devil. Not exactly the group who can keep the peace between the three factions, but they're the most elite group of the three factions.
* Class 3-E in ''Manga/AnsatsuKyoushitsu''. The teachers includes: a [[FlashStep super-sonic]] humanoid [[CombatTentacles octopus]], [[TheAce a military's agent]] (and some of his subordinates), [[FemmeFatale an assassin]]. For the student who are [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior assassins-in-training to kill their own teacher]], we have all kinds of characters that ran from {{Casanova}} to [[TheBully bullies]] to athlete-in-training to {{Otaku}}, but to list a few more notable examples, there are: an BrilliantButLazy [[BullyHunter bully]] [[TheAce hunter]], a ShrinkingViolet MadScientist, an AI, an ArtificialHuman [[spoiler: who is the brother of the homeroom teacher]], some [[FilleFatale Fille fatales]], and a DissonantSerenity, ChildProdigy [[spoiler: in assassination who is so dangerous, he could scare even trained, adult soldiers]].

* The GreatLakesAvengers is a team comprised of some of the weirdest superheroes in Marvel's catalog, including Flatman, Big Bertha, and most popularly, SquirrelGirl (whose superpower is . . . squirrels). It doesn't hurt that ''{{Deadpool}}'' is considered one of their reserve members.

* ''ComicBook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws'': So far, 3 former Titans, 2 of whom are failed ex-sidekicks. The resurrected, violent, mildly crazy Red Hood, who managed to get kicked out of the Batfamily after coming back from the dead, is TheLeader. former alcoholic and Arrow family dropout Arsenal (even with the most traumatic bits retconned out) and Princess Koriand'r... who as a young child was sold into slavery by her sister, to save her home world, spent much of her life in death camps, and doesn't really remember alot of things concerning earth clearly. Which is good, because Red Hood tried to kill someone she deeply cares for. Several times. And nearly killed their mutual brother, whom she was a teammate of.
* ''[[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica2013 Justice League of America (2013)]]'': The JLA is a government-owned SuperTeam created to protect America and fight the [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Justice League]] if nessecary. The team is comprised of [[WonderWoman Steve Trevor]], MartianManhunter, GreenArrow, GreenLantern Simon Baz, ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}, Vibe, Stargirl, and {{Katana}}. Not long after the JLA is formed and the members meet each other, they are sent on their first mission without any training.

* The Massachusetts 54th Infantry, a regiment of black soldiers in TheAmericanCivilWar, as seen in ''Film/{{Glory}}''. They include a gravedigger, an escaped slave who's as dangerous to himself as anybody else, an erudite Bostonian who's a piss-poor soldier, a stutterer who can't read, and the vast majority don't know either the alphabet, or even right from left. Their excellent performance in battle was a testament to their own heart and the training of their white commanders.

* Both ''Film/TheBadNewsBears'' and ''Film/TheMightyDucks'' play out this formula with kids.
** ''Film/LittleGiants'' and ''The Big Green'' would FollowTheLeader.

* In ''TheLastCastle'', a convicted army general gathers up an army of inmates at a military jail. One would think his army is a Ragtag Bunch Of Misfits, but since they all used to be soldiers, they're as disciplined and well-coordinated as any official battalion.

* You'll be hard pressed to find a bunch more rag-tag or misfit than the one being asked to save the Earth in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'': a bug-headed MadScientist; an over-the-hill FishPerson; a brainless, sentient glob of [[FutureFoodIsArtificial Soylent Soy]]; a fuzzy baby {{Kaiju}}; and leading them all, a WhiteHairedPrettyGirl (albeit a [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever very tall one]].)

* The core protagonists of ''Franchise/StarWars'' are a ragtag bunch of misfits InSpace. Farmboy Luke, princess Leia, retired Jedi Ben, smuggler Han, fuzzball Chewie, prissy [=C3P0=], and spunky [=R2D2=].

* In a rare non battle/sports example, the groomsmen from ''Film/ILoveYouMan'' consist of a the groom's father, brother, a few guys he went on "man dates" with,...and Lou Ferragino

* The Bellas from ''PitchPerfect'' consist of a wannabe producer who was forced to join who wants to change things up, a ByTheBook IceQueen, an AmbiguouslyGay girl with vocal nodules, an overweight Australian, a ButchLesbian, a girl who constantly speaks in a whisper and says very disturbing things, and a nymphomaniac.

* Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) assembles a motley group of immigrants (a mortuary assistant, a hotel doorman, a sweatshop worker, a HookerWithAHeartOfGold) to get the best of the unpleasant Sneaky Juan in Stephen Frears' film ''DirtyPrettyThings''

* The Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'' features one of these. Not only is the titular group of Borogravian soldiers a RagtagBunchOfMisfits, they're all [[spoiler: [[SweetPollyOliver secretly women in disguise]]]].

** And of course, the early City Watch novels. The change occurs after ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'', when the Watch starts getting so big that Vimes doesn't even know all his officers anymore. (Vimes still thinks of them as being something of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits, of course--no one sane wants to be a copper.)

* Knowingly enacted by a GenreSavvy warrior in Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms'' series. An ambient magical force in the land (The Tradition) likes to have events work out like they do in stories. The warrior assembles a group of untrained teenage girls, equips them to look suitably ragged, and leads them into battle. The Tradition then ensures that they fight like expert soldiers, because they are a RagtagBunchOfMisfits and UnderdogsNeverLose.

* It seems that most of the [[MalazanBookOfTheFallen Malazan Empire's]] army is made up of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits. Well at least the Bridgeburners and the Bonehunters anyways.

** In his {{Ravenor}} novels, Inquisitor Ravenor, though starting with a retinue, adds a StreetUrchin, an arbite who was targeted by the Chaos forces for knowing too much, and a [[TheMedic doctor]] who is working illegally because of having lost his license by caring for people not allowed to be treated and falsifying records to get the supplies he needs.

* Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/OperationChaos'' ends with the narrator considering the RagtagBunchOfMisfits that had literally gone ToHellAndBack. He concludes that it's the devil who has no sense of humor; God must love to laugh.

* The five central characters in Douglas Hill's ''{{The ColSec Trilogy}}'' are a group of juvenile delinquents who have been exiled to an alien planet by the [[{{Dystopia}} world government]]. Of course, they end up as recruiters for LaResistance when one of its leaders falls in with them...apparently, because they're "tough, smart, lucky, and ''survivors''." (Bear in mind that this group consists of a [[NotGoodWithPeople socially naïve]] NatureHero, an [[TheEmpath empathic]] WrenchWench, a {{Tsundere}} with [[InnateNightVision super night vision]], a GenkiBoy, and a DeadpanSnarker...)

** The defense of The Wall in ''Literature/AStormOfSwords'' takes the RagtagBunchOfMisfits trope UpToEleven. Since [[spoiler:most of the Watch's best men have been killed, and the best of the rest are engaged in fighting elsewhere]], only the very bottom of the barrel and some volunteers from a nearby town are left to fight the Wildling horde.

* The investigating team in TheAlienist matches this description.

* In DaleBrown's ''ActOfWar'', Task Force TALON starts as a mish-mash of FBI agents, "lab-bound mavericks" and actual combat-hardened personnel.

* The Chosen Men under Sharpe in the Literature/{{Sharpe}} series of books by BernardCornwell. They are not vastly different from most infantrymen (teh recruitment procedure was very loose back then) but their flamboyant personalities and [[MildlyMilitary lackluster approach to discipline]] makes them this very trope. They are scorned by officers but tolerated by pragmatic commanders like Wellington or Hogan who tend to highly value the unit's combat prowess and experience.

* RaymondEFeist's Shadow of a Dark Queen book of [[TheRiftwarCycle The Serpentwar Saga]] has a bunch of convicts sentenced to death by hanging, given express (but effective) military training and sent on a suicide mission across the ocean, on the condition, that they may be given pardon, if they succeed and come back alive.

* The crew of the first ''U.S.S. Excalibur'' in StarTrekNewFrontier was definitely this: the Captain was a former rebel leader who overthrew his planet's oppressors when he was twenty and spent the last few years working Black Ops, the chief engineer is from a race of hermaphrodites, the CMO is harboring the ''katra'' of her lover who [[GoOutWithABang died during ''pon farr'']], the science officer is hiding the fact she's half-Romulan, the helmsman ''falls asleep at his station''...the most normal of the bunch are Commander Shelby and Ensign Lefler (both imports from StarTrekTheNextGeneration), and even they're a bit off.

** But the king is probably ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'', which is a RaisedByNatives NatureHero, a KidHero semi-pro bowler, a GentleGiant florist, a college student, and an Air Force vet. At least the other teams came off as roughly the same age/maturity level (barring when a {{Mentor}} joins the group).

* ''Series/BabylonFive'' makes being a RagtagBunchOfMisfits (or as Creator/JMichaelStraczynski puts it, being "community-builders") [[HumansAreSpecial our]] collective [[PlanetOfHats Hat]].

** Lampshaded in Journey to Regionals, with Olivia Newton John saying that the whole RagtagBunchOfMisfits trope is overused and that everyone expects the underdogs to win. [[spoiler:Not this time.]]

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar A Good Man Goes to War,]]" the Doctor assembles a team from across time and space to [[spoiler: rescue Amy and her baby.]] Said team consists of the Doctor himself, [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld a 900 year old]] [[TimeTravel time traveler,]] the Doctor's companion Rory Williams, [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld a 2000 year old]] [[TheRomanEmpire Roman Centurion,]] Commander Strax, a [[BloodKnight Sontaran]] [[CombatMedic nurse]], Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint, [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Victorian crime-fighting katana-wielding interspecies lesbians]] and Dorium Maldovar, a big fat blue guy. {{Space Pirates}} are also involved. If that's not ragtag......

* '''Every''' ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' party ever, with few exceptions. See also the VideoGames section and how they talk about the various [=RPGs=]; this is where they got the idea. It's possible to coordinate a non-ragtag adventuring party with some pre-game work, but a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Ragtag Bunch of Level 1 Misfits]] spontaneously joining up for mutual adventure and profit is the default assumption.

* The musical ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix'' portrays the signers of the Declaration this way: a mismatched and forever-squabbling bunch of ordinary people [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants inventing a new country by the seat of their pants]]. The approach was lambasted by RogerEbert and others, who didn't realize [[RealityIsUnrealistic how close to the truth it actually was]].

** Or any ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' game, for that matter. The recruitable casts usually do include a fair number of experienced, professional knights and soldiers, but they're rounded out with an assortment of [[NewMeat new recruits]], peasant militia fighters, inquisitive scholar-mages, wandering {{Warrior Poet}}s, {{Blood Knight}}s, bored mercenaries, thieves, {{pirate}}s, assassins, {{defector|FromDecadence}}s, and often a [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifting]] [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon]] [[CuteMonsterGirl girl]]. Not to mention a whole bunch of [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething nobles]] and their retainers.
* Like ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'', the recruitable casts found in all ''VideoGame/ShiningForce'' games (and many sidegames) have a large degree of variation in occupation, nationality, class, motive, and even ''race''. It is not uncommon to wound up with an army full of Humans, Halflings, Centaurs, Elves, the token JokeCharacter, [[FurryFandom beastmen]], and many other fictional races towards the end of the game. Hell, some games even have Ninjas and Samurais joining the force seemingly at random.

** The same goes for the pretty much all of the other Nippon Ichi games (LaPucelle, MakaiKingdom, PhantomBrave, etc.). Even the shockingly [[DarkerAndEdgier dark and edgy]] ''VideoGame/SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters'' [[spoiler: gives you ''two'' sets. The traditional version in the normal route and a completely AxCrazy set in the Demon route]].

* How about ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''? In the first game you have an ex-pilot with ''major'' trust issues due a past betrayal, a Jedi trying too hard to be perfect and scared to death of failing, a Mandalorian BloodKnight, an exiled Wookee, a smartmouthed teenaged Twi'lek, a redeemed Jedi with a powerful temper and a sad history, a Jedi who's either verging on senility or pretending to be specifically to annoy you, an astromech droid with no personality (so far), a bloodthirsty assassin droid who suggests murder as the solution to any problem; and leading them all is [[spoiler:an amnesiac Sith Lord]]. In the second, the BloodKnight and the two droids carry over (though all are now older, more cynical, and more devious), and you get to add an old woman whose near-sociopathic dedication to self-reliance has lead her to attempt to destroy the Force, a maniacally-depressed and heavily mutilated (mental and physical) former Sith, a former [[DeadpanSnarker wisecracking]] Jedi-killer with a lot of blood on his hands, another psychotic droid (but this one has such an intense control complex it's out to rule the galaxy), a Zabarak mechanic trying to make up for all the deaths caused by the superweapon he designed, depending on your choices either an insane evil Wookee bounty hunter or an overconfident and rigidly honorable female human bounty hunter, and depending on your gender either a BadassBookworm with a few secrets or a soldier whose culture interprets dueling as flirting; and all of these are led by [[spoiler:a hole in the Force that feeds off their living spirits]].

** ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChroniclesII'' gives you a group of misfits more ragtag than the militia: Class G of the Lanseal Academy, filled with the laziest, worst-performing rejects the crop has to offer, [[AndZoidberg and]] [[FantasticRacism Darcsens]].

* In ''{{Mercenaries}} 2'', a five-person team composed of a revenge-driven merc, a snarky computer geek, a lecherous helicopter pilot, a perpetually drunken jet pilot, and a snarky mechanic, destroys the Venezuelan government, and defeats a ''superpower''-backed army as nothing more than a means to that end.

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. It's a Creator/BioWare RPG, so you've got: Two Grey Wardens (they're a whole order of RagtagBunchOfMisfits. One is a prince and a former [[TheKnightsTemplar Templar apprentice]]. The other is you (of course). The rest of the bunch consist of a [[DeadpanSnarker deadpan-snarking]] shape-shifting witch from the forest, a [[HeroesWantRedheads redheaded]] [[FantasyCounterpartCulture fantasy French]] bard who was a priest but joined you after a vision, a [[TheStoic stoic]] [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Qunari]] warrior, a female golem with an intense hatred of pigeons, an alcoholic dwarven berserker, an elven assassin with very few sexual inhibitions, an elderly [[spoiler:DeadAllAlong]] mage, [[spoiler:a villainous noble champion]]. Oh and their [[TeamPet pet dog]]. Said prince was actually a bastard shipped off to a convent to keep him away from the throne, the witch had a rough and isolated childhood and so has NoSocialSkills, bard in this context means spy and assassin who sings, the qunari you free from prison after he killed eight innocent people, the dwarf joins you after you help him find his [[spoiler:wife who abandoned him searching for an ArtifactOfDoom]], and the elven assassin was hired to kill ''you'' and makes no secret of it at all.

* ''VideoGame/OperationDarkness'': the Wolf Pack combines this with NinjaPirateZombieRobot. By the end of the game, the Pack consists of three werewolves, including the protagonist and the squad commander; a female pyrokinetic; TheBigGuy, who is eventually revealed to be {{Frankenstein}}'s monster, a top heavy female sniper; the world's most transparent {{Expy}} of [[ReAnimator Herbert West]]; JackTheRipper; [[{{Dracula}} Abraham van Helsing's]] professor sword wielding granddaughter and finally, [[GuideDangIt if you follow a bunch of unclear steps]], a Nazi zombie cyborg.

* ''RefletsDAcide'' starts with Wrandrall, a [[HalfHumanHybrid Half-]][[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demon]] warrior, trying to assemble comrades for a quest. He ends up with a group including a [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarf]], an [[OurElvesAreDifferent Elven]] [[MagicMusic Barb]], a [[PlayingWithFire Fire Elemental]] and a female BarbarianHero (the latter being soon replaced by a DirtyOldMonk).

* The main cast of [[http://www.fictionpress.com/s/3083396/1/Psychronicles Psychronicles]] takes this pretty far. For one we have the GenkiGirl who's also an otaku and constantly ShoutOut to other works. Next up is the overly playful {{Cloudcuckoolander}} then the LawfulStupid LeeroyJenkins. Finally there's the [[TheSmartGuy ridiculously brilliant]] TeenGenius NietzscheWannabe. Clara and Ian even lampshades it in [[http://www.fictionpress.com/s/3083396/14/Psychronicles chapter 14.]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Spies Reminiscent of Us" VladimirPutin notes the reactivation of a Cold War sleeper spy would be an embarrassment equal to, "[[Film/{{Stripes}} our 1981 failed Czechoslovakian occupation outpost which was penetrated by]] BillMurray, [[Film/{{Stripes}} Harold Ramis, and their ragtag band of misfit soldiers who didn't even graduate.]]"

* The "Mille", the thousand-something volunteers that followed Giuseppe Garibaldi on his expedition to conquer the Kingdom of Two Sicilies and unify Italy in 1860. The youngest was 10 years old. The oldest, 70-something. There were students, poets, shopkeepers, tailors, pharmacists, bakers, former soldiers and officers of the regular army, medics, pretty much anything, including a woman, each with his own motive: fame, fortune, romance, adventure, ideals, death (reportedly one of the volunteers jumped offboard the ship twice during the trip to the shores of Sicily). They wore civilian clothing that only had in common the color red (the closest thing they had to an uniform) and were armed with old rifles obtained by tricking an army quartermaster into giving them. Besides, the rifles themselves never saw much use, since Garibaldi's tactical philosophy was "[[HotBlooded the rifle is nothing more than the grip of the bayonet]]". And apparently it worked, as the RagtagBunchOfMisfits eventually conquered the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

** Garibaldi was helped by two factors: first, his foes tended to think that time he had bitten off more than he could chew and didn't take him seriously for a while; by the time [[OhCrap they realized he could actually do it]], their army had lost morale and his own had grown, ''partly thanks to defections from his enemy''. The Mille are a good example of this: when they landed in Sicily proper there was about a thousand of them and were regularly faced by similar-sized forces, when they landed on the continental part of the kingdom after conquering Sicily there were ''twenty thousands of them'' and had much better equipment than at the start, and by the time of the final battle they were thirty-five thousands, most of which having deserted the Sicilian army during the campaign. That's why the Italian army ([[GenreSavvy that would usually sick him at a place they wanted conquered]] and [[TheChessmaster wait 'till his 'unexpected' success gave them an excuse to intervene]]) and the French army (who had already fought him once and got their collective asses kicked ''hard'') managed to defeat him: at the Aspromonte (Italians) and Mentana (French) they attacked him with their [[EliteMook best troops]] in [[WeHaveReserves superior numbers]], either forcing him to back down (Aspromonte) or utterly defeating him (Mentana).

* Another example of "folk history", this time Russian, is the Red Army, which, according to popular belief, was a RagtagBunchOfMisfits which, during the Russian Civil War, drove out the White Army with pure revolutionary enthusiasm. While it ''was'' a RagtagBunchOfMisfits for a short time since its creation, it was completely unsuited for combat, and only began to score victories against the Whites after its transformation into an actual army, with ranks and discipline -- mostly courtesy of former war specialists from the disbanded Tsarist army, whom the Bolsheviks began to enlist after realizing that the "army of workers and peasants" ideal didn't work at all.

* Real world example: grab a book about Mexican history, open it on the chapters about the 19th century and the Revolution, and you'll see at least five disorganized bands duking it out for any reason. In fact, the reason why the Cinco de Mayo is a national holiday is because that was the day when a RagtagBunchOfMisfits, led by Ignacio Zaragoza, kicked the crap out of the disciplined and well-equipped French invaders.

* RealLife sports victory example, [[BritishFootyTeams Wimbeldon FC's]] "Crazy Gang," with a reputation for pulling an assortment of practical jokes on each other and their manager as well as for playing TheBeautifulGame with a very unsophisticated and amateurish style, were able to beat the much more skilled Liverpool squad in the 1988 FA Cup Final against all expectations.

* For the effects GeorgeLucas wanted for ''StarWars: ANewHope'', supervisor John Dykstra assembled some college students, artists and engineer to create IndustrialLightAndMagic. In their large empty warehouse, they wound up wasting $1 million (lots of miniatures and technology were created, but the only scene they made that could be salvaged was the Tantive IV's escape pod being released, which even opened the ''Star Wars'' trailer) and [[http://books.google.com/books?id=wYEYF8JvNnoC&pg=PT104 had an unorthodox working environment]] that shocked TwentiethCenturyFox executives when they visited. Once Lucas returned from the [[TroubledProduction already-screwed enough shoot in England]], he put the motley crew of technicians under a tight leash to make sure the effects were made... but not before he was hospitalized in shock.

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->''"What can we do? We're just a ragtag bunch of misfits."''
-->-- '''Felix''', ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace''

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. It's a Creator/BioWare RPG, so you've got: Two Grey Wardens (they're a whole order of RagtagBunchOfMisfits. One is a prince and a former [[TheKnightsTemplar Templar apprentice]]. The other is you (of course). The rest of the bunch consists of a [[DeadpanSnarker deadpan-snarking]] shape-shifting witch from the forest, a [[HeroesWantRedheads redheaded]] [[FantasyCounterpartCulture fantasy French]] bard who was a priest but joined you after a vision, a [[TheStoic stoic]] [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Qunari]] warrior, a female golem with an intense hatred of pigeons, an alcoholic dwarven berserker, an elven assassin with very few sexual inhibitions, an elderly [[spoiler:DeadAllAlong]] mage, [[spoiler:a villainous noble champion]]. Oh and their [[TeamPet pet dog]]. Said prince was actually a bastard shipped off to a convent to keep him away from the throne, the witch had a rough and isolated childhood and so has NoSocialSkills, bard in this context means spy and assassin who sings, the qunari you free from prison after he killed eight innocent people, the dwarf joins you after you help him find his [[spoiler:wife who abandoned him searching for an ArtifactOfDoom]], and the elven assassin was hired to kill ''you'' and makes no secret of it at all.

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. It's a Creator/BioWare RPG, so you've got: Two Grey Wardens (they're a whole order of RagtagBunchOfMisfits. One is a prince and a former [[TheKnightsTemplar Templar apprentice]]. The other is you, of course), a [[DeadpanSnarker deadpan-snarking]] shape-shifting witch from the forest, a [[HeroesWantRedheads redheaded]] [[FantasyCounterpartCulture fantasy French]] bard who was a priest but joined you after a vision, a [[TheStoic stoic]] [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Qunari]] warrior, a female golem with an intense hatred of pigeons, an alcoholic dwarven berserker, an elven assassin with very few sexual inhibitions, an elderly [[spoiler:DeadAllAlong]] mage, [[spoiler:a villainous noble champion]]. Oh and their [[TeamPet pet dog]]. Said prince was actually a bastard shipped off to a convent to keep him away from the throne, the witch had a rough and isolated childhood and so has NoSocialSkills, bard in this context means spy and assassin who sings, the qunari you free from prison after he killed eight innocent people, the dwarf joins you after you help him find his [[spoiler:wife who abandoned him searching for an ArtifactOfDoom]], and the elven assassin was hired to kill ''you'' and makes no secret of it at all.

->"Wait, wait. You ''are'' a rag-tag group of adventurers with unclear goals and good hearts, right? ...[[GenreSavvy Yeah, you people are my LARGEST threat]]."

** And ~15 years earlier, the ''MisfitsOfScience''.

* CK's crew from ''Webcomic/CommanderKitty'' includes Fluffy, a CuteKitten and {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, Mittens, CK's BumblingSidekick who's also a [[TheSlacker total slacker]], and Socks, a [[BunnyEarsLawyer genius ferret engineer]] with a serious [[TheUnintelligible language barrier]].

* CK's crew from ''Webcomic/CommanderKitty'' includes Fluffy, a CuteKitten and CloudCuckoolander, Mittens, CK's BumblingSidekick who's also a [[TheSlacker total slacker]], and Socks, a [[BunnyEarsLawyer genius ferret engineer]] with a serious [[TheUnintelligible language barrier]].

** The Fourteenth Army of WWII, in particular, was the last great colonial army, a massive MultinationalTeam described as "the scrapings of the barrel." It operated on a shoestring, often using obsolete equipment that other theaters no longer needed and devising local solutions for things it couldn't get. Its predecessor, Burma Corps, was even worse off, barely avoiding a rout in 1942. There were well-trained but inexperienced British and Indian troops, barely-trained Burmese, a tank brigade of the [[FishOutOfWater Desert Rats]], practically unequipped Nationalist Chinese, and air support from the mercenary Flying Tigers.

* Class 3-E in ''Manga/AnsatsuKyoushitsu''. The teachers includes: a [[FlashStep super-sonic]] humanoid [[CombatTentacles octopus]], [[TheAce a military's agent]] (and some of his subordinates), [[FemmeFatale an assassin]]. For the student who are [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior assassins-in-training to kill their own teacher]], we have all kinds of characters that ran from Casanova to athlete-in-training to Otaku, but to list a few notable examples, there are: an BrilliantButLazy [[BullyHunter bully]] [[TheAce hunter]], a ShrinkingViolet MadScientist, an AI, an ArtificialHuman [[spoiler: who is the brother of the homeroom teacher]], some [[FilleFatale Fille fatales]], and a DissonantSerenity, ChildProdigy [[spoiler: in assassination who is so dangerous, he could scare even trained, adult soldiers]].

* Class 3-E in ''Manga/AnsatsuKyoushitsu''. The teachers includes: a [[FlashStep super-sonic]] humanoid [[Combat Tentacles octopus]], [[TheAce a military's agent]] (and some of his subordinates), [[FemmeFatale an assassin]]. For the student who are [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior assassins-in-training to kill their own teacher]], we have all kinds of characters that ran from athlete-in-training to Otaku, but to list a few notable examples, there are: a [[BriliantButLazy {{badass}}]] [[BullyHunter bully]] [[TheAce hunter]], a ShrinkingViolet MadScientist, an AI, an ArtificialHuman [[spoiler: who is the brother of the homeroom teacher]], some [[FilleFatale Fille fatales]], and a Dissonant Serenity, ChildProdigy [[spoiler: in assassination who is so dangerous, he could scare even adult trained soldiers]].

* The heroes in ''FanFic/{{Horseshoes and Hand Grenades}}'': A sweet CameraFiend who loves people's smiles, a Glee Club (with one being a {{Ninja}} and the other a {{Samurai}}), a HugeSchoolgirl who wields [[ImprobableWeapon a vaulting pole]], a cheerleader with a huge SweetTooth, and a JapaneseDelinquent who was once a former monster called a Zodiarts.

* Most comic books about SuperHero Teams follow that trope; as an example, Comicbook/TheAvengers's original incarnation included a [[Comicbook/IronMan Rich playboy]] MadScientist in PoweredArmor, a ''[[Comicbook/TheMightyThor God of Thunder]]'', a second MadScientist [[SizeShifting able to shrink size]] [[Comicbook/{{Ant-Man}} and command ants]], [[TheWasp his shrinking flying wife]], and a [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk giant green monster]] with a JekyllAndHyde problem. And a OneManArmy [[Comicbook/CaptainAmerica super-soldier from World War II]] later joined them as the SixthRanger.

** What do you get when you put together a team comprised of a [[StandardizedLeader former Air Force pilot]]; a WideEyedIdealist "simple mechanic" (who is [[BonnieScotland SCOTTISH!]]); a former RichBitch who TookALevelInBadass; an incompetent ex-cartel member who is [[GivingTheSwordToANoob completely unqualified to handle advanced weaponry]] (but [[MetaGuy often points out]] [[OnlySaneMan the ridiculousness of the situation they're all in]] to comedic effect); a HalfHumanHybrid with [[LaserGuidedAmnesia no memories of either his past or his identity]]; and twin hyperactive [[PsychopathicManchild psychotic adult children]] who, despite being geniuses, are obsessed with [[StuffBlowingUp things that go BOOM!]]--all led by an [[{{Kuudere}} emotionally closed off]] TeenGenius scientist with NoSocialSkills and [[TearJerker one depressing backstory]]? The team from ''Series/PowerRangersRPM''. Aren't you glad they're the ones who must protect the last remaining city on earth against a renegade computer virus?

* The Undersiders in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' work as a team at the request of their, at times, mysterious employer, despite the fact that one or two of them just aren't cut out for normal human interaction. They manage to get the job done well enough most of the time though, and that's all their employer asks of them. Though he does keep a back up team in reserve for the heavy hitters.

** ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'' is a stowaway, a security officer, a mechanic, a scientist, and a JunglePrincess. Later joined by the stowaway's older brother (also a security officer) and a [[HeelFaceTurn former]] [[TheAtoner villain]] from [[PowerRangersInSpace last season]].

* Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) assembles a motley group of immigrants (a mortuary assistant, a hotel doorman, a sweatshop worker, a whore with a heart of gold) to get the best of the unpleasant Sneaky Juan in Stephen Frears' film ''DirtyPrettyThings''

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* A ragtag bunch of street trash attempt a safe-crack in ''WelcomeToCollinwood''. Subverted in that these losers do lose (apart from the character Riley, played by William H. Macy, who luckily achieves his admittedly modest aims). Remake of the Italian movie ''I Soliti Ignoti'' (1958).[[/folder]]