History Main / TheDragAlong

Most of the hero team is eager and ready to go on another adventure, face peril, and explore new regions. Not this guy. This guy would rather stay home, where it's safe. Maybe he doesn't really think the trip is worth it, maybe he doesn't care, or maybe he just has an aversion to painful, dangerous situations. Yet the team wants him to come, so, kicking and screaming if necessary, he comes along anyway.

A variation on TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong and IDoNotLikeGreenEggsAndHam. Most Drag Alongs are also {{Butt Monkey}}s or [[TheChewToy Chew Toys]], which may justify their reluctance. In the event the group gets into trouble, he'll be the victim of GuiltByAssociationGag no matter how many times he protests he DidntWantAnAdventure.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* The three delinquents Juumonji, Toganu and Kuroki in ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' are initially blackmailed into joining the American football team.

[[folder:Comics]]

[[folder:Films]]

* Kedrigern in the series of books by JohnMorresey. He's a powerful wizard who hates to travel and just wants to live quietly in his home on the mountain, but he keeps getting pulled into adventures.

* ''Literature/CiaphasCain'': Ciaphas definitely fits this trope. ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'s'' least likely Commissar would rather spend his days somewhere far away from the fighting that pervades the galaxy (good luck on that one...). Yet time and time again he's dragged reluctantly into action against every single foe that the galaxy at large can throw at him (and then a few from a different reality altogether).

-->Ripred: And if Temp is right, it would explain one thing .. The point of having a {{c|allARabbitASmeerp}}rawler on this whole hellish trip! Honestly, how has he added to anything of significance? No offense, Temp, you've been a real champ about babysitting, but what have you contributed? Nothing! Maybe this is it! Your big moment!

* ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute'': Papageno combines this trope with {{Cowardly Sidekick}}.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Web Originals]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', although Fluttershy probably doesn't want to go along for ''any'' of her friend's adventures, she ''really'' makes it clear she doesn't want to be there in ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7Dragonshy Dragonshy]]'' as she is [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes terrified of dragons]]. Unfortunately (for her), her innate ability to communicate with animals makes her a mandatory and necessary teammate.

* In the Film/RevengeOfTheSith GagDub ''WebVideo/BackstrokeOfTheWest'', Chewbacca is actually named "Drag Along."

** In ''JustForFun/BackstrokeOfTheWest'' Chewbacca is actually named "Drag Along."

* ''Series/OurMissBrooks'': Miss Brooks often finds herself made an unwitting accomplice to Walter Denton's various schemes, i.e. "Cure That Habit", "The Cafeteria Strike", as exposing Walter would lead to his being suspended or expelled. Other occasions see her being ''ordered'' to go along with a scheme of Mr. Conklin's, as he's her principal and has the power to force her - or leastways make her life very miserable if she refuses, i.e. "The Big Jump". Occasionally she even gets cajoled by her landlady Mrs. Davis, or Mrs. Davis' sister Angela, into aiding into some other wacky scheme from which Miss Brooks would prefer to keep her distance, i.e. "Mr. Casey's Will".

* Boober in ''Series/FraggleRock'' is perpetually this or a SourSupporter, or both. However, in an episode where he and Red [[spoiler: get trapped under a rock slide and believe they are going to die, he confesses that he secretly has enjoyed all of the Fraggles' adventures, despite having been a reluctant coward about them all when they were happening]].

** Nardole became the Twelfth Doctor's companion only because River Song knew the latter would need a MoralityChain once she was gone for good and conferred that responsibility upon him. Once the Doctor takes the vow to guard the Vault in the Series 10 StoryArc, Nardole's not only hates being dragged along on adventures elsewhere on Earth, but does everything he can to dissuade the Doctor from traveling on his own and/or with Bill Potts due to the importance of keeping the vow. Still, he is a truly loyal "valet" despite it all. This is something of a plot point in "Oxygen" -- both Nardole and Bill want to turn back upon getting a taste of the dangers the distressed space station holds, but the Doctor pressures them to follow and soon they can't turn back. When Bill's life looks to be lost and Nardole tries to comfort the Doctor over this, the Doctor furiously proclaims (in spirit though not letter) ItsAllMyFault because she wouldn't have ended up in danger if he hadn't dragged them along, and doubles down on his efforts to save her.

* Parodied to ''death'' in the ''WebAnimation/CharlieTheUnicorn'' videos.

* [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Morpha]] in the fanfic ''Fanfic/GroupOfWeirdos'' doesn't particularly want to come along, as he is vastly weakened without water and hates being treated as an adorable ball by the others. At least he begrudgingly assists occasionally (see the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Stallord]] fight), which is more than [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Gyorg]] does. That little fish never truly joins the heroes, having to be stuffed in a bottle and later literally dragged to come with them, even attacking them during the final fight!

* ''Film/DestinationMoon''. When the radio operator gets appendicitis, Joe Sweeney finds himself volunteered as a replacement. He constantly voices his negative opinion on being dragged along on this crazy trip to the Moon, which [[CowardlyLion doesn't stop him staying behind]] in a ColdEquation.

** The Captain owns this trope. All he wants to do is enjoy his retirement -- but unfortunately he fell in with the wrong set of friends. He comes along despite his groans, and always ends up doing something badass.

** Hibiya also counts to a smaller degree; he just wanted to spend a summer in the city with Hiyori, but after [[spoiler:the Kagerou Days incident and Hiyori's subsequent death]], he ends up being dragged into the Mekakushi Dan by [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Momo's attempts to cheer him up]] and [[spoiler:his power manifesting]].

* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', Marco started out as one of these, having no real reason to enter the battle against the invading Yeerks, and not really wanting to get involved. This changed BIG TIME when he [[spoiler:discovered that Visser One was using the body of [[ItsPersonal his supposedly deceased mother]] as a host]]. After this he quickly grew into the hero role, but he was still the sarcastic jokester of the group.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'', Mugman understood the dangers of taking the Devil's gamble, but Cuphead was blinded his own greed when the Devil offered all the loot in his casino, he took the gamble and lost. Now Mugman has to be a debt collector alongside Cuphead on the Devil's behalf, though Mugman was willing to gamble in the Devil's casino at first, only stopping upon realizing the dangers of taking the Devil's gamble.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'', Mugman understood the dangers of taking the Devil's gamble, but Cuphead was blinded his own greed when the Devil offered all the loot in his casino, he took the gamble and lost. Now Mugman has to be a debt collector alongside Cuphead on the Devil's behalf, though Mugman was willing to gamble in the Devil's casino at first, only stopping when the Devil made his gamble.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'', Mugman understood the dangers of taking the Devil's gamble but Cuphead was blinded by the prize. Mugman now has to be a debt collector alongside Cuphead on the Devil's behalf.

* This is WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's role in many adventures with Scrooge [=McDuck=]. Scrooge and the nephews might be excited at the prospect of a new adventure. Donald has to be coerced. Particularly evident in "The Twenty-four Carat Moon" (December, 1958) by Carl Barks. He doesn't want to go to a space-travel mission and proclaims "I want to keep my feet on good old Earth". [[GilliganCut Two panels later, he is in the space-traveling vehicle, chained to his seat and his feet are standing on a box of dirt.]] This doesn't stop Donald from being both useful and sarcastic.

** Nardole became the Twelfth Doctor's companion only because River Song knew the latter would need a MoralityChain once she was gone for good and conferred that responsibility upon him. Once the Doctor takes the vow to guard the Vault in the Series 10 HalfSeasonArc, Nardole's not only hates being dragged along on adventures elsewhere on Earth, but does everything he can to dissuade the Doctor from traveling on his own and/or with Bill Potts due to the importance of keeping the vow. Still, he is a truly loyal "valet" despite it all. This is something of a plot point in "Oxygen" -- both Nardole and Bill want to turn back upon getting a taste of the dangers the distressed space station holds, but the Doctor pressures them to follow and soon they can't turn back. When Bill's life looks to be lost and Nardole tries to comfort the Doctor over this, the Doctor furiously proclaims (in spirit though not letter) ItsAllMyFault because she wouldn't have ended up in danger if he hadn't dragged them along, and doubles down on his efforts to save her.

** Mickey Smith, [[TookALevelInBadass at first]]. You can't really blame him. He's nearly killed, his girlfriend abandons him, her disappearance makes him a rape and murder suspect for a whole year. Eventually he goes along in hope that he can regain Rose's affection. Then it turns out that he's pretty good at killing cybermen, and becomes a professional monster fighter.

-->Ripred: And if Temp is right, it would explain one thing .. The point of having a [[CallARabbitASmeerp crawler]] on this whole hellish trip! Honestly, how has he added to anything of significance? No offense, Temp, you've been a real champ about babysitting, but what have you contributed? Nothing! Maybe this is it! Your big moment!

** Similarly, Rory Williams. The only reason he traveled with the Doctor at all was to avoid losing his fiance/wife. Eventually he takes about [[TookALevelInBadass five]] ''[[TookALevelInBadAss hundred]]'' [[TookALevelInBadAss levels in bad-ass]], but his fighting is always a last resort, and he'd much prefer to have a quiet life as a nurse. [[spoiler: Eventually he gets it. The Doctor drops him and Amy on Earth with a shiny new car and house.]]

* Reid Hershel, from ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', is this despite being the main protagonist of the game, being dragged along on a crazy journey to save two worlds from destruction by his childhood friend Farah, who JumpedAtTheCall. Throughout the journey, Reid constantly expresses his desire to just go home and let the world's military take care of things, but one thing leads to another and he [[YouCantGoHomeAgain ends up a fugitive of his world.]]

* Cadugan in ''Webcomic/YetAnotherFantasyGamerComic'' would like nothing more than to stay home and tend to nature. Unfortunately his skills and in one case his [[HalfHumanHybrid heritage]] means people (particularly Lucas) keep pestering him to come along with their adventures.
* Ship Leesoo from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' gets dragged along by Anak and Hatsu quite a bit, especially when they engage in their {{IndyPloy}}s. He is even ''physically'' dragged along at one point, which considering Hatsu and Anak once considered him to be TheLoad, shows they really do... kinda respect him... Kinda.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': Iggy in Part 3. He doesn't want to be with the heroes, he's been dragged off to risk his life against Stand Users and a Super Vampire Stand User, and he frequently annoys his teammates with his hostility. The only reason he's there is because Avdol defeated him in a fight and he's bribed by Chocolate flavored gum into joining their group. Though underneath all the grumpiness he does have a good doggie heart.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': The rest of the Straw Hat Pirates in regards to [[IdiotHero Luffy]]. Most of them were pestered, cajaoled, and sometimes flat out blackmailed into joining the crew. And then, his decisions as 'captain' end up sending the crew on outrageous misadventures. Usopp, Chopper, and Nami are the ones who complain the most.

** Mickey Smith, [[TookALevelInBadAss at first]]. You can't really blame him. He's nearly killed, his girlfriend abandons him, her disappearance makes him a rape and murder suspect for a whole year. Eventually he goes along in hope that he can regain Rose's affection. Then it turns out that he's pretty good at killing cyberman, and becomes a professional monster fighter.
** Similarly, Rory Williams. The only reason he traveled with the Doctor at all was to avoid losing his fiance/wife. Eventually he takes about [[TookALevelInBadAss five]] ''[[TookALevelInBadAss hundred]]'' [[TookALevelInBadAss levels in bad-ass]], but his fighting is always a last resort, and he'd much prefer to have a quiet life as a nurse. [[spoiler: Eventually he gets it. The Doctor drops him and Amy on Earth with a shiny new car and house.]]

A variation on TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong and IDoNotLikeGreenEggsAndHam. Most Drag Alongs are also {{Butt Monkey}}s or [[TheChewToy Chew Toys]], which may justify their reluctance. In the event the group gets into trouble, he'll be the victim of GuiltByAssociationGag no matter how many times he protest he DidntWantAnAdventure.

A variation on TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong and IDoNotLikeGreenEggsAndHam. Most Drag Alongs are also {{Butt Monkey}}s or [[TheChewToy Chew Toys]], which may justify their reluctance. In the event the group gets into trouble, he'll be the victim of GuiltByAssociationGag no matter how many times he protest IDidntWantToGoOnAnAdventure.

A variation on TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong and IDoNotLikeGreenEggsAndHam. Most Drag Alongs are also {{Butt Monkey}}s or [[TheChewToy Chew Toys]], which may justify their reluctance. In the event the group gets into trouble, he'll be the victim of GuiltByAssociationGag no matter how many times he protest DidntWantToGoOnAnAdventure.