History Main / TheOneWhoMadeItOut

* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'': Out of the cast of ''Horsin' Around'', Bradley Hitler-Smith was the one with enough sense to get out of show business. At the time of the show's present, he runs a successful hardware store and is the only reasonably well-adjusted member of the group.

* In ''Manga/TegamiBachi'', Jiggy Pepper grew up in the DyingTown of Kyrie, a town in the poor district to Yodaka on the bridge leading to the middle-class district of Yuusari. Determined to give hope to his town, he become a Letter Bee, being one of two known Letter Bees to come from Yodaka(the other being Lag Seeing, TheHero of the series). He proves himself to be TheAce among the Letter Bees, and earns enough money to buy a bell for Kyrie's church.

* Lord Soth stands out as the only Darklord ever to escape from ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}''. After nobody-knows-how-long trapped in the Mists, [[HeelRealization he finally came to understand that his punishment was entirely his fault and admitted his guilt for the actions that brought him there]]. As the setting lore repeatedly stated would happen, admitting his own guilt rendered his punishment effectively meaningless, and the plane eventually got bored with him and kicked him back out again.
** Not... quite the only one. Vecna, demigod, {{Lich}} and {{Sorcerous Overlord}} extraordinaire, once was imprisoned as the Darklord of Cavitius for a while, stuck in a ForeverWar against his treacherous lieutenant, the vampire Kas, Darklord of Tovag... but in a series of adventure modules towards the end of 2nd edition ''DungeonsAndDragons'', he managed to break out of the Demiplane of Dread, put planar metropolis Sigil under siege and nearly killed its ruler, the Lady of Pain in a bid to become ultimate ruler of the D&D multiverse... and when thwarted by the [=PCs=], still managed to get away scot-free, with enough of a power boost to rise in divine rank [[OurGodsAreDifferent from demigod to lesser god]], and with the fabric of the multiverse so irrevocably altered it's implied to be the in-game reason for the changes between 2e and 3e, cementing Vecna as one of the most {{Magnificent Bastard}}s in the game's history. When Vecna makes it out, he makes it out in '''style'''.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal, the canonical Aesop of the Three Men in Scrote is explored further. In canon, the sotry is of two benches outside the livery stable in the rural backwater village of Scrote where nothing ever happens and takes a long time not doing it. On one bench are three young men, all agreed that at the earliest possible moment, they're going to get up, go a long way away, and do something with their lives. Meanwhile on the other bench sit three old men... in Pessimal's Scrote, perhaps a hundred and fifty years before the "present", there are ''four'' young men. One too many, the historian who is relating the tale is heard to observe. The fourth young man, standing some way apart from the three on the bench, is the one who makes it. He is later to make his mark on history as Sir Cecil Smith-Rhodes, having made it all the way to [[DarkestAfrica Howondaland]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Zimbabwe}} conquered a country for the Empire]], and then modestly naming it after himself.

** Not... quite the only one. Vecna, demigod, {{Lich}} and {{Sorcerous Overlord}} extraordinaire, once was imprisoned as the Darklord of Cavitius for a while, stuck in a ForeverWar against his treacherous lieutenant, the vampire Kas, Darklord of Tovag... but in a series of adventure modules towards the end of 2nd edition ''DungeonsAndDragons'', he managed to break out of the Demiplane of Dread, put planar metropolis Sigil under siege and nearly killed its ruler, the Lady of Pain in a bid to become ultimate ruler of the D&D multiverse... and when thwarted by the PCs, still managed to get away scot-free, with enough of a power boost to rise in divine rank [[OurGodsAreDifferent from demigod to lesser god]], and with the fabric of the multiverse so irrevocably altered it's implied to be the in-game reason for the changes between 2e and 3e, cementing Vecna as one of the most {{Magnificent Bastard}}s in the game's history. When Vecna makes it out, he makes it out in '''style'''.

* DependingOnTheWriter, continuity reboot status, medium, etc., in various permutations of the ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' franchise, Clark Kent is occasionally given this treatment for having made it from Smallville to Metropolis.
* Part of the reason the Yancy Street Gang initially hated the Thing in ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' is that Ben Grimm is a former Yancy Streeter who got out, and they think he's forgotten his roots.
* In ''ComicBook/BlackLightning'', Jefferson Pierce is the one who made it out of the ghetto and then came back to teach in the high school and help others make it out.
* Since ComicBook/LukeCage became a globally prominent superhero, some characters have occasionally accused him of forgetting his roots as a hero of the downtrodden in New York City. [[BerserkButton He doesn't take it very kindly]], especially not when a young upstart uses this to justify taking up Luke's abandoned "Power Man" codename.
* In ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'', Angie Spica came from a lower-class background where her dad drove a bus and all of her sisters ended up pregnant before they finished high school. She escaped the same fate by applying herself to her studies, replacing her blood with nine pints of liquid machinery (which transformed her into the superhero known as the Engineer), and [[spoiler:travelling back in time to turn Jenny Sparks into a Century Baby so that she could go on to recruit the future members of the Authority]].
* In ''ComicBook/XStatix'', Phat supposedly comes from a lower-class background before getting spotted by a recruiter for ComicBook/XForce. In reality, he came from the suburbs, and his old neighborhood is less than thrilled by how he portrays in interviews, resulting in him getting the shit kicked out of him when he tries to go home.

* Frequently parodied with Tracy Jordan on ''Series/ThirtyRock''.

* One episode of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' had a Marine captain whose mother had taken him away from their hometown due to escape the [[FeudingFamilies blood feud]] which had killed his father and countless other members of their family. He only returned to take revenge when he learned his brother had been killed as part of the on-going feud.

* Gary is one of these early in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. For example: Before Gold/Silver were announced, he shows off 10 badges when anyone who played the game knew you could only get 8. Additionally, he has a chauffeur and is always accompanied by fangirls and his own cheerleader squad.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': Applies in two ways to Akira, RecruitedFromTheGutter by an ancient ArtificialIntelligence Alpha, becoming a successful PrivateMilitaryContractor and moving up in UrbanSegregation class to the Lower District:
** Amongst Sheryl’s Gang he runs with her in the slum, views on Akira's success vary quite wildly. Generally, Akira cultivates an image as TheDreaded, using MakeAnExampleOfThem to prevent people in the slums from betraying him. Erio, after DefeatMeansFriendship becomes a {{Determinator}} to catch up to Akira in combat skill. Akira earns the envy of Sebla who wishes it could have been him and that Akira was just lucky (which Akira agrees), leading to Sebla being TheMole. And multiple women in the gang want to make moves on him for GoldDigger reasons, but are too afraid of Sheryl's jealousy.

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** Yuko Kurose's brother left when he was a teenager. Not much is known about why he left but he had a heated argument with his father and left town one day. [[spoiler:He eventually comes back one day to visit his nephew Reiji, shown to at least have gotten married and had a happy pair of kids, something that very few people in the series can say they have.]]

** Kosaku Esomori left after graduating high school, but the trauma of what happened in his youth there soured his relationships with all his wives and he ultimately goes back there to stir up trouble.

** Yuko Kurose's brother left when he was a teenager. Not much is known about why he left but he had a heated argument with his father and left town one day. [[spoiler:He eventually comes back one day to visit his newphew Reiji, shown to at least have gotten married and had a happy pair of kids, something that very few people in the series can say they have.]]

* ''Manga/BoysAbyss'' takes place in a dreary town with no future and a whole lot of secrets. The goal of quite a few of the main characters is to eventually leave, but their own character flaws and [[AdultsAreUseless the misguidance of their elders]] keeps them trapped. The series plays with this trope with the ones who finally left

* Throughout ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'', several chacters -- including the lead Arthur Morgan -- keep suggesting John Marston (TheProtagonist of the [[VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption first game]]) to take his family and leave the outlaw life behind. [[SavedByCanon As the first game tells us]], John eventually does so. Once Arthur [[spoiler:finds out he's [[YourDaysAreLimited slowly dying to tuberculosis]], he chooses to use his remaining time to help John leave]]. He even uses this as a taunt of sorts [[spoiler:as part of his last words]]; an another gang member believes he's made it simply by surviving a single encounter, which slightly offends Arthur.

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* Jack Atlas of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', who made it out of the slums of Satellite by betraying Yusei in his backstory.

* Monkey D. Luffy, in ''Manga/OnePiece'', is one of the few people born and raised in the East Blue sector of the world to achieve international notoriety as a pirate. His first mate, Roronoa Zoro, shares this distinction. The people of the East Blue have a reputation as weak and unable to compete with people from other regions, almost every pirate from there quickly fizzling out when they attempt to sail the Grand Line looking for the One Piece treasure. This is why Luffy and Zoro repeatedly shock the world with their accomplishments. However, Gold Roger, the legendary pirate who owned the One Piece in the first place, also comes from the East Blue, suggesting that while few East Blue pirates become notable, those few are the best of the best.

-->'''Nate''': Claire, you can't stay here!

* ''TheSimpsons'' originally portrayed world boxing heavyweight champion Drederick Tatum this way, to the point where he once said if he ever moved back to Springfield "you know he'd messed up bad". Ironically, when he became a minor recurring character, the show implied he never left despite his success.

** In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', Rey manages to escape her dead-end life as a scavenger on Jakku -- where she'd been stuck since ever since her parents abandoned her -- when she gets caught up in the search for Luke Skywalker, with Han Solo also offering her a job. Initially, she actually wants to return to Jakku in the vain hope her parents will come back, but after learning she's Force-sensitive she joins the Resistance and seeks out Luke herself.

But every so often, there's one who makes it out - maybe an incredible talent proved their ticket out of there. Maybe they won their way to a great, faraway college or to a lucrative job... but sometimes they just up and leave. Peers and elders in the town usually admire them for their tenacity, but tend to resent them for leaving if the community isn't as close-knit. Impressionable youngsters, though, might look up to them and get ideas of maybe leaving one day themselves. Alternately, the one who made it out could be despised for [[CategoryTraitor "forgetting where they come from"]] or trading their "roots" for material success and comfort. Expect, for the hero after achieving success to come back home and find out how much or how little is changed, as well as why YouCantGoHomeAgain.

** In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', Rey manages to escape her dead-end life as a scavenger on Jakku - where she'd been stuck since ever since her parents abandoned her - when she gets caught up in the search for Luke Skywalker, with Han Solo also offering her a job. Initially, she actually wants to return to Jakku in the vain hope her parents will come back, but after learning she's Force-sensitive she joins the Resistance and seeks out Luke herself.

** Season four introduces a group of children from West Baltimore's projects and rowhouses. Each friend follows a different path and Namond Brice, the son of a reputed drug soldier, is the only kid able to escape the doomed background of a troubled childhood, a dysfunctional family -at best- and the notion that crime is the only way to earn a living. Sadly, it only happens thanks to a remarkable, extremely unusual and unique adoptive parent, Howard Colvin, a former cop who identifies Namond's potential.

* Deconstructed with the title superhero himself in ''Series/SupermanAndLois'' - Clark moved out of the little Midwest farming town of Smallville, got a job in the city with a prestigious newspaper, and (unbeknownst to the people of Smallville) became the world's most beloved and famous superhero. Over the years meanwhile, Smallville fell victim to many of the same socioeconomic problems plaguing other small towns in FlyoverCountry, and when Clark returns in the wake of his mother's death, he's appalled at how bad things have gotten, taking it upon himself to turn things around.
* Played for tragedy with Sang-woo in ''Series/SquidGame'' - he came from a low-class beginning with a mother who operated a market stall selling fish, attended a prestigious university, and became a successful businessman and the pride of his neighborhood. However, he wound up getting involved with some {{White Collar Crime}}s, which led to him getting into deep debts and trouble with the law. He's desperate enough to compete in the titular DeadlyGame, where he's willing to put his life (and the lives of others) at risk to win the equivalent of $45 million. He's called out on this by his childhood friend Gi-hun, whose own dire financial situation is something [[IAmWhatIAm he fully owns up to]] as being his own fault.

** Older brother Nate ran away from his dysfunctional and overbearing family so he could live outside their influence and without having anything to do with their family business. This condemned younger brother David to suspend his ambitions to go to law school as he felt responsible for the family and he got saddled into a line of work he had no interest in. When their father dies at the beginning of the show, Nate returns, clearly afraid of getting stuck at home for good this time while David's resentment at being left behind to deal with everything boils to surface.

* Jack Atlas of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', who did it by betraying Yusei in his backstory.

* Monkey D. Luffy, in ''Manga/OnePiece'', is one of the few people born and raised in the East Blue sector of the world to achieve international notoriety as a pirate. His first mate, Roronoa Zoro, shares this distinction. The people of the East Blue have a reputation as weak and unable to compete with people from other regions, almost everyone pirate from there quickly fizzling out when they attempt to sail the Grand Line looking for the One Piece treasure. This is why Luffy and Zoro repeatedly shock the world with their accomplishments. However, Gold Roger, the legendary pirate who owned the One Piece in the first place, also comes from the East Blue, suggesting that while few East Blue pirates become notable, those few are the best of the best.