History Main / TheOnlyOne

*** They're the point team because they have ''lot'' of experience and specialized knowledge which makes them perfect for first-contact or other unsettled situations where assessing what's going on in a timely manner is critical. Most teams aren't going to have an anthropologist/linguistic expert or an expert on Gate physics/Goa'uld technology. Who can defend themselves and are willing to deal with what SG-1 does on a daily basis...

** ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' goes to significant lengths to justify this in the finale. As Picard's son Jack is revealed to be a living transmitter for the resurgent Borg, every Starfleet officer below the age of 25 is compromised into the next generation of Borg and the new Starfleet system comprises all of the new ships. As whomever of the above ages fights to keep their borgified colleagues and family safe, Picard and his old command crew are forced to retreat [[spoiler:to the Fleet Museum to BreakOutTheMuseumPiece. There they find the old ''Enterprise''-D, repaired and refurbished by Geordi as the last ship starworthy and untouched by the system.]]

** Another deconstruction in the ''TNG'' two-parter "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWorpds The Best of Both Worlds]]". The ''Enterprise''-D ends up confronting the Borg Cube, but the crew has a problem: despite being chased by the Borg, Starfleet's still assembling a fleet to take it on and it'll take six days to get there. At this point, Starfleet doesn't have any sort of combat preparedness as they only knew of the Borg just last year and all of their advanced equipment is still being developed. At this point, yes, the ''Enterprise''-D ''is'' the only one.

** Another deconstruction in the ''TNG'' two-parter "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E26S4E1TheBestOfBothWords The Best of Both Worlds]]". The ''Enterprise''-D ends up confronting the Borg Cube, but the crew has a problem: despite being chased by the Borg, Starfleet's still assembling a fleet to take it on and it'll take six days to get there. At this point, Starfleet doesn't have any sort of combat preparedness as they only knew of the Borg just last year and all of their advanced equipment is still being developed. At this point, yes, the ''Enterprise''-D ''is'' the only one.

* Played seriously in [[WesternAnimation/InsideOut Inside Out]]: [[TheHedonist Joy]]'s [[spoiler:[[WellIntentionedExtremist misguided attempts to keep Riley happy all the time backfire disastrously]]; after she and [[TheEmpath Sadness]] are accidentally ejected from Headquarters, Anger, Disgust, and Fear try and fail miserably to keep Riley happy and their efforts end with Riley nearly running away from San Francisco to return to her hometown in Minnesota, thanks to an ill-conceived idea on Anger's part. Just as the control panel begins [[HeroicBSOD turning grey and locking them out, rendering Riley apathetic]] and leaving Anger, Disgust, and Fear in [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horrified regret]], Joy and Sadness return. The previous three emotions swarm around Joy, begging her to fix the problem; Joy, [[TookALessonInKindness having learned that she went too far in excluding]] [[TheSacredDarkness Sadness]] and preventing her from helping Riley signal to others that she needs help, she surprises them all when she tells Sadness that it's up to her. Sadness, having been ostracized and mistreated by Joy for almost all her existence, [[ShrinkingViolet is reluctant and afraid at first to take control]] until Joy firmly tells her, "Yes you can, ''[[HeartIsAnAwesomePower Riley needs you]]''". This gives Sadness the confidence to take the controls; just as the control panel almost completely shuts down, Sadness successfully removes the idea bulb, reactivating the controls and bringing Riley to her senses just in time so that she can leave the bus and return to her parents. Once Riley has returned to her house and her relieved parents, a silently contrite Joy allows Sadness to return Riley's Core Memories (turning them from joyful to sad in the process) so that Riley can understand why all these things she loved hurt so much]]. The emotions watch in sheer amazement [[spoiler:Riley breaks down in sobs and finally admits to her parents that she misses Minnesota and her parents in turn admit to her that they also miss Minnesota and the three of them huddle in a GroupHug]].

If the series is about a local police force, the FBI are ivory-tower {{glory hound}}s. If the series is about an FBI agent, the local police are all [[PoliceAreUseless useless]] types. If the series is about the military, government higher-ups will only be [[SleazyPolitician interested in pleasing the voters]]. If the series is about the government or an anti-military type, then the military will be TheEvilArmy commanded by a GeneralRipper type who is just itching to NukeEm back to the stone age, never mind the asking questions part. If the series is about a rogue hero, all levels of government and law enforcement, plus the military, are either [[BadCopIncompetentCop corrupt or clueless]], with the possible exception of a ReasonableAuthorityFigure who will still be be unable to help because of mountains of red tape. And everyone else will just think that it [[BystanderSyndrome isn't for them to deal with]] (at least, at first). In those cases where the people who are supposed to be handling the situation are not also bad guys, you can end up with a RedShirtArmy.

A variation that often occurs, particularly in shows or movies where there is a RaceAgainstTheClock situation, is that those who are responsible for taking care of a particular situation (such as the bomb squad) will, for some reason, not be able to make it in time to resolve the problem that the protagonists are facing. In this scenario, the experts may be fully competent and on the side of the angels, but are prevented for some reason from taking care of the problem themselves, meaning that the untrained protagonists are forced to be [[ClosestThingWeGot the only ones who can take care of the problem]]. This often works to increasing tension; will the non-expert [[WireDilemma cut the right wire]]?

Compare the subtropes OneRiotOneRanger, where it is justified by a specific decision on the part of the authorities, TokenGoodCop, where only one member of the police force is actually honest, and ItsUpToYou (the gamer equivalent). Compare IWorkAlone, where the hero chooses this voluntarily. Also compare TheMainCharactersDoEverything, where extras aren't shown to be competent nor incompetent, they just never get to do anything. Contrast HeroOfAnotherStory. See also EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce, because inevitably the stakes are cataclysmic. When it's TheHero and the BigBad specifically, you may be looking at OnlyICanKillHim.

* Early on in ''ComicBook/Nova2007'', Richard Rider is the only (known) Nova left alive, but keeps putting off the topic of maybe getting some new Novas so he doesn't have to work alone, and not run the risk of going totally insane from too much power. It doesn't help when the first person to be deputized lasts about a day before suffering a fatal case of "knife in back". Eventually the Worldmind gets fed up of this and just gets some more people while Rich's back is turned.

** ''ComicBook/BrainiacsBlitz'': Since the whole Justice League is off world, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} is the only super-hero left on the planet who is powerful and resourceful enough to try to fight Brainiac.

** In ''Fanfic/RemembranceOfTheFallen'' part of the reason Eleya is given the assignment of tutoring Tia and Sobaru is because Sobaru is Bajoran, and Eleya is the only other Bajoran on the Starfleet Academy campus at the moment who has taken Principles of Electronic Countermeasures (officer recruitment on Bajor has apparently been somewhat thin in the past couple of years).

** There's some [[Fridge/InsideOut fridge brilliance]] [[spoiler: in this one action because Sadness is effectively the only one who ''could'' remove the idea bulb; since she has moved from Minnesota to San Francisco and Sadness has been prevented from signaling that Riley is homesick and miserable in this new city, Riley is outraged and repelled by San Francisco and Anger and Disgust therefore are unable to remove the bulb. Fear is also unable to remove the bulb because Riley's long-lasting fear of losing everything she loves overrules her immediate fear of taking a long (and potentially dangerous) bus journey by herself, and Fear himself was opposed to the idea of running away and outright stated that it was drastic but he was overruled. Even if Joy were there, Riley does not yet have any happy memories of San Francisco, so Joy would probably have been just as powerless to remove the bulb. Sadness, however, could bring Riley to her senses with the simple but painful realization that ''running away to Minnesota '''would not work'''''; her family's old house is sold, her friend Meg has already found another friend, she would have no place to stay, and she would be even lonelier since she'd left her parents in San Francisco, and only Sadness could remove the idea and make her understand this truth and abandon her plan.]]

* Subverted in ''Film/LethalWeapon3'', in which Riggs persuades Murtagh that they are the only ones present who can defuse a bomb because, of course, "the bomb squad never arrives on time!" Unfortunately, Riggs fails the WireDilemma, the bomb goes off, and the building collapses, causing millions of dollars worth of damage... and at that point, the bomb squad arrive, having made it in plenty of time to defuse the device had Riggs and Murtagh not interfered.

-->"My department will then crumble, crime will run rampart, the city will fall into ruin, rampaging hordes will control the streets and life as we know it will end!"

* The first two films in the ''Film/BladeTrilogy'' shows the lone, titular hero going up against an entire world of vampires with only one aging ally for support. [[Film/BladeTrinity The third film]] gave him two more allies but they were simply [[BadAssNormal really tough and didn't have any powers]].

* ''Film/HotFuzz'' lets us know that Sgt. Angel is far and away the most effective officer in London. Subverted in that this only makes his coworkers annoyed and gets him reassigned to a village out in the boondocks. At the end of the movie, they want him to come back as crime has skyrocketed in his abscence.

* ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' has the title character as the only guy in the universe tough (and [[SociopathicHero ruthless]]) enough to take down the BigBad (Riddick's home planet [[WorldOfBadass was filled with such badasses]], so of course [[DoomedHometown it was destroyed in a suprise preemptive strike]]).

* In the Bond parody ''Film/OurManFlint'' the delegates of [[FictionalUnitedNations Z.O.W.I.E.]] decide to consult their computers on who should take on the mission to save the world. All the computers have the same answer: [[TheAce Derek Flint!]] The only man who disagrees is Lloyd Cramden, the leader of Z.O.W.I.E., who has a personal dislike of Flint, but he's forced into line when the US President calls on the HotLine and makes it an order. Unfortunately Flint doesn't want to work with Cramden either, and enjoys refusing the call (at first).

** ''Film/RamboIII'': Col. Trautman has been captured by the Soviets during the height of the cold-war. The US military can't be seen to intervene leaving Rambo, who is not only highly skilled but not with the military, the only man they can send in with any hope for success.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': On the opinion of Varys, Daenerys is the only viable candidate to the Iron Throne; stronger than Tommen and gentler than Stannis. Presumably as of the end of Season 6, his opinion is stronger than ever. However, this is {{downplayed}} in Season 7. Varys thinks she's The Only One, but this largely depends on her not becoming like Aerys "with the right counsel."
* In ''Series/TheGoodPlace'', the main characters have to prove that they don't belong in The Bad Place, then prove that entire Afterlife System is broken, ''then'' come up with a more ethical system, due to the fact that every higher being who could help is either useless, lazy, or actively working against them.

* Nicely averted on ''Series/CriminalMinds''. While are heroes are always the best, the local cops are almost always helpful and competent. JurisdictionFriction is played down--in fact, the characters make a point of respecting and aiding the locals.

** Clara was the only one who could [[spoiler: save the Doctor's existance by jumping into the his timestream. Mosty BecauseDestinySaysSo and [[YouAlreadyChangedThePast She Already Changed The Past]] ]]

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Celebrimbor tells Elrond the story of his father, Eärendil, a mortal man convinced he could ask the Valar to fight in the war against Morgoth. In the night he left, Elwing begged him to stay and asked him why it must be him to go on this mission. His answer was that he was the only who could do it.

** Downplayed in [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries TOS]], as while the Enterprise ''was'' the only ship in the sector more than once, mostly it was in relatively remote sectors (several other times they ''weren't'' the only ship in the sector, just the only ''surviving'' ship). Then promptly taken to the cliched extreme in The Motion Picture, when the Enterprise is the only available ship at Earth.

** Deconstructed in the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E23Sarek Sarek]]". Ambassador Sarek has spent decades arranging diplomatic negotations with the Legarans and has been the lone Federation diplomat that they trust. However, at his advanced age, he is struggling with Bendii Syndrome (the Vulcan version of Alzheimer's Disease), something his aides are trying to hide. Under his condition, Sarek's emotions are unintentionally affecting the ''Enterprise'' crew, which forces Picard to confront him and ask whether he is really the only one capable of conducting negotiations. Thankfully, they reach a solution that enables Sarek to fulfill his duties: Sarek temporarily transfers his emotions to Picard through a mind meld, allowing him the necessary mental clarity.

** ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' goes to significant lengths to justify this in the finale. As Picard's son Jack is revealed to be a living transmitter for the resurgent Borg, every Starfleet officer below the age of 25 is compromised into the next generation of Borg and the new Starfleet system comprises all of the new ships. As whom ever of the above ages fights to keep their borgified colleagues and family safe, Picard and his old command crew are forced to retreat [[spoiler:to the Fleet Museum to BreakOutTheMuseumPiece. There they find the old ''Enterprise''-D, repaired and refurbished by Geordi as the last ship starworthy and untouched by the system.]]

** Similarly, cops are unable to do anything without Horatio - a CSI. Down to the point where SWAT teams, in full gear, will wait ''patiently'' for Horatio to show up - with a suit and a handgun - before entering a location. Of course [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything Horatio enters first]]. Most evident in an episode where gunfire was heard in a house,-- the cops surround the house, then wait for Horatio before going in to check what happens. (One has to wonder what happens if there are two crimes in Miami at the same time.) Another episode has Horatio personally escorting a truck filled with confiscated drugs that are to be incinerated.

** Especially Tony. After he [[spoiler: did a 2-3 episode stint as TheMole]] because of an IHaveYourWife situation, he was told [[spoiler: that he could be charged with treason and given ''death,'' but if he was very cooperative and very lucky, he'd "merely" do 20 years in a federal prison.]] Not only is he allowed to stick around for the duration of the current crisis, he came back the next season because CTU needed him just that much.

*** It was also said that some teams are specialists of their own. SG-9 was the lawyers and diplomat team specializing in dealing with legal issues, like when SG-1 was put on a prison planet in S2-E3 Prisoners. SG-3 came back to the SGC and Hammond told them they did the right thing in coming back. Meanwhile several teams (SG-3, -5, -18, and -25) are mainly combat support.

* This is usually averted on ''Series/{{Grimm}}''. As a Grimm, Nick has special abilities that make allow him to deal really well with Wesen related crimes. However, the other main characters are no slouches themselves and are often quite capable of resolving the situation on their own. Renard tends to neutralize threats that Nick is not even aware of. Monroe protected Aunt Helen from an attack and later saves Hank when Nick is injured.

** Justified in the D&D setting of TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}. ''Elite'' City guards are level 2 or 3 ''warriors''. Warriors is an {{NPC}} class weaker than a fighter. This means that effectively the {{PC}}s are the city's only hope against anything, as all but the lowest level of players severely overpower guards (and mid level players can wipe the floor of an entire precinct).

*** Also, this justifies the inclusion of the Warforged, hideously expensive sentient golems used in the latter stages of the Last War (which happened to last about 100 years). They were worth their price because of the unorthodox strategies they allowed. (try besieging someone who has no need of food or water; also, consider the [[EasyLogistics ease of logistics when operating somewhere where delivering supplies would be difficult]]) and because they came out of their Creation Forges classed as fighter 2. PC classes represent an enormous potential in this setting, so for many jobs they were indeed The Only Ones capable of doing them. After the war, they also were The Only Ones capable of handling jobs like salvaging sunken ships or working in other hazardous conditions.

** Lampshaded in ''Ride/JimmyNeutronsNicktoonBlast'' when Jimmy mentions to Carl and the guests that they're the only ones that save the Nicktoons as well as the entire planet, since only they know of the Yolkians' evil scheme to enslave the earth.

* In ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'', [=NetBattling=] is a skill so well known that there are classes about it in elementary school and there are people who do it professionally as a living. Despite that, the only people who appear to be competent at it are Lan and his rival Chaud, who are ten years old. The SpiritualSequel ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' had a somewhat plausible explanation for why the ten year-old hero was the only person capable of saving the day -- there were probably less than a hundred people around the world who could Wave Change, including the villains, none of whom had more than a year or so of experience. Given that, there's no real reason why a kid couldn't be more talented than everyone else in the field.

'''Wade:''' Um, local, federal and international law enforcement are on the case. They thought they didn't need you.\\

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' do it all the time, whenever a problem or commotion happens in Springfield (which may or not have been caused by the Simpsons), one or two of Simpsons take the initiative to solve it or get other people in Springfield to help in doing something about it.
** Lampshaded in ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E18TheDayTheViolenceDied The Day the Violence Died]]'' where the problem of the week is solved, not by Bart and Lisa, but familiar-looking Lester and Eliza.

Compare the subtropes OneRiotOneRanger, where it is justified by a specific decision on the part of the authorities, and ItsUpToYou (the gamer equivalent). Compare IWorkAlone, where the hero chooses this voluntarily. Also compare TheMainCharactersDoEverything, where extras aren't shown to be competent nor incompetent, they just never get to do anything. Contrast HeroOfAnotherStory. See also EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce, because inevitably the stakes are cataclysmic. When it's TheHero and the BigBad specifically, you may be looking at OnlyICanKillHim.

* ''Film/JonahHex''. After TheRemnant commanded by Quentin Turnbull steals a SecretWeapon, Army Lieutenant Grass assures President UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant that his elite military unit is ready to handle it. So Grant assigns him...the task of finding Jonah Hex. Grass isn't happy but obeys orders. Later Hex telegraphs Grass with Turnbull's EvilPlan and Grass is waiting to intercept Turnbull with an ironclad cutter, which is promptly blown out of the water by Turnbull leaving only Jonah (who's held prisoner on Turnbull's ship at the time) to save the day. Though a conversation Grant has with his advisors does justify the trope--given Turnbull's willingness to attack civilian targets he could strike anywhere, so the US military (which was drastically reduced in size and resources from the force Grant commanded during the Civil War) is spread thin trying to cover all potential targets. Jonah can afford to chase after Turnbull but there's nothing to stop Turnbull from changing his plan and striking elsewhere.

* ''Manga/{{Monster}}'': The first few episodes give the distinct impression that Dr. Tenma is the only competent doctor in the hospital, with all the operations led by him succeeding while the ones he's not involved in end with the patient's death. The entire plot is set off when Tenma is forced to choose between saving Johan or the mayor of Dusseldorf, and is told he's the only one who can pull off either surgery.

* ''Manga/{{Monster}}'': One gets the distinct impression that Dr. Tenma is the only competent doctor in the hospital, with all the operations led by him succeeding while the ones he's not involved in end with the patient's death. The entire plot is set off when Tenma is forced to choose between saving Johan or the mayor of Dusseldorf, and is told he's the only one who can pull off either surgery.

* ''Manga/{{Monster}}: One gets the distinct impression that Dr. Tenma is the only competent doctor in the hospital, with all the operations led by him succeeding while the ones he's not involved in end with the patient's death. The entire plot is set off when Tenma is forced to choose between saving Johan or the mayor of Dusseldorf, and is told he's the only one who can pull off either surgery.

* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'': The premise of the second series is that the titular team is the closest thing Los Angeles has to a superhero team after their evil parents drove every other superhero out of the area, and thus have to deal with all the supervillains who decide to move out west in hopes of escaping from the superheroes on the East Coast. This premise falls apart after ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', when ComicBook/TheOrder2007 is deployed to California to become its government-sanctioned superhero team.

* Film/{{Superman}} is obviously the one and only superhero in his films to the point where the Earth seems screwed when a single super-powered menace shows up or natural disaster happens, requiring him to act. In fact, that universe can't even stop a single, non-powered [[ComicBook/LexLuthor mad scientist]] from nearly nuking the planet.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' discovers that this week's MacGuffin was stolen a week ago, and sounds peeved that the world thought it could get along without her:
-->'''Kim:''' Why am I just finding out about this now?
-->'''Wade:''' Um, local, federal and international law enforcement are on the case. They thought they didn't need you.
-->'''Kim:''' Well, I ''guess'' [[PoliceAreUseless they thought wrong]].

** ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' goes to significant lengths to justify this in the finale. As Picard's son Jack is revealed to be a living transmitter for the resurgent Borg, every Starfleet officer below the age of 25 is compromised into the next generation of Borg and the new Starfleet system comprises all of the new ships. As whom ever of the above ages fights to keep their borgified colleagues and family safe, Picard and his old command crew are forced to retreat [[spoiler:to the Fleet Museum to BreakOutTheMusuemPiece. There they find the old ''Enterprise''-D, repaired and refurbished by Geordi as the last ship starworthy and untouched by the system.]]