History Main / TheOnlyOne

* 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 and 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, [[TookALevelInKindness 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]].

* 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 and 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, having learned that she went too far in exluding [[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, Joy looks contrite for her actions as she allows a somewhat surprised 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]].

** 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 fear of losing everything she loves overrules the fear of taking a long bus journey by herself, and Fear himself was opposed to the idea of running away and outright stated that it was drastic and dangerous 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 cruel 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.]]

* 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 and 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, having learned that she went too far in exluding [[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, Joy looks contrite for her actions as she allows a somewhat surprised 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]].
** There's some [[Fridge/InsideOut]] [[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 fear of losing everything she loves overrules the fear of taking a long bus journey by herself, and Fear himself was opposed to the idea of running away and outright stated that it was drastic and dangerous 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 cruel 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.]]

* 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 and 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, having learned that she went too far in exluding [[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]].
** There's some [[InsideOut/Fridge fridge brilliance]] [[spoiler: in this one action because Sadness is effectivly 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 immediate fear of losing everything she loves overrules the more immediate fear of taking a long bus journey by herself, and Fear himself was opposed to the idea of running away and outright said that it was dangerous 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 cruel 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.]]

* Played seriously in [[WesternAnimation/InsideOut Inside Out]]: Joy's [[spoiler:[[WellIntentionedExtremist misguided attempts to keep Riley happy all the time backfire disastrously]]; after she and 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 and 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, but she surprises them all when she tells Sadness that it's up to her. Sadness, having been ostracized and mistreated by Joy for most of her existence, is reluctant and afraid at first to take control until Joy firmly tells her, "Yes you can, ''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]].

[[folder:Film]]

* The trope is also present to a large extent in ''Series/CSINewYork'', with Mac, Flack and Danny (the more cop-like [=CSIs=]) often going in first ahead of the SWAT teams.

* Kirby in his own [[Anime/KirbyOfTheStars self-titled anime]] is a Star Warrior destined to fight off the BigBad of the universe.

* E.T. in ''Ride/ETAdventure'' is the only one that can save the Green Planet from dying, due to his healing touch.
* 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.

* The titular Series/{{Merlin}} is the last Dragonlord. It is revealed when [[spoiler: Merlin's dad dies]] that there can be only one and the power passes from one individual to another [[spoiler: father-to-son]] upon death.

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. Also also compare TheOneGuyWithABrain, where only one guy seems to be competent despite being surrounded by much more qualified experts on the subject. 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.

** 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.

** In the first ''Film/DieHard'' movie, [=McClane=] is in the building seeing everything up-close, so he is able to respond to the criminals effectively. However, the authorities have their playbook and go through it step-by-step -- despite it becoming increasingly obvious that the criminals have ''[[GenreSavvy read]]'' that playbook and either respond with a specific countermeasure or integrate it into their plans.

*** Also finally averted in the GrandFinale as the [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Dominion War]] has apparently made Starfleet GenreSavvy enough to keep a sizable fleet near Earth, allowing 18 ships to immediately converge on a Borg transwarp aperture which Voyager opens less than a light-year away.

* As the ''Film/{{Batman}}'' franchise went on, the role of the police became diminished to the point of utter uselessness, meaning the city was defenceless without Franchise/{{Batman}}. This is somewhat averted in Film/TheDarkKnightSaga, where Lieutenant/Commissioner Gordon plays a major role in saving the city too.

** The original ''Film/{{Batman}}'' movie series had Batman as the only hero of that universe for two and a half movies with Robin joining him about midway through ''Film/BatmanForever'' and Batgirl later joining at the tail-end of the infamous ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' movie. Even then, that's only three superheroes and about eight supervillains throughout that series.

* In ''Franchise/ProfessorLayton's London Life'', a pixellated RPG packaged with most versions of ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheLastSpecter'', Layton explains that the PlayerCharacter is TheOnlyOne who can prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Why? Because they are a kind soul who gains their greatest happiness from doing good deeds for others, and only a truly happy person can save the day.

** Justified in the 2009 ''Film/StarTrek'' movie. Most of the local Starfleet ships are busy in the Laurentian system, so the ships available to respond to Vulcan consist of whatever happened to be in drydock in Earth orbit at the time, and Starfleet's forced to call up the corps of cadets from the Academy in order to crew them. Then the ''Narada'' blows away all of them save the ''Enterprise'' (because the ''Enterprise'' was late to the party because Sulu goofed).

** In the first ''Film/DieHard'' movie, [=McClane=] is in the building seeing everything up-close, so he is able to respond to the criminals effectively. However, the authorities have their playbook and go through it step-by-step -- despite it becoming increasingly obvious that the criminals have ''read'' that playbook and either respond with a specific countermeasure or integrate it into their plans;
### The SWAT team leader has his team charge in only to get slaughtered with military weaponry. Honest mistake; contrary to popular belief, that stuff is ''not'' easy to get a hold of.
### It's thus kind of stupid that he sends in an armored car; if they can get a hold of fully automatic weapons and military grade explosives? Anti-armor missiles are just another item on the shopping list.
--->'''Theo''': Oh my God, the quarterback is ''toast!''
### The stupid reaches critical levels when the FBI shows up and demands that power be cut to ''ten city blocks''. Not only does this do ''bupkis'' to anything in the building(the emergency lighting comes on after less than a second, and it doesn't even turn off the building's computers), but this is ''exactly'' why Gruber and his crew have been about as subtle as a brick through a stained glass window; the final security measure in the building's vault can't be disabled from inside the building, but...
--->'''Hans''': The circuits that cannot be cut are cut automatically in response to a terrorist incident. You asked for miracles, Theo. I give you the F-B-I.

** In the first ''Film/DieHard'' movie, the FBI agents blindly follow their standard anti-terrorist procedure, which allows the criminals to break into the vault. They also decide to launch an attack on the terrorists on top of the building, even though they expect 20-25% of the hostages to be killed. The Los Angeles deputy police chief is totally incompetent, and the SWAT team leader (a) has his team foolishly charge in and get slaughtered and (b) sends in an armored car which the criminals blow up with a missile.

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. Also also compare TheOneGuyWithABrain, where only one guy seems to be competent despite being surrounded by much more qualified experts on the subject. Contrast HeroOfAnotherStory. See also EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce, because inevitably the stakes are cataclysmic.

* From ''[[{{Sharpe}} Sharpe's Challenge]]'':

-->-- The introduction to every '''Captain Kremmen''' radio episode.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Dear God, the Mane Six. And the Princesses. Especially when the Canterlot Royal Guard are involved.