Line #78 Main/SomeoneHasToDoIt


1	It's a tough job, sometimes a boring job, often a dirty job, but Someone Has to Do It.
2
3	Literally. Some kind of supernatural force exists that ensures that there is always somebody doing the job. Once a person takes up the torch, they can't put it down unless there's somebody there to pass it on to. Situations like DeathTakesAHoliday where it would merely be a very bad idea for the post to become vacant don't count. These are cases where having somebody doing the job is not just a good idea, it's [[MagicalUnderpinningsOfReality the Law of the Universe.]]
4
5	Usually, the job comes with an [[{{Immortality}} exemption from aging and death by natural causes]] -- although exemption from death by violence may or may not be thrown in. It is often the case that being killed is the only way to leave the job, [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt with the killer being drafted to fill the vacancy]] (or gladly jumping in because [[IJustWantToBeSpecial they just want to be special]]).
6
7	The job itself is often something of a supernatural nature, such as guiding the souls of the departed into the Afterlife, but not always. SealedEvilInADuel is another common form.
8
9	This trope is '''not''' in effect any time somebody says "[[StockPhrases (it's a dirty job but) someone's got to do it]]". Tropes which might apply to such situations include NecessarilyEvil, BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork and NoPlaceForMeThere for evil "dirty jobs", ClosestThingWeGot for jobs where nobody has the proper skills but somebody has to try and hope for the best, HeroicBystander and ActionSurvivor for unpleasant-but-necessary heroism, and WhoWillBellTheCat for difficult and dangerous jobs (either heroic or villainous) that everybody wants somebody else to do.
10
11	Compare to ThereCanBeOnlyOne and SparingThemTheDirtyWork. See also SubbingForSanta and KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect.
12	----
13	!!Examples
14
15	[[foldercontrol]]
16
17	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
18	* ''Manga/DeathNote'': Part of [[Characters/DeathNoteLightYagami Light Yagami]] motivation for being Kira. He even quotes the trope word for word.
19	-->'''Light''': This world is rotten, and those who are making it rot deserve to die. Someone has to do it, so why not me? Even if it means sacrificing my own mind and soul, it's worth it. Because the world can't go on like this.
20	* In ''Manga/FutureDiary'', [[spoiler:the title of God works this way. Deus arranged the current contest to find a successor, because he is dying.]]
21	* ''Anime/HellGirl'', probably. We don't know if a Hell Girl existed before Ai, but by the third season, she's trying to recruit a replacement.
22	* The second season of ''Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'' revolves around a successor being born for [[spoiler:Sara, a Mermaid Princess]], who [[UsefulNotes/SchrodingersCat either died or willingly relinquished her post]] at the end of the first. The BigBad interrupts the successor's creation by trying to absorb her soul, and the rest of the season involves Lucia chasing him down to [[GottaCatchThemAll collect]] all the soul fragments from his angelic PerpetualMolt.
23	** The end of the manga, where [[spoiler:Aqua Regina [[AwesomeMomentOfCrowning gives her power and title to Lucia]] so she can stay alive]], leaves a SequelHook [[FridgeLogic when you think about it]]; they need a new [[spoiler:Pink Pearl Voice]].
24	[[/folder]]
25
26	[[folder:Comic Books]]
27	* ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'': There is always a Doctor. When one dies, the title and powers automatically pass on to someone else.
28	* In ''ComicBook/CaptainMarvelMarvelComics'', the hero goes cuckoo bananas and eventually, with the help of the personification of Entropy, ends the universe. Rick Jones, also somehow existing, persuades Entropy to become the personification of Eternity, a long-established entity within the Marvel Universe. The universe, such as it is, reboots.
29	* In ''ComicBook/{{Fallen Angel\|2003}}'', the city of Bete Noire always has to have a Magistrate, as well as several other necessary positions. Doctor Juris seeks to escape his position as magistrate by handing it over to his successor, [[spoiler:his first-born son, [[TheDescendantsOfCain descendant of Cain]]]] so he can leave Bete Noire forever.
30	* It has been revealed that the ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'' needs three beings to exist, and one of them is [[Characters/MarvelComicsGalactus Galactus]] the [[PlanetEater world-eater]]. Very bad things have happened when he is destroyed.
31	* Similarly, ''ComicBook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac'' is only the latest in a long line of "flushers", tasked with guarding a [[SealedEvilInACan waste-lock]] for [[EldritchAbomination aggression incarnate]]. Should he die, the universe dies with him, flushing the evil into oblivion. When it reboots, there is a new flusher.
32	* The first story arc in the 2006 ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' series featured an immortal being who wanted to die, but couldn't unless somebody became immortal in his place. (Unlike the other examples, he wasn't doing any important job, it was just that, by its nature, immortality can not be created or destroyed, only transferred.)
33	* The Endless of ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'' seem to work this way. If one of them is killed, a replacement of some sort will come into being. When questioned about this, and who died if a very similar being appears immediately, a knowledgeable characters answers: "[[TheNthDoctor A point of view]]."
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Fan Works]]
37	* This is how the five planetary dynasts work in ''Fanfic/ElementalsOfHarmony''. When one of the planetary alicorns is ready to move on, she will give birth to an alicorn heir who looks identical to her, and which will eventually manifest the same cutie mark as her. Once that happens, the old dynast will [[RapidAging rapidly age and die]], and her daughter will take up her position and name. The Cadence who married Shining Armor in Season 3 is somewhere around the fourtieth Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.
38	* ''FanFic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'': [[spoiler: When a soul is stripped of its position as a Power, a new soul ''must'' be found to take up that position, as happened when the Nightmare was defeated and its soul imprisoned while the Power itself returned to Death until a new Lord or Lady of Nightmares could be chosen.]]
39	* At the climax of ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/479822/the-pillars-of-equestria-the-temple-of-enyalius The Temple Of Enyalius]]'', Star Swirl uses the wish he won from Discord to make it a hard-coded rule of the cosmos that there must always exist a creature capable of moving Sun and Moon at its whim (thus ending the requirement for unicorns to sacrifice their magic to move Sun and Moon). Unfortunately, this released Discord from his imprisonment (since he was, at that time, the only creature capable of moving Sun and Moon at will), and meant that he couldn't be reimprisoned until someone else came along who could do the same.
40	* In the ''FanFic/TriptychContinuum'', there is always ''exactly'' one pony in Equestria with the mark talent to perfectly prepare meat dishes by scent alone, with a new pony ''manifesting'' the talent when and only when the previous one is ready to retire. It's hinted that there may be other talents that work the same way.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
44	* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'': "The ''Dutchman'' must have a captain." The ''Flying Dutchman'' is the ship that ferries the souls of those who die at sea into the next life, so someone must always be captaining it. [[spoiler:When the heart of Davy Jones is stabbed and he dies, the duty fell to the man that (technically) killed him: Will Turner]]. In the fifth movie, ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMenTellNoTales Dead Men Tell No Tales]]'', [[spoiler:TheStinger implies that even though the Trident of Poseidon will break all curses at sea, the ''Dutchman'' is the lone exception -- while Will Turner was freed from his curse, Davy Jones is seemingly revived to take his place]].
45	* ''Film/TheSantaClause'': The title means that once a Santa is killed, whoever puts on the suit next becomes Santa, right down to the weight gain and beard. The sequel reveals that someone has to be ''Mrs.'' Clause as well, or else the new Santa will lose their powers.
46	* ''Film/TheShining'': Jack Torrance believes he recognizes one of the Overlook Hotel's ghosts, a waiter named Delbert Grady, as one of the previous caretakers. The ghost tells him "No, sir, YOU are the caretaker. You've ALWAYS been the caretaker." And as the caretaker, Grady tells Torrance that he is obliged to "[[DeadlyEuphemism correct]]" his family as Grady did his...
47	* In ''{{Film/Zulu}}'', Colour Sergeant Bourne responds to a soldier's plaintive question of why it must be ''them'' that faces the overwhelming odds with a calm "Because we're here, lad. No-one else. Just us."
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Literature]]
51	* In one of the Grimms' {{Fairy Tale}}s, "The Devil's Three Golden Hairs", one of the incidental characters is a man who is doomed to keep ferrying travellers across a particular stretch of river. In the end, having learned from the hero of the story that he can escape his task by tricking one of his passengers into becoming ferryman in his place, he resolves to try the trick on the next passenger who comes along -- and, as luck would have it, the next passenger to come along is the villain of the piece. All live appropriately ever after.
52	** In Neil Gaiman's short story ''Instructions'' the boatman from Three Golden Hairs is mentioned. It is advised that you only tell him how to leave ''after'' you are off the boat yourself.
53	* In Piers Anthony's ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' series, various {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s are jobs of this nature, each with its own rules. Some examples:
54	** TheGrimReaper remains in office until he becomes complacent or suicidal and is killed by one of the people he has come to collect. That person then takes his place.
55	** Time holds his office for exactly as long as he lived before taking office. (It is left to Fate to ensure that there is a new candidate standing by when his time runs out.)
56	** Fate, appropriately, gets to choose for herself the time of her service and the identity of her successor. She also, unlike her colleagues, gets to return to life when she retires, instead of passing on (leading to one character, over the course of the series, being recruited as Fate, serving time, retiring, living out her life, and then getting recruited as Fate ''again'').
57	*** Worth noting is that unlike the others Fate is actually three people rather than just one, with the classical trinity of maiden, mother and crone. The person who becomes Fate multiple times actually plays each part in turn, beginning as a young troubled girl who accepted the role to escape her life and eventually becoming the grandmotherly figure guiding her younger partners.
58	** Gaea is the same way. She can only be removed if another Gaea steps forth and if she's willing to give up the office.
59	** War only ever gets replaced in the unlikely event that, at any given moment, there isn't any war anywhere in the world. The moment does not have to last very long, and indeed usually doesn't.
60	** Good (i.e. God) gets replaced if a majority of mortals involved in the dominant religion on Earth change their idea of the greatest being of good. YHWH was the Incarnation of Good before God, who apparently replaced him when Christianity became more popular than Judaism. [[spoiler: At the end of And Eternity, God is impeached by the United States government.]] The actual rules for Godhood aren't very clear; Hinduism's gods are implied to also be active.
61	** Evil (i.e. Satan) also remains in office until he's killed or kills himself. It normally defaults to the most evil person in the world, but it can be claimed before that happens, which is how a good man ends up with the job.
62	* ''Literature/TheGiver'':
63	** Someone must act as the Receiver of Memory and hold all of the community's memories of the past in his or her own mind. If they die before passing them on, the memories escape and infiltrate everyone's mind... and as this is an emotion-free [[{{Dystopia}} false Utopia]], their minds aren't able to cope (imagine a wide-scale human LogicBomb). For this reason, Receivers are forbidden to undergo voluntary "Release" ([[spoiler:[[ReleasedToElsewhere assisted suicide]]]]).
64	** Implied to be the case for Birthmothers (surrogate mothers who give birth to all of the community's children). The job is spoken about with some disdain, but as ''Literature/{{Son}}'' points out, if Birthmothers didn't exist, no one would.
65	* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels, there is a deity for ''everything'', but since there's only so much belief to go around, most of them don't manifest. If a major source of belief were to be removed, other small gods would start to reappear, as seen in ''Hogfather'': after the titular Discworld equivalent of SantaClaus is "killed" (for want of a better word), the leftover belief allows beings such as the Oh God of Hangovers, assorted creatures that eat small items that always go missing (such as socks and pencils), and the Cheerful Fairy to appear. And that's only the start of the trouble, which is why [[TheGrimReaper Death]], of all people, steps in to take the Hogfather's place on Hogswatchnight.
66	** Death himself has a similar job. Should he slack off, someone else is pulled into the Grim Reaper's role. And if he's fired, people who are supposed to die become undead instead (hilarity ensues).
67	*** If Death even deviates a little from the Duty, Susan can and ''will'' get pulled in to do her grandfather's job. She is not happy about it.
68	* Another Discworld example: it has been observed that kingship is ''instantly'' passed to the new monarch upon the death of the reigning king/queen. In a world powered by tropes, this can have major plot importance (and would be great for use as a faster-than-light communication signal, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen if the bar hadn't closed while the wizards were discussing it]]). For instance, Pteppic, heir to the throne of Djelibeybi, notices himself manifesting some pharaoh powers before he even gets news of his father's death.
69	* Closely related is a disturbing variation from the ''Literature/WorldOfTheFiveGods'' novel ''The Hallowed Hunt''. The ancient spell [[spoiler:of a bitter, defeated king ''passes on'' his very consciousness to his male descendants. Whenever the current holder dies the king's soul takes possession of his oldest son or closest relative, ''together with the accumulated souls of the unlucky predecessors''. And not even the king himself can do anything against it]].
70	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' features an extremely powerful being called the Archive, which contains the sum total of all written knowledge on Earth. The job is passed down from mother to daughter - and, tragically, the current incarnation is an eleven-year-old girl whose mother killed herself shortly after her birth to avoid carrying the burden.
71	** The Archive herself said that the knowledge transfers at the moment of death leaving the parent brain dead, but she dosn't really mind as her mother lives on inside her head. Currently, fans don't know who's right.
72	** Harry will occasionally quip that this trope is why he's Chicago's resident combat wizard/PI. A number of ''villains'' call him on it. Usually when they're explaining how he couldn't have ever won in the first place.
73	** There's also rulers of TheFairFolk. Each of the two Fae Courts has two queens, two kings, and a lady, all of whom are immortal except under very specific conditions. If they're killed, someone has to take their place [[spoiler: and eventually becomes just like the original]]. Harry hopes that part can be defied, seeing how [[spoiler: that would mean he would become like Lloyd Slate, the previous holder of ''his'' new job.]]
74	* Minor example from ''Literature/JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell'' - towards the end, Lascelles kills a mysterious guardian in Fairyland, but is then forced to take his place until he is killed, it's implied his predecessor threw the fight, and that this happens to everyone who passes by.
75	** However, almost immediately afterwards someone comes by who's powerful enough not to care about such rules, and may well have just blasted him to bits and carried on.
76	* Creator/JackChalker's works:
77	** In ''And The Devil Will Drag You Under'', a magic gem is guarded by the ghost of the last person who tried to steal it. The ghost is substantial enough to hold and use a sword, but not substantial enough to be hurt by one. He stands guard until the next thief arrives--then he kills the thief, freeing himself and recruiting his replacement.
78	** In the ''Literature/RiverOfDancingGods'' series, a person who has control of the Lamp of Lakash can have the genie of the lamp grant one wish. If the person makes a ''second'' wish while still in possession of the lamp, however innocently, they become the genie and the genie (themselves a former wisher who made the same mistake) is freed and returned to their previous form.
79	* In the ''Literature/DiogenesClub'' series, the Great Enchanter is working to bring about the end of the world. There is always a Great Enchanter working to bring about the end of the world. Whenever the Great Enchanter is killed or incapacitated, somebody else appears to fill the role. When Isidore Persano went mad in 1903 after his scheme was foiled, somewhere in Europe Colonel Zenf began his rise to power. When the heroes captured Zenf in 1932, they stuck him in an ExtranormalPrison instead of killing him, in the hope that as long as he was alive and sane his successor would not appear. It worked, but when he died in 1961 his successor appeared the very same day -- literally out of nowhere, as far as anybody has been able to determine -- and began making up for lost time.
80	* In ''Literature/TheDivineCities'', the Divinity Voortya's afterlife is built in such a way that the presence of the god is a necessity. Since Voortya was killed by the Kaj, the afterlife forces a human visitor, Villaicha Thinadeshi, to take on the role.
81	* In ''Literature/InCryptid'', this is enforced by James Smith's HereditaryCurse: His ancestor made a [[DealWithTheDevil deal with]] [[AtTheCrossroads The Crossroads]] that [[spoiler:his magic power would always breed true (instead of skipping a generation or two), ''[[ExactWords that there may always be a sorcerer to protect New Gravesend]]''. [[EldritchAbomination The Crossroads]] being a JerkassGenie, it interpreted this clause to mean that James can't leave the town limits, or he'll start to die. And since the deal only mentioned one sorcerer, the parent dies soon after their child is born.]]
82	* ''Literature/BruceCovillesBookOf Spine Tinglers'': Implied in ''Past Sunset'', as the ghost who walks down the street every night is looking for someone to replace them in their wanderings, allowing the original ghost to move on.
83	[[/folder]]
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85	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
86	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
87	** "Into every generation a [[TheChosenOne Slayer]] is born." A girl, [[BecauseDestinySaysSo chosen]] from [[spoiler: about 1800 Potential Slayers]], is selected to fight [[TheLegionsOfHell demonic forces]] in order to prevent [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Hell from taking over Earth]]. Once the current Slayer dies, the next [[CallToAdventure takes her place]].
88	** Subverted twice in the series: once when Buffy dies BecauseDestinySaysSo, only to come BackFromTheDead with a little CPR (which means now there are ''two'' Slayers) and once at the end of the series, when [[spoiler:''every'' Potential is activated simultaneously through a spell]].
89	* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E6TheKeeperOfTraken The Keeper of Traken]]" involves a planet where someone has to sit in a control chair to keep the planet running smoothly.
90	* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': In "Across the Sea", Mother implies that someone has to act as protector of the Island. Later, when Jacob is killed before a new protector is chosen, Jacob sticks around as a ghost until [[spoiler:Jack]] takes the job.
91	* In ''Series/TheLostRoom'', the Prime Object aka The Occupant is a person, just as indestructible outside of the titular room as the other Objects. The only way for him to stop being the Occupant is to enter the room and have someone kill him, at which point [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt they become the new Occupant]]. This is referred to as Conservation of Objects.
92	* ''Series/OnceUponATimeInWonderland'': There must ''always'' be a genie in each bottle. [[spoiler:Will finds this out the hard way. As does Jafar.]]
93	* Subverted in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' on a couple of occasions when the crew runs into waste disposal ships. While the aliens claim this is their situation, Janeway openly critiques them, suggesting that they simply aren't trying hard enough to come up with better options. She's proven right in one instance, where Voyager actually gives the alien technology that would render their current waste disposal methods unnecessary. But the alien decides he won't use this technology since it would ruin his profit margins in the waste disposal business (We'll ignore for the moment the lucrative business opportunity he could exploit by [[ArtisticLicenseEconomics patenting this technology]]).
94	* In the ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' episode "[[Recap/TalesFromTheCryptS6E1LetThePunishmentFitTheCrime Let the Punishment Fit the Crime]]", the absurdly strict town of [[MeaningfulName Stueksville]] has apparently only one public defender. It seems the way the job is filled is that if an AmoralAttorney passing through happens to get arrested, the current public defender tries to get their sentence reduced to "public service", in which case the attorney takes over the job and the previous public defender is finally allowed the sweet release of death.
95	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E5AGameOfPool A Game of Pool]]", after his death, Fats Brown has to show up and play a game of pool -- to the death -- against anyone who wants to prove he's the best pool player ever. When someone finally beats him, Fats is released, and the guy who beat him takes over.
96	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'':
97	** In the episode "The Curious Case of Edgar Witherspoon", a man must maintain a patchwork contraption to keep the world stable. He's eventually replaced by another man who becomes fascinated by the machine.
98	** In the episode "Paladin of the Lost Hour", an old man carried a watch that was stopped at 11 o'clock with him at all times. He needed to find someone who would accept the watch before he died; otherwise the watch would start working again and [[spoiler:Doomsday would happen at 12 o'clock]].
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Podcasts]]
102	* If you work at ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'', you can't quit - the only way out is to die. It's not terribly reassuring to know that it probably won't be a long wait. [[spoiler: Melanie finds a way to TakeAThirdOption by blinding herself, as a person without sight is useless to the Ceaseless Watcher.]]
103	** The Archivists themselves have it even worse: not only can they not leave of their own volition, they can only die by violence. Otherwise the Eye chooses a new Archivist once they're too old to be useful, and the previous ones age eternally.
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
107	* The permanent death of a darklord in the ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' setting often results in the next most suitable villain within the domain being impressed into that role, like it or not. As the alternatives would be for the domain to either be divvied up by the neighboring darklords, or to simply ''disappear'' and take all its inhabitants with it, such a hand-off to a new BigBad may well be the preferable option.
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:Video Games]]
111	* Overlordhood in the Creator/NipponIchi universe seems to work that way -- the only ex-overlords present [[spoiler:are Kricheschkoy and Xenon -- overlords who ''specifically'' died and reincarnated themselves in order to stop being overlords.]]
112	* The ''VideoGame/FallFromHeaven'' backstory has this typically happening with gods and particular elements of creation (represented in game by the different magic types.)
113	* A rare sci-fi example comes in the form of the Shadow Broker of ''Franchise/MassEffect''. The Broker deals in trading secrets and information to high and low profile clients. He's been in power for so long, traded so many secrets, and has so many pan-galactic governments playing his game, all of civilization on a galactic scale would unravel like a tapestry without the Broker weaving secrets through societies. [[spoiler: The current Shadow Broker is your former teammate Liara T'soni. Who killed her predecessor with your help, and even the one you killed was not the original broker.]]
114	* The Guardian of the Balance in ''VideoGame/TheLongestJourney'' and ''VideoGame/{{Dreamfall\|TheLongestJourney}}'' is a mortal who serves a lengthy term (measured in centuries) keeping the twin worlds of Stark and Arcadia from colliding. Afterwards he or she returns to mortal life.
115	* The Nameless One in ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' can find the Silent King of the Dead Nations completely dead. He can be replaced, but a new King would have to be someone still alive, and that person will be bound to the Throne. If the Nameless One chooses to do it, it's a NonStandardGameOver.
116	* In one of the endings of ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker2'', you discover that the post of {{Satan}} passes on to the most fitting mortal should the Lord of Darkness himself ever die. Unfortunately, you only find it out when your daughter kills him and assumes the title.
117	* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' introduces this facet to the Lich King's death. The Scourge has grown large enough that, without a guiding influence to control them, they would run rampant and devastate most of the world. A new Lich King must take over when Arthas dies to prevent this, leading to [[spoiler:Bolvar Fordragon]]'s HeroicSacrifice.
118	-->'''Terenas Menethil''': Without its master's command, the restless Scourge will become an even greater threat to this world. Control must be maintained. There must always be... a Lich King.
119	* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, this is implied to have been the case for Peryite, the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] of [[{{Plaguemaster}} Pestilence]] and Tasks, who is also tasked with ordering the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent lowest levels]] of Oblivion. When Jyggalag, the proper Daedric Prince of [[ControlFreak Order]], was [[spoiler:[[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan sealed]] as [[MadGod Sheogorath]]]], ''someone'' had to take up the mantle of "order". Following Jyggalag's return, Peryite became associated with the "Natural Order" cycle of growth and decay, while Jyggalag was associated with the "Perfect Order" of inorganic stasis. It also helps to explain why Peryite is looked down upon as a "loathesome" ButtMonkey by the other Daedric Princes, who are primarily [[OrderVersusChaos chaotic in nature]]. Come ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', Peryite's quest fully emphasizes his association with [[MysticalPlague pestilence]].
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Webcomics]]
123	* ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'' has the Phoenix Oracles, of which there are 42 -- when "killed", they instantly reincarnate in a different location and travel back to one of their temples. There are also the Fae, of whom there are exactly 2,438,165. New Fae can only be born when an existing one chooses to die, apparently due to a finite supply of souls.
124	* In the spirit of ''The Santa Clause'', Bun Bun of ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' inherits the title of Easter Bunny by inadvertently killing the previous one. Then he accidentally gets stuck with the sentient Shadow of Groundhog's Day. Eventually, [[http://sluggy.com/daily.php?date=031123 he just decides to run with it]] and starts whacking {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of holidays left and right, seeking to form a one-rabbit majority in the Council of Holidays. [[spoiler:He is thwarted when he gets tricked into killing the personification of a year - at 11:59PM on New Year's Eve, which means that unless he uses a DeusExMachina to surrender all his holiday powers, he'll die in under a minute.]]
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Western Animation]]
128	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'', an oil lamp containing a genie appears. If anyone wishes to free the genie, he takes the genie's place inside.
129	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/JumanjiTheAnimatedSeries'', Alan and the kids finally manage to (apparently) kill EgomaniacHunter Van Pelt by luring him into a BottomlessPit. However, Peter ends up transforming into a miniature version of Van Pelt since, according to the latter, "There must always be a Van Pelt. It's the rules of the game." After turning Peter back, the original Van Pelt manages to climb out of the pit somehow, resuming his old job.
130	%%* Being the Avatar in ''WesternAnimation/ObanStarRacers''.%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample
131	* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction'', Booster Gold is basically the Time Cop, making sure the timeline is completely safe and stable. One would assume he would brag about how important this job is and milk it, but he honestly never sees the big deal of doing it. When Batman finds out about it and questions why he never said anything about it, Booster Gold sums it up perfectly.
132	-->'''Booster Gold:''' It's like, you ever had rats in the attic? so you call a Rat Guy. Look, no one sets out to be the Rat Guy, but somebody has to do it and I do it. I'm Time's Rat Guy.
133	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SomeoneHasToDoIt