-> '''[[BigBad Angelus]]:''' That's everything. No weapons, no friends, no hope. Take all that away, and what's left?
-> '''Buffy:''' ''[BarehandedBladeBlock]'' '''''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Me.]]'''''
--> -- ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', "Becoming, part 2"

As a [[StockAesops Stock Aesop]], believing in the PowerOfFriendship over [[LonersAreFreaks isolationist self-reliance]] is pretty standard and true. There's a lot a group can accomplish that the individual(s) [[IneffectualLoner acting on their own can't.]] In fiction, Friendship even brings tangible benefits like TheTeam developing an AttackPatternAlpha which uses AllYourColorsCombined. Some shows may even go the extra length to [[{{Anvilicious}} crush the message into a viewer]] by having a SixthRanger fail miserably and join the team. Once the SeasonFinale rolls around however, TheHero can't depend on his [[OvershadowedByAwesome weak friends]] [[CantCatchUp to keep up]], and will have to fight the BigBad FinalBoss [[DuelBoss on their own]].

While TheHero is usually the strongest out of the group, many shows will switch gears abruptly to have them fight the last battle on their own. Be it due to a ClimacticBattleResurrection waylaying all their allies (or worse, In the worst case, [[DwindlingParty killing]] them [[EverybodysDeadDave all]]), or because the enemy is so strong anyone else trying to help the hero would just become a [[TakingTheBullet meat shield]] at best and a [[EscortMission dangerous distraction at worst.]] This limits the rest of the cast to cheering from the bleachers (maybe verbally [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan slapping some sense into a hero]] woozy from a HannibalLecture) and perhaps acting as fuel a CombinedEnergyAttack or SuperMode. And ''that's it.''

They will spend the rest of the battle just standing there and commenting.

Some stories work this into a narrative more organically. The BigBad may cleverly isolate the hero from his friends via [[ClearMyName framing him]] or capturing them (and [[ForcedToWatch force them to watch]] him kill their leader). Then again there really ''are'' some challenges a hero [[ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself Has Got To Do Himself]], and being helped beat this enemy will cheapen their storyline. In these cases the value of friends isn't in their tangible help fighting but by placing their trust in the hero's success, motivating them to do their best. [[ThePowerOfTrust Trust is a powerful force]] like that.

Compare DuelBoss (who is not necessarily the FinalBoss, as per this trope). See also WhatYouAreInTheDark. Not to be confused with DyingAlone. SubTrope of SoloSequence.
----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* DragonBallZ basically slowly killed the cast (again) throughout the approach to each BigBad (Frieza, Cell and Buu). By the time Goku fought Frieza and (almost) killed him, they were the only two people on Namek, the rest being dead or on Earth. A larger cast lived until Gohan beat Cell, but they were just on the sidelines by then. For Buu, literally everyone that wasn't a Kai, Goku, Fat Buu or Mr. Satan (or the puppy) was dead. Including one of the combatants (Vegeta). DragonBallGT didn't kill the cast as much, but the Big Bads were so powerful by then that nobody that wasn't Goku or [=SS4=] Gogeta was pretty much helpless (besides for Trunks during the Black Star Dragon Balls part and Pan every once in a while).
* Every episode ever of ''Manga/SailorMoon''; you start to wonder why she needs a team.
** [[HeroSecretService Protection.]]
** Without the other Sailor Soldiers there to fight the monsters until she arrives, they would have attacked innocent people.
** Really, they (and Tuxedo Mask before we have a full FiveManBand) are there to keep her breathing long enough to get her wits about her. The formula of a fight scene tends to be: "Sailor Moon gets her ass kicked. The others bail her out. Sailor Moon uses the finisher." She's the only one with a finisher, but has nothing ''but'' the finisher, and that kinda limits what can be done with her in a fight.
*** It is, however, played dead straight in the first season finale. One by one, everyone ''dies,'' leaving the main character the only one left to have the final battle, which she resolves by using a MacGuffin whose powers are CastFromHitPoints, dying herself. However, the series was gonna get a season two, so we get an ending of "She was so awesome with the Silver Crystal that everyone including her got better" instead of "KillEmAll, but maybe they'll get reincarnated again, since the backstory battle went the same way."
* ''DigimonFrontier''. By the end of the series only the lead and lancer could fight the BigBad since their ultimate {{Super Mode}}s required all the other members of the band to give them their spirits (ability to transform). Though this may have later become a subversion considering that the actual final battle was Big Bad v. [[spoiler: all five of the (surviving) heroes combined into a single god-like digital entity.]]
* ''SaintSeiya'' sometimes used this trope, sometimes not. Frequently Seiya would be the last Saint standing against the season's BigBad, and (if any of the others were conscious/alive) they'd boost his Cosmo with theirs. A few times though they would gang up on enemies, but by and large one-on-one battles were the norm.
* ''Anime/YuGiOh'', however, the team often gets their day in the limelight, but they get hurt so often it's a wonder that Yugi lets them come along at all. Given that Duel Monsters is for the vast majority of the time a one on one card game, this is true pretty much every episode.
* Somewhat justified in ''ZettaiKarenChildren''... while Za Children generally work as a team, Kaoru is always their heavy hitter, possessing the most in-your-face offensive power - Telekinesis. When fighting Mooks or generally low-level foes, the other two will join in with creative use of their 'utility' powers (Teleportation and Psychometry, respectively). But when the big hitters show up and it's time for a boss-fight, they know that it's better to stand back and let Kaoru do what she does best - sometimes providing intel or a quick escape to aid. In the later season, it's taken to its natural conclusion, with a special device that basically saps Aoi and Shiho of their PsychicPowers to pool it all in Kaoru, giving her access to her BadAss, PowerGivesYouWings [[BadassNickname Queen Of Catastrophe]] form, which makes her basically unstoppable, and able to do several things that are otherwise considered theoretically impossible...
* At the end of the ''Manga/SoulEater'' anime, [[spoiler:everyone except Maka gets knocked out by the Kishin. She doesn't even have her weapon, Soul.]]
** An ending which departs from what the manga and most of the anime emphasised as necessary, as well as strength, for victory - teamwork and mutual understanding.
* In ''AdventChildren'', the FFVII crew decide to let Cloud battle Kadaj on his own.
** Not that any of them had much choice, with Cloud chasing Kadaj across half the continent trying to stop him from using the Jenova cells no one else really had any hope of keeping up. And of course by the time any one else might have been able to finally track them down, Kadaj had ''already'' used the Jenova cells and taken on the Memory of Sephiroth. Anyone in their right mind takes one look at that brawl and promptly says '''fuuuuuck''' that.
*** Not entirely so, they were able to catch up to Cloud using their air ship, and Yuffie even brought Materia along to power Cloud and themselves up. It's just that the one on one fight mirrors the end of [[FinalFantasyVII FF7]] as a personal struggle so they didn't want to interfere. It was also mentioned while the others had given up fighting and thus their drive during the two years of peace, Cloud still held onto that mind state to give it everything he's got.
* ''MacrossFrontier: The Wings of Goodbye'' leaves Alto to square off alone against Brera's FAST equipped VF-27, a squadron of V-9 Ghosts, and [[spoiler:Vajra-infested Battle Frontier]] while everyone else just watches (or sings).
* Massively subverted in the finale of ''{{Inuyasha}}'' - [[spoiler: though [[BigBad Naraku]] does his best to split up the group and kill each one individually, they all manage to reunite and take him down.]]
* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', the battle against [[spoiler:Father]] starts off as a major affair, with everyone getting in their shots. But after [[spoiler:Father disables many of the fighters and Al sacrifices himself, it comes down to Ed pounding on a PhysicalGod with his bare fists while everyone else cheers him on]]. Notably, however, this isn't because the rest of the cast is unable to help, considering there are still numerous armed soldiers and physically capable fighters around. It's just that ''Ed [[UnstoppableRage doesn't]] [[CurbStompBattle need]] [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown the help]].''
** It should also be noted that [[spoiler: all the damage the rest of the cast did to Father HAD been effective, even tough it looked like it wasn't due to his enormous supply of power. Ed just finished the job.]]
* The end of the SorcererHunters anime had Carrot fight the big bad all on his own. [[spoiler:He manages to revive his friends to win.]]
* Anime/{{Slayers}} NEXT ends with Lina's friends knocked out one by one, after each plan fails. Plus, she has to use her [[UltimateAttack Giga Slave]] to defeat the baddie.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* In the BooksOfMagic series, at one point Tim is caught in a pattern based off old fairytales and is reminded that common element of many folk stories and fairytales is that while the hero gains companions and tools that help him reach the BigBad, in the end it comes down to just his own courage, after companions and tools are stripped away - WhatYouAreInTheDark is what must win the day.
* Discussed and deconstructed in ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'': When a young boy called [[MeaningfulName Bernie]] asks an old man [[OneSteveLimit also called Bernie]] for help, he denies it claiming that young Bernie needs to learn that [[InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn "in a final analysis, we are all alone"]]. Then Old Bernie sees a paper and it’s eager to help young Bernie. [[TheEighties The paper said that the Russians have invaded Afghanistan and that means]] WorldWarIII. After young Bernie leaves, Old Bernie [[IronicEcho monologues that]] [[ThePowerOfFriendship "we are here to help each other…]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt in a final analysis"]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/TheAvengers'', as tensions rose, Captain America called out Tony Stark as talking a big game, but being nothing without his Iron Man armor, and not being a team player besides.
* Villainous example. In the ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' movie, Kingpin sends his guards home so he can face Daredevil alone.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Delgo}}'', Delgo's dying father tells him "You're on your own, kid."
* At the climax of ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'', where Sarah must face Jareth alone, "because that is the way it is done."
* At the climax of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' Luke deliberately goes without the aid of his [[TrueCompanions comrades]] to confront Darth Vader and the Emperor.
* In ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', Mal must fight the Operative alone because the crew is buying him time by holding the line against the Reavers. And at the end of ''that'' fight, River has to fight against the Reavers by herself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* HarryPotter generally ends up in one-on-one fights with Voldemort. In the first book it's because only one person could make it through to the Philosopher's Stone, but in TheMovie Hermione purposely leaves him because ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself. In later books, events continue to conspire to cut him off from any allies who set out with him. In fact, Ron and Hermione don't even see Voldemort in person until the last book. (In the [[Film/HarryPotter fifth film]], they at least get a glimpse of him, but that part wasn't in the book.)
** In [[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Book one]], Ron is incapacitated by a chess piece and Harry sends Hermoine to summon Dumbledore, reasoning that the two of them don't stand a chance of winning- the only hope is to hold them off long enough for reinforcements.
** In [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets book two]], Hermione is petrified, while Ron is unarmed (his wand is broken) and on the wrong side of a massive cave in.
** In [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire book four]], he's whisked out of a maze and his only backup is killed instantly.
** In [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix book five]], Hermione is critically wounded and Ron is loopy (and Harry rushed off in a revenge-maddened attack).
* In ''Literature/ThursdayNext'' quite often, very much the final battle with Adornis Hades.
* ''TheBartimaeusTrilogy'' features Nathanael and Bartimaeus. Considering they end up [[spoiler: in one body and Nathanael dismisses his daemon in the last possible moment]] this is also a DyingMomentOfAwesome.
* This is practically [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Tiffany Aching's]] motto, but she ''chooses'' to be fiercely self-reliant. As she puts it, "A witch deals with things."

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]


* Yuusuke/Red Falcon from ''ChoujuuSentaiLiveman'' is the only human left unaffected by [[BigBad Bias']] MassHypnosis, leaving him to defeat Bias alone, in a sense. Though someone comes to give him last minute help: [[spoiler: Kemp, reduced to a Brain in A Jar, who strips Bias of his youth.]]
* Came up several times on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Season One: The Scoobies end up retreating to the Library while fighting the [[ZergRush horde of vampires]] converging on the high school, or rather [[spoiler: The Hellmouth, which happens to be located directly beneath the library.]] Buffy fights the Master on the roof.
** Season Two: The Scoobies are attacked at the library, leaving [[spoiler: Kendra dead, Willow in a coma, and Giles captured.]] After mounting a rescue mission, Xander takes [[spoiler: Giles]] to safety while Buffy is left to fight Angelus alone.
** Season Six: In the end, it's [[spoiler: Xander]] who saves the day, [[spoiler: talking [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Willow]] down from destroying the world after Buffy fails to stop her.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* The ''Tournament of the Dragon'' Adventure for the 3rd edition of the ''{{Champions}}'' RPG involved a martial arts TournamentArc that culminated in a solo battle against an entity known as the Dark Dragon. The mystic nature of the Dark Dragon made him grow stronger with every foe attacking him at once, making him a horror to battle with an army, but when faced by a single opponent, he was at his lowest power levels, thus justifying the creation of an tournament to find a worthy warrior to battle him one-on-one.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* The trope namer is ''TheLongestJourney'', where April IS on her own in the end, though not in the FinalBattle kind of sense.
* Both ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' allow you to have your party fighting alongside yourself for most of the game, then render them unable to join your for the final boss.
** The second game is particularily cruel, since it abruptly drops you on Malachor V. Your character wakes up and has to spend the entire level on their own, even though it is made perfectly clear that the rest of your crew survived and got out. At least in the first game you could have two party members with you for most of the Star Forge until your fight with [[spoiler: Bastilla]].
*** This might be due to early plans for the game, in which a few scenes on Malachor V focused on the other characters, depending on the choices made by the player over the course of the game, such as a fight between Atton and Darth Sion which could end either with him surviving and reuniting with the Exile, or losing and dying in her arms, or if the player was a dark side female and fell in love with the Disciple [[spoiler: Atton was supposed to kill him]].
* In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'', if you're playing with both Sonic and Tails, Tails will be unplayable during the last two levels.
** Similarly, In ''VideoGame/{{Sonic 3|AndKnuckles}}'', Tails will disappear after the first of the [[SequentialBoss three final bosses]] is defeated, leaving Sonic to fight the last two on his own.
** And finally, in ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'', Tails won't be able to accompany Sonic into the Doomsday Zone, the [[TrueFinalBoss final level]].
** This trend takes up in the later games as well. In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' Super Sonic has to take on Perfect Chaos on his own.
** In ''ShadowTheHedgehog'' Shadow is forced to fight Devil Doom on his own, despite the abundance of characters in the game.
* In the arcade ''[[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheArcadeGame TMNT]]'', teamwork doesn't work on most of the bosses. You're actually better off taking one player, running a pattern on the boss (usually hit, walk back, up, or down), and keeping everyone else back. Done correctly you can beat most bosses without losing even one bar of energy. If more than one player attacks a boss, the boss will just spam attacks that knock everyone out.
* The final area of ''SuperPaperMario'' has each of your companions having to leave one by one to allow you to continue, leaving you alone when you fight the boss. [[spoiler: You get them back for the real boss, though]].
* In VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou Neku attempts to invoke this by leaving Shiki and Beat behind unconcious and confronting the final boss but it becomes {{subverted}} when they catch up with him and tell him off for running off on his own just before the fight starts.
* ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'' handles this is a different way for the [[FinalBoss end]] DuelBoss battle, in that the Masked Man uses a lightning attack that will always knock out anyone on your team still standing besides Lucas, who's carrying a DeflectorShield.
* So long as you are nice to your companions in VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2 Mask of the Betrayer, they stick with you until the bitter end. Except that during the final BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind you are forced to face the Betrayer alone, or with your LoveInterest if you have one on your team.
* JadeEmpire lets you have a teammate with you during most of the game, but forces you to take on [[PhysicalGod Sun Hai]] and [[spoiler:[[ManBehindTheMan Sun Li]]]] on your own.
* ''Age of Pirates 2: The City of Abandoned Ships'' plays this one extremely jarringly. The game allows the player to have up to three hired blades follow them around, but in scripted quest-related fights they are often inexplicably absent, leaving the player to face often overwhelming odds on their own, even though that's precisely why he or she hired the thugs in the first place.
* In the end of ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' when you get to the Emperor's Fou-Lu Throne room he simply knock off every party memeber leaving only Ruy to face him in a DuelBoss. [[spoiler:They ultimately recover, eventually, for the real FinalBoss, [[TheDragon the literal dragon Tyrant]] and, obviously, Fou-Lu himself as Astral.]]
** Subverted in ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII'' for the final boss. [[spoiler: You show up, he kills your entire team while giving them a short epitaph, and then fight him solo]] until you use the PowerOfFriendship to return your friends to you.
* In ''VideoGame/StarFox'', Fox has to fight Andross alone during the final battle. In the secret Out of This Dimension path, Fox pretty much shoots down paper aiplanes, destroys a Slot Machine, and corrects THE END for all eternity alone, then do it over again.
** However, in ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' Fox ''chooses'' to fight Andross alone, there was no real need for him to do so.
* The final battle of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' is the main character against [[spoiler:Nyx]]. Nobody can come with him. In a moderate subversion, however, his weapon against the final opponent is the hopes of everyone he met on the way to the confrontation.
** It gets repeated in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' right down to the letter [[spoiler: excepting that there isn't a HeroicSacrifice. Hey! TropesAreNotBad!]]
* In the Turai Ossa mission of the ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' Bonus Mission Pack, you leave your followers to fight Palawa Joko one-on-one.
* Averted big time in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate 2'' where TheHero gives each party member a chance to leave the party while they can before the "final" confrontation with the BigBad. Not even the biggest [[ManipulativeBastard bastard]] [[SociopathicHero from]] [[TheVamp hell]] leaves his (or her) side.
** [[spoiler:To such extent that they even follow you to [[ToHellAndBack Hell]] for the [[FinalBossNewDimension actual final battle]] ''after'' [[DisneyDeath you]] [[DeathIsCheap die]].]]
* Invoked in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood''. [[spoiler: Ezio decides to go after Cesare alone, saying that he built the Brotherhood to last without him. Accordingly, you cannot call on the Recruits' assistance in Sequence Nine.]]
* The FinalBattle of ''AceCombatZero'' is fought without a {{wingman}} or any allied aircraft support (except AWACS) at all, because [[spoiler:your wingman dies TakingTheBullet for you, while other allied planes simply cannot make it to the battle airspace]]. Ditto the fight against the TrueFinalBoss in the BonusLevel.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' kinda has this with the ''Arrival'', its final {{DLC}} mission, which has to be completed by Shepard alone (except a few EscortMission-esque levels with a GuestStarPartyMember). Though, of course, true to its WideOpenSandBox gameplay, you can complete the assignment at any time, even before the SuicideMission (which kinda misses its entire point).
** The ''Overlord'' DLC plays this perfectly straight by unexpectedly trapping both your squadmates just before the FinalBoss, so Shepard has to take on him/it alone.
** Likewise, ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' plays this perfectly straight for the first time in the series proper.
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'', Sora is eventually separated from his party members Donald and Goofy during the confrontation with the BigBad, Ansem. However, this is a series emphasizing ThePowerOfFriendship, so Sora eventually recovers his friends before taking down Ansem's OneWingedAngel form.
* Very much averted in ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}''. When the BigBad emerges and you lose control of your Minions, it's only moments before you start regaining them and lead your horde to victory.
* At the end of ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'', [[spoiler: you have to face Diablo on your own because the angels have been depowered and are unable to fight, and your companion gets trapped in a bone cage on your way to Diablo.]]
* After fighting the final boss in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' for several stages, Cloud engages in a final one-on-one clash of wills with Sephiroth. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome He destroys him with a single strike.]]
* ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' zigzags this trope. The final dungeon splits up the party, forcing The Nameless One to go through it alone. [[spoiler:Throughout the dungeon, each party member is seen being killed off (except Ignis, who the hero kills himself). At the end, if you wish to fight the FinalBoss, you have the option to revive the party members to fight by your side.]]
* ''VideoGame/WildArms3'' has the demon Siegfried removing all of Maya Schrodinger's magic powered personas (that she gains by reading books) by forcing her to read a book called "The True Self". Her "true self" is a {{nerd}} girl happens to know how his technology works and shuts it down.
* The Super Nintendo game ''Arcana'' has this Zig-zagged. IN the end, Rooks is all on his own against the final boss. Zig-zagged in that he always has a spirit with him.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonGatesToInfinity'' follows this, with even the Main Character's partner able to join in. [[spoiler: Because the BigBad is an EldritchAbomination born from the negative emotions of Pokemonkind, no Pokemon can come close to it. Being a human in Pokemon form, the main character is a loophole.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* Klaus Wulfenbach from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' was just the trusty lackey to the Heterodyne Boys when he was younger. When he came back from his offworld expedition, [[CrapsackWorld everything had gone completely to hell]] and the Boys were nowhere to be found. Klaus put the world back together alone. [[TheExtremistWasRight It worked.]]
* In ''ImpureBlood'', [[http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Chapter002/ib012.html Dara can get the gate open, but Roan has to get out on his own power.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Aang must eventually face the Firelord alone, while the rest of the Gaang works on addressing the rest of the Fire Nation assault on the Earth Kingdom.

[[/folder]]

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