History Main / CharacterMagneticTeam

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has Aang, Katara, and Sokka first season. By the end of the series they have acquired Toph, [[spoiler: Zuko]], Suki, and several other characters they had previously encountered.
** The sequel series, ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', is even more extreme, with the starting four (Korra, Asami, Mako and Bolin) expanding to include Tenzin, all three of his kids and both of his siblings, Varrick, Jhu Li, Toph, Lin, and Opal Beifong, and the airbender Kai.

* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries, by its nature, is supposed to attract more and more "characters" over time. They do, however, get PutOnABus or eliminated some way more frequently than not. This due to only six being allowed on a trainer's team at any one time. Additionally, [[ResetButton everyone except Pikachu gets sent back to Professor Oak at the end of each series as the franchise makes way for the newest generation's Pokemon by putting the previous generation's on a bus]].

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'':

* ''Manga/CodeBreaker'': Similar to the [[LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex To Aru]] example, Sakura and Ogami are unique, as one is a "Rare-Kind", while the other has the most powerful Code ability.

* ''Film/StarWarsEpisodeIThePhantomMenace'' starts with just the two Jedi and they plan to join Queen Amidala's team, they also accidentally acquire first Jar Jar and later Anakin along their journey. While [[MagneticHero Qui-Gon]] is happy to accept everyone, [[OnlySaneMan Obi-Wan]] is more reluctant.

* ''Film/StarWarsEpisodeIThePhantomMenace'' starts with just the two Jedi, and they gradually acquire Jar Jar and Anakin along their journey. While [[MagneticHero Qui-Gon]] is happy to accept everyone, [[OnlySaneMan Obi-Wan]] is more reluctant.

===> '''Obi-Wan''': Why do I sense we've picked up ''another'' pathetic lifeform?

==> '''Obi-Wan''': Why do I sense we've picked up ''another'' pathetic lifeform?

* ''Film/StarWarsEpisodeI'' starts with just the two Jedi, and they gradually acquire JarJar and Anakin along their journey. While [[MagneticHero Qui-Gon]] is happy to accept everyone, [[OnlySaneMan Obi-Wan]] is more reluctant.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', by its nature, is supposed to attract more and more "characters" over time. They do, however, get PutOnABus or eliminated some way more frequently than not. This due to only six being allowed on a trainer's team at any one time.
** It can get annoying when [[ResetButton everyone except Pikachu gets sent back to Professor Oak because of the franchise's need to make way for the newest generation's Pokemon by shoving the previous generation's on a bus]]. Six times and counting.

* Can't forget ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', especially season seven, where new potential slayers are collected every episode, along with characters like Andrew and Wood, and old recurring characters like Faith coming back.

* Deconstructed in both ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' and ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords''. The respective PlayerCharacter's magnetism is revealed to not be just a NecessaryWeasel, but an actual ability to influence others to join them. In ''The Sith Lords'', it's a one-of-a-kind Force power that the protagonist uses unconsciously. In ''Planescape'', [[spoiler:the Mark of Torment tattooed on the Nameless One's left shoulder is a magical rune that draws tormented individuals to him. That's how he always manages to assemble a group of companions for his journeys-- if you have a DarkAndTroubledPast, you'll feel ''compelled'' to help him, even if it leads to your death]].

* This happens in ''LightNovel/MariaWatchesOverUs'', although it's not as bad as it could have been, since the basic team is rather picky about the persons they associate with.

* Deconstructed in both ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' and ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords''. The respective PlayerCharacter's magnetism is revealed to not be just a NecessaryWeasel, but an actual ability to influence others to join them. In ''The Sith Lords'', it's a one-of-a-kind Force power that the protagonist uses unconsciously. In ''Planescape'', [[spoiler:the Symbol of Torment tattooed on the Nameless One's left shoulder is a magical rune that draws tormented individuals to him. That's how he always manages to assemble a group of companions for his journeys-- if you have a DarkAndTroubledPast, you'll feel ''compelled'' to help him, even if it leads to your death]].

This is often used near the beginning of a series to build the cast. When done well, this makes a character's entrance more interesting. When done poorly, it is an {{anvilicious}} way of adding a new character. If it's done often, it will ensure that your series will have LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters.

--> Memory World: [[BlackMagicianGirl Mana]], [[BlackMage Mahad]], and [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters the rest of the Pharaoh's court]]

* The ComicBook/XMen and their affiliates. The sole criteria for being affiliated with the team is that you have to either be a {{Mutant}}, or involved in mutant politics in some way or other (a sympathetic human, an [[DePower ex-mutant]], a genetic experiment from another dimension who happened to get saved by mutants, etc). Since about 10% of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse's population used to be mutants at one point, this meant [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters a great deal of snowballing]], and even after the ''[[ComicBook/HouseOfM Decimation]]'' event had over 90% of ''that'' population BroughtDownToNormal, the X-Books' cast is still larger than almost all of Marvel's other properties, ''put together.''

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' has LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, and it seems like a majority of them join Bam's team at some point, and usually stay allies afterwards.

** Taken UpToEleven after the Soul Society arc, following which Ichigo's group is unofficially allied with the ''entire'' [[BadassArmy Gotei 13]], many of whom become recurring characters.