History Main / ActionSurvivor

* Jared from ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'' gets hired as a security guard at [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria]]. When he realizes that the animatronics are all murderous he decides to do the logical thing and [[http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/well-maybe-if-you-tried-talking-to-the-robots smashes them to pieces with a baseball bat]]. He then gets fired for destruction of company property.

*** Most members of the Night Watch (barring Carrot Detritus and Angua) have this sort of approach to most situations, choosing to get away from trouble until the odds are heavily in their favour. Sam Vimes in particular manages to beat a clan of werewolves by running like hell until he can figure out a way to get the conflict onto his terms (though as a bloody-minded cooper, he does tend to seek out trouble an awful lot).

* The [[TheStoryteller teller]] Koark in ''Webcomic/OrderOfTales'' is a textbook example: initially a pampered son of a scholarly sect, he finds himself forced to take up the role of a legendary hero by the end of the story.

* Several of the characters in ''VideoGame/FearAndHungerTermina'' are civilians with no combat experience: Marina is an occultist, Olivia is a botany student, Henryk is a chef, and Tanaka is a salaryman. While there are those that are experienced with combat or served in the war, they weren't ready to see Prehevil overtaken, nor trained for such a situation.

* Fry is occasionally one of these in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', usually due to his lack of a delta brainwave [[spoiler:[[GrandfatherParadox as a result of becoming his own grandfather]]]].

* ''VideoGame/AlanWake's'' title character is a horror writer who spends most of the game dressed in a tweed jacket, possesses relatively unimpressive athletic abilities, and is better suited to running from his enemies than standing and fighting. That said, he manages to pull through thanks to his wits and his superior survival instincts.

** A fair number of the party members in ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' come from even more mundane backgrounds. Yu Nanba is a former nurse turned hobo, Saeko is a hostess and [[OptionalPartyMember Eri]] is a questionably competent businesswoman. The latter two stands out since the series is not known for ass-kicking women, but they nonetheless get embroiled in a grand criminal conspiracy that leads them to take on crime syndicates, [[spoiler:the Governor of Tokyo]] and even [[spoiler:survive a fight against [[LivingLegend Kazuma Kiryu]] himself]] alongside absurdities such as tigers, bears and construction vehicles.

Related to the FinalGirl -- a specifically female, horror movie version. The RightManInTheWrongPlace is often this type of hero. On the SuperWeight scale, they're primarily Muggle Weight, sometimes making the jump to Iron Weight upon [[TookALevelInBadass taking a level in badass]]. See also ActionDuo. Also compare UnfazedEveryman, InvincibleIncompetent.

* Practically any civilian in the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series, just by virtue of being alive in a [[CrapsackWorld post-apocalyptic wasteland]] with EverythingTryingToKillYou.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Foxfire}}'' while Jin is a nonbending noncombatant, she survives getting captured by the Dai Li, breaks out of a mindwashing trance, and gets away from the Kuchisake-Onna's rampage. She also successfully talks Qiang out of danger by revealing [[spoiler: Honqi's ]] true nature.

* Jared from ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'' gets hired as a security guard at [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria]]. When he realizes that the animatronics are all murderous he decides to do the logical thing and [[http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/well-maybe-if-you-tried-talking-to-the-robots smashes them to peices with a baseball bat]]. He then gets fired for destruction of company property.

* All ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' protagonists, Mike Schmidt, Jeremy Fitzgerald, Fritz Smith, the nameless Night Guard of the third game, and the Child are all completely normal people, hunted down by HostileAnimatronics.

* Pretty much everyone from ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead''. It's a Zombie Apocalypse setting, the natural habitat of the Action Survivor. What do you expect? Special mention goes to Clementine for managing to actually kick a fair amount of ass despite only being ''nine years old''.

* While the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' setting is relatively mundane compared to most, certain protagonists stand out for their plainness.
** Tatsuo Shinada of ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' is a former professional baseball player turned struggling masseuse parlor reviewer who never had any dealings with the criminal underworld of the setting until the start of his story, where he's tasked with investigating the events that led to him being barred from his beloved sport. While he's still a capable fighter with an exceptional physique, his fighting style is easily the clumsiest and most awkward to use of the player characters and he's often completely out of his depth with all the danger he faces.
** A fair number of the party members in ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' come from even more mundane backgrounds. Yu Nanba is a former nurse turned hobo, Saeko is a hostess and [[OptionalPartyMember Eri]] is a questionably competent businesswoman. The latter two stands out since the series is not known for ass-kicking women, but they nonetheless get embroiled in a grand criminal conspiracy that leads them to take on crime syndicates, [[spoiler:the Governor of Tokyo]] and even [[spoiler:survive a fight against [[LivingLegend Kazuma Kiryu]] himself]] alongside absurdities such as tigers, bears and construction vehicles.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: Virginia True is by far the least combat capable of the Holliday Girls, but she's still able to survive being abducted and enslaved and help in the slave rebellion against the Saturnian Empire.

* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'': Grace from the original version is a mere FanServiceWithASmile who works in a FantasyTavern. She finds herself to be one of the many InnocentBystanders that gets caught up in the invasion of Ansur by the Black Dogs. After being escorted by [[ActionHero Sir Kyril]] along with her friends to safety, she decides to sneak her way through the chaos in the streets to find him, because she knows of a [[AbsurdlySpaciousSewer secret entrance]] that Kyril can use to enter the mercenary compound and reach Maia. At first, this is [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]]: Grace, ChastityDagger in hand, is obviously no match for a single {{mook}}, and as skilled as she is in sneaking around places, it can only take her so far, and she founds herself cornered by two mercs. On the other hand, she correctly figures out that Kyril, being a OneManArmy, would leave a trail of corpses behind, so she manages to end up in a place near him unharmed. Kyril, after dispatching said two mercs, would later coldly berate Grace [[DidntThinkThisThrough for putting herself in deep]], something that Grace herself [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]], but thanks to her information, he is able to successfully enter the compound, find Michelle Pantielle, and rescue Maia, though not without some difficulty. All in all, Grace's contribution in the Liberation of Ansur Arc allows this trope to be {{reconstructed}}, resulting in a DeconReconSwitch.

* In "[[https://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-20099/grundy+Shaking+The+Cycle.htm Shaking the Cycle]]", Dawn Thrace appears to be this from a public perspective, as she was "just" the sister of Kara Thrace who was lucky enough to survive the bombing of Caprica (''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003''), but all parties are unaware that Dawn has memories of her past as Dawn Summers (''Series/BuffyTheVampire Slayer'') and was assisted by Leoben for a particular stretch of her journey.

* ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'': [[AdorablyPrecociousChild Jane Darling]] from ''WesternAnimation/ReturnToNeverland'' is this to an [[PlayedWith extent]]. She uses survival skills on a fantasy world like Neverland so it works against her and is PlayedForLaughs as a result.
** However, it's PlayedStraight whenever she interacts with the Neverland Pirates. She gets kidnapped and nearly fed to the Octopus in the first few minutes she's in Neverland, and in the ClimacticBattle against the pirates, she doesn't actively fight them but outsmarts them, with some help from the Lost Boys. When Hook's in his bloodthirsty rage, all she could really do was run from him. Even when she gets cornered by him, she manages to escape in the nick of time because of [[ArcWords Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust]]; something that took her a long while to get.

** ''Film/JurassicPark1993'': For being children, Tim and Lex conduct themselves well in the climax. [[spoiler:They manage to distract the raptors that came to hunt them in the kitchen, with Tim managing to lock one in the freezer and Lex luring several away from eating her brother. When the raptors corner them in the control room, Lex successfully reboots the systems and the locks, getting the parks back online]].

* In Film/TheLastVoyageoftheDemeter, both Anna and Clemens become this by the end. Anna in particular shows clear prior knowledge of how to use a gun (presumably due to being from a rural village with hostile wildlife), but it's not until she's back to her full strength that she has the will to fight.

* Holtz in ''Literature/ReturnOfTheReaper''. Almost killed while fleeing his DoomedHomeTown, he gets rescued and trained by one of the deadliest creatures in the world. This lasts until he [[spoiler:drinks Beast's blood, after which it's a case of TookALevelInBadass]]

* While the growth of Bulk and Skull of ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' is mostly in terms of character, we do get occasional scenes of them fighting monsters when they absolutely have to, on a couple of occasions actually saving the Power Rangers, and [[spoiler: standing up against Astronema to buy the Rangers more time, and leading the charge against the armies of evil]].

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' gave their version of ComicBook/LexLuthor this as an actual "superpower" caused by his exposure to kryptonite when he was younger.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'': Has both Sazh and Hope. The former was a civilian pilot whose weapons were only given to him as a survival toolbut his behavior in the early cutscenes implies that this is the first time he's actually put it to use in extended danger and survival situations. The latter... is 14 and his life before this NeverendingTerror was fairly upper-class. The first half of his character arc is the transformation from helpless to being able to hold his own.

** Tatsuo Shinada of ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' is a former professional baseball player turned struggling masseus parlor reviewer who never had any dealings with the criminal underworld of the setting until the start of his story, where he's tasked with investigating the events that led to him being barred from his beloved sport. While he's still a capable fighter with an exceptional physique, his fighting style is easily the clumsiest and most awkward to use of the player characters and he's often completely out of his depth with all the danger he faces.

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': As of the end of Sister 3, [[spoiler:Ashley has survived encounters with an angry griffin, several immortals, and a body-snatching aberration.]]

* ''Webcomic/SweetHome2017'' has the protagonist Hyun and several other survivors being pitted against {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le monsters with a good HealingFactor, all while lacking proper weapons. As a result, running is usually the best hope for survival.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Charlie Collins from ''[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE22JokersFavor "Joker's Favor"]]'' starts out as an overweight, balding {{Everyman}} with a mundane life, and ends up becoming a lunatic who ''beats up and intimidates the Joker''. [[spoiler:Except he ''isn't'' a lunatic, it was all an act. The Joker is left humiliated and defeated by Charlie's scheme and Batman himself was just a spectator in the whole thing.]]

* [[WesternAnimation/MightyMax Max, AKA "The Mighty One,"]] chosen by destiny to destroy the evil Skullmaster, fits the trope to a T. Constantly thrust into the most unusual circumstances he repeatedly saves the world with only his wits and a magic cap.

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': In this ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' Franchise/MonsterVerse fanfiction, Ren Serizawa and his non-Monarch boat crew go from sailing on the sea next to Yonaguni to running and hiding for their lives amid Rodan and [[AdaptationalHeroism Monster X]]'s battle against the Many in Chapter 13.

* Sam Witwicky in ''Film/{{Transformers|2007}}'', and to a lesser degree [[MsFanservice Mikaela]]. They're both civilians without any combat abilities and struggle to survive against the Decepticons that pursue them.

* Sam Witwicky in ''Film/Transformers2007'', and to a lesser degree [[MsFanservice Mikaela]]. They're both civilians without any combat abilities and struggle to survive against the Decepticons that pursue them.

* Sam Witwicky in ''Film/{{Transformers}}'', and to a lesser degree [[MsFanservice Mikaela]]. They're both civilians without any combat abilities and struggle to survive against the Decepticons that pursue them.

** ''Film/JurassicPark'': For being children, Tim and Lex conduct themselves well in the climax. [[spoiler:They manage to distract the raptors that came to hunt them in the kitchen, with Tim managing to lock one in the freezer and Lex luring several away from eating her brother. When the raptors corner them in the control room, Lex successfully reboots the systems and the locks, getting the parks back online]].

* ''Film/TheMatrix''. As Thomas Anderson, the protagonist basically stumbles through the events of the film, relying on luck and the help of others to get him out of situations. As [[TheChosenOne Neo]], however...

** ''VideoGame/Borderlands3'': Lorelei started as the owner of a small coffee shop, and her biggest claim to fame was [[MustHaveCaffeine stabbing a guy in the throat when he tried to rob her before she had her coffee]]. Rhys hired her as his secretary, and then during the war with Maliwan she ended up in charge of all Atlas forces under Rhys by virtue of being the most badass person with any authority surviving.

* ''LightNovel/TheLongingOfShiinaRyo'': Poor Shin-tsu. All he really wants is a normal life, but the Universe isn't quite done yet with its CosmicPlaything.

* ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'': [[AdorablyPrecociousChild Jane Darling]] from the sequel is this to an [[PlayedWith extent]]. She uses survival skills on a fantasy world like Neverland so it works against her and is PlayedForLaughs as a result.

* ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'': [[AdorablyPrecociousChild Jane Darling]] from the sequel is this to an [[PlayedWith extent]]. She uses survival skills on a fantasy world so it works against her and is PlayedForLaughs as a result. However, it's PlayedStraight whenever she interacts with the Neverland Pirates. She gets kidnapped and nearly fed to the Octopus in the first few minutes she's in Neverland, and in the ClimacticBattle against the pirates, she doesn't actively fight them but outsmarts them for the most part. When Hook's in his bloodthirsty rage, all she could really do was run from him. Even when she gets cornered by him, she manages to escape in the nick of time because of [[ArcWords Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust]]; something that took her a long while to get.