History Main / ActionSurvivor

* Gordon Freeman from ''{{Half-Life}}''. Over the course of the games, however, he has turned into an ActionHero. Barney Calhoun in ''Blue Shift''. By the time of ''Half-Life 2'' he hass become a leader of the Resistance.

* ''IndianaJones'' - Indy is an ActionSurvivor ActionHero AdventurerArchaeologist.
* Harrison Ford has settled into this sort of role more and more with age, playing Jack Ryan in two Tom Clancy adaptations;
* ''TheFugitive'' - Doctor Richard Kimball
* ''Firewall'' - Harrison Ford again.

Little Rock and Witchita, being only eight. Tallahassee is exempt, because he was a BadassNormal to begin with.
* And let's not forget the eponymous character of ''{{Shaun of the Dead}}''. He works at an electronics store, enjoys getting drunk, listening to records loudly, and playing video games. His whole plan consisted of picking up his mother and girlfriend, and going to his favourite bar to enjoy a cold beer. In fact, [[spoiler:the only reason he survives is the timely arrival of the military.]]

* Bilbo Baggins, the eponymous protagonist of ''TheHobbit'', is pushed out of his front door on an adventure he doesn't want to go on, playing a role he has no idea how to play (he's recruited as a "burglar"). He is rather inept at first, but finding The One Ring helps him a great deal and in Mirkwood especially he comes up with some clever rescues for the Dwarves. He also notably spends the entire climactic battle unconscious, invisible because of the Ring and hit in the head by a stray rock. Other hobbits in related works have similar roles.

* ''{{Bleach}}'' - Being chased down by the NighInvulnerable Aizen has required the kids in Karakura to become this.

* Chuck from [[{{Chuck}} the show of the same name]].

* John Connor lives and breathes this trope throughout TheSarahConnorChronicles. Justified, in that as the future savior of mankind, John is "too important" to be sent out on missions or otherwise in the line of fire. Instead, Terminators actively seek him out, with his allies constantly fighting to keep him safe. The few times he's caught having to go up against a Terminator alone, he demonstrates remarkable cunning, ingenuity, insight and downright sheer {{badass}}ery.

* The crew of the RedDwarf is this. At least, Dave, Rimmer and The Cat. They all start out at pretty much the bottom rung of human (or hyper-evolved cat) existence. After [[EverybodysDeadDave everyone dies]] and they are left to fend for themselves in a hostile universe they slowly become more and more competent. While hardly Gordon Freeman or Ellen Ripley, they do manage to fight off a fair amount of hostile [=GELFs=] and other nasties. Dave and Rimmer end up noticeably less pathetic, and The Cat... well... at least he's aware that there are people other than himself.

* Rokuro "Rock" Okajima from ''BlackLagoon''. Goes from everyday {{Salaryman}}hood to surviving multiple gunfights, kidnappings, car chases, '''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome boat]]''' [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome chases]], and the list just goes on.

* Arguably the ''entire main cast'' of TwentiethCenturyBoys. None of them, except [[BadAssLongcoat Otcho]], are particulary strong, fast, or badass, and they're all up against a CompleteMonster BigBad trying to take over the world with the help of a brainwashed cult. Admittedly, they do [[TookALevelInBadAss level up]] over the course of the story (especially [[spoiler: [[CrazyAwesome Kenji]]]]).
* Kaname from FullMetalPanic. Normal high school student that just happens to get involved in an elite military unit. Subverted (DoubleSubverted?) In that she ''isn't'' an ordinary person, but her particular abilities aren't likely to help her in a situation requiring near-superhuman strength and agility, though she is fairly athletic for a girl her age.
* In the most recent arc of {{Bleach}}, [[spoiler: being chased down by the NighInvulnerable Aizen has required the kids in Karakura to become this. So far, Mizuiro is showing signs of being CrazyAwesome and Keigo has gone from being the LovebleCoward to TheSoCalledCoward, and Don Kanonji is showing that just because he's a FakeUltimateHero doesn't mean he can't pull off a YouShallNotPass on Aizen himself. While Tatsuki and Chizuru haven't changed much, the arc's just beginning...]]
* Keiko Yukimura from YuYuHakusho has [[{{Muggle}} no supernatural powers]] to defend herself from demonic and powerful forces. She gets by by being [[PluckyGirl plucky]] and resourceful, shown especially when she and Botan are up against zombies controlled by insects.

* Zone and Mag from {{Dollhouse}}'s AfterTheEnd FlashForward and DistantFinale are eventually revealed to have formerly been a landscape architect and a sociology grad student, respectively.

* The Hacker in the original SystemShock, where the only thing didn't make him quite normal was the Military-Grade Neural Interface.
* [[FinalFantasy Cloud Strife]] used to be this, CrisisCore and BeforeCrisis shows him as a plain old infantryman, only distinquisable by his motion sickness and his ability to make it through missions when all the other Mooks get killed off. When his [[DoomedHometown hometown]] gets it however, he cracks down and becomes a BadassNormal, doing what none of the Turks and SOLDIERs that safeguarded him until now were able to do, kill [[WhiteHairedPrettyBoy Sephiroth]]. After which [[MadScientist Hojo]] jumped at the opportunity to make him a BadassAbnormal.

* Sam of ''{{Sam and Fuzzy}}''. A cabbie who got tangled up with the affairs of the ninja mafia, he is decidedly non-actiony.

* ''DoctorWho'' - The Doctor, particularly his fifth incarnation. He's not known for his high survival count, to say the least.
** The Doctor's companions also go through this as well as was highlighted throughout the Tenth Doctor's run with almost all of his companions becoming better, more capable people because of their time with him.
*** well 3 out of 5 (sort of 6 if you count Sarah Jane Smith, if you count his 1 offs, it's more like 4 maybe 5 out of 13). Rose (changed) Mickey (changed), Sarah Jane (No idea, Maybe the Third/Fourth changed her, maybe she's always been that way, but the 10th), Martha (changed), Captain Jack (Not really changed), Astrid (Dead [not better]), Donna (not changed [would have been, but not]), Jenny (Well if it wasn't for the 10th she would have never been born), Lady Christina de Souza (not changed), Wilfred (not changed), Jackson Lake (Not Changed... or rather changed back), Rosita Farisi (not changed), Adelaide (again Dead is not better than alive).
*** Don't forget one-trip Adam Mitchell (not changed, just kicked off the TARDIS with a benign piece of alien technology stuck in his head that will force him to keep a low profile from that point onward).

* Plenty in ''[[ZoneOfTheEnders Zone of the Enders: Dolores]]'', as its premise is an ordinary family thrust into world shaking events. James may or may not count as he is actually pretty big and has had military training, though he starts off pretty damn rusty and with none of the 'elite pilot/man of destiny' badges given to the other ZOE protagonists. His son Leon on the other hand is a [[ButtMonkey meek and pussywipped computer programmer with an obvious Oedipus complex]], yet manages to surprise even himself by facing up to vicious beatings, pushes his programming and mathematical skills to their absolute limit (he is the primary designer of a module for atmospheric entry at one point, despite having no training and only scrap to work with), and showing remarkably quick thinking in a crisis.
** He contrasts nicely with his sister Noel, who takes after her father by being tough, bluntly spoken and powerfully built. She however often comes across as a FauxActionGirl, possibly because she's far too levelheaded to perform the moments of terrified bravery her brother manages. Perhaps he realises she's far more masculine and infinitely less whiny (though that's like being less hot than the ''sun''...) than he will ever be and feels the need to compensate.

* The fifth incarnation of the {{Doctor|Who}} exemplifies this. He's not known for his high survival count, to say the least.

* Gordon Freeman from ''{{Half-Life}}''. Over the course of the games, however, he has turned into something of an ActionHero.
** Barney Calhoun is another example, in ''Blue Shift'' at least. By the time of ''Half-Life 2'' he's become a leader of the Resistance.
* Isaac Clarke from ''DeadSpace'', who is just a simple engineer tasked with what he thinks is little more than a repair job. Most of his weapons, in fact, are mining tools.
** [[spoiler:Isaac could actually be argued as a {{deconstruction}} of one, as its heavily implied throughout the game, then said flat-out by Kendra near the end, that he's gone completely insane due to the incident.]]
** From the prequel game, ''Extraction'', there's Doctor Karen Howell. Just a botanist, but bitch be hardcore.
* Frank West from ''DeadRising'', who's an overzealous photojournalist after a big story.
** His character model from earlier versions of the game depicted him as being somewhat overweight even.
** He's covered wars you know?
* The various protagonists of ''SilentHill'' games, except Alex from ''Homecoming'', who is a special forces soldier.
** [[spoiler:...or is he?]]
* Arguably, all four of the protagonists in ''Left4Dead''. Bill (a retired soldier) and Francis (a well built biker) aren't as "normal" as Zoey (college student) and Louis (office worker), however.
* Definitely the four characters of ''Left4Dead2''. Coach (an overweight high school football coach), Ellis (a mechanic), Rochelle (a young journalist), and Nick (a con man). Well, Nick isn't THAT normal, but he's no ActionHero.
* Nathan Drake from ''UnchartedDrakesFortune''. Although he is a treasure hunter who is quite athletic and skilled with firearms, he looks and acts very much like an average Joe, panicking more than a few times throughout his adventure. His catchphrase is practically "OhCrap!"
** Even more so in the ''Among Thieves''. When things get way too big for him, he's initially happy to walk away, but when it comes down to the wire, he jumps into the action with both feet. Of course, even when he does so, he knows he's in well over his head, and he barely makes it out alive. Lucky doesn't even begin to describe it; Sully even bows out of the adventure early because he "doesn't have [Nate's] luck."

* Zoe has to play this role a lot in ''SluggyFreelance'' since she's the ArthurDent of the team. Since becoming one of the strip's [[WeirdnessMagnet Weirdness Magnets]], she's had to defend herself from vampires, demons, {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, zombies, {{brainwashed}} assassins, and even [[KillerRabbit rabbits]]. All with no special skills beyond occasionally [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting turning into a camel]]. She mainly gets by on luck, cleverness, and the fact that almost everyone else in the ''Sluggy'' universe is an idiot.
** Torg also fits this trope to a lesser extent. While he's usually a little more enthusiastic than Zoe about the weirdness that surrounds them, and has [[TookALevelInBadass Taken A Level In Badass]], he is for the most part just a normal guy thrust into bizarre situations that, statistically, should have killed him at least a dozen times by now.

** Very arguable, especially because Kyon might not be so normal.
*** Or it might be because Haruhi wants him to survive.
* {{Kaiji}}, an ordinary loser whose genius and bravery only awaken when thrust into life-threatening situations. The [[NiceGuy "uncommonly decent"]] aspect also applies very much.

* ''{{Naruto}}'' has Shikamaru. Unlike the "born great" Sasuke and Naruto, he has no motivation and is an average ninja (compared to the ridiculously overpowered main characters and bad guys). However, he has a genius level intellect, and when duty calls, he can use that intellect to defeat much stronger opponents.
** Significantly, he was one of the first characters in the series to defeat an Akatsuki member, and the first to defeat one in a one-on-one fight. ''With a hole in the ground and some string.''

* Yorick in ''[[YTheLastMan Y: The Last Man]]'' fits this to a T (or should that be a Y?).
** He's not always unusually decent, though. Sometimes he's a bit of a jerk. Though in the circumstances, can you really blame him?

* The fun but forgotten movie ''{{Cellular}}'' has this type of protagonist. He was aided during the shootouts by William Macy as an [[{{Retirony}} about-to-retire cop]] [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope who survives]]!]]

* ''{{Wanted}}'': Wesley STARTED as this, but then he [[TookALevelInBadass started grinding to level 99.]]

* The film ''{{Collateral}}'' has Jaime Foxx as this sort of protagonist.
** Also fun if rather obscure movie ''Bait'' features Foxx as a petty thief fresh out of jail who finds himself a pawn in a game played between federal agents and a thief they try to catch. In this case, Foxx's character has a fair bit of TheCombatPragmatist in him.

* John [=McClane=], from ''DieHard'', was initially an ActionSurvivor ''ActionHero''. In fact, the movie became an instant classic largely because of the contrast between [=McClane=] and the ubermensch ActionHero characters of SylvesterStallone, ArnoldSchwarzenegger, and a million B-movie "stars". Not to say that [=McClane=] isn't a certifiable {{badass}}, but in the first movie, he's pretty much an ordinary cop thrust into extraordinary circumstances.
** His sidekicks in each movie, none of whom wanted to get involved, are more traditional {{Action Survivor}}s. Officer Al Powell was picking up Twinkies, Zeus Carver was just looking after his electronics shop, and the Justin Long guy was a dweeby hacker.

* What of the Martin Short classic ''{{Innerspace}}''? Mild-mannered hypochondriac Jack Putter finds himself mixed up in a war between the evil corporation and the US government. Mind you, the original reason he took matters into his own hands was the prospect of having a tiny little corpse rotting inside of his body. At the end of the movie, though, when he realizes that a life of adventure is more fun than what he originally had, he grabs onto it with both hands.
* Theo in ''{{Children of Men}}'' is a depressed white-collar worker who spends most of the movie getting shot at but ''never once'' picks up a gun or any kind of weapon at all [[spoiler:except a [[ImprovisedWeapon discarded car battery]], which he drops immediately after smashing someone across the face and flees]]. He manages to get Kee all the way to the Human Project while constantly running from people who are trying to kill him. Of course, he [[spoiler:doesn't actually ''survive'' the film]].

* IndianaJones. Sure, he tries to act like a cool, professional ActionHero AdventurerArchaeologist, and maybe he almost believes it himself, but read the list of ActionSurvivor traits at the top of this page and tell me that's not a dead-on description of IndianaJones.
** Harrison Ford has settled into this sort of role more and more with age, playing Jack Ryan in two Tom Clancy adaptations; Doctor Richard Kimball in TheFugitive and a rather forgettable version in ''Firewall.''
* Columbus of ''{{Zombieland}}'', a ''{{World of Warcraft}}''-playing HollywoodNerd who manages to survive a ZombieApocalypse mostly through being GenreSavvy.
** That and his previously-debilitating anxiety and phobias actually becoming more rational and practical once said ZombieApocalypse happens.
** Little Rock and Witchita could probably go into this category too, especially since one is only eight. Tallahassee is exempt, because he was a BadassNormal to begin with.

* [[EvilDead Ash]]! One of the more enjoyable aspects of the films is him gradually becoming DangerouslyGenreSavvy to the point where he ''does'' the stuff you normally yell at people on the screen for not doing:

* Bilbo Baggins, the eponymous protagonist of ''TheHobbit'', is pushed out of his front door on an adventure he doesn't want to go on, playing a role he has no idea how to play (he's recruited as a "burglar"). He is rather inept at first, but finding The One Ring helps him a great deal and in Mirkwood especially he comes up with some clever rescues for the Dwarves. He also notably spends the entire climactic battle unconscious, invisible because of the Ring and hit in the head by a stray rock.
** Every Hobbit.

* Non-protagonist example: Ron Weasley in ''HarryPotter'', a self-deprecating [[TheEveryman everydude]] who ends up in battle usually out of loyalty to Harry. Initially [[ForgotICouldFly common sense]] and [[YouShallNotPass loyalty]] are his biggest assets, but by the end of the series he's hardened enough to hold his own in serious battle.
** Arguably Harry himself, at least in the way he sees himself. Being TheChosenOne aside, Harry's greatest attributes are his determination, resourcefulness, and his sense of right and wrong.
*** And his freaking magic powers?
*** Not really, as most of the bad guys are much more skilled at magic than Harry, and the spells Harry uses most are ''Patronus'' and ''Expelliarmus'', which are both defensive.
*** On the other hand, he's repeatedly shown or said to be naturally gifted and has become such an expert at self defense by the fifth book that he teaches magical self-defense to a group of students when politics interfere with the official Defense Against the Dark Arts class. He may not kill people with magic, but he's definitely exceptionally skilled.

* Despite already being a CowboyCop, Captain Kotov in ''NightWatcher'' is this distilled during his first encounter with a vampire, being taken completely unaware at first, then freaking out and going into a survive-above-all mode. He came out of it okay physically [[HeroicSociopath but not mentally]].
* Rachel Sexton, Michael Tolland and Corky Marlinson, a data analyst and two civilian scientists find themselves on the run from military black ops assassins in DanBrown's ''DeceptionPoint''.

* Gordon Krantz, the titular "Postman" in David Brin's novel of the same name.
* Robin Goodfellow from the CalLeandros series is the embodiment of this trope. Though loyal to Cal and Niko, he would rather not go into battle if not required. And centuries of running from the angry fathers of his girlfriends...and boyfriends...has made him very fleet of foot.
** Perhaps not the embodiment. He can definitely fight.

* The crew of the RedDwarf is this. At least, Dave, Rimmer and The Cat. They all start out at pretty much the bottom rung of human (or hyper-evolved cat) existence. After [[EverybodysDeadDave everyone dies]] and they are left to fend for themselves in a hostile universe they slowly become more and more competent. While hardly Gordon Freeman or Ellen Ripley, they do manage to fight off a fair amount of hostile GELFs and other nasties. Dave and Rimmer end up noticeably less pathetic, and The Cat... well... at least he's aware that there are people other than himself.

* The main character of ''{{Shadow of the Colossus}}'', who, despite not being particularly athletic or skilled with his equipment, [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu takes on 16 beasts that are hundreds if not thousands of times larger than he is]] (even if he is MadeOfIron).

* The Thespian army at Thermopylae was a partial example. Though Action ''[[KillEmAll Survivor]]" isn't quite the word, they were just as brave as the Spartans. Even though the Thespians were farmers and craftsmen. And the Spartans were a ProudWarriorRace brought up in their [[TheSpartanWay accustomed manner]].
** All Greek Hoplites were citizens, and the great majority of citizens were small freeholders. Their ethos espoused that working the land was a virtue worthy of any citizen-soldier, and their political leaders were all once soldiers and nearly all once farmers. This applied even to the Spartans, though their army was more "professional" than that of other polises who relied on a system of a citizens muster.
*** Spartans were most definitely ''not'' farmers after the reforming of their society by Lycurgus. The whole point of their system was to make their slaves [[hottip:*: ie: everyone who wasn't Spartan and lived in land controlled by Sparta]] do all the farming, while Sparta maintained a large, professional army to kill any slaves who dared to rebel.

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->"''This is not some agent provocateur or highly trained assassin we are discussing. Gordon Freeman is a [[BadassBookworm theoretical physicist who had hardly earned the distinction of his Ph.D.]] at the time of the Black Mesa Incident. I have good reason to believe that in the intervening years, he was [[HumanPopsicle in a state that precluded further development of covert skills]]. The man you have consistently failed to slow, let alone capture, is by all standards simply that -- ''an ordinary man''.''"
-->-- '''Dr. Wallace Breen''', ''[[{{Half-Life}} Half-Life 2]]''

--> -- '''WilliamShakespeare''', ''TwelfthNight''

->''"This is not some agent provocateur or highly trained assassin we are discussing. Gordon Freeman is a [[BadassBookworm theoretical physicist who had hardly earned the distinction of his Ph.D.]] at the time of the Black Mesa Incident. I have good reason to believe that in the intervening years, he was [[HumanPopsicle in a state that precluded further development of covert skills]]. The man you have consistently failed to slow, let alone capture, is by all standards simply that -- ''an ordinary man''."''
--> --'''Dr. Wallace Breen''', ''[[HalfLife Half-Life 2]]''

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''[[TwentyEightDaysLater 28 Days Later]]''

* John [=McClane=], from ''DieHard'', was initially an ActionSurvivor ''ActionHero''. In fact, the movie became an instant classic largely because of the contrast between [=McClane=] and the ubermensch ActionHero characters of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and a million B-movie "stars". Not to say that [=McClane=] isn't a certifiable BadAss, but in the first movie, he's pretty much an ordinary cop thrust into extraordinary circumstance.

* Ellen Ripley in the ''{{Alien}}'' series. But as her character is increasingly subjected to this in the series, she becomes more of an orthodox ActionHero trope. Throughout, she manages to retain most of her sensitivity and humanity, but learns how to be {{Badass}} when necessary along the way.

* Wikus from ''{{District 9}}'', who starts out as an office worker before [[spoiler:his ViralTransformation into an alien makes him a [[MacGuffinGirl Mac Guffin Guy]]]].

* Columbus of ''{{Zombieland}}'', a ''{{World of Warcraft}}''-playing HollywoodNerd who manages to survive a ZombieApocalypse mostly through being GenreSavvy.

* And let's not forget the eponymous character of ''{{Shaun of the Dead}}''. He works at an electronics store, enjoys getting drunk, listening to records loudly, and playing videogames. His whole plan consisted of picking up his mother and girlfriend, and going to his favourite bar to enjoy a cold beer. In fact, [[spoiler:the only reason he survives is the timely arrival of the military.]]

-->Ash: It's a trick. Get an Axe.

[[folder: Literature ]]
* Richard Mayhew in ''{{Neverwhere}}''. Survivor really is the word here, as the sole fact that he lived to see the ending is an ample feat of badassery.

--->'''Ridcully''': I think you're all missing the key point here. Chap survives. Talented.

* [[spoiler: Bubo the rat]] from ''A Night in the Lonesome October'' isn't actually a part of the Game, yet he manages to not only discover what's going on, but to play a subtle yet pivotal role in its outcome. Not bad for a mundane [[spoiler: rodent]].

* Rachel Sexton, Michael Tolland and Corky Marlinson, a data analyst and two civilian scientists find themselves on the run from military black ops assassins in Dan Brown's ''Deception Point.''

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]
* ''{{Chuck}}'' from the show of the same name.

* The fifth incarnation of the [[DoctorWho Doctor]] exemplifies this. He's not known for his high survival count, to say the least.

* ''{{Smallville}}'' gave their version of Lex Luthor this as an actual "superpower" caused by his exposure to kryptonite when he was younger.
* ''{{Firefly}}'': Simon Tam. He does have some Badassery but that is largely because he is such a {{Determinator}} PapaWolf about River. He prefers to be just a reasonably nice NonActionGuy.
* John Connor lives and breathes this trope throughout TheSarahConnorChronicles. Justified, in that as the future savior of mankind, John is "too important" to be sent out on missions or otherwise in the line of fire. Instead, Terminators actively seek him out, with his allies constantly fighting to keep him safe. The few times he's caught having to go up against a Terminator alone, he demonstrates remarkable cunning, ingenuity, insight and downright sheer badassery.

* The crew of the RedDwarf is this. At least, Dave, Rimmer and The Cat. They all start out at pretty much the bottom rung of human (or hyper-evolved cat) existence. After [[EverybodysDeadDave everyone dies]] and they are left to fend for themselves in a hostile universe they slowly become more and more competant. While hardly Gordon Freeman or Ellen Ripley, they do manage to fight off a fair amount of hostile GELFs and other nasties. Dave and Rimmer end up noticeably less pathetic, and The Cat... well... at least he's aware that there are people other than himself.

[[folder: Video Games ]]
* Gordon Freeman from ''{{Half Life}}''. Over the course of the games, however, he has turned into something of an ActionHero.
** Barney Calhoun is another example, in ''Blue Shift'' at least. By the time of ''HalfLife 2'' he's become a leader of the Resistance.
* Isaac Clarke from ''{{Dead Space}}'', who is just a simple engineer tasked with what he thinks is little more than a repair job. Most of his weapons, in fact, are mining tools.
** [[spoiler:Isaac could actually be argued as a {{Deconstruction}} of one, as its heavily implied throughout the game, then said flat-out by Kendra near the end, that he's gone completely insane due to the incident.]]

* Frank West from ''{{Dead Rising}}'', who's an overzealous photojournalist after a big story.

* Claire Redfield, Steve Burnside, and the Outbreak survivors from the ''ResidentEvil'' series
* The most extreme example of this trope would be from the SNES game ''Lester the Unlikely'', which stars a HollywoodNerd who ScreamsLikeALittleGirl and can barely defend himself. He has to SaveThePrincess... if he can stop running away screaming from ''tortoises''. [[spoiler: Thankfully, he gets much more confident before the end of the game.]]

[[folder: Webcomics]]

* Zoe has to play this role a lot in ''SluggyFreelance'' since she's the ArthurDent of the team. Since becoming one of the strip's [[WeirdnessMagnet Weirdness Magnets]], she's had to defend herself from vampires, demons, [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]], zombies, {{Brainwashed}} assassins, and even [[KillerRabbit rabbits]]. All with no special skills beyond occasionally [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting turning into a camel]]. She mainly gets by on luck, cleverness, and the fact that almost everyone else in the ''Sluggy'' universe is an idiot.

[[folder: Web Original]]
* The Pelvanida scientists from the first ''[=~Darwin's Soldiers~=]'' RP proved themselves to be this trope just by surviving. After that, they turned more into [[ActionHero Action Heroes]].

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

** All Greek Hopilites were citizens, and the great majority of citizens were small freeholders. Their ethos espoused that working the land was a virtue worthy of any citizen-soldier, and their political leaders were all once soldiers and nearly all once farmers. This applied even to the Spartans, though their army was more "professional" than that of other polises who relied on a system of a citizens muster.
*** Spartans were most definitely ''not'' farmers after the reforming of their society by Lycurgus. The whole point of their system was to make their slaves [[hottip:*:ie: everyone who wasn't Spartan and lived in land controlled by Sparta]] do all the farming, while Sparta maintained a large, professional army to kill any slaves who dared to rebel.

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* The Thespian army at Thermopylae was a partial example. Though "Action [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready Survivor]]" isn't quite the word, they were just as brave as the Spartans. Even though the Thespians were farmers and craftsmen. And the Spartans were a ProudWarriorRace brought up in their [[TheSpartanWay accustomed manner]].

* Rincewind the 'Wizzard' from ''{{Discworld}}''. The man is a champion runner, great at improvising and never willingly goes along with insane plans. [[CosmicPlaything Not that that stops it from happening]]. Of course, since he is ''literally'' [[strike: Fate's]] The Lady's [[CosmicPlaything plaything]], the extraordinary coincidences are no accident. At this point, due to some of his companions and their publications, so many people know about him and his penchant for surviving ''anything'' the universe can throw at him that they genuinely believe he is amazingly good at what he does.

* Keiko Yukimura from YuYuHakusho has [[{{Muggle}} no supernatural powers]] to defend herself from demonic and powerful forces. She gets by by being plucky and resourceful, shown especially when she and Botan are up against zombies controlled by insects.

* John [=McClane=], from ''DieHard'', was the proto-ActionSurvivor. In fact, the movie became an instant classic largely because of the contrast between [=McClane=] and the ubermensch ActionHero characters of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and a million B-movie "stars". Not to say that [=McClane=] isn't a certifiable BadAss, but in the first movie at least, he's pretty much an ordinary cop thrust into extraordinary circumstance.
** This trope more applies to his sidekicks in each movie, who really never want to get involved. Officer Al Powell was picking up Twinkies, Zeus Carver was just looking after his electronics shop, and the Justin Long guy was a dweeby hacker.

* OlderThanRadio: The protagonist of [[HGWells H. G. Wells]]'s ''{{The War of the Worlds}}'' pretty much does nothing to actually advance the plot; he's little more than an observer of the unfolding Martian invasion.

* Pictured above: Rokuro "Rock" Okajima from ''BlackLagoon''.

*Arguably the ''entire main cast'' of TwentiethCenturyBoys. None of them, except [[BadAssLongcoat Otcho]], are particulary strong, fast, or badass, and they're all up against a CompleteMonster BigBad trying to take over the world with the help of a brainwashed cult. Admittedly, they do [[TookALevelInBadAss level up]] over the course of the story (especially [[spoiler:Kenji]]).

** Harrison Ford has settled into this sort of role more and more with age, playing Jack Ryan in two Tom Clancy adaptations, Doctor Richar Kimball in TheFugitive and a textbook example in ''Firewall.''

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