History Main / ActionSurvivor

* ''LightNovel/DateALive'': [[TheHero Shido Itsuka]] is just a normal guy living in extraordinary times and only becomes badass because circumstances force him to. [[spoiler:Though certain revelations later make him unfit for this trope, namely that he's a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-spirit hybrid]] {{reincarnation}} of the Spirit of Origin's dead lover, not to mention he's able to manifest the sealed spirit powers inside him..]]

* ''Film/BeyondLochNess'': Zoe is the only major character aside from Brody (who's wounded early on and is the film's resident annoying douchebag) to never kill any monsters (although she throws rocks at some to distract them from Josh). Still, she has several close calls with the monsters (sometimes exposing herself to danger deliberately to help her friends) and survives due to a combination of luck, being able to climb trees, and absorbing Josh's warnings to stay absolutely still so that the creatures won't notice her when she doesn't have cover.

* The rescued schoolgirls Asilia and Tessa have become this by the end of ''Film/Rogue2020''. They come out of hiding to lure the the jihadists into the open, and Asilia even kills one--stabbing him to death with a rhino horn--although [[RealityEnsues she goes into shock afterwards]].

* ''Bait'' features Jamie 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 CombatPragmatist in him.

* Eight of the twelve main characters of ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' are, in the words of one reviewer, "one blonde college student, a peasant dancer, a puppy-dog messenger ... a [doctor] wearing a powdered wig, a monk with no weapons ... a fat architect, a nearsighted old guy, and an anemic photographer". All of them are very much capable of standing up to the brunt of the forces and powers the {{Eldritch Abomination}}s bent on invading our realm[[spoiler:, with the "anemic photographer" taking down a fearsome guardian second in power only to its Ancient and living a long life afterwards]]. Often, it takes effort from [[TheDragon Pious]] himself to dispose of them[[spoiler:, and even then, the mighty liche who could bind Mantorok fails to kill both Lindsey and Alex]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Home}}'': Tip manages to survive an alien invasion and other harrowing predicaments on her own (unless you count her cat, Pig), until she meets Oh, who isn't much help anyway. And she's a young teen, too.

* In ''VideoGame/DontStarve'', all of the playable characters could very well qualify because of the situation they have found themselves in.

* In ''VideoGame/Dont Starve'' all of the playable characters could very well qualify because of the situation they have found themselves in.

* [[spoiler: Myung Fan Lone]] from ''Anime/MacrossPlus''. Here we have a person whose life has been almost 100% CRAP for years, completely helpless as [[spoiler: [[MailerDaemon Sharon Apple]] has staged everything to give Isamu the thrill of death]]... and suddenly something snaps inside of [[spoiler: her]]. The next scenes have [[spoiler: her]] escaping from [[spoiler: her]] prison and using [[spoiler: her]] smarts and quick thinking to stop [[spoiler: Sharon]].

* In ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'', ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', and many of [[SoulsLikeRPG the games they inspired]], the PlayerCharacter is some variant of lowly faceless {{Mook|s}}. Sure, you might be able to start as a knight, but the game will explicitly say you aren't a very good one and are of low rank and status. Nevertheless, you still go on to accomplish great feats and slay powerful foes which can even include gods, all by using your RessurrectiveImmortality and [[{{Determinator}} sheer determination]] to essentially slam your face into brick wall after brick wall over and over again until they have all crumbled before you.

* The Player is this in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' compared to other characters from action games. You'll grow more powerful over time, but combat revolves around being defensive and blocking and dodging rather than just annihilating opponents.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': The show sees a few, including [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E19Provenance Sarah Blake]], [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E15TheBenders Kathleen]], and initially Kevin Tran. Also somewhat Sam at the start of the first season, as he'd left his normal life behind and embraced the hunting world.

* ''Film/TillDeath'' has Emma (played by Creator/MeganFox) navigate her dead husband's ThanatosGambit, and a good chunk of the film has her do this while handcuffed to his dead body. And later on she gets creative while [[spoiler: trying to get around her old stalker, who her husband bailed out of prison.]]

*** Rhys's accomplice and best buddy Vaughn is an accountant who is even ''less'' suited than Rhys to face the horrors of Pandora but ends up having the time of his life doing so. [[spoiler:He eventually becomes a ''tribal leader'' with a BadassBeard.]]

* Columbus of ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'', a ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''-playing HollywoodNerd who manages to survive a ZombieApocalypse mostly through being TaughtByExperience. His previously debilitating anxiety and phobias actually becoming [[ProperlyParanoid more rational and practical]] once said ZombieApocalypse happens.

* The most extreme example of this trope would be from the SNES game ''VideoGame/LesterTheUnlikely'', which stars a HollywoodNerd who ScreamsLikeALittleGirl and can barely defend himself. He has to SaveThePrincess... if he can stop [[ArtificialInsolence running away screaming from even minor enemies]], like ''tortoises''. [[spoiler:Thankfully, he gets much more confident before the end of the game.]]

The Action Survivor is an InnocentBystander in dangerous circumstances. He won't so much get TheCall as be pinned by a telephone pole, thus trapping him in an adventure that a more qualified ActionHero would have [[BringMyRedJacket trouble sorting out]].

The Action Survivor is the opposite of the Action Hero; he's pretty normal in just about every way. If the Action Hero is ostensibly a fantasy idealized self, the Action Survivor is more of a [[AudienceSurrogate self-insertion]] for the viewer, someone the audience can easily relate to. However, WishFulfillment figures into this character's development. While outrunning shadowy evildoers and keeping the MacGuffin out of reach, he'll discover he's far more cunning, resourceful and resilient than he gave himself credit for. He'll likely [[TookALevelInBadass learn more along the way]].

* Generally, he'll suck at fighting and need rescuing, choose flight, or win just by sheer luck and the skin of his teeth.
* Gets very angry when [[TrueCompanions someone he cares about]] is threatened.

Note that he's not just good at "merely" surviving the adventure like a mangled heap of bones, but is quite capable of surviving [[CouldHaveBeenMessy mostly unharmed]] while somehow managing to delay or disrupt the EvilPlan enough to foil the bad guy. In fact, said villain will likely be [[DidntSeeThatComing blindsided]] by their involvement because they planned for everything ''except'' this SpannerInTheWorks.

The Action Survivor is common not only in action movies but also horror movies and videogames, where an unprofessional protagonist adds to the desperate horror feel.

By the adventure's end you can expect him to be [[HomeSweetHome incredibly happy]] to have things go [[IJustWantToBeNormal back to normal]], although his [[CharacterDevelopment growth]] throughout the adventure means he'll be standing up to his PointyHairedBoss, dump his harpy girlfriend for his OneTrueLove, or [[UnfazedEveryman not go back to his normal life]].

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. Also compare UnfazedEveryman, InvincibleIncompetent.

* In ''Literature/{{Chrysalis}}'', Daokat manages to survive the Terran's attack on the Xunvir Republic's capital planet and hides himself away with a palace servant, only surviving the Terran's post-destruction reconnaissance because they, on a whim, showed Daokat and the servant mercy.

** Tatsuo Shinada of ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' is a former professional baseball player turned struggling layabout 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 no hardened streetfighter like the rest of the cast, he is a former athlete who keeps in amazing shape and still manages to fight off thugs in his attempts to get to the bottom of things.