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* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' has a particularly touching one. TheHero duo Woody and Buzz, along with the rest of the toys are facing their DarkestHour, the show has already ShooOutTheClowns (i.e. The LittleGreenMen Trio, who were also TheLoad}, and everyone had lost hope and given up and were just waiting for their death from the [[spoiler:Incinerator Pit]] they got themselves trapped into. Cue a literal DeusExMachina from out of nowhere (it was never in the shots!) in the form of [[spoiler: [[CallBack THE CLAW]]]], controlled by none other than [[spoiler: The Little Green Men trio, whom Mr Potatohead "rescued" (and ignored for repeatedly saying [[BrokenRecord "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful!"]]) back in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2''. Which prompts him to [[MeaningfulEcho echo their words]] to them after their rescue. As for the relevance of The Claw; The LGM were toys obtainable only through a Claw Crane Game in Pizza Planet. they consider The Claw there as [[CrystalDragonJesus sort of savior]] that will "[[TheChooserOfTheOne take the chosen to a better place]]". Making The Claw scene in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' a Foreshadowing]].
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' has a particularly touching one. TheHero duo Woody and Buzz, along with the rest of the toys are facing their DarkestHour, the show has already ShooOutTheClowns (i.e. The LittleGreenMen Trio, who were also TheLoad}, and everyone had lost hope and given up and were just waiting for their death from the [[spoiler:Incinerator Pit]] they got themselves trapped into. Cue a literal DeusExMachina from out of nowhere (it was never in the shots!) in the form of [[spoiler: [[CallBack THE CLAW]]]], controlled by none other than [[spoiler: The Little Green Men trio, whom Mr Potatohead "rescued" (and ignored for repeatedly saying [[BrokenRecord "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful!"]]) back in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2''. Which prompts him to [[MeaningfulEcho echo their words]] to them after their rescue. As for the relevance of The Claw; The LGM were toys obtainable only through a Claw Crane Game in Pizza Planet. they They consider The Claw there as [[CrystalDragonJesus sort of savior]] that will "[[TheChooserOfTheOne take the chosen to a better place]]". Making The Claw scene in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' a Foreshadowing]].
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* Anime/DigimonTamers has a mild example, with it being the adult scientists and government agents who come up with, build and plan how to defeat the D-Reaper, the kids simply have to bring the resulting device to the D-Reaper's core. It enters this trope by the amount of screen time and plot focus said scientists get, and the last few episodes pointing out that the kids are kinda standing around getting in the way during the periods where they're not actually fighting.
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** Sab Than is killed by [[TheLancer Tars Tarkas]] for John Carter, as Martian customs decree that he cannot marry the woman if he killed her husband/betrothed.
** The false goddess Issus is handed over to her former worshipers by Carter after exposing her to do with her as they will.
** Played with in the third book, which has a [[BigBadDuumvirate Big Bad Triumvirate]] and Carter only kills one member of the group before the final confrontation, while the other two turn on each other during the climax.
** The false goddess Issus is handed over to her former worshipers by Carter after exposing her to do with her as they will.
** Played with in the third book, which has a [[BigBadDuumvirate Big Bad Triumvirate]] and Carter only kills one member of the group before the final confrontation, while the other two turn on each other during the climax.
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** Sab Than is killed by [[TheLancer Tars Tarkas]] for John Carter, during the first book's climax. This trope is actually a ''plot point'' since Than was betrothed to Carter's love interest, as Martian customs decree that he cannot marry the a woman if he killed her husband/betrothed.
husband/betrothed, and with Tars being the one to do the deed allows Carter to marry her.
**The After besieging her domain and exposing the false goddess Issus is handed Issus, Carter simply hands her over to her former worshipers by Carter after exposing her an angry mob to do with her them as they will.
will, who proceeds to literally tear her apart.
** Played with in the third book, which has a [[BigBadDuumvirate Big Bad Triumvirate]] and Carter only kills one member of the group before the final confrontation, while the other two turn on each other during the climax. The last bad guy standing is then offed by the DarkChick of all people [[AvengingTheVillain for killing her father]].
**
** Played with in the third book, which has a [[BigBadDuumvirate Big Bad Triumvirate]] and Carter only kills one member of the group before the final confrontation, while the other two turn on each other during the climax. The last bad guy standing is then offed by the DarkChick of all people [[AvengingTheVillain for killing her father]].
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[[/folder]]
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** Played with in the third book, which has a [[BigBadDuumvirate Big Bad Triumvirate]] and Carter only kills one member of it before the final confrontation, while the other two turn on each other during the climax.
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** Played with in the third book, which has a [[BigBadDuumvirate Big Bad Triumvirate]] and Carter only kills one member of it the group before the final confrontation, while the other two turn on each other during the climax.climax.
[[/folder]]
[[/folder]]
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* In the first trilogy of ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'', all main antagonists are felled by someone else's hands other than the titular character.
** Sab Than is killed by [[TheLancer Tars Tarkas]] for John Carter, as Martian customs decree that he cannot marry the woman if he killed her husband/betrothed.
** The false goddess Issus is handed over to her former worshipers by Carter after exposing her to do with her as they will.
** Played with in the third book, which has a [[BigBadDuumvirate Big Bad Triumvirate]] and Carter only kills one member of it before the final confrontation, while the other two turn on each other during the climax.
** Sab Than is killed by [[TheLancer Tars Tarkas]] for John Carter, as Martian customs decree that he cannot marry the woman if he killed her husband/betrothed.
** The false goddess Issus is handed over to her former worshipers by Carter after exposing her to do with her as they will.
** Played with in the third book, which has a [[BigBadDuumvirate Big Bad Triumvirate]] and Carter only kills one member of it before the final confrontation, while the other two turn on each other during the climax.
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Why was this deleted?
* CrackDefeat. The focal characters lose to an unlikely competitor.
* DarkHorseVictory. A Plot involving competing rivals in a contest, where the focus of the story is the rivals, but the winner is neither of them. Do note, however, that this trope doesn't have to signify a resolution of the conflict.
* DarkHorseVictory. A Plot involving competing rivals in a contest, where the focus of the story is the rivals, but the winner is neither of them. Do note, however, that this trope doesn't have to signify a resolution of the conflict.
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* DarkHorseVictory. A Plot involving competing rivals in a contest, where the focus of the story is the rivals, but the winner is neither of them. Do note, however, that this trope doesn't have to signify a resolution of the conflict.
* CrackDefeat. The focal characters lose to an unlikely competitor.
* CrackDefeat. The focal characters lose to an unlikely competitor.
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Unrelated to the following:
* AlmightyJanitor: This trope is about someone with low position in an organization exercising power or authority as if he had a higher position. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: A RoundCharacter who is implied to have Offscreen Heroics outside the Story where he is a HeroOfAnotherStory of. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* BadassBystander: A LivingProp, SpearCarrier, or BitCharacter who is revealed to be {{Badass}}. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* DecoyProtagonist: Someone played up to be TheProtagonist. But is later usurped in role by the real Protagonist later in the narrative. May lose his prominent role completely and get DemotedToExtra or worse, killed. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* AlmightyJanitor: This trope is about someone with low position in an organization exercising power or authority as if he had a higher position. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: A RoundCharacter who is implied to have Offscreen Heroics outside the Story where he is a HeroOfAnotherStory of. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* BadassBystander: A LivingProp, SpearCarrier, or BitCharacter who is revealed to be {{Badass}}. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* DecoyProtagonist: Someone played up to be TheProtagonist. But is later usurped in role by the real Protagonist later in the narrative. May lose his prominent role completely and get DemotedToExtra or worse, killed. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
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Unrelated to the following:
* AlmightyJanitor: This trope is about someone with low position in an organization exercising power or authority as if he had a higher position. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: A RoundCharacter who is implied to have Offscreen Heroics outside the Story where he is a HeroOfAnotherStory of. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* BadassBystander: A LivingProp, SpearCarrier, or BitCharacter who is revealed to be {{Badass}}. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* DecoyProtagonist: Someone played up to be TheProtagonist. But is later usurped in role by the real Protagonist later in the narrative. May lose his prominent role completely and get DemotedToExtra or worse, killed. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* AlmightyJanitor: This trope is about someone with low position in an organization exercising power or authority as if he had a higher position. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: A RoundCharacter who is implied to have Offscreen Heroics outside the Story where he is a HeroOfAnotherStory of. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* BadassBystander: A LivingProp, SpearCarrier, or BitCharacter who is revealed to be {{Badass}}. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* DecoyProtagonist: Someone played up to be TheProtagonist. But is later usurped in role by the real Protagonist later in the narrative. May lose his prominent role completely and get DemotedToExtra or worse, killed. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
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* In the third season finale of ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' which deal with the Turtles' FinalBattle with Ch'rell, the Utrom Shredder (at least until ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever''), the Turtles attempted to stop the Shredder from leaving the Earth and continue his attempt to take over the Utrom homeworld. Despite their best efforts, their final encounter with him, following him entering a new, more powerful exosuit, resulted in them being defeated by the Shredder worse than ever before. Feeling there was no alternative, the Turtles chose to [[TakingYouWithMe blow up the Shredder's starship]] rather than let him spread his evil across the universe. However, it is then that the Utroms arrive, and using space-time technology, pull everyone off the ship before its destroyed, rendering the Turtles HeroicSacrifice unnecessary, along with everything they did since the beginning of the two part finale. Following that, the Shredder is finally brought to justice, not by the Turtles, but by the Utroms, who send him into permanent exile for his crimes. Whatever bitterness the fans had over this was apparently mirrored in Leo, who spent half the next season [[MyGreaestFailure dealing with the failure]] to stop the Shredder by growing angrier and edgier than Raphael.
to:
* In the third season finale of ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' which deal with the Turtles' FinalBattle with Ch'rell, the Utrom Shredder (at least until ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever''), the Turtles attempted to stop the Shredder from leaving the Earth and continue his attempt to take over the Utrom homeworld. Despite their best efforts, their final encounter with him, following him entering a new, more powerful exosuit, resulted in them being defeated by the Shredder worse than ever before. Feeling there was no alternative, the Turtles chose to [[TakingYouWithMe blow up the Shredder's starship]] rather than let him spread his evil across the universe. However, it is then that the Utroms arrive, and using space-time technology, pull everyone off the ship before its destroyed, rendering the Turtles HeroicSacrifice unnecessary, along with everything they did since the beginning of the two part finale. Following that, the Shredder is finally brought to justice, not by the Turtles, but by the Utroms, who send him into permanent exile for his crimes. Whatever bitterness the fans had over this was apparently mirrored in Leo, who spent half the next season [[MyGreaestFailure [[MyGreatestFailure dealing with the failure]] to stop the Shredder by growing angrier and edgier than Raphael.
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* In the third season finale of ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' which deal with the Turtles' FinalBattle with Ch'rell, the Utrom Shredder (at least until ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever''), the Turtles attempted to stop the Shredder from leaving the Earth and continue his attempt to take over the Utrom homeworld. Despite their best efforts, their final encounter with him, following him entering a new, more powerful exosuit, resulted in them being defeated by the Shredder worse than ever before. Feeling there was no alternative, the Turtles chose to [[TakingYouWithMe blow up the Shredder's starship]] rather than let him spread his evil across the universe. However, it is then that the Utroms arrive, and using space-time technology, pull everyone off the ship before its destroyed, rendering the Turtles HeroicSacrifice unnecessary, along with everything they did since the beginning of the two part finale. Following that, the Shredder is finally brought to justice, not by the Turtles, but by the Utroms, who send him into permanent exile for his crimes. Whatever bitterness the fans had over this was apparently mirrored in Leo, who spent half the next season [[MyGreaestFailure dealing with the failure]] to stop the Shredder by growing angrier and edgier than Raphael.
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* In, ''Film/TheJackal'', the terrorist released from prison and hired to help stop the feared assassin (who he worked with in the past) from killing a politician, doesn't kill him in the end, as the Jackal gets the best of him. Instead, he is killed by the terrorist past love interest. Becomes DeathByIrony, because the Jackal kept taunting him about how he can't protect his women. But clearly, his women can protect him.
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* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has done this often. The biggest offender is the two part 'Red Gyarados' arc. First Ash, Misty, and Brock end up getting captured by Team Rocket, meaning Lance had to save them. Then, Lance was the one to take defeat the Team Rocket Trio and destroy the base where the evolution experiment was being conducted. Then, ''Lance'' was the one to defeat and capture the lead grunt, and finally, '''''Lance''''' was the one to capture the red Gyarados after Ash and his friends failed to stop it. [[TheMeddlingKidsAreUseless Why were Ash and the others there again?]]
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* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has done this often. The biggest offender is the two part 'Red Gyarados' arc. First Ash, Misty, and Brock end up getting captured by Team Rocket, meaning Lance had to save them. Then, Lance was the one to take defeat the Team Rocket Trio and destroy the base where the evolution experiment was being conducted. Then, ''Lance'' was the one to defeat and capture the lead grunt, and finally, '''''Lance''''' was the one to capture the red Gyarados after Ash and his friends failed to stop it. [[TheMeddlingKidsAreUseless Why were Ash and the others there again?]]
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* ''LightNovel/ZetsuenNoTempest'' has The Mage of Exodus [[spoiler: [[ClassicalAntiHero Megumu]] [[{{Adorkable}} Hanemura]]]]-- who didn't have any trace of involvement in the first half of the story, which was about [[HeroProtagonist Mahiro]]'s quest to avenge his DeadLittleSister with his good friend [[SupportingProtagonist Yoshino]], which happens to involve SavingTheWorld from the eponymous "Civilization Blaster" (which was revealed to literally be ''the'' source of ''all'' {{Conflict}}s in the story) as well-- ending up being the one SavingTheWorld and "getting ''his'' girl" ([[TheGhost Who herself]] was never even ''named'').
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* ''LightNovel/ZetsuenNoTempest'' has The Mage of Exodus [[spoiler: [[ClassicalAntiHero Megumu]] [[{{Adorkable}} Hanemura]]]]-- who didn't have any trace of involvement in the first half of the story, which was about [[HeroProtagonist Mahiro]]'s quest to avenge his DeadLittleSister with his good friend [[SupportingProtagonist Yoshino]], which happens to involve SavingTheWorld from the eponymous "Civilization Blaster" (which was revealed to literally be ''the'' source of ''all'' {{Conflict}}s in the story) as well-- ending up being the one SavingTheWorld and "getting ''his'' girl" ([[TheGhost Who herself]] was never even ''named''). ''named'').
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has done this often. The biggest offender is the two part 'Red Gyarados' arc. First Ash, Misty, and Brock end up getting captured by Team Rocket, meaning Lance had to save them. Then, Lance was the one to take defeat the Team Rocket Trio and destroy the base where the evolution experiment was being conducted. Then, ''Lance'' was the one to defeat and capture the lead grunt, and finally, '''''Lance''''' was the one to capture the red Gyarados after Ash and his friends failed to stop it. [[TheMeddlingKidsAreUseless Why were Ash and the others there again?]]
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has done this often. The biggest offender is the two part 'Red Gyarados' arc. First Ash, Misty, and Brock end up getting captured by Team Rocket, meaning Lance had to save them. Then, Lance was the one to take defeat the Team Rocket Trio and destroy the base where the evolution experiment was being conducted. Then, ''Lance'' was the one to defeat and capture the lead grunt, and finally, '''''Lance''''' was the one to capture the red Gyarados after Ash and his friends failed to stop it. [[TheMeddlingKidsAreUseless Why were Ash and the others there again?]]
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* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' has a particularly touching one. TheHero duo Woody and Buzz, along with the rest of the toys are facing their DarkestHour, the show has already ShooOutTheClowns (i.e. The LittleGreenMen Trio, who were also TheLoad}, and everyone had lost hope and given up and were just waiting for their death from the [[spoiler:Incinerator Pit]] they got themselves trapped into. Cue a literal DeusExMachina from out of nowhere (it was never in the shots!) in the form of [[spoiler: [[CallBack THE CLAW]]]], controlled by none other than [[spoiler: The Little Green Men trio, whom Mr Potatohead "rescued" (and ignored for repeatedly saying [[BrokenRecord "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful!"]]) back in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2''. Which prompts him to [[MeaningfulEcho echo their words]] to them after their rescue. As for the relevance of The Claw; The LGM were toys obtainable only through a Claw Crane Game in Pizza Planet. they consider The Claw there as [[CrystalDragonJesus sort of savior]] that will "[[ChooserOfTheOne take the chosen to a better place]]". Making The Claw scene in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' a Foreshadowing]].
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' has a particularly touching one. TheHero duo Woody and Buzz, along with the rest of the toys are facing their DarkestHour, the show has already ShooOutTheClowns (i.e. The LittleGreenMen Trio, who were also TheLoad}, and everyone had lost hope and given up and were just waiting for their death from the [[spoiler:Incinerator Pit]] they got themselves trapped into. Cue a literal DeusExMachina from out of nowhere (it was never in the shots!) in the form of [[spoiler: [[CallBack THE CLAW]]]], controlled by none other than [[spoiler: The Little Green Men trio, whom Mr Potatohead "rescued" (and ignored for repeatedly saying [[BrokenRecord "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful!"]]) back in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2''. Which prompts him to [[MeaningfulEcho echo their words]] to them after their rescue. As for the relevance of The Claw; The LGM were toys obtainable only through a Claw Crane Game in Pizza Planet. they consider The Claw there as [[CrystalDragonJesus sort of savior]] that will "[[ChooserOfTheOne "[[TheChooserOfTheOne take the chosen to a better place]]". Making The Claw scene in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' a Foreshadowing]].
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Changed line(s) 40 (click to see context) from:
* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' has a particularly touching one. TheHero duo Woody and Buzz, along with the rest of the toys are facing their DarkestHour, the show has already ShooOutTheClowns (i.e. The LittleGreenMen Trio, who were also TheLoad}, and everyone had lost hope and given up and were just waiting for their death from the [[spoiler:Incinerator Pit]] they got themselves trapped into. Cue a literal DeusExMachina from out of nowhere (it was never in the shots!) in the form of [[spoiler: [[CallBack THE CLAW]]]], controlled by non other than [[spoiler: The Little Green Men trio, whom Mr Potatohead "rescued" (and ignored for repeatedly saying [[BrokenRecord "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful!"]]) back in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2''. Which prompts him to [[MeaningfulEcho echo their words]] to them after their rescue. As for the relevance of The Claw. The LGM were toys obtainable only through a Claw Crane Game in Pizza Planet. they consider The Claw there as [[CrystalDragonJesus sort of savior]] that will "[[ChooserOfTheOne take the chosen to a better place]]". Making The Claw scene in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' a Foreshadowing]].
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' has a particularly touching one. TheHero duo Woody and Buzz, along with the rest of the toys are facing their DarkestHour, the show has already ShooOutTheClowns (i.e. The LittleGreenMen Trio, who were also TheLoad}, and everyone had lost hope and given up and were just waiting for their death from the [[spoiler:Incinerator Pit]] they got themselves trapped into. Cue a literal DeusExMachina from out of nowhere (it was never in the shots!) in the form of [[spoiler: [[CallBack THE CLAW]]]], controlled by non none other than [[spoiler: The Little Green Men trio, whom Mr Potatohead "rescued" (and ignored for repeatedly saying [[BrokenRecord "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful!"]]) back in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2''. Which prompts him to [[MeaningfulEcho echo their words]] to them after their rescue. As for the relevance of The Claw. Claw; The LGM were toys obtainable only through a Claw Crane Game in Pizza Planet. they consider The Claw there as [[CrystalDragonJesus sort of savior]] that will "[[ChooserOfTheOne take the chosen to a better place]]". Making The Claw scene in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' a Foreshadowing]].
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* In ''Webcomic/DMOfTheRings'' the three remaining players in the game, playing Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, get very annoyed that for all their hard work, victory or defeat in the campaign comes down to a dice roll by the DM for whether or not Frodo, now an offscreen NPC after the hobbits' players left to play ''d20 Franchise/StarWars'', can throw the Ring into Mount Doom.
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* In ''Webcomic/DMOfTheRings'' the three remaining players in the game, playing Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, get very annoyed that for all their hard work, victory or defeat in the campaign comes down to a dice roll by the DM for whether or not Frodo, now an offscreen NPC after the hobbits' players left to play ''d20 Franchise/StarWars'', ''TabletopGame/StarWarsD20'', can throw the Ring into Mount Doom.
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* ''Disney/ToyStory3'' has a particularly touching one. TheHero duo Woody and Buzz, along with the rest of the toys are facing their DarkestHour, the show has already ShooOutTheClowns (i.e. The LittleGreenMen Trio, who were also TheLoad}, and everyone had lost hope and given up and were just waiting for their death from the [[spoiler:Incinerator Pit]] they got themselves trapped into. Cue a literal DeusExMachina from out of nowhere (it was never in the shots!) in the form of [[spoiler: [[CallBack THE CLAW]]]], controlled by non other than [[spoiler: The Little Green Men trio, whom Mr Potatohead "rescued" (and ignored for repeatedly saying [[BrokenRecord "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful!"]]) back in ''Disney/ToyStory2''. Which prompts him to [[MeaningfulEcho echo their words]] to them after their rescue. As for the relevance of The Claw. The LGM were toys obtainable only through a Claw Crane Game in Pizza Planet. they consider The Claw there as [[CrystalDragonJesus sort of savior]] that will "[[ChooserOfTheOne take the chosen to a better place]]". Making The Claw scene in ''Film/ToyStory'' one heck of a Foreshadowing]].
to:
* ''Disney/ToyStory3'' ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' has a particularly touching one. TheHero duo Woody and Buzz, along with the rest of the toys are facing their DarkestHour, the show has already ShooOutTheClowns (i.e. The LittleGreenMen Trio, who were also TheLoad}, and everyone had lost hope and given up and were just waiting for their death from the [[spoiler:Incinerator Pit]] they got themselves trapped into. Cue a literal DeusExMachina from out of nowhere (it was never in the shots!) in the form of [[spoiler: [[CallBack THE CLAW]]]], controlled by non other than [[spoiler: The Little Green Men trio, whom Mr Potatohead "rescued" (and ignored for repeatedly saying [[BrokenRecord "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful!"]]) back in ''Disney/ToyStory2''.''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2''. Which prompts him to [[MeaningfulEcho echo their words]] to them after their rescue. As for the relevance of The Claw. The LGM were toys obtainable only through a Claw Crane Game in Pizza Planet. they consider The Claw there as [[CrystalDragonJesus sort of savior]] that will "[[ChooserOfTheOne take the chosen to a better place]]". Making The Claw scene in ''Film/ToyStory'' one heck of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' a Foreshadowing]].
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* ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' has a particularly cruel version of this. Throughout the entire series, we are told that Merlin will guide Arthur into being the king of Camelot. Together they will unite Albion, legalize magic and rule through a new Golden Age. However, [[spoiler: Arthur dies in the GrandFinale and Merlin goes into self-imposed exile, leaving Queen Guinevere to accomplish all these goals.]] While the two set the framework for Albion and indeed make it possible, they aren't the ones to accomplish that HappyEnding.
to:
* ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' has a particularly cruel version of this. Throughout the entire series, we are told that Merlin will guide Arthur into being the king of Camelot. Together they will unite Albion, legalize magic and rule through a new Golden Age. However, [[spoiler: Arthur dies in the GrandFinale and Merlin goes into self-imposed exile, leaving Queen Guinevere to accomplish all these goals.]] While the two set the framework for Albion and indeed make it possible, they aren't the ones to accomplish achieve that HappyEnding.
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* ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' has a particularly cruel version of this. Throughout the entire series, we are told that Merlin will guide Arthur into being the king of Camelot. Together they will unite Albion, legalize magic and rule through a new Golden Age. However, [[spoiler: Arthur dies in the GrandFinale and Merlin goes into self-imposed exile, leaving Queen Guinevere to accomplish all these goals.]] While the two set the framework for Albion and indeed make it possible, they aren't the ones to accomplish that HappyEnding.
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* In ''Discworld/MonstruousRegiment'' Polly is the protagonist but it is [[spoiler:the Duchess (channelled by Wazzer)]] who saves Borogravia.
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'''Ben:''' She could've killed me.\\
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[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* In the season 5 final of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Buffy has defeated [[BigBad Glory]], but Glory reverts to the form of her human host Ben, and Buffy can't kill an innocent human even if that means a powerful Demon God will be able to return to menace everybody again. Enter Giles.
'''Ben:''' She could've killed me.\\
'''Giles:''' No, she couldn't. Never. And sooner or later Glory will re-emerge, and... make Buffy pay for that mercy. And the world with her. Buffy even knows that ... and still she couldn't take a human life. She's a hero, you see. [[ImNotAHeroIm She's not like us.]]\\
'''Ben:''' [[OhCrap ...us?]]\\
(Giles calmly smothers Ben to death)
[[/folder]]
* In the season 5 final of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Buffy has defeated [[BigBad Glory]], but Glory reverts to the form of her human host Ben, and Buffy can't kill an innocent human even if that means a powerful Demon God will be able to return to menace everybody again. Enter Giles.
'''Ben:''' She could've killed me.\\
'''Giles:''' No, she couldn't. Never. And sooner or later Glory will re-emerge, and... make Buffy pay for that mercy. And the world with her. Buffy even knows that ... and still she couldn't take a human life. She's a hero, you see. [[ImNotAHeroIm She's not like us.]]\\
'''Ben:''' [[OhCrap ...us?]]\\
(Giles calmly smothers Ben to death)
[[/folder]]
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* In ''TheHobbit,'' Smaug isn't killed by Bilbo, or Gandalf, or any of the dwarves. It's Bard the Bowman who finishes him off.
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Adam is clearly played as a protagonist alongside Blake, so the example doesn\'t fit even if it breaks the so called formula
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[[folder:Web Original]]
* In the "Black" trailer for ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', it's Blake's partner Adam who ends up finishing off their opponent, leaving some viewers disappointed, as all the other trailers had their respective protagonists going solo and delivering fairly spectacular finishes to their opponents.
[[/folder]]
* In the "Black" trailer for ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', it's Blake's partner Adam who ends up finishing off their opponent, leaving some viewers disappointed, as all the other trailers had their respective protagonists going solo and delivering fairly spectacular finishes to their opponents.
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[[folder:Web Original]]
* In the "Black" trailer for ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', it's Blake's partner Adam who ends up finishing off their opponent, leaving some viewers disappointed, as all the other trailers had their respective protagonists going solo and delivering fairly spectacular finishes to their opponents.
[[/folder]]
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----
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(forgot to actually delete the example, sorry)
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* In ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'', The story is about Little Red delivering stuff to her granny, until she was spotted and tailed to her granny's house by TheBigBadWolf who then impersonates her granny to eat her. TheProtagonist, Little Red, is then bailed out of a DownerEnding of being wolf food by a lowly huntsman (or lumberjack, DependingOnTheWriter), who sometimes isn't even mentioned [[DeusExMachina until the last moment]].
** Do note that in the older version of the story, there aren't supposed to be any huntsman - the story stops right after the wolf ate her.
** Do note that in the older version of the story, there aren't supposed to be any huntsman - the story stops right after the wolf ate her.
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[cont\'d] please read Conversation In The Main Page to learn why you shouldn\'t tack on a second-level bulletpoint to an example.
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As we talked over in YKTTW, Little Red Riding Hood is not a Hero Protagonist and is not expected to kill the wolf, and the lumberjack is not a Red Herring Shirt because we don\'t even know about his existence until he comes to LRRH\'s rescue. Not an example. — Also, *please
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That\'s not what happens. There are actually four bad guys. Marshall Will Kane kills three of them, his wife Amy kills only one. The last bady guy takes Amy hostage, but she claws at his face, and he pushes her away, allowing Will to shoot him. It\'s a team effort, but it was mostly Will.
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* ''Film/HighNoon'': A marshall is in a showdown. In the end he's about to get killed when [[spoiler: his Quaker wife]] kills the bad guy instead.
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An unorthodox {{Plot|s}}[=/=]StoryArc where a character gets much CharacterFocus and is clearly played up to be a HeroProtagonist--as in TheProtagonist, whom the plot is about, who will also be the one to resolve his plot's {{Conflict}} -- and it turns out the conflict isn't resolved by him, but someone else instead.
The only requirement for this trope is that we have TheProtagonist "Alice" (could also be a group) who is actively trying to kill the conflict and whom the narrative is focused on, and there is this RedHerringShirt "Bob" (again, can also be a group) who the narrative doesn't pay much attention to, who then kills the source of {{Conflict}} for whatever reason, leaving Alice with nothing more to do since the StoryArc is technically over with the conflict out of the way.
'''Note:''' Just because the "StoryArc is over", doesn't mean the story ''ends''. this kind of plot can also happen to a sub arc, not just {{Grand Finale}}s, so it can still allow the story to continue.
SuperTrope to the following:
[[index]]
* TheMeddlingKidsAreUseless, where the eponymous kids [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything do everything]] except resolve the plot.
* DarkHorseVictory. A Plot involving competing rivals in a contest, where the focus of the story is the rivals, but the winner is neither of them. Do note, however, that this trope doesn't have to signify a resolution of the conflict.
* CrackDefeat. The focal characters lose to an unlikely competitor.
[[/index]]
Involves a RedHerringShirt by nature, called "Bob" here. Compare ADayInTheLimelight, where a minor character (or a group of them) gets an episode where they are TheProtagonist. Will sometimes overlap with ShaggyDogStory, when TheProtagonist's efforts become for naught as someone else resolves the conflict before he can. May be a DeusExMachina in execution if the "Bob's" intervention comes out of nowhere; to avoid such a case, the story may show Bob half-prominently but with little relevance to the story [[ChekhovsGunman until later]]. If the "Bob" of the plot resolves the conflict by accident/not by his own volition, he may be hailed as an AccidentalHero after the events of the plot.
Compare SupportingProtagonist, the counterpart for said "resolver", as well as BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork, when a villain plays the "resolver" role.
Unrelated to the following:
* AlmightyJanitor: This trope is about someone with low position in an organization exercising power or authority as if he had a higher position. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: A RoundCharacter who is implied to have Offscreen Heroics outside the Story where he is a HeroOfAnotherStory of. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* BadassBystander: A LivingProp, SpearCarrier, or BitCharacter who is revealed to be {{Badass}}. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* DecoyProtagonist: Someone played up to be TheProtagonist. But is later usurped in role by the real Protagonist later in the narrative. May lose his prominent role completely and get DemotedToExtra or worse, killed. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
*''LightNovel/ZetsuenNoTempest'' has The Mage of Exodus [[spoiler: [[ClassicalAntiHero Megumu]] [[{{Adorkable}} Hanemura]]]]-- who didn't have any trace of involvement in the first half of the story, which was about [[HeroProtagonist Mahiro]]'s quest to avenge his DeadLittleSister with his good friend [[SupportingProtagonist Yoshino]], which happens to involve SavingTheWorld from the eponymous "Civilization Blaster" (which was revealed to literally be ''the'' source of ''all'' {{Conflict}}s in the story) as well-- ending up being the one SavingTheWorld and "getting ''his'' girl" ([[TheGhost Who herself]] was never even ''named'').
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In one Annual Special of ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'' written by Creator/KurtBusiek, both the Avengers and the Comicbook/SquadronSupreme are extorted into participating in a "tournament" against the villainous [[BoisterousBruiser Champion]], who wants to take on both teams to prove that he's the WorldsBestWarrior. The stipulation is that if they don't participate, and win, he will kill millions of innocent people. Indeed, the teams split up into various skirmish teams and try to locate Champion, who ambushes and defeats all of them one by one. Champion, [[EvilVirtues a man of his word]], goes back to his lair to activate his WeaponOfMassDestruction, only to find that Comicbook/AntMan, who wasn't even one of the Avengers he'd challenged (and wasn't even in the story until now), has deactivated it. Both teams then show up with the full rosters and [[CurbStompBattle curbstomp]] an angry Champion who whines to Comicbook/CaptainAmerica that this is [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen very unsportsmanlike]]. Captain America [[KirkSummation retorts that the Avengers]] [[CombatPragmatist don't care one whit about proving who's "toughest"]]. [[SoldierVsWarrior Their first priority was to save lives.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film - Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', Rodney was played up to have the makings of a hero when he stood up against CorruptCorporateExecutive Ratchet with his RagtagBunchOfMisfits. At the final confrontation? [[spoiler:his RobotBuddy [[KillerRabbit Wonderbot]] who is]] a robot (who up until then, was just a PluckyComicRelief) built specifically to ''help in dishwashing'' is the one who ''fights'' the BiggerBad, puts TheBigBad right back to his place, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and kicks]] the {{Jerkass}} receptionist out. Justified in that Rodney was played up as a ''ScienceHero'', not an ActionHero, and in the climax, he actually played SupportingLeader and helped collectively defeat TheBigBad's [[TheHorde minions]].
* ''Disney/ToyStory3'' has a particularly touching one. TheHero duo Woody and Buzz, along with the rest of the toys are facing their DarkestHour, the show has already ShooOutTheClowns (i.e. The LittleGreenMen Trio, who were also TheLoad}, and everyone had lost hope and given up and were just waiting for their death from the [[spoiler:Incinerator Pit]] they got themselves trapped into. Cue a literal DeusExMachina from out of nowhere (it was never in the shots!) in the form of [[spoiler: [[CallBack THE CLAW]]]], controlled by non other than [[spoiler: The Little Green Men trio, whom Mr Potatohead "rescued" (and ignored for repeatedly saying [[BrokenRecord "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful!"]]) back in ''Disney/ToyStory2''. Which prompts him to [[MeaningfulEcho echo their words]] to them after their rescue. As for the relevance of The Claw. The LGM were toys obtainable only through a Claw Crane Game in Pizza Planet. they consider The Claw there as [[CrystalDragonJesus sort of savior]] that will "[[ChooserOfTheOne take the chosen to a better place]]". Making The Claw scene in ''Film/ToyStory'' one heck of a Foreshadowing]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film - Live Action]]
* In ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', the role of James Bond in the plot is actually rather limited. He spends most of his time tailing Goldfinger and hanging out in his base as a prisoner, always ''trying'' to get intel outside, but failing. [[spoiler:Sure, he does manage to kill both Goldfinger and Oddjob, but that doesn't affect the plot very much, and the bulk of the work ends up being done by the US Army and the CIA. They even disarm the nuke for Bond. The only vital thing Bond does manage to do is, ironically enough, screwing Pussy Galore (who then performs a HeelFaceTurn and sabotages Goldfinger's 'grand slam')]].
* ''Film/TheMeteorMan'': A guy is given superpowers by a meteor and tries to clean up his corrupt neighborhood. At the end the bad guys have him, but he makes an impassioned speech and the listening apartment dwellers fight back (one, a jazz fan, by throwing his valuable records as Frisbees).
* ''Film/HighNoon'': A marshall is in a showdown. In the end he's about to get killed when [[spoiler: his Quaker wife]] kills the bad guy instead.
* In ''Film/IronMan3'', Tony realizes the BigBad is still alive but unfortunately, he doesn't have his armor. Fortunately, a newly super-powered Pepper Potts comes in to take care of business.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'', The story is about Little Red delivering stuff to her granny, until she was spotted and tailed to her granny's house by TheBigBadWolf who then impersonates her granny to eat her. TheProtagonist, Little Red, is then bailed out of a DownerEnding of being wolf food by a lowly huntsman (or lumberjack, DependingOnTheWriter), who sometimes isn't even mentioned [[DeusExMachina until the last moment]].
** Do note that in the older version of the story, there aren't supposed to be any huntsman - the story stops right after the wolf ate her.
* In the John Boland novel ''White August'', scientist Dr. Garrett has been vital in figuring out what is causing the freak England-wide snowstorm, and develops a device to track down its source. He helps track down several lesser weather control devices that are shielding the main one, but just as he locates the last one, is shot down and is rendered comatose. The United States military resolves the conflict by dropping an atomic bomb near enough to the final device to knock it out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Newspaper SpiderMan's conflicts were nearly always settled by someone else, as he never outgrew his loser status unlike his hardcover comic counterpart.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/DMOfTheRings'' the three remaining players in the game, playing Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, get very annoyed that for all their hard work, victory or defeat in the campaign comes down to a dice roll by the DM for whether or not Frodo, now an offscreen NPC after the hobbits' players left to play ''d20 Franchise/StarWars'', can throw the Ring into Mount Doom.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''Franchise/SpongebobSquarepants'', in the episode "The Great Snail Race". Squidward (who is the first one actually joining with his new arrival racing snail Snellie), Spongebob (joins after knowing about the race), and later, Patrick (joins after Spongebob); decide to join a [[TheBigRace Snail Race]] competition. The story focused on Gary's TrainingMontage [[TrainingFromHell From Hell]] and setting up Snellie as TheRival and revealing Patrick's "snail" [[ShoutOutThemeNaming Rocky]] as a... literal rock. At the climax of the story, where Gary gets a HeroicRROD from exhaustion from his training, Snellie turns back to help him and they fall in love while Rocky wins despite there being other snail competitors. ROCK. BEATS. SNAIL. which predictably got a YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe response from the other competitors.
*''Main/TransformersGeneration1'': Near the end of the 3-part ''"More the Meets the Eye"'' pilot series, [[TheHero Optimus]] [[TheCaptain Prime]] literally gets shot down while trying to pursue the Decepticon space cruiser. When the other Autobots regroup with him, he notices that [[{{ninja}} Mirage]] [[ChekhovsGun is missing.]] The scene then shifts back to the Decepticons [[spoiler: right as Mirage de-cloaks and guns down the ship's controls. Then bails as the ship plummets into the ocean, taking the Decepticons with it]].
* Often used on ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' for RuleOfFunny. "WesternAnimation/TheDoverBoys" has a double-whammy for one. First of all the villain isn't defeated by the heroes, but by the DamselInDistress, who beats him up even as she calls for help. By the time the Dover Boys arrive to finish the job, they only succeed in knocking each other out. Second, the Dover Boys don't get the girl in the end; instead, she goes with the old guy in the OldTimeyBathingSuit that keeps popping in and out during the film for seemingly no reason.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' Babs & Plucky are having a contest to see who can get into the most yearbook pictures. When the yearbook is published they discover that the winner is some random character that nobody knows - who then turns out to be Buster in a LatexPerfection disguise.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** When Bart & Lisa think of a plan to save Itchy & Scratchy Studios they rush over, only to discover that two previously unseen characters named Lester & Eliza (who look like Bart & Lisa did in the ''Tracy Ullman Show'' days) have already saved it.
** In another episode, Homer, who has started a private security company, is being threatened by local mobster Fat Tony and his gang. As they advance menacingly someone starts shooting and the criminals run away. It tuns out it was Maggie.
[[/folder]]
The only requirement for this trope is that we have TheProtagonist "Alice" (could also be a group) who is actively trying to kill the conflict and whom the narrative is focused on, and there is this RedHerringShirt "Bob" (again, can also be a group) who the narrative doesn't pay much attention to, who then kills the source of {{Conflict}} for whatever reason, leaving Alice with nothing more to do since the StoryArc is technically over with the conflict out of the way.
'''Note:''' Just because the "StoryArc is over", doesn't mean the story ''ends''. this kind of plot can also happen to a sub arc, not just {{Grand Finale}}s, so it can still allow the story to continue.
SuperTrope to the following:
[[index]]
* TheMeddlingKidsAreUseless, where the eponymous kids [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything do everything]] except resolve the plot.
* DarkHorseVictory. A Plot involving competing rivals in a contest, where the focus of the story is the rivals, but the winner is neither of them. Do note, however, that this trope doesn't have to signify a resolution of the conflict.
* CrackDefeat. The focal characters lose to an unlikely competitor.
[[/index]]
Involves a RedHerringShirt by nature, called "Bob" here. Compare ADayInTheLimelight, where a minor character (or a group of them) gets an episode where they are TheProtagonist. Will sometimes overlap with ShaggyDogStory, when TheProtagonist's efforts become for naught as someone else resolves the conflict before he can. May be a DeusExMachina in execution if the "Bob's" intervention comes out of nowhere; to avoid such a case, the story may show Bob half-prominently but with little relevance to the story [[ChekhovsGunman until later]]. If the "Bob" of the plot resolves the conflict by accident/not by his own volition, he may be hailed as an AccidentalHero after the events of the plot.
Compare SupportingProtagonist, the counterpart for said "resolver", as well as BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork, when a villain plays the "resolver" role.
Unrelated to the following:
* AlmightyJanitor: This trope is about someone with low position in an organization exercising power or authority as if he had a higher position. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: A RoundCharacter who is implied to have Offscreen Heroics outside the Story where he is a HeroOfAnotherStory of. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* BadassBystander: A LivingProp, SpearCarrier, or BitCharacter who is revealed to be {{Badass}}. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
* DecoyProtagonist: Someone played up to be TheProtagonist. But is later usurped in role by the real Protagonist later in the narrative. May lose his prominent role completely and get DemotedToExtra or worse, killed. '''Not a Plot, but a Character'''.
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
*''LightNovel/ZetsuenNoTempest'' has The Mage of Exodus [[spoiler: [[ClassicalAntiHero Megumu]] [[{{Adorkable}} Hanemura]]]]-- who didn't have any trace of involvement in the first half of the story, which was about [[HeroProtagonist Mahiro]]'s quest to avenge his DeadLittleSister with his good friend [[SupportingProtagonist Yoshino]], which happens to involve SavingTheWorld from the eponymous "Civilization Blaster" (which was revealed to literally be ''the'' source of ''all'' {{Conflict}}s in the story) as well-- ending up being the one SavingTheWorld and "getting ''his'' girl" ([[TheGhost Who herself]] was never even ''named'').
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In one Annual Special of ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'' written by Creator/KurtBusiek, both the Avengers and the Comicbook/SquadronSupreme are extorted into participating in a "tournament" against the villainous [[BoisterousBruiser Champion]], who wants to take on both teams to prove that he's the WorldsBestWarrior. The stipulation is that if they don't participate, and win, he will kill millions of innocent people. Indeed, the teams split up into various skirmish teams and try to locate Champion, who ambushes and defeats all of them one by one. Champion, [[EvilVirtues a man of his word]], goes back to his lair to activate his WeaponOfMassDestruction, only to find that Comicbook/AntMan, who wasn't even one of the Avengers he'd challenged (and wasn't even in the story until now), has deactivated it. Both teams then show up with the full rosters and [[CurbStompBattle curbstomp]] an angry Champion who whines to Comicbook/CaptainAmerica that this is [[LetsFightLikeGentlemen very unsportsmanlike]]. Captain America [[KirkSummation retorts that the Avengers]] [[CombatPragmatist don't care one whit about proving who's "toughest"]]. [[SoldierVsWarrior Their first priority was to save lives.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film - Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', Rodney was played up to have the makings of a hero when he stood up against CorruptCorporateExecutive Ratchet with his RagtagBunchOfMisfits. At the final confrontation? [[spoiler:his RobotBuddy [[KillerRabbit Wonderbot]] who is]] a robot (who up until then, was just a PluckyComicRelief) built specifically to ''help in dishwashing'' is the one who ''fights'' the BiggerBad, puts TheBigBad right back to his place, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and kicks]] the {{Jerkass}} receptionist out. Justified in that Rodney was played up as a ''ScienceHero'', not an ActionHero, and in the climax, he actually played SupportingLeader and helped collectively defeat TheBigBad's [[TheHorde minions]].
* ''Disney/ToyStory3'' has a particularly touching one. TheHero duo Woody and Buzz, along with the rest of the toys are facing their DarkestHour, the show has already ShooOutTheClowns (i.e. The LittleGreenMen Trio, who were also TheLoad}, and everyone had lost hope and given up and were just waiting for their death from the [[spoiler:Incinerator Pit]] they got themselves trapped into. Cue a literal DeusExMachina from out of nowhere (it was never in the shots!) in the form of [[spoiler: [[CallBack THE CLAW]]]], controlled by non other than [[spoiler: The Little Green Men trio, whom Mr Potatohead "rescued" (and ignored for repeatedly saying [[BrokenRecord "You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful!"]]) back in ''Disney/ToyStory2''. Which prompts him to [[MeaningfulEcho echo their words]] to them after their rescue. As for the relevance of The Claw. The LGM were toys obtainable only through a Claw Crane Game in Pizza Planet. they consider The Claw there as [[CrystalDragonJesus sort of savior]] that will "[[ChooserOfTheOne take the chosen to a better place]]". Making The Claw scene in ''Film/ToyStory'' one heck of a Foreshadowing]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film - Live Action]]
* In ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', the role of James Bond in the plot is actually rather limited. He spends most of his time tailing Goldfinger and hanging out in his base as a prisoner, always ''trying'' to get intel outside, but failing. [[spoiler:Sure, he does manage to kill both Goldfinger and Oddjob, but that doesn't affect the plot very much, and the bulk of the work ends up being done by the US Army and the CIA. They even disarm the nuke for Bond. The only vital thing Bond does manage to do is, ironically enough, screwing Pussy Galore (who then performs a HeelFaceTurn and sabotages Goldfinger's 'grand slam')]].
* ''Film/TheMeteorMan'': A guy is given superpowers by a meteor and tries to clean up his corrupt neighborhood. At the end the bad guys have him, but he makes an impassioned speech and the listening apartment dwellers fight back (one, a jazz fan, by throwing his valuable records as Frisbees).
* ''Film/HighNoon'': A marshall is in a showdown. In the end he's about to get killed when [[spoiler: his Quaker wife]] kills the bad guy instead.
* In ''Film/IronMan3'', Tony realizes the BigBad is still alive but unfortunately, he doesn't have his armor. Fortunately, a newly super-powered Pepper Potts comes in to take care of business.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'', The story is about Little Red delivering stuff to her granny, until she was spotted and tailed to her granny's house by TheBigBadWolf who then impersonates her granny to eat her. TheProtagonist, Little Red, is then bailed out of a DownerEnding of being wolf food by a lowly huntsman (or lumberjack, DependingOnTheWriter), who sometimes isn't even mentioned [[DeusExMachina until the last moment]].
** Do note that in the older version of the story, there aren't supposed to be any huntsman - the story stops right after the wolf ate her.
* In the John Boland novel ''White August'', scientist Dr. Garrett has been vital in figuring out what is causing the freak England-wide snowstorm, and develops a device to track down its source. He helps track down several lesser weather control devices that are shielding the main one, but just as he locates the last one, is shot down and is rendered comatose. The United States military resolves the conflict by dropping an atomic bomb near enough to the final device to knock it out.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Newspaper SpiderMan's conflicts were nearly always settled by someone else, as he never outgrew his loser status unlike his hardcover comic counterpart.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/DMOfTheRings'' the three remaining players in the game, playing Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, get very annoyed that for all their hard work, victory or defeat in the campaign comes down to a dice roll by the DM for whether or not Frodo, now an offscreen NPC after the hobbits' players left to play ''d20 Franchise/StarWars'', can throw the Ring into Mount Doom.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''Franchise/SpongebobSquarepants'', in the episode "The Great Snail Race". Squidward (who is the first one actually joining with his new arrival racing snail Snellie), Spongebob (joins after knowing about the race), and later, Patrick (joins after Spongebob); decide to join a [[TheBigRace Snail Race]] competition. The story focused on Gary's TrainingMontage [[TrainingFromHell From Hell]] and setting up Snellie as TheRival and revealing Patrick's "snail" [[ShoutOutThemeNaming Rocky]] as a... literal rock. At the climax of the story, where Gary gets a HeroicRROD from exhaustion from his training, Snellie turns back to help him and they fall in love while Rocky wins despite there being other snail competitors. ROCK. BEATS. SNAIL. which predictably got a YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe response from the other competitors.
*''Main/TransformersGeneration1'': Near the end of the 3-part ''"More the Meets the Eye"'' pilot series, [[TheHero Optimus]] [[TheCaptain Prime]] literally gets shot down while trying to pursue the Decepticon space cruiser. When the other Autobots regroup with him, he notices that [[{{ninja}} Mirage]] [[ChekhovsGun is missing.]] The scene then shifts back to the Decepticons [[spoiler: right as Mirage de-cloaks and guns down the ship's controls. Then bails as the ship plummets into the ocean, taking the Decepticons with it]].
* Often used on ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' for RuleOfFunny. "WesternAnimation/TheDoverBoys" has a double-whammy for one. First of all the villain isn't defeated by the heroes, but by the DamselInDistress, who beats him up even as she calls for help. By the time the Dover Boys arrive to finish the job, they only succeed in knocking each other out. Second, the Dover Boys don't get the girl in the end; instead, she goes with the old guy in the OldTimeyBathingSuit that keeps popping in and out during the film for seemingly no reason.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' Babs & Plucky are having a contest to see who can get into the most yearbook pictures. When the yearbook is published they discover that the winner is some random character that nobody knows - who then turns out to be Buster in a LatexPerfection disguise.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** When Bart & Lisa think of a plan to save Itchy & Scratchy Studios they rush over, only to discover that two previously unseen characters named Lester & Eliza (who look like Bart & Lisa did in the ''Tracy Ullman Show'' days) have already saved it.
** In another episode, Homer, who has started a private security company, is being threatened by local mobster Fat Tony and his gang. As they advance menacingly someone starts shooting and the criminals run away. It tuns out it was Maggie.
[[/folder]]
