History Main / PassingTheTorch

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': An elderly [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderKatara Katara]] essentially does this to [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraAvatarKorra Korra]], since as the world's latest Avatar after Aang, she and her friends now serve the world's peacekeepers and protectors, just as Katara and her friends did [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender back in their youth]].

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' (the image provider): In the GrandFinale, [[spoiler:Soos overhears [[Characters/GravityFallsGrunkleStan Stan]] and Ford discussing their plan to shut down the Mystery Shack so they go on the adventures they yearned to go on since childhood, and is deeply upset by this. He then gives a RousingSpeech so inspiring to Stan that it gives him the idea to give Soos the job as the new manager.]] In fact, this was actually [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadowed]] back in Season 1's "Little Dipper".

* ''Fanfic/BreathOfTheWild'' is a fanmade novelized adaptation of the namesake game, and thus, features the four Champions' spirits. The final main chapter of this novel is [[spoiler:the four Champions visiting their successors, and for all intents and purposes, entrusting them to be the Champions of their respective races going forward.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': Terry [=McGinnis=] takes up the mantle of Batman some years after aging had forced Bruce Wayne to retire. It's downplayed in that Bruce isn't completely gone from the scene, acting the role of MissionControl. When Barbara Gordon (former Batgirl, now commissioner) returns to the Batcave to warn Batman, she isn't sure which of them she should be speaking to.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' (the image provider): In the GrandFinale, [[spoiler:Soos overhears Stan and Ford discussing their plan to shut down the Mystery Shack so they go on the adventures they yearned to go on since childhood, and is deeply upset by this. He then gives a RousingSpeech so inspiring to Stan that it gives him the idea to give Soos the job as the new manager.]] In fact, this was actually [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadowed]] back in Season 1's "Little Dipper".

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': This is both subverted and parodied in the Season 2 episode "[[Recap/KimPossibleS2E10TheFearlessFerret The Fearless Ferret]]", when [[AdamWesting Timothy North]] reveals that he was once "The Fearless Ferret" and convinces Ron Stoppable to take up the Ferret mantle (fun fact: Creator/WillFriedle played both Ron and Terry [=McGinnis=]). It's later revealed that North was just an actor in a series who became deluded when his show was canceled.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': An elderly Katara essentially does this to Korra, since as the world's latest Avatar after Aang, she and her friends now serve the world's peacekeepers and protectors, just as Katara and her friends did [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender back in their youth]].

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In the first two episodes of season 9, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E1TheBeginningOfTheEndPart1 The Beginning Of The End - Part 1]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E2TheBeginningOfTheEndPart2 Part 2]]", Princesses Celestia and Luna decide to retire from ruling over Equestria, and appoint Twilight Sparkle as their successor. The GrandFinale has her completely assume the position. The 20th episode of the same season, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E20AHorseShoeIn A Horse-Shoe In]]", has Twilight appoint Starlight Glimmer as the headmare of the School of Friendship.

* During a rebranding for Noggin in 2003, an [[https://youtu.be/lx9RnsSCEFE indent]] was aired several times where the channel's mascot, Feetface, introduced her successors, WesternAnimation/MooseAndZee. It’s rumored there was a version aired exactly at the time of the rebranding, but that would be lost media.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Epic2013'' the life of the forest has to do this every hundred years. The film opens on the very day Queen Tara is to choose her heir.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'':

** When Creator/DawsButler died, ''WesternAnimation/YogiBear'' and a number of his other Creator/HannaBarbera characters were inherited by Greg Burson, who Butler personally trained in his voice-acting class.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', Terry [=McGinnis=] takes up the mantle of Batman some years after aging had forced Bruce Wayne to retire. It's downplayed in that Bruce isn't completely gone from the scene, acting the role of MissionControl. When Barbara Gordon (former Batgirl, now commissioner) returns to the Batcave to warn Batman, she isn't sure which of them she should be speaking to.
* Both subverted and parodied in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', when [[AdamWesting Timothy North]] reveals that he was once "The Fearless Ferret" and convinces Ron Stoppable to take up the Ferret mantle (fun fact; Will Friedle played both Ron and Terry [=McGinnis=]). Turns out that North was just an actor in a series who became deluded when his show was canceled.
* In the finale of ''WesternAnimation/TheAnimalsOfFarthingWood'', Fox passes on the role of leader of the animals to his grandson, Plucky.
* In the future episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', Nightwing assists an older, ''Dark Knight Returns''-esque Batman in battle against Mr. Freeze. When it becomes clear that Batman isn't as efficient as he used to be; Nightwing suggests maybe it's time to pass the torch. Batman however, being the stubborn bastard he is, replies that he would pass the torch when "the mission" (i.e. to ensure Gotham's protection) is over, to which Nightwing dryly notes will never happen.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' episode "Every Which Way But Zeus", [[spoiler:Desmond, Captain Sunshine's butler]] is revealed to have been [[spoiler:the original Captain Sunshine, and the modern one was his Wonderboy.]] Dragoon states that he arched him back in the 1960's in his heyday. Of course he has retained all his powers but is still a weak old man.
* [[spoiler:Nebula]] of ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' has become the new Queen of Tir Nan Og after Morgana stepped down from the throne.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' has a vision of a future where an older Batman get married and starts a family. He then passed the mantle of Batman to Nightwing, and it gets passed down the line.
* An elderly Katara does this in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
-->'''Katara:''' "Aang's time has passed. My brother and many of my friends are gone. It's time for you and your generation to take on the responsibility of keeping peace and balance in the world. But I think you're going to be a great Avatar. Goodbye, Korra.
* In the pilot of ''WesternAnimation/MightyDucksTheAnimatedSeries'', Canard, the original captain of the team passes on his mask to Wildwing before sacrificing himself to save the team.
* ''WesternAnimation/AssassinsCreedEmbers'' ends with Ezio having well and truly left the Assassin life behind him, but with a younger Assassin heading off with enemies of her own to take down.
* ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues''' Steve eventually left the show (because of his actor starting to lose his hair) and passed the torch on to Joe, wishing him luck in finding the rest of the clues.
* Halfway through the second season of ''WesternAnimation/FishHooks'', Nurse Fishington becomes the new principal of Freshwater High after Stickler leaves.
* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'' has Kion and his friends relinquish their duties as the Lion Guard to Vitani and her Lion Guard, before leaving permanently for the Tree of Life to be part of the Night Pride.
* The premise of ''WesternAnimation/{{Hammerman}}'' was a retired hero passing the torch to a successor, the main character.
* At the end of the ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' special, ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventureBegins'', Glynn, the original #1 engine, passes down his branch line and his number to Thomas.
-->'''Glynn:''' "Look after the branch line, Thomas, and wear that number with pride!"
* A literal version in the Canadian short ''WesternAnimation/HotStuff'' where the first person to possess fire passed it on to future generations in this manner.
* In the first two episodes of season 9 of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E1TheBeginningOfTheEndPart1 The Beginning Of The End - Part 1]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E2TheBeginningOfTheEndPart2 Part 2]]", Princesses Celestia and Luna decide to retire from ruling over Equestria, and appoint Twilight Sparkle as their successor. The GrandFinale has her completely assume the position. The 20th episode of the same season, "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E20AHorseShoeIn A Horse-Shoe In]]", has Twilight appoint Starlight Glimmer as the headmare of the School of Friendship.

* In ''VisualNovel/KiraKira'' Curtain Call, [[spoiler:Shikanosuke's sister, Yuko, becomes the bassist of d2b after Shikanosuke graduates, even donning a similar stage costume]].
* Subverted in the ending of ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIII'' (and the beginning of ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIV''). Graham, swept up in the joy of being reunited with both his children, takes off his trusty adventurer's cap and tosses it at them, with the idea that the one who catches it will take up adventuring. He ends up having a heart attack as it's in mid-air. The cap falls to the floor, and neither child picks it up. It does, however, lead into Rosella setting off to save her dad, and putting the hat back on him on her triumphant return, saying her dad's still got a few more adventures in him. She turns out to be right.
** The [[VideoGame/KingsQuest2015 2015 reboot of King's Quest]] ends like this too, except [[spoiler:Graham's death from old age is final this time - no magic fruit, no last-minute save, and it's his grand-daughter Gwen who is taking up his cap.]]
* In ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'', after [[spoiler:Bill]] dies, the original survivors stop trying to get to the military and are now heading to the island, resulting in them sort of passing the torch to the new survivors. There's even achievement saying it after to beat the Passing.
* In the evil ending of ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS 2}}'', Cole decides to side with [[BigBad The Beast]] in his WellIntentionedExtremist methods of saving humanity by activating Conduits and curing them of the plague at the cost of killing anyone who isn't a Conduit. After the [=RFI=], the only thing capable of stopping him, is destroyed, The Beast reveals that he hates what he's become and only did what he did because he didn't have a choice, so he opts to transfer his powers to Cole so that he could see their plan through and the former can [[MilesToGoBeforeISleep finally die]].

* In the very beginning of ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', you meet AlmostDeadGuy Oscar, knight of Astoria, who asks you to ring the Bells of Awakening in his stead.
* The ending to ''VideoGame/ThiefDeadlyShadows'' strongly hints towards this, although anything definite is purely in the realm of fan speculation.

* ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'''s Steve eventually left the show (because of him starting to lose his hair) and passed the torch on to Joe, wishing him luck in finding the rest of the clues.

* The ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' GrandFinale has Stan pass his title as Mr. Mystery to Soos, as he's leaving to travel the world with Ford to reconnect.

TheHero decides to leave the business. Perhaps [[InHarmsWay the thrill]] is gone. Perhaps he [[HappilyEverAfter wants to settle down and marry]] more than he wants to adventure. Perhaps he knows that [[RetIrony age or injury]] has slowed him down too much; he can not do the job anymore.

* Invoked in the epilogue of ''Series/{{Angel}}''/''Literature/TheHungerGames'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10718717/1/Demon-s-Games Demon's Games]]"; after [[spoiler:Angel has been elected the new President of Panem after defeating the Senior Partners, over a year later various characters are all aware that Peeta's role as Angel's secretary is basically Angel training him to take on the role afterwards, as Angel has reinstated term limits so he won't be Panem's eternal president but wants someone he can trust to carry on after he steps down]].

** ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'' ends with [[spoiler: Woody giving his sheriff badge to Jessie when he chooses to leave the gang and roam free with Bo.]]

** In the 2016 Rio Games, Michael Phelps retires and leaves 19-year old prodigy Katie Ledecky to step up to the plate. Perhaps best exemplified by this [[https://www.instagram.com/p/BJISnVoDEC8/ photoset]]

* In ''VisualNovel/KiraKira'' Curtain Call, [[spoiler: Shikanosuke's sister, Yuko, becomes the bassist of d2b after Shikanosuke graduates, even donning a similar stage costume]].

* In ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'', after [[spoiler: Bill]] dies, the original survivors stop trying to get to the military and are now heading to the island, resulting in them sort of passing the torch to the new survivors. There's even achievement saying it after to beat the Passing.

* ''WebComic/MagickChicks'': Faith abdicates her position as [[AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil student council]] [[StudentCouncilPresident president]] to Melissa, near the end of chapter 15, after learning [[spoiler: she'd been subconsciously effecting the rest of the student body]]. Then used her power to launch Melissa and Sandi outside the spell circle, [[http://www.magickchicks.com/strips-mc/save_artemis entrusting Melissa to save Artemis in her stead.]]

* In the ''Podcast/RedPandaAdventures'', after coming back from fighting behind enemy lines in Europe, the Red Panda starts operating with an eye towards retirement once the World War II is over and things have settled down. Kit notes he's looking at the Danger Federation, a collection of rookie superheroes, and Mr. Amazing, one of its more powerful members, as retirement plans. However the DF is spread out across Canada and Mr. Amazing [[spoiler: doesn't survive the war]]. A successor is eventually found in the form of the Black Eagle, whose secret identity is someone who has been in the Red Panda's circle since he was a little boy.

* ''WebVideo/GameGrumps'' did this when introducing new editor Kevin Abernathy to the fans. A montage of the original Game Grumps editor Barry Kramer training Kevin for his new editing duties features a part where [[https://youtu.be/KuFGaq467CI?list=PLRQGRBgN_EnqIWG6TuaGLWmn9NLcaHi7P&t=125 a torch moves across the computer screen from one side (Barry) to the other (Kevin), visually showing the torch being passed]].
* Due to the unfortunate passing of Grandpa Kitchen founder Narayana Reddy on October 27, 2019, he appears posthumously [[https://youtu.be/NIUc2FAbMdU?t=49 in a cooking tutorial of crispy french fries]], handing his channel over to his grandchildren as they are about to cook.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' episode "Every Which Way But Zeus", [[spoiler: Desmond, Captain Sunshine's butler]] is revealed to have been [[spoiler: the original Captain Sunshine, and the modern one was his Wonderboy.]] Dragoon states that he arched him back in the 1960's in his heyday. Of course he has retained all his powers but is still a weak old man.

* Towards the climax of ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', key characters from the Kiryu saga make appearances, and lend their support to new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga. [[spoiler:This includes Kiryu himself.]] This is somewhat subverted after beating the BonusBoss, where [[spoiler:Kiryu (who orchestrated the fight between Ichiban and Shin Amon) states that rather than the successor of his legacy, Ichiban should be seen as his own man walking his own path]]. The Penultimate Chapter is even titled "Passing The Torch" since it involves [[spoiler:Kiryu challenging Ichiban and his crew to a fight as his way of testing their worthiness]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Superjail}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ExtendedStay'' ends with this. Now that the Warden and the Mistress have [[TakeOverTheWorld successfully conquered the world]], they leave their twins Matilda and Ethan, who have [[ComingOfAge come of age]] at twenty years old, with the responsibility of running Ultraprison and Superjail respectively. Meanwhile, the [[HappilyMarried long-time married]] duo move into the White House with their other son Edward.

* ''Fanfic/BecomingLifprasir'': In the farewell letters to Stoick and Astrid, Hiccup mentions that he nominates Astrid to replace him as heir of the Hooligan Tribe, feeling that she would make a far better replacement that Snotlout ever would.
* ''Fanfic/InfinityCrisis'':
** After talking with Rocket over his grief at Groot’s death, Mick Rory indirectly offers to be Rocket’s new partner by giving him Snart’s cold-gun, which Rocket immediately approves of as a weapon.
** Despite his history with the hammer, when Mjolnir accepts Jane as its wielder after its restoration, Thor assures her that she can keep it.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTailFievelGoesWest'', it's implied that law dog Wylie Burp trained Tiger to be his replacement. As he says at the end; "Just remember Fievel, one man's sunset is another man's dawn."
* A minor example occurs in ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'' when [[spoiler:Lightning [=McQueen=] decides to let his former trainer Cruz Ramirez take over for him mid-race during the Florida 500, so she can fulfill her racing dream and prove Sterling wrong.]]

** Jimmy MacDonald and Clarence Nash had trained Creator/{{Disney}} animation staffers Wayne Allwine and Tony Anselmo to take on the roles of WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse and WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck, roles Allwine and Anselmo inherited from their predecessors after their retirements.

* On ''Raw is XXX,'' the January 23, 2023 30-year anniversary of Wrestling/WWERaw, Wrestling/TheUndertaker made his first appearance onscreen after his official retirement two years previous, coming out as his more true-to-self [[BadassBiker American Badass]] to interrupt LA Knight in the middle of one of his characteristic self-aggrandizing promos. When Knight wisely tried to cut his losses and leave, Wrestling/BrayWyatt hemmed him back into the ring from the ramp, where Undertaker immediately proceeded to grab Knight by the throat in preparation for a Chokeslam...only to throw Knight to Wyatt as the latter entered the ring, letting him do the deed with a [[FinishingMove Sister Abigail]] instead. With Knight legally dead at this point, Undertaker moved past Wyatt, briefly whispered something in his ear, and left the ring to ride out on his bike, finally passing the supernatural torch he held as the Deadman to the man nearly the entire wrestling universe agreed deserved it the most.

But the job has to be done. It's time to pick a successor.