History Main / UnlikelyHero

* Fry in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. By all appearances he really is an average guy who just happens to be stuck 1,000 years ahead of his own time. [[spoiler:Then it turns out that, due to a StableTimeLoop that resulted in [[MyOwnGrampa his own birth after he travels to the past and has sex with his own grandmother]], Fry was born without the Delta Brainwave, making him the only living thing [[DisabilityImmunity immune]] to the MindControl of the [[BrainMonster Brain Spawn]].]]

* In ''Film/AtlanticWall'', a, average French bar/restaurant owner who never asked for trouble finds himself in possession of secret German plans during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and gets brought to London along with them. He's then press-ganged into an operation to assassinate UsefulNotes/ErwinRommel.

* Ash Ketchum from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. He has come back from the dead thrice, been TheChosenOne of countless legends, is one of the few that can manipulate Aura, saved the world countless times, and has helped more people than you could possibly imagine. [[DudeWheresMyRespect There's like maybe three people outside of his friends who respect him in some fashion.]]

* Kyon from ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya''. {{Justified|Trope}} by a series of cosmic events so ridiculous it's pretty much a parody of the stereotypical ChosenOne. And by "ridiculous cosmic events" I mean [[spoiler:God wants to get in his pants]], or if you take it to WMG [[spoiler:he IS God]].

* In the ''Franchise/{{Ben 10}}'' franchise, the titular character obtained the Omnitrix by accident. While he uses it for selfish reasons from time to time, his first thought when he got it as a ten year old was that he can be a hero. The ChronicHeroSyndrome continued on from there.

* Fry in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. By all appearances he really is an average guy who just happens to be stuck 1,000 years ahead of his own time. [[spoiler:Then it turns out that, due to a StableTimeLoop that resulted in his own birth after he travels to the past and has sex with his own grandmother, Fry was born without the Delta Brainwave, making him the only living thing immune to the MindControl of the Brainspawn.]]

* All ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' movies have the FiveManBand (or just Nobita) doing something just to satisfy their wants with Doraemon's gadgets. Thus making them end up having to save the world or PlotDevice creatures countless times.

* Fry in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''.

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1345469992079860100
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->"''Oh, you're my unlikely hero,''
->''I tried so hard but you won't surrender.''"

* Ash Ketchum from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. He has come back from the dead thrice, been TheChosenOne of countless legends, is one of the few that can manipulate Aura, saved the world countless times, and has helped more people than you could possibly imagine. [[DudeWheresMyRespect There's like maybe three people outside of his friends who respect him in some fashion.]]
* Kyon from ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya''. {{Justified|Trope}} by a series of cosmic events so ridiculous it's pretty much a parody of the stereotypical ChosenOne. And by "ridiculous cosmic events" I mean [[spoiler:God wants to get in his pants]], or if you take it to WMG [[spoiler:he IS God]].

* Most of the ''ComicBook/SinCity'' heroes are often on the lower rungs of society and try to live normal lives. They just keep getting wrapped up in the craziness of the city against their wills.

* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': Bolt becomes an unexpected hero in “The Baseball Game” when he is pressed into playing duty while serving as honorary team [[{{Mascot}} mascot]]. He scores the winning run as a pinch runner for an injured player, and later clinches victory when he pulls off a triple play manning second base despite lacking a glove and the ability to throw a baseball properly.

* Joe in ''Film/JoeVersusTheVolcano'', who learns he is dying, so he volunteers to [[AppeaseTheVolcanoGod throw himself into a volcano.]]
* In ''Film/TheRelic'' movie, Margo's just a scientist... who manages to kill the monster. (In the book, Penderghast kills it unspectacularly.)

* Lionel in ''Film/{{Braindead}}''/''Dead Alive'' is a great example of this trope. He starts out the movie as a timid man living with his mother, and ends up dispatching all the zombies with a lawnmower.
* Shaun in ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'' never wanted to be a hero saving his loved ones from the ZombieApocalypse, he just seemed to be the one could could deal with it pragmatically.
** Also from a Creator/SimonPegg movie, ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'''s Gary King is an unemployed, [[spoiler:suicidally depressed]] ManChild trying to relive the glory days of his youth by going on a drunken bender with his former friends. He and his friends (well, [[spoiler:two of them]]) also fight off and survive a horde of body snatching robot duplicates and he's eventually the one to tell [[spoiler:the Network]] to fuck off an leave humanity to its own devices. All of this during the aforementioned bender. [[spoiler:He becomes a more conventional hero AfterTheEnd by fighting for the now [[FantasticRacism discriminated-against]] Blank versions of his friends.]]

* In the earlier ''Franchise/DieHard'' movies John [=McClane=] was this, basically being a mediocre-at-best cop who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and has enough of a HeroComplex to do something about it. It's hilariously {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Film/DieHard2DieHarder'':
--> '''John:''' How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?!
* The Dude from ''Film/TheBigLebowski'' embodies this trope. He experiences a full-on hero's journey while being too stoned and too lazy to realize that he is the hero of his own story.

* Tavi in ''Literature/CodexAlera''. The whole series started because he was looking for some lost sheep, though eventually it becomes apparent that [[spoiler: he was actually the heir apparent to the entirety of Alera.]]
* [[Literature/TheHobbit Bilbo Baggins]]. Possibly the ur-example.
** His nephew [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Frodo]], to a lesser extent. (Of course, this was probably the whole point. Gandalf figured that Frodo was beneath notice to Sauron, and could successfuly fulfill the most vital mission. This may, in fact, be why he wanted to recruit Bilbo in the first place, to earn the trust of the folk of the Shire again.)
** The title character of ''Farmer Giles of Ham''.

** Jimmy Novak is a devout Christian salesman who, after spending time as Castiel's vessel, returns to his family and stands up to the demons that threaten them. [[spoiler: When mortally wounded, he gives up Heaven to spare his daughter having to become Castiel's vessel.]]
** Jamie is a barmaid that could have been Dean's GirlOfTheWeek, but [[spoiler: she's actually the one who shoots and kills the shapeshifter threatening her AND gets to spend the night with Dean.]]

* They weren't the true heroes of the game, but in ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' the Kids Grid were a small organization of hackers that secretly opposed the Ciphers and acted as Wes' primary source of information in the game. Because they were only children, the Ciphers mistakenly believed them insignificant, and left them alone, which proved a mistake.

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* Torg from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' is just a normal guy ([[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} well, he doesn't act that normal]], but that's not the point), web designer by trade, but he just keeps stumbling (sometimes literally) into situations where demon lords or {{Mad Scientist}}s or supervillains are threatening him, his friends, or the world at large.

* Ayla Goodkind of the Literature/WhateleyUniverse. He was just supposed to be the ShelteredAristocrat who would grow up to run the biggest MegaCorp in the world. He wasn't supposed to get superpowers. He wasn't supposed to become part of Team Kimba. He wasn't supposed to be a WeirdnessMagnet who can't let SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy without running into a supervillain. Or a flock of them.

* Droopy, in about half the Creator/TexAvery shorts in which he appears, plays the DesignatedHero to Red, who's often victimized by Wolfie, Butch or Spike. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Then they wind up pissing Droopy off...]]
* Fry in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''.
* Coop in ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'' is just a fat slacker who obsessively plays video games and works on his automotive craftsmanship. He also happened to stumble upon the titular HumongousMecha at a junkyard and got it for a steal, modifying it to work with his car. All the while, he remained oblivious about its importance until he finds himself face to face with a girl from the future and is reluctantly chosen to be the hero because only he can pilot it at that point. From there, he mostly regards this role as secondary to eating and playing video games.

* Kyon from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya''. {{Justified|Trope}} by a series of cosmic events so ridiculous it's pretty much a parody of the stereotypical ChosenOne. And by "ridiculous cosmic events" I mean [[spoiler:God wants to get in his pants]], or if you take it to WMG [[spoiler:he IS God]].

Often, the character has [[TheSlacker little interest]] in ever becoming a {{hero|es}} and is basically happy being a RidiculouslyAverageGuy as long as they get a better job / win the contest / get a date with the hottie / etc. Typically, the character is either a KidHero who would rather play video games, or a DeadpanSnarker who has become slightly jaded after saving the world 12 times last year. Often PlayedForLaughs.

* Gordon Freeman of ''VideoGame/HalfLife''. Just an average everyday theoretical physicist until that fateful day, he ended up fighting off hordes of aliens while beating back those pesky black ops trying to keep him quiet, then ''goes into the other dimension to fight the creatures on their own turf, culminating in defeating their all-powerful overlord to prevent the entire earth from being invaded by the things''. And all this with a magical satchel of fairly common weaponry with the occasional science fiction import.

* Joe from ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}''. As is stated, he is average in every way, which makes him humanity's hope in a world where just about everyone has the IQ of a rock.

* Joe from ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}''. As is stated, he is average in every way.

* Myth/ArthurianLegend: Sir Percival was originally the meekest and most naive of Myth/KingArthur's knights, having gained repect gradually through several misadventures. Eventually, he is, in one version of [[Myth/KingArthurAndTheHolyGrail the Grail Legend]], one of two knights (along with Galahad) to find the Grail. (Unfortunately, most versions after that tend to leave him out, only giving credit to Galahad.)

[[folder:Film]]

* Carl Frederickson and Russel from Pixar's ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''. Just try explaining them someone who's never seen the film. One's an elderly septuagenarian, the other is an overly enthusiastic boy scout who's never been to the wild, and together [[WunzaPlot they fight evil]] in Venezuela.

* Carl Frederickson and Russel from Pixar's ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}''. Just try explaining them someone who's never seen the film. One's an elderly septuagenarian, the other is an overly enthusiastic boy scout who's never been to the wild, and together [[TheyFightCrime they fight evil]] in Venezuela.

* Sir Percival was originally the meekest and most naive of Myth/KingArthur's knights, having gained repect gradually through several misadventures. Eventually, he is, in one version of the Grail Legend, one of two knights (along with Galahad) to find the Grail. (Unfortunately, most versions after that tend to leave him out, only giving credit to Galahad.)

* Rick Jones from Creator/MarvelComics has elements of this. He is more of an Unlikely ''Sidekick'', though. He's just a normal guy who has ended up being the sidekick to a number of heroes from [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk]] to ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, usually because he stumbled onto the wrong place at the wrong time.

* Joe in ''Film/JoeVersusTheVolcano''. Joe learns he is dying, so he volunteers to throw himself into a volcano. [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099892/ imdb page here.]]

* Another example: ''Film/DetroitRockCity'' has four pseudo-stoner losers spend the first half getting into trouble, then the second half just getting the favor of God itself as they luck out on everything.

What would happen if you replaced a MarySue with a well-written RidiculouslyAverageGuy without changing the plot? This trope is a character who gets involved in all sorts of craziness in defiance of all reasonable logic. Basically, they can't even take a vacation without becoming TheChosenOne or saving the world. Whereas to a MarySue, it's all in a day's work, this character often finds all the craziness surrounding them annoying and must rely on the remainder of the cast to keep their life from becoming [[FinaglesLaw an even worse]] [[LoserArchetype disaster]] [[StatusQuoIsGod than it already is]].

* In ''Film/TheRelic'' movie, Margo's just a scientist... who manages to kill the monster. (In the book, Penderghast--a [[MarySue Marty Stu]] albeit a likable one--kills it unspectacularly.)

* In ''VideoGame/DeadRising1'', Frank West is simply a photojournalist who, outside of having covered some wars, is ill-prepared for a ZombieApocalypse, much less blowing open a GovernmentConspiracy.