Line #16 Main/RightManInTheWrongPlace


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4	->''"The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference... in the world."''
5	-->-- '''The G-Man''', ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''
6
7	You're at your fairly mundane job, which isn't anything martial (military, police, security guard, etc), doing your job, when all the sudden there's an explosion, or gunfire, or someone shouting that you're now a hostage. The professional badasses who'd normally kick ass and ChewBubblegum, if they weren't out of bubblegum, are not available for whatever reason (slow to respond, killed, corrupted, etc).
8
9	So what do you do? Do you hide in a closet or something, and hope the bad guys pass you by or otherwise don't notice you while your friends/coworkers/family possibly face a FateWorseThanDeath?
10
11	Hell, no! You're a man, not a mouse! [[note]]Unless your name is WesternAnimation/{{Mickey\|Mouse}}, and if it is, you're unlikely to be in that situation in the first place - but [[Franchise/KingdomHearts we've got]] [[VideoGame/EpicMickey sources]] that say you'd kick ass if found in it anyway.[[/note]]
12
13	You step up to the plate, and start kicking ass. Sure, you might die in the process, but at least you went down swinging, instead of [[CowerPower cowering in fear.]]
14
15	Often these characters are either long lost ex-military or scientist working on the latest {{Phlebotinum}}.
16
17	Related to CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass, but the characters aren’t bumbling or otherwise incompetent, they're just not ''specifically'' competent or trained in the situation in question. Sometimes can also be a BadassBookworm, and most commonly a BadassNormal. The Right Man is often TheOnlyOne who can save the day, for whatever reason. If not the protagonist, this character may be a BadassBystander.
18
19	Also see DieHardOnAnX. A type of ActionSurvivor. On the [[JustForFun/SuperWeight TV Tropes power scale]], these usually rate as Muggle Weight or Iron Weight. Compare FallingIntoTheCockpit, StumbledIntoThePlot and ItBeganWithATwistOfFate, and compare/contrast UnlikelyHero, HeroicBystander, BadassBystander and SpannerInTheWorks.
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21	-----
22	!!Examples:
23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
26	* Medical student Otonashi, in ''Anime/AngelBeats'', winds up in an underground train accident that left only a handful of badly wounded survivors in a blocked subway tunnel. Otonashi was able to keep most of the survivors alive for an entire week; [[spoiler:he himself died just minutes before rescue crews finally arrived]]. This also counts for the main story, in a way; ordinarily Otonashi would never have made it [[spoiler:to Purgatory, as he died fulfilled. His amnesia got him in, and only someone who knew what fulfillment felt like would be able to help the SSS accept their former lives and move on to new ones]].
27	* Negi from ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' started off like this, tasked with teaching an UnwantedHarem after he graduated from magical school. [[JustForFun/TropeOverdosed Now look where it led us]].
28	* In the anime of ''Anime/Golgo13'', Duke Togo is on an airliner that's hijacked for ransom. A British intelligence officer recognises his name on the manifest. The problem then becomes finding an unobtrusive way to let Duke know they want to hire him to take out the hijackers, as Duke doesn't do good deeds for free.
29	* In ''Literature/{{Campione}}'' Godou was an average teenager whose only special ability was his skill at baseball. However, after encountering Verethragna he proved to be just crazy, reckless, and determined enough to stand up to and beat a Heretic God. The kind of recklessness Godou showed is a common trait among Campione. Many were ordinary humans until they encountered a Heretic God and were just too stubborn and lucky enough to kill them, usually getting themselves temporarily killed in the process.
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Comic Books]]
33	* Almost every hero in ''Comicbook/SinCity'' has a habit of fitting this trope, Marv and Dwight stories especially. They almost always start off with the protagonist stumbling upon a crime for which they have to take action.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
37	* Ladybug, the protagonist of ''Film/BulletTrain'', is just a thief trying to snatch a briefcase and get off the train without causing any trouble. However, thanks to [[BornUnlucky his chronic bad luck]], he finds himself in the middle of a free-for-all of international assassins and criminal schemes that he just can't wriggle out of no matter how hard he tries. And the real kicker? He wasn't even going to be on that job in the first place, but the guy who ''was'' originally slated to steal the case called in sick.
38	* The essential premise behind [[Creator/BruceWillis John McClane]] of ''Film/DieHard''. Except for [[Film/DieHardWithAVengeance the third movie]], he always stumbled into a position to not only kick ass but save the day, but if not he would be okay with someone else doing it. He says so repeatedly. ''Film/DieHard2'' had the tag line, "John [=McClane=] is back in the wrong place at the wrong time!" While he is a policeman (though always off-duty when the actual excitement happens), he is not a trained counter-terror expert or anything. A line in one of the trailers for the second movie, unused because TrailersAlwaysLie, has [=McClane=] himself lampshading his situation. As he is running through the tunnels [[spoiler:under Dulles Airport]], he pauses for a seconds and mutters, "How can the same shit happen to the same guy, twice" and then runs off again.
39	-->'''[[Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard Thomas Gabriel]]:''' On your tombstone, it should read: always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
40	** In ''Die Hard 2'', there's disagreement over his status as a wild card "loose cannon", and an ''actual'' commander of an anti-terrorist unit tells him he's the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time, period. [=McClane=] is already of a mind to wearily reply, "Story of my life." [[spoiler:That said, since Grant was secretly among the villains himself, he might have had other reasons for trying to push him out of the situation.]]
41	* Many Creator/JackieChan movies have Chan playing an ordinary guy forced into heroism by extraordinary situations.
42	* [[Creator/NicolasCage Stanley Goodspeed]] in ''Film/TheRock'' is an FBI biochemist with no field training, and the only man who can disable a set of nerve bombs. He's forced to take the Action Movie Guy role, when all the other soldiers end up dead.[[note]]On the other hand he ''does'' have Creator/SeanConnery to help him...[[/note]]
43	* ''Film/Firestorm1998'': Firefighter Jesse Graves is just doing his job and attempting to recue a civilian trapped in the path of an oncoming forest fire. He wasn't planning on having to fight a bloodthirsty gang of escaped convicts, or uncover a massive conspiracy, but that's what he does.
44	* In ''Film/ViolentSaturday'', Shelley Martin is a mine supervisor on his way to pick up his son for fishing trip. The bank robbers carjack his vehicle as their getaway vehicle. Held hostage alongside an Amish family, Shelley decides that he is not going to be pushed around any more...
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Literature]]
48	* Symbologist Robert Langdon, star of Creator/DanBrown's books ''Literature/AngelsAndDemons'', ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode'' and ''Literature/TheLostSymbol'', is a life-long tweed-wearing academic and Harvard professor who has claustrophobia. He is thrown into larger-than-life and often very dangerous situations where a lot is at stake, and only he has the expertise to get to the bottom of many a ConspiracyKitchenSink. Langdon has survived shootouts, car chases, pursuit by the police, attempted drownings and much more.
49	* Stephen Swain in Matthew Reilly's ''Literature/ContestMatthewReilly''. He is just a radiologist at a hospital before fighting deadly aliens in a life and death contest.
50	* Creator/DavidWeber's ''Literature/EmpireFromTheAshes'': Lieutenant Commander Colin [=MacIntyre=] is just an astronaut on a routine training exercise in ''Mutineers' Moon'' who ends up, consecutively, as captain of the ancient warship ''Dahak'' in order to save the planet from the Ancient Conspiracy, then Planetary Governor of Earth to prepare humanity for the return of an ancient enemy, then Emperor of Humanity...
51	* OlderThanTheyThink; Creator/GKChesterton's ''Literature/FatherBrown'' provides an UrExample by dropping the [[TropeNamer trope name]] in the story "The Sins of Prince Saradine".
52	-->'''Father Brown''': One can sometimes do good by being the right person in the wrong place.
53	* Creator/RobertAHeinlein:
54	** In ''Literature/HaveSpacesuitWillTravel'', the young adult main character wins the title's suit in a contest, repairing it to get it fully operational just in time for him to [[spoiler:save all of humanity.]]
55	** ''Literature/StarmanJones'' is about a kid who basically lies his way onto a starship, and finds himself in a number of adventures, at least one being a situation that only he could have gotten everyone out of.
56	** ''Literature/CitizenOfTheGalaxy'' is about a slave boy who gets bought by an old cripple who takes him under his wing, and gets pulled into events beyond his control time and time again.
57	* ''Literature/JackRyan'':
58	** Ryan is a US Naval Academy graduate who planned to enter the Marine Corps, but had to complete his degree from the hospital after being badly injured by a drunk driver and was medically discharged immediately after earning his commission. In the present, he's a historian and an intelligence analyst for the CIA. From there, he gets shoved into the role of HeroProtagonist in ''Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober'' because he's the only one on the scene with all the information needed to complete the mission.
59	** In ''Literature/RainbowSix'', terrorists attack a history-themed amusement park. One of the performers, portraying a Roman legionnaire, wades in with his reproduction sword and shield and badly injures one of the attackers. The RAINBOW team congratulates him for his bravery after all's said and done.
60	* The hero of Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Johnny Maxwell'' books is constantly described as being nobody special, so ordinary that people don't notice him. ("I was in the shop with my mates." "I remember a black boy and a fat boy, I don't remember anyone else." "That was me!") He becomes a hero because he does what needs to be done, when other people would walk away and leave someone else to do it.
61	* Creator/TravisSTaylor's ''The Quantum Connection'' stars an semi-suicidal electronics repairman/programmer who, on contract from the government, figures out the purpose of some alien hardware, then gets kidnapped by said aliens and proceeds to hack his way into ownership of their ship, then goes on to save the world.
62	* In the Creator/TomClancy novel ''Literature/RedStormRising'', one of the protagonists of the Iceland situation, Lt. Michael Edwards, is forced into the role when he's (apparently) the senior surviving officer after the [[MacrossMissileMassacre Soviet missile attack]] on the US military facilities located there. Prior to the events of the novel, he's just a USAF weatherman, whose only claim to martial fame is being a marathon runner. It eventually got to the point that he was given a Navy Cross and when he protests that he's Air Force, a Marine general's only response is "this here says you're a Marine. [[note]]The navy cross can indeed be awarded to any personnel serving in the Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard during times of war, making the award entirely within official regulations.[[/note]]
63	* The title Midshipman of the ''Literature/SeafortSaga'' is on a routine space flight when disaster removes the entire chain of command down to him, leaving him in charge. He has no leadership or officer skills and gets by on the fact that he ''must'' be the Right Man In The Wrong Place and that he is willing to take responsibility for making horrible choices for the right reasons. He does what it takes first to keep order on his ship, and eventually to save the human species from being wiped out by StarfishAliens.
64	* ''Literature/SpecialCircumstances'': In ''Princess of Wands'', Barbara Everette finds herself battling an EldritchAbomination when on vacation in Louisiana, triumphing over it even though she's completely unaware of the supernatural world at the time due in part to her unwavering faith in {{God}}, and in part to her father insisting that she be able to take care of herself in any situation.
65	* Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'': In ''Literature/TheWarriorsApprentice'', Miles Naismith Vorkosigan has flunked the physical part of the entrance exam to a military academy. He leaves his planet and due to this trope, [[spoiler:winds up the admiral of a mercenary fleet at the age of 18, among other things.]]
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
69	* ''Series/TwentyFour'': Jack Bauer keeps trying to get away from CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit), yet at the beginning of every season, he always somehow ends up being the one person in place to stop a major terrorist attack. For example:
70	** At the beginning of season 4, he's an assistant to the Secretary of Defense in Washington, DC, in a desk job. He has to go to the CTU office in Los Angeles to do a review of their work--on the same day that a major terrorist attack in Los Angeles launches.
71	** At the beginning of season 8, he's in New York City planning to move to Los Angeles with his daughter, but then when an ex-contact shows up at his doorstep, he finds himself dragged into a major terrorist attack in New York City.
72	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E4TheDoctorsWife "The Doctor's Wife"]] confirms the Doctor's ([[IKnewIt and the fans']]) long-held suspicion that the TARDIS purposely lands him in places where disaster is about to strike, so he can become this.
73	-->'''The Doctor:''' You didn't always take me where I wanted to go!\
74	'''The TARDIS:''' No, but I always took you where you ''needed'' to go!
75	* The entire plot of ''Series/TheExpanse'' hinges on James Holden just happening to be within range of a distress call and being too noble to ignore it. As OPA leader Fred Johnson says later:
76	-->'''Fred Johnson:''' You're either some kind of genius, Mr. Holden, or you're the luckiest dipshit in the solar system.
77	* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'s'' Malcolm Reynolds was very much the right man to take on a very wrong pair of passengers, which ultimately ended in the events of ''Film/{{Serenity}}''.
78	* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'': All poor Mike Nelson wanted to do was have his time card signed and get paid for his job. Instead, he gets shot up into space and forced to watch bad movies when the last guy bailed.
79	* On more than one occasion Bulk and Skull have managed to save the ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' when they were in trouble. And every single time, it is awesome, and completely surprises the villain.
80	* ''Series/TheSentinel'': Blair Sandburg, M.A., anthropologist; "strictly an observer." Tell that to Garrett Kincade, among others.
81	* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine:'' Commander Benjamin Sisko ''expected'' that he was receiving an essentially administrative and diplomatic job in the ass-end of nowhere. What he ''got'' was serving as commander of one of {{The Federation}}'s most important strategic outposts, plus, you know, the whole "Emissary" thing...
82	* ''Series/TedLasso'': Zig-zagged. Ted is an American Football coach brought in to coach a British Association Football team. However, Ted is humble and self-aware enough to focus his efforts on areas where his skills do transfer, like building team culture and cohesion and media management, and surround himself with people who have a better technical understanding of the game and can build strategies and training programs that mesh with his style of leadership.
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
86	* The Everyman Hero archetype from ''TabletopGame/FengShui'' was built with this kind of character in mind.
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Video Games]]
90	* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'': The player character is a random person who travelled to Yharnam to cure an unspecified illness, and was shanghai'd into helping deal with Yharnam's werewolf problem. Depending on what the player does, they could be ultimately be released from their duty (like Eileen and Djura) after saving Yharnam for the night [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere and presumably leave for somewhere less horrible]],[[spoiler: take Gherman's place as Caretaker of the Hunter's Dream and mentor to future hunters, or [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu punch out the Moon Presence]] and become a Great One yourself. And if you do the DLC, you've also lifted a curse that's doomed every hunter since the first to go insane with bloodlust.]]
91	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
92	** Common throughout the series. In the majority of cases, the PlayerCharacter starts off as a penniless prisoner (or penniless shipwreck survivor) who is thrust into a situation where they are the only person capable of stopping the BigBad from TakingOverTheWorld or even bringing about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. In a few cases, you are TheChosenOne backed by one or more [[OurGodsAreDifferent deities]], but this typically doesn't become apparent until you are already well into the game in question's main questline, meaning you had to choose to put yourself in that position first.
93	** Prevalent in side quests as well, especially [[SidequestSidestory Guild and Faction questlines]]. Your status as TheChosenOne of the main questline does not directly apply, but you still find yourself in these situations and must act to save the Guild or Faction. (And in a few cases, such as ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''[='s=] [[WizardingSchool College of Winterhold]] questline, saving the world from an entirely different threat than the one in the main quest.)
94	* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'':
95	** The Chosen Undead from ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' turns out to be one,[[spoiler: as the 'prophecy' they're chosen for was made up by Gwyndolin in order to trick some undead into Linking the Fire. The only requirement for being the Chosen Undead was not going hollow doing the things needed to get to the Kiln of the First Flame.]]
96	** The Bearer of the Curse from ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' is some random undead who found Drangleic because they heard the rumors that there was a cure for Undeath there. There isn't; there's just a whole lot of monsters that need beating up and a HumanoidAbomination who needs to be stopped from reaching the Throne of Want, and you're the only person who wants to go out and clean the place out.[[spoiler: But if you clear the three [=DLC=] areas, you ''do'' get a cure for your curse, as Vendrick will enchant the crowns you find so they render you immune to Hollowing.]]
97	** Downplayed with the Ashen One of ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII''. As an Unkindled, they ''are'' a chosen one... but they were also someone who ''failed'' to Link the Fire, and are only being brought back as a desperate last resort after all the ''real'' chosen ones [[RefusalOfTheCall refused the call and became bosses]].
98	* The PlayerCharacter of ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' was an ordinary soldier who was stationed on Mars as punishment for insubordination after he refused to fire on civilians. When the demons come through the teleporters, he quickly steps up and is able to wage a one-man war against the invaders.
99	* A common thread in the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series. The player character is usually a normal vault dweller/tribal/courier thrust into legend. The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' classes, in particular, tend to be especially harmless, like the uber deadly ''Marriage Counselor''. Of course, you don't have to be a badass to save the world. Or at least, [[TookALevelInBadass you don't have to start out that way]].
100	* Gordon Freeman from the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' franchise is the TropeNamer, from the G-Man's quote about him above. Ordinary scientist of theoretical physics, forced to become a OneManArmy against a horde of alien gribblies. And not only does he kill the aliens, he also kills most of the military force sent to contain the situation whose orders include [[LeaveNoWitnesses killing any witnesses of the incident]]. Interestingly enough, although the trope is named in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', the situation is a subversion from that point onwards, as the G-Man himself has purposefully left Gordon at a specific place and time, rather than Gordon falling into it by accident or chance. Then again he's still really ''not'' supposed to be there and not at all prepared for the situation, so if you think of it as Gordon just continuing where he left off the trope [[DoubleSubversion is still being played as straight as before]].
101	* Every ''Franchise/DragonAge'' PC is some degree of this:
102	** The origin stories in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' all have the right person in the wrong place at the wrong time. Fortunately for them, they have at least some combat training given their past.
103	** Hawke of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' rose to prominence and played a key role in one of the most important events in Thedas's history almost totally unintentionally. The plot of the game explains how s/he managed to find themselves in these situations. This is stressed more than in the first game: the FramingDevice consists of Cassandra, who thinks Hawke planned it all, interrogating Varric, who was actually there and has to explain how much more complicated it was.
104	** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', the player character is widely assumed to be TheChosenOne of Andraste. Later on, it turns out that they obtained their rift-sealing Mark by [[spoiler:interrupting Corypheus' ritual to open the Breach. Unless Andraste acted very subtly, it was a complete accident.]]
105	* Roger Wilco, from the ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest'' series, has saved the day numerous times despite being a simple janitor (and [[LoserProtagonist not a very good one]] at that).
106	* The Security Officer from Creator/{{Bungie}}'s ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' series. He (may have) just happened to be the one Durandal roped into his schemes, and as a result saved the human race from alien slavers and a chaos god.
107	* In [[VideoGame/DotHackR1Games the first group of games]] in the ''Franchise/DotHack'' franchise, the main character Kite only got the power to Data Drain because his friend Orca (who was originally supposed to receive it) fell into a coma as he was about to receive it. Because of that, Aura had to give Kite the power because he was the only one there.
108	** The G.U. series as well. Haseo just happened to create a PC that fit the parameters of [[spoiler:Skeith's vessel]] by blind chance. [[spoiler:Had he not been an epitaph user, Ovan would have never approached him.]]
109	* Isaac Clarke of ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' and ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'', an engineer who survives two necromorph outbreaks and beats insanity. Played straight then subverted by Isaac in the third game. He eventually decides to STAY and fight instead of just walking away from the situation which, at the time, was very easy to do.
110	* ''VideoGame/FarCry3'': Jason Brody was just some guy on vacation when he was captured by Vaas's pirates.
111	* Despite the baggage on his family name, all ''VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh's'' Jet Bradley wanted to do was program video games and stay the hell out of corporate intrigue. But when a phone conversation with his father is interrupted by intruders in the laser lab, he runs in to see what's going on and ends up zapped to cyberspace to fight a computer virus and a ''very'' hostile corporate takeover.
112	* Lara Croft in the ''Franchise/TombRaider'' [[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 2013 reboot]]. While it was her theories about Yamatai that led to the crew heading for the island and getting shipwrecked, she certainly didn't ''expect'' it to happen. And once she's there, her [[ActionGirl inner badass]] starts to [[TookALevelInBadass wake up]] (or more accurately, the exterior it's buried under gets [[TraumaCongaLine forcibly ripped away]]). She's one of two actual archaeologists in her team, [[spoiler:and the only one with actual ''competence'', seeing as her mentor Whitman is just a narcissistic self-promoter]] and she's ultimately the one left to piece solve a centuries-old mystery and upset the plans of the local psychotic cult.
113	* Jack from ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' [[spoiler:is a subversion]]. Jack's airplane crashes, but Jack survives and swims to a lighthouse which happens to contain transport to the underwater city of Rapture. He is quickly given help with survival by Atlas, while Andrew Ryan immediately convinces himself Jack is from some foreign government and sends splicers to kill him. With some help from Atlas, Jack defeats everything that gets in his way, heads to Ryans office to kill the man... [[spoiler:and shortly before doing so, Ryan reveals that Jack's entire past is fabricated, he was genetically modified to grow to an adult when he was a baby, and Atlas is controlling him through a hypnotic phrase.]]
114	* In ''VideoGame/TurningPointFallOfLiberty'', a game set in an AlternateHistory where UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill died in a car accident before UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Carson is a steelworker helping build a skyscraper in New York when the Germans invade. He fights his way out and joins LaResistance.
115	* In a sense, the Hero in ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'' is this. In all the other games of the series, the Hero has gone to the current setting specifically to either make a name for himself (''VideoGame/QuestForGloryI'') or to investigate the problems there (the rest). The Hero did ''not'' intend to make his trip to Mordavia, and instead [[spoiler:was shanghaied by the BigBad and unceremoniously dumped in the middle of the [[EldritchLocation Cave of the Dark One]] when the teleport spell fizzled out]]. With absolutely no knowledge of what the hell is going on, he jumps right into doing what he does best: [[SpannerInTheWorks Spanning the Works]] one minor problem at a time.
116	* In ''VideoGame/DawnOfTheDragons'', the player character was a farmhand enjoying a perfectly normal day picking turnips when an army of beastmen attacked.
117	* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', Sora's Keyblade didn't originally belong to him. It was supposed to be Riku's, but he had turned to Darkness, forsaking his Keyblade. So it ended up with Sora instead.
118	* Prisoner 849 from ''VideoGame/{{Unreal\|I}}''. Originally just another criminal being transported in the Vortex Rikers prison vessel, the ship crashes in a planet overrun by a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy warrior race]] which made everyone in the planet their slaves. Over the course of the game and the ExpansionPack ''Return To Na Pali'' s/he rampages across the planet, offing the warrior race's leader and (most of) their ranks in the way. In ''RTNP'' [[spoiler:this extends to the UMS crew who learnt the hard way to NOT to mess with someone like hir]].
119	* Several playable characters in ''VideoGame/RiskOfRain'' and and ''VideoGame/RiskOfRain2'', including all of [[SuperpoweredRobotMeterMaid the robot characters]], had little-to-no experience with combat prior to the crash of the UES Contact Light and are just re-purposing their tools for combat purposes. Despite this, they can survive where trained military men would not, and can well be the only one to escape the planet. The trope is also referenced in the sequel in the BossSubtitles of MUL-T's [[MirrorBoss Umbra]], "The Right Tool for the Wrong Job."
120	* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'': Linkle is a girl who has grown up thinking she's the [[LegacyCharacter legendary hero reborn]]. We don't meet her until ''after'' we've already been introduced to [[SilentProtagonist Link]] and seen him [[TheChosenOne wield the Triforce of Courage]], [[OneManArmy fight off a giant Dodongo]], [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and wield a sword in his left hand]], so the ''audience'' already knows that she's not the legendary hero. She also has NoSenseOfDirection and manages to circumnavigate Hyrule in her attempts to go to Hyrule Castle. Every single one of her false destinations puts her in key locations of the main story before or after the Hyrulean Army has already done events... and while they are in trouble. Her last scenario starts immediately after the FinalBoss, and she helps pick up the Hyrulean Army when the hordes start DragonTheirFeet. She's not ''the'' hero, but she still [[BigDamnHeroes saves 80% of the playable army]] and proves herself a heroine in her own right.
121	* ''Franchise/SilentHill'': While several of the protagonists were "called" to [[GeniusLoci Silent Hill]], [[VideoGame/SilentHillOrigins Travis Grady]], [[VideoGame/SilentHill4TheRoom Henry Townsend]], and to a lesser extent [[VideoGame/SilentHill1 Harry Mason]] simply got too close to the supernatural to escape its influence. Once trapped in Hell on earth, they have no choice but to fight their way out, and only incidentally manage to prevent the local GodOfEvil from resurrecting. Cybil from the first game in particular simply had the misfortune to be heading to Silent Hill in response to a call when Harry and Cheryl (i.e.[[spoiler:the other half of Alessa's soul]]) are both pulled into the town's alternate reality, but her being there drastically improved Harry's odds of survival because she lent him a pistol to protect himself with.
122	* ''Videogame/WorldOfWarcraft'''s [[PlayerCharacter Adventurers]] usually get their start this way; being ordinary, if martial, people going through coming of age ceremonies, militia recruitment drives, or otherwise just doing their day to day lives when shit hits the fan. From there, their superiors realize that their talents are wasted dealing with {{mooks}} and send them out to deal with greater threats - becoming TaughtByExperience heroes of their respective peoples simply by virtue of dealing with stuff that would have killed others many times over - heck, it probably killed them many times over too, but because the [[{{psychopomp}} Kyrian]] see their potential in upholding the balance, even [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist death is just a learning experience]].
123	* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': The PlayerCharacter was just one of many Masters selected by Chaldea (albeit one with a 100% affinity for the role). However, they were taken off the initial expedition by Director Olga due to exhaustion from using simulators causing him to fall asleep during her initial briefing. Because of this, they're not caught in the explosion that kills every other Master candidate, and most of the staff, leaving them the sole Master available.
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:Web Comics]]
127	* ''Webcomic/{{Cloudscratcher}}'': When pirates invade a fancy restaurant, Felix is the first one to fight back.
128	-->'''Felix:''' You're ruining my friend's birthday!
129	* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Mr. Egbert (as well as his Post-Scratch counterpart Mr. Crocker) is an ordinary businessman that has no fate or designated role set for him by Sburb -- even his own friend has offscreen adventures playing the game. Despite this, he's able to survive the initial apocalypse like the other game-relevant Guardians, and provides crucial assistance for his child.
130	* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2005-12-18 This Qlaviql ore freighter captain]] is in command of the only ship able to respond to an attack on his homeworld by a frigate armed with a powerful plasma lance. With guts and a "dream mess" created from the ore mined from asteroids, the frigate is destroyed. This ultimately results in [[spoiler:his being declared the leader of the planet.]]
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder: Web Video]]
134	* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': This was more or less the ''modus operandi'' of the Mighty Nein (the party of Campaign 2). Unlike Vox Machina before them, or Bell's Hells after, they never really set out to be heroes, they just stumbled upon a series of world-threatening situations, and simply didn't have time to get outside help or alert people more qualified to handle it; they saved the world because there wasn't anyone else that ''knew'' it needed saving. This had the consequence of many of their adventures being TheGreatestStoryNeverTold.
135	--> '''Veth:''' There is a brewing supernatural force that could affect the ''entire world'', and no one knows about this but ''us'', and we are the only ones who can stop it? I mean... this is our thing! If we succeed no one will know what we've done, if we fail the world will end? ''This is what we do!''
136	[[/folder]]
137
138	%% Please no Real Life examples, they attract too much mess.

Context Main / RightManInTheWrongPlace