Born Winner: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
{{quote|''The winner!!
''The winner is born a winner!
''He never will have to worry about his dinner!
''He never will have to think about getting thinner!
''{{'}}Cause he's a winner,
''A Nature Boy,
''A hero,
''A hero in a story,
''A story with a wonderful sequel:
''Men are created unequal!!''|'''Sam''', ''Trouble in Tahiti''}}
|'''Sam''', ''Trouble in Tahiti''}}
 
The [['''Born Winner]]''' is a [[Badass]]. Of course they are; they were born that way. [[Born Winner|Born Winners]] are badasses because of what they ''are'' rather than what they ''do''. They're [[Alien|Aliens]]s among [[Puny Earthlings]], [[Obake|demons]] among mortals, [[Ridiculously-Human Robots|robots]] among meatbags, or a [[Magic and Powers|magic-user]] among [[Muggles]]. [[The Hero]] is usually the [[Born Winner]]; if there's a group of people besides [[Muggles|"normal" humans]], the main character will be one, or at least [[Half-Human Hybrid|partially]]. If other's in the setting [[Super Weight|have superpowers]], expect the Born Winner to have won the [[Superpower Lottery]] by comparison. If [[The Hero]] is a [[Born Winner]], [[The Rival]] usually will be too. Usually, a mundane human will be part of the main character's [[True Companions]] and generally be able to hold their own at first, but as the [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil]] kicks in, expect them to be [[Overshadowed by Awesome]] or even [[Killed Off for Real]] in order to fuel the main character's [[Unstoppable Rage]].
 
The heart of this trope is that a [[Born Winner]] is absurdly powerful because they were ''born'' that way, not because of anything they ever ''did''. They have some innate trait that makes them awesome; no one lacking that trait can ever acquire it, any anyone without it is doomed to mediocrity. Done badly, it comes off as a cheap ploy to make the [[Born Winner]] seem more awesome by dropping the effectiveness of his companions to somewhere just above that of the [[Redshirt Army]] (and often has a [[This Loser Is You]] [[What Measure Is a Non Super|side effect]], seeing as viewers would presumably identify more easily with the now-useless [[Badass Normal]] than the alien/demon/vampire/whatever [[Born Winner]]). When it's done well, it can be a compelling reason for why the main character is the [[Only One]] without relying on a blatant [[Because Destiny Says So]].
 
Compare [[Puny Earthlings]], where the earthlings are ''so'' puny that not even [[Training Fromfrom Hell]] or a [[Charles Atlas Superpower]] lets them overcome it; they simply [[Can't Catch Up]]. [[Born Winner|Born Winners]] are a leading reason why [[Hard Work Hardly Works]]. They may or may not have been [[Born Lucky]]. Beware those who are [[Weak but Skilled]], though...
{{examples}}
 
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Bakuretsu Tenshi]]'' - [[Artificial Human|Artificial Humans]]. Meg doesn't counts for being a [[Faux Action Girl]].
* ''[[Bleach]]'' - Mere humans like Orihime and Chad are as nothing next to the [[Shinigami]] Ichigo. It's even explicitly stated that the only reason they developed powers in the first place was from hanging around Ichigo so long, they absorbed some of his aura leaking out.
** Orihime may count as a subversion, though, since despite this rather ignominious origin story, [[Story-Breaker Power|she is potentially the most powerful character in the setting]] ({{spoiler|her powers allow her to [[Power of the Void|deny the existence]] of undesirable events or objects in 3 ways}}), but her abilities are based off confidence, which she severely lacks for most of the story.
* ''[[Blood Plus+|Blood+]]'' - [[Our Vampires Are Different|Chiropterans]]
* ''[[Blue Gender]]'' - Yuji and the other Sleepers' with their "B-cells"
* ''[[BakuretsuBurst TenshiAngel]]'' - [[Artificial Human|Artificial Humans]]s. Meg doesn't counts for being a [[Faux Action Girl]].
* ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]'' - Only those born with magic power are really any use. [[Lampshaded]] in one episode where Mei-ling complains about not being able to contribute due to her lack of magic power; results in a [[Plot Tailored to the Party]] where she uses her martial arts skills to help defeat the Twin card.
* ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' - [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Saiyans]] and their [[Half-Human Hybrid|descendants]] eventually overpower ''everything'' (including [[Physical God|Physical Gods]]s) by a wide margin.
* ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' - [[Jerkass|Kongou Agon]] is a once in a century player who is infinitely more skilled than his completely average twin brother. He neglects practice and is still ridiculously good.
** Likewise {{spoiler|Mr. Don of the American youth team,}} so skilled and powerful that it took ''two'' players at their pinnacles to bring him down...once. And that was only because he fought the battle on their terms.
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** Their [[Expy|expies]] from the newer Celestial Era timeline (''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED|Gundam SEED]]'' & ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny|Destiny]]''), the Coordinators, seem like [[Accidental Pun|Natural]] candidates for this trope, being [[Designer Babies|genetically engineered superhumans]], but this comes across to some viewers as more of an [[Informed Ability]], since most of the ones seen are enemy [[Mooks]] [[Red Shirt|being mowed down like wheat]]. However, it should be noted that in the series' backstory, the Coordinator organization ZAFT has [[Curb Stomp Battle|more or less steamrolled the entire Earth Alliance military]], and that the majority of the combatants responsible for the eventual turning-of-the-tide were [[Phlebotinum Rebel|Coordinators themselves]].
*** However, there's no question that anyone born with a [[Super Mode|SEED factor]] is pretty much unstoppable. Kira Yamato, the main character of the first series (and [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad|the second]]) plays this to the hilt, not only possessing a SEED factor (with full control of it to boot), but is later revealed to be [[Designer Babies|"The Ultimate Coordinator"]]. Despite this, he's still defeated on several occasions, most notably by [[The Berserker|Shinn Asuka]] (who uses Kira's [[Honour Before Reason]] style of fighting against him) and [[Big Bad]] Rau Le Creuset who's [[Magnificent Bastard|just]] [[Ace Pilot|that]] [[Badass Normal|good]].
** Completely inverted (and possibly slyly [[Lampshaded]]) with Garrod Ran, protagonist of ''[[After War Gundam X]]'', [[Puny Earthling]] and [[Badass Normal|self-made badass]]. He '''despises''' [[Born Winner|Born Winners]] and happily demonstrates his ability to kick them to the curb whenever the opportunity arises.
* ''[[Inuyasha]]'' - If you're not at least part demon or the reincarnation of a priestess, [[The Worf Barrage|resign yourself to uselessness]].
* ''[[Naruto]]'' - With all the emphasis on [[In the Blood|bloodline]] [[Superpowered Genetics|limits]] and [[Cursed with Awesome|sealed-at-infancy superbeasts]], one would think this series would be all over this trope, but surprisingly, it spends at least as much if not more time actively [[Subverted Trope|subverting]] it. [[Charles Atlas Superpower|Rock Lee]], [[Brilliant but Lazy|Shikamaru]], [[Badass Grandpa|the Third Hokage]] (aka [[Red Baron|"The God of Shinobi"]])... and those are just the headliners.
** To say nothing of the titular character himself...at least, [[Took a Level Inin Badass|before the level grind.]]
* ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' - Ash Ketchum is involved with many prophetic legends.
** The fourth season song is called "Born To Be a Winner", which is much of a remix of the season 1 theme.
* ''[[S-Cry-ed]]'' - "Alters"
* Gemstone espers in ''[[To Aru Majutsu no Index]]'' are espers who were born with their powers, as opposed to having to have to develop one. An example would be Academy City's #7 Level 5 esper, Sogiita Gunha. On the magic side, Saints are this, allowing them to access a part of God's power.
** Touma was born with [[Anti-Magic|Imagine]] [[Power Nullifier|Breaker]].
*** Also that's not really an example. It's strong but it also takes away his luck, making tons of bad things happen to him. Also it's been stated nobody could use it like Touma could, because of all his constant fighting.
* ''[[Trigun]]'' - Vash's and Knives' badassness is due to the fact that they're both {{spoiler|biological power plants}}. Yeah.
* ''[[Trinity Blood]]'' - Vampires. And Crusniks even more so.
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* ''[[Vampire Hunter D]]'' - Vampires (and [[Half-Human Hybrid|dhampyrs]]) again.
* ''[[Zettai Karen Children]]'' - Although psychics in general qualify, Level 7 psychics are vastly more powerful than lower level ones, and they alone seem to have enough control over their powers to find new and creative uses for them after sufficient practice. For example, a low level telekinetic might be able to cheat at a crane game in an arcade, but the most skilled Level 7 we've seen is basically a [[Reality Warper]].
* The Gorans from ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20120307030701/http://www.itplanning.co.jp/bbimages/body.img/BE1/FBEAT1.HTML Buzzer Beater]'' by Takehiko Inoue. Humans aren't really destined for greatness in intergalactic basketball. {{spoiler|The main character is a Goran but doesn't know it until later.}}
* Many of the characters from ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' have some reason why their magical powers are miles beyond average, whether [[Artificial Human|genetic engineering]], [[Hollywood Cyborg|cybernetics]], or the power of an [[Artifact of Doom]]. The main character herself is a freak of nature, extremely powerful with only a handwave about how people from Earth tend to be very strong on the very small chance that they have magic.
 
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* Subverted in ''normalman'' who was the only person on the planet Levram without superpowers... but it might also be a double subversion in that he was ultimately destined to rule Levram as President and stuff...
* [[Batman]] can be considered a subversion, as his prowess comes from intense training than any inborn power. That said, he was ''born'' into wealth and his extreme intelligence is definitely an inherited trait, so he's at least a partial example.
** However, his characterization can also portray the ''downside'' to being a [[Born Winner]]. For example, people have stolen plans from him to allow them to take down the Justice League, and his perfect memory that helps make him the world's greatest detective also forces him to remember his parents' death with perfect clarity, which keeps the pain from fading at all.
 
 
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** Hell, Channelers period. Walking nukes in a medieval world.
* In the ''Merchant Princes'' series by [[Charles Stross]], the ability to travel between worlds is a recessive genetic trait.
* [[The Sleepless]] in Nancy Kress's [[Bio PunkBiopunk]] story ''[[Beggars in Spain]]''. Sleepless are genetically engineered to, well, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|not sleep]], but this genemod ends up unlocking all sorts of other useful traits, such as increased mental stability, higher intellect, and (eventually) some sort of mad [[Healing Factor]] that essentially halts aging. Nobody knows what the upper limit of a Sleepless lifespan is ({{spoiler|none of them ever undergo a natural death}}).
* The Howard Foundation, from [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s Future History mythology, is a centuries-old breeding program, extending the human lifespan through genetics. There's no secret to it: you're born, and then you live for five hundred years or so. [[Broken Masquerade|Of course, just try telling that to]] [[All of the Other Reindeer|all those angry, envious short-timers...]]
* ''[[Replica]]'': the [[Designer Babies]] are ultimately meant to breed so they become a master race and take over the world.
* ''[[A Certain Magical Index]]'':
** Gemstone espers in ''[[To Aru Majutsu no Index]]'' are espers who were born with their powers, as opposed to having to have to develop one. An example would be Academy City's #7 Level 5 esper, Sogiita Gunha. On the magic side, Saints are this, allowing them to access a part of God's power.
** Saints, who are born able to draw on a portion of God's power, giving them incredible strength, speed and magical power. Valkyries are their Norse equivalent.
** Fiamma of the Right was born with [[Swiss Army Superpower|the Holy Right]], which can defeat any opponent at any range, automatically intercepts anything that would attack him and counterattacks, lets him teleport, and many other things.
** Played with in the case of Touma, who was born with [[Anti-Magic|Imagine]] [[Power Nullifier|Breaker]]. While it can negate any supernatural power, it also negates his luck, and he wasn't even aware he had it until moving to [[City of Adventure|Academy City]].
 
 
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* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' got [[Blessed with Suck|'lucky']] and was born a Potential Slayer. Once her predecessor died, she got 'lucky' again and became The Slayer. which grants her amazing strength and reflexes. Of course, she didn't get her powers until she was 15. So really it's a [[Puberty Superpower]].
** At the end of the series, they manage to give all potential Slayers their full powers, so we get an entire army of Born Winners...
** At least in this case, the [[Born Winner]] is not even remotely the most powerful person in the series. Looking at you, [[Dark Magical Girl|Willow]]...
 
 
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[[Category:Master of the Index]]
[[Category:Badass]]
[[Category:Born Winner{{PAGENAME}}]]