Locked Out of the Fight: Difference between revisions

There are lots of methods for achieving this. A door which the hero walks through could [[Ghost Butler|suddenly slam shut and lock itself]] before the allies can follow, leaving the hero alone. The roof can collapse, with the hero being the only one who ends up on the dangerous side of the rubble. The hero can nobly tell the allies to swing across a deep ravine first, only to have the rope break before the hero gets a turn, just as the pursuing villain shows up. Everybody could be caught in an explosion, with only the hero and the villain remaining conscious. It's frequently some sort of [[Plot -Driven Breakdown]]. Or whatever - the point is that although the hero brought help, a [[Contrived Coincidence]] has removed that help from the fight. The allies may be able to see the fight, and may be able to shout encouragement, and may even be able to do small things that assist the protagonist, but they're unable to actually take part directly.

This is done when writers want their main character to be accompanied through the plot by some friends and allies, but also want their main character to fight a bad guy one-on-one, without being helped. For one thing, it increases the sense of danger, especially if the method of incapacitating the allies leaves them in trouble if the protagonist loses. It also allows a protagonist to demonstrate toughness and skill more effectively than if it's a team effort - defeating the villain can seem a bit less heroic if you gang up on him in a six-to-one fight. And sometimes, it's just thematically or narratively appropriate that the protagonist defeats the villain alone. Locking characters out of the fight an option which allows this.

There are several related tropes which can be used instead of this one. Instead of a using contrived coincidence, you can make it deliberate by saying that [[This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself]], having the villain order his mooks to [[Leave Him to Me]], or having everybody agree to [[Combat Byby Champion]]. Or instead of locking the support staff out of the fight, make them [[We Are Team Cannon Fodder|just plain useless in it]] or establish a [[Only I Can Kill Him|a reason why the hero is the only one capable of victory]]. And of course, if there's an extremely powerful supporting character who needs to be kept well away, you may be forced to [[Deus Exit Machina|kick them out of the story for a while]], which may or may not take the form of an extended invocation of this trope. You can also avoid the issue altogether by having the character deliberately not bring allies at all, because [[I Work Alone]].

See also [[In the End You Are Onon Your Own]], [[Deus Exit Machina]], and [[Rear Window Witness]].

== Anime and Manga ==

* In ''[[Fate/stay Stay Nightnight|Unlimited Blade Works]]'', during the battle at Kotomine Church, Tohsaka Rin and Saber are kept from participating in the battle between Shirou and Archer due to Archer summoning [[BFS|oversized swords]] which prevent them from moving.

* In [[End of Evangelion]], Asuka fights the Mass Production Evangelions alone, as {{spoiler|Shinji is kept from participating as Unit 01 is covered in the cement-like substance bakelite}}. This does not end well for Asuka, and when {{spoiler|Unit 01 finally goes into berserk mode, Shinji arrives just in time to see Asuka being eaten, causing him to snap and trigger [[The End of the World Asas We Know It]].}} Of course [[Fan Dumb]] has {{spoiler|Shinji just moping around during the battle.}}

== ComicsComic Books ==

* At the climax of the Inferno storyline in ''[[X -Men]]'', the mansion blows up, leaving only Longshot conscious to face Sinister and Polaris. A bit of an aversion though, as Longshot was not the main focus of the story arc; though it was a natural extension of his luck-based powers he would be standing after an explosion. The other X-Men wake up one by one during the battle and join in, leading to a [[This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself]] showdown between Cyclops and Sinister.

* As the climactic battle of ''[[Whatever Happened to Thethe Man of Tomorrow?]]'' approaches, several of Superman's fellow heroes arrive to help, but are kept away by a [[Force Field]] until it's all over.

== FanfictionFan Works ==

* In ''[[Kyon Big Damn Hero (Fanfic)|Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'', during Kyon and Haruhi's (and later [[Magical Girl|Nonoko's]]) fight with [[Half Life|the Combine]], Koizumi is unable to join because he cannot enter Kuyou's [[Phantom Zone|shadow song]], and Nagato has to stay in the club room to stall Emiri.

* In the ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' movie, after Ridley and Snails enter the castle to fight Damodar, Marrina tries to enter but a force field stops her. Norda tells her "[[This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself|This task they must complete alone]]."

* In ''[[Conan the Barbarian|Conan The Destroyer]]'', the heroes infiltrate an evil wizard's tower to steal a [[Plot Coupon|plot coupon]]. When Conan enters a room with full-length mirrors covering each segment of the wall, a pane of one-way glass slams down behind him (naturally, it appears identical to the other mirrors when viewed from inside the room), allowing the wizard to summon a monstrous brute which Conan must defeat alone (fortunately, Conan is able to figure out that the mirrors are the monster's [[Achilles' Heel]]).

* In ''[[Harry Potter]] and the SorcererPhilosopher's Stone (novel)|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'', the challenges require both Ron and Hermione to stay behind, leaving only Harry to actually reach the stone and fight for it.

** Similarly in ''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (novel)|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]'', Ron is left behind Harry when the cave they are in, which leads to the chamber, collapses and separates them.

** And in [[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (novel)|book 4]], where Harry has to go it alone as the contestant in the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

** Harry himself gets locked out near the end of ''[[Harry Potter and Thethe Half-Blood Prince (novel)|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'' when Dumbledore uses a silent spell to immobilize Harry while the face-off with the Death Eaters occurs. Harry realizes the Dumbledore really is dead when he finds he can move again, meaning that the person who cast the spell is dead.

* This is kind of what happened during the big battle in ''[[The Lion, the Witch Andand Thethe Wardrobe]]'', which is described from the perspective of Susan and Lucy who did not take part in it like their brothers did.

* In Nick Kyme's [[Warhammer 4000040,000]] novel ''[[Salamanders (Literature)|Salamander]]'', at the climax, {{spoiler|Dak'ir}} fights {{spoiler|Ghor'gan}} alone, his comrades having been cut off. When {{spoiler|Pyriel}} could come to his aid, he sends him after {{spoiler|Nihilan}}, and thus they, also, are trapped alone in their fight.

== [[Live -Action TV]] ==

** [[Star Trek: Voyager]] several times, most memorably in the episode "Tsunkatse." Janeway [[Timey -Wimey Ball|does it to herself]] in the finale.

* ''[[Betrayal Atat Krondor]]'': Despite having a mixed team of at least one spellcaster and warrior as your protagonists almost without exception during the rest of the game, in the final battle you face the end boss - a powerful magician - with just two magicians, Owyn and Pug. Gorath is left behind because he'd be less helpful and more of a burden in a straight-up magician-vs-magician fight if it comes to that, and hurt their chances of reasoning with him if it doesn't.

* ''[[BaldursBaldur's Gate]]'' does this a couple of times, too. Although most of the time you can [[Game Breaker|circumvent]] the rule somewhat by buffing the protagonist up before the encounter in question begins.

* Used in ''[[Saga Frontier (Video Game)|SagaSaGa Frontier]] ''when you fight Rouge as Blue: It's supposed to be a 1 on 1 magician battle.

* Repeatedly abused in ''[[Star Wars]]: [[Knights of the Old Republic]]''. Not only with doors and things, but even a special [[Cutscene Power to Thethe Max]] force power that some bosses use to literally paralyze everyone in the party other than you.

* ''[[Shadow Hearts (Video Game)|Shadow Hearts]]'' does this during the Man Tower and He-Man Sushi sidequests in ''Covenant'' and ''From The New World'', respectively. During the last segment, each member of the party holds off one of the challengers, leaving Joachim/Hilde (depending on the game) to go on ahead.

* The final battle in ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'' begins this way with the Nameless One being separated from his entire party upon entering the Fortress of Regrets and eventually arriving to find the [[Big Bad]] {{spoiler|standing over the bodies of the party members that he had slain in the meantime.}} You can choose to face him alone or trick him into leaving for just long enough for you to {{spoiler|resurrect the entire party!}}

* In [[Golden Sun (Video Game)|Golden Sun: The Lost Age]], Agatio and Karst make use of one of Jupiter Lighthouse's traps to separate Mia (who they believed would be their most dangerous opponent, due to her [[Shoot the Medic First|healing magic]] and [[Elemental Rock -Paper -Scissors|Mercury Psynergy]]) from the rest of the group. Garet ends up falling in as well, leaving Isaac and Ivan to fight Agatio and Karst two-on-two.

* A version of this happens in [[Dragon Age Origins]], twice! Once during the fight with the Werewolves, where the Elven elder paralyses all the powerful Werewolves and forces you to fight him with just your team, and again at the Anvil of the Void where only hostile golems can move. Subverted if you have Cleanse Area, which will free the paralyzed friendlies.

* In ''[[Fire Emblem Tellius (Video Game)|Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn]]'', one of the last missions separates your party's leader and the enemy's party's leader from their armies via a magical barrier for a one on one duel. On the other side of the barrier, the rest of the characters still fight, but both sides are incapable of interfering with the duel.

* This is stock fare in [[Wo WWoW]], barriers generally go up once a raid boss is engaged, sealing players in so they can't run, and sealing people out if they weren't ready.

== WebcomicsWeb Comics ==

* Inverted and invoked in [[Grandmaster of Theft (Literature)|Grandmaster of Theft]]. [[Guile Hero|Cassidy Cain]] uses this as a strategy to isolate [[Smug Snake|Narcissa Richmond]] away from her private military contractors and deal with herself.

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