One Riot, One Ranger: Difference between revisions

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== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* Happened once in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''. What reinforcement should the Mahora mages send against a force that easily defeated the Kyoto Magic Association and is about to release a [[Cosmic Horror|Demon God]]? Their [[Redshirt Army|entire mage reserve]], that would probably be too slow and too weak to make a difference, as well as leaving Mahora unguarded? [[Genre Savvy|No way]]. Send [[Person of Mass Destruction|Evangeline]] [[Sealed Badass in A Can|instead]].

* Happened once in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''. What reinforcement should the Mahora mages send against a force that easily defeated the Kyoto Magic Association and is about to release a [[Cosmic Horror|Demon God]]? Their [[Redshirt Army|entire mage reserve]], that would probably be too slow and too weak to make a difference, as well as leaving Mahora unguarded? [[Genre Savvy|No way]]. Send [[Person of Mass Destruction|Evangeline]] [[Sealed Badass in a Can|instead]].

* Similarly invoked at times in ''[[Hellsing]]''; [[Alucard]] is the most obvious example, but certainly not the only one. That series runneth over with [[Badass|Badasses]].

** Points to Alucard for actually being a [[One-Man Army]]. {{spoiler|At full release of his [[Restraining Bolt]] system, Alucard can spawn an entire army consisting of EVERYONE HE'S EVER EATEN. Suffice to say, that's a lot of minions. And he could already fight hundreds of enemies, other freakishly powerful vampires, and reform from grotesque dismemberment and decapitation.}}

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** Man-power shortage? This is James Bond! He's too-much man for the bad guys to handle!

** But Bond first has to investigate the situation, which is a task better suited to a spy. On several occasions he's backed up by an attack force for the [[Storming the Castle]] scene -- never the SAS, but then again an army of modern ninjas looks more 'James Bondish'.

* The first ''[[XXX ~~(Film)|xXx~~]]'' movie is a perfect example. The US government knew where the terrorists were, knew who they were, and had a good idea what they were doing, but rather than send in several highly trained multi-man strike teams, they send in Vin Diesel.

* The first ''[[XXX]]'' movie is a perfect example. The US government knew where the terrorists were, knew who they were, and had a good idea what they were doing, but rather than send in several highly trained multi-man strike teams, they send in Vin Diesel.

** To be fair, the opening sequence was the government losing one of their highly-trained intelligence operatives to the bad guys, who had clearly [[Dangerously Genre Savvy|read their book]]. And sending in strike teams when they don't have any actual evidence, as such, leads to... complications.

* In ''[[Escape ~~From~~ New York]],'' the government sends in Snake as a last resort, but in ''[[Escape From LA]],'' the president consciously utilizes the trope.

* In ''[[Escape from New York]],'' the government sends in Snake as a last resort, but in ''[[Escape From L.A.]],'' the president consciously utilizes the trope.

* In the ''[[Star Wars]]'' films, Jedi Knights are sent out alone (or, occasionally, with their apprentice) to handle whatever problem happens to be occurring at the time. Of course, if the Jedi in question aren't the main characters, [[Red Shirt|this is usually ineffective]].

* The ''[[Resident Evil]]'' movie ''Degeneration'' shows the government's wised up since the events of RE4. When the [[The Virus|T-Virus]] breaks out in an airport, who do they send in to rescue survivors trapped inside? A "Specialist" by the name of [[One-Man Army|Leon Kennedy]].

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** Also used in one of the Last Chancers novels, where the titular team is sent in to destroy a hive city to contain a Genestealer outbreak. The "mass assault vs. single infiltration" justification is used explicitly.

** "Sir, why send only one Arbitrator?" "Trooper, there is only one riot."

* The ''[[~~Rangers~~ Apprentice]]'' novel series actually uses this phrase to describe the kingdom's group of elite archers, spies, and tacticians. It's not exactly wrong, considering this happens several times during the series.

* The ''[[Ranger's Apprentice]]'' novel series actually uses this phrase to describe the kingdom's group of elite archers, spies, and tacticians. It's not exactly wrong, considering this happens several times during the series.

** In fact, there's a bit of backstory where the page quote is adapted to the (Araluen) Rangers, and the phrase is brought up several times.

* At the end of the fourth book in [[Leo Frankowski]]'s [[The Cross Time Engineer ~~(Literature)~~|Conrad Stargard]] series, ''The Flying Warlord'', Conrad suggests this trope. The actual reason he was there alone was [[Trapped in ~~The~~ Past|slightly different]].

* At the end of the fourth book in [[Leo Frankowski]]'s [[The Cross Time Engineer|Conrad Stargard]] series, ''The Flying Warlord'', Conrad suggests this trope. The actual reason he was there alone was [[Trapped in the Past|slightly different]].

* [[David Drake]]'s ''Northworld'' trilogy. The Consensus sent a fleet to investigate the '''disappearance''' of the newly colonized planet Northworld. The fleet vanished too, so they sent another one, and then a third when the second was lost -- and of course, number three disappeared as well. And then they got serious and sent Nils Hansen, a police special operations officer. Subverted, because as of the end of the trilogy, '''he''' hasn't returned to the Consensus either. However, he '''has''' become a [[Physical God|god]].

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* [[Doctor Who|The Doctor]] is called an army by River in the 'Time of Angels' Serial.

* ''[[~~Twenty Four|~~24]]'' skirts this trope. Even though Jack Bauer is backed by the CTU and an entire brigade of government agents that ought to be out there backing him up, somehow he always ends up going it alone. Sometimes at the direction of his superiors.

* ''[[24]]'' skirts this trope. Even though Jack Bauer is backed by the CTU and an entire brigade of government agents that ought to be out there backing him up, somehow he always ends up going it alone. Sometimes at the direction of his superiors.

** That's because he's goddamned [[Memetic Badass|Jack Bauer]], and if [[Memetic Mutation|anyone else listened to him, the show would be called "3"]].

** Eventually, the powers that be begin to realize both how good he is, ''and'' the fact that he can be trusted - sometimes your own people are [[The Starscream|Starscreamy]] and [[The Mole]] is somewhere in CTU. After a certain point, this once-a-season saying joins the series' [[Catch Phrase]] list: ''"Get me Jack Bauer."''

* The series premiere of ''[[Walker Texas Ranger]]'' was called "One Riot, One Ranger." However, in practice, Walker's almost always backed up by Trivette, and for larger operations a full assortment of law enforcement units help out. However, there are quite a few episodes where he does it alone because no one but [[Chuck Norris]] can do it.

* The series premiere of ''[[Walker, Texas Ranger]]'' was called "One Riot, One Ranger." However, in practice, Walker's almost always backed up by Trivette, and for larger operations a full assortment of law enforcement units help out. However, there are quite a few episodes where he does it alone because no one but [[Chuck Norris]] can do it.

* This trope is pretty much the entire justification for ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''.

** Although the show could be considered a subversion, as it's often pointed out that the only reason Buffy has been the most successful and long-lived Slayer is that ''she's not alone.'' By working with a team, she is much more powerful than just a lone Slayer.

** The Watcher's Council (before Buffy) seemed to employ a we have reserves concept. It didn't matter if a slayer died in an impossible mission, the next one would succeed. Or the the one after that.

* ''[[~~Babylon Five|~~Babylon 5]]'' has this philosophy for the Rangers. It doesn't always work, and they have back-up, but it's mentioned in one spin-off. "One crisis, one ranger."

* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' has this philosophy for the Rangers. It doesn't always work, and they have back-up, but it's mentioned in one spin-off. "One crisis, one ranger."

** The specific crisis? One ranger sacrificed his life to give everyone else key intelligence.

** Especially earlier in the series, the Rangers specialize in being discreet, as evidenced by the fact that they show up [[Meaningful Background Event|mixed in with the extras]] in several episodes of the show before they are actually introduced. At least one main character whose job it is to be [[Properly Paranoid]] turns his head to pay attention to one of them before he is told about their existence. [[The Lancer|Another character]] who insists on [[The Omniscient|knowing everything that happens]] on her station, reveals that she [[Crowning Moment of Funny|knows everything about them already]] just as [[The Captain]] is about to brief her on their existence.

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* Lampshaded in ''[[Half-Life]] 2'' when Breen notes Gordon Freeman's tendency to plow through enemy forces like a weedwhacker. At the moment of his apparent defeat, he reveals he's aware that ''somebody'' wanted Gordon to be there, and to do what he did.

** Whether this trope actually applies is still an open question. Yes, the G-Man sent Gordon in alone to take down the Combine (presumably), but his perspective and resources are, well... ''unusual'', to say the least.

* [[Justified]] in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2]]'', where a Navy SEAL team is sent into Big Shell and promptly slaughtered by one of the villains. {{spoiler|1=Even worse, the SEAL team was sent in as a decoy, so that Raiden would be able to infiltrate undetected. High Command didn't just know the SEALs were in danger, they purposely sent them to their deaths.}}

* [[Justified]] in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty]]'', where a Navy SEAL team is sent into Big Shell and promptly slaughtered by one of the villains. {{spoiler|1=Even worse, the SEAL team was sent in as a decoy, so that Raiden would be able to infiltrate undetected. High Command didn't just know the SEALs were in danger, they purposely sent them to their deaths.}}

** Actually subverted in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'', at first, it may seem like the government's putting a lot of faith in Snake's abilities, but in the end, it's revealed {{spoiler|the entire point of sending him was to spread a biological weapon and kill everyone}}.

* Commandos in ''[[Command and Conquer]]''. Made quite explicit in the [[FPS]] ''Renegade''.

* This fits Samus Aran of ''[[Metroid]]'' to a T. The first time is a subversion in that the Galactic federation already tried and failed a large scale attack, so in desperation sent a lone bounty hunter. After she utterly annihilated everything, standard procedure became, "Send Samus first."

** Not an exaggeration. In [[Metroid Prime]] 3, the Federation is [[Genre Savvy]] enough to hold off its entire space armada while Samus forges ahead on her own twice: {{spoiler|The Space Pirate Homeworld first and then Phaaze immediately afterward}}. Even after the Federation's [[Took a Level In Badass|badass upgrade]], they're not stupid.

* ''[[Urban Chaos Riot Response]]''. It's you, and, for the beginning mission, your superior. For the rest of the game, you get you, a riot shield, a gun, and if you're lucky, backup in the form of a beat cop, firefighter, or EMT.

* ''[[Urban Chaos: Riot Response]]''. It's you, and, for the beginning mission, your superior. For the rest of the game, you get you, a riot shield, a gun, and if you're lucky, backup in the form of a beat cop, firefighter, or EMT.

** Sadly, the "backup" you're speaking of isn't backup. They're guys who you rescued and are escorting to a safe location, and until then, they support you.

* ''[[Geneforge]] 4'' & ''5'', being set during an open war between the Shapers and the rebellion, repeatedly make the point that a skilled Shaper in the right place is effectively an army. In ''4'', one Shaper is perfectly capable of securing a mountain pass all by himself, and the five infiltrators sent into a rebel-occupied province soon have the rebellion in disarray.

* The opening sequence of ''[[~~Mega Man X Command Mission (Video Game)|~~Mega Man X Command Mission]]'' sees three Hunters being dispatched to quell a rebellion on a [[Floating Continent]]. While their mission is [[Justified Trope|explicitly stated]] to be infiltration, with the full-scale assault as plan B, the distinction rapidly fades as the game progresses.

* The opening sequence of ''[[Mega Man X Command Mission]]'' sees three Hunters being dispatched to quell a rebellion on a [[Floating Continent]]. While their mission is [[Justified Trope|explicitly stated]] to be infiltration, with the full-scale assault as plan B, the distinction rapidly fades as the game progresses.

* In keeping with its status as an old school style FPS, [[Serious Sam|Sam "Serious" Stone]] is the only agent they send through time to recover the [[Plot Coupons]], shoot his way through entire armies (literally, it's what the "Serious Engine" was designed for) and use them to kill the [[Big Bad]]. It's [[All There in the Manual]] that [[Justified Trope|the time-travel device only allows for one person to be sent through]], but still.

* In ''[[The Elder Scrolls]] III: Morrowind'', the protagonist is mandated by prophecy to become "Hortator", a warrior who goes into dangerous situations that no one else would dare to take on.

** Though it's left [[Shrug of God|ambiguous]] as to whether the plot was mandated by prophecy ''per se'': after all, the [[Player Character]] is sent in originally {{spoiler|by the Emperor, to act as a stepping-stone to Imperial relations with Morrowind}}. Also, the surfeit of failed predecessors suggests {{spoiler|Azura}} was throwing heroes at the wall to see what stuck.

* The backstory of ''[[~~Cave Story (Video Game)|~~Cave Story]]''. An [[Artifact of Doom]], granting its wearer insane magic powers, resides on an island bristling with dangerous wildlife. Several nations want this artifact, so they send entire squadrons of war robots to retrieve it and kill anything in the way. Meanwhile, some other, unknown party wants to prevent the artifact from falling into the wrong hands--opting for [[Conservation of Ninjutsu|quality over quantity]], they send [[Battle Couple|a pair of robots]] to destroy the artifact. Said pair of 'bots succeeds (eventually), while the army robots all get destroyed. <ref>In the [[Fan Translation|Aeon Genesis translation]], at least. The Nicalis translation implies the opposite, that Miakid gaining the Crown was ''success'' for the army of killer robots.</ref>

* The backstory of ''[[Cave Story]]''. An [[Artifact of Doom]], granting its wearer insane magic powers, resides on an island bristling with dangerous wildlife. Several nations want this artifact, so they send entire squadrons of war robots to retrieve it and kill anything in the way. Meanwhile, some other, unknown party wants to prevent the artifact from falling into the wrong hands--opting for [[Conservation of Ninjutsu|quality over quantity]], they send [[Battle Couple|a pair of robots]] to destroy the artifact. Said pair of 'bots succeeds (eventually), while the army robots all get destroyed. <ref>In the [[Fan Translation|Aeon Genesis translation]], at least. The Nicalis translation implies the opposite, that Miakid gaining the Crown was ''success'' for the army of killer robots.</ref>

* The ''[[Crusader ~~(Video~~ ~~Game)~~|Crusader]]'' games have the Silencer sent in on missions it would normally take an entire team of rebels to pull off. He's not ''entirely'' alone, with fellow Rebels doing troubleshooting from the base or taking out security measures not reachable from the game map, but you get the impression if they hadn't sent him for the meat of the mission they'd have to send at least five or six guys. In the final mission of the first game, he's supposed to command a squad of rebels, but due to complications they don't show up. He of course pulls it off anyway.

* The ''[[Crusader: No Remorse|Crusader]]'' games have the Silencer sent in on missions it would normally take an entire team of rebels to pull off. He's not ''entirely'' alone, with fellow Rebels doing troubleshooting from the base or taking out security measures not reachable from the game map, but you get the impression if they hadn't sent him for the meat of the mission they'd have to send at least five or six guys. In the final mission of the first game, he's supposed to command a squad of rebels, but due to complications they don't show up. He of course pulls it off anyway.

* ''[[Vagrant Story]]'' - [[Badass|Riskbreaker Ashley Riot]]. "Reinforcements? I ''am'' the reinforcements."

* ''[[Dawn of War]] II''. The recruiting worlds of the Blood Ravens are under attack from a huge Ork horde. The defenders are Davian Thule, about 5 squads of [[Space Marine|SpaceMarines]] and 30 or so raw initiates. They need reinforcements. They get one guy. It's enough.

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*** And subverted too, exploring Vault 3 you run into a Ranger sent to kill the feinds there, after killing a few dozen sneaking in there he gets careless and suffers a leg wound form a trap, while he still gets out fine (able his leg needed to be treated) but its stated sending him alone was a bad ideal.

*** Of course, the ranger sent into Vault 3 was simply a standard NCR Ranger, who are tough but generally serve the purpose of being the Redshirts of the Ranger corps. The Veteran Rangers wear a [[Badass Longcoat]] for a reason: They're the elite of the elite.

** The player can develop this reputation throughout ''[[Fallout New Vegas]]'': They may not be Rangers, and they may not ''technically'' be associated with any particular group, but that doesn't mean that people won't recognize the Courier's [[Badass]] status. Develop a high enough reputation with a particular group (especially the NCR), and rather than offering your services for hire, they'll beg you to help them out with their problems.

** The player can develop this reputation throughout ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'': They may not be Rangers, and they may not ''technically'' be associated with any particular group, but that doesn't mean that people won't recognize the Courier's [[Badass]] status. Develop a high enough reputation with a particular group (especially the NCR), and rather than offering your services for hire, they'll beg you to help them out with their problems.

* The first mission in ''[[~~Deus Ex (Video Game)|~~Deus Ex]]''. NSF terrorists have raided and set up a command post on Liberty Island, the location of UNATCO Headquarters. There are UNATCO troops and security bots on the island, but they are ordered to pull back and let the protagonist, JC Denton, handle the situation as a test of his abilities.

* The first mission in ''[[Deus Ex]]''. NSF terrorists have raided and set up a command post on Liberty Island, the location of UNATCO Headquarters. There are UNATCO troops and security bots on the island, but they are ordered to pull back and let the protagonist, JC Denton, handle the situation as a test of his abilities.

* In each game of the ''[[Time Crisis]]'' series, one or two (for co-op play) agents with pistols are sent to fight wave after wave of terrorists and solve whatever [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|time-sensitive crisis]] is threatening the world that week.

* In each game of the ''[[Time Crisis]]'' series, one or two (for co-op play) agents with pistols are sent to fight wave after wave of terrorists and solve whatever [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|time-sensitive crisis]] is threatening the world that week.

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* This trope was the promotional [[Tagline]] for ''[[~~Bravestarr (Animation)|~~Bravestarr]]''.

* This trope was the promotional [[Tagline]] for ''[[Bravestarr]]''.

** Occasionally applied to one of its [[Space Western]] brothers, too. Some ''[[Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers ~~(Animation)~~|Galaxy Rangers]]'' episodes only had a single one of the main characters present (the Supertrooper duology, featuring [[The Lancer]] Shane Gooseman, are the most prominent examples), and were usually split into teams of two.

** Occasionally applied to one of its [[Space Western]] brothers, too. Some ''[[Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers|Galaxy Rangers]]'' episodes only had a single one of the main characters present (the Supertrooper duology, featuring [[The Lancer]] Shane Gooseman, are the most prominent examples), and were usually split into teams of two.

== [[Real Life]] ==