Someone Has to Do It: Difference between revisions

 

Compare to [[There Can Be Only One]]. See also [[Subbing for Santa]] and [[Klingon Scientists Get No Respect]].

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

** The end of the manga, where {{spoiler|Aqua Regina [[Awesome Moment of Crowning|gives her power and title to Lucia]] so she can stay alive}}, leaves a [[Sequel Hook]] [[Fridge Logic|when you think about it]]; they need a new {{spoiler|Pink Pearl Voice}}.

* ''[[Hell Girl]]'', probably. We don't know if a Hell Girl existed before Ai, but by the third season, she's trying to recruit a replacement.

 

== Comic Books ==

* The first story arc in the 2006 ''[[Justice League of America]]'' series featured an immortal being who wanted to die, but couldn't unless somebody became immortal in his place. (Unlike the other examples, he wasn't doing any important job, it was just that, by its nature, immortality can not be created or destroyed, only transferred.)

* The Endless of ''[[The Sandman]]'' seem to work this way. If one of them is killed, a replacement of some sort will come into being.

 

== Film ==

* ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]: At World's End'': "The ''Dutchman'' must have a captain."

* ''[[The Santa Clause]]'' means that once a Santa is killed, whoever puts on the suit next becomes Santa, right down to the weight gain and beard.

 

== Literature ==

* In one of the Grimms' [[Fairy Tale]]s, "The Devil's Three Golden Hairs", one of the incidental characters is a man who is doomed to keep ferrying travellers across a particular stretch of river. In the end, having learned from the hero of the story that he can escape his task by tricking one of his passengers into becoming ferryman in his place, he resolves to try the trick on the next passenger who comes along—and, as luck would have it, the next passenger to come along is the villain of the piece. All live appropriately ever after.

* In Piers Anthony's ''[[Incarnations of Immortality]]'' series, various [[Anthropomorphic Personification]]s are jobs of this nature, each with its own rules. Some examples:

*** Gaea is the same way. She can only be removed if another Gaea steps forth and if she's willing to give up the office.

** War only ever gets replaced in the unlikely event that, at any given moment, there isn't any war anywhere in the world. The moment does not have to last very long, and indeed usually doesn't.

* In ''[[The Giver]]'', someone must act as the Receiver of Memory and hold all of the community's memories of the past in his or her own mind. If they die before passing them on, the memories escape and infiltrate everyone's mind... and as this is an emotion-free [[Dystopiafalse|Utopia]], their minds aren't able to cope (imagine a wide-scale human [[Logic Bomb]]). For this reason, Receivers are forbidden to undergo voluntary "Release" ({{spoiler|[[Released to Elsewhere|assisted suicide]]}}).

* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' novels, there is a deity for ''everything'', but since there's only so much belief to go around, most of them don't manifest. If a major source of belief were to be removed, other small gods would start to reappear, as seen in ''Hogfather'': after the titular Discworld equivalent of [[Santa Claus]] is "killed" (for want of a better word), the leftover belief allows beings such as the Oh God of Hangovers, assorted creatures that eat small items that always go missing (such as socks and pencils), and the Cheerful Fairy to appear. And that's only the start of the trouble, which is why [[The Grim Reaper|Death]], of all people, steps in to take the Hogfather's place on Hogswatchnight.

** Chalker also uses the same concept in The Dancing Gods series: a person who has control of the Lamp of Lakash can have the genie of the lamp grant one wish. If the person makes a ''second'' wish while still in possession of the lamp, however innocently, they become the genie and the genie (themselves a former wisher who made the same mistake) is freed and returned to their previous form.

 

* The [[Doctor Who]] serial, ''The Keeper of Traken'', involved a planet where someone had to sit in a control chair to keep the planet running smoothly.

* In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', "into every generation a [[Chosen One|Slayer]] is born." A girl, [[Because Destiny Says So|chosen]] from {{spoiler|about 1800 Potential Slayers}} is selected to fight [[The Legions of Hell|demonic forces]] in order to prevent [[The End of the World as We Know It|Hell from taking over Earth]]. Once the current Slayer dies, the next [[Call to Adventure|takes her place]].

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* The permanent death of a darklord in the [[Ravenloft]] setting often results in the next most suitable villain within the domain being impressed into that role, like it or not. As the alternatives would be for the domain to either be divvied up by the neighboring darklords, or to simply ''disappear'' and take all its inhabitants with it, such a hand-off to a new [[Big Bad]] may well be the preferable option.

 

== Video Games ==

* In one of the endings of ''[[Princess Maker]] 2'', you discover that the post of [[Satan]] passes on to the most fitting mortal should the Lord of Darkness himself ever die. Unfortunately, you only find it out when your daughter kills him and assumes the title.

* Overlordhood in the [[Nippon Ichi]] universe seems to work that way—the only ex-overlords present {{spoiler|are Kricheschkoy and Xenon -- overlords who ''specifically'' died and reincarnated themselves in order to stop being overlords.}}

* The Guardian of the Balance in ''[[The Longest Journey]]'' and ''Dreamfall'' is a mortal who serves a lengthy term (measured in centuries) keeping the twin worlds of Stark and Arcadia from colliding. Afterwards he or she returns to mortal life.

 

* In the spirit of ''The Santa Clause'', Bun Bun of ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' inherits the title of Easter Bunny by inadvertently killing the previous one. Then he accidentally gets stuck with the sentient Shadow of Groundhog's Day. Eventually, [https://web.archive.org/web/20150910151610/http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=031123 he just decides to run with it] and starts whacking [[Anthropomorphic Personification]]s of holidays left and right, seeking to form a one-rabbit majority in the Council of Holidays.

* [[DMFA]] has the Phoenix Oracles, of which there are 42 - when "killed" they instantly reincarnate in a different location and travel back to one of their temples. There are also the Fae, of whom there are exactly 2,438,165. New Fae can only be born when an existing one chooses to die, apparently due to a finite supply of souls.

* At times, [[Dubious Company|Sal]] feels this way about being [[The Smart Girl|Future High Priestess]] [[Random Number God|of Phred]]. On the plus side, she gets [[Born Lucky|incredibly good luck]]. On the down side, she gets [[Damsel in Distress|incredibly bad luck]].

 

== Web Original ==

* In the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'', there is always an Archmage, he mystical defender of Earth. When the previous Archmage dies, is incapacitated, or gives up his power as Archmage, the next Archmage is chosen immediately and gains all the powers and responsibilities of the office.

 

== Western Animation ==

* In an episode of ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (animation)|Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]'', an oil lamp containing a genie appears. If anyone wishes to free the genie, he takes the genie's place inside.

* In an episode of the ''[[Jumanji]]'' animated series, Alan and the kids finally manage to (apparently) kill [[Egomaniac Hunter]] Van Pelt by luring him into a [[Bottomless Pit]]. However, Peter ends up transforming into a miniature version of Van Pelt since, according to the latter, "There must always be a Van Pelt. It's the rules of the game." After turning Peter back, the original Van Pelt manages to climb out of the pit somehow, resuming his old job.

 

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[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]