Hero of Another Story: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

Our hero(es), while being the focus of the show's attention, is a member of a large organization. After a while, it starts to seem odd that the ''[[Star Trek|Enterprise]]'' is [[Only One|always the only ship in the sector]].

** Considering that if you're a named character in the Haruhiverse and aren't one of [[Those Two Guys]] (and even that may not save Taniguchi) or Okabe-sensei the homeroom teacher, you ''will'' be revealed to be a part of the larger scheme of things eventually. Tsuruya's setup has just been longer in coming that most.

* The big sister of the main character of ''[[Mayoi Neko Overrun]]'' tends to go missing for several days and return with heroic tales to tell.

* In [[Mahou Sensei Negima]], practically every other member of class 3-A counts. There's a [[Monster Progenitor|vampire]] that [[Broken Angel|has lost her powers]] and been [[Sealed Evil in a Can|sealed in the school]], a [[Robot Girl]] who works for said vampire, a [[Half-Human Hybrid|half-demon]] [[Hot Chick with a Sword|swordswoman]] [[Mysterious Protector|hired to protect the heir to a magic association]], said heir to the magic association who [[Locked Out of the Loop|has been kept in the dark about her powers]], an ex-priestess turned sniper for hire, a mysterious acrobat who isn't completely human and [[The Voiceless|rarely speaks]], a [[Mad Scientist]] who developed and maintains the aforementioned robot, a [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja|ninja]], a [[Cute Ghost Girl]], a martial artist who won the school's annual martial arts tournament the year before, a pair of bookworms who regularly explore a giant library filled with traps, a rumormonger who explores said giant library with the aforementioned bookworms, a net idol who keeps her pastimes secret from her classmates, and a [[Time Travel|time-traveling]] [[Human Aliens|martian]] from the future who is [[Kid From the Future|descended from the main character]]. And that's not even acknowledging the more normal characters like the cheerleaders, the gymnast, or the basketball player. There's even a few chapters that focus on delivering the message that everyone is the hero of their own story.

* This occurs frequently in the works of Leiji Matsumoto: [[Captain Harlock]] and Queen Emeraldas occasionally have made either been referenced or made cameo appearances in [[Galaxy Express 999]] and Galaxy Railways. The [[Space Battleship Yamato]] had a very brief cameo in Harlock Saga as well as in the Galaxy Express 999 manga. In all such cases however, the crew of the Yamato is never seen.

** Bill Fairbanks, 002, was killed before the start of ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun]]''.

** In ''[[The World Is Not Enough]]'' it is mentioned that 009 was the one who shot the [[Big Bad]] prior to the events of the film.

** In the novel ''Devil May Care'' Bond is told that a new 004 has been appointed. Turns out {{spoiler|she's the Bond Girl}}.

* Jessica Stevenson's team in ''[[Shaun of the Dead]]'' appear to take part in a much more interesting adventure, ultimately joining up with the army and leading [[The Cavalry]] to defeat the zombies. However, we only see a brief glimpse of them as the plot follows Shaun's trip to the pub.

** Also in ''[[Batman Forever]]'', Metropolis is mentioned, with the implication [[Superman]] exists in this world. In ''[[Batman and Robin (film)|Batman and Robin]]'', his name is actually brought up.

** Likewise, as a possible [[Shout-Out]], Gotham is mentioned in ''[[Superman Returns]]''.

* ''Cloverfield''. The main characters end up lugging a camera about when the monsters attack and naturally start filming the weirdness. On the bridge they see another guy doing the same thing. [[Word of God]] says this is a [[Sequel Hook]].

* ''[[Lord of the Rings]]'' alludes to Bilbo's adventures, as well as adventures made by unseen heroes. See the Literature section for more info.

== Literature ==

* The Neverending Story lives of this.

{{quote|"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show."}}

** Watch out, though, for the other commanders ever getting character development. If they do, bastardry will ensue at some point during the book.

* [[Your Mileage May Vary]], but In [[Great Expectations]], both Miss Havisham and Magwitch could easily have been the heroes of the story, with Pip as a side character.

* Supporting characters on ''[[Doctor Who]]'' often choose to stay behind on Earth, or similar, in order to have their own adventures. Sarah Jane (twice) and Captain Jack got their own spinoffs. These "adventures" are often referenced when the character returns to the main show.

** According to the two-parter "The Sontaran Stratagem"/"The Poison Sky", the Brigadier still takes assignments to Peru in his old age. After years of frustrated fans clamoring "Come on! Nicholas Courtney's not getting any younger!" he finally appeared on TV for the first time since 1989 in series 2 of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]].''

** Another example from Enterprise is Shran. They run into him several times, and he tends to take the focus when he does appear, because he's always got his own problems. He even gets to [[Big Damn Heroes|swoop in and save the Enterprise]] in one episode.

*** The writers were even planning on making Shran a main character if the show got a fifth season. This is probably why they destroyed his ship in the fourth season. That pretty much ended His story and force him to join the main story.

*** There's also Daniels, who fights in the Temporal Cold War to protect the Federation.

** [[Star Trek: The Original Series|TOS]] tended to suggest that the other ''Constitution''-class starships generally did have their own 'only ship in the sector' and 'stumbled upon a dangerous mystery while exploring' incidents off-screen whenever other ''Constitition''-class starships showed up. No specific individual served the Hero of Another Story role well, though.

* Detective Profaci on ''[[Law & Order|Law and Order]]'', who was eventually a casualty in a [[Tonight Someone Dies]] episode (not killed, but arrested for corruption, and exited stage left just the same).

* Curtis on ''[[24|Twenty Four]]'', plus several other less notable CTU agents, who lead tactical teams whenever Jack Bauer can't be there for plot reasons.

** Early season six has an episode focusing on Bobby, with the brothers only appearing briefly.

** Also in ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'', since the Apocalypse arc came to an end, [[Our Angels Are Different|Castiel]] is becoming this. A focus on HIS story would be frankly too effects-heavy for the show.

** Also Dukat, during his time as a guerilla on a stolen Klingon bird-of-prey. Until his yet another [[Face Heel Turn]], that is.

* ''[[NCIS]]''

* [[Badass Normal|The Spartan Captain]] of ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]] 2'' manages to get to the island of the Fates and get to the [[That One Level|phoenix puzzle]]. He does this [[Took a Shortcut|without any sort of godly powers or assistance from them]], and would have gotten further if he didn't [[Curb Stomp Battle|encounter Kratos]] in a dark room. There's also the people who were once all those corpses you see lying around deep inside each of the major locations, and the Argonauts, Perseus, and Icarus are also on their own adventures on the island.

* Captain Marcus Walker in ''[[Freelancer]]'' is the commander of the [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|Liberty]] cruiser LNS ''Utah''. Unlike the [[Anti-Hero]] [[Player Character|Trent]], Walker is a straight shooter who takes pride in his service. He even offers to help Trent join the Liberty Navy. After helping to defend the Willard Research Station and a Liberty battleship, Walker disappears for a while, before reappearing to help Trent and the others escape from a Liberty ambush in Zone-21. It's not clear what he did while Trent was out doing his thing, but given his impressive record and his {{spoiler|[[Heroic Sacrifice]]}}, it was probably something awesome. Then there's Casper Orillion, the man in charge of [[The Order]]. Actually, there are plenty of characters, including Ozu, Michael King, [[George Takei|Lord Hakkera]], and [[The Ace|Diedrich Von Claussen]], who are impressive in their own right.

* Everyone else at Wigglytuff's Guilde in ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers]]''. They're on their own adventures daily, and you even hear bits and pieces about them. In ''Explorers Of The Sky'', you get to actually step into their shoes and see some of their adventures first hands.

* The ''[[Call of Duty]]'' games often invoke this trope, particularly the ones focused on [[World War Two]]. The different characters you play as, while they never meet each other in-game, help to contribute in their own way in order to defeat the Germans on vastly separated fronts.

* Not an example in and of itself, but ''[[Cracked.com]]'' lists [http://www.cracked.com/article_19323_6-movie-tv-universes-that-overlap-in-mind-blowing-ways.html Six Movie/Tv Universes That Overlap].

* [[SF Debris]] gives us "Lieutenant ''Nobody''" from [[Star Trek: First Contact]]; his take on [[The Unseen|the unseen original chief of security of the Enterprise-E]] before Worf, who repeatedly demonstrates he's the [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]] developing new tactics to fight the Borg on the fly, keeps his team fighting against impossible odds, and who of course, [[Butt Monkey|is completely ignored by the Enterprise crew.]]

 

 

[[Category:Characters As Device]]

[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]