We Do the Impossible: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

The character hasn't just beaten the odds once. He's survived several [[Suicide Mission]]s. The [[Uriah Gambit]] failed. He won the [[Last Stand]]. In short, the hero has repeatedly accomplished so-called [[Impossible Task]]s. And his superiors or the world at large have taken notice... and unfortunately for the poor hero, he or she is now the [[Who You Gonna Call?|go-to person]] for missions that are thought impossible for anyone else.

One possible deconstruction of this trope is that the [[Big Good]], [[Big Bad]], or some other powerful or [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulative]] figure has been arranging things such that the characters always succeed, or at least have even odds. Once this aid is exposed, they have to face ''real'' impossible missions.

 

 

* ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' gives us [[Crazy Awesome|Kamina]] and his motto : "Go beyond the impossible and kick reason to the curb !" The trick : in a universe that runs on [[Hot-Blooded]]-ness, ''it works''. And it is contagious, as Simon and the whole Gurren Brigade demonstrate.

* This is essentially the overall main plot of [[The Irresponsible Captain Tylor]], both the titular character and the crew of the Soyokaze are either type 1 or type 2, or some combination of both (the series doesn't make it clear which).

* [[Trigun|Vash the Stampede]] is a type 2.

* Mu La Flaga in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED]]'' uses "I am a man who can make the impossible possible," as his [[Catch Phrase]]. He lives up to it with a combination of [[Ace Pilot]] skill, ingenuity, a healthy dose of common sense born of previous experience, and a bit of pure luck, to the point that in the penultimate episode he {{spoiler|blocks an ''antimatter cannon'' with his [[Humongous Mecha]] and succeeds in shielding the ship behind him even though by all rights the positron beam should have gone right through his mobile suit and taken the ship out anyhow. And then the sequel reveals that he lived through it.}}

 

* ''[[Damage Control]]'' does this for ''construction''.

{{quote|The City of New York tried to fix the George Washington bridge for 7 months. Then they called us.

We fixed it in one day. Before lunch. }}

 

* ''[[The Fifth Element]]:'' Korben Dallas is types 2 and 3. Helps that he's [[Bruce Willis]], which crops up in many of his roles.

* John [[Rambo]] arguably meets all three criteria.

* As does [[The Chronicles of Riddick|Riddick]].

* ''[[Mission: Impossible]]'' teams seem to fill this role.

 

* Rogue Squadron of the ''[[X Wing Series]]'', and its commander Wedge Antilles in particular. One of the Rogues' mottoes is "Impossible is our stock in trade, and success is what we deliver." No matter how many Rogues die in combat, Wedge always survives, and the squadron always rebuilds.

** In a book of the ''[[New Jedi Order]]'', Wedge isn't one of the Rogues anymore, instead commanding a good-sized portion of the New Republic's fleet in the days after Coruscant fell to the Vong. What's left of the New Republic's ruling council tells him to hold Borleias as long as possible. Wedge is highly savvy and sees through them, aware that they want him and his entire command to get gloriously killed so that they can surrender later. He bullies them into giving him more resources by threatening to quit, along with most of his command staff, if they don't. Ultimately he sets up a new Rebel Alliance to work quietly under the radar, and while he ultimately retreats away from Borleias, he gives the Vong one hell of a bloody nose on the way out.

* [[Gaunt's Ghosts]] would fall under the first category.

 

* [[Doctor Who|The Doctor.]] He flies in a time machine that can go anywhere and any''when'' in the universe, has saved the Earth more times than he can count, saved the universe and all of reality itself repeatedly. He defeats intergalactic races of pure evil on a daily basis, thinks crippling dictatorships is a rather average outing, and can do all of this with a kettle, a piece of string, and a screwdriver.

{{quote|"It's impossible!"

"Two minutes." }}

* ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'': "I'm Rodney McKay. Difficult takes a few seconds; impossible, a few minutes!"

** There is even a sprinkle of this within (but not yet recognised outside of) the Destiny '[[The Unchosen One|Expedition Crew]]' in ''[[Stargate Universe]]'', especially for [[Ascended Fanboy|Eli]].

* In an old Polish series ''Zmiennicy'', one of the workers at a theater says: [[Badass Boast|"I do the impossible offhand,]] [[Beyond the Impossible|for miracles you have to wait a bit."]]

* ''[[Firefly]]'': Used by Mal Reynolds during the Battle of Serenity Valley to describe his unit:

{{quote|"We have done the impossible. And that makes us mighty."}}

 

* The Prince in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]]'' wants to kill off the PC, but [[The Uriah Gambit|since he can't order an execution sends us on increasingly dangerous suicide missions]].

* The arcade mode in ''[[Ace Combat 5 The Unsung War]]'' applies this to Mobius 1, the player character of the [[Ace Combat 04 Shattered Skies|fourth game]]. The mission commander explains that Mobius 1 was chosen to put down an Erusian rebellion ''by himself'' because his kill count exceeds that of ''[[One-Man Army|entire squadrons]]''. Oh, and the Erusians know him as "[[Red Baron|the]] [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Grim]] [[The Grim Reaper|Reaper]]."

* Played with in ''[[Mass Effect]]''. Shepard, on his/her own, is a clear type two, and was selected as the first human Spectre specifically on account of being a Badass - what he/she did, the player chooses at the character creation screen. Shepard's ''[[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits|squad]]'', on the other hand, tends to be closer to type one; most of them aren't as obviously Badass as Shepard when they first join, but by the time the games are over, they've done enough [[Level Grinding]] that impossible tasks are just another day's work.

{{quote|"We live to make the impossible possible!"}}

* Type 2 is almost exactly how Samus is characterized in the manual for the original ''[[Metroid]]'', having completed countless missions that others would have deemed impossible.

* ''[[Ace Attorney]]'': In a less physical version of this trope, Phoenix Wright makes a living of turning an impossible trial on its head. If the only choices he has are the impossible and the [[Buffy-Speak|even more impossibler]], he'll do ''both simultaneously''.

 

* The gang of ''[[Exterminatus Now]]'' are an example of [[Surprisingly Elite Cannon Fodder]]. Schaefer has tried and failed to get them killed so many times on minor missions that he goes to them now if he really does have a job that needs doing against all odds.

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* The Fellowship of ''[[The Questport Chronicles]]''. Especially after Year Four, when they accomplish a task that is explicitly stated to be impossible.

 

* [[Mickey Mouse]] in "[[Brave Little Tailor]]" whose boast that he "killed seven [flies] in one blow!" was taken out of context and he was tasked with taking out a nearby problem giant.

* ''[[Kim Possible]]''. "I can do anything" is her tagline. [[Bragging Theme Tune|She's even got a song about it]].