The Chosen One: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

The ultimate victim (or beneficiary) of [[Because Destiny Says So]]. The oldest and most common [[Super-Hero Origin]]. The easiest way to turn an [[Ordinary High School Student]] into the only thing preventing [[The End of the World as We Know It]]. Take it for granted that they are the [[Only One]]. Villains can just as easily be "chosen," too.

One would think that the title implies some [[Council of Angels|superior]] [[God|intelligent]] [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|being]] [[Powers That Be|or]] [[The Force|force]] actually had to make the Choice, but it's not common practice to expect a corresponding [[Chooser of the Chosen One]]. Other human beings have a lot of trouble just finding the Chosen One. And don't even get started on [[Missed the Call|when they're wrong...]]

 

 

Not to be confused with [[Giving the Sword to A Noob]], where there is someone clearly more qualified that is able to do the job.

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'': the titular character, and to a lesser extent, all the other "Sailor" characters...the non-evil ones, at any rate.

* In ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'', the creation of the titular [[Magical Girl]]s is initially presented as an accident, but even with [[Lego Genetics]] in place, the whole thing seems too convenient. Near the end, [[Mission Control]] reveals that they were lying and had actually gone and tracked down five girls that were perfect matches for the DNA they had lying around. It's explicitly stated as [[Gaia's Vengeance|the Earth itself]] having chosen the five of them to protect it.

* [[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'s sidekick, Miles "Tails" Prower, was named as the Chosen One in a prophecy made by the Ancient Walkers that said he would collect the Chaos Emeralds and begin the "Great Harmony." Though this fact has been tapped on numerous occasions, Tails has yet to bring about the "Great Harmony" prophesied.

** Actually, he did, sorta -- [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot|A.D.A.M.]] used Tails (in his [[Super Mode]]) as a focal point to gather together all the Chaos Emeralds in ''the universe'' on Mobius, where they were eventually thrown into the [[Alternate Dimension|Special Zone]] and fused into a single set of seven.

* ''[[Spider-Man]]'' is not a very powerful character by comparison with the people around him, but he has an odd tendency to discover there are ancient prophecies about him. He was, for instance, destined to stop the "Bend Sinister" (alongside Dr. Strange), and no less a pair of personages than Lord Chaos and Master Order claimed to have guided his life to defeat Thanos.

** There is a [[JMS Spider-Man|Spider-Man story arc]] which explains that Spider-Man is the Chosen avatar of the Spider God, and most of his villains are the avatars of various Animal entities as well.

* Subverted in the comic ''[[Chosen]]''. After a series of unusual events, Jodie discovers that he has a greater calling, and is destined for big things. After saying goodbye to all his friends, Jodie goes off to fulfill his true destiny... {{spoiler|as the Antichrist.}}

* Zerain in ''[[Megalex]]''. He's destined to lead the Undergrounder rebel tribes against the evil technocrats on the surface of the titular [[City Planet]].

 

 

== Literature ==

* Katniss from [[The Hunger Games]]. Arguably, she chose herself when she stepped up to volunteer, but by the later books it's revealed that some of the other characters have gone to great lengths to keep her as the figurehead for the rebellion.

* Subverted, while ''[[Harry Potter]]'' is even given the "chosen one" title by the general wizarding public, though this is based on a correct guess anyway. Oddly enough, Harry is not chosen by destiny but instead by {{spoiler|his nemesis - who, in his ignorant paranoia, makes a rod for his own back.}} Played straight in the way Harry fulfills the role and the way most people treat him throughout the books.

** As much as the trope is subverted, it's also played out literally; Voldemort overheard a prophecy about a child who would/could destroy him, which might have applied to either of two infants. The ONE he CHOSE to go after was Harry, and the rest is history.

** Also played with, in that Dumbledore states outright that he believes prophecies are only fulfilled if people want them to be, Voldemort ''chose'' to believe that only Harry could kill him, also implying that if Harry decided to say [[Screw Destiny]] anyone could have done it.

* In the ''[[Wheel of Time]]'' fantasy series, Rand al'Thor is chosen by destiny to be Dragon Reborn. The previous Dragon was Lews Therin Telamon/Kinslayer. (The series hasn't said anything on who chose ''him'', but, what with time being a wheel and all that...)

** It's also a ''brutal'' deconstruction. It's not just the taint that's making him insane, it's the knowledge that all of existence rests on his shoulders, while foolish people are fighting their savior at every turn. That much stress would drive anyone mad.

** The trope is also subverted heavily in "Comes the Inquisitor." During this episode, the Inquisitor (on behalf of the Vorlons) tortures Delenn and Sheridan until they both proclaim that they're nothing special, that if they're killed others will just take their places, and that they most likely will die pointlessly and without glory.

*** That is revealed to be true. Sheridan {{spoiler|[[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence|ascends]] and leaves beyond the Rim}}, while Delenn {{spoiler|dies of old age}}.

** Dr. Gaius Baltar is 'chosen' by the hallucinatory vision of the Cylon Number Six to serve the One True God, and she manipulates him to that end over the course of the entire run of the series, from scientist to political leader to champion of the downtrodden underclass to religious icon. She actually calls him 'the chosen one' on several occasions. Interestingly, no matter what happens, the things Baltar must do as the chosen one also get him laid.

** In the second instance, President Laura Roslin comes to believe that she is the dying leader who will lead the people to Earth, based on her interpretation of ancient religious texts. Her role is questioned when she is cured of her supposedly terminal cancer, and reassessed when she suffers a relapse.

** The third possibility is Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace, who is told early on by the Cylon Leoben that she is important and has a destiny. Unlike the other two, she actively denies it and works against it, before embracing it shortly before her 'death' in the atmosphere of a gas giant. Upon her return, she comes to passionately believe she is now the one destined to lead the human race to Earth, unaware of a Cylon prophecy that she will actually lead the human race to the apocalypse.

** The fourth example (is that a record?) is the Cylon Number Three (D'Anna Biers), who becomes obsessed with seeing the faces of the Final Five and what lies between life and death. She declares herself to be a chosen one who will lead the Cylons into a new age, but instead her hubris kills her and leads to her entire line being boxed. It turns out her experiences were actually more important to furthering Baltar and arguably Starbuck's positions as 'chosen ones' (by putting Baltar in a position where he found his way back to the fleet, and by enabling Starbuck to find Earth).

* Captain Dylan Hunt on ''[[Andromeda]]'' started out as a normal human (albeit genetically upgraded, which is standard for 90% of human characters in that series), but as seasons wore on he was [[retcon]]ned to be a half-human/half-[[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]] of the Master Race, then became the ''Paradine'', spoken of in ancient prophecy, with his own prescient alien seeress by his side. (Trance Gemini, who started out as an (seemingly) innocent [[Perky Female Minion|perky alien girl]] with hints of unusual powers, but in later seasons was transformed into a [[God Mode Sue]].) [[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys|Hercules]] in Space, indeed.

* {{spoiler|Dean Winchester}} as of ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' season 4. Unfortunately, the guy's gone through so much [[Break the Cutie]] trauma by this point, that it's doubtful if he can actually fulfill this role. In season 5 it's revealed that he's the intended vessel of the Archangel Michael, which he [[Screw Destiny|doesn't agree to]].

* Referred to as the "Golden One" in ''[[Krod Mandoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire]]'' because it's [[Genre Savvy|"slightly less cliche"]] than the Chosen One.

* The titular hero in ''[[Legend of the Seeker]]''.

* ''[[A Bit of Fry and Laurie]]'' parodies this in the first sketch of season 3, which features a father telling his son that he's the Chosen One just to get him out of the house.

* ''[[The Collector (TV series)|The Collector]]'': {{spoiler|Morgan was God's chosen instrument to discover the cure for Plague, centuries ahead of reality. The Devil successfully distracted him from this role}}.

== Religion ==

* [[The Bible|Jesus Christ]] means "Jesus the Annointed One". ''Christos'' being Greek for "anointed" (and "chrism" is an old name for the anointing oil). Thus "Christ" is a title, not a given name.

* The fourteenth Dalai Lama, as well as his predecessors, were all chosen because they were believed to be the reincarnations of the boddhisatva Avalokiteśvara. Supposedly the current Dalai Lama was shown a bunch of household items at the age of two, some that belonged to the previous Dalai Lama and some that didn't. He was then asked to determine which of the objects were his. He got every one right.

 

 

 

* ''[[MAG-ISA]]''—In this comic, [http://mag-isa.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/119154 it gets parodied].

* In ''[[The Wotch]]'', Xaos [[I Just Want to Be Special|believes himself]] to be the Chosen One...chosen to [[Omnicidal Maniac|destroy all worlds]].

* Spoofed in [http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0145.html this trope-heavy episode] of ''[[Darths and Droids]]''.

* ''[[The Beast Legion]]'': It's revealed from the second page of the web manga that Xeus is the one chosen to save Lithopia from the upcoming Chaos.

* ''[[Yamara]]''. [http://yamara.com/yamaraclassic/index.php?date=2005-11-03 LO! It is -- THE PROPHESIED ONE!!] Now, if scrolls specifically said "a halfling, [[Noodle Implements|bearing springs, a whoopee cushion, a songbird and an inflatable raft on its jetpack]]", it really doesn't looks like [[Missed the Call|there can be some mistake]]...

* In the ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' [[Story Arc]] "[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/990704 The Storm Breaker Saga]" Zoe is revealed to be the titular Storm Breaker who is destined to kill [[Big Bad|K'Z'K]].

{{quote|'''Dark One''': Don't screw this up. No pressure, though.}}

:: Although, he was "chosen" for a rather specific reason: there was no one else for the Dark One to pick. He was the newest acolyte to the religious order, but also the only one to survive the Sapphire Guard's [[Doomed Hometown|massacre of his village]].

* ''[[A Magical Roommate]]'': An oracle of Umbria made a prophecy, and everybody immediately assumed it was about [[Main Character|Aylia.]] {{spoiler|In a rare subversion, it was about her friend X, who nobody had ever heard about. Go figure!}}

* Subverted in ''[[Our Little Adventure]]''. Julie is the third person the [[Trickster God|Palm Tree Ghost]] has sent on this mission. If she fails/dies, it's highly likely TPTG will just choose someone else.

** The Light Warriors themselves are chosen ones, too. {{spoiler|Except they spent too long level grinding so the king got tricked into thinking some other idiots/jerks were the light warriors, and in the end four White Mages end up killing the [[Big Bad]] anyway}}

* In ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'' there is a [http://egscomics.com/?date=2004-03-03 prophecy that an individual will come to unify the seyunolu (chimera) outcasts of the world]. Damien was created to be this individual but he didn't fulfill the prophecy and became evil instead.

* In ''[[Sarab]]'', the Apprentices are chosen early in life to be the bearers of knowledge in their world.

* Subverted HARD in ''[[Wizard School]]'': Everyone at Bumblebane's Magical Academy thinks Graham is The Chosen One. He's actually a fake planted by the [[Big Bad]], Wyrmspawn. Everyone dismisses the fact that Graham far older than the Chosen One is supposed to be and ignores the fact that he's a completely awful person.

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* Zak Saturday of ''[[The Secret Saturdays]]'' is suspected by his parents to have been born to counter the Kur Stone, thus stopping a massive army of killer cryptids and saving the world, if need be. {{spoiler|Now that it's been revealed that [[Tomato in the Mirror|Zak ''is'' Kur]], it's destiny for Zak to take over the world (as far '''EVERY SINGLE CRYPTID''' on Earth is concerned).}}

* Jack of ''[[Xyber 9: New Dawn]]'' is the only one who can defeat Machestro, who is threatening to destroy and take over the kingdom. The show actually takes from [[King Arthur]] legend.

* ''[[The Lion King|The Lion King 2]]'' makes use of this when referring to the cub Kovu, who was Scar's 'chosen one' as heir to the throne of the Pride Lands.

* ''[[Transformers]]: The Movie'' makes very literal use of The Chosen One, with {{spoiler|Hot Rod discovering he is the [[Unlikely Hero|successor]] to the now-dead [[Mentor Occupational Hazard|Optimus Prime]], fulfilling the [[Prophecies Are Always Right|prophesy]] of one who would "light our darkest hour", and being upgraded by [[Sword of Plot Advancement|The Matrix]] into Rodimus Prime in the process}}. He is referred to as "The Chosen One" several times throughout the third season.

** Kyle is a blatant [[Expy]] of Jesus in one episode, willingly paying off everybody's debts from the recession and taking them on himself. You need to watch the episode to see just how blatant.

** Subverted with the Mysterion (AKA {{spoiler|Kenny}}) who is trying to find the meaning behind his not-very-pleasant ability ({{spoiler|constantly dying and coming back to life the next day with nobody remembering what happened}}). At a crucial moment, the spirit of an alien appears who seems to be claming that Mysterion is his son sent to Earth. Then it turns out {{spoiler|it was [[Parody Sue|Mintberry Crunch]], who ends up saving the day.}}

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Idealism Tropes]]

[[Category:Archetypal Character]]

[[Category:Magical Girl Tropes]]

[[Category:Fate and Prophecy Tropes]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chosen One, The}}