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The Chosen One: Difference between revisions
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== 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.
* [[J. R. R.
* 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.
* Discworld?
** Brutha from [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[
** Subverted in the later Discworld novel ''[[
** Also subverted by Carrot. From the first book he appeared in (''[[
** And inverted with Rincewind in ''[[
* 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.
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* 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]]''.
* ''[[Firefly (TV series)|Firefly]]'' desconstructs this with [[The Woobie|River Tam]]. Her exceptional intellect and implied latent [[Psychic Powers|psychic ability]] got her "chosen" - to go straight to [[School for Scheming|the Academy]]. She came out the other end a [[Mind Rape|traumatized]] [[Axe Crazy|mental wreck]] who [[There Are No Therapists|can't be treated]] and suffers from both schizophrenia and [[Power Incontinence|uncontrolled mind powers.]]
* ''[[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}}.
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* 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.
* In ''[[Voodoo Walrus]]'' its been revealed, at least to the reader, that [https://web.archive.org/web/20140220032945/http://voodoowalrus.com/?p=980 Grymm is some kind of prophet and Mirth and her father have a vested interest in him and a Dark One].
* In ''[[Shan Shan|The Adventures of Shan Shan]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20131022203645/http://shanshan.upperrealms.com/view.php?pageid=005&chapterid=1 a golden dragon in the sky told Shan Shan he would help save the world one day.]
* 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.
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* 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.
* In ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' episode "Homer the Great", Homer is revealed as The Chosen One of the Stonecutters, the secret society that controls the world. However, {{spoiler|his actions as leader annoy the members so much that they all quit and start the Ancient Mystic Society of No Homers.}}
* ''[[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.
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** 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.}}
* In the ''[[Inspector Gadget]]'' episode, “So It Is Written”, the bumbling hero travels to a North African country which Dr. Claw has his eyes on due to rumors of a great treasure. The country is impoverished and famine-stricken due to lack of water; their sultan, however, tells the (disguised) MAD agent of a legend of a “Chosen One” who will uncover the treasure and bring an era of prosperity. As the sultan claims, the chosen one “wields fire and water in his hands, walks so tall he blocks out the sun, and flies like a bird”. When Gadget shows up and accidentally displays all these qualities (with his laser, water gun, legs, and copter) the locals mistake him for the chosen one, and the MAD agent deciding to take advantage of this delusion in order to fool him into uncovering the treasure (hopefully resulting in the nation’s [[Church Militant]] soldiers [[The Dreaded| - the Fierce Ones -]] killing him when he proves a pretender). While it seems at first that Gadget was incorrectly identified as the chosen one (or that there might not even be one) Gadget does indeed uncover the treasure and bring wealth to the nation (by accident, of course, as he always does) so... [[Fridge Brilliance| maybe he ''was'' the Chosen One after all]].
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Idealism Tropes]]
[[Category:Archetypal Character]]
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[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]
[[Category:Fate and Prophecy Tropes]]
▲[[Category:The Chosen One]]
[[Category:Recipients of True Empowerment]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chosen One, The}}
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