History Main / IJustWantToBeSpecial

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' gives us Miles "Tails" Prower, who wishes he could be as much of a hero as his best friend, [[TheHero Sonic]]. Some [[CharacterDevelopment character development]] throughout the Adventure titles shows that he's starting to step out of Sonic's shadow to become a hero in his own right, but he still has a lot to catch up with the others. His {{Leitmotif}}, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfjKXqDDhxs ''Believe in Myself'']] is also an accurate example of this trope.

* In ''Series/TheSecretCircle'', this is Faye.

** Oscar is a farm boy who lives with his aunt and spends his days doing mundane chores on a quiet, isolated farm. It's not the life he wants to live. [[spoiler:He turns out to be the next host in the [[ResurrectiveImmortality reincarnation cycle]] of a legendary wizard, which places the fate of the entire planet on his fourteen-year-old shoulders. That's a little more special than he ever wanted to be. As their souls are merged in Oscar's body, [[BigGood Ozpin]] and [[LegacyOfTheChosen Oscar]] have a rough start to their relationship, but Ozpin admits in Volume 8 that Oscar seems to be doing a good job without his help.]]
** A darker example is [[TheDragon Cinder Fall]]. Having grown up [[spoiler:as a constantly abused slave, tortured by ShockCollar, bullied by her adoptive siblings, given a HopeSpot, had that hope crushed, and ultimately murdered both her "family" and the only person who ever showed her kindness]], she became determined to never feel small or helpless again, wanting to be powerful and feared instead. To this goal, she allied herself with [[BigBad Salem]] and stole the [[PersonOfMassDestruction Fall Maiden]]'s powers as part of Salem's master plan, with aspirations to steal the other three Maidens' powers too. She seems to be an odd mix of SelfMadeWoman and TheFatalist, believing that becoming a Maiden is her ordained role, while also despising those who have their power and privilege handed down to them. Suffice to say, the girl has issues.

[[folder:Web Original]]

* Narcissists are far more likely to be bigots and especially BoomerangBigots. The latter allows people to feel not only superiority but accomplishment by "rising above the flaws inherent to their kind."

* In the third ''VideoGame/DotHackGU'' game - ''Redemption'' - Yata, who is [[KnowledgeBroker Wiseman]] from the original ''[[Franchise/DotHack .hack//]]'' games, confesses to [[WellIntentionedExtremist Ovan]] that he spent all of "The World R:2" frustrated that despite his determination and conviction neither AIDA, the invasive god, nor Aura, the absent god, had shown him any favor.
** To a worse extent with Sakaki. Being a child genius in real life he's way too ambitious in the World (where he can mask his true age and be treated as an adult) to be satisfied being a "regular player", and his jealousy of the admins with their control of the system (which he can't be because he's just a kid) and the Epitaph users with their Avatars and ability to break the rules of the system (which are only 8 special characters and he isn't one) leads to him turning to the AIDA virus in order to "surpass the system".

* This is the motivation of a key character in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', to the point that it's TheReveal: [[spoiler:Hajime was so desperate to be talented at something that he submitted himself to an experiment conducted by Hope's Peak to create a person who was talented at ''everything''; they performed exhaustive brain surgery on him, and thus Izuru Kamakura was born, who was, for all intents and purposes, a completely new human being. It worked, and he was indeed impossibly good at everything, but the subsequent lack of difficulty or challenge with ''literally anything'' was actually tortuous in that [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction all he could think about was how bored he was.]] [[BigBad Junko]] could relate to his soul-crushing boredom and convinced him that despair would make it go away, leading to him agreeing to bring about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the Tragedy]], and thus the events of the entire series]].
* In ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganronpaAnother2'', this is the motivation of the BigBadEnsemble known as Void. All of them were completely average people [[FreudianExcuse who lived horrible lives]] [[spoiler:such as [[MinionWithAnFInEvil Iroha]], who came from a family of artists but was an [[AbusiveParents abused]] BlackSheep for her lack of skill]], but after meeting the BornLucky [[UltimateLifeForm Utsuro]] they all [[RagsToRiches became rich and famous]] despite their lack of inborn talent through his RealityWarping. After his death, they feared the day when TheMagicGoesAway and went along with their leader's plan to ResurrectTheVillain to avoid losing their talents [[TragicVillain and going back to living in hellish conditions]].

* This is the motivation of a key character in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', to the point that it's TheReveal: [[spoiler:spoiler:Hajime was so desperate to be talented at something that he submitted himself to an experiment conducted by Hope's Peak to create a person who was talented at ''everything''; they performed exhaustive brain surgery on him, and thus Izuru Kamakura was born, who was, for all intents and purposes, a completely new human being. It worked, and he was indeed impossibly good at everything, but the subsequent lack of difficulty or challenge with ''literally anything'' was actually tortuous in that [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction all he could think about was how bored he was.]] [[BigBad Junko]] could relate to his soul-crushing boredom and convinced him that despair would make it go away, leading to him agreeing to bring about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the Tragedy]], and thus the events of the entire series]].

* ''Fanfic/CardsOfRemnant'': Yang has the misfortune of being surrounded by [[TheChosenOne Chosen Ones]], while never being one herself; both of her parents were Signers, something her sister Ruby inherited, but [[RefusedByTheCall Yang could never forge a bond with any of the Signer Dragons]]; upon entering Beacon, each of her teammates were revealed to be chosen by one of the Four Dimensional Dragons (which, combined with being a Silver-Eyed Warrior, makes Ruby a ''triple'' ChosenOne), but not Yang herself. [[spoiler: She does eventually get Clear-Wing Synchro Dragon, but only because the other three Dimensional Dragons convinced it it was necessary to complete the set, and not because it wanted Yang]]. This has resulted in something of a complex for her, though she hides it well.

** Will, at first, when he believes he is in Ron's case. It's revealed he has his father's super-strength[[spoiler:and at the climax, also his mother's flight. Doubly special then.]]

* As it turns out, most of the plot in ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'' happened because of this. [[spoiler:Yotsuba, the fourth quintuplet, at some point decided that she wanted to stand out from her sisters, beginning with wearing her signature ribbon and trying to be better in academics than them. However, when the others started catching up and eventually surpassed her, [[PassionateSportsGirl she turned to sports, an area where she could excel easily]], [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome but she was unable to keep up with everything and her grades suffered for it]], resulting in her being expelled from their school. She dropped this mindset after the others pretended to have cheated in their exams so she wouldn't be transferred alone, [[TheAtoner and from then on she took to prioritize their happiness]], even in detriment of her own]].

The opposite of IJustWantToBeNormal, this is a character who is completely ordinary and unexceptional. And they desperately wish that they weren't. Either that or they have a very ordinary, uneventful life that they wish was fun and exciting. They would have JumpedAtTheCall, but [[MissedTheCall the call never came]]. Very often, they are more than a little [[GreenEyedMonster jealous]] of their friends who ''[[SuperpowerLottery did]]'' get cool powers or get to go on exciting adventures. If they're lucky enough, they may get to be the BadassNormal in their group of magical friends. If ''everyone else in the world'' (or at least their society) has cool powers, they're an UnSorceror.

The opposite of IJustWantToBeNormal, this is a character who is completely ordinary and unexceptional. And they desperately wish that they weren't. Either that or they have a very ordinary, uneventful life that they wish was fun and exciting. They would have JumpedAtTheCall, but [[MissedTheCall the call never came]]. Very often, they are more than a little [[GreenEyedMonster jealous]] of their friends who ''[[SuperpowerLottery did]]'' get cool powers or get to go on exciting adventures. If they're lucky enough, they may get to be the BadassNormal in their group of magical friends.

* ''Film/TheDarwinAwards'': This is Harvey's motivation for strapping a JATO to his Chevy, and trying to break the land speed record, only to become a stain on the side of a mesa

* The U-Men, from Creator/GrantMorrison's run on the ''ComicBook/XMen'', who want to be special so much that they kill mutants to harvest their super-power carrying organs, and later graft these on themselves. It's never made clear whether it actually ''works'', or anything, but... (It kinda works, but most die from organ failure).
* The main character, Bailey, from ''ComicBook/XMenWorstXManEver'', wanted to be special but there was nothing unique about him. Until he learned that his parents are mutants and that he's a mutant himself. The bad news, his only power is the power to blow up and it would kill him.

* In ''Literature/{{Replica}}'', the heroine Amy was desperate every time she lost her power. Her best friend's nerves were really at stake because she puts up with Amy being always superior to her, and then she must support Amy when she's depressed because she's not superior anymore. [[spoiler:The series ends with Amy regaining her powers, enhanced, by volunteering as a test subject for the EvilGenius CreepyChild she stopped two dozen books before!]]

* One of the reasons why Luz decides to stay behind in the Demon Realm in ''Fanfic/TheAmazingSpiderLuzInAcrossTheOwlVerse'' is that the Human Realm is already packed to the gills with superheroes, there being too many with [[Franchise/SpiderMan Spider-Man's]] power-set to set her apart, so she can learn to be a hero helping the people of Bonesborough.

* [[PsychoElectro Electro]] in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' [[FriendlessBackground sees himself as an invisible nobody]] and DesperatelyCravesAffection which he conflated with having superpowers [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe after meeting]] ComicBook/SpiderMan, desperately wanting to save the day with him. After actually gaining powers this desire leads to him being easily manipulated by the Green Goblin, and in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' his AlternateTimeline counterpart resists MCU Peter's attempt to [[BroughtDownToNormal depower him]] to SaveTheVillain because he doesn't want to go back to being a nobody. [[spoiler:It isn't until he reconciles with ''his'' Spider-Man that he learns to accept himself the way he was.]]

** [[Characters/TheOwlHouseTheGoldenGuard Hunter]] uses [[PlayingWith a version of this trope]] as his initial motivation. Instead of Luz, who wants to be special ''in general'', Hunter wants to be seen as special [[WellDoneSonGuy by one person in particular]]. When he realizes that his idol/Uncle doesn't care about him at all ([[CloneAngst and will dispose of him without a second thought]]), his motivation changes to [[LivingIsMoreThanSurviving escaping this dangerous and abusive situation and finding companionship with his new friends]].
** [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEmperorBelos Emperor Belos]] seeks two things above all else: [[FinalSolution the destruction of the Boiling Isles]], seeing that he views all of its inhabitants as [[FantasticRacism sub-human demons]], and to be [[BelievingTheirOwnLies the hero that he thinks he is]]. Belos' delusion that he is the valiant hero saving humanity from witches is so deep-seated that even [[GeniusLoci The Boiling Isles themselves]] realize he is utterly beyond redemption.

* Sokka feels this way sometimes in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', most noticeably in the episode "Sokka's Master". It doesn't help that ''everyone'' else in his party, including his sister, is an elemental mage of some sort.

* Philip J. Fry of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' brings this up a few times, as he bemoans his fate is just to be a delivery boy and nothing more. As it turns out, not only is Fry special, he's actually the most important man in the universe.

** {{Deconstructed|Trope}} with Korra herself. She proudly brags about being special because she is the Avatar. However, events throughout the series [[BreakTheHaughty humble her]] so much [[spoiler:that by Book 4, she spends nearly half of the season rejecting her responsibility as the Avatar and tries to live as a normal person, even giving herself an ImportantHaircut. But YouCantFightFate.]]
* Lincoln Loud usually has no problems growing up in ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' as the middle child and only boy, but in [[WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouseMovie the movie]], he expresses wishes to step out of his sisters’ shadows, as they are all exceptionally talented in their passions and interests, earning fame and adulation from their town. He finally gets his wish during a family vacation to Scotland and finds out that he is heir to a dukedom.

*** In many episodes, Fluttershy just stands and watches as the rest of the Mane Six save the day with their skills or magic. However, in "The Best Gift Ever" special, she is the only one able to make Winterzilla stop destroying the decoration and behave friendly. She admits later that it was "nice to be the pony who saved the day for once".

** This trope is a major component of Candace's arc in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieCandaceAgainstTheUniverse''. After yet another failed busting attempt, she goes on a rant showing just how ''tired'' she is of being the universe's CosmicPlaything, while her brothers are treated pretty much the opposite. Vanessa gets her to admit shortly afterward that her busting obsession mainly stems from her wanting to be seen as special like her brothers. [[spoiler:It turns out that [[BigBad Super Super Big Doctor]] has the same issues, as Candace does the same thing as Vanessa to get her to admit that her obsession with mind-controlling stems from her wanting to be special like ''her'' brothers.]]

* Komodo of the ''ComicBook/AvengersTheInitiative'' had this mindset and fears going back to normal. [[YouFightLikeACow Spider-man has fun with her]].

* ComicBook/SheHulk was one of the few who benefited from gamma radiation, and it only took a while to ''love'' her new form, which served as a sort of release from the far more inhibited Jennifer. She's rarely even wanted to turn back to human form at all over the years.

* Although Andy Maguire from ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' seemed to have no ambition to be anything beyond an [[RidiculouslyAverageGuy extremely average nobody]], we learned otherwise when he gained superpowers from a FreakLabAccident ala Peter's and later faced the prospect of losing them. This was hinted at a bit earlier when he shows secret envy and resentment towards a jock who managed to get with his school's most popular girl despite being there for only two weeks. Predictably, he was devastated when Spider-Man removed almost all his powers due to Andy being reckless with them one time too many, and so now he's back to being a nobody-- and worse, a laughingstock/has-been.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': Himeka Saiki is a skilled singer hailed as a prodigy at the age of fifteen. She's been called a genius so many times she regards it as a statement of fact rather than anything special. For that reason, Himeka's desire is not to merely be a genius, but to be an ''eccentric'' genius. In the name of being abnormal, she constantly and deliberately does things such use chopsticks upside down, or offer to use stickers instead of bandages on a scrape, and looks as smug as can be when called out on it. All it's ''actually'' done is get her a reputation for having NoSocialSkills. She initially declines to date a seemingly OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent like Rentarou until she's told she would be his 26th girlfriend. That's so abnormal she is immediately on board.

** This is Lex Luthor's main motivation. After being put through traumas that include losing his hair as a child, being bullied at school, taking the blame for his mother murdering his infant brother, having his mother commit suicide and dealing with his emotionally abusive father, Lex desperately needed to believe that it was all for a higher purpose as the alternative (That it was all for nothing) is far too horrible to contemplate. This goes to explain his resentment of Clark who constantly rejects his amazing power and doesn't want to fulfill the destiny Lex believes he is entitled to.

* ''Manga/TwentiethCenturyBoys'': Friend. [[spoiler:The first one]].