History Main / OnlyICanKillHim

* Justified in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender.'' Only the Avatar, The Master of the Four Elements, can stop [[BigBad Fire Lord Ozai]] ''and'' restore balance among the four {{Elemental Nation}}s. [[spoiler:Iroh]], who is one of the ''very'' few normal benders who could possibly match the Fire Lord in battle, explains why it must be the Avatar's responsibility: if anyone else were to defeat Ozai, it would be seen by history as senseless violence or a petty power struggle that ensure that war would break out again. The Avatar, however, is seen a figure that transcends petty worldly concerns so them defeating Ozai would be a symbolic act of near-divine justice powerful enough to smother attempts to restart the war afterwards.

* Justified in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender.'' Only the Avatar, The Master of the Four Elements, can stop the Fire Lord ''and'' restore balance among the four {{Elemental Nation}}s. [[spoiler:Iroh]], who is the only one who could possibly match the Fire Lord in battle, himself admits that if anyone else were to do it, it would be seen by history as senseless violence, or a power struggle.

* Played with in ''Anime/{{Monster}}''. Dr. Tenma and Nina are both trying to find and kill the eponymous Monster [[BigBad Johan]]: Tenma [[TheAtoner because he saved Johan's life]], Nina because she was the one who shot him the first time, and both because neither wants the other to have blood on their hands. [[spoiler: In the end, it's a vengeful father who shoots Johan...and Tenma is the one who saves Johan's life once again, thus ''inverting'' the trope.]]

* Vocally invoked by Lina Inverse in the ''{{LightNovel/Slayers}}'' OVA ''Jeffrey's Knighthood''. This is so that Jeffrey's mother will not beat them up when they leave Jeffrey behind. They're not ditching TheLoad, they're allowing him to prepare while they carve a path to the BigBad that only he can best.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Played straight in ''Series/{{Angel}}'' -- Connor is destined to kill Sahjhan, which appears to mean no one else can. [[spoiler: When Sahjhan is trapped in a magical urn, his enemy Cyvus Vail insists that Connor be brought back to finish him, knowing that such things ''never'' hold the bad guy forever.]]
** To be fair, Angel had tried to kill Sahjhan when he was corporeal, and the demon handed Angel his ass.
* Averted in the finale of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer,'' Season 6, where Xander -- often the comic relief of the Scoobies -- talks a grieving, psychotic, high-on-magic Willow out of destroying the world. Buffy, meanwhile, is fighting an endless and pointless battle against EvilMinions.
** Also averted by Season 5. Buffy might actually do the beating (with a shitton of help) but Giles [[ShootTheDog does the killing]].
* Subverted by ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', in "War Stories". Mal is battling TheDragon (well... ''a'' dragon, at any rate) when the Cavalry (Zoe, Jayne, and Wash) shows up. Jayne takes aim to shoot Niska's henchman, and Zoe stops him, saying "[[ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself This is something the Captain's got to do for himself]]." Mal yells a panicked "No, it's not!" and the three rescuers take out the henchman all at once.
** Played straight in TheMovie ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', where Mal is the only person who can take on the Operative and stand a chance. [[spoiler: It helps that he had a nerve cluster moved during the war, making the Operative's paralyzing move useless. And Mal is the only one who can piss him off.]]
* In ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', it's eventually revealed that ComicBook/RasAlGhul can only be killed by a specific dagger wielded by a specific person, namely Bruce Wayne. To hammer this home, at one point Barbara stabs him, but it has no effect, with him just saying "Ow" in a smug deadpan and pulling the blade out of his chest.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'', only Zeratul is able to kill the Cerebrates in the original game's penultimate mission, if the kill is done by any other unit the Cerebrate regenerates. Due to a glitch with location triggers it's possible for another unit to kill the Cerebrate for good while Zeratul is directly nearby, but the intent is for him to do it. In the expansion the player repeats the process in some missions using generic Dark Templar in place of Zeratul to the same effect.
* In ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'', several future prophecies specify that Kerrigan is ''absolutely vital'' to opposing the BigBad. This leads several characters, who in the previous game swore to kill her or die trying, actually saving her life and helping her. [[spoiler:It turns out to be because Kerrigan is the only living being with sufficient native power to ascend into a new Xel'Naga, which is the only thing powerful enough to challenge the BigBad's might (given that he ''is'' a Xel'Naga). Plus, having her around means the BigBad can't just mind-control the entire Zerg Swarm into being his slaves... he still tries and partially succeeds, but now Kerrigan is fighting him for control every step of the way.]]
** The game keeps track after a mission of how many kills were done by a hero unit (or other particular unit), some of them earning achievements.

* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': While the trope isn't mentioned by name, it's in effect in the penultimate Night Elf level where Illidan consumes the skull of Gul'dan. This triggers his permanent transformation into a demon, and more importantly gives him Chaos damage, the only type that can damage the demon lord Tichondrius.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Film]]

* In the last few episodes of ''[[Machinima/RedVsBlueTheRecollection Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction]]'', Washington makes it clear that only Church is capable of stopping the Meta. However, this isn't due to Church's fighting ability (which has never really been particularly good), but rather because [[spoiler: Church is actually the Alpha A.I., and thus the only being capable of neutralizing the A.I.s that the Meta has merged with]].

** In terms of actual canon, [[AGodAmI Aizen]] can only be beaten by Ichigo because [[spoiler:a) Ichigo is one of the only people who ''hasn't'' seen Aizen's [[MasterOfIllusion Shikai, Kyouka Suigetsu]], and b) is the only one of those people with enough actual ''power'' to even injure Aizen.]] Seems to be [[SubvertedTrope subverted]], but is actually played straight once Aizen [[spoiler:forsakes Kyouka Suigetsu for the sake of greater power through the [[MakeAWish Hogyoku's]] evolutions, as once again, Ichigo is the only one who can ttranscend far enough to actually harm the transcended Aizen, in large part thanks to his [[SuperpoweredGenetics ridiculous]] [[LamarckWasRight heritage]]]].

** Unfortunately this was a {{Subversion}}, as Kraven was still cursed. [[ComicBook/{{Hunted}} He would later try again to get Spider-Man to kill him]]. He did finally get to [[KilledOffForReal die in the end]], but not by Spider-Man's hand. Instead he died by his son/clone's hand. Using a LoopholeAbuse about how only the Spider can kill the Hunter,or the Hunter kill the Spider.

* One example occurred in the movie ''Film/KingArthur'', where Tristan's attempt to slay the BigBad ended in his inevitable death.

* Happens all the time in Manga/{{Bleach}}, but most strangely in the Captain Amagai FillerArc. [[spoiler:Ichigo has almost nothing to do with Amagai; he only meets him for the first time shortly before he fights and defeats him. And this is in a city filled with badass captains. The only possible reason he would have for being the one to kill him is because he can overcome Amagai's zanpakuto-suppressing ability. Despite the fact that Captain-Commander Yamamoto, who actually ''does'' have a history with Amagai and is the target of his misguided revenge plot, is more than capable of fighting with only his bare hands.]]

** In terms of actual canon, [[AGodAmI Aizen]] can only be beaten by Ichigo because [[spoiler:a) Ichigo is one of the only people who ''hasn't'' seen Aizen's [[MasterOfIllusion Shikai, Kyouka Suigetsu]], and b) is the only one of those people with enough actual ''power'' to even injure Aizen.]] Seems to be [[SubvertedTrope subverted]], but is actually played straight once Aizen [[spoiler:forsakes Kyouka Suigetsu for the sake of greater power through the [[MakeAWish Hogyoku's]] evolutions, as once again, Ichigo is the only one who can Transcend far enough to actually harm the Transcended Aizen, in large part thanks to his [[SuperpoweredGenetics ridiculous]] [[LamarckWasRight heritage]]]].

* Subverted in ''Manga/RaveMaster'' with the BigBad Hardner. TheHero Haru Glory was able to defeat this foe ''only'' because Hardner had already fought and defeated one of Haru's friends in battle immediately before Haru arrived. [[spoiler: The two fights back-to-back wore down the regeneration abilities Hardner possessed which rendered him virtually immortal, leaving him vulnerable to take more damage than he could heal.]]

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', the player ''must'' confront [[spoiler:the Dark Knight]] with [[TheHero Cecil]] and [[spoiler:[[TheAtoner Golbez]]]] in the party, otherwise he instantly kills everyone. Once the required cinematic between the three occurs though, any party member can kill the boss.

** Gharnef's Imhullu spell in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'' negates attack unless the unit is wielding Starlight. This means having your mage be ready to take on Gharnef so that you can reclaim Falchion. In addition, Medeus halves all attack unless it's either Falchion (which can only be used by Marth) or a Divine Dragon (Tiki or Nagi).
** Duma in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'' and its remake, ''Echoes: Shadow of Valentia'' becomes immune to all attack once his HP becomes visible, unless Alm wields the Falchion... [[GoodBadBug or a Cleric of yours is using Nosferatu]].
** The Book of Loptous in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' grants Julius an innate damage reduction against any weapons, unless it is the Book of Naga, which can only be wielded by his sister, Julia. [[spoiler:This is rather aggravating as not only is it possible to not save Julia by accidentally killing her, but also, Julius has three different defeat quotes depending on who defeats him (Julia, Seliph, or anyone else).]]
** Raydrik's Loptr Sword in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776'' grants him the same property as the Book of Loptous, unless he is attacked with the Sword of Bragi, which can only be wielded by either Leif, Nanna, Diarmud, or Fergus ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation which claims that only Holy Blood user can wield but not only does Fergus imply to not have one but also, neither Mareeta nor Galzus, who has Major Od blood, can wield it).

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', the Black Knight and Ashnard wears goddess-blessed armor that makes them immune to anything except Ike's Ragnell, the Dragon laguz, and the Laguz kings. Thankfully, for the former, the Black Knight only cares about attacking Ike over his frail and weak sister, Mist, who is only here to help her brother not die. This is much more downplayed in the sequel, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'', as not only is the Black Knight's armor is no longer blessed and although certain bosses have blessed immunity through Mantle, [[spoiler:Yune blessed everyone's equipped weapon (or the Laguz themselves) that lets them damage the boss anyway. While Ike and the Black Knight can only kill each other, you weren't given much of a choice on that as the Black Knight put up a barrier that prevents anyone from intervening. Although anyone can damage Ashera, Ike must be the one to finish her or else she'll just revive with all of her HP restored.]]

* Every boss in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'': you can let your AI allies attack as much as you like when the boss is down to 1 HP, but until Sora personally lands a FinishingMove they won't die.

* Repeatedly [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the third season of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX''. Whenever EvilMinions like the Masked Knights and other zombies challenge Judai, Johan and the others always step in and remind him that, as TheHero, he needs to wait and save his strength for his inevitable battle with the BigBad.
** ''Almost'' subverted in the [[Anime/YuGiOh original series]]: Jounouchi (TheLancer) gets into a position where Marik has no cards at all to protect himself, a single direct attack will win it, and he has a monster strong enough to do it. However, before he can declare his attack and win Jounouchi collapses from exhaustion, and Marik wins on a technicality when Jounouchi is declared unable to continue the duel. That he was seconds way from defeating Marik was a shock to ''every'' member of the cast, including Marik himself who began to freak out when he realized he was going to lose and admits Jounouchi put up a lot better of a fight than he expected. (In fact, this was the one time that Kaiba said anything about Jonouchi that even came close to being a compliment.)
* Subverted in ''Manga/RaveMaster'' with the BigBad Hardner. TheHero Haru Glory was able to defeat this foe ''only'' because Hardner had already fought and defeated one of Haru's friends in battle immediately before Haru arrived. [[spoiler: The two fights back-to-back wore down the regeneration abilities Hardner possessed which rendered him virtually immortal, leaving him vulnerable to take more damage than he could heal.]]
* Justified in ''Anime/{{K}}'' - only a King can kill another King (though it seems that a King's second can kill their own King under certain circumstances). So the Kings - focal points of the EnsembleCast - end up filling this role.
* Justified in ''Anime/ShootfighterTekken'' by the main hero's father having become a pacifist at this point, but since his son shows an unstoppable drive to face down the BigBad anyway, he tutors him specifically to do so. Lampshaded by other characters fighting other mooks, or being ambushed by them, but everyone in the entire series knowing and stating only the hero can take on Iron Kiba. In hospital scenes and conversations between trainers, it's acknowledged even further. Only Kiba does not seem to know, [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou as he is completely focused on the hero's father instead]] because of their battle in the past, and views the kid as being little more than a training exercise. Interestingly, he was nearly proven right, as the hero didn't take the fight seriously at first, and the first 60 seconds was essentially a cock-measuring contest of insults and posturing, each believing the other wasn't a serious challenge.

* The first season of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'' had a field day with this. Supposedly, the prophecy said that the Signers and the Dark Signers (the servants of the Crimson Dragon and Earthbound Gods, respectively) would battle every 5,000 years, and that each participant was unbeatable by anyone but a member of the opposing group. The actual conflict had a few parts that may or may not have contradicted this, depending on how you interpreted it, the biggest one being Crow defeating Bommer. (Crow wasn't a Signer at the time, but he would become one later; on the other hand, Bommer was a replacement Dark Signer, so whether he truly belonged in the conflict or not is debatable.) Of course, seeing as the story was related to the heroes by [[BigBad Rex Godwin]], [[VillainsNeverLie it may be hard to truly take]] ''[[VillainsNeverLie any]]'' [[VillainsNeverLie part of it at face value.]]
* In ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', BigBad Naraku is threatening the whole region, yet there are only three fighters outside of the protagonist's foursome that fight the big bad for more than a single scene of them getting slaughtered. Slightly subverted towards the end, where a Buddhist priest manages to take a pot-shot at one of the greater villains, and a Shinto monk actually defeats another (who ends up taking over his body). A pity because [[spoiler: the villain is Naraku's heart, and if the guy had killed him instead of absorbing him, the series BigBad would have ended.]]
* Played with in ''Anime/{{Monster}}''. Dr. Tenma and Nina are both trying to find and kill the eponymous Monster [[BigBad Johan]]: Tenma [[TheAtoner because he saved Johan's life]], Nina because she was the one who shot him the first time, and both because neither wants the other to have blood on their hands. [[spoiler: In the end, it's a vengeful father who shoots Johan...and Tenma is the one who saves Johan's life once again, thus ''inverting'' the trope.]]
* Vocally invoked by Lina Inverse in the ''{{LightNovel/Slayers}}'' OVA ''Jeffrey's Knighthood''. This is so that Jeffrey's mother will not beat them up when they leave Jeffrey behind. They're not ditching TheLoad, they're allowing him to prepare while they carve a path to the BigBad that only he can best.

* Film/JamesBond usually uses this trope, with Bond being the person who kills the BigBad. However, it's subverted in ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' (Rosa Klebb is shot by Tatiana), ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' (Kristatos is offed by Colombo and Gogol survives) and partly in ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' (Le Chiffre is shot by an assassin, although ''his'' employer gets shot by Bond at the end. It's even more true in the novel).

* Subverted in the movie ''Film/ThroneOfBlood''. Washizu is killed by his own nameless EvilMinions - indeed we do not even see the faces of the archers who let loose the first arrow and the last. In the original ''Macbeth'' the VillainProtagonist died in a duel with a major character; in ''Throne of Blood'' that character is completely absent.

* In Creator/EstherFriesner's novel ''The Sherwood Game'', a programmer creates a VR Robin Hood game, and creates a specific rule that his character is the only one who can kill the Sheriff of Nottingham. He comes to regret this when he has to play the game [[YourMindMakesItReal with the safeties off]].
* ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'' spends quite a lot of time saying how Richard is destined to kill Darken Rahl with the Sword of Truth. It's the same in [[Literature/SwordOfTruth the book]], except there he's explicitly told that the magic of Orden means he ''can't'' use the sword to do it.
* Subverted in the Literature/LeftBehind books as [[Literature/TheBible The Word of God]] demands that nobody can even defeat Satan and the Antichrist except for Jesus Christ. The Antichrist does get killed partway through the Tribulation, BecauseDestinySaysSo, but as he is resurrected by the indwelling of Satan for the remainder of the Tribulation, the Christians during that time will have to wait for Jesus to come again in order for the Antichrist to be sent to the Lake of Fire.

* Averted in the finale of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer,'' season 6, where Xander -- often the comic relief of the Scoobies -- talks a grieving, psychotic, high-on-magic Willow out of destroying the world. Buffy, meanwhile, is fighting an endless and pointless battle against EvilMinions.
** Also averted by Season 5. Buffy might actually do the beating (with a shitton of help) but Giles [[ShootTheDog does the killing]].
* Played straight in ''Series/{{Angel}}'' - Connor is destined to kill Sahjhan, which appears to mean no one else can. [[spoiler: When Sahjhan is trapped in a magical urn, his enemy Cyvus Vail insists that Connor be brought back to finish him, knowing that such things ''never'' hold the bad guy forever.]]
** To be fair, Angel had tried to kill Sahjhan when he was corporeal, and the demon handed Angel his ass.

* In ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', it's eventually revealed that ComicBook/RasAlGhul can only be killed by a specific dagger wielded by a specific person, namely Bruce Wayne. To hammer this home, at one point Barbara stabs him, but it has no effect, with him just saying "Ow" in a smug deadpan and pulling the blade out of his chest.

* In ''VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame'' [[spoiler:only Tommy Jarvis can deliver the final blow to Jason after a series of steps are taken.]]
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': Being the chosen wielder of the [[CoolSword Master Sword]], [[TheHero Link]] is the only one who can kill [[BigBad Ganondorf]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'', only Zeratul is able to kill the Cerebrates in the original game's penultimate mission, if the kill is done by any other unit the Cerebrate regenerates. Due to a glitch with location triggers it's possible for another unit to kill the Cerebrate for good while Zeratul is directly nearby, but the intent is for him to do it. In the expansion the player repeats the process in some missions using generic Dark Templar in place of Zeratul to the same effect.
* In ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'', several future prophecies specify that Kerrigan is ''absolutely vital'' to opposing the BigBad. This leads several characters, who in the previous game swore to kill her or die trying, actually saving her life and helping her. [[spoiler:It turns out to be because Kerrigan is the only living being with sufficient native power to ascend into a new Xel'Naga, which is the only thing powerful enough to challenge the BigBad's might (given that he ''is'' a Xel'Naga). Plus, having her around means the BigBad can't just mind-control the entire Zerg Swarm into being his slaves... he still tries and partially succeeds, but now Kerrigan is fighting him for control every step of the way.]]
** The game keeps track after a mission of how many kills were done by a hero unit (or other particular unit), some of them earning achievements.

* Raziel and Kain in the ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' series--Kain doesn't want to kill Raziel and as he learns more about Nosgoth Raziel loses his desire to kill Kain. However, the two are functionally immortal, so they're the only ones that can kill the other by virtue of Kain [[spoiler:possessing the material version of the sword Soul Reaver that can imprison Raziel within it]], and Raziel [[spoiler:possessing the spectral version of the same sword that can bypass Kain's vampiric body and damage his spirit directly.]]
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', the player ''must'' confront [[spoiler:the Dark Knight]] with [[TheHero Cecil]] and [[spoiler:[[TheAtoner Golbez]]]] in the party, otherwise he instantly kills everyone. Once the required cinematic between the three occurs though, any party member can kill the boss.
** According to ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud]] is the only person capable of killing [[ArchEnemy Sephiroth]]. When anyone else beats him, he just stands back up and muses over his inability to die at their hands.
*** in ''Kingdom Hearts II'', we also see Tifa trying to fight Sephiroth in Cloud's place. It mostly follows this trope, as he easily dodges her barrage of punches and kicks and knocks her back.
*** This was true in the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Compilation'' as well, where Cloud was the only person in the entire setting that's managed to defeat [[WorldsBestWarrior Sephiroth]].

* One boss in the first chapter of ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' can only be killed if the final blow is landed by Shion or Junior. This is because it is connected to various mental issues of theirs stemming from the Miltia Incident.
* [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' with the [[spoiler:[[BigBad Archdemon]], who can only be killed by a Grey Warden because his soul will simply possess the nearest darkspawn when killed by anyone else.]]
* In ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'', the strange way in which Nrvnqsr's body is made up means it is nearly impossible to kill him: you have to kill all 666 of his familiars at once or he can regenerate them instantly. The protagonist, Shiki Tohno, on the other hand, has the explicit ability to kill things DeaderThanDead, making him uniquely suited to killing Nrvnqsr. If Shiki kills something, it stays dead. ''Period.''
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': While the trope isn't mentioned by name, it's in effect in the penultimate Night Elf level where Illidan consumes the skull of Gul'dan. This triggers his permanent transformation into a demon, and more importantly gives him Chaos damage, the only type that can damage the demon lord Tichondrius.

* ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'':
** Beldr on Day 3 is immune to everything except devil's fuge (i.e. mistletoe), and [[PlayerCharacter you]] happen to be the only combatant with it when you fight him, which means no one else -- not your human allies, not your demons -- can damage him. This gives the boss battle with him the unique defeat condition of [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou "player character dies"]], unlike in other battles where the battle can continue as long as at least one team leader on your side is still in fighting condition, even if you personally bite it. [[spoiler:When you rematch him in the Day 7 BossRush, once again you're the only character who can damage him.]]
** An example where it's ''someone else'' rather than the player character who must inflict the killing blow: When fighting Kudlak, non-controllable ally Mari must be the one to inflict the finishing blow, or else story events will be affected very negatively upon his death. For what it's worth, [[AntiFrustrationFeatures if Kaido is in the fight, his attacks will never bring Kudlak's HP below 1]], leaving Mari free to [[CherryTapping poke him dead]].
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Fighting his way through an skirmish between the IAA, FIB and Merryweather, Michael finds himself pinned down by an attack helicopter from the mercenary group. His rescue comes in the form of none other than Trevor, who snipes the pilot, sending him down, followed by this exchange:
-->'''Trevor:''' Hey! If anyone's gonna kill you, old friend, it's gonna be me!\\
'''Michael:''' Oh! You here to finish the job, T?\\
'''Trevor:''' No, no, no, no, I'm just here for the opportunity. Now run!

* Lampshaded by Belkar of the ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', who declines to finish off Crystal because he recognizes her as Haley's nemesis.
* Justified in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive''. Grace was granted specific genetic modifications since birth, that grant her immunity to Damien's powers. (Namely, she's fireproof and her warform has [[AntiRegeneration claws with poison that slows healing]], while Damien is a Pryomancer of insane powers with a massive HealingFactor).

* Justified in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender.'' Only the Avatar, The Master of the Four Elements, can stop Fire Lord ''and'' restore balance among the four {{Elemental Nation}}s. [[spoiler:Iroh]], who is the only one who could possibly match the Fire Lord in battle, himself admits that if anyone else were to do it, it would be seen by history as senseless violence, or a power struggle.
* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}},'' [[AntiHero Macbeth]] and [[KnightTemplar Demona]] are both immortal until one kills the other, at which point ''both'' will die. Macbeth actually ''wants'' to slay Demona and put and end to them both, [[DeathSeeker and this has become his lifelong goal]]; Demona... Not so much. Ironically it seems like most other people aren't aware of this fact, as [[FantasticRacism the Hunters]] have been trying to kill Demona themselves for nearly a thousand years and the heroes declared NoOneCouldSurviveThat on each of them at least once. (Though [[ItMakesSenseInContext that Macbeth wasn't even real anyway...]])
* Storm Shadow in ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeRenegades'' needs to be the one to kill Snake Eyes in order to avenge [[spoiler: the death of his uncle, the Hard Master]] and save face with his clan. He's also the only member of Cobra with a chance of actually defeating him one-on-one.

** This also applies to the Guardian of the time portal. According to prophecy, only one person will ever be able to slay him and use the portal successfully. Guess who that person is? [[spoiler:However, as the Guardian says at the end, Jack is "not ready" now, but he "will be... someday". Instead, in season five, it's revealed that Aku slew the Guardian and destroyed the portal to keep Jack from using, subverting this trope.]]
* It was long hinted in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'' that only Jake could defeat the Dark Dragon for good. Had it not been for ExecutiveMeddling, it no doubt would've happened.
* While not 'kill', it was revealed in a web episode of ''WesternAnimation/MightyMagiswords'' that only Vambre can hurt Prohyas (it makes sense since they are siblings).

* A literal example in in the final chapter of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'': Only [[spoiler:Ike]] is allowed to deal [[spoiler:Ashera]] the killing blow. Otherwise she regenerates to full health.
** Another literal example shows up in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', albeit with a twist. The only power capable of destroying [[spoiler:Grima]] is his own. [[spoiler:As your Avatar is Grima's vessel, this means only the Avatar can kill Grima.]]

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', the Black Knight and Ashnard wears goddess-blessed armor that makes them immune to anything except Ike's Ragnell, the Dragon laguz, and the Laguz kings. Thankfully, for the former, the Black Knight only cares about attacking Ike over his frail and weak sister, Mist, who is only here to help her brother not die. This is much more downplayed in the sequel, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'', as not only is the Black Knight's armor is no longer blessed and although certain bosses have blessed immunity through Mantle, [[spoiler:Yune blessed everyone's equipped weapon (or the Laguz themselves) that lets them damage the boss anyway. While Ike and the Black Knight can only kill each other, you weren't given much of a choice on that as the Black Knight put up a barrier that prevents anyone from intervening.]]

** Gharnef's Imhullu spell in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'' negates attack unless the unit is wielding Starlight. This means having your mage be ready to take on Gharnef so that you can reclaim Falchion. In addition, Medeus halves all attack unless it's either Falchion or a Divine Dragon (Tiki or Nagi).

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', the player ''must'' confront [[spoiler:the Dark Knight]] with [[TheHero Cecil]] and [[spoiler:[[TheAtoner Golbez]]]] in the party, otherwise he instantly kills everyone. Once the required cinematic between the three occurs though, any party member can kill the boss.

* According to ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud]] is the only person capable of killing [[ArchEnemy Sephiroth]]. When anyone else beats him, he just stands back up and muses over his inability to die at their hands.
** in ''Kingdom Hearts II'', we also see Tifa trying to fight Sephiroth in Cloud's place. It mostly follows this trope, as he easily dodges her barrage of punches and kicks and knocks her back.
** This was true in the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Compilation'' as well, where Cloud was the only person in the entire setting that's managed to defeat [[WorldsBestWarrior Sephiroth]].

** Inverted with Zeref, who bluntly states that the only being who can kill him is the demon E.N.D., which refers to [[spoiler:'''E'''therious '''N'''atsu '''D'''ragneel, the younger brother he revived with the purpose of killing him]]. It's then subverted when [[spoiler:Natsu forgoes killing Zeref using the one power that could ''potentially'' do the job because Happy intervened since Zeref admits that [[{{Sychronization}} Natsu will die with Zeref since as an Etherious, Natsu's life is linked to Zeref's magic]]. When they fight for the final time, Natsu does win, but lets Mavis strike the final blow in the only way that could [[MutualKill kill two immortals]] (Natsu is saved from dying with Zeref thanks to outside intervention on the part of Lucy and Gray).]]

** Inverted with Zeref, who bluntly states that the only being who can kill him is the demon E.N.D., which refers to [[spoiler:'''E'''therious '''N'''atsu '''D'''ragneel, the younger brother he revived with the purpose of killing him]].

* A literal example in in the final chapter of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn]]'': Only [[spoiler:Ike]] is allowed to deal [[spoiler:Ashera]] the killing blow. Otherwise she regenerates to full health.

* Justified in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive''. Grace was granted specific genetic modifications since birth, that grant her immunity to Damien's powers. (Namely, she's fireproof, while Damien is a Pryomancer of insane powers).

** An example where it's ''someone else'' rather than the player character who must inflict the killing blow: When fighting Kudlak, non-controllable ally Mari must be the one to inflict the finishing blow, or else story events will be affected very negatively upon his death. For what it's worth, if Kaido is in the fight, his attacks will never bring Kudlak's HP below 1, leaving Mari free to [[CherryTapping poke him dead]].

** Justified in that the Hunter is the {{Hero}} in this world, and the four (otherwise the protagonists of the book) are just being escorted around.

Often overlaps with the ChosenOne, as well as ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself. Differs from TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou in that it's a matter of raw ability, not personal preference.

** An early arc had a BigBad in the form of Lyon, a who learned under the same teacher as Gray. As a result, it's Gray who ultimately defeats Lyon. Natsu's opponent is revealed to serve the GreaterScopeVillain of that portion of the story, but in this arc acted as a subordinate of Lyon.

* Subverted in the movie ''Film/ThroneOfBlood''. Washizu is killed by his own nameless EvilMinions - indeed we do not even see the faces of the archers who loose the first arrow and the last. In the original ''Macbeth'' the VillainProtagonist died in a duel with a major character; in ''Throne of Blood'' that character is completely absent.

* Played with in ''Literature/DragonBones'': The only person who can only be killed by the hero is the magically bound slave the hero inherited from his father.(AWizardDidIt, in ancient times, and apparently knew that a slave who is magically compelled to do anything he's ordered to do, would try to commit suicide sooner or later. That's why the slave can only be killed by his owner.)

* Particularly notable in ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'', wherein ''any'' tac team which does not include Jack Bauer is certain to let the terrorist escape, shoot the wrong guy, be vaporized in a nuclear detonation, etc.
* Subverted by ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', in "War Stories". Mal is battling TheDragon (well... ''a'' dragon, at any rate) when the Cavalry (Zoe, Jayne, and Wash) shows up. Jayne takes aim to shoot Niska's henchman, and Zoe stops him, saying "[[ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself this is something the Captain's got to do for himself]]." Mal yells a panicked "no, it's not!" and the three rescuers take out the henchman all at once.

* In ''[[VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame Friday the 13th: The Game]]'' [[spoiler:only Tommy Jarvis can deliver the final blow to Jason after a series of steps are taken.]]

* Lampshaded by Belkar of the ''[[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Order of the Stick]]'', who declines to finish off Crystal because he recognizes her as Haley's nemesis.
* Justified in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive''. Grace was granted specific genetic modifications since birth, that grant her immunity to Damien's powers. (Namely, she's fireproof, while Damien is a Pryomancer of insane powers).

* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything, Franchise/{{Batman}} tries everything to bring Franchise/{{Superman}} out of the [[LotusEaterMachine Black Mercy]]-induced dream because only he is anything like powerful enough to defeat Mongul

** This also applies to the Guardian of the time portal. According to prophecy, only one person will ever be able to slay him and use the portal successfully. Guess who that person is? [[spoiler:However, as the Guardian says at the end, Jack is "not ready" now, but he "will be... someday".]]

* Played straight in ''Series/{{Angel}}'' - Connor is destined to kill Sahjhan, which appears to mean no one else can. [[spoiler: When Sahjhan is trapped in a magical urn, his enemy Cyvus Vail insists that Connor be brought back to finish him, being GenreSavvy to know that such things ''never'' hold the bad guy forever.]]

->''"I admit [[TheHero you're]] very skilled. But apparently [[ArchEnemy Cloud]] is the only one who can eliminate [[EnemyWithout me]]."''

* It's almost an iron-clad rule that in {{Shonen}} anime, the BigBad can only be defeated by the plucky young main hero. The hero's friends are usually capable of taking care of the BigBad's EvilMinions, but if they try to take out the BigBad by themselves, they'll usually fail. (Oddly enough, it seems the more powerful and experienced the hero's friend is, the more spectacularly they will fall in their fight against the BigBad.)
** Repeatedly [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the third season of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX''. Whenever EvilMinions like the Masked Knights and other zombies challenge Judai, Johan and the others always step in and remind him that, as TheHero, he needs to wait and save his strength for his inevitable battle with the BigBad.
*** ''Almost'' subverted in the [[Anime/YuGiOh original series]]: Jounouchi (TheLancer) gets into a position where Marik has no cards at all to protect himself, a single direct attack will win it, and he has a monster strong enough to do it. However, before he can declare his attack and win Jounouchi collapses from exhaustion, and Marik wins on a technicality when Jounouchi is declared unable to continue the duel. That he was seconds way from defeating Marik was a shock to ''every'' member of the cast, including Marik himself who began to freak out when he realized he was going to lose and admits Jounouchi put up a lot better of a fight than he expected. (In fact, this was the one time that Kaiba said anything about Jonouchi that even came close to being a compliment.)