History Main / SoleSurvivor

* The wreck of the ''White Ship'' killed all those aboard (including the heir to the throne of England, William Aethling) bar one, a butcher named Berold. While William escaped with several others to a lifeboat, he [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished decided to go back and rescue his half-sister]]; unfortunately, the lifeboat was swarmed and capsized. [[ForWantOfANail Had William survived, it would have averted the following nineteen-year conflict over the succession.]]

* In ''WebOriginal/TheCrawlspace'', the narrator is the only one out of her four roommates to survive the story, since she escapes from the apartment as soon as she can, unwittingly leaving the others to their fate (she did ''try'' to warn them).

* Of the twelve resistance fighters involved in the minor UsefulNotes/WorldWarII sabotage mission Operation Martin, Jan Baalsrud was the only one to escape a Nazi trap. While only one of the other eleven men was killed during the capture, all ten prisoners were tortured to death or executed. Jan escaped to neutral Sweden with the help of local patriots and {{Good Samaritan}}s, as dramatized in the movie ''Film/TheTwelfthMan'.

** Megane Alpine was the only survivor of the Combat Cyborg incident, falling into an eight-year coma while the rest of her squad was killed (though Zest was ''[[CloningBlues technically]]'' still alive up until the end of ''[=StrikerS=]'').

* In the Dolph Lundgren movie ''Film/DiamondDogs,'' every main character except Dolph's is dead by the end. Three of them die within seconds of each other.

* From [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror 9/11 stories]], Captain Jay Jonas of the New York Fire Department in interviews spoke about how just before he and a group of firefighters were about to go up the burning North Tower, realizing they may not come out alive, all of them took time to [[ItHasBeenAnHonor shake hands and say it's been an honor working with one another]] and wish each other luck. He notes out of everyone in that group he was the only one who came out alive, and even his survival was a stroke of luck.[[note]]After Jonas ordered his unit to evacuate the North Tower after the South Tower had collapsed, the group came across a woman on their way down who couldn't walk and took her with them. A few floors above the ground level Harris stops claiming she can't go on but the group refuses to leave her. The North Tower collapsed with them still inside, but due to how the building debris fell they ended up in a cove all still alive and were eventually rescued.[[/note]]

* ''Literature/TheExpanse'': Amos describes himself as the designated last man standing in any combat situation, which the rest of the ''Rocinante's'' crew agrees with. [[spoiler: Taken to the extreme at the end, as he gets resurrected by protomolecule repair drones that change his biology to be absurdly durable in the process. He's alive in the epilogue of the final book, over one thousand years after the rest of the series, having outlived his crew and everyone else he knew at the time.]]

* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'':
** Rocket Raccoon is the only member of the original Guardians of the Galaxy to survive Thanos's BadassFingersnap and subsequent annihilation of half the universe.
** Likewise, Rhodey ends up being the only non-original Avenger left after the Snap.
** Thor is the only royal family member of Asgard still alive, which he mentions in-universe to Rocket.
** Eitri was the only dwarf of his planet Thanos didn't kill, despite promising to spare his people if he made the Infinity Gauntlet.
** Nebula ends up being the only one of Thanos's children alive in the end, as Thanos sacrifices Gamora and the Black Order are all killed in battle.
* ''Film/AvengersEndgame'':
** Hawkeye is the only member of his own family who didn't get ashed.
** Both Black Panther and his sister Shuri were Snapped, leaving Queen Ramonda as the only surviving member of the Wakandan royal family.
** After the final battle, Gamora ends up being the only person who time traveled from 2014 to remain alive. Nebula is [[KillingYourAlternateSelf shot dead by her future self]], while the rest of Thanos' army who are not killed off during the battle are snapped out of existence by Tony's usage of the Infinity Gauntlet.

* Hunk in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' is the only survivor of the Umbrella cleanup team. His ending portrait in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3'' reveals that he's earned a reputation for ''always'' being the only member of his team to survive, to the point that other Umbrella employees have nicknamed him "Mr. Death".

* In the Dolph Lundgren movie ''Film/DiamondDogs,'' every main character except Dolph is dead by the end. Three of them die within seconds of each other.
%%* ''Film/DogSoldiers'' also ends like this, together with the dog.

* Paxton in ''Film/{{Hostel}}''.

* ''Film/SoleSurvivor'': Denise is the lone survivor of the plane crash in the b beginning.

%%* Kaiku in ''Literature/TheBraidedPath''.

%%* Creator/RobertEHoward's Literature/ConanTheBarbarian pulled this off in both "Literature/TheGodsOfTheNorth" and "Literature/TheScarletCitadel".

%%* ''Literature/IAmLegend'', although this may be closer to LastOfHisKind.

%%* Literature/SinbadTheSailor, like Odysseus several times.

* "Sole Survivor" by Music/BlueOysterCult, about the last human alive.

* In ''Literature/TheApocalypseTroll'', two entire StandardSciFiFleet battle groups, each crewed by thousands of individuals of one race or another, end up annihilating each other except for a single [[OmnicidalManiac cyborg]] for the bad guys and a single human fighter pilot for the good guys.
** The cyborg and the human pilot also qualify as a TerminatorTwosome because [[TimeTravel Their respective fleets managed to go back in time]] while they were wiping each other out. With lots and lots of nuclear weapons.

* ''Literature/BasLagCycle'': In ''Literature/TheScar'', Hedrigall is found adrift at sea, and tells a story of being the Sole Survivor of the destruction of Armada. It's an in-universe subversion, as he's telling it ''to'' the occupants of Armada. Except he may not be lying. It's complicated.
* In ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' groups of students are forced to fight each other [[ThereCanOnlyBeOne until one survives]]; said survivor gets a lifetime pension, meaning they're set for life.

* The ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' story "Echoes of the Tomb" covers an early event in Cain's career, where he was assigned to work with a Mechanicus detachment exploring a seemingly desolate planet. It turned out to be a Necron tomb. Cain was the ''only'' survivor of the ensuing slaughter, and even then [[{{Fingore}} he had two of his fingers disintegrated before he could get out]]. Cain spends the rest of his life [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes with a deep, inescapable fear of Necrons]].
* ''Literature/{{Circleverse}}'': In the first book of the ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' quartet, Daja is introduced as being the sole survivor of a shipwreck that claimed her family. However, in her culture, being a sole survivor is seen as a mark of being cursed, so she is exiled from her people, completely forbidden to even interact with any of them she may meet so as to avoid passing her bad luck onto them.

* In the Japanese children's book ''[[Anime/RingingBell Chirin no Suzu]]'' (''Chirin's Bell'') by Creator/TakashiYanase. [[SweetSheep Chirin the lamb]] is the only surviving member from the flock. [[SavageWolf Woe/Wor the Wolf]] has eaten all the sheep, and killed [[SacrificialLamb Chirin's Mother]]. His main motivation is seeking revenge for the murder of his mother after [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifing her life to protect her son]]. The 1978 adaptation by Creator/{{Sanrio}}, [[SparedByTheAdaptation spares most of the flock]], except Chirin's Mother and an unnamed sheep.

* In Creator/StephenKing's ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series, Roland is the only survivor of the battle on Jericho Hill.
** In ''Literature/TheStand'' it's Stu Redman. There are others in Boulder and there's Tom Cullen, but Stu was the only survivor of the four sent to face Flagg (if you don't count Kojak, the dog).
** This is the basic premise of ''Literature/TheLongWalk''. 100 teenage boys start walking nonstop until there is only one still alive. He's the winner at least until the physical and mental damage from the Walk kills him. Long Walk winners tend not to have much in the way of life expectancy.

* ''Literature/ImperialRadch'': In ''Literature/AncillaryJustice'', Breq is the last remaining [[HiveMind ancillary]] of the ship ''Justice of Toren'', all of the others and the ship they belonged to having been killed by [[TheEmperor Anaander Mianaai]], who she spends the book gathering the [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge resources and opportunity to kill]].

* Mau and Daphne of Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Nation}}'', A tidal wave both destroys every person on the island of Nation and causes the wreck of the ship ''Sweet Judy''. Mau is the Sole Survivor of the former since he wasn't on the island at the time, and Daphne of the latter, because she wrapped herself in a mattress.

** In ''Literature/BlackFleetCrisis'' Plat Maller is the only person to survive the attack on Polneye by the Yevetha. He's the only survivor from their Purge of all non-Yevethan colonists in Koornacht Cluster as well.
** By the end of ''[[Literature/StarWarsKenobi Kenobi]]'', Veeka is the only remaining Gault after her brother Mullen and father Orrin are killed and press-ganged (with a very short life expectancy) respectively by Tusken Raiders. Her other brother was killed prior to the novel's events, again by Tuskens.
* In Creator/AndreNorton's ''Literature/StormOverWarlock'', Shan Lantee was searching for the wolvervines when the Throgs wiped out the base.

* In Creator/DanAbnett's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''Blood Pact'', in the BackStory, Kolding's father's hospital was attacked by the Chaos soldiers, intentionally to kill [[TheMedic the doctors]] and [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown wounded]]. Kolding, sixteen at the time, survived by PlayingPossum. He was -- somewhat traumatized.

** ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', Newt was the only colonist to survive the final stand against the aliens
** Morse is the only Fury 161 prisoner to survive the xenomorph's onslaught in [[Film/Alien3 Alien³]].

** Rocket Raccoon is the only member of the original ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}'' to survive Thanos's BadassFingersnap and subsequent annihilation of half the universe.

* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'':

* Cally, the final member to join ''Series/BlakesSeven'' in Season 1, is a HumanAlien who due to her differing biology survived when the Terran Federation wiped out the entire population of a rebellious planet with bioweapons. She's from a telepathic species so finds the isolation particularly difficult to cope with, and is planning to give her life in a SuicideAttack before Blake turns up. Blake himself was the sole survivor of the massacre of a rebel group, but in that case, it was because the Federation wanted him alive; as the RebelLeader he could be interrogated, then brainwashed into publicly recanting his cause.

* In ''Series/{{Crusade}}'' (the short-lived ''Series/BabylonFive'' {{spinoff}} series), Captain Matthew Gideon was the sole survivor of the destruction of the EAS ''Cerberus''. This is also an example of government cover-up -- the official story is that the ''Cerberus'' was destroyed by a jump engine failure; however, then-ensign Gideon (who was outside doing an EVA mission) saw the ship being attacked by a ship with obvious Shadow technology.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E7TheLongGame "The Long Game"]], Eva St. Julien, aka Suki [=MacRae=] Cantrell, is the last surviving member of the [[LaResistance Freedom Fifteen]]. Also after the events of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis "Logopolis"]] Nyssa is the last survivor from Trakken after her home planet was destroyed and her father was killed.

* ''{{Series/Legion|2017}}'': Gabrielle is the sole surviving member of her family; all of her relatives were exterminated by the Nazis.

** In "The Light Brigade", the Chief Weapons Officer was the only survivor of the ''General Patton'', one of the UNDF's most advanced ships which was easily defeated by the aliens.
** In "Bits of Love", Aidan Hunter may be the last living person on Earth in June 2047, seven months after a nuclear holocaust.
** In "The Beholder", there are two examples. Patrick Tarloff's parents were killed when their single-engine airplane crashed in the vicinity of Fort Yukon, UsefulNotes/{{Alaska}}. Patrick, who was seven years old, was the only survivor but was blinded. Similarly, Kyra was the only member of her family to survive the crash of their ship, which was severely damaged when it got too close to Earth's magnetic field.
** In "The Vessel", there are likewise two examples. Jake Worthy is the only member of the seven-person team onboard the space shuttle ''Inspire'' to survive the crash. The alien lifeform that entered Jake's body was travelling on board a ship with his mate, his child, and others when it collided with a meteor. His mate and child were killed in the collision while all of the other survivors were converted into electrical impulses and eventually vanished into the ether, leaving only the relevant alien.

** Occurred in several ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episodes.
*** "Charlie X": the title character, survivor of a spaceship crash.
*** "Balance of Terror": Commander Hansen in Earth Outpost 4 after the initial Romulan attack.
*** "The Menagerie": Vina (Susan Oliver), also a spaceship crash survivor.
*** "Arena": the survivor of the Gorn attack on Cestus Three.
*** "The Doomsday Machine": Commodore Matt Decker. Has severe Survivor Guilt.

*** "That Which Survives": Losira, subverted in the end when we find out she didn't survive.
*** In "The Conscience of The King", Kirk very nearly becomes this for a massacre he witnessed in his youth, as he finds that seven of the other eight witnesses have been killed off in the preceeding years, and an attempt is made on the life of the eighth, a subordinate of Kirk's named Kevin Riley. Fortunately, [=McCoy=] is able to pull Riley through.

-->'''Kara:''' They said you have to stop.

** The episode "Time Enough At Last", where Burgess Meredith finally has all the time in the world to enjoy reading when he's the only survivor of a nuclear war... [[CruelTwistEnding then he goes and breaks his last pair of glasses.]]
** There's another episode that fits, "One More Pallbearer". A mentally unstable millionaire offers three people who wronged him the chance to ride out an atomic attack in his personal underground shelter, but they all refuse. Then, the attack happens. Devastated, he emerges into the ruins of the city, but the KarmicTwistEnding reveals that the attack wasn't real--he's hallucinated it out of guilt.

* In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', the player character is the only remaining resident of Vault 111, who woke up after 210 years to find everyone else [[spoiler:(including his/her spouse)]] dead, and in the end, [[spoiler:he/she is also the sole survivor of the family after Shaun's death]]. In fact, the player character is actually referred to by the trope name in official material, due to the fact that they have to name the protagonist ''something'', despite the game's near-infinite naming possibilities.[[note]]They do this in all Fallout games: the other four protagonists are the Vault Dweller, the Chosen One, the Lone Wanderer, and the Courier/Courier 6, in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout|1}}'', ''VideoGame/Fallout2'', ''VideoGame/Fallout3'', and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', respectively.[[/note]] Also, the canon default names for the player in 4 are Nate and Nora for the husband and wife, and it's just easier to refer them as a collective "Sole Survivor".

* The ''Franchise/{{Avatar|The Last Airbender}}'' universe:

It could happen in a lot of ways. Your family picnic is gunned down by TheMafia. Your platoon is ordered to do something suicidal by GeneralRipper. Your ship goes down. Your DoomedHometown has a volcano erupt on it. You were PlayingPossum when wounded. You were knocked unconscious during the LastStand. You were the lucky duck who did not find the AppliedPhlebotinum lethal. You were sent to BringNewsBack. You were ordered to perform some errand, often stunningly trivial, which left you off-base when the surprise attack overwhelmed it. But somehow you alone survive this horrible event. You've become a Sole Survivor.

* ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheLastRonin'': The titular Ronin is the last of the Ninja Turtles, revealed at the conclusion of the first issue to be [[spoiler:Michaelangelo]]. The Foot Clan, under the leadership of Shredder's grandson Oroku Hiroto, slaughtered his brothers and Master Splinter.

** Robin is also the only person to have survived the Ohara Incident.