History Main / TheChosenOne

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', protagonist Izuku Midoriya is chosen by All Might to be the ninth holder of One For All, a powerful SuperStrength Quirk passed from wielder to wielder. With it, he inherits the privilege and burden of becoming the world's greatest superhero to protect people and ensure peace.

* Played with in Creator/TamoraPierce's ''Literature/DaughterOfTheLioness'' books. Aly is the chosen instrument of Kyprioth the {{Trickster God}} (and, naturally, pretends to be chosen of the God of War--everyone who bought this kicks themselves when the truth is revealed, since she's a ''spy''). She's there to put the main Chosen One, a girl descended from two royal lines, on the throne, and is aided by a bunch of other figures chosen for their skills (The Warrior, The Strong One, The Wise One, etc). The rebellion and the oppressed people they represent are all very excited to put the beautiful, passionate and fair Sarai on the throne, since she fits the prophecy, even though she's more hot-headed then they'd like. [[spoiler: She instead leaves the country to get married and not have to deal with ugliness of its politics. Everybody initially freaks the hell out until they remember that her younger, quieter sister ''also'' fits the prophecy...]]

** {{Inverted|Trope}} with Rincewind in ''Discworld/TheLightFantastic'', who learns that he was Chosen by the Eight Spells to carry one of them around in his head. Not because he's actually expected to do anything heroic or impressive, but because he's a coward who's good as escaping danger, so can at least be expected to ''survive'' until the spell is needed.
** {{Subverted|Trope}} by Carrot. From the first book he appeared in (''Discworld/GuardsGuards''), it has been obvious that he was the Chosen One to be king of Ankh-Morpork: he's pure of heart, he has a cool sword, etc. However, even though later books have made it obvious that Vimes, Vetinari, Carrot, and other members of the Watch know he is the Chosen One, Carrot prefers to remain in the Watch. Part of it is that what he's destined ''for'' is to restore the monarchy, and he thinks the current administration is better.
** Brutha ''Discworld/SmallGods''. The trick here is that Brutha doesn't want to become the prophet, but is actually the OnlyOne that believes in Om...
** Also {{subverted|Trope}} in the later Discworld novel ''Discworld/GoingPostal'', in which Moist von Lipwig is the Chosen One simply because he's the One ''who happens to be available''. "At a time like this, any One will do!"

* ''[[Literature/SkulduggeryPleasantResurrection Skulduggery Pleasant]] introduces chosen one, Augur Darkly. In a twist, it's his brother, Omen, who becomes a major character.

* ''WebOriginal/HowToHero'' has a whole post about them [[https://howtohero.tumblr.com/post/167543091647/being-the-chosen-one here]].

* Deconstructed in ''A Girl Of Fire and Thorns''. Godstone bearers are chosen to perform a great act of service for God. However, this could conceivably be any act, from digging a well to painting flowers, seemingly with no rhyme or reason. [[spoiler:By the end of the first book, several objects from previous bearers are used to forge an amulet to defeat the enemy mages.]] Scripture and prophecy regarding the bearers are so vague that they're basically useless, and Elisa eventually realizes that she has no way of knowing if she fulfilled prophecy or not. [[spoiler: In the end, despite Elisa having made peace with Invierne, defeated the deciregi, found the ''zafira'', and made countless invaluable discoveries concerning magic,God, and their peoples, it turns out the great destiny she was selected for was finding a random oasis. This prompts Elisa to realize that bearers are simply the [[ForWantOfANail nails]] that ensure {{Contrived Coincidence}}s for a much bigger plan, and she decides to compile everything she knows to be passed on to the next bearer.]

* In ''Literature/DragonBones'' it turns out that the valet Axiel is actually, as he claims to be when he's ''very'' drunk, [[spoiler: the dwarf-king's son]], and he has been staying at Hurog as the servant of the quite nasty-tempered Hurogmeten because [[spoiler: his father had a dream about a chosen one who would be born there, who would set right what was done to the dragons long ago.]] He wanted to be at the right place at the right time.

* In ''VideoGame/WarCraft III'', Arthas is Ner'zhul's Chosen One, as Kel'Thuzad specifically states in "The Revelation.

'''Ash''', during a trek across a frozen Tundra: I feel more like the frozen one.

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' 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 [[ComicBook/JMSSpiderMan 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.

* In ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', it's stated that Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser are the Heroes of Light chosen by the Light Prognosticus. [[spoiler:Luigi is the Chosen One for the Dark Prognosticus, being the ApocalypseMaiden.]]
** ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland DS'' has the Star Children: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Wario, DK, Bowser and a newborn Yoshi (Implied to be the Yoshi from when Mario is an adult).

* Gabriel Belmont from ''VideoGame/LordsOfShadow'' is God's chosen champion who is destined to fight against evil. [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne Gabriel suffers so much because of destiny]] that he [[spoiler:becomes [[FallenHero the Dark Lord Dracula]] to spite God]]. Despite this, the sequel shows that [[spoiler:God still considers Gabriel his champion]].

* In ''VideoGame/WarCraft III'', Arthas is Ner'zhul's Chosen One, as Kel'Thuzad specifically states in "The Revelation."

* The player character in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokemon Crystal]]'' is one to the legendary Pokemon Suicune. When the player encounters it at the bottom of the Burnt Tower, Raikou and Entei immediately flee. Suicune bolts as well, but pauses for a moment in front of the player as if it was looking at them before also taking off. A few [=NPCs=] state that Suicune will allow a human to draw close to it if said human has a good natured soul. At the Tin Tower later on in the story, you encounter the three legendary Pokemon again. Entei and Raikou flee once more, but Suicune attacks the player as if it's testing them. Only the player is allowed to battle and possibly capture Suicune.
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', each island has a Kahuna that acts as the island's guardian. A Kahuna is picked by the island's guardian deity Pokemon and once someone is chosen, they cannot refuse it. Kahunas are also very strong Pokemon trainers.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Ron Stoppable is the chosen one with his Mystical Monkey Power, a power than eventually made him the strongest person by far in the entire series. Never mind that the power in question was supposed to just be a one shot thingy...

* In ''Film/TheMummyReturns'', Brendan Fraser is suddenly revealed to be the chosen one, even though the first film never made any mention of a prophesied chosen one, and every other character was a reincarnation of some ancient Egyptian/ninja. Same thing happened in ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'', but without the Egyptian/ninjas.

* ''Disney/TheLionKingIISimbasPride'' 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.

* Disney/{{Aladdin}} is pulled into Jafar's plans because he is "the Diamond in the Rough", the only one who can enter the Cave of Wonders and reach the Genie's lamp.

* Disney/{{Moana}} pulls a DeconReconSwitch with this. [[AMinorKidroduction The plot begins]] with Moana's grandmother telling her and her peers the myth that the sea will select a chosen one who will find [[PhysicalGod the demigod Maui]] and return the Heart of Te Fiti. This is followed almost immediately by [[GeniusLoci the sea very literally choosing her]] by offering toddler-Moana the Heart. It gets deconstructed several times throughout the film, as Moana is confused as to why she was chosen due to having no sailing experience and never been beyond the reef of her island. As a result, she constantly second-guesses her decisions and develops a huge need to prove herself. Likewise, Maui [[JerkassHasAPoint constantly mocks the notion that the Ocean would randomly choose a young girl and points out that the ocean does not have perfect judgement]]. After [[spoiler:Maui [[TenMinuteRetirement temporarily abandons the quest]] when Moana’s recklessness during the first assault on Te Kā [[WreckedWeapon cracks his fish hook]]]], Moana also gives up [[HeroicBSOD and begs the sea to choose someone else]]. Only after receiving reassurance from [[spoiler:the spirits of Gramma Tala and her ancestors]] does she realize that [[AllLovingHero her love for her people and the sea]] and the desire to save them propels her to continue as TheUnchosenOne, reconstructing this trope. However, this does NOT mean the sea's choice was meaningless: it chose Moana [[EstablishingCharacterMoment after witnessing her act of kindness of helping a baby sea turtle to the water]]. Why was this important? [[spoiler:Te Kā [[JekyllAndHyde turns out to be Te Fiti transformed by her rage at the loss of the Heart]]. Maui is vital to the quest because he has lots of monster-fighting experience and teaches Moana to wayfind, but ultimately his strength and daring is not enough to stop Te Kā; it takes Moana's kindness and empathy to realize who Te Kā actually is, then [[BadassPacifist she asks the ocean to part the water so she can calmly convince the goddess to give up her anger and allow her heart to be restored]]. The ocean may not have perfect judgement, but it recognized that the person who will restore Te Fiti's Heart needed to have compassionate qualities and decided that Moana was worth a shot.]]

** '''The One True King''', like [[Disney/TheLionKing Simba]] or [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Aragorn]], is exactly that -- the rightful ruler of some specific place. Exactly what this means varies from work to work, and can range from cases where the RightfulKingReturns to reclaim the throne from usurpers to ones where the Rightful King is a foreign conqueror with a divine mandate to take over rule of the land. It can also overlap with the Chosen Wielder in cases where the king is chosen by a magic sword a la Myth/KingArthur.

* ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'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." The problem is, the prophecy was worded badly, thus what Tails had to do was incredibly blurry. He thought his fight with Master Mogul as Titan Tails was the prophecy, but he realized that he'd gotten it wrong when [[AIIsACrapshoot A.D.A.M.]] brought the entire ''universe's'' collection of Chaos Emeralds to Mobius and had Shadow's help in shunting them into the Zone of Silence, where Feist would unify them.

* ''Webcomic/AMagicalRoommate'': An oracle of Umbria made a prophecy, and everybody immediately assumed it was about [[MainCharacter Aylia.]] [[spoiler:In a rare subversion, it was about her friend X, who nobody had ever heard about. Go figure!]]

* In the Creator/DavidDrake military SF series ''Literature/TheGeneralSeries'', Raj Whitehall is 'Chosen' by an ancient AI to save Human civilization on the planet Bellevue. Followed up with several other Chosen, in several sequel series.

* ''Literature/TheBible'': Jesus Christ means "Jesus the Anointed 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 series, of course, also deconstructs this to a certain extent. Aang is a kid when he learns he's the Avatar, and promptly runs away from the pressure. Korra knew she was the Avatar from a young age, even younger than her predecessor was, and it's her ''only'' source of self-worth as her series starts.

** '''The Prophesied Chosen One''', like Literature/HarryPotter or [[Film/StarWars Anakin Skywalker]], who is fated by some otherworldly and usually unspecified power to do something specific. This sort of destiny is often literally unavoidable, although it may often resolve itself with some sort of ProphecyTwist, and attempts by either heroes or villains to derail it will likely backfire and cause the prophecy to come true anyway. Issues with free will and the having your life inescapably mapped out for you may also crop up.

*** Played straight in each of the [[SidequestSidestory faction questlines]]. Before even coming to Skyrim, you appear in a dream to the Harbinger of the Companions as the one who will [[spoiler:break the self-inflicted [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Lycanthropy]] curse on the group]]. In the [[MagicalSociety College of Winterhold]] society, you are again chosen, [[spoiler:this time by the [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness Psijic Order]]]]. In the ThievesGuild questline, you [[spoiler:aren't afflicted with the same run of supernatural bad luck plaguing the rest of the Guild and, in the end, reverse the luck by appeasing the Guild's unofficial patron deity]]. Once again, you also play it straight in the Dark Brotherhood questline, [[spoiler:being chosen once again by the Night Mother, just as in ''Oblivion'']].

* A lot of the ''Literature/EaCycle'' revolves around finding the Chosen One.
* In the Creator/DavidDrake military SF series ''Literature/TheGeneral'', Raj Whitehall is 'Chosen' by an ancient AI to save Human civilization on the planet Bellevue. Followed up with several other Chosen, in several sequel series.
* Seen also in Drake's later Literature/BelisariusSeries, with the eponymous general (who formed, along with the 5th century AD Roman Empire he served in RealLife, the historical basis of ''Creator/TheGeneral'') being chosen by Aide.

** Before the expanded universe reboot the Sith had their own Chosen One prophesy, the Sith'ari. It was originally intended to foreshadow Darth Bane in stories set before the Rule of Two was in effect, but it became something of a RunningGag that ''every'' major Sith character (including ones who lived millennia after the prophesy was fulfilled) thought it was them.

** {{Subverted|Trope}} by Carrot. From the first book he appeared in (''Discworld/GuardsGuards''), it has been obvious that he was the Chosen One to be king of Ankh-Morpork: he's pure of heart, he has a cool sword, etc. However, even though later books have made it obvious that Vimes, Vetinari, Carrot, and other members of the Watch know he is the Chosen One, Carrot prefers to remain in the Watch.

*** The [[PlayerCharacter Nerevarine]] plays with the trope heavily. According to prophecy, the Nerevarine is the {{reincarnation}} of the [[LongDeadBadass ancient Dunmer hero]], Lord Indoril Nerevar. Throughout the main quest, you uncover the lost details of the prophecy and fulfill them yourself until you are recognized by the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] Azura, Nerevar's patron. You are granted the Moon-And-Star ring, specially blessed by Azura to [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield kill anyone who tries to wear it except for Nerevar]], which you are able to wear. You complete the trials of the prophecy, defeat BigBad PhysicalGod Dagoth Ur, and sever his (and the [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Tribunal]]'s) divine connection to the [[CosmicKeystone Heart of Lorkhan]]. However, there is strong evidence that the player is ''not'' Lord Nerevar reborn, but merely a convenient pawn Azura is using in her revenge plot against the Tribunal (Nerevar's councilors who went against her wishes thousands of years ago, used the Heart, and stole her worshipers along with [[TheRashomon possibly murdering Nerevar]] himself.) It is revealed that [[MultipleChoiceChosen there have been others]] who fit the prophecy, but [[ThePoorlyChosenOne were killed before they could fulfill it entirely]], and that Azura is more TheChooserOfTheOne rather than there being one true Chosen One. ''Morrowind'' is probably one of the only stories to combine this trope with TheUnchosenOne -- at the end of the main quest you get asked if you are Nerevar reborn. It is entirely possible to answer that no, you aren't, but you're doing this because it's the right thing to do (it is given more weight if you ''didn't'' fulfill the entire prophetic list of things you are supposed to do before confronting Dagoth Ur yet still is in a position to confront him by your possession of Kagrenac's Tools attuned to you). Finally, there is also the perspective that having the spirit of Nerevar will ''become'' more literal as you follow in his footsteps (''Elder Scrolls'' metaphysics allow for avatarizing yourself by '[[BecomingTheMask walking like he does until he walks like you do]]', an action known as "Mantling".)

* Subverted in ''Webcomic/WizardSchool'': Everyone at Bumblebane's Magical Academy thinks Graham is The Chosen One. He's actually a fake planted by the BigBad, 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.

** [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] in [[https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/the-chosen-one "The Chosen One"]], where the kid who hears he's prophesied to be the Chosen One decides to give up trying to do anything right in life because he knows he's going to do something great and become famous for it. Forty years later, he saves the world or something by stabbing the demon Mordrax in the back because he's drunk and mistakes him for a teenager who owes him money for meth.

* Jonas Wharton in ''WebVideo/LG15TheResistance'' is described as "the One", because he is [[spoiler:the only trait positive male]]. Maggie also arguably qualifies, with her [[spoiler:super-speshul magic blood]].

* Terra Murphy, a young girl in ''Literature/EnginesOfCreation'' is given the abilities of a Green Seer immediately after her arrival in the Pactlands through birthright.

* ''WebVideo/OverlySarcasticProductions'': Red talks about this trope in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpZG8wh8d-0 a video on precisely this topic]], along with related concepts such as ThePoorlyChosenOne and why ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne. She also delineates several recurring variants of this trope:

* Juniper in ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'', saddled with the short end of the Chosen One stick by being forced to stay permanently in the same city.

* Artha, the WesternAnimation/DragonBooster in the series of the same name.
* Lena, from ''WesternAnimation/{{Skyland}}'', is the 'Lady of Light', destined to reunite the earth with someone who hasn't been revealed yet (nor, given the lack of new episodes, will ever be).
** A popular theory is that Mahad, Lena's brother and the deuteragonist, is the other chosen one.
* Fry, from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. Unusually for the trope, it wasn't just a convenient prophecy: he was "The Chosen One" because he lacked a "delta brain-wave" explained as being a result of [[MyOwnGrandpa having gone to the past and becoming his own grandfather]] thus giving him a [[GeniusDitz "superior yet inferior" intellect]].

* Ron Stoppable from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' is the chosen one with his Mystical Monkey Power, a power than eventually made him the strongest person by far in the entire series. Never mind that the power in question was supposed to just be a one shot thingy...
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutron''. Sheen Estevez is called "The Chosen One" by the monks of Shangri Llama, thanks to his strange ability to put his foot behind his head. However, he isn't the 'true'' Chosen One, but merely a substitute (since the monks were sick of waiting around for the real one to show up).
* Rikochet Buena Girl And The Flea from ''WesternAnimation/MuchaLucha'' "The Return Of El Malefico". They are The Chosen One because they can stop El Malefico from taking over the world.
* The title character of the show ''WesternAnimation/MightyMax'' was a twelve year old boy who had been chosen by "Destiny" to be the hero of the series. He was equipped with a cosmic cap capable of opening portals that led to all sorts of places around, in, and over Earth, though it couldn't make new portals.

* Zak Saturday of ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'' 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 [[TomatoInTheMirror Zak]] ''[[TomatoInTheMirror is]]'' [[TomatoInTheMirror Kur]]; it's destiny for Zak to take over the world (as far '''EVERY SINGLE CRYPTID''' on Earth is concerned).]]
* Jack of ''WesternAnimation/Xyber9NewDawn'' is the only one who can defeat Machestro, who is threatening to destroy and take over the kingdom. The show actually takes from KingArthur legend.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' 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.]]
** [[spoiler: It was actually Homer wanting to use the Stonecutters to help people that they all quit, since they wanted to go back to their hedonistic ways]].
** In "Gone Maggie Gone", Lisa believes she might be the "gem child" that is destined to bring world peace. [[spoiler:It's actually Maggie.]]

* As revealed in the season four finale of ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'', the members of Dethklok are the Chosen Ones of an ancient prophecy.
-->'''Murderface''': You mean, we're the Jews?

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' episode "Jack and the Traveling Creatures", Jack reaches a time portal that could take him back to the past. The portal's Guardian denies Jack entry, boasting that only one man is destined to defeat him and use the portal, and Jack is not that man. Jack challenges the Guardian anyway...and is soundly defeated. The Guardian only spares Jack at the last moment [[spoiler:when the portal itself shows him a vision of [[FutureBadass an older Jack with a beard and a crown]]. The Guardian sends Jack off, telling him that he's not ready to use the portal now. Jack ''is'' the Chosen One after all, but he still needs to take a few more levels of badass.]]
* James "Jim" Lake Jr. from ''WesternAnimation/{{Trollhunters}}'' is the latest Trollhunter - one who uses the Amulet of Daylight to protect the Human and Troll worlds from Gunmar and his hordes - as well as the first ''human'' trollhunter ever.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Mixels}}'' episode "A Quest for the Lost Mixamajig", King Nixel ends up creating a ruse plot on who will be the Chosen One to unlock the secrets of the Mixamajig, where Snoof is the one picked for his gullibility and heavy want to be special. Eventually, [[spoiler:it is revealed that this was pulled on multiple Mixels at once, leading to a fight over who the Chosen One is, making it easier for them to fall into the King's trap.]]
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''; Bill Cipher made the Author his UnwittingPawn by telling him he was the Chosen One. Luckily, the Author figured out he was being played, but not before building Bill's DoomsdayDevice. ("He told me he was a muse, and that he chose one brilliant mind a century to inspire. What a fool I was, blinded by his flattery and games.") [[spoiler: The final episode reveals that Ford is actually one of TheChosenMany in a ritual to destroy Bill. However, events prevent this from playing out, so other methods are used.]]