History Main / TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou

* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Gus prevents Mike from sniping Hector because ''he'' wants to be the one to kill Hector, and he wants Hector to ''suffer'' before he dies. When Hector has a heart attack, Gus Fring works desperately to keep him alive. This, [[Series/BreakingBad we already know]], is because he doesn't want Hector to die before he can complete his revenge against the entire Salamanca clan.

* This causes the title character in ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' to [[spoiler:save the Trinity Killer's life]] which comes back to bite him hard in the end. He also, at least once, plants evidence to steer the police away from a criminal whom he wants to kill.

* ''Fanfic/InvaderZimABadThingNeverEnds'': Zim repeatedly tells his minions that only he can kill Dib. Though [[ExactWords he will allow them to torture him]] if the opportunity allows.

In some cases it can simply be fueled by pure {{pride}}, as [[ItsAllAboutMe a more egotistical villain]] will find the mere thought of someone else taking credit for a goal he has worked so hard for utterly insufferable. See also ItsPersonal, which is a recurring reason for this trope to come into play, especially for a villain seeking {{Revenge}}.

** Megatron uses this trope to his advantage in the ''ComicBook/TransformersShatteredGlass'' comics. He knows full well that an Autobot would never kill him out of fear of what Optimus would do to them later for destroying Megatron before he got the chance. They're even afraid to tell Optimus that Megatron MIGHT be dead. For those unfamiliar with ''Shattered Glass'', it's a universe where the Autobots are evil conquerors and the Decepticons are heroic freedom fighters.

* In ''Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily,'' Meta-Knight has Kirby cornered when Dedede attacks him from behind, saying "This is MY battle." To his dismay, Kirby hugs him in gratitude.

* In ''Series/{{Castle}}'', a conversation between Beckett and Senator Bracken, the man who, years earlier, hired a hitman to kill her mother, upon being forced to defend the man against an unknown sniper:

* ''Webcomic/NaruHinaChronicles'': In Chapter 121, Sasuke tells Naruto "Stay back. I have to finish this." as he wants to defeat [[spoiler:Evil Sasuke]] by himself. In the next chapter, when it looks like Sasuke is having some difficulty against [[spoiler:Evil Sasuke]], Naruto is about to intervene, only for his friend to once again refuse his help.

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[[AC:''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'']]

* The ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Pokemon]]'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12097559/2/Meanwhile-One-Shot-Collection Meanwhile]]" presents Jessie, James and Meowth as having this attitude towards Pikachu; when Butch and Cassidy manage to successfully steal Pikachu at one point, when the Trio intercept Butch and Cassidy during their escape they actually not only take Pikachu from the other team but proceed to take him ''back'' to Ash rather than just take credit for the theft, affirming that they want to be the ones to take Pikachu from Ash themselves.

* Both of Franchise/SpiderMan's archenemies, Green Goblin and Venom, believe this about Spider-Man. Venom in particular, as he blames Spider-Man for ruining his life (it wasn't Spidey's fault, but [[NeverMyFault Venom would never admit that]]). Whenever he teams up with other villains he always betrays them, as he doesn't want them finishing off Spidey before he can; this actually led to the defeat of the Sinister Six on the one occasion they let him join. Surprisingly, the two have never met and clashed over this conflicting goal, though Green Goblin ''was'' "[[ComicBookDeath dead]]" during Venom's period of ascendancy as the premier Spidey villain.

One person or group considers another person or group as [[TheRival their rival]], and will not allow anyone else to be the one to defeat them. This can sometimes lead to them [[RivalsTeamUp helping their rival]] against [[EnemyMine other enemies]], justifying it with [[IWasJustPassingThrough a lame excuse]], to make sure that they survive until the final battle between the rivals. Sometimes, this trope can become the basis of a HeelFaceTurn. It also frequently leads to a NotSoDifferentRemark and AntagonistInMourning.

* In ''Film/{{Circus}}'', protagonist Leo incurs the wrath of [[ScaryBlackMan Moose]], who wrongly accuses Leo of murdering his mistress, as well as a pair of {{Loan Shark}}s that he owes a serious debt to. This leads to a scene where Leo is being threatened by the Sharks, Moose arrives and beats them up... then announces his intention to kill Leo and chases him down the street. The scene ends with Troy, one of the sharks, recovering from the attack:

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bitf_savior.png]]]]

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1311795480017860500
%% Please start a new thread if you'd like to suggest an image.

[[quoteright:231:[[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/garfield_3.png]]]]

* When Tio Salamanca has a heart attack in ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' Gus Fring works desperately to keep him alive. This, we already know, is because he doesn't want Salamanca to die before he can exact revenge on him.

** ''Film/TransformersRiseOfTheBeasts'': Near the climax, [[spoiler:Optimus Primal bludgeons Battletrap to death with the latter's very own spiked mace. Optimus Prime]] asserts "He was ''mine''."

* ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'': [[spoiler:Megatron blasts [[FallenHero Sentinel Prime]] just when he's about to finish off Optimus]].