He could hear voices whispering and screaming inside his skull, a babble of madness that would have swamped a lesser man's mind. But the mind of a Grey Knight was built around a hard core of pure, depthless faith. Where other men had fear, the Grey Knights had resolve. Where others had doubt, Mandulis had faith. An Imperial guardsman, no matter how courageous or pious, still had that unprotected hollow of despair, greed, and terror at the heart of his soul. A Grey Knight did not. Ghargatuloth's mind tricks broke against Mandulis's mind like waves against rocks.
That was why it had to be the Grey Knights assaulting Khorion IX. The Lords Militant could assemble armies hundreds of millions strong, but not one of those Guardsmen would have kept his mind for a minute under the gaze of Ghargatuloth. So it was up to the Grey Knights, and now it was up to Mandulis.
But hold on, go back a bit. Why am I "the ONLY ONE who can STOP THEM"? They seem to be quite receptive to normal bullets in the squishy parts. Where are the armed forces?
— Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, Zero Punctuation "The Conduit"
Being a super hero is very simple. It boils down to looking around one day... and realising that you are the only one around who save the day. What do you do? Do you freak out and walk away? Or do you grit your teeth and march into Hell if that's what it takes? If sacrificing your life would save the lives of everyone else, would you do it?
— Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #4
"You're the only man who can save us from this mighty menace!"
"The only man?" scoffed Proton. "What about all the other lazy sods? There are six and a half billion people on this planet!"
"The only man?" scoffed Proton. "What about all the other lazy sods? There are six and a half billion people on this planet!"
— Attack of the Fifty Foot Half-Klingon
"The situation is critical. Once more we are facing the greatest threat in human history. And only one man can save us — only one man can combat this fiendish threat to our world! That man is you! Captain Proton: Astrogator of Action, Spacehound of the Stars, the Man of Plastisteel!"
"Actually," said TuMok, "there are 16,507 suitable candidates in the Space Rangers, plus several million others in the combined military and police forces of your world."
A war is coming. I'm afraid your friends at Hawkins are very much in the eye of the storm. I don't know how to say this other than just to say it: without you, we can't win this war.
— Dr. Owens to Eleven, Stranger Things
"There is a word for a lone hero fighting against incredible odds. That word is Dead."
— Player's Manual for Wizardry: Proving Grounds Of The Mad Overlord
"You know, I wish some more good guys would show up."
— The Prince, Prince of Persia (2008)
"IT'S DOWN TO BUNDT,!"
Dragon: There is still the sanction on the second man who killed Agent Wormwood. I will give you another $20,000 for this second sanction.
Hemlock: Forget it, I'm back in retirement.
Dragon: You are the only man who can do it.
Hemlock: Well you can train Pope. He would be ready in about forty years.
Angel: Why'd you come to me?
The Host: Isn't it obvious? You're a champion. A unique force for good in a troubled world. Also, all the other champions I know are currently out of town...or dead.
— Angel, "Happy Anniversary"
If anyone listened to Jack Bauer, the show would be called 3.
"Sure enough, Harriman is told that the Enterprise is the only ship in range. He looks crestfallen.
I have to say this plot device has always been one of the stupidest things the franchise ever trotted out, which is saying something pretty impressive given some of the mystery meat they’ve tried to serve fans. It’s not only trite and distractingly transparent plot chicanery, it’s just plain lazy storytelling. If you tried using a device like this in screenwriting class, you’d get marked down for stupidity.
You could have an entire fleet on screen getting ready for battle, majestic music playing while an unstoppable and implacable enemy advances, but Starfleet will always just send in the Enterprise on the grounds that 'They’re the only ones who can do it'. For all his faults as a writer, George Lucas at least knows how to give his good guys some serious backup, and raise the stakes doing it."
— The Agony Booth's recap of Star Trek: Generations
"You are the only one we have who can accomplish this mission.
We've confirmed that the enemy's headquarters are located on the naval island base in the northern part of White Valley Bay. You must disarm "Free Erusea". The codename for this operation will be "Katina". The fate of this mission rests in your hands.
Launch."
We've confirmed that the enemy's headquarters are located on the naval island base in the northern part of White Valley Bay. You must disarm "Free Erusea". The codename for this operation will be "Katina". The fate of this mission rests in your hands.
Launch."
—Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, excerpt from the briefing for Operation Katina
