The grand final battle with mc not dealing the final blow

[villainesayre]

Recently I've been wondering about main character's role in the grand finale/battle.

I'm not looking for advise/tips - I just want to hear opinions on how you view a story when the main character isn't the character who finishes the villain because they are more of a thinking type, not the one who do the actual fighting (but since it's more of a shounen genre there will be battles of course). And I'm not talking about the whole "we're working together to beat the villain!" thing. More like the character who is rather significant to the story/rival of the mc/or their best friend/etc deals the final blow.

Is it not satisfying enough or is it that you root for the mc for the whole story and they won't bathe in glory in the end and it feels kind of disappointing?

Or maybe you think that it's great to vary the story in such ways and you'd like to read/watch something like that?

Can you name an example of a story which has done something similar? (I have few in the back of my mind but I can't recall them at the very moment)

[Heliox14]

I know that V. E. Schwab has done this type of stuff in her Darker Shades of Magic trilogy. You should try it out.
Honestly, I think I'd love to see it. Some kind of comic where the main character doesn't kill the villain.
Well, as long as you execute it right, then it would be beautiful.

[villainesayre]

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check it out for sure!

I'm not even saying that the villain has to die in the grand finale cause there are many ways to portray defeat! (sometimes worse than death actually). To be more specific I'd like to try doing something like that in my upcoming fantasy comic but I'm not sure if readers would like it, that's why the question

[Heliox14]

There'll be some discontent here and there, but I'm pretty sure the readers will be happy.
As I said before, it all depends on the execution.
If the dialogue and the build-up rivets the audience, then they'll be surprised and amazed when the twist comes in.
It's never been done before (well, according to your audience). So...50/50.

[joe_galindez]

Sherlock Holmes often leaves the arrests to the cops.

[villainesayre]

@Heliox14 I've been planning the story for years now and I've started to have some doubts recently. I'm just tired of seeing the main characters always dealing the final blow/end things their way and I'd like to use some diversity when it comes to the story endings. The character who is supposed to finish off the villain is intertwined in the story from the very beginning (and is playing a big part in the finale aside from dealing with the villain) so it definitely won't look like deus ex machina ending.

@joe_galindez But they are dealing with the criminals after Sherlock solves the case. I'm talking about a character who solves the crime (based on your example with Holmes: not Watson or Sherlock, Irene Adler or Mycroft more like the one who managed to do it was Moriarty when it wasn't revolving around his skirmish and letting Sherlock know about it/do it on his behalf).

[joe_galindez]

It doesn't matter how the climax is achieved, only that it releases all the tension that's been building since the start of the story.

[gateofselidor]

I think it can work, but how to approach it depends on the kind of story you’re telling. If you’re going to do something unexpected that could disappoint, you need to make sure the rest of the story justifies it.

If it’s written as a power fantasy, then I think your audience might be disappointed, unless you’re going for a full-on subversion of the trope.

If defeating the villain requires a great sacrifice (e.g.: death), then that gives you a little more flexibility because the tragedy will distract the audience. You can also have a character with a stronger motivation to defeat the villain deal the final blow/make the final decision, e.g.: someone who suffered because of the villain wanting revenge. You can have the hero do something vital that enables another character to deal the final blow, perhaps injuring themselves, forcing another character to act in their stead. These are all techniques I’ve seen used successfully. They all elicit a strong emotional response from the audience, which is a good substitute for the loss of ‘glory’ for the protagonist.

[Wumbl]

I wouldn't say it's automatically disappointing, but it heavily depends on how you've developed your main character throughout the story.

For example, I can't spoil too much of my story but my protagonist has a huge ego and thinks he can do anything, and my story puts him in a position where he is helpless against powers he can't fight. As a result, he ends up being "put in his place" for lack of a better word, and humbled.
The person who delivers the final blow on the villain is not him, and he ends up being rescued like a damsel in distress to further humble him. He leaves the scene kind of changed, understanding that there are things he can not face alone.
If your protagonist needs to learn some kind of lesson regarding how capable others can be, then I think having someone else defeat the main adversary is a really good way of doing it.

That's just from my experience, and kind of a little bit of my writing tutor's advice.

[joannekwan]

I don't mind if the main character doesn't produce the final blow, like I love how strategic Shiroe is from Log Horizon. But if they are built up from the get go as fighters, dealing blows left and right, then they should have the final jab at their arch enemy whom they've known from the beginning coughTMNTcough.

[mpiradarada]

Sounds refreshing!

Can't think of any examples right now but I sure like the idea.

[jpnakashima]

I do believe is all about context. Ideally, the final battle should be the culmination of your story, plot and themes alike, so if it makes more sense for your climax for other character to land the final blow, you should 100% go for it, but if it's variety for the sake of variety, then I'd say stick to what feels right.

I think this is a rather sparse trope, specially when you think final battles, but that's because usually the MC is the focus and carries the themes. I can think of some examples, though they land in the ''MC and friends'' category, somewhat: Gohan vs Cell (if you consider Goku to be the main character even by the end of Cell Saga, which I actually don't), which serves the purpose of passing the bat from Goku to his son; the final dunk by Kagami in Kuroko no Basket, though it comes from Kuroko's assistance and cements his place as the Shadow; Team 7 vs Kaguya, if you consider this the clímax and Naruto vs Sasuke to be more of an epilogue, showing that team work is cool and yay!
Those are not exact situations, but they all have narrative reasons to happen the way they do. It makes no sense for Kuroko to make the final points while it does for Sakuragi in Slam Dunk. Each character arc asks for something unique. Yours may as well.

It's not final battles exactly and not manga, but I'd like to mention Ultimate Spider Man, since it was all written by Bendis. I think he deals really nicely with variation and theme in battles. For example, through the 200 somethings issues, Peter Parker fought Norman Osborn and his legacy many times.
Their first fights, Peter always landed the final blow. When he faced Harry Osborn, turned Hobgoblin by his father, he refused to land the final blow, so SHIELD did for him, which spoke true to his character and thematically expanded on the tragedy of Harry. Then, when Osborn came back, Spidey vs Goblin was interrupted by his son, becoming Green Goblin vs Hobgoblin until Harry was dead and Norman surrendered, SHIELD landing it again, variations. It culminated in Death Of Spider Man, in which Peter had to land the final blow before dying, because themes. When Peter was reborn, some 40 issues after, Norman came back as well and by this time, Miles Morales was around, so he landed the final blow for the last Ultimate Green Goblin story, even though he's Peter's nemesis, to land the point home: Miles Morales is now Ultimate Spider Man.
It's all about what you want to say!!

[Rage_The_Dragoon]

I'm all for it.

A Main Character usually gets most if not all of the important climax's of any story so diverting that to a supporting character could be very refreshing instead of ...oh...I dunno. "here's Goku throwing another Kamehameha or Spirit Bomb in someone's face"

I do have a problem with it if it results in some sort of bullshit deus-ex-machina.
say, one of the characters has a magic pendant that suddenly becomes the almighty weapon to save the day in one hit.
that can kill my mood completely.

If it's going to be done, it has to be by a character that has as much capability as the MC to get the job done. because what it all comes down to in the end, is if it's going to make for an interesting showdown.

[IdiotWithPencil]

if the ending is satisfying then I don't really care who does the final blow, hell in DBZS Trunks killed the bad guy =/ or in AonT Mikasa usually kills the bad guys, just make the ending satisfying and I believe most people won't care

[fuyudust]

I remember years ago, when I was still a little kid, I read this certain manga, can not recall the name, one of those Dragon Quest sagas I think, when I see a side character gave the final blow to the boss after the whole team worked together to drag him down, I was like, WTF, this is non-sense, who is the main character again, I had a really weird feeling about it. I guess that's just how young mind work and since manga/comic reader is mainly young people so.. yeah.
As i grow older I dig more into realistic stories than heroic ones, like, I think Log Horizon where the mc is not very overpower and use his brain, get help from friends to work things out is more interested, but the truth is Sword Art Online where the mc is badass, overpower, cracked as hell, finish the final boss all by himself is wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more popular.

[joe_galindez]

Wasn't it Neville who killed Nagini and ensured Voldemort's defeat?

[baasinsimple]

Depends if it's part of the MC's or other character's personal arc, or the series hasn't set up the status quo of always making the MC finish it and it always being a good thing.