| rdfs:comment | - The Messiah, his True Companions, and even several members of the Redshirt Army have been defeated and captured by The Empire. The Big Bad or The Dragon shows up, demanding to know who led this rebellion, presumably to drag them away for some horrific punishment. If he is given up, the rest are free to continue living. But then brotherhood and camaraderie prevails. Before The Messiah can give himself up to save his comrades, The Lancer suddenly stands up, claiming to be him. Then The Big Guy. Then The Obi-Wan, The Smart Guy, even the Cute Bruiser. Do not confuse with This Is Sparta.
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| abstract | - The Messiah, his True Companions, and even several members of the Redshirt Army have been defeated and captured by The Empire. The Big Bad or The Dragon shows up, demanding to know who led this rebellion, presumably to drag them away for some horrific punishment. If he is given up, the rest are free to continue living. But then brotherhood and camaraderie prevails. Before The Messiah can give himself up to save his comrades, The Lancer suddenly stands up, claiming to be him. Then The Big Guy. Then The Obi-Wan, The Smart Guy, even the Cute Bruiser. One by one, the entire Redshirt Army stands up. They would all rather suffer his fate than turn him over to the enemy. At this point, events usually play out in one of two ways: The villain simply decides to kill everyone, including the hero. Sure, it's more bloodshed than planned, but at least the villain's point is made. The ploy ends up distracting the villain, allowing the hero to get the upper hand or escape. Variations on (and parodies of) this theme have led to it becoming a trope of its own: someone else claims to be The Hero to protect the real one. There's also sometimes the inspiring subtext that "we are all The Hero; kill one and the rest still stand." Compare with Lost in a Crowd. See also/compare Decoy Leader. Also Undying Loyalty. When all of them really are Spartacus, see Me's a Crowd, Doppelganger Spin and Hive Mind. Do not confuse with This Is Sparta. Examples of I Am Spartacus include:
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