Recently Giant Freaking Robot brought up the notion of the "Worf Effect" a concept that was quite popular in the early 1990s and late 1980s, even if it didn't have the same name. The idea is simple. in the early days of Star Trek, Worf would be presented as the most imposing and strongest member of the crew. So when the alien of the week showed up and beat up Worf easily, it sent the message that this bad guy wasn't here to play.
Over the years, however, Worf would grow beyond just that character narrative. He'd become a full-fledged character with deep plot lines. Alongside that, he'd also stop being used as a plot device to gauge the villain of the week. Instead, he'd oftentimes be seen being the one who fought off the baddy.
We saw that in Star Trek: First Contact and quite a bit on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The longer Worf was around, the more use he got beyond a plot device. This may be shocking to some, but this isn't something Star Trek conjured up.
In fact, this isn't a unique idea at all. For instance, many years prior to Star Trek, other forms of entertainment, like pro wrestling, were known for doing something similar. If you're a fan of the old WWF, you may remember this quite a bit. Some behemoth is picked to be in the Royal Rumble or a battle royal and throws out wrestler after wrestler until the conquering hero comes in and takes out the giant. It's a running trope in that industry to the point now that any large wrestler who enters rarely ever wins.
As their job is simply to make the other wrestlers look better. Just like Worf was expected to do.
Thankfully, while this tactic can still exist in a more nuanced aspect, the idea of making characters serve as narrative crutches is long over. There won't ever be another character like Worf, who only really exists as a barometer for the challenge of the week. And we can all be thankful for that.