Ok it's very funny to laugh at Tuxedo Mask for showing up and doing nothing, but his job was never to actually fight the monsters.
His job was just to show up and believe in Sailor Moon so overwhelmingly resolutely that she remembers she's a fucking demigod long enough for HER to fight the monsters.
Because she's the only one strong enough to do it in the first place, and in this regard Tuxedo Mask is the first example of being "Kenough" in this essay I will
@kawaiipinkbunny is so right for this
One of the things I've always loved about the manga is that it goes into slightly more detail about what Tuxedo Mask's deal even is, and it turns out:
He has no magic powers at all (except, it later turns out, some healing abilities). He cannot attack youma with sparkles and he does not have a transformation sequence.
He is having horrible prophetic dreams about how he has to find something called a Silver Crystal to save a princess of some sort.
He is vaguely conscious that he is wearing Formal Wear in the dreams (as Prince Endymion) and he has to do something to hide his identity so he starts dressing up in a tuxedo and mask when he starts doing Tuxedo Mask Missions. He has to get the tuxedo dry-cleaned between missions.
... the Tuxedo Mask Missions are literally jewellery heists because again, initially, the only information he has to go on is "find the sparkly crystal" so he's just like... scouring the news for special-sounding diamonds and hoping.
Then this amazing girl shows up and she's strong and beautiful and terrified but doing her best and she can ZAP THE MONSTERS with her powers and also she's WEIRDLY FAMILIAR and seems to have more information than he does so he starts trying to figure out where she'll be and turns up there too in case the Silver Crystal is there but then sometimes she's in danger or doubting himself and he can't LEAVE her and and and...
"I BELIEVE IN YOU SAILOR MOON!"
