The Bystander Syndrome trope as used in popular culture. Somebody is begging for help — but no help is forthcoming. As far as bystanders are concerned …

Essentially, they are those who must be protected, rescued or saved from a villain who will eat, kidnap, torture, or kill them. Since they're pretty expendable, ...

The Badass Bystander is a background or minor character, soon to-be Ascended Extra, or Heroes Gone Fishing main character who shows significant or surprising ...

An All-Powerful Bystander is a being who is so powerful that it seems likely they could just solve the entire plot with a snap of the fingers. They are, ...

It's an ordinary person, with no special training, who happens to save a life through their own inner courage and resolve.

Bystander is a self-published novel written by Luke "Thrythlind" Green and set in 2035 Seattle detailing the plight of superpowered parolee Lucretia, starting ...

In this trope, the story focuses solely on those citizens. Often centres on a police force trying to stop normal crimes and having to put up with death rays, or ...

A character is doing something they would hate to be caught doing, whether it be illegal, out of character, or just plain strange.

The Useless Bystander Parent trope as used in popular culture. This parent enables abuse and/or bullying by doing nothing. They never hurt their children.

This type of shot is used as a way to either showcase how dire the situation is, make an action series much more serious or to portray with greater realism what ...