History Main / BusFullOfInnocents

* During a chase sequence in the ShowWithinAShow in ''{{Bolt}}'', one of the Mooks placing a TickingTimeBomb on a fuel truck which is right alongside a school bus.

* In the ''SWATKats'' episode "The Giant Bacteria", didn't the bacteria actually eat the subway car full of people? I seem to remember it did...

* In TheSimpsons Treehouse of Horror IX, one of Snake's three strikes is for blowing up a bus full of nuns (but he insists it was self defense).

* In a ''{{Ben 10}}'' episode, Kevin (as Upgrade) cuts the brakes of a cable car with people and sends it to fall into the ocean. Ben saves them.

* In HoboWithAShotgun, one of the {BigBad}s torches a bus full of elementry school children to [[MoralEventHorizen show that he means business]]. No, no one saves them, and yes, we do see a tiny charred corpse.

'''Flash''': You've gotta be kidding.\\

* In an early issue of ''YoungJustice'', Robin found himself riding an out of control superbike towards "Nuns driving a station wagon full of high explosives!" Next to the Great Wall of China.

* In the 2008 movie ''{{Film/Traitor}}'', one of the main plots was [[spoiler: destroying several buses with suicide bombers. TheMole in the terrorist organization defeats this plot by [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome putting all the suicide bombers on one bus]].]]

Not to be confused with BusFullOfNuns which is an unrelated comedy trope. Buses full of nuns ''are'' popular for this trope, though. Also has nothing to do with PassingJudgment.

* In the 2008 movie ''Traitor'', one of the main plots was [[spoiler: destroying several buses with suicide bombers. TheMole in the terrorist organization defeats this plot by [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome putting all the suicide bombers on one bus]].]]

* In one of the funnier {{Filler}} episodes of ''DragonBallZ'', Goku and Piccolo save a schoolbus of anthropomorphic pandas from falling off a cliff during their driving tests. Of course, they still fail the test.

'''Flash''': You've gotta be kidding.
-->-- ''JusticeLeague''

Sometimes, saving an InnocentBystander from [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Doctor Demonica]] just won't cut it: you need more impact to showcase just how dire the threat is and make the scene exciting. Enter the Bus Full Of Innocents.

Despite the name, it doesn't have to be a bus. Any vehicle or enclosure full of Innocent Bystanders will do, and likewise any kind of person can be put at risk, though usually it will be people who are stunningly innocent, defenseless, and respectable to most viewers.

Common set ups are for the bus to be teetering perilously on a broken bridge or cliff, and a villain to use it in a SadisticChoice along with the LoveInterest.

* ''The Strangers'' from Malibu Comics. A tram car full of every day people gets zapped by alien energy and crashes into a sports car. Everyone gets super-powers, even the sports car driver (Night Man). Cue start to various series.

** Also an example of TakeAThirdOption, leading to [[spoiler:a CrowningMomentOfAwesome for the people of Gotham]].
* This happens in the first ''Film/{{Spider-Man}}'' movie, including the SadisticChoice.

* ''The Siege'' plays this trope ''twice'', where the terrorists have taken a Bus Full of Innocents and packed explosives into it to prove their point. The first time, [[spoiler:it's a paint bomb, and no one gets hurt]]. The second time, [[spoiler:there are children and old folks (and regular people I suppose) on the bus, but Denzel Washington's character persuades the terrorists to release the children. Then he tries to persuade them to release the old folks, and as they are getting off, the bomb detonates and there's a massive incinerating explosion.]]

* In the 2008 movie ''Traitor'', one of the main plots was [[spoiler: destroying several buses with suicide bombers. TheMole in the terrorist organization defeats this plot by [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome putting all the suicide bombers on one bus.]]]]

* Used hilariously in ''BatmanTheMovie''. Batman is trying to dispose of an armed bomb, but there are innocent bystanders ''everywhere'' he tries to throw it away.

--> '''Dr. Marner''': What if (Number 5) decides to melt down a bus full of nuns? How would you write the headline on that?
--> '''Ben Jabituya''': Nun soup?
--> '''Newton Crosby''': ''horrified, covers Ben's mouth'' Ben!

* The opening scene of the movie ''Meltdown'' (also known as ''High Risk'') has the hero trying to disarm a bomb that's been attached to a bus not only filled with schoolkids, but also has his wife on board. [[spoiler:However, he cuts the wrong wire and the bus blows up, killing everyone inside. Yeah, it's a not a very cheerful start.]]

* In the ''SwatKats'' episode "The Giant Bacteria", didn't the bacteria actually eat the subway car full of people? I seem to remember it did...

* Possible TropeNamer -- an episode of ''{{All in the Family}}'' had Archie injured in a minor accident, which was as much his fault as the other person's. Thinking that the only person who would ''really'' be out would be a "giant insurance company," Archie rejects a settlement offer and instead contacts a lawyer, pushing a very skewed version of the incident. The lawyer later comes by the house to tell him the bad news: they're gonna have to drop the suit and take a much-reduced settlement. When asked why, the attorney notes that there were witnesses that dispute Archie's story. Archie still wants to try, but:
---> ''Lawyer:'' Mr. Bunker, let me give you some free legal advice: In a court of law, you can't beat --
---> ''The rest of the cast in unison'': A STATION WAGON FULL OF NUNS.
* Season 1 of ''[[BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]]'' had a bus with five innocents, one a little kid, murdered by a vampire. [[spoiler: Not one, but two, of said innocents later became {{TrickBoss}}es.]]

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* ''[[DarkKnightTrilogy The Dark Knight]]'' has this trope and its inverse as part of a SadisticChoice: A ferry full of civilians and a ferry full of felons. The Joker gives each ferry the ability to destroy the other, and tells them unless one is destroyed both will explode at midnight.

* ''Film/{{Superman}} II'' (1980). Ursa and Non throw a bus full of people at Superman during the fight in Metropolis. He's slammed into a wall while stopping it.

* In one of the funnier {{Filler}} episodes, [[DragonballZ Goku and Piccolo]] save a schoolbus of anthropomorphic pandas from falling off a cliff during their driving tests. Of course, they still fail the test.
* An early episode of Sailor Moon turns this UpToEleven by requiring the Senshi to save half a dozen busloads of victims from a PocketDimension.

* Possible ''TropeNamer'' -- an episode of ''{{All in the Family}}'' had Archie injured in a minor accident, which was as much his fault as the other person's. Thinking that the only person who would ''really'' be out would be a "giant insurance company," Archie rejects a settlement offer and instead contacts a lawyer, pushing a very skewed version of the incident. The lawyer later comes by the house to tell him the bad news: they're gonna have to drop the suit and take a much-reduced settlement. When asked why, the attorney notes that there were witnesses that dispute Archie's story. Archie still wants to try, but:

* Subverted in an episode of {{Smallville}}. Metallo explains the reason that he hates Clark: Clark saved a bus from crashing, but later, one of its passengers murdered Metallo's sister.

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** [[spoiler: [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome They don't.]] [[CrowningMomentofHeartwarming Neither group would kill the other, even to save themselves.]]]]
** [[spoiler: No, but they'd sure let someone else do it. The ferry of citizens voted, and the majority wanted to flip the switch. On the other ferry, the security guard in charge gave the detonator the a prisoner that made it seem like he was going to flip it. But in the end no one on the civilian ship was willing to do it themselves, and the prisoner just threw the switch out the window.[[BrokenAesop They weren't morally strong, they were just too weak of will to get their own hands dirty.]]]]

** [[spoiler: [[brokenAesop No, but they'd sure let someone else do it. The ferry of citizens voted, and the majority wanted to flip the switch. On the other ferry, the security guard in charge gave the detonator the a prisoner that made it seem like he was going to flip it. But in the end no one on the civilian ship was willing to do it themselves, and the prisoner just threw the switch out the window. So really it wasn't morality that saved the passengers, but cowardice and luck (Respectively). ]]]]