History Main / DeusExitMachina

** In "[[Recap/PokemonS1E29ThePunchyPokemon The Punchy Pokémon]", Ash enters a Fughting-type tournament with the Primeape he [[Recap/PokemonS1E25PrimeapeGoesBananas caught four episodes ago]]". It ends with Ash leaving Primeape with another trainer who had entered the tournament so that it can get stronger -- never mind that as a Pokémon trainer, helping Pokémon get stronger is supposed to be Ash's job. The episode [[AssPull offers no explanation]] as to why Ash couldn't adequately train Primeape himself.

* In the ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' anime, meanwhile, Ash routinely gets rid of his old high level Pokémon to make room for the new models. This is actually played with in the early Johto episodes. Ash has Charizard with him for a while and uses him to absolutely obliterate every single trainer he comes across in one episode, most of which are just starting out. Brock and Misty call him out on this, and at the end of the episode Ash leaves Charizard at the Charicific Valley to train. Ash also has a tendency in full battles to lose or not be carrying a mon that would have an advantage over his enemy's ace. This practice actually began with Lapras getting double [=KOed=] in his battle with Drake, whose Dragonite has a weakness to ice.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' toys with this trope quite a bit during the first three volumes, since the titular team are still students, and so are outclassed by a lot of hunters.
** Subverted in the end of Volume 2. After spending the previous episode desperately trying to avert a Grimm attack in Vale, the Grimm break in, only for JNPR, CFVY, and Beacon's staff to completely curbstomp them almost immediately, rendering the whole thing moot. (Maybe doubly subverted, as it eventually becomes clear that [[spoiler: those Grimm were ''supposed'' to be curbstomped after breaking in anyway, and only averting the attack from the start would have made a difference in the plan they were part of, so it's very important nobody who could have helped was reachable]]. But it still made for a good climax and introduction to some characters.)
** The end of Volume 3 did this several times over. Ozpin sending Qrow and Glynda into Vale to protect the public meant that not one of his allies was there to back him up against Cinder. It's debatable if they would actually have been any use against her, but he certainly seemed to think so. And then after this a villainous example happens to [[spoiler: Cinder; despite being theoretically capable of curbstomping the entire cast, she is crippled by Ruby unexpectedly unleashing her Silver Eye power, reducing her to healing by the side of the BigBad for the foreseeable future.]]
** On a similar end, [[spoiler:Pyrrha's death took a very powerful [[SelectiveMagnetism Semblance]] off the table]], which makes it a lot harder for the heroes when they later go up against [[spoiler:characters that rely heavily on metallic objects such as mechas, prostetics, or cybernetics]].
** In Volume 4, Qrow keeps well away from RNJR, providing them support by taking out Grimm, but otherwise letting them get on with it. [[spoiler: He drops in to save them against Tyrian, but gets poisoned and promptly drops unconscious after explaining his actions, leaving them entirely without support for the rest of the volume.]]
** In Volume 8, Pietro, a technical genius who programmed a robot girl, suddenly disappears from the plot after said robot girl starts going through a subplot where she is hacked without any indicaton of [[UncertainDoom his fate]]. This is so that the group can't so easily fix the hacking and have to [[spoiler:resort to using a powerful artifact to give her a second body]]. Meanwhile, Maria was the only person to go toe-to-toe with Neo and come out on top, so she conveniently is condemned to the same fate so that [[spoiler:Neo could help Cinder beat Team RWBY uninterrupted]].
** If there's ever a [[PhysicalGod Maiden]] who is on the side of good, you can bet your bottom dollar that they'll either be killed or be PutOnABus. Just ask [[spoiler:Raven, who dipped after her character arc in Volume 5 and has not reappeared since or Penny who spent most of her time as a Maiden either being hacked or dying]]. It's doubly true for [[spoiler:Raven given one of her powers is the ability to open Haven's Vault where the Relic of Knowledge is at, meaning the events of Volumes 6 and afterwards would have never happened had Raven just stuck around and left the Lamp in its place]].

* In the ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' series, RealityWarper Yukari Yakumo is just plain ''[[TheGodsMustBeLazy lazy]]''. On the few occasions in which she has actually woken up, she hasn't shown anything close to the power she showed as a BonusBoss. In ''Imperishable Night'' and in the fighting games, she's just an [[GoodIsDumb ordinary playable character]]; in ''Subterranean Animism'', she stays home and lets Reimu do all the actual work (because surface youkai aren't allowed underground).

** If there's ever a [[PhysicalGod Maiden]] who is on the side of good, you can bet your bottom dollar that they'll either be killed or be PutOnABus. Just ask [[spoiler:Raven, who dipped after her character arc in Volume 5 and has not reappeared since or Penny who spent most of her time as a Maiden either being hacked or dying]]. It's doubly true for [[spoiler:Raven given one of her powers is the ability to open Haven's Vault, so they would have otherwise solved the plot by leaving the Lamp in the Vault]].

** If there's ever a [[PhysicalGod Maiden]] who is on the side of good, you can bet your bottom dollar that they'll either be killed or be PutOnABus. Just ask [[spoiler:Raven, who dipped after her character arc in Volume 5 and has not reappeared since or Penny who spent most of her time as a Maiden either being hacked or dying]].

** Previously in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS'', Nanoha, Fate and Hayate, the three most powerful protagonists, attend a press conference where they are not allowed to carry their Intelligent Devices. Unfortunately, Scaglietti's Numbers and other allies attack during the conference, and by the time Nanoha, Fate and Hayate receive their devices, they're too late to make much of a difference.

* This constantly happens to {{Manga/Doraemon}}, especially in the DarkerAndEdgier movies where the heroes often go on adventures and face off against [[VileVillainSaccharineShow serious villains]]. Doraemon is a DoAnythingRobot with thousands of futuristic gadgets in his [[BagOfHolding Pocket of Holding]] that cover almost every conceivable power including RealityWarping, so the story usually has him [[TheWorfEffect knocked out]], [[RummageFail too panicked to find a useful gadget]], [[HoldingBackThePhlebotinum separated from his pocket]], or [[PhlebotinumBreakdown have the appropriate gadgets break down]] to stop him from resolving the main conflict in five minutes.

** During the end of the Sword and Shield arc in the ''Journeys'' series, Goh [[spoiler:catches [[OlympusMons Eternatus]] in order to stop the Darkest Day. As it is such a strong Pokémon, he then seals away the Poké Ball to ensure not only that this trope is in effect for him, but for anyone else too]].

* During the Assassination Island arc of ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'', [[spoiler:the students force Koro-sensei into his ultimate defense mode, in which he is rendered immobile for 24 hours. When Takaoka and his hitmen attack the class, the remaining 15 students and the other two teachers have to handle the situation by themselves]].

--->'''Okoye:''' Why was she up there all this time?!

** The following season has the previous chosen give up the power to digivolve beyond the Champion level, so that they don't CurbStompBattle all enemies and outshine the new children

** Another example happens to a specific character. [[spoiler:Phantom Girl, a member of the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes with the ability to phase into the Phantom Zone, is placed in a ConvenientComa early in season 4. As the plot revolves around an attempted assassination on [[Characters/SupermanConnerKent Conner Kent]] that strands him in the Phantom Zone but appears successful outside it, Phantom Girl, the only character who could easily pluck him out, is knocked into a coma and presumed dead as well, stranded in the Phantom Zone with him due to the stresses trying to phase him through. She eventually wakes up, but by then Superboy had already been found and molded into loyalty to General Zod, preventing her from freeing him.]]

** Goku, despite being the hero, often plays this role in later story arcs of ''Manga/DragonBall'' and all through ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. Since he'll almost inevitably win the battle once he joins in and end the saga early, circumstances always conspire to keep Goku on the sidelines just long enough for all the other heroes to get beaten up first. When Vegeta and Nappa arrive on Earth, he's still in the afterlife and is only revived once all the others have been thoroughly defeated. When everyone goes to Namek, his spaceship's the last to arrive, and soon after landing, he's critically injured and spends several more episodes floating in a regenerative tank. When Doctor Gero begins his rampage, Goku's too busy fighting off a heart illness to help. And so on… It really says something when the person who is able to teleport still somehow manages to arrive late. In the timeline Future Trunks came from, Goku got permanently written out by contracting a heart virus that killed him. The Dragon Balls cannot reverse a natural death or one caused by disease. His absence led to the BadFuture.\\
\\
The Garlic Jr Saga, the only filler saga in the entire series, takes place while Goku is away from Earth. Vegeta also leaves to look for Goku, leaving Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin, Mr. Popo, and Kami to deal with Garlic's return. If Goku was around, he would have dealt with Garlic without any issue or been corrupted by the Black Water Mist and be close to unstoppable since ''no'' character at that point in the series could stand against a Super Saiyan. Vegeta would have the same issue to a lesser extent since his power is second only to Goku's. In fact, ''Dragon Ball Z'' distinguishes itself for having multiple tiers of the trope -- a really long fight will probably start with [[OvershadowedByAwesome Yamcha or Krillin]], then bring Tenshinhan/Piccolo/Trunks/Vegeta, and finally let Goku or Gohan show up to finish things...and at least one fight (versus Cell) takes this even further, for a grand total of eight fighters in sequence facing off against him in a row, without any other villains participating. Naturally there were very good, impressively coincidental reasons they couldn't all have attacked at once.
** The entirety of the Buu saga is essentially Goku staying on the side-lines pushing for somebody else to take care of the threat this time. When they all fail, Goku steps up and takes care of it. Amusingly, unlike every other arc, Goku's strength at the start of the Buu arc is exactly the same as the end of arc, since at no point does he do any training, meaning it's entirely possibly he could've just solved the arc from the very start.
** ''Vegeta'' gets the "honor" of doing this in ''Anime/BrolySecondComing''. There's zero reason as to why he didn't rush in the instant he detected Broly's ki (and he ''should'' have detected it), and at this point in the timeline, Vegeta had [[SuperMode Super Saiyan 2]], which could have trounced the pile of muscles easily (or at least be actually helpful, as long he didn't [[ForgotAboutHisPowers forget about his powers]] like Gohan who didn't go beyond regular Super Saiyan).
** In ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' both Goku and Vegeta were training off-world during Frieza's invasion. By the time they found out what was going on, the other Earth's fighters and Jaco finished stomping Frieza's army into the ground and were facing against the big guy himself. If they were there from the start, Goku by himself would have torn apart Frieza's army, leaving nothing for anyone else to do. In the dub, Krillin lampshades this by saying he wished for once Goku was there at the start of the battle. Buu's WrittenInAbsence is also a similar case. While he would have been no match for Frieza's golden form, he could have just turned the entire army into candy or conventionally killed them all just as easily. Depending on how arrogant Frieza is, Buu's candy ray could have conceivably hit him, too, ending the entire threat [[note]] Frieza remarks that his father specifically warned him to ''never'' fight Majin Buu [[/note]]. Later arcs reveal that he could've probably defeated Frieza's non-Golden forms as well with just his fists[[note]]In the anime version, we see Mr. Buu being clearly stronger than Basil-even after the latter powers himself up using special food -- who later proves himself to be capable of giving base Goku's level a challenge when he and his brothers team up; in the anime base Goku was somewhat stronger than fourth-form Freeza at the time of the Resurrection ''F'' arc and much stronger by the time he fought Basil. [[AdaptationalWimp In the manga version]], Frieza's non-Golden forms (and Goku's non-god forms) just outright are not anything special compared to the previous power scale. He's about even with Super Saiyan Caulifila who is equal to Super Saiyan 1 Goku, who in turn, while much stronger than he was in the Buu arc, is not overwhelmingly different from that point.[[/note]] which again could have ended the entire threat right there before Frieza got a chance to go through his lengthy transformation. This is lampshaded in Creator/AkiraToriyama's original script, where Krillin notes Goku and Vegeta's absence while confronting Frieza but says they'll all be fine as long as Buu's there... [[OhCrap only for him to suddenly notice that Buu is absent too]].
** This trope is the entire reason why Vegito de-fused once he entered Buu's guts. He outclassed him so much that the fight wouldn't have had ''any'' tension whatsoever if Vegito finished it. Also, Super and GT would've never happened. This is also the same reason why Gohan, Goten, and Trunks were killed by Buu when he destroyed the Earth while they were still unconscious. This is lampshaded as Goku suggests bringing them to help to destroy Buu after they are revived, but Vegeta refuses [[HonorBeforeReason because he wants the people of Earth to protect themselves for once.]]
** The end of the Cell games saga removes both Goku and Future Trunks before the final battle with Super Perfect Cell (Goku sacrifices himself to stop Cell from destroying the Earth, and Trunks is killed by a sucker punch when Cell is revealed to have survived). They are two of the four characters strong enough to harm Cell at this point, the other two being Gohan and Vegeta. Since, unlike Vegeta, neither of them would have hesitated to double-team Cell with Gohan if the situation became desperate enough, they had to go.

On rare occasions, it may be a villain far higher up the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil who drops by for a FinalBossPreview to foreshadow the difficulty of future encounters before giving the weaker villain back his [[TheWorfEffect Worf Effect]]. Such a villain may be TooPowerfulToLive. Don't [[OrcusOnHisThrone expect to see him again]] outside [[VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon his lair]]. If it's a StealthHiBye then you have a simple case of VillainTeleportation by a MobileMenace. Contrast VillainExitStageLeft, ButNowIMustGo.

* [[spoiler:Claire Stanfield]] of ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' isn't quite written out of the light novels, so much as WordOfGod has stated he'll never get his own story arc or book since he'd just [[AxCrazy solo the entire cast]] in under thirty pages.

* In ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'', According to WordOfGod, this is the reason [[TheAce Genzo "SGGK" Wakabayashi]] is PutOnABus: Because he's one of the strongest goal keepers in the world and there is only a couple of players who can score a goal on him. So he was removed from half of the manga and went in Germany to train, leaving [[ButtMonkey Yuzo]] [[ShrinkingViolet Morizaki]] in his place.

** Natsu himself pretty much had this happen to him in the Alverez arc, [[spoiler: because of how powerful he came when after spending a year solely training. While not only Fairy Tail, but the other guilds with them were fighting the Spriggan 12, Natsu and Happy went out on their own to try to take out [[BigBad Zeref]] early, which ultimately failed because it would have been a MutualKill. He then falls into a coma due to the demon seed being inside him, until the only ones left are [[BigBad Zeref]] and [[PersonOfMassDestruction Acnologia]].]]

* In Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure, [[spoiler:Giorno]] ended Part 5 with the [[StoryBreakerPower single most powerful Stand ability]]. Once Part 5 was over, he was immediately PutOnABus and never seen again [[spoiler:unlike the other [=JoJos=], who at least got to make appearances in other parts if they managed to get out of their own stories alive]].

* Another hero absent from ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' was ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk. The writers knew well that whichever team had a powerhouse like him in their ranks would [[GameBreaker pretty much decide the war]], and thus they choose to get rid of him for the time being. After taking some advice from Maria Hill, the Illuminati decided that The Hulk was too dangerous to be controlled and that he needed to be dealt with accordingly. They put him as an unconscious Bruce inside a spaceship that [[HopeSpot was meant to send him to a peaceful planet where he would be happy]], [[DiabolusExMachina but instead sent him to Sakaar]], a violent planet ruled by a tyrant with an iron fist and a penchant for gladiatorial games. The fans were quick to note that once The Hulk would return, the Illuminati [[WhatTheHellHero would be very sorry for what they did]]. And [[ComicBook/WorldWarHulk they WERE...]][[StatusQuoIsGod for a while, at least]].
* ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' itself counts as this for virtually every Marvel superhero, when we learn that whilst the many heroes of Earth were bickering over legislation, [[ComicBook/{{Annihilation}} the rest of the Galaxy]] [[ComicBook/WarOfKings was falling into]] [[ComicBook/TheThanosImperative several apocalyptic wars]]. The cosmic heroes get pretty annoyed at the real reason the normally-reliable Earth heroes didn't help out.

* ''ComicBook/TheDefenders'': During the early issues, the writers had trouble coming up with halfway decent reasons why ComicBook/DoctorStrange couldn't just wave his hand and eliminate the problem in one page. Strange also took himself out of the story for forty days during ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', claiming it wasn't a matter for the office of Sorcerer Supreme. He later regretted his inaction.

** Franklin Richards' powers make him one of the most powerful beings in existence... or would, if there wasn't always something holding him back. The various powersets he's had, and will have according to various future stories, are just what little of his omnipotence slips through the {{Power Limiter}}s. Finally, they had him burn out his powers restoring ComicBook/{{Galactus}} (who actually keeps something at bay that's worse than him) and become a normal human. For a while, TimeTravel had brought Franklin to adulthood. Naturally, this was conveniently reversed ''right before'' the ComicBook/{{Onslaught}} CrisisCrossover started, reverting him to childhood so that he could be a power source to Onslaught instead of a threat.
* ComicBook/SpiderMan has noted that 99 times out of 100, when he goes to ask another hero for help, they will ''never'' be there. ComicBook/DoctorStrange's servant, Wong, replied that this was true, but so far, Spidey was good enough to not really need that help.

* ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'' has [[Myth/NorseMythology Odin]], [[TopGod King of Asgard]], and stated at times to be as powerful as all of the thousands or more of other gods in Asgard -- including Thor -- combined. At his lowest he is casually manhandling Thor and at his peak he is remaking galaxies. So of course whenever Asgard is threatened Odin is conveniently in the Odinsleep replenishing his powers, weakened, or missing. The few times he does fight are when it is against a threat that can match him in power...making the rest of Asgard virtually useless. A good example of this is in ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'', where Odin gathers gods from other faiths and they all agree that ComicBook/{{Thanos}} ''must'' be stopped. But, just as they march out to save the day, a massive galaxy-wide quake shatters the Rainbow Bridge, trapping Odin and the other gods on Asgard.

* This is practically the ''raison d'etre'' for Creator/MarvelComics superhero ComicBook/TheSentry. He's a throwback to heroes (well, okay, mostly just Superman) from the Silver Age, with all that entails; he has "the power of a million exploding suns" and is recognized as pretty much hands-down the strongest super in the world. And he could handle pretty much any threat that emerged with one hand tied behind his back... if it weren't for the agoraphobia and super-evil split personality that incapacitates him whenever he'd be most useful.

* ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'': ComicBook/RachelSummers is absent because, as the only Phoenix Force host still alive with actual experience, her presence could have easily prevented the event from getting as bad as it did.

** ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed'': Neron seeks to obtain the purest of souls and immediately everyone assumes Superman. However, he's not there and many people think Superman was captured by Neron already. This wasn't the case: he was captured by off-world aliens and dragged through ''The Trial of Superman'' storyline, taking him, ComicBook/{{Superboy}}, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/{{Steel}} with him.

** Professor Xavier tends to suffer this fate as, at his full potential, he should be able to just sense and mindwipe any sentient problem that's heading the X-Men's way. Hence, most major threats in the X-Men comic books will begin with Xavier either disappearing, losing his powers, falling into a coma, turning evil, or otherwise being rendered useless for the rest of the story. In the movie trilogy, Xavier spends at least half of each film out of commission, so the other characters will have to fight the battle. You might as well call having this power the [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower Charles Xavier Superpower]].
** The X-Men answer to Comicbook/TheSentry is one [[ComicBook/XMan Nate Grey]]. The alternate version of Cable, without the techno-organic infection it takes the constant occupation of the bulk of Cable's powers to repel, is a very powerful [[MindOverMatter telekinetic]] and [[PsychicPowers telepath]]. He underwent PowerCreepPowerSeep, and returned after an absence even stronger, so for a while was ''as strong as Jean in full Phoenix mode, all the time, without any of the drawbacks.'' For a while he had burned out his powers opening a dimensional portal and was down to basic telekinesis, only to later come back partially insane with his powers at RealityWarper levels. He handily bests the entire X-Men roster, only getting defeated in the end by being persuaded to remain in a [[ComicBook/AgeOfXMan alternate reality]] he had created to reflect his ideal world.
** Happened to the original ComicBook/{{Cable}}, too. He got rid of the technovirus, ''levitated an entire island while battling the ComicBook/SilverSurfer at the same time,'' burned himself out doing so, and was left with limited powers. Now the technovirus is NotQuiteDead and even ''those'' powers are reduced by the need to once again play SealedEvilInADuel.
* ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} is one of the most powerful sorceresses in the DC universe who can alter reality with her voice. She also, however, has one of the most obvious and exploitable weaknesses in comics. She is useless in combat if she cannot chant her spells aloud. When her enemies place [[https://i.imgur.com/vICBe1v.jpeg a gag over her mouth]], as they always do, Zatanna is reduced to the damsel in distress.

** [[spoiler:[[GodOfGood Harmony]]]] would likely be able to end all the conflicts easily, but she cannot leave her realm for long periods of time, though she can communicate with others and influence the outside world in minor ways. Later, [[spoiler:[[GodOfEvil Bagan]] damages the Elements of Harmony, preventing her from influencing or communicating with the outside world at all until the Elements repair themselves.]]

* WordOfGod is that this is why [[spoiler:Discord abandons the Equestrian dimension]] at the end of ''[[Fanfic/TheDearSweetieBelleContinuity What's Done in the Dark...]]''.

* In ''[[ComicBook/DCTheNewFrontier Justice League: The New Frontier]]'', Franchise/{{Superman}} is struck down by the big alien monster and everyone thinks he's dead -- so that the rest of the Justice Leaguers and the U.S. government have to put aside their differences to beat the thing without him. ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} shows up to bring Big Blue back home once the threat is gone.
* Master Oogway in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', who had previously defeated Tai Lung, [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascends to a Higher Plane of Existence]] to keep him from doing so again. The in-universe explanation is that he needed Shifu to take over and help Po become the Dragon Warrior, which he wouldn't have done if he kept relying on Oogway. It also strongly implies that it is simply Oogway's time to die, having lived for over a thousand years.

** ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' features neither Thor nor Hulk, since [[spoiler: Thor left at the end of ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' to investigate matters regarding the Infinity Stones and the Hulk is later established by ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' to have been marooned on Sakaar.]] In-story it is odd that the two most-powerful, least-accountable heroes get only one brief mention apiece in a story which revolves around a political debate regarding overpowered, unaccountable heroes. Out-of-story, it is of course intentional given that either would seriously upset the balance of power if present. Besides, it is unlikely that Thor would want to be involved in Earthly politics and the Hulk is already on bad terms with the US government.

*** This time, Nick Fury. [[spoiler: Given how paranoid he has been established to be, he would've quickly found out Mysterio to be a fraud, found his real identity, and stymied, maybe even outright stopped his plans long before Peter was involved. As such, the real Fury is out in space working with the Skrulls, while the Fury on Earth who's with Peter and Mysterio is [[Film/CaptainMarvel2019 Talos]], called upon take Fury's place while he's gone. A combination of Mysterio's false backstory possibly striking a chord with Talos' own backstory and Talos himself only being minimally good at being Nick Fury unintentionally gives Mysterio the leeway to cause so much damage in both the short and long runs]].

* ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' franchise usually need to keep Neo away from the action after becoming the godlike One to maintain enough tension. In ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'', a backdoor traps Neo hundreds of miles away while Trinity and Morpheus fight the {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le Twins, then Agents for the duration of the long highway scene (until Neo can arrive to extract them.) In ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'', Neo ends up trapped in a train station for most of the beginning.

* ''Series/TwentyFour'': Season 7 has Jack sidelined for most of its second half due to being infected by the BigBad's biological weapon; since a seasoned veteran agent like himself can't go out on the field this ends up giving the newer agents a bigger challenge. This is eventually inverted by the final episodes of the season where Jack does get caught up in the action because the antagonists need him because of his infected blood making him a living {{Macguffin}}, and the infection is [[WorfHadTheFlu weakening his condition]] so he can't hold his own against them like he normally could, so he ''needs'' said newer agents to eventually come in and bail him out.

* Used as a plot device on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''; whenever Giles could easily defeat a lesser big bad, he was promptly knocked unconscious to give Buffy a chance to save the day. This was lampshaded repeatedly, and Giles often refers to his "tendency to get knocked on the head". Creator/AnthonyStewartHead's fan club actually sent him a number of helmets to commemorate the TapOnTheHead Giles perpetually received; he reportedly used one as a lampshade in his trailer.
** Which, arguably, should be considered the ultimate form of LampshadeHanging.

*** The Time Lords return eventually, but they are in another universe and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2013CSTheTimeOfTheDoctor The Time of the Doctor]]" shows them returning would trigger a new Time War. Downplayed when they are able to give the Doctor a new regeneration cycle, which enables him to regenerate and destroy the Daleks.

** The most JustForFun/{{egregious}} of these was probably in the third volume when Hiro was given the mind of a 10-year-old to prevent him interfering, before Arthur Patrelli [[spoiler: completely stripped him of his power]]. WordOfGod says that they werere trying to write out time-traveling powers from the storyline so they wouldn't have to keep doing this to characters.

* There is at least one episode of ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' in which this happens: [[RewritingReality Gabrielle gets a scroll which causes anything written upon it to come true]]; what do you think the first thing written upon it is? "Xena had gone fishing". HilarityEnsues, including the depowering of ''two'' Olympian gods (Ares and Aphrodite). When the characters realise that they ''need'' Xena later, and wrote that she had returned, she does so pulling a giant cartload piled high with fish, after spending several days fishing with no idea why.

* In ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'', Franchise/{{Superman}} is in outer space fighting [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman Doomsday]], so he isn't taken to the alternate universe with the others. Although subverted, as the Franchise/{{Batman}} of the Injustice-verse, who brought everyone else over, is understandably skeptical of bringing another Superman over, seeing how his universe's Superman is the BigBad. [[spoiler:The real Supes is only brought over because of the demands of his universe's heroes, Franchise/TheFlash of the real world powering a portal that ComicBook/{{Cyborg}} already used, and a healthy dose of crossing the GodzillaThreshold.]]

** In the Classic games, every playable character at the time had a SuperMode of their own. After VideoGame/SonicAdventure, Tails and Knuckles inexplicably lost theirs and Sonic, being TheHero naturally, is now the one of the few capable of going Super. Later games would introduce other characters with the ability to go Super, but Tails and Knuckles never get theirs back. VideoGame/SonicHeroes does have them fight alongside Sonic in the final boss, but WordOfGod claims they weren't "true" super modes and Sonic simply lent them the power. WordOfGod has also invoked this trope by claiming "only male Hedgehogs can go Super" locking pretty much everyone but three characters from ever using them.
** VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 introduced Shadow as an EvilCounterpart for Sonic, and he even gets the honor of being the first character to go Super along with Sonic in the 3D era. [[HeroicSacrifice He dies shortly after]], [[BackFromTheDead but not really.]] Afterwards, Shadow is usually absent when a major threat shows up, either because he's dealing with something else or his AloofAlly nature means he's not as inclined to help.

* ''VideoGame/XMenNextDimension'': TheJuggernaut lunges at Bastion, who responds by simply using a power ray to teleport him offscreen; in one ending, we see that [[spoiler:he was sent to Mars, where his power basically keeps him alive without needing food, water or breathable air, so he could potentially stay there forever, alone]].

* In Season 15 of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', all of the team's elite badasses are taken out of commission by the end of Episode 18; Carolina is stuck in a freezer for several days, rendering her incapable of fighting (downplayed, since she's not incapable of strategizing), Wash is [[spoiler:shot in the throat]], and [[spoiler:Locus]] is forced to leave the group to get Wash medical attention, leaving the [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Blood Gulch Crew]] to save the day.

* Howard Taylor of ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' has mentioned this as a problem for writing when [[spoiler:Petey]] has [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascended to a higher state of being]] but stuck around with virtually omnipotent powers. However, he's introduced a [[FridgeHorror horrifying]] limitation that cripples [[spoiler:Petey]]: while he could instantly teraport anything or anyone in the galaxy anywhere he wants at will, [[spoiler:he needs every watt of energy to save trillions of sentient life-forms in the Andromeda galaxy, and each time he meddles with the main characters represents a sacrifice of lives he could have saved]]. Lampshaded in the arc that introduced the limitation:

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Cosmo and Wanda have phenomenal reality-bending magic, so conflicts made by Timmy's wishes are kept alive by them losing access to said magic. Whether it's losing their wands, being captured in a [[AchillesHeel butterfly net]], other magical creatures getting the better of them, Da Rules preventing Timmy from making a counter-wish, or Timmy simply not thinking about it, as soon as the problem is gone, the conflict is undone by a wave of their wands.
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'' loved this trope so they could focus on specific characters. Fights would have been boring with the ComicBook/MartianManhunter (the King of ComboPlatterPowers) and {{Franchise/Superman}} kicking the ass of everything that came to Earth, not that they didn't get their share.

** In the episode "Chaos at the Earth's Core", the miniature red sun of Skartaris weakens ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s powers almost to nothing.

* The main plots in the show ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009'' relied almost entirely on covert operations and intelligence gathering, and having the wool pulled over the X-Men's eyes more than once. So Jean Grey and Professor X were put into comas (to remove their reducing these plot elements to mere annoyances for the team) and replaced by Comicbook/EmmaFrost (who is weaker than Jean and Charles in powerset and skill, not as trustworthy so the others would be hesitant to come to her about their problems [[spoiler:and who was responsible for putting Jean and the professor in their comas to aid her plot with the Inner Circle]].

** Periodically, the Justice League are left indisposed so there's a reason the titular team have to be taking on the biggest issues. In the first season finale [[spoiler:the Justice League ''were'' the threat because they were being mind-controlled.]] Partway into the second season [[spoiler:most of the league's strongest members are forced off-world to take responsibility for action they were made to do during said period]], and in the third season, [[spoiler:most are offworld again, this time to rescue metahuman children trafficked into space, while the League also undergoes a schism due to Lex Luthor's manipulations causing several members, most prominently Batman and Green Arrow, to leave the League]].

** Another example happens to a specific character. [[spoiler:Phantom Girl, a member of the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes with the ability to phase into the Phantom Zone, is placed in a ConvenientComa early in season 4. As the plot revolves around an attempted assassination on [[ComicBook/Superboy1994 Conner Kent]] that strands him in the Phantom Zone but appears successful outside it, Phantom Girl, the only character who could easily pluck him out, is knocked into a coma and presumed dead as well, stranded in the Phantom Zone with him due to the stresses trying to phase him through. She eventually wakes up, but by then Superboy had already been found and molded into loyalty to General Zod, preventing her from freeing him.]]

* ComicBook/TheSpectre, being the actual embodiment of God's wrath, is generally an unstoppable force that could solve nearly any crisis with a thought. Thus, whenever a CrisisCrossover pops up, The Spectre tends to be [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis insane]], [[ComicBook/FinalCrisis powerless]], [[ComicBook/BlackestNight possessed]] [[ComicBook/DarkCrisisOnInfiniteEarths by the current threat]], or just plain not around.

* In ''Fanfic/PerfectionIsOverrated'', [[spoiler:Midori]] gets pre-emptively taken out of action by a StupidityInducingAttack, as [[spoiler:Bachiko and Meiko, learning that they've been exposed]], decide to change tactics and eliminate the Himes.

* WordOfGod is that this is why [[spoiler:Discord abandons the Equestrian dimension]] at the end of ''[[Fanfic/TheDearSweetieBelleContinuity What's Done in the Dark...]]''.
* ''Fanfic/TheNuptialverse'' uses Twilight's trip to the human world from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1'' as an excuse to get her out of the way of the action in ''Direction'', with the bulk of the story being about the rest of the Mane Six having to deal with the issues that arise while she's gone.
* A political variant in ''Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse''. While Princess Luna theoretically holds near-total sovereignty over the Court of the Night, in practice she is too terrified of falling into the same madness that took her sister to actually reign in the Court's corruption until it gets so bad she just has to start over from scratch.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Marionettes}}'', Fluttershy mentions she tried asking [[RealityWarper Discord]] for help with the current situation, but found he had just traveled to another dimension to go fishing with the Smooze. [[spoiler:He eventually shows up to help Starlight Glimmer track down and deal with Mindwipe.]]
* Yukari Yakumo in ''Fanfic/FantasyOfUtterRidiculousness''. Megas's unexpected teleportation into Gensokyo completely blindsides her, and even after she wakes up she rationalizes the situation to herself before falling asleep again. [[note]]To be fair, she didn't know at first that it was a giant robot car that struck her.[[/note]]
* ''Fanfic/TheRiseOfDarthVulcan'': It turns out the power of Darth Vulcan's Alicorn Amulet is perfectly inimical to [[RealityWarper Discord]]'s magic, so Discord cannot interfere with Vulcan in any way without possibly annihilating himself and everything around him. He decides to hide in a PocketDimension for the time being.

* ''Fanfic/EigaSentaiScanranger'', like most Sentai examples, keeps its SixthRanger separate from the rest of the team but didn't seem to think of coming up with an explanation for where he'd been until the other rangers got in trouble. He's best friends with the rest of the team and takes his orders for the same person, but for some reason he sometimes never shows up for a fight or only in the middle of one when the other Scanrangers need somebody to save them.
* ''Fanfic/TruthAndConsequences'': Since the story is centered around Ladybug making a FaceHeelTurn, Master Fu, being the only one who knows Ladybug's identity (the Kwami's know, but are under a {{Geas}} to keep it to themselves) and thus capable of defusing the situation, suffers a heart failure and falls into a [[ConvenientComa coma]] early on. By the time he wakes up [[spoiler: Marinette's identity has already been discovered by the heroes, and events have long, ''long'' escalated past the point where that would fix anything anyway]].

* In ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'', this gets brought up during the Androids arc when Goku gets brought up.
-->'''Vegeta:''' Can we please stop talking about Kakarot for just a minute? I mean for God's sake, he's never even around!\\
'''Piccolo:''' Sad thing is, [[JerkassHasAPoint he's not exactly wrong]].

** As Miss Martian is on Mars [[spoiler:grieving for Superboy]], she is unable to help Tigress with the defector situation involving Onyx Adams and Cassandra Savage. Looker, a less experienced telepath, is brought in to help and is unable to find anything convincing due to League of Shadows assassins being trained to counter telepaths, but had Miss Martian, a far superior telepath who would overpower these tactics, been present, [[spoiler:Cassandra's FakeDefector act]] would be easily uncovered.
** Once Nightwing calls most of the Team together [[spoiler:to free Superboy from the Phantom Zone]], Miss Martian is once again left out of their narrative (mainly because of the emotional turmoil she would likely feel [[spoiler:seeing him again]]). She is stuck with the Justice League doing their own lead for the investigation, [[spoiler:and is stunned by the Kaiser-Thrall along with them right as Superboy leaves the Phantom Zone]]. Had she come along with Nightwing, [[spoiler:Superboy would have been more easily turned against General Zod]]. She is only ''finally'' able to [[spoiler:fix Superboy's mind]] at the last possible moment, [[spoiler:right as General Zod is nearly about to conquer Earth]].

** In the series finale, Iroh refuses to fight Fire Lord Ozai because -- even assuming he won -- it would not bring true peace, being ultimately nothing more than "a brother killing a brother for power." This leaves it up to our plucky hero Aang to face the Fire Lord himself.

* Another hero absent from ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' was ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk. The writers knew well that whichever team had a powerhouse like him in their ranks would [[GameBreaker pretty much decide the war]], and thus they choose to get rid of him for the time being. After taking some advice from ComicBook/MariaHill, the Illuminati decided that The Hulk was too dangerous to be controlled and that he needed to be dealt with accordingly. They put him as an unconscious Bruce inside a spaceship that [[HopeSpot was meant to send him to a peaceful planet where he would be happy]], [[DiabolusExMachina but instead sent him to Sakaar]], a violent planet ruled by a tyrant with an iron fist and a penchant for gladiatorial games. The fans were quick to note that once The Hulk would return, the Illuminati [[WhatTheHellHero would be very sorry for what they did]]. And [[ComicBook/WorldWarHulk they WERE...]][[StatusQuoIsGod for a while, at least]].

** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainofMemories'': During Riku's internal conflict with Ansem, Mickey ''does'' provide assistance but as he is in the Realm of Darkness for most of the time, Riku still struggles even with Mickey's support to keep himsel from succumbing. When Mickey finally returns, he easily stops Ansem... Only for it to be revealed that Riku has to face Ansem by himself. It's acknowledged he would have defeated Ansem, but Riku decides he has to fight by himself and reserves Mickey for the worst case scenario where he is possessed by Ansem. He ultimately saves Riku from being consumed by the darkness but his role in the game is quite supportive and while he is an assist character, his abilities are clearly quite underwhelmed in order to ensure he doesn't single-handedly finish the fights quickly.

** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'': Mickey is not even aware of Xehanort's plans, and when he arrives, he is repeatedly caught off-guard by the bad guys so he can't effectively fight. Considering how he previously was able to freeze ''all'' of the Xehanorts with a single time spell, it's safe to assume he would have been able to pull off some overpowered skill to safe the day had he been given the oppoortunity.

** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' killed off its eponymous character at the end so that his friends could collect the [[GreenRocks Chaos Emeralds]] to wish him [[BackFromTheDead back to life]].

** Likewise with its roster of multiple Superman-style Kryptonian powerhouses, especially during the Silver Age. There were very few problems that couldn't believably be solved by Superboy, Supergirl and Mon-El punching it in the face, and they were usually written off on some mission of vague but vital importance to keep things manageable.* In the Belgian comic book series ''ComicBook/SuskeEnWiske'' (Spike & Suzy) , this frequently happens to Jerom because his superhuman strength would otherwise make the situations the characters encounter less of a challenge.

* Amusingly, ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' itself counts as this for virtually every Marvel superhero, when we learn that whilst the many heroes of Earth were bickering over legislation, [[ComicBook/{{Annihilation}} the rest of the Galaxy]] [[ComicBook/WarOfKings was falling into]] [[ComicBook/TheThanosImperative several apocalyptic wars]]. The cosmic heroes get pretty annoyed at the real reason the normally-reliable Earth heroes didn't help out.

** There was a Superman story published during World War II in which Superman told thousands of cheering [=GIs=]: "[[TheRealHeroes You fellows don't need my help]]!" This was of course to explain why Superman didn't end the war in five seconds. And of course, during the Golden Age, Superman's powers were much weaker than they were later on: it's possible that he wasn't even able to fly across the Atlantic.
** In the early days of the comic, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster actually did do a three-page story called [[WhatIf "What If]] Superman Ended the War?" He flies to Germany, grabs Hitler, then flies to Russia, grabs Stalin, ("Joe, meet Adolph!"), and then, with one tyrant in each hand, flies them both to a war crimes tribunal. The end!
* During the early issues of ''ComicBook/TheDefenders'' (Marvel Comics, we're going off the original series here), the writers had trouble coming up with halfway decent reasons why ComicBook/DoctorStrange couldn't just wave his hand and eliminate the problem in one page. Strange also took himself out of the story for forty days during ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', claiming it wasn't a matter for the office of Sorcerer Supreme. He later regretted his inaction.
* [[GooGooGodlike Franklin Richards]], the son of [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed and Sue]]. His powers make him one of the most powerful beings in existence... or would, if there wasn't always something holding him back. The various powersets he's had, and will have according to various future stories, are just what little of his omnipotence slips through the {{Power Limiter}}s. Finally, they had him burn out his powers restoring ComicBook/{{Galactus}} (who actually keeps something at bay that's worse than him) and become a normal human. The various beyond-godhood cosmic figures who took no notice of Dark Phoenix or ComicBook/ScarletWitch but are ''terrified'' of this 10-year-old can rest assured that [[Creator/MarvelComics an even higher power]] won't [[StoryBreakerPower ever let him keep his full power longer than one storyline's climax per decade]].
** For a while, TimeTravel had brought Franklin to adulthood. Naturally, this was conveniently reversed ''right before'' the ComicBook/{{Onslaught}} CrisisCrossover started, reverting him to childhood so that he could be a power source to Onslaught instead of a threat.
* In DC's ComicBook/FinalCrisis, the [[LegionOfDoom Secret Society]] sends Clayface to blow up the Daily Planet, badly injuring Lois. This, and a TimeTravel subplot to stop [[EvilCounterpart Superboy-Prime]] kept Franchise/{{Superman}} from interfering with most of the crisis [[spoiler:until it's too late to save Franchise/{{Batman}}'s life]]. The [[BrownNote Anti-Life Equation]] keeps much of the other major heroes occupied (and BrainwashedAndCrazy) and leaves the saving of the world up to a few, mostly less-powerful heroes, including Franchise/TheFlash. [[spoiler:Well, [[BackFromTheDead Flashes...]]]]
* The ''[[Characters/GLBlueLanternCorps Blue Lanterns]]'' triple the power of a ''[[Franchise/GreenLantern Green Lantern]]'' whenever they are nearby, so thanks to the writers, they are never available.

* In the 1960s, when Adventure Comics featured the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes, the Legion had several one-off encounters with some guest character (often a stranger applying for Legion membership) who harbored a secret, and who often turned out to be (in disguise) someone whom the Legion already knew. In each of these stories, Saturn Girl was conveniently called away on some separate emergency and wasn't able to participate in the main adventure. Saturn Girl is a telepath: if she had been available to read the stranger's mind, the story would've ended on the first page.
** Saturn Girl once asked the Legion to admit the masked Sensor Girl solely on her recommendation. Sensor Girl had shared her identity [[spoiler:Princess Projectra]] with Saturn Girl, who agreed to keep her secret.
** Likewise with its roster of multiple Superman-style Kryptonian powerhouses, especially during the Silver Age. There were very few problems that couldn't believably be solved by Superboy and Mon-El punching it in the face, and they were usually written off on some mission of vague but vital importance to keep things manageable.
* Done multiple times in Creator/MarvelComics. The ComicBook/FantasticFour are usually in space or another dimension while ComicBook/TheAvengers are on a mission. They really should coordinate this. Franchise/SpiderMan has noted that 99 times out of 100, when he goes to ask another hero for help, they will ''never'' be there. ComicBook/DoctorStrange's servant, Wong, replied that this was true, but so far, Spidey was good enough to not really need that help.
** One ''FF'' issue has Johnny Storm explaining why he wasn't in the 1978 Saturday morning cartoon reboot of the team. He was out of the country when the contracts were being signed.
* ComicBook/TheMightyThor from Creator/MarvelComics has [[Myth/NorseMythology Odin]], [[TopGod King of Asgard]], and stated at times to be as powerful as all of the thousands or more of other gods in Asgard -- including Thor -- combined. At his lowest he is casually manhandling Thor and at his peak he is remaking galaxies. So of course whenever Asgard is threatened Odin is conveniently in the Odinsleep replenishing his powers, weakened, or missing. The few times he does fight are when it is against a threat that can match him in power...making the rest of Asgard virtually useless. A good example of this is in ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'', where Odin gathers gods from other faiths and they all agree that ComicBook/{{Thanos}} ''must'' be stopped. But, just as they march out to save the day, a massive galaxy-wide quake shatters the Rainbow Bridge, trapping Odin and the other gods on Asgard.

* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' has this in spades as Doc Ock knows that one smart person or a powerful telepath is enough to blow his cover. Sure enough, thanks to events like ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', a number of brainier people and a number of telepaths are out of the picture.
** Speaking of ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', this was one of the major in-story reasons for the X-Men (or rather, "the mutants defending Hope", since about 1/4 of the then-active X-Men sided with the Avengers) to [[WhatTheHellHero MAJORLY call the Avengers to task]]: while the team was able to show up to stop every Tom, Dick and Harry in a super-suit from robbing a bank or instigating a small war, they were "somehow" never around while hundreds, thousands or ''millions'' of mutants went through everything from slavery to genetic experiments to genocide or [[FateWorseThanDeath even worse]] without intervention. There needed to be some SERIOUS KickTheDog moments after a talk like that to make the Avengers sympathetic again.
** ComicBook/RachelSummers' disappearance from ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'' is also a point of contention. As the only Phoenix Force host still alive with actual experience, her presence could have easily prevented the event from getting as bad as it did.

* In the Belgian comic book series ''ComicBook/SuskeEnWiske'' (Spike & Suzy) , this frequently happens to Jerom because his superhuman strength would otherwise make the situations the characters encounter less of a challenge.
* Just about all ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' comic book universes have done this with Optimus Prime at least once. Often the autobots will splinter into groups without their leader. If Megatron is also missing because Prime performed a HeroicSacrifice and sent them both to [[PutOnABus another dimension]], the Decepticons will be just as lost.
* ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed'' runs with this: Neron seeks to obtain the purest of souls and immediately everyone assumes ComicBook/{{Superman}}. However, he's not there and many people think Superman was captured by Neron already. This wasn't the case: he was captured by off-world aliens and dragged through ''The Trial of Superman'' storyline, taking him, ComicBook/{{Superboy}}, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/{{Steel}} with him.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': Periodically, the Justice League are left indisposed so there's a reason the titular team have to be taking on the biggest issues. In the first season finale [[spoiler:the Justice League ''were'' the threat because they were being mind-controlled.]] Partway into the second season [[spoiler:most of the league's strongest members are forced off-world to take responsibility for action they were made to do during said period]], and in the third season, [[spoiler:most are offworld again, this time to rescue metahuman children trafficked into space, while the League also undergoes a schism due to Lex Luthor's manipulations causing several members, most prominently Batman and Green Arrow, to leave the League]].

* ''[[ComicBook/DCTheNewFrontier The New Frontier]]'' gets Superman (and Wonder Woman) out of the way with a handy application of TheWorfEffect instead... but this trope is played straight for the magic-themed heroes (the Spectre, Dr. Fate, Zatanna, Captain Marvel, and the Phantom Stranger); the latter three ''deliberately convince'' the former two to stay out of the battle with the Centre to "help humanity grow" or somesuch.

* ComicBook/TheSpectre, being the actual embodiment of God's wrath, is generally an unstoppable force that could solve nearly any crisis with a thought -- probably by [[HorrifyingHero transforming the villain into a melting candle]]. Thus, whenever a CrisisCrossover pops up, The Spectre tends to be [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis insane]], [[ComicBook/FinalCrisis powerless]], [[ComicBook/BlackestNight possessed]] [[ComicBook/DarkCrisisOnInfiniteEarths by the current threat]], or just plain not around.

** [[ComicBook/RachelSummers Rachel Grey]]'s disappearance from ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'' is also a point of contention. As the only Phoenix Force host still alive with actual experience, her presence could have easily prevented the event from getting as bad as it did.
* This is the reason why minor criminals in [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' comics [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere would often have Kryptonite]].
* Yet another Superman example: There was a much-hyped JLA story arc ("The Tenth Circle"_ by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. Superman is brainwashed in the very first issue, and stays that way pretty much throughout the arc. Since it was Claremont, the MindControl [[AuthorAppeal was not unexpected.]]

* ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed'' runs with this: Neron seeks to obtain the purest of souls and immediately everyone assumes Franchise/{{Superman}}. However, he's not there and many people think Superman was captured by Neron already. This wasn't the case: he was captured by off-world aliens and dragged through "The Trial of Superman" storyline, taking him, ComicBook/{{Superboy}}, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/{{Steel}} with him.

* ''Film/{{Supergirl}}''. A radio news report mentions Superman's departure from Earth on an intergalactic peacekeeping mission, which explains why he isn't around to handle Serena.

* OlderThanFeudalism: Done in the ''Argonautica'' by Apollonius of Rhodes (3rd century BCE), when the Argonauts accidentally leave [[Characters/ClassicalMythologyMortalsAndDemigods Heracles]] behind in the land of Kios, while he looks for his lost ward/lover, Hylas. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in that same work, when Apollonius mentions that had Heracles stayed with the group, all of their challenges would have become trivial.

** And, of course, there was "TheGreatestStoryNeverTold", an episode focusing on perpetual ButtMonkey ComicBook/BoosterGold, who had to deal with [[ScienceIsBad an alternative power source gone berserk]] while the entire rest of the League battled a godlike foe. Naturally, none of them believed it had ever happened. Of course, he did get a hot scientist chick to compensate and didn't have to help clean up either his mess or the mess the League caused, so it worked out pretty well.

** And in the episode "Patriot Act," the entire rest of the League is busy, so the five non-powered heroes who were available are sent to walk in a parade in Metropolis, later to be joined by two (also non-powered) reservists to deal with the newly superhuman General Eiling. They get absolutely thrashed, but did it in a pretty awesome way, especially with Shining Knight's ShutUpHannibal SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome in which he talks down the overly patriotic Eiling with his own American ideals -- despite the fact that SK himself is a medieval European.
** In the episode "Chaos at the Earth's Core", the miniature red sun of Skartaris weakens Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'s powers almost to nothing.

* ComicBook/TheSpectre, being the actual embodiment of God's wrath, is generally an unstoppable force that could solve nearly any crisis with a thought -- probably by [[HorrifyingHero transforming the villain into a melting candle]]. Thus, whenever a CrisisCrossover pops up, The Spectre tends to be [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis insane]], [[ComicBook/FinalCrisis powerless]], [[ComicBook/BlackestNight possessed]] [[ComicBook/DarkCrisis by the current threat]] , or just plain not around.

** In the Classic games, every playable character at the time had a SuperMode of their own. After VideoGame/SonicAdventure, Tails and Knuckles inexplicably lost theirs and Sonic, being TheHero naturally, is now the one of the few capable of going Super. Later games would introduce other characters with the ability to go Super, but Tails and Knuckles never get theirs back. VideoGame/SonicHeroes does have them fight alongside Sonic in the final boss, but WordOfGod claims they weren't "true" super modes and Sonic simply lent them the power.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' killed off its eponymous character at the end so that his friends could collect the [[GreenRocks Chaos Emeralds]] to wish him [[BackFromTheDead back to life]].