History Main / HeroicBystander

** Flash also lent a hand the first time Spidey fought Venom, rallying the rest of the Midtown High football team to rescue Gwen Stacy while Spidey dealt with Venom.

** Mary Jane stops Thundra from attacking Spider-Man by throwing a platter of cafeteria food making her slip. When she is captured by Trapster she frees herself by slugging him.
** When Aunt May was taken hostage by the Beetle, escapes him on her own, and gives him a face full of jet thrusters.

* Gwen Stacy attacks the Lizard to rescue Spidey in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan''. Also, the crane drivers who arrange things so Spidey has a clear path to Oscorp Tower. And Captain Stacy, although he'd probably resent being considered a bystander; this is his ''job''.

* ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'':
** Aunt May in ''Film/SpiderMan2'' showed her mettle when Dr. Octopus tried to make her a DamselInDistress. Though he did take her hostage, she saved Franchise/SpiderMan by hitting Otto with her umbrella before he could impale Spidey in a sneak attack.
*** In the same scene, the obligatory cameo by Creator/StanLee has him as a nameless old man on the street below. He jumps in to pull a woman out of the way when some rubble falls from the fight above, saving her life.
** Also appears in multiple in the original ''Film/SpiderMan1'' movie, when angry New Yorkers pelt the Green Goblin with junk, giving Spidey the chance to [[TakeAThirdOption save both his girlfriend and a trolley car full of]] {{Innocent Bystander}}s. When they try blocking Doctor Octopus in the second movie, though, [[FoeTossingCharge it doesn't work]]. Though by that point, they've already [[Heartwarming/SpiderMan rescued the unconscious Spider-Man from falling to his death]] and [[TearJerker given him back his mask, promising to keep his identity secret.]] And in any case, [[Awesome/SpiderMan it's the thought that counts]].
** Mary Jane [[DamselScrappy FINALLY]] gets to be one in ''Film/SpiderMan3'', saving Spider-Man from Venom by throwing a cement block on him, allowing Spidey to break free of his grip. Also to her credit, she attempted to be one in ''Spider-Man 2'' as well, but Doc Ock [[TaughtByExperience learned his lesson from Aunt May's aforementioned moment]] and disarmed her quickly.

** Averted by ComicBook/SpiderMan. As we are reminded every two or three months, Spider-Man is a superhero and not an unbeatable wrestler because he refused to be a heroic bystander and let a thief run away, [[MyGreatestFailure who killed Uncle Ben afterwards]].

*** When Mary Jane is kidnapped by a StalkerWithACrush named Jonathan Caesar, Spider-Man tries to rescue her. Caesar responds by sending a pair of mercenaries named Styx and Stone after our hero, who nearly kill him until Mary Jane escapes from Caesar and his goons on her own and uses the gun she stole to scare away the mercenaries.

** One of the most decisive ones is at the end of ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006''. The anti-Registration group is winning, Captain America has defeated Iron Man, and is about to finish him... and a group of mere bystanders join the fight and stop Captain America, who realizes the destruction caused by the fight, surrenders, and orders the others to do the same. The [[SuperRegistrationAct pro-registration side]] wins, and the [[LaResistance anti-registration side]] is forced to escape and work in the shadows. But if those bystanders did not take action... everything would have been ''so'' different.

* During intense flooding and hail in Lakewood, Colorado, Stephanie Liddick and her 6-year-old daughter became stuck in their flooded car and were forced to climb out onto the roof. A passing man in a truck named Merle Cordova managed to drive through the rising waters close enough for them to climb in. He dropped mother and daughter off at a nearby school, returned to tow their car out of the floodwaters, and then continued on his way to work, without even stopping to change out of his wet clothes.

* When Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed in the Florida Everglades, a man named Robert "Bud" Marquis happened to be nearby in his airboat hunting for frogs. He helped free several trapped and injured passengers from the wreckage and transported them to safety in his airboat. He also used his airboat to help other rescuers reach the downed plane as quickly as possible. Marquis suffered some minor burns in the ordeal, but he stayed on site until the authorities determined that there were no survivors left to find.

* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'':
** One issue highlights the story of Pete Donacek, a former hockey player and a doorman at an Astro City hotel. He once saved a little girl's life during a giant robot attack. He sees her every day, doesn't even know her name, but knowing that he did that kind of thing for someone, that he went to Astro City and lived the dream of being a real hero... As he puts it, "My name is Pete Donacek. I live in Astro City. I wear a uniform too."
** In "Pastoral", a team of supervillains take down the hero in the middle of a carnival. An entire crowd of bystanders piles on with farm tools and two-by-fours, winning him enough time to regroup.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', thanks to some convincing from Mei's friends, 4*Town use their voices to help power the binding circle to save Ming.

* In the SpinOff manga of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', ''Manga/PuellaMagiOrikoMagica'', we have [[ActionGirl Sayaka Miki]] doing this all the way in the hallways.

** Cal notices that his neighbor Mica looks, in her own words, "like shit", but still has to leave for the night to go to work. Since she couldn't look more like a victim if she tried, he offers to walk her there, just in case. This probably saves Mica's life, since the [[DemonicPossession demon possessing her]] has just gotten enough power to start [[MindOverMatter affecting the physical world]]. Cal saves Mica from falling flower pots (fracturing his own arm in the process), breaking road signs, and even a manhole cover moving aside just before she stepped backwards onto it.

--->'''Cal (thinking):''' I wasn't expecting the danger to be so ''literal''.

* The actress who plays Divya on ''Series/RoyalPains'' was out shopping when someone nearby went into shock. She took immediate action to save his life, and [[ImNotADoctorButIPlayOneOnTV had to convince the [=EMTs=] that she wasn't a doctor, she just played a Physician's assistant on TV]].

* One of the most decisive ones was at the end of ''ComicBook/CivilWar''. The anti-Registration group was winning, Captain America had defeated Iron Man, and was about to finish him... and a group of mere bystanders join the fight and stop Captain America, who realizes the destruction caused by the fight, and surrenders, and orders the others to do the same. The [[TheEmpire pro-registration side]] wins, and the [[LaResistance anti-registration side]] is forced to escape and work in the shadows. But if those bystanders did not take action... everything would have been SO different.
* Likewise, in the finale of ComicBook/FearItself, the residents of Broxton form a ragtag militia to defend their homes and the gate to Asgard against the Serpent's forces. However, all but one of them flees in the face of their assault. Then, after being ashamed of their cowardice, they return to fight side by side with Captain America and the Avengers. News reports also tell of more heroic bystanders trying to fight the disasters the Serpent has caused worldwide, showing that his plan to drown the world in fear has ultimately failed.

** ComicBook/TheMightyThor's hammer can supposedly only be lifted by those who possess a hero's nature and a pure heart. So far this effectively means Thor, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, Franchise/WonderWoman, Franchise/{{Superman}}, and ComicBook/BetaRayBill.
** Upon being attacked by three supervillains at once, ComicBook/MoonKnight manages to defeat two of them but is tied up by Coachwhip's electrical coils. Coachwhip is about to fry Moon Knight when a bystander sprays her with a hose, shorting out her equipment and knocking her out from the feedback.

** When Aunt May's boyfriend Nathan is attacked by a gang of [[FacelessGoons thugs]], Franchise/SpiderMan intervenes to stop them. It looks like [[BatmanColdOpen a typical one-sided fight]] until one of the goons puts a knife to Nathan's throat. There's not much Spidey can do until an elderly bystander sneaks up on the goon from behind and stuns him with her {{cane|Fu}}, dizzying him and allowing Spider-Man to reel him in with a webline to punch him out.

** A technologically minded crazed civilian decides to disrupt the Avenger's appearance on the Creator/DavidLetterman show. The villain ends up in a force field with Letterman while the heroes battle the robots threatening others. Letterman takes a prop and wallops the guy on the skull, saving the day.
** Averted by Franchise/SpiderMan. As we are reminded every two or three months, Spider-Man is a superhero and not an unbeatable wrestler because he refused to be a heroic bystander and let a thief run away, who killed Uncle Ben afterwards.
** Mary Jane Watson, Franchise/SpiderMan's former wife, invoked this trope on ''multiple'' occasions:
*** Spider-Man was being overwhelmed by a demonic Hobgoblin in the sewers of New York until Mary Jane lights his cape on fire. While Hobgoblin is distracted, Spider-Man throws the flaming villain [[ItMakesSenseInContext a large pile of demon-possessed sewage]], causing an explosion that defeats both monsters.
*** When Mary Jane was kidnapped by a StalkerWithACrush named Jonathan Caesar, Spider-Man tried to rescue her. Caesar responded by sending a pair of mercenaries named [[ThoseTwoGuys Styx and Stone]] after our hero, who nearly killed him until Mary Jane escaped from Caesar and his goons on her own and used the gun she stole to scare away the mercenaries.
*** A fashion show Mary Jane attended was crashed by [[AxCrazy the White Rabbit]], who was there to collect a debt she was owed by one of the partygoers. With no one else willing or able to do it, Mary Jane subdued the White Rabbit herself.
*** When a [[ComicBook/SpiderIsland mutating powers virus]] grants normal people the same powers and abilities as Spider-Man, Mary Jane watches the spider-powered citizens having the time of their lives from the sidelines. When the virus mutates those infected into giant spiders, Mary Jane finally becomes infected with powers and comes to the aid of defenseless citizens. She later joins in the final battle with the villain responsible for the madness, saving Spider-Man and motivating him to use his head and then defending him once he formulates a plan to save everybody.
** ComicBook/MilesMorales has this happen to him in the first issue of his 2016 series. The Avengers are battling the demonic Blackheart in the city, and as Miles makes his way to join the fight, an explosion blows an empty car and two school buses full of children into the air. Miles prevents them from crashing onto the street with his webs, and as he starts to get the children out, a group of bystanders tell him to let them take care of helping the children out of the buses so Spidey can go join the fight.
** When ComicBook/TheMightyThor was attacked by what he thought was Skurge The Executioner, an old [[HeelFaceTurn enemy turned friend]] who had been killed in a HeroicSacrifice, he was initially unwilling to fight back against a brother in arms. Little Kevin Masterson intervened and tried to help Thor only to be swatted away by "Skurge," who was in fact a CostumeCopycat simply using Skurge's equipment. Knowing that the '''real''' Skurge [[WouldntHurtAChild would never strike a defenseless little kid]], Thor realized he was facing an impostor and proceeded to deliver a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.
** ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} fought [[PlayingWithFire Pyro]] and [[FatBastard the Blob]] to keep them from abducting a young mutant girl and forcing her to register with the U.S. government. After taking out Pyro, Daredevil attacked the Blob but was quickly knocked down. The Blob was about to stomp Daredevil when the girl he was trying to protect used her telekinetic powers to pull him out of the way. Daredevil then got the girl to use her powers to pull a large bell down from a nearby church, knocking the Blob out after Daredevil blinded him and then lured him under the steeple.
*** Not to mention that Daredevil is only, well, Daredevil because he was a Heroic Bystander to a [[{{Irony}} blind]] man about to be hit by a truck hauling radioactive material.
** Spider-Man is pursuing the Jason Macendale Hobgoblin, who has just kidnapped his son Jay. They're both pursued by [[http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/cldhrtsm.htm Coldheart]], a rogue government agent who's trying to kill them because her own son was killed in the crossfire of a superhero battle. Spider-Man defeats the Hobgoblin and saves Jay, but then Coldheart ambushes him. She's about to kill Spidey when Jay intervenes, pleading for her to leave Spider-Man alone. Jay's pleas are enough for Coldheart to let Spider-Man live.
* Creator/DCComics, the ''Syndicate Rules'' Justice League graphic novels. Super-powered villains are trashing a local scientific facility. Many citizens, wrongly believing they are helping the real Flash and Green Lantern, attack the bad guys and give the doppelgangers a chance to defeat the villains.
* The ''Captain America'' novel 'Liberty's Torch'. A crazed militia puts the Captain on trial and kidnaps a lawyer, a Mark Gruenwald homage, to give him an ultimately pointless defense. The lawyer even assists (a bit) in the climactic battle, preventing the BigBad from escaping (and causing that SmugSnake to very satisfyingly break his jaw).
* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' once highlighted the story of Pete Donacek, a former hockey player and a doorman at an Astro City hotel. He once saved a little girl's life during a giant robot attack. He sees her every day, doesn't even know her name, but knowing that he did that kind of thing for someone, that he went to Astro City and lived the dream of being a real hero... As he puts it, "My name is Pete Donacek. I live in Astro City. I wear a uniform too."

* ''[[Characters/SupermanJimmyOlsen Jimmy Olsen]]'':
** Jimmy rushed to Franchise/{{Superman}}'s aid when the hero was overcome by kryptonite fire on his suit. A few burns were nothing when it came to saving his pal.

* ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}: In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Supergirl vol 5]] #20'', Supergirl is fighting a cyclops (long story) and being trounced by the giant monster. Then a bystander hands an arrow dropped by an Amazon (long story) over to Supergirl, and she uses it to blind the cyclops.
* A heartbreaking example occurs toward the end of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''. In the penultimate chapter, several minor characters from throughout the story--including a friendly newsstand owner, a young boy who hangs out at the stand to read comics, and Rorschach's prison psychiatrist and his wife--notice a young lesbian couple (who have also appeared in several scenes) getting into a brawl. Each of these bystanders decides that they're going to try to help, even though they're living in a CrapsackWorld where it's easy to walk away. [[spoiler: The panels of them reaching out to assist the women are intercut with scenes of [[BigBad Ozymandias]] unleashing his ultimate weapon on New York City, and readers see everyone on the streets gasping in fear as a massive white light engulfs and kills them, with the newsstand owner using his last seconds to embrace the frightened boy. What makes it particularly sad is that Ozymandias is motivated by a belief that HumansAreBastards, thinking that only a fake alien threat could possibly unite people...but the citizens choosing to assist suggests that RousseauWasRight, and there ''was'' a way to stop the world's problems without resorting to killing millions of innocent people.]]

* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanGothamKnight'', an assailant that Batman has been chasing throughout the episode is sneaking up on Batman from behind when he is hit over the head from behind with a skateboard by a street kid, in response Batman thanks the kid and says that he owes him one.

*** While fighting to rescue a girl that the Mad Hatter had kidnapped, Batman manages to remove the mind control device on one of the Hatter's PeoplePuppets. The man Batman saves is the girl's fiance, and he returns the favor by disabling the rest of the Hatter's pawns. They're programmed to only attack Batman, so they ignore him as he removes their own mind control devices.
*** The episode "Trial" features Janet van Dorn, Gotham City's new D.A. and an outspoken critic of Batman's methods. Eventually, she and Batman are both kidnapped and taken to Arkham, where Batman's RoguesGallery forces the two of them into a deadly game: van Dorn must defend Batman on the charge of making the supervillains into criminals, with [[KangarooCourt said villains as the jury, and the Joker as judge]]. A guilty verdict means they both die, while a "not guilty" means they live. Though at first panicked, van Dorn proves her legal expertise by manipulating all of the villains on the witness stand into making confessions about their insanity, proving that Batman isn't to blame for their problems. Shockingly, the villains give Batman a not guilty verdict -- only to [[ForegoneConclusion decide to kill them both anyway: after all, they're insane.]] Batman is trapped in a straitjacket, tied to an electric chair, and about to be unmasked by the Joker, which is when van Dorn gets to pull off ''another'' Heroic Bystander moment by throwing a batarang at the light hanging from the ceiling, plunging the room into darkness and allowing the Caped Crusader to escape. Batman himself thanks van Dorn for her help at the end of the episode.
** ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. Every time an incident is affecting large groups of people, the episode will always show at least one nameless bystander being heroic, often inspiring the superheroes to remember what they're fighting for. For instance, in the episode "Patriot Act", General Eiling, a WellIntentionedExtremist who hates metahumans, takes an experimental serum and transforms into a hulking monstrosity. He attacks Central City during a parade for the Justice League that features either [[BadassNormal individuals with no powers]], those who use magical artifacts, and STRIPE, who uses PowerArmor. The crowd is bored and wondering where the "good" heroes are when Eiling arrives. The third and fourth-string Leaguers do their best to hold him off, but he proves too powerful for them. Shining Knight is the last to fall, and Eiling is about to crush him when the innocent bystanders quite literally stand up to Eiling, making a shield with their bodies to protect Shining Knight. An elderly woman then disarms Eiling with an ArmorPiercingQuestion, while a young boy points out that Eiling himself is the only individual on the scene who actually ''has'' superpowers. This combined effort is enough to stop the general's rampage and save both the city and the rest of the heroes.
** In the ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "[[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS3E8SupermansPal Superman's Pal]]", ComicBook/JimmyOlsen drags an unconscious man out of a crashed helicopter. At the end, he saves the Man of Steel himself.

* Rachel from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' spends the majority of the [[TraintopBattle Flying Pussyfoot]] hijack/massacre saving lives and rescuing hostages entirely unprompted, even though it was her job as an [[KnowledgeBroker information gatherer]] to lay low and stay ''out'' of trouble. She got an injured leg and hand for her effort, but [[WorthIt her conscience is clean.]]

* A heroic [[IncrediblyLamePun by-''sitter'']] appears in the ''Series/{{Monk}}'' episode "[[EpisodeOnAPlane Mr. Monk and the Airplane.]]" As the title suggests, Monk and Sharona are taking a cross-country flight; immediately after boarding, Monk realizes that a fellow passenger has killed his wife and replaced her with a lookalike. Sharona is too busy flirting with Tim Daly (who is sitting in first-class) to pay attention, so Monk turns to the nearest available resource: Warren Beach, an extension cord salesman in the seat next to him. Warren listens to all of Monk's theories, and, in the end, even helps the detective take the murderer's shoes (which prove to be the key to solving the case) by offering him an extra-long extension cord.

* Common in the ''Franchise/{{DCAU}}'':

--->'''Old man:''' I knew there was a reason I went to medical school.

* Civilians in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' will occasionally grab guards' arms and grapple with them, taking a little heat off the player and giving them a chance to dispatch the guard without resistance. Maybe this could be a reason so many Assassins wear the distinctive uniform: the people know who the good guys are when there's a sword fight in the street.

* ''Film/Godzilla2014'': The unnamed [[BadassDriver bus driver]] on the Golden Gate Bridge. The road forward is barricaded, the tanks on the bridge and the battleships in the water below are [[ShootingSuperman firing missiles and artillery rounds with all they've got]], bridge cables are snapping, and there's [[Characters/MonsterVerseGodzilla a leviathan of Biblical proportions]] [[WaistDeepOcean rearing out of the sea]], about to crash into the bridge he and his [[BusFullOfInnocents bus full of screaming kids]] is currently sitting on. What does he do? [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome He slams on the gas pedal, smashes through the barricade, and successfully gets himself and the kids off the bridge before it's destroyed]].

The Heroic Bystander is not someone who is normally expected to be a hero in time of crisis, such as a police officer or a lifeguard. Instead, it's an ordinary person, with no special training, who happens to save a life through their own inner courage and resolve.

** The series ending features [[spoiler: Patrick Zala]] ordering his men to cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. After a moment of stunned silence, a lone mook questions the order, and is immediately shot as a traitor. The wounded mook decides that his boss has gone completely off the deep end, and promptly ''returns fire''.

* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'' S2: Fairy Tail kidnaps Mizore and threaten to annihilate ''her entire species'' if they fight back. So Tsurara asks for help from people who ''can'' fight the organization effectively, and supplies them with weapons. Sometimes heroism isn't about fighting evil, but helping the people who do.

* Likewise, in the finale of ComicBook/FearItself, the residents of Broxton form a ragtag militia to defend their homes and the gate to Asgard against the Serpent's forces. However, all but one of them flees in the face of their assault. Then, after being ashamed by their cowardice, they return to fight side by side with Captain America and the Avengers. News reports also tell of more heroic bystanders trying to fight the disasters the Serpent has caused worldwide, showing that his plan to drown the world in fear has ultimately failed.

** A technologically minded crazed civilian decides to disrupt the Avenger's appearance on the Creator/DavidLetterman show. The villain ends up in a force-field with Letterman while the heroes battle the robots threatening others. Letterman takes a prop and wallops the guy on the skull, saving the day.
** Averted by Franchise/SpiderMan. As we are reminded each two or three months, Spider-Man is a superhero and not an unbeatable wrestler because he refused to be a heroic bystander and let a thief run away, who killed uncle Ben afterwards.

*** Spider-Man was being overwhelmed by a demonic Hobgoblin in the sewers of New York, until Mary Jane lights his cape on fire. While Hobgoblin is distracted, Spider-Man throws the flaming villain [[ItMakesSenseInContext a large pile of demon-possessed sewage]], causing an explosion that defeats both monsters.

* In the ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/HumanCuriosity'', [[spoiler:when Lichtenstein finds herself captured by the HCS a second time, the Swiss Guard rallies the people of Vaduz (the capital of Lichtenstein) to storm the building she was being held captive in and rescue her. This incident convinces the leader of the HCS to not try to recapture any other nations, since their people will probably try to rescue them as well.]]

* Gwen Stacy attacks the Lizard to rescue Spidey in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan''. Also, the crane-drivers who arrange things so Spidey has a clear path to Oscorp Tower. And Captain Stacy, although he'd probably resent being considered a bystander; this is his ''job''.
* In ''Film/AngelsAndDemons'', Langdon sees [[spoiler: Cardinal Baggia]] being dumped into the Fountain of the Four Rivers, tied to a weighted bed and gagged. Langdon jumps in to save him, but is unable to lift the bed on his own; he then surfaces, screaming, "Help, somebody!" before diving back down and finding an aerator in the fountain that grants the drowning man a little oxygen. At that point, Langdon feels a hand on his shoulder and discovers that a random bystander has leaped into the fountain as well; another man and a woman follow suit, and all four work to hoist the bed and save [[spoiler: the cardinal]], while other people are on hand to move him to the ground.

* Creator/ChrisEvans's character in ''Film/{{Cellular}}'' is just a random guy on the street, but when he gets a call from a kidnapped woman he's never met he goes to extraordinary lengths to save her.

* ''Film/JackTheGiantSlayer'': When an incognito Princess Isabelle is harassed by two men in a public space, Jack steps in to defend her simply because, “That’s no way to treat a lady!”. While he ends up on the receiving end of a drunken fist for his trouble, this incident first puts him on the royal household’s radar and arguably reverberates through the entire rest of the plot.

** [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier The unnamed Helicarrier tech]] [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron subsequently identified as Specialist Cameron Klein]]. Arguably, as a SHIELD agent, he's not entirely untrained. However, as the movies, not to mention [[Series/AgentsOfSHIELD the MCU-connected TV show]] and [[ComicBook/AgentsOfSHIELD the MCU-connected graphic novels]] make clear, it's a ''huge'' organization with a lot of people who aren't trained assassins or special-forces. That includes the valiant Mr. Klein; yet, surrounded by armed HYDRA double-agents who ''are'' trained assassins or special-forces:

** Mary Jane [[DamselScrappy FINALLY]] gets to be one in ''Film/SpiderMan3'', saving Spider-Man from Venom by throwing a cement block on him, allowing Spidey to break free of his grip. Also to her credit, she attempted to be one in ''Spider Man 2'' as well, but Doc Ock [[TaughtByExperience learned his lesson from Aunt May's aforementioned moment]] and disarmed her quickly.

* In ''Film/VantagePoint'', Creator/ForestWhitaker's character, Howard Lewis, is an classic Heroic Bystander, up to and including [[DivingSave pushing a kid out of the way of an tumbling car]].

* ''Film/XMenFirstClass'': When Charles Xavier realizes that no-one on the US Coast Guard vessel is willing to help Erik Lehnsherr, he dives into the dark, frigid ocean without hesitation to save the life of a drowning stranger.

* ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'': When the titular ship is attacked by a sea serpent, Eustace Scrubb - who up until this point has been thoroughly stuck-up and unhelpful - is the first to rush in and attack it with a sword. It accomplished nothing, but is one of the first major instances of his character development.

** In another episode, a man was left to die inside a house tented and filling with poison, his neighbor passes by, climbs in and tries to rescue him [[spoiler: unfortunately he's unsuccessful, and nearly dies himself.]]
* Some of the companions from ''Series/DoctorWho'' can fit this trope when they first meet the Doctor. People like Martha just happened to get caught up in events, but rose to the challenge.
** John Smith, the amnesiac human-doctor. While the Doctor is a brave and intelligent time-lord, Smith is really just an average school-teacher, who wants nothing more than to live a happy, human life: but he still makes a heroic sacrifice, 'killing' himself.

* ''Series/Jericho2006'' practically ran on this. [[ProdigalHero Prodigal Son]] and self described "screw-up" Jake Green was the town savior for most of the show's run. Other characters like farmer Stanly Richmond and school teachers Emily and Heather got in on the act as well.

** A whole city of heroic bystanders appeared in the finale. The Big Bad has invaded the city, and threatens to destroy it if the Power Rangers don't show themselves. [[ThoseTwoGuys Bulk and Skull]], two comic relief characters that had varying roles throughout the series, step forward and [[IAmSpartacus identify themselves as Rangers, and the rest of the civilians follow their lead]]. This naturally pisses the villain off, but before she can order the city destroyed, the real Rangers announce their presence and morph, and begin to fight her horde of minions. Angel Grove's populace, ''[[Awesome/PowerRangersInSpace led by Bulk and Skull]]'', join the fray and help the Rangers successfully fight them off.
** Bulk and Skull do this frequently in all the seasons up to there as well. Their response to almost any minor monster or minion attack is to attack it head on, and despite their complete lack of skill being a frequent source of humor they often make a good showing of themselves, often by accidental DrunkenBoxing.

* Civilians in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' will occasionally grabs guards' arms and grapple with them, taking a little heat off the player and giving them a chance to dispatch the guard without resistance. Maybe this could be a reason so many Assassins wear the distinctive uniform: the people know who the good guys are when there's a sword fight in the street.

* Civilians in ''VideoGame/{{Hatred}}'' will occasionally grab a weapon to fend off [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Jeffrey Cuddletrousers]] with when they're not fleeing in terror, sometimes stopping to pick one up and using it against him.

** In the introductory story "Ayla and the Late Trevor James Goodkind", we see Ayla go from being the victim of circumstances to the Heroic Bystander when he and his sister run into Sparkler, a psycho superpowered fireball (literally). He saves his sister's life and does the HeroicSacrifice, only he doesn't die. He doesn't know how to use his powers effectively yet, but still manages to win, and to save a couple cars full of police. This proves to be a major turning point in his life.
** Unfortunately for Ayla, and the rest of Team Kimba, this happens to them ALL THE TIME!...Generally whenever they go to Boston. It also happens to Chou on her vacation. Twice. In two different places! Probably another trope, since they are trained, but...Ayla gets it worse, when he fights a Cthuloid monstrosity.

* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanGothamKnight'', an assailant that Batman has been chasing throughout the episode is sneaking up on Batman from behind when he is hit over the head from behind with a skate board by a street kid, in response Batman thanks the kid and says that he owes him one.

*** The episode "Trial" features Janet van Dorn, Gotham City's new D.A. and an outspoken critic of Batman's methods. Eventually, she and Batman are both kidnapped and taken to Arkham, where Batman's RoguesGallery forces the two of them into a deadly game: van Dorn must defend Batman on the charge of making the supervillians into criminals, with [[KangarooCourt said villains as the jury, and the Joker as judge]]. A guilty verdict means they both die, while a "not guilty" means they live. Though at first panicked, van Dorn proves her legal expertise by manipulating all of the villains on the witness stand into making confessions about their insanity, proving that Batman isn't to blame for their problems. Shockingly, the villains give Batman a not guilty verdict -- only to [[ForegoneConclusion decide to kill them both anyway: after all, they're insane.]] Batman is trapped in a straitjacket, tied to an electric chair, and about to be unmasked by the Joker, which is when van Dorn gets to pull off ''another'' Heroic Bystander moment by throwing a batarang at the light hanging from the ceiling, plunging the room into darkness and allowing the Caped Crusader to escape. Batman himself thanks van Dorn for her help at the end of the episode.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "Accent You Hate," a [[TheBully bully]] named Gary threatens to beat up Dexter and his fellow [[FunnyForeigner heavily-accented]] friends Lucky (who's Irish) and Pierre (who's French) because he doesn't like the way they talk. The trio tries numerous schemes to escape his wrath, but end up on the receiving end of Gary's punches regardless. When they start crying, all of the other schoolchildren rush over and start shouting in accents of their own, which overwhelms Gary and sends him careening into a statue, swelling his jaw and making ''him'' talk in an odd way.

* In the Summer 2004 Olympics, a crazy Irish priest invaded the marathon, grabbed the current leader (Brazilian runner Vanderlei de Lima) and pushed him into the crowd. There, a huge Greek man subdued the priest and helped Vanderlei go back into the race (he finished 3rd). The Brazilian Olympic Comitee ended up financing a visit of the Greek to Brazil.

** Reporter Brandi Smith spotted a man in a truck submerged up to its windows while reporting live in Hurricane Harvey and flagged down a passing sheriff's air boat to rescue him. She and her cameraman remained on the scene to reassure the driver that help was on the way until he was safe.

* The actress who plays Divya on ''Series/RoyalPains'' was out shopping when someone nearby went into shock. She took immediate action to save his life, and [[ImNotADoctorButIPlayOneOnTV had to convince the EMT's that she wasn't a doctor, she just played a Physician's assistant on TV]].

* It's a little known secret that the late member of the Music/WuTangClan Ol'Dirty Bastard and his entourage lifted a totalled vehicle to pull a little girl from underneath the wreckage. ODB would visit her in the hospital several times, never telling the parents who he really was. Never forget, [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Wu Tang is for the children.]]

* On Saturday July 18th in 2015, a Kansas City 2-year-old girl was accidentally left in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtba14VwcfM locked, swelteringly hot car]]. A teenager noticed the child and began screaming for help; she and other passerby then tried to use whatever they could find--including a screwdriver and a chair--to break the car's window. After three minutes, a woman named Sarah Oropeza was able to rescue the child by repeatedly beating on and eventually shattering the glass with a tire iron.

** During 9/11, a fourth plane was hijacked and headed towards DC. The passengers, at first, reacted in the way you're supposed to when a plane is hijacked (sit down and shut up), before they found out what happened with the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. However, when they heard about the other attacks and realized what was likely going to happen to the plane, Todd Beamer rallied some of the passengers to fight back, saying "Are you guys ready? Okay, let's roll." They managed to crash the plane in an open field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. There were no survivors, but their heroics kept the plane from hitting its intended target (either the Capitol or the White House).
** After the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the FAA grounded every plane in US airspace. Tiny little Gander, Newfoundand, Canada (population approx. 10,000) received 42 planes totaling 6,600 people because it's the closest airport between the US and Europe. People were housed in schools, gyms, campgrounds, churches, and regular homes. Local pharmacists called dozens of countries to fill prescriptions because most were stuck in carry-on luggage. The entire town's stock of nicotine gum was brought in to take care of people who couldn't get off the planes due to customs and background checks. The entire striking bus driver union walked back on the job to transport people. They even took passengers moose hunting.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDOrzF7B2Kg The Great Boatlift of 9/11]]. The largest evacuation-by-sea in history, to evacuate Lower Manhattan during the WTC attacks.
* The Cajun Navy (Civilian volunteers) left the safety of their homes in Louisiana and headed to the Texas gulf coast during Hurricane Harvey (2017). They rescued thousands of people from homes that had never flooded before including the previous 2 500 year floods in 2016 and 2015.
* During intense flooding and hail in Lakewood, Colorado, Stephanie Liddick and her 6-year-old daughter became stuck in their flooded car and were forced to climb out onto the roof. A passing man in a truck named Merle Cordova managed to drive through the rising waters close enough for them to climb in. He dropped mother and daughter off at a nearby school, returned to tow their car out of the floodwaters and then continued on his way to work, without even stopping to change out of his wet clothes.

* When Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed in the Florida Everglades, a man named Robert "Bud" Marquis happened to be nearby in his airboat hunting for frogs. He helped free several trapped and injured passengers from the wreckage and transported them to safety in his airboat. He also used his airboat to help other rescuers reach the downed plane as quickly as possible. Marquis suffered some minor burns in the ordeal, but he stayed onsite until the authorities determined that there were no survivors left to find.

* Attempted [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=63rkmXdhz9U in this chase.]] A good samaritan seems to help an off duty cop box in a fleeing suspect-only to be shunted aside. A later attempt at a roadblock only ended up blocking in the police while the suspect simply went around. With no way of communicating with the police or apparent experience in the force, [[NeverBeAHero he's a living reminder of how some situations should be left to the professionals.]]

* In the first episode of ''Anime/CodeGeass'', when a truck crashes, the Britannian civilians merely stand and gawk at the scene, with some casually taking pictures with their cellphones. Lelouch is the only person who bothers actually trying to help. Shirley also mentions that witnessing another case of Lelouch helping out when no one else would is what initially attracted her to him.

** In the Brotherhood version, Pride’s mother pulling this on his behalf is why she’s [[spoiler:the only human he remotely loves]].

** {{Nerd}}y wimpy Umino/Melvin proves himself a hero after he pushes his lifelong crush Naru/Molly out of the way of an enemy attack. Others express surprise that Umino, of all people, had saved a life. Is it any surprise they become a couple later?

* In the ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}'' episode "[[Recap/Supergirl2015S1E18WorldsFinest Worlds Finest]]", the people of National City are still reeling from Supergirl's actions under the influence of red kryptonite and have lost faith in her. However, during the climactic showdown between Supergirl (with the assistance of [[Series/TheFlash2014 the Flash]]) and the evil duo of [[ShockAndAwe Livewire]] and [[MakeMeWannaShout Silver Banshee]], Supergirl prevents Livewire from shooting down a helicopter (which would've crashed down onto a crowd of innocents) by putting herself in the path of the blast. Seeing this, the people in the park rally around the Supergirl and prevent the villains from harming their heroine. Livewire and Silver Banshee are stopped by firefighters, who hose them down with water, shorting out Livewire and, by extension, Silver Banshee. Furthermore, thanks to Barry's experience with retrofitting the Iron Heights prison in his own world to contain metahumans, National City's prison is likewise retrofitted to be able to contain individuals with superpowers, allowing them to be handed over to the justice system.