History NotMeThisTime / ComicBooks

* Barry Allen/The Flash went gunning for his nemesis Professor Zoom when Barry believes that Zoom was responsible for the ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' timeline. [[spoiler:Professor Zoom was only indirectly responsible, when he killed Barry's mother via time travel. It was Barry preventing that murder [[NiceJobBreakingItHero that actually started Flashpoint]].]]

* In ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis'', none of the supervillains had anything to do with Sue Dibny's death.

* In one of the children's book tie-ins of ''Franchise/TheFlash'', the Weather Wizard is released to a halfway house on the same day a tornado rips through the city; naturally, everyone assumes he did it, but the Flash uses his science skills to deduce that the tornado began before he could have regained access to his weather control wand. [[spoiler:In the end, it's suggested that--as per the comics--he no longer quite needs the wand.]]

* In ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', Dream gets dumped by his most recent girlfriend. Afterwards, he goes to see his brother / sister Desire, who has a history of setting up and destroying any kind of relationship on a multi-universal scale. Desire bluntly tells him that "it" would love to take credit for Dream getting dumped, but "it" had nothing to do with the situation; this time it was all Dream's fault.

** In ''ComicBook/SupermanTheWeddingAlbum'', Mxyzptlk shows up right before Lois and Clark's wedding. Clark confronts him and asks if he's responsible for his powers not returning after the events in ''ComicBook/FinalNight''. Mxy admits that he's had nothing to do with that, nor does he know why they haven't come back. He also says he won't do anything to interfere with the wedding, [[ShipperOnDeck because he actually wanted Lois and Clark to get married in the first place.]]

** ''Dead Again!'': When a Superman corpse shows up and seems to suggest that this was the real Superman still dead from his fight with Doomsday and the current hero is only [[TomatoInTheMirror a fake who thinks he's the real Superman]], the Man of Steel begins searching throughout his Rogues Gallery, including Luthor, Mxyzptlk, Brainiac, and Darkseid, to see who could be behind the hoax, with each one of his enemies revealing they have an alibi for what's happened. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:Brainiac]] was only faking innocence and really was the mastermind of the whole thing.

** ''ComicBook/DayOfTheDollmaker'': When Catherine Grant finds out someone has been kidnapping children and sending her killer dolls just after of each kidnapping, she believes it must Toyman's work. When she and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} go and interrogate Toyman, though, the man has no idea of what Catherine is talking about: he would never hurt kids, he has no interest in taunting Miss Grant, and he has been locked up in Arkham for over one year.

* In ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'', the Yuuzhan Vong were accused of using the terraforming to devastate the already damaged planets ecosystems even further by causing deformities in the terraforming process, an accusation that stemmed from their role in the Yuuzhan Vong conflict long ago. The Yuuzhan Vong protested that they were in fact innocent and that they did not cause the deformities, at least not deliberately, to which the Jedi believed them. Turns out, they really were innocent: The One Sith sabotaged the terraforming project with the help of a Yuuzhan Vong plant of theirs who wanted revenge for their defeat.

** With the Blot it seems to be a recurring theme. Due to him wearing disguises anyway, it is easy for various copycats to use his identity and general style for a while. There are several variations on how is this resolved. At least some having the genuine Blot being the one to take down the imitators.

* ''ComicBook/LaffALympics'': In the unpublished story "The Miniature Meet", a mad scientist who's upset at the University where he works because they'd rather finance sports than the science division develops a shrinking ray he uses on the Laff-a-Lympics athletes when they compete on campus grounds. Yogi initially thinks the Really Rottens are behind this but realizes it's not the case when he sees Dread Baron among the shrunken victims. Dread Baron does like the idea.

* In an issue of the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' spin-off comic, ComicBook/TheQuestion sets out to discover who was responsible for a bomb smuggled into the Watchtower. Lex Luthor is the lead suspect, but when confronted Luthor points out that if the bomb had gone off as planned, the Justice League would never have known what hit them -- and when he destroys the Justice League, he'll do it in such a way that they'll know ''exactly'' what hit them.

*** Namor blames Victor Van Damme for trapping him inside a tube for study, back in Ultimatum. It was not really him.

*** Ben blames Van Damme for the actions that led to Ultimatum; but it had not been him. It was Mary Storm ruling in his stead and with his armor, while he was still lost in the zombieverse.
** ''ComicBook/UltimateGalactusTrilogy''
*** When that random mom sees the video of aliens dying, she thinks it's a HeavyMetal video. [[MoralGuardians They shouldn't allow this stuff on TV]]!
*** Before taking Misty Knight out of trouble, Tony had to explain to some girl in the phone that it was a friend, not a flirting. Always the Casanova, nobody would believe him, so he had to lie that he was about to help a "male" friend.

** ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'': May calls MJ's mom, who orders her to go home and clean the cat's litter box. She will not allow Peter and MJ to have sex under her roof... but they were not doing any of that!

** Non-villainous example in ''Recap/AsterixAndTheMagicCarpet''. [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands Cacofonix's singing is now so bad it causes rainstorms to occur]], much to the annoyance of the rest of the village. On a trip to India to fix a drought, their flying carpet encounters a heavy storm, forcing Cacofonix to protest that this one has nothing to do with him.
** In ''Recap/AsterixAndSon,'' the title character demands to know if the local Roman commander recognizes a baby left of on Asterix' doorstep.
--> "I've recognized seventeen children waiting for me back in Rome, but I'm quite sure that one's not mine."

* Franchise/{{Batman}}:

** Throughout the many times they've faced each other, ComicBook/TheJoker has made a point of telling Franchise/{{Batman}} that if any crime Batman is trying to solve ''was'' done by him, he'd certainly let Batman know. He's claimed that while he's not above lying to Batman, he's not one to "deny credit" for his crimes.
*** In the year-long StoryArc ''[[ComicBook/BatmanHush Hush]]'', after having seen his [[OldFriend old childhood friend]] "Tommy" being supposedly gunned down by ComicBook/TheJoker, Bruce is [[UnstoppableRage chasing after him in a murderous rage]]. A part of his mind is confused that the Joker is [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness protesting his innocence]] (something he's [[CardCarryingVillain not exactly known for]]), but it's drowned out by the red rage.

*** ''Joker: Devil's Advocate'' is another example of this: the Joker was actually innocent of the crime of placing Joker venom on lickable stamps. Turns out it was a disgruntled member of the Post Office who did it to frame the Joker, who killed his wife.

* ''Comicbook/LaffALympics'': In the unpublished story "The Miniature Meet", a mad scientist who's upset at the University where he works because they'd rather finance sports than the science division develops a shrinking ray he uses on the Laff-a-Lympics athletes when they compete on campus grounds. Yogi initially thinks the Really Rottens are behind this but realizes it's not the case when he sees Dread Baron among the shrunken victims. Dread Baron does like the idea.
* Creator/MarvelKnights: ComicBook/SpiderMan kicks off with a story in which Aunt May is kidnapped. Spider-Man immediately confronts ComicBook/NormanOsborn, who's in prison, demanding he return her. Osborn says he had nothing to do with it, ''because he's in prison.'' Of course, being imprisoned (or even dead) has not stopped Osborn on other occasions. [[spoiler: And it turns out that he really was responsible.]]

* [[ComicBook/MickeyMouseComicUniverse Mickey Mouse]]:

* In a classic Archie story titled Bubble Trouble, Mr. Weatherbee thinks Archie put bubbles in the school pool. Archie's friends immediately jump to the conclusion that Reggie framed him... until they remember Reggie has been out sick. The true culprit was the janitor who mistook chlorine for detergent and never meant to play a prank.

* Just before the ''ComicBook/OurWorldsAtWar'' Mega-Crossover over at DC, Superman is tussling with General Zod in the upper atmosphere, when a huge SOMETHING flies past Superman, towards the Earth. Supe's response?
-->'''Superman:''' You missed!\\

* In ''ComicStrip/{{Curtis}}'', Greg and Diane Wilkins are in their bedroom for the night, only to hear a crash originating from Curtis and Barry's room. They naturally assume that they got into a fight again. However, the final panel has them screaming for help with multiple crashing sounds, revealing that this time, the crash was not from one of their fights.
** The next strip reveals the cause for the crash were hailstones the size of eggs or golfballs.

* The ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' arc "Dead Again" is all about this. When a Superman corpse shows up and seems to suggest that this was the real Superman still dead from his fight with Doomsday and the current hero is only [[TomatoInTheMirror a fake who thinks he's the real Superman]], the Man of Steel begins searching throughout his Rogues Gallery, including Luthor, Mxyzptlk, Brainiac, and Darkseid, to see who could be behind the hoax, with each one of his enemies revealing they have an alibi for what's happened. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:Brainiac]] was only faking innocence and really was the mastermind of the whole thing.
* In ''ComicBook/SupermanTheWeddingAlbum'', Mxyzptlk shows up right before Lois and Clark's wedding. Clark confronts him and asks if he's responsible for his powers not returning after the events in ''ComicBook/FinalNight''. Mxy admits that he's had nothing to do with that, nor does he know why they haven't come back. He also says he won't do anything to interfere with the wedding, [[ShipperOnDeck because he actually wanted Lois and Clark to get married in the first place.]]

* Creator/MarvelKnights: ComicBook/SpiderMan kicks off with a story in which Aunt May is kidnapped. Spider-Man immediately confronts ComicBook/NormanOsborn, who's in prison, demanding he return her. Osborn says he had nothing to do with it, ''because he's in prison.'' Of course, being imprisoned (or even dead) has not stopped Osborn on other occasions. [[spoiler: And it turns out that he really was responsible.]]
** This happens to Spider-Man a '''lot''', apparently. During the 'Fallen Son' arc, Peter visits Uncle Ben's grave and sees Rhino walking through the cemetery. He attacks, thinking he's up to something (despite Rhino pleading that he isn't here to fight), and their fight breaks a gravestone belonging to Rhino's mother... which was the only reason he was there in the first place. When he realizes this, Spider-Man attempts to apologize, but Rhino is, understandably, far too angry to listen.
** In the Spider-Man spin off ''Jackpot'', the heroine, later accompanied by Spidey himself, beats up a minor villainess who was smuggling but really hadn't anything to do with what Jackpot wanted to know about. The snippy answer of the villainess was something around the lines of: "What? Do you think every villain in New York gets a daily update about every crime?!"
* [[ComicBook/MickeyMouseComicUniverse Mickey Mouse]]:
** Similarly, there was a comic where a series of crimes is commited that seem to be the work of the Phantom Blot. Mickey goes to see him in jail, but the Blot tells him he's in jail and hasn't busted out, as the guards will testify, but he appreciates Mickey thinking of him.
** In another comic, Mickey and O'Hara are investigating some robberies when they run into the Blot walking down the street, prompting the latter to arrest him on the spot (with no evidence whatsoever). The Blot doesn't resist and firmly denies everything, which Mickey notices is not like him and thinks he may even be innocent. It turns out he did do it... however he's not actually the Phantom Blot but rather a magically summoned duplicate created by Magica [=DeSpell=].
** With the Blot it seems to be a recurring theme. Due to him wearing disguises anyway, it is easy for various copycats to use his identity and general style for a while. There are several variations on how is this resolved. At least some having the genuine Blot being the one to take down the imitators.
** Also, there's the problem that Phantom Blot that being in jail has not stopped him from committing crimes, like the time he had a ring that accelerated his subjective time (effectively making him go into BulletTime) that he would keep outside the window in case the police searched his cell, allowing him to break out, commit his crime and come back to his cell without anyone noticing.
** In "Fatal Distraction", Mickey keeps seeing Black Pete out in town and committing crimes even though he's supposedly in prison. Pete himself, when Mickey talks to him in the prison, acts quite convincingly as if it's not him, including the "I wish it ''was'' me" bit, but Mickey seems to exhaust all other possible options like it being a robot duplicate. [[spoiler: Turns out the whole thing with Pete is just arranged to distract him from the real crime, and while it really was Pete Mickey was seeing, Pete and the prison warden have both been hypnotised by... yep, the Phantom Blot.]]
* In a classic Archie story titled Bubble Trouble, Mr. Weatherbee thinks Archie put bubbles in the school pool. Archie's friends immediately jump to the conclusion that Reggie framed him... until they remember Reggie has been out sick. The true culprit was the janitor who mistook chlorine for detergent and never meant to play a prank.
* In one issue of ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'', Black Canary's old mentor was murdered while she visited him in Hong Kong, even though he was terminally ill and would have died soon anyway. She quickly assumed that the supervillainess Cheshire committed the crime due to their history of animosity; the means of the crime, poison, also happened to be Cheshire's specialty. After Black Canary tracked Cheshire down, attacked and captured her, she found out that Cheshire did ''not'' do it; rather, it was the deed of a corrupt US senator who arranged the murder specifically so it would point to Cheshire. The two of ''them'' were enemies and he hoped Canary would deal with Cheshire for him. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope However, they eventually discover that it really was Cheshire after all]]. She [[FramingTheGuiltyParty made it look like she was being framed]] so that Canary would help her get back to the US as part of a GambitRoulette.]]
* A story in ''ComicBook/GothamCentral'' had someone killing teenagers dressed as Robin, but despite Batman's violent interrogations, none of the usual rogues turned out to have any involvement.
* In ''ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumLivingHell'', Dr. Arkham cannot bring himself to admit a gaggle of demons tried to open a portal to Hell in the Asylum, being a FlatEarthAtheist. So instead he reasons the Scarecrow released fear gas in the vents and has him thrown in solitary for a month. Scarecrow sputters a BigWhat. Not that anyone believes him.

* Throughout the many times they've faced each other, ComicBook/TheJoker has made a point of telling Franchise/{{Batman}} that if any crime Batman is trying to solve ''was'' done by him, he'd certainly let Batman know. He's claimed that while he's not above lying to Batman, he's not one to "deny credit" for his crimes.
** In the year-long StoryArc ''[[ComicBook/BatmanHush Hush]]'', after having seen his [[OldFriend old childhood friend]] "Tommy" being supposedly gunned down by ComicBook/TheJoker, Bruce is [[UnstoppableRage chasing after him in a murderous rage]]. A part of his mind is confused that the Joker is [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness protesting his innocence]] (something he's [[CardCarryingVillain not exactly known for]]), but it's drowned out by the red rage.
--->'''Joker''': Stop me if you've heard this one before... I'm ''innocent''.
** ''Joker: Devil's Advocate'' is another example of this: the Joker was actually innocent of the crime of placing Joker venom on lickable stamps. Turns out it was a disgruntled member of the Post Office who did it to frame the Joker, who killed his wife.
** In ''ComicBook/BatmanTheBlackMirror'', Batman pursues a recently escaped Joker because he thinks Joker was responsible for attacking and poisoning Commissioner Gordon's ex-wife. After defeating him, however, and Batman tells him to stay away from the Gordons, Joker revealed that this time, he was completely innocent of attacking the Gordons. [[spoiler:It was actually James Gordon Jr. who did the deed]].
* ''Webcomic/LilGotham'': In an attempt to freeze the city during spring to preserve it, Mr. Freeze accidentally spills plant grow formula all over the wings of his airship. This ends up coating the city, and when all the ice melts Gotham is completely covered in plants. And poor Ivy had just gotten out of Arkham, too.
* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'':
** Non-villainous example in ''Recap/AsterixAndTheMagicCarpet''. [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands Cacofonix's singing is now so bad it causes rainstorms to occur]], much to the annoyance of the rest of the village. On a trip to India to fix a drought, their flying carpet encounters a heavy storm, forcing Cacofonix to protest that this one has nothing to do with him.
** In ''Recap/AsterixAndSon,'' the title character demands to know if the local Roman commander recognizes a baby left of on Asterix' doorstep.
--> "I've recognized seventeen children waiting for me back in Rome, but I'm quite sure that one's not mine."

* ''ComicBook/Batman66'': In the very first story of the comic, the plot involves a cat-themed work of art and Catwoman is deemed a suspect because of that. [[spoiler:She's innocent but cannot resist temptation after the Riddler is defeated.]]
* ''Comicbook/LaffALympics'': In the unpublished story "The Miniature Meet", a mad scientist who's upset at the University where he works because they'd rather finance sports than the science division develops a shrinking ray he uses on the Laff-a-Lympics athletes when they compete on campus grounds. Yogi initially thinks the Really Rottens are behind this but realizes it's not the case when he sees Dread Baron among the shrunken victims. Dread Baron does like the idea.

* In ''ComicBook/SupermanTheWeddingAlbum'', Mxyzptlk shows up right before Lois and Clark's wedding. Clark confronts him and asks if he's responsible for his powers not returning after the events in ''ComicBook/FinalNight''. Mxy admits that he's had nothing to do with that, nor does he know why they haven't come back. He also says he won't do anything to interfere with the wedding, [[ShipperOnDeck because he actually wanted Lois and Clark to get married in the first place.]]

* In a classis Archie story titled Bubble Trouble, Mr. Weatherbee thinks Archie put bubbles in the school pool. Archie's friends immediately jump to the conclusion that Reggie framed him... until they remember Reggie has been out sick. The true culprit was the janitor who mistook chlorine for detergent and never meant to play a prank.

-->'''Joker''': Stop me if you've heard this one before... I'm ''innocent''.

** In the year-long StoryArc "Hush", after having seen his [[OldFriend old childhood friend]] "Tommy" being supposedly gunned down by ComicBook/TheJoker, Bruce is [[UnstoppableRage chasing after him in a murderous rage]]. A part of his mind is confused that the Joker is [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness protesting his innocence]] (something he's [[CardCarryingVillain not exactly known for]]), but it's drowned out by the red rage.

** "Joker: Devil's Advocate" is another example of this: the Joker was actually innocent of the crime of placing Joker venom on lickable stamps. Turns out it was a disgruntled member of the Post Office who did it to frame the Joker, who killed his wife.

* Ceeator/MarvelKnights: ComicBook/SpiderMan kicks off with a story in which Aunt May is kidnapped. Spider-Man immediately confronts ComicBook/NormanOsborn, who's in prison, demanding he return her. Osborn says he had nothing to do with it, ''because he's in prison.'' Of course, being imprisoned (or even dead) has not stopped Osborn on other occasions. [[spoiler: And it turns out that he really was responsible.]]

* Marvel Knights: ComicBook/SpiderMan kicks off with a story in which Aunt May is kidnapped. Spider-Man immediately confronts ComicBook/NormanOsborn, who's in prison, demanding he return her. Osborn says he had nothing to do with it, ''because he's in prison.'' Of course, being imprisoned (or even dead) has not stopped Osborn on other occasions. [[spoiler: And it turns out that he really was responsible.]]

* Marvel's one-shot all-humor issue ''The Fantastic Four Roast'' (February, 1982) has a mysterious figure out to do in the FF during the titular testimonial. Ben "The Thing" Grimm suspects [[OnlyOnePlausibleSuspect it's Doctor Doom]], who approaches the dias and bellows "WRONG, CAMEL BREATH..."

* Marvel's one-shot all-humor issue ''The Fantastic Four Roast'' (February, 1982) has a mysterious figure out to do in the FF during the titular testimonial. Ben "The Thing" Grimm suspects [[OnlyOnePlausibleSuspect it's Doctor Doom]], who approaches the dias and bellows "WRONG, CAMEL BREATH!!"
-->'''Dr. Doom:''' Dr. Doom, Dr. Doom, Dr. Doom. Why does everyone always suspect that Dr. Doom is the culprit?
-->'''Human Torch:''' Well, it sure isn't Soupy Sales, tin head!
-->'''Dr. Doom:''' Bah. I see some people never change.

* In an issue of the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' spin-off comic, ComicBook/TheQuestion sets out to discover who was responsible for a bomb smuggled into the Watchtower. Lex Luthor is the lead suspect, but when confronted Luthor points out that if the bomb had gone off as planned, the Justice League would never have known what hit them -- and when he destroys the Justice League, he'll do it in such a way that they'll know ''exactly'' what hit them.

-->'''The Thing:''' (''thought balloon'') I change each morning, Doomsie...how about you?

* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel