History RealityEnsues / ComicBooks

!!The following have their own pages:
[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/SpiderMan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paycheck.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300: Just one out of many reasons why having a SecretIdentity would suck.]]
[[index]]
* RealityEnsues/AvatarTheLastAirbender
* RealityEnsues/TheDCU
* RealityEnsues/MarvelUniverse
[[/index]]
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* In ''ComicBook/AdventureTimeBananaGuardAcademy'', Punch Bowl's backstory is a parody of Kool-Aid adverts that shows how annoying a party-obsessed bowl of punch would actually be.
* ''ComicBook/AfterlifeWithArchie'':
** Everyone (except for Reggie) easily accepts Kevin's sexuality. [[spoiler:Nancy]] is convinced she and [[spoiler: Ginger]] wouldn't be as accepted as a well-off white boy and that's largely why they are closeted.
** Sabrina ignoring her aunts' warnings and using her magic however she pleases is usually treated lightly in [[ComicBook/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch her source series]]. Normally there are no lasting consequences and she simply gets a minor punishment, if any at all. Here it causes a ZombieApocalypse and her Aunts respond by [[spoiler: turning into horrific monsters and banishing her to purgatory while taking her mouth away so she couldn't plead with them.]] Moreover, it's revealed that her reckless use of magic summons [[spoiler:''Cthulhu''.]]
* ''ComicBook/AgeOfReptiles'': In ''Ancient Egyptians'', when the male Spinosaurus encounters the previous chicks of the female, he immediately goes into Kill 'Em All mode on them, as this is what a male trying to bring a female to season in real life would do.
* ''ComicBook/AmethystPrincessOfGemworld'': While Amethyst's heroics are loved by people in her 2020 solo, her actions make delicate diplomacy with Dark Houses she keeps picking fights with a nightmare, to the point her own mother considers her a political liability. Torquoise is her only political ally and is constantly pressured by other houses to stab her in the back.
* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'':
** In the 1950's, a reporter sees a fantastic battle of the Honor Guard and some cultists. However, his editor keeps cutting down the story because he can't prove any of it and the Honor Guard not talking about it. Thus, the tale simply becomes a report on [[ItMakesSenseInContext a frozen shark derailing a train]]. When he become editor himself, the report admits his boss was right on not printing what can't be backed up by facts.
** The comic defies ComicBookTime by having characters age and heroes often forced to retire. One story arc has Crackerjack and Quarrel, two regular, non-powered street fighters, forced to acknowledge that in their 40's, they're not as physically capable as they once were.
** In a shot on the Silver Age "Lois and Superman" stories, Irene Merryweather is obsessed with proving that her co-worker Adam Peterson is the famous superhero Atomicus. Finally fed up with his games, Irene publicly pulls Adam's shirt off to reveal his costume. Atomicus is enraged, erupting on how all he wanted was a quiet and normal life, and leaves Earth. Irene realizes too late this was never a "game" to him and her own career suffers driving a hero off the planet.
** A thief finds himself using a magic talisman to bond with his pet dog into a dog-themed hero. Sadly, the magic does not extend the dog's lifespan as, after a decade, the owner realizes his beloved pet is reaching the end of his life.
** A lawyer is given the impossible task of defending an obviously guilty mobster. He hits upon the novel defense that in a world of evil twins, shapechangers, mind-controllers, and even people coming back from the dead, is there such a thing as "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt?" However, it gets flipped around at the end of the story, where the now-retired lawyer notes that "the law caught up" and the trick wouldn't work in the present day, since the defense would need proof of superhuman or otherwordly shenannigans for such claims to be taken seriously.
** One issue shows how many people with superpowers, rather than put on a costume and fight/commit crimes, prefer to live quiet and normal lives.
* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'':
** Louis and Martin's reckless approach to their scientific endeavors gets them into serious trouble every time. The first time they almost destroy the world, they're simply ReassignedToAntarctica, but the second time, they end up doing the same thing and getting ''sixty people'' killed at the same time, so it's off to jail forever for them.
** Task Force ULTRA have zero specialists or scientific knowledge, relying entirely on stolen tech that they do not (and never did) understand themselves, and they throw themselves into the Biomega conflict of ''The Ring of Fire'' with zero effort to actually gather intel about the opposition first. Their anti-Biomega taskforce was annihilated with contemptuous ease, with a final kill count of zero. On top of that, their public actions have destroyed their reputation with the American public and have caused several international incidents. By the end ULTRA finds itself [[HauledBeforeASenateSubCommittee having to defend its actions before congress]], and are very close to being shut down entirely.
* In ''Comicbook/TheBeano'''s 60th anniversary issue, Tim Traveller goes back in time to 1938 to try and get a cheap copy of issue 1. Unfortunately, [[WorkOffTheDebt it turns out they had different money in 1938]].
* ''ComicBook/TheBoys'' is a ''massive'' {{Deconstruction}} of the underlying corporate nature of superheroes and the comic book industry, and of the idea of Silver Age-style superheroes existing in real life. The superheroes in this setting were raised from birth with everything handed to them on a silver platter from Vought-American. Because of how MerchandiseDriven superheroes ''by nature'' are, spoiling them with [[Fiction500 all the wealth in the world]] is pretty much all Vought can do to make sure [[BewareTheSuperman they don't one day go off the deep end]]. That being said, the superheroes, as a result of all the power they've been given right from the moment they were born, end up sociopathic, immature, spoiled, and utterly hedonistic--fixated only on their own individual satisfactions without much regard for the innocents whose lives are in their hands. What's even worse is that since superheroes are such a massive investment and turn in extremely huge profits, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Vought's management]] is very much willing to do ''whatever they deem necessary'' to ensure their business remains afloat.
** The events of 9/11 unfolded differently in this setting; the President listened to the CIA's suspicions of an impending terrorist attack and ordered the planes to be shot down, but Vought-American called off the jet that would have shot down one of the ones heading for the World Trade Center so they could have The Seven save it as part of a publicity stunt. What happened next shows ''exactly'' what would happen if a Justice League-esque superhero team tried to stop a midair plane hijacking; The Seven had '''[[DidntThinkThisThrough no plan]]''' beyond "enter through the forward doors", resulting in the death of one of their teammates and the plane smashing into the Brooklyn Bridge, which ends up doing even more damage to New York than the loss of the World Trade Center and kicks off the comic's plot.
-->'''The Legend:''' They ain't trained for this, see. They ain't ''practiced''. They don't know shit about hijackin', or hostage situations, or how a goddamn plane ''flies through the air''... They ain't even got a '''plan'''. They just think-- We're The Seven. We're super. ''We can do this''. […] You imagine how things'd be right now if the assholes'd manage to ''land'' that 'plane? But instead... Well. That's what you get when a bunch of fucks in tights '''try to save the goddamn day'''.
* In ''ComicBook/CommonGrounds'', a fight between a superhero and supervillain ends up killing a civilian caught in the crossfire. The result is both hero and villain getting arrested and sentenced to prison for manslaughter. After they get out, the hero ends up homeless and struggling to find employment, as it's difficult for ex-cons to get jobs.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'' a band of survivors is trying to stay undetected while a large group of the infected psychopaths are in the area. One survivor asks a soldier in the group if he can just snipe them down from a distance. The soldier informs her that this isn't the movies where magazines are bottomless and shooters are uncannily accurate. He only has half a magazine left in his rifle, and even if every shot was a hit and every hit was a kill, he can't take them all out.
* A common situation with superheroes since the end of the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]]. It's resulted in some great stories, but [[SturgeonsLaw falls flat a lot of the time]]. The problem being that [[NecessaryWeasel some of the basic tenets of superheroes, namely the ones that require a greater suspension of disbelief, have to be kept in order for the genre to work]].
* In Dark Horse's ''[[ComicBook/ConanTheBarbarian Conan the Avenger]]'', the main protagonist's allies attempt to pull some SlaveLiberation by assaulting a slave trading hub, killing all slavers and freeing the prisoners. Their glory is short-lived as a massive military force is assembled from [[EnemyMine warring city-states that joined forces]] to destroy them, as this attack is a massive disruption to their economy. Trying to go around freeing slaves by kicking ass and taking names like [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire Daenerys]] [[Series/GameOfThrones Targaryen]] will only get a massive army breathing down your neck.
* ''ComicBook/DangerGirl'': In ''Back in Black'', Sydney Savage learns Sydney Savage learns [[WardrobeMalfunction the hard way]] that a zipped-down [[OfCorsetsSexy corset]] is not the best attire for motorcycle riding.
* In ''ComicBook/DastardlyAndMuttley'' real world is being transformed into the one of a cartoon. ToonPhysics are treated as BodyHorror and behavior out of a ZanyCartoon causes total chaos and panic [[spoiler: especially after the president of the United States gets affected]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}'' examples:
** Kidnappings are almost always incredibly traumatizing, even when the victim knows they'll get out without a scratch.
** Diabolik is [[TheDreaded incredibly feared]], to the point he earned such fully justified names as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast King of Terror, Murderer with a Thousand Faces]], and many others. When he's arrested, the terror he caused leads to a KangarooCourt by complete accident, as the judge and the public are terrified and want a scapegoat (even if he's actually guilty) and his court-assigned lawyer too is too scared to do a good job, and he's sentenced to death even if there wasn't enough evidence yet.
*** Also, having a famous criminal being sentenced to death in a KangarooCourt is liable to be a formidable occasion for activists to demand a retrial to have him sentenced to life in jail... But, considering the evidence that popped up ''after'' the trial, the judge refuses.
** Elisabeth Gay's descent into madness is all about this: spending months with your fiancée, then getting him arrested and finding out he's the King of Terror ''by accident'' took a heavy toll on her psyche, and finding out he was about to dump her like all her previous boyfriends pushed her over the edge.
** Diabolik [[KnifeNut only uses knives]] and various gadgets, but [[DoesNotLikeGuns finds guns too noisy for his stealthy modus operandi]]. A man with a gun could easily kill him, and the only reason nobody did it yet is that he's smart enough to know it and make sure nobody gets a clear shot.
** Diabolik [[NeverRecycleYourSchemes never reuses a gadget or plan]], with the only exceptions of his knives, needle launchers for poisoning or putting someone to sleep and his trademark [[LatexPerfection perfect masks]]. That's because he knows that the next time the police will be ready for it... As shown by the police having the habit of pinching someone's face to check for masks once they found out about them and often wearing protective knife and needle-proof vests and gas masks.
*** Also, the police only recycles ''their own'' anti-Diabolik schemes only when they have reason to believe Diabolik didn't realize what happened, as they know that the next time ''Diabolik'' will be ready, as shown by the many times Diabolik waltzed though a mask check (always with different tricks of course, as the next time the police will be ready for that one).
** In a world where only one man can create LatexPerfection, that man is a target for ''everyone''.
* In ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'', the main character joined a society dedicated to the preservation of an endangered squirrel. The idea was to tranq the last male and mate it with the last female.[[note]]Which wouldn't provide sufficient genetic diversity, but these guys aren't exactly geniuses.[[/note]] Dilbert's team get to work, they fire the tranq from the rifle from a few feet away, there's a ReactionShot of their OhCrap faces, and then one of them points out that, perhaps, they should've used a smaller dart.
* Surprisingly enough, the ''ComicBook/DisneyMouseAndDuckComics'' tend to do this ''a lot'':
** On one occasion, Scrooge [=McDuck=] and his family ventured into the ruins of an ancient civilization to look for the secrets of their LostTechnology. They find scrolls with all the necessary blueprints and they immediately go home where Scrooge shows them to his engineers... Who proceed to tell him that these designs are nearly identical to their latest project. After all, just because technology is lost, doesn't mean it can't be independently redeveloped later, especially over the course of centuries. Scrooge then destroys the ancient blueprints in anger... And Huey, Dewey and Louie decide not to tell him that [[WhatAnIdiot he just destroyed ancient documents that prove the high advancement of an ancient civilization that any museum would pay a fortune to purchase]].
** Typically, whenever someone ''other'' than Scrooge tries their hand at the "Swim around in money" thing, they just hit their heads while diving onto a pile of metal and fall unconscious, if they're lucky. Coins are very hard, after all. The in-universe explanation for how Scrooge can do it with no ill effect is that he's been diving around in money for so long that his body has just adjusted to it. ("I'll admit, it's a trick!" Scrooge once stated). Granted, this talent has limits. When Scrooge tries it on a giant chest full of silver coins pulled from a sunken shipwreck, he hurts himself because the coins, after centuries in a high-pressure environment, have fused into one solid chunk.
** The Beagle Boys provide a lot of it:
*** The people of Duckburg often laugh at the Beagle Boys due their repeated failures to rob the Money Bin... not realizing that an independent group of thieves consistently able to pose a serious threat to a ''fortress'' defended by incredibly advanced technologies are actually more than formidable at their jobs. Whenever they decide to dedicate themselves to other targets, there's a sudden and ''unstoppable'' crime wave that the police simply cannot stop, and more than once Scrooge's business rivals had to ''beg for his help'' after the BB started targeting them.
*** A group who dedicates themselves to robbing the Money Bin to the detriment of anything else are incredibly stubborn and determined - hence why they will ''never'' [[CutLexLuthorACheck use their immense array of technical skills to get honest jobs]]. They're also the only non-supervillain criminals who still consistently try to fight or run when caught by [[UnscrupulousHero Paperinik]], as they just don't know when to quit.
** [[WickedWitch Magica DeSpell]] is well known in Naples for being a witch, being [[HotWitch very attractive]], and for living on the Vesuvius. Much to her chagrin, her home is considered a ''tourist attraction'', no matter how many people she turns into frogs for trespassing.
** Super Goof is Goofy as a FlyingBrick. [[TheKlutz A Klutz]] with such powers has caused a lot of collateral damage, at least early on.
** On one occasion, Super Goof was challenged by rival FlyingBrick Megatop in a superheroing contest. The challenger was stronger and not a klutz... and had only a couple weeks on the job, and Super Goof outperformed him with ease in all three tasks:
*** When it came to catch two "criminals", Super Goof casually arrived on target with ease while Megatop was still accelerating because Goof knew exactly how much speed he needed and when to start slowing down, and only lost that one because the "criminals", being Emil Eagle's henchmen, were on Megatop's side and managed to distract him.
*** The second contest consisted into putting out a burning building. Megatop used his SuperBreath... And not only did it ''not'' extinguish the flames, they ''threatened the watching public on the nearby stand''- for all of the second it took to Super Goof to carry them away, as he already knew what would happen.
*** The third contest was an all-out battle. At first Super Goof is overpowered, then some rain gives him a moment to recover and reveals that Megatop is actually a robot... And a quick PunctuatedPounding later, Megatop is ''decapitated''.
** Mickey is [[PintSizedPowerhouse quite the fighter for his small size]]. As his usual opponent in a scuffle is Pete, who is ''much'' taller and tough, it rarely goes well for him.
*** On the other hand, years of getting into fights with Pete mean he's ''formidable'' against less tough opponents.
** John Rockerduck [[RunningGag eats his hat every time he's defeated by Scrooge]]. After a while, it became known he's having stomach issues from all the hats he's eaten.
** ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'':
*** Before this series, Paperinik started out as a vigilante who avenged himself by committing what were effectively crimes, and never lost his sadistic streak or [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight habit to ignore the rules to do the right thing]]. With a past like this one, [[HeroWithBadPublicity a charismatic and cunning journalist like Angus Fangus can ruin his reputation with ease]], and the TimePolice, who ''knows'' he's a hero, doesn't trust him anyway because they expect him to screw up the space-time continuum by doing anything that he believes is the right thing ([[JustifiedTrope and they're right]]).
*** The job of the TimePolice is to prevent alteration to the space-time continuity. This means that not only they won't lift a finger to prevent a cold fusion experiment from going awry and nuking Duckburg, but when it's actually prevented they send an assault squad to cause it anyway, only relenting when attempts at causing it anyway start risking to cause even more alterations.
*** Altering history by changing a single event [[TheButterflyEffect almost invariably has unforeseen consequences]]. Examples shown are the Organization sending an operative to kill Paperinik while ruining his reputation spiraling out into [[spoiler:the Time Police being disbanded and the Organization being taken over by two artificial intelligences]], an attempt at preventing an experiment that could destroy the entire space-time continuum ends up [[spoiler: getting it to start earlier so the mysterious saboteurs won't ruin it]], Paperinik preventing the destruction of Duckburg apparently [[spoiler: gave the Evronians a chance to recover from the destruction of their empire]]. In the reboot, a group of Evronians stealing a time machine and preventing the founding of their arch-enemies, the Guardians of the Galaxy, causes the Evronian Empire to demilitarize, with the only alteration that does exactly what is supposed to be is Odin Eidolon [[spoiler: kidnapping Trip, the son of the Raider, so he won't grow up to be the Organization operative that ruined Paperinik's reputation and nearly killed him, and that's because kidnapping him at the precise time he did [[PapaWolf got the Raider to abort the mission in which he died to track his son down]]]]. In fact time criminals are wary of altering history precisely because they know the risks (even inventing a device to change history without unforeseen consequences for when they decide they have to), as the owner of the time machine stolen by the Evronians gloated about TheButterflyEffect when they found out of the consequences of their actions.
*** [[EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion The Evronian invasion appears to be prevented entirely by Paperinik]]. It's later shown that the interstellar empire with vast armies and advanced technology simply has bigger fish to fry (including [[PhysicalGoddess Xadhoom]]) and can't spare the resources to assault Earth directly and its massive nuclear arsenal, and all Paperinik is doing is (barely) preventing a sliver of their forces from establishing a bridgehead on a single planet. In fact, in one of the few times the Evronians play for keeps, [[TheAllegedCar an antiquated and run down cruiser]] (by Evronian standards) [[CurbStompBattle decimates the full force of Earth's most advanced military]], and doesn't finish the job only due to the antimatter alternator breaking down again.
*** The Evronians power many of their machines with emotional energy. This means they have to continuously invade new worlds to keep their civilization running, and even then their energy situation is so desperate that their plan to deal with [[PhysicalGoddess Xadhoom's vendetta against them]] is to try and turn ''her'' into an energy source.
*** The Evronians are {{Emotion Eater}}s who use guns that fully drain the emotions of a victim, turning it in an emotionless slave, but [[HumansAreSpecial Earthlings are so emotionally rich]] that a single shot often isn't enough, and they can fully recover if given time. To the Evronians, this means that [[BlessedWithSuck Earth is a plentiful banquet and an alternative solution to their energy crisis]] if that aformentioned plan with Xadhoom doesn't work out.
*** When Everett Ducklair invented what would become Paperinik's [[CoolCar PKar]] he made it run on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomethylhydrazine monomethylhydrazine]], the same fuel as the Space Shuttle. When Paperinik has to leave the Ducklair Tower and loses One's support, usage of the [=PKar=] diminishes because he can't make the fuel at home and doesn't have the kind of support network to buy it. Ultimately Paperinik switches back to the 313-X in the PKNE revival stories, as that one runs on gas.
* In ComicBook/EarthwormJim, A giant snowman appears and attempts to attack Earthworm Jim, but then it immediately melts because it showed up in a fiery place. This was lampshaded by Jim afterwards...
-->'''Jim:''' He had a snow-ball's chance in a hot place... like a desert or Venus or something.
* ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'':
** Amusingly one of the first times Empowered comes across as actually being badass. She points out, quite effectively, that driving an SUV at 75 miles an hour into a villain's back is much more effective than hitting him with a thrown one at about 5 miles an hour. This allows her to defeat a villain that the entire superhero squad she's a ButtMonkey for was defeated by. Unfortunately, the car is totaled, leaving her tied up and unable to brag, and her superhero squad walks off, assuming they and the villain knocked each other out. ([[TheWoobie Forgetting about Empowered in the process.]])
** A super-doctor explains to Emp in no uncertain terms that despite the fact that most heroes have some flavor of SuperToughness, they still have a very high chance of accumulating severe brain damage due to constant low-level head injuries; they are specifically compared to professional athletes and soldiers, who have similar problems. In fact, supers are the only demographic besides infants who suffer from "shaken baby syndrome," due to super-strong enemies throwing them across the city like a ragdoll.
* In ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'', Jason spends the cash prize from a chess tournament on gumballs. The next time he goes to the dentist, [[BrickJoke he has cavities]].
* ''ComicBook/GhostbustersIDWComics'': Gozer tries to open the chamber where his essence was trapped in by the ghostbusters while possessing [[spoiler: Ray]]. The door has a palm reader, so it should work... except Gozer causes TransformationHorror on his victim, so his hand is bony and calloused and not very [[spoiler: Ray]]-like at all.
* In ''Comicbook/GrimmFairyTales'', Mercy Dante is a young woman whose parents were killed by a hitman when she was a child. Years later, she tracks down the hitman and finds out that he's retired and now has a young daughter named Trisha. Mercy kidnaps Trisha and then forces her father to watch as she shoots the girl in the head, killing her. When Mercy next appears many issues later, we see that [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty revenge has brought her absolutely no comfort]], as she's now [[HeelRealization wracked with guilt]] over having slain an innocent child. [[spoiler: She ends up being given a second chance after being sent back to the day she killed Trisha, and this time, [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong she opts to let her go]].]]
* This trope occurs frequently in ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'' and its sister series ''Incorruptible''.
** The Plutonian's tragic childhood where he was shuffled and bounced between numerous foster homes was caused by the simple fact that MuggleFosterParents really wouldn't know ''how'' to deal with a kid with superhuman abilities.
** Another flashback from Plutonian's early teen years showed that he heard his foster mother was about to commit suicide, and got there in a fraction of a second, intending to stop her. But sound takes almost ten seconds to travel two miles. She had already been dead when he heard her.
** When Plutonian revealed his SecretIdentity to his {{Love Interest|s}}, instead of [[TheRevealPromptsRomance being awestruck by his awesomeness]], she's freaked out that he deceived her like that and wants nothing more to do with him.
** The series' resident {{Badass Normal}}s are ''very'' swiftly killed off by the Plutonian after his FaceHeelTurn. After all, if a FlyingBrick with SuperSenses who [[PersonOfMassDestruction can destroy a full-sized city in less than an afternoon]] wants you dead, martial arts, nifty gadgets and money won't do jack to save you.
** Career criminal and major enemy of Plutonian Max Damage resolves to turn over a new leaf after witnessing firsthand the Plutonian's rampage in Sky City. He even goes as far as to torch his wealth and gadgets since it's all in his words ''blood money.'' Unfortunately Max not only being a notorious crook for so long but also keeping his pseudonym, appearance, and even sidekick from his life of crime doesn't help to make him more trustworthy in the eyes of not just the public but already established heroes as well. It's not until it [[spoiler: looks like he chased Plutonian away from Coalville]] that he starts to become really accepted by the public. {{Heel Face Turn}}s flew more smoothly in the Silver Age comics (Hawkeye and Black Widow being key examples), but not anymore after Reality Ensues.
* Creator/MarkMillar does this a lot:
** An issue of ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'' had Franchise/{{Batman}} [[CaptainErsatz clone]] Nighthawk break his ankle trying to pull off a DynamicEntry by jumping off a building to attack some mooks. The same issue deconstructs the concept of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits by showing how badly a group of people (ComicBook/TheDefenders), inexperienced at superheroing with the exception of one, perform during their first outing as superheroes.
** In ''[[ComicBook/TheUltimates Ultimate Avengers]]'' the [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Nerd Hulk]] challenges a vampire named Anthony to a fight. Anthony agrees, and Nerd Hulk decapitates him with one punch. Hulk has SuperStrength and doesn't have any reason to hold back against a vampire so...
** The same arc has the introduction of the new Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}. After Matt Murdock is killed during the events of ''Comicbook/{{Ultimatum}}'', Stick lucks out and finds a young boy named Ray Connor, who has gained similar SuperSenses after being blinded in an accident. He trains Ray and makes him the new Daredevil, only for Ray to end up overwhelmed and bitten by a swarm of vampires during one of his first superhero outings. A KidHero is still just that, a ''kid'', so tossing them into the thick of battle probably isn't the best idea.
** ''Comicbook/OldManLogan'' revolves around a LegionOfDoom wiping out the superheroes with sheer numbers after all the villains are able to finally put aside the personal differences that keep them apart in the mainstream continuity.
** A similar 'villain army' plot is central to the comic book series ''Comicbook/{{Wanted}}''.
** ''ComicBook/KickAss'':
*** A teenager with no powers or special training decides to become a superhero. Especially when Kick-Ass fights crime for the first time he ends up getting stabbed by one of the thugs. Then subverted by...most of the comic after that point. To start with, getting stabbed and hit by a car gave him just enough, very specific nerve damage to stop feeling almost any pain.
*** The {{Tykebomb}}-turned-superhero Hit-Girl is clearly damaged by her upbringing, escalating into disturbing hallucinations of her father still giving her orders and advice.
*** Dave's pretending to be gay in order to get close to the girl he likes ends very badly. The girl is ''extremely'' pissed off to have been lied to and manipulated by what she thought was her GayBestFriend, has her boyfriend beat the crap out of Dave in retaliation, and then later taunts him with pictures of her giving her boyfriend a blowjob (that Dave promptly masturbates to).
*** In the second volume, the Motherfucker goes on a rape/murder spree through a suburb so extreme [[EvenEvilHasStandards even the gang of supervillains he hired to act as his enforcers are disturbed]], all in order to get at Kick-Ass. He thinks he's firmly cemented his VillainCred, only to learn the very next issue how big of a mistake he just made; his monstrous actions have caused the [[DirtyCop corrupt police]] to [[EveryoneHasStandards no longer be able to turn a blind eye to his crimes]], half of his gang [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere abandon him]], and [[PersonaNonGrata all the other mobs in the city want him dead]]. And without the mobs and police covering his back, the Motherfucker is just a normal guy with a few hired guns who has [[SuperTeam an army of superheroes]] barging down on his position, [[ItsPersonal most of whom are now looking for blood]], and [[CurbStompBattle things don't end well]]. There's a very good reason RealLife mobs operate on PragmaticVillainy.
** The second issue of ''Superior'' has a kid testing out the superpowers of his favorite SupermanSubstitute. He attempts to use his "super-breath" to put out a house fire, only to ''demolish'' the house and spread the fire over a much larger area.
* In "ComicBook/MarshalLaw Takes Manhattan", a psychotic parody of ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} is falling to his death from a skyscraper and manages to grab hold of a flagpole protruding from the building... whereupon the inertia rips his arms off.
* ''ComicBook/MightyMorphinPowerRangersBoomStudios'' adds new nuances to the original series that they were unwilling or unable to add in.
** Both the early issues and the ''Necessary Evil'' storyline deal with the Rangers having to deal with major changes in line up and teamwork (Tommy joining the team and suffering from being TheAtoner and Tommy becoming the White Ranger and Adam, Aisha and Rocky replacing Zack, Trini and Jason). The new heroes have trouble getting used to teamwork and the old heroes cannot stand their newbishness as it ruins their cohesiveness.
** Being set in more modern times and circumstances changing the reasons, Jason, Zack and Trini being sent to a "peace conference" is a cover for becoming the secret Omega Rangers. Thanks to the advent of text messaging and cellphones, the friends must constantly lie and hide where they are from their old teammates. Even more, both Tommy and Lord Zedd accuse the trio of being cowards who ran when Zedd's attacks grew fiercer.
** While Tommy was EasilyForgiven in the [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers original show]], that is not the case here. The public is understandably wary of someone who had attacked their city for months and the team itself is divided on it, Zack in particular calls out Jason for asking Tommy to join the team since he did it without consulting anyone else.
* ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'':
** An issue has the Mane Six get a warning about a giant monster. Eventually, they encounter... the remains of said monster. It turns out, monster or not, [[ForgotToFeedTheMonster if you don't feed a creature for a long time, it tends to die]].
** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDWHolidays2014 the 2014 Equestria Girls Holiday Special]], Anon-a-Miss is revealed to be [[spoiler:the Canterlot Movie Crew (the human versions of the Cutie Mark Crusaders) who were posting details about students' personal lives out of [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy that Sunset Shimmer was getting more attention from their sisters than they were]]]]. Even after the apology of the guilty party is accepted by Sunset Shimmer, the things that Anon-a-Miss posted online don't just disappear, and the students don't magically forget the things that were posted. Rarity even tells Sweetie Belle that what Anon-a-Miss posted will be up forever. Earlier in the story, Sunset laments to Twilight Sparkle how easy it is for someone's reputation to be destroyed with a few online posts.
* [[ComicBook/TheMask The original Mask comics]] make a big deal of the fact that while whoever wears the titular mask operates under ToonPhysics, the same does not extend to anyone else, leading to a large number of grisly deaths as we're shown what really happens when someone gets SquashedFlat or has [[TorsoWithAView a hole blown through their chest.]]
* ''Comicbook/PaperGirls'': As part of the DeliberateValuesDissonance pertaining to TheEighties setting, Mac smokes constantly, despite being a kid. [[spoiler: When her friends time travel to 2016 in a later issue, they find out that Mac ends up dying of leukemia in TheNineties, almost certainly brought on by her fondness for cigarettes.]]
* The comic series ''ComicBook/{{Powers}}'' is essentially a PoliceProcedural set in a standard superhero setting, as such, the majority of supervillains shown are relatively realistic criminals with some special powers. As such, most supervillains aren't out to rule the world and most of them don't do anything as grandiose as rob banks; the most dangerous supervillain group isn't a LegionOfDoom, but a superpowered equivalent to TheMafia; [[HarmlessVillain non-violent villains]] are held in a minimum security prisons, and some of them are happy to snitch; and many known supervillains walk the streets free because there isn’t sufficient evidence to convict them, or they just haven’t been caught recently.
* Much of the humour of ''ComicBook/{{Rat-Man}}'' relies on this:
** Superheroes aren't all there with their mind due to the toll taken by both training and actual superheroing.
** Valker divides superheroes into two kinds: those who think they can [[BulletCatch grab speeding bullets out of thin air]] and those who think he won't shoot. [[HeroKiller Valker has a collection of superhero masks and gloves with bullet holes in them]].
*** On the above, turns out that letting a CombatPragmatist superhero come close was a bad idea on Valker's part, as Rat-Man stole his gun.
** If you're a lab assistant for a murderous sociopath like Valker, showing your colleagues a card trick during work hours results in Valker using the cards to predict the future and then calling your widow to inform her of your imminent death.
*** Similarly, ''dealing'' with a murderous sociopath like Valker can result in death if he doesn't need you or you aren't his boss. He has a soft spot for those who work directly under him (as long as they don't slack off, as the card trick incident shows), but everyone else is liable to get maimed or killed for little reason or [[ForTheEvulz none at all]].
** When the authorities outlaw superheroes, some give up, some are captured, and the rest form a resistance movement that the authorities just can't stop, as they all have superpowers.
** In the final issue, a defeated Topin taunts repeatedly Rat-Man that if he doesn't kill him he'll be back... After having nearly destroyed the world, [[spoiler:having kidnapped Rat-Man's daughter]] and being exposed as the reason why Rat-Man never [[spoiler:contacted her or her mother]]. Rat-Man [[ThouShaltNotKill usually has a no-kill rule]], but for once [[PapaWolf Rat-Man is more than willing to violate it]].
*** The reason Rat-Man doesn't kill Topin is that [[spoiler:[[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork Valker kills him first]]]] in revenge for everything that Topin had done to his family. Turns out that [[BullyingTheDragon tormenting and trying to murder the only child of a murderous sociopath and kidnapping said sociopath's granddaughter is a bad idea]]... And, [[HeroKiller being an expert of killing superpowered opponents]], [[spoiler:Valker [[SimpleYetAwesome simply stomps on his head]] [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown while he's still down and weak from the beating Rat-Man gave him]]]], as he's nowhere near stupid enough to give a superpowered opponent the chance to recover.
* ''ComicBook/RogueTrooper'': While the [[SuperSoldier Genetic Infantry]] are incredibly skilled and resilient, and have several perks due to their improvements, they are still a light infantry unit. Being ambushed by a conventional unit equipped with better intelligence, good combined arms doctrine, artillery and armor led to what was later known as the Quartz Zone Massacre.
* In the first ''ComicBook/{{Sam and Max|FreelancePolice}}'' comic, they're tied up on top of an active volcano and a husky cult leader intends to kill them. [[ConvectionSchmonvection The large amount of heat from the volcano]] causes the cult leader to spontaneously combust. However, the comic decides to play it off as a DeusExMachina for the sake of humor.
* ''ComicBook/SexCriminals'': [[spoiler: The Sex Police aren't actually police. On the one hand, this means that they have no real power to arrest anyone or any kind of legal authority, but on the other hand, they're essentially vigilantes who have no reason to play nice and nobody to hold them responsible for anything.]]
** When Susie and Jon tell Ana that they're bank robbers, her response is to tell them to get out- after all, they'd just made her an accessory after the fact, why would she want anything more to do with them?
** [[spoiler: Susie and Jon's crime spree gets a lot of people with orgasm-powers very pissed off at them. Sure, their motives might be good, but they're committing crimes, potentially exposing everyone, and they have little if any sense of restraint- they're a disaster waiting to happen.]]
* A one-shot story from ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons'' comic features Bart, Milhouse, Martin, and Ralph wanting to go to an R-rated movie, but the ticket seller said he could only sell them tickets to [[TastesLikeDiabetes a cheesy kids movie.]] Bart accepts, and he and the rest sneak into the R-rated movie and continue to do so for sometime. Everything goes well until Milhouse revealed their scam, and soon every kid starts buying a ticket to a kiddie film and then sneak into an R-rated one. [[DidntThinkThisThrough As a result, mushy kids movies have suddenly become incredibly profitable, and studios react by halting production on films with mature content and crank out the cutesy stuff like there's no tomorrow]].
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'':
*** For the longest time, there were many factions and individuals that, based on their respective showings, could've defeated Dr. Robotnik/Eggman very easily. In particular, the echidna civilizations would've delivered a CurbStompBattle if they fought him. Instead they allowed him to continue since he wasn't a serious threat to them and he kept the other minor threats under control, even though his schemes have endangered them one way or another and he was aware of them from his time in the royal court of Mobotropolis. Eventually, because they gave him free reign to do whatever he wanted, Robotnik was able to improve his technology to the point that, with some minor help, he could attack them directly and raze their civilizations to the ground before they were finally and completely [[ExiledFromContinuity erased from existence]].
*** Geoffrey St. John is put on trial for his role in enabling Ixis Naugus' rise to power in Acorn and how he apparently was aiding him for years. He's found guilty... only for King Naugus to use his royal authority (and an article of Acorn law) to pardon Geoffrey. There's no way that Naugus ''wouldn't'' use his newfound position as Acorn's king to keep his loyal servant out of prison. Earlier during Naugus' takeover, Sonic learns that the Council of Acorn doesn't appreciate Sonic disrespecting their authority no matter what villain is attacking.
*** In Tails' mini-series, Tails arrives at Downunda with the intent of surprising Robotnik's underboss Crocbot. He gets spotted immediately and is attacked by Wing Dingoes and badly injured, requiring him to be rescued by the local Freedom Fighter group.
*** Silver's InspectorJavert tendencies to persecute and try to kill people he thinks are wrong-doers on questionable evidence, compared to his EasilyForgiven AesopAmnesia in the games, slowly but surely leaves him on ''very'' bad terms with the Freedom Fighters, eventually banished and labelled a fraction of the hero they are by [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Sonic]] (who was already having his AllLovingHero ethics tested ''[[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished sorely]]'' at this point). This leads to a sincere HeelRealization by Silver, and while the Secret Freedom Fighter unit take pity and induct him so as to atone, it takes ''much'' heavier convincing that Silver has changed for Sonic and the others to forgive him.
*** In the events leading up to the House of Cards arc, Sonic dates Fiona despite full knowledge of Tails' crush on him, and during said arc, when Tails' father is arrested after leading what amounts to an angry mob to Castle Acorn and cause a riot in pursuit of political reform, Sonic tactlessly insults Amadeus' intelligence right in front of Tails, only to be confused when Tails shoots him a DeathGlare and walks out of the room; Sonic proceeds to blow off Nicole's insistence that they [[PoorCommunicationKills talk things out]] because they're "practically brothers". Later, Sonic goes so far as to gloat to Amadeus and Rosemary's faces that even if they are Tails' parents, he grew up with him and is close enough to him that Tails will [[EasilyForgiven get over it]]; he's InstantlyProvenWrong when Tails, who overheard the entire confrontation, finally [[RageBreakingPoint snaps]] and physically attacks him, chewing him out for his lack of sensitivity all the while. It goes to show that just because Sonic and Tails are lifelong best friends and surrogate brothers, with Tails being a HeroWorshipper of him, that doesn't mean they won't have fights or always see eye to eye; they'll have disagreements and tensions like any friends would in real life, and not talking things out will only allow those tensions to fester.
** ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'':
*** In general, the Restoration proves that it's ''not'' the Knothole Freedom Fighters through this trope. Amy tries to bring Sonic back into the fold and have him lead the group, but he refuses as it doesn't gel with his carefree, never staying put in one place attitude. When Angel Island is saved, Knuckles ''immediately'' abandons the group to be guardian of the Master Emerald again and, by issue #31, Amy is so overwhelmed by the logistics of it all that she tosses the reins to Jewel.
*** After Sonic and Tails beat the Egg Hammers in Issue #1, they look back at the town they just saved and see the damage caused, with some of the townsfolk again panicked. In addition, Tails is still worried about possibly losing Sonic again.
*** In Issue #15, Sonic and Amy explore an abandoned base of Eggman's that the Resistance managed to raid and liberate prisoners from during the war. However, Amy glumly mentions they lost people as well, showcasing that the war against Eggman indeed had causalities on their side.
*** In Issue #22, we see the Resistance HQ can only hold so many uninfected since they're all in a small building and housing millions on people from cities they evacuated. [[spoiler:And not surprisingly, miss whomever ''was'' infected. One of them manages to get into the base, hiding that the Metal Virus got on him until ultimately he succumbs. This, combined with the Zombot-ified Charmy that Vector and Espio brought in breaking free from his container, ends up infecting the base in no time.]]
*** In Issue # 25, [[spoiler:Starline's attempt to use the Cacophonous Conch to control the Deadly Six fails as he didn’t know the RestrainingBolt only works when it's blown into.]]
* In the ''ComicBook/StarTrekDCComics'' storyline "Who Killed Captain Kirk?", William Bearclaw is exposed as a [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]] and, being the last straw, is told by Kirk that he's going to get him transferred to another ship where he won't be trouble for him or others. He attempts to prove his worth by conning a member of a possible suicide mission into swapping with him. He makes it out alive and saves a member of the team in the process... and is chewed out for disobeying a direct order (which was "No, you can't go"). When Kirk fingers him as the culprit to his assassination attempt, no one wants to stand up for him because of his transgressions.
* ''Comicbook/StrayBullets'':
** Nick runs for sheriff against the unpopular and corrupt Montana, and garners a lot of public support due to his charming persona and promise to bring prosperity back to the town. Just before the election, Montana threatens to kill anyone who doesn't vote for him, and wins in a landslide.
** Despite her perpetually optimistic demeanor, it becomes increasingly clear in later arcs that the TraumaCongaLine Virginia experienced throughout her childhood (witnessing a murder, dealing with an abusive mother, having her face slashed, losing her father to cancer, having two of her friends die, and getting kidnapped and threatened with sexual assault ''multiple times'') has taken a toll on her and caused a host of mental and emotional issues. The most evident of these is her disturbing propensity to respond to problems (even minor ones) with extreme violence, such as when she almost pulls a knife on Eli's cousin after he insults her. She also displays signs of PTSD, such as [[PrefersRocksToPillows sleeping on the floor instead of in her bed]].
** Following the events of ''Somewhere Out West'', Beth and Virginia are hiding out in California after escaping Harry's goons. Despite trying to keep a low profile, Beth's decision to not make Virginia attend school winds up causing problems and getting the police involved, as truancy is still a crime in most of the United States.
** In ''Dark Days'', [[spoiler: Virginia fights tooth and nail to save her friend Bobby from a pedophile named Ron, but is eventually overpowered and knocked unconscious. She may be a LittleMissBadass, but she's also still just a kid trying to beat up a grown man]].
** Also during ''Dark Days'', [[spoiler: Beth accidentally shoots a cop while trying to find Virginia. Even though the cop survives and even expresses sympathy for her plight, ''Killers'' later reveals that Beth still went to prison.]]
** A group of kids steal a gun and decide to fire it, only to immediately injure themselves when they don't properly prepare for the recoil.
** In ''Sunshine and Roses'', Orson tries to sell his dad's car to pay off Beth's debt, only to be told that won't work because he doesn't have any registration proving it's really his. When he then suggests they sell it to a chop shop, Beth points out that illegal car rings generally steal the cars themselves rather than buy them.
** After getting hit on the head with a pot, Annie is knocked unconscious and the other characters are unable to revive her. [[spoiler: Even though she eventually wakes up, the untreated brain damage remains and later causes her to suffer a stroke.]]
** In the same story, Orson kidnaps Annie's cohort Dr. Blumstein in order to force him to treat her. Blumstein is quick to point out that he's merely a reconstructive surgeon with a specialty in cosmetic procedures; [[NotThatKindOfDoctor brain injuries are completely outside his wheelhouse]], and he advises Orson to take Annie to a hospital.
** PlayedForLaughs (the BlackComedy kind) when Orson accidentally kills the abusive ex-boyfriend of a burlesque dancer he'd befriended by knocking the man off a balcony:
-->'''Orson:''' Wow. Who freakin' dies falling ''one'' story?
* In the [[ComicBook/MickeyMouseComicUniverse Mickey Mouse]] story "Topolino e il serial-ladro", an FBI agent arrives to help the Mouseton police with a particularly high-profile investigation. When she learns that Mickey is not a police officer, she is shocked that the chief of police would allow a random civilian to participate in the investigation and freely roam the police depot unsupervised. She immediately has him thrown out of the building.
** One European comic has Mickey face an Imp that is a pretty blatant {{Expy}} of [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Mr. Mxyztplk]]. The entire story is told by Mickey to his therapist - since Mickey is an everyman in this story, not a superhero, the experience left him traumatized and terrified of the Imp's return.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Uber}}'', the American superhuman Colossus goes up against his Nazi counterpart Sieglinde. Colossus hasn't been fully enhanced yet, but he's brave, clever and determined... and the fully-enhanced Sieglinde rips him to pieces in a matter of seconds.
* ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'' breathes this trope:
** A vast majority of attempts to stop a zombie bite from killing a person via amputating the bitten limb has ended with the person dying anyway due to the resulting blood loss or bacterial infection. One of the only times where it did succeed ([[spoiler:with Dale and Connie]]) was only because the infectee was immediately taken to a sterilized environment and had the limb amputated by someone with extensive medical experience.
** Rick beats [[spoiler: Thomas]] to a pulp in a blind rage when he finds out he's the one who murdered Maggie's sisters. So severely, in fact, that he damages his own hands and knuckles to the point where he is flat-out told he'll never be able to clench his left hand in to a fist again.
** Gregory's attempt to kill [[spoiler: Maggie]] fail in part due to him simply not giving her a high enough dose of poison to actually kill her.
* ''ComicBook/TheWickedAndTheDivine'': The power and adoration one gets by becoming a god is enough to convince people to do some very horrible things in order to get the chance to ascend. It convinces two [[spoiler: fans]] to try to kill Lucifer, shooting innocents in the progress, and convinced [[spoiler: 1830's Inanna to agree to murder her sister's children in exchange for ascension.]]
** Most of the gods are not at all happy with their drastically-reduced lifespan, especially poor Minerva, who's ''12''.
** Being a god does not mean that you're above the law, as Lucifer finds out. [[spoiler: Also, when Laura/Persephone kills Ananke, the other gods' first thought is how they'll stop her from getting convicted for murder.]]
** The gods are all teenagers of various ages who have been given vast amounts of power and adoration, who can do almost whatever they want, and who have to deal with the shock of their new identities, their reduced lifespans and their responsibilities on top of all their ''other'' problems and already-existing insecurities. The result? Sure, some of them are nice, but a few are complete douchebags.
** The gods are viewed as entertainers, and most people consider their original personalities to not really matter. As a result, when Tara tries to play her own songs and recite her own poetry instead of just performing like everyone else, the crowd turns on her and she gets so much hate that [[spoiler: she gives up and commits suicide by Ananke.]]
** Laura [[spoiler: becomes Persephone, achieving her every wish, and then has to watch as Ananke, a woman she trusted, kills Inanna- Laura's good friend- and Laura's entire family. The poor girl is so shocked and traumatised that she does almost nothing for days afterwards.]]
** [[spoiler: Ananke has known the gods for millennia, is the one who helps them ascend, and is trusted absolutely. So she's in the perfect position to stab them all in the back.]]
* ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'':
** The Guardians of Kandrakar have an easy time against {{Mooks}} because of this: their enemies use middle ages meelee weapons, and they wield powerful magic that can strike at distance. For obvious reasons, it's very rare to find a soldier who comes back for a rematch.
** In a WhatIf issue they attacked a police van to rescue a friend, thinking it would be no different from the many battles against normal mooks they won, especially as this time it's five of them against two cops... Who have ''guns''. The Guardians are nearly killed.
* ''ComicBook/SecondComing'':
** Sunstar and his girlfriend are unable to conceive a child because she is human while he is a {{Human Alien|s}}. [[spoiler:Subverted in the end when God blesses them with a child as thanks for being Jesus' friend.]]
** Jesus is briefly arrested and put up for psychiatric evaluation when he claims to be ''the'' Jesus Christ.
* ''ComicBook/KimReaper''
** ''Vol 2 Vampire Island''
*** One that pretty much kicks off the story, Beca and Tyler love vampire stories. So Kim takes them to an island to see real ones. But naturally they all realize what a bad idea that was as it's like putting a lamb in a den of wolves. Once the vampires realize they're human, they nearly kill Becka and Tyler, only saved when Charlie helps them until Kim can come back from reaper business.
*** Charlie's backstory had her and Kim do some amateur vampire hunting. Of course, saved for only being armed with stakes, they're not trained in the slightest. When they do stumble upon a group of vampires, they instantly get cold feet and try to back away. Unfortunately Kim stepping on a stick gets the vampires attention, the duo run but end up getting separated in the confusion (being in woods at night didn't help) and Charlie, trying to take a breather ultimately ends up caught, fed on and turned.
*** Charlie escape the island with Kim and her friends. But the realization soon hits everyone that since she's a vampire and the island supplied her blood, she now had to find a new source for it since she pretty much outed herself as a traitor by helping the group. Tyler nearly has to let her bite him until Kim stops them and comes up with an alternative.
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[[redirect:SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome/ComicBooks]]

!!The following have their own pages:
[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/SpiderMan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paycheck.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300: Just one out of many reasons why having a SecretIdentity would suck.]]
[[index]]
* RealityEnsues/AvatarTheLastAirbender
* RealityEnsues/TheDCU
* RealityEnsues/MarvelUniverse
[[/index]]
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* In ''ComicBook/AdventureTimeBananaGuardAcademy'', Punch Bowl's backstory is a parody of Kool-Aid adverts that shows how annoying a party-obsessed bowl of punch would actually be.
* ''ComicBook/AfterlifeWithArchie'':
** Everyone (except for Reggie) easily accepts Kevin's sexuality. [[spoiler:Nancy]] is convinced she and [[spoiler: Ginger]] wouldn't be as accepted as a well-off white boy and that's largely why they are closeted.
** Sabrina ignoring her aunts' warnings and using her magic however she pleases is usually treated lightly in [[ComicBook/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch her source series]]. Normally there are no lasting consequences and she simply gets a minor punishment, if any at all. Here it causes a ZombieApocalypse and her Aunts respond by [[spoiler: turning into horrific monsters and banishing her to purgatory while taking her mouth away so she couldn't plead with them.]] Moreover, it's revealed that her reckless use of magic summons [[spoiler:''Cthulhu''.]]
* ''ComicBook/AgeOfReptiles'': In ''Ancient Egyptians'', when the male Spinosaurus encounters the previous chicks of the female, he immediately goes into Kill 'Em All mode on them, as this is what a male trying to bring a female to season in real life would do.
* ''ComicBook/AmethystPrincessOfGemworld'': While Amethyst's heroics are loved by people in her 2020 solo, her actions make delicate diplomacy with Dark Houses she keeps picking fights with a nightmare, to the point her own mother considers her a political liability. Torquoise is her only political ally and is constantly pressured by other houses to stab her in the back.
* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'':
** In the 1950's, a reporter sees a fantastic battle of the Honor Guard and some cultists. However, his editor keeps cutting down the story because he can't prove any of it and the Honor Guard not talking about it. Thus, the tale simply becomes a report on [[ItMakesSenseInContext a frozen shark derailing a train]]. When he become editor himself, the report admits his boss was right on not printing what can't be backed up by facts.
** The comic defies ComicBookTime by having characters age and heroes often forced to retire. One story arc has Crackerjack and Quarrel, two regular, non-powered street fighters, forced to acknowledge that in their 40's, they're not as physically capable as they once were.
** In a shot on the Silver Age "Lois and Superman" stories, Irene Merryweather is obsessed with proving that her co-worker Adam Peterson is the famous superhero Atomicus. Finally fed up with his games, Irene publicly pulls Adam's shirt off to reveal his costume. Atomicus is enraged, erupting on how all he wanted was a quiet and normal life, and leaves Earth. Irene realizes too late this was never a "game" to him and her own career suffers driving a hero off the planet.
** A thief finds himself using a magic talisman to bond with his pet dog into a dog-themed hero. Sadly, the magic does not extend the dog's lifespan as, after a decade, the owner realizes his beloved pet is reaching the end of his life.
** A lawyer is given the impossible task of defending an obviously guilty mobster. He hits upon the novel defense that in a world of evil twins, shapechangers, mind-controllers, and even people coming back from the dead, is there such a thing as "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt?" However, it gets flipped around at the end of the story, where the now-retired lawyer notes that "the law caught up" and the trick wouldn't work in the present day, since the defense would need proof of superhuman or otherwordly shenannigans for such claims to be taken seriously.
** One issue shows how many people with superpowers, rather than put on a costume and fight/commit crimes, prefer to live quiet and normal lives.
* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'':
** Louis and Martin's reckless approach to their scientific endeavors gets them into serious trouble every time. The first time they almost destroy the world, they're simply ReassignedToAntarctica, but the second time, they end up doing the same thing and getting ''sixty people'' killed at the same time, so it's off to jail forever for them.
** Task Force ULTRA have zero specialists or scientific knowledge, relying entirely on stolen tech that they do not (and never did) understand themselves, and they throw themselves into the Biomega conflict of ''The Ring of Fire'' with zero effort to actually gather intel about the opposition first. Their anti-Biomega taskforce was annihilated with contemptuous ease, with a final kill count of zero. On top of that, their public actions have destroyed their reputation with the American public and have caused several international incidents. By the end ULTRA finds itself [[HauledBeforeASenateSubCommittee having to defend its actions before congress]], and are very close to being shut down entirely.
* In ''Comicbook/TheBeano'''s 60th anniversary issue, Tim Traveller goes back in time to 1938 to try and get a cheap copy of issue 1. Unfortunately, [[WorkOffTheDebt it turns out they had different money in 1938]].
* ''ComicBook/TheBoys'' is a ''massive'' {{Deconstruction}} of the underlying corporate nature of superheroes and the comic book industry, and of the idea of Silver Age-style superheroes existing in real life. The superheroes in this setting were raised from birth with everything handed to them on a silver platter from Vought-American. Because of how MerchandiseDriven superheroes ''by nature'' are, spoiling them with [[Fiction500 all the wealth in the world]] is pretty much all Vought can do to make sure [[BewareTheSuperman they don't one day go off the deep end]]. That being said, the superheroes, as a result of all the power they've been given right from the moment they were born, end up sociopathic, immature, spoiled, and utterly hedonistic--fixated only on their own individual satisfactions without much regard for the innocents whose lives are in their hands. What's even worse is that since superheroes are such a massive investment and turn in extremely huge profits, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Vought's management]] is very much willing to do ''whatever they deem necessary'' to ensure their business remains afloat.
** The events of 9/11 unfolded differently in this setting; the President listened to the CIA's suspicions of an impending terrorist attack and ordered the planes to be shot down, but Vought-American called off the jet that would have shot down one of the ones heading for the World Trade Center so they could have The Seven save it as part of a publicity stunt. What happened next shows ''exactly'' what would happen if a Justice League-esque superhero team tried to stop a midair plane hijacking; The Seven had '''[[DidntThinkThisThrough no plan]]''' beyond "enter through the forward doors", resulting in the death of one of their teammates and the plane smashing into the Brooklyn Bridge, which ends up doing even more damage to New York than the loss of the World Trade Center and kicks off the comic's plot.
-->'''The Legend:''' They ain't trained for this, see. They ain't ''practiced''. They don't know shit about hijackin', or hostage situations, or how a goddamn plane ''flies through the air''... They ain't even got a '''plan'''. They just think-- We're The Seven. We're super. ''We can do this''. […] You imagine how things'd be right now if the assholes'd manage to ''land'' that 'plane? But instead... Well. That's what you get when a bunch of fucks in tights '''try to save the goddamn day'''.
* In ''ComicBook/CommonGrounds'', a fight between a superhero and supervillain ends up killing a civilian caught in the crossfire. The result is both hero and villain getting arrested and sentenced to prison for manslaughter. After they get out, the hero ends up homeless and struggling to find employment, as it's difficult for ex-cons to get jobs.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'' a band of survivors is trying to stay undetected while a large group of the infected psychopaths are in the area. One survivor asks a soldier in the group if he can just snipe them down from a distance. The soldier informs her that this isn't the movies where magazines are bottomless and shooters are uncannily accurate. He only has half a magazine left in his rifle, and even if every shot was a hit and every hit was a kill, he can't take them all out.
* A common situation with superheroes since the end of the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]]. It's resulted in some great stories, but [[SturgeonsLaw falls flat a lot of the time]]. The problem being that [[NecessaryWeasel some of the basic tenets of superheroes, namely the ones that require a greater suspension of disbelief, have to be kept in order for the genre to work]].
* In Dark Horse's ''[[ComicBook/ConanTheBarbarian Conan the Avenger]]'', the main protagonist's allies attempt to pull some SlaveLiberation by assaulting a slave trading hub, killing all slavers and freeing the prisoners. Their glory is short-lived as a massive military force is assembled from [[EnemyMine warring city-states that joined forces]] to destroy them, as this attack is a massive disruption to their economy. Trying to go around freeing slaves by kicking ass and taking names like [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire Daenerys]] [[Series/GameOfThrones Targaryen]] will only get a massive army breathing down your neck.
* ''ComicBook/DangerGirl'': In ''Back in Black'', Sydney Savage learns Sydney Savage learns [[WardrobeMalfunction the hard way]] that a zipped-down [[OfCorsetsSexy corset]] is not the best attire for motorcycle riding.
* In ''ComicBook/DastardlyAndMuttley'' real world is being transformed into the one of a cartoon. ToonPhysics are treated as BodyHorror and behavior out of a ZanyCartoon causes total chaos and panic [[spoiler: especially after the president of the United States gets affected]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}'' examples:
** Kidnappings are almost always incredibly traumatizing, even when the victim knows they'll get out without a scratch.
** Diabolik is [[TheDreaded incredibly feared]], to the point he earned such fully justified names as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast King of Terror, Murderer with a Thousand Faces]], and many others. When he's arrested, the terror he caused leads to a KangarooCourt by complete accident, as the judge and the public are terrified and want a scapegoat (even if he's actually guilty) and his court-assigned lawyer too is too scared to do a good job, and he's sentenced to death even if there wasn't enough evidence yet.
*** Also, having a famous criminal being sentenced to death in a KangarooCourt is liable to be a formidable occasion for activists to demand a retrial to have him sentenced to life in jail... But, considering the evidence that popped up ''after'' the trial, the judge refuses.
** Elisabeth Gay's descent into madness is all about this: spending months with your fiancée, then getting him arrested and finding out he's the King of Terror ''by accident'' took a heavy toll on her psyche, and finding out he was about to dump her like all her previous boyfriends pushed her over the edge.
** Diabolik [[KnifeNut only uses knives]] and various gadgets, but [[DoesNotLikeGuns finds guns too noisy for his stealthy modus operandi]]. A man with a gun could easily kill him, and the only reason nobody did it yet is that he's smart enough to know it and make sure nobody gets a clear shot.
** Diabolik [[NeverRecycleYourSchemes never reuses a gadget or plan]], with the only exceptions of his knives, needle launchers for poisoning or putting someone to sleep and his trademark [[LatexPerfection perfect masks]]. That's because he knows that the next time the police will be ready for it... As shown by the police having the habit of pinching someone's face to check for masks once they found out about them and often wearing protective knife and needle-proof vests and gas masks.
*** Also, the police only recycles ''their own'' anti-Diabolik schemes only when they have reason to believe Diabolik didn't realize what happened, as they know that the next time ''Diabolik'' will be ready, as shown by the many times Diabolik waltzed though a mask check (always with different tricks of course, as the next time the police will be ready for that one).
** In a world where only one man can create LatexPerfection, that man is a target for ''everyone''.
* In ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'', the main character joined a society dedicated to the preservation of an endangered squirrel. The idea was to tranq the last male and mate it with the last female.[[note]]Which wouldn't provide sufficient genetic diversity, but these guys aren't exactly geniuses.[[/note]] Dilbert's team get to work, they fire the tranq from the rifle from a few feet away, there's a ReactionShot of their OhCrap faces, and then one of them points out that, perhaps, they should've used a smaller dart.
* Surprisingly enough, the ''ComicBook/DisneyMouseAndDuckComics'' tend to do this ''a lot'':
** On one occasion, Scrooge [=McDuck=] and his family ventured into the ruins of an ancient civilization to look for the secrets of their LostTechnology. They find scrolls with all the necessary blueprints and they immediately go home where Scrooge shows them to his engineers... Who proceed to tell him that these designs are nearly identical to their latest project. After all, just because technology is lost, doesn't mean it can't be independently redeveloped later, especially over the course of centuries. Scrooge then destroys the ancient blueprints in anger... And Huey, Dewey and Louie decide not to tell him that [[WhatAnIdiot he just destroyed ancient documents that prove the high advancement of an ancient civilization that any museum would pay a fortune to purchase]].
** Typically, whenever someone ''other'' than Scrooge tries their hand at the "Swim around in money" thing, they just hit their heads while diving onto a pile of metal and fall unconscious, if they're lucky. Coins are very hard, after all. The in-universe explanation for how Scrooge can do it with no ill effect is that he's been diving around in money for so long that his body has just adjusted to it. ("I'll admit, it's a trick!" Scrooge once stated). Granted, this talent has limits. When Scrooge tries it on a giant chest full of silver coins pulled from a sunken shipwreck, he hurts himself because the coins, after centuries in a high-pressure environment, have fused into one solid chunk.
** The Beagle Boys provide a lot of it:
*** The people of Duckburg often laugh at the Beagle Boys due their repeated failures to rob the Money Bin... not realizing that an independent group of thieves consistently able to pose a serious threat to a ''fortress'' defended by incredibly advanced technologies are actually more than formidable at their jobs. Whenever they decide to dedicate themselves to other targets, there's a sudden and ''unstoppable'' crime wave that the police simply cannot stop, and more than once Scrooge's business rivals had to ''beg for his help'' after the BB started targeting them.
*** A group who dedicates themselves to robbing the Money Bin to the detriment of anything else are incredibly stubborn and determined - hence why they will ''never'' [[CutLexLuthorACheck use their immense array of technical skills to get honest jobs]]. They're also the only non-supervillain criminals who still consistently try to fight or run when caught by [[UnscrupulousHero Paperinik]], as they just don't know when to quit.
** [[WickedWitch Magica DeSpell]] is well known in Naples for being a witch, being [[HotWitch very attractive]], and for living on the Vesuvius. Much to her chagrin, her home is considered a ''tourist attraction'', no matter how many people she turns into frogs for trespassing.
** Super Goof is Goofy as a FlyingBrick. [[TheKlutz A Klutz]] with such powers has caused a lot of collateral damage, at least early on.
** On one occasion, Super Goof was challenged by rival FlyingBrick Megatop in a superheroing contest. The challenger was stronger and not a klutz... and had only a couple weeks on the job, and Super Goof outperformed him with ease in all three tasks:
*** When it came to catch two "criminals", Super Goof casually arrived on target with ease while Megatop was still accelerating because Goof knew exactly how much speed he needed and when to start slowing down, and only lost that one because the "criminals", being Emil Eagle's henchmen, were on Megatop's side and managed to distract him.
*** The second contest consisted into putting out a burning building. Megatop used his SuperBreath... And not only did it ''not'' extinguish the flames, they ''threatened the watching public on the nearby stand''- for all of the second it took to Super Goof to carry them away, as he already knew what would happen.
*** The third contest was an all-out battle. At first Super Goof is overpowered, then some rain gives him a moment to recover and reveals that Megatop is actually a robot... And a quick PunctuatedPounding later, Megatop is ''decapitated''.
** Mickey is [[PintSizedPowerhouse quite the fighter for his small size]]. As his usual opponent in a scuffle is Pete, who is ''much'' taller and tough, it rarely goes well for him.
*** On the other hand, years of getting into fights with Pete mean he's ''formidable'' against less tough opponents.
** John Rockerduck [[RunningGag eats his hat every time he's defeated by Scrooge]]. After a while, it became known he's having stomach issues from all the hats he's eaten.
** ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'':
*** Before this series, Paperinik started out as a vigilante who avenged himself by committing what were effectively crimes, and never lost his sadistic streak or [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight habit to ignore the rules to do the right thing]]. With a past like this one, [[HeroWithBadPublicity a charismatic and cunning journalist like Angus Fangus can ruin his reputation with ease]], and the TimePolice, who ''knows'' he's a hero, doesn't trust him anyway because they expect him to screw up the space-time continuum by doing anything that he believes is the right thing ([[JustifiedTrope and they're right]]).
*** The job of the TimePolice is to prevent alteration to the space-time continuity. This means that not only they won't lift a finger to prevent a cold fusion experiment from going awry and nuking Duckburg, but when it's actually prevented they send an assault squad to cause it anyway, only relenting when attempts at causing it anyway start risking to cause even more alterations.
*** Altering history by changing a single event [[TheButterflyEffect almost invariably has unforeseen consequences]]. Examples shown are the Organization sending an operative to kill Paperinik while ruining his reputation spiraling out into [[spoiler:the Time Police being disbanded and the Organization being taken over by two artificial intelligences]], an attempt at preventing an experiment that could destroy the entire space-time continuum ends up [[spoiler: getting it to start earlier so the mysterious saboteurs won't ruin it]], Paperinik preventing the destruction of Duckburg apparently [[spoiler: gave the Evronians a chance to recover from the destruction of their empire]]. In the reboot, a group of Evronians stealing a time machine and preventing the founding of their arch-enemies, the Guardians of the Galaxy, causes the Evronian Empire to demilitarize, with the only alteration that does exactly what is supposed to be is Odin Eidolon [[spoiler: kidnapping Trip, the son of the Raider, so he won't grow up to be the Organization operative that ruined Paperinik's reputation and nearly killed him, and that's because kidnapping him at the precise time he did [[PapaWolf got the Raider to abort the mission in which he died to track his son down]]]]. In fact time criminals are wary of altering history precisely because they know the risks (even inventing a device to change history without unforeseen consequences for when they decide they have to), as the owner of the time machine stolen by the Evronians gloated about TheButterflyEffect when they found out of the consequences of their actions.
*** [[EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion The Evronian invasion appears to be prevented entirely by Paperinik]]. It's later shown that the interstellar empire with vast armies and advanced technology simply has bigger fish to fry (including [[PhysicalGoddess Xadhoom]]) and can't spare the resources to assault Earth directly and its massive nuclear arsenal, and all Paperinik is doing is (barely) preventing a sliver of their forces from establishing a bridgehead on a single planet. In fact, in one of the few times the Evronians play for keeps, [[TheAllegedCar an antiquated and run down cruiser]] (by Evronian standards) [[CurbStompBattle decimates the full force of Earth's most advanced military]], and doesn't finish the job only due to the antimatter alternator breaking down again.
*** The Evronians power many of their machines with emotional energy. This means they have to continuously invade new worlds to keep their civilization running, and even then their energy situation is so desperate that their plan to deal with [[PhysicalGoddess Xadhoom's vendetta against them]] is to try and turn ''her'' into an energy source.
*** The Evronians are {{Emotion Eater}}s who use guns that fully drain the emotions of a victim, turning it in an emotionless slave, but [[HumansAreSpecial Earthlings are so emotionally rich]] that a single shot often isn't enough, and they can fully recover if given time. To the Evronians, this means that [[BlessedWithSuck Earth is a plentiful banquet and an alternative solution to their energy crisis]] if that aformentioned plan with Xadhoom doesn't work out.
*** When Everett Ducklair invented what would become Paperinik's [[CoolCar PKar]] he made it run on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomethylhydrazine monomethylhydrazine]], the same fuel as the Space Shuttle. When Paperinik has to leave the Ducklair Tower and loses One's support, usage of the [=PKar=] diminishes because he can't make the fuel at home and doesn't have the kind of support network to buy it. Ultimately Paperinik switches back to the 313-X in the PKNE revival stories, as that one runs on gas.
* In ComicBook/EarthwormJim, A giant snowman appears and attempts to attack Earthworm Jim, but then it immediately melts because it showed up in a fiery place. This was lampshaded by Jim afterwards...
-->'''Jim:''' He had a snow-ball's chance in a hot place... like a desert or Venus or something.
* ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'':
** Amusingly one of the first times Empowered comes across as actually being badass. She points out, quite effectively, that driving an SUV at 75 miles an hour into a villain's back is much more effective than hitting him with a thrown one at about 5 miles an hour. This allows her to defeat a villain that the entire superhero squad she's a ButtMonkey for was defeated by. Unfortunately, the car is totaled, leaving her tied up and unable to brag, and her superhero squad walks off, assuming they and the villain knocked each other out. ([[TheWoobie Forgetting about Empowered in the process.]])
** A super-doctor explains to Emp in no uncertain terms that despite the fact that most heroes have some flavor of SuperToughness, they still have a very high chance of accumulating severe brain damage due to constant low-level head injuries; they are specifically compared to professional athletes and soldiers, who have similar problems. In fact, supers are the only demographic besides infants who suffer from "shaken baby syndrome," due to super-strong enemies throwing them across the city like a ragdoll.
* In ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'', Jason spends the cash prize from a chess tournament on gumballs. The next time he goes to the dentist, [[BrickJoke he has cavities]].
* ''ComicBook/GhostbustersIDWComics'': Gozer tries to open the chamber where his essence was trapped in by the ghostbusters while possessing [[spoiler: Ray]]. The door has a palm reader, so it should work... except Gozer causes TransformationHorror on his victim, so his hand is bony and calloused and not very [[spoiler: Ray]]-like at all.
* In ''Comicbook/GrimmFairyTales'', Mercy Dante is a young woman whose parents were killed by a hitman when she was a child. Years later, she tracks down the hitman and finds out that he's retired and now has a young daughter named Trisha. Mercy kidnaps Trisha and then forces her father to watch as she shoots the girl in the head, killing her. When Mercy next appears many issues later, we see that [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty revenge has brought her absolutely no comfort]], as she's now [[HeelRealization wracked with guilt]] over having slain an innocent child. [[spoiler: She ends up being given a second chance after being sent back to the day she killed Trisha, and this time, [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong she opts to let her go]].]]
* This trope occurs frequently in ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'' and its sister series ''Incorruptible''.
** The Plutonian's tragic childhood where he was shuffled and bounced between numerous foster homes was caused by the simple fact that MuggleFosterParents really wouldn't know ''how'' to deal with a kid with superhuman abilities.
** Another flashback from Plutonian's early teen years showed that he heard his foster mother was about to commit suicide, and got there in a fraction of a second, intending to stop her. But sound takes almost ten seconds to travel two miles. She had already been dead when he heard her.
** When Plutonian revealed his SecretIdentity to his {{Love Interest|s}}, instead of [[TheRevealPromptsRomance being awestruck by his awesomeness]], she's freaked out that he deceived her like that and wants nothing more to do with him.
** The series' resident {{Badass Normal}}s are ''very'' swiftly killed off by the Plutonian after his FaceHeelTurn. After all, if a FlyingBrick with SuperSenses who [[PersonOfMassDestruction can destroy a full-sized city in less than an afternoon]] wants you dead, martial arts, nifty gadgets and money won't do jack to save you.
** Career criminal and major enemy of Plutonian Max Damage resolves to turn over a new leaf after witnessing firsthand the Plutonian's rampage in Sky City. He even goes as far as to torch his wealth and gadgets since it's all in his words ''blood money.'' Unfortunately Max not only being a notorious crook for so long but also keeping his pseudonym, appearance, and even sidekick from his life of crime doesn't help to make him more trustworthy in the eyes of not just the public but already established heroes as well. It's not until it [[spoiler: looks like he chased Plutonian away from Coalville]] that he starts to become really accepted by the public. {{Heel Face Turn}}s flew more smoothly in the Silver Age comics (Hawkeye and Black Widow being key examples), but not anymore after Reality Ensues.
* Creator/MarkMillar does this a lot:
** An issue of ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'' had Franchise/{{Batman}} [[CaptainErsatz clone]] Nighthawk break his ankle trying to pull off a DynamicEntry by jumping off a building to attack some mooks. The same issue deconstructs the concept of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits by showing how badly a group of people (ComicBook/TheDefenders), inexperienced at superheroing with the exception of one, perform during their first outing as superheroes.
** In ''[[ComicBook/TheUltimates Ultimate Avengers]]'' the [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Nerd Hulk]] challenges a vampire named Anthony to a fight. Anthony agrees, and Nerd Hulk decapitates him with one punch. Hulk has SuperStrength and doesn't have any reason to hold back against a vampire so...
** The same arc has the introduction of the new Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}. After Matt Murdock is killed during the events of ''Comicbook/{{Ultimatum}}'', Stick lucks out and finds a young boy named Ray Connor, who has gained similar SuperSenses after being blinded in an accident. He trains Ray and makes him the new Daredevil, only for Ray to end up overwhelmed and bitten by a swarm of vampires during one of his first superhero outings. A KidHero is still just that, a ''kid'', so tossing them into the thick of battle probably isn't the best idea.
** ''Comicbook/OldManLogan'' revolves around a LegionOfDoom wiping out the superheroes with sheer numbers after all the villains are able to finally put aside the personal differences that keep them apart in the mainstream continuity.
** A similar 'villain army' plot is central to the comic book series ''Comicbook/{{Wanted}}''.
** ''ComicBook/KickAss'':
*** A teenager with no powers or special training decides to become a superhero. Especially when Kick-Ass fights crime for the first time he ends up getting stabbed by one of the thugs. Then subverted by...most of the comic after that point. To start with, getting stabbed and hit by a car gave him just enough, very specific nerve damage to stop feeling almost any pain.
*** The {{Tykebomb}}-turned-superhero Hit-Girl is clearly damaged by her upbringing, escalating into disturbing hallucinations of her father still giving her orders and advice.
*** Dave's pretending to be gay in order to get close to the girl he likes ends very badly. The girl is ''extremely'' pissed off to have been lied to and manipulated by what she thought was her GayBestFriend, has her boyfriend beat the crap out of Dave in retaliation, and then later taunts him with pictures of her giving her boyfriend a blowjob (that Dave promptly masturbates to).
*** In the second volume, the Motherfucker goes on a rape/murder spree through a suburb so extreme [[EvenEvilHasStandards even the gang of supervillains he hired to act as his enforcers are disturbed]], all in order to get at Kick-Ass. He thinks he's firmly cemented his VillainCred, only to learn the very next issue how big of a mistake he just made; his monstrous actions have caused the [[DirtyCop corrupt police]] to [[EveryoneHasStandards no longer be able to turn a blind eye to his crimes]], half of his gang [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere abandon him]], and [[PersonaNonGrata all the other mobs in the city want him dead]]. And without the mobs and police covering his back, the Motherfucker is just a normal guy with a few hired guns who has [[SuperTeam an army of superheroes]] barging down on his position, [[ItsPersonal most of whom are now looking for blood]], and [[CurbStompBattle things don't end well]]. There's a very good reason RealLife mobs operate on PragmaticVillainy.
** The second issue of ''Superior'' has a kid testing out the superpowers of his favorite SupermanSubstitute. He attempts to use his "super-breath" to put out a house fire, only to ''demolish'' the house and spread the fire over a much larger area.
* In "ComicBook/MarshalLaw Takes Manhattan", a psychotic parody of ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} is falling to his death from a skyscraper and manages to grab hold of a flagpole protruding from the building... whereupon the inertia rips his arms off.
* ''ComicBook/MightyMorphinPowerRangersBoomStudios'' adds new nuances to the original series that they were unwilling or unable to add in.
** Both the early issues and the ''Necessary Evil'' storyline deal with the Rangers having to deal with major changes in line up and teamwork (Tommy joining the team and suffering from being TheAtoner and Tommy becoming the White Ranger and Adam, Aisha and Rocky replacing Zack, Trini and Jason). The new heroes have trouble getting used to teamwork and the old heroes cannot stand their newbishness as it ruins their cohesiveness.
** Being set in more modern times and circumstances changing the reasons, Jason, Zack and Trini being sent to a "peace conference" is a cover for becoming the secret Omega Rangers. Thanks to the advent of text messaging and cellphones, the friends must constantly lie and hide where they are from their old teammates. Even more, both Tommy and Lord Zedd accuse the trio of being cowards who ran when Zedd's attacks grew fiercer.
** While Tommy was EasilyForgiven in the [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers original show]], that is not the case here. The public is understandably wary of someone who had attacked their city for months and the team itself is divided on it, Zack in particular calls out Jason for asking Tommy to join the team since he did it without consulting anyone else.
* ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'':
** An issue has the Mane Six get a warning about a giant monster. Eventually, they encounter... the remains of said monster. It turns out, monster or not, [[ForgotToFeedTheMonster if you don't feed a creature for a long time, it tends to die]].
** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDWHolidays2014 the 2014 Equestria Girls Holiday Special]], Anon-a-Miss is revealed to be [[spoiler:the Canterlot Movie Crew (the human versions of the Cutie Mark Crusaders) who were posting details about students' personal lives out of [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy that Sunset Shimmer was getting more attention from their sisters than they were]]]]. Even after the apology of the guilty party is accepted by Sunset Shimmer, the things that Anon-a-Miss posted online don't just disappear, and the students don't magically forget the things that were posted. Rarity even tells Sweetie Belle that what Anon-a-Miss posted will be up forever. Earlier in the story, Sunset laments to Twilight Sparkle how easy it is for someone's reputation to be destroyed with a few online posts.
* [[ComicBook/TheMask The original Mask comics]] make a big deal of the fact that while whoever wears the titular mask operates under ToonPhysics, the same does not extend to anyone else, leading to a large number of grisly deaths as we're shown what really happens when someone gets SquashedFlat or has [[TorsoWithAView a hole blown through their chest.]]
* ''Comicbook/PaperGirls'': As part of the DeliberateValuesDissonance pertaining to TheEighties setting, Mac smokes constantly, despite being a kid. [[spoiler: When her friends time travel to 2016 in a later issue, they find out that Mac ends up dying of leukemia in TheNineties, almost certainly brought on by her fondness for cigarettes.]]
* The comic series ''ComicBook/{{Powers}}'' is essentially a PoliceProcedural set in a standard superhero setting, as such, the majority of supervillains shown are relatively realistic criminals with some special powers. As such, most supervillains aren't out to rule the world and most of them don't do anything as grandiose as rob banks; the most dangerous supervillain group isn't a LegionOfDoom, but a superpowered equivalent to TheMafia; [[HarmlessVillain non-violent villains]] are held in a minimum security prisons, and some of them are happy to snitch; and many known supervillains walk the streets free because there isn’t sufficient evidence to convict them, or they just haven’t been caught recently.
* Much of the humour of ''ComicBook/{{Rat-Man}}'' relies on this:
** Superheroes aren't all there with their mind due to the toll taken by both training and actual superheroing.
** Valker divides superheroes into two kinds: those who think they can [[BulletCatch grab speeding bullets out of thin air]] and those who think he won't shoot. [[HeroKiller Valker has a collection of superhero masks and gloves with bullet holes in them]].
*** On the above, turns out that letting a CombatPragmatist superhero come close was a bad idea on Valker's part, as Rat-Man stole his gun.
** If you're a lab assistant for a murderous sociopath like Valker, showing your colleagues a card trick during work hours results in Valker using the cards to predict the future and then calling your widow to inform her of your imminent death.
*** Similarly, ''dealing'' with a murderous sociopath like Valker can result in death if he doesn't need you or you aren't his boss. He has a soft spot for those who work directly under him (as long as they don't slack off, as the card trick incident shows), but everyone else is liable to get maimed or killed for little reason or [[ForTheEvulz none at all]].
** When the authorities outlaw superheroes, some give up, some are captured, and the rest form a resistance movement that the authorities just can't stop, as they all have superpowers.
** In the final issue, a defeated Topin taunts repeatedly Rat-Man that if he doesn't kill him he'll be back... After having nearly destroyed the world, [[spoiler:having kidnapped Rat-Man's daughter]] and being exposed as the reason why Rat-Man never [[spoiler:contacted her or her mother]]. Rat-Man [[ThouShaltNotKill usually has a no-kill rule]], but for once [[PapaWolf Rat-Man is more than willing to violate it]].
*** The reason Rat-Man doesn't kill Topin is that [[spoiler:[[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork Valker kills him first]]]] in revenge for everything that Topin had done to his family. Turns out that [[BullyingTheDragon tormenting and trying to murder the only child of a murderous sociopath and kidnapping said sociopath's granddaughter is a bad idea]]... And, [[HeroKiller being an expert of killing superpowered opponents]], [[spoiler:Valker [[SimpleYetAwesome simply stomps on his head]] [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown while he's still down and weak from the beating Rat-Man gave him]]]], as he's nowhere near stupid enough to give a superpowered opponent the chance to recover.
* ''ComicBook/RogueTrooper'': While the [[SuperSoldier Genetic Infantry]] are incredibly skilled and resilient, and have several perks due to their improvements, they are still a light infantry unit. Being ambushed by a conventional unit equipped with better intelligence, good combined arms doctrine, artillery and armor led to what was later known as the Quartz Zone Massacre.
* In the first ''ComicBook/{{Sam and Max|FreelancePolice}}'' comic, they're tied up on top of an active volcano and a husky cult leader intends to kill them. [[ConvectionSchmonvection The large amount of heat from the volcano]] causes the cult leader to spontaneously combust. However, the comic decides to play it off as a DeusExMachina for the sake of humor.
* ''ComicBook/SexCriminals'': [[spoiler: The Sex Police aren't actually police. On the one hand, this means that they have no real power to arrest anyone or any kind of legal authority, but on the other hand, they're essentially vigilantes who have no reason to play nice and nobody to hold them responsible for anything.]]
** When Susie and Jon tell Ana that they're bank robbers, her response is to tell them to get out- after all, they'd just made her an accessory after the fact, why would she want anything more to do with them?
** [[spoiler: Susie and Jon's crime spree gets a lot of people with orgasm-powers very pissed off at them. Sure, their motives might be good, but they're committing crimes, potentially exposing everyone, and they have little if any sense of restraint- they're a disaster waiting to happen.]]
* A one-shot story from ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons'' comic features Bart, Milhouse, Martin, and Ralph wanting to go to an R-rated movie, but the ticket seller said he could only sell them tickets to [[TastesLikeDiabetes a cheesy kids movie.]] Bart accepts, and he and the rest sneak into the R-rated movie and continue to do so for sometime. Everything goes well until Milhouse revealed their scam, and soon every kid starts buying a ticket to a kiddie film and then sneak into an R-rated one. [[DidntThinkThisThrough As a result, mushy kids movies have suddenly become incredibly profitable, and studios react by halting production on films with mature content and crank out the cutesy stuff like there's no tomorrow]].
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'':
*** For the longest time, there were many factions and individuals that, based on their respective showings, could've defeated Dr. Robotnik/Eggman very easily. In particular, the echidna civilizations would've delivered a CurbStompBattle if they fought him. Instead they allowed him to continue since he wasn't a serious threat to them and he kept the other minor threats under control, even though his schemes have endangered them one way or another and he was aware of them from his time in the royal court of Mobotropolis. Eventually, because they gave him free reign to do whatever he wanted, Robotnik was able to improve his technology to the point that, with some minor help, he could attack them directly and raze their civilizations to the ground before they were finally and completely [[ExiledFromContinuity erased from existence]].
*** Geoffrey St. John is put on trial for his role in enabling Ixis Naugus' rise to power in Acorn and how he apparently was aiding him for years. He's found guilty... only for King Naugus to use his royal authority (and an article of Acorn law) to pardon Geoffrey. There's no way that Naugus ''wouldn't'' use his newfound position as Acorn's king to keep his loyal servant out of prison. Earlier during Naugus' takeover, Sonic learns that the Council of Acorn doesn't appreciate Sonic disrespecting their authority no matter what villain is attacking.
*** In Tails' mini-series, Tails arrives at Downunda with the intent of surprising Robotnik's underboss Crocbot. He gets spotted immediately and is attacked by Wing Dingoes and badly injured, requiring him to be rescued by the local Freedom Fighter group.
*** Silver's InspectorJavert tendencies to persecute and try to kill people he thinks are wrong-doers on questionable evidence, compared to his EasilyForgiven AesopAmnesia in the games, slowly but surely leaves him on ''very'' bad terms with the Freedom Fighters, eventually banished and labelled a fraction of the hero they are by [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Sonic]] (who was already having his AllLovingHero ethics tested ''[[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished sorely]]'' at this point). This leads to a sincere HeelRealization by Silver, and while the Secret Freedom Fighter unit take pity and induct him so as to atone, it takes ''much'' heavier convincing that Silver has changed for Sonic and the others to forgive him.
*** In the events leading up to the House of Cards arc, Sonic dates Fiona despite full knowledge of Tails' crush on him, and during said arc, when Tails' father is arrested after leading what amounts to an angry mob to Castle Acorn and cause a riot in pursuit of political reform, Sonic tactlessly insults Amadeus' intelligence right in front of Tails, only to be confused when Tails shoots him a DeathGlare and walks out of the room; Sonic proceeds to blow off Nicole's insistence that they [[PoorCommunicationKills talk things out]] because they're "practically brothers". Later, Sonic goes so far as to gloat to Amadeus and Rosemary's faces that even if they are Tails' parents, he grew up with him and is close enough to him that Tails will [[EasilyForgiven get over it]]; he's InstantlyProvenWrong when Tails, who overheard the entire confrontation, finally [[RageBreakingPoint snaps]] and physically attacks him, chewing him out for his lack of sensitivity all the while. It goes to show that just because Sonic and Tails are lifelong best friends and surrogate brothers, with Tails being a HeroWorshipper of him, that doesn't mean they won't have fights or always see eye to eye; they'll have disagreements and tensions like any friends would in real life, and not talking things out will only allow those tensions to fester.
** ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'':
*** In general, the Restoration proves that it's ''not'' the Knothole Freedom Fighters through this trope. Amy tries to bring Sonic back into the fold and have him lead the group, but he refuses as it doesn't gel with his carefree, never staying put in one place attitude. When Angel Island is saved, Knuckles ''immediately'' abandons the group to be guardian of the Master Emerald again and, by issue #31, Amy is so overwhelmed by the logistics of it all that she tosses the reins to Jewel.
*** After Sonic and Tails beat the Egg Hammers in Issue #1, they look back at the town they just saved and see the damage caused, with some of the townsfolk again panicked. In addition, Tails is still worried about possibly losing Sonic again.
*** In Issue #15, Sonic and Amy explore an abandoned base of Eggman's that the Resistance managed to raid and liberate prisoners from during the war. However, Amy glumly mentions they lost people as well, showcasing that the war against Eggman indeed had causalities on their side.
*** In Issue #22, we see the Resistance HQ can only hold so many uninfected since they're all in a small building and housing millions on people from cities they evacuated. [[spoiler:And not surprisingly, miss whomever ''was'' infected. One of them manages to get into the base, hiding that the Metal Virus got on him until ultimately he succumbs. This, combined with the Zombot-ified Charmy that Vector and Espio brought in breaking free from his container, ends up infecting the base in no time.]]
*** In Issue # 25, [[spoiler:Starline's attempt to use the Cacophonous Conch to control the Deadly Six fails as he didn’t know the RestrainingBolt only works when it's blown into.]]
* In the ''ComicBook/StarTrekDCComics'' storyline "Who Killed Captain Kirk?", William Bearclaw is exposed as a [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]] and, being the last straw, is told by Kirk that he's going to get him transferred to another ship where he won't be trouble for him or others. He attempts to prove his worth by conning a member of a possible suicide mission into swapping with him. He makes it out alive and saves a member of the team in the process... and is chewed out for disobeying a direct order (which was "No, you can't go"). When Kirk fingers him as the culprit to his assassination attempt, no one wants to stand up for him because of his transgressions.
* ''Comicbook/StrayBullets'':
** Nick runs for sheriff against the unpopular and corrupt Montana, and garners a lot of public support due to his charming persona and promise to bring prosperity back to the town. Just before the election, Montana threatens to kill anyone who doesn't vote for him, and wins in a landslide.
** Despite her perpetually optimistic demeanor, it becomes increasingly clear in later arcs that the TraumaCongaLine Virginia experienced throughout her childhood (witnessing a murder, dealing with an abusive mother, having her face slashed, losing her father to cancer, having two of her friends die, and getting kidnapped and threatened with sexual assault ''multiple times'') has taken a toll on her and caused a host of mental and emotional issues. The most evident of these is her disturbing propensity to respond to problems (even minor ones) with extreme violence, such as when she almost pulls a knife on Eli's cousin after he insults her. She also displays signs of PTSD, such as [[PrefersRocksToPillows sleeping on the floor instead of in her bed]].
** Following the events of ''Somewhere Out West'', Beth and Virginia are hiding out in California after escaping Harry's goons. Despite trying to keep a low profile, Beth's decision to not make Virginia attend school winds up causing problems and getting the police involved, as truancy is still a crime in most of the United States.
** In ''Dark Days'', [[spoiler: Virginia fights tooth and nail to save her friend Bobby from a pedophile named Ron, but is eventually overpowered and knocked unconscious. She may be a LittleMissBadass, but she's also still just a kid trying to beat up a grown man]].
** Also during ''Dark Days'', [[spoiler: Beth accidentally shoots a cop while trying to find Virginia. Even though the cop survives and even expresses sympathy for her plight, ''Killers'' later reveals that Beth still went to prison.]]
** A group of kids steal a gun and decide to fire it, only to immediately injure themselves when they don't properly prepare for the recoil.
** In ''Sunshine and Roses'', Orson tries to sell his dad's car to pay off Beth's debt, only to be told that won't work because he doesn't have any registration proving it's really his. When he then suggests they sell it to a chop shop, Beth points out that illegal car rings generally steal the cars themselves rather than buy them.
** After getting hit on the head with a pot, Annie is knocked unconscious and the other characters are unable to revive her. [[spoiler: Even though she eventually wakes up, the untreated brain damage remains and later causes her to suffer a stroke.]]
** In the same story, Orson kidnaps Annie's cohort Dr. Blumstein in order to force him to treat her. Blumstein is quick to point out that he's merely a reconstructive surgeon with a specialty in cosmetic procedures; [[NotThatKindOfDoctor brain injuries are completely outside his wheelhouse]], and he advises Orson to take Annie to a hospital.
** PlayedForLaughs (the BlackComedy kind) when Orson accidentally kills the abusive ex-boyfriend of a burlesque dancer he'd befriended by knocking the man off a balcony:
-->'''Orson:''' Wow. Who freakin' dies falling ''one'' story?
* In the [[ComicBook/MickeyMouseComicUniverse Mickey Mouse]] story "Topolino e il serial-ladro", an FBI agent arrives to help the Mouseton police with a particularly high-profile investigation. When she learns that Mickey is not a police officer, she is shocked that the chief of police would allow a random civilian to participate in the investigation and freely roam the police depot unsupervised. She immediately has him thrown out of the building.
** One European comic has Mickey face an Imp that is a pretty blatant {{Expy}} of [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Mr. Mxyztplk]]. The entire story is told by Mickey to his therapist - since Mickey is an everyman in this story, not a superhero, the experience left him traumatized and terrified of the Imp's return.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Uber}}'', the American superhuman Colossus goes up against his Nazi counterpart Sieglinde. Colossus hasn't been fully enhanced yet, but he's brave, clever and determined... and the fully-enhanced Sieglinde rips him to pieces in a matter of seconds.
* ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'' breathes this trope:
** A vast majority of attempts to stop a zombie bite from killing a person via amputating the bitten limb has ended with the person dying anyway due to the resulting blood loss or bacterial infection. One of the only times where it did succeed ([[spoiler:with Dale and Connie]]) was only because the infectee was immediately taken to a sterilized environment and had the limb amputated by someone with extensive medical experience.
** Rick beats [[spoiler: Thomas]] to a pulp in a blind rage when he finds out he's the one who murdered Maggie's sisters. So severely, in fact, that he damages his own hands and knuckles to the point where he is flat-out told he'll never be able to clench his left hand in to a fist again.
** Gregory's attempt to kill [[spoiler: Maggie]] fail in part due to him simply not giving her a high enough dose of poison to actually kill her.
* ''ComicBook/TheWickedAndTheDivine'': The power and adoration one gets by becoming a god is enough to convince people to do some very horrible things in order to get the chance to ascend. It convinces two [[spoiler: fans]] to try to kill Lucifer, shooting innocents in the progress, and convinced [[spoiler: 1830's Inanna to agree to murder her sister's children in exchange for ascension.]]
** Most of the gods are not at all happy with their drastically-reduced lifespan, especially poor Minerva, who's ''12''.
** Being a god does not mean that you're above the law, as Lucifer finds out. [[spoiler: Also, when Laura/Persephone kills Ananke, the other gods' first thought is how they'll stop her from getting convicted for murder.]]
** The gods are all teenagers of various ages who have been given vast amounts of power and adoration, who can do almost whatever they want, and who have to deal with the shock of their new identities, their reduced lifespans and their responsibilities on top of all their ''other'' problems and already-existing insecurities. The result? Sure, some of them are nice, but a few are complete douchebags.
** The gods are viewed as entertainers, and most people consider their original personalities to not really matter. As a result, when Tara tries to play her own songs and recite her own poetry instead of just performing like everyone else, the crowd turns on her and she gets so much hate that [[spoiler: she gives up and commits suicide by Ananke.]]
** Laura [[spoiler: becomes Persephone, achieving her every wish, and then has to watch as Ananke, a woman she trusted, kills Inanna- Laura's good friend- and Laura's entire family. The poor girl is so shocked and traumatised that she does almost nothing for days afterwards.]]
** [[spoiler: Ananke has known the gods for millennia, is the one who helps them ascend, and is trusted absolutely. So she's in the perfect position to stab them all in the back.]]
* ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'':
** The Guardians of Kandrakar have an easy time against {{Mooks}} because of this: their enemies use middle ages meelee weapons, and they wield powerful magic that can strike at distance. For obvious reasons, it's very rare to find a soldier who comes back for a rematch.
** In a WhatIf issue they attacked a police van to rescue a friend, thinking it would be no different from the many battles against normal mooks they won, especially as this time it's five of them against two cops... Who have ''guns''. The Guardians are nearly killed.
* ''ComicBook/SecondComing'':
** Sunstar and his girlfriend are unable to conceive a child because she is human while he is a {{Human Alien|s}}. [[spoiler:Subverted in the end when God blesses them with a child as thanks for being Jesus' friend.]]
** Jesus is briefly arrested and put up for psychiatric evaluation when he claims to be ''the'' Jesus Christ.
* ''ComicBook/KimReaper''
** ''Vol 2 Vampire Island''
*** One that pretty much kicks off the story, Beca and Tyler love vampire stories. So Kim takes them to an island to see real ones. But naturally they all realize what a bad idea that was as it's like putting a lamb in a den of wolves. Once the vampires realize they're human, they nearly kill Becka and Tyler, only saved when Charlie helps them until Kim can come back from reaper business.
*** Charlie's backstory had her and Kim do some amateur vampire hunting. Of course, saved for only being armed with stakes, they're not trained in the slightest. When they do stumble upon a group of vampires, they instantly get cold feet and try to back away. Unfortunately Kim stepping on a stick gets the vampires attention, the duo run but end up getting separated in the confusion (being in woods at night didn't help) and Charlie, trying to take a breather ultimately ends up caught, fed on and turned.
*** Charlie escape the island with Kim and her friends. But the realization soon hits everyone that since she's a vampire and the island supplied her blood, she now had to find a new source for it since she pretty much outed herself as a traitor by helping the group. Tyler nearly has to let her bite him until Kim stops them and comes up with an alternative.
----

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' comics:
** In ''[[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderThePromise The Promise]]'', the Fire Nation's colonies in the Earth Kingdom become a major bone of contention. Naturally [[OccupiersOutOfOurCountry most of the Earth Kingdom wants that land reclaimed and the Fire Nation citizens gone]], but some of those Fire Nation citizens have been living on the land for a century, and many families in the regions can claim descent from both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, as the two groups have intermarried. It brings up uncomfortable questions about how you'd define such people, (is the earthbending daughter of a man whose family is Fire Nation and a woman from the Earth Kingdom really Fire Nation, even though she's never set foot in the Fire Nation) and whether you might be willing to literally break up families in order to remove the Fire Nation from the Earth Kingdom. This is before we get to the logistical nightmare of moving large populations from the Earth Kingdom colonies to the Fire Nation, which is made up of relatively small clusters of land. When Zuko decides that it's not right to force out colonists who have a history on the land and their intermarried families, a new war almost breaks out. Turns out that that there will be a difficult peace process following a century-long war in which many people died and some land changed hands. Even if both sides are headed by well-intentioned individuals, there remains the potential for conflict to reopen.
** Also in ''The Promise'', Aang increasingly finds that his past lives aren't all that useful in giving him advice because his situation is so different from theirs. This was shown in the series proper when Aang had to come up with a way to defeat Ozai without resorting to violence as other Avatars had told him he had to do. Roku's belief of strict separation between the Four Nations is simply no longer possible, and listening to Roku nearly causes Aang to make tragic mistakes. This causes him to become alienated from Roku and the rest of his past lives until "The Rift".
** In both ''The Promise'' and much more prominently later in ''[[AvatarTheLastAirbenderSmokeAndShadow Smoke and Shadow]]'' Zuko finds that a rather hefty segment of Fire Nation society preferred Ozai's rule, believing Zuko to be a weak child giving away too much to other nations. No matter how bloody, brutal, or incompetent a dictator may be, there will always be some people who wish for them when they see the alternative as defeat or blows to national pride. Furthermore, Zuko goes back and forth between being an indecisive ruler, (because he fears the angrier, more ruthless side of himself and becoming a dictator like his father and ancestors) and coming down hard on certain elements of the Fire Nation that want an aggressive policy or a return to his father's ways. This causes a lot of discontent, as Zuko is increasingly seen as unable to hold his own against the other Nations but also repressive against his own people. Zuko isn't a perfect leader just because he's a good guy, and he still has to deal with his issues, only now the rest of the country can be effected by it.
** ''The Search'' deals with the hardships of trying to help someone with mental illnesses. It depicts how difficult it really is to try to make a bond with someone you love or care for is suffering heavily from illusions and distress you can't easily help with or talk them out of. Half of the conflicts of the story only arose from Azula's broken mentality focusing on her desire to kill her mother. Worse, it's shown that her schizophrenia and paranoia have rendered her almost impossible to communicate with once she loses control of herself. Not helping is Zuko's own temper and trauma erupting from him at the worst of times (such as when him and his sister squared off at the cliff). We see that Zuko does want to help his sister, but there's a lot of damage done to her (most of which Azula herself doesn't realize was done) that Zuko can't even fathom or help her with. Come ''Smoke and Shadow'', Zuko admits to Ursa that he's at a complete loss as to what will make her happy and doesn't know ''how'' to help her.
** ''[[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderNorthAndSouth North and South]]'' shows that despite similar culture and shared history, the Northern and Southern Water tribes are ''not'' one big happy family, and prejudices and other issues exist between the two. (A century of separation and being cut off from each other doesn't help either, as the two tribes have essentially become strangers to each other.) ''Especially'' when the South has valuable natural resources that can be exploited and the Northerns feel the South is too ignorant/uncivilized to take advantage of it. The South isn't free of other prejudices against the other nations either, despite being "good guys" in the war.
** Just because the South united in the war doesn't mean there won't be a falling out and divisions about policy regarding what road to take after the war.
** Katara imagines she'll go back to the South and find nothing has changed, only to find that everything is changing as the tribe tries to adapt to new post-war circumstances. When she is upset about this and says she expected things to go back to normal with the war over, Sokka points out that nobody in the South still remembers a time before the war, so nobody even knows what normal is anymore. A lot of people, including Katara, are trying to go back to a normal that they don't even know, and may have never existed.
** ''[[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderImbalance Imbalance]]'' shows us that not all change is going to be good. Earthen Fire Industries had developed better technology that automated all of the work the benders did. Because of the energy saved on automation, there was no need to keep benders around anymore which means a lot of lay offs. With no other source of work and income, the benders have turned to violence among other benders and especially non-benders to loot money to get by and survive. By the time Aang has arrived in town, the violence has escalated to the point of a potential civil war.
** Comics of the Korra sequel series have some of these as well. The upcoming book "Ruins of the Empire" will reveal that while the leader of the empire herself willingly surrendered and will repent for her mistakes, her empire that was built on that philosophy and power aren't so willing to give it all up. It will also deal with the consequences of Wu deciding to let individuals run it as a collective democracy as opposed to it's traditional values.

!!The following have their own pages:

* In ''ComicBook/Crossed'' a band of survivors is trying to stay undetected while a large group of the infected psychopaths are in the area. One survivor asks a soldier in the group if he can just snipe them down from a distance. The soldier informs her that this isn't the movies where magazines are bottomless and shooters are uncannily accurate. He only has half a magazine left in his rifle, and even if every shot was a hit and every hit was a kill, he can't take them all out.

** In a shot on the Silver Age "Lois and Superman" stories, a 1950's reporter is obsessed with proving a co-worker is a famous superhero. Finally fed up with his games, she publically pulls his shirt off to reveal his costume. The man is irate, erupting on how all he wanted was a quiet and normal life, and leaves Earth. The woman realizes too late this was never a "game" to him and her own career suffers driving a hero off the planet.
** A thief finds himself using a magic talisman to bond with his pet dog into a dog-themed hero. Sadly, the magic does not extend the dog's lifespan as, after a decade, the owner realizes hs beloved pet is reaching the end of his life.
** A lawyer is given the impossible task of defending an obviously guilty mobster. He hits upon the novel defense that in a world of evil twins, shapechangers, mind-controllers, and even people coming back from the dead, is there such a thing as "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt?"

* ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'':
** For the longest time, there were many factions and individuals that, based on their respective showings, could've defeated Dr. Robotnik/Eggman very easily. In particular, the echidna civilizations would've delivered a CurbStompBattle if they fought him. Instead they allowed him to continue since he wasn't a serious threat to them and he kept the other minor threats under control, even though his schemes have endangered them one way or another and he was aware of them from his time in the royal court of Mobotropolis. Eventually, because they gave him free reign to do whatever he wanted, Robotnik was able to improve his technology to the point that, with some minor help, he could attack them directly and raze their civilizations to the ground before they were finally and completely [[ExiledFromContinuity erased from existence]].
** Geoffrey St. John is put on trial for his role in enabling Ixis Naugus' rise to power in Acorn and how he apparently was aiding him for years. He's found guilty... only for King Naugus to use his royal authority (and an article of Acorn law) to pardon Geoffrey. There's no way that Naugus ''wouldn't'' use his newfound position as Acorn's king to keep his loyal servant out of prison. Earlier during Naugus' takeover, Sonic learns that the Council of Acorn doesn't appreciate Sonic disrespecting their authority no matter what villain is attacking.
** In Tails' mini-series, Tails arrives at Downunda with the intent of surprising Robotnik's underboss Crocbot. He gets spotted immediately and is attacked by Wing Dingoes and badly injured, requiring him to be rescued by the local Freedom Fighter group.
** Silver's InspectorJavert tendencies to persecute and try to kill people he thinks are wrong-doers on questionable evidence, compared to his EasilyForgiven AesopAmnesia in the games, slowly but surely leaves him on ''very'' bad terms with the Freedom Fighters, eventually banished and labelled a fraction of the hero they are by [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Sonic]] (who was already having his AllLovingHero ethics tested ''[[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished sorely]]'' at this point). This leads to a sincere HeelRealization by Silver, and while the Secret Freedom Fighter unit take pity and induct him so as to atone, it takes ''much'' heavier convincing that Silver has changed for Sonic and the others to forgive him.
** In the events leading up to the House of Cards arc, Sonic dates Fiona despite full knowledge of Tails' crush on him, and during said arc, when Tails' father is arrested after leading what amounts to an angry mob to Castle Acorn and cause a riot in pursuit of political reform, Sonic tactlessly insults Amadeus' intelligence right in front of Tails, only to be confused when Tails shoots him a DeathGlare and walks out of the room; Sonic proceeds to blow off Nicole's insistence that they [[PoorCommunicationKills talk things out]] because they're "practically brothers". Later, Sonic goes so far as to gloat to Amadeus and Rosemary's faces that even if they are Tails' parents, he grew up with him and is close enough to him that Tails will [[EasilyForgiven get over it]]; he's InstantlyProvenWrong when Tails, who overheard the entire confrontation, finally [[RageBreakingPoint snaps]] and physically attacks him, chewing him out for his lack of sensitivity all the while. It goes to show that just because Sonic and Tails are lifelong best friends and surrogate brothers, with Tails being a HeroWorshipper of him, that doesn't mean they won't have fights or always see eye to eye; they'll have disagreements and tensions like any friends would in real life, and not talking things out will only allow those tensions to fester.

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'':
** In general, the Restoration proves that it's ''not'' the Knothole Freedom Fighters through this trope. Amy tries to bring Sonic back into the fold and have him lead the group, but he refuses as it doesn't gel with his carefree, never staying put in one place attitude. When Angel Island is saved, Knuckles ''immediately'' abandons the group to be guardian of the Master Emerald again and, by issue #31, Amy is so overwhelmed by the logistics of it all that she tosses the reins to Jewel.
** After Sonic and Tails beat the Egg Hammers in Issue #1, they look back at the town they just saved and see the damage caused, with some of the townsfolk again panicked. In addition, Tails is still worried about possibly losing Sonic again.
** In Issue #15, Sonic and Amy explore an abandoned base of Eggman's that the Resistance managed to raid and liberate prisoners from during the war. However, Amy glumly mentions they lost people as well, showcasing that the war against Eggman indeed had causalities on their side.
** In Issue #22, we see the Resistance HQ can only hold so many uninfected since they're all in a small building and housing millions on people from cities they evacuated. [[spoiler:And not surprisingly, miss whomever ''was'' infected. One of them manages to get into the base, hiding that the Metal Virus got on him until ultimately he succumbs. This, combined with the Zombot-ified Charmy that Vector and Espio brought in breaking free from his container, ends up infecting the base in no time.]]
** In Issue # 25, [[spoiler:Starline's attempt to use the Cacophonous Conch to control the Deadly Six fails as he didn’t know the RestrainingBolt only works when it's blown into.]]

* In an issue of ''ComicBook/XFactor'', a group of mercs capture Monet by sneaking up behind her and chloroforming her, since [[FlyingBrick having super strength]] doesn't [[WeaksauceWeakness affect your respiratory system]].
** Likewise, it's been shown that her teammate Siryn can be subdued by an assailant who uses little more than some [[DuctTapeForEverything good old-fashioned duct tape]]. A [[MakeMeWannaShout sonic scream]] isn't all that useful [[BoundAndGagged if you can't actually open your mouth]].

** For the longest time, there were many factions and individuals that, based on their respective showings, could've defeated Dr. Robotnik/Eggman very easily. In particular, the echidna civilizations would've delivered a CurbStompBattle if they fought him. Instead they allowed him to continue since he wasn't a serious threat to them and he kept the other minor threats under control, even though his schemes have endangered them one way or another and he was aware of them from his time in the royal court of Mobotropolis. Eventually, because they gave him free reign to do whatever he wanted, Robotnik was able to improve his technology to the point that, with some minor help, he could attack them directly and raze their civilizations to the ground before they were finally and completely[[ExiledFromContinuity erased from existence]].

** A vast majority of attempts to stop a zombie bite from killing a person via amputating the bitten limb has ended with the person dying anyway due to the resulting blood loss or bacterial infection. One of the only times where it did succeed ([[spoiler:With Dale]]) was only because the infectee was immediately taken to a sterilized environment and had the limb amputated by someone with extensive medical experience.

** After getting hit on the head with a pot, Annie is knocked unconscious and the other characters are unable to revive her. [[spoiler: Even though she eventually wakes up, the brain injury remains and later causes her to suffer a stroke.]]

* RealityEnsues/DCUniverse

* ''ComicBook/GhostbustersIDW'': Gozer tries to open the chamber where his essence was trapped in by the ghostbusters while possessing [[spoiler: Ray]]. The door has a palm reader, so it should work... except Gozer causes TransformationHorror on his victim, so his hand is bony and calloused and not very [[spoiler: Ray]]-like at all.

** For the longest time, there were many factions and individuals that, based on their respective showings, could've defeated Dr. Robotnik/Eggman very easily. In particular, the echidna civilizations would've delivered a CurbStompBattle if they fought him. Instead they allowed him to continue since he wasn't a serious threat to them and he kept the other minor threats under control, even though his schemes have endangered them one way or another and he was aware of them from his time in the royal court of Mobotropolis. Eventually, because they gave him free reign to do whatever he wanted, Robotnik was able to improve his technology to the point that, with some minor help, he could attack them directly and raze their civilizations to the ground before being finally [[ExiledFromContinuity erased from existence]].

* In the first issue of ''ComicBook/AllNewGhostRider'', Robbie Reyes tries to stop three gang members from stealing his brother's wheelchair. One of them pulls out a gun. You would expect Robbie to show what a BadassNormal he is, dismantle the thug with the gun and beat them all up. Instead, he stands still and the thugs beat ''him'' up and steal both the wheelchair and his shoes. This shows that, despite growing up in a bad neighborhood, Robbie isn't some sort of impossibly tough delinquent, but just a regular guy.

*

* During Creator/WarrenEllis' ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'' run, the team traveled to Denmark to capture Doctor Doom and turn him over to the U.S. military. The story ended with the Danish military [[KarmaHoudini not only protecting Doom]], but then forcibly ejecting both the Comicbook/FantasticFour and the American soldiers from their country. Governments don't respond well to foreign groups barging onto their property to take an affluent citizen.
** Mainstream Doom is protected by a similar case of reality, only he's even better protected since he's the ''ruler'' of Latveria. Being in charge of a major, first-world country means that he can cover-up or get away with his attacks on the Fantastic Four pretty easily. Most governments aren't willing to start a war with someone just because they keep harassing four people. That said, this example flouts and ignores international law so much [[DiplomaticImpunity it starts to go in the other direction...]]
* ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'' invokes this trope ''a lot.'' A major theme in the series is to showcase the X-Men's youth and general lack of experience in working as a superhero team and how said group of inexperienced teenagers would fair in a more real world setting.
** A mission to rescue the President's kidnapped daughter from the custody of The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants goes horribly wrong very quickly. The X men's lack of experience in working as a team leads to many miscommunications during their fight with the Brotherhood. And then things get really bad when a local militia decides to jump into the fray, resulting in Beast suffering a near fatal injury at the hands of an explosion and Cyclops bleeding out from a gunshot wound. The X-Men are only able to escape thanks to an intervention by ''Magneto'' of all people.
** The climax for the ''World Tour'' arc has the [[RealityWarper reality warping]] Proteus going on a rampage across Berlin, destroying countless landmarks while massacring thousands of innocent civilians, defeating the X-Men with ease, and severely injuring Iceman-- only for his rampage to end abruptly after Colossus crushes him with a car, killing him instantly. However, the fallout resulting from such a destructive battle leads to the X-Men falling out of favor with the general public along with Iceman's parents taking their son out of Xavier's school and suing the professor for ''willful neglect.'' All of this combined with the grief for his dead son leads to Xavier suffering a momentary HeroicBSOD.
** As revealed in the "World Tour" arc, ComicBook/ProfessorX may be rich, but he's not as rich as [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] or [[Franchise/IronMan Tony Stark]], both of whom own companies and use those resources in their crimefighting, so he needs financial backers to help support the X-Men, which were originally the Hellfire Club. When that fell through and after defeating Magneto a second time, ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} took over those duties until the end of Creator/BrianKVaughan's run, and the Church of Shi'Ar Enlightenment taking over at the start of Creator/RobertKirkman's run.
* In ''ComicBook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl'', Nancy instantly sees through Chipmunk Hunk and Koi Boi's {{Paper Thin Disguise}}s, and recognizes them as her classmates, Tomas and Ken. When ComicBook/SquirrelGirl expresses shock, Nancy asks how could she possibly have fallen for the ruse when all the boys use to hide their identities are {{Domino Mask}}s. Plus, when your roomie is obsessed with squirrels and then you meet a female superhero who calls herself "Squirrel Girl?" It's easy to make the connection.
* In ''Comicbook/UncannyAvengers'', ComicBook/{{Rogue}} absorbs ComicBook/WonderMan's fantastic strength during a battle with the Grim Reaper. Unfortunately, she lacks any sort of discipline or training when it comes to these new abilities, [[OneHitKill so she ends up accidentally killing the villain with a single punch]] (which is a little weird considering that she had the old ComicBook/MsMarvel powers for years, which gave her both super strength and stamina as well as flight, but apparently she's rusty with those powers - apparently she can't absorb the knowledge to use such powers properly, DependingOnTheWriter).

* ''Comicbook/WarMachine''
** The original 90s series has Rhodey deal with murky, volatile situations that the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. can't get involved with due to the political ramifications. After shooting a heinous African dictator in the first arc, War Machine spends the ensuing issues being hounded by the press and the United Nations for violating international law. The incident also serves to widen the rift between Rhodey and Iron Man, who is disgusted by his former best friend's violent and reckless actions.
** The series also deals with the realities of owning an advanced piece of technology like the War Machine armor. It costs a fortune just to maintain the suit and restock its weaponry, and when it gets damaged, the machinery's complexity means that Rhodey has no way to repair it on his own. A billionaire inventor like Tony Stark can easily solve problems like these, but Rhodey is just a normal guy without a genius IQ or impossibly deep pockets.
* Likewise, when Rita [=DeMara=] steals Pym's Yellowjacket suit and shrinks for the first time, she immediately freaks out and has a meltdown from seeing the world from this perspective. She begs Comicbook/TheWasp to return her to normal, and is visibly shaken when she regains her average height. That's probably how most real people would react to shrinking down to the size of an ant, regardless of how cool it looks in movies.
* This is the central premise of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': what happens to superheroes when Reality Ensues? What becomes of people who dress up in costumes but 1: They have no proper training or resources, 2: They're all at least a little unbalanced, and 3 (most importantly): They are taking the law into their own hands in a world just as full of political and social complexities as the real world? They die. They go insane (presuming they weren't [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity insane already]]). [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Or they become monsters.]]
** The Minutemen, a superhero group active from the late 30's to the late 40's, has many of the prejudices of that time period. Hooded Justice is a nazi supporter until the start of the Second World War, Captain Metropolis has racist opinions of black and hispanic people, the Comedian attempts to rape Silk Spectre on the basis that he thought she wanted it because she wore a {{Stripperific}} outfit, and Silhouette is thrown out of the group when she's discovered to be a lesbian.
** The first Nite Owl was a police officer during his day job, so he actually was properly trained and had official authority if he chose to use it. This is why he's the OnlySaneMan among either generation of superheroes.
** In his autobiography, Nite Owl I casually mentions that once the "costumed hero" phase hit its peak, most costumed villains simply gave up entirely or became regular criminals because, honestly, what's the point? Those that didn't ended up in jail and ''stayed'' there. No [[CardboardPrison Cardboard Prisons]] here.
** One hero was killed ignobly after his [[CapeSnag cape got caught]] in the revolving door at a bank. The robbers then simply walked right up to him and shot him point blank.
** The first chapter mentions a sadomasochist who enjoyed getting beaten up by Super-heroes, so he'd dress up like a villain and pretend to commit crimes. Unfortunately, the heroes all know each other and gossip about their jobs, so soon enough they all know about him and just do their best to ignore him. He finally makes the mistake of trying this on SociopathicHero Rorschach, who simply shoves him down an elevator shaft.
** Doctor Manhattan takes Laurie to Mars in Chapter IX. She nearly dies of asphyxiation before he remembers that ''humans need to breathe''.
** After the antagonist reveals his scheme to Nite Owl II and Rorschach, Nite Owl tries to talk him out of it, only for the antagonist to inform him that the only reason he told the pair about it in the first place is because [[YouAreTooLate he already set it into motion, and it's too late for them to stop him]].
--->"''Do'' it"? Dan, I'm not a republic serial villain. Do you seriously think I'd explain my masterstroke if there remained the slightest chance of you affecting its outcome? I did it thirty-five minutes ago.
** The issue after the one with the above example makes clear that, genius or not, you ''cannot'' kill a near-omnipotent being who can walk across the surface of the sun, and literally rebuilt himself after being disintegrated. You can turn the public against him by framing him for spreading cancer, or catch him off-guard by developing a way to block his foresight powers, but you're just as much a threat to his life as a termite would be.
** For all the effort the antagonist goes through to pull off his plan, it's ''heavily'' implied [[AllForNothing that it will still fail in the long run and the world will be even worse off for it.]] Especially since Rorschach mailed his journal, which details his investigation into the Comedian's death and the antagonist's involvement in it, to a magazine publisher. After all, there was a good chance he wasn't coming back from the final battle, so what sense would it make not to leave a written account? [[CassandraTruth Even then, there's the possibility that nobody will believe it.]] The ''ComicBook/DoomsdayClock'' CrisisCrossover, which is partially a continuation of this comic, showcases that [[spoiler:Ozymandias' efforts only bought the world five years of peace, tops, before people discovered the lie and war exploded again, a ''hell'' of a lot worse than before.]]
--->[[spoiler:'''Lex Luthor''': ...And you're surprised that humanity hasn't stayed united? [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech If you're the smartest man on your planet, I'd hate to meet the dumbest.]]]]
** Speaking of the journal, Rorschach mails it to the right wing magazine he reads in the hopes that they'll publish it and expose the antagonist's scheme. However, the publisher quickly dismisses it as the writings of a crazy person and has it thrown on a pile of similar mail sent in by other [[ConspiracyTheorist conspiracy freaks]], intending to destroy it all later. The only reason the journal gets a chance at being published is because they need a filler article on short notice--and even then it's left ambiguous if the publisher's dopey assistant would really pick it over all the other junk in the pile.

* {{ComicBook/Wolverine}}'s greatest vulnerability is the fact that he can't swim. Having a metal-coated skeleton simply makes his body too dense to float, and drowning is one of the few surefire ways to kill him. There's nothing his healing factor can do if his brain suffocates.
** Speaking of Wolverine, it was shown that the reason why he got abducted by Weapon X in the first place was because he went binge drinking (even with his healing factor he's not immune to large amounts of alcohol). Sure, he may not have been drunk enough to fall over but the amount of alcohol in his system was enough to dull his normally fast reaction time. By the time he fought back against his abductors he was overwhelmed rather quickly and got cuts, bruises and a dislocated jaw out of it. In a What If? scenario involving Weapon X Logan managed to fight back and successfully flee his would-be abductors because he wasn't as drunk at the time.
** Many writers ignore this, but Logan's healing factor doesn't protect him from pain; one story showed that Logan feels phantom pains for months after especially bad injuries, but plays it down around others. Another story had him mention the agony of growing new flesh and nerve endings and the constant ache of his adamantium-laced skeleton, and that he's tried everything from acupuncture to alien painkillers to help manage his chronic pain. While thinking this he's preparing to blow himself to get inside a military base ([[ItMakesSenseInContext long story]]), and we see him working himself up for the pain of what's to come.
* Wolverine is a [[PopularityPower fan-favourite]] badass warrior with unbreakable bones, claws, and a HealingFactor that makes him nigh-on immortal. However, ultimately he is [[WeakButSkilled barely above normal]] in terms of raw power, and sometimes a much more powerful character will [[CurbStompBattle stomp him]] in a matter of panels.
** The purest example of this would be his “fight” with ComicBook/WonderMan, which was a [[https://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11111/111113083/3294691-6981542397-10645.jpg page-long]] beating, with every hit sending him flying, which is what would realistically happen in a fight between a man of above average but relatively normal physical capabilities whose primary offensive move is stabbing; and someone orders of magnitude stronger who is immune to being stabbed.
* A similar scene takes place in ''[[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate Comics]]: ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'' when ''ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}}'' grabs onto Jimmy and then runs at [[SuperSpeed superhuman speeds]]. Quicksilver is protected thanks to his mutation, but the wind speeds tear Jimmy's body to shreds, with only his HealingFactor saving his life.
* Every time Franchise/WonderWoman and Franchise/{{Batman}} go up [[LetsYouAndHimFight against each other]] and Batman isn't prepared. These incidents typically end in Batman getting flung off a rooftop or knocked out with a rock, simply because he can't carry weaponry capable of hurting an [[ImplacableMan Implacable Woman]] like Diana on him all the time, and his agility can only help him so much, especially next to a woman who could block projectiles traveling from the edges of the universe to the center almost instantaneously. All at once. Additionally, Wonder Woman is one of a small number of people Batman ''really'' doesn't have a proper answer to; she's a better fighter, she's stronger, she's faster, she's more durable, and while Batman has a variety of tricks and gadgets to handle fighters with those qualities on a singular scale, altogether there's very little for Batman to prey on, taking away Batman's biggest advantage against the people he fights.

* In the first volume of ''ComicBook/XForce'', the students of Xavier's school are rebranded into a militant strike force who eventually branch off from the school entirely. This comes back to bite ComicBook/{{Sunspot}} much later, as he's a native Brazilian who was in the US on a student visa. Since he's no longer at the school, I.N.S catches up with him and forcefully deports him back to Brazil.
* ''Comicbook/XMen''
** During Comicbook/{{Magneto}}'s second encounter with the team during the classic Creator/ChrisClaremont run, he was slashed in the back by Wolverine and then pummeled by Comicbook/{{Colossus}}. Even though Magneto ultimately fought them off and escaped, he angrily noted that he'd be unable to continue with his current plan for world domination, as his wounds were likely going to take ''months'' to heal. Given the way most superhero comics treat bone-breaking blows and visceral lacerations as minor inconveniences at best, seeing a semi-realistic acknowledgement of just how long it can take for the human body to recuperate after being seriously injured is quite surprising.
** In one storyline, Fantomex saved the world from a monster brainwashing people into worshipping it as their god by revealing he is programmed to be incapable of conceiving anything greater than himself, therefore he cannot believe in any god. A 2014 issue of ''ComicBook/XForce'' reveals that whenever he is outdone at anything, the same ability causes so much cognitive dissonance he ends on the verge of mental breakdown.
** The ''ComicBook/MarvelNOW'' relaunch of ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'' shows a neat subversion of the typical FantasticRacism. While mutants are still facing a lot of bigotry, they're getting a lot of support now thanks to the progress made over all the time the X-Men have operated, and while hated by ''Comicbook/{{SHIELD}}'' and the other X-Men for nearly taking over the world and killing Xavier while under the influence of the Phoenix Force, Scott Summers/Cyclops is now getting a lot of HeroWorship because of his other actions, namely nearly solving world hunger, stabilizing the climate, and forcing peace between warring nations. As it turns out, it doesn't matter if you're part of a hated minority, when you nearly solve a lot of the world's problems, it nets you some serious brownie points (even if you were possessed by a big scary space bird at the time and your reasons for doing all these good deeds were at best questionable).
* The nature of the TykeBomb superhero is deconstructed with ''Comicbook/{{X 23}}''. The torture, physical and emotional abuse, and TrainingFromHell it took to turn her into one of the world's most deadly assassins before she was thirteen virtually destroyed her emotionally, leaving her a PTSD-ridden wreck prone to falling into {{Heroic BSOD}}s at the drop of a hat. Because she was denied the emotional support and socialization a child needs for normal development, she's often lost in social interactions, easily confused by her emotions, and often experiences bouts of severe and possibly [[DrivenToSuicide suicidal]] depression. At least one [[http://marvel.com/news/comics/9505/psych_ward_x-23 analysis of her character]] suggests she suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder, and a significant focus of her CharacterDevelopment has been spent on repairing the damage done to her.
** Contrasted with her own clone, ''[[Comicbook/AllNewWolverine Gabby]]''. Gabby received much of the same training, but unlike Laura was largely spared from the savage physical and emotional abuse, and had her elder "sisters" to look after her and provide her the parental guidance Laura lacked. So while she's still WiseBeyondTheirYears, it's balanced by genuine childish naivete. She still falls directly under this in issue 5 of ''All-New Wolverine'': When attacked by the ''substantially'' larger [[TheBigGuy Captain Mooney]] (a man who has to ''bend down'' to be OneHeadTaller than 5'1" Laura), Gabby jumps on him and delivers a ferocious headbutt in an attempt to stun him. Unfortunately, however well-trained she is Gabby is still a tween even ''[[PintSizedKid shorter]]'' than Laura, and Mooney quickly recovers and effortlessly tosses her aside.
* In the ''Pathways'' story of the ''Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures'' comics, a battledroid fighting for the Separatist Alliance steps on a mine but survives the explosion, damaged and now cut off from the hive mind of the Separatist battledroids. With this newfound independence and seeing the carnage around it, the droid runs away from the battle, not wanting to be destroyed; it had never had the choice to fight or live before, and now that it did it chose life.
* The Marvels Project presents the Golden Age era of some of Marvel's superheroes, from the viewpoint of The Angel, one of first heroes to be introduced back when Marvel was called Timely. He chronicles the beginnings both of his own costumed identity and others such as Captain America, Namor and the original Human Torch from the point of view both of a civilian witness and a costumed vigilante. One of the other heroes who makes his appearance around this time is The Phantom Bullet. Shortly after he is introduced, The Angel witnesses a couple of Police officers finding the Phantom Bullet shot dead and left to die in the garbage. He notes that costumed vigilantes get no consideration from police and are at best a nuisance to them. Another hero to get this treatment is veteran Detective The Ferret, who gets unceremoniously stabbed to death while investigating a mystery connected to the main plot line.

* Another X-Men example occurred after the events of ''Decimation'', where a bunch of mutants lost their powers. Due to the inexact nature of the Comicbook/ScarletWitch's hex power, some mutants kept their primary mutations but lost the RequiredSecondaryPowers that kept reality from ripping them a new one. Amongst other things, we see a bird-like mutant fall to his death because his wings are just a placebo and can't actually support a human being's weight, and a pyrokinetic woman burns herself to death because she was no longer immune to her own flames.
* In ''ComicBook/ScoobyApocalypse'', a psionic monster tries to make a giant monster body out of all of the mutated demon-creatures in the area. The construct collapses the moment it tries to stand up, Velma noting that it has no skeletal structure to help support it.
* In one of the ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion'' tie-in issues, ComicBook/{{Shanna The She Devil}} tries to [[MuggedForDisguise mug a female SHIELD agent for her uniform]]. Unfortunately, [[TapOnTheHead the karate chop Shanna uses to knock the woman out]] (often portrayed as non-lethal in most uses of this trope) ends up accidentally ''breaking her neck'' and killing her instantly. [[spoiler: However, it turns out the agent was actually a Skrull.]]
* Similarly, the villain in Creator/GrantMorrison's ''ComicBook/SevenSoldiers'' event. Time-traveling jellyfish-totem Gothic Queen versus runaway car. The result is messy but suitably awesome.

* ''ComicBook/{{Shadowpact}}'': When the Shadowpact emerge from the magical dome the town of Riverrock was trapped in, they discover that a full year has passed in the outside world since they went into the dome. This causes the people of Metropolis to think they are dead and build a statue of them in their honor. When an old sees them walking though a park at night, he assumes they are cosplayers mocking the real Shadowpact. Blue Devil learns that his apartment has been rented out to someone else while he was gone and Ragman loses his business and has his car repossessed.

* In ''[[ComicBook/TheMultiversity Society of Super-Heroes: Conquerors of the Counter-World #1]]'', we have several in the finales of various villains of Earth-40.
** Doctor Faust uses his high grade of magical prowess to make his way through to fight Doc Fate, and prepares himself for a WizardDuel. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for him, that is ''all'' he brought to the table, whereas Doc Fate brought his magical prowess, underhanded tactics, and a gun. He manages to hold off the zombies that come at him with the gun, and summarily defeats Faust with a GroinAttack.]]
** Lady Shiva, upon losing her plane, prepares to fight the Blackhawks with her sword, her close combat skills things of legend. [[spoiler:Unluckily for her, the Blackhawks have handguns, and prove that bringing a sword [[NeverBringAKnifeToAGunfight may not have been the best idea]].]]

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
** Famously, when Gwen Stacy was thrown off a bridge and Franchise/SpiderMan caught her. [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou The sudden stop made her neck break.]] WordOfGod says that she was already dead from the shock, and the long fall into the water would have killed her just as well, averting SoftWater too.
** Similarly, in ''Marvel Team-Up'' #20, Stegron knocks Spider-Man unconscious and hurls him off an airship. Black Panther catches him by swinging from the Quinjet, but notes that had his timing been off by even a fraction of a second, [[CatchAFallingStar Spidey's momentum likely would've killed them both]].
** One Spidey issue had the Vulture try to rob the Daily Bugle. However, he finds that their safe is full of paychecks, and the actual money is in the bank.
** During one story arc in the 60s, Spider-Man had chickened out of a fight between him and the Green Goblin; unbeknownst to everyone, what really happened was that Peter heard a phone call that Aunt May had a heart attack, so he rushed to check on her and proceed to take care of her, as well as limiting his outings as Spider-Man and avoiding fights. This leads Spider-Man to lose the trust of the public and have his already poor reputation get worse. Flash Thompson, the only person still rooting for Spidey, attempts to help Spider-Man look good by stopping some car thieves in a cheap Spider-Man costume. However, Flash is a teenager, a very fit, athletic teenager, but nonetheless weaker than the adults who outnumber him and proceed to beat his ass if not for the intervention of some police officers.
** Also in "Back in Black" storyline, once Peter learns that ComicBook/TheKingpin is the one who hired the assassin that shot his aunt, he goes straight to the prison where the Kingpin is, but the Kingpin already expected that and is prepared to challenge Spider-Man in combat. While the Kingpin has faced Spider-Man before and often battled him to a draw, the problem is that Spidey always holds back in fear of accidentally killing him, but this time, [[BewareTheNiceOnes he]] [[IAmNotLeftHanded doesn't]]! The result: Kingpin [[CurbStompBattle is quickly]] [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown and badly beaten.]] As it turns out, no matter how [[BadassNormal skilled hand-to-hand combatant]] or [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower how strong Kingpin is]], challenging someone who is superhumanly strong and agile, has experience in fighting ''far [[UptoEleven stronger]]'' opponents and is ''really'' [[UnstoppableRage mad at you]] can't possibly end well.
** Because of his superhero activity, Peter Parker has a hard time keeping a regular job or staying current at school, and constantly is hurting for money as a result. Even sales of his photos to the Daily Bugle are subject to the needs of the paper. Peter also has to deal with the emotional stress of being TheUnfavourite in his everyday life ''and'' (thanks to [[DaEditor J. Jonah Jameson's]] [[RonTheDeathEater smear campaign against Spider-Man]]) as a superhero, as well as caring for his elderly Aunt May (who is vulnerable both because she is old and sickly, and because she is Peter's--and therefore Spider-Man's--closest emotional tie). A lot of Spider-Man's missteps in his early years (bad publicity, failed attempts at networking with other superheroes) are the result of what happens when a young teenager tries to be a superhero without a mentor or anyone else to help him, while also dealing with other stresses mentioned above.
** Spidey's enemy Sandman has an adoptive daughter named Keemia, who ended up being taken away from him by CPS because of his criminal activities. [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes Evil may have loved ones]], but the authorities don't exactly consider the homes of violent criminals to be suitable living conditions for minors.
** During Mark Millar's run (Man, that guy pops up a lot on this page, huh?), the Vulture manages to capture and unmask Spider-Man. He's instantly outraged to discover that Spider-Man is just some random dude with a generic, untraceable face, rather than a recognizable celebrity like [[Comicbook/IronMan Tony Stark]] or [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Steve Rogers]]. He {{Lampshades}} this by saying for all he knows, Spider-Man could just be a gas station employee somewhere. This is also brought up in the first arc of ''Comicbook/NewAvengers'' after Spidey loses his mask during a massive prison riot. None of the bad guys who see him are actually able to ascertain his identity or track him down, which Peter chalks up to his generic-looking face.
** During one early issue of David Michelinie and Todd [=McFarlane's=] run, Spider-Man is visiting Kansas and meets a local man named Wes who has minor super speed powers. While he's used them occasionally to help with minor natural disturbances, Wes has mainly just tried to live a normal, everyday life with his family and not get into any sort of superheroics. Late in the story Spidey's battling a GadgeteerGenius whose weapons are putting him at a notable disadvantage; he notices Wes in the crowd of onlookers and shouts out for his help. Wes considers it for a moment... but he instead freezes on the spot, terrified at the thought of what could happen, especially if some of the other crowdgoers recognize him, which would ruin any sort of normalcy for him and his family. Even if someone received superpowers, that doesn't automatically mean that they would [[RefusalOfTheCall jump at the call]], especially if they have zero experience fighting dangerous supervillains out to kill and have something hi-stakes to lose like their family's safety.
** In Creator/KurtBusiek's ''Amazing Fantasy'' midquel miniseries, we get to see the first time Peter ever engaged a group of criminals. He ends up panicking and quietly begging that he doesn't want to die, the same way any young teenager getting shot at would react.
** The ''Daily Bugle'' has spent years slandering Spidey (and sometimes other heroes), calling him a "menace" despite his heroic deeds, and often accusing him of being responsible for criminal acts (leading to the printing of countless retractions as these claims were ultimately proven wrong). In the 2000s, it was shown that this trend has caused the ''Bugle's'' credibility and circulation to suffer greatly, to the point where the paper was in serious financial trouble. This forced Jameson to create ''Comicbook/ThePulse'', a new section dedicated solely to superhero coverage, and later, resulted in the ''Bugle'' [[ComicBook/BrandNewDay being bought by one of his business rivals]].
** Famously in #12 of ''Amazing Spider-Man'', Peter attempts to fight Comicbook/DoctorOctopus, but [[WorfHadTheFlu he's been infected with a flu virus]] and has zero strength, which leads to [[CurbStompBattle Otto defeating him easily]]. Super strength may be a great power, but not even that can prevent someone from catching a common sickness.
** Spider-Man's web shooters' do run out of fluid, usually at the worst possible time. His spider-sense never warns him about this. He carries spare web cartridges in his utility belt, but taking the empty cartridge out and putting a new one in takes time. He also knows he has to reload the other because it's probably almost empty as well. If he uses up all his spare cartridges, it means no webs and he has to do without until he can whip up more web fluid. This was a plot point in the first Secret Wars mini-series. The heroes were on Battleworld so long he ran completely out of webbing. Part of his excitement over getting the new black costume (actually the Venom symbiote) is that it allowed him to shoot webs again.
** Speaking of the web fluid, when Peter has access to a proper lab with high quality chemicals and equipment, the web fluid is of high quality as well and more versatile. This was easier when he was a high school/college student or when he was a high school teacher. However, if he's broke or doesn't have access to a lab, he can cobble together web fluid in his kitchen with off-the-shelf ingredients (he's joked about making webbing using shaving cream and toothpaste), but the webbing is of lower quality and less versatile. It was during one of these periods that Daredevil commented that his webbing smelled faintly of peanut butter.
** Early on in ''ComicBook/LeeDitkoSpiderMan'', Peter gives Aunt May a blood transfusion. Several issues later, Aunt May ends up in the hospital with radiation sickness from the radioactive particles in Peter's blood.
** In the "Death of Jean [=DeWolff=]" story, Spider-Man gives the Sin-Eater a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown. The next time the Sin-Eater appears, he's a stuttering, limping wreck as a result of the severe injuries he suffered. Adding to Spider-Man's guilt even further, the Sin-Eater's InsanityDefense led to successful psychotherapy, so the Sin-Eater is a genuinely remorseful stuttering, limping wreck.
** [[ComicBook/NickSpencersSpiderMan Nick Spencer's run]] on ''Amazing Spider-Man'' beats Peter with the Reality Stone... er, stick so hard that it feels more like a TakeThat to [[ComicBook/DanSlottSpiderMan the last run]].
*** In ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' Otto-in-Peter's-body is able to convince a man that the thesis he wrote for his doctorate is a-okay because Peter is Otto's protege. When Peter is confronted again, he doesn't have that backing him and since revealing that Otto took over his body would reveal his identity as Spider-Man, he can't explain anything and he's instantly accused of plagiarism.
*** Because of this, Peter is fired from ''Daily Bugle'': the ''Bugle'' is already suffering from low sales due to the fact that EverythingIsOnline, they don't need a scandal on top of it.
*** Peter's HeelRealization near the end of the book ultimately leads to a {{Reconstruction}} of ComesGreatResponsibility - the doctorate and everything that came from it never was his and he never should have kept hold of any of it.
*** The Life Foundation sank millions of dollars into preparing for a global catastrophe. As a result, they went bankrupt some time ago. Focusing too much on the future and not enough on the present has a habit of backfiring on you.
*** Due to screwing over the other members of the [[ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan Sinister Several]], they want nothing to do with Boomerang and he’s now so incredibly lonely he made [=LMDs=] of them to keep him company. Turns out constantly stabbing others in the back leaves one short on friends.
*** Just because you turn away from one kind of villainy doesn't mean you're always on the side of angels, as Spidey learns the hard way when Comicbook/BlackCat, despite abandoning her "Queenpin" schtick, is still a thief and still willing to steal things.
*** While Jonah is trying to be supportive to Spider-Man ever since [[spoiler:Peter revealed his secret identity to him]], Jonah is still a man who is a [[{{Understatement}} bit]] [[ItsAllAboutMe wrapped up in himself]]. [[spoiler:When Peter tries to get him to refuse the award Fisk wants to give him and stop saying Peter supports Fisk, Jonah refuses because this is his time to shine.]] He relationship with Robbie also soured because Robbie is no longer listening to his advice on matters regarding the Daily Bugle.
*** As well, years and years of accusing Spider-Man of being a menace comes back to haunt Jonah when he's confronted by the son of Frederick "Big Boss" Foswell and tries to get Jonah to murder Spidey when the time comes.
*** Due to the rise of NewMedia and the lack of sensationalism that J. Jonah Jameson provided coupled with Peter being discredited, the Daily Bugle is falling under hard times.
*** This also bites Jolly Jonah in the ass as his sensationalism towards Spider-Man being removed means he's losing listeners and his spot on the radio show.
*** Constantly stabbing others in the back will eventually get you in serious trouble as Boomerang is being attacked by the Sinister Syndicate led by his former teammate Beetle and Electro who he had recently betrayed to escape getting imprisoned.
*** Teaming up with someone you barely know how to fight with together will result in you most likely losing as Spider-Man & Boomerang are overwhelmed by the Syndicate and one of Boomerang's weapons accidentally puts Spider-Man to sleep allowing the Syndicate to kidnap Boomerang for Kingpin.
*** The first incarnation of the Sinister Six, consisting of Dr Octopus, Mysterio, Electro, Kraven, Vulture and Sandman, ended up a complete failure because, since every member was an egomaniacal psychopath, they all refused to actually work together as a team to kill Spider-Man because each one wanted the glory of killing him for themselves, even Octopus who formed the team. Instead of fighting him together, they all fought him one on one like a gauntlet, and failed just like they did the first time they fought him. Later versions of the team atleast tried to avoid this.
** ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' has a lot:
*** In the second arc, Peter is knocked out while trying to take out the Kingpin. Rather than tying him up or killing him, Kingpin has his mask removed to see his face, then has him thrown out a window. This bites Kingpin in the ass later, since he has no idea who Peter Parker is, and so seeing Spider-Man without his mask (and not bothering to take a picture) only leaves him with "white, brown-haired teenager" to go on.
*** Kraven the Hunter was featured on a TV show where he hunted and wrestled wild animals with nothing but his wits and bare hands. When arriving in New York, he announces that for the stunning opener of his new season, he intends to enter the urban jungle and murder Spider-Man.... Unfortunately fighting an intelligent human is far different from a wild animal, especially since this version of Kraven has no super-powers. Peter just dodges him for a while before getting fed up and knocking him unconscious with a single punch. Immediately after Kraven is arrested; while he could make threats on his show and possibly protect it under free speech, once he ''really'' tried to attack Spidey for utterly no reason it became illegal.
*** When Peter finally tells Aunt May that he's Spider-Man, she's absolutely furious and kicks him out of the house, all while telling him that he's not her son anymore. It's clear she still loves him and the two later reconcile, but her reaction is probably the same one most people would have upon finding out that someone they trusted has been consistently lying to them for a long period of time about something serious and potentially life-threatening to the entire family.
*** After the Ultimate Clone Saga, Comicbook/{{Mary Jane|Watson}} is left traumatized and begins having panic attacks. When she later finds out that ComicBook/NormanOsborn (the man who kidnapped her and tried to kill her by throwing her off a bridge) has escaped from prison, she begins screaming and starts running until Peter catches up with her and calms her down. Even though Mary Jane is incredibly brave and always willing to support Peter and do what she can to help save the day, she's still a 15-year-old who has been kidnapped, imperiled and nearly murdered on ''multiple separate occasions''.
*** Likewise, Peter's romantic relationships with MJ and Comicbook/KittyPryde often confuse and frustrate him, as he has a hard time dealing with the way they [[MasterOfTheMixedMessage say one thing while meaning something else]]. Anyone who's had a boyfriend or girlfriend at that age probably remembers that same feeling.
*** Speaking of relationships, Black Cat gets the hots for Spider-Man like in the mainstream universe...until Peter unmasks in front of her and tries to kiss her. She is horrified that Peter is just a teenager, throws up and runs away.
*** During the Ultimate Knights arc, Shang-Chi attempts to infiltrate the Kingpin's criminal syndicate by getting hired as his new bodyguard. Already sensing a possible trap, the first thing Fisk asks Shang-Chi to do is [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten kill a random mook who happens to be standing there]], reasoning that someone who ''actually'' wants to work for a mob boss should be perfectly fine with murder.
*** A major part of Comicbook/MilesMorales' origin story is that he had a chance to intervene in the final battle between Peter Parker and Norman Osborn, but was too scared to do anything, which resulted in Peter's death. Most untrained 13-year-olds with no crime-fighting experience would probably be similarly terrified by the prospect of fighting a massive supervillain like the Green Goblin.
*** During the final battle between Miles and Comicbook/{{Venom}}, the police unload a barrage of gunfire in hopes of stopping the monster, and one of the bullets strikes and kills Rio, Miles' mother. When someone fires a large amount of rounds in a crowded area, bystanders often tend to get hit, unfortunately.
* Short-lived Marvel hero NFL Superpro's bulletproof costume was built by a brilliant inventor/sports memorabilia collector, who designed it to be the safest and most durable football uniform ever built. When Superpro asks him [[ReedRichardsIsUseless why every player doesn't have one,]] the inventor explains that the superstrong materials needed to make it cost millions of dollars, making it totally impractical for mass production.

* In an issue of ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' from the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}}'', Superboy offers to fly a woman home. Shown from Superboy's perspective, it seems to be a normal trip, but when they arrive, the woman throws up and is extremely upset. Superboy then realizes that he flew at super speed without any thought to the fact that people aren't invulnerable or used to such things.
* ''Comicbook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'' viciously subverts the idea of [[NinetiesAntiHero Punisher-style anti-heroes]] somehow being better at fighting supervillains simply because they're willing to "do what it takes". In the finale [[CurbStompBattle Shocker launches the Punisher into the horizon in a single panel]]. Frank might be TheDreaded but he's still a normal man who found himself up against a guy who could blow apart buildings with a squeeze of his fist. Earlier in the comic the other members of the Sinister Six effortlessly blast their way through the Owl's henchmen, as they're armed with high-tech weapons and superpowers and the mooks are just normal guys. How's a pistol or crowbar supposed to help you against potential lunatics wielding things like sonic gauntlets and super speed?
** Likewise the story also rather casually destroys the notion of the LovableRogue. The Sinister Several, for as lovable or pathetic as they may seem, are ultimately vicious criminals, and rather than stick together they instead backstab each other at almost every turn. The fact that he can't trust the people on his own team because of their greedy opportunism disillusions Shocker greatly.
** Just because a supervillain may be regarded as a loser out-of-universe or in-universe, doesn't change the fact that they're a supervillain and thus exceedingly dangerous.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** During ''ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily'', Batman tries to punch Superman without the use of Kryptonite. Superman has to roll with the punch to keep Bruce's arm from being broken, and even then his hand is left aching from the effort, because he decided to punch a man who treats '''nuclear explosions''' as a non-threat. During "Hush", with the Kryptonite ring, he still risks breaking his hand and notes he can't give Superman more than a few slugs, because the kevlar in his gloves only provide so much protection against punching an invincible man.
** ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'' has a rare instance of a writer remembering that the SquareCubeLaw is a thing. The crossover opens with Superman battling a giant robot, which he notices is equipped with some kind of special gravity device. He soon realizes that the gravity device is what gives the robot its mobility, since the robot would otherwise be too heavy to move on its own. After Superman negates the device's effect by pushing down on the robot from above, the robot quickly collapses through the ground, unable to support its own weight.
** Since his beginning, Superman was touted as being "more powerful than a locomotive" and many Golden Age and Silver Age stories showed him stopping runaway locomotives dead in their tracks. However, later stories have him facing this same problem but knowing that he has to be ''extremely'' careful. He knows that while he's strong enough to easily stop the train cold, all that energy and momentum has to go ''somewhere,'' and that would mean the train derailing with tremendous damage and loss of life. He has to carefully slow the train down in order to prevent this. He also can't just fly to the back of the train, grab hold, and drag it to a stop. The couplers between the cars can't take the stress of being pulled apart by the entire mass of the train and would simply snap.
** Superman's official authority is often an open question. ''ComicBook/TheManOfSteel'' averts this by having the mayor of Metropolis (as fallout from a challenge to his authority by ComicBook/LexLuthor) commission Superman directly as a special deputy, which at least gives Superman jurisdiction within Metropolis city limits.
** In the earliest Golden Age stories, Superman would take on normal criminals and the corrupt and was more lax with death threats and property damage. However, in ''Superman in the Slums'' even he's initially stumped as to how to fix juvenile crime in a dilapidated neighborhood since there isn't someone who's directly responsible. Of course he finds the solution and [[spoiler:demolishes the neighborhood, after the people evacuate of course, once he learns that the government will build modern housing projects to replace the old buildings, but still.]]
** ''ComicBook/TheFinalDaysOfSuperman'': Several consecutive arcs of him slamming down on the "DeadlyUpgrade" button (and one DisneyDeath, for added seasoning) ends up giving him an incurable, fatal disease... [[spoiler:which kills him off for real. Rest In Peace, New 52 Supes.]]
** Also New 52 tackles the issue of trying to keep a secret identity in a world where surveillance cameras and smartphones are common place. As a result, one villain manages to put together that Clark is Superman from monitoring footage through Metropolis and attempts to blackmail him into doing his bidding. Comicbook/LoisLane ultimately tries to end it by going ahead and outing Superman as Clark. Word spreads immediately and people are left wondering if Superman can still be trusted after finding out that he had lied about who he was for years, and on top of that, Supes ends up angry with Lois for releasing the information even though she only did it to save him.
** For a brief time in 2008 ComicBook/LanaLang was put in charge of [=LexCorp=] following one of Lex's failed schemes forcing him to go on the run. Lana found that despite Luthor's super genius [=LexCorp=] was facing bankruptcy. When one of [=LexCorp's=] scientists questioned this, saying [=LexCorp's=] worth billions, Lana points out "Maybe it would be if your lunatic criminal founder, before wiping out all the goodwill the company had, hadn't funneled most of the corporate assets into crazy boondoggles like [[SpaceBase secret moonbases]] and shuttle technology..." and other Superman destroying schemes.
** ''ComicBook/SupermanRebirth'' has two instances of that in ''Imperius Lex'' story. First one is when Lex Luthor gets abducted and Superman doesn't come to save him - this is because ever since his HeelFaceTurn Luthor has been [[CryingWolf abusing emergency signals for any excuse to impress Superman]]. Second are Kalibak's fights with Granny Goodness and Superboy - despite his status as resident subject of TheWorfEffect and their as badass grandma and BadassAdorable, their SuperStrength is on a comparable level and with that filed more even Granny is an elderly woman and Jon is still a ten-years-old, while Kalibak is an adult man and a seasoned warrior much larger than any of them and very much in shape, so [[CurbStompBattle he effortlessly wins both battles]]. The reason he has a reputation of a loser is that he keeps picking fights with people like Superman or Orion, who are above his weight class.
** During the ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' - Legion of 3 Worlds, when Superman suggests that they try to redeem Superboy-Prime, his ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}} teammates think he is crazy for even suggesting it. And there was a problem with his idea, because one, Superboy-Prime was psychotic, and two, he was trying to be a villain. All the other times Superboy-Prime was trying to get back home. By this story he accepts his world is gone, and is trying to be a villain because he found out he is regarded as merely a footnote in Superman's history and ultimately has no impact on history, so resolved to be a villain with more of an impact than any other enemy of Superman. Superman trying to redeem him goes as well as you might expect it to.
** In ''ComicBook/WhoTookTheSuperOutOfSuperman'', Kal-El tries to be Superman non-stop during one week. It turns out not even Superman can act as a hero 24/7 because he also needs to relax and wind down, as well as a private life and friends to hang out with.
** ''ComicBook/WhoIsSuperwoman'': As it happens, a super-costume doesn't really give an edge over a metahuman because costumes tend to get torn during battles to death. And unlike Superwoman, Supergirl's powers don't go away when her suit gets ripped.
** ''Comicbook/ManyHappyReturns'': Linda Danvers tries to take the place of the original ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} to fight ''[[Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths the Anti-Monitor]]'' and save Kara's life. Unfortunately, Kara can fight that universe-eating EldritchAbomination because she is all but a PhysicalGod. Linda is human. She ''hasn't got a prayer'', and no amount of determination, willpower, human spirit or preparation time will change that.
** In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Vol 5]]'' story arc "The Way of World", Kara meets a little boy that is dying from cancer and vows to save his life. Kara fails and has to learn that her powers cannot do everything.
** Similarly, in ''Comicbook/YoungLove'' Earth-1 Supergirl's OldFlame Dick Malverne dies from cancer, and Linda can do nothing to save him.
** In ''[[Comicbook/JusticeLeagueInternational Justice League Europe]]'', ComicBook/PowerGirl was seriously injured and required surgery, forcing the team to call in Superman, whose heat vision was the only thing that could act as a scalpel.
** Similarly, in an early Comicbook/PostCrisis ''Superman'' issue, Bloodsport shoots Superman with a Kryptonite bullet. Superman's invulnerability makes it difficult to perform surgery on him, and a doctor ends up having to expose him to Kryptonite ''again'' just so the entry wound can be sutured shut.
* ''ComicBook/TheSupermanAdventures'':
** In one issue, Lois is placed under a trance by a supervillain with mindcontrol powers, and a co-worker with a crush on her discovers this and uses the chance to convince her she's his girlfriend. Superman gets him to realize that what he's doing is wrong and he's ultimately LovingAShadow, convincing him to release her. Even though he chose to do the right thing in the end, he is ''not'' EasilyForgiven by Lois for taking advantage of her while she was under hypnosis, who is understandably angered at his actions, telling him that it will be a while before she can even look at him again.
** An issue applies this to Krypto the Super Dog when Mr. Mxyzptlk transports him to present day Earth. Krypto develops powers and super senses like his normal comics self, but since he's still an animal and doesn't have the reasoning to properly process all of it like a person would, his heightened senses end up [[SensoryOverload overwhelming him]] and cause him to go berserk, unintentionally causing destruction all over Metropolis.
* During the Franchise/{{Superman}} "Sacrifice" arc, the brainwashed Superman attacked Batman without warning, believing him to be Comicbook/{{Darkseid}}. In a straight up fight, without any prep time, the BadassNormal Batman didn't land any hits and was barely left alive. The only thing that saved his life was that Superman slammed him near the computers, allowing him to activate the Watchtower's security measures and temporarily distract Superman. It was only by the intervention of Wonder Woman that allowed Batman to survive.

* The premise of ''Comicbook/TitansHunt2015'' is that the original founding members of the Comicbook/TeenTitans all had their memories of each other erased. Consequently, it turns out that Mal Duncan, formerly the teenage superhero known as the Herald, has no memory of his powers or ever fighting crime to begin with. When he's attacked by Mammoth, he's completely unprepared and gets his ass kicked. The subsequent ''Titans'' ongoing series also reveals that Mal has developed severe PTSD from the incident, as being ambushed and nearly killed by a horrifying monster after years of believing you were just a normal civilian is probably gonna leave some mental scars.