History Main / AllPowerfulBystander

** The [[SentientPhlebotinum Energized Protodermis]] [[CosmicEntity Entity]] of was a conscious and rather boastful silvery liquid with a power tied to the universal force of fate: who or whatever touched it would be either transformed into something else or immediately killed depending on their destiny. The substance was so powerful and volatile, trying to control it lead to the planet Spherus Magna splitting into three planets, [[WhenItAllBegan which kicked off all the events on the franchise]]. The kicker was that even the Entity itself had no control over its power, and was frequently used by various factions as a power-source, an ingredient for experimentation or as ammunition. Despite these key roles, [[MinorMajorCharacter the Entity itself only appeared a couple times]] as a FillerVillain, revealing every drop of it has been aware of everything for over 100,000 years, it just didn't care to make itself known, not even to the scientists studying it. The one exception was its relationship with Teridax. Seeing as both of them shared an [[AGodAmI evil god complex]], they frequently collaborated on twisted animal experiments.

* It's not [[RuleOfFun fun]] for the audience. The problem would be solved in just a few panels, and we just wouldn't have a partularly interesting story to read/game to play.

* Raiden in ''Film/MortalKombatTheMovie'', who seems to pack more power in his pinky than the other characters in their whole bodies, but was unable to offer anything beyond advice to the heroes due to upstairs meddling -- by the decree of the Elder Gods, the BigBad and his minions can only invade Earth if his forces win the Mortal Kombat tournament. If Raiden interferes with the tournament directly, then Earth forfeits, meaning Outworld gets to invade.
** This runs counter to the canon of the video game series, in which Raiden fought right alongside the rest of Earth's forces. Granted, in the games he also wasn't ''that'' much more powerful than the rest of the fighters.
*** In the games it is stated Raiden had to take a mortal form to compete or else the Elder Gods would stop him. He is implied to be potentially far more powerful than shown in the games and is often portrayed that way in other media.
*** After ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' they explained that Raiden's status as a deity means he can only enter the Mortal Kombat tournament if directly challenged, hence why for much of the game the heroes are counting on Liu Kang as TheChampion. [[spoiler: The day's eventually saved when Raiden (forcefully) keeps Liu Kang from stopping Shao Kahn's attack on Earthrealm. Once Kahn sets foot on Earth, he's violating the rules of Mortal Kombat, giving Raiden the right to attack him with his full Godly might.]]

* The Greybeards from ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', whose mastery of the Thu'um magic make them some of the most powerful humans alive, but live as hermits and refuse to interfere in the civil war plaguing the province. They will share their knowledge with anybody who comes to them, especially a [[TheChosenOne Dragonborn]]. But few people have the endurance and patience necessary.
** They're not joking about the "all-powerful" bit either. Console commands reveal they're all at ''Level 150'', close to twice the player's level-cap.
* The Wise One from ''VideoGame/GoldenSun''.
** Justified in hindsight via FridgeBrilliance after The Wise One's nature was spelled out in ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn''. [[spoiler: The Wise One is a living PhilosophersStone, instructed by its creators to prevent the return of Alchemy to Weyard. Felix discovered in the events of ''The Lost Age'' that Weyard would collapse unless Alchemy was restored, compromising The Wise One's sole objective.]] Long story short, The Wise One ''didn't know what to do'', so it used a SecretTestOfCharacter to make sure the heroes were sure of ''their'' decision. In the meantime, it also ''did'' protect Vale from being destroyed by volcanic eruption [[spoiler: twice]].

* Everything they put the Heroes and Villains through is part of a {{plan}} of such subtlety and scope that [[InMysteriousWays mere mortals can't comprehend it]]. Whether or not anyone ever finds out the end result is iffy.

** In one particular episode on of the kids is given the powers of the dungeon master, and uses it to almost effortlessly carry out the quest of the day. At the last minute, he returns it for the aesop about too much power.

->'''[[Music/OzzyOsbourne Guardian of Metal]]''': Me? Oh, I'm nobody. I'm just The Guardian of Metal!\\
'''Eddie Riggs''': Oh, cool! So, you wanna help me fight demons and stuff?\\
'''Guardian of Metal''': Nah, I'm not really a fighter. I'm more of a...keeper of timeless secrets.

** Destiny from ''ComicBook/TheSandman''. Actually, most of The Endless qualify as this, but this is especially true of Destiny.

[[quoteright:348:[[TheWatcher https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tales_of_the_watcher-350_8714.JPG]]]]

* In Franchise/TheDCU, ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger frequently comes off like this, especially when he appears in someone else's story (which includes most of his appearances since the 1970s).
* Uatu from Creator/MarvelComics, who's bound to exactly the degree of interference that makes the plot more interesting. He is part of a race of beings called ''[[TheWatcher the Watchers]]''. They are highly evolved and highly powerful but their roles are to... just watch. Even with the rare instances of Uatu doing anything at all, he's considered one of the more meddling members of his race. In no small part because of his habit of showing up in person to witness major events, even though he could watch just as effectively from anywhere else. Thus, his mere presence serves as a passive warning that something really bad is about to happen, without technically breaking any rules of non-interference.
** And to give you an idea of how powerful Watchers are, there have been a few Watchers that have gone insane and attacked, such as Aron the Rogue Watcher. When that happens, even the ComicBook/FantasticFour have to call in for help.
** Played up in ''ComicBook/EarthX'', where the Watchers watch but are unable to interfere as a punishment from the Celestials.
** The Watchers once tried to uplift a primitive race. Their efforts merely hastened their charges' extinction. The Watchers' PrimeDirective was the result of that tragedy.
** This is subverted in that Uatu, despite his constant claims otherwise, breaks his non-interference rule ''all the damn time''. In fact, this happened so much that the other Watchers eventually put him on trial for ''numerous'' violations of their ethics code. Though ultimately they didn't do much other than making him promise to stop.
*** This became a point of interest during ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet, when Uatu shows up to Thanos's "palace", Thanos realizes that he presence means that enemies will be on his doorstep in a matter of minutes.
* Marvel has a lot of these. The [[CosmicEntity Living Tribunal]] is a character more powerful than almost anyone, yet he only interferes when there's a real threat to the cosmic order of things... The Living Tribunal did not even consider Thanos' attempt to [[spoiler:murder half of all the living beings in the entire universe and replace Eternity as the living embodiment of all existence]] to be a true threat to the cosmic order, simply saying it was 'natural selection' and disappearing when asked for help by the less powerful cosmic beings.
* [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Odin]], Zeus and a number of other pantheon heads from Earth mythology. Occasionally they may dabble if the mood strikes them, but otherwise they tend to ignore any threat that doesn't directly impact them (and many that do).
* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'''s Dr. Manhattan is a PhysicalGod in a world where no other superpowered individuals exist. However, his one known limitation is that he experiences all events in his life simultaneously, and as such, is incapable of doing anything he didn't already know he was going to do. PlayedForDrama.
* Professor Charles Xavier, leader of the ComicBook/XMen, who could solve 90% (if not more) of the X-Men's problems, if he weren't too moral to mess with people's minds and get the job done.
** In Paradise X he briefly inhabits a pocket universe where he did that. It required mental control over most of the planet and he was very happy to be rescued.
* The Guardians of Oa in Franchise/TheDCU. On the few occasions where they have acted directly, they've been shown to have enormous power, but they try not to become involved in events themselves and stick to administrating the Green Lantern Corps.
* In the first ''ComicBook/{{Secret Wars|1984}}'', the only thing the Beyonder is missing is a giant DM's screen floating in the sky. In ''ComicBook/SecretWarsII'', he subverts this trope, by taking an active role in the affairs of mortals to the extent of actually destroying [[GrimReaper Death]] itself. It doesn't so much work out.
* Franchise/{{Superman}} is a borderline example. Most of the time, he could end his adventure in a matter of seconds. He just limits himself ''a lot'' out of personal morality, or to avoid losing contact with humanity. He also has to deal with {{Kryptonite|Factor}}, [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere lots and lots of Kryptonite]]. In "Time Ryders", the second Linear Men story from the ''ComicBook/TimeAndTimeAgain'' collected edition, Superman is more of a bystander in a conflict between more powerful people -- Waverider from ''ComicBook/Armageddon2001'' and the Linear Men -- who are in control of time.
* In ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheBeanworld'', Mr Teach'm refuses to help Mr Spook catch the notworm. The problem is that because of the "Catch'm Keep'm" rule, if Mr Teach'm caught it, it would belong to him rather than Mr Spook. ItMakesSenseInContext.
* Quite a few of the greater Marvel entities (the Vishanti, the Octessence, and Eternity) do not interfere directly in the workings of the world, choosing to empower magic users like Comicbook/DoctorStrange to be their champions and agents instead. The person can walk away, at the cost of losing the entity's mystical patronage (and thus a lot of power).
* Destiny from ''ComicBook/TheSandman''. Actually, most of The Endless but this is especially true of Destiny.
* Appearing in every #1 issue of DC's New 52 is Pandora, a mysterious figure who is in a tense relationship with ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger after she uses [[Franchise/TheFlash Barry Allen]]'s help to ''merge the three DC-owned labels into one timeline.'' She states after a fight with The Phantom Stranger that her powers are greater than both his and ComicBook/TheSpectre's. Given that the Stranger and the Spectre have almost limitless power, that's saying quite a bit.
* Tempus Fuginaut, an {{expy}} for Uatu in the DC Universe plays this role in ''ComicBook/TalesFromTheDarkMultiverse''. His inaction results in an [[spoiler:ass-beating from the Last Knight, a version of Duke Thomas.]]

* Raiden in ''Film/MortalKombatTheMovie'', who seems to pack more power in his pinky than the other characters in their whole bodies, but was unable to offer anything beyond advice to the heroes due to upstairs meddling - by the decree of the Elder Gods, the BigBad and his minions can only invade Earth if his forces win the Mortal Kombat tournament. If Raiden interferes with the tournament directly, then Earth forfeits, meaning Outworld gets to invade.

* Played with in the film Film/{{Immortals}} the [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Olympians]] are shocked at the atrocities committed by [[BigBad Hyperion]] and could stop him and his entire army easily. [[LawfulStupid Zeus]] prevents them arguing that they should have faith in the mortals to solve their own problems and the gods are supposed to only intervene as mortals. This is averted when the gods are forced to intervene twice to save Zeus' chosen hero Theseus resulting in Zeus slaying [[WarGod Ares]] for breaking the law. Ultimately, Theseus fails allowing Hyperion to free the Titans forcing the gods to intervene directly.

-->'''Winston''': ''Nothing''...you demand ''nothing'', Mr. D'Antonio. This kingdom is mine and mine alone.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender:'' A few hundred years before the story, Avatar Kyoshi - a fully trained Avatar, no less - did absolutely nothing while Chin the Conqueror took over near-all the Earth Kingdom (save Ba Sing Se). Even when he showed up on her doorstep with an army, Kyoshi's only response was to tell him to get lost, before simply cutting off her homeland from the mainland. Chin dies as a result, but not because of a direct attempt on Kyoshi's part (he stood on a newly created clifftop as it crumbled, rather than get to safety).

* It's not [[RuleOfFun fun]]. The problem would be solved in just a few panels, and we just wouldn't have a partularly interesting story to read/game to play.

* They like to see creatures expand and perhaps even ascend to their plane of existence ''at some point in time''

* They never asked or assumed they wouldn't bother due to the above reasons.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': While gods as well as DemonLordsAndArchdevils and more than one CouncilOfAngels certainly do affect things occasionally, mostly they seem to sit around and especially not take a lot of direct action on the Material Plane for the reason of cancelling each other out. If you were too active in the mortal world, apparently, your opposite counterpart would start to take notice -- so mostly they just take more subtle action, if that. The biggest offender might be Ao, the TopGod of the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' setting, who really can't be persuaded to do anything at all unless his gods really mess up their jobs, which has apparently happened exactly once. In other words, he's so powerful he can boss regular gods around and so apathetic only the antics of gods can make him intervene, and that extremely rarely (there are a few things that imply he might be forbidden or actively opposed to interfering rather than just apathetic, but that still places him squarely in this trope).

* ''Fanfic/TheBodyReflectsTheHeartTheShadowReflectsTheSoul'': Igor and the residents of the Velvet Room are, traditionally, out of sight of the main action and leave the protagonists to work for their own answers, only offering assistance as they seek it. Here, however, Igor is candid about the nature of the threat and how to fix it, as there is neither a single perpetrator nor a single solution that can be located with enough effort, and while out of sight, it's stated that he and his attendants are trying to mitigate the damage on their side as well.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Reboot}}'': When Hexadecimal isn't the villain of the week, she's this. She could easily stomp Megabyte ''or'' the heroes into the ground through sheer force alone, but as the self-entitled Queen of Chaos that method of victory is simply too ''boring'' for her. She's also far from properly sane most of the time. When Bob defragments her broken mask she becomes his staunch ally, and requires depowering to not totally [[StoryBreakerPower warp the plot]] of ''Daemon Rising'' around her presence.

* They're "not allowed". There are ''other'' All-Powerful Bystanders out there, so any action they take would be cancelled by an [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil equal and opposite reaction]] by one of them. Also, they would likely punish the All-Powerful Bystander for trying anything. Alternately, if they exerted their power it would draw the attention of something far worse than what they used their power to destroy. Alternatively, they are so powerful, that their help would cause massive side-destruction.

* Tempus Fuginaut, an {{expy}} for Uatu in the DC Universe plays this role in ''ComicBook/TalesFromTheDarkMuiltiverse''. His inaction results in an [[spoiler:ass-beating from the Last Knight, a version of Duke Thomas.]]

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** While currently dead, WordofGod says that Meti was not only the best swordsman but also the most powerful fighter period, with the possible exception of Zoss. The only thing stopping her from killing all the demiurges and taking over Throne was that she thought fighting was idiotic and it was better to be a farmer.

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** Taijou Rokkun is the strongest after Shinkouhyou, but get involved even less. He have no interest in what's going on, and just want to [[BrilliantButLazy sleep]]. All the time. He can see in the very distant future in his sleep, and because of this consider that whatever dynasty fall or win right now isn't that important on a larger scale since in the very end they're all going to disappear anyway.

-->"... Don't worry. I've decided I don't know the future. It takes all the fun out of life."

* ''Manga/SoulHunter'': [[WorldsStrongestMan Shinkouhyou]] is so strong that the others characters don't have much choice but to tolarate his presence while he wander arround as he please. Yet his only involvement in the conflict is to occasionally give a little push in one direction to make things more interesting to watch. otherwise remain a spectator. When Kokutenko ask him why he does'nt just deafeat [[Dakki]] himself, which he could do anytime he want, he just answer that this would'nt be interesting, implying that he would just be [[LonelyAtTheTop very bored]] if things were resolved too quickly and he were left with nothing to watch.
** Taijou Rokkun is the strongest after Shinkouhyou, but get involved even less. He have no interest in what's going on, and just want to [[BrilliantButLazy sleep]]. All the time. He can see in the very distant future in his sleep, and because of this consider that whatever dynasty fall or win right now is'nt that important on a larger scale since in the very end they're all going to disapear anyway.

* Marvel has a lot of these. The [[CosmicEntity Living Tribunal]] is a character more powerful than almost anyone, yet he only interferes when there's a real threat to the cosmic order of things... The Living Tribunal did not even consider Thanos' attempt to [[spoiler: murder half of all the living beings in the entire universe and replace Eternity as the living embodiment of all existence]] to be a true threat to the cosmic order, simply saying it was 'natural selection' and disappearing when asked for help by the less powerful cosmic beings.

* Franchise/{{Superman}} is a borderline example. Most of the time, he could end his adventure in a matter of seconds. He just limits himself ''a lot'' out of personal morality, or to avoid losing contact with humanity. He also has to deal with [[KryptoniteFactor Kryptonite, Lots and lots of Kryptonite.]] In "Time Ryders", the second Linear Men story from the ''ComicBook/TimeAndTimeAgain'' collected edition, Superman is more of a bystander in a conflict between more powerful people -- Waverider from ''ComicBook/Armageddon2001'' and the Linear Men -- who are in control of time.

* Both Splinter and The Shredder serve as this for the good and bad sides respectably in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012''. The reason because these two both qualify as the WorldsStrongestMan that as no other person in the series could fight evenly with them. When Splinter enters a fight against Shredder's men? Splinter always curbstomps them. Shredder entering in a fight against the Turtles? The Turtles are lucky enough to even escape alive. It's pretty clear that all of the main problems in the series could've been solve if Splinter was more active and this actually works in Shredder's favor as he successfully won after teaming with The Kranng. [[spoiler: It's only natural that both Splinter and Shredder get killed off once the series ended.]]

* The Dungeon Master from the ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons'' TV series used this trope so much he was originally the TropeNamer.

* A subversion exists in the form of Philemon of the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series, the manifestation of the [[BigGood potential for good]] in the [[UsefulNotes/CarlJung Collective Unconsciousness.]] He doesn't do much in ''VideoGame/{{Persona|1}}'' or ''VideoGame/Persona2'' aside from awakening the characters' Persona power and give them advice in what to do next. It's played straight in ''VideoGame/Persona3'', and ''VideoGame/Persona4'', and ''VideoGame/Persona5'' though; the most he ever does is watch over the protagonists from his butterfly guise, not even introducing himself to them. Not that it mattered, seeing as they and their friends awakened to their Personas naturally without his help.

*** In ''Ghost Story'', where an angel of death stands guard over someone, and Harry, being Harry, tells her to back off, and when that failed, to help the dying. When Harry says that making a choice like that was simple, The angel's eyes are described as 'all but openly hostile.' In her words, it wasn't just this one mortal's choice that led to his near-death, but the culmination of a life's worth of choices and the choice of his attacker and all the choices in the attacker's life, and all the people they touched who choices influenced them. To unmake all those choices is something she isn't willing to do.
*** In ''Skin Game'' ArchangelUriel cannot interfere with a mortal's choice. When a retired and crippled [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]] is willing to walk back into battle, Uriel cannot smite the mortal threat the Knight would face. Uriel [[spoiler:can, and does, help the Knight by aiding the man in the choice he has already made and loans the knight his Grace of God, healing the man. The man is healed at least until the Grace is returned. Oh, and if the man should act wrongly, then Uriel would Fall like Lucifer]].

** Depending on how you interpret him, Tom Bombadil. The Ring has absolutely no effect on him. It's so far below his level that Gandalf rejects the idea of asking him to protect it because he can't understand why it's so important, and would probably [[GrailInTheGarbage throw it away or something]]. The possibility of the entire forces of Mordor actually being a threat to him is only a secondary concern. They make the sheer scale of Bombadil's power clear with the statement that the ring would be safe with him(assuming he didn't lose it or throw it away), until the entire world except for his little area has been conquered, and Sauron throws the resources of the ''entire planet'' against him all at once. Then, and only then, would he lose.

* Seravy from ''Manga/AkazukinChaCha''. By far the most powerful character in the series, he was able already to ''unconsciously'' defeat the most powerful veteran adult magicians even as a [[TykeBomb grade-schooler]] ''without even being aware of it''. In fact, he is considered the only real threat by the BigBad and in fact is likely the only reason why the rest of the magical world hasn't actually been conquered yet at the start of the series.

* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' has perhaps the most frustrating case with the Elder Gods. [[spoiler: Shao Kahn invades and ravages Earthrealm after having LOST Mortal Kombat 2 times already (once through Shang Tsung on Earth, and once straight-up in Outworld). However, the Elder Gods don't get involved, citing Mortal Kombat is only meant to preserve balance among the realms. They only get off their asses when Kahn starts merging Outworld with Earthrealm, which is expressly forbidden without having won Mortal Kombat. Even in his pleas to them, Raiden cites this as a pretty silly distinction.]]