History Main / WouldNotShootAGoodGuy

** In ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory Chaos Theory]]'' you could kill U.S. National Guard forces while sneaking around New York, but it'd automatically drop your mission score to 0%. The same applies to the ROK soldiers during the Seoul mission. In the final mission, killing JSDF personnel while breaking into a Japanese base results in an instant mission failure (although it's more due to political consequences rather than moral considerations). Towards the end of that mission though, lethal force is authorised when it is clear who are the real enemies.
** Completely thrown out the window in ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCellDoubleAgent Double Agent]]'', where you're undercover as a member of a domestic terrorist group, and can kill prison guards, security guards and Mexican marines at your leisure (although doing so drops your NSA trust meter, which can lead to a game over if you overdo it). The UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube and 6th Generation versions ''forced'' you to avert this trope at times. There was only [[YouLoseAtZeroTrust one trust meter]], which went back and forth between NSA and JBA. Sometimes you had no choice but to gun down a couple of security guards or police if you were leaning too close to the former.
** This trope is played straight in ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCellConviction Conviction]]'' for the most part where the POTUS orders Sam not to kill the DC Metro Police who confronts him. In coop, the protagonists are prohibited from killing the St Petersburg SWAT team and Azeri police in the following mission. The Russian bodyguards/plain-clothed soldiers guarding the GRU delegation in the aforementioned mission cannot be dealt with lethally until it is confirmed the general they are protecting is dirty.
** In ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCellBlacklist Blacklist]]'', this extends to the American soldiers while [[spoiler:breaking out of the Guantanamo Bay prison]] and Indian soldiers in one mission of the co-op campaign. For a certain definition of good guys,[[spoiler:the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps]] gets no such protection in ''Blacklist'' despite [[spoiler:Iran being framed and actually attempting to apprehend one of the villains involved with the attacks.]] This is likely because the country is an adversary state to the US, [[spoiler:and the IRGC is listed as a terrorist organisation, even if they are innocent of backing the Engineers.]]

* In a Marvel ''What If?'', ComicBook/CaptainAmerica refused to lay aside the name (instead of the arc when he was just The Captain). Soldiers come after him, having been told he's an imposter; one actually thinks it's hard to believe that it's not Captain America, but jumps into the fray. Cap doesn't want to hurt them.

* In a Marvel ''What If?'', ComicBook/CaptainAmerica refused to lay aside the name (instead of the arc when he was just The Captain). Soldiers come after him, having been told he's an imposter; one actually thinks it's hard to believe that it's not Comic/CaptainAmerica, but jumps into the fray. Cap doesn't want to hurt them.

* The final run of Creator/GarthEnnis' ''Comicbook/ThePunisherMAX'' involved Frank being in the sights of a cabal of Corrupt US Army Generals...who use their connections to send a group of special operations soldiers after him. [[CaptainObvious Frank doesn't kill them]], but that doesn't mean he doesn't ''fight'' them. This would appear to only apply to ''American'' soldiers, too; he doesn't hesitate to shoot Russian soldiers in a nuclear missile base. Frank also usually takes it easy on superheroes who get between him and his targets. Of course, "taking it easy" for Frank Castle still usually involves fisticuffs, non-lethal shootings, stabbings, and on one occasion, a ''steamroller''. In that particular story, he was fighting ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and was allowed to go all out since [[GoodThingYouCanHeal Wolverine can always get better]].

* In ''Film/FirstBlood'', Rambo goes out of his way not to kill any of the cops who are pursuing him and only kills one of them when they really force his hand.

* In ''VideoGame/CallofDutyBlackOps2'' one of the missions has the player in the role of the mole in [[BigBad Menedez's]] organisation who has no choice but to kill any Yemeni soldiers who gets in his way for self-defence and to keep his cover.

* Players in the ''Franchise/DeusEx'' series are occasionally faced with this, given the setting's nebulous morality and tendency toward shifting alliances. It's particularly evident in ''Human Revolution'', where one possible mission has you infiltrating a police station. If the cops see you, they'll shoot to kill, but do you really want to massacre the whole police force? And then again at the end, where most of the mooks are just [[spoiler: innocent people driven mad by their implants]], who could potentially be redeemed by the completion of your mission.

* TheSpider didn't kill cops for much the same reason--even crooked cops. (He had no compunction about beating the snot out of them, though; the Spider wasn't stupid.)

** Contrast this with the XBox video game adaptation, which throws this trope entirely out the window, along with a dozen or so honest cops trying to do their jobs. [[http://spoonyexperiment.com/2013/06/10/minority-report-everybody-runs/ Spoony's review]] of it calls it out on how horrifying and ridiculous it is to insist your innocence of one murder while performing a hundred more.

* In ''RushHour'', Lee is without his credentials and finds himself at gunpoint when he mentions the ambassador's daughter to some FBI agents. He disarms both (in trademark "Creator/JackieChan" style) and dismantles the guns.

* In ''RushHour'', Lee is without his credentials and finds himself at gunpoint when he mentions the ambassador's daughter to some FBI agents. He disarms both (in trademark "JackieChan" style) and dismantles the guns.

->'''Mack Bolan:''' ''"Make no mistake, all of you. You shoot one cop, or one innocent bystander, and the public stops cheering and the cops stop looking the other way and all of a sudden you're just another dirtbag on the street."''
--> -- '''Literature/TheExecutioner #2: Death Squad'''

* In ''BusouRenkin'', this is why [[spoiler: Kazuki]] refused to kill the [[spoiler: Alchemist Warriors sent after him when he is about to go Victor.]]
* Totally and completely [[AvertedTrope averted]] in the first season of ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex''. After [[spoiler: the whole of Section 9]] is falsely accused of a crime, you would need an accountant to keep track of the dead among the black-ops military team sent to ''arrest'' them. They even finished off soldiers who had already been neutralized as a threat.

* The final run of Creator/GarthEnnis' ''Comicbook/ThePunisherMAX'' involved Frank being in the sights of a cabal of Corrupt US Army Generals...who use their connections to send a group of special operations soldiers after him. [[CaptainObvious Frank doesn't kill them]], but that doesn't mean he doesn't ''fight'' them. This would appear to only apply to ''American'' soldiers, too; he doesn't hesitate to shoot Russian soldiers in a nuclear missile base. Frank also usually takes it easy on superheroes who get between him and his targets. Of course, "taking it easy" for Frank Castle still usually involves fisticuffs, non-lethal shootings, stabbings, and on one occasion, a ''steamroller''. In that particular story, he was fighting {{Wolverine}} and was allowed to go all out since [[GoodThingYouCanHeal Wolverine can always get better]].

* In TheDCU, the Vigilante (the Adrian Chase version) refused to shoot at honest cops, even when they were trying to shoot him.

* The ''SwordOfTruth'' has the titular sword magically enforce this trope - the wielder physically cannot harm someone they ''believe'' to be innocent. Of course, that necessitates that only incredibly perceptive and quick-thinking people are qualified for the position, because there's a deep gulf between belief and fact. [[spoiler: Richard discovers that the restriction only applies when the sword is powered by anger. When it's powered by love, it's no-holds-barred. Interestingly, this turns out to ultimately be the key to the power of Orden - being able to unlock the love mode and do what has to be done, regardless of the cost. YMMV.]]

--> -- '''TheExecutioner #2: Death Squad'''

* ''TheExecutioner'' novel series. Mack Bolan decided early on that he would not fire on police officers, even though being arrested would end his war against the Mafia (and result in his death once the Mafia got to him in prison). That may, however, have been pragmatism as much as anything. As seen in the page quote, Bolan was savvy to the fact that as long as only bad guys died, the law would feel inclined to look the other way. As soon as innocents or cops start dying, the boys in blue will tear heaven and earth apart to find you.

* ''TransformersCybertron'': While the Autobots fight Starscream's army, the US Military launches several jets to attack everyone involved, unaware of the different factions. Despite taking fire from two directions, the Autobots only fire on the Decepticons, while the Decepticons "do not hesitate to fire on anything that gets in their way". The episode comes off as something of a TakeThat to how Autobot-Human military relationships tend to go in the Transformers comics.

* Shirou has this attitude during the [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Grail War]], which causes every single one of his allies to facepalm or threaten him with death. Seriously, only going after bad guys in a ThereCanBeOnlyOne fight to the death?

* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Batman is forced to non-lethally disable a SWAT team that has [[DisguisedHostageGambit mistaken the hostages for armed hostage-takers]]. Granted, Batman never intentionally kills people, but he's noticeably more careful in that scene.

Because [[DividedWeFall they ought to be on his side]]. They're good guys, and he knows it.

TheRival, believing his own MaliciousSlander, sent them after him, or TheMole is deliberately trying to disable him -- but at any rate, these Mooks ought to be on TheHero's side, so he can't shoot them, no matter [[FriendOrFoe how deluded they are about who's the good guy]]. A SubTrope of NeverHurtAnInnocent and FriendOrFoe.

* In ''Film/MinorityReport'', Anderton must first dispatch a group of his own pre-crime teammates, and then with a number of FBI agents. Though law enforcement is already mostly geared toward non-lethal weapons in this universe, Anderton takes more care to make sure none of his comrades are hurt too extensively.

* In the second season of ''TwentyFour'', Jack breaks orders (as usual) and attempts to sneak out of the CTU with Kate Warner to locate proof that the Middle Eastern country charged with detonating a nuclear bomb on U.S. soil is innocent. Tony discovers this and attempts to keep Jack from leaving by holding him at gunpoint. However, it's merely a bluff and Jack realizes this, using Tony's refusal to actually shoot him as a chance to instead knock him down and escape.

* This is one gameplay option in ''ShadowTheHedgehog'' and Shadow's canon modus operandi from now on. He'll still fight Sonic, but they're each other's {{Worthy Opponent}}s and Sonic appreciates the excitement, plus it's technically sparring. Sonic himself wouldn't attack a good guy outside of sparring either. Or when fighting for his life against a misguided Silver.
* In ''AlphaProtocol'', Mike has one or two opportunities to shoot at police and other aggressors that are "just doing their jobs", mainly in Taiwan. Doing so will often score him negative points with his handler. Mina's opinion of you will drop by 1 point ''per kill'', making it possible to go from "best buds" to "worst enemies" faster than you can say "[[InstantSedation but I didn't have any tranquilizer darts]]!". Fortunately, both these sedative darts and non-lethal melee takedowns let you TakeAThirdOption, albeit often painfully hospitalizing the target in the latter case. ''Additionally'', characters may remark on your lethality (or lack thereof) and appreciate that in later meetings, especially Albatross in regards to [[spoiler:infiltrating one of the G-22 facilities and engaging a number of soldiers there]]. The same goes for U.S. Marines. On the other hand, killing police, CIA agents, and Marines will also [[spoiler: help prove to Leland that you're a worthy asset, who is willing to get things done, and helps unlock the endings where either Mike goes to work for Halbech, or betrays Leland and proceeds to ''TakeOverTheWorld''.]]

* There's an odd example in ''[[XWingSeries Solo Command]]''. Lara Notsil gets discovered to be the woman who caused the deaths of Talon Squadron, and she's well aware that the fact that she [[BecomingTheMask became the mask]] and went through a HeelFaceTurn doesn't change her history. Despite being shot at by her love interest, the only surviving member of Talon Squadron, all she does is flee. She goes to the enemy, Warlord Zsinj, as a FakeDefector, and when she actually has to face the squadron she powers down her lasers so that she can shoot at them without actually doing damage. Suspecting the situation, Wedge Antilles orders that she isn't to be fired on. [[spoiler:And it turns out that her low-powered lasers were doing more than just giving the pretense of attacking; she was blasting them with an encoded message.]]

* In the original ''SplinterCell'', killing CIA security forces while trying to break into CIA Headquarters resulted in an instant mission failure.
** In ''Chaos Theory'' you could kill U.S. National Guard forces while sneaking around New York, but it'd automatically drop your mission score to 0%. The same applies to the ROK soldiers during the Seoul mission. In the final mission, killing JSDF personnel while breaking into a Japanese base results in an instant mission failure (although it's more due to political consequences rather than moral considerations). Towards the end of that mission though, lethal force is authorised when it is clear who are the real enemies.
** Completely thrown out the window in ''Double Agent'', where you're undercover as a member of a domestic terrorist group, and can kill prison guards, security guards and Mexican marines at your leisure (although doing so drops your NSA trust meter, which can lead to a game over if you overdo it). The UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube and 6th Generation versions ''forced'' you to avert this trope at times. There was only [[YouLoseAtZeroTrust one trust meter]], which went back and forth between NSA and JBA. Sometimes you had no choice but to gun down a couple of security guards or police if you were leaning too close to the former.
** This trope is played straight in ''Convictions'' for the most part where the POTUS orders Sam not to kill the DC Metro Police who confronts him. In coop, the protagonists are prohibited from killing the St Petersburg SWAT team and Azeri police in the following mission. The Russian bodyguards/plain-clothed soldiers guarding the GRU delegation in the aforementioned mission cannot be dealt with lethally until it is confirmed the general they are protecting is dirty.
** In ''Blacklist'', this extends to the American soldiers while [[spoiler:breaking out of the Guantanamo Bay prison]] and Indian soldiers in one mission of the co-op campaign. For a certain definition of good guys,[[spoiler:the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps]] gets no such protection in ''Blacklist'' despite [[spoiler:Iran being framed and actually attempting to apprehend one of the villains involved with the attacks.]] This is likely because the country is an adversary state to the US, [[spoiler:and the IRGC is listed as a terrorist organisation, even if they are innocent of backing the Engineers.]]

** Completely thrown out the window in ''Double Agent'', where you're undercover as a member of a domestic terrorist group, and can kill prison guards, security guards and Mexican marines at your leisure (although doing so drops your NSA trust meter, which can lead to a game over if you overdo it). The NintendoGameCube and 6th Generation versions ''forced'' you to avert this trope at times. There was only [[YouLoseAtZeroTrust one trust meter]], which went back and forth between NSA and JBA. Sometimes you had no choice but to gun down a couple of security guards or police if you were leaning too close to the former.