History Main / SamaritanSyndrome

* Alluded to in B-list books like ''Comicbook/AnimalMan'', where it's often [[HandWave mentioned]] that someone more famous like Superman can't show up to [[DeusExMachina upstage the hero]] because of an EldritchAbomination or some such.
* ''Comicbook/{{Astro City}}'':

** [[Comicbook/{{Knightfall}} The one time]] he ''did'' delegate, after his back had been broken, the stand-in ended up with a huge case of this trope, essentially going crazy trying to build a better suit to fight with and ultimately fighting Batman himself, claiming to be the true Batman.

* This is a serious problem for ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'', made worse by the unreliability of her powers.

* Driven to its brutal conclusion in ''Comicbook/{{Powers}}'' with the Superman CaptainErsatz who finds himself run ragged mentally and emotionally by the task of living to save the world every second of every day. He's been around for decades and, despite his best efforts and those of all the other superheroes in the world, he keeps seeing the same problems playing out... so he starts [[SuperDickery getting contemptuous]] and [[SmugSuper develops a God complex]]. And then [[spoiler:he accidentally kills a friend, snaps, and destroys the Vatican, large chunks of the Middle East, and anything else he's come to see as inherently corrupt and contributing to The Problem instead of The Solution before he's stopped]].

* ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'':

** ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl 1982}} In the late Bronze Age]]'' she had to accept the fact that she couldn't save everyone and sometimes she wasn't needed. In a classic story from that era she was mindwiped and forgot about her SecretIdentity. She got her memories back, but that incident made her realize she couldn't be Supergirl 24/7.
** ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl 2005}} Post-Crisis Supergirl]]'' spends all of her time in her cape until Superman warned her that she would get burned out if she kept it up and she needed to live like a normal person.

** In his director's commentary for ''Film/GroundhogDay'', Creator/HaroldRamis refers to what he calls the "Superman problem," e.g. the notion that Supes can and should be busy 24/7 doing heroic stuff, so why is he wasting time with Comicbook/LoisLane, Perry White, and Comicbook/JimmyOlsen?
** The classic [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] story "Who Took The Super Out Of Superman?" involves him being forced to choose only one of his identities to maintain. He soon realizes that both are equally important to him, because he can't stand the guilt of [[RefusalOfTheCall ignoring his calling]] if he stays as Clark for too long, but even Superman can't stand being Superman 24 hours a day. This theme crops up repeatedly in Bronze Age Superman stories and several Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} stories, but "Who Took..." is the most well-known example.

** Despite all this, Superman was hit with this twice in the mid to late 90s. First was when he was resurrected after ''Comicbook/TheDeathOfSuperman'': he and Lois go to Europe for a nice dinner out. While he was gone, the Toyman kidnaps a bunch of children, including the son of a former co-worker of theirs, and kills them. He's so guilt-ridden by this, he vows never to take another vacation.

** In ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', Clark struggles with this even more, since he won't stop helping people, but worries about the consequences of his actions and whether he's doing more harm than good, especially after his intervention in Africa saving Comicbook/LoisLane from a terrorist warlord leads to a massacre [[spoiler: although this is revealed to be a FrameUp by Comicbook/LexLuthor]]. When [[spoiler: Lex bombs the Capitol building]], killing and injuring hundreds of people, being unable to save them sends Clark into a full-blown HeroicBSOD.

* Poor Peter Parker, in the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', suffers from this. He suffers on an even larger scale than most heroes, as he's exhausted, dirt poor, and failing college because he has to stay awake all night and take random breaks in the middle of the day to stop the crimes around him, costing him studying and job advancement. When he temporarily quits being Spider-Man after his powers stop working, he becomes much, ''much'' happier for a little while, until this trope eventually catches up to him again.
** Peter Parker in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse goes through this as well, per Spider-Man tradition. When Tony Stark meets Peter in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' and asks why he became a hero, Peter explains that with his powers, anything bad that he could have prevented would make him feel responsible for it. This also drives the plot of ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'', where the still-teenaged Peter, after experiencing the traumatic events of dealing with Thanos, simply wants a respite from being Spider-Man by going on vacation and purposefully not thinking about this trope. Of course, it's never that easy for Spider-Man, as Peter has to grapple with once again playing a needed hero or hoping someone else will pick up the slack in his place. Finally driven home '''hard''' in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'', when he's forced to save the villains of the other Spider-Man film franchises from their [[SuperheroMovieVillainsDie canonical deaths]], and it costs him ''everything''. But, from the advice of Aunt May and his alternate selves, he carries on even from that low because...

* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' takes after Franchise/SpiderMan in regards to this trope: "If not me, who's gonna protect this town?"

-->-- '''Franchise/SpiderMan''', ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'', ironically, is usually good at avoiding this, since he knows that there are only so many hours in the day and that he can't always be there. Besides, there are plenty of other superheroes hanging around New York, so chances are that if he's not there, one of them is. However, when he knows that something might go down that he was even remotely connected with, he [[ComesGreatResponsibility can't pass the buck]], not even to another superhero who might be more capable. After all, he [[MyGreatestFailure blames his uncle's death on his refusal to stop a crook]]. He got a full-blown case when he briefly got cosmic powers, however.

[[WhatMeasureIsANonSuper How unfair]] is it that [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer those people]] won the SuperpowerLottery? All of that power and not a care in the world! They can [[MundaneUtility get rich]] off those abilities or [[{{Ubermensch}} play "Superman"]]! That is, except...every time they take a coffee break, [[FridgeLogic it means]] a BusFullOfInnocents somewhere fell off a cliff. When they took that IntrepidReporter out on a date, a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere leveled [[BigApplesauce Manhattan.]] And while they renegotiate their rent, [[{{Atlantis}} Atlanteans]] invade Madagascar. And you can [[TripleShifter forget about sleeping.]]

** It's really brought home by the fact that he dreams of being able to fly free (as in, "just fly around for the fun of it" rather than "fly toward the latest emergency").

* In ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'' this is implied to have been a contributing factor to [[BewareTheSuperman The Plutonian]] becoming AxCrazy. [[spoiler: The one time he went to the moon for a few minutes peace, a flesh-eating virus carried by ''screams'' killed a school, which was the straw that broke the camel's back.]]

** The SupermanSubstitute, Samaritan, is the {{Trope Codifier}}/TropeNamer. He has such a horrible case of this trope that he hasn't been able to form a single normal human relationship in TWO DECADES.
** In one story his fellow superheroes make arrangements to protect the world without him for one night so that he can go on a date with a Winged Victory, a Franchise/WonderWoman CaptainErsatz, who is similarly as dedicated to heroism. Both of them have a hard time relaxing on the date, but it's implied that their being out of action for a little while didn't cost the world anything due to their friends stepping up their game. There's also one moment towards the very end of the issue where they enjoy a very short moment of dead silence, with no emergencies.

You guessed it: WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility. Whereas {{Muggles}} can "pass the buck" in terms of the responsibility for [[GreenAesop recycling,]] [[ApathyKilledTheCat civic duty,]] or taking the government to task, {{Superhero}}es can't. Being the only ones capable of dealing with supervillains and natural disasters means that the [[PowerAtAPrice price of their inaction]] is the burden of a death they could have prevented [[BeingGoodSucks on their conscience.]] [[AntiHero Or not.]] The more responsibility they feel, the more GuiltComplex they suffer for "failing" to be responsible.

---> '''Mr. Incredible''': No matter how many times you save the world, it ''always'' manages to [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed get back in jeopardy again]]. Sometimes I just want it to ''stay saved'', y'know? For a little bit? I... I feel like the maid! "I just cleaned up this mess! Can you keep it clean for...for '''ten minutes?!"'''

** Peter Parker in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse goes through this as well, per Spider-Man tradition. When Tony Stark meets Peter in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' and asks why he became a hero, Peter explains that with his powers, anything bad that he could have prevented would make him feel responsible for it. This also drives the plot of ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'', where the still-teenaged Peter, after experiencing the traumatic events of dealing with Thanos, simply wants a respite from being Spider-Man by going on vacation and purposefully not thinking about this trope. Of course, it's never that easy for Spider-Man, as Peter has to grapple with once again playing a needed hero or hoping someone else will pick up the slack in his place.

The former type tends to shun their civilian identity, friends, and [[ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies loved ones.]] Often becoming [[HeroicFatigue exhausted, unbalanced,]] and much more at risk of snapping and going into a HeroicBSOD over a real or perceived failure. Some {{Super Hero}}es may even become a MartyrWithoutACause out of a subconscious desire to ''die'' just to get a chance to rest. This is especially true when the setting has {{Ungrateful Bastard}}s who see fit to [[IrrationalHatred blame the hero for things they can't control.]] The latter will usually be somewhat like a ZenSurvivor, while they might not go into supervillainy and actively cause death and destruction, one has to wonder at the good they could have done, and how many deaths they could have prevented...if they hadn't been, oh, mowing their lawn.

[[folder:FanWorks]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'':

When it ''is'' addressed, it's why superheroes, especially the idealistic types, tend to be {{workaholic}}s who feel great guilt over any and every death that happens on their watch. You see, the problem with having [[FlyingBrick the power of a god]] is you also get the responsibility of one...which is a burden [[AGodIAmNot no sane human is built to take.]] Being (mostly) human, {{heroes}} will have to balance the responsibilities implicit in having their abilities with basic needs like food, sleep, friendship, fun, romance, and perhaps even un-heroic hobbies and work.

* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''Anime/MyHeroAcademia'', where All Might talks to his protege, Midoriya Izuku, about saving people, and that there are some even he can't save, though he always does his best to save as many as possible.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', [[spoiler:Masaki]] justifies going out to fight an [[SuperPrototype incredibly powerful Hollow]] to save the Shinigami fighting it by [[InvokedTrope invoking]] this trope. Later, [[spoiler:Isshin]] [[BirdsOfAFeather uses the exact same reasoning]], almost down to the same words, when offered the chance to repay the favor at the cost of not being able to return to Soul Society.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', [[spoiler:Masaki]] justifies going out to fight an [[SuperPrototype incredibly powerful Hollow]] to save the Shinigami fighting it by [[InvokedTrope invoking]] this trope. Later, [[spoiler:Isshin]] [[BirdsOfAFeather uses the exact same reasoning]] when offered the chance to repay the favor at the cost of not being able to return to Soul Society.
-->'''[[spoiler:Masaki]]:''' If I followed customs and let someone die today, I know my future self will never forgive me.

** Another episode had the girls racing to get home after school because they were excited to go on vacation. This resulted in time travel, causing the girls to go absent for 30 years and the BigBad taking over. After witnessing this, the girls manage to undo the time travel and invoke a variation of this trope, telling the Professor that they can't leave Townsville. ''Ever''.

* In an [[TearJerker incredibly sad]] real-life case of this, Kevin Carter, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who in 1993, ''at literal gunpoint'', [[https://dhavalrathod.wordpress.com/2018/10/18/heres-why-kevin-carter-was-a-sudanese-civil-war-hero/ took pictures]] of [[http://borgenproject.blogspot.com/2011/02/boy-that-survived-vulture.html starving Sudanese children]], committed suicide because he was [[http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/odds_and_oddities/ultimate_in_unfair.htm haunted]] by the feeling of being helpless to save any of them.[[note]]For the record, 1) Kevin chased the vulture away; 2) the boy was with his family; they just aren't in the shot 3) the food station was only 100 meters away and the family had already received preliminary help including medical attention (note the bracelet the kid's wearing); 4) [[http://borgenproject.blogspot.com/2011/02/boy-that-survived-vulture.html Kong Nyong lived another 14 years and died of illness]].[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'': Poor Gordon Freeman went into work one day, was inadvertently part of an experiment that ripped the universe a new one, and for every waking moment since has been [[OneManArmy killing everything in his path]] to protect the planet from one AlienInvasion after another without a single break. Subverted though, in that this isn't his choice ''at all''.
-->'''The [=GMan=]''': Rather than offer you the illusion of free choice, I will take the liberty of choosing for you, if and when your time comes round again.

** The Samaritan, a Franchise/{{Superman}} CaptainErsatz, is the {{Trope Codifier}}. He has such a horrible case of this trope that he hasn't been able to form a single normal human relationship in TWO DECADES.

** This is essentially Izuku's FatalFlaw, his belief that he must save everyone, or that everything else he has done will be AllForNothing. The BigBad is aware of this trait and exploits it in the Villain Hunt Arc. In addition to his personality fueling this thought process, [[spoiler: he also unlocks [[SpiderSense Danger Sense]] [[ChronicHeroSyndrome which tells him that people are in danger]] every time someone tries to get him to slow down and take care of himself.]]

* Brought up in a few episodes of ''Series/MyHero''; when George for whatever reason is unable to get away quickly, he agonizes over people he is unable to save.

->''"Look, when you can do the things that I can...but you don't...and then the bad things happen...they happen because of ''you''."''

* In an [[TearJerker incredibly sad]] real-life case of this, Kevin Carter, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who took pictures of starving Sudanese children, committed suicide because he was [[http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/odds_and_oddities/ultimate_in_unfair.htm haunted]] by the feeling of being helpless to save any of them.

You guessed it: with great power ComesGreatResponsibility. Whereas {{Muggles}} can "pass the buck" in terms of the responsibility for [[GreenAesop recycling,]] [[ApathyKilledTheCat civic duty,]] or taking the government to task, {{Superhero}}es can't. Being the only ones capable of dealing with supervillains and natural disasters means that the [[PowerAtAPrice price of their inaction]] is the burden of a death they could have prevented [[BeingGoodSucks on their conscience.]] [[AntiHero Or not.]] The more responsibility they feel, the more GuiltComplex they suffer for "failing" to be responsible.

** Disturbingly deconstructed with Eidolon, who's generally considered the most powerful superhero on the planet thanks to his PowerCopying (he can do what any three other parahumans can do, letting him rig the SuperpowerLottery in his favour) and openly admits that he 'lives for' his work. [[spoiler:Turns out that his real power is that he's a RealityWarper with a SemanticSuperpower that gives him 'anything he needs', meaning his addiction to fixing problems creates problems only he can fix, in the form of the godlike OmnicidalManiac Endbringers.]]

* VideoGameCaringPotential and {{Self Imposed Challenge}}s can easily lead to this for many games, but ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' is a particular example. Especially irritating because a few heroic deeds are mutually exclusive.
** But it's not so bad if you're a {{One Hundred Percent Completion}}ist or really soft-hearted. You can hit the ResetButton as many times as you like, and once you've successfully finished a quest, it stays "completed" even if you start the cycle over.