History NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished / ComicBooks

* In ''ComicBook/{{Seconds}}'', Lis gives Katie the mushroom to fix time and space so that Hazel never burns her arms. This results in Katie finding more mushrooms and using them to manipulate time in her favor, to Lis's anger.

** The second arc uses this for a major KickTheDog moment, as Eggman repays the village that helped him [[spoiler: when he was the [[AmnesiacDissonance amnesiac Dr. Tinker]]]] by making them ground zero for the [[ZombieApocalypse Metal Virus]]. This is even lampshaded when he names this very trope ''verbatim'' as he infects the town.

* In the ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}'' story "The Running Red" [[spoiler:the Traveller plays to beat Kruger for the sake of good rather than hedonism and loses his immortality for it. He dies shortly afterwards when Kruger's goons attack]].
* ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'': After everything he's done, Rick Grimes -- The man long considered TheHero of ''The Walking Dead'' -- [[TheHeroDies gets shot to death]] by Sebastian Milton after convincing his mother to step down as leader of the Commonwealth. No HeroicSacrifice. No Famous Last Words. [[DyingAlone Not even any loved ones there to comfort him in his final moments]]. Rick suffers '''THE''' most UndignifiedDeath in the series at the hands of a spoiled, entitled brat, then gets put down by Carl after he reanimates.

** The second arc uses this for a major KickTheDog moment, as Eggman repays the village that helped him [[spoiler: when he was the [[AmnesiacDissonance amnesiac Dr. Tinker]]]] by making them ground zero for the [[ZombieApocalypse Metal Virus]].

* In ''ComicBook/{{Seconds}}'', Lis gives Katie the mushroom to fix time and space so that Hazel never burns her arms. This results in Katie finding more mushrooms and using them to manipulate time in her favor, to Lis's anger.
* In ''ComicBook/SerenityLeavesOnTheWind'', the Alliance has apparently had Inara's [[HighClassCallGirl Companion's Guild]] membership revoked as payback for her role in the revelation of the Alliance's role in Miranda and the creation of the Reavers.
* The end of ''ComicBook/BrodysGhost'' sees the titular Brody [[spoiler:facing life as a wanted fugitive for helping nab a serial killer.]] To say nothing of the Penny Murderer's modus operandi. [[spoiler:If any of the women who buy ice cream from him return the excess penny he gives them, he chooses them as a target for being "pure" enough to show such kindness. This after seeing his first victim Talia originally return a penny she saw someone drop.]]
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'':
** The second arc uses this for a major KickTheDog moment, as Eggman repays the village that helped him [[spoiler: when he was the [[AmnesiacDissonance amnesiac Dr. Tinker]]]] by making them ground zero for the [[ZombieApocalypse Metal Virus]].
** On the same note, Sonic himself is indirectly responsible for the entire Metal Virus arc. He [[spoiler:spared an amnesiac Eggman after confirming he was no threat]], only for Eggman to [[spoiler:regain his memories and]] unleash the Metal Virus on the world. In issue 23, Sonic [[NiceJobBreakingItHero acknowledges that he blew it]], remarking that he thought Eggman had a tiny bit of good in his heart, and the entire planet is now paying the price.
* ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'': After everything he's done, Rick Grimes-- The man long considered TheHero of ''The Walking Dead''-- [[TheHeroDies gets shot to death]] by Sebastian Milton after convincing his mother to step down as leader of the Commonwealth. No HeroicSacrifice. No Famous Last Words. [[DyingAlone Not even any loved ones there to comfort him in his final moments]]. Rick suffers '''THE''' most UndignifiedDeath in the series at the hands of a spoiled, entitled brat, then gets put down by Carl after he reanimates.
* ''ComicBook/RedSonja'': A double case of this occurs in "Vacant Shell". During her travels, Sonja happens upon an injured man who is caught in a trap and helps him out of it. He tells her that his village has been afflicted with a curse by an evil wizard. Sonja goes to the village and is told by a young woman that another one is also cursed, this time by the man she helped earlier. This turns out to be a trap for Sonja by the man who is using the young woman to lure Sonja to him. The woman only went along with it because her mother was enslaved by the wizard and the wizard kills her anyway.

* ''Comicbook/IncredibleHulk'' is another series that springs from this trope, with Bruce Banner paying an even more personal cost for saving Rick Jones.
* ''ComicBook/ComicCavalcade'': Johnny Peril helping an abused little girl when he's on the run due to being framed for murder is what gets him caught by police.
* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'s bad luck is compounded by his own insanity and [[BlueAndOrangeMorality off kilter morality]]. He might do good, but even if he's acknowledged by the other heroes, instead of acceptance he'll receive a swift boot out of the city. Acceptance is all the guy really wants, which makes Wade's case even more tragic. The ComicBook/FantasticFour eventually invited him to their weekly heroes-only poker game. He didn't go, but it's the thought that counts.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan's'' damned if he doesn't do (as in the death of Uncle Ben) and damned when he does (courtesy Jameson and others). Specific examples:
** After Green Goblin unmasked him and Spider-Man fought him off leading to Norman getting Easy Amnesia, Peter decides to give his Arch-Enemy a second chance, partly out of fear that his identity would be compromised, and because of compassion for Harry Osborn his college classmate. The end result: a few years later [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied the Goblin regains control and kills Gwen Stacy out of spite]] and he goes on to make Peter's life a world of pain for years to come, spitting on Peter's mercy and his second chance and gloating at him for doing so.
** At the end of ''Ends of the Earth'', when Dr. Octopus established himself as an irredeemable Misanthrope Supreme and wannabe dictator, Peter insists on bringing him in alive and having him face justice, and even escorts him to prison out of duty even when many of his team-mates wanted him dead. The end result, [[ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan Dr. Octopus hijacks his body]] for [[AndIMustScream nearly a year]] ruins all his relationships, screws over his life and saddling Peter with the consequences of actions that he did not take well after he has "redeemed" himself.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'': In the ''ComicBook/TheImmortalSuperman'' storyline, Superman travels to the year 121,970 and learns Metropolis has banned the use of super-powers. Later, Superman decides to ignore the ban when he sees a vehicle about to collide with a building, and he is arrested for attempting to save lives (although the patrol points out nobody was in real danger because flying cars are equipped to prevent such crashes).
* In ''ComicBook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}'' Vol. 3 #19 (February 1986): "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished", a group of Legionaires are forced to deal with the menace that the Sun-Eater they destroyed was intended to stop.
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''
** In ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'' Thomas Wayne saved the life of Carmine Falcone, since he's a doctor first and foremost dedicated to saving lives, and rebuffed Carmine's father's attempts to bribe him to keep the incident quiet. When this incident came to light years later it cast suspicion on Thomas' son Bruce. Harvey Dent -- [[TheResenter already resentful of Bruce Wayne's wealth]] -- thought this incident was proof that the Falcones and Waynes had underhanded connections. Bruce even wonders if Gotham would have been better off if his father had put aside compassion and let Carmine die.
** In one story, the Penguin is let out on parole, and Batman, convinced that he's [[FalselyReformedVillain only pretending to reform]], watches him like a hawk. His investigation of the Penguin's place of business reveals that it's perfectly legitimate... and also reveals that it employs other ex-cons, which puts Penguin in violation of his parole (he's not supposed to have any contact with criminals) and gets him sent back to prison (despite Batman's attempt to put in a good word for him).
* Because StatusQuoIsGod, just about every time a superhero [[SaveTheVillain Saves The Villain]] turns out to be this. The villain rarely if ever appreciates the effort or even makes an effort to mend their ways or refrain from endangering the city and stay in prison. It just means the villain will live to make life hell for everyone else another day.
* In ComicBook/{{Iceman}}'s origin in the mainstream comics. Here young Bobby Drake is out on a date with a girl called Judy Harmon, when a local bully attacks and tries to drag her away. Bobby saves her by encasing the bully in ice, which leads Judy to reject Bobby as a monster. Also, soon afterwards a group of locals forms a lynch mob and attack the Drakes' home.
* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel
** In the first issue of ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', Bobby uses his ice powers to save a ''large'' group of people from a falling sentinel. He gets a bottle thrown at his head for doing so, since it just outed him as a mutant.
** During ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}, a lot of the X-Men die to stop Magneto, and the ones who survived did just as much. Mutants were just as affected by the attacks as everyone else, and most tried to stop it. Afterwards, mutants are being openly hunted by the government, the level of abuse they get has increased, and even though mutants like Kitty Pryde risked their lives to help the public during the attacks, her peers are all bullying her and even report her to the government which causes them to come looking for her.
** This happens to ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' almost OncePerEpisode. A recurring form is that he tries to stop a villain that is wreaking havok, and when the police or SHIELD show up, they target ''both of them''.
** ''ComicBook/UltimateGalactusTrilogy''
*** Captain Marh-Vell stops the Kree killbot and saves the prototype of the ASIS... and gets locked in an interrogation chamber as a result, with plastic explosives strapped to his neck just in case he tries something.
*** Misty Knight is attacked in her own office by a Silver Wing, who wants to kill her to keep his existence a secret. She attacks him with a fire extinguisher on him which causes an explosion brings Captain America and the Falcon to the scene. They drive him away, and try to detain her for the whole incident.
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica briefly teamed up with ComicBook/RedSkull in an attempt to stop a resurrected Hitler from gaining the Cosmic Cube. This likewise rewarded Captain America with temporary exile from America by the US Government due to the latter thinking he turned his back on America.
* ComicBook/FantasticFour: Reed Richards's well-intentioned warning to [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Victor Von Doom]] concerning a few miscalculations in an experiment would be rewarded with decades of stories revolving around Doom's attempts to destroy Reed and everything/everyone he loves.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'', the main goal of the first arc is to free LA from the grip of the supervillain parents of the protagonists. All subsequent arcs deal with the EvilPowerVacuum left behind, as countless other villains try to take over the area. And with most of the Marvel heroes stationed in New York, it pretty much entirely falls to the protagonists to keep the town safe. [[spoiler:And later, Gert dies in one of those fights, in a situation that arose entirely from the fact that ''they'' killed off the Pride.]]
* After the events of ComicBook/CivilWar, minor Marvel character Jack Flag is in effective retirement, until he hears a woman being attacked by a gang of local thugs. Jack goes out to save her, which quickly results in the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}} coming after him, followed by Jack being beaten up, crippled, arrested, beaten up again, and then thrown into an other-dimensional prison without trial. The prison is shortly thereafter attacked by an alien army and the prisoners left to be killed. (Fortunately, Jack is sort-of rescued by the ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy, and manages to get his legs back thanks to alien doctors. No word yet on whether he eventually managed to get his girlfriend back, though.)

* In ''ComicBook/AstroCity'', Vince Oleck discovered a way to get his client off. His client's father, who's Mafia, immediately tells him that if he wins the case, he's going to work for the Mafia, and threatens his wife and son when he demurs. [[spoiler:He wins the case and immediately flees with his family. The father sends assassins after him, and only the intervention of a vigilante superhero saves them.]]

* ''ComicBook/RedSonja'': A double case of this occurs in "Vacant Shell". During her travels, Sonja happens upon an injured man who is caught in a trap and helps him out of it. He tells her that his village has been afflicted with a curse by an evil wizard. Sonja goes to the village and is told by a young woman that another one is also cursed, this time by the man she helped earlier. This turns out to be a trap for Sonja by the man who is using the young woman to lure Sonja to him. The woman only went along with it because her mother was enslaved by the wizard and the wizard kills her anyway.
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
** Heracles invades the Amazons' home and is bested by Hippolyta. Despite this initial act of aggression, the Amazons opened their doors to Heracles and his men, treating them as guests of honor. Heracles repays this kindness by drugging the Amazons and raping their queen. This latest injustice at the hands of men is what turns the Amazons on the opposite gender for over a millenia and it takes a long time for them to begin healing from the trauma.
** In the lead up to ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', Maxwell Lord takes control of Superman, making him attack the rest of the Justice League and intending to have Superman go on a rampage that will turn the world against all metahumans. Wonder Woman, after having pleaded with Max to cease his actions and doing everything in her power to subdue Superman without killing him, ultimately kills Max who himself admitted this was the only way to stop his plan. Due to footage of the incident being edited in such a way to make her look like the bad guy, Wonder Woman is shunned by the public for several years and even Superman and Batman, both of whom knew the entire context of the situation, turn on her.
* ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'': When he was a boy, Matt Murdock pushed a blind man out of the path of an incoming truck carrying radioactive chemicals. While this saved the man's life, it also cost Matt his sight but enhanced his other four senses. In the limited series ''Father'', Matt takes on a woman named Maggie Farrell as a client. It is ultimately revealed that she is the serial killer Johnny Sockets who has been blinding and murdering Matt's clients. When she tries to kill Matt and Foggy, [[BigDamnHeroes the FBI swoop in]] and shoot her. With her dying breath, Maggie reveals that she is the daughter of the man whom Matt saved as a boy and the reason she was killing Matt's clients was because her father had molested her as a child [[MisplacedRetribution and she blamed Matt letting him live long enough to destroy her childhood]]. Not only did Matt's first heroic deed unintentionally ruin a woman's life and drive her to villainy, it also cost some of his clients their lives.

* ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'': After everything he's done, Rick Grimes-- The man long considered TheHero of ''The Walking Dead''-- [[TheHeroDies gets shot to death]] by Sebastian Milton after convincing his mother to step down as leader of the Commonwealth. No HeroicSacrifice. No FamousLastWords. [[DyingAlone Not even any loved ones there to comfort him in his final moments]]. Rick suffers '''THE''' most UndignifiedDeath in the series at the hands of a spoiled, entitled brat, then gets put down by Carl after he reanimates.

* ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'': When he was a boy, Matt Murdock pushed a blind man out of the path of an incoming truck carrying radioactive chemicals. While this saved the man's life, it also cost Matt his sight but enhanced his other four senses. In the limited series ''Father'', Matt takes on a woman named Maggie Farrell as a client. It is ultimately revealed that she is the serial killer Johnny Sockets who has been blinding and murdering Matt's clients. When she tries to kill Matt and Foggy, [[BigDamnHeroes the FBI swoop in]] and shoot her. With her dying breath, Maggie reveals that she is the daughter of the man whom Matt saved as a boy and the reason she was killing Matt's clients was because her father had molested her as a child [[MisplacedRetribution and she blamed Matt letting him live long enough to destroy her childhood]].

** In the lead up to ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', Maxwell Lord takes control of Superman, making him attack the rest of the Justice League and intending to have Superman go on a rampage that will turn the world against all metahumans. Wonder Woman, after having pleaded with Max to cease his actions and doing everything in her power to subdue Superman without killing him, ultimately kills Max who himself admitted this was the only way to stop his plan. Due to footage of the incident being edited in such a way to make her look like the bad guy, Wonder Woman is shunned by the public for several years and even Superman and Batman, both of whom knew the entire context of the situation, turn on her.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan's'' life is all about this. He's damned if he doesn't do (as in the death of Uncle Ben) and damned when he does (courtesy Jameson and others). Specific examples:

* ''ComicBook/RedSonja'': A double case of this occurs in "Vacant Shell" during her travels, Sonja happens upon an injured man who is caught in a trap and helps him out of it. He tells her that his village has been afflicted with a curse by an evil wizard. Sonja goes to the village and is told by a young woman that another one is also cursed, this time by the man she helped earlier. This turns out to be a trap for Sonja by the man who is using the young woman to lure Sonja to him. The woman only went along with it because her mother was enslaved by the wizard and the wizard kills her anyway.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman:

** During ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}, a lot of the X-Men die to stop Magneto, and the ones who survived did just as much. Mutants were just as affected by the attacks as everyone else, and most tried to stop it. Afterwards, mutants are being openly hunted by the government, the level of abuse they get has increased, and even thought mutants like Kitty Pryde risked their lives to help the public during the attacks, her peers are all bullying her and even report her to the government which causes them to come looking for her.
** ''ComicBook/UltimateFF'': By the time the team returns to earth, all the military is at the other side of the portal, aiming to them. They have to prove that they are themselves, and not dopplegangers from some alternate universe.

*** Misty Knight is attacked on her own office by a Silver Wing, who wants to kill her to keep his existence a secret. She blows a fire extinguisher on him, and the explosion brings Captain America and the Falcon to the scene. They drive him away, and try to detain her for the whole incident.

* ComicBook/FantasticFour: Reed Richards' well-intentioned warning to [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Victor Von Doom]] concerning a few miscalculations in an experiment would be rewarded with decades of stories revolving around Doom's attempts to destroy Reed and everything/everyone he loves.

* ''ComicBook/RedSonja'': A double case of this occurs in "Vacant Shell" during her travels, Sonja happens upon an injured man who is caught in a trap and helps him out of it. He tells her that his village has been afflicted with a curse by an evil wizard. Sonja goes to the village and is told by a young woman that another one is also cursed, this time by the man she helped earlier. This turns out to be a trap for Sonja by the man who is using the young woman to lure Sonja to him. The woman only went along with it because her mother was enslaved by the wizard and the wizard kills her anyway.

* ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'': After everything he's done, Rick Grimes-- The man long considered TheHero of ''The Walking Dead''-- [[TheHeroDies gets shot to death]] by Sebastian Milton after convincing his mother to step down as leader of the Commonwealth. No HeroicSacrifice. No FamousLastWords. [[DyingAlone Not even any loved ones there to comfort him in his final moments]]. Rick suffers '''THE''' most UndignifiedDeath in the series at the hands of a spoiled, entitled brat, then gets put down by Carl after he reanimates.

* SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}}'s bad luck is compounded by his own insanity and [[BlueAndOrangeMorality off kilter morality]]. He might do good, but even if he's acknowledged by the other heroes, instead of acceptance he'll receive a swift boot out of the city. Acceptance is all the guy really wants, which makes Wade's case even more tragic. The ComicBook/FantasticFour eventually invited him to their weekly heroes-only poker game. He didn't go, but it's the thought that counts.

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'' uses this for a major KickTheDog moment, as Eggman repays the village that helped him [[spoiler: when he was the [[AmnesiacDissonance amnesiac Dr. Tinker]]]] by making them ground zero for the [[ZombieApocalypse Metal Virus]].

* In ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'', after all he's done, Rick Grimes-- The man long considered TheHero of ''The Walking Dead''-- [[TheHeroDies gets shot to death]] by Sebastian Milton after convincing his mother to step down as leader of the Commonwealth. No HeroicSacrifice. No FamousLastWords. [[DyingAlone Not even any loved ones there to comfort him in his final moments]]. Rick suffers '''THE''' most UndignifiedDeath in the series at the hands of a spoiled, entitled brat, then gets put down by Carl after he reanimates.

* In ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'', after all he's done, Rick Grimes-- The man long considered TheHero of ''The Walking Dead''-- [[TheHeroDies gets shot to death]] by Sebastian Milton after convincing his mother to step down as leader of the Commonwealth. No HeroicSacrifice. No FamousLastWords. [[DyingAlone Not even loved ones there to comfort him in his final moments]]. Rick suffers '''THE''' most UndignifiedDeath in the series at the hands of a spoiled, entitled brat, then gets put down by Carl after he reanimates.

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'' uses this for a major KickTheDog moment, as Eggman repays the village that helped him [[spoiler: when he was the [[AmnesiacDissonance amnesiac Dr. Tinker]]]] by making them ground zero for the [[ZombieApocalypse Metal Virus]].

* The ''ComicBook/SinCity'' story "That Yellow Bastard" is this trope in a nutshell. All Detective John Hartigan wants to do is close his one unsolved case and stop a SerialKiller who likes to rape little girls and slash them to ribbons and put his ass away so that he can finally retire in peace. Said sick fuck happens to be the son of a powerful and ruthless U.S. Senator, one who will not stand for anyone messing with him, no matter how justified it is. As a result, Hartigan pays dearly for saving Nancy Callahan, the eleven-year-old girl slated to become the monster's next victim. Good lord, does he pay dearly. Said corrupt senator pays to have Hartigan's heart fixed, and then sets him up to take the fall for raping the girl (who didn't even get raped). Worse, he has to let his wife think he's the monster everyone says he is, because she'll be killed if he ever claims innocence. There's a special circle in Hell reserved specifically for the Roark family, but years later when Nancy is in trouble again Hartigan does get revenge by castrating Junior (again, and with his ''bare hands'') [[spoiler:before savagely beating him to death and then killing himself so that Nancy will be kept safe from the people behind Junior]].

** In the first issue of ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', Bobby uses his ice powers to save a ''large'' group of people from a falling sentinel. He gets a bottle thrown at his head for doing so, since it just outed him as a mutant. Hell, the entire premise of ''ComicBook/XMen'' in general is that they fight to save a world that hates and fears them, resulting in basically this.
*** This expands on ComicBook/{{Iceman}}'s origin in the mainstream comics. Here young Bobby Drake is out on a date with a girl called Judy Harmon, when a local bully attacks and tries to drag her away. Bobby saves her by encasing said bully in ice, which leads Judy to reject Bobby as a monster. Also, soon afterwards a group of locals forms a lynch mob and attack the Drakes' home.

* [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]]' well-intentioned warning to [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Victor Von Doom]] concerning a few miscalculations in an experiment would be rewarded with decades of stories revolving around Doom's attempts to destroy Reed and everything/everyone he loves.

* After the events of ComicBook/CivilWar, minor Marvel character Jack Flag is in effective retirement, until he hears a woman being attacked by a gang of local thugs. Jack goes out to save her, which quickly results in the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}} coming after him, followed by Jack being beaten up, crippled, arrested, beaten up again, and then thrown into an other-dimensional prison without trial. Said prison is shortly thereafter attacked by an alien army and the prisoners left to be killed. (Fortunately, Jack is sort-of rescued by the ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy, and manages to get his legs back thanks to alien doctors. No word yet on whether he eventually managed to get his girlfriend back, though.)

* The end of ''ComicBook/BrodysGhost'' sees the titular Brody [[spoiler:facing life as a wanted fugitive for helping nab a serial killer.]] To say nothing of the Penny Murderer's modus operandi. [[spoiler:If any of the women who buy ice cream from him return the excess penny he gives them, he chooses them as a target for being "pure" enough to show such kindness. This after seeing his first victim Talia originally return a penny she saw someone drop.]]