Examples of Bystander Syndrome depicted in Comic Books.
- In Civil War (2006), the X-Men decide that the SHRA is not their problem, since they're too busy rebuilding their race. The thing is, whoever the X-Men sided with would've won then and there, and the SHRA itself is just a version of the Mutant Registration Act that keeps coming up in X-Books, so the X-Men really didn't have much of an excuse, since they've always opposed registering superpowers. Conversely, in Avengers vs. X-Men, the X-Men call out the Avengers for not being more responsive to the frequent attempts at genocide that mutants have to fight off on a regular basis. Emma Frost claims that this stance is due to superheroes on both sides not helping with the X-Men's Genosha crisis, but Emma's not always one for doing the right thing anyway.
- DMZ: Wilson has kept his army of "grandsons" out of several fights and military incidents because it either isn't their fight, isn't their war, isn't something that concerns them, etc. Wilson's only concern is building up his power in China Town/among the Chinese, and working towards being the most powerful force in Manhattan.
- Flashpoint: Batman couldn't care less for whatever happens outside Gotham City.
- The Fox Hunt: Paul tries to invoke this trope during a bank robbery he and his son Shinji get caught in as a means of attempting getting out of the Vigilante business. Due in equal parts to his son choosing to get into said business and his Paul's own self-dishonesty regarding the matter, however, this doesn't quite work.
- Fantastic Four: Retellings of "The Coming of Galactus" often struggle to explain what The Avengers and other super-heroes were all doing while the Fantastic Four stood alone saving the world.
- Jonesy (2018): While Ripley is blowing the alien out of the airlock Jones is just licking himself.
- The Magnificent Ms. Marvel: In issue #8, Kamala muses on why this bystander syndrome is so tempting in the first place: there are some problems in the world that just seem unstoppable, and it's tempting to just let them grow when chances are you'll just keep getting defeated.
- Spider-Man: In his Super Hero Origin in Amazing Fantasy #15, Peter Parker, suffering from a major case of Acquired Situational Narcissism, refuses to take action against a burglar who ran past him. He would regret that one decision for the rest of his life.
- In Star Wars: Republic Tusken-raised Jedi A'Sharad Hett knew Anakin Skywalker personally, and learned of Anakin's genocide of his people but neglected to report or confront him, believing that he needed to face his inner darkness himself. Instead, with nobody holding him accountable for his actions Anakin went Jumping Off the Slippery Slope and destroyed the Jedi Order, which Hett blamed himself for. This triggered Hett's own Start of Darkness, resulting in him becoming the last Sith Lord, Darth Krayt.
- Superman: At the beginning of the New Krypton storyline, two Kryptonians witness a car crash as wandering around Metropolis. People expect them to use their powers to help out, but they just shrug their pleas off and fly away.
- Many comic books in the early 1970s had an advertisement for Aurora Plastics' "Monster Scene" figural kits, with models of Vampirella, a Mad Scientist called Dr. Deadly, Frankenstein's monster and a "girl victim" along with numerous torture devices. The ads have been described as "openly sadistic and even nihilistic", including Vampirella responding to the girl's screams with "Don't worry, this is New York, no one will help her." (Moral Guardians outrage caused the ads to be toned down and ultimately this type of figural model kit to be discontinued.)
- Watchmen: The material used to make Rorschach's mask was intended for a dress for Kitty Genovese
, the namesake of Genovese Syndrome, also known as the "bystander effect". Rorschach himself recounts the incident — in the incorrect "everyone just watched" version — and it seems to inform his view of the world and people.
