History AdultsAreUseless / ComicBooks

* In ''ComicBook/{{Champions 2016}}'', this is the main drive of the comic - tired of the LetsYouAndHimFight-driven attitude of the adults thanks to ''ComicBook/CivilWarII'', former ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentAvengers members [[ComicBook/MilesMorales Spider-Man]], ComicBook/{{Nova}}, and [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Ms. Marvel]] form a team with other teens in order to show that heroes are better than just slugging each other, destroying things and leaving things alone as they disappear.

* In ''Comicbook/TheBeano'' the adults and teachers never seem to be able to prevent their kids from misbehaving. In older strips they would whack their kids with slippers or a cane but now it seems the kids never seem to get much in the way of a punishment apart from making their parents really angry.

* Aversion: The adults in ''Comicbook/GladstonesSchoolForWorldConquerors'' are typically famous super villains and are quite important to the plot.

* This is the overarching theme of ''[[Comicbook/NewXMenAcademyX New X-Men]]'' during its second half. Following [[GenocideFromTheInside M-Day]], most of the world's mutants are depowered, and the rest are being hunted and killed. The X-Men are often unable to deal with the problems the kids face, thus leaving them to fend for themselves. This ends up making most of the kids distrust and look down on the X-Men, who have been ineffectual in protecting their charges.

* ''ComicBook/RelativeHeroes'': The teen heroes distrust of government officials and other adults who aren't Franchise/JusticeLeague members in excellent standing gets proven right time and time again. Damara's mother made a deal to force Damara into a marriage to an Olympian, Cameron's bio parents turn out to be villainous extraterrestrials, and the kids are constantly being chased by the D.E.O. which comes after them with serious firepower for being superpowered kids without a legal guardian, and being dismissed by other adults. If adults had been less useless they'd have never run away in the first place.

** Comicbook/CloakAndDagger nearly subvert this, by finding out what's really going on in Los Angeles and telling the kids that they'll get in contact with Captain America and send him to take out the Pride. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, they are caught and brainwashed by Molly's parents into forgetting everything.]]
** Franchise/SpiderMan's cameo also subverts it, to a degree.
** Parodied when the Runaways show up at Comicbook/AvengersAcademy. Chase goes off on a defensive tirade about how adults are always meddling in the Runaways' business... before sheepishly admitting that he actually needs the Avengers' help in retrieving Old Lace. That arc also finally put an end to the Runaways' abuse of this trope; after a pointless fight breaks out between the Runaways and the Avengers, Nico breaks it up with a spell that magically forces both sides to see each other's viewpoints, and the Runaways realize that their longstanding distrust of adults has left them with some disadvantages. They ultimately decide that adults don't suck as much as they thought.
* In ''Comicbook/SexCriminals'', middle-school girl Suzie tries to find out what happens when someone has an orgasm. She turns first to a gynecologist and than her mom. Neither are any help.

* In Marvel's ''Comicbook/{{Runaways}}'', the teen heroes don't trust any of the adult characters, even Comicbook/CaptainAmerica. ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' only cements their "Adults are tools" mentality.

* {{Justified| Trope}} in ''ComicBook/LockeAndKey'' - similar to ''Literature/PeterPan'', children are the only ones who can believe in magic. Adults might see it, but they wouldn't quite process it as being abnormal. If fact, once the children hit 18, they forget everything to do with magic, meaning the Locke siblings are more or less on their own when all hell quite literally breaks loose. This is averted in more mundane situations, where adults are shown to be anything but useless. Like in issue 1, when Nina kills a psycho [[AnAxeToGrind with a hatchet]] for [[MamaBear threatening her son]].

* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': While it's not played straight as Alfred, Harold and Dana[[note]]before her breakdown[[/note]] are always competent and useful most adults in the series are either constantly useless or actively a problem. Tim's father has no clue how to be a parent, Ariana's uncle outright attacks Tim over a misunderstanding, Tim's teachers are combative and make no inquiries into his injuries and constant need to sleep in class, Bruce pulls heartless gambits trying to manipulate Tim, Az!Bats goes off the deep end and tries to kill Tim and after Tim's father dies Tim has to forge portions of his father's will in order to avoid becoming a ward of the state.

* In ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', it was just as well that adults were never fully seen, because the rare situations where the main characters had to interact with them portrayed them as ''incompetent''. In one story arc, Charlie Brown went to talk to his pediatrician to find out why the school board (which the doctor was a member of) had banned a book called ''The Three Bunny Wunnies Freak Out'' from the school library. The doctor ''fainted''. The nurse later told Charlie Brown that ''little kids made him nervous''. (Remember, this was a ''pediatrician''.) Later, Charlie Brown told Linus that the doctor admitted that he only reads medical journals, but the pictures upset him.

* ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons:'' Given a thorough LampshadeHanging in "Sideshow Blob", where Sideshow Bob turns into a blob monster and starts rampaging around the town. Lisa tells Bart they have to warn everyone, but Bart points out that no-one will believe them. Sure enough, no-one believes them (and everyone they visit gets eaten) right up until they get to Apu... who admits his lack of scepticism has something to do with the fact Bob's wrapping a tentacle around his leg at that very moment.

* Justified in the second volume of ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'' - [[BigBad Mother]] is a trans-dimensional parasite, who feeds on kids and teenagers with {{reality warp|er}}ing superpowers and one of her abilities is to hide her existence from adults, so they won't believe their kids telling them about her and won't notice her activities, even as they're happening in front of them. Worse, if you're a parent, the first person a kid targeted by her would come to, she can turn you into her brainwashed minion. And if your parents are dead, she will bring them back as her minions [[spoiler: through they cannot get too far away from the place of their death]].
* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': While it's not played straight as Alfred, Harold and Dana[[note]]before her breakdown[[/note]] are always competent and useful most adults in the series are either constantly useless or actively a problem. Tim's father has no clue how to be a parent, Ariana's uncle outright attacks Tim over a misunderstanding, Tim's teachers are combative and make no inquiries into his injuries and constant need to sleep in class, Bruce pulls heartless gambits trying to manipulate Tim, Az!Bats goes off the deep end and tries to kill Tim and after Tim's father dies Tim has to forge portions of his father's will in order to avoid becoming a ward of the state.