All-Powerful Bystander: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|'''[[Ozzy Osbourne|Guardian of Metal]]''': ''Me? Oh, I'm nobody. I'm just The Guardian of Metal!''

Our heroes might be good at what they do, but this person is on [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence|another level altogether]]. For some reason, this makes [[The Gods Must Be Lazy|them]] [[Good Is Impotent|useless]].

 

 

But they're not going to fix the problems facing the universe. Why? Well, there are a variety of reasons:

* It would mean breaking an [[Obstructive Code of Conduct]].

* It's not "fair". This is our universe and we deserve to be allowed to live our own lives by our own rules without having a [[Deus Ex Machina]] solve our woes.

* They like to see creatures expand and perhaps even ascend to their plane of existence ''at some point in time''

* [[God Is Evil|They enjoy the suffering.]]

Sometimes, the Bystander is also a [[Trickster Mentor]]. Their advice is no less cryptic, but is at least more interesting.

 

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* Ryuk, from ''[[Death Note]]''. He could use his shinigami eyes to kill L and solve all of Light's problems at any moment, but chooses not to. This is because, in his own words, [[Intrigued by Humanity|"Humans are so interesting."]]

** Expanded on when {{spoiler|Watanuki}} takes over the job from her. He keeps undercharging, and gets mysterious injuries proportional in severity to how much he undercharges.

* Evangeline in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''. She's quite possibly the most powerful character to make an appearance yet (curbstomping a demon god and {{spoiler|Fate Averruncus, who [[Memetic Badass|Rakan]] was only ''slightly'' better than}}) yet is completely disinterested in helping out (though she has the excuse of being under a [[Power Limiter]] most of the time). In fact, she stops the headmaster from interfering during Mahorafest and makes him sit on the sidelines and watch the events unfold!

** This is only valid during the Mahorafest Arc. After that, she becomes a much more active ally.

** The Fake Karakura Town arc would have been much shorter and less painful for all concerned had Yamamoto actually intervened more than once (taking out the monster of Harribel's fraccion). Somewhat justified in that he needed to prepare his own attack on Aizen, and was quite probably expecting his subordinates to fall, one way or another, before he took the Big Bad on. He then makes good on his Badass Boast about having been the gotei 13's commander for a millennium.

* Seravy from ''[[Akazukin Chacha]]''. By far, the most powerful character in the series, he was able already to ''unconsciously'' defeat the most powerful veteran adult magicians even as a [[Tyke Bomb|grade-schooler]] ''without even being aware of it''. In fact, he is considered the only real threat by the [[Big Bad]] and in fact is likely the only reason why the rest of the magical world hasn't actually been conquered yet at the start of the series.

 

 

* In [[The DCU]], [[The Phantom Stranger]] frequently comes off like this, especially when he appears in someone else's story (which includes most of his appearances since the 1970s).

** And to give you an idea of how powerful Watchers are, there have been a few Watchers that have gone insane and attacked, such as Aron the Rogue Watcher. When that happens, even the [[Fantastic Four]] have to call in for help.

** Played up in ''[[Earth X]]'', where the Watchers watch but are unable to interfere as a punishment from the Celestials.

* From the ''[[Cirque Du Freak]]'' series, Desmond Tiny, Evanna and Mr Tall. All powerful enough to pretty much decide the outcome of the war single-handedly, but they're not allowed to directly interfere, or else {{spoiler|all hell breaks loose.}}

* The Childlike Empress in ''[[The Neverending Story (novel)|The Neverending Story]]'' plays this role for most of the book.

* The Archive in ''[[The Dresden Files]]''. She's almost [[The Omniscient|omniscient]] and at ''least'' as powerful as the [[Physical God|old gods]] still hanging around. She's also magically bound to neutrality and unable to take sides except in self-defense.

** There are a number of other very powerful divine beings in the cosmology of the setting, but they do not directly intervene or act because of others. A good example of this is [[God]] and [[Satan]]; they do not act in the mortal world unless mortal will chooses for them to exert some influence, and when they do the other is able to act accordingly. For example, if Satan lends some extra [[Hellfire]] to his Denarian servants on the mortal world, then the Archangel Uriel in turn is allowed to give someone else access to [[White Magic|Soulfire]].

* The Caeliar in ''[[Star Trek: Destiny]]''. Not literally all-powerful, but incredibly advanced technologically, and capable of resolving the Borg threat relatively simply. However, their culture is stagnant, xenophobic and isolationist in the extreme, apathetic about the wider galaxy. It takes Erika Hernandez to pull them off the sidelines, after first rediscovering her own humanity. In a sense, [[Star Trek: Destiny]] can be said to be about the redemption of the All-Powerful Bystander.

 

* The Powers That Be in ''[[Angel]]''. The Senior Partners of Wolfram and Hart would count as the evil variety.

* Kosh and the Vorlons during the middle seasons of ''[[Babylon 5]]''. Subverted when the characters eventually decide they would prefer living in a galaxy without the Vorlons or their counterparts the Shadows.

** And Lorien.

* The Guardians in ''[[Doctor Who]]''

* The Prophets in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' (especially fond of "We'll bail you out just this once, but there will be a terrible price you have to pay.")

* Various characters in ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' exhibit this:

** [[God]] Himself is shown to fit this, up to a point. It's revealed that he doesn't care about the fate of the world, but he still helps the Winchesters in minor ways.

** And then there's [[Death]]. As a [[Cosmic Entity]] responsible for maintaining the natural order into eternity he honestly doesn't care for the fate of a minor planet in the grand scheme of things, but he does give the Winchesters the means to imprison Lucifer so he can continue his duty rather than be tied to a petty archangel.

== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[D20 Modern|Urban Arcana]]'' features Platonics, Anthropomorphic representations of a particular concept. In they low magic setting of Urban Arcana, they're the equivalent of 17th Level Immortal Shapeshifting Sorcerers. In addition to being able to cast multiple fifth level spells ''at will'', they also have access to spells above CL 5 (Normally only available via ritual incantations). It's possible for a Platonic to cast Wish once a day if they wanted. However, Platonics are bound by "The Pact of the Boundless", which serves to keep their powers in check. Considering that there are Platonics of Genocide and War, the pact is a very good thing.

 

 

 

 

* The Penguin God from ''[[Jack Of All Blades]]'', who when asked why he doesn't solve the cast's world threatening problem, states that its because he's going to spend the day thinking about naked people.

* Uncle Time from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]''. He could probably send everybody in Timeless Space home if he wanted to, but he doesn't bother unless someone falls into his home beneath the Oceans Unmoving.

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Mentors]]