Innocent Bystander
 

So, this is a theme that pops up almost constantly in "hero" comics: a close look at an uninvolved guy who's just "in the wrong place, at the wrong time." His name is Innocent Bystander. Innocent Bystander sometimes gets sacrificed to demonstrate the Mortal Peril, sometimes gets rescued, sometimes gets in the way, and sometimes just gawks comically as something Unusual goes down. Innocent Bystander is your everyman, grounding the story with a normal human reaction. For him, weird freaky strange things are unusual and he don't know how to react. As opposed to the heroes, I guess, whose lives just suck because they're weirdness magnets who leap into danger, etc, so forth.

Being that TMNT actively avoid people of any kind, there tend to be fewer innocent bystanders. But that makes it even better when they appear.

Can you think of any good examples of Innocent Bystander from any part of the TMNT world? Have the turtles every hurt any of them?

Is there a screen-time restriction, or does Tyler ("Lone Raph and Cub") fit the mold?

Yeah, that probably fits, even though he was a major part of the plot.

...what about that lady who had her purse stolen in the turtle titan episode....she screamed in poor mikey's face :cry:

Then theres the other lady who got her purse stolen in Meet Casey Jones
Raph: Sorry about all this. Here's your purse lady.
Lady: Keep away from me you lizard thing! Keep away!

There's the family in the utrom memory pod, the ones that the turtles help save from the foot before meeting the guardians.

The two people from Secret of the Ooze who wonder of Tokka and Rahzar:
Man: Sophie, there's two huge animals rippin' up the street. What do we do if they come over here?
Woman: Let them get their own cab.

uhh.. the old woman that suddenly pulled a gun on the turtles in Turtle Tracks of the old show..?

I always loved that lol

how about the people Casey Jones was trying to motivate in the park while the tricertrons where attacking the city. He pretty much told them "not" to freak out like normal innocent by standers, he even went so far as to point out some random dude and told him that people like him are the first to get nailed in hostile situations like that. It was pretty damn funny.

Then there was a situation where Mikey was trying to save this guy who was standing in the middle of the street hypnotised and Mikey swings in and rescues him, and the guy snaps out of it and starts screaming that he was being attacked "by some customed freak". :lol:

Also does Biggles count?

How about the dude who lived over the adult bookstore in City at War, who got all blowed up? Honestly I have no idea who he was supposed to be, so he may or may not meet the "innocent" criterion in "innocent bystander"!

PS - If someone can explain who he is, I would be most grateful. Arigato gozaimasu!

I don't think his story was ever resolved. No idea who he was; they gave his name (though it escapes me at the minute), but as far as I know, there was no indication as to what his whole deal was.

:x But in the letters, fans were repeatedly assured that the mysterious gent's story would be revealed after the conclusion of CaW! Do you mean to tell me IT WAS ALL A LIE? :x :P

I'm pretty sure that they did. I just read all of City at War except for one issue recently, so unless they revealed it in that issue, they never did say anything. I seem to recall someone asking about him in Volume 4 or Tales Vol. 2's letters and not getting a concrete answer.

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m..._061_023LP.jpg
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m..._061_022LP.jpg

This is the letters page on issue 61. That really long letter that starts at the middle of the first page should explain who he was.

So the old guy was just a literary device? I thought he was important storyline-wise!

what about those two police officers in tales 36? or to a lesser extent the kevin and peter police in the dreamwave comics. there was that guy who owned the comic books store in the justice force issue back in the volume 1 issues as well.

He was, as revealed in the letters section, used to show the passing of time. He was also used to show the pain of a bystander in the war that essentially sprung from the Turtles' seeking vengenace. Pain caused by vengeance and honor is the major theme of that arc (see my very first post back in the comic section), so his presence is rather symbollic.

Now, how about the most important innocent bystander ever? The young man Leo sees speared to death after the massive brawl with the Foot in the City At War comics. It completely shakes Leo, and finally causes he and the other Turtles to consider a truce with the Foot and break the cycle of vengeance started by Saki and Splinter.

Honorable mention goes to the bum Leo kills in Tales Vol. 2 #5. Oh, and that little girl Don talks to in Volume 4 just before he kills Baxter in cold blood. Creates a great dichotomy for Don's character.

Not what I expected, but it works, and nicely. Thanks for the explanation. And thanks cMac44111 for posting the letters column!

Eep!! I gotta read that. :o

Volume 4, issue 9. It can be read online at wowio.com.

I've read up to 3 on Wowio thus far...but thanks. There might be people who aren't aware you can read them online.