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In a world filled with superpowered heroes and villains constantly battling overhead, a world where property damage is common and evil minions run rampant every now and then, have you ever wondered how the normal citizens cope with all that crazyness? In this trope, the story focuses solely on those citizens. Often centres on a police force trying to stop normal crimes and having to put up with death rays, or the feeling of inadequacy when the heroes catch perps before they do. Fantastic Racism is also a prevalent theme.
Can be seen as a subtrope of Perspective Flip. When it's just one episode of a larger series, it's a Lower Deck Episode.
Examples
- Powers by Brian Michael Bendis is an ongoing series focusing on regular police officers trying to solve crimes when their world is literally stuffed with crazy superpowers and mad science. Investigations often revolve around the murder of a superhero.
- Gotham Central was a series following the Major Crimes Unit of Gotham City, and all the difficulties of corruption and supervillains in their way.
- Watchmen is told partly from the perspective of the normal police officers investigating the deeds of so-called superheroes and an actual superhero (Dr. Manhattan).
- Damage Control is a Marvel series following the construction company of the same name, that specialises in clean-up and general rebuilding after large cataclysmic superhero fights. A slight subversion of the trope, as the company has several superpowered employees to help with heavy lifting etc.
- Marvels is the early days of the Marvel Universe from the POV of a muggle newspaper reporter.
- Its sequel, Eye of the Camera, is much the same way.
- Since the Civil War event, Marvel have been using "Front Line" style tie-ins for all their recent crossover events, to show how those events are affecting the Innocent Bystanders of the Marvel Universe (or at least New York...)
- Before Gotham Central, there was Metropolis SCU, a DC Comics miniseries about the special police squad trained to deal with supervillains in Superman.
- And Science Police, the same thing with the Space Police organisation from Legion of Super-Heroes.