parachute syndrome 

parachute syndrome

MEDIA & MEDICINE

A coinage for a permutation of the deus ex machina plot device of Greek tragedy vintage, which is often used by creators of children’s entertainment–e.g., animations and TV shows to whitewash the consequences–e.g., death, injury, of violent acts used in story lines. 

The term refers to Cobra agents (the bad guys in a comic book series produced by IDW Publishing) parachuting out of harm’s way in response to GI Joe (the good guys) operatives’ fire fights, which is to say, the “bad guys” don’t die. The downside of using “parachutes” is that young children can’t understand the finality of picking up Daddy’s gun, pointing it at a playmate and pulling the trigger.

Reference http://everything2.com/title/parachute+syndrome

While this term fills a lexical void, it is not a medical syndrome.