The Stormtrooper Effect
The Wikipedia entry for the Stormtrooper effect explains everything.
"The Stormtrooper effect, also called Stormtrooper syndrome, is a cliché phenomenon in works of fiction where minor characters (cannon fodder) are unrealistically ineffective in combat against more important characters."
I HATE that. Whenever I encounter it, I feel the writer is asking me to suspend TOO much.
Is there also a name for the syndrome whereby major characters somehow manage to sustain a massive amount of physical damage and still function at peak combat effectiveness?