Comic book death is a term used somewhat cynically in the comic book fan community to refer to the killing off and subsequent return of a long-running character. A synonymous term is Marvel Death, because Marvel Comics supposedly engages in this gimmick more frequently than other publishers.
- This article is about the deaths of characters in comic books. For the personification of death in comic books, see Death (comics).
Comic book writers often kill off characters to gather publicity and dramatic tension. Occasionally, a writer will allow readers to think a character has died and conceive of a complex way to reveal that the character is actually alive within a single storyline. More often, however, the publishing house intends to permanently kill off a long-running character but fans pressure the company to bring the character back or writers are once again in need of publicity and dramatic tension and the character returns in a subsequent storyline through retconning.
Template:Spoilers The two most famous comic deaths are arguably the 1980 "death" of Jean Grey in Marvel's Dark Phoenix Saga and that of Superman in DC's highly-publicized 1993 Death of Superman storyline. Since the Dark Phoenix Saga, comic book deaths have been particularly common in X-Men-related series.
The prominence of comic book deaths has lead to a common piece of comic shop wisdom: "No one in comics stays dead, except Bucky, Jason Todd and Uncle Ben," refering to Captain America's sidekick (dead since 1964), Batman's second Robin (dead since 1989 and killed-off as a result of a fan poll) and Spider-Man's uncle (dead since 1962), respectively. With the return of both Bucky and Jason Todd in 2005, this saying has been sarcastically amended to "Absolutely no one in comics stays dead" (though Uncle Ben is still dead).
Comic book deaths have been parodied by Peter Milligan in X-Statix, in which all the characters had died by the end of the series, and by Dan Slott in his 2005 miniseries Great Lakes Avengers, in which some characters have lasted only a single issue.
The Simpsons also parodied comic book deaths in the episode "Radioactive Man" in which Bart mentions an issue of Radioactive Man in which the eponymous character and his sidekick Fallout Boy die on every page.
Characters that have experienced a comic book death
DC Comics
| Character | Died in | Returned in |
|---|---|---|
| Batman | Comic book deaths were parodied in the "Batman dies!!!" crossover [1] | |
| Black Mask | Catwoman (2nd series) #16 (April 2003) | Robin #130 (November 2004), part of the War Games Batman crossover |
| Captain Atom | Superman/Batman #6 (January 2004) | Superman/Batman #20 (June 2005) |
| Jim Corrigan | More Fun Comics #52 (February 1940) | More Fun Comics #52 (February 1940) |
| Creeper | Eclipso #13 (1993) | "The Creeper" #1 (1997) |
| Doomsday | Superman #75 (1993) | Superman/Doomsday (1994) |
| Firestorm | Identity Crisis #5 (December 2004) | Firestorm (3rd series) #9 (March 2005) |
| Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) | Green Arrow #101 (October 1995) | Green Arrow (3rd series) #1 (April 2001) |
| Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) | Final Night #4 (November 1996) | Green Lantern: Rebirth #4 (March 2005) |
| Immortal Man | numerous times, comes back immediately after being killed | |
| Metamorpho | Outsiders #27 (January 1988) | Invasion #3 (1988) |
| JLA #2 (January 1997) | JLA/JSA Secret Files #1 (January 2003) | |
| Robin (Jason Todd) | Batman #428 (January 1989) | Batman #635 (March 2005), though his face was not seen until Batman #638 (May 2005) |
| Resurrection Man | numerous times, comes back immediately after being killed (with a new power every time) | |
| Superman | Superman (2nd series) #75 (January 1993), in the Death of Superman | Superman #500, Action Comics #687 |
| The Kingdom #1 (February 1999) Gog kills Superman numerous times in Hypertime | ||
| Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) | Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #3 (August 2003) | DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy #1 (August 2005) |
Marvel Comics
| Character | Died in | Returned in |
|---|---|---|
| Angel (Warren Worthington III) | X-Factor (vol. 1) #16 (May 1987) | X-Factor (vol. 1) #24 (January 1988) |
| Apocalyse | X-Men (vol. 2) #16 (January 1993) | Uncanny X-Men #335 (August 1996) |
| X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #4 (March 2001) | X-Men (vol. 2) #182 (April 2006) | |
| Aunt May | Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #400 (April 1995) | Peter Parker: Spider-Man (vol. 1) #97 (September 1998) |
| Baron Mordo | Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #87 (March 1996) | Amazing Spider-Man #500 (December 2003) |
| Baron Strucker | Strange Tales (vol. 1) #158 | Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD (vol. 2) #21 |
| Bucky | Avengers (vol. 1) #4 (March 1964) | Captain America (vol. 5) #1 (January 2005), though he was not identified as such until Captain America (vol. 5) #6 (June 2005) |
| Cable | X-Force (vol. 1) #18, (January 1993, at the end of X-Cutioner's Song) | Cable (vol. 2) #1 (May 1993) |
| Colossus | Uncanny X-Men #390 (February 2001), to cure the Legacy Virus | Astonishing X-Men (vol. 3) #4 (October 2004) |
| Cyclops | X-Men (vol. 2) #97 (February 2000), at the end of Apocalypse: The Twelve | X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1 (October 2000) |
| Doctor Doom | Fantastic Four (vol. 1) #387 (April 1994) | Fantastic Four (vol. 1) #406 (November 1995) |
| Doorman | Great Lakes Avengers #4 (September 2005) | Great Lakes Avengers #4 (September 2005) |
| Dracula | Dr. Strange (vol. 2) #62 | Tomb of Dracula (vol. 3) #1 |
| Tomb of Dracula (vol. 3) #4 | Blade: The Vampire Hunter (vol. 1) #1 | |
| Elektra | Daredevil (vol. 1) #181 (April 1982) | Daredevil (vol. 1) #190 (January 1983) |
| Nick Fury | Double Edge: Omega | Fury/Agent 13 #1 |
| Gamora | Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 | Infinity Gauntlet #1 |
| Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch) | Spirits of Vengeance #17 | Morbius: The Living Vampire #29 |
| Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) | Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #122 (July 1973) | Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 1) #240 (November 1996), face shown in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #418 (December 1996) |
| Jean Grey | X-Men (vol. 1) #137 (September 1980), at the end of the Dark Phoenix Saga | Fantastic Four (vol. 1) #286 (January 1986) |
| New X-Men (vol. 1) #150 (February 2004) | temporarily revived for the duration of the X-Men: Phoenix: Endsong miniseries (2005) | |
| Guardian (James MacDonald Hudson) | Alpha Flight (vol. 1) #12 (July 1984) | Alpha Flight (vol. 1) #88 (September 1990) |
| Agatha Harkness | Vision and Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #2 | Avengers West Coast #51 |
| Havok | X-Factor (vol. 1) #149 (September 1998) | Mutant X (vol. 1) #1 (October 1998) |
| Hawkeye | Avengers #502 (November 2004), during Avengers Disassembled | House of M #3 (2005) |
| Hellcat | Hellstorm: Prince of Lies #14 | Thunderbolts Annual 2000 |
| Human Torch (Jim Hammond) | Fantastic Four Annual #4 (November 1966) | Avengers West Coast #50 |
| Hulk | Incredible Hulk #345 (July 1988) | Incredible Hulk #347 (September 1988) |
| Incredible Hulk #440 (April 1996) | Incredible Hulk #443 (July 1996) | |
| Iron Fist | Power Man and Iron Fist #125 (September 1986) | Namor (vol. 1) #22 (January 1992) |
| Iron Man | Avengers: Timeslide (February 1996) | arguably in Iron Man (vol. 2) #1 (November 1996), definitely in Iron Man (vol. 3) #1 (February 1998) |
| Jackal | Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #149 (October 1975) | Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #399 (March 1995) |
| Hannibal King | Nightstalkers #18 (April 1994) | Blade: Crescent City Blues (March 1998) |
| Korvac | Avengers (vol. 1) #178 (December 1978) | Captain America (vol. 3) #1 (January 1998, disguised; May 1999, identity revealed in #17) |
| Steven Lang | X-Men (vol. 1) #100 (August 1976) | Uncanny X-Men (vol. 1) #316 (September 1994) |
| Leader | Incredible Hulk #400 (December 1992) | Incredible Hulk v2 #75 |
| Madame Masque | Iron Man (vol. 1) #238 (January 1989) | Iron Man (vol. 1) #245 (August 1989) |
| Magneto | X-Men (vol. 2) #3 (December 1991) | X-Force (vol. 1) #25 (August 1993, during the Fatal Attractions crossover) |
| X-Men (vol. 2) #115 (August 2001) | (in disguise) New X-Men Annual 2001, (revealed as Magneto) New X-Men (vol. 1) #146 (October 2003) | |
| New X-Men v1 #150 (February 2004) | Excalibur v3 #1 (July 2004) | |
| Mimic | Incredible Hulk #161 (March 1973) | Marvel Comics Presents #59 (September 1990) |
| Mister Fantastic | Fantastic Four v1 #387 (April 1994) | Fantastic Four v1 #407 (December 1995) |
| MODOK | Captain America v1 #313 (January 1986) | (temporarily) Iron Man v1 #205, (in full) Avengers v1 #387 |
| Moondragon | Defenders v1 #152 | Solo Avengers #16 |
| Moon Knight | Marc Spector: Moon Knight #60 | Moon Knight: The Resurrection #1 |
| Mr. Immortal | numerous times, comes back immediately after being killed | |
| Mr. Sinister | X-Factor (vol. 1) #39 (April 1989) | X-Factor (vol. 1) #75 (January 1992) |
| Multiple Man | X-Factor v1 #100 (March 1994) | X-Factor v1 #105 (August 1994) |
| Nighthawk | Defenders v1 #102 | Nighthawk #1 |
| Odin | Thor v1 #353 (March 1985) | |
| Pip the Troll | Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 (December 1977) | Infinity Gauntlet #1 (July 1991) |
| Professor X | Uncanny X-Men #42 (October 1968) | Uncanny X-Men #65 (February 1970) |
| Proteus | X-Men v1 #128 (December 1979) | Uncanny X-Men Annual #15 (December 1991) |
| Psylocke | X-Treme X-Men #2 (August 2001) | Uncanny X-Men #455 (April 2005) |
| Punisher | The Punisher v3 #18 (1997) | As a supernatural avenger in The Punisher, vol. 4 (1998), as a living character in The Punisher/Wolverine: Revelation #1 (1999) |
| Red Raven | Sub-Mariner v1 #26 (June 1970) | Nova v3 #4 (August 1999) |
| Red Skull | Captain America v1 #300 (December 1984) | Captain America v1 #350 (February 1989) |
| Thunderbolt Ross | Incredible Hulk #330 (April 1987) | Incredible Hulk #398 (October 1992) |
| Incredible Hulk #400 (December 1992) | Incredible Hulk #455 (August 1997) | |
| Sasquatch | Alpha Flight v1 #23 (June 1985) | Alpha Flight v1 #44 (March 1987) |
| Sebastian Shaw | X-Factor v1 #67 (June 1991) | X-Force v1 #48 (November 1995) |
| Spider-Man | Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3 (December 2005) | Amazing Spider-Man #527 (December 2005) |
| Stick | Daredevil v1 #189 (December 1989) | Daredevil v1 #348 (January 1996) |
| Rachel Summers | Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #4 (August 1994) | Cable v2 #82 (August 2000) |
| Sunfire | Rogue #11 (2005) | X-Men #183 (2006) |
| Stryfe | X-Force v1 #18 (January 1993, at the end of X-Cutioner's Song) | Cable v2 #6 (December 1993) |
| Terrax | Fantastic Four v1 #260 (November 1983) | New Warriors v1 #1 (July 1990) |
| Titanium Man | Thor v1 #358 (August 1985) | Soviet Super Soldiers (November 1992) |
| Unus the Untouchable | Spectacular Spider-Man #81 (August 1983) | New X-Men v1 #132 (November 2002) |
| Warlock | New Mutants #95 (November 1990) | (as Douglock) Excalibur v1 #78 (June 1994), (Warlock personality restored) Warlock v4 #1 |
| Adam Warlock | Marvel Two-in-One Annual #2 (December 1977) | Infinity Gauntlet #2 (August 1991) |
| Mary Jane Watson-Parker | Amazing Spider-Man v2 #13 (2000) | Amazing Spider-Man v2 #29 (2001) |
| Peter Wisdom | X-Force v1 #105 (August 2000) | X-Force v1 #115 (June 2001) |
| Wolverine | Astonishing X-Men v2 #3 (November 1999), (see Skrullverine) | X-Men v2 #95 (December 1999) |
| Wolverine v3 #25 (April 2005) | Wolverine v3 #28 (July 2005) | |
| Wonder Man | Avengers v1 #9 (October 1964) | Avengers v1 #151 (1976) |
| Force Works #1 (July 1994) | Avengers v3 #2 (March 1998) |
Prominent characters that have died and have thus far not returned
DC Comics
| Character | Died in |
|---|---|
| Abin Sur | Showcase #22, 1959 |
| Azrael | Azrael: Agent of the Bat #100 (May 2003) |
| Boston Brand | Strange Adventures #205 (October 1967) |
| Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) | Countdown to Infinite Crisis (May 2005) |
| Captain Boomerang | Identity Crisis #5 (October 2004) |
| Commander Steel | Eclipso #13 (1993) |
| Crimson Fox | Constance D'Aramis dies in Justice League America #104 #23 (1996) |
| Dr. Midnight | Eclipso #13 (1993) |
| Epoch | JLA/WildC.A.T.s |
| Dove (Don Hall) | Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 (March 1986) |
| Flash II (Barry Allen) | Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 (November 1985) |
| Freedom Fighters | Infinite Crisis #1 (October 2005) |
| Hawk (Hank Hall) | JSA #11 (April 2000) |
| Ice | Justice League Task Force #14 (July 1994) |
| Maxwell Lord | Wonder Woman #219 |
| Poison Ivy | Batman: Gotham Knights #65 (July 2005) |
| Ra's Al Ghul | Batman: Death and the Maidens #9 (August 2004) |
| Rocket Red | The OMAC Project #5 (August 2005) |
| Sue Dibny | Identity Crisis #1 (June 2004) |
| Supergirl (Kara Zor-El) | Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 (March 1986) |
| Wildcat (Yolanda Montez) | Eclipso #13 (1993) |
| Vigilante I-IV | Adrian Chase died in Vigilante #50 |
Marvel Comics
| Character | Died in |
|---|---|
| Ant-Man II (Scott Lang) | Avengers # 500 |
| Betty Ross Banner | Incredible Hulk #466 (July 1998) |
| Baron Zemo I | Avengers # 15 (April 1965) |
| Captain Mar-Vell | Marvel Graphic Novel #1 (1982) |
| Kraven the Hunter | Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #294 (November 1987) |
| Moira MacTaggert | X-Men #108 (January 2001) |
| Magik (Ilyana Rasputin) | Uncanny X-Men #303 (August 1993), of the Legacy Virus |
| Mastermind | Uncanny X-Men Annual #17 (1993), of the Legacy Virus |
| Mockingbird | Avengers West Coast #100 (November 1993)]] |
| Mysterio | Daredevil v2 #7 (1999) |
| Karen Page | Daredevil v2 #5 (March 1999) |
| Pyro | Cable #87 (January 2001), of the Legacy Virus |
| Gwen Stacy | Amazing Spider-Man #121 (June 1973) |
| Red Skull | Captain America, vol. 5 #2 (December 2004) |
| Thor | Thor #85 (October 2005) |
| Thunderbird I | X-men #95 (October 1975) |
| Thunderstrike | Thunderstrike #24 (1995) |
| Uncle Ben | Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) |
| X-Man | X-Man #75 |
Outside of comic books
The return of a character previously thought dead is certainly not limited to comic books. In many slasher films and monster movies, the killer or monster seemingly dies at the end of the film only to return for a sequel. Famously, an entire season of the soap opera Dallas was retconned into one character's dream so that a character killed in that season could return.
The precursor of comic book deaths was the attempt by Arthur Conan Doyle to kill off both Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty (Victorian equivalents of superhero and supervillain) so that he could move on to other writing. But Doyle eventually ceded to pressure to return Holmes.
Also of note, the Japanese manga/anime series Dragon Ball Z uses this plot device quite extensively as well. Not only has the main character of the series, Goku died multiple times only to be brought back to life, but Piccolo, Vegeta, Tenshinhan, Yamcha, Kuririn, Chaozu, and many others have been brought back to life as well.
It can be implied that Syndrome, from the Disney/Pixar film The Incredibles, somehow managed to survive a particularly nasty incident in which one of his arch-enemies, Mr. Incredible, sacrificed a very expensive sports car, which just happened to be his own, to obliterate the cockpit of Syndrome's private jet, flinging him directly in front its left-hand side turbine, which immediately sucked on his black-and-blue cape—and dragged him in with it! This episode made the turbine explode, taking the jet (and the Incredible Family's home) with it. His survival can be implied by the appearance of an android replica of Syndrome attacking the Walt Disney World Resort only to be congealed in the end by Frozone; Mr. Incredible even warns his family that the real Syndrome has grown in power since the cape/turbine episode, even after National Supers Agent Rick Dicker froze his assets after the destruction of his tenth Omnidroid.
See also
External links
- X-Men: Death Becomes Them A comedy flash movie that makes fun of the comic book deaths in the X-Men comics.