The BEST and WORST of comic book death
 

Since it's the biggest thing going right now, let's hear your thoughts on COMIC BOOK DEATH. It's obviously only a temporary thing in comics, but what are some of your favorites, or most memorable? Least favorites? Who went out with class and who went out like like a chump? Who made the best comeback and who should have stayed dead?

All death is open to discussion, so let's get at it...

Most satisfying: Superman
Least satisfying: Blue Beetle, still not happy Kord's gone
Least satisfying might as well be dead: Jack Flag

Best: Captain Marvel
Almost Best: Jason Todd Robin

Worst: Aunt May

My "Worst" list would be too long, so I'll just agree with Captain Marvel being the best death. Man that was a great story.

I didn't mind Kord's death... although I like the character, I thought they handled it pretty well.

I agree that there are a lot of worsts, mainly when there are characters that I enjoyed in previous series just offed for little or no reason other than cannon fodder. Still haven't read civil war, but the New Warriors thing seems like a perfect example. The whole "Avengers Disassembled" thing didn't sit all that well with me either. Hawk killing Dove II and becoming Monarch really upset me too.

One of my favorites has to be Gaiman's Sandman. I also liked the (first) death of Jean Grey, and Barry Allen, who to my knowledge has never come back and set up Wally becoming the Flash.

I remember when one of Jaime Madrox's dupes was shot and died in the pages of X-Factor. Madrox was quite affected by the dupes death when he realized that he could not reabsorb him. I thought this was really well written.

Best: "Preacher" when the Saint of Killers shot God in the face.

Best: Captain George Stacy in Amazing Spider-man #90 - To the best of my memory, that was the first time a "major" character was killed (and stayed dead!).

Worst: Aunt May - the death was fine; the resurrection sucked donkey balls.

I was always very fond of the original Scourge of the Underworld's villain killings. You never knew when or where he was going to show up, or what lame bad guy he was going to take out next. Those were some exciting times.

Hey, Uncle Ben was a pretty major character, even though he only showed up for one issue... :)

OOOOH. On another Captain America note, one of the first "death" issues that really knocked my socks off , was when John Walker's parents were killed by the Watchdogs, and he just completely freaked out and went into this murderous bloodsoaked frenzy, including nailing one guy with a pitchfork! He was insane, and I love that issue!

Hey what about Supergirl in crisis series! for a best death.

Almost forgot one that shook me as a kid:

I think it was because at the time death was a little more permanent in the comic book world, but I vividly remember Val Armorr, the Karate Kid of the Legion of Superheroes, dying after being beaten to a bloody pulp by Nemesis Kid and, instead of dying in battle like he wanted to, sacrificing himself to thwart the Legion of Super Villain's plan. Nemesis Kid had the power to adapt to and defeat any single power that went against him. After that his wife, Projectra, who's power was basically just casting illusions, in a rage defeated and killed Nemesis with her bare hands.

Reminds me of why I loved the Legion so much. Yeah, I know, the names are corny, but I just didn't care.

Best: The first time Jean Grey died, and came back, and died again.

Worst: Every other time Jean Grey died, or whatever synonym for die they want to use.
Honorary Mention: Colossus. Useless incarnate.

Best: Barry Allen Flash in "Crisis on Infinite Earths."

Worst: When the X-Men "died" in the Siege Perilous or whatever the hell it was called back in the 1980s. Hated that whole storyline.

Worst death is when Farley died in For Better and For Worst

Best death: I haven't seen a best death yet

best death... Ben Reilly, ending the whole Spider clone debacle?

Do "out of normal timeline" deaths count, like X-Men Days of Future Past?

That's not even remotely close to the problems with that storyline.

true, but in the context of deaths it is. And now they're revisiting this by seemingly making Captain Atom into Monarch again anyway. And somehow Dove II is alive again with her sister being Hawk? Ugh.

Honorable mention goes to that craptacular Graduation Day crossover that effectively ended Young Justice and killed (temporarily, of course) Donna Troy. How? By a Superman Robot.

Damn, all these years going unspoiled on this story (how I managed that, who knows?) only to get it here. Damn :lol:. Should be reading it faster. Only three more trades to go!

note: I'm not mad or anything. Spoilers don't really bother me, least you think I was angry for real or anything.

The death of Sue Dibny in IDENTITY CRISIS was not only gratuitous, but disturbing. However, I was still gripped by this piece of pulp fiction.

I agree that the death of Barry Allen, while a little melodramatic (Marv Wolfman's dialogue/monologues can be a little bit too much with all the "God, help me to find strength to battle this demon!" and "Please, don't you understand...it is the end of all that is!"), was touching and memorable.

Darn!! I don't know what I was thinking going into this thread.

Five+ years behind in reading my comics, so I will not be reading this thread again.

Best (temporary) death: Elecktra.

edit...

Best, by definition, is a death that reflects our own deaths.

(That's why Barry Allen resonates)

Worst, by definition, are those deaths that are a cheat - where they come back, they weren't really dead, there was no body, there is a time loop, etc.


That said - the one's I'd nominate?

Best: Almost none - comic writers bring everyone back sooner or later... ok, at the MOMENT - till some writer changes things - Barry Allen, Gwen Stacey, Jimmy & Lana in "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow", etc...

Worst - everything else where they eventually 'bring them back'

My favorite was the original Doom Patrol. It was somewhat cheapened by the fact that they were all brought back one by one, but there was something poignant about the way that they allowed themselves to be blown up to save a bunch of strangers, as opposed to "going down fighting".

When I was a kid, I was pretty bummed by the deaths of Supergirl, Flash, and everyone else who died in Crisis.

How did Aunt May die/come back, since it's unlikely I will ever pick up the back issues to read that story line?

That was actually my first thought too!

If those are going to count then you definitely have to take a look at the What If? series that had tons of deaths. The one that pops into my mind actually has to do with a DoFP/Dark Phoenix two-parter (probably in the 40s of the more recent series). Nightcrawler and Shadowcat sacrifice themselves in succession.

Off topic but which was the comic and issue where Jean Grey died (yet again)? I remember her and Wolverine on a shuttle heading into the sun or something. It might have been a decent death scene if it was anyone else but Jean seemed to die every two months so all of them kind of become forgettable.

Edit: Never mind, it was in New X-Men. I hated that run.

More bests (for the cool factor, not by any gripping, emotional standard) just came to mind because of the What If? mention.

What If? The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe.

I really liked that "Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe" book, but I think it always bugged me by how easily he had taken out Wolverine. That should have been an entire issue in itself.

Oh yeah, and one of the most shocking for me, back in the day, was in GI Joe, when the SAW-Viper killed all those Joes. Doc got shot in the face with a machine gun for the love of god!!! Actually it wasn't just the SAW-Viper, but over the course of a couple issues, tons of Joes bit the dust. That was freakin' jaw dropping. RIP Battle Force 2000.

:(

The death of Superboy. No, not the craptacular one from Infinte Crisis -- I'm talking about the real one from Legion of Superheroes shortly after the Crisis.

You haven't read superhero comics until you've read Paul Levitz's run on LSH.

After reading the most recent Captain America issue, I will have to list that as one of the worst I've read. It was handled so poorly.

It was during the *shudder* Clone Saga - May was basically just old and it was her time (with all the emotional drama that goes along with that). Later, it turns out that the Jackal had kidnapped Aunt May months earlier and replaced her with some actress that he had changed into a "clone" of her, and that's who died! Peter rescues the real Aunt May and all is cheesy in the Marvel Universe again.

Uggghhh. They should have just said Aunt May was a Skrull, whose love for wheatcakes kept him from turning back to normal.

I remember when I was a kid and Guardian (I still like the name Vindicator a lot more :mad: ) died in Alpha Flight #12.
And then he came back later and Heather was like. "Oh my dear, sweet husband!" and he tells her about how these aliens saved him right when his suit exploded and nursed him back to health.
Then he starts acting strangley and when push comes to shove his face gets ripped off revealing that he's an evil robot and it was all bullshit and he's STILL DEAD!!!

Hah!


That was my favorite from when I was a kid. Today I think it's Hugo's death in Alita Battle Angel (Gunm). Oooh, and the death of Griffin in Leaugue of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Ugh.

http://www.illiteraterainbow.com/col...e_Gospel-s.jpg

It's sort of off-topic, but "The Coyote Gospel" (Animal Man #5) always sticks in my mind as a great "death" story.