Comic Book Deaths

Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and Wolverine. Four of the most popular names in comic books of all time. What do they have all in common besides having powers and being heroes? They have all died. In 1992, Superman "Death of Superman" was a brutal event that ended in the death of Superman (duh) that nobody saw coming. It was unheard of that Superman could die. Thankfully there was no internet and social media around. The ending would have been leaked and millions would have gotten spoilers to the ending of a classic story. While "The Death of Wolverine" was a full fledged event complete with people all over the internet speculating whether or not this was a hoax and it was going to be a metaphorical death or a real death and if the writers were going to give "The best there is at what he does" a good send off or would it be some artsy death that wouldn't be fitting of the one of the toughest characters ever. Even news stations got in on the "Death of Wolverine" story. But what do the deaths of these characters actually do for the comic book universe and the company’s sales?

Superman:

So since we are going to discuss the many deaths of characters, why not start with the most famous. The "Death of Superman" was one of the first of its kind. Not only did Superman die, but he was engaged with a being that was his equal when it comes to power, but his superior when it comes to sheer brutality. Doomsday destroyed the military and a plethora of super beings easily. One by one they fell until Superman came and intervened. Doomsday was not impressed by Superman nor was he intimidated. They hit each other with such force that there were shock waves that were probably felt miles away. The fight was brutal and in the end, Superman won the day, saved lives, and paid the ultimate price.

This death is what got the ball rolling. Superman was and is the super hero. He is the blueprint on what heroes were supposed to be. Tough, strong, willing, and even when their back are up against the wall stand tall and fight. Superman did all of that fighting Doomsday to the death. As great as all of that is, his return got the ball rolling on superhero deaths meaning nothing. When he returned it was like his death didn't mean anything. The picture of him dead in Lois Lane's arms while his tattered cape blew in the wind was an emotional scene that now meant almost nothing.

The X-Men:

If anything makes a joke of comic book deaths, it's Jean Grey. They have even gone as far as making a clone of her. Seriously, it's just sad. I get that deaths are supposed to be a sad event, but the X-Men make a mockery of comic book deaths. Colossus dies heroically saving the mutant race and apparently only stayed dead for less than a day and was resurrected by an alien race and tortured and experimented on (we find this out in Astonishing X-Men years and years later). Wolverine has been killed and has actually had to defeat the angel of death to keep his soul and life, he's been sent to Hell, and has also just recently lost his healing factor and died (Which will be broken down later). Save for maybe Storm and Iceman, all of the X-Men on the main roster have died or were thought to be dead.

Nightcrawler died saving Hope from Bastian and came back after he refused to go to Heaven because he felt his life wasn't over and he needed to keep helping his family and teammates the X-Men. Cable sacrifices himself saving the Wolverine and X-Force and he comes back in less than a year with almost no explanation. While some deaths in comics are silly, the X-Men hold the championship belt when it comes to wacky deaths. Perhaps the biggest joke in Marvel comic deaths is Jean Grey. She has literally died and come back just to die and come back again. Even now in one of the most recent X-Men books, Jean Grey is back but as her teenage self. It is by far the wackiest of all comic book deaths.

Batman and Captain America:

It's common for companies to take ideas from each other. There's a quote that goes "A good idea is worth taking", but there should be at least some time in between it being done. After the Marvel Civil War, Captain America was shot and killed by Agent Carter (who was under the influence of Red Skull and his cronies). While everyone thought Steve Rogers was dead, he was in fact traveling the time inline over and over again while the Red Skull was trying to find a way to inhabit Steve Rogers’s body. Over at DC, Batman broke two of his main rules. Not to kill and to not use a gun. Batman broke these rules in order to save the world from Darkseid. Apparently Bruce Wayne wasn't dead. He was also traveling throughout the time inline. You're probably thinking that this is a coincidence and you might be right. But it was mighty suspicious that the two people that are the opposite of each other in terms of personality had the same type of "Death" within a year of each other.

The one good thing that came out of this was the Universe actual had changes during their absence. Both of their first sidekicks took over the mantle of their predecessors. Bucky was Captain America's partner before he was in "hibernation" in the arctic. After Steve Rogers died it was apparent that someone had to wield the shield because the world needs Captain America. While Tony Stark tried to make a new Cap (Hawkeye was almost Cap but he turned it down) and the Punisher tried to be the new Cap for a while, it was obvious that only Bucky could be the new Captain America. Like Bucky, Dick Grayson was Batman's young sidekick and first protégé took over as Batman while Batman was thought to be dead. Neither Dick Grayson or Bucky could be what the originals were, but what they were both different and had the heart and skill to take over. Bucky didn't have the strength and athleticism that Steve Rogers had because of the Super Soldier Serum, but what he had was a more realistic view of the world and the ability to kill because it might be the right thing to do. Dick Grayson has more natural athleticism than Bruce Wayne did and he also had youth on his side.

The death of the Batman and Captain America were a couple of the few deaths that lead to positive outcomes in comics. Even after they both came back, Bruce started the Batman Corporation and Dick continued to be Batman and Bucky continued to be Captain America while Steve Rogers went on to run S.H.I.E.L.D. Sometimes all readers want is to know thathere was a reason behind the deaths of the heroes and that it wasn't just for money. To know that it's going somewhere and not just another pointless crossover.

Spider-Man "Evolve or Die":

Spider-Man is by far one of the most underrated heroes when it comes to toughness. He's strong, but he's not the Hulk. Be doesn't have unbreakable skin or a healing factor strong enough for him to lose a limb and grow it back. What he does have is the will to survive and protect the people. All people. He has always rather go down fighting than put people in harms way. Unfortunately, this was put to the test. Spider-Man had to fight an ancient evil Morlun who fed on the totum of person. In Peter Parker's case, the Spider in him. Morlun was stronger than the Hulk and didn't care about killing innocent people to get to Spidey. When they first fought, Spider-Man had to inject himself with radiation so he couldn't be fed on. He eventually bested Morlun and thought he was gone forever. Spider-man was wrong. Morlun would come back right when Spider-man was at his weakest. He was suffering from an ailment that was going to kill him, Morlun used this as his opportunity to strike. Spider-man gave it his all but was beaten to death. Spider-man was taken to the hospital in hopes to be saved and Morlun followed to finish his "meal". Morlun was attacked by Mary Jane (Peter Parker's wife) but she was easily dealt with. This woke up the spider in Parker and the spider killed Morlun. After Morlun's death, Peter said that he loved Mary Jane and he then died.

Ultimate Spider-Man:

Like the regular universe's (Universe 616) Spider-Man, The Ultimate Universe's Spider-man lead his life believing "That with great power, comes great responsibility" because of the fateful day he didn't and his Uncle died. However, this universe's Spider-Man was much younger. This Spider-Man was still in high school and learning the ropes. But that didn't stop him from defeating a possibly tougher and more psychotic Norman Osborn (Green Goblin) and helping save the world with the Ultimates (their Avengers) and X-Men. This Spider-Man had all of the chops. He always managed to do the right thing regardless of the constant personal loss like his Aunt's heart attack, Gwen Stacy dying and coming back, and even having his consciousness switched into Wolverine's mind (it was weird). Whenever he was faced with right and wrong, he did the right thing. This made his death the saddest death this writer has ever seen.

After taking a bullet was going to hit Captain America, Spider-Man webbed the bullet wound closed and went on to fight The Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter, Electro, Vulture, and Sandman. With the help of some well-placed shots from his Aunt May and Mar Jane hitting Norman Osborn with a truck, Spider-Man defeated them all. Spider-Man died defending his Aunt and the people he loved. He died smiling and proud that while he couldn’t save his Uncle Ben, he did save Aunt May. A beautiful and sad ending. *Single tear*

Soon after, Marvel introduced a half black and latino Spider-Man to their universe by the name of Miles Morales. He would take over as the new Spider-Man. Miles was bit by a spider just like Peter Parker was and it was actually made at Oscorp like the spider that bit Peter Parker. The spider gave Miles all of Peter's old powers plus a camoflage ability and venom blast that shocks his targets system. Miles would carry on the legacy and was even given the blessing of Peter's Aunt, Gwen Stacy, and Peter's ex girlfriend Mary Jane. A few years later, Miles Morales finds out that Peter Parker is still alive. Just like Norman Osborn, Peter seems to be hard to kill. Something in the OZ Formula (It's what Norman called the formula he injected the spider with) keeps them alive even at the brink of death. Peter and Miles together would defeat Norman Osborn and even kill him once and for all. Thus giving Peter and his family some closure.

While it was disappointing that Peter Parker was still alive, it was a great moment to see the two generations of spider-men working together and seeing Peter give Miles his blessing and give him his web shooters. It was a very cool moment and it left a whole new world of opportunity for Peter Parker who left the city to find out what his destiny truly is and Miles Morales can and will continue to be Spider-Man.

The Death of Wolverine:

He's the Best there is at what he does and what he does isn't very nice. Adamatium skeleton and claws, heightened animal like senses, a healing factor that lets him heal from almost any and everything, and he's one of the best fighters in all of comic books. Beyond his stats, Wolverine has been one of Marvel's best sellers and a fan favorite for decades. He was also voted number four on ign.com's top comic book heroes of all time. A few years ago, Wolverine's healing factor was stripped away from him leaving him mortal for the first time ever. When this news came out, no one thought that it would last. There's no way the great Wolverine would go without his healing factor. Even some of the writers were ignoring the loss of his healing factor for a while and even the cowards he was showing (which was later found out to be part of his plan). Then the news came out all over the internet that Marvel would be killing Wolverine. First it was "Wolverine 3 Months to Die" where Wolverine would wrap up his revenge on Sabretooth and then it was the four issue run called "Death of Wolverine".

The book would start with Wolverine taking out some mercenaries trying to get in on a bounty to bring Wolverine in alive. Logan would find out that his ex-wife Viper put a hit out to bring him in alive for someone else. Logan wanted to know who it was so he could deal with them personally. Viper calls out Sabretooth who she's been keeping as her pet and says that someone has to die here. The survivor get's what they want. Wolverine holds his own for a bit, but without his healing factor, Creed is going to win. Creed takes a swipe at his eyes with his claws and it looks like the end is near for Logan, until an unlikely ally by the name of Lady Deathstrike comes in and saves him. As she is about to kill Sabretooth, Wolverine intervenes and tells her not too. Sabretooth leaves eith his tail between his legs saying that the only reason he didn't let her kill him is because he believes Wolverine wants to kill him himself. Deathstrike tells Logan that she is also being hunted by Ogun and that the two of them need to work together to find out who it is. She then realizes that Logan isn't healing and decides to try and kill him. Before she could react, Kitty Pryde pops out and dispatches Deathstrike and leaves injured and licking her wounds. Kitty Pryde gives Logan a serum that will heal him up so he could continue his journey.

After they leave, Logan is telling Kitty about what has been going on. He's wondering if it'll ever end. During the conversation, Kitty kisses him. Logan pushes her away because he's never looked at her like anything but a daughter or a little sister. Logan realizes that Ogun has possessed her. The two battle it out for a while until Kitty Pryde starts fighting back and Ogun leaves her body. Logan checks on Kitty and she says he wil be ok and tells him to go after Ogun. Logan finds him and Ogun tells him everything. He tells him that one of the original Weapon X scientists Dr. Cornelius is trying to recreate another Logan but needs him to succeed. Ogun then makes a deal with Logan, he either leaves this place and lets Ogun leave the man he's possessing unharmed or he kills him and jumps into another body. As an added bonus he will give Logan three more vialof the healing factor serum. Logan says he's done living forever, but tells Ogun to tell Cornelius he's coming after him.

Logan grabs his armor claws and makes his way to a Nevada desert where Cornelius is doing his experiments. Logan makes short work of the guards and makes his way to Cornelius. Corneilus explains that he needed Logan's healing factor because it is the key to creating more subjects because the ones he is experimenting on keep dying. Logan smiles and cuts his palm and puts it on the glass. Dr. Corneilus then realizes that Logan's hand isn't healing and then orders his guard who was invisble and cloaked behind Logan to kill Logan. The guard was fast and strong and used the powers in his suit to cut the claws Logan was given so he wouldn't pop his real ones. Logan was defeated and against the glass and told the guy to get it over with. The guy arrogantly goes in for the kill and Logan dodges and the guard broke the glass that Corneilus and his experiments were behind. Logan punches the guard in the back of the head knocking him out. Logan orders Cornelius to turn off the experiment. Cornelius yells out no and starts the adamantium feed going into the subject’s body. This would kill them almost instantly so Logan had to think quick.

Logan pops his claws cutting the feed from the adamantium to the bodies but covering himself in the liquid metal in the process. Logan used the three vials of healing serum and pu them in the test subjects so they could live. Cornelius tried to run to his escape helicopter, but Logan caught up to Cornelius and Cornelius mocked asking what he has ever done but kill people. Logan remembered smiling as he was about to take on some ninjas, having a drink in Madripoor as his dual identity Patch, Kissing Jean Grey, looking at the sky leaning on a tree as a member of the Canadian army, as a teacher of the school he opened to help mutant kids, and finally his picture with Mariko one the loves of his life in their engagement picture. He kills Dr. Cornelius thus killing the last member of Weapon X and as the adamantium hardens, Wolverine drops to his knees and thinks "Enough".

While the ending was great, the story wasn't the classic it could have been. The one thing that was great was the writer made sure that Logan got the closure he needed and his last act on Earth was him being a hero and his last thoughts were happy thoughts and not the thoughts he used to have beating himself up because of his past. Wolverine died in peace. It remains to be seen what will happen with Marvel now that Logan is dead. Besides the fictional holes that need to be filled in the comics, Wolverine makes a lot of money for Marvel (Even though it seems like Disney is being petty and killing characters that aren't under the Marvel Comics movie umbrella). One good thing Marvel Comics is not doing is treating their fans like idiots. They have pretty much said that Wolverine will be back at some point in time. Now we just wait and see what happens to his team. One thing this writer will say is that there is no way Sabretooth doesn't take Logan's death just as hard as Logan's friends and family will. Sabretooth is the Yin to his Yang and will soon realize how much Logan means to him. After the romantic year Storm and Wolverine had together, she will take his death harder than anyone.

So what does this all mean for the deaths of comic book characters? For one, that they will almost always come back. It's just a matter of when the proper time to do it will be. Sometimes it's really silly and pointless and sometimes it can lead to the betterment of other characters and to further one or multiple stories. All we can do as fans is just sit back and hope that when our favorite characters die and go to Heaven, Hel, Hell, Valhalla, or wherever they go that they'll comeback in some major crossover and kick some serious...you know.