30 Day Marvel Challenge – Day #21: The most memorable death

Even a casual comic book fan knows that in the comic book universe death is cheap. Chances are that most of the prominent characters have die at least once. Professor X has died 4 times, so has Wonder Woman, Wally West (The Flash), Rogue, Iron Man and Superman has bit the dust 5 times each, Batman and Thor (a God) both died 6 times, with Jean Grey (the Phoenix) dying let’s just say over a dozen times. So basically the effects of death is minimal. It is probably more important how a character dies and how he or she is revived at this point.

Comic book writer Geoff Johns stated that, “Death in superhero comics is cyclical in its nature, and that’s for a lot of reasons, whether they are story reasons, copyright reasons, or fan reasons.” Danny Fingeroth suggested that ” the nature of superheroes requires that they be both ageless and immortal.” Sometimes this aspect of death in comics are noted in universe. Professor X has stated that “in mutant heaven there are no pearly gates, but instead revolving doors.” As a result I don’t care about comic book death.

That said their are some deaths that are notable for one reason or another. There use to be a saying that ” Nobody stays dead except Bucky, Uncle Ben, and Jason Todd.” Of course both Jason Todd and Bucky have been resurrected since. However, Bucky does have the record for the character that had the longest death before coming back. Uncle Ben however, remains one of the few characters that seems to have remained dead. Marvel prefers to have characters return to their “core character concept.” For Spider-Man, Uncle Ben is part of his core archetype, so he will stay dead. Finally, some characters death do manage to have impact. Captain America has died 11 times. His last death in 2007 made real-world headlines. He returned in 2009.