Comic Book Death: Meaningful or Cheap Ploy

At one point, deaths in comic books have been something that could actually gain the interest of the average comic book reader. In fact, many of the most dramatic stories in comic books had to do with the death of a major character, many of them were rather beloved for sure. Amazing Spider-Man 121-122, the Dark Phoenix Saga, Death of Jason Todd, the list goes on and on.

At one point, death becomes just something that every character goes through. It’s getting to the point where there are fewer characters who have not died, as opposed to comic book characters who have in fact died.

Death is a Cheap Ploy in Comic Books

Instead of becoming a dramatic character changing moment in comic books, death has become one of those things that have become a cheap stunt right for publicity. In professional wrestling, there is a term called “cheap heat”. You can gain a reaction out of the people in the most simple way possible but it kind of kills your business long term and doesn’t really matter all that much. Mocking the local sport’s team is the easiest way to this.

Killing off a character, whether a hero or a villain, has become to comic books what “insulting the local sport’s team” has become for Professional Wrestling. A death of a long time character is rarely permanent. The only way that death really can really gain interest if it is just a mass slaughter, with a villain going psychotic and offing an entire group of heroes. And only the absolutely best writer’s in the world can pull that off to any degree, without it being a mindless gore fest where gore was done for the sake of gore.

Earlier this year, the Human Torch died in Fantastic Four. There were more people who were discussing and debating how exactly he’ll be brought back, as opposed to being sad that one of the most iconic comic book characters part of the most iconic teams in comic book history had been killed off.  That really does tell you something about how the comic book industry in general has cheapened death. And the Human Torch did in fact return.

Pretty much every single major hero has died at one time or another. In many ways, it really did all start with Death of Superman, everyone saw how good that comic book did, so they have ever since been trying to duplicate. There have been deaths before then, people coming back from the dead, but it seems to have escalated since the Death of Superman event. The Death of Superman did mean something but it did open up a Pandora’s box for the future. Both for characters dying and characters returning throughout the past couple of decades since Death of Superman.

The only way death can really mean something is one of two ways. If comic book companies have the guts to kill off a major character and have them remain killed off. The problem is that won’t happen, as the moment sales start waning a little bit, comic book companies will bring that character back. Or new editors, new writers will come in, pushing for the deceased character that they were in right now, wanting comic books the way they were during their childhood. Some might argue this is the reason why comic book interest are waning, people looking at the comic books of their childhood through rose tinted glasses, not realizing that it was not all good.

Then again, we’d love the things from our childhood more, whether it be comic books, video games, sports teams, cartoons, politicians, pretty much anything, so that’s just simple human nature.

Or they do not kill anyone off for the next five or ten years, so when you do the next time. For DC Comics, Marvel, whatever, I doubt that any comic book company will have the restraint. They’ll be the first to pull the trigger to get them talking over their competitors. To get the people talking about them and not about the other guys.

Chances are more characters will be killed off. Due to the comic book industry creating an atmosphere where character death is just a way to write certain characters out of the title for a year or so. Only less than a handful of comic book deaths have stuck.