“Heroes, Villains, and Me” is a periodic article on Geeky KOOL by Larry Litle about the world of comic books and my reaction to it. “Heroes, Villains, and Me” is not a comic book review article. I will write about current events, speculation and rumors, or my own wacky thoughts about the world of comic books.
Killing off superheroes has become common place in comic books. It happens as often as blowing up the Enterprise on Star Trek. In both cases, it no longer matters.
In the past, a comic book companies didn’t kill off superheroes. It just didn’t happen. They rarely killed off side characters. The Death of Gwen Stacy sent shockwaves through the comic world in 1973. I know it devastated my childhood.
The first death of a Superhero that I remember was Ferro Lad in the Legion of Superheroes in 1967 (I wasn’t alive when it happened but read the story later). When I was young, I read my father’s comic collection which included this back issue. I was moved to tears by his death when I was seven years old.
The 1982 Marvel Graphic novel, The Death of Captain Marvel, was haunting and moving. It still affects some of today’s Marvel characters. It had meaning and impact on all of the characters.
In 1986, DC Comics was deep into their Crisis on Infinite Earths. This storyline brought death in a major way to their Universe. Both Barry Allen (the Flash) and Supergirl were killed saving the universe. Supergirl came back in the early 2000s but was a different version of the character. Barry Allen’s Flash stayed dead for twenty three years before running back into the DC Universe.
On Star Trek, the flagship of the Federation was the Enterprise. Captain James T. Kirk always pulled the Enterprise out of the fire. It wasn’t until Star Trek III: The Search for Spock that the Enterprise met its doom. Eighteen years of Captain Kirk taking the Enterprise into every dangerous situation he could before it was destroyed. Since then, we can’t go 3 movies with the Enterprise without destroying it.
It was shocking when they blew it up in 1984 with Search for Spock. The shock and intense emotion of destroying the Enterprise had such an emotional tear on fans. But when they destroyed it in Star Trek: Beyond in 2016, it has little to no meaning. Been there and done that way too many times.
In 2016, Marvel has already killed two major characters in their Civil War II. War Machine, aka Jim “Rhodey” Rhodes was killed by Thanos but we didn’t even see it happen. It occurred off of the page in a flashback. In issue 3, the heroes confronted Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, and Hawkeye killed him before he “Hulked” out.
In the past, when Marvel or DC would kill a major character, the national news would pick it up the story and talk about it for weeks. They no longer pay attention. They have figured out what fans now know. These deaths have no meaning. In the past 2 decades, we have seen the death of Superman, Batman, Human Torch, Captain America, and the mind of Peter Parker. I know am missing even more characters. These deaths have become a convenient way to tell a different story but in the end, all of these characters have come back to life in one way or another. “Oh Death where is your sting?”
Stu, the comic store guy, recently told me that he hated the resurrection of Bucky “Winter Solider” Barnes. He used to tell people, “It is dead. Bucky Dead!“ but that statement has no meaning any longer. Nothing in comics is “Bucky Dead” any longer including Bucky.
Hero deaths and the destruction of the Enterprise have become story tropes and nothing of consequence. No one asks if they should happen because they can be undone in the flick of the wrist. When it is done too often, and it has been done way too often, it loses the emotional attachment and meaning.
Dear writers and storytellers please don’t kill anymore characters or blow up the Enterprise unless you are going to leave them “Bucky Dead”.
Stay Geeky My Friends!
