Comic Book Deaths: good story device or shameless marketing ploy?

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Posted: 26 Mar 2009 06:38
	Registered User Currently Offline	Posts: 239 Join Date: Jan 2009
I really just want to hear your opinions on this one. Okay so lets start with the death of Superman. DC sees sales falling off and decides they need a huge event that ties all the Superman books together, the creators want to do the Lois and Superman wedding story but the wonderful people at the Lois and Clark show say that they want it and DC makes it off limits. Next logical thing kill'em. Later that year Batman gets broken by Bane, replaced by some guy that changes the costume and nobody likes. Superman comes back to life Batmans broken spine heals and all is right with the world. Flash forward about ten years or so Marvel Civil War a great storyline that puts my boy hood heroes on opposite sides of the fence.The climax of which was the death of Steve Rogers. Secret Invasion also a wall to wall action packed story where again in the end we lose another hero, Wasp. Now DC is back in the hero killing biz by taking Batman down. The Civil War was a great story as was the death of Superman and Secret Invasion , but what am I seeing here is the only way to end a good story now by killing the main character or at least a supporting character that has been around forever. I know that In the case of Cap that opened up a huge area to explore Bucky as the new Captain America and see how he develops as a hero. But will Marvel just go ahead and kill him or Tony Stark or Bruce Banner just to end a Great Story Well everyone I want to hear what you think am I alone here? __________________ Hindsight is always 20/20... But looking back it's still abit fuzzy. Dave Mustaine

Posted: 26 Mar 2009 08:34
	Registered User Currently Offline	Posts: 431 Join Date: Oct 2008
I'm sure I've mentioned it before now but my favourite death in the Marvel universe was that of The Torpedo in the Rom Space Knight Series.In fact it was one of the things that sparked of my love of comics it think.He unlike many of the major heroes has remained dead. But in the comicbook world death is never the end. I've read a Astro City (Busiek) story were a lawyer forced to defend a mobster from an open and shut murder case hits upon a defense of using Superhero values in an ordinary case. Asking the question to the otopsy doctor "Are you sure the victim was dead? After all you thought the 'Silver Agent' was dead until he got of the table and walked out! " and "Could the witness be sure my cilent was there, could it not of being in fact the alien shape shifter who had pretended to be 'Furst Family'" etc.

Posted: 26 Mar 2009 14:52 Last Edited By: Tim
	Registered User Currently Offline	Posts: 4009 Join Date: May 2005
As a matter of principle I'm against superhero deaths while I might have initially got a lot of curiosity and excitement built up to read how Superman got killed or how Captain America died etc. I think what comics are missing these days are the basics. Good guys should always win in the end. They lose battles, but they always win the war. Because good guys never quit. Super hero battles are a lesson in morals. Good triumphs over evil. If the good guys get killed what's the point? Let grim reality stay on the news. I like entertainment that gives me a little boost. It's like all these movies nowadays that have bad endings. 9 times out of 10 the good movies that end well will be the ones that I own on DVD because when I need a feel good moment I just replay a good movie. I hate bad endings. I always feel cheated when I watch a movie with a bad ending. Like I was ripped off. Same with comics I like story arcs to end with the hero triumphant. Something to put a smile on my face. And when it is inevitable a hero is returning don't insult the intelligence of the reader by dragging it out a year or two. That's just dumb. Hero deaths are supposed to be cliff hangers that turn out to be nothing the next issue. Hero falls off cliff to certain death. To be continued. Next issue we find out he landed on a giant bird or something. Besides heroes dying and returning is becoming worse than a soap opera.

Posted: 26 Mar 2009 17:48
	Registered User Currently Offline	Posts: 239 Join Date: Jan 2009
That is exactly how I feel. Regrettably I did my part in supporting this trend by buying the issues in question. The Death of Superman was a great read the battle against Doomsday was an all out thrill ride from the readers standpoint. Captain Americas death was kind of anti climactic to the story in my opinion but I still have all the Civil War books and The Cap books leading up to it. Now the only comic death that I honestly felt was done right was the Death in the Family story from Batman. Jason Todd was a character not well received by the readership of Batman so the writers played on that and made him a jerk. That story also helped to redefine Batman from the camp sixties bat shark repellent era that he was still sort of bouncing back from, and it made the Joker seriously frightening. It made me realize why the Joker was #1 in Batmans Rouges Gallery. __________________ Hindsight is always 20/20... But looking back it's still abit fuzzy. Dave Mustaine

Posted: 26 Mar 2009 19:07
	Registered User Currently Offline	Posts: 4009 Join Date: May 2005
See to me killing Jason Todd was not quite that big a deal because Dick Grayson will always be Robin in my mind. It was almost like Jason was created to have someone for the Joker to kill.

Posted: 26 Mar 2009 19:31
	Registered User Currently Offline	Posts: 1027 Join Date: Jan 2008
Quote: Jason was created to have someone for the Joker to kill probably, but I do like Tim Drake as Robin. I guess its because I knew that Dick Grayson would have to grow up sometime and its good to see someone else carrying on the position. __________________ HeavyInk

Posted: 26 Mar 2009 22:13 Last Edited By: Bono Fett
	Registered User Currently Offline	Posts: 239 Join Date: Jan 2009
Quote: Jason was created to have someone for the Joker to kill I believe once they started the death storyline that his demise at the hands of the Joker would save the clown prince of crime from saturday morning obscurity and make him a viable villian for Batman. __________________ Hindsight is always 20/20... But looking back it's still abit fuzzy. Dave Mustaine

Posted: 28 Mar 2009 06:08
	Registered User Currently Offline	Posts: 544 Join Date: Jul 2008
Yeah superhero deaths are bad. I don't like it.

Posted: 30 Mar 2009 07:30
	Registered User Currently Offline	Posts: 239 Join Date: Jan 2009
Quote: to me killing Jason Todd was not quite that big a deal because Dick Grayson will always be Robin Yeah I did'nt call it the death of Robin for a reason __________________ Hindsight is always 20/20... But looking back it's still abit fuzzy. Dave Mustaine

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