An Unpopular Opinion: Death in Comics

I have another unpopular opinion and this centers around the argument I've seen about comics that basically says, "Make Death Mean Something Again!"

And honestly, I heartily disagree. (And *Again*? Are we reading the same comics in that it ever meant something to start with?)

Yeah, it gets ridiculous when Donna Troy or Jean Grey comes back from the dead for the fourteen-millionth time. But that's *comics*. Death is but a side-step in comics. And that, I think, is what it should be. Comics are about fantasy after all. Make believe. And getting a loved one back from death is the ultimate fantasy I think. And what's wrong with that?

Death and resurrection opens the doors for a lot of interesting stories when done right. For example, the only time I've really found Oliver Queen interesting in his own right was in Quiver.

Currently there's all this buzz in DC about how death is going to stop being a revolving door. That now the door will be shut. Those you see corpses of are going to stay dead. (Even though, I don't see how shot in the head trumps getting blown to atoms in the "severity of death" column, and that didn't stop Ollie).

First of all, I cry bullshit already. You can't tell me most of the dead characters won't be back as soon as some writers and editors get a nifty story idea where they will be useful. Whether it's clones, reincarnations, regenerations, or other means, they'll be back as soon as it'll sell a book.

Second of all, if it were true, I fail to see why this is a good thing. See, I think all comic characters *should* have the dim possibility of resurrection at some point in the future. For one thing, it makes character death more palatable for folks that love that character. And every character is loved by someone. There were folks arguing frantically after IC3 that Risk didn't have to have been killed when Superboy ripped off his arm. *Risk*. When I read IC3 my sole interest in seeing Risk's arm yanked off was: "Blond man in green! Ack! Wait, no, if it were Sand, he'd have combusted and reformed. Whew." But he does have some fans somewhere. Every character does.

And if you're the fan of a less popular or less known character you know you run the risk of having that character be killed on you. Many people worried about whether Cassandra Cain would make it out of Batgirl alive. I, personally, was quite worried about whether Guy Gardner would make it out of Rann-Thanagar (thanks to that stupid Wizard Quiz). And I know Diamondrock holds out hope that Azrael will turn up wandering around amnesiac in Europe somewhere.

It's good, I guess, to have suspense for the characters...but when they actually die it's pretty cold comfort. We've grown attached to these guys and we really cling to the notion that they might come back somehow, someday. Even if it takes 20 years.

And hey, is there anything cooler right now than the possibility that that Flash that appeared at the end of IC might be Barry Allen?

Third of all, honestly, whenever someone says "And this time it's for real" about death...the story tends to suck. Killing Jason Todd (who by the way is back, and while it took me a while to warm up to the idea, seeing him in Nightwing is kind of awesome) was a brilliant idea in terms of lasting effects on the DCU but honestly, "Death in the Family" kind of sucked in execution. Had some nifty ideas but as a story...well, it could have been much better.

I'm not holding out hope for the upcoming Fantastic Four story either. It's like if they're advertizing the death of a main character like that, the shock value/emotional resonance of the death is pretty much the only draw to the book. And that should never be the *only* reason to read anything.

Besides, these advertized "and this time it's real" deaths are the first ones overturned anyway. And usually with good reason as they tended to suck.

Fourth of all, does anyone seriously buy that the "closed door of death" is ever going to apply when Donna Troy bites it again? If Hal Jordan manages to fly into a wall hard enough to knock his brains out literally, he won't be back? If god forbid someone actually had the balls to kill Diana or Bruce or Clark, they won't be back?

Nope. The "closed door of death" is going to be arbitrary as fucking ever. And that makes it pointless.

What makes Donna Troy intrinsically more deserving of resurrection than Ted Kord? Both were pretty damn useless when they were alive, on the outskirts of other peoples' books (Wonder Woman/Titans, Birds of Prey), both have rabid fans and charm. And honestly, given that he actually has a marketable code name, he could have fronted a series or mini at least as well as she could.

Why did Aquaman get to come back after Our Worlds at War, when Hippolyta stayed dead?

And if the closed door really is closed...well, the only people who'll die now at all are gonna be the Risks and the Bushidos and the Panthra's and the Wildebeests and the Freedom Fighters without name recognition, and the Titans of the East, and Cassie Cains (now that she's not Batgirl) and Ices...

And how is that any *more* suspenseful than knowing the possibility for resurrection is dancing around the corner? It's like watching the old Star Trek...you knew that when Kirk, McCoy, Spock and Ensign Ricky went down to the planet, who was gonna bite it.

But see, I ended up watching the Search for Spock before the Wrath of Khan...and you know what? It lost *nothing*.

Death in literature isn't about death. It's about the living. It's about grief and mourning and love and loss. It's about funerals and stammering eulogies and sorrow and rage. It's about statues and armbands. And antagonists very briefly finding common ground in shared love for a lost one.

And even knowing Spock's gonna regrow on the Genesis planet, doesn't change the fact that when Scotty plays Amazing Grace on the fucking bag pipes, or Kirk's voice hitches on the word human, when the casket is ejected into space...

Besides, this is a universe in which we're all fine with suspending belief about Clark's glasses hiding that he's Superman, with otherwise sane people dressing up in garish costumes to live the life of vigilantes, of super-powers, aliens, gods, demons, Atlantis, Mars, and all that crap...but we can't pretend that death could occasionally be reversible?