So Many Masks

Several weeks ago we had a poll asking which type of mask you'd wear if you were a hero. You never really realize how many there are out there until you break them down...which we'll do right now.

Domino Mask

Worn by: Nightwing, Green Lantern, Robin, etc.

Probably the most famous type of mask, it also covers just about the least of the face. I still have a hard time believing this would fool anyone, but it apparently has for years.

The mask begs the question "What in the world is keeping it on your face?" First of all it has to be something that will stay on in the middle of a fight no matter how sweaty you get. But then it has to be removable without ripping the skin around your eyes off.

Yes, I know Green Lantern's mask is created by his ring and is therefore part of the costume, but Nightwing, Robin, Red Hood, and many others have had this little thing stuck to their faces for years without a problem or reasonable explanation.

Cowl

Worn by: Batman, Nighthawk, Red Robin, etc

The most popular choice in our poll, the cowl serves this purpose of keeping the hair covered at least. Now it's not necessarily as easy to figure out who you are under the mask as the domino mask would be.

Add to that a certain streamlined effect and you have a pretty cool look. The fact that it's attached to the flowing cape doesn't hurt either. All in all it can be a fairly intimidating appearance when it's done right.

There's a reason Batman's iconic look has stayed with pop culture for decades. It's an old faithful design that just works.

Full Face Mask

Worn by: Spider-Man, Union Jack, Deathstroke, etc

For a real mystery man look, it's hard to go wrong with this type of mask. Covered completely, heroes sporting this look have that mystery surrounding them that leads a lot of people to wonder what person is really under all that.

Truthfully though, it's hard to imagine Spider-Man without his full mask. And Deadpool just doesn't seem as funny any other way. Union Jack was able to use the look to his advantage to fool Baron Blood into thinking he was an old man when in actually he was young Joey Chapman.

There are a lot of advantages to going this route...though the cost of material goes up a little. That, and it's hard to figure out how you can breathe that well in a tough fight with cloth on your face.

Goggles

Worn by: Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Plastic Man, Vigilante, etc.

Now this one is hard to pull off right. The first time I read a Plastic Man comic in the 70's I couldn't figure out what was going on with his eyes. Which way was he supposed to be looking? Eventually I figured it all out and the craze seemed to catch on.

Now heroes like Booster Gold and the Blue Beetle have added to the mix of using a functional mask. I mean, when it's raining outside which hero can still see in a torrential downpour? Try that Spider-Man!

Seriously though, I think this could be considered cheating just a little.

Sunglasses

Worn by: Nomad, Hitman, Blade, etc.

If you're not up for goggles, there's always a cheaper way out through sunglasses. While I consider Jack Munroe's Nomad to be one of the best heroes out there and best costume for a casual hero type, I've never been one to follow how he kept the sunglasses on. Also, how are they handy in a fight indoors?

It's really hard to see a hero pull this off and not look like someone off "Jersey Shore", but it's been done. Oddly enough, this is the one look that looks best in the movie versions of the characters. It's hard to pull off a mask on a real person, but sunglasses always look tough.

I almost threw Cyclops in with this group, but I'm not really sure it would be fair. I think he'd fall more under a mixture of the goggles and sunglasses crowd.

No Mask

Worn by: Superman, The Sentry, Punisher, etc.

Of course, there are those who skip masks altogether and just say "Here I am. Look at me!" It's usually done by someone with nothing to hide because their identity is public (like the Punisher) or they look differently when in their secret identity (like DC's Captain Marvel or The Sentry). And yes, Superman hides behind glasses (even dumber than a domino mask) and still folks can't figure out who he is.

Whatever the reason, this is the easy way out. Fight as hard as you want to and never worry about someone seeing your face because your mask got shredded. I can't say I'm a fan of this though. For me, I think it's always cooler to see a hero in some form of mask. The only exception I'll give is the Punisher. I think he'd look a little weird wearing one for some reason.

Helmet

Worn by: Ant-Man, Iron Man, Doctor Fate, Forbush Man, etc.

For real protection, it's hard to go wrong with a good old-fashioned piece of metal on your head! Whether you're using it to control an entire suit of armor like Iron Man or just to hide your identity like Red Hood, you can't say anything about the functionality of one. However, hiding the costume takes a lot of creative thinking when you can't just cram it all under your tuxedo and walk in.

I've always  thought artists probably love drawing helmeted characters more than anything else. No worries about emotion on the face or anything...just a blank slate.

The only character easier to draw would have to be the Question.

Hood

Worn by: Green Arrow, The Spectre, Moon Knight, etc

While hiding identity, I have to say this one would be hard to justify as safe. Think about it: your peripheral vision is absolutely shot. True, you're ready for a rainstorm, but if someone comes at you quietly from the side you are dead.

Also, how do you keep this on your head while you're running after (or away from) a bad guy? When I have my hood on and I go running to my car in the rain, it always flies back and lets me get soaked.

Functionally, I have to say this one is at the bottom of the barrel. Yes, the "mysterious stranger" look works when stepping out of the shadows...but it's not the best choice in a fight.

Over-the-Head Mask

Worn by: Captain America, Hawk and Dove, the Atom, etc.

I'm not sure of the official name for this look, so let's just say it's a cowl without the cape kind of thing. It's been popular for years with everyone from the Flash to Vindicator wearing one.

The thing that makes this one slightly less believable is the way the heroes usually have it during "casual times". Most of the time their whole head is through the mouth part with the mask laying behind their head until the pull it up over their head and on. That sucker would be so stretched out it would blow off in a light wind.

There is a variation of this mask where the hair is seen. Marvel's version of Captain Marvel and the original Captain Britain look are two heroes who go that way with it. Again, I'm not sure what it's officially called though. You know what I mean, right?

Weird Everything-But-The-Face Mask

Worn by: Puck, Justice, The Angel, Gambit, etc.

Ok, I had no idea what you actually called this one, but I've seen it from time to time. I guess this would be considered a "face frame" more than a mask.

I suppose this one would be more for those heroes who want to wear a mask, while still wanting people to know what they looked like underneath. This might even fit into the "no mask" category.

Maybe you're proud of your hair, or maybe you just like the way you look in the mirror, either way, if this is your choice it's not very functional for anything other than keeping your ears warm in the wind.


There are a lot of characters that fit into combinations of categories that I didn't cover. For example, Magneto would fit into the helmet/face-frame mixture. Doctor Doom would fit into the helmet/hood group. Deadshot would be an entirely new combination, with full-face mask/eyescope group. The combinations are endless.

As you can tell, it would be impossible to categorize them all. Hopefully I've covered the most often used ones though.

Smallville's Best Guest Heroes

With Smallville ending in just a few short weeks, I wanted to give them props for what they've done right over the years. I'm really going to miss the show--especially since there is no contender on the horizon to take its place. DC had a platform to give the fans a chance to see live-action versions of their favorite obscure heroes and you never knew who was coming up. No other live-action superhero series in history has run this long or given us this many heroic guests. While some of them were fairly unimpressive, I have to give them credit for the ones they really did right:

Impulse

They couldn't touch the Flash character because of the legal wrangling about a potential movie, but they really handled it well by giving us Bart Allen instead. The two episodes that have seen him in real action have been good ones.

The thing that sold the role to me was the fact that they made him much faster than Clark. That was a touch I enjoyed seeing. I was afraid they'd make it some close race so their main hero would still seem unbeatable. Instead, they gave us a guy who was better at running than anyone else...just as it should be.

Zatanna

Zatanna is one of the characters that was closest to their actual comic counterpart than any other. The costume was absolutely dead-on. Her powers were just as you imagined they would be. And the actress they chose for the role couldn't have been improved upon. Serinda Swan looked like the model they based the comic character on.

I've never been a big fan of the character in the comics (and that stupid elf costume she had in the 70's was pathetic), but after the events of Identity Crisis and her role in mind-wiping Batman I had to give her some credit. Smallville handled her with a healthy respect that kept her from becoming as cardboard a role as the Wonder Twins in a later episode.

Hawkman

All right, so he wasn't bare-chested and beefed-up like the comic book version, but you have to give Smallville credit for what they gave us.  He had wings, and the helmet was dead-on. He had that brooding quality we were expecting, and those conflicted moments with Green Arrow were a nice touch.

Yes, he's dead now in the series (as of this writing), but he always comes back in the comics.

Doctor Fate

We only got him for that one double-length episode, but give the writers credit where it's due: they nailed the character.  Ok, the crazy secret identity was dumb. Still, when he was a hero, he was absolutely dead-on.

I still have no idea how the actor saw out of that helmet with the lights in his eyes. My biggest complaint is the fact that they only kept him around for a single adventure. It would have been nice to have seen a bigger JSA reunion later on. I know they couldn't touch Green Lantern or the Flash because of movie possibilities, but Wildcat, the Spectre, and even Doctor Midnite or Hourman could have filled the void to complete the team roster.

Aquaman

 Another character from the comics that I wasn't a big fan of, Aquaman turned out pretty cool in his guest shots.

This was another character that the writers were willing to concede was faster than Clark at something. He could outswim the guy with no effort. Again, this made sense and it was good to see the writers give him this edge.

His first episode was so great, but his guest shot in the Justice League episode the following season let him stand out. He's appeared since then a few times. Unfortunately, the Aquaman character himself is pretty useless without water around, so he's been relegated to brooding shots in the background.

Green Arrow

Love him or hate him, you have to admit it's pretty nice to see the Emerald Archer in action. Letting him use a compound bow and even Kryptonite arrows (in the ninth season) showed a lot of detail to attention.  

While I feel the yellow goatee is essential to the character in the comics, I don't think Justin Hartley would look right with it.

I don't know if you've seen Hartley's portrayal of Aquaman for the failed series "Mercy Reef", but I thought he did a great job with it and I would have enjoyed seeing the series take off...especially in Smallville's upcoming absence.

The Legion of Superheroes

We couldn't get the whole roster, so they gave us the three top stars in the team. Cosmic Boy was played out nicely, as well as Saturn Girl. I wasn't as impressed with the Lightning Lad character. I guess it was hard to visualize him married to Saturn Girl as they later became in the comics.

Cosmic Boy made a return visit later on to give Clark a Legion ring he could use to send Doomsday to the future so the Legion could kill him. Lois inadvertently used it instead.

Honorable Mention: Booster Gold

As of this writing, they haven't even cast the part yet, but I had to put him in the list simply because he's one of my favorite heroes and the chance to see him in action before the series closes down shop was a nice treat from Geoff Johns.

I sincerely doubt we'll see the blue-and-gold spandex (or the goggles). I'm sure we'll get something similar though. I'm interested to see if Johns plays off the Legion angle and brings them in to catch him since he's apparently considered a thief in the future for stealing the Legion flight ring and the technology.


UPDATE: In the weeks since I wrote this post (I try to stay about 2 months ahead when possible) they've given us an image of Booster Gold. He really remains pretty faithful to the character. I can't wait to see the episode and see what they do with him. Here he is:

So that's my list of top guests in the series. I know I missed some folks, but I wasn't too impressed with the Star-Spangled Kid, the Wonder Twins, or Cyborg. Like I said before, I'm going to miss this show. It may have gone down hill after Michael Rosenbaum left the show, yet it was the only outlet we had for DC superheroes in the looooong years between films.

Heroes and Villains of the Spectrum - the Rest

There are a lot of characters who choose red, green, or black for their names, but the rest of the colors are a little cheated. Here is our final list of "color name" characters, filling the gaps from the colors I've missed...

Booster Gold

Now called "The Greatest Hero You've Never Heard Of", Booster Gold's image has changed dramatically since he got his latest series.

He was little more than a walking joke--a self-absorbed hero--until the events of the DC maxi-series 52 kicked him square into the spotlight and killed him...before bringing him back again. 

Now Gold goes through time changing what he can and fixing the little anomalies that pop up here and there. I've followed the series since the first issue and I can honestly say it's one of the best I read now. Each storyline seems consistently strong, and the fact that Blue Beetle still pops up from time to time makes it that much better.

Bronze Tiger

Originally a member of the Suicide Squad, Bronze Tiger started out as a villain before becoming the anti-hero he is today.

Recently he battled Catman to the brink of death for both of them, and I have to give him credit on that. DC has upped Catman's cred a lot with recent storylines, and letting Bronze Tiger keep up with him shows the respect they still have for the character.

In one alternate universe, he was a character called "Blackwing", their version of Batman. That would mean he was the only character who made it onto two lists...but I didn't think that would be fair since he was only Blackwing for the one issue.

Silver Sable

She's bad, she's a secret agent, and she has her own minimate! Not bad for a kind of obscure character!

She has tangled with Spider-Man on more than one occasion and sometimes it's hard to see which side she's playing on. For the most part, however, she usually leans toward the good guy angle. She's not above twisting the law where needed though.

Currently, she leads her own group of highly-trained heroes and mercs wherever the money leads

White Tiger

Hector Ayala was the first major Puerto Rican superhero way back in the 70's. Using the magic amulets of the Sons of the Tiger, he became a martial arts madhouse with one of the simplest costumes every created. Since he made his debut in the "Deadly Hands of Kung Fu" magazine and it was black and white, he was a perfect fit.

Eventually he moved into the "Spectacular Spider-Man" title and was a regular for the first 50 issues or so. When his secret identity was revealed on television, his family became a target. Cancer began to kill him as well, so he gave up the amulets to face his sickness on his own.

Hector was killed in Daredevil a few years ago after being framed for murder, and is replaced now by Angela Del Toro.

Purple Man

A more sinister guy you'd be hard to find. Anything he tells you to do, you're going to do it. He's been around for a long time, but it was the 2000's that saw him become the truly twisted person you'd think he would be.

He started and stayed as a Daredevil villain for a long time, able to control anyone and force them to do whatever he wanted. He held Jessica Jones for a long time as a personal servant until she finally escaped during a battle with the Scarlet Witch.

A very short stint with the Thunderbolts saw him returned to the Raft. Once there, Luke Cage got the opportunity to settle the score for what Purple Man had done to the woman who eventually became his wife. It wasn't pretty.

Yellowjacket

Does it really count as a color-named hero when your name is one word? Yeah, it's close enough. Hank Pym has had many different identities, but the most infamous would have to be Yellowjacket.

He started out in this identity claiming to have killed Hank Pym and eventually marrying the Wasp before getting his memory back. Then when he was forced out of the Avengers it was again as this character.

After Janet's tragic death in "Secret Invasion", Hank decided to become his own version of the Wasp as a tribute to her. To most comic book readers, however, he'll pretty much always be remembered as either Yellowjacket or Ant-Man.

Silver Surfer

Herald of Galactus on more than one occasion, the Silver Surfer has been more of a tragic hero than anything else since his introduction. Trapped for years on Earth because of a field Galactus placed on it as punishment for his siding with the humans, the Surfer eventually was able to break through and get back out into space again in his own book. He was one of the original Defenders and has teamed up with just about every major hero in the Marvel universe.

His treatment in the second Fantastic Four movie is a polarizing subject. Some people feel he was treated almost perfect to character, while others think it was a horrible take on the character. Either way you feel about his role in the film, you can't deny they did a great job of bringing him to life. Galactus, on the other hand, got robbed.

Honorable Mentions: Doctor Spectrum and Rainbow Raider

The Squadron Supreme character Doctor Spectrum has to win the "Best of Show" title since he carries all the colors in his name. Of course, I guess Rainbow Raider would get upset if we did that, so we'll just say both should get their names in this list just because.

Rainbow Raider...heh...still gets me every time I hear the name. How on Earth did he ever expect to strike fear into the heart of any hero?

I briefly considered adding Crazy Quilt to the list because he used colors as his weapon, but it has to be the name or they don't make it. 

Guys I Missed That Should Have Been In Previous Lists:

Black Mask

Dr. OTR made mention of this fellow. Thanks again!

I guess he would have to be considered the "Kingpin" character of the DC Universe (though, ironically, you'd think he would be the Red Skull counterpart or something). A crime boss extraordinaire, he was a major force in Batman comics for a while and even played a major part in the death of the fourth Robin (previously the Spoiler).

He was eventually killed off and has since been replaced. He did pretty well for himself for a guy with no super powers to speak of. He definitely wouldn't win any beauty awards or anything, that's for sure.

Black Vulcan

Oh man, how could I have missed this one? During the 70's Super Friends cartoon craze, they needed to add some minority characters. We ended up with greats like Apache Chief, Samurai, El Dorado, and of course, Black Vulcan. Originally, they wanted to use Black Lightning for this spot, but due to a dispute with the creator of the character they ultimately decided it was easier to just make their own and move on. To my knowledge, he's never appeared anywhere but in the Super Friends show and comic book, and one other place I'll mention below.

He was able to turn into a living lightning bolt to fly and could fire lightning from his hands. But perhaps the greatest moment in his career came when he appeared in one of the first episodes of Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law and created the catchphrase "...in my pants."

Black Widow

There may be two of them now, but the original will always stand out for me. Natasha began as a villain and hooked up with Hawkeye early on in her career. Soon she became a hero and spent a large part of the 70's with Daredevil, even becoming his regular sidekick in the series.

She was one of the charter members of The Champions, and has served as an Avenger also. She even spent some time with SHIELD for a while. She's currently the girlfriend and partner of Bucky Barnes and has helped bring this newest Captain America to true hero status. She's one well-traveled lady, that's for sure.

Black Cat

Felicia Hardy was a cat burglar who developed a rather unhealthy fixation on Spider-Man. Her love affair for him faltered when he wanted to remove the mask, however. She wanted the Spider, and he wanted her to love the Man. They worked it all out over time, and he finally chose Mary Jane over her (and then stabbed MJ in the back for Aunt May...but don't get me started).

How popular is this character? Go to any comic book convention and see which cosplay babe has the most fanboys lined up to get their picture taken with her. She has more fans than Lara Croft!

I'd love to see her fight Catwoman, but I'm sure the writers would give the fight to Selina over Felicia. I prefer to think it would be a pretty close match.

Red Raven

This forgotten character was a member of the Liberty Legion in the 70's during the Invaders comic book's first run. He was sort of like the Angel from the X-Men in that he could fly and fight. He actually did make his first appearance in the Silver Age fighting the Angel in X-Men #44.

To find his first appearance, however, you've got to go waaaaaaay back...to August 1940. Red Raven was one of the earlier costumed heroes to appear. It wasn't the same character, but the similarities are too close to ignore.

The Marvel version of this character died in a battle with the Sub-Mariner.

Blue Jay

Another one suggested by Dr. OTR, this relatively unknown character has recently stepped back into the DC Universe in JLA comic books.

Originally created as a Hank Pym-type knockoff (his other hero identity is Massive Man...sound familiar), the pint-sized hero has one of the more unfortunate names out there. I can't think of many bad guys who would tremble at: "Oh no! Here comes Blue Jay!" He sounds more like a sidekick than a main hero.

Hey, if Blue Jay, Red Raven, and Robin formed a team, they could be "The Bird Boys"! Just sayin'...


And that's it! We've looked at colors galore and I hope I managed to introduce you to a few characters you might have missed. Of course, I didn't hit them all, so feel free to comment away on any colorful named heroes or villains you think should have been included!

What A Way To Go! Deaths in Comics

In comic books, death is never a permanent thing. We know eventually that hero or villain will probably return, but it's how they died we remember fondly. Let's look at some of the best-written deaths in comic book history. And yes, I know three of them came from the same storyline, but it's not my fault DC did it right for once!

Barry Allen/The Flash
When the cover said "The Final Fate of the Flash", we still didn't believe it. I mean, how many times have you read that before about other heroes? But DC definitely meant it this time.

Barry Allen, the beloved hero who originally began the Silver Age of comics with his creation, remains the greatest Flash of them all in many people's opinions. If you read the old "Flash" comics, you might not understand the attraction, but one of the reasons he's held in such high regard is the way he died.

Supergirl had just died in the previous issue, and she had gone out in a powerful way (see her listing further down the list), so no one was expecting DC to try and top that by killing of another legend in the very next issue. But the Flash, who had been captured by Anti-Monitor early on in the series because he was the one hero who could stop what was coming, finally managed to escape in issue #8 and it was his turn to do his part for the multiverse. Running at top speed to counteract the Anti-Monitor's machine, Barry actually starts to decay and turn to dust. Even though he knows he's dying, he continues his run and manages to warn several heroes of the impending danger (we saw this in the first issue of the series, but didn't understand what it was until issue 8).

To be fair, Barry didn't actually die, but went into the Speed Force (but we didn't know that until years later). Barry has apparently made his return in Final Crisis, but according to this article in NewsARama it'll be next year that Barry Allen fans get the biggest treat. The creative team behind the incredible story Green Lantern: Rebirth have teamed up again for a new miniseries called (originally enough) The Flash: Rebirth.

Dove

Don Hall had been a part of the hero duo of "Hawk & Dove" with his brother Hank since the 60's. He was the pacifist to his brother's aggressor character, and they worked well but were never really more than guest-shot or team players after their initial introduction. Then the Crisis on Infinite Earths claimed another victim. Rushing to aid a child from the Shadow Monsters, Dove was hit in the back by one and killed instantly, dying a true hero.

DC took a lot of parting shots as they closed this maxi-series out. Dove's death was relegated to a single page spread and it seems almost a toss-off, but they were able to use it as a pivotal point in the "Armageddon" crossovers later. DC executives claimed that their original intention for the Monarch character was for him to be Captain Atom, but they changed that at the last moment because rumor had already been spread as to Monarch's identity (remember, this was in the days before the Internet, so it was a rare occurrence for plots to be spoiled ahead of time without an editor's ok). Instead, it was revealed to be Hank Hall, and it was the death of both his brother and then his follow-up female Dove partner that drove him over the edge. So in a way, Don's death helped set in motion an entirely new major DC miniseries years later.

Green Arrow
Oliver Queen was a beloved hero. He was that scruffy, loud-mouthed member of the Justice League who wasn't afraid to speak his mind when others did things he didn't agree with. He regularly faced down Hawkman and Batman, for pity's sake! But when times got rough, Ollie was the man to have in your corner. Completely fearless, he faced down the baddies no matter who they were. But what was he most afraid of? We didn't find out until he died.

Ollie was trying to disarm a bomb on a plane, but it trapped his arm in it. Superman was there and ready to try and save him, but the only way he could do it was for GA to lose his arm in the process. Ollie didn't want to go on if he was going to be disabled, so he chose to die instead. Supes stayed with him until the end when the bomb went off and killed Ollie (for a while, at least).

Gwen Stacy
I know it seems cheap to bring her up here, but I had to. Gwen's death was a major turning point in Spider-Man's career, and it eventually led to the (first) death of the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn. GG kidnaps her and takes her to the top of a bridge. Spidey comes to rescue her and they fight it out. In the process, Gwen is knocked off the bridge by the Goblin and Spidey tries to rescue her with a well-placed web shot. By the time he pulls her up, she's dead. This sets Spidey off and we have the awesome showdown that follows.

So why is this non-hero on the list? Because of a little word most of us didn't pay attention to when reading the comic for the first time: "Snap". Spidey catches Gwen, pulls her up, she's dead...we blame it on the Goblin. He even said himself that the fall killed her. But it wasn't until much later that the truth was finally brought out and we learned who really killed Gwen Stacy. We find out later that it was the sudden stop brought on by Spider-Man's web shot that causes her neck to break. Essentially, it means Spider-Man killed Gwen himself! Granted, the fall would have killed her if hadn't done anything, but it added a wellspring of agony for Peter in later years when he realized it.

Gwen has had a clone return, and even two adult children she'd had after a one-night stand with Norman Osborn (the man who eventually had at least partial responsibility in her death), but she's never actually come back. Even that horrible mess of "Brand New Day" has at least had the decency to let her stay dead (for now, at least). This makes her one of the few on the list who remain dead to this day.

Hawkeye
Clint Barton was one of those heroes who could never carry their own title, but was always a good team player. It was in the end that Clint finally showed what a team player he really was.

When the "Avengers Disassembled" storyline occurred, a huge battle with the Kree brought on a stray shot that hit Clint's quiver and started all of his explosive arrows building to critical mass. Rather than blow up and kill his friends around him, he grabbed a Kree soldier and forced him to fly them into one of the warships. The resulting explosion took out the ship, and blew Marvel's premiere archer into oblivion...at least for a while.

We didn't really even have time to consider his death. He was back in the "House of M" storyline a few months later, and then showed up afterward in the regular Marvel world.

Clint's now part of the New Avengers as "Ronin", but that doesn't keep him off the list. When the time came for him to make a choice, he chose to die a hero and save his friends.

Supergirl
Superman's cousin, Kara, had the less-than-enviable position of being the second-string "Super". She really was as powerful as Superman, but was relegated by comic history as "close but not good enough".

All that changed in "Crisis on Infinite Earths".

We were still reeling from the deaths of several beloved icons in the maxi-series (and we didn't even know the Flash was next on the hit list!), when all of the sudden we see the cover that told the story. Superman is fighting Anti-Monitor for the fate of the multiverse, but he just can't take him down. Beaten and about to be killed, Kara steps in. This has to rank as one of the coolest hero deaths of all time because we finally see just how tough she really can be. No longer a second-string Superman, Supergirl tears into Anti-Monitor and would have defeated him if she hadn't been distracted by Doctor Light (the hero version) at the last second. Anti-Monitor uses the distraction and shoots her with a power beam that mortally wounds her. He escapes, and Superman manages to get to Kara just before she dies.

This wasn't some sappy death scene. This was powerful stuff. I didn't like how DC was brutally racing through their stable of heroes and slaughtering them left and right in this story, but at least Supergirl got a good send-off. And unlike most of the others on this list, she's stayed dead. Supergirl has returned in several incarnations, but this Kara is gone (for now).

Booster Gold

During the 52 maxi-series, Booster Gold found himself being outdone time and again by a mysterious hero known only as "Supernova". The speculation as to who Supernova really was flew all over the internet, but one thing was certain: he had a grudge against Booster Gold.

Things came to a head in week fifteen of the series when Booster tried to save Metropolis from a monster. Unfortunately, his every action seemed to make things worse. Supernova eventually arrived to save the day and the two of them had it out again. Then a building nuclear reaction in a ship caught both their attentions and Booster was off to save the day. He pulled his forcefield around himself and the ship and flew them up over Metropolis and out of harm's way. As Booster was finally being heralded as the hero at last, the ship exploded. To quell any doubts as to his death, a stunned Supernova flew up and caught his body. It was confirmed through a DNA analysis by Skeets to truly be Michael Carter, and Booster died a hero.

Of course, this is comic books and no one ever truly stays dead except Bucky Bar--never mind. Anyway, Booster showed up later in the series and his faked death set the stage for his own ongoing book. It was a fake out of sorts, but for several long weeks the world (and fans everywhere) thought he was dead.


Captain America

Steve Rogers had led a band of rebel heroes through a messy "Civil War" and brought them to brink of victory before finally doing a complete turnaround and giving up. The anticlimactic ending of "Civil War" killed a story that had been the best thing Marvel had done in years, but they weren't finished yet.

In Captain America #25, the cover again said it all. Of course, by the time the issue came out we'd already seen national news coverage of the comic book hero's upcoming death, so it the "shock and awe" moment wasn't quite what the writers had probably hoped for.

Steve is being led away in cuffs after surrendering, and he sees the red dot of a laser scope. Without hesitation, he dives into the path of the bullet (he'd have felt a little foolish if it had just been some kid with a laser pointer, I'm sure) and takes one to the neck. In the chaos that follows, he's shot again at point-blank range (supposedly by SHIELD agent and former girlfriend Sharon) and soon dies on the courthouse steps.

Steve has yet to return, but this is one death I'm certain they won't let stand. Bringing Bucky back and into the costume was a cool idea, but Steve Rogers is Captain America, plain and simple.