Heroes Who Died Stupid Deaths

While there are several hero deaths that serve a purpose, some are just plain dumb and have no reason other than a lazy writer looking for a gimmick or a reboot. Here are some that I never liked:

The White Tiger

The original White Tiger was the first major Puerto Rican of the 70's. He was a kung-fu fightin' machine with perhaps one of the simplest costumes of all time.

He made his first appearance in "Deadly Hands of Kung Fu" magazine, but it was the Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man comic series that introduced him to me. I instantly loved this guy and picked up every issue of PPTSM that had him in it. Eventually Marvel flopped out on him and had him give up the amulets that gave him the power. He drifted off into the sunset in the early 80's and such was life.

Until Marvel wanted a reboot. Rather than bring this character back and send him center stage (imagine how relevant he would be now and how cool it would have been to see him take on the Black Panther!), they opted to kill him off by being shot after being framed for murder. So this awesome hero's legacy is destroyed in his final minutes...go Marvel.

Hawkeye

Yes, I know his death was indeed awesome and he went out with a "Yippi Ki Ya" moment most heroes would love to have...until you realize that his death was literally a five-issue gimmick with no lasting effect. He literally was dead less than 12 issues of comic continuity, making his return in the "House of M" story that immediately followed.

He died during the Avengers Disassembled storyline fighting the Kree and a hundred other baddies outside what was left of the Avenger's Mansion. A stray shot sets off one of his explosive arrows and rather than take the quiver off and throw it away he chooses to explode in a Kree mothership. Indeed a boss death and worth noting.

But it's the after-effect that I hated. I liked the character and hated to see him die. His death was really a good storytelling blow to the Avengers and Marvel Universe...but we never had time to let it register before he was back. They wasted a perfectly good death scene for this gimmick.

Ant Man (Scott Lang)

While Hank Pym was indeed the original Ant Man, the one I actually grew up reading more about was Scott Lang. He took the reins in 1979 with Marvel Premiere 47 and stayed Ant Man possibly longer than Hank Pym himself.

This was (and is) who I consider Ant Man when I look at the Bronze Age of comics. He took the character in a very cool direction, and helped out in several different titles, even becoming a member of the Fantastic Four while Reed Richards was believed dead.

Unfortunately he didn't last forever in the role. In the same storyline that killed Hawkeye we saw Scott Lang die when Jack of Hearts came back from the dead and blew him up. No purpose or reason for anything...just stupid shock value at the start of this "ground-breaking" event.

Moments That Made the Bronze (and Modern) Age: Crisis On Infinite Earths

In the mid-80's, DC took a bold step and admitted it had a problem. They just had too many different Earths floating around out there! Initially it was used to explain how the Justice Society of the 40's could exist and still work with the JLA 20 years later, which was a good idea. Unfortunately, they soon started creating new worlds whenever they needed a convenient excuse, giving us Earth 3 with the Crime Syndicate, Earth X with the Freedom Fighters, and many more.

The time came for a clean-up, and DC gave it to the world in a big way. Creating a 12-issue maxi-series, giving it to one of their best artists ever (George Perez), and deciding it was time to kill some major heroes, DC boldly stepped forward and blew my mind with every issue. But the one that truly blew me away had to be the death of my favorite hero at the time: The Flash.

Now I've mentioned Barry Allen's death before in other posts, but that pivotal moment in the series changed the landscape of the comic book world for me. This was years before the Internet, so finding exact issues where other heroes had died wasn't something I'd been able to do with regularity. Yes, I knew the Batman of Earth 2 had died somehow, and I'd seen the JLA issue where Mr. Terrific died, but most hero deaths were stuff that happened in books I would never get to read. The Flash's death, however, I held in my trembling little hands and couldn't believe as I sat in the floor of the drug store in front of the magazine rack.

The Flash's death was preceded by Supergirl's in the previous issue, but I'd never been a big fan of her's so it didn't bother me nearly as much. I kept waiting for the next issue to come out and say that Barry was alive somehow, but it never happened. Wally West stepped in and became the first major sidekick to take on the role of his mentor.

Marvel didn't sit on the sidelines though, as they unleashed Secret Wars and tried to make some changes. They gave us the symbiote Spider-Man suit, and...and...um...well, the suit was cool. They just weren't able to pull off the universe-altering effect DC did with this series.

Another favorite of mine who died was the original Dove, Don Hall (his death is pictured in our blog's title image). Again, I'd hoped for a return, but it never happened. Even up to this day, Don has never come back, even though Supergirl, Barry Allen, and even the Crime Syndicate has found their way back to the land of the living. Oh well, if I ever get the chance to write for DC...

The thing that makes this series stand out is that the changes here were long-lasting--for comic books anyway. Wally West stayed the Flash for the next 20 years as Barry Allen stayed dead. We had just one Earth to deal with, but all the heroes were on it.

Then someone got the stupid idea to try and write a sequel to this hit and we ended up with the "Phantom Menace" of the comic book world: Infinite Crisis. That series decided the hero of the last maxi-series should actually become the villain of the new one. Fortunately for them, Grant Morrison took everyone on such a mind trip in the follow-up Final Crisis, that he was able to make IC look almost readable.

All cruel words aside, Crisis on Infinite Earths was, to me, a pinnacle for the 80's. I still hold it as a standard I judge other miniseries by and think DC really knocked it out of the park with this one. I consider the Absolute Edition of this story a must-have simply because seeing George's artwork in the larger-than-life format is a real treat.

I have just a couple more stories to mention over the next two weeks, and then I want to dive into the black hole decade of the comic book world as we discuss what went horribly, horribly wrong in the 90's. But first, next week: A guest shot in another comic had this hero defeated in his first fight, but his next appearance in the comic world helped create one of the most popular titles of all time...

Moments That Made the Bronze (and Modern) Age: The Death of Elektra

There are so many moments to look at in comic history that grabs me, but this particular comic death didn't affect me so much as a kid when I first read it, but the comics that followed actually got me hooked on Daredevil for a short period of time.

I grabbed this one off a spinner rack in a strip mall in Birmingham while my mom was shopping (yeah, I read a lot while mom shopped), read the entire issue, but for some odd reason didn't buy it. I loved the story, but neglected to spend my precious allowance on this issue. Given the current value of it now, it was a big mistake on my part.

What made this issue so interesting to me? It as that amazing showdown between Elektra, a character Marvel had introduced just a few short issues before with the sole intention of killing her off as a major pivot point in the DD series, and Bullseye, a villain who could turn anything he got his hands on into a weapon.

Frank Miller and Klaus Janson were magic in this time of the series. Their gritty art styles worked perfectly for this down-and-dirty fight to the death between two warriors.

The biggest kick-in-the-face moment of the fight for me? That had to be Bullseye using Elektra's own sai to kill her with.

You might not realize how important that scene was until you consider the catastrophic failure that was Ben Affleck's Daredevil movie.  The only potentially saving grace of that film was how it tried to give us this one Elektra storyline including that final death scene using actual dialogue from the comic, and it managed to stay fairly close to those few pages. Say what you will about that movie, they did get that one scene right.

Of course, Daredevil got his revenge later in the story. If this story had been published today it would have taken him the better part of six issues to find Bullseye, confront him, and deal out his brand of justice. In the 80's though, we were blessed with a complete story in that one double-sized issue.

Daredevil, usually a straight-arrow in the Marvel universe, beat Bullseye down and eventually let him drop to a bone-crunching finale. It looked like this cool villain was done for, but we know of course that he came back and became a regular in comic titles everywhere.

But reading that comic at the time, I was stunned by how Daredevil just let him drop. Actually, I was stunned by how graphic Elektra's death was drawn. Seeing it today in light of the gore-filled comics you find everywhere it looks tame, but back then it was a powerful moment simply because you didn't see that sort of stuff unless it was one of Marvel's magazine titles.

As I mentioned, this storyline led to DD becoming involved with ninjas galore and a guy named Stick, and even to eventually bringing Elektra back to life. That was good stuff and I followed this comic for a while after this issue. When Miller left, I did too. It was hard to imagine this gritty character being drawn by anyone else for me.

That Marvel moment grabbed me and didn't let go. I just regret not purchasing that issue when I had the chance. Even though I didn't buy it, I consider it a pivotal issue in Marvel history.

Moments That Made the Bronze Age: The Death of Gwen Stacy

People sometimes wonder why I'm so big on the Bronze Age of comics and not so happy about the way things are going today (thus my blog title). I thought I'd highlight a few Bronze Age moments over the weeks to come that show why those comics rocked.

When I was a kid, my first comic book and favorite hero was Spider-Man. I truly cared about the character, thinking Peter Parker was actually just as much a star of the book as Spider-Man himself. I actually started reading the comic a couple of years after the death of Peter's girlfriend, but thanks to Marvel's reprint Spidey title at the time, Marvel Tales Presents Spider-Man, I was able to read it for the first time.

This was the storyline that, for a while anyway, shaped Spider-Man's world. The woman he loved most in the world, and potentially the one he would have married if the storyline had been allowed to progress, was suddenly killed. And this was a serious death in the comic books, not an imaginary story or hoax that would later by wiped away as so many other comic book deaths had been.

Several things make this a pivotal moment in comics to me. First, well, she died. It was the woman he loved, killed by his arch-enemy...but not necessarily killed by his arch-enemy. Oh, Green Goblin had a part in it by knocking her off the bridge, but when you look at that fateful panel as Spidey is shooting his web to catch her you see that tiny "snap" just at her neck, indicating that Gwen was alive when she fell, and that Spider-Man himself had killed her while trying to save her. In other words, Spider-Man failed in the biggest way possible.

Yes, some might say that was a cold-hearted way to do it, but I think it was some powerful writing for the time. Her father had died saving a small child a few months prior and she blamed Spider-Man for that death, never knowing that it was Peter behind the mask. And now, just as Peter is reeling from his death, he loses his love.

Her death elevated her to the status of the perfect woman for Peter. And it shocked comic fans everywhere. The storyline finished up with the death of Green Goblin by being impaled with his glider (a fate that was used in the first Spider-Man film), and he stayed dead for years afterward.

After that, Harry Osborn, Norman's son and Peter's best friend, picked up the mask of Green Goblin and came after Spider-Man for what he did (again, a storyline borrowed for a Spider-Man film...the bad one). This even eventually led to the death of Harry Osborn many years later because he'd been poisoned by the formula used to make him the Green Goblin.

So in this one huge story arch that stretched for years, Peter Parker lost his girlfriend, his arch enemy, and his best friend...and began a relationship with Mary Jane Watson that led to one of the greatest comic book marriages ever. That truly was "amazing".  It shaped Spider-Man's legacy for comic fans everywhere.

Then a man named Quesada stepped in and destroyed all of that for us.

In "Sins Past" he revealed Gwen Stacy--Peter's perfect girl--had actually had Norman Osborn's (the Green Goblin) kids. And those kids grew super-fast and tried to kill Spider-Man later. He brought Norman Osborn back, and then he wiped everything out for the previous 20 years and started all over again. Harry Osborn was back now, but Gwen was still dead. Mary Jane was not and never had been Peter Parker's wife (hey, if Quesada ain't gettin' any then neither is Spider-Man, right?). Quesada's fanboy dreams for the character were complete.

So there you have it, a moment I consider above-the-standard for the Bronze Age of comics (it may have actually snuck into the Silver Age, but again I read it as a reprint in Marvel Tales so it was Bronze to me). It was one storyline that truly did change a hero's life forever until Quesada stepped in.

As we start looking into these strong moments in Silver and Bronze Age comic book history, which ones do you think deserve mention? Which comic book moments stuck with you long after you read them?

The Fate of Fathers

For Father's Day this year, my sons both made me cards. Khristian, a comic book fan who knew what his dad liked, drew me a card that said "Spending Father's Day with my dad..." and on the inside was a crying Batman that said, "Something I can do that even Batman can't!" It made me smile and gave both of us a fun afternoon of figuring out what other heroes had a similar problem.

Did you ever stop to realize how many superheroes are fatherless? It seems like a requirement before you put on the spandex!

Here's what we're talking about:

Peter Parker 

Though the fate of his real father is kind of convoluted (spies? Maybe, maybe not), let's look at the man who raised him: Uncle Ben. Here was this kindly old man who gave us the single most famous line of advice in comic book history ("With great power..."), and how does he end up getting repaid? Shot dead by a burglar in the first issue! Of course, that's a better fate than being run down by a car like a stray dog as he was in "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark". Still, that single act changed the carefree direction Peter had taken with his powers and turned him into a superhero.

Tim Drake/Robin 2

This Robin (later Red Robin) actually started out with a fairly decent father relationship. His dad tried, if nothing else, to keep an eye on his son. Even when he eventually found out his little boy was fighting crime with Batman, he kept it cool even though he made it known often that he didn't like it.

Though the relationship had some very rough spots, it ended in a horribly painful way with Tim screaming into the phone for his dad while Jack faced a very out-of-shape Captain Boomerang in Identity Crisis.  In the end, the kid became an orphan with his dad dying in his arms. Captain Boomerang came back in Brightest Day, Tim's father did not.

Batman

Can there be any doubt that his father's death was pivotal in this character's development? His all-consuming battle with criminals everywhere began with Crime Alley and hasn't stopped since.

In later years a miniseries called "The Untold Legend of the Batman" would show how Bruce's father was actually the first one to put on a Batman-type costume at a costume party just before they died, which Bruce would later say gave him the subconscious push for his own costume design.

In a very cool twist, the Flashpoint Batman series allowed Thomas Wayne to survive the mugging encounter, with young Bruce dying. In essence it gave us a new angle on the old Batman myth. Apparently, that moment in Crime Alley was destined to create a hero.

Superman

This guy wins the big prize because he lost not just one dad, but two! And not only that, but Pa Kent has died more times than Aunt May so Supes just keeps getting gut punched reboot after reboot!

Originally sent to Earth from Krypton by his biological father, Jor-El, Superman only later learned how his father had sacrificed his own life to save his son. Fortunately, the Kents found young Kal-El and he was assured a happy life forever.

Nope. Pa Kent has died in the comics, cartoons, Smallville and even the movies. No matter how many times he comes back, it seems the writers are determined this man must stay dead for Clark to carry on as a superhero.

Dick Grayson/Robin 1

A circus acrobat...what could be safer? Well, if the mob moves in on your circus, accidents can happen.

Dick and his parents made up the Flying Graysons, a trapeze act that was the hit of the circus. Unfortunately, one night the wires broke and Dick joined the ranks of superhero orphans. Robin was brought into the Batman comics because they were trying to reach a wider audience, and it actually worked. Soon every major hero seemed to take on a child sidekick (Captain America had Bucky, Captain Marvel had Captain Marvel Jr., Sandman had Sandy, etc).

Daredevil

Jack Murdock was a fighter who ended up on the wrong side of some gangsters by not throwing a fight. As a result, they killed him all kinds of dead while his blind son could do nothing to help him. Later on, Matt Murdock would put on the red spandex (or red leather if you saw the movie) and fight crime to avenge his dad's wrongful death.

While by no means a saint, Matt's father showed true character in his death, which is sort of an underlying theme throughout most of the fathers' deaths on here. There was some sort of selfless act that caused it.

Green Lantern

Hal Jordan's dad was a test pilot for Ferris. That meant he got to fly a lot of unstable planes because he was the best pilot there was. See the possibility of problems here?

His dad was a test pilot. Hal himself would grow up to be a test pilot...for the same company. Sounds a little crazy, I know, but it led to him being considered fearless enough for a green power ring when the time came for a new Green Lantern.

The death of Hal's father left a gaping hole in his life, and it motivated him to do some crazy stuff before he got the ring. Even after the ring, though, his father's legacy continued to push him to be a better man. Though we barely even saw the man, his "blaze of glory" moment reverberated through the DC universe for decades.

Plot Twists That Didn't Work - Fantastic Four #587

Last time we talked about a bad plot twist, it was a comic book from the 70's. This time we're going to look at one that's just a couple of months old, but it telegraphed the "twist" just the same.

When Marvel announced the imminent death of one of the members of the Fantastic Four, they put a lot into the marketing. They even went so far as to put the issues in a black poly-bag (not done since the "Death of Superman" issue) and told retailers they would not be publishing any extra copies of the issue. In other words, what didn't get ordered for a specific person wouldn't be coming out. It was a brave move meant to draw attention and sales to the comic series that had at one time been Marvel's flagship title and their first foray into a team book.

The stage seemed perfectly set to allow them the chance to really keep the reader guessing. All four members of the team were purposefully put in dire straits and there seemed no easy way out for any of them. Reed was facing Galactus alone, Sue was facing a sacrificial moment with Namor, while Johnny and a powerless Ben Grimm were facing hordes of enemies from the Negative Zone. Any of the four team members could have died and it would have made sense.

The problem came when Marvel decided to make this a big news event and invite the non-comics-related news sources into the party. The cat would be let out of the poly-bag too soon.

Unlike Marvel's decision to kill Captain America a few years back and get all the mileage out of it they could, this particular death was meant to be a surprise to the reader. They knew someone was going down, but not exactly who. Unfortunately for Marvel, some guy who probably never reads comics gets this story across his desk on a slow news day and decides to publish it. "Some guy named the Human Torch is getting killed in a comic book somewhere. Ok, whatever, print it."

The problem? The news broke the story the day before the comic book hit the retail stores! Suddenly all the secrecy and hush-hush marketing tactics were thrown out just 24 hours before the big reveal. Granted, in the age of the internet it's just about impossible to keep anything secret for long, but to have gone that long and have it spoiled was a bummer.

In a poll we ran here in the days leading up to the issue, our wise Comics in Crisis readers voted Johnny as most likely to be killed. It turns out you guys were right, but it was all just speculation until the issue itself came out...but then the news media got it.

In a desperate attempt at damage control, Marvel gave the unprecedented okay for retailers to sell the issue on Tuesday if they had it instead of waiting until Wednesday. Of course, the only way to find that out was to go into the comic shop on Tuesday instead of Wednesday (and who does that?), or to see it in the paper...in the same news story that told you who died in the book in the first place. Marvel got crushed by its own marketing machine.

So in the end, even though the Human Torch went out in a blaze of glory (Ha! Couldn't resist...sorry), the big moment itself fizzled out. Of course, his death was a useless act anyhow. The door was closing behind him already. All he had to do was fly up there, shoot a few fireballs to throw them off, and then just fly away and stay alive for a few days until Reed got back and got him out! Instead, he pulls this macho "me against the millions" routine and gets killed. Like a dog staring down a truck and saying, "I think I can take him", Storm got smashed like roadkill for no reason.

And in all honesty, who really believes Johnny Storm will stay dead? No comic book character ever stays dead, right?

Heroes and Villains of the Spectrum - Black

I don't know if it's because black goes with everything, or it looks tough, or what, but black is definitely the color choice for character names. Settle back and enjoy this extra-long list...

Black Bolt

This silent leader of the Inhumans and member of the Illuminati has been around since the 60's. His slightest whisper can obliterate mountains. And yet he doesn't shoot any kind of bolts, nor are any of his powers black. So where'd he get the name?

Relegated pretty much to guest-star status in most comics after a very brief dual-branded comic title in the 60's, Black Bolt led the Inhumans for years as they protected themselves from one attack after another. Even moving to the moon didn't save them.

In the recent "War of Kings" storyline, Black Bolt was killed. His wife, Medusa, now rules in his stead. You and I both know he's coming back at some point in the future though.  

Black Panther

This character made it onto one of my earlier lists as one of those pretty-much useless guys who can't carry a title for squat. Still, he deserves a place on the list. He was an Avenger, after all.

Formerly the ruling king of Wakanda, he now patrols Hell's Kitchen for Daredevil while Matt's off getting his mind straight. After that, he'll disappear again for a while until some other writer thinks, "Hey, who could we bring into this title so we can sell two or three extra copies?" 

Black Canary

The eternal girlfriend of Green Arrow, this lady is one tough woman. She's an expert hand-to-hand fighter, and even though she's no Black Bolt, when she screams at you, you know you've been screamed at!

Dinah took over the role of Black Canary from her mother. Her past is pretty much crazy to try and follow, and her relationship with Green Arrow is equally frustrating (she even made out with Batman in the "All Star Batman and Robin" series). For now though, she's been an active member of the Birds of Prey since their inception and even pops up on "Smallville" every once in a while.

Black Goliath

Seen here fighting the most fearsome of all Marvel villains, Stilt Man, Black Goliath was a character who never really took off in the 70's. 

He got his ability to grow from Hank Pym, and made a lot of guest appearances in the 70's in comics like The Champions and others. It wouldn't be until the 80's that he would get a necessary reboot and a new name (as Giant Man).

His death during the Civil War storyline was the catalyst for the support momentum turning to Captain America's team over Iron Man's. Now he's on his way back thanks to Hank Pym and Ant Man.

Black Lightning

Another 70's hero who never took off no matter how hard they tried, Jefferson Pierce finally found footing as a member of the Batman and the Outsiders. He stuck around for the whole run of the original title.

Much later, Pierce would become a member of President Luthor's cabinet and a trusted adviser. He considered himself undercover trying to help the heroes, but the position did lead him to a showdown with Batman and Superman in the "Public Enemies" storyline (and cartoon!). He lost.

Black Manta

Aquaman's arch-enemy and constant foil, this villain has resurfaced (ha! Get it?) recently thanks to his son becoming the new Aqualad.

Initially, he started out as the standard bad guy that Aquaman would have to face. When the 70's brought us the cartoon "The Challenge of the Superfriends", Manta managed to beat out Ocean Master to be the resident "water guy" for Lex Luthor's Legion of Doom.

As they do with all characters today, DC brought him back as a darker version of himself now, killing without remorse and out to destroy Aquaman (again) in Brightest Day.

Black Beetle 

This mysterious villain has been in and out of the Booster Gold comics for a long time. His identity and true motivations remain an enigma for now.

Initially, he presented himself as a hero from the future out to save Ted Kord by reuniting all the Blue Beetles, but that was just a lie. He fought the newest Blue Beetle and attempted to convince him that he was a future version of himself, but I highly doubt that. More likely he will probably be revealed as either some multiple universe version of Ted Kord or Dan Garrett (the first Blue Beetle).

Black Knight

Dane Whitman is the latest man to hold the title (after his uncle was a villain named "Black Knight"). He's had a pretty eventful life for a guy with no superpowers other than his ebony blade.

He was a member of the Avengers for years, holding many roles. Throughout their many cosmic adventures he was able to hold his own. Not as smart as Hank Pym (who is?), he is still a brilliant tactician and scientist. Just recently he joined MI-13 with Captain Britain.

Black Adam

This "black sheep" (ha! Get it!) of the Shazam family has a twisted history. He was a hero in ancient Egypt who became a villain...who became a member of the JSA before becoming a tyrannical ruler of his own nation again...then a bad guy...then a anti-hero...now, who knows?

He's been able to hold his own against Superman thanks to his magic-based abilities, but he has a mean streak that you wouldn't like to be around. This is the guy who started off the "52" maxi-series by ripping a guy in half (long before Sentry thought of doing that to Ares).

Black Hand

A pretty much obscure Green Lantern villain, Black Hand somehow became the key player in the "Blackest Night" miniseries. Geoff Johns was able to take a character who never really got much respect and turned him into a major hitter for a little while. The most interesting turn is where he is now in the stories (a Purple Lantern controlled by love...at least he is at the time I'm writing this).

He definitely wins as the most painful moment in the "Green Lantern:Rebirth" miniseries. While trying to steal a GL ring and being stopped by Green Arrow, Hal Jordan shows up as the Spectre to punish him for his sins. The punishment: his right hand is turned to coal and crumbles off so he becomes his name sake...a black hand. Ouch!

Honorable Mention: Obsidian

Another tragic hero-turned-villain, Obsidian is Jade's brother and the son of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern. He found his way to Infinity Inc with Jade, but eventually the dark side of his powers became too much for him to deal with.

After a brief stint as a villain, he's now pretty much an ambiguous figure in the DC world. He does have an awesome action figure out now though!


Next week, we look at the leftovers. We'll take a look at all the colors who just had a couple of guys in there and didn't warrant an entire list of their own. White, yellow, orange, purple, and the rest are waiting for their turn!

Heroes and Villains of the Spectrum - Green

Last week, we looked at the color red. We had a lot to choose from, but there aren't as many this time around. This week, let's look at some characters who choose to keep "Green" in their name...

Green Lantern (Alan Scott)

I suppose if I were to list all of the Green Lantern's out there we'd have a bit larger list, but we'll just stick with the two main ones for the purpose of this list. You might say I'm cheating, and I guess I might be a little.

Alan Scott became the first Green Lantern, with a strange weakness to wood that left him pretty vulnerable. He was a charter member of the JSA and due to several really weird occurrences was able to stay young pretty much forever.

Eventually he absorbed the power of the ring into himself and lost it altogether.

Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)

The latest hot DC property to headline a movie, there can be no doubt this character's popularity has dramatically increased thanks to Geoff Johns' dedication to him.

At one point in the 90's his title was on the brink of cancellation, but a villain turn to Parallax and the introduction of Kyle Rayner brought in a new bump in sales. Hal even died to save the universe in one final act of heroism. But it would forever be the "Rebirth" miniseries that began the upward trend. After years of teasing his return, Hal Jordan came back to the mainstream comics and has been selling strong ever since.

Green Arrow

Another "back from the dead" character (what is it about the color green that kills these guys?), Green Arrow hasn't had it easy lately. Aside from several seasons on "Smallville" and some of the most memorable episodes of "Justice League Unlimited", Oliver Queen has spent most of his time making one mistake after another. He and Black Canary have this love/hate relationship that may never really be ironed out. 

His most recent turn has left him living in a forest in the middle of Star City while fighting to get his company back. All of this after killing the villain who was responsible for his granddaughter Lian's death. No doubt things will turn around for him eventually though and he'll be back with Black Canary and with the JLA someday.

Green Hornet

It's might seem wrong to put him here, but he is a superhero and does have a comic book. Let's just ignore the profanity-laced movie that came out recently, the real Green Hornet was a hero who knew how to handle himself. Kato was the better fighter all along, but GH knew how to fight too when he needed to.

The old radio shows are the best, though the 60's television series comes in a close second. Seeing Bruce Lee tag  those bad guys always makes me happy. The Green Hornet actually had his own comic book in the 40's, at the same time his radio show was going on and a few movie serials came out. He's recently returned to comics thanks to Kevin Smith's script-turned-comic book and a few other series boosts.

Green Goblin

Guess what? This character died and came back! 

Norman Osborn became the Green Goblin and somehow was decided to become Spider-Man's iconic villain. I guess I can understand the fascination since he knew Spidey's secret identity and eventually killed his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy...but still, I'm not sure I'd have picked him as the constant villain for the character.

You can't fault the guy for trying though! He's been through everything and even became the head of SHIELD for a while, and still he keeps coming back. 

Green Lama

This character was one of the Project Superpowers heroes that Alex Ross has brought back to the limelight recently. I can't really say I'm in love with the name or even the costume, but he does deserve a place in our list. 


While his name might make you think his powers would involve spitting or something, instead he was a halfway decent crimefighter back in the early days of comic books. Ross has a slightly different turn for the character's costume and demeanor now, but you can still see where the inspiration came from.

Honorable Mention: Jade

No way, but yes, she came back from the dead too during the recent "Blackest Night" miniseries. The daughter of Alan Scott and one-time girlfriend of Kyle Rayner, Jade had the power of the Green Lantern inside of her.

Eventually she would become a casualty in the Rann Thanagar War, though her death was a lot shorter-lived than the others on this list.


Next week, we look at the characters who loved the color blue!

Characters That Need To Go

For some reason, a writer or editor can fall in love with a particular character and will do their best to keep them alive by bringing them into any series they can. No matter what they do, the hero just can't carry the momentum necessary for a full-time series and yet that stubborn editor or writer won't let them go, forcing readers to sit through their adventures while waiting for something much better to come along.

Here are some heroes who just can't carry a series and aren't interesting anymore, no matter how you dress them up...

The Black Panther

Ok, how many chances has this guy had? He's had his own series a number of times, and I even heard how it was award-winning and all that, but I honestly never met anyone who was reading it. In my local comic shop, that stack was never touched and eventually the owner stopped ordering the title altogether. We get it: he's a king and he's a bad dude...but he's a lousy superhero.

Truthfully, how many times has he saved the day for the Avengers by taking down some major villain? What makes him so unique that he should stand out above other acrobatic-only heroes like White Tiger, Daredevil, Nighthawk, or even Robin, for crying out loud?

Now he's taking over Hell's Kitchen for Daredevil while Matt's away getting his mind right. What's after that? Maybe they'll give him Captain America's shield while Bucky's in prison, or Spider-Man's web-shooters while Peter's swimming through the mire of his own title. Whatever it is, folks probably won't be interested.

Cyclops

Probably the worst team leader of all time, Cyclops lands here simply because he's the one X-Men who most deserves death and yet never dies. They kill Banshee, Thunderbird, Phoenix (a half dozen times) and yet this guy lives forever.

What leadership has he offered that makes him worthy of leading? If you answered "I don't know", then you're absolutely right!

The writers try every way possible to make him this noble leader, but he seems to always make bad decisions and/or take this tyrant approach. Not only that, but he's lost so many fights over the years it becomes impossible to take his threats seriously. They should give him a noble death and let the character move on.

Wonder Woman

Now this one may tick a few folks off, but let's be honest about it: since Gail Simone left there just hasn't been much steam in this book. DC has treated this character as one of their "Trinity" characters, but she hasn't really been a heavy hitter since the 70's. Batman has dozens of graphic novel collections, while Wonder Woman has only a handful because demand for her character has been so small.

Even her recent "revamp" at the hands of Jim Lee hasn't helped. Her wardrobe now comes straight out of the 90's Justice League looks (think Vibe, Gypsy, Black Canary, etc). But here's the thing: she has this massive potential to be a star but DC has no clue what to do with her. The JLA now has Supergirl, the JSA has Power Girl...I don't even think the Birds of Prey would let her in!

She's been rumored to have a movie in the works and a possible television series, but she just seems to have lost her star potential. Either put her back in the Justice League (possibly as leader), turn her into a super-villain (see how she'd really stand up against Superman), or just kill her off.

Blue Beetle

When Ted Kord died, it didn't take long for DC to immediately pass the mantle to a new character, with new powers and everything. They gave him his own series immediately and expected the best.

Now here we are, years later, and beyond a few guest shots on the "Brave and the Bold" cartoon he's pretty much proven himself unable to hold a title. Ted Kord got more page time last year (in the Booster Gold comic) than Reyes, and Ted's dead!

The interest really isn't there for this character. Again, a noble death for this character (perhaps saving the JLA or ironically at the hands of the newly-revived Maxwell Lord) might help his memory. It worked for Ted Kord!

The Replacements (part 2)

We talked about a few of them last week, now here are 5 more hero replacements to consider:

Ray Palmer replaced by Ryan Choi

When the stellar DC miniseries "Identity Crisis" ended, we saw Ray Palmer shrinking down to microscopic size and then disappearing. That was it! Was he dead? Where did he go? Well, for years he was gone and we were never going to find out where he went.

During that time, a college student stepped into his place and ran with the title for a while. Then Ray came back and the world wasn't big enough for 2 Atoms (ha! Get it?). Of all the hero deaths out there he definitely ended up getting the short end of the stick. We never even saw him killed! Instead, he was just quietly replaced.

I have to say that I fully supported DC bringing Ray Palmer back at the Atom. He had such a rich history that they could draw upon, while Ryan always seemed a lot like a whiner. I don't think killing him was necessary, but it did make for an interesting plot point.

Superman replaced by...a bunch of folks

Now this was the first one to really hit the stride and set the mark for major superhero deaths. The "Death of Superman" issue was shipped in a little polybag and I can still remember tearing through the issue of nothing but splash pages. And dude, was I let down by how quickly the fight was over (almost as quickly as it was on "Smallville").

Then the second wave of Supermen showed up. I personally was rooting for the "sunglasses Superman" (the Eradicator, we later found out) to be the real thing, but it wasn't to be. At any rate, it was pretty cool to see some new folks in the red-and-blues for a while. Even the news media knew this was just a temporary gimmick, but it was fun while it lasted, and it gave way to our next change...

Hal Jordan replaced by Kyle Raynor

At the end of the "Death and Return of Superman" storyline, Mongul destroyed Coast City with the help of the cyborg Superman. In the process, Hal Jordan lost the city he loved. This led to him losing his mind and becoming a bad guy, and then a dead guy, for years on end. Eventually, Geoff Johns, giver of all good things DC, brought him back.

But while he was gone, Green Lantern was replaced by a young artist who found himself the last GL out there. His ring was no longer crippled by yellow, and charging it wasn't necessary. It seemed a dream deal!

It didn't last forever, but Kyle did a good job and is still a major player in the DC universe. To be fair, I also need to mention that Hal was replaced earlier (for a short time) by John Stewart and Guy Gardner.

Thor replaced by the Thor clone

Did you think of this one? I was never a big fan of the Thor title so I'm not really sure why he disappeared or what happened to him, but I do know he was gone for a long time. During the "Civil War", we saw him return...so we thought. Instead, we got this unstable clone that ended up killing Giant Man (Bill Foster). That one move was a big surprise to the fans, and to myself, until it was explained away.

Eventually, that clone was destroyed at the hands of Hercules (and his infamous "Thou art no Thor!" rant). But he did show back up again later, only to be taken down by Thor himself.

The Question replaced by Renee Montoya

I can't think of another hero who got the shaft bigger than this one. They bring The Question into the DC universe for "52", turn him into this really cool character using the JLU cartoon series, and then decide to kill him off! Huh?

If you're going to take out a major character, don't make him cool just before you do it! I never really cared that much about the Question until "52"...and then you take him away!

Vic came back for a single issue during the "Blackest Night" run, but I still think they should have brought him back during "Brightest Day". He was a far more interesting character than Montoya.

Holy Moley! You mean there are more??? Yep, next week we finish out with looking at a final batch of replacements. Not even superheros have job security!

See you next year!