In April, Marvel Comics is launching its next event called “Avengers VS X-Men” and promises many character deaths and resurrections, such as Thor and Captain Marvel. However, in recent years, death has become a meaningless plot point to sell comic books.
Many comic book creators and fans view comics as epic yarns spun as modern day myths that provide lessons on morality and make comparisons to social issues, such as drug addiction or the Patriot Act.
For a long time, many in the industry lived by the motto that “dead means dead” when dealing with the death of a character in the significant storylines because its effect taught the superhero a lesson. For decades, many considered the deaths of Captain America’s sidekick Bucky, Batman’s second Robin, Jason Todd and Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben as sacred and irreversible for fear it would take away the impact on the character.
Unfortunately, many recent notable deaths typically last for less than a year, or until the next feature film comes out, since Superman, Batman and Captain America dead in the comics would be bad for film property. The motivations behind these decisions are financially fueled to get fans into the comic book store and picking up more than one copy. Nevertheless, it cheapens a noble sacrifice and makes the impactful storyline meaningless without any repercussions.
However, not all comic books fall into these traps. Independently owned comics such as Image’s “The Walking Dead” and Vertigo’s “Y: The Last Man” manage to make deaths meaningful storytelling devices, as they explore the loss of human life through thoughtful examination of the human experience, for example the loss of Rick Grimes’ wife Lori in “The Walking Dead.” And, that’s what mainstream comics are missing—enduring consequences.
Comic book companies that regard death as a lasting condition are highly doubtful since killing of Wonder Woman and Iron Man is not profitable. Until then, many fans can rejoice that these legends remain with us for a long time.