In putting together this list, I rated the death using three basic criteria: the importance of the character to the universe, the way in which the character was killed, and the impact of the character’s death. These factors were based on a zero through five point scale. The only other rule was that to be considered, the character (the time of publication of this blog) had to still be dead with little to no chance of coming back.
So yeah, that means no Spiderman, no Jean Gray (because lets face it even though she’s dead right now, we know the bitch will be back in another couple of years), and no Superman. In fact, apparently DC can’t completely kill in anyone that is even sort of important. They even brought Jason Todd (the Robin that America voted to death) back to life. Seriously? I mean, I know it isn’t any kind of rarity for a superhero or super villain to spontaneously awake from a dirt nap, but unless you count the Crisis stuff where DC skimmed off a few useless characters, DC can’t keep anyone dead. It’s like they’re burying everyone in the Pet Cemetery. Hell, they can’t even kill anyone’s girlfriend or dad or second cousin twice removed. Trust me. I tired to give the kids over at DC a fair chance, but frankly, there just wasn’t anything to work with.
5. Namorita
So yeah, that means no Spiderman, no Jean Gray (because lets face it even though she’s dead right now, we know the bitch will be back in another couple of years), and no Superman. In fact, apparently DC can’t completely kill in anyone that is even sort of important. They even brought Jason Todd (the Robin that America voted to death) back to life. Seriously? I mean, I know it isn’t any kind of rarity for a superhero or super villain to spontaneously awake from a dirt nap, but unless you count the Crisis stuff where DC skimmed off a few useless characters, DC can’t keep anyone dead. It’s like they’re burying everyone in the Pet Cemetery. Hell, they can’t even kill anyone’s girlfriend or dad or second cousin twice removed. Trust me. I tired to give the kids over at DC a fair chance, but frankly, there just wasn’t anything to work with.
5. Namorita
Death in: Civil War #1 Marvel
Importance: 0
Method Killed: 4
Impact: 5
Cause of death: Trying to fight a guy who could spontaneously combust.
Yeah, she was just a boring secondary character that no one, with the except of her annoying monarch cousin, gave a crap about, but when Nitro exploded killing her, most of her idiotic team, and elementary school full of children all on national TV, it caused a bit of a stir. A stir like when Beauregard led troops into Fort Sumter.
4. Bluebeard
Death in: Fables #16 Vertigo
Importance: 3
Method Killed: 3
Impact: 3
Cause of death: Sword fight with Prince Charming.
Okay. I had a hard time ranking this one. I know that the Fables Universe is a small one and that his death didn’t start as crazy of a story arc or anything, but he was just so much cooler than Namorita. Plus, I felt sort of bad about all of the DC bashing and I thought that I’d give them a few props, sorta. Anyhow, his death did lead to King Cole being ousted as Mayor of Fabletown, and the election was kind of like a civil war… Okay he may not really deserve to be in this slot, but he was so fucking much cooler than Namorita.
3. The Mutant Bus Kids
Deaths in: New X-Men #23 Marvel
Importance: 2
Method Killed: 5
Impact: 3
Cause of death: Religious zealot blew the fuck out of a school bus.
They weren’t individually important characters. They didn’t have any powers. But when the Jerry Falwell of the Marvel Universe goes crazy and blows up a bus full of depowered mutant school children, you can’t deny that at least some part of that kind of makes you think. Plus, it gave the military and even bigger reason to keep the 198 locked down for their “protection.”
2. Uncle Ben and Gwen Stacy
Deaths in: Amazing Fantasy #15 and Amazing Spiderman #121 (respectively) Marvel
Importance: 2
Method Killed: 5
Impact: 5
Causes of deaths: Shot by the burglar that Peter Parker let get away (Uncle Ben) and a snapped neck caused by an attempt to catch her after the Green Goblin threw her from the George Washington Bridge.
I cheated and combined these two because I couldn’t decide who was the most important and I didn’t want to waste space listing them both separately. In my opinion they are killed in quite possibly the most disturbing manor of deaths in comic history (with the possible except of when the Punisher shoots Micro in the face). Seriously, imagine that you’re Peter Parker. You didn’t stop a robber and he killed your father figure, so you decide to become a superhero. But your best friend’s crazy dad doesn’t like the idea that you’re a superhero, so he kidnaps your girlfriend and tosses her off the GW Bridge. You catch in your web and think that you saved her only to find that you probably snapped her neck. No wonder the guy talks to himself.
1. Captain America
Death in: Captain America #25 Marvel
Importance: 5
Method Killed: 4
Impact: 5
Cause of death: Assassination
I don’t think that I need to explain this one. It was sad. It was an amazing story. If Marvel doesn’t let Steve Rogers rest in peace, I may have to try and find some kind of redeeming quality in the JLA.
Death in: Captain America #25 Marvel
Importance: 5
Method Killed: 4
Impact: 5
Cause of death: Assassination
I don’t think that I need to explain this one. It was sad. It was an amazing story. If Marvel doesn’t let Steve Rogers rest in peace, I may have to try and find some kind of redeeming quality in the JLA.
Avengers Assemble.
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