Comic book death
With the demise of Captain America a fading memory in the real world and an ongoing controversy in the comic book world - remember, time is slower when your entertainment comes but once a month - it’s a good time to examine a key question:
How important is comic book death?
In the grand scheme of things, of course, the death of a comic book character is no more important than a character’s death in a movie or television show, but that doesn’t mean it can’t impact popular culture.
When a major character or significant supporting character dies, this affects several things: storylines, the development of other characters and iconic status.
The easiest example could be Uncle Ben. Spider-Man’s loving caretaker died in Spider-Man’s first appearance. That could have been the end of that, but a year has not gone by without at least one mention of the old geezer in Spider-Man comics, not to mention his prominent roles in television and film adaptations.
What’s more, it was Ben’s death that pushed Spider-Man to become a hero, and it was the moment of Spider-Man’s realization that has become so iconic, not just for Spidey, but for every hero made in his mold.
Not all deaths are noticed however. There was no media attention for the Flash, who disappeared last year, but then, he was the third Scarlet Speedster, and another has already taken his place.
Of course, the cliché will tell you, nothing in comic books lasts forever.
Like soap operas, dead characters in comics often get better.
Whether they will be brought back depends on a few factors: popularity, storylines and faulty memories.
Superman is perhaps the best known example of a resurrected hero. His 1993 death garnered worldwide media attention, but a year later, Big Blue was back in action.
His death couldn’t have been permanent, as he is too iconic of a property on his own to stay dead, but the death itself lead to numerous stories dealing with death and loss, and ultimately with the introduction of new heroes to follow in his footsteps.
Other characters are brought back to life for a story reasons.
Captain America’s World War II partner Bucky was declared dead in 1964 and was famously one of few characters who were thought never to be resurrected, but he returned through a critically acclaimed story in his old partner’s comic book, and is now a central character in the mourning process.
Other unreturnables, including the second Robin and the Green Goblin, have recently shown up very much alive. Uncle Ben, while still dead, did have an alternate reality double appear recently, but that’s neither here nor there.
Then there are characters who return to life because no one realized they were dead. This happens most often with villains who must have a heck of a time getting life insurance.
Still, returning to life is rarely as easy as having your wife wake up and find you in the shower. The Green Lantern died, more or less, in 1994, but came back several times before officially rejoining the land of the living in 2004.
What I’m getting at here is, yes Captain America is dead, but a new one will take his place, and at some point down the line, the original Captain America will no doubt return.
That doesn’t make his death any less relevant. He’s only a comic book character after all.
