Warning: spoilers ahead for Savage Dragon #225, on sale now
Videos by ComicBook.com
Is Dragon, the longtime lead in Savage Dragon, really dead following the events of Savage Dragon #225?
Well, series creator Erik Larsen is not the kind of guy to give away long-term plans — usually — so he’s unlikely to make a definitive statement one way or the other. What we can say for sure is that based on a 2011 podcast interview, it certainly appears that way.
“A fairly memorable scene in the series was the ‘Talk With God’ story, and in that, Dragon talks a short bit about how he would come up with his own afterlife,” Larsen explained to me in 2011 for an episode of Comic Related’s Related Recap, which is no longer available online. “He said something about having his afterlife be surrounded by a bevy of leggy supermodels or something like that, so the ending that I was [considering] was if we cut to basically Heaven and Dragon walking up through the clouds and up this mountain and goes to this huge gate, and he pushes past the gate and it opens up and we walk inside with him, and turn the page and there’s a group of leggy supermodels standing there — and you just end it with a close-up on Dragon and a big shit-eating grin. End scene, right there. I think for an older reader who’d been reading the book forever, you would go ‘Oh, good God yes, he is really dead.’”
As you can see in the video above, that is almost exactly what happened in Savage Dragon #225, which came out yesterday.
In the issue, Dragon briefly gets his powers back before dying, taking down his longtime foe Darklord as his final act of heroism.
Savage Dragon has not featured Dragon as the lead since around issue #150. In the time since, his son Malcolm has taken the lead, with Dragon serving in a supporting role. Speaking with fans on Facebook last night, Larsen said that closing the book on Dragon needed to happen.
“It felt like the right time. He died for me a bit with #150,” Larsen admitted. “Even though that was always intended to be a fake out–part of me felt like I was over him and that I’d mentally checked out. After that it’s always felt like he was in the way. I’d moved on. The whole purpose of the book is for it to change and grow. It was created to be generational. Once Malcolm was old enough to take over it just felt like Dragon was taking up space. I know the audience never felt that way (for the most part) but that’s where my head was at.”
In that same 2011 interview, Larsen mused about whether Malcolm himself would be a father “in ten years” — something that the character managed in just six years, with his three kids being a major part of the book in 2017.
You can get a copy of Savage Dragon #225 at most comic book retailers today. If you can’t, or prefer digital, you can pre-order it here.
In “The Merging of Multiple Earths,” Savage Dragon boasts a giant-sized 25th anniversary special that fans won’t want to miss out on. The Dragon is restored to his former glory as he bulks up to take on Darklord in a final battle! Mr. Glum’s devious plot to merge the multiverse comes to its cataclysmic conclusion! Savage Dragon and Malcolm Dragon join forces to save Angel Murphy and the very Earth itself!
Savage Dragon #225 will be available on Wednesday, July 26th. The final order cut-off from comics retailers will be Monday, July 3rd.
SAVAGE DRAGON #225 Cover A by Larsen, Diamond Code APR170688
SAVAGE DRAGON #225 Cover B by Frank Fosco, Diamond Code APR170689
SAVAGE DRAGON #225 Cover C by Larsen, Diamond Code APR170690
SAVAGE DRAGON #225 Cover C (XXX, $11.99) by Rafael Krás, Diamond Code MAY178162
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