7 DC Comics Deaths That Actually Meant Something

Comic book deaths often mean nothing since no one stays dead, but DC Comics had a few big storyline deaths that actually had major ramifications for the DC Universe as a whole and meant something in the end. For many years, deaths in DC Comics were rare since the company was not quite as serious as it would become in the 1980s. However, starting in the 80s, DC began to offer more important deaths, and when it happened to heroes, it often led to shocking moments, increasing sales, and offering talking points for fans everywhere. Now, deaths happen all the time, and DC K.O. specializes in killing major heroes as part of the storyline.

Here is a look at seven of the DC Comics deaths that actually meant something, whether as a groundbreaking moment or as something that changed DC completely.

7) Maxwell Lord

This story all started with another shocking death when Maxwell Lord betrayed one of his closest friends, Ted Kord, the original Blue Beetle. Max shot Blue Beetle in the head, killing one of DC’s original heroes. This meant something because it sent Lord on a reign of terror where he tried to bring down all superheroes, and this included mind-controlling Superman and using him as a weapon of mass destruction.

Wonder Woman finally got her hands on Lord as Superman was trying to kill Batman. She used her Lasso of Truth, and Lord said he would never stop, and nothing could make him stop, except death. At that moment, Wonder Woman snapped his neck and killed Lord instantly. Having one of DC’s three most important heroes murder a man in cold blood was shocking, and it destroyed the Trinity heading into Infinite Crisis. Plus, it changed what fans knew about Wonder Woman for years.

6) Sue Dibney

One of the most controversial DC Comics storylines was Identity Crisis, which was a small personal storyline that fractured the entire Justice League. This started with one of the most shocking and unexpected deaths in DC when someone murdered Sue Dibney, the Elongated Man’s wife. The storyline then played out the mystery of who killed her and why it happened.

The controversial parts of the story had to do with the red herring that Doctor Light killed her and that he had sexually assaulted her years earlier, which caused the Justice League to neuter him by messing with his mind and then mind-wiping Batman. After this, Batman no longer trusted the Justice League. It all started with Sue’s unexpected death.

5) Jason Todd

Jason Todd didn’t stay dead, but when he died, it was one of DC Comics’ biggest moments at the time. That is because DC allowed fans to vote on whether Jason Todd’s Robin lived or died. The votes came in, and fans voted for Jason to die, although there is a controversy surrounding whether it was a fair vote or if someone game the system.

What happened was that Joker killed Jason by using the young man’s mother, whom he had only reconnected with. Jason Todd was only a teenager, and having Joker beat the teen almost to death and then blowing up the building with him in it, only for Batman to find the dead body, was horrifying. Jason returned as Red Hood years later, but because fans voted to kill him off, it was one of DC’s most controversial moments.

4) Superman

The Death of Superman was the most successful and best-selling DC comic book story of all time. Once DC realized how many books they could sell, and how much media attention they could get by killing Robin, they took it to the extreme next. If the mainstream media covered Robin’s death, imagine what could happen if they killed their greatest hero, Superman.

This story saw an alien from Krypton, called Doomsday, show up on Earth, and he was the most powerful villain Superman had ever faced. He was engineered to be unbeatable, as he was killed and resurrected over and over again, and his programming was made so he could never die by the same means twice. He then attacked and fought Superman in the streets until the end of the fight, when they beat each other to death. It was shocking and sold over six million copies.

3) The Green Lantern

Green Lantern has been around for decades. While Alan Moore was the Golden Age Lantern, Hal Jordan was the Silver Age Lantern, which is why he is the most prominent hero in that role for an entire generation of comic book fans. This made the Parallax storyline so distressing since it took one of DC’s most honorable heroes and had him turn evil and become the deadliest villain in the universe.

This was shocking, but what was even more surprising was how Hal’s story ended. In The Final Night in 1996, the Earth was going to die because the sun was going out. After being evil for so long, Hal regained control from Parallax and sacrificed himself to save Earth by flying himself into the Sun-Eater to destroy it and save the sun, before becoming the Spectre. Hal was then gone for years, and Kyle Rayner and John Stewart replaced him as the main Green Lantern.

2) The Flash

The Flash was another Silver Age hero, and he was one of the first superheroes to debut in the new DC Universe when the company began its new era of comics. This was Barry Allen, and he was one of DC’s most respected and beloved heroes for three decades before the Crisis on Infinite Earths event. This saw the Anti-Monitor planning to destroy the Multiverse.

Supergirl had already died, and even with multiple Supermen, no one could beat Anti-Monitor. However, Flash finally stepped up and was able to help take down this unstoppable villain. Using his super speed, Flash sacrificed himself to destroy the antimatter cannon, which saved the Multiverse, and then the Golden Age Superman finished off the Anti-Monitor. Flash stayed dead for well over a decade, and Wally West replaced him in the role.

1) Thomas & Martha Wayne

In Marvel Comics, Uncle Ben’s death led Spider-Man to become a great hero. In DC Comics, it was Thomas and Martha’s deaths that led Bruce Wayne to become Batman when he grew up. If Thomas and Martha hadn’t died, there would be no Batman today, and there is a good chance Gotham City would be overrun with villains and no hero to fight them.

Even more distressing, as Flashpoint showed, if Bruce died instead, Thomas would be a violent Batman and Martha a crazed Joker. This makes Thomas and Martha Wayne’s death the most important in all of DC Comics, next to maybe only the destruction of Krypton, when it comes to deaths that changed DC forever.

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7 Marvel Comics Deaths That Actually Meant Something