7 Supervillains Who Have Stayed Dead

Everyone knows that death is practically meaningless in DC and Marvel Comics, where people can just come back to life even after the most gruesome of demises. It can be hard for fans to feel any real impact when these characters die repeatedly only to return with no sense of consequences. This trend is especially true for villains, who, no matter how many times they are executed for their crimes, always return to wreak havoc on the world. Death it seems for supervillains is as secure as the walls of Arkham Asylum. However, the luck of these villains sometimes runs out, and they stay buried for good.

The life of a supervillain isn’t easy, and sometimes you’ll end up dead. Many of these villains died to pave the way for brand-new faces to replace them and take their mantles for themselves. These are the villains who, along with their criminal careers, came to a permanent end with a true expiry date and are unlikely to return.

7) Killer Frost

Crystal Frost was the first woman to go by the Killer Frost moniker and was one of Firestorm’s main enemies. After being locked in a thermafrost chamber, Crystal emerged with the power to generate ice and to grow stronger by draining heat from her surroundings and other people. Although her new power set made her incredibly dangerous, it was also killing her. Eventually, the adverse effects of her abilities caused Crystal to age rapidly. In a final ditch effort to survive, she tried to absorb Firestorm’s nuclear energy. However, the energy proved to be too much for Crystal, and she was atomized. Since Crystal died in 1984, several other women have taken on the role of Killer Frost, including Louise Lincoln and Caitlyn Snow.

6) Melter

One of Iron Man’s earliest adversaries, Bruno Horgan, aka the Melter, possessed a beam capable of liquifying any material it touched. Despite this terrifying ability and his status as a founding member of the Masters of Evil, Bruno was treated like a C-List supervillain. And even that role ended for Bruno. He met a brutal end while planning his next scheme to take down Iron Man. Bruno was shot by the ruthless assassin Scourge with an explosive bullet as part of his crusade to wipe out all supervillains. Many people have taken up the Melter mantle since then, but Bruno himself has never returned after his murder in 1985.

5) Ravager

The eldest son of Deathstroke, Grant Wilson, aka Ravager, followed in the footsteps of his father and became a ruthless mercenary. Grant took a job for the supervillain organization known as the H.I.V.E., who employed him to destroy the Teen Titans. To give him a chance against the Teen Titans, H.I.V.E. made Grant stronger through genetic modifications. However, these modifications became his undoing. Grant’s heart simply gave out while fighting the Teen Titans. It was Grant’s death in 1980 that led to Deathstroke swearing vengeance against the Teen Titans and caused him to become their archenemy. Grant was succeeded by his younger sister, Rose, but unlike her brother, she went on to become a hero and member of the Teen Titans.

4) Black Knight

The first and third men to don Marvel’s Black Knight mantle were heroes, but the second, Nathan Garrett, was a notorious supervillain. Because he was unworthy, Nathan couldn’t wield the mystical Ebony Blade. In reaction to his failure and confirming his unworthiness, Nathan became a supervillain, donning a suit of armor, arming himself with a laser-firing lance, and mounting a winged horse. Nathan was a founding member of the Masters of Evil. In 1966, Nathan suffered from life-threatening wounds from a battle with Iron Man. Nathan decided to repent on his deathbed and asked his nephew, Dane Whitman, to take up the Black Knight mantle and to use it for good. Dane obliged and became a hero and wielder of the Ebony Blade. Nathan remained defunct.

3) Cheetah

Several women have donned the Cheetah mantle to be Wonder Woman’s archnemesis. The very first Cheetah was Priscilla Rich. She was a wealthy woman who became literally insane with jealousy after meeting the more popular Wonder Woman. Priscilla developed an evil split personality and donned a Cheetah costume so that she could kill the heroine. Unlike later Cheetahs, Priscilla had no powers. Instead, she relied on her cunning, athletic ability, and her suit’s sharp claws to fight Wonder Woman. Eventually, in 2005, Priscilla was killed by the third Cheetah, Barbara Minerva, to prove herself to be the superior Cheetah. Not only that, but both the New 52 and Rebirth reboots completely retconned Priscilla’s entire existence, making it so that Barbara was the one and only Cheetah.

2) Iron Monger

Obidiah Stane, aka Iron Monger, was one of Iron Man’s deadliest enemies. He had the brains, wealth, and armor to match and even surpass Marvel’s Armored Avenger. A ruthless businessman, Obidiah sought to destroy Iron Man and take Stark Enterprises for himself. Through masterful manipulations, Obidiah managed to cause Iron Man to relapse into alcoholism and become homeless. However, Iron Man eventually recovered, and Obidiah tried to kill the hero with the Iron Monger armor. When Iron Man defeated Obidiah, the villain couldn’t stand the thought of losing, so he killed himself. Although he died in 1985, Obidiah’s vendetta against Iron Man would live on through his equally ruthless son, Ezikiel, who would take on his father’s mantle of the Iron Monger.

1) Baron Zemo

Baron Heinrich Zemo was a Nazi supervillain who fought Captain America during World War II. He’s the reason that Captain America became trapped in ice and Bucky became the Winter Soldier. Captain America and Bucky climbed on board a drone that Zemo had launched. However, the drone detonated. As a result, Captain America fell into the icy water and Bucky lost his arm and was abducted by the Russians. When Captain America was unfrozen decades later, Zemo was still alive because his exposure to Adhesive X slowed his aging. In 1965, Zemo assembled the first Masters of Evil to destroy Captain America and the Avengers. During the fight, Zemo perished when an avalanche buried him in rock. He would be succeeded by his son, Baron Helmut Zemo.

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10 Superheroes Who Have Stayed Dead