7 Superheroes That Have Died the Most (& 1 Doesn’t Even Have Superpowers)

Superheroes constantly put their lives on the line to protect the innocent from numerous threats. Such determination has led to many heroes falling in battle. However, for comic book characters, death is like a common cold; you get it, but you’re right as rain within a few days. Unless you’re someone like Uncle Ben, chances are that you’ll come back from the dead. Amongst the heroes of DC and Marvel, there are a few heroes that writers seem to love killing repeatedly. While it can be challenging to determine an exact number of deaths for these characters due to fake-outs and retcons, there is still no doubt that they’ve reached double and even triple-digit numbers. Regardless of the exact number, these characters have bitten the dust more than anyone else in the superhero community.

From cloning to reincarnation, there are many tried and true methods of resurrection of these beloved heroes. However, when the restoration of a character back to life becomes so available, it also means that writers are willing to experiment with more ways that they can kill these heroes.

7) Jean Grey

It’s a long-running joke among fans that Jean Grey is constantly getting killed off. However, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, Jean is always reborn. Despite her many apparent deaths, the exact number of times Jean has actually died is hard to pin down. There have been many instances of Jean having fake-out deaths in the comics. Still, Jean has had numerous confirmed deaths over the years in a variety of ways. She’s been incinerated, torn apart by Sentinels, had a stroke, and has been stabbed by Wolverine at least seven times. As of now, Jean has died at least 13 times. However, given her propensity for dying and for reincarnation, it probably won’t be long before she dies yet again.

6) Spider-Man

Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, is infamous for his “Parker Luck,” where he constantly finds himself the victim of great misfortune. This pattern of bad luck has caused Peter to die over a dozen times at the hands of a variety of sadistic supervillains, including Doctor Doom, Terraxia, Morlun, Kindred, and Cytorrak. There have been not one, but two story arcs where Peter experiences death and rebirth in rapid succession: “Last Remains” and “Eight Deaths of Spider-Man.” In “Last Remains,” the villain Kindred uses his necromancy powers to kill and resurrect Peter six times in rapid succession. And in “Eight Deaths of Spider-Man,” the wallcrawler is given a magical suit that gives him eight extra lives, which he quickly blows through when fighting the eldritch entity Cytorrak. Adding in his deaths alongside those of Doctor Doom, Terraxia, and Morlun, Peter has died at least 17 times to date.

5) Batman

Since Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, is just a regular human, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that he’s died in the line of duty. For the most part, Bruce has done a good job of avoiding death, but there have been times when he couldn’t outpace the reaper. One of the most infamous examples is when the Joker obtained the god-like power of the 5th-dimensional imp Mr. Mxyzptlk. With the power to bend reality to his will, the Joker turns the universe and Bruce into his personal playthings. The Joker tortured and murdered Bruce by feeding him to a flock of ravenous vultures, before resurrecting him the next day. Bruce went through this torturous cycle dozens of times before Superman eventually managed to defeat the Joker and make the villain lose his god-like power.

4) Scarlet Spider

Ben Reilly, aka the Scarlet Spider, is a clone of Spider-Man, created by the villain known as the Jackal. During his introductory story arc, the “Clone Saga,” Ben believed himself to be the original Peter Parker. However, that belief was proven false when, after the Green Goblin’s glider impaled him, the hero rapidly decomposed, thus proving that he was always the clone. Since then, Ben has been cloned back to life over 30 times thanks to the Jackal. The constant cycle of death and resurrection eventually broke Ben’s mind, and he became the villain Chasm. Death even told Ben that he held the record for most resurrections in the universe. However, there is one Marvel character that actually beats Ben’s record.

3) Mr. Immortal

Marvel’s Craig Hollis, aka Mr. Immortal, as his name suggests, is cursed with eternal life. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t be killed. Whenever he dies, he comes back to life. Craig was born as the first and only member of a new subspecies of human: Homo Supreme. This classification implies that Craig represents the final stage of human evolution. Unfortunately, he still feels pain, and his resurrection ability is his only superpower. The founder of the Great Lakes Avengers team, Craig, has died innumerable times. He’s been stabbed, blown up, riddled with bullets, squashed, drowned, burned alive, and more. No matter how much damage his body takes, he’ll always come back as good as new. If this nightmarish existence wasn’t bad enough, it has been confirmed that since Craig can’t age, he will be doomed to live to see the end of time itself.

2) Hawkman and Hawkgirl

The DC heroes Hawkman and Hawkgirl have been trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth for thousands of years. Long ago, in ancient Egypt, the Prince Kufu and his lover Chay-Ara were murdered by the high-priest Hath-Set. The priest used a blade forged from the alien Nth-Metal. The metal cursed Hath-Set, along with the prince and princess, to an eternity of reincarnation. Hawkman and Hawkgirl are the reincarnations of the prince and princess, having been reborn countless times. Whenever the lovers are reunited in a new life, they are always tragically slain by the reincarnation of Hath-Set. Hopefully, one day, the two can find a way to finally end the cycle once and for all so that they may rest in peace.

1) Resurrection Man

With a moniker like “Resurrection Man,” it should come as no surprise that Mitch Shelley is the superhero who has died the most. Mitch dies at least once or twice in every issue he appears, leading to countless resurrections. Additionally, every time he dies and comes back, he acquires a new ability derived from the manner by which he died. For example, when he died in a gas explosion, he is resurrected with pyrokinesis powers. However, whenever he revives, he loses whatever previous ability he had before death.

Through this cycle, Mitch has acquired the powers of flight, energy projection, shapeshifting, super-speed, telekinesis, and more. Mitch first obtained these incredible powers when he was used as a lab rat for an experimental nanotechnology. The microscopic machines can repair any damage Mitch sustains before reviving him and giving him a new ability. For Mitch, death is practically an everyday occurrence.

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