10 Comic Book Characters Who Retired (For Real)

Given the nature of comic books, their characters often seem eternal and timeless. And some are. Heroes like Batman have been fighting crime since 1939 and haven’t aged a day. Yet, there is also a long-running counter-story of superhero retirements in the comics. Many retirements are done for their shock value and rarely last. However, there have been a select few instances where characters decide to give up their superhero careers permanently. Sometimes, a character will age in real-time and relinquish their mantle once they’re too old. Other heroes will stop their heroic escapades due to the trauma they have endured on the job or simply want to pursue other dreams. 

Regardless of the reason, these are the characters from DC and Marvel who have chosen to hang up the cape and move on with their lives.

1) Black Canary

The original Black Canary, Dinah Drake Lance, has a complex and convoluted history marked by numerous retcons. As of now, Dinah’s current story is that in the 1940s, she was a superhero who fought crime as a member of the Justice Society. Dinah eventually settled down with a detective named Larry Lance, and the two had a daughter. Their daughter, Dinah Laurel Lance, followed in her mother’s footsteps and became the new Black Canary. The retired hero taught her daughter everything she knew about crime-fighting and hand-to-hand combat. Eventually, Dinah died from cancer, but was content knowing that her daughter grew up to be a kind and strong woman in her own right.

2) Captain America (Isaiah Bradley)

Before Sam Wilson, Isaiah Bradley was the first Black man to take on the role of Captain America. During World War II, the US government, inspired by the exploits of Steve Rogers, sought to create an army of super soldiers. However, the secret of the super soldier serum died with its creator, Dr. Erskine, after he was assassinated by a Nazi. In a desperate attempt to recreate the serum, the government used 300 Black men as guinea pigs. Isaiah Bradley was one of the lucky few to survive the process. After gaining superhuman strength and endurance, Isiah and the few other survivors were sent on a suicide mission in Germany. After all his teammates were killed, Isiah stole a Captain America costume and shield. He then fought the Nazis as the new Captain America. However, upon returning from the war, Isaiah was sentenced to life in prison for stealing the costume. Over 20 years later, President Kennedy pardoned Isaiah. The super soldier veteran then settled down and raised a family. Eventually, Isaiah’s grandson, Eli Bradley, became the superhero Patriot to honor his grandfather’s legacy.

3) Veil

Madeline Berry, aka Veil, never wanted to be a superhero and happily quit at her first opportunity. Madeline was one of several teenagers subjected to horrific experiments that triggered their recessive superpower genes. Madeline gained the ability to turn into mist. This power would eventually dissolve her body and kill her if she wasn’t careful. The Avengers took her and the other teenage test subjects and made them part of the Avengers Academy, where they could learn to use their powers for good. However, Madeline never really cared for fighting villainy and just wanted to be cured of her condition. Eventually, she got her wish when a superhuman entrepreneur named Jermey Briggs took away her powers. Now no longer living in fear of turning into a puff of smoke, Madeline returned to high school to fulfil her dream of becoming a typical teenager.

4) Hourman

A hero from DC’s Golden Age, Rex Tyler, aka Hourman, was a brilliant chemist who invented Miraclo. This performance-enhancing drug provides its users with enhanced strength, durability, and speed for one hour. Keeping the drug a secret, Rex became the superhero Hourman and was a founding member of the Justice Society of America. Rex had a long hero career until, during one fateful mission, his heart gave out and he nearly died. It turned out that Miraclo had severe side effects that Rex was unaware of, and further usage could kill him. Rex then retired and dedicated his life to biochemical advances. His son, Richard, eventually donned the Hourman mantle and took the Miraclo drug for himself, despite Rex’s protests.   

5) Blonde Phantom

Louise Grant-Mason, aka Blonde Phantom, was a Marvel Golden Age superhero who fought gangsters as a vigilante detective. Louise started as a secretary for a private eye named Mark Mason. Inspired by his adventurous life, Louise became a masked hero who used her skills of deduction (and a handgun) to fight crime. She served as a member of Nick Fury’s covert Avengers team in 1959 to fight Nazis who escaped the War. Louise eventually retired the mask. She married her hero Mark and became a loving housewife, content with leaving her heroic escapades behind.

6) Green Lantern (Katma Tui)

Hailing from the planet Korugar, Green Lantern of Sector 1417 Katma Tui was a renowned member of the Corps. She became the replacement for the corrupted former Green Lantern Thaal Sinestro. Donning the Green Lantern mantle, she fought to restore the Green Lantern Corps’ tarnished reputation among her people. Katma became the mentor and eventual wife of Green Lantern John Stewart. Unlike other characters on this list, Katma was forced into retirement. When the Green Lantern Corps executed Sinestro, a failsafe was triggered in the power rings that caused most Green Lanterns to lose their powers. Katma and John were among those affected, and the two retired. However, Katma had a tragic end. Instead of enjoying a well-earned retirement, Katma was murdered by Star Sapphire. 

7) Starman (Jack Knight)

The son of the Golden Age Ted Knight, the original Starman, Jack had no interest in becoming a superhero like his father. He felt that Ted wasted his life fighting crime when no real positive change seemed to come from it. Instead, Jack’s brother, David, became the new Starman and harnessed the Cosmic Rod, which originally belonged to their father and gave him his superpowers. However, after David is killed by a supervillain, Jack took up the Cosmic Rod to honor his brother’s legacy. Jack acted as a hero for several years until his girlfriend, Sadie, gave birth to his child. Not wanting to put superhero antics over family, Jack abandoned the Starman mantle to be a father. Jack also passed the Cosmic Rod to Courtney Whitmore, aka Stargirl.

8) Miss America

Madeline “Maddy” Joyce, aka Miss America, was a Golden Age superhero from Marvel Comics. After a freak lab accident gave her superpowers, Maddy became the star-spangled heroine who fought the Axis Powers. She joined several World War II superhero teams, including the Liberty Legion and the Invaders. Even after the war ended, Maddy fought crime as a member of the All-Winners Squad. She eventually fell in love with one of her teammates, the speedster Bob Frank, aka the Whizzer. The two married and retired together. Their first child, Robert Jr., was born a mutant with the power to emit high levels of radiation. The government took Robert Jr. in to contain his powers, and 25 years of isolation turned him into the simple-minded and unstable villain Nuklo.  

9) Nite Owl and Silk Spectre

Dan Drieberg, aka Nite Owl, and Laurie Juspeczyk, aka Silk Spectre, were superheroes who operated during the 1960s and 1970s as members of the Watchmen. However, they were forced to retire in 1977 when the Keene Act made costumed vigilantes illegal. Years later, Dan and Laurie reunited and began a relationship. The two retired heroes donned their costumes to investigate the murder of their former teammate, the Comedian. The heroes, along with the rest of the Watchmen, discover that the killer is their former teammate, Ozymandias. He killed the Comedian so that he could cover up his plan to destroy half of New York with a genetically designed monster squid, thereby bringing the warring nations of the world together to fight a common enemy. After failing to stop Ozymandias’ plan, Dan and Laurie decide to keep his secret to preserve the peace. The two heroes then hang up their costumes once again and live the rest of their lives as a suburban married couple.

10) Nick Fury

For decades, Nick Fury has been one of the most memorable characters in Marvel Comics, He is known for his roles as the leader of the Howling Commandos and as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. However, Nick became worn out after having been fighting evil since the beginning of World War II and, as a leader, having to have made countless morally grey decisions that cost countless people their lives. Eventually, his son, Nick Jr., took over his father’s operations as the new leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. The father-son duo teamed up to defeat the supervillain S.C.O.R.P.I.O., who planned to use the all-powerful Zodiac Key to kill Nick Fury Sr. After beating the villain together, Nick Sr. decides to keep the Zodiac Key safe by using its power to travel the Multiverse. He hugged his son goodbye and left Earth-616 behind to go on a Multiversal retirement vacation. But even having retired as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick plans to still help people in need across the Multiverse.

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