By now, comic book fans (and readers of the New York Post) have heard the news that Damian Wayne, son of Bruce and the current Robin, dies in the pages of Batman Incorporated #8, which hits shelves today. While the death of a superhero is nothing new to comics (this is actually not the first time a Robin has been killed), it’s still a pretty big deal for DC Comics and will certainly have a lasting effect within the Batman storyline, not to mention a brisk spike in sales for the publisher.
Here are ten other memorable superhero deaths from over the years.
10. Ted Kord, Blue Beetle – Countdown to Infinite Crisis (2005, DC Comics)
In the lead up to DC Comics’s Infinite Crisis event in 2005, former Justice League member Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle, single-handedly unravels a plot by the psychic (and psychotic) Maxwell Lord to initiate one of Batman’s doomsday protocols in which a swarm of invincible robots called Omacs are released upon the world. Ted confronts Max, only to be shot and killed, but not before gritting his teeth and telling Max to “Rot in Hell.” Unlike many of the other entries on this list, Kord has not come back and has only been seen briefly in flashbacks.
9. Bruce Wayne, Batman – Final Crisis #6 (2009, DC Comics)
In the finale to Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis, Batman confronts the evil deity Darkseid, who had unleashed the “anti-life equation” on the world eradicating all free will and thought. Seconds after mortally wounding the evil God, Batman is struck with the Omega beam, seemingly killing him, but actually sending him hurtling through time. Almost simultaneously, Batman was involved in another death-related storyline, “Batman R.I.P.”, which involved a plot orchestrated by the Black Hand, an illusory villain that was trying to break Bruce’s psyche. Despite the two storylines occurring concurrently, they were only tangentially related, and ultimately Batman survived both.
8. Ultimate Universe Peter Parker – Ultimate Spider-Man #160 (2011, Marvel)
In the Ultimate Marvel Universe (a separate universe that contains more realistic interpretations of Marvel’s heroes), Peter Parker is shot by the Punisher and later dies after an all-out battle with his nemesis, the Green Goblin. To replace Parker, Marvel introduced Miles Morales, a boy of mixed racial descent who is now the star of Ultimate Spider-Man. Fans and critics have embraced the new protagonist and he seems to be sticking around for the foreseeable future. Continue reading
