Call me old-fashioned if you will! But with the latest bounties and murder storyline in JUSTICE SOCIETY, I must say it: comic book murder is overdone to the point that it's no longer dramatic or powerful. It used to be a real event when something like this happened. Now, it's body parts, entrails and blood everywhere. And, often, there was purpose beyond "death." Take Mister Terrific's murder; the whole suspense point was that no one was on the satellite but the JLA and JSA... so whoever murdered Mr. T was a good guy. Of course, that's not how the story turned out. Go read JLA 171-172 for that. :-) Before I go on, enjoy this sketch of 3 dead heroes (Golden Age Batman, Silver Age Batwoman, and Golden Age Mister Terrific).Now, I will look at killed-off heroes in the DC Universe from 1935-1985 (up until the CRISIS series). I may need your help, but here we go:
- Ferro Lad (Legion—30th century, died saving galaxy from the Sun-Eater, 1967)
- Doom Patrol (Chief, Negative Man, Elasti-Girl; sacrificed selves; 1968)
- Larry Lance (Golden Age, Earth-2, died saving Black Canary, 1969)
- Wing (Golden Age, Earth-2, announced dead from battle with the Nebula Man, 1972)
- Invisible Kid (Legion—30th century, crushed by Validus, 1974; tho he came back in 1983 I think)
- Chemical King (Legion—30th century, died preventing the outbreak of a world war, 1977)
- Batman (Golden Age, Earth-2, dying of cancer, fights Felix Faust to the death, 1979)
- Mister Terrific (Golden Age, Earth-2, murdered by the Spirit King, 1979)
- Batwoman (Silver Age, Earth-1, murdered by the Bronze Tiger, 1980)
- Air Wave (announced killed by an escaped convict, 1981)
- Crimson Avenger (Golden Age, Earth-2, died saving city, 1981)
- Terra (Earth-1, killed in rock slide using own powers, 1984)
- Karate Kid (Legion—30th century, killed by Nemesis Kid, 1984)
Sign of the times, or weak story-telling? Or, I'm old fashioned.
