Hello everyone. My name is David, and when
I'm busy running my Kickstarter and Comic book themed
blog, Caffeineforge, I spend a lot of time wandering
the internet and learning new things. Not too long ago, I came across this fine
blog here, and became a regular reader. If you are too, you might even see my
name pop up now and then in the comments. Today our host (also) David, has
given me the opportunity to chat with his great comic book audience about
the comic book related subject of my choice. I was tempted to spend some time
telling you how awesome my own comic book, The Wardenclyffe Horror.
In that article I probably would have talked at length about the gripping story
staring Nikola Tesla and Mark Twain, or the way
the Lovecraftian Horror story hits all the right notes of any mythos
fan; I might even have told you how it is funding on Kickstarter right
now.
But there is something more important that I
think we need to discuss.
Anyone that reads a loves a good dose of
tension in their stories knows that the best way to really make one a page
turner is to make the stakes high. In comic books there are several methods of
doing this, but the most common one is to put an important character
in jeopardy. The fact that a major character might never grace the stage
again (except in flashbacks) is serious business. If you are unfamiliar with
this concept though--you might be an X-Men reader.
In the world of Comic
Books, only Uncle Ben truly stays dead, but those zany X-Men are a
bit more flagrant than most. It's possible that some day they will leave an
X-Man (or woman) dead. I admit that. One might just go down for the count and never
come back - it could happen. It's possible that might even be
a certain high-profile death in a recent highly publicized cross
over. But at this point no one is likely to believe it.
Stories need tension, and stakes, and with the
Marvel universe as overcrowded as it is they could let stand to lose a
couple of characters, but like any hoarder, they just can't seem to let
any of it go. Jean Grey is certainly the most obvious example
of characters being brought back to life after they perish at the
hands of the plot, but she is not the only X-Men (or villain to
return from the dead, other notables include:
· Apocalypse
· Cable
· Colossus
· Havok
· Legion
· Magik
· Mystique
· Psylocke
· Sabertooth
The list above doesn't include characters who
merely lost their powers for a time, or were turned into a
drooling vegetables for years like Magneto. It also doesn't include
those few characters that end the plot time and time again in a state of
'almost dead' like Mr Sinister, only to re-emerge once more. These are just the
ones that actually perished and were returned to life.
Of all of the above the one that bothers me
the most is Colossus. He had a great death, saving his sister and the
world from the legacy virus. It was noble and driven by story. It would have
cemented him as a great character for all time, and left marvel free to develop
new heroes. Sadly, this was not to be and they had to bring him back into an
already crowded field and start the cycle over again.
So how about the rest of
you? Which resurrection disappointed you the most? Captain
America? Super Man? The 14th Phoenix resurrection?
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