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9 Stories The Superhero Media Keeps Retreading


There are some stories that, for better or worse, superhero media can’t seem to let go of. So they get retold over and over again. Let’s go over some of the biggest superhero stories that refuse to die and see if we can figure out why.

  1. How Many Ways Can a Robin Die?

    Batman #246 (1972), DC Comics

    A Batman comic from the 1970’s once dramatically asked “How many ways can a “Robin” die?”  We’ll probably find out the answer to that soon, as DC Comics seems determined to exhaust every possibility.  3 out of the 5 of the young people who have taken the role of Batman’s sidekick have died horribly.

    Batman #428 (1988), DC Comics

    It all started in 1988. Dick Grayson, the original Robin, had grown up, so Jason Todd took up the mantle. DC Comics conducted a phone poll where readers called in to decide whether 15-year-old Jason should be killed off. Thanks to a particularly dedicated hater calling in several times, Jason got beaten with a crowbar and blown up. 

    Detective Comics #806 (2005)

    The next dead Robin was also the first main-continuity female Robin, Stephanie Brown.  She barely lasted three issues as Robin before getting tortured with a power drill, shot, and kicked down a flight of stairs. 

    Batman Inc. #8 (2013), DC Comics

    The latest death was Damian Wayne, who was impaled at the hands of his own clone. He was ten at the time. A ten-year-old who’s killed people, sure, but still ten. The way things are going, the next dead Robin will be a toddler.

    All of this is not even counting alternate continuities.

    Why does DC keep doing it? It’s because violently killing off a child is a lazy and quick way to get publicity and boost sales. DC really cashed in on the controversy Jason Todd’s death, so they reuse the story. The death of a beloved icon creates the illusion of maturity and edginess in storytelling.

    But there’s really nothing “mature” about killing a kid for cheap shock value. It’s just exploitative and ghoulish.  Also, every single one of these dead Robins have come back to life, making death itself seem pretty meaningless.  Batman also looks callous and irresponsible, going through kid sidekicks like preschoolers go through pet goldfish.

    Unfortunately, it looks like Dead Robin Syndrome might even make its way to the movie-verse.  What might be a memorial case was spotted in the Batman vs Superman trailer.

    Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Warner Brothers Entertainment

    Speaking of which…

  2. Batman vs Superman

    The Dark Knight Returns #4 (1986), DC Comics

    The Batman vs Superman fight hitting the big screen soon is nothing new. Ever since Frank Miller had the two battle it out in The Dark Knight Returns, comics have constantly pitted the two against each other.

    Here are just a few of the comics that have Superman and Batman battle it out: 1991’s Superman Annual #3, 2003’s Batman #612, 2003’s Superman: Red Son #2, 2011’s Justice League #2 and 2014’s Batman #36.

    Justice League #2 (2011), DC Comics

    The obsession with having comics’ two biggest icons of masculinity beat the snot out of each other is no mystery. It’s a comic book nerd’s version of “my dad could beat up your dad”. It’s a childish way to determine which hero is “better”. I think it’s also undeniable some might find a sort of… thrill in watching these macho men go at it.

    That’s why the Superman vs Batman fight in Holy Musical B@tman! (an unofficial parody musical)  is my favorite. It pokes fun at the childish hyper-masculinity and plays the homoerotic undertones to the hilt, showing how ridiculous (but kind of fun) these fights really are.

    I’m also fond of Darwyn Cooke’s version in The New Frontier Special, where the fight ends because Wonder Woman pulls them apart and tells them to stop behaving like children. It’s a bit like this:

    Superman Secret Files and Origins (2005), DC Comics

    I really want this to be how Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice ends. Complete with the hair pulling.

    Speaking of Wonder Woman having a rough time…

  3. Amazons Get Attacked

    Wonder Woman #104 (1995), DC Comics

    There is nothing DC Comics seems to love more than destroying Wonder Woman’s homeland.  Themyscira (more commonly known as Paradise Island) has been decimated several times. Just a few times the island was destroyed and/or the Amazons were slaughtered: 1995’s The Second Genesis, 2001’s Our Worlds at War, 2005’s Infinite Crisis and 2007’s Amazons Attack!  It’s a wonder there were any Amazons left at all.

    Wonder Woman #4 (2011), DC Comics

    click to enlarge

    DC’s recent reboot has only made this trend worse. It only took four issues of Wonder Woman’s new series before her mother was turned to stone (and later destroyed) and the rest of the Amazons were turned into snakes. So much for respecting a cool culture of warrior women and maintaining Diana’s supporting cast.

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  4. Amazons Attack

    Amazons Attack! Trade Paperback, DC Comics

    Killing off a hero’s supporting cast for drama is common stuff, but the story DC keeps telling that’s far more damaging to the Wonder Woman mythos is one where the normally peace-loving of Amazons go of a man-hating killing spree.

    The original Greek myth about the Amazons was clear misogynist propaganda, a tale warning how horrible and evil an all-woman society would be. Wonder Woman’s creator, William Moulton Marston, chose to reject that propaganda and instead turned the Amazons into an example of how a community of women could be, well, wonderful. Wonder Woman is meant to represent progress and greatness for women, so her story turns a myth that tears women down into one that celebrates them.

    Wonder Woman #7 (2012), DC Comics

    But DC Comics repeatedly misses that point. Amazons Attack featured uncharacteristically murderous Amazons attacking Washington D.C. An episode of the Justice League cartoon, Fury, also featured a man-hating Amazon killer. DC’s New 52 has destroyed the Amazons completely, representing them as women who kidnap, rape and murder both infant and adult males.

    DC has completely regressed the Amazons to the misogynist propaganda they were originally supposed to counteract. Like the Greek men from thousands of years ago, modern comics cannot fathom a society of women as being anything but evil.

  5. Peter Parker’s Origin

    Spider-Man (2002), Columbia Pictures

    Please let Uncle Ben rest in peace. The poor guy’s likely going to be forced to redo his cinematic death for the third time in barely over a decade in the upcoming Spider-Man movie.  The inevitable snore of seeing Peter Parker become Spider-Man again could have easily been prevented by using the Ultimate Comics version of Spider-Man, Miles Morales, for the new film. Not only would it save Uncle Ben some grief, but it would be cool to see a mixed-race Spidey on the big screen. But no, Marvel studios was so attached to the original Spidey, they’re going to make us sick of him.

    This isn’t even counting all the times we get treated to Peter’s origins in the comics. It’s a problem for superheroes in general. How many versions of Bruce Wayne’s parents getting shot have we seen? How many versions of Krypton blowing up? Sometimes comics can be so obsessed with reminding us where superheroes came from, they forget to keep them moving forward.

  6. Batman Alienates His Team

    Batman #600 (2002), DC Comics

    It seems like every other Batman crossover is about Bruce pushing away his partners and becoming a lone wolf…and then a few months later he’s saying he was wrong and that he wants them back. No Man’s Land, Bruce Wayne: Fugitive and War Games are just a few examples.

    It all comes from the idea Batman should be a tortured loner, despite the fact he’s had a kid sidekick since 1940 (only a year after his debut). Every few years DC decides that’s not grim and gritty enough, so they have Batman push everyone away. Then they remember that Batman’s had a sidekick for so long because it works. A lot of people find the character more relatable when he’s mentoring and protecting a protégé and the Batfamily is full of great characters. So we inevitably have Bruce reuniting with the team again.

    But this constant back-and-forth makes the relationship between Bruce and his family look unhealthy at best and abusive at worst. He’s constantly treating the people he loves like dirt and expecting them to come back for more. And they do.  DC needs to just let Bruce be a dad uninterrupted or his flip-flopping will force someone to call social services.

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  7. Spider-Man No More!

    Amazing Spider-Man #50 (1967), Marvel Comics

    Batman may be wishy-washy, but he doesn’t hold a candle to Peter Parker.  1967’s Amazing Spider-Man #50, where Peter trashes his costume and declares he is Spider-Man NO MORE is a classic, so of course comics want to reuse it as much as possible. Peter has quit or attempted to quit the superhero biz over 7 times at this point, but he always come back.

    Among his longest absences were when he handed the mantle over to Ben Reilly in during the Clone Saga in 1995 and when he quit during the Final Chapter saga in 1998.  In one issue (1998’s Spectacular Spider-Man #226), he went through four other superhero identities. Make up your mind, Peter!

    Of course, Peter’s always been pretty insecure and being Spider-Man causes him a lot of a grief, so it make sense he quits so often. But it’s a little flaky nonetheless and really doesn’t have much impact story-wise after the seventh time. Whatever happened to with great power comes great responsibility?

  8. Jean Grey Dies

    Uncanny X-men #137 (1980), Marvel Comics

    Comic book characters have ridden the revolving door of life and death, but Jean Grey really can’t catch a break. According to one fan, she’s died 14 times at this point in the main continuity. Her last death was in 2005 and she’s stayed dead for a decade since, so presumably we don’t have to worry about it happening again, right? Except, now her younger self has traveled back to the present and is hanging around with the modern X-Men. She’d better stock up on life insurance.

    Like many other examples on this list, Jean Grey’s constant deaths are due to the writers’ fascination with a classic and successful story. In this case, The Dark Phoenix Saga from Chris Claremont’s run on Uncanny X-Men, where Jean was saved from her first death by the “Phoenix Force”, only to be so corrupted by its terrible power that she ends up committing suicide to atone and save her team. The Phoenix Force was represented as all-powerful from the beginning, so it only follows that Jean would be resurrected by it so easily.

    All New X-Men #5, Marvel Comics

    But regardless of the reasons, Jean’s constant deaths have even become a joke in-universe. She’s the posterchild for how meaningless superhero deaths ultimately are.

  9. Crisis of Infinite Reboots

    Comics reboot quite often. “Reboot” means that Marvel or DC will start every comic over with a brand new timeline. Just a few examples of these reboots are Crisis of Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, Flashpoint leading up to The New 52 and now, Secret Wars.

    Crisis on Infinite Earths #3 (1985), DC Comics

    The “need” for reboots is easy to see. With so many different writers doing so many separate titles and storylines, continuity conflicts pile up, events pile up, and the comics begin to become a tangled mess that require so much back-reading to understand that it’s hard for any new reader to just jump in.  So the companies end up scrapping everything and starting over.

    The funny thing is that company-wide reboots have only became a huge thing since the 80’s. Before that, writers would just throw out the storylines they didn’t like and act like they never happened. It didn’t make for a very coherent timeline, but constant reboots don’t either. But DC comics decided to clean up their continuity more seriously, so they had all the separate timelines (represented by multiple “earths”) smash into one in the event Crisis on Infinite Earths.

    What’s funny is that pretty much all of the following reboots, in both Marvel and DC have been directly inspired by the one that started it all. Like the original, they tend to involve alternate timelines colliding, the end of the world, mass death and so on. Infinite Crisis was a direct sequel to CoIE and Secret Wars has the same earth-merging premise despite being from a different company.

    Secret Wars #1 (2015), Marvel Comics

    Comics just seem to be getting worse at keeping the continuity straight, so the time between reboots is getting shorter and shorter. It’s like they’re happening every other year now. It’s enough to make a reader want to go back to the time when nobody cared about continuity and writers just did whatever.

    Since companies don’t seem like they’re doing that anytime soon, it’d at least be nice to have some variation in the inevitable reboot events. Maybe instead of the apocalypse, a guy travels back in time, trips, accidentally kills a butterfly, and suddenly the Marvel timeline is changed forever. Thanks, Frank!

    Hey, it’s just a suggestion.

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