bones
April 14th 2005, 03:10 AM
Ignoring Post-Crisis retcons for the moment, high-profile members of the Silver Age JLA in the comics of the 1960s included:
Superman (Clark)
Batman (Bruce)
Wonder Woman (Diana)
Aquaman (Arthur, or later Orin)
Atom (Ray)
Martian Manhunter (J'onn)
Hawkman (Katar)
Green Arrow (Oliver)
Green Lantern (Hal)
Flash (Barry)
Barry Allen, of course, was killed off in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" in 1985. He was soon replaced by Wally West, his former sidekick as "Kid Flash." Now, at first glance that seems like no big deal. After all, nearly everyone else on that list has at some time been:
A) killed off for more than a couple of issues, or
B) replaced in the role by a younger character for more than a couple of issues, or
C) both A and B!
Except that for everyone else, it proved to be a temporary condition. In Hal Jordan's case, that temporary condition lasted about 11 years, but that's still "temporary" instead of "permanent," right?
I'm not sure if the Martian Manhunter has ever been killed off, but I gather in the 70s and early 80s he would go several years at a time in Comic Book Limbo, with a rare appearance or two on special occasions. Also, I think he once left the JLA in the early 90s and then basically "replaced himself" by disguising himself as a new hero named Bloodwynd. Does that count?
But ignoring that . . . almost everybody else except Barry has either died or otherwise quit his superhero identity for awhile, and later come back. Is it possible that Barry Allen has become the Token Permanent Death? The Sole Martyr to the idea that "anything can happen at DC, even a big name dying and staying dead"?
Perhaps DC has left him dead all these years so that they have at least ONE example they can proudly wave in our faces of a high-profile superhero, a founding member of the Silver Age JLA and all that, who "really and truly" died and has stayed that way ever since. So that when fans complain that death doesn't really seem to mean anything except a way to give us a sudden shock, and then undo it a few years later, DC editors can say, "Hey, wait a minute! We did sacrifice a Major Character once and let him stay dead for the next couple of decades! Remember Barry Allen? And besides him, there was . . . um, let me think . . . there was . . . well, the point is that Barry Allen serves as a great example of how serious we can be about the death of a Big Name Superhero when we really set our minds to it!"
If I'm right, this could mean that Barry is just about the ONLY dead superhero who will NEVER come back, because as long as DC has his Permanent Death to point to, they figure they can get away with bringing back anyone and everyone else. What do you think?
Superman (Clark)
Batman (Bruce)
Wonder Woman (Diana)
Aquaman (Arthur, or later Orin)
Atom (Ray)
Martian Manhunter (J'onn)
Hawkman (Katar)
Green Arrow (Oliver)
Green Lantern (Hal)
Flash (Barry)
Barry Allen, of course, was killed off in "Crisis on Infinite Earths" in 1985. He was soon replaced by Wally West, his former sidekick as "Kid Flash." Now, at first glance that seems like no big deal. After all, nearly everyone else on that list has at some time been:
A) killed off for more than a couple of issues, or
B) replaced in the role by a younger character for more than a couple of issues, or
C) both A and B!
Except that for everyone else, it proved to be a temporary condition. In Hal Jordan's case, that temporary condition lasted about 11 years, but that's still "temporary" instead of "permanent," right?
I'm not sure if the Martian Manhunter has ever been killed off, but I gather in the 70s and early 80s he would go several years at a time in Comic Book Limbo, with a rare appearance or two on special occasions. Also, I think he once left the JLA in the early 90s and then basically "replaced himself" by disguising himself as a new hero named Bloodwynd. Does that count?
But ignoring that . . . almost everybody else except Barry has either died or otherwise quit his superhero identity for awhile, and later come back. Is it possible that Barry Allen has become the Token Permanent Death? The Sole Martyr to the idea that "anything can happen at DC, even a big name dying and staying dead"?
Perhaps DC has left him dead all these years so that they have at least ONE example they can proudly wave in our faces of a high-profile superhero, a founding member of the Silver Age JLA and all that, who "really and truly" died and has stayed that way ever since. So that when fans complain that death doesn't really seem to mean anything except a way to give us a sudden shock, and then undo it a few years later, DC editors can say, "Hey, wait a minute! We did sacrifice a Major Character once and let him stay dead for the next couple of decades! Remember Barry Allen? And besides him, there was . . . um, let me think . . . there was . . . well, the point is that Barry Allen serves as a great example of how serious we can be about the death of a Big Name Superhero when we really set our minds to it!"
If I'm right, this could mean that Barry is just about the ONLY dead superhero who will NEVER come back, because as long as DC has his Permanent Death to point to, they figure they can get away with bringing back anyone and everyone else. What do you think?