List of dead comic book characters

Below is a partial list of fictional characters who have died in American comic books, specifically in the superhero genre, and, so far, have not returned.

Characters frequently die in comic books, but are also frequently resurrected. A death that is reversed is called a comic book death. Writer Peter David splits the blame for this phenomenon among creators, publishers and fans. Creators and publishers kill characters to increase drama and sales and to meet the demands of readers who call for evil or unpopular characters be killed. However, if a popular character is killed, fans often ask for his or her resurrection and publishers find such returns can lead to more boosts in sales. Another reason creators resurrect characters is that they want to use them in new storylines. This cycle creates a : after witnessing several improbable returns, fans begin to doubt that any characters are permanently dead, and death begins to lose its dramatic impact.

Although many dead comic book characters are resurrected, some are not. Usually, characters associated with a major character's origin story (e.g. Spider-Man's Uncle Ben, Doctor Abraham Erskine, Ho Yinsen, Abin Sur, or Batman's mother and father), or those whose deaths significantly alter the development of a major character (e.g. Gwen Stacy, or Karen Page), remain dead. Additionally, although many stories continue to be written about them, certain period characters are typically presumed dead (at least from natural causes if nothing else) for purposes of contemporary status, even if their final fates are not depicted in a story (e.g. Rawhide Kid and other characters active in the 19th century Wild West). Sometimes a character remains dead simply because a successor has assumed an updated version of his or her costumed identity, making a return by the first generation character absurd (e.g. Baron Zemo or Foolkiller). Some dead characters have fallen out of relevance to modern audiences, which effectively prohibits their return (e.g. certain characters from the Golden and Silver Age of Comic Books. Characters who no longer fit current standards of political correctness also often fall into this category.). Death is also a convienent method of closure for characters who can no longer be used due to licensing restrictions, copyright, or other issues of ownership. Lastly, from time to time, superheroes or other comics characters, judged by their creators to have served their dramatic purposes, remain dead because their stories are considered over.

...
Wikipedia