Summary
- Superheroes frequently come back from the dead, making death seem like a brief hurdle in their careers. Marvel heroes like Captain America and Wolverine have died and returned multiple times.
- The Sentry, Blackheart, and Chris Powell aka Darkhawk have all experienced permanent deaths. Despite the Sentry being considered too powerful to die, his death at the hands of Thor seemed to be final.
- Other Marvel heroes like Yellowjacket II, Alejandra Jones/Ghost Rider, and Rockslide have met their ends through various circumstances. Iron Man killed Yellowjacket II, while Alejandra was killed by Carnage and Rockslide died when Krakoa's Resurrection Protocols failed.
Superheroes have a reputation for coming back from big and dramatic deaths. This is an earned reputation, considering that countless superheroes from both Marvel and DC have come back from seemingly fatal incidents. These resurrections are sometimes as dramatic as the deaths, leading to an ongoing cycle that made death seem like a brief hurdle in a superhero's career.
Marvel heroes like Captain America, Wolverine, and the Fantastic Four's Human Torch received high-profile deaths that were later reversed. The X-Men's Jean Grey has also died and returned more than once. Despite these precedents, there are still quite a few Marvel superheroes who died and never returned.
Updated on July 22, 2023, by Scoot Allan: The current run of Amazing Spider-Man shocked fans by killing off Ms. Marvel, though her return as a mutant member of the X-Men weakened the death. There have been a few Marvel Comics' deaths over the years, but they almost always come back. However, a few heroes like Mar-Vell and Goliath have seemingly moved on forever.
12 The Sentry Met His Match Against The King In Black
Death: King in Black #1 (December 2020) by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, and Clayton Cowles
Bob Reynolds/The Sentry has "died" several times since his return in the New Avengers. Seemingly killed by Morgan Le Fay and Molecule Man during Brian Michael Bendis' and Mike Deodato Jr.'s Dark Avengers, he received a more permanent death at the hands of Thor during Siege by Bendis and Olivier Coipel.
However, Dark Avengers established that the Sentry can't die because he's too powerful, and he later returned in a Sentry miniseries by Jeff Lemire and Kim Jacinto. Knull then tore the Sentry in half during his invasion of Earth, and Reynolds hasn't officially made his comeback. However, others have used his powerful body while Bob's soul finally moved into the afterlife with Valkyrie's help.
11 Blackheart Brutally Killed Pat Mulligan/Toxin Off-Panel
Death: Venom #13 (February 2012) by Rick Remender, Tony Moore, Val Staples, and Joe Caramagna
Police officer Pat Mulligan was the first human to bond with the powerful Toxin symbiote. Toxin was the offspring of Carnage who was prophesied to be the most powerful of his symbiote's genetic line. However, Toxin dropped off the radar not long after his debut, despite his desire to become a superhero like Spider-Man.
Fans learned of the Toxin symbiote's fate later in the prelude to the Circle of Four crossover event. Blackheart apparently beat Pat Mulligan to death and left him in a gutter off-panel. It was an ignominious end for the would-be hero, but the symbiote carried on and later bonded with Eddie Brock before Toxin found a new home with Bren Waters.
10 Chris Powell/Darkhawk Died Warning The Galaxy
Death: Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk #1 (April 2021) by Danny Fingeroth, Mike Manley, Chris Sotomayor, and Travis Lanham
Chris Powell was a kid from Queens who stumbled upon a mysterious glowing amulet in an abandoned amusement park. When he touched it, his body transformed into a powerful android form known as Darkhawk. His initial flawed understanding of Darkhawk's origin came from his imperfect connection to the armor. However, he soon learned the cosmic history of his powerful armor.
Darkhawk was a member of the Fraternity of Raptors, a covert group dedicated to guiding cosmic affairs. He rebelled against the possessing consciousness of the armor and discovered new powers within Null Space which stored his body. Powell sacrificed his life to warn the galaxy, leaving his amulet to be found by Connor Young who became the new Darkhawk.
9 A Cotati Version Of The Original Swordsman Returned
Death: Giant-Size Avengers #2 (August 1974) by Steve Englehart, Dave Cockrum, Bill Mantlo, and Tom Orzechowski
Jacques Duquesne was once a carnival worker who helped train Clint Barton, along with another man called Trickshot. They helped him become Hawkeye by teaching him to use a bow and arrow as well as other weaponry. Duquesne would go on to become a criminal and occasional enemy of the Avengers known as the Swordsman.
The Swordsman eventually reformed and joined the Avengers like his former student, Hawkeye. The Swordsman fell in love with fellow Avenger and future Guardian of the Galaxy, Mantis. Swordsman sacrificed himself to stop Kang the Conqueror and save Mantis. The plant-like alien Cotati later created their own Swordsman to help them wage war on the galaxy.
8 Dark Carnage Murdered Alejandra Jones/Ghost Rider
Death: Absolute Carnage: Symbiote of Vengeance #1 (September 2019) by Ed Brisson, Juan Frigeri, Dono Sánchez-Almara, and Joe Caramagna
Alejandra Jones was the next mortal to inherit the Spirit of Vengeance after Danny Ketch. She became Ghost Rider but her tenure was short-lived. However, she did help Agent Venom, Red Hulk, and X-23 during the Circle of Four event by Rick Remender and Tony Moore in Venom comics, but that was the highlight of her career.
Thanks to the events of Circle of Four, she had a symbiote codex inside of her. Carnage hunted her down during the Absolute Carnage event in a one-shot by Ed Brisson and Juan Frigeri. Carnage killed Alejandra, but she was briefly able to return as a ghost to help fellow Ghost Rider Danny Ketch survive Carnage's brutal attack.
7 Iron Man Killed Yellowjacket II In The Crossing Event
Death: Avengers: The Crossing #1 (July 1995) by Bob Harras, Terry Kavanagh, Mike Deodato Jr., Marie Javins, Electric Crayon, Richard Starkings, and Comicraft
After Hank Pym's initial outing as Yellowjacket, a woman named Rita DeMara stole his suit. She initially became a criminal and joined the Masters of Evil. However, she betrayed the Masters of Evil and helped the Avengers fight against the High Evolutionary. She eventually hitched a ride to the future with the original Guardians of the Galaxy from the 31st Century.
Rita stayed with the future Guardians team for a time, until she traveled back to the present day to warn the Avengers of a deadly threat. However, Iron Man intercepted her warning and killed her, revealing his controversial connection to Kang/Immortus during The Crossing event. She briefly returned with other dead heroes during Chaos War by Greg Pak, Fred van Lente, and Khoi Pham.
6 Hector Ayala/White Tiger's Story Is Incredibly Tragic
Death: Daredevil #40 (February 2003) by Brian Michael Bendis, Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, Matt Hollingsworth, Richard Starkings, and Comicraft
Hector Ayala was a street-level martial arts hero empowered by the White Tiger Amulet to fight crime. Unfortunately, he never received the recognition he deserved. Hector retired for a time but later donned the White Tiger gear to stop a robbery that resulted in a cop being shot dead.
The perpetrators escaped and White Tiger was blamed for the cop's death. Matt Murdock/Daredevil tried to defend White Tiger in court, but Matt lost the case. Hector had a breakdown and tried to escape before he was shot dead by police. Hector's niece Angela del Toro and his little sister Ava Ayala both took over as the White Tiger before they decided to retire together.
5 Rockslide Died After The Resurrection Protocols Failed
Death: X of Swords: Creation #1 (September 2020) by Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia, and Clayton Cowles
Professor X and the senior members of the X-Men took on their greatest challenge when they became teachers and opened their doors to a whole class of new mutants. Santo Vaccarro was one of the first new students at the Xavier Institute, and he took the codename Rockslide when he joined the New Hellions.
Rockslide survived a number of attacks that nearly wiped out the entirety of mutantkind. He retained his sense of humor while learning more about his existence as a psychic entity with geokinesis. When Rockslide died in Otherworld, he died across the multiverse. Krakoa's Resurrection Protocols failed at bringing him back and he became the first real casualty in the X-Men's new society.
4 Arcade Killed Mettle As An Example Of His Power
Death: Avengers Arena #1 (December 2012) by Dennis Hallum, Kev Walker, Frank Martin Jr., and Joe Caramagna
Ken Mack was a potential mutant who discovered a hard shell of iridium underneath his skin after a surfing accident. Unfortunately, this happened during Norman Osborn's Dark Reign, and he experimented on Mack. Osborn exposed him to radiation, burning off his skin and triggering a further transformation into Mettle.
He joined the Avengers Academy and dealt with the trauma alongside Osborn's other young victims. unfortunately, Arcade kidnapped the majority of the group and brought them to his high-tech island Murderworld. He killed Mettle explosively to showcase the artificial powers he had on his island and prove to the captured young heroes that they had to play by his rules in order to survive.
3 Bill Foster/Goliath's Nephew Took Over After His Death
Death: Civil War #4 (September 2006) by Mark Millar, Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines, Morry Hollowell, and Chris Eliopoulos
Bill Foster was able to recreate the size-changing Pym Particles and become his own superhero named Black Goliath. He soon simplified his name and had a sterling career as a superhero, working with teams like the Champions and Defenders. He also frequently teamed up with one of the most powerful members of the Fantastic Four, Ben Grimm/The Thing.
A rampaging cybernetic clone of Thor dubbed "Ragnarok" murdered Goliath during the Superhuman Civil War event. Bill sided with Captain America, leading the rogue Ragnarok to use lethal force against Goliath. Bill's nephew Tom later took up the mantle of Goliath and initially sought revenge against the Avengers for his uncle's death before becoming a hero in his own right.
2 Maliketh Massacred Brunnhilde And Her Valkyries
Death: War of the Realms #2 (April 2019) by Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, Matthew Wilson, and Joe Sabino
Brunnhilde the Valkyrie has a storied history as a member of both the Defenders and the Secret Avengers. When Malekith's War of the Realms found its way to Midgard/Earth, Valkyrie and her comrades fought to save the innocents of Earth from Malekith's army. Unfortunately, Malekith and his forces savagely slaughtered all of the Valkyrior, including Brunnhilde.
The former Mighty Thor Jane Foster connected to the powerful Undrjarn the All-Weapon during the War of the Realms event. She decided to continue Brunnhilde's legacy as the new Valkyrie. Brunnhilde offers guidance to Foster from Valhalla occasionally, but it seems her time as a hero of Midgard is over for good.
1 Mar-Vell Remained Deceased Despite A Few Returns
Death: Death of Captain Marvel #1 (January 1982) by Jim Starlin, Steve Oliff, and Jim Novak
Captain Mar-Vell was a Kree superhero and a close ally of The Avengers. He inspired Carol Danvers to become Ms. Marvel and later follow in his footsteps as Captain Marvel. As Thanos' mortal enemy. Mar-Vell sided with the Earth – even against his own people – which ultimately led to his demise.
Mar-Vell contracted cancer after a fight with Nitro the Exploding Man irradiated the hero. The Kree offered a cure under the condition that Mar-Vell betrayed humanity, but he refused their offer and perished. A few brief resurrections effectively turned Mar-Vell into a mindless, undead puppet, though he regained control and sacrificed himself to stop the Phoenix.