In the world of fiction, nothing ever has to be permanent. And in superhero comics, older fans used to say no one stays dead in comics except for Bucky and the Waynes— and then they brought back Bucky Barnes.  Every fan at this point is used to people being killed off only to be resurrected later, both generally as part of some sort of sales stunt.

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But there's some deaths that literally no one believes are permanent. Certain characters simply can't be removed from Marvel's continuity for too long without changing the very shape of the Marvel Universe. More importantly, Marvel as a company isn't going to let go of some of their biggest cash cows. These characters could barely stay dead a few years before they made their major return.

10 Steve Rogers Was Killed By Sharon Carter, But Was Resurrected 4 Years Later

Sharon Carter shoots Captain America.

Steve Rogers was the major proponent of the Anti-Registration side during the Civil War. At the end of the storyline, Cap realized the damage happening to civilians wasn’t worth it, and so he decided to surrender and deal with the consequences of fighting against the growing anti-superhero sentiment.

But while on trial for his crimes, he was killed by a brainwashed Sharon Carter, setting up for a storyline that would last years and eventually see Bucky Barnes, the former Winter Soldier, take on his identity as Captain America. Still, none of this would last, and not even five years later Steve would be back wearing his old costume again.

9 Wolverine Had His Healing Factor Taken Away & Was Covered In Adamantium

Wolverine death

Wolverine lost his healing factor after a mission in a different universe, which left him with a bit of a problem as tons of his old enemies started coming after him again. In the storyline Death of Wolverine, Logan goes up against several of his old foes, working his way back through his history until he runs into the person truly after him: The original creator of the Weapon X program, Dr. Abraham Cornelius.

Wolverine manages to foil Cornelius’ plan, but in the end winds up drenched in rapidly-hardening adamantium. Marvel couldn’t stick to this though, and barely three years later they revealed the adamantium had been cut open and Wolverine was brought back to life.

8 Cyclops Died In The Terrigen Mist But Was Brought Back Via Time Travel A Year Later

Cable Cyclops Old Cable 3

The Inhumans vs. X-Men storyline is better left forgotten, and fortunately the biggest change it made to continuity has already been undone. After learning that the Terrigen Mists were deadly to mutants, the cloud began spreading across the Earth.

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Supposedly, Cyclops viewed this as an act of war and began fighting with the Inhumans over it, but it was later revealed Cyclops wasn’t actually responsible for the war at all, as he’d died after coming into contact with the Terrigen Mist cloud. He didn’t stay gone long though, with a young Cable having somehow used time travel to save Scott and bring him back to the present in the storyline Extermination.

7 The Hulk Was Killed By Hawkeye, But Came Back 2 Years Later Completely Immortal

Hawkeye shoots Bruce Banner

A major part of the generally maligned storyline Civil War II was this future prediction that Bruce Banner would turn into the Hulk and be responsible for killing the Avengers. Before that could happen though, Hawkeye put an arrow into his head and heart, taking Bruce out for good. Or so they believed.

During the legendary Avengers: No Surrender storyline, Bruce was revived by the Challenger, one of the Elders of the Universe. Marvel let Hulk stay gone for two years, but after that they introduced the idea that the Hulk himself is immortal, and no matter what happens to him he’ll always come back to life. At least they stopped making it seem remotely possible for him to actually die.

6 Professor X Was Killed By Cyclops With The Dark Phoenix Powers, But Was Revived Thanks To Fantomex

Dark Phoenix Cyclops stands over Xavier's dead body.

Professor Xavier was killed at the end of Avengers vs. X-Men by Cyclops while wielding the power of the Dark Phoenix. Completely out of control, Scott kills an Xavier trying to stop him from fighting. Xavier’s death is the catalyst for a ton of changes in the Marvel Universe in the 2010s, but it could never have been permanent.

The founder of the X-Men actually manages to stay gone quite a while compared to other heroes, but in 2017 he’s brought back after a battle with the Shadow King in the Astral Plane. Fantomex sacrifices his physical form to allow Xavier to inhabit it, allowing him to make a full come back for the team. Or at least, everyone thinks he’s back.

5 Iron Man Was Brainwashed By Kang, But Sacrificed Himself To Defeat Kang — Then Came Back To Life For Heroes Return

IRON MAN - The Crossing

In what has to be one of the worst storylines of the 1990s, Iron Man is revealed to have been under the control of Kang the Conqueror for years. No one knows how far back this mind-control goes, but in Avengers: The Crossing he battles against the Avengers and is very nearly successful. In the end though, he comes back to his senses and helps them defeat Kang, though it costs him his own life.

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How long Marvel stuck to this comes down to how one interprets it. Technically they didn’t stick with it at all, as they introduced a teen Tony from another universe. And Heroes Reborn featured a new Tony Stark in 1997. But by 1998, Heroes Return confirmed that the original Tony Stark was back as the real Iron Man, so it’s easy enough to just go with that.

4 Thing Died In A Battle Against Dr. Doom & The Fantastic Four Went To Heaven To Bring Him Back

The Thing Death

During a battle against Dr. Doom, Johnny Storm made a mistake that wound up costing The Thing his life. That should have been the end of it, but instead Reed couldn’t let the loss of his best friend go.

Rather than give up, he created a machine to keep Thing alive, and actually traveled to Heaven to bring The Thing back. Surprisingly, the machine that transferred them not only worked, but the Thing agreed to go back, and the Fantastic Four were allowed to return to Earth after meeting their universe’s god— who curiously, looked a lot like Jack Kirby.

3 Namor Was Killed By The Squadron Supreme For Wiping Out Planets, But Came Back Via Time Travel

Hyperion Namor Squadron Supreme

During Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers run, the ongoing New Avengers comic would see the Illuminati reformed to stop the destruction of their universe. Much of the comic features a lot of posturing over whether they’re willing to wipe out one universe to save their own, but Namor tires of their attempts to be “heroes” and forms a group of his own.

Behind their back, he takes part in some immortal acts as a member of the Cabal, and eventually he has to deal with his actions in a battle against the Squadron Supreme. None of them give him a chance to respond before beheading him, though he’s brought back barely a year later because he’s far too fun of a character to abandon.

2 The Human Torch Battled Against The Forces Of The Negative Zone, But Was Revived By Annihilus Itself

Human-Torch-Annihulus

When the Negative Zone’s armies tried to make their way back to the normal universe through Reed’s portal on Earth, the Fantastic Four were forced to find a way to stop him. But with very few options and the portal at risk of bursting open at any moment, their only option was closing the portal— from the Negative Zone’s side.

Johnny chose to do it, and stood alone against Annihulus’ army of billions to do so. In the end, he fell in battle, but was revived thanks to Annihulus’ gross “revival” bugs, winding up taking control of the Cosmic Rod and Annihilus’ armies.

1 Jean Grey Died Saving The World From Xorn, But The Phoenix Force Brought Her Back

jean-grey-x-men-red-header

Jean Grey originally fell in battle against her friends in the X-Men during the Dark Phoenix Saga. But after a few years they retconned this into the Phoenix having created its own body rather than inhabiting hers. So they then found Jean Grey again, allowing her to become a member of the X-Men.

She dies a second time in a battle against Xorn in the early 2000s, but by this time no one believes it could ever be permanent. Surprisingly though, she doesn’t make a complete return until 2018, almost two decades later, when the Phoenix resurrects her. Of course, when one has a destiny with something known as “the Phoenix” it’s difficult to even believe they could ever stay gone for long.

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