Join as we count down our picks for the top 10 tragic superhero and supervillain backstories. The topic of this article may not meet wikipedia s notability guideline for standalone lists. He is our most sullen hero, and his tragedy is singularly recognizable. The comic that explains where joker went wrong the. Amazons new series turns nazi hunters into comic book heroes. Batman another character miller reinvented in the 1980s is best seen as a tragic hero akin to shakespeares hamlet. Cartoon characters, whether theyre appearing inside the funny pages, comic books, a tv show, or any other medium, often have a rather whimsical nature. Free comics stories will be made available for one month on the service starting april 2. Incorrect book the list contains an incorrect book please specify the title of the book. Jean grey made it all the way to number on igns top 100 comic book heroes. Are there any comic book heroes that had a tragic downfall but somehow managed to make their way back up to being a great and. To be a tragic hero, characters dont have to diethey just have to suffer.
Here are the 15 most brutal tragedies to befall heroes in comics. Are there any superheroes based on comic books that had a tragic. By contrast, tragic heroes are almost two dimensional in their classical. The tragic vision longs for a clearcut world driven by principle. Completely revised and updated from the 1985 edition, the comic book heroes is the most complete, engaging, and opinionated history of comics ever. Please help to establish notability by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. Each characters name is followed by the publishers name in parentheses. Death is always a flexible concept in superhero comic books, but here we look at ones that resonated for both readers and characters. A history by gambit1024 april 25, 2012 23 comments the most recognizable comics characters in the world. The xmen went from forgotten heroes in the 70s, to being topdog in the 90s. An on going graphic novel series a collection of stories featuring aberrant heroes, antiheroes. This tragedy which came thanks to an illfated battle between an explosive. As usual, alex ross does an amazing job with the cover art and shows the characters in photographic realism. Hello dear readers, todays topic is a favorite of mine.
Which superheroes in the marveldc universes do not have. These heroes often have origin stories, a motif used in both mythology and comic books to depict the. Superman, batman, spiderman, the hulk, and countless other comic book. If you read as many comic books as we do you probably dont, you know that death in the superhero world is sort of a revolving door. The comic book writer gail simone cited the treatment of barbaras character in her famous list of women in refrigerators, a website that collected examples of female comic book characters who. The point is that something tragic happens to one of the characters. The saddest superhero origin stories in comic book history vocal. Batmans origin is one of the most tragic in all of comic books, and set the stage for countless copycats using the trope of a hero who suffers a great injustice, and spends the rest of his life. Harvey dent dc animated universe heroes wiki fandom. They live most of their lives being completely ordinary. Amazons new series turns nazi hunters into comic book.
But the saddest origin stories of superheroes take the tragedy of everyday life and twist the knife until nothings left to bleed. By rule of thumb, comics usually are quite transparent with which characters are going to get a dark backstory. Comic book readers and filmgoers take batmans suffering at face value. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is horribly scarred on the right side. Perhaps there was no more tragic death in the history of the naruto franchise than that of asuma, and two cosplayers have decided to recreate the. Mindblowingly detailed, breathtakingly informative, and fascinating reading, this is the one history of comics you absolutely must have. Its definitely a good starting point, for it helped shape quite a few heroes and their rise into the capes and masks of comic book loresimilarly witnessed through the criminally infested streets of gotham, entrenched by both corruption and a brutal hierarchy of evil.
The feel of the book is pulp comics all of the isaac mendez work is shown as the cover of a 50s 60s era pulp comic including some 9th wonders covers from the show and the index page looks like the old time wendys tables. Much as we did with last years top 100 comic book villains, ign has pulled together a comprehensive list of the greatest heroes to ever grace the pages of the funny books. If notability cannot be established, the article is likely to be merged, redirected, or deleted. If theres one thing we know about comic book fans, its that they can be real bastards. Comic books are modern mythology, in that they are modern mans method of explaining the world around them through the fantastical. Nevertheless, 2019 has seen quite a lot of comic book deaths that shocked the industry and the readership at large. Year one miller masquerades batman as a tragic hero, but his treatment and. The psychology behind superhero origin stories arts. Dc comics is home to a countless array of heroes and villains, including many of the most iconic characters to ever grace the comic book page. Rick grimes is the former protagonist of image comics the walking dead who was first encountered in issue 1, and was one of the last remaining atlanta survivors. Tragic heroes tend to stick with a course of action and follow it to their doom. Some heroes are flawed, some are ruthless, and some are naively optimistic, but every single character that appears on this list have certainly earned their keep. Her tragic turn as dark phoenix led to the deaths of. One of the most frequently cited examples of the comic hero in literature is mark twains huckleberry finn.
Archie, who made his comic book debut 73 years ago. Ive learned this through hundreds of conversations at comic book conventions, where fans have been remarkably candid about their lives and the. Wonder woman, batman, the hulk, superman, and the silver surfer. Spiderman was marvels posterboy for decades, and now faces stiff competition from deadpool and iron man. Huckleberry finn also satisfies the criterion of being somewhat less than virtuous. Death of some of these superheroes is just so shocking and disturbing because they.
Tragic heroes are often motivated to assume their roles as heroes in a quest for personal redemption. The death of captain america story arc appears in volume. By aristotles definition a tragic hero is a character who has started out with a certain degree of nobility so that they have something to lose, but still has some sort of. Comic book heroes westfield chermside, chermside, queensland 4032 rated 4.
Discover a characters comic book appearances, and browse issues containing your favorite marvel characters. Jonah woodson hex is a western comic book antihero created by the late writer john albano, and the late artist tony dezuniga and published by dc comics. It is the shortest phase of their lives, but it holds the greatest importance. Or if they are not, we as the audience find this funny rather than tragic. The 9 most tragic avengers deaths in marvel history marvel. Batmans origin is one of the most tragic in all of comic books, and set the stage for countless copycats using the trope of a hero who suffers a.
Naruto cosplay brings the tragic bromance of shikamaru and. The greatest comicbook characters in the canon have been debated and argued over for decades. So when dc comics put the fate of jason todd, the second robin, in their hands, they should have seen the writing on the wall. Then check out the quest giver reward level over on the the handbook of heroes patreon. Whether they be in the format of beautiful comic pages or animation or live action i have a great love for comic book characters. Inappropriate the list including its title or description facilitates illegal activity, or contains hate speech or ad hominem attacks on a fellow goodreads member or author. Harvey dent is a character from the dc animated universe. In addition, as latham describes, a tragic hero is one who is drafted into fighting through forces outside of his control 33. Al pacinos hunters character is based on heroes like simon wiesenthal, who spent decades. Top 10 comicbook characters with tragic backstories youtube. A tragic villain could become such if they lose their sympathetic traits or take actions that overwhelm said traits. Five major, iconic characters particularly exemplify this concept. Reed richards, leader of the fantastic four, is the smartest man in the world. There have been several characters called the flash in dc comics history but barry allen may be the most wellknown.
The creations of bon kane, bill finger, jerry siegel, joe shuster, stan lee. Maybe you want to see more dragonborn or aarakocra. Arguably one of the most tragic characters in the marvel universe, the hero fights to prevent young people from being victimized in the same cruel manner he and dagger were. Hailey helps her sister and other kids with epilepsy get the medical care and support they need. The saddest superhero origin stories in comic book history. They burst from their cocoons in a blaze of colors and become utterly extraordinary. The comic series was meant to follow his life for the approximate 300 issue run, up until his death by the hands of sebastian milton. Who are some marveldc heroes whose parents have died. There are some pretty frickin huge comic book heroes.
The following is a list of superheroines female superheroes in comic books, television, film, and other media. By aristotles definition a tragic hero is a character who has started out with a certain degree of nobility so that they have something to lose, but still has some sort of humanizing flaw that prevents them from being perfect. The reader is typically won over by his happygolucky, innocent attitude, which he maintains despite his socioeconomically deprived background. Join as we count down our picks for the top 10 tragic superhero and supervillain. Yes, we know theyll propably be back sooner than later, but the fact that these tragic superhero deaths still had an emotional impact speaks to the quality of the writing over at dc comics. You can choose from epic poems, young adult novels, and even childrens books.
Youll become part of the monthly vote to see which elements get featured in the. This was brough about by subverting his anger from a young age, casuing it to fester until he couldnt. Even those who understand that cartoons arent exclusively made for children assume theyre. Not to be confused with the fallen hero although fallen heroes tend to make tragic villains, as discussed above or the tragic hero, where the emphasis is on the characters tragedy rather than their goodevil alignment. Spam or selfpromotional the list is spam or selfpromotional. If ive missed any of your favourites for the title, let me know.
Top 10 comicbook characters with tragic backstories watchmojo. He is revealed to have an advanced bipolar disorder, causing him to revert to a more aggressive personality called big bad harv. Heroes rise and fall in popularity, where the fantastic four once ruled comic book sales in the 60s, they now face obscurity postcancellation. It needs more insert opinion here is your favorite class missing from the handbook of heroes. Browse a comprehensive az list of marvel comic characters. In 1988, the joker bludgeoned him insensate with a crowbar and then set a. With the dark knight returns and to a lesser extend batman. The 50 greatest comicbook characters movies empire. Spiderman iron man captain america black widow hawkeye punisher daredevil dc. Yes, comic books have brought us so many implausible resurrections that some might tell you these deaths dont have the impact they could.
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