I’m not a fan of the whole ‘Unpopular Opinion’ meme on the internet, but if I were to apply it, I’d say this: There was no actual justification for either Hal Jordan or Barry Allen to come back from the dead. I understand the urge to do it, sure. It’s comics, there’s no reason not to bring back your favorite Flash or a Green Lantern or even Batman, since they’re just lines on paper and their worlds are full of that sort of cosmic coincidental nonsense. Heck, there are multiple DC Comics characters whose entire origin is “dying”, so that sort of after life revolving door is built into the premise, leading to today’s rejuvenated query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) is glad that they brought back Kon-El Superboy, but would have preferred that they just didn’t kill him out of editorial convenience in the first place, asking: What fictional resurrection will you defend as an absolutely necessary occurrence of someone coming back from the dead?
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Superman. I could do without pretty much any other character but DC comics doesn’t exist to me without him.
None, unless the resurrection itself makes for a good story. But generally, when death loses its teeth, danger loses its drama.
Duncan McLeod of the Clan McLeod from the Highlander television series. (Or any immortal from the series, really, with special mention for Ritchie.)
It’s their whole schtick.
In comics, I can’t think of any that were necessary, but the one I think did it best was Oliver Queen as Green Arrow in Quiver.
I like how Super Sentai generally only brings back a character temporarily. It doesn’t cheapen the impact of the sacrifice since they are still dead, they just are allowed to return one way or another usually in a time of great need. For example, in the Dekaranger vs Abaranger film, Mikoto Nakadai was revived because of a ritual performed by the villains intending to bring back one of the evil guys, but instead it was him. He helped both teams, then returned to the afterlife. Or in Gokaiger, Gai Yuki “won” a day on Earth in a card game against a deity, but then he too returned to his afterlife after the events of the story.
There are a few exceptions where characters are revived to proper life, but it is usually an immediate thing and not some time down the line, so it makes those occasional returns of past heroes for a story or two significant without making their deaths any less meaningful.
Mitch Shelley, Resurrection Man.
I don’t buy it. Killing off a character is usually a sales gimmick. Nowadays, the characters who have died and returned seemingly outnumber those who haven’t.