MANILA, Philippines—Captain America died last year. It's big deal for some readers, as he was assassinated not long after his surprise surrender at the end of Marvel Comics' massive superhero Civil War. But no, this isn't the first time he was killed.
In fact, these superheroes are like your old mythological beings or religious messiahs, in that they have to sacrifice their lives for the sake of many. But again, death is not the end, and they can't seem to enjoy eternal rest, either.
Like Osiris, Jesus and even King Arthur (whose legend foretells his eventual return), your average superhero has at least died once (maybe twice!) and has lived anew, with a renewed sense of purpose. In universes like DC and Marvel, there are Lazarus Pits, cosmic entities, and Hand Ninja rituals that don't let the dearly departed corpses stay that way for long.
Big magic spells and cosmic deus ex machinas prove very handy in breathing new life into them again. Apart from Dead Girl, Resurrection Man and Mister Immortal (because that's actually their shtick), some previously deceased characters that have lived again include the following:
Captain America, who was killed before, first by godlike Michael Korvac, with members of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. Later, he was slain again, with 20 other Marvel heroes, in "Secret Wars" I, by Dr. Doom.
Fellow Avenger Hawkeye has died three times ("SW" I, "Avengers Disassembled," "House of M"), as did Wasp (twice in "SW" I, and later in battle with the Grandmaster's Legion of the Unliving).
The thunder god Thor isn't destructible either ("SW" I, Legion of the Unliving, Ragnarok, etc.), but has returned accordingly. Adam Warlock, Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk, the Thing and the Silver Surfer have perished in action as well, but they've always come back.
The Justice League-Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern-were brutally killed, then impaled, by Atlantis' League of Ancients, several centuries in the past. Those were Superman and Wonder Woman's second deaths (she ascended to godhood after her first death, while Superman first sacrificed his life to defeat Doomsday).
Green Arrow, Batgirl (Cassandra Cain), Troia, Ice and Hal Jordan bit the dust in separate occasions, but were revived later.
Back in fighting form
Also, the X-Men (Storm, Wolverine, Dazzler, Havok, Colossus, Psylocke, Longshot and Rogue) were magically sacrificed by Forge to defeat the Adversary, but were soon restored by the goddess Roma. It's actually hard to keep track of Wolverine's mortality. But Colossus? Aside from the Forge thing, there's "Secret Wars" I and his Legacy Virus cure suicide/sacrifice.
Jean Grey also died twice (both in writer Grant Morrison's run), just like Cyclops ("SW I" and "Infinity Gauntlet"). The New Mutants, former students of the X-Men, were murdered and erased from existence by the Beyonder during "Secret Wars" II. X-faculty member Northstar was back in fighting form also, not long after his demise at a brainwashed Wolverine's hands.
Resurrection has been a useful device in the big and small screens as well. In the Whedon-verse, Buffy died twice and walked the earth again, while her vampire ex-beaus Angel and Spike experienced post-undead deaths.
Meanwhile, Ripley from the "Alien" movies was resurrected after her fiery "kamikaze" sacrifice, but was back in tiptop shape in the fourth installment. Reviving her wasn't easy, however, as there were many failed attempts to clone her perfectly.
Many followers of these fantasy exploits have become jaded, and might complain that some of these heroic departures are cheap ploys that are poorly executed and are ultimately insignificant.
And let's not get started on the villains, whose real power or talent seems to be the ability to rise periodically from the grave. It feels pointless and meaningless sometimes, and not all of the explanations suffice or are convincing.
But several of these deaths were executed memorably. And many have accepted that for certain heroes, their sagas don't have to end in death. Conquering that state of finality may lead to more interesting, recharged stories about previously unseen earthly struggles.
Part of the resurrected hero's mystique is that he has seen and experienced one of the ultimate mysteries. Seeing unusual beings with "cat's lives" get these second or third chances appeals to many of us who are mere escapist mortals.
