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Numerous comics deceive their readers into believing that a character has kicked the bucket when they’re alive and well. Sometimes, such fake-outs can successfully add to a narrative in compelling ways. Other times, they feel like cheap cop-outs that diminish the impact of the original stories.
10) Dupli-Kate
The Invincible series is no stranger to fake-out deaths, and Dupli-Kate’s is one of the most notorious. When Invincible and most of the Guardians of the Globe are off-world on a mission, the Earth-bound members Rex-Splode, Dupli-Kate, and Shrinking Ray find themselves attacked by the Lizard League. Although she fights valiantly, Dupli-Kate seemingly meets her demise when the villain Komodo Dragon kills all her clones. Shrinking Ray is then promptly killed by Komodo Dragon when he tries to avenge his fallen teammate. However, it turns out just a few issues later that Shrinking Ray’s avenging death was for nothing because Dupli-Kate was not in fact dead; she all along had a spare clone far away from the battle as a contingency.
9) Atom
The third Atom, Ryan Choi, learned to use his shrinking powers to cheat death. To shrink his size and weight, Ryan uses his Bio-Belt to transfer his extra mass to another dimension called the Mass Zone. This ability came in handy when Ryan was stabbed by Deathstroke and seemingly killed. Through sheer willpower, Ryan transferred his mind to the Mass Zone, allowing him to survive the impalement. After five years of being presumed dead, Ryan’s survival was discovered by the second Atom, Ray Palmer. With his scientific genius, Ray is able to restore Ryan’s body, and DC now has its two size-altering heroes working side by side once again.
8) Justice League
In the lead-up to the Dark Crisis event, DC Comics made it seem like almost the entire Justice League’s roster was murdered. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Hawkgirl, Zatanna, and Green Arrow were all apparently wiped out by the villain Pariah, with only a battered Black Adam returning to Earth to warn of the coming crisis. The remaining heroes of Earth do everything they can to protect the world in the Justice League’s absence. Yet the Justice Leaguers weren’t dead; they were separated and placed in individual worlds tailored to each member’s dreams and desires. Luckily, the Justice Leaguers would break free of their prisons and return to thwart Pariah’s attack on Earth.
7) Captain America
After Civil War, Captain America surrendered and was arrested for rebelling against the Human Registration Act. America’s hero was then shot and seemingly killed by a sniper. Everyone grieved the loss of the First Avenger. Two years later, it was revealed that the Red Skull planned everything and that Captain America didn’t die from the sniper shot. Instead, the special bullet put Captain America’s mind into a fixed point in time, leaving him trapped and disconnected from his body. With the hero’s mind gone, Red Skull placed his own mind in the now vacant Captain America body. However, the mind of Captain America eventually broke free from his temporal prison and wrestled back control of his body from Red Skull. Now, Captain America is back as good as new.
6) Superman
Superman during the Silver Age was notorious for constantly faking his death to catch his enemies off guard. He’s pretended to become a ghost, die in an explosion, and be absorbed by Parasite. Even outside of Silver Age comics, the Man of Steel has had plenty of fake-out deaths. One of the most critically acclaimed Superman stories, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow, has Superman lose his powers by purposefully exposing himself to Gold Kryptonite. He then walks out into the Arctic and is seemingly frozen to death. While the world mourns his “death,” Superman takes on the new identity of Jonathan Elliot and retires with Lois Lane.
