The Four Color Media Monitor

I don't find Alvaro's Comic Boards a very appealing place, because it did have its share of selfish little trolls over the past decade, but, here's part of a topic I thought would make something worth commenting on:

The list of character who died notable deaths and inspired others is a long one. Sacrifice is an important art of the concept of Superhero death. But not all of DCs deaths were noble sacrifice - Hawk and Dove in the 90s was a brutal end to a successful pairing, so too was the death of Jason Todd violent without purpose, but this did nothing to change the stance DC had concerning dead characters. So when the rules are this stringent the question of who I thought would stay dead forever is largely an empty one, even when Hal Jordan died in the Final Night I was not at all positive about his chances in coming back to life, much less to Green Lantern status. With the benefit of hindsight it does seem quite clear that the success of his resurrection in 2005 by Geoff Johns is what blew open the previously airtight doors of DCs afterlife - because after this they virtually opened the doors to everyone to come back.

Wrong. They did not open the doors for everyone. Only those characters of their choice, and it has been for mainly commercial reasons. And not just Barry Allen's. Hal Jordan's resurrection was too, and as bad as Johns' storytelling ideas already were, it's pretty apparent from what came after that it had more in connection with the movie that was released several years later, which quickly flopped. Minor heroes and other supporting characters like Elongated Man, Sue Dibny, Jean Loring, 2nd Wildcat Yolanda Montez, 2nd Dr. Mid-Nite Beth Chapel and Lilith Clay have remained dead, as DC has no interest in trying out these characters who once did have potential.

Still, it's good to know somebody cares about Hawk and Dove, early victims of DC editorial's deranged obsession with trashing characters based on rank status. Hank Hall and Dawn Granger had potential, even if their ongoing series didn't work out well, and the editors threw all that away under the confidence nobody would object. But as we're seeing today, there are people out there who care, and will make their voices heard for the better.

Labels: crossoverloading, dc comics, Flash, golden calf of death, Green Lantern