How would you end the stories?

Obviously, DC isn't going to want to end their villains or heroes because those are the characters that sell books and make money. Typically, American superhero comic books are not close-ended. But if you were bringing an end to the stories in some other elseworld or medium, how would you do so?

Which heroes would retire, which would die? But what I'm really interested in is how one would firmly end a villain. Jail is a tough sell, since it's such a revolving door. Death is too, nowadays, but I'm willing to pretend it isn't. Sci-fi or supernatural prisons are possibility. Redemption for a few.

Lex Luthor - I actually think he could be reasonably be outed and destroyed and imprisoned, in a world where such a thing would stick. I like that ignominious ending for him.

Darkseid - I'd like him destroyed and a new hope for Apokalips. It would take decades of rebuilding and reshaping the culture, at least. A real long-term effort.

Joker - He has to die to me. And Batman can't do it, because he's Batman (unless, I guess, he does in an action that kills himself as well, so he doesn't have to live with it). I'm actually kind of a fan of 2006-era-Peacekeepermaker being a situation where Joker is threatening folks, and just putting a bullet in him. Or him getting his skull crushed by Zod when he makes a scene. Or something else abrupt and unimportant to the person doing the killing. I get the idea it isn't dramatic enough. It isn't about the hero or that long struggle that they've had. But I do like it.

Thawne - Haven't decided on a good end for him.

I'd kinda like Slade's ex to kill him. I dislike him a lot, and moreso when anyone tries to act like he isn't a villain.

There are some villains, too, who simply age out of being able to do what they do. Then question is whether they are caught (or die) because of that aging or manage to transition to more sedentary roles.

Joker will die a Disney villain death. Nobody pushes him, but he falls anyway, maybe on one of his own tricks.

This is fun to think about. The story to get to these endpoints would be complicated and broad, but it has to involve the final defeat of many top-tier villains and a period of peace being established.

Superman leaves the planet after Lois passes away to help the New Gods rebuild Apokalips (or even merge it back with New Genesis) after Darkseid has been overthrown by some of his own, perhaps the Furies. If Apokalips is still its own planet, Scott Free rules.

Lex is a tricky one. I like to think of him as finally imprisoned in some kind of pocket dimension jail, and Superman visits him every once in a while to work on projects with him that better humanity, which Lex constantly does out of his own ego. Superman has to constantly be careful that the plans don't include some kind of escape plot, but Superman foils them every time with increasing ease, and Lex is kind of resigned to accepting his fate. In a way Superman becomes his only friend.

Wonder Woman returns to Themyscira to rule as Queen, and turns it into a hub for special young women to become leaders and warriors.

Batman gets a heroes death and expresses relief from a life-long mission, and a yearning to see his parents again. Gordon becomes Mayor, and the Wayne foundation's money goes to solving the social ills of Gotham. The Bat Family takes over cleaning up what's left of the crime lords.

The human GL's are relieved from their sector. Some stay on Earth to lead their lives, others decide to live on other planets. I envision Hal exploring space infinitely while Kyle settles down.

Harley should kill Joker. She murders him and goes to prison for it, and tells him the only reason people will remember him is to laugh at him. She helps reform other prisoners at Arkham through a volunteer therapy program, but she won't get her freedom back. And she's okay with that, because even in prison she's more free than she was in life under Joker's influence.

Damian defeats R'as once and for all, and he repurposes the League of Shadows into a watchful eye that lives in the shadows, rather than a cult of killers who solve corruption with murder.

The Rogues try to pull off one more big heist and end up going their separate ways. Some die in the process, some retire somewhere remote or in a place they grew up. I see Cold going down fighting, Heat Wave walking into the flames in shame, Mirror Master retreating into a mirror dimension, Axel and Jesse trying to adapt to normal life, and Weather Wizard going back to his tower to live in solitude.

The Flashes are semi-retired. Barry goes to the future with Iris and Bart, and Wally raises his kids. They take over to help with natural disaster type emergencies.

Reverse Flash gets tricked into an infinite time loop where he fights himelf in the 25th century dressed as Barry a la Return of Barry Allen.

Black Adam is forced to choose between his power and resurrecting Isis, and chooses to live out the rest of his life as a mortal with her.

Ollie becomes Mayor and has kids with Dinah.
Ray continues to dedicate himself to science, and Carter to archeology. Kendra helps by backpacking across the world to investigate while "finding herself" more.
Aquaman and Mera rule.

J'onn...not sure. I like the idea of him settling down with someone a la JLU, but I also see him going offworld to find a new family, or even choosing to die and having his psyche live on in the memories of his friends.

[QUOTE=Tzigone;4756576]Obviously, DC isn't going to want to end their villains or heroes because those are the characters that sell books and make money. Typically, American superhero comic books are not close-ended. But if you were bringing an end to the stories in some other elseworld or medium, how would you do so?

Which heroes would retire, which would die? But what I'm really interested in is how one would firmly end a villain. Jail is a tough sell, since it's such a revolving door. Death is too, nowadays, but I'm willing to pretend it isn't. Sci-fi or supernatural prisons are possibility. Redemption for a few.

Lex Luthor - I actually think he could be reasonably be outed and destroyed and imprisoned, in a world where such a thing would stick. I like that ignominious ending for him.

Darkseid - I'd like him destroyed and a new hope for Apokalips. It would take decades of rebuilding and reshaping the culture, at least. A real long-term effort.

Joker - He has to die to me. And Batman can't do it, because he's Batman (unless, I guess, he does in an action that kills himself as well, so he doesn't have to live with it). I'm actually kind of a fan of 2006-era-Peacekeepermaker being a situation where Joker is threatening folks, and just putting a bullet in him. Or him getting his skull crushed by Zod when he makes a scene. Or something else abrupt and unimportant to the person doing the killing. I get the idea it isn't dramatic enough. It isn't about the hero or that long struggle that they've had. But I do like it.

Thawne - Haven't decided on a good end for him.

I'd kinda like Slade's ex to kill him. I dislike him a lot, and moreso when anyone tries to act like he isn't a villain.

There are some villains, too, who simply age out of being able to do what they do. Then question is whether they are caught (or die) because of that aging or manage to transition to more sedentary roles.[/QUOTE]

Slade should either be killed by Rose, Jericho or Terra.

If Joker dies, it should be at the hands of Batman or Jason. Either he dies with Batman or Batman retires after putting him down for good.

[quote]Slade should either be killed by Rose, Jericho or Terra.[/quotE]I think I am now in love with (or at least have a crush on) the idea of a continuity where Terra killed him in in The Judas Contract and I never had to see him again and especially before anyone acted like he wasn't the bad guy.

Luthor goes to live on Lexor with his wife and children. He gives up on his vendetta against Superman and finds peace. His scientific research yields many benefits to the universe.

Darkseid is killed by his son, thus fulfilling the prophecy.

The Joker is already dead. There have been many anonymous individuals who have worn the Joker mask--some were evil, others were performance artists. You can't really kill the Joker, because you can't kill an idea.

Barry Allen would never give in to a villain changing the timeline so that the Allens' happy family life never happened. Eobard broke the timeline and therefore it's he that should ultimately pay, not Barry. One day the original timeline will be restored and in that timeline the Reverse Flash dies.

Slade Wilson should get a gun to the back of the head.

For Darkseid, I have to stick with Kirby's original: he's killed in battle with Orion over the firepits of Apokalypse. However, what nobody saw coming is that Highfather is mortally wounded in the struggle, and as the Black Racer comes for him, whispers to Orion that his great regret lies in never having been able to show Orion true beauty. For that reason, Orion leaves New Genesis to Mr. Miracle, and with Bekka, spends the rest of his day in peace, trying to bring beauty to Apokalypse, and becoming something of a Highfather figure himself.

Superman concludes that his never-ending battle is not inspiring humanity to greatness, but promoting our dependence on him. He quietly retires his costume, spending his years helping the needy in anonymous ways.

Batman realizes that his aging body simply can't perform at the level required to maintain his mystique anymore, and turn his attention to using his fortune to address social ills. To preserve the Batman's mystique, he turns the costume over to Nightwing.

Mr. Terrific kills Lex Luthor, realizing that Luthor will never stop launching schemes to draw Superman out, heedless of the innocents hurt in the process. Mr. Terrific then leaves Earth to explore the universe in a spacecraft of his own design.

Shortly before being killed by Damian, Ras al Ghul eliminates the Joker, whose mad schemes had interfered with one of Ras' operations.

Gorilla Grodd kills Brainwave in a telepathic duel, but suffers a stroke in the process that reduces his intellect to almost nothing.

Vandal Savage attempts to highjack the international space station in one of his countless plots for power, but ends up falling into the sun. We're left wondering if this finally kills the immortal, or if he's just eternally stuck inside the star's gravity, constantly vaporizing as his body attempts to regenerate.

For Joker I would say Jason kills him after the Joker kills someone else in the Bat family, and Jason decides enough is enough. Batman tries to stop him but in the end fails and Jason and the Joker die together with Batman arriving to late and finding both their bodies. This promts Bruce to finally retire passing down the mantle to Tim or Damian or whoever it is Joker didn't kill.

[QUOTE=Tzigone;4756576]Joker - He has to die to me. And Batman can't do it, because he's Batman (unless, I guess, he does in an action that kills himself as well, so he doesn't have to live with it). I'm actually kind of a fan of 2006-era-Peacekeepermaker being a situation where Joker is threatening folks, and just putting a bullet in him. Or him getting his skull crushed by Zod when he makes a scene. Or something else abrupt and unimportant to the person doing the killing. I get the idea it isn't dramatic enough. It isn't about the hero or that long struggle that they've had. But I do like it.[/QUOTE]

He'd probably come back somehow. Joker has seemingly died countless times. :o

[QUOTE=Vampire Savior;4756878]He'd probably come back somehow. Joker has seemingly died countless times. :o[/QUOTE]

Hey, I said in the first post that I was willing to pretend death wasn't a revolving door. :)

I think every green lantern eventually fall in the line of duty, one way or another. These guys have too much willpower to retire.
Superman I think eventually sacrifices himself in a blaze of glory saving the planet/galaxy/universe/multiverse.
Wonder Woman becomes Queen. But tones down the isolation. Maybe even lets a few dudes into the island.
Flash becomes one with the speed force. Or something.
Bruce lives longer than he thinks he would, gets the Batman beyond treatment. Though probably has a better relationship with Dick and the his family post-retirement than the cartoon version did.
Once Atlantis becomes a democracy and Arthur gets away from his ungrateful people immediately and lives out his days in Amnesty Bay.
Oliver becomes a semi-successful but controversial President.

Lex dies pennyless and falls into obscurity having wasted his life trying and failing to kill Superman.
Joker gets killed by some random cop. No final punchline.
Some of Batman’s villains die in Arkham but a lot get reformed.
Orion or Scott kill Darkseid. No preference on which.
The Allen family line is tormented by a time traveling Eobard Thawne for centuries.
Floyd Lawton finishes his time with the suicide squad. Amanda Waller is assassinated a week later.
The Rogues eventually leave the country after pulling off one last big score.