If You Had to Kill Off One Major Hero, For Good, Who Would it Be?

[electr1cgoblin]

You're a staff writer for Marvel (or whatever it means when you are on contract with Marvel), and the Boss tells you you have to kill off one major hero, of your choosing. He also says this hero WON'T be coming back, period.

Who would it be?

Personally, as much as I used to love Wolverine, I get the logic for offing him. He's horribly overexposed at this point, and a big part of his appeal used to be his mystery which has pretty much been blown out of the water.

But I won't use him as my choice. I might pick the Hulk, though I am surprised to see myself type that. For one, Dr. Banner has had a horrible life since turning into the Hulk, on the run, hunted, tormented by fear that he'll lose control and kill someone or many someones, unable to have a real professional or personal life, or form real lasting bonds with people. The guy deserves a happy ending. And when I say "kill off" I don't mean Banner would die, too; I'm talking about a way to rid the world of the Hulk but keeping the good doctor.

Understand; I've enjoyed the character for decades, particularly the Peter David run. I just think justice and a sense of sympathy would dictate that we let this poor man move on with his life.

Thoughts?

[Daymare]

For the A-list I would have to agree and go with the Banner Hulk. There are enough other Hulk type creatures to take his place and they have more control and a better relationship to their Hulk persona.
B-list I would go with Reed Richards. It allows for the FF to try and replace the brains of the group or to move on. He is the do-it-all soup-to-nuts creator now and that would be semi-nice to get rid of in the Marvel U.
C-list I would kill Storm. She is in many books but really does not play a vital role in any. To wipe out the biggest opponent's to Cyclop's putting the X-men back together (along with Logan), this line may get back to prominence as well. Her death may give her a purpose again.

[Minerboh]

Wolverine will be back. It might take a while but he will return.
As for your question...i would pick either Iron Man or Dorky-Clops.
Iron Man, at least Tony Stark, has no more room for upgrades since they turned him basically into an cyborg ever since the Extremis arc.
Dorky-Clops for sending him to the White Hot Room to be reunited with Jean because i never saw his sex comedic affair with Emma Frost as a serious one. Scott belongs with Jean, not with Emma.

[Anjohl]

Well, it would never happen, but I think a case could be made for Mister Fantastic. Have him die heroicly, saving his family, and have Sue take up leadership. Could lead to tons of interesting stories.

[MyriVerse]

Squirrel Girl, of course!

But I'm undecided on whether or not she succumbs to the array of dog-themed characters I've dreamed of or just run over by a truck.

Is she "major?" If not, then I'd just go with either Wolverine or Cyclops.

[Rochedalaix]

I have a lot of characters I would like to stay dead, but since I can only pick one I choose Tony Stark.

[Tony Stark]

I have a lot of characters I would like to stay dead, but since I can only pick one I choose Tony Stark.

It is strong here.
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Just joking.

[Tony Stark]

I wouldn't kill any character off for good because a writer might come along with a hell of an idea for said character.

[krazijoe]

Hawkeye
To the character limit and beyond!

[Lorendiac]

You're a staff writer for Marvel (or whatever it means when you are on contract with Marvel), and the Boss tells you you have to kill off one major hero, of your choosing. He also says this hero WON'T be coming back, period.

First, a comment: That sort of thing has happened before! But it didn't last.

For instance! About 30 years ago, a spell was cast in the "Doctor Strange" title of that era to permanently destroy all vampires in the Marvel Universe. A letter column in "Doctor Strange #67" included a death certificate for all Marvel vampires, signed by Jim Shooter himself (Editor-in-Chief at the time), as a guarantee to the readers that this wasn't just a temporary stunt.

After Shooter was gone from Marvel, Dracula and other vampires started making big comebacks! Shooter's guarantees turned out to only be valid as long as he remained the Boss. Once he was replaced, his promises meant nothing!

So if I were in the situation you describe, all that would be running through my mind.

But for the sake of argument, I'll go along with the idea that I was somehow "convinced" that this one death would be allowed to stick "forever." (Or at least, let's say, for the next 10 years.)

When I think "major Marvel hero," my first thoughts are of the ones who were written by Stan Lee at some point in the Silver Age. (Or some of their successors in the same roles -- later users of "Captain America," "Iron Man," etc.) Of that list . . . I think my first choice for "Expendable Human Sacrifice" would be . . . Hank Pym.

He's also suffered from mental illness, mood swings, wild ups and downs in his personal life, etc. -- and in my opinion that suffering doesn't look nearly as good on him as it does on Bruce Banner.

[DrNewGod]

If by "major", you mean someone that has supported their own title, I'd say Daredevil. As good as some of his titles are, I don't know that there's anything being done with him that couldn't be filled by another urban vigilante.

If by "major", you mean someone that has a high profile in publishing terms, I'd say Wolverine (yeah, I know, but that's not going to last). Everything interesting to say about Logan was said long before they retrofitted "James Howlett" onto him. Further, the X-Men seem constantly held back by the need to make him look good.

[cyberhubbs]

Machine Man. He'd outlive humanity's stay on Earth and when Galactus comes, Aaorn would drink the last beer on the planet, break the bottle on something, and get in a bar-fight with the Devourer of Worlds that lasts about a whole 30 seconds.

[pageturner]

Angel and all versions of him

[pageturner]

First, a comment: That sort of thing has happened before! But it didn't last.

For instance! About 30 years ago, a spell was cast in the "Doctor Strange" title of that era to permanently destroy all vampires in the Marvel Universe. A letter column in "Doctor Strange #67" included a death certificate for all Marvel vampires, signed by Jim Shooter himself (Editor-in-Chief at the time), as a guarantee to the readers that this wasn't just a temporary stunt.

After Shooter was gone from Marvel, Dracula and other vampires started making big comebacks! Shooter's guarantees turned out to only be valid as long as he remained the Boss. Once he was replaced, his promises meant nothing!

So if I were in the situation you describe, all that would be running through my mind.

of course his promises only lasted while he is the boss. That is true of every boss ever in any industry ever.

[Brian Adkins]

Susan Storm a.k.a The Invisible Woman.