Civilian Casualties in DC Crises

[Timothy Hunter]

It's standard fare for mass destruction to happen in an event comic, but very rarely is the human cost of those disasters discussed.

Do you think that the catastrophes in the DC Universe lead to minimal loss of life due to the interventions of superheroes or is there a large death toll behind the scenes?

[marshal88]

gotham got it the worse , from the plague which killed millions in contagion was then swiftly followed by a massive 7.6 earthuake in Cataclysm that make gotham city a waste land of death and destruction.

[Laufeyson]

I think because of how the DC Universe works, the casualties are often ignored for the glory of heroes. But, if Contagion, No Man Land, and Cataclysm are points then the intervention of heroes lessen the damage done in the event although I'm sure that there is still a huge large death toll behind the scene like in Final Crisis and those three events that I just mentioned.

[achilles]

Don't forget Coast City; that led to a major story. And....sorry for bringing this one up; try not to let it hurt your brain....but Amazon's Attack actually showed numerous civilians being murdered by sundry Amazons, kids too. Which sort of totally ruined the Amazons for me especially since there did seem to be almost no consequences for their actions. Basically, DC seems to like to kill civilians in massive numbers without any particular feeling that there was a sense of loss or any sorrow or even consequences for those who did the deeds, or the survivors.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

There was a recent event a few years ago (the name eludes me) where Atlanteans flooded vast swaths of the globe and millions appear to have been drowned. I don’t recall any repercussions for them either.

[superduperman]

I hate to say it but what happened in the MOS movie is probably the norm with these things. After about three MOS, the government would probably outlaw superbeings.

[Timothy Hunter]

I hate to say it but what happened in the MOS movie is probably the norm with these things. After about three MOS, the government would probably outlaw superbeings.

I would assume in tbe DC Universe that superheroes are so rampant that it would be impossible to impliment a prohibition on superheroes.

[achilles]

There was a recent event a few years ago (the name eludes me) where Atlanteans flooded vast swaths of the globe and millions appear to have been drowned. I don’t recall any repercussions for them either.

Flashpoint?

[Timothy Hunter]

Flashpoint?

The Drowned Earth 2018

[achilles]

The Drowned Earth 2018

Ah. Didn't read that one.

[Batgrayson]

Ah. Didn't read that one.

Throne of Atlantis.


Also, many people died on Bludhaven during Infinite Crisis right?

[titanfan]

In Kingdom Come there was fallout from Captain Atom accidentally nuking Kansas.

I thought Grant Morrison blew up Montevideo in one of his series.

Someone mentioned Bludhaven, Bialya, Kandahq, Coast City, Sub Diego, etc.

I suspect a lot of these large scale disasters do happen. There are probably a bunch of heroes working in the background to prevent deaths--but at the same time, these big scale disasters happen so frequently that the population is somewhat numb to them.

The opening scene of the "Powerless" had a superhero fight going on in the city--and the populace of the city was pretty much unphased--they were just super annoyed at having been late to work. While that was a comedic show, I suspect that world would be like that. They're just used to it.

[Timothy Hunter]

In Kingdom Come there was fallout from Captain Atom accidentally nuking Kansas.

I thought Grant Morrison blew up Montevideo in one of his series.

Someone mentioned Bludhaven, Bialya, Kandahq, Coast City, Sub Diego, etc.

I suspect a lot of these large scale disasters do happen. There are probably a bunch of heroes working in the background to prevent deaths--but at the same time, these big scale disasters happen so frequently that the population is somewhat numb to them.

The opening scene of the "Powerless" had a superhero fight going on in the city--and the populace of the city was pretty much unphased--they were just super annoyed at having been late to work. While that was a comedic show, I suspect that world would be like that. They're just used to it.

Also Topeka Kansas was eradicated towards the end of Our Worlds at War

[Timothy Hunter]

At the risk of sounding morbid would anyone hazard a guess for what the death toll was for these events?:

Crisis on Infinite Earth: Trillions+
Legends: ???
Millennium: ???
Invasion: ???
Armageddon 2001: ???
War of the Gods: ???
Eclipso the Darkness Within: ???
Panic in the Sky: ???
Death and Return of Superman: Millions
Bloodlines: ???
Fall of Metropolis: ???
Zero Hour: ???
Underworld Unleashed: ???
Midsummer's Nightmare: ???
New World Order: ???
Final Night: ???
Millenium Giants: 10 Thousand
Contagion/Legacy: Millons
Genesis: ???
Cataclysm/No Man's Land: 100 Thousand
World War Three: ???
Emperor Joker: ???
Divided We Fall: ???
Terror Incognita: ???
Joker Last Laugh: ???
Golden Perfect: ???
Our Worlds at War: ???
Obsidian Age: ???
Black Reign: ???
Infinite Crisis: Millions
Sub Diego: ???
Sinestro Corps War: ???
Amazons Attack: ???
Final Crisis: ???
Battle For the Cowl: ???
New Krypton: ???
Blackest Night: ???
Brightest Day: ???
Reign of Doomsday: ???

[SJNeal]

^ ^ ^

I wouldn't hazard a guess as to casualty counts, but this list has reminded me of just how many mediocre-to-bad events there have been...