How should a character retire?

[Doom'nGloom]

Many cape comics fans seem to think comics are usually stale with characters going through the same arc over and over again. So I wonder what if characters were allowed to grow old and retire permanently or die with no way of coming back. How would you envision the perfect story in which your favorite character stops being the hero or villain for good? It can be a passing of the torch moment, they can get their happy ending, it can be a heroic sacrifice or if it is a villain it can be a final f*** u to the heroes.

For my favorite I don't have to envision much as I think Hickman gave Doom a perfect potential sendoff moment at the end of Secret Wars. If that was the end of publishing for Doom, I'd be mad but still satisfied.

[Huntsman Spider]

In Spider-Man/Peter Parker's case, the ideal scenario, as far as I'm concerned, is for him to retire into civilian life after doing something immensely heroic and finally getting the respect and recognition he's long deserved from his fellow heroes and the 'verse at large, raise a family with Mary Jane Watson(-Parker), and pass on the webs to Miles Morales as the full-time Spider-Man while he becomes a full-time scientist, with an adult Miles even mentoring Peter's kids once they are old enough to start living on the edge, fighting crime, spinning webs --- to quote The Spectacular Spider-Man theme song.

[Blanks]

I’m hoping that when they revisit Secret War (again) in time for the MCU Movie, I’m hoping they do a clean-up across the board. Either from universe erasing/merging characters, kill off, or let them ride off into the Sunset. Some characters deserve a revamp, and others have been the horse, beaten to death over and over again.

Spider-Man as an example? Before Miles Morales was created, I WANTED Ben Reilly back as thee Spider-Man. Now I am content with the idea of Miles being thee Spider-Man while Ben continue on as the Scarlet Spider. Peter has been through more than any Marvel character I can thing of. If anyone deserves a happily ever after, it’d be him.

As a huge Ben Reilly fan, to me this would an excellent compromise.

While I’m not a big Peter/MJ fan, I would say let his MC2 future realign with his 616 self, lose the leg, retire, and raise their kid(s) with MJ. Peter can stay in the legacy cast member role, rotating between Ben and Miles casts/books, allowing readers to get their Peter fix as he provides assistance to Ben and Miles in a Barbara Gordon/Oracle type of role.

The way they handled Nick Fury Junior and his dad just recently? I would put money in it, that they are setting up Fury Senior to have a part in the next comic Secret War.

Steve Rodgers had the perfect set up to be retired as Old Man Steve before they backpeddled. I’d find some way to go back to that route. Let him still be active as a secondary character, to a new Captain America, but it would be Eli Bradley.

Break up the Fantastic 4. Finally let Reed go the villain route, and revamp the 4 to be a new crew. Let the Thing and Mister Fantastic’s powers evolve like their Ultimate counterparts.

And try to focus/revamp more of the B-List catalog characters to make them more mainstream. Like the Slingers. Clock and Dagger. Etc, etc. with characters like Tony Stark, Steve Rodgers, how many more stories can be told without retreading old ground, over and over again (as they do with Events such as Civil War, Secret Invasion, Secret War, etc).

[Panic]

“ A parachute not opening... that's a way to die. Getting caught in the gears of a combine... having your nuts bit off by a Laplander, that's the way I wanna go!”

[Frontier]

Peacefully or in a true blaze of glory.

[Huntsman Spider]

I’m hoping that when they revisit Secret War (again) in time for the MCU Movie, I’m hoping they do a clean-up across the board. Either from universe erasing/merging characters, kill off, or let them ride off into the Sunset. Some characters deserve a revamp, and others have been the horse, beaten to death over and over again.

Spider-Man as an example? Before Miles Morales was created, I WANTED Ben Reilly back as thee Spider-Man. Now I am content with the idea of Miles being thee Spider-Man while Ben continue on as the Scarlet Spider. Peter has been through more than any Marvel character I can thing of. If anyone deserves a happily ever after, it’d be him.

As a huge Ben Reilly fan, to me this would an excellent compromise.

While I’m not a big Peter/MJ fan, I would say let his MC2 future realign with his 616 self, lose the leg, retire, and raise their kid(s) with MJ. Peter can stay in the legacy cast member role, rotating between Ben and Miles casts/books, allowing readers to get their Peter fix as he provides assistance to Ben and Miles in a Barbara Gordon/Oracle type of role.

The way they handled Nick Fury Junior and his dad just recently? I would put money in it, that they are setting up Fury Senior to have a part in the next comic Secret War.

Steve Rodgers had the perfect set up to be retired as Old Man Steve before they backpeddled. I’d find some way to go back to that route. Let him still be active as a secondary character, to a new Captain America, but it would be Eli Bradley.

Break up the Fantastic 4. Finally let Reed go the villain route, and revamp the 4 to be a new crew. Let the Thing and Mister Fantastic’s powers evolve like their Ultimate counterparts.

And try to focus/revamp more of the B-List catalog characters to make them more mainstream. Like the Slingers. Clock and Dagger. Etc, etc. with characters like Tony Stark, Steve Rodgers, how many more stories can be told without retreading old ground, over and over again (as they do with Events such as Civil War, Secret Invasion, Secret War, etc).

Would have some serious potential, though I have to admit there's something compelling and even heartwarming about 616 Reed being one of the few Reeds that don't end up going heel because unlike those others, he's willing to put his family above his ambitions or desires to reshape or remake the world "for the better."

Peacefully or in a true blaze of glory.

Oh, yes. Yes, indeed.

[ARkadelphia]

With a Dinner party and a gold watch

[Noek]

Big Inhumans fan but I know the adults from the House of Agon have gotten a LOT of criticism (some fair, most stupid) and to help with the Inhumans image going forward have them have stepped down from being their roles. We kindof had this already with Black Bolt and Medusa but I would make it a grand ceremony with each of them giving family items to their kids.

[JudicatorPrime]

The perfect ending?

Mom steps out onto the porch and hears a familar ruckus in the tree: "Ok, kids, time to come in and get cleaned up for supper."

Petey: "Aww, Mom, do we have to? Monica just got the Infinertee Gauntlet and I got Miyolneer. Can't we stay a little longer?"

Monica: "Please, Mrs. Leibowitz? I was just about to trap Victor's soul in a forcefield and flatten Logan with my Sonic Claw of Agguh-mentos."

Logan: "No you weren't!"

Monica: "Yuh huh!"

Logan: "So what! Flatten me all you like, that won't stop me from dicing up Ben with my Repulsor Blades."

Ben: "Try it, runt, just try it! Anyway, Stevie sent you to limbo already, so you lost a turn. Cheater."

Stevie: "Yeah, what he said. You lost already."

Logan: "Did not!!! Ask Vic."

Victor (sulking): "Leave me out of this!"

Shiro: "Did, too!"

Susie: "See, that's why I don't like playing with you guys. You always cheat. Cheater!"

All: "Cheater!!!"

Mom: "Ok, ok, that's enough! Don't make me drag all of you out of that tree house. Come on down and have supper. First one down gets extra helpings of dessert. I got a gallon of freshly churned ice cream for ya."

All: "Ice cream?!? Okay!!!"

The kids practically trample one another racing down the latter across the yard and into the house. The camera pans to their make-believe stick figures all assembled on a corrugated box -- their makeshift gameboard -- with "The Marvel Wonderverse" scribbled in one corner in crayon. Spider-Man? Captain America? Wolverine? The Thing? They don't exist, save for the boundless imaginations of special kids everywhere.

[charliehustle415]

Peacefully or in a true blaze of glory.

To add to this: to also go out like in a Greek Tragedy.

This is why I loved Bruce's and Selina's death in King's Batman run; it was heartbreaking

[Force de Phenix]

They should never retire until Disney decides to put Marvel on hiatus to get people to miss it and bring it back with some sort of event, and make more money from it.

[Doom'nGloom]

They should never retire until Disney decides to put Marvel on hiatus to get people to miss it and bring it back with some sort of event, and make more money from it.

Realistically they won't retire but my question is if Marvel for some reason decided to retire your favorite character permanently, how would you like that to go down?

[Alan2099]

The should retire in an alternate/possible future storyline that isn't specifically canon.

[Digifiend]

Look at Power Rangers - they recently did a reunion special. Normally, teams stay active unless they lose their powers - and due to developments in later seasons, powers can no longer be permanently destroyed. Once and Always showed that two of the rangers were now working for SPA, which seems to be linked to SPD. That means they'll be involved in another team (the SPD series was set in 2025, twenty years in the future at the time but now only two years away). Another was killed in action. That left them with no yellow ranger, so the original's daughter replaced her. Both of those avenues - mentoring the next generation and being killed in action - are good reasons for a hero to be written off permanently.

[davetvs]

Peter Parker should get a big-boy job (Editor of the Bugle or something science-y), marry MJ, have kids, retire from active duty (for the most part) and take on a mentorship role for Miles, Silk, and Ben Reilly.