I've been on board with the War of Light stuff since the Sinestro Corps storyline, so I'm as excited as anyone about its culmination in Blackest Night. But I have to ask... is it a good idea?I'm not talking about execution. I admit to having gore fatigue when it comes to Geoff Johns' stuff, but that's neither here nor there. I'm not talking about coming in late to the Zombie meme already over-exploited by Marvel. I'm talking about the ramifications this event could have on the DC Universe and its properties.
Now, obviously, I don't know how it'll end, but it seems to me that either the Black Lantern Corps members will wind up being resurrected for good or they won't. Those that are get a new lease on life, and certainly, characters that died very recently (and abruptly), are probably first in line to be reborn: Martian Manhunter, Jonathan Kent, and some prominent characters killed in Blackest Night's first issue, for example. Aquaman too.
And they can't all be resurrected for good. That would just be too much, and would undermine entirely too many stories.
However, it's still those that won't be reborn that I find the most problematic. In superhero comics, there is always a chance a character will cheat death. Note that despite a "resurrection event" like this being in the wings for the past couple years, characters have still been reborn by other means - Bart and Barry Allen, Ice, Superboy, Jason Todd, etc. But characters depicted as zombies in Blackest Night will be shown to POSITIVELY be dead, leaving not much room for resurrection later, at least not without satanic intervention or Crisis-type reboots.
Is this a good or a bad thing? On the one hand, dead should be dead, characters' deaths should be permanent and meaningful (a mixed message if it comes out of THIS series). On the other, does it close doors it shouldn't? Had Blackest Night happened a few years ago, would that have meant no Flash Reborn? No Oliver Queen? No Kilowog?
So mixed feelings here... What do YOU think?
Comments
My question: are random nobodies also being given Black rings? Because if they're not, isn't someone going to notice that all of the unpowered Black Lanterns were loved ones of superheroes, and shortly thereafter nobody will have a secret identity anymore?
But characters met in Heaven and Hell could be visions. Hell would be especially full of deception.
My thought on that are mixed, though. I'd like some of my favorite characters back. However, I'd still like to read a Dibnys' Ghost Detective story or two. I want more OYL Arthur Curry stories. There are already too many Terra's running around. And I have no desire to see the continuing adventures of retirement-age Superman and his wife Lois Lane.
I think the resurrection of a character should be as meaningful, or more, as their death was, or, in too many cases, should have been.
Here's to hoping.
"Hey, remember all those characters we killed off even though they were your favorites? Well, now their back as evil zombies (or eviler in a couple cases). Isn't it great to see all your old favorites again, only darker and edgier?"
This is the point where I hit someone with a boxing glove.
Such as...?
Honestly, other than Thomas and Martha Wayne, I can't think of any stories that would be undermined (except the likes of 'Identity Crisis', which deserves it).
Any time a character is killed off, the writer is essentially saying, "I see no more potential for this character, and the only good that can come of them is they serve a story of mine one last time". That is a staggeringly myopic opinion 99% of the time ... just because YOU can't come up with a good story idea for Aquaman doesn't mean the next guy can't. Maybe you just aren't imaginative enough?
It's funny how writers tend to kill off characters they don't have much affection for. The rule ought to be, the only characters you're allowed to kill off are the ones you are especially fond of, so you properly weigh the impact of their death against the scene you want to write.
Let's say there's a Barry Allen or a Hal Jordan you just don't have much use for ... rather than kill them off, there is always a way to write them out of the story with the option to return later. Killing characters just because you don't have enough imagination to write them well, is like a kid breaking his toys just to hear them snap.
Scip: You're probably right! Haha!
Anon: That wouldn't be a bad editorial policy. Only kill the ones you love.
I shudder to think what's going to happen to Aquaman in the next seven issues...