The Hit List

[DelBubs]

Marvel now have a 'dead is dead' policy, but I somehow cannot envisage never seeing Mags or Jean Grey again. Mags didn't realy lose his head, he hypnotised all around by doing a metal in the brain thing and affecting the visual centres.

[HappyCanuck]

So than it's better to kill off characters like Magic or Colossus?

People die, so characters die, it's the way of the world. If an unliked character dies, no impact, no increase in interest or sales. Much loved character goes bye-bye, people bleat on about it, more interest, more of an impact.

As for Magik and Collosus, they're both Russian, it's a cold war thing

That's only half of it, Del. The WAY they die is also important. When in WX, Sienna Blaze died, little to no one really cared, because she was one of those characters limboed and forgotten over the years. She died in a concentration camp - which in itself is tragic - but she's just a 'thing', something used to progress the story along, showing one thing: Mutants are dying. but that's it. When Illyana Rasputin died in UXM 303 (still a touching story), it was to give a face of innocence to the attrocities of the Legacy Virus, to make it more real and devastating (sort of like how the Christian Children's Fund uses the children of war-torn third-world countries to elicit a responce from our emotionally-dead society - the only thing we can feel for when it comes to attoricies anymore is suffering children - sad, really). Same with Colossus. He didn't die needlessly; he died by sacrificing himself to cure the Legacy Virus, to insure what happened to his sister would never happen to another child. Moira MacTaggert and Sen. Robert Kelly also died as martyrs.

When a villian dies, it's a triumph; when a hero dies, it's a tragedy; when a limboed and forgotten character dies, it's a plot device.

[Richv1]

I don't really like it when they bring heroes back from the dead it cheapens there death. If you know a character is just going to come back whats the point in them dying in the first place. Having a character die occassionally makes them seem more human and vulnerable. Obviously some characters people do not want to die. Some I don't want to die either. And if they did I wouldn't like it and I'd want them back but I still would not like them dying in the first place or there having to come back from the dead.

[kozzi24]

The Wasp was best during Roger Stern's run, particularly from about 250 to 290. Stern obviously cared about the character, and it showed.
Most of the kill Sue Storm was from the olden days, before writers, including Byrne, tapped into the potential of her powers. Her replacements by Crystal and Medusa were part of fan reaction, and if you read some of the old stuff, she could be quite vapid.
The death of Darkstar was a complete and utter waste. She could be "resurrected" by nature of her powers, and should be, and brought back to the X-Men to explore a potential relationship with Iceman, as budded waaaaay back in Champions.
The Frank Tierei poll to solicit who you want dead predates Weapon X, and the influence of who died in the camps is obvious. Kudos to Tierei for at least getting some input from fandom.

[Richv1]

I agree Sue Storm Richard's has come a long way from when she first started. Her powers have grown so she is a major player and can go toe to toe with any of them. When she started out the rest of the team was always looking out for her, trying to protect her. But now she is the most powerful member of the team. I don't want her on the hot list.

[Garry/Al-Fan]

MARVEL should bump off "Flinch." If smelling bad is his super-power,
then a lot of people can call themselves superheroes.

Not fascinating, not intriquing, don't see the point in the creation of this character.
A prime candidate to get culled when the next mass purge occurs.

[cmdrkoenig67]

I feel the only way a character is "cheapened" is by misuse.....how many times has Mac been brought back from death(why...oh why???), only to be ill-used, misused, ignored and eventually killed off again? The ONLY writer who wrote mac correctly is John Byrne....every other writer has created a nauseating cycle of neglect, death and resurrection, ad infinitum...because they simply don't know how to write him...the problem?...(and I believe this to be God's honest truth) is that Mac is boring as hell...there's not much to him...he's the least interesting of the original characters(Byrne said that is the biggest reason he was killed off). Mac's death may have not been epically heroic, but it certainly had meaning...it changed the lives of the whole team, moved them into new realms and brought out a new side of Heather's persona(leader) and gave her a more prominant position in the book(which I was...and still am, all for). Mac's death was also a very good example of the reluctant hero being killed by the work he doesn't really want to do...ironic, eh? I don't believe Byrne planned it that way, but it happened all the same.

Bringing back a character(hero) from a heroic death(or even a shocking, yet catalytic death such as Mac's) cheapens nothing about it.....it's still meaningful, they still died heroically(or shockingly, if you prefer). NOTHING can take that away from them....EXCEPT...misuse and bad writing...that is the only thing that will cheapen the character or his/her sacrifice. Unfortunatel(for me and a few others), that has happened with Mac....which is basically why, I Soooo wish he had been just left to rest.

Dana

[Mokole]

Flinch's power was meant to be avoiding detection, making people 'flinch' because they thought they saw something out of the corner of his eye. He was smelly because he stayed out of people's way and therefore never washed.

[Garry/Al-Fan]

Why couldn't MARVEL have put what Mokole wrote in the comic book! That would've been impressive and intriquing and interesting. All we got was "FLINCH" smells bad. Sheesh.