Some of the most shocking deaths in the history of comic books belong to DC Comics. Part of that is because of the long tradition of the company, inaugurating the Golden Age of Comics in 1938 with the Man of Steel himself, Superman. The deaths of such long-lasting beloved characters were completely unexpected for longtime readers.
From the death of Superman himself to the shocking but no less tragic deaths of lesser-known characters, DC Comics has made the final fate of some of its greatest heroes and villains the centerpiece of some of the greatest stories ever told on the pages.
Rorshach
One of the most shocking deaths in DC Comics comes at the end of one of its greatest stories, Watchmen. The 1986 classic mini-series written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons ends with Rorschach threatening to spill the beans on Ozymandias' plot to bring the world together through the murder of millions of innocent civilians.
Dr. Manhattan atomizes Rorschach to prevent him from telling the truth and spoiling the fragile peace the act won in one of the most shocking moments of many in the comic.
Green Arrow
Oliver Queen has been one of the most significant superheroes in DC Comics since his debut in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. The Green Arrow was an integral part of the DC Comics universe for decades until his death in the 1990s. He sacrifices his life to save the city of Metropolis from terrorists.
His death was a shock, but maybe not completely unexpected given the era. Many characters, including Superman, had died or been replaced by new heroes like Green Arrow was by his son, Connor Hawke.
Batman
Batman has fought against crime and injustice for decades but in the pages of Final Crisis in 2008, Batman loses his life to perhaps the greatest of DC villains, Darkseid. Darkseid kills Batman with his powerful Omega Beams after Batman shoots the ruler of Apokolips with a radion bullet.
Radion is a type of radiation especially dangerous to the New Gods. The high cost of battling Darkseid was no surprise, but the death of Batman was. Readers later discovered he didn't die but was transported back in time to the distant past.
Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown was a young character who rapidly built up an impressive resume within the Bat-Family. In quick succession, she was Robin, Spoiler, and Batgirl. She has also been a version of Batwoman in another universe. That's why her death in 2004 in Batman #633 came as a huge shock to fans.
She died at the hands of the Black Mask in a brutal storyline that not everyone was a fan of, and made worse by a retcon that revealed Brown died because of the inaction of her doctor. She remained out of the comics for some time but has since found her way back into continuity.
Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle is apparently set to become a movie in the DCEU, featuring the modern Jaime Reyes version of the character. But Jaime wasn't the first or even the second Blue Beetle.
That was Ted Kord, who was the victim of a shocking death at the hands of Wonder Woman 1984 villain Maxwell Lord. In 2005, during the Infinite Crisis storyline, Kord discovers that Lord is running a shadow organization within the greater Justice League organization. Maxwell executes Ted Kord in a brutal fashion.
Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Pennyworth has been a constant presence in the life of Bruce Wayne since he was a child, so it was a shock to see him lose his life in the City Of Bane storyline from a few years ago. Bane breaks Alfred's neck under orders from an alternate version of Thomas Wayne, Bruce's father.
The ramifications of the shocking event are still playing out in the current comics. Nightwing just inherited all of Alfred's considerable estate - billions of dollars - and is using it to help make the city of Bludhaven a better place.
Ferro Lad
Ferro Lad may not be as well known as other heroes to comic book readers, but his death was nonetheless a surprise. He dies defeating the Sun-Eater in Adventure Comics #353 in 1966. The shock was that Ferro Lad had only debuted a few issues before in issue #346.
Ferro Lad was able to transform himself into living iron and he was interesting enough as a character to return in various forms in later years. He came back as an alternate reality version of himself and a reimagined character in later continuity, reappearing after the Zero Hour event of the mid-90s.
Jason Todd
Jason Todd was the second Robin and victim of one of the Joker's most monstrous acts of violence. He also part of one of the more infamous moments in comic history, with his fate left up to fans who called into a special hotline with their vote. Though they played a role in his death, fans may not have expected DC to actually go through with it.
Jason died at the hands of the Joker in A Death In The Family from 1988 and was quickly replaced by the Tim Drake Robin. Todd would return several years later, his body resurrected by the Lazarus Pit. He is now the Red Hood and part of the Bat-Family.
Supergirl
Before Jason Todd, DC Comics reset their sprawling continuity in the 1985 crossover Crisis On Infinite Earths. With all of DC's many parallel worlds consolidated into one, that meant some characters got left out. One of them was Supergirl. With the Anti-Monitor destroying universe after universe in the story, Supergirl sacrifices her life to save her world, Earth-1.
Supergirl would be erased from continuity for many years after, but would later return in a series of different versions that ultimately saw the return of the original Kara Zor-El.
The Flash
Crisis On Infinite Earths also featured another major DC death, in what was maybe the most shocking to that point. The Flash died sacrificing his life to save the remaining worlds in the multiverse. He created a speed vortex so powerful it drew in the energy of the Anti-Monitor's anti-matter cannon.
Given how major a character Barry Allen was at the time, his death came as a complete shock to readers and dramatically upped the stakes of the story. Barry would be replaced by Wally West, and be out of the comics for a long time before eventually returning.