The X-Files' resident big bad, the Cigarette-Smoking Man, has "died" more than once, but always manages to return for more dark conspiracies. On most TV shows, an actor's character getting killed off is probably the end for them, outside of a rare appearances in flashbacks or dream sequences going forward. That's not so on The X-Files, as it's well-known that when creator Chris Carter handed one of his cast members a script with their character's death in it, the script would also include a note stressing that no one really dies on the show.
That's especially the case for the Cigarette-Smoking Man, aka Carl Gerhard Busch Spender, The X-Files' primary antagonist. CSM wasn't even originally planned to be such an important character, with actor William B. Davis being cast as a background player. Thankfully, when the role was expanded, screen veteran Davis made it readily apparent he was the right man to bring the immoral, always deceptive villain to life.
While he doesn't seem to be supernatural, the CSM still has a knack for getting out of life and death situations, or somehow surviving even he when he doesn't escape, thanks to his seemingly immeasurable resources. Here's a look at the times he's died (and returned) so far.
X-Files: The Cigarette-Smoking Man's First Death & Return
Despite a few close calls, the Cigarette-Smoking Man was able to survive the first seven seasons of The X-Files mostly unscathed. That is until "Requiem," the season 7 finale. At the time "Requiem" was written, David Duchovny was preparing to end his time as a series regular, and the Fox Mulder character was going with him. X-Files creator Chris Carter also didn't know if FOX was even going to renew the series for season 8. So "Requiem" was written as a potential series finale. Thus, it makes sense that the writing staff would try and craft a definitive end for CSM. In doing so though, they began a strange tradition of the character dying and returning, over and over again.
By "Requiem," the Cigarette-Smoking Man's cancer had returned, necessitating a tracheotomy and the use of a wheelchair. Desperate to try and rebuild the alien colonization project that had been destroyed during season 6, CSM hires Marita Covarubias and Alex Krycek to retrieve a downed spacecraft. Instead, after having been mistreated by him once too often, the pair turns on CSM and Krycek throws him down a flight of stairs. Considering his weakened state, this appeared to kill CGB Spender. Sure enough, CSM remained out of sight for several stars, before making a shocking re-appearance in the season 9 finale, another episode written to be the end of The X-Files. It would appear that the Cigarette-Smoking Man's "deaths" and returns are closely linked to the possible conclusions of the show.
X-Files: The Cigarette-Smoking Man's Second Death & Return
It was revealed by another surprisingly not dead character - CSM's son Jeffrey Spender - in the season 9 X-Files episode "William," that Mulder and Scully's nemesis was in fact still alive. However, it wasn't until the season (and formerly series) finale "The Truth," that fans received visual confirmation of the Cigarette-Smoking Man's status. Mulder and Scully head to New Mexico in search of a "wise man" they hope can make sense of some classified information Mulder has come into possession of, and surprisingly enough, that man turns out to be CSM. It's not explained how he survived going down those stairs, but his cancer hasn't abated, and he's in visibly worse condition.
CSM had voluntarily chosen to drop off the grid in order to escape a new secretive government organization that had emerged after the downfall of his original Syndicate group. Sure enough, they show up, thanks to them being on Mulder and Scully's tail, led by super soldier Knowle Rohrer, who orders a helicopter strike on the area, seemingly blowing CSM to bits. Before that though, CSM had revealed that the new planned date for alien colonization was December 22, 2012. That seemed to be clearly setting up an X-Files movie to resolve that plotline, but oddly, Carter chose to go with a standalone story for 2008's The X-Files: I Want to Believe. That movie bombed, and the 2012 colonization date came and went without fanfare. One wonders if CSM would've stayed dead had The X-Files revival never happened, but happen it did, necessitating another resurrection for the conspiratorial villain.
X-Files: The Cigarette-Smoking Man's Third Death & Return(?)
For 14 years, the Cigarette-Smoking Man was thought to be dead, for good this time. Yet, apparently thanks to his vast connections, he was found and rehabilitated after "The Truth," ending up only with some severe scarring and facial prosthetics. He first appears onscreen again in The X-Files' season 10 premiere "My Struggle." Sadly, he's been able to acquire the services of Monica Reyes in the intervening years, making her an offer she basically couldn't refuse. Being his usual awful self, CSM is now part of a plan to wipe out much of the human population, as mankind's continued plundering of natural resources has set Earth on a path to destruction. This will be accomplished through use of the Spartan Virus, which had secretly been administered as a vaccine in 2012.
In the season 11 finale, "My Struggle IV," which again might be the final X-Files episode ever, CSM actually shoots Scully's son William, who's using his powers to appear as Mulder. This followed the revelation early in season 11 that CSM was actually William's father and that he had essentially raped Scully, drugging her during season 7 and impregnating her using alien tech, a plot twist that many fans found disgusting. After William gets shot - but it's revealed later doesn't die - an angry Mulder arrives to put some bullets into the Cigarette-Smoking Man, pushing him off the edge of the pier into the rushing waters below. This may well be CSM's permanent death, as X-Files looks unlikely to return for season 12. Still, fans should never say never, as a third X-Files movie may one day still materialize, leading to another resurrection for the franchise's most dangerous bad guy.