The 10 Saddest Comics Deaths Ever

Still, like I said, every so often, comics manage a real tearjerker of a death. So here are ten of the weepiest, from sad to saddest. Be warned: I cried at least ten times while pulling these together.

(Oh, and spoilers below, obviously!)

The Flash (Barry Allen)

I know I said shocking event deaths don’t do anything for me, but I’m making two exceptions on this list, and this is one of them. Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash, might have had the greatest death in comics: he went out heroically in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8, saving all of existence, in a comic that basically everyone read, and everyone’s somehow still sad about it even though he’s been back for 17 years. Barry’s final words as he literally runs himself to death are, to me, the epitome of what superheroes are about: “Th-there’s hope…there is always hope… Time to save the world! Time…back in time…do what you have to…we must save the world…we must save the world…” What a mic drop.

The #10 saddest death, but arguably the #1 best.

Robin (Jason Todd)

One of the most infamous deaths in comics, Jason Todd’s murder at the hands of the Joker in Batman #428, came about because of a reader poll: readers could dial a 1-900 number to vote whether Robin would live or die. The final tally was 5,343 to 5,271, with Jason’s death winning by just 72 votes. The violent murder of a 15-year-old was shocking even for the grim ‘n’ gritty 1980s, and paved the way for even more taboo character deaths in the decades to come (including two more Robins).

The story itself is not that sad because it’s, uh, not that great. But the entire Batfamily is haunted by Jason for the next 17 years, often quite literally, and those stories can be devastating. (The backup story “The Delusions of Alfred Pennyworth” in Gotham Knights #34 is an absolute must-read.) And unlike most resurrections, the eventual return of Jason as the Red Hood only compounds the tragedy, with Jason’s fraught relationship to Batman forever colored by the trauma neither of them can move on from.

One of the most iconic Batman pages of all time.

Farley

Okay, I’m cheating a little because this isn’t a superhero comic, but it’s my list, and I can do what I want. The long-running newspaper strip For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston told the story of the Pattersons, an ordinary Canadian family. Unlike most comics strips, the characters in For Better or For Worse aged in real time over the course of the 29-year run. That meant that by 1995, their sheepdog, Farley, was pretty old. When four-year-old April Patterson fell into an overflowing stream behind the Pattersons’ house, Farley jumped in and kept her afloat until her parents could pull them both out. The exertion was too much for the elderly dog, and his heart gave out.

I don’t think I need to explain why this one is sad. You can read the whole storyline on the official FBOFW website with Johnston’s commentary, but be warned—rereading it to research this article absolutely had me weeping at my keyboard.

I feel like a monster even putting this strip in here. But if I have to suffer, we all have to suffer.

Cassie Lang (Stature)

Cassie Lang is the daughter of Scott Lang, the second Ant-Man. When Scott was killed in action, Cassie stole his size-changing Pym particles to follow in his footsteps, joining the Young Avengers as the superhero Stature. The Young Avengers decided to attempt to undo many of the ills caused by various adult superheroes, and did manage to time-travel to the past and rescue Scott before his death…but almost immediately ended up in a confrontation with Doctor Doom, who seemingly killed Scott again. Enraged, Cassie attacked Doom—and was instantly murdered by her (in Avengers: Children’s Crusade #8). Scott thus escaped death twice in quick succession, but lost his daughter in the process.

I’m not going to say Cassie’s death wasn’t a fridging—it was immediately used to trigger her ex-boyfriend Iron Lad’s turn to villainy, as well as a lengthy period of mourning for Scott. But I’m leaving this one on the list because there’s something so intensely heartbreaking about how very teenage the Young Avengers are, and how unfair it makes Cassie’s death feel. Plus, that cruel timing of Scott and Cassie being reunited and immediately parted adds an extra twist of the knife.

This is why no one wants to hang out with you, Doom.

Johnny Thunder

Johnny Thunder is one of DC’s goofier Golden Age characters: a wealthy airhead who just happens to possess an all-powerful and very literal genie called the Thunderbolt. In the ’90s, Johnny developed Alzheimer’s, which in and of itself was heartbreaking.

The pen that housed the Thunderbolt ended up in the hands of a young boy who became Johnny’s successor, Jakeem Thunderbolt. That is, until Johnny was possessed by the villainous Ultra-Humanite, who used the power of the Thunderbolt to take over the world. The only way to save the day was for the Justice Society to separate the Thunderbolt from a possessed Johnny, which risked killing Johnny. Johnny—mentally connected to Jakeem due to their shared bond with the Thunderbolt—bravely told Jakeem to do it anyway.

Sure enough, Johnny’s elderly body couldn’t take the strain. He died in JSA #37 with his mind clear, surrounded by his beloved friends and teammates. A weeping Jakeem demanded that the Thunderbolt bring him back, which was impossible—so the Thunderbolt did the next best thing and merged with Johnny’s soul, becoming Johnny Thunderbolt. This one’s happy-sad: Johnny was technically dead, but the shared love between him, Jakeem, and the Thunderbolt meant that they got to stay together anyway.

This is just so pure?

Ted Knight (Starman) and David Knight (also Starman)

These deaths don’t occur together, but they are part of the same series, so I’m pairing them up. Ted Knight was the original Golden Age Starman, and he had two sons, golden boy David and black sheep Jack. When David took up the mantle of Starman and was almost immediately killed, Jack reluctantly decided to follow in his father’s and brother’s footsteps, which also meant untangling his messy relationship with his father.

David’s death at the beginning of the 1994 Starman series (Starman #0) had very little impact since we barely knew the character, but the series featured annual “Conversations with David” issues, where David’s spirit returned to advise Jack, and which never failed to make me cry.

Meanwhile, towards the end of the run, Ted sacrificed himself in battle with the villainous Mist, saving Jack and all of their beloved Opal City in the process (Starman #72). This one works so well because the book spent literally six years earning this payoff by developing Ted and Jack’s characters, their healing relationship, and their devotion to their city. If you can get through the last few issues of this series without sobbing, you’re made of sterner stuff than I am.

Ted bids farewell to his son (and grandson, which is a whooole ‘nother thing). P.S. Read Starman.

Ben Grimm (Thing) and Johnny Storm (Human Torch)

What makes a comic book death saddest to me is the grief of those left behind, which means that the deaths of two members of the closest-knit family in comics hit the hardest.

Ben died in Fantastic Four #508, while possessed by a disembodied Doctor Doom. With Doom threatening to use Ben’s strength to kill Johnny, Ben managed to wrest away enough control to beg Reed (Mister Fantastic) to kill him instead. Reed did, shooting him with a weapon that could pierce Ben’s rocky skin. While the whole family was devastated, Reed blamed himself—accurately, since he was largely responsible for Doom possessing Ben in the first place—and completely spiraled, starting by desperately performing CPR for over an hour and ending by deciding to go to Heaven itself to get his best friend back. I won’t spoil the twists in this story except to say that it works, but oh man does it wring the tears out of the reader on the way.

Johnny’s little breakdown in the corner always gets me.

Meanwhile, Johnny got his turn in Fantastic Four #587. Johnny and Ben were alone in the Baxter Building with Reed and Sue’s kids, Franklin and Valeria, when an enemy army of bug-monster-things (don’t worry about it) tried to invade via the building’s portal to the Negative Zone…and the only way to close the portal was for someone to stay on the other side of it. Ben, temporarily depowered, volunteered, but Johnny sucker punched him and took his place. As Ben banged on the closed portal, his powers came back, but it was too late. Johnny went down fighting, but it’s the panel of Ben on the other side, holding the kids as they cry, that gets me every time.

First of all, how dare you.

Doug Ramsey (Cypher)

This is it: the saddest death in comics, according to me (and I’m right). Right now you’re either going “Who?” or welling up with tears. IYKYK.

Doug Ramsey was a member of the New Mutants with the mutant power to understand and communicate in any language—not the most helpful power in combat, which made him the least popular member of the team since he didn’t do anything cool in comics. Readers actively requested his death, which just goes to show you should be careful what you wish for.

In New Mutants #60, Doug was shot while knocking his teammate Wolfsbane out of the way of a bullet. In a cruel twist, Wolfsbane didn’t realize he’d been hit and scolded him for putting himself in danger. “Don’t…be mad…Rahne..I…I’ll never…do it…again…” Doug gasped out, unheard.

Like Cassie Lang, Doug’s age (he was fourteen) is absolutely heartbreaking and unfair, and his teammates come across as painfully young as they wrestle with their grief and guilt. Somehow even sadder is the reaction of their headmaster Magneto, furious and self-destructive over his failure to protect a vulnerable child when he’d already witnessed so much loss and cruelty in his life. And even sadder than that is the reaction of Doug’s best friend, Warlock, a techno-organic mutant who didn’t understand death, to the point that he reanimated Doug’s corpse and had to have it explained to him that no, Doug was not ever coming back.

(I mean, Doug did eventually come back. But you get what I mean.)

Doug’s death was so well, uh, executed (sorry) that it sparked a surge of buyer’s remorse from the fans, with all the readers who had asked for his death now begging for his resurrection. That’s a damn good death.

He’s okay! Come on, Doug, walk it off!

Those are my top 10 saddest, but again, this list is just my opinion. Did I miss one that you think is even sadder? Let us know on social!