There's a reason that, from a narrative standpoint, comic books are so often compared to soap operas. They seemingly go on forever, meaning that their characters are trapped in a perpetual second act, doomed to never reach any sort of resolution or closure to their stories. Those characters tend to be pretty colourful and larger-than-life (often literally, in comics at least). And both of them rely on ridiculous cliffhangers and plot twists to keep their audience interested. Where soap operas are limited in terms of their budget and just how much their viewers will believe (although that time legit vampires turned up in General Hospital was pushing it a bit), comic book readers have seemingly no limit when it comes to what they'll buy into. Soap operas have characters killed off and then returning from the grave, seemingly lost relatives turning up despite having never been mentioned before, and stunning cases of long-term amnesia. Comic books have all that and so much more. Because, duh, they're happening to superheroes and villains. Think about the classic twists at the end of Watchmen, the original reveal of the Green Goblin's identity, and the climax of the long-running Teen Titans storyline The Judas Contract. Comics have a way of surprising, shocking and entertaining in a way no other medium can match. Which means that it can also disappoint, upset and anger in a way no other medium can manage. At times creative teams have toyed with emotions in all the wrong ways, delivering plot twists and dramatic reveals that ruin old stories, don't make any sense, or are simply so hare-brained that you have to laugh. Here are ten of those truly head-slappingly stupid twists in comics. It probably doesn't need to be said, but just in case: SPOILERS AHEAD! And if there's any we missed, let us know in the comments.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
