10 Stupid Comic Book Movie Deaths That Should Never Have Happened

It's been four years and Superman dying in Batman v Superman still doesn't make sense.

Superman Dead
Warner Bros.

Two decades into the 21st century, it's safe to say the superhero movie has fully integrated itself into pop culture. The X-Men and Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies built on the bedrock foundation laid by the Tim Burton Batman and Richard Donner Superman films and themselves paid the way for the genre-defining Marvel Cinematic Universe. Which in turn inspired the DC Extended Universe, accompanied by its own set of ups and downs. At this point, the only thing more certain than a superhero sequel film is death.

It's at the crossroad between the two where things start to take a negative turn. See, comics kill off characters all the time. If characters get big enough, their deaths can be promoted as big event comics that can sell for higher or to a wider audience. This happens so much that event deaths and subsequent resurrections are a trope of the medium.

But in films things can be a little more difficult. Given the extended periods between films, it's harder to nail the exact right moment to kill off a popular character. Failing to do so can ruin an entire movie, just by killing the wrong hero at the wrong time.

10. Ares (Wonder Woman)

Superman Dead
Warner Bros.

2017's Wonder Woman wasn't just the combo breaker that shattered Warner Brothers' losing streak of superhero films, wasn't just a cultural phenomenon that encouraged and inspired women the world over, it was also a pretty good film. For the first two acts, anyway.

Things fell apart in a big way in the film's climax. The pacing got wonky, the dialogue got hokey, and the action beats were muddled by poor visual effects. And no effect was more glaring than poor David Thewlis as Ares, the god of war and Wonder Woman's sworn enemy who she'd been hunting for the entire film. Not only did he look ugly and encumbered in his fake CGI armor, but director Patty Jenkins made the interesting creative choice to have his moustache visible and prominent under his helmet.

Killing him off should have been more like putting him out of his misery, given the circumstances, but it is firmly established that Ares is the last Olympian god left, meaning that Diana had wiped out the last and only chance of the Greek gods appearing in the DC Extended Universe. That was a mistake.

To add insult to injury, eagle-eyed fans discovered that the native american smuggler Chief was actually the Blackfoot spirit Napi. As a fellow demigod who's pantheon had already been extinguished by colonists, Chief's death would have been much more impactful and symbolic.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor

A writer, blogger, comedian, and actor in New York City, Mason relishes any opportunity to discuss his favorite topics. He has many strong opinions on all facets of media and pop culture.