10 Best Fakeout Endings In Comics
Those fantastic swerves that totally had us all fooled.
The world of comic books is one forever full of false twists and turns as it looks to pull the rug out from under its readers. Just when you think a tale is taking a left, so often said tale with veer off and take a right; so is that nature of the beast.
Of course, such swerves aren't always for the best, with the lack of conviction of certain comics being something that has caused for the medium to be laughed at at times. For instance, it's a running joke nowadays how death is never a permanent arrangement when it comes to the funny books. In that regard, people tend to point to 1993's The Death of Superman as forever making death a mere plot point rather than something everlasting. That's down to how the Man of Steel's death was eventually revealed to just simply be in a deep Kryptonian sleep.
While it may have been the ultimate fakeout, that whole charade set the stall for what was to come across the ensuing 30 years, with so many countless other fakeouts all following in the footsteps of Kal-El.
Despite some of these being utterly awful, though, there have thankfully been some absolutely brilliant fakeouts during that time. Here, it's time to shine a spotlight on ten such fantastic swerves that totally had us fooled.
10. Superman Can't Save Green Arrow
This particular fakeout was great in how DC Comics actually went through with killing off Oliver Queen. Once the all-powerful Man of Steel arrived on the scene, it was presumed that the Big Blue Boy Scout would fly in and save the day as he had done time and time again over the decades.
Superman is Superman, and thus forever does Superman things. For the most part, that means always overcoming any odds, always triumphing, and always being the great shining hope of comics. This time, though, the Last Son of Krypton was helpless as Oliver sacrificed his own life to save Metropolis.
Essentially, this was a fakeout that was the opposite of what we were used to. As Green Arrow #100 came to an end, Ollie was in an airplane heading to the home city of Superman, with his arm trapped in an explosive device that would detonate and wipe out Metropolis should he remove his limb.
The big cliffhanger was how could Supes save the Emerald Archer. After weighing up all options, the only way Kal-El can save Queen is to use his heat vision to sever the Arrow's arm, then detonate the bomb elsewhere.
Shockingly, the concept of Superman saving the day was the fakeout here, with Ollie setting off the bomb and sacrificing himself for the greater good rather than become a one-armed archer. That was in 1995, and Queen would remain dead for the next six years.