10 Comic Characters Who Actually Stayed Dead
2. Doctor Fate
DC actually has a surprising number of deaths that have stuck. A lot of their characters exist as mantles rather than specific heroes and so it's common to see a character die and, instead of them coming back, someone new will step in to take over the role. No other hero better exemplifies that than Dr. Fate.
Dr. Fate is the most powerful magic user in the DC Universe. The source of their power comes from a helmet possessed by the ancient spirit Nabu. As such, anyone who has them can be Dr Fate.
The first Dr. Fate was an archeologist named Kent Nelson, who found the helmet in Egypt. He helped found the Justice Society of America and fought crime for decades until the magic keeping him alive failed and he died of old age (and would later come back and be killed by a demon).
Nabu then got a little bit weird and fused teenager Eric Strauss and his stepmother Linda into a single shared body as the new Doctor Fate. Both of them died while serving on the Justice League bit were reincarnated as a married couple so they got a happy(?) ending.
Other hosts included Kent's wife Inza, smuggler Jared Stevens and former superhero Hector Hall, all of whom were also killed. Kent's grandnephew Kent V. Nelson was Doctor Fate until the universe was rebooted as part of the New 52 and he was replaced by Eyptian-American medical student Khalid Nassour.