10 Superhero Resurrections That Actually Worked

9. Colossus

As far as comic book deaths go, Colossus' hit fans particularly hard. Having sacrificed himself to ensure the survival of both the mutant and human race, fans suspected that this was one death that, despite the plethora of resurrections that had preceded it, Piotr Rasputin wouldn't be walking away from.

Enter Joss Whedon, who, having only recently made waves on TV with Buffy, turned his attention to a burgeoning career in comic book writing with Astonishing X-Men, a book that, along with Grant Morrison's New X-Men, defined the mutants during the millennium era. One of the key changes that the book made to the X-mythos involved the resurrection of Colossus, who'd actually been revived by a sinister corporation looking to create a 'mutant cure'.

Piotr's return worked mainly because of his relationship with Kitty Pryde, who have to be the biggest power-couple in the X-Men (sorry Scott and Jean). The book 'earned' the return, so to speak, because it took the time to explore the emotional consequences of the character's death and revival. Indeed, during a period where resurrections were very much off the cards for Marvel, Colossus' return was made all the more potent. More importantly, however, it made sense, and set a precedent for subsequent revivals in the Marvel Universe in its wake.