10 Times Batman Has "Died"

Shot to the head! But who's to blame?

If it looks like a superhero, acts like a superhero, and is resistant to death as a superhero? It's probably a superhero. People like to argue that Batman isn't technically a superhero, because of his lack of powers (they're totally wrong about that, by the way). But seriously, outside of soap operas, what other stripe of fictional character comes back from the dead as often as superheroes? Apart from zombies. Death is a particularly relative concept in superhero comics, with almost every major death that's ever occurred in the genre eventually reversed. People used to joke that the only people who would ever stay dead in comics are Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy and Bucky; currently we're sort of at two out of three, and Peter Parker's kindly relative is almost certainly due a gritty, mature readers reboot. But death is also a concept which defines a lot of characters: Spider-Man has Uncle Ben, Superman has his entire planet, and Batman has his parents. The murder of Bruce Wayne's mum and dad in a random mugging is what inspired his life as a crimefighter, and it's a life that's been defined by even more death - Jason Todd, every girlfriend he's ever had, etc. Plus there's all the times he's died himself. How do you define a superhero? How about someone who is literally indestructible? The Caped Crusader met his maker once again in a recent comic, but it's far from the first time. Eventually he comes back - through hook or by crook or by Lazarus Pit - but it's usually pretty spectacular when he goes. Here are ten times Batman has "died".
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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/