The Avengers 56 "Death Be Not Proud"
I remember when I first started reading comics, that, I found a reprint of The Avengers 56 where Captain America along with The Black Panther Hawkeye, Goliath and The Wasp use Doctor Doom's time machine to go back to that moment where, in the skies high above war-torn Europe, in his battle against the nefarious Baron Zemo, The First Avenger and Bucky lept onto a runaway missile. This classic was written by Roy Thomas, edited by Stan "The Man" Lee and pencilled by Sal Buscema. The Wasp stays behind to montior Doom's machinery, and nearly falls alseep or something and everybody else barely makes it back. The point of the story is that no one could undo Bucky's death. Since his return and joining The Avengers, this is the burden that Steve Rogers carries. That Bucky is dead and he is alive.
This was kinda like what was going on over in Amazing Spider-Man. Peter Parker lives with the burden that, except for his own selfishness - being a selfish kid, maybe - he could have prevented his uncle Ben's death.
DC's Zero Hour produced only one really solid hit. Starman. Written by James Robinson, pencilled by Tony Harris, inked by Wade Von Grawbadger and edited by the legendary Archie Goodwin.
David Knight's death is part of Jack Knight's origin as Starman. David became Starman out of a sense of duty to his father, Ted, the original, classic, "Golden-Age" Starman. David wasn't the most capable or able Starman. In issue zero he's murdered. It is his death that at first divides Jack and Ted. Later it is his death that finally unites them.
One of my favorite issues is the first "Talking With David '96". Jack, and everything around him, is in black and white and David is in color. They argue, they battle, they trash a cemetary - and then they clean it up. They make up. David returns several times over the course of Starman, giving Jack a chance to reunite with his mother; and other Golden Age heroes. He also talks with Mikaal Tomas, the '70's hippy-dippy Starman. [SPOILER ALERT - Stop reading if you don't want to find out what happens next] It turns out that David and Jack are able to reunite through the power of Kent Nelson! All of the things that have gone, unsaid between David and Jack are fixed because of Kent Nelson, the former Dr. Fate!
The cool thing about how this all works out is that it all plays out so realistically. There's a pretty reasonable explanation for how everything has worked out from the beginning of the series to the final page of the final issue.
Even during the "Grand Guignol", when Ted faces his "Moriarty", The Mist one last time - the two take their "plunge over Reichenbach Falls" - Ted uses his gravity rod one final time to lift the building he and The Mist are on into the sky for their final battle it is amazing.
James Robinson used death to create something incredibly powerful.
Look at the third "Talking With David". David brings Jack to dinner with Zatara, Black Canary, The Atom, Hourman and The Red Bee. The entire time The Red Bee is a pompous ass - until he admits why. He stops being a guy in colorful pajamas, and he becomes a real person. Or someone you could believe would be a real person. And this is after he's dead. Haven't you ever found out something about your grandparents or parents after they passed away that creates a better understanding or a depth that you didn't see before? And James Robinson did it with a character from the '40's with a green and red costume with a fin on the cowl!
Imagine that.
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