Will J'Onn J'Onzz replace Barry Allen as the DCU's token "permanent death?"

[Buried Alien]

Now that Barry Allen has returned from the dead, and assuming that he sticks around for the long haul, will J'Onn J'Onzz the Martian Manhunter replace him as the token DC "permanent" dead character?

Over the past few years, most of DC's most prominent dead characters have returned to life (Oliver Queen, Hal Jordan, Jason Todd, Supergirl, and now...Barry Allen). Barry is probably the last and most unexpected example of these returnees from death.

So has J'Onn been killed (and will be kept dead, at least for a very long time) to replace Barry as the "permanent death?"

Several things to consider:

1. J'Onn is the one character who might pre-date even Barry as the "first Silver Age" character.

2. J'Onn is a prominent figure in the DCU, but not quite the pop culture icon that Flash is.

3. J'Onn has a loyal fanbase, but not nearly as large (or as vocal) as the fanbase for Barry Allen or Hal Jordan. Although many are sorry to see J'Onn go, it's unlikely that there will be a huge grassroots movement of fans clamoring to bring J'Onn back. Hence, his death probably *can* stick if DC wants it to, considering that the company won't be losing huge amounts of potential revenue from disappointed J'Onn fans who will no longer be seeing their favorite character published on a regular basis.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[EZMOHR]

No. He won't be gone as long as Barry was, He won't be gone as long as Oliver was(Like what, a couple of years.) It's a funnybook, he will be back. People will either bitch, moan, or be happy about the return. I think permanant death in comics is something that just won't be a staple (save Uncle Ben.)

[Ilash]

The short answer is: no way in hell.

A big problem with your assumption, BA, is that The Flash is one of DC's most iconic characters, NOT Barry Allen. In fact, for a whole generation - hell maybe a number of generations - of fans, J'Onn J'Onzz is a much more beloved and important character than Barry Allen is. I know that he is to me.

I also think that with the way that they dealt with his death in Final Crisis seemed to me to be setting up a future return as well. Think the death of Spock.

He'll be back and he'll be back a hell of a lot sooner than in 20 years.

[OzBat!]

The other thing is, J'onn's powers allow for any number of ways to come back.

Here, I'll postulate:

In his own book he avoided death by pushing his entire consciousness into a single hand as it was cut off, and then regrew his body. Being the world's most accomplished telepath, he could have done something similar again.

I'm guessing it has something to do with the way he pushed the martian history into the minds of all his friends, compelling them all to bring it together into one complete whole. What if it was more than just the martian history, but also hiding dormant parts of his personality? And then, when everybody came back together for his funeral, it allows him to bring himself "back together" psionically. Additionally, the way he "died" might be highly traumatic, but essentially most of his body is in one piece this time around. After everybody's left, being entombed in his ancient home allows the possibility it's equipped with something to restart his body's highly morphic cellular regeneration. He could sit a few months out at home, regather himself, find his centre rah rah rah and come back as Final Crisis reaches its zenith and deliver the coup de grace.

Heck, I'm willing to lay odds - small odds, I'm not rich at the moment - that Batman knows J'onn isn't dead, and this is a plot between 'em to keep J'onn as the ace in the hole that the villains won't expect, since the entire villain community saw him 'die' and the entire hero community attended his funeral.

[Jim Thompson]

Now that Barry Allen has returned from the dead, and assuming that he sticks around for the long haul, will J'Onn J'Onzz the Martian Manhunter replace him as the token DC "permanent" dead character?

Over the past few years, most of DC's most prominent dead characters have returned to life (Oliver Queen, Hal Jordan, Jason Todd, Supergirl, and now...Barry Allen). Barry is probably the last and most unexpected example of these returnees from death.

So has J'Onn been killed (and will be kept dead, at least for a very long time) to replace Barry as the "permanent death?"

Several things to consider:

1. J'Onn is the one character who might pre-date even Barry as the "first Silver Age" character.

2. J'Onn is a prominent figure in the DCU, but not quite the pop culture icon that Flash is.

3. J'Onn has a loyal fanbase, but not nearly as large (or as vocal) as the fanbase for Barry Allen or Hal Jordan. Although many are sorry to see J'Onn go, it's unlikely that there will be a huge grassroots movement of fans clamoring to bring J'Onn back. Hence, his death probably *can* stick if DC wants it to, considering that the company won't be losing huge amounts of potential revenue from disappointed J'Onn fans who will no longer be seeing their favorite character published on a regular basis.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)I really doubt it -- but then I don't expect the Manhunter to stay dead all that long, either.

[Kevinroc]

No, I don't expect J'onn to be dead for all that long. It would also be pretty bad if it were since his death story is easily the worst thing about Final Crisis.

[carswell13]

The other thing is, J'onn's powers allow for any number of ways to come back.

Here, I'll postulate:

In his own book he avoided death by pushing his entire consciousness into a single hand as it was cut off, and then regrew his body. Being the world's most accomplished telepath, he could have done something similar again.

I'm guessing it has something to do with the way he pushed the martian history into the minds of all his friends, compelling them all to bring it together into one complete whole. What if it was more than just the martian history, but also hiding dormant parts of his personality? And then, when everybody came back together for his funeral, it allows him to bring himself "back together" psionically. Additionally, the way he "died" might be highly traumatic, but essentially most of his body is in one piece this time around. After everybody's left, being entombed in his ancient home allows the possibility it's equipped with something to restart his body's highly morphic cellular regeneration. He could sit a few months out at home, regather himself, find his centre rah rah rah and come back as Final Crisis reaches its zenith and deliver the coup de grace.

Heck, I'm willing to lay odds - small odds, I'm not rich at the moment - that Batman knows J'onn isn't dead, and this is a plot between 'em to keep J'onn as the ace in the hole that the villains won't expect, since the entire villain community saw him 'die' and the entire hero community attended his funeral.

Sure sounds like something Bats would do.

[princesa]

J'onn will be back in a few years or so. His consciousness maybe in another form and streamlined abilities. Maybe as a villain...