BLACKEST NIGHT: what of those who *remain* dead?

[Buried Alien]

By now, most who follow DC Comics know that THE BLACKEST NIGHT features the concept of reviving dead DCU characters as Black Lanterns. These zombie Black Lanterns include many of DC's most prominent dead characters.

But not everybody who is dead is being revived. Why were those who *were* revived singled out for the Black Lantern treatment, and why did those who will remain dead get left out?


Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Kevinroc]

I imagine DC chose the "big name" characters who either died in high-profile "events" or are rather famous characters in their own right or have a connection to major characters that DC is pushing. That's why characters like Kal-L, Ronnie Raymond, J'onn, The Flying Graysons and possibly Pa Kent were chosen.

[Artificial idiot]

I imagine we're supposed to assume that those characters that don't show up on panel are supposedly shuffling around all zombified off screen in some other part of the world.

[daveageallen]

martian manhunter? black flash or zoom should becomeblack lanterns. that could be devestating. just running around fucking stuff up

[Captain Smith]

Wonder if at the end of the yarn - the Black Lantern good guys get resurrected as good guys among the living?

Gives us a lot of beloved folk back again. If Superman singing a song saves the multiverse perhaps he can play a tuba solo and raise the dead.

[TimberBear]

i was kind of wondering if the coast city scene from blackest night #1 shown in the preview means that all the dead residents from monguls nuking possibly come back....

[robbieglenn]

Wonder if at the end of the yarn - the Black Lantern good guys get resurrected as good guys among the living?

Gives us a lot of beloved folk back again. If Superman singing a song saves the multiverse perhaps he can play a tuba solo and raise the dead.


That would be glorious!

[David Walton]

i was kind of wondering if the coast city scene from blackest night #1 shown in the preview means that all the dead residents from monguls nuking possibly come back....

I'm thinking so. That would be the ultimate test for the City Without Fear.

[DeTroyes]

I'm possibly in the minority here, but I for one think that all the Black Lanterns should go back to their eternal sleep when Blackest Night is over and done with. Even better, afterwords removed entirely from any possibility of resurrection ever again.

I want Death's Door slammed shut, never to be opened up again.

[Brian888]

More than that, I'm hoping Death herself actually shows up at some point for Blackest Night. I imagine she'd have SOMETHING to say about all this (assuming, of course, that DC can use her without having to pay truckloads of money to Neil Gaiman or something).

[Hawkman]

I'm possibly in the minority here, but I for one think that all the Black Lanterns should go back to their eternal sleep when Blackest Night is over and done with. Even better, afterwords removed entirely from any possibility of resurrection ever again.

I want Death's Door slammed shut, never to be opened up again.
Just out of curiosity, would you still feel that way were Beast Boy and Raven to die in the event?

As for the question at hand, behind the curtain I'm sure the characters that are being brought back were chosen based upon potential sales and name-recognition more than anything else. A zombie Aquaman on a cover will probably sell more than a zombie B'wana Beast. Within the context of the story itself, though, I have no idea why certain characters will be chosen over others, at least beyond the obvious of Superman or Martian Manhunter, who clearly bring a lot of firepower to the table. I'm expecting Johns to more or less explain this on a case-by-case basis as the story progresses, however.

[Sean Walsh]

They ain't coming back because they suck.

Ok, not really, but that's the psycho fanboy response that I've yet to see here. :tongue:

I'd like to see if any BL's will come from other planets, as their ranks are pretty overwhelmingly coming from Earth.

Wonder if at the end of the yarn - the Black Lantern good guys get resurrected as good guys among the living?

Johns has apparently said they're all going back into the grave at the end of the event......but I can't believe that we won't get at least 1 or maybe 2 people back permanently.

[bongoes]

The only one's I want to see come back are Martian Manhunter and Aquaman. That's it. Though I would like Black Hand to stay around as a zombie, so he can be used in the future.

[dumbstruck]

Then they'll remain dead. At least until some writer decides it'd be cool to bring the character back. cough<Barry Allen>cough.

[ankushm999]

How the hell will the black ring find Manhunters body when it is on mars??!

[asdlkgh]

How the hell will the black ring find Manhunters body when it is on mars??!

I'd imagine that just like the other rings, the Black Rings will find their host no matter where they are in the universe.

[IvCNuB4]

Right. The rings scan the entire space sector, not just a specific planet ....

[DeTroyes]

Just out of curiosity, would you still feel that way were Beast Boy and Raven to die in the event?

Yes.

I admit, in that particular case I would probably grumble loudly. But I still maintain that death and subsequent resurrections have become much too common in the DCU, so much so that it has essentially removed all meaning for death. Death is now just another form of limbo, and I think it shouldn't be. There should be consequences and ramifications to a character's death, things that will stay with the characters (and their readers) from that point ever after. Otherwise, what's the point of telling a dramatic story, if at the end of the day everything is undone and everyone goes back to the way things were before? So far as I am concerned, that's just sloppy story telling.

I doubt I will ever get my wish, though. The fan demand is too strong, and the writers are forever tempted to bringing someone back from their youth. But if I can't have death's door bolted shut with concrete blocks blocking access and Godzilla-sized three-headed dogs guarding the approaches, I at least hope that after Blackest Night is over resurrecting the dead becomes exceedingly rare and difficult as hell to accomplish.

(BTW, as a complete and utter aside, I should mention that I absolutely love your CS Lewis quote!)

[Free-Man]

Yes.

I admit, in that particular case I would probably grumble loudly. But I still maintain that death and subsequent resurrections have become much too common in the DCU, so much so that it has essentially removed all meaning for death. Death is now just another form of limbo, and I think it shouldn't be. There should be consequences and ramifications to a character's death, things that will stay with the characters (and their readers) from that point ever after. Otherwise, what's the point of telling a dramatic story, if at the end of the day everything is undone and everyone goes back to the way things were before? So far as I am concerned, that's just sloppy story telling.

I doubt I will ever get my wish, though. The fan demand is too strong, and the writers are forever tempted to bringing someone back from their youth. But if I can't have death's door bolted shut with concrete blocks blocking access and Godzilla-sized three-headed dogs guarding the approaches, I at least hope that after Blackest Night is over resurrecting the dead becomes exceedingly rare and difficult as hell to accomplish.

(BTW, as a complete and utter aside, I should mention that I absolutely love your CS Lewis quote!)

I too hope no one comes back. DC needs to stop backstepping on stuff like this. Leave the dead dead.

[Hawkman]

Yes.

I admit, in that particular case I would probably grumble loudly. But I still maintain that death and subsequent resurrections have become much too common in the DCU, so much so that it has essentially removed all meaning for death. Death is now just another form of limbo, and I think it shouldn't be. There should be consequences and ramifications to a character's death, things that will stay with the characters (and their readers) from that point ever after. Otherwise, what's the point of telling a dramatic story, if at the end of the day everything is undone and everyone goes back to the way things were before? So far as I am concerned, that's just sloppy story telling.

I doubt I will ever get my wish, though. The fan demand is too strong, and the writers are forever tempted to bringing someone back from their youth. But if I can't have death's door bolted shut with concrete blocks blocking access and Godzilla-sized three-headed dogs guarding the approaches, I at least hope that after Blackest Night is over resurrecting the dead becomes exceedingly rare and difficult as hell to accomplish.

(BTW, as a complete and utter aside, I should mention that I absolutely love your CS Lewis quote!)
Thanks for the thoughtful response, and sorry if I put you on the spot. I just see so many people saying they're sick of resurrections, but it seems as though more often than not their favorite character is Superman or Batman, where there's virtually no chance of either staying dead for long. I think it's easy to have the opinion of "dead means dead" when you know your favorites are probably never going to be held to that standard no matter what.

Speaking for myself, I more or less agree with you, but I'd pretty much be a total hypocrite if I actively advocated the door be closed on death in the DCU right now. Reason being is I'm fully expecting Hawkman and Hawkgirl to die in Blackest Night #1, but I'm really, really hoping that if they do bite it their deaths will somehow lead to Katar and Shayera's return by the event's conclusion. I'm both nervous and excited to see what actually happens on Wednesday.

And thanks for the compliment on my sig. I love that quote, but I'm always worried it's too long for anyone to bother actually reading it.:smile:

[DeTroyes]

Speaking for myself, I more or less agree with you, but I'd pretty much be a total hypocrite if I actively advocated the door be closed on death in the DCU right now. Reason being is I'm fully expecting Hawkman and Hawkgirl to die in Blackest Night #1, but I'm really, really hoping that if they do bite it their deaths will somehow lead to Katar and Shayera's return by the event's conclusion. I'm both nervous and excited to see what actually happens on Wednesday.

Well, to be totally honest, I kind of classify the Hawks as automatic exceptions to the "no resurrections" rule - simply because coming back from the dead is already built into their characters. For that reason, I don't object as much to a Hawkman resurrection. But when its gotten to the point that the Jericho's and Gizmo's of the DCU get resurrected without so much as a second thought, to me that's way beyond pushing the limits of believability.

[El Castigador]

How the hell will the black ring find Manhunters body when it is on mars??!

they have been show to fly pretty much anywhere in space just like the other rings they just pinpoint dead people

[Bevbos]

I'm possibly in the minority here, but I for one think that all the Black Lanterns should go back to their eternal sleep when Blackest Night is over and done with. Even better, afterwords removed entirely from any possibility of resurrection ever again.

I want Death's Door slammed shut, never to be opened up again.

I agree with you. I think bringing back dead characters via this method is a little cheap. Still, you know some of them are coming back, for sure. I know Johns will keep me interested in whatever goes down, but if this were in the hands of another writer, I'd be concerned, because from my point of view: Ronnie Raymond = who??? (Ok, I know he was the original Firestorm, but the point I'm making is that I don't know enough about him to care about him... and I'm sure lots of other readers feel similarly about many of these characters).

ON THE OTHER HAND, if it's just the dead forcing the living to cope with their emotions over their loss... then that I think can lead to some really stellar reading, potentially.

[DeTroyes]

ON THE OTHER HAND, if it's just the dead forcing the living to cope with their emotions over their loss... then that I think can lead to some really stellar reading, potentially.

I've got no problem with the drama as a one-off thing (like Blackest Night appears to be). Its one of the reasons why I'm looking forward to Blackest Night Titans, because I think Beast Boy has a load of issues still to work out over Terra. But at the end of the day, I think it would be a huge disservice to resolve it all by waving the magic wand and saying "OK, everyone is back alive."

Keeping with my Titans example, I think bringing Terra back permanently would seriously damage the ending of a classic story like "Judas Contract", because Terra's betrayal and subsequent death is so pivotal to the drama of that tale that the only way it works is if Terra stays dead forevermore. Anything less severally undercuts the point of the story. Yet, I know of scores of fans who would happily sacrifice that tale for the chance to bring Terra back and "redeem" her, either because they feel uncomfortable with the idea that Terra really was the psychotic Wolfman conceived her to be, or just because they desperately want a happy ending. And I think its that sort of thinking that has gotten us to the point where we are today, with characters being resurrected left and right beyond any measure of good sense.

If they're going to bring some characters back permanently, make it only a select few. I'll give you Martian Manhunter, the Hawks, maybe one or two others. But that should be it - a one-time-only, last chance sort of thing. Afterwards, everyone else should go back to the dust from whence they came, and never, ever come back.

[Bevbos]

If they're going to bring some characters back permanently, make it only a select few. I'll give you Martian Manhunter, the Hawks, maybe one or two others. But that should be it - a one-time-only, last chance sort of thing. Afterwards, everyone else should go back to the dust from whence they came, and never, ever come back.

Yep, I completely agree. The characters should return for the duration of the event to put our assorted protagonists through the emotional wringer, and then return to dust. Maybe the assorted forces of magic, the Dr. Fates and Spectres what-will-you, can work in tandem with certain of the Black Lanterns to restore them to life - but certainly no Ma and Pa Kent, etc. I don't even think Maxwell Lord, the Dibneys, or Ted Kord should come back, frankly.