Superman's Death vs. Cap's Death

[wktf]

On newsarama.com, Joe Q was asked this question:

Q: Kazkeun 03-31-2007 03:17 PM

Who's death do you think made the bigger impact in comics: “Death of Superman” (Superman), or “Death of the Dream” (Captain America)?

JQ: Kazkeum, there’s no question that the “Death of Superman” was bigger. First, it’s Superman. Secondly, it happened when the market was still speculator crazy so it sold considerably better.

But, if you’re looking to make some sort of meaningful caparison, something a bit more apples-to-apples, that question isn’t fair because Superman dying trumps any character in comics short of Spider-Man. I think that the interesting question to ask is which one will have more lasting meaning and impact with respect to story and overall direction of ideas and story concepts. The answer to that is unknown to me because it’s too soon after Cap’s death to really judge.

So, which do you think is the more impactful death, which is a different question than Kazkeum's which asked which death made the bigger impact on comics?

For me, it's Captain America. I'm a big Superman fan but his death was set up from the beginning with hype, we knew it was coming before it happened and, due to his alien nature, it was far more probably he'd come back.

Cap's death was completely unexpected (to me anyway) and shocking and feels far more final...even though, like with Green Goblin, it may be that the super soldier serum will heal Cap.

[Wolverine1]

To me, Supermans death. I remember back when I was a kid and that book was on the news and everything (kinda like Caps) but something was bigger about it. I dont even remember people talking much about how Cap died, but everyone made a big deal about Doomsday....

I know alot of people that went and bought that book, just because they wanted to know. I mean both are big, but if Cap was before Supes' death it might have been different in terms of things....

[patrickwm68]

I think Cap's death is less impactful because of Supe's death. With Supe's you knew it was coming but the lead up to it was intense. With Cap's no one is buying it, we've seen it before and everyone expects him to come back. Plus he didn't die in battle like Superman, he got shot up close in a crowd. He didn't die a heroic death.

[Tetragrammaton]

Where's the Spawn's death option? :)

[Ink]

the death of superman

[HalJordanFan]

Superman for sure. I can still remember seeing the news heading and being all pissed off that they would even attempt it.

[risingstar]

Supes death had a big impact... however, so did Robin's. That was huge news because he was the first major comic character to be given that much media appeal over his demise in comics.

That being said, death storylines in general only serve to annoy be now. No one stays dead. Moreover, this whole cry wolf type sceanario (as the dead keep coming back shortly thereafter) makes the comic community seem awfully sophmoric, not only to itself but to the casual and non casual reader as well. It's like we're forced to play along with something we all know to be a facade.

[Justin]

Both Deaths Sucked, Neither of them were well written IMO

[madjazz]

Superman died heroically and in the course of battle. Nuff said.

[Vince-Vell]

Superman by far. Caps was handeled piss poor.

[Car50n]

too soon to judge. i'll wait for Cap to come back. then we'll know which one had better developments postmortem.

[rychehitman]

Supermans death was MUCH more impactful on the DC Universe as well as the world we live in. Superman is an ICON.

[wktf]

Supermans death was MUCH more impactful on the DC Universe as well as the world we live in. Superman is an ICON.

Well, I think Cap's an icon too.

[JR2]

Superman didn't stay dead and I doubt Cap will either, so what does it matter.

Yes, more speculators dove into the Death of Superman, but that was the nature of the business back then.

Personally, I care about Cap more as a character, so Cap's death means more to me.

[madjazz]

Supermans death was MUCH more impactful on the DC Universe as well as the world we live in. Superman is an ICON.
I agree with wktf. Cap IS an icon.

I just thought Superman's death (and rebirth) were handled in a captivating way.

Cap's death made me feel like when Hawkeye and Vision were killed during Avengers Disassembled. Disconnected and wondering why if they were going to kill these heroes, why couldn't they have done a better job.

For the record, I like Cap way more than Supes.

[rychehitman]

In the reality that we live in Superman is FAR more of an icon to pop culture than Captain America.

Sad but true.

To Fanboys worldwide, the argument will always be debated about who, or what an "icon" is in the comic world. (Hell..Wolverine1 considers X-23 an Icon!)

[Roguewarrior]

I remember issues before the death, we kept hearing "Doom, Doom, DOOM!" I thought it was great with the build up and all. The fight with Doomsday was climatic too, I have not ever seen a fight where sups took quite so much a beating that did not involve kryptonite or being in the light of a red sun. Afterwords there was a lot of ceremony too that I liked. I would have to say Sup's death, so far. I have not seen much with Cap's death yet, but issue 26 has not come out yet either.

[lord odin]

Batman now superman was good but Cap was lame and you could see it coming a mile away.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r131/taxx10/Adventure20462.jpg

[Teague]

I was bored silly by the Death of Superman, beginning to end. The only bright spots, writing-wise, were in the "Funeral for a Friend" issues, when other heroes got to mourn Supes' "passing". But yeah, even then it was pretty obvious that Superman was coming back--it wasn't a question of how, it was a question of who and when ("Reign of the Supermen" was part of that). It was all so watered-down and so obviously a publicity stunt, like they didn't need to put any effort into it at all other than just to kill him. And Doomsday was a dumb idea, IMHO.

So after all that--yep, I voted Cap. :thumbs2: (And this from someone who truly likes both characters!)

[Wolverine1]

In the reality that we live in Superman is FAR more of an icon to pop culture than Captain America.

Sad but true.

To Fanboys worldwide, the argument will always be debated about who, or what an "icon" is in the comic world. (Hell..Wolverine1 considers X-23 an Icon!)
I agree, Superman is way more reconizable than Cap.

X-23 :buttrock: Icon 4 Life!

[wktf]

I was bored silly by the Death of Superman, beginning to end. The only bright spots, writing-wise, were in the "Funeral for a Friend" issues, when other heroes got to mourn Supes' "passing". But yeah, even then it was pretty obvious that Superman was coming back--it wasn't a question of how, it was a question of who and when ("Reign of the Supermen" was part of that). It was all so watered-down and so obviously a publicity stunt, like they didn't need to put any effort into it at all other than just to kill him. And Doomsday was a dumb idea, IMHO.

So after all that--yep, I voted Cap. :thumbs2: (And this from someone who truly likes both characters!)

Teague, I truly like both characters. As I've noted before, I've got a Superman watch and money clip, have several Superman statues and even named my golden retriever Kal-El (seriously, but his brother's name is Buster...go figure).

But I agree that, while Superman is certainly by far the greater cultural icon of the two (Ryche, I agree...just not that Cap's NOT an icon) I felt his death was a publicity/marketing stunt. True, as noted, Superman died heroically in battly, but it was pre-announced in all the press and the eventuality of his return was certain. While we all knew something had to happen to Cap (prison, exile, something) his assassination was a complete surprise to me and shocked me more. So, once again, you and I appear to be in the same camp.

I am a bit surprised there's so much agreement with Joe Q's opinion, given how frequently the forum comes out against Joe Q and anything he says or does. :rolleyes:

[rilynil]

I voted Cap. It was kept a complete secret until the moment it was released. I think it's simply genius that the Civil War saga's true big bang was Cap's death, not the end of Civil War.

[wktf]

Here's an interview with Mike Carlin, who was editor of the Superman comics at that time, about The Death of Superman story:

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=107908

[Juggernaut]

Superman's Death most definetly.

I remember that Superman's death was mentioned in the news and comic's isnt that big a deal in Denmark.

The death of Captain America has not interested me yet despite the hype.

[Teague]

Teague, I truly like both characters. As I've noted before, I've got a Superman watch and money clip, have several Superman statues and even named my golden retriever Kal-El (seriously, but his brother's name is Buster...go figure).

But I agree that, while Superman is certainly by far the greater cultural icon of the two (Ryche, I agree...just not that Cap's NOT an icon) I felt his death was a publicity/marketing stunt. True, as noted, Superman died heroically in battly, but it was pre-announced in all the press and the eventuality of his return was certain. While we all knew something had to happen to Cap (prison, exile, something) his assassination was a complete surprise to me and shocked me more. So, once again, you and I appear to be in the same camp.


Yep, wktf--it's a good camp! :thumbs2:

I didn't mean to imply that you weren't a fan of Supes--just that I was too, so as to stave off any accusations of being a Marvel Zombie (at least to the exclusion of not caring for DC characters at all!)

I'm really enjoying the Death of Cap storyline, surprisingly, and honestly, in Bru's hands, I'm sure I'll continue to. :thumbs2: