During the Silver Age of Comics, it was still a rare thing for a character of any significance to be killed off in super hero comics. Only two decades later, having realized the audience appeal that the demise of a beloved favorite would have, companies would turn death into a revolving door situation more promotional and profit driven than storytelling based. Yet, in the Silver and bronze Ages too, occasionally somebody would rethink the need to have offed a hero and found a way in which they were able to survive seeming death. So here are the Five Best Silver Age Character Resurrections.
Lightning Lad, ADVENTURE COMICS #312 – The death and resurrection of Lightning Lad was a key narrative component of the first year of the Legion of Super Heroes’ series in ADVENTURE COMICS, at a time when long multi-issue story arcs weren’t yet a thing in comics. It culminated in this classic episode in issue #312. Eight issues’ earlier, Lightning Lad had given his life to save Saturn Girl, who was attempting to spare her fellow Legionnaires from a lethal prophesy. LL’s body had lain in state ever since then. In the months that followed, tryouts were held to replace the fallen hero, resulting in both Mon-El and Element Lad being inducted into the group. The team thought that Lightning Lad had come back to life once before, but this turned out to be a ruse by his sister, Lightning Lass, who herself joined the Legion. And here, in this climactic installment, teh Legion spares no effort to find a way to resurrect their dead comrade. At first, it looks as though Saturn Girl has traded her life for Lightning Lad’s, a fitting bookend to his initial sacrifice. But in the end, it turns out to have been Chameleon Boy’s alien pet Proty who did the deed while disguised as Lightning Lad. Strangely, nobody ever thinks to put Proty’s body in state, nor does anybody expend any effort on his resurrection. But this is still presented as a happy ending for all concerned. In later years, Legion fans would theorized that the resurrected Lightning Lad was actually animated by the spirit of Proty, a situation that a much later creative team made canon decades later. This story was written by Edmond Hamilton and illustrated by John Forte.
Alfred, DETECTIVE COMICS #356 – One of he most central changes that incoming editor Julie Schwartz made when he took over the moribund Batman titles was to kill off the Dynamic Duo’s faithful butler Alfred. This was done in part to push back against complaints from watchdog groups in the wake of the Anti-Comic Book Senate Hearings of the 1950s that Batman and Robin were homosexual. Schwartz brought in Robin’s Aunt Harriet as a replacement for Alfred, figuring that a regular female presence would help to blunt some of the criticism of two men living together. This was intended to be the new status quo, but somebody else had other ideas. This was William Dozier, the producer of the live action BATMAN television series. He intended to make Alfred a regular part of the show (though he’d use Aunt Harriet as well), so this forced Schwartz and his creators to come up with a way to bring the fallen manservant back to life. They used a then-running plotline to do so. For a while, Batman and Robin were plagued by a mysterious, unseen figure who seemed to know everything about them and their operation, and who wanted them dead. This was the Outsider, and his true identity was a bit of a guessing game among the readership of the period. It’s unclear whether Schwartz and his team had this outcome in mind from the beginning–the clues all point in that direction from the beginning–but in DETECTIVE COMICS #356, Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff (both operating without credit under the Bob Kane byline) revealed that Alfred had been transformed into the Outsider by a friendly scientist, in one of the most absurd and least plausible chains of events in Silver Age history–and that’s saying something! In this story, Batman and Robin finally confront their foe face-to-face, and confirm what they’ve already worked out concerning his identity. What’s more, in a fluke situation worthy of the Green Goblin, the Outsider is returned to his human Alfred persona with no memory of his criminal activity as the white-skinned villain. And that’s how things remained, with only an occasional reappearance from the Outsider occasionally reminding readers that Alfred had ever been killed off in the first place.
Professor X, X-MEN #65 – It bears repeating that throughout the whole of the Silver Age, X-MEN was a troubled series. It never entirely found its groove and its sales lagged behind the majority of the Marvel line. In one of a number of efforts to save it, writer Roy Thomas decided to kill off the team’s leader and mentor Professor X, and separate the group so that subsequent issues would feature only one or two members of the team. This strategy did nothing to halt the decline of X-MEN’s sales numbers, so the approach was abandoned and the team brought back together again. But Charles Xavier was no longer among them, and his demise came to be seen as a bit of a well-intentioned misstep, one that the creators moved to correct even as the title teetered on the edge of cancellation. in X-MEN #65, guest scripter Denny O’Neil and artist Neal Adams, possibly with some input from Roy Thomas, revealed that the figure who died leading the X-Men wasn’t Professor X at all, but rather an obscure shape-changing villain called the Changeling. Roy had apparently had this get-out-of-jail-free card in mind from the moment he knocked Xavier off. The story itself doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, especially on an emotional level–Professor X needed to go into seclusion in order to prepare for an upcoming alien invasion by the dread Z’Nox. In order that he have total concentration, rather than behaving like a regular person and telling his team what he had to do, he instead had the Changeling take him place, then allowed his students to suffer through grief and anguish and the splitting of their group after the Changeling inadvertently perished. But the Z’Nox were driven away, so it was probably all worth it, right? Even if it wasn’t, it was definitely good to have Professor X back in his rightful place by the time it came time to introduce the All-New, All-Different X-Men a few years later.
Wonder Man, AVENGERS #151 – This one’s a bit of a cheat in that the resurrection happened during the Bronze Age rather than the Silver. But as Wonder Man’s death took place in AVENGERS #9 during that time, I figure it counts. It’s also one of the most overtly spiteful resurrections on record. As indicated, Marvel introduced the character of Wonder Man in 1964. He was a powerful anti-hero figure who had joined the team in order to destroy them from within, only to change his tune and save them at the cost of his own life. And he might have come back soon thereafter, if not for a communication from DC’s lawyers. They felt that Wonder Man represented an infringement on Wonder Woman, and they told Marvel to knock it off. Stan Lee acquiesced to the request, keeping Wonder Man dead (though almost immediately introducing the similar Power Man.) Years later, in the pages of the revived ALL-STAR COMICS, writer Gerry Conway introduced Power Girl, who was intended to be an Earth-2 counterpart to Supergirl. This time, it was Marvel that cried foul, as they were publishing a monthly POWER MAN series and saw Power Girl as an infringement. But this time, DC told Marvel’s lawyers to pound sand. In response, according to legend, Stan Lee mandated the return of Wonder Man as a quid pro quo. The return came about in the closing pages of AVENGERS #151–and ironically enough, Gerry Conway was one of the writers on that issue, with Steve Englehart and Jim Shooter being the other two. The issue was a bit of a mishmash given how far behind Englehart had fallen, and his contribution here was his last for years. Artist George Perez delivered the visuals. Over time, Wonder Man became a mainstay in the book, played akin to Captain America as a man out of time who was also a bit terrified of being killed again, despite his great power.
Robotman, SHOWCASE #94 – Another revival that took place in the Bronze Age of a character killed off during the Silver. If the X-Men had a parallel at DC, it was doubtless the Doom Patrol, another feature that focused on a group of self-proclaimed freaks let by a wheelchair-bound genius whose main enemies all grouped themselves together as the Brotherhood of Evil. Both books were discontinued at the end of the Silver Age, though DOOM PATROL went far further than X-MEN by killing off its entire cast in its final issue in an amazing and memorable finale. But just as X-MEN was brought back in the mid-1970s with an international cast to great acclaim, the same thing was attempted with the Doom Patrol to much more lackluster results. In the pages of the revived SHOWCASE series issue #94, we learn that the detonation of the island upon which they were trapped wasn’t enough to kill Robotman, though his mechanical body was largely destroyed in the blast. Washing up on shore coincidentally in front of Will Magnus, the creator of the Metal Men, Cliff Steele’s robotic body was refashioned and updated. Returning to Doom Patrol headquarters, Steele found three newcomers squatting there–Celsius, Tempest and Negative Woman–one of whom claimed to be the late Chief’s wife. But despite a game attempt, the SHOWCASE tryout of the New Doom Patrol failed to catch on with audiences, and the characters became background players throughout the nascent DC Universe. Eventually, Marv Wolfman and George Perez would return Robotman to his classic form and also bring the killers of the Doom Patrol to justice in the pages of NEW TEEN TITANS.
The Tom Brevoort Experience 
That resurrection of Professor X was also part inspiration for the later resurrection of Jean Grey, in that it was a notable example of the “It wasn’t me that died — it was someone who looked like me!” gambit.
Trust me on this, I know a guy.
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“Special Thanks to K. Busek”. Whatever happened to them? I heard they added an “i” to the last name & went on to great subsequent to success.
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I check the comments so in case I missed it you can add John Byrne brought Iron Fist back the same way ( As Professor X & Jean Grey ).
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It was also used to bring back the Atlas Age Marvel Boy ( Bob Grayson ) and Timely Comics’ Red Raven.
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Tom, I think the claim that the original X-MEN never hit its groove has become a cliched comment over the years. I would contend that it hit its groove from issue #1 with a very distinctive raison d’etre, and quickly well-defined protagonists, as well as introduced a bucketload of distinctive antagonists. This is how it was until first Jack Kirby and then Stan Lee ended their involvement with the series. After that, it was hit ‘n’ miss with the latter increasingly prominent as the issues went by until it hit the dregs at the conclusion of the muddled, excessively drawn-out Factor Three saga. Then, it finally hit its stride again as soon as Neal Adams came on the scene.
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The Wonder Woman detail regarding Wonder Man is an urban legend, albeit one that 1970s Marvel creators believed when they brought him back. In an interview in the fanzine CRUSADER #1 (1964), Stan Lee said, “We were intending to bring him back, but we found out that DC had a story about a year ago, concerning a robot named Wonder Man [in SUPERMAN #163]. I myself never saw him or heard [of] him. The head of National Comics wrote to us and informed us of the fact that he had already used the name Wonder Man. We do not want to use anyone else’s name, so only for that reason, we are not bringing Wonder Man back. And besides, we can’t, because we don’t copy anyone.” By the 1970s, Stan himself had forgotten this and came up with the new account that DC had objected because of Wonder Woman.
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It may be completely true, but I don’t know that I trust Stan’s account from 1964. Stan would never have discussed the real reasons with a fanzine in that period, and he was never afraid of putting spin on a situation: see why Piper-Man was only in one issue of Amazing Fantasy. Either way, though, the essence of the story remains the same: DC’s lawyers told him to cut it out, and he did.
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I assume Marvel must have received a C&D letter, possibly mentioning the robot Wonder Man, but DC’s real motivation would have been to protect the Wonder Woman trademark.
Was Stan Lee involved enough in the mid 1970s, to have mandated WM’s resurrection? Englehart (in his introduction to that volume of Marvel Masterworks) says nothing about any of this, and indicates that he intended WM to remain a zombie. Is the idea that Lee ordered the introduction of zombie WM, or his transformation into regular WM?
(The scene shown above has always reminded me of “Spock’s Brain”!)
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My understanding is that Stan said, in essence, “Screw them, bring Wonder Man back.” He was certainly around and in a position to make such a statement and be obeyed. I don’t know that he particularly cared how it was done, only that it was done.
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After all of this fuss, when DC showed a male version of Wonder Woman in a zany Superman/Mxyzptlk’s story about a gender-reversed universe (I think Tom has posted about that) they decided to call him Wonder Warrior, possibly because Marvel’s Wonder Man had become too relevant, at that point.
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I’ve read Stan saying they kept Wonder Man dormant so king because DC threatened to sue over Wonder Woman. Then years later, after Marvel had Power Man on a cover, DC brought the out Power Girl. So Stan decided Wonder Man should come back.
This could all be hype for show. There was a golden Age Wonder Man that DC tried to shut down because of Superman.
Maybe the legal challenges between Marvel &’DC faded out because each wanted the option to have similar characters when it suited themselves.
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Aww, shux. Yes, I should’ve read the article 1st. Would’ve seen Tom covered this. Was too intrigued by the response notifications & dove into the comments, instead. 🤐😅
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The Lee story has to be, at best, simplified (not surprising). I’m not a lawyer, but I know a little about trademark law. Companies may send trademark letters to show they are defending their trademark against infringement. Such a letter doesn’t necessarily mean a lawsuit will follow. The target might send back a letter arguing there is no infringement, and the matter could end there. It’s a cost calculation, depending on the merits of the case. For obscure character “Wonder Man” versus major character “Wonder Woman”, it’s likely not worth any hassle at all. For intended new significant character “Power Girl”, versus minor character “Power Man”, it’s possibly worth defending. Years later, when Marvel was a whole lot more established, the company might have felt they could afford to spend a little lawyer money on defending the name “Wonder Man” if needed.
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Lightning Lad having Proty’s soul in the 5YL volume might be an alternate timeline now but there’s one aspect that’s lived on. The writers of that time wrote the younger clone as brash and hotheaded, and the Proty adult version as more reserved and staid as the character had become over the years. Every reboot since and the unboot have used the hothead characterization since.
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One of the things I disliked about the Bierbaum’s run, along with having Cos pining for Saturn Girl. And the whole Proty idea.
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DOOM PATROL: Funny everyone sees the X-Men in the Doom Patrol and I see the FANTASTIC FOUR ( Chief and Reed Richards geniuses, Negative Man & Thing both test pilots, Elasti-Girl & Invisible Girl/Woman both Actors ( one famous for it, one not ) & Robotman & Human Torch ( race car divers, one more famous for it ).
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And both Ben & Cliff as men trapped in somewhat monstrous bodies. There’s that great Grant Morrisson & Ken Stacey DP issue where they ARE overlapped w/ the FF, &’Robotnan is drawn way more bulky, &:sounding “Grimm”.
There’s also the Mighty Mystics, w/ Pha NB Tom Stranger looking very Bronze Age Marvel. And “Hellblazer” John Constantine in costume
But I think it’s apparent Clif &’Be en would have similar reactions to their predicaments.
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John H wrote:
DOOM PATROL: Funny everyone sees the X-Men in the Doom Patrol and I see the FANTASTIC FOUR ( Chief and Reed Richards geniuses, Negative Man & Thing both test pilots, Elasti-Girl & Invisible Girl/Woman both Actors ( one famous for it, one not ) & Robotman & Human Torch ( race car divers, one more famous for it )
I don’t doubt that somewhere Stan (or someone) may’ve said that post-war Ben Grimm became a test pilot, but FF #1 doesn’t say so, or even elaborate on why Reed Richards wants BG to fly their space rocket. And Stan’s extant one page synopsis doesn’t say so either, just that BG is a “crackerjack pilot” and an “ex-war hero.” FF #11 builds on the “war hero” thing but doesn’t really say what BG was doing after the war for a regular job, and IMO the only issues anyone at DC would’ve read with attention would have been #1 and #11.
Captain America is an interesting case because AVENGERS #4 gave fans both an account of his perceived death and his resurrection, so you don’t have time to miss him, as is the case in the other examples Tom provides. The one lead-in to Cap’s revival was that Human Torch story, and without re-reading it, I’m pretty sure the text doesn’t advance the idea that Cap is believed long dead. The attitude is pretty much the same as the first mention of Sub-Mariner in FF #4: “whatever happened to this character who’s vaguely known to have been active fifteen years ago during WWII…?”
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Of course, heroes didn’t die in golden age comics, they just stopped showing up (the lack of superhero teams meant you couldn’t just kill off a member, and there was no point in writing a final death for a solo hero whose strip was going to be cancelled), so “golden age character resurrections” would have to be a retrospective kind of list, where it’s all “this character died, though you didn’t know it, but now he’s back!”
Mind you, there were always villains who died and then turned out to be alive again later on. My personal favourite is the really unequivocal death of one-off bad guy Crusher Crock in All-American Comics #85 (he accidentally falls to his death in the middle of fighting the Green Lantern, there’s no urgency for the heroes to leave, they stand around looking at his body and moralising, and the story ends by showing Crusher’s gravestone). Then he comes back as the Sportsmaster in Green Lantern #28, and the explanation is that he’s “cunning enough to simulate death and escape from his own grave!” Which is quite a talent for someone who’s otherwise all about nothing but direct sports-themed attacks on his foes!
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Don’t know if this is the first issue that Ben Grimm as a test pilot was mentioned ( He and Desmond Pitt as test pilots ) [ Fantastic Four#193 ( April 1978 ). I wasn’t trying to say someone at DC took characteristics from the FF and gave them to the Doom Patrol, only that I see the FF in the Doom Patrol. I haven’t a clue why those characters just happen to match up.
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3-D Man ‘s origin mentioned fabled test pilot Ben Grimm [ Marvel Premiere#35 ( April 1977 ) page 7 panel 5 ] who Hal Chandler was the best test pilot after Ben Grimm.
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I just wondered if any U.S. astronauts were test pilots so I googled test pilot astronaut and got Astronauts/Test Pilots ( Neil Armstrong, Scott D. Tingle. John Young, Bob Behnken, C. Gordon Fullerton, Jasmin Moghbeli, Nicole Aunapu Mann. Raja Chari, Josh A. Cassada, etc. ). So someone at DC seeing Ben Grimm flying a spacecraft/rocket jump to the conclusion he was a test pilot.
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IIRC that would have been an obvious connection at the time.
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That retcon story of Lightning Lad being Proty’s spirit has stuck in my mind, as it’s incredibly creepy. It ends with Proty/LL contemplating whether to tell his wife the truth, and deciding not to. Which means he’s been deceiving her for their entire later courtship and marriage, and one of the best telepaths has been deluding herself all this time (granted, the latter aspect is not completely unreasonable on a human level – but it sure is disturbing). Not to mention Proty/LL has been lying to the entire team, his sister, any old friends, on and on. I suppose he could pull it off, between prior observation, and ascribing any memory errors or personality changes to damage from being dead. Still, the implications are staggering. Some stories don’t need to be revisited. This idea was the worst fannish self-indulgence in retconning.
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Another “fannish self-indulgence:” How completely can Proty’s species duplicate sentient beings?
This is not a conventional “duplication” BUT would Proty having those powers have changed what happened?
Could he have duplicated LL’s thoughts and memories such that even a Telepath of SG’s power and skill can’t tell the difference? Could he have duplicated LL so completely that he duplicated LL’s “soul” to some degree?
I’m not that familiar with Ed Hamilton’s prose work, outside things like The Star Kings that came later, but didn’t some of his early stories have mystical implications like this?
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“That retcon story of Lightning Lad being Proty’s spirit has stuck in my mind, as it’s incredibly creepy.”
Seconded. One of the things that made me drift away from the 5YL Legion, as much as I’d enjoyed Giffen’s early issues.
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Is it just me or does that white “splat” effect — and Cliff’s irritated expression — suggest the seagull took a dump on his head?
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Roy did a good job with Professor X’s death, throwing in just enough comments about how he’s changed lately that it laid the groundwork for a resurrection.
While I agree it was still a lesser book for Marvel, Thomas did a better job than Stan and his collaborators making me buy the kids as a team of close friends.
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Tom, Wonder Man wasn’t the only hero killed in the silver age and brought back decades later: don’t forget Bucky, the original Human Torch & Toro. Granted had I been the writer of Avengers Forever, I would had Captain America use that Forever Crystal to pull Bucky forward in time [ Avengers Forever#12 ] ( It is the kissing cousin to suspended animation in terms of plot devices to get a character from the past to the present or their future. Plus history already said Bucky ( like Captain America in 1945 ) was dead, so it isn’t like anyone was going to miss him the past. This was al before the Winter Soldier was a glimmer in some writer’s eye ) or used that Cosmic Cube to restore Bucky’s Arm & Mind not just his mind. Whether its “my” TV /Movie characters or Comic Book characters I always think – “Why didn’t they do that instead”.
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