History BittersweetEnding / ComicBooks

* ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': In the end, Link saves the day, kills Ganon and wins Zelda's heart... but they can never be together because of their respective duties.

* Every ending in the ''ComicBook/{{Blacksad}}'' series is bittersweet. Blacksad finds the missing girl, but her mother is now dead. In another album Blacksad stops nuclear proliferation but doing so loses him the woman he had come to love.

* ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'': The Earth is reduced to a smouldering husk and nearly the entire cast dies, [[TheHeroDies Hellboy included]] (three times, in fact), but the Ogdru Jahad, its Ogdru Hem spawn, Satan, and Rasputin are defeated for good, Hellboy's efforts ensure that some remnants of humanity have survived within the HollowEarth, and new life will be born on the surface from his blood.

* ''ComicBook/{{Crimson}}'' ended with [[BigBad Lisseth]] being defeated and her apocalypse prevented. However, untold innocents perished during the dragon attacks around the world and two of the hero's companions (one of them being his love interest) pulled a HeroicSacrifice during the final battle. The hero remained a vampire at the end after fulfilling his purpose, so he is forced to leave his loved ones behind (his father becomes a US senator, while his other love interest joins a convent) so he can embark on [[AndTheAdventureContinues a new quest to become human again and return to them]].

* ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel Transformers]]: Regeneration One'''s present-day aftermath of the final issue is very bittersweet. Rodimus Prime has defeated the dark Matrix creature, ending the threat it posed to the multiverse, but at the cost of forever cutting off his own universe from [[PhysicalGod Primus]]; Optimus Prime has died again, this time for good; thanks to the Matrix creature, Cybertron has been [[ApocalypseHow rendered uninhabitable]]; and most of the Transformer population on Cybertron were turned into [[LivingShadow shadow-leeches]] by the creature, before its defeat allowed what was left of their [[OurSoulsAreDifferent sparks]] to pass]]. But, the DistantFinale reveals that the ForeverWar has come to an end, as Autobots and Decepticons become emissaries of peace; the survivors of Earth and Nebulos succeed in rebuilding their worlds; and eons later, when Rodimus finally passes, his Matrix-spark breathes new life into Cybertron, allowing the long-dormant [[{{Precursors}} Primordials to be reborn as a new race]].

* ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformers Transformers]]: Regeneration One'''s present-day aftermath of the final issue is very bittersweet. Rodimus Prime has defeated the dark Matrix creature, ending the threat it posed to the multiverse, but at the cost of forever cutting off his own universe from [[PhysicalGod Primus]]; Optimus Prime has died again, this time for good; thanks to the Matrix creature, Cybertron has been [[ApocalypseHow rendered uninhabitable]]; and most of the Transformer population on Cybertron were turned into [[LivingShadow shadow-leeches]] by the creature, before its defeat allowed what was left of their [[OurSoulsAreDifferent sparks]] to pass]]. But, the DistantFinale reveals that the ForeverWar has come to an end, as Autobots and Decepticons become emissaries of peace; the survivors of Earth and Nebulos succeed in rebuilding their worlds; and eons later, when Rodimus finally passes, his Matrix-spark breathes new life into Cybertron, allowing the long-dormant [[{{Precursors}} Primordials to be reborn as a new race]].

* ''ComicBook/TheBadBadPlace:'' Ned is able to trick Malise into allowing Jenny and Jon to escape from the [[EldritchLocation Castavette Estate]], fulfilling the terms of his vow. As a result, the house vanishes from reality and is bound never to harm anyone else, allowing Jenny, Jon and one of the children from the house to stride off into the sunset. Unfortunately, Ned is now trapped in the Estate forever along with Serena, Malise has essentially gone unpunished for her crimes, and the people [[LotusEaterMachine ensnared by the house]] [[AndIMustScream will remain there for all eternity]].

* ''ComicBook/AGodSomewhere'': Superhero-turned-megalomaniac Eric Forster has been defeated, but he went on a rampage of death and destruction across the U.S. before he was put down. And the friends he left behind continue to be negatively affected by his actions; Alma, who was raped by Eric, suffers from PTSD while Sam abandons his journalism career.

* In ''ComicBook/MassEffectRedemption'', Liara manages to recover Shepard's body, but her friend Feron is captured. Liara then gives Shepard's body to Cerberus in the hopes that Cerberus can revive Shepard. Liara's not entirely convinced that she did the right thing.

* In ''ComicBook/PrideOfBaghdad'', all of the main lion characters are shot and killed by U.S Soldiers, but, at the very least, [[IDieFree they died free,]] and Zill got to see one last sunset.
* At the end of Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Gilbert's book ''ComicBook/TheProfessorsDaughter'', Ihmotep and Lillian get married and have three children, but Lillian's father is killed and wrapped in bandages, and then placed as a part of the Museum's Egyptology exhibit.

* ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'': After all he's endured, all he's lost, and all he's done, Rick Grimes-- the man long considered TheHero of ''The Walking Dead'', [[{{Determinator}} the man who went through seven kinds of hell and]] ''[[{{Determinator}} still]]'' [[{{Determinator}} never gave up]]-- [[TheHeroDies gets shot by Sebastian Milton]] [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished for convincing his mother, Pamela, to step down as leader of the Commonwealth]], before being left to bleed to death and getting put down by Carl after he reanimates. No HeroicSacrifice. No FamousLastWords. [[DyingAlone Not even any loved ones there to comfort him in his final moments]]. Rick suffers '''THE''' most UndignifiedDeath in the franchise at the hands of a spoiled, entitled brat who didn't want the status quo to change. Thankfully, Sebastian is caught shortly afterward and is going to spend the rest of his life in a prison cell, [[CruelMercy living with the knowledge that everybody now despises him for what he did and will remember him as the man who killed Rick Grimes]]. In the DistantFinale, [[EarnYourHappyEnding Carl and Sophia are married]] and have a daughter named [[DeadGuyJunior Andrea]]. Walkers are still around, but all in all, civilization is on the upswing, recovering and rebuilding thanks in no small part to Rick, who sadly never got to see the fruits of his labors. But his legacy as a HopeBringer lives on and is immortalized with both a statue of him and a children's story, with the last scene of the series being Carl reading it to Andrea.

* ''ComicBook/BlazeOfGlory'': The town is saved from those who would harm it, but many of the heroic gunslingers who helped them are dead, and not every one of them went in a blaze of glory.
* All of MarvelUniverse cosmic events; ComicBook/{{Annihilation}}, ComicBook/WarOfKings and ComicBook/TheThanosImperative, have had such endings, where the victory comes usually at a great cost or leads to a temporary peace with the threat still out there.
* At the end of Creator/JossWhedon's run on ''ComicBook/AstonishingXMen'', the X-Men managed to save the world from a large bullet that was sent by the citizens of the Breakworld, but Kitty Pryde ends up being stuck in the bullet after phasing it to make it pass through the Earth and ends up spiraling out towards space. The second-to-last panels had Colossus looking up at the sky in sadness.
* The final issue of the 2009-2011 ''[[Comicbook/{{Batgirl 2009}} Batgirl]]'' series ends with a montage of stories that the writer had planned to tell, including a team-up between Batgirl and her friend Cassandra Cain (whose absence had been a frequent criticism of the book) and a sword-and-sorcery adventure with Supergirl and Miss Martian. Despite the deliberately sad WhatCouldHaveBeen montage, the book ends with Batgirl noting that the story would never end as long as the fans continued to remember it.
* The ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' maxiseries, ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'' sees Carmine Falcone's empire start its fall -- at the cost of Harvey Dent becoming ComicBook/TwoFace, who kills Falcone, starting the rise of Batman's RoguesGallery running the underworld, and Batman and Jim Gordon, whose efforts has little impact, question if it was a PyrrhicVictory.
* ''ComicBook/BeforeWatchmen: Minutemen'' ends with Silhouette, Gretchen, and Dollar Bill dead, Byron Lewis confined to a mental hospital, and Hollis Mason spending the rest of his life being blackmailed by the Comedian after the latter tricks him into killing Hooded Justice by framing HJ for the "Friend of the Children" murders. On the other hand, Mason has a goddaughter to dote upon and a successor to train, and a job that he loves. Meanwhile, Nelson Gardner is in a presumably healthier relationship.

* In ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', the heroes manage to stop the [[OmnicidalManiac Anti-Monitor's]] plan to [[ApocalypseHow end the multiverse]]. Unfortunately much of reality is destroyed, leaving only one new universe. Many heroes have lost their lives, including [[Franchise/TheFlash Barry Allen]] and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}. And the remaining universe is DarkerAndEdgier, with the heroes changed by the events, unofficially beginning UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks.
** It's "sequels" are equally bittersweet:
*** In ''ComicBook/ZeroHour'', time is restored to normal, but the DC heroes now know that Hal Jordan has become Parallax, angering Green Arrow. The Justice Society is temporarily disbanded with most of its members deaged or dead at the hands of Extant, the original Legion of Super-Heroes erased from history and numerous timelines erased resetting time.
*** In ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', Alexander Luthor's plan to find the perfect Earth is thwarted and the Multiverse is unknowingly rebuilt, but way too much damage was done getting to this point as the Earth-2 Superman and Lois Lane are dead as is the Conner Kent Superboy, numerous heroes are missing in action or dead including a plethora of speedsters, and Superboy-Prime is biding his time to escape.
*** In ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'', the multiverse is saved from Darkseid's attempt to destroy it all using the Miracle Machine and Superboy, Kid Flash and Barry Allen are revived in full, but the New Gods of the Fourth World are seemingly no more and Batman is supposedly dead.

* The short-lived ''Comicbook/XMen'' spinoff comic ''ComicBook/DistrictX'' has such an ending. It features the POV character, Officer Ismael Oetega, managing to rebuilt his shattered family life; however, this comes at the cost of his daughter's life and the mutant gifts of almost everyone in Mutant Town. Also, a recurring character [[ItMakesSenseInContext stayed in one place too long and turned into a tree]].
* In ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'', Comicbook/LexLuthor's crimes have been exposed, his relationship with the Justice Society has been ruined and his worst enemies -Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} and Comicbook/{{Batgirl}}- are now friends and allies. However, Superman is dead, the parents of Barbara are dead and unavenged yet, and Luthor will buy his way out of jail.
* In the Marvel Graphic Novel ''Emperor Doom'', the Avengers are able defeat Doom and get him to restore humanity's free will, but in doing so, everything is restored to the status quo, which we're shown as the Russians march back to Kabul, Afghanistan, Apartheid being restored in South Africa (with a hotel owner being shocked that he could let "colored" people in), and a cigar-chomping US General demanding their nukes be rearmed once more. This makes Hawkeye wonder if they've done the right thing.
* The ending of ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' sees Darkseid and Mandrakk defeated, and Superman using the Miracle Machine to restore space/time to its normal state. However despite Nix Uotan's claim that Superman wished for a happy ending with the Machine, that is not the case. Because the Machine could only be used once, the deaths of the Anti-Life-enslaved people and both Batman and Martian Manhunter still happen. Superman could have helped out earlier, if only he had returned from the 30th century earlier.

* At the end of ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'', the heroes have all made peace with each other, done away with secret identities, regained the world's love and trust, and last but not least, Superman and Wonder Woman are married and having a child. However, many of the heroes were killed during the climax by a nuclear explosion.

* The ''Comicbook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' limited series ''Legion Lost'' ends with Live Wire resigning from the Legion in order to save his teammates and LoveInterest by [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing himself to kill former Legionnaire Jan Arrah]], who'd become a nigh-omnipotent OmnicidalManiac.
* The ''ComicBook/{{Livewires}}'' mini-series ends with all but two members of the team of RidiculouslyHumanRobots damaged possibly beyond repair. The least damaged and most recently activated, having saved the rest, tries to take them to their original base for supplies, only to discover the team blew it up before the start of the mini series.
* In ''Comicbook/ManyHappyReturns'', [[Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] and Linda manage to save New Earth -the Post-Crisis universe-. However, Linda has to leave her husband and daughter behind and send Kara back to her universe and eventual death. As a result of it, she hates herself for being unable to protect them, and retires. It became a bit less bitter after Pre-Crisis Kara's death was undone during ''Comicbook/{{Convergence}}''.
* ''ComicBook/{{Marvels}}''
** The original miniseries concludes with Phil Sheldon retiring to live peacefully with his wife and daughters after being disillusioned over how very few people pay any mind to Gwen Stacy's demise.
** The follow-up miniseries ''Marvels: Eye of the Camera'' has Phil die of lung cancer before he can finish his new book, but there are several silver linings: The mutant girl Maggie his daughters befriended pays him a visit to assure him that she's alright after she ran away years ago, Phil's last moments are peaceful, and Phil's daughters and Maggie choose to finish his book after he passes away.
* At the chronological end of ''ComicBook/MarvelZombies'' the zombie virus is never really destroyed, merely contained within two universes. It won't spread elsewhere, but the fact that there's two universes in ruins can't be that good.

* The end of the DC event ''ComicBook/OurWorldsAtWar'' sees the world mourning the apparent deaths of Aquaman, Guy Gardner, Sgt. Rock, and Hippolyta, with Superman himself mourning the destruction of his family farm and apparent deaths of the Kents, along with the rest of the state of Kansas.

* ''ComicBook/RelativeHeroes'': The kids don't get their parents back but they do get to stay together and they stop acting as heroes to have a relatively normal remainder of their childhoods.
* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'': "The King Of Dreams is dead. Long live the King Of Dreams."

* ''ComicBook/SpiderManLifeStory'': [[spoiler: Entire series came to an end with the elderly Peter Parker sacrificing his life when he gave Miles the last escape pod of a space station at it self-destructs after sending out signals that disrupts Dr. Doom's war machines all over the Earth.]]
* ''ComicBook/SpiderManNoir: Eyes Without a Face'' ends with the Crime Master dead and Dr. Octavius being rejected by his idol Heinrich Himmler as a "deviant cripple." But Robbie Robertson has permanent brain damage from Octavius' experiments, Felicia Hardy has become a heavily scarred shut-in who never wants to see Peter again, and the Nazis have risen to power in Germany. Almost {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by Peter near the end of the series, when he tells Mary Jane that his life is falling apart - and he thinks it's only going to get worse.

* ''ComicBook/SupremePower'': The Nighthawk mini-series ends with Nighthawk killing Whiteface and saving the baby but a lot of people were killed by Whiteface's poison, including Dr. Arredondo.
* In Marvel Swords of the Swashbucklers comics (spin off of Marvel Graphic Novel of the same name) final issue (#12) Domino Drake (an Earth teen who had been traveling with the alien Swashbucklers) used her elemental powers to fight the Swashbucklers pursuers, the Colonizers. Unfortunately, her flame ignites the Cloudwall (an unstable space abnormality between dimensions). She turns her body to stone to shield her and her cat, Cap'n Kidd, and leap off the ship. As she passes through the Cloudwall back to Earth, the Swashbucklers' ship disintegrates behind her. She returns to the beach house where her parents and Dodger (a former thief from the Swashbucklers' dimension) lives. Domino is reunited with her friend and parents but it is unknown if she still have her elemental powers, Cap'n Kidd is no longer sentient, and all of the Swashbucklers are dead.

* ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'': V and Evie have triumphed against the evil fascistic government. However, V is dead, chaos runs rampant throughout Britain, and it seems like the last bastion of civilization is crumbling. However, Evie has become the new V and swears to help the people rebuild, while taking Dominic as her apprentice.

* ''War Of The Franchise/{{Green Lantern}}s'': The Green Lantern Corps is saved, the emotion entities are freed from Krona's control, the New Guardians are freed from the Book of the Black, and Sinestro is a Green Lantern again. However, thanks to Hal Jordan's actions, the Guardians of the Universe find him too dangerous and has him dishonorably discharged from the Corps. The story ends with Hal back on Earth in the middle of nowhere, muttering, "This isn't how it's supposed to end."
* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Dan and Laurie are happily together and fighting crime and the looming threat of nuclear war has been eliminated, but Ozymandias killed millions of people, Rorschach is dead, and Dr. Manhattan just sort of... left.
* ''ComicBook/{{We3}}'': 3 doesn't survive the encounter with 4, but 1 and 2 are adopted by the homeless man who tried to help them earlier in the series.
* ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'': Franchise/{{Superman}} successfully defeated all of his major enemies, married Lois Lane, and escaped with his life, but he lost Pete Ross, Lana Lang, Jimmy Olsen, Krypto and his powers in the process. He did [[BabiesEverAfter have a kid with Lois Lane, though. ]]
* ''ComicBook/XCutionersSong'': By the end of the arc, Professor Xavier has been saved and Stryfe's mad scheme has been stopped, but Cable gets (apparently) killed in action, and Stryfe still manages to unleash the Legacy Virus.

* ''War of the Franchise/{{Green Lantern}}s'': The Green Lantern Corps is saved, the emotion entities are freed from Krona's control, the New Guardians are freed from the Book of the Black, and Sinestro is a Green Lantern again. However, thanks to Hal Jordan's actions, the Guardians of the Universe find him too dangerous and has him dishonorably discharged from the Corps. The story ends with Hal back on Earth in the middle of nowhere, muttering, "This isn't how it's supposed to end."