History JokerImmunity / ComicBooks

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[[folder:The Joker]]
* ComicBook/TheJoker's had this from day one. He was originally conceived as a one-off villain (co-creator Creator/BillFinger worried that Batman, and law enforcement would look pretty incompetent if the villains kept returning), and Batman didn't even have his no-kill code back in those early days, but the Joker proved too good a villain to waste by killing after one issue so a last minute edit had him survive. He's been laughing at readers ever since.
** There was even a comic book from the 1940's where the Joker got the death penalty and was brought BackFromTheDead, only to be conveniently ignored later on when he couldn't be punished again for the same crimes.
** [[spoiler:Jason Todd]] even asked this of Batman in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanUnderTheRedHood'':
--->[[spoiler:'''Jason Todd''']]: Why? I'm not talking about killing Penguin or Scarecrow or Dent. I'm talking about him. Just him.
** Batman knows he's always ''this close'' to permanently snapping; he probably thinks [[spoiler:Jason]] could have a point on anyone else, but even if he wanted to, he just couldn't go back after killing intentionally a first time. Besides, for the victims of Two-Face or Scarecrow and their loved ones, it's dubious the Joker's superior bodycount would make much of a difference on the subject.
** ''ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily'' has a new reason: [[spoiler:Batman confides to Alfred that the main reason he refuses to kill Joker is because he sincerely believes killing Joker wouldn't make things any better. Gotham would just send someone worse, or bring Joker back from the dead, or ''something''. To Bruce, the Joker is just one facet of the true BigBad of his story: Gotham City itself. Still hasn't explained why the police have not killed the Joker the moment he resists arrest.]]
** ''ComicBook/SergioAragonesDestroysDC'': Parodied and Lampshaded:
---> '''Batman:''' Give me one good reason why I shouldn't finish you off once and for all, right now!\\
'''Joker''': Merchandising. You can't afford to lose your best villain.
** The ''{{Elseworld}}'' comic ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'''s backstory in fact starts when a rising {{Superhero}} violates ComicBook/TheJoker's own Joker Immunity. The Joker had just killed the entire staff of the ''Daily Planet'' - Lois Lane included. Superman apprehends him, but while in custody of the Metropolis Police, Magog shoots and kills the Joker as he's being taken in by the cops, in a scene that mirrors the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald. When Magog is acquitted, and most civilians agree with Magog's move, Superman leaves in disgust. Magog's example is then used by all the new generation of superheroes as inspiration that they do not have to pull their punches. The {{Novelization}} explains that Lois Lane's HeroicSacrifice (stalling The Joker til Supes arrived) became a SenselessSacrifice thanks to Magog, and ''that'' is why Superman finally gave up.
** Explicitly lampshaded in the ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'' novelization, when Batman listed several of the times Joker should've died:
--->Would the world finally be rid of the Joker? No way to be sure. Batman had seen him survive explosions, gunfire, electrocution falling from aircraft, and yes, even plunging to the bottom of the Gotham River. What reason was there to believe the odds would finally catch up with him?
** {{S|arcasmMode}}urprisingly, the Joker is resistant to death in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', as well. He can survive long falls and explosions that would kill just about anyone else. One would suspect that, like Team Rocket, the Joker is actually immortal, [[spoiler:if he wasn't ironically one of the few characters to [[KilledOffForReal actually die in the show's continuity]], although in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' rather than shown in the show proper. Granted, ''Return of the Joker'' has Tim be transformed into a clone of the Joker through a microchip, so the Joker returns once again, but it's far from unexplained, and that resurrect Mr J is quickly destroyed himself with no reprieve. However, Harley falls to her "death" in the same sequence, and later turns out to be reformed and is the grandmother of Dee Dee, two of the Jokerz. And she's ''very'' disappointed in them for turning to a life of crime.]]
** ''"Laughter After Midnight"'', a story by Creator/PaulDini in ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures Annual'' #1 uses this trope. It begins with the Joker falling out of a police blimp after a climactic fight with Batman, and proceeds to show how he spends the rest of his night getting back to one of his lairs. First he survives by falling into a park's lake. Understandably angry that his archenemy threw him from a blimp, he begins a massacre of Gotham's midnight denizens while buying donuts and a paper. He asks Harley to pick him up, but the police are with her. A RedShirt patrolman tries to arrest him and the Joker steals his patrol car. Batman is TheOnlyOne who can stop Joker, but he believes the Joker's dead for some reason [[FridgeLogic despite the fact that the Joker has survived all of the other times he should have died]]. For some hours, Joker is unstoppable. The comic ends in an eerie scene with the Joker trying to get home.
--->'''The Joker''': I wonder ''whose'' home it's gonna be?
** In an episode of [[spoiler:future]] ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', the Joker himself lampshades this trope after being thought dead.
--->'''Joker:''' ''Oh who cares? I've been blown up, thrown down smokestacks, fed to sharks; I'm the Joker! I always survive!''
** Averted once again in ''Film/Batman1989'', where Joker unambiguously dies by falling off the top of Gotham Cathedral and breaking his skull on the pavement. They even have a long, rotating DiesWideOpen shot to hammer it in. Subverted in that while lying there he appears to still be laughing until a police officer on the scene checks his pockets and finds a recorder that's making the chuckling sound.
** In ''WesternAnimation/TheBatmanVsDracula'', the Joker appears to have died from electrocution by falling into a river after using his ElectricJoybuzzer. Of course, he comes back halfway into the film.
** ''Film/TheDarkKnight'': In a bit of dark, bitter irony, the Joker survives the events of the film, but the character can't come back either way because of actor Heath Ledger's real life demise.
** In ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'', the Joker is seemingly killed when his helicopter is shot down and blown up with him in it, but he shows up alive and well by the end in dramatic fashion.
** Discussed in ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' where [[spoiler:The Joker kills himself just so Batman will be blamed for it]].
--->'''Batman:''' How many people have I murdered by letting you live? (comic book)\\
'''Batman:''' No more! All the people I've murdered... by letting you live. ({{animated|Adaptation}} [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns adaptation]])
** In fact, most Batman {{Elseworlds}} comic books seem to enjoy killing off Mr. J, as they're not in continuity. The ''[[ComicBook/BatmanVampire Red Rain]]'' trilogy, the one where Batman and Joker were both pirates, etc.
** Turned on its head in the ''VideoGame/BatmanVengeance'' videogame, where [[spoiler:Joker attempts to revoke his own Joker Immunity by killing himself. Only your saving him]] will prevent a NonStandardGameOver.
** In one Batman/Punisher crossover, Batman stops ComicBook/ThePunisher from killing the Joker (although Batman fails to provide a convincing reason why the Joker shouldn't be killed). At least Frank managed to wipe the smile from the Joker's face on realizing Frank really ''was'' going to pull the trigger.
--->'''Punisher''': [[WhatTheHellHero How many times have you put this maniac away?! I can end it, right here and now!]]
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''ComicBook/BatmanAndCaptainAmerica'', The Joker is nuked. Captain America openly doubts ComicBook/TheJoker was ''really'' killed by the nuke.
** There was one vigilante named the Wyld Carde whose family was killed by the Joker. Problem with the Wyld Carde that he was so obsessed with killing the Joker that [[AndThenWhat he didn't know what to do once the Joker was killed]]. Upon confronting the Joker, the Wyld Carde kept hesitating to pull the gun trigger (leaving a Joker enough time to escape, and infect the opponent with Joker gas).
** In fact, the DC wiki lists the Joker's powers as Cheating Death and "[[MediumAwareness Comic Awareness]]".
** Spider-Man comes very close to killing him in a Batman/Spider-Man crossover. The Joker taunts him when he refuses to go through with it. Spider-Man decides that beating the crap out of him is justified however.
** Batman's moral code isn't the only flawed aspect of this, Joker has been spared the death penalty in the past due to being insane and as such its seen as unjustified to execute him. Now becomes HilariousInHindsight: Gotham is said to be in New Jersey. As of 2007, New Jersey has abolished capital punishment, so there is some justification for this.
** Rationalized in an issue of ''ComicBook/TheSpectre''. The Spectre is the embodied Wrath of God, and his whole shtick is executing murderers in ironic ways. When the Joker guest stars in his comic, the writers have to explain why the Spectre doesn't just kill him (by turning his smile inside-out or somesuch). The Spectre ends up discovering that the Joker has no functioning conscience, and thus ''can't'' tell right from wrong -- and it would be unjust to kill him when he isn't consciously evil. (There's almost no good reason to believe that the Joker can't tell right from wrong, though.) Still doesn't explain why he doesn't go after Lex Luthor, though...
** The ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'' as a whole does a DeconReconSwitch of this trope. True to form, Batman won't kill Joker, but there's a good inadvertent reason for that: the other supercriminals are ''terrified'' of him after [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins what he did to Black Mask]]. Joker's hilarious chaos has resulted in all of Gotham's criminals becoming paranoid and turning on each other at the slightest provocation; thus, ironically, Joker's continued existence makes Gotham safer. This is further looked into in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' and into ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'': [[spoiler:With Joker dead by his own foolishness, all it takes is one year for Gotham's criminals to put aside their differences and launch a full-scale military invasion of Gotham City. And even then, Joker arguably attempts a return from beyond the grave, through the blood of the Joker's Infected. Batman himself nearly becomes the Joker.]]
** ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' averts this '''big time''' in the very beginning of the game. The Joker creates a plan that ultimately leads to Franchise/{{Superman}} ''killing Lois Lane''[[note]] it involves the use of the Scarecrow's fear toxin laced with Kryptonite which makes Superman see Lois as ''Doomsday''. He carries "Doomsday" out to space, which leads to her death. To make matters worse, Joker implanted a nuclear bomb detonator into her chest. When Lois dies, the bomb goes off. As for the location of the bomb, ''it's inside Metropolis''[[/note]]. Sometime later during Batman's interrogation of the Joker, Superman interrupts them by promptly ''stabbing the latter with'' '''''his hand''''', [[KilledOffForReal killing him]]! Of course, this all took place in an AlternateUniverse, where Superman eventually becomes a FallenHero. In the main universe of the game, the Joker is alive and remains that way.
** Played with in ''VideoGame/Injustice2'', which takes place entirely in the aforementioned alternate universe, and where the [[PosthumousCharacter Joker is a playable character]] despite his death in the last game. His interactions with other characters in Arcade Mode provide [[MultipleChoicePast different explanations for why he's here]], including being the Joker [[AlternateUniverse from the main universe]], being this universe's Joker [[BackFromTheDead returned from the dead]], or being a [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind hallucination from Scarecrow's fear toxin]]. Canonically, [[DeadAllAlong this trope is still averted]], and his only role in the story is a fear toxin-induced nightmare from Harley Quinn.
** In the final episode of the second game of ''VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries'' with the Joker as a villain, he [[spoiler:seems to die after a fight with Bruce but is resurrected by him]].
* During ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'', after the Joker murders Gordon's wife, Batman still refuses to execute the villain, ''but'' he tells Gordon he will ''not'' stop him from doing so. (And Gordon almost does. He backs down after deciding there's been too much death already.)
* In an interview Grant Morrison [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation interpreted]] that [[spoiler:Batman ''did'' kill The Joker at the end of ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke''. Although this is a bit odd, as ''The Killing Joke'' is an in-canon story, and the Joker isn’t dead.]]
* This is all nicely parodied in one strip of ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'', where the Joker is gunned down by a random Gotham citizen who simply says it was about time ''someone'' did it.
* Parodied in a ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' skit featuring Hamill as The Joker. Batman literally beats him within an inch of his life before lamenting that he's promised to let the justice system do its job and pondering what he should do. The scene then cuts to Joker having been given the death sentence after a testimony from the Batman, to which [[LoopholeAbuse he says that it's now out of his hands]].
* [[VideoGame/BatmanSunsoft The 1989 Batman game]] mirrors the movie, except [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Batman throws the Joker out of the cathedral.]] Joker's still dead. Then the [[OvertookTheManga sequel came up]]: ''Batman: Return of the Joker.'' [[UnexplainedRecovery The Joker got better, somehow]] and the game ends with his capture. The Sunsoft games never mention the Joker again, so it's assumed that he stayed in jail for the rest of the continuity.
* Even ''Creator/GarthEnnis'' wasn't able to overcome this; in one story of his ''ComicBook/HitMan'' series, Hitman is hired to assassinate the Joker. ''Everyone'' except for Batman thinks it's a good idea, or at least is really, really uncomfortable with stopping him. But Hitman can't go through with it. [[spoiler:Because doing so will allow a pair of demon lords with dominion over guns to forcibly claim his soul and make him into their herald.]]
* In Batman #37 it's revealed that the Joker might be straight up immortal....maybe...he survives a gunshot to the heart...
** Turns out [[spoiler:he isn't: [[ItMakesSenseInContext he just wound up finding a pool full of the same substance used in Lazarus Pits when Batman threw him off a cliff,]] and the effect wore off later.]] Still a case of him invoking the trope, though.
* [[http://www.shortpacked.com/index.php?id=132 Explored multiple times]] in the webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}''.
* [[DoubleSubversion Double subverted]] in the Elseworlds story ''Batman of Arkham'', where Bruce Wayne runs Arkham Asylum to try and cure the inmates he turns in as Batman during the early 20th century. When Batman foils the Joker's plan to make all of Gotham go crazy from inhaling his gas, he nearly lets the Joker burn to death when his balloon explodes in flames, but realizes that letting the Joker die goes against his belief that the mentally ill can be cured, so he saves the Joker's life and has him sent to Arkham like the rest of his enemies.
* Inverted in one issue of ''Robin'', which was just Joker talking to doctors in Arkham. He reasons that if there are replacement Robins, then there might be replacement ''Batmen'', and he actually ''did'' kill him all those times. While he likes the work, he says, [[{{Irony}} he'd really like to see a death stick for a change.]]
* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3324571/1/Improv Adrian Tullberg's "Improv"]]; a bunch of cops decide to execute Joker and make it look like a failed escape attempt. [[spoiler:It fails.]]
* The 2001 crossover ''Joker's Last Laugh'' was originally intended to have the Joker kill the Elongated Man. Out of disgust, Superman would kill the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime would then be replaced by a psychic who could help bring out people's worst fears.
* ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'' provides a reason why Batman just can't kill the Joker: because if he does, Gordon will just consider him yet another of the mad-dog costumed maniacs running around Gotham and will bring him down by any means necessary. Acknowledging that he needs Gordon to have a degree of effectiveness in his war, he doesn't beats him to death like he wanted to because the Joker [[spoiler:apparently killed Bruce's childhood friend Thomas... serious emphasis on "apparently".]]
* '''Horrifically averted and exploited''' in ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal''. From the depths of the Dark Multiverse (a multiverse where worlds are made out of decisions from hopes and fears of individuals before rotting away into oblivion), one world shows Batman [[NeckSnap being forced to kill the Joker]] out of sheer rage due to the latter ravaging Gotham and killing Commissioner Gordon before his very eyes. All of this was because he was apparently dying and wanted to makes something ''new'' for the "both of [us]". [[spoiler: But when some form of nanotoxin seeping from the Joker's mouth entered Batman's body, his mind was later rewritten to become The Batman Who Laughs, where his moral compass is twisted as the Joker's whilst maintaining his intellectual and combat prowess like Batman. He then proceeds to gun down his Batfamily in cold blood when he realises that they'll be the first ones to recognise his transformation (and that's just ''BEFORE'' he becomes twisted both physically and mentally), [[TeamKiller then slaughtered the entire Justice League, saving Superman as the last]], and then finally (albeit offscreen) armies of villains and alien tyrants. He even manages to take down the '''''[[ComicBook/TheSpectre Wrath of God]]''''' with just only precision and blood.]]
* With Joker as the VillainProtagonist of [[Film/Joker2019 his own self-titled film from 2019]], it's kind of a ForegoneConclusion that this trope would come into play. [[spoiler: The most noteworthy example came at the end during the clown riots, where a hijacked ambulance rams into the police car Joker was arrested in. It manages to kill the cops driving the car, but Arthur Fleck himself was merely unconsious. Eventually he managed to wake up, and despite being shaken up and severely injured, he's still well enough to perform a dance for the rioters.]]
* Zig-zagged in ''ComicBook/BatmanDamned'', a follow-up to Brian Azzarello's ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'' graphic novel where the premise involves Batman allegedly resorting to killing the Joker after realizing that letting his enemy live will only lead to more suffering and death, the ending having Batman surrender his life so that the Joker can come back to life.
* Averted in ''ComicBook/DCeased'', which has the Joker become a zombie after being infected by the Anti-Life Equation and killed by Harley Quinn shortly afterwards.

[[folder:DC Comics]]
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':
** This trope doesn't only apply for the Joker. ''Most'' of Batman's RoguesGallery never get killed off ([[LegacyCharacter in principle]]) no matter what happens to them. The common in-story explanation is Batman realizes he's quite capable of killing opponents, [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope but doesn't trust himself not to come up with excuses to do it again if he can rationalize it the first time.]] Often forgotten is that other characters have been insistent on stopping Batman if they think he's really been tempted. Jim Gordon explicitly informs Batman that he, the police, and citizens of Gotham tolerate him because of his moral code, and would not hesitate to deal with him if this was broken. Still doesn't explain why the GCPD does not kill these super villains the moment they resist arrest, and present a clear, and present danger, as the police are legally authorized to do.
*** This is deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoBatmanMovie'' where Batman is unable to reduce the crime rate.
** In DC's ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' alternate reality, Batman has privatized the Gotham City Police Department and has [[spoiler:killed off Killer Croc, Hush, Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy]]. However, even that extremely bitter version of Batman can't bring himself to kill Joker [[spoiler:for the excellent reason that Bruce was the Wayne that got killed in Crime Alley that fateful night; Thomas became Batman and Martha... well, perhaps you can guess.]]
** Occasionally a Batman villain DOES get killed off (i.e. Ventriloquist, [=KGBeast=], Blockbuster I, Clayface II, Black Spider II, Ten-Eyed Man, Magpie etc.), by someone other than Batman, but, alas, being a comic, DeathIsCheap and they usually end up coming back anyway.
** The [=KGBeast=] was originally an aversion to this trope, made to upheld the trope, and then became an aversion again. Batman realized that the villains sheer physical, and mental cunning made him too dangerous to leave alive. Thus Batman left the [=KGBeast=] locked inside a sewer room. The implication was that the [=KGBeast=] starved to death. Later comics rebooted the event to state that Batman later came back and took him to jail. Eventually, the villain was killed with shocking ease by an even more minor villain, the second Tally Man, who did it to frame a temporarily reformed Two-Face.
** Maintained with the New 52 version of Harley Quinn, and Deadshot who [[spoiler:shot through the spine and then completely healed with a Lazarus Pit injection from Amanda Waller]].
* Originally justified in ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' (pre-Crisis) with Roxxas, the murderer of Element Lad's race the Trommites. Upon being about to be killed by Element Lad, Roxxas is confronted by, and terrified by the ghosts of all his victims. The Legion realize that it would be a greater punishment to leave him alive. The trope is eventually maintained once Roxxas gets over his fears, is driven insane, and goes on another mass murder spree.
* ComicBook/{{Manhunter}} (the one who's a working mother, and former prosecutor) began her career as a superhero because she's sick of this trope. Her successful kills include [[spoiler:Copperhead (who escaped the death penalty under being not guilty by reasons of genetic anamoly), Monocle, and Dr. Moon]]. She decided not to kill [[spoiler:Shadow Thief,]] on the basis that she [[spoiler:wanted to give the criminal justice system a chance to actually work]].
* In John Ostrander's writing of ''ComicBook/TheSpectre'', his human host (Jim Corrigan) asks Father Cramer why the Spectre never responded to the murder of Coastal City. Father Cramer suggested that the Spectre was designed by God only to respond to certain cries for vengeance.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** Superman deals with this trope as well. ComicBook/LexLuthor for example, despite being a BadassNormal, has long been so embedded into the Superman mythos, that he escapes virtually any hairy situation he gets into. Other Superman villains with varying degrees of Joker immunity might be Brainiac, Mr. Mxyzptlk, The Toyman, Zod and Metallo.
** [[JustEatGilligan Why can't Superman just send Lex Luthor to the Phantom Zone to prevent him escaping from prison]]? Luthor's crimes occur under Earth's jurisdiction, and whenever Luthor stands trial in American courtrooms, he must serve his sentence in American prisons, and in order to be banished to the Phantom Zone, he would have to commit an intergalactic crime against other galaxies or even the universe.
** ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] this trope in ''ComicBook/SupermanBatman'' StoryArc ''Public Enemies''.
--->'''Superman:''' Why is it that the good villains never die?\\
'''Batman:''' Clark, what the hell are "good villains"?
** Prior to ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s death in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'', the villain seemed to be an apt representation of this trope. One time when the Hal Jordan The Spectre "killed" Darkseid, the villain was instantly resurrected. The suggested implication was that Darkseid was a universal necessity needed to represent evil.
** ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'': Doomsday has a version of this trope, as he can die, [[AdaptiveAbility but will return with total immunity from whatever it was that killed him.]]
** Originally this trope was averted with major DC villains such as the Phantom Zone kryptonians, and Sinestro were killed off by their heroic counterparts Superman, and Franchise/GreenLantern (Hal Jordan). Eventually, it was reversed when continuity was retconned to establish that the villains were actually not killed.
* In the ''ComicBook/New52'' universe, heroes such as Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Superman, and Hal Jordan seem to be fine with killing alien invaders in battle. Nevertheless, human villains such as Joker and Deathstroke continue to remain at large.
* Speaking of, this is ''generally'' averted with ComicBook/WonderWoman - in the original [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] comics, she would often reform her ([[FemalesAreMoreInnocent usually-female]]) enemies, and those reformations generally stuck. In more modern times, she still tries to reform them, but if that doesn't work she has ''zero'' problem [[PragmaticHero killing them outright]] if they're [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman mythological monsters or gods]], and post ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' will even kill irredeemable humans. This often causes... ''friction'' with her more ThouShaltNotKill teammates in the Franchise/JusticeLeague.
-->"There's a reason I don't have a list of villains as long as [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce's]], [[ComicBook/TheFlash Barry's]], or even [[Franchise/{{Superman}} yours]]. When I ''deal'' with them, I '''''deal''''' with them."
** That said, there ''is'' one straight example (barring outright [[JerkassGods Gods]] like Ares or Circe, who are usually ''above'' her weight-class; a "victory" against them usually consists of convincing them to leave humanity alone for a few months) among her villains: the DepravedDwarf Dr. Psycho. This is a guy with ''zero'' interest in reforming, ''very'' deadly PsychicPowers, and an [[SquishyWizard oh-so-breakable human body]]; he's survived so long mostly because he's usually TheHeavy in some other BigBad's scheme, and is smart enough to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere get the hell out of dodge]] before or shortly after Wonder Woman discovers his involvement.
** In ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' ComicBook/{{Cheetah}} gets put through the wringer and is presumed dead on numerous occasions, but every new writer on the book brought her back usually with nary an explanation.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Marvel Comics]]
* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
** If not for the Joker, this trope would be named ComicBook/{{Magneto}} Immunity, for the X-Men's premiere villain, who may hold the record for the highest number of sincere and permanent deaths, lobotomies, and depowerings of any villain in comic book history, but could no sooner be removed from X-Continuity than the Joker could from Batman. The fact that he often goes back and forth through the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, and is seen as one of the most sympathetic and compelling characters in the Marvel Universe, doesn't help. Also, he has forcefields that have shrugged off blasts from the Phoenix.
** Lampshaded in a story of West Coast Avengers where Magneto falls into a factory chimney (a la the Joker pic above) from a fight with the Avengers and the whole building blows up. One of the Avengers asks the rest of the group if they really believe Magneto to be dead; the response was a unanimous, "Naaaaah!"
** One issue is a LowerDeckEpisode about a guy who has it out for Magneto for killing his brother. ''The issue starts'' with Magneto being considered absolutely finally dead by everyone but him, and he has to convince people that the anti-Magneto weaponry he wants created is actually needed. Surprise, surprise, Magneto is alive. As the point of the story was 'revenge is bad,' ''this guy'' actually gets the chance to kill Magneto but doesn't go through with it. Magneto was on the good side of the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor at the time, and so didn't do anything to him.
** Every story featuring X-Men villain ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}} ends with him being finally killed off permanently. And this time we mean it. For now.
** ComicBook/{{Mystique}} has been suffering from this in the last 5 years. No matter how many times she screws with them and how much DarkerAndEdgier and willing to kill the X-Men get, they always let Mystique escape.
** ComicBook/{{Sabretooth}} beats even Mystique's example on this one. There's this sword, right? It's basically magical, and can cut through anything and no HealingFactor can do anything with the wounds it makes. An arc of Wolverine's solo comic ends with him relieving archnemesis Sabretooth of his head using this blade. We see him again soon enough... ''in {{Hell}}.'' In a battle in hell, Sabretooth gets his head lopped off ''again.'' (It could happen to anyone once, but twice and you're just being careless.) With a magic hell sword ''SPECIALLY CRAFTED TO DESTROY SOULS.'' Farewell, Sabes. You were a great villain, and you'll be mi-'''''what do you mean he's back alive and well in less than a year?'''''[[note]]He was cloned, if you care. Apparently cloning someone regenerates the soul too, it seems. Despite not even [[Characters/XMenVillains Mr. Sinister]]'s super-technology doing anything of the sort when he created Sabertooth clones in the past. Oh wait, no, Wolverine killed the ''clone''. The real Sabretooth is alive and well. So clones get souls too. In the words of Futurama, "THAT JUST RAISES FURTHER QUESTIONS!!!"[[/note]]
** With X-Men comics taking DeathIsCheap to the limit even by comics standards, by now, ''nobody'' takes ''anybody's'' death seriously anymore, even in-universe because the writers could no longer keep the cast ''so epically GenreBlind'' as to have people hold funerals at every single NoOneCouldSurviveThat moment. Sure enough, the character always returns and nobody's ''that'' surprised. Heck, Siryn even refuses to accept that her dad passed away ''because'' of the X-Men's experience with resurrections! Beast even says it about the villain of the previous arc when it wasn't a bad guy with a long history and a wide fanbase. "The more certain the death, the more sure the resurrection," he says of... some purple guy. However, we ''haven't'' seen Khan since.
** As of ''ComicBook/JonathanHickmansXMen'', they've given up any pretence of maintaining death, with a key part of the premise being that via Cerebro based back-ups and several {{Reality Warper}}s, the X-Men can resurrect any mutant they like, whenever they like. This method requires five specific mutants to each be alive, so if anyone kills one of those five, presumably there goes the mutant revolving door. They also have a rule forbidding the resurrection of any mutant with {{Precognition}} or future knowledge, so if anyone out there is waiting for Destiny or ComicBook/XMan to turn up, better not hold your breath.
* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'':
** The ComicBook/RedSkull practically invented this trope. He doesn't even have his original body anymore. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in issue two of Ed Brubaker's "Captain America", where Cap refuses to believe that Red Skull is truly dead after A GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE HEAD! Unsurprisingly, Cap was right - Skull had used the Cosmic Cube to transfer his mind into someone else's body at the last second.
** ComicBook/BaronZemo must have been somewhat popular to constantly return from certain death time and again, always having some barely-acceptable excuse at the ready. He'd fall into boiling-hot glue... but come back to reveal that there had been an escape trap in the vat just in case of an accident. He'd fall off a mansion roof to the concrete waiting below... only to return with a neckbrace, but other than that doing pretty good. Even Zemo once compared one of his deaths to a comic book "demise" and narrated it thusly for Spider-Man.
* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'':
** ComicBook/DoctorDoom is almost built on this trope, as it has become nearly a certainty that we are never witnessing the man himself in battle. His character dies in most engagements, turning out to be ActuallyADoombot, programmed to impersonate him. Which happens so often that fans have half-jokingly theorized that ''the real Doom has never actually appeared on-panel''. It took damnation to Hell itself to keep the character down, and even then, he escaped. He's actually a more prolific villain than ''Magneto''.
** Another poster child for this trope would be ComicBook/{{Galactus}}, who has slaughtered untold trillions of seintient aliens in his hunger for planetary energy. As Galactus laid dying during John Byrne's run on Fantastic Four, Mr. Fantastic saved the villains life with NO conditions attached (i.e. staying away from planets with sentient life, stupidity beyond belief).
*** Well, except Earth, which Galactus now deems under his protection enough to intervene from time to time. and the fact that Galactus's vaguely-defined and ever changing requirements for his cosmic purpose require him to seek out inhabitable worlds to prevent the release of something even WORSE would mean such a demand probably does more harm than good. Even Reed has stated Galactus is more akin to a force of nature than an actual villain.
* Finally averted with Bullseye (arch-enemies of ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}) who used to be a representation of this trope. Having been left paralyzed, Daredevil refrained from killing him, only to have the villain regain his mobility through an adamantium skeleton. Eventually, a demonic possessed Daredevil killed Bullseye in Shadowland. Lady Bullseye then resurrected her male counterpart, only for him to be a quadriplegic with no sight, hearing, smell, taste, or feel, truly a fate worse than death. Prior to that, though, he'd been a definite example; despite being a normal human with no power besides ImprobableAimingSkills, he repeatedly wound up going up against opponents whom he shouldn't even have been able to physically damage, let alone beat.
** Just kidding! The Hand healed him back up to perfect health.
* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'':
** Jigsaw of ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'' stands out because his enemy usually kills any adversary he comes across -- ''very'' few Punisher villains are recurring, and nobody's taken more swings at the Punisher than Jigsaw. Frank ''did'' clearly and explicitly kill Jigsaw at one point -- and he was revived in the next issue with voodoo.
** Only shows up twice in the Creator/GarthEnnis run: During the Marvel Knights series, where the Russian was brought back with experimental technology that also gave him enormous breasts (and is finally killed with a nuke) and in the MAX run with Barracuda (who got his own miniseries) who survived death the first time due to being dumped in shark-infested waters (when the sharks had just eaten a boatful of {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s and thus weren't interested in him), and Frank made very sure he was dead the second time around.
** The end of the Punisher MAX series featured several Marvel characters getting killed off, including the Kingpin, Bullseye, Elektra, [[spoiler:and even Frank]].
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
** The first Green Goblin (ComicBook/NormanOsborn) is an apt representation of the "Joker Immunity". After being dead for around 20 years, Norman was resurrected. He later got pardoned and was promoted to being head of the national security agency H.A.M.M.E.R and the Avengers during Dark Reign. After being arrested again for launching war against Asgard, Norman then got pardoned again and led his new band of Avengers.
** ComicBook/DoctorOctopus. He has been resurrected once, and [[spoiler:had his mind transferred into Spider-Man's body, seemingly replacing the hero, although traces of Peter Parker's memory still remains. At the end, he gave up and Peter Parker takes full control over his body]].
*** Doc Ock plays with this trope a bit as well. [[spoiler:After Spider-Verse, he creates a copy of himself, and after his original personality's death at the end of ''Superior Spider-Man'' this duplicate is eventually transferred it too a new body thanks in part to Ben Reily...with no memory of what he did as Spider-Man after Spider-Verse. Later on, this duplicate aqcuires a new version of Otto's original body, reviving Doc Ock in all but name, but technically the original Otto Octavius has been dead since 2013, which as far as A-list villains in modern comics go isn't too shabby.]]
** Kraven The Hunter died in ''Kraven's Last Hunt'' in 1987 and stayed dead for over ''twenty years'', putting him right up there with the Goblin as a record-holder for A-list villains to beat, but he too was resurrected in the early 2010's. Resenting every moment of his life since he [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall was perfectly content with his death]], he became a DeathSeeker who is desperately trying to get Spider-Man to kill him again. When he [[spoiler: dies again in Nick Spencer's run, they made sure to leave a completely identical clone son behind to pick up his mantle, presumably to discourage future writers from reviving him again.]]
** The Hobgoblin was originally a LegacyCharacter identity taken up by a succession of villains, but after Roderick Kingsley decisively claimed the mantle (or reclaimed, according to {{Retcon}}s), he acquired the full VIP Joker Immunity package along with generous helpings of ActuallyADoombot to wave away any of his defeats. Notably, he was outright killed by the Phil Urich Hobgoblin as part of that character's JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, only for it to be retconned later that the beheaded Hobgoblin was in fact just another physically identical relative. Eventually Kingsley's going to run out of relations and readers will be treated to a Hobgoblin that's actually Roderick Kingsley's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.
** Minor Spider-Man villain Mirage has died twice. The first time he was shot dead only to later be revived by the Hood. The second time he got shot by the Punisher. ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'' retconned this into him being put in a coma. It's also lampshaded and discussed; when Mirage is reintroduced he's in a support group for people trying to retire from the supervillain business and complains openly about dying and coming back.
** The original Mysterio, Quentin Beck, eventually acquired this. Originally DrivenToSuicide after trying and failing to drive ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} insane, Marvel ''tried'' to respect this story and kept Beck dead for a time, introducing (well, reintroducing) an old stunt double for Mysterio named Daniel Berkhart and then a mutant named Francis Klum to take up the Mysterio identity. Neither of these replacements was well-received, however, and eventually Quentin Beck was returned to life via an appropriately AmbiguousSituation (long story short, either he was resurrected by some vaguely defined suicide-hating "superiors" who tasked Beck with maintaining a cosmic balance, or he simply faked his own death yet again). Neither of Mysterio's replacements have been seen since this story, and any time Mysterio has popped up since, for simplicity's sake it's been Beck. ''Nick Spencer's Spider-Man'' actually picks up this plot thread again and reveals Beck made a DealWithTheDevil to return to life.
** Notable aversion with the Crime Master; there's been three people to hold the identity, two of whom are dead and have never come back. The first one was killed fighting the cops and the third was shot dead by Betty Brant. The second one is still alive but he gave himself up to the police and has zero-desire to be a supervillain again.
* Marvel's [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate Universe]] series seems to be making a conscious effort at averting this trope, along with many of the other cliches from the mainstream Marvel universe. When a character dies (even major legacy ones like Red Skull, Dr. Doom, and the Kingpin), [[KilledOffForReal they STAY dead]].
** Ultimate Hammerhead has returned to life with no explanation as to how he survived having his skull detonated by Ultimate Gambit (though the incident did leave him complaining about constant headaches).
** Some Ultimate Universe villains (Dr. Doom and Kingpin) completely averted this trope. They were killed by opponents who just casually walked into the villains' headquarters and executed these nemeses with little effort. Other villains [[spoiler:such as Dr. Doom, have been resurrected in the Ultimate Universe.]]
** The Ultimate Universe version of Dr. Octopus upheld this trope. Twice he either avoided or had his prison sentence reduced by lending out his scientific talents to the FBI, and Roxxon corporation. He would of been killed by one of Reed Richards terrorist attacks, but was saved by Peter Parker's female clone. Subverted when ended up getting killed by Green Goblin.
** Nick Fury actually lampshades this trope in an issue of ''Ultimate Spider-Man''; after Spidey's shaken up over the apparent death of Venom (who was his childhood friend in this continuity) Fury reassures partly by admitting that in the superhero business, the guy ain't dead unless there's a corpse that can be definitively proven as theirs.
** In fact Spider-Man was the first to begin playing this straight. As a side-effect of their MetaOrigin, Spider-Man and his enemies have a degree of ResurrectiveImmortality.
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s former Sensei Ogun was beheaded. Came back all the same under numerous guises, be it ghost or demon, apparation or possession.
** Wolverine foe Omega Red enjoyed the full package of this trope throughout the 90's when he was at the height of his popularity. Come the 2000s, his KarmaHoudiniWarranty kicked in and he was KilledOffForReal, only for DeathIsCheap to kick in in the pages of ''ComicBook/XMenGold''. As of 2019 Red's got a full Joker package again and is even being sold to readers as a sympathetic character in the pages of ''ComicBook/UncannyXForce''.
* The Mandarin from the ''ComicBook/IronMan'' comics is also protected by this trope, as he has survived quite a few examples of both [[ComicBookDeath being killed off]] and [[LongBusTrip disappearing from the comics]], largely due to the fact that the Mandarin's YellowPeril persona is rather problematic in a 21st century context. Inspite of this, his status as Iron Man's ArchEnemy have prevented modern writers from permanently retiring him, as well as the fact that the Mandarin has gotten away with said YellowPeril shtick [[GrandfatherClause since it was acceptable when he was created]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other Comics]]
* Cobra Commander, the BigBad of ''Franchise/GIJoe'', is an apt representation of this trope. In the [[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel first comic book series]], he was shot dead, only to find out that it was actually an impostor who was killed. In the first [[WesternAnimation/GIJoeTheMovie animated movie]], he was turned into a snake, and later got better. He has also been caught in numerous explosions that should have left him killed or maimed, only later to return without a scratch [[UnexplainedRecovery or an explanation of how he escaped]].
* ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'':
** ComicBook/JudgeDredd:
*** Perhaps justified (EVENTUALLY) with Orlok the Assassin, responsible for millions of Mega-City One deaths during the Apocalypse Wars. Eventually, a psychic bombardment reformed his evil ways. In return he journeyed to the planet of Zerbia to fight the genetic cleansing dictatorship of that planet.
*** An apt representation would be the teenage serial killer PJ Maybe. He was able to assume the form of Mega City-One's mayor, and thus avoid detection from the Justice Department. Nevertheless, as mayor, PJ Maybe brought much improvement to the city such as bringing human unemployment to an all-time low of 92%, and allowing mutants greater access to the city.
*** Another apt representation are the [[EvilCounterpart Dark Judges]] who have murdered tens of millions, [[YouCantKillWhatsAlreadyDead but are already "dead"]] so are repeatedly confined to orbs which they manage to escape from. They even teamed up with the Joker once in Mega-City One. Conveniently (yet once again) for the Joker, he was instantly teleported back to Arkham Asylum before Judge Dredd (who has a lot fewer qualms against killing) could issue a sentence to our trope namer.
** ''ComicBook/NemesisTheWarlock'': Torquemada is overthrown or killed several times, but he always returns to threaten the galaxy once again. [[spoiler:This is intentional on Nemesis' part, who set out to make Torquemada his ArchEnemy.]]
* [[EvilSorcerer Darkhell]] from ''ComicBook/LesLegendaires'', thanks to his Arch-Enemy status, got apparently killed twice and came back both time. Surprisingly, however, he was eventually KilledOffForReal during the Anathos Cycle. And while WordOfGod confirmed he wouldn't be back this time, his inheritance keeps taking a large part in the plot...
* Deconstructed in Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/{{Promethea}}''. The CaptainErsatz of the Joker, the Painted Doll, is revealed to have been a series of robots built by a traitor in the hero team Five Swell Guys, each robot being programmed to activate and climb out of the river with hazy memories when the previous one was deactivated. When they're all activated at once, they kill each other, and the last one standing decides to become a good guy.
* Played with slightly in the ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics''. In the "Endgame" arc, Julian Robotnik is indeed killed by his vengeful minion and nephew Snively; twenty or so issues played with the concept of other villains and problems following his defeat, only for a second Robotnik from an alternate timeline to enter and take over from his position. This Robotnik would later take the modern "Eggman" form seen in later games and continues being the BigBad until the comics were cancelled in 2017.
* ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'' (especially in the AnimatedAdaptation) has various criminals who routinely escape, but also Cyanure, the evil RobotGirl: Even when her creator decides to fully disassemble her, he eventually puts her back together out of loneliness.
* Lampshaded in the first arc of ''ComicBook/TomStrong'' with a subversion; whilst being led on a tour of one of his old bases by his resurfaced arch-nemesis Paul Saveen, Tom comes across a row of waxwork statues of some of his old enemies, one of whom "actually died that last time [you fought]" by falling into the Niagara Falls and snapping her neck, implying she (and the others) had a tendency to stage deaths of this nature. [[spoiler:Subverted again when it turns out Saveen, himself thought to be dead, actually ''is'' dead as well; the 'Saveen' involved here is an imposter.]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Mirage}}'': Shredder. Since ''Mirage'' was originally meant to be a one-shot comic, the BigBad was killed by having Donatello bat a grenade in his face, knocking him off the building as it exploded. As the issue got unbelievably popular, Shredder was brought back to life through a kind of semi-mystical cloning involving a kind of worm that mutates into the tissue it devours. However, this only worked once as the Turtles burned Shredder's remains on a floating raft to keep him from ever returning. He hasn't been seen since, the closest to a resurrection was a cluster of surviving clone worms briefly infesting a shark, but it's specifically pointed out as not being the Shredder. (The main difference between the original Mirage comics and every adaptation ever: The Shredder was originally intended to be a TokenMotivationalNemesis, much like the burglar who killed Spider-Man's uncle than the biggest BigBad. While nigh-unkillable in every cartoon and film series, and even every non-Mirage-created comic series, Mirage Shredder has no JokerImmunity because he was never their Joker.)
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'':
** Starscream, despite his prominence in [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers the cartoon]], was out of action for quite a while, being blown apart and imprisoned by Omega Supreme in issue 24. The UK comic had him break free in "Target: 2006" not long afterwards, and though he remained off-panel afterwards, he returned to prominence in the US comic for the Underbase Saga... in which he's destroyed by the titular power. Despite this, Megatron has him rebuilt a few issues later.
*** ''Regeneration One'' goes even further: Megatron revives several dead Transformers as zombies, Starscream (who was on the Ark when it crashed again) among them. However, he manages to escape annihilation from orbit and surpass several mental blocks placed on him, preventing him from being fully cognizant.
** Megatron seemingly kills himself via blowing up the Space Bridge in a fit of insanity after Optimus Prime's death. Though he remained dead in the US book, the UK book had him survive and continue playing an active role. Then, Simon Furman took over the US book and had Megatron return there as well, retconning the Megatron in the UK book up to that point into being a clone (it's complicated).
** Shockwave supposedly meets his end after falling into Earth's atmosphere in issue 39. The UK book (yes, it does this a lot) not only let him survive, but featured him in the very next issue (also allowing the above instance of Megatron's immunity to happen). When Furman became the writer for the US book, Shockwave returned without explanation there, too.
** Galvatron has a long history of not staying dead on both sides of the pond:
*** The UK comic brought Galvatron into the story via TimeTravel for "Target: 2006". Afterwards, he became a recurring antagonist that took immense amounts of punishment, yet would always come back none the worse for wear. In his final appearance, "Time Wars", he had half his face blown off by a weapon whose recoil kills the user, was attacked by nearly every living character in the book, and only because of a time-space rift was Galvatron finally killed off.
*** Once Simon Furman took over the US book, he brought in another Galvatron from a parallel timeline (the US book didn't include the ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'' cast prior to this). Though he wasn't as recurring as his UK counterpart, Galvatron still managed to survive a crash that wrote Megatron, Starscream, Shockwave and Ratchet out, and was still able to return in ''Regeneration One'' for up until the final issue (where he met his end at Ultra Magnus's hands).
*** That wasn't even the first time Furman resurrected Galvatron: The UK comic storyline continued with the Autobots from the movie-era future who had helped destroy Galvatron returning to their own time... only to run into Galvatron. It turns out that their intervention in the past had changed history so Galvatron never went back in time and never died.
** An even more and extreme example is Galvatron's creator (sort of) Unicron. Unicron appears in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'' and dies. His head survived as Cybertron's new moon and is revealed to still be functional in several cartoon episodes. The comics set after the movie, which follow a different continuity than the cartoon, also depict him surviving and nearly having a new body built before his head gets blown up, but his essence gets absorbed by the Matrix and occasionally emerges in a demonic spiritual form to wreak havoc. To then confuse things, Furman then proclaimed that a ton of time travel in the comics had changed the timeline so that the movie never happens, allowing the Unicron of the present (1990, in that case) to show up and attack Cybertron before getting killed.
* Subverted as early as 1965 in Gilbert Shelton's ''Help!'' magazine strip [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Wart-Hog Wonder Wart-hog]]. At the end of "The Return of the Masked Meanie," Wonder-Wart-Hog feeds the Meanie into a hand-cranked meat grinder. "And this," says the Hog of Steel, "will insure [sic] that you don't come back and pester us, Meanie." Below the panel, a breathless narration box intones: ''"Will the Masked Meanie survive the meat grinder and return to harass society? Will he? What a stupid question!"'' Except, of course, that the Meanie ''did'' return in "Wonder Wart-Hog and the Merciless, Menacing Masked Meanie."
* Tannarak, foe of ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger, took this to ridiculous levels. He was killed by a falling statue in his first appearance. Then he came back, and died when a temple fell on him. Then he came back ''again'', and was killed when the phoenix he was riding on fell to the ground. Then he came back ''yet again'', and was de-aged into nothingness - and then returned in ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'' where he died again, of course. Tannarak gleefully {{lampshade|Hanging}}d this phenomenon, always telling the Phantom Stranger (with a completely straight face): "Hah! Did you expect a falling statue/collapsing temple/etc. to ''really'' kill me?"
* ''ComicBook/{{Iznogoud}}'' is a rare case where this trope applies to the [[VillainProtagonist protagonist]]. While the titular character never dies, nearly all of his plans (with a few exceptions) usually end with him about to die, in a FateWorseThanDeath or trapt in an otherwise inextricable situation, only to come back alive and well in the next book with no other explanation than RuleOfFunny. A book titled ''Iznogoud's Returns'' actually was dedicated to explain how he came back from some of these situations, but even that book had some of his "returns" involving him escaping an inextricable situation only to end up in another one (something the reader actually is ''warned'' about at the beginning of the book).
* ComicBook/DisneyComics' Phantom Blot, the DiabolicalMastermind who has demonstrated his will to TakeOverTheWorld and his willingness to murder all in his path, is somehow never sentenced to death whenever he gets arrested, allowing him to [[CardboardPrison escape into the next issue]]. This is obviously because Disney's MoralGuardians would not allow it, but does not make sense in-universe, because the death sentence ''does'' exist in Calisota.
* Olrik in ''ComicBook/BlakeAndMortimer'' is a downplayed example. Most stories end with him either in prison or still at large, clearly leaving the door open for his return in the next story. The very first story arc, however, ended with him getting ''nuked'', along with the entire capital city of the EvilEmpire he was then serving. It's never explained how he was the only member of the imperial leadership to survive[[note]]at least without supernatural intervention[[/note]] despite their having all been in the same room. A few books later, the story ends with him left behind in a vast underground cave, just as ''the Atlantic Ocean caves in through the top'' and wipes the whole place clean. Somehow, he survives that too.
* Lady X in ''ComicBook/BuckDanny'' plays this trope absolutely straight, somehow surviving a stunning series of story endings that absolutely should have killed her. This was actually lampshaded in her second appearance, with the story providing an explanation for how she survived her previous near-death experience, and showing her as having been badly scarred and traumatized. Later stories, however, drop this completely, more or less accepting that she's good enough to survive anything, and handwaving the lack of obvious scars or other consequences as plastic surgery.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Chlorophylle}}'', [[BigBad Anthracite]] has been apparently blown up on a firework, imprisoned several times, including in a high security jail, but he always finds a way to come back.
[[/folder]]

** ''Comicbook/SergioAragonesDestroysDC'': Parodied and Lampshaded:

** In the final episode of the second game of VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries with the Joker as a villain, he [[spoiler:seems to die after a fight with Bruce but is resurrected by him]].

* In an interview Grant Morrison [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation interpreted]] that [[spoiler:Batman ''did'' kill The Joker at the end of ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke''. Although this is a bit odd, as The Killing Joke is an in-canon story, and the Joker isn’t dead.]]

* [[VideoGame/BatmanSunsoft The 1989 Batman game]] mirrors the movie, except [[OOCisSeriousBusiness Batman throws the Joker out of the cathedral.]] Joker's still dead. Then the [[OvertookTheManga sequel came up]]: ''Batman: Return of the Joker.'' [[UnexplainedRecovery The Joker got better, somehow]] and the game ends with his capture. The Sunsoft games never mention the Joker again, so it's assumed that he stayed in jail for the rest of the continuity.

* [[http://www.shortpacked.com/index.php?id=132 Explored multiple times]] in the webcomic WebComic/{{Shortpacked}}.

** In DC's ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' alternate reality, Batman has privatized the Gotham City Police Department and has [[spoiler:killed off Killer Croc, Hush, Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy]]. However, even that extremely bitter version of Batman can't bring himself to kill Joker [[spoiler:for the excellent reason that Bruce was the Wayne that got killed in Crime Alley that fateful night; Thomas became Batman and Martha... well, perhaps you can guess.]]

* Comicbook/{{Manhunter}} (the one who's a working mother, and former prosecutor) began her career as a superhero because she's sick of this trope. Her successful kills include [[spoiler:Copperhead (who escaped the death penalty under being not guilty by reasons of genetic anamoly), Monocle, and Dr. Moon]]. She decided not to kill [[spoiler:Shadow Thief,]] on the basis that she [[spoiler:wanted to give the criminal justice system a chance to actually work]].
* In John Ostrander's writing of ''Comicbook/TheSpectre'', his human host (Jim Corrigan) asks Father Cramer why the Spectre never responded to the murder of Coastal City. Father Cramer suggested that the Spectre was designed by God only to respond to certain cries for vengeance.

* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher:''

* The Mandarin from the ''ComicBook/IronMan'' comics is also protected by this trope, as he has survived quite a few examples of both [[ComicBookDeath being killed off]] and [[LongBusTrip disappearing from the comics]], largely due to the fact that the Mandarin's YellowPeril persona is rather problematic in a 21st century context. Inspite of this, his status as Iron Man's {{ArchEnemy}} have prevented modern writers from permanently retiring him, as well as the fact that the Mandarin has gotten away with said YellowPeril shtick [[GrandfatherClause since it was acceptable when he was created]].

* Played with slightly in the ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog''. In the "Endgame" arc, Julian Robotnik is indeed killed by his vengeful minion and nephew Snively; twenty or so issues played with the concept of other villains and problems following his defeat, only for a second Robotnik from an alternate timeline to enter and take over from his position. This Robotnik would later take the modern "Eggman" form seen in later games and continues being the BigBad until the comics were cancelled in 2017.

*** Doc Ock plays with this trope a bit as well. [[spoiler:After Spider-Verse, he creates a copy of himself and eventually transfers it too a new body thanks in part to Ben Reily...with no memory of what he did as Spider Man after Spider Verse.]]

** The original Mysterio, Quentin Beck, eventually acquired this. Originally DrivenToSuicide after trying and failing to drive ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} insane, Marvel ''tried'' to respect this story and kept Beck dead for a time, introducing (well, reintroducing) an old stunt double for Mysterio named Daniel Berkhart and then a mutant named Francis Klum to take up the Mysterio identity. Neither of these replacements was well-received, however, and eventually Quentin Beck was returned to life via an appropriately AmbiguousSituation (long story short, either he was resurrected by some vaguely defined suicide-hating "superiors" who tasked Beck with maintaining a cosmic balance, or he simply faked his own death yet again). Neither of Mysterio's replacements have been seen since this story, and any time Mysterio has popped up since, for simplicity's sake it's been Beck.

* ''ComicBook/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Mirage}}'': Shredder. Since ''Mirage'' was originally meant to be a one-shot, the BigBad was killed by having Donatello bat a grenade in his face, knocking him off the building as it exploded. As the issue got unbelievably popular, Shredder was brought back to life through a kind of semi-mystical cloning involving a kind of worm that mutates into the tissue it devours. However, this only worked once as the Turtles burn Shredders remains on a floating raft to keep him from ever returning. He hasnt been seen since, the closest to a resurrection was a cluster of surviving clone worms briefly infesting a shark, but it's specifically pointed out as not being the Shredder. (The main difference between the original Mirage comics and every adaptation ever: The Shredder was originally intended to be a TokenMotivationalNemesis, more the burglar who killed Spider-Man's uncle than the biggest BigBad. While nigh-unkillable in every cartoon and film series, and even every non-Mirage-created comic series, Mirage Shredder has no JokerImmunity because he was never their Joker.)

* ComicBook/DisneyComics' Phantom Blot, the CriminalMastermind who has demonstrated his will to TakeOverTheWorld and his willingness to murder all in his path, is somehow never sentenced to death whenever he gets arrested, allowing him to [[CardboardPrison escape into the next issue]]. This is obviously because Disney's MoralGuardians would not allow it, but does not make sense in-universe, because the death sentence ''does'' exist in Calisota.
* Olrik in ''BlakeAndMortimer'' is a downplayed example. Most stories end with him either in prison or still at large, clearly leaving the door open for his return in the next story. The very first story arc, however, ended with him getting ''nuked'', along with the entire capital city of the EvilEmpire he was then serving. It's never explained how he was the only member of the imperial leadership to survive[[note]]at least without supernatural intervention[[/note]] despite their having all been in the same room. A few books later, the story ends with him left behind in a vast underground cave, just as ''the Atlantic Ocean caves in through the top'' and wipes the whole place clean. Somehow, he survives that too.
* Lady X in ''BuckDanny'' plays this trope absolutely straight, somehow surviving a stunning series of story endings that absolutely should have killed her. This was actually lampshaded in her second appearance, with the story providing an explanation for how she survived her previous near-death experience, and showing her as having been badly scarred and traumatized. Later stories, however, drop this completely, more or less accepting that she's good enough to survive anything, and handwaving the lack of obvious scars or other consequences as plastic surgery.

*** Well, except earth, which galactus now deems under his protection enough to intervene from time to time. and the fact that Galactus's vaugely-defined and ever changing requirements for his cosmic purpose require him to seek out inhabitable worlds to prevent the releas of something even WORSE would mean such a demand probably does more harm than good. Even Reed has stated galactus is more akin to a force of nature than an actual villain.

* In an interview Grant Morrison [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation interpreted]] that [[spoiler:Batman ''did'' kill The Joker at the end of ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke''.]]

* Zig-zagged in ''ComicBook/BatmanDamned'', a follow-up to Brian Azzarello's ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'' graphic novel where the premise involves Batman allegedly resorting to killing the Joker after realizing that letting his enem live will only lead to more suffering and death, the ending having Batman surrender his life so that the Joker can come back to life.

* With Joker as the VillainProtagonist of [[Film/Joker2019 his own self-titled film from 2019]], it's kind of a ForegoneConclusion that this trope would come into play. [[spoiler: The most noteworthy example came at the end during the clown riots, where a hijacked ambulance rams into the police car Joker was arrested in. It manages to kill the cops driving the car, but Arthur Fleck himself was merely unconsious. Eventually he managed to wake up, and despite being shaken up and severely injured, he's stil well enough to perform a dance for the rioters.]]

* With Joker as the VillainProtagonist of [[Film/Joker2019 his own self-titled film from 2019]], it's kind of a ForegoneConclusion that this trope would come into play. [[spoiler: The most noteworthy example came at the end during the clown riots, where a hijacked ambulance rams into the police car Joker was arrested in. It manages to kill the cops driving the car, but Arthur Fleck himself wass merely unconsious. Eventually he managed to wake up, and despite being shaken up and severely injured, he's stil well enough to perform a dance for the rioters.]]

** As of ''ComicBook/JonathanHickmansXMen'', they've given up any pretence of maintaining death, with a key part of the premise being that via Cerebro based back-ups and several {{Reality Warper}}s, the X-Men can resurrect any mutant they like, whenever they like.

** Only shows up twice in the Creator/GarthEnnis run: During the Marvel Knights series, where the Russian was brought back with experimental technology that also gave him enormous breasts (and is finally killed with a nuke) and in the MAX run with Barracuda (who got his own miniseries) who survived death the first time due to being dumped in shark-infested waters (when the sharks had just eaten a boatful of CorruptCorporateExecutives and thus weren't interested in him), and Frank made very sure he was dead the second time around.

* ''ComicBook/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Mirage}}'': Shredder. Since ''Mirage'' was originally meant to be a one-shot, the BigBad was killed by having Donatello bat a grenade in his face, knocking him off the building as it exploded. As the issue got unbelievably popular, Shredder was brought back to life through a kind of semi-mystical cloning involving a kind of worm that mutates into the tissue it devours. However, this only worked once as the Turtles burn Shredders remains on a floating raft to keep him from ever returning. He hasnt been seen since, the closest to a resurrection was a cluster of surviving clone worms briefly infesting a shark, but it's specifically pointed out as not being the Shredder.

** Batman knows he's always ''this close'' to permanently snapping; he probably thinks Jason could have a point on anyone else, but even if he wanted to, he just couldn't go back after killing intentionally a first time. Besides, for the victims of Two-Face or Scarecrow and their loved ones, it's dubious the Joker's superior bodycount would make much of a difference on the subject.

*** Another apt representation are the [[EvilCounterpart Dark Judges]] who have murdered tens of millions, [[FightingAShadow but are already "dead"]] so are repeatedly confined to orbs which they manage to escape from. They even teamed up with the Joker once in Mega-City One. Conveniently (yet once again) for the Joker, he was instantly teleported back to Arkham Asylum before Judge Dredd (who has a lot fewer qualms against killing) could issue a sentence to our trope namer.

* ComicBook/JudgeDredd:
** Perhaps justified (EVENTUALLY) with Orlok the Assassin, responsible for millions of Mega-City One deaths during the Apocalypse Wars. Eventually, a psychic bombardment reformed his evil ways. In return he journeyed to the planet of Zerbia to fight the genetic cleansing dictatorship of that planet.
** An apt representation would be the teenage serial killer PJ Maybe. He was able to assume the form of Mega City-One's mayor, and thus avoid detection from the Justice Department. Nevertheless, as mayor, PJ Maybe brought much improvement to the city such as bringing human unemployment to an all-time low of 92%, and allowing mutants greater access to the city.
** Another apt representation are the [[EvilCounterpart Dark Judges]] who have murdered tens of millions, [[FightingAShadow but are already "dead"]] so are repeatedly confined to orbs which they manage to escape from. They even teamed up with the Joker once in Mega-City One. Conveniently (yet once again) for the Joker, he was instantly teleported back to Arkham Asylum before Judge Dredd (who has a lot fewer qualms against killing) could issue a sentence to our trope namer.
* ''ComicBook/NemesisTheWarlock'': Torquemada is overthrown or killed several times, but he always returns to threaten the galaxy once again. [[spoiler:This is intentional on Nemesis' part, who set out to make Torquemada his ArchEnemy.]]

** If not for the Joker, this trope would be named ComicBook/{{Magneto}} Immunity, for the X-Men's premiere villain, who may hold the record for the highest number of sincere and permanent deaths, lobotomies, and depowerings of any villain in comic book history, but could no sooner be removed from X-Continuity than the Joker could from Batman.

* Speaking of, this is ''generally'' averted with ComicBook/WonderWoman - in the original [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] comics, she would often reform her ([[FemalesAreMoreInnocent usually-female]]) enemies, and those reformations generally stuck. In more modern times, she still tries to reform them, but if that doesn't work she has ''zero'' problem [[PragmaticHero killing them outright]].[[note]]It helps that a lot of her modern enemies [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman are mythological monsters]] who probably couldn't be put in jail even if she did bring them in alive[[/note]]. This often causes... ''friction'' with her more ThouShaltNotKill teammates in the Justice League.

* '''Horrifically averted and exploited''' in ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal''. From the depths of the Dark Multiverse (a multiverse where worlds are made out of decisions from hopes and fears of individuals before rotting away into oblivion), one world shows Batman [[NeckSnap killing the Joker]] out of sheer rage due to the latter ravaging Gotham and killing Commissioner Gordon before his very eyes. [[spoiler: But when some form of nanotoxin seeping from his mouth entered Batman's body, his mind was later rewritten to become The Batman Who Laughs, where his moral compass is twisted as the Joker's whilst maintaining his intellectual and combat prowess like Batman. He then proceeds to gun down his Batfamily in cold blood when he realises that they'll be the first ones to recognise his transformation (and that's just ''BEFORE'' he becomes twisted both physically and mentally), [[TeamKiller then slaughtered the entire Justice League, saving Superman as the last]], and then finally (albeit offscreen) armies of villains and alien tyrants. He even manages to take down the [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] '''''[[ComicBook/TheSpectre Wrath of God]]''''' with only precision and '''blood'''.]]

* '''Horrifically averted and exploited''' in ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal''. From the depths of the Dark Multiverse (a multiverse where worlds are made out of decisions from hopes and fears of individuals before rotting away into oblivion), one world shows Batman [[NeckSnap killing the Joker]] out of sheer rage due to the latter ravaging Gotham and killing Commissioner Gordon before his very eyes. [[spoiler: But when some form of nanotoxin seeping from his mouth entered Batman's body, his mind was later rewritten to become The Batman Who Laughs, where his moral compass is twisted as the Joker's whilst maintaining his intellectual and combat prowess like Batman. He then proceeds to gun down his Batfamily in cold blood when he realises that they'll be the first ones to recognise his transformation (and that's just ''BEFORE'' he becomes twisted both physically and mentally), [[TeamKiller then the entire Justice League, saving Superman as the last]], and then finally (albeit offscreen) armies of villains and alien tyrants. He even manages to take down the [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] '''''[[ComicBook/TheSpectre Wrath of God]]''''' with just only precision and '''blood''' with ease.]]

--->'''Punisher''':[[WhatTheHellHero How many times have you put this maniac away?! I can end it, right here and now!]]

** ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily has a new reason: [[spoiler:Batman confides to Alfred that the main reason he refuses to kill Joker is because he sincerely believes killing Joker wouldn't make things any better. Gotham would just send someone worse, or bring Joker back from the dead, or ''something''. To Bruce, the Joker is just one facet of the true Big Bad of his story: Gotham City itself. Still hasn't explained why the police have not killed the Joker the moment he resists arrest.]]