A Superhero Story Where Anyone Can Die

What are your thoughts on this idea?

Basically, in the big two that is Marvel and DC, unless you're part of an origin story or a very minor character, death is but a minor inconvenience that won't last long. This status quo is so ingrained in the universes that the only way they can get around it is by using an alternate universe where they can do whatever they want. It's because these characters are simply too iconic to completely kill off, which is why they won't do it.

But a story featuring original characters and not tied to the big two doesn't have that issue. What do you guys think of the idea of creating a superhero world where the setting isn't all fun and games, that the danger is real, and that both heroes and villains alike can die? What if Death isn't Cheap? It would have some effects. Heroes dying would show the reality of the danger they're in, villains dying would avert Joker Immunity. A Legacy Character, that is, one who takes up the mantle after the death of the original, will have more meaning because it truly will be carrying on their legacy after death.^note in comic books, it's common for someone to claim the name after the previous character died, such as Kate Bishop Hawkeye and Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle, but the originals came back.

That's the idea behind a story I'm working on. While I do plan for some characters to come back to life, it will be far from universal and will have a twist most of the time. Basically, my superhero story has a real sense of danger, that no one is safe from death. Anyone Can Die here, including the main characters. Naturally, this necessitates Loads And Loads Of Characters to make sure there's plenty to write about.

So, any advice/suggestions when it comes to writing a setting like this?

Do NOT kill off characters just for shock value. A story like that will need to worry about Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy, especially if your readers don't feel like they should get invested at all because the story is too kill-happy.

You'll also want to avoid fridging characters, AKA killing off a character just to cause another character pain or make them go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge. Fridging people generally carries negative connotations because people feel like the fridged character isn't so much a character as they are a plot device just to cause another character misery. These deaths are often not as meaningful as the writers may think.

If you've never checked out Atop the Fourth Wall, I recommend you watch the videos covering event comics such as "Countdown." Hopefully that will give you an idea of how someone can do Anyone Can Die really, really badly.

As long as you are not writing for the Big 2, the rules for killing off character in superhero stories is the same for killing off characters in every other genre.

edited 15th Aug '17 12:30:03 PM by RAlexa21th

Yeah but rarely do stories take advantage of that. I know a lot of people are sick of the status quo in superhero stories.

Depends on what superhero story you read.

My point is this: before killing off a character, ask yourself WHY you are killing them off. Again, do not kill characters off just for shock value, fridging purposes, or to "rock the status quo." If you're too trigger-happy, people won't want to read your story because they'll just ask "What's the point?"

The general purpose is to make the stakes feel real and add depth to the story. If your story and world is intriguing enough, people will withstand the deaths of many named characters because they're so invested in the world, just ask George R. R. Martin.

Now, I'm not saying that's who I'm trying to be, but my point is that it CAN be done, and he's hardly the only example of an author not afraid to kill off his characters. We all know there are bad examples of the trope (I watch AT4W myself), but those mainly suffer from being written badly.

A good example of a comic book death that was ruined because of the aforementioned Status Quo Is God was Ted Kord's Blue Beetle. He was given a heroic death and the mantle was passed on to Jaime Reyes, who was proven to be a hit with fans because they not only developed his character, but they were sure to pay respect to Kord every step of the way. Naturally, it was all undone by Kord coming back to life to please his fanbase. Though Jaime still remains the Blue Beetle, it still feels cheap that he came back after that.

In my story, such a taking of the mantle involving the death of the previous holder of the title would stay that way, because it becomes more impactful. As I mentioned, their name is carried on through the legacy of the next bearer. There's no "sharing" the title after the previous one comes back to life.

I hope that made it clear why I want a story like this involving superheroes, where there is no ruling status quo like in Marvel/DC.

You don't need Anyone Can Die in order to defy a Status Quo. A cast of 20 people can have 3 important people die at key points of the story. There are also many other things that can be permanent other than death such as disability and relationship status.

But I have more than 20 characters...

This. It sounds like your main problem with the big 2 is that the Status Quo never (or barely) changes. In that case, keep in mind that character permadeaths is only one of the many tools you can use. Significant changes to the society the characters live in or to the relationships between them, for example, are just as impactful as a death. As long as you can make the world of your story a living organism that changes and evolves over time, you're set. Permanently killing characters is one way to achieve this, but don't over rely on it.

And, as the others said, don't just kill characters just to shock the readers. A death should always have a specific purpose and function in the story arc.

If you haven't already, I suggest you check out Worm by wildbow. He's pretty good about avoiding some of the pitfalls you're talking about, though hero and villain can be pretty blurry in all of his stories, Worm included.

The problem with "anyone can die" is that it just plain isn't true. Your story is going to need some characters to survive in order to work at all. Eventually, your audience will probably figure out who they are. For all the flap you hear about the Big Two being unwilling to kill important characters, the truth of the matter is audiences don't really want the important characters to die (and realize that important characters are more likely to be simply resurrected later anyway, so "killing" them is a pointless thing to do anyway). The best stories are constructed in such a way that the audience doesn't care about the narrative necessities and just gets invested in the story. If your plot requires you to kill a character, fine. But don't focus on killing characters just to throw your audience off balance.