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5[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/resurrection_man_original.png]]
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7Urban legend tells of a drifter wandering the side roads and back streets of the USA, a man who ''can't'' stay dead. A Resurrection Man.
8
9The legend is true. His name is Mitchell Shelley, and he's wandering the Earth, trying to do good by others where he can. Every time he dies, he comes back with a new superpower.
10
11Mitch was originally the star of his own Creator/DCComics ongoing back in the [[TheNineties 1990s]], created and written by Creator/DanAbnett and Creator/AndyLanning (later known for ''ComicBook/{{Annihilation}}'', ''Comicbook/{{Nova}}'' and ''Comicbook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''). His first appearance was actually ''Resurrection Man'' vol. 1 #1 (May, 1997). The series lasted for 27 issues, from May 1997 to August 1999. Focusing on his search to discover the truth about himself and his powers. Since the end of his original series, Mitchell has had guest appearances in various titles. He returned to the spotlight in a new Abnett/Lanning series as part of DC's ComicBook/{{New 52}} relaunch in September 2011. This series only lasted for 13 issues, ending with a [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning Zero Issue]] where Mitch learned his origin.
12
13!!Notable appearances of Resurrection Man
14[[folder:Comic Books]]
15* ''Resurrection Man'' Vol 1 (1997-1999)
16* ''Resurrection Man'' Vol 2 (2011-2012)
17[[/folder]]
18
19----
20!!Tropes in ''Resurrection Man'' and related works:
21
22* AmnesiacDissonance:
23** Turned out Mitch wasn't a very nice guy in his pre-Resurrection Man life, a corrupt lawyer deep in mob business. He seems to have been better in previous incarnations.
24** ''The New 52'' version was even less of a nice guy in his former life; [[spoiler: he was running the nanobot project, and conducting illegal human testing]].
25* ArchEnemy: The Body Doubles are Mitch's most frequently reoccurring foes. Also, ComicBook/VandalSavage, as he and Mitch have constantly clashed in the long span of their lives, up until the [[ComicBook/DCOneMillion 853rd Century]].
26* TheAtoner: A touch of this after he finds out who he used to be.
27* BackFromTheDead: Again, and again, and again...
28* BadassLongcoat
29* BodySurf: The Rider.
30* TheCameo: Two panels of Abnett and Lanning's {{Elseworlds}} oneshot ''The Franchise/{{Superman}} [[FrankensteinsMonster Monster]]'', feature an (unnamed) ''actual'' resurrection man (i.e. a [[GraveRobbing grave robber]]), with Mitch's shoulder-length hair and broad-brimmed hat.
31* TheCape: Pretty much, even though he normally doesn't wear one.
32* CivvieSpandex: Typically doesn't wear a costume, favoring a black hat, black coat, black shirt and whatever trousers he can grab.
33* DiscardAndDraw: Every time he dies.
34* DivinelyAppearingDemons: An InvertedTrope in ''The New 52'' version, where the angels that Mitch runs into sometimes look (and act) a ''hell'' of a lot like demons.
35* TheDrifter
36* EvilCounterpart: Hooker, initially.
37* ExiledFromContinuity: An aversion in Mitch's first ongoing (when the Vertigo embargo was still in force), as [[ComicBook/TheSandman1989 the Dreaming's]] Cain and Abel show up in one issue.[[note]] Possibly because both are characters from older series that Gaiman integrated into his book instead of characters of his own creation.[[/note]]
38* FirstEpisodeResurrection: Subverted. Mitch's resurrection abilities were already in place by the time we first met him.
39* FutureBadass: His ''ComicBook/DCOneMillion'' self takes him from a relative nobody with famously unreliable powers into one of the strongest heroes of the 853rd Century. Not only has he developed tons of experience and prestige, but he's completely mastered his powers to resurrect immediately and gain the powers he needs, which he even exploits by poisoning himself for an instant whenever he wants to switch powers.
40* GenderBender: One resurrection had Mitch come back as a woman. This is actually a plot point. As a woman, Mitch's pain tolerance is higher, allowing him to bypass a gate that normally emitted so much pain it caused him to pass out.
41* GhostMemory: Mitch used to get flashes of his previous incarnations when he was little (and again when possessed by the Rider).
42* IdTellYouButThenIdHaveToKillYou: When Mitch asks the demon what its interest in him is, it replies "I could tell you that, but then I'd have to kill you. Repeatedly."
43* ImAHumanitarian: Hooker.
44* ImmortalLifeIsCheap: Naturally. One issue has a confused ComicBook/{{Batman}} trying to figure out why the same guy keeps getting murdered by Gotham City criminals. A crossover with Comicbook/{{Hitman}} sees Hitman repeatedly shooting him over and over until he gets a useful power. In the [[ComicBook/DCOneMillion 853rd century]], even Resurrection Man himself gets in on the act, wearing a gauntlet that lets him commit instant suicide.
45* InnerMonologue
46* LovelyAngels: The Body Doubles, a pair of bounty hunters.
47* MeaningfulName:
48** In Mitch's very first issue, the town where he discovers his powers, and decides how he's going to use them, is called Crucible.
49** Appropriately for a man who can come BackFromTheDead, Mitch has the same surname as ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' author Creator/MaryShelley.
50* MissingMom: Mitch's mother died when he was young.
51* MistakenIdentity: Mitch, and the Forgotten Heroes, conclude he's the long-lost Immortal Man. As it turns out, he's not.
52* MythologyGag: In the original series, Mitch's quest for his past life culminated at the old Soder Cola plant in Viceroy, Carolina. In the New 52 series, the plant is a cover for The Lab.
53* NighInvulnerability: It ''may'' be possible to kill Mitch permanently. No one's succeeded.
54* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Suriel. And a bit peeved that Mitch refuses to stay dead so she's decided to play Mitch's personal {{Psychopomp}}, a.k.a Angel of Death, to collect his soul as punishment for cheating death too many times.
55* PermaStubble: Mitch.
56* PietaPlagiarism: Happens at issue 3 of his ComicBook/New52 title.
57* QuestForIdentity: The first ongoing, and now the second.
58* RasputinianDeath: Occasionally gets this from people trying to make sure he stays dead. It never works.
59** In a {{Crossover}} with ''Comicbook/{{Hitman}}'', Tommy Monaghan kills Mitch over and over and over again until he comes back with a power useful to their situation.
60* RealityWarper: Mr Skism.
61* ResurrectiveImmortality: Via resurrection, apparently thanks to [[{{Nanomachines}} nanotechnology]]. Mitch's soul has been around at least since AncientEgypt (and he finds an image of ComicBook/VandalSavage's origin familiar...). In ''ComicBook/DCOneMillion'', Mitch survives until the 853rd century.
62* SuperpowerLottery: Anything from creating holographic butterflies, to shapeshifting, to pyrokinesis, to astral projection - typically, the circumstances of his death will shape the power (e.g. getting blown up in a nuclear explosion turned him into a living shadow).
63** One issue had Hitman repeatedly shoot Mitch in the head for multiple lotteries, until he finally got a power that Hitman decided was good enough.
64* TwoFirstNames: Mitchell Shelley. On an interesting note, the name he goes by depends on his current gender.
65* WalkingTheEarth
66* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Mitch certainly believes this, having died more times than he can count and being hounded by all manner of supernatural horrors that want to make sure he stays dead. Even worse is he's destined to live at least until the 853 century!

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