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Comic Books
Shadowcat: You have to know that if you're a clone or robot or, yeah, a ghost or an alternate universe thingie, I can deal... but if you are some shapeshifter or illusionist who's just watching me twist I will kill you and I will kill you with an axe so right away just prove it, say something, show me something, I can't...
Colossus: Katya ...
Shadowcat: You died! Piotr Rasputin died and I know this because I carried his ashes to Russia and scattered them myself!
Colossus: You did? ... Thank you.
Colossus: Katya ...
Shadowcat: You died! Piotr Rasputin died and I know this because I carried his ashes to Russia and scattered them myself!
Colossus: You did? ... Thank you.
I've died before. It was boring, so I stood up.
— Marc Spector, Moon Knight
Film
"I was merely dormant while my body repaired itself."
— Centauri, The Last Starfighter
White Wizard: You are tracking the footsteps of two young hobbits.
Aragorn: Where are they?
White Wizard: They passed this way the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?
Aragorn: Who are you? Show yourself!
[Holy Backlight obscuring the White Wizard's face dissipates. It's Gandalf.]
Aragorn: It cannot be.
Legolas: Forgive me. I mistook you for Saruman.
Gandalf: I am Saruman. Or rather, Saruman as he should have been.
Aragorn: You fell.
Gandalf: Through fire and water. From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought the Balrog of Morgoth. Until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin on the mountainside. Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as the life-age of the Earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I've been sent back until my task is done.
Aragorn: Gandalf.
Gandalf: Yes... that was what they called me. Gandalf the Grey... that was my name.
Gimli: Gandalf...
Gandalf: I am Gandalf the White, and I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide.
Aragorn: Where are they?
White Wizard: They passed this way the day before yesterday. They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?
Aragorn: Who are you? Show yourself!
[Holy Backlight obscuring the White Wizard's face dissipates. It's Gandalf.]
Aragorn: It cannot be.
Legolas: Forgive me. I mistook you for Saruman.
Gandalf: I am Saruman. Or rather, Saruman as he should have been.
Aragorn: You fell.
Gandalf: Through fire and water. From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought the Balrog of Morgoth. Until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin on the mountainside. Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as the life-age of the Earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again. I've been sent back until my task is done.
Aragorn: Gandalf.
Gandalf: Yes... that was what they called me. Gandalf the Grey... that was my name.
Gimli: Gandalf...
Gandalf: I am Gandalf the White, and I come back to you now, at the turn of the tide.
Kylo Ren: You'll die first.
Emperor Palpatine: I have died before. The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be... unnatural...
Emperor Palpatine: I have died before. The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be... unnatural...
Literature
Scourge: How? I killed you!
Firestar: You did. But I am a leader with nine lives who fights alongside StarClan. Can you say as much?
Firestar: You did. But I am a leader with nine lives who fights alongside StarClan. Can you say as much?
Live-Action TV
"How many times have you thought he was gone, and he shows up... in one form or another? I'm sorry, but we're not having a memorial service for someone who is not dead. You hear that? I'm not buying it! He's just waiting for us to say a bunch of nice things about him. Next thing you know, he'll be waltzing in through that door. Like...right now."
— Col. O'Neill talking about yet another of Daniel Jackson's "deaths", Stargate SG-1
"Did you miss me?"
— Jim Moriarty, Sherlock
Servalan: We have heard rumors, nothing confirmed, of course, concerning the rebel Shivan.
Le Grand: Shivan's still alive?
Servalan: Severely incapacitated. A mere shell, in fact. But as we both have learned, while there's life, there's threat.
Le Grand: Shivan's still alive?
Servalan: Severely incapacitated. A mere shell, in fact. But as we both have learned, while there's life, there's threat.
— Blake's 7, "Voice From The Past"
Drazi Ambassador: Captain! We're sorry. We thought you were dead.
Sheridan: I was. I'm better now.
Sheridan: I was. I'm better now.
Music
"Used to flatline, that shit is so last month!"
— Aesop Rock, "Kodokushi"
Nobody gets too much heaven no more
It's harder to come back
I'm waiting in line...
It's harder to come back
I'm waiting in line...
— The Bee Gees, "Too Much Heaven"
Go ahead, bury me
I will not, stay dead
Hold me down, take my breath
I will thrive, instead
Cheat the game, break my stride
You'll see me, again
Like the plague, I will spread
Cause I won't stay dead.
I will not, stay dead
Hold me down, take my breath
I will thrive, instead
Cheat the game, break my stride
You'll see me, again
Like the plague, I will spread
Cause I won't stay dead.
— Aviators, "Stay Dead"
Religion and Myth
"Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!"
— Elijah, 1 Kings 17:21
"Lazarus, come out!"
"See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
Tabletop Games
"Birth and death are both reversible."
— Nicol Bolas, Magic: The Gathering
Theatre
"To life! To life, I'll bring them
I'll bring all these dead men to life!"
I'll bring all these dead men to life!"
Video Games
"Life, return to life
Break the cycle and return
This soul from nether coils!
Resurrection!"
Break the cycle and return
This soul from nether coils!
Resurrection!"
— Elise, Azure Striker Gunvolt
"Allow this heart to beat again.... quench their thirst... lead the wandering soul back... reverse death... and awaken them!"
— Shrine Priestess, Dragon's Crown, when the player revives another character after recovering their bones in a dungeon
"Something is wrong with me. I should be dead....but I'm not."
— Michael Afton, Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location
Soldier: 76: ...Aren't you supposed to be dead?
Reaper: Didn't take.
Reaper: Didn't take.
"Well, the Collectors killed you once and all it did was piss you off."
— Garrus Vakarian to Commander Shepard, Mass Effect 2
Anyone can make the decision to take a life, real power lies in deciding to give it back.
— Flavour Text of the Raise Dead magic, Dawn of the Dragons
"The descent had destroyed me, and yet...I lived."
— Raziel, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Millium: Huh? Where am I? Rean? Tilly? What are you guys doing here? Jusis? Haha, what gives? You look like you've seen a ghost! Wait, what happened...? Last thing I remember, I-
Jusis: Millium!!!
Altina: You're awake!!!
Millium: Whoa, guys! What's gotten into you? Anyone wanna tell me what this is all about?!
Juna: Haha...
Rean: Heh... It's kind of a long story...
Alisa: So much happened while you were asleep...
Machias: But before we get to all that... [ahem]
Everyone: Welcome back, Millium!
Jusis: Millium!!!
Altina: You're awake!!!
Millium: Whoa, guys! What's gotten into you? Anyone wanna tell me what this is all about?!
Juna: Haha...
Rean: Heh... It's kind of a long story...
Alisa: So much happened while you were asleep...
Machias: But before we get to all that... [ahem]
Everyone: Welcome back, Millium!
Darkseid: Your survival defies all reason.
Green Lantern (John Stewart): That's a Marine for you.
Darkseid: Show me what else a Marine can do.
Green Lantern (John Stewart): That's a Marine for you.
Darkseid: Show me what else a Marine can do.
Webcomics
"With my treatment, Stitches has bested death itself. And what horrors he brings with him I do not intend to discover."
Thanatos: Are you ready for the paradise that awaits you for all eternity?
Maloye: Sure!
Thanatos: TOUGH LUCK, BUDDY!
Maloye: Sure!
Thanatos: TOUGH LUCK, BUDDY!
"Well, I had been planning to hold my funeral then, but it looks like my schedule just opened up."
— Thirden, The Order of the Stick
"I won't hold any of you long, but I wanted as many as possible to hear this straight from me. Fearing the consequences of rumour and exaggeration on the matter. As several of you know, I've recently spent a spell of time being dead. I'm feeling much better now. I'm hoping you'll allow me to get back along with my life with no fuss. Well... that's all I've got to say on the matter. Thanks for listening."
— Pete Colby, soon before a fuss ensues, The Rule of Death
"With the power of a million dreams, I reach upon all of you whose time in this world was cut short! Whether it be from old age or someone else's hands... on this blessed night, I'll grant you all... a second chance!"
— Tenebrae Hue, Klonoa: Dream Crusaders
"Whenever a superhero stops being worm food, we all throw on grey jeans at a Shriner hall in Phoenix and tell our old resurrection stories. Clears up a lot of clone confusion, and it's a nice way to write off booze."
—Wonderella, The Non-Adventures of Wonderella
Web Original
"So, how have you been since the last time we hung out? I've been great! I went to this really, uh... kinda, nothing-place, then hallucinated a whole bunch, and erm, now I get up to find everything falling apart. Did you miss me?"
— Lovelace, Wolf 359
"Heroes always come back from the dead. They always do!"
— Nick Arson, Tales Of Galismera
Skitter: You said she was dead. You said you verified.
Defiant [over the radio]: I saw the body myself, we checked her DNA, her … readings, we matched against the mountings for her prosthetic eye … carbon dated it to verify.
Skitter: Ask Defiant who the hell that's supposed to be, if it's not Alexandria.
Defiant [over the radio]: I saw the body myself, we checked her DNA, her … readings, we matched against the mountings for her prosthetic eye … carbon dated it to verify.
Skitter: Ask Defiant who the hell that's supposed to be, if it's not Alexandria.
— Worm, Crushed 24.1
[Empress has Joseph on the ropes, but an unknown man shows up.]
???: Looking lame, JoJo. You're getting old.
Joseph: N..No..way! Yo...you're...
???: Looks like you're doing well!
Joseph: Caesar! Double Shock! To meet you as if you were a ghost on the mortal plane. Wait, just a single shock.
???: Looking lame, JoJo. You're getting old.
Joseph: N..No..way! Yo...you're...
???: Looks like you're doing well!
Joseph: Caesar! Double Shock! To meet you as if you were a ghost on the mortal plane. Wait, just a single shock.
"DEATH IS A ONE WAY STREET BUT THAT DIDN'T STOP ME FROM COMMITTING ONE HELL OF A TRAFFIC VIOLATION"
—normal-horoscopes, here
Western Animation
"Back from the dead, assholes!"
Bart Simpson: Ralph, I thought you were dead.
Ralph Wiggum: Nope.
Ralph Wiggum: Nope.
"Lars! You saved us! You stopped the Robonoids, but- but one of them exploded, and- and you weren't moving and I started crying and- [gasp] I brought you back to life! It- it was an accident! I mean, I probably would have done that on purpose if I had known I could do that, but I didn't really ask you permission, so, I'm sorry!"
— Steven, Steven Universe
