# Marvel isn't even pretending that The Death of Wolverine meant anything. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847 "2014-11-06T03:28:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/21 "2014-11-06T18:33:02Z")
> [@Vashbul](#): > > Don’t you hate when they do that? I blame Arthur Conan Doyle. I’m gonna need you to take that back. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/22 "2014-11-06T19:29:09Z")
Captain Marvel at Marvel died and stayed dead, he was a prominent 2nd tier character…but he has had a parade of bullsh\*t “legacies” running around mucking up his story…and I say this as a fan of two of his off-shots (Hulkling and Noh-Var). For awhile a time-displaced version was running around but he actually turned out to be a deeply brain-washed Skrull who ended preferring to be Mar-Vel and died a hero (IIRC). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/23 "2014-11-06T20:25:06Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > They are having characters mourning a guy who literally can come back from a single drop of blood. They should be treating it like a long vacation. So, just out of curiosity, how did they kill him? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/24 "2014-11-07T03:42:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Steophan** : > > Only in alternate universes, that I recall. Thomas Wayne becoming Batman in response to his son’s death has happened at least twice, and for me was one of the high points of Flashpoint. Didn’t Ra’s al-Ghul stuff them in a Lazarus pit at one point, to try to get leverage on Bruce? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/25 "2014-11-07T04:11:55Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’m gonna need you to take that back. Yeah, Vashbul, you obviously know _nothing_ about Conan Doyle, he’s well beyond your ken. I know you’re trying to be wry in the early November chill, but that’s beyond you, too. Yeah, you’re gonna take that wry ken back, this fall. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/26 "2014-11-07T07:11:33Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Pretty sure time travellin’ Jean Grey is older than thirteen… True. She’s supposed to be 16/17, I think? I meant to write “teenage” and for some reason wrote “13 year old”, dumb of me. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > So, just out of curiosity, how did they kill him? He gets coated in liquid adamantium (after he lost his healing factor in a separate story a little while ago). Pretty much the sort of thing that could easily be split open down the line… I mean, we already know that Magneto can manipulate the stuff, so arguably Polaris could as well, and likely others. ---
**Author:** ![JesterX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JesterX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JesterX)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/27 "2014-11-07T07:49:45Z")
Not defending the practice but one of the reasons comics keep resurrecting characters is because of the legal complexity of establishing new NAMED characters. It’s akin to filing for a patent. They have to go through trademark searches and probably other stuff. So it’s not like a writer working on this month’s storyline can say “hey I want a character named _XYZ_ with _this_ power” and instantly write him/her in. They have to propose them and then put them through that creation process. So it’s often just easier to use already established characters. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/28 "2014-11-07T15:23:26Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#): > > He gets coated in liquid adamantium (after he lost his healing factor in a separate story a little while ago). Pretty much the sort of thing that could easily be split open down the line… I mean, we already know that Magneto can manipulate the stuff, so arguably Polaris could as well, and likely others. So adamantium can melt. You’d think any of the zillion fire heroes could do something with that. I remember the days when the Human Torch could do “near nova” heat. I’m sure they’ve written in a magical catch, though. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/29 "2014-11-07T15:44:23Z")
> [@JesterX](#): > > Not defending the practice but one of the reasons comics keep resurrecting characters is because of the legal complexity of establishing new NAMED characters. It’s akin to filing for a patent. They have to go through trademark searches and probably other stuff. So it’s not like a writer working on this month’s storyline can say “hey I want a character named _XYZ_ with _this_ power” and instantly write him/her in. They have to propose them and then put them through that creation process. I don’t think that’s correct. In the last two years, Marvel alone has debuted more than 100 named characters. > **[Marvel NOW! new characters](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/profile/worbbitt/lists/marvel-now-new-characters/48079/)** ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/30 "2014-11-07T16:49:15Z")
Aren’t they doing this so they can retcon him into an Inhuman so he can be a part of their movie franchise? ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/31 "2014-11-07T17:33:35Z")
> [@JesterX](#): > > Not defending the practice but one of the reasons comics keep resurrecting characters is because of the legal complexity of establishing new NAMED characters. It’s akin to filing for a patent. They have to go through trademark searches and probably other stuff. So it’s not like a writer working on this month’s storyline can say “hey I want a character named _XYZ_ with _this_ power” and instantly write him/her in. They have to propose them and then put them through that creation process. > > So it’s often just easier to use already established characters. This is not true in the slightest. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/32 "2014-11-07T17:34:46Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Aren’t they doing this so they can retcon him into an Inhuman so he can be a part of their movie franchise? Again… that is not even remotely true. How would that even work? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/33 "2014-11-07T19:31:59Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Again… that is not even remotely true. > How would that even work? No idea, but its comics. Wouldn’t take much for a writer to say “Well they discovered Wolverine’s DNA really matches the the Inhumans, and oh here’s a file from a Celestial filing cabinet saying they messed with his DNA a few hundred years ago”. One self-discovering journey to the moon later, and BAM! Wolverine’s officially an Inhuman and no longer a mutant. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/34 "2014-11-07T19:35:32Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > No idea, but its comics. Wouldn’t take much for a writer to say “Well they discovered Wolverine’s DNA really matches the the Inhumans, and oh here’s a file from a Celestial filing cabinet saying they messed with his DNA a few hundred years ago”. One self-discovering journey to the moon later, and BAM! Wolverine’s officially an Inhuman and no longer a mutant. I doubt the judge in the resulting lawsuit would find that particularly convincing. Fox owns the movie-rights to the Wolverine character, regardless of what imaginary filing cabinets say about his imaginary DNA. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/35 "2014-11-07T19:48:55Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > So adamantium can melt. No, it’s synthesized in liquid form and your SHOL when it hardens. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/36 "2014-11-07T19:57:19Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > No idea, but its comics. Wouldn’t take much for a writer to say “Well they discovered Wolverine’s DNA really matches the the Inhumans, and oh here’s a file from a Celestial filing cabinet saying they messed with his DNA a few hundred years ago”. One self-discovering journey to the moon later, and BAM! Wolverine’s officially an Inhuman and no longer a mutant. The contracts aren’t written that way. As far as anybody knows, they name one specific character (Spider-Man) or team of characters (The X-Men) and the option to include various villains and secondary characters related to the subject of the contract in any film adaptation. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/37 "2014-11-07T20:20:49Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > No idea, but its comics. Wouldn’t take much for a writer to say “Well they discovered Wolverine’s DNA really matches the the Inhumans, and oh here’s a file from a Celestial filing cabinet saying they messed with his DNA a few hundred years ago”. One self-discovering journey to the moon later, and BAM! Wolverine’s officially an Inhuman and no longer a mutant. I didn’t mean “how would that work in the comics” I meant how would that work with courts and contracts? The answer is that it doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/38 "2014-11-07T22:02:42Z")
Why should they pretend? at this point there can’t possibly be anyone who thinks comic book deaths mean anything. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/39 "2014-11-07T22:03:52Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Why should they pretend? at this point there can’t possibly be anyone who thinks comic book deaths mean anything. This. I recall a 90s’ JLA story in which no one showed up to a super-hero’s funeral because, even in-universe, everybody figured it would be undone within a year. And Wolverine is far too valuable a character and trademark to be abandoned, so no fan can reasonably expect his death to be anything but a stunt. Hell, he’s been dead at least twice before. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-isnt-even-pretending-that-the-death-of-wolverine-meant-anything/703847/40 "2014-11-07T22:27:47Z")
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