I have a vague memory of a book, or possibly a comic book, where there is a character who can see people’s mortality and sees them all as dying, and so he is constantly depressed and pessimistic. Then he runs into someone and looks startled and when asked what he sees he says “I see a man who ISN’T dying!”
Does anyone have any idea what this might be from?
Thanks.
Probably not the answer you’re looking for, but this does remind me of a couple interactions of this type:
In the Wild Cards series, there’s a character named Spectre who has the ability to visit someone’s eventual death on them, now. Most people just have a heart attack and die when he touches them (he can’t turn the power off…); others get crushed as if they had fallen from a great height or gotten hit by a car. He grabbed (by the way, he’s a bad guy) a character who seems to be immortal and was really peeved when the guy didn’t die.
In Smallville, Dr. Fate has the ability to see what other peoples’ fates are, and he is just stunned when he meets Clark Kent.
I think that Smallville also did the Specter-type of power, and the guy was likewise annoyed when he grabbed Clark and Clark didn’t die… that may have been more of just the garden-variety immunity to kryptonite-granted powers, though.
Scully: And when do I die?
Clyde Bruckner: You don’t.
Neither of those is the one I remember though. I have a sense that it was in the 80s or 90s and it was a comic book if I not mistaken.
Keeping to the possible comic book origin, were there any particular titles you regularly read back in the 80s/90s? If not specific titles, what about specific publishers? (Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, etc).
The Dragonlance series. Raistlin was cursed with hourglass eyes when he took his trial to become a wizard.
In the 80s, mostly Marvel, but in the 90s I branched off into Dark Horse as well and read a lot of diffeent titles.
I don’t know who the guy with deathsight might be, but could the man he saw be Mr. Immortal, founder of the Great Lakes Avengers? He is allegedly destined to survive the end of the universe, and he once defeated a cosmic-level threat (Maelstrom) by depressing him to death.
This is my vote. If I recall correctly, Raistlin was startled by the immortal beauty of the elf maiden Laurenthalasa.
Well, extremely long-lived at any rate, and at that time in the first flush of youth. But Raistlin exclaimed “I see a man who is not dying!” when he saw Astinus Lorekeeper. Some say Astinus is the god Gilean of the Book, which would explain a great deal. Astinus for his part responded a little later with “I see a man who is”.
Disclaimer: I found the Dragonlance books complete drek and there are many I haven’t read; but I definitely read that bit.
YES! THAT is it! Thanks very much, you have saved my freaking sanity!
Not quite: he was startled when he saw an Irda. She seduced him and bore his child.
Glad to be of help. Use that retained sanity wisely.