Top 10 Epic Superhero Resurrections

Jean Grey has “died” and returned countless times, but this resurrection stands out as the most interesting. Jean became Dark Pheonix after she bonded with the Phoenix Force, a powerful entity that granted her incredible power but compelled her to commit mass genocide by devouring a star. When she regains control, she sacrifices herself to save Earth’s solar system from the rage of the Shi’ar Empire. While X-Men legend Christ Claremont had intended for Jean to stay dead after the “Dark Phoenix Saga,” Marvel waited six years before bringing her back. Discovered by the Fantastic Four in a cocoon at bottom of Jamaica Bay, Jean initially can’t remember anything until her memories finally return.

Elektra Natchios worked for an organization known as the Hand, before forming a bond with Matt Murdock and switching side. In Daredevil #181, Bullseye killed Elektra using her own weapon, prompting the Hand to use a magic ritual to revive the fallen warrior. With the help of Stone, Daredevil stopped the ritual before seemingly failing to revive Elektra himself. Unbeknownst to Matt, Stone successfully revived Elektra, although her personality is split between a good and evil incarnation. Once the former defeated the latter in an epic confrontation, Elektra made her full return.

#8: Hal Jordan / Green Lantern

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Everyone has their breaking point. In Hal Jordan's case, it was the complete annihilation of Coast City. Temporarily driven insane by grieve, Hal Jordan brought down the entire Green Lantern Corps to try and recreate his hometown. Jordan ended up absorbing a fear demon named Parallax, a path that would lead him to become a villain. In the Final Night storyline, Hal redeemed himself by sacrificing himself to re-ignite the sun. Here, things get complicated. Hal's soul, stuck in a purgatory-like plane of existence, bonded with the Spectre, a divine being hellbent on vengeance, who quickly overwhelmed the Green Lantern’s mind. Hal managed to dispel both Parallax and the Spectre before returning his soul to his body.

#7: Batman

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Technically, even though he left behind a corpse, Batman technically didn’t die; no, an amnesia-suffering Bruce Wayne was sent back to the Prehistoric Era by Darkseid. With Dick Grayson stepping in as Batman; Bruce fought his way through history, resulting in confrontations with Jonah Hex and Blackbeard, while a massive monster called the Hyper-Adapter tried to catch him. The vigilante regained his memories at the Vanishing point - a dimension existing at the end of time - and Bruce temporarily gained omnipotence to travel back to his own time. Unfortunately, Batman was possessed by the Hyper-Adapter; so, the Justice League were forced to kill Bruce Wayne before reviving him. All-in-all, it was just another day in the office.

To hell and back again - literally. As part of the Defenders, Patsy Walker married fellow member Daimon Hellstrom, who just so happened to be the Son of Satan. At first, things were good; but, Daimon’s demonic side eventually took over, causing Patricia to lose her mind. Desperate for relief, Hellcat was mercy-killed by Deathurge and ended up in a demonic realm run by Mephisto. Thankfully, Hawkeye led a successful mission into Hell to free Patsy, and she returned as the new and improved Hellcat.

#5: Spider-Man

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The web crawler has been through a lot in the last 50 years. Dan Slott's Superior Spider-Man series saw Doctor Octavius successfully trade consciousness with Peter Parker. Despite his best efforts, Peter was unable to reverse the process and passed away, but a small part of his being survived within Otto's subconscious. As the Superior Spider-Man, Doc Ock tried to outdo his arch-enemy by replicating Peter's good deeds, but the arrogant villain proved no match for the Green Goblin. Realizing there is only one true Spider-Man, Otto returned the body to Peter.

Hey, sidekicks are heroes too. Jason Todd served as Batman's second Robin; sadly, in Jim Starlin's A Death in the Family storyline, Jason's time as a caped crusader proved short-lived. For a good 15 years, Todd stayed in his grave, but things changed with DC's Infinite Crisis event. In a moment that radically altered many storylines, Superboy-Prime punched a hole through time, waking Jason in his coffin. Angered by Batman's refusal to avenge Todd's death at the hands of the Joker, Robin transformed into the dangerous Red Hood.

#3: Barry Allen / The Flash

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Superhero Origins: The Flash (Barry Allen)

Apparently, you can outrun death. During the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, in order to destroy Anti-Monitor's cannon, Barry Allen sacrificed himself by running so fat that he got stuck in the Speed Force. DC waited more than 20 years to bring the hero back to life. During all that time, Allen was outrunning death itself, in the form of the Black Racer. With the help of Wally West and Jay Garrick, Allen managed to direct Black Racer's attention onto Darkseid, allowing Barry to officially return to his rightful place as the Flash.

During World War II, Bucky was chosen to fight alongside Captain America against the tyrannical Red Skull. Towards the end of the War, James Barnes was presumed dead after getting caught in a fierce explosion; but, in reality, Bucky was abducted by a Russian submarine, injected with Super-Soldier Serum, and brainwashed. As the Winter Soldier, Bucky was basically a living weapon, totally subservient to whoever was in control. Eventually, Steve Rogers managed to restore Bucky's memories, even briefly replacing Steve as Captain America.

#1: Superman

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No other death or revival left this big of an impact. The Death of Superman was a highly publicized storyline that ended with Kal El dying in Lois Lane's arms. After an emotionally exhausting funeral, rumors started spreading that new versions of Superman were sighted, although none could hold a candle to the real thing. In the meantime, with the help of the Eradicator, Superman's physical body was regenerating in the Fortress of Solitude. Dressed in a fashionable black-suit, Kal El returned to Metropolis just in time to fight off one of the fake Supermen who was trying to sully his good name. It may have started the awful trend of heroes dying and coming back, but its impact on the industry is just too important to ignore.