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Off My Mind: Superhero Wills

What happens when characters die...and come back to life?

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What happens when a comic book character dies? 99.9% of the time, they will return. It might not be right away. It could even be a few years or decades, but chances are, they will make a return. For readers, when the death occurs, we might be touched reading the story and seeing the reaction of the character's loved ones but at the same time, we're rolling our eyes. We know they'll be back. It's not a question of if they'll return but one of how or when
 
When the death occurs in the comic book world, despite the number of characters that have returned, others are still sad. No one thinks they'll automatically come back to life if they die which leads to one question. What do superheroes put into their will and what happens to their stuff when they die? 
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Because their jobs are dangerous, the heroes would be silly not to have wills set up. If they were to die during a battle or mission, they would have to have plans as for who gets their possessions. This is highly important for heroes with gadgets. What happens to Spider-Man's web shooters? Who gets Iron Man's armor? Is Wonder Woman concerned with what happens to her Lasso of Truth? Of course there's their normal possessions as well. What happens to the Human Torch's hot rods? Is Lois Lane going to take care of everything in Superman's Fortress of Solitude
 
Along with the heroes' high tech items and personal effects, do they have any plans to deal with their secret identities and the possibility that their death could reveal it to the world? What is Spider-Man's plan if he dies in the middle of a battle against Doc Ock? Who will protect Aunt May after his death? 
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If a hero does have his act together and creates a proper will before their death, the big question is what happens when they return? Is there some sort of clause that tells those that have been bequeathed something that they will have to return it if and when the hero manages to beat death? 
 
An easy solution might be to put in some sort of time clause. Loved ones receiving items might get them on the condition that they might just be temporarily maintaining possession of them until the hero returns. But what sort of time limit could be placed? Jean Grey, who we all know has died and returned several times, has been dead since 2005 (our time). If you consider Bucky Barnes, he was considered dead for decades before people realized he was alive. It would be difficult to place a realistic time limit since there is no rhyme or reason to a heroes return after dying.
 
I suppose if you managed to be lucky enough to inherit the Batmobile, you could try taking Batman to court if he was considered legally dead. Of course if you were close enough to Batman to get something like the Batmobile, you wouldn't be a jerk about it and refuse to give it back. 
 
What it comes down to is all heroes need to have carefully detailed wills. Hopefully their death won't result in the world discovering their secret identity (if they had one). Loved ones need to be understanding in case the dearly departed does return. We all know the return of someone we care about is much more important than keeping any items, no matter how cool they might be.