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The 50 Greatest Moments In Comics: #1-10

Everybody's got their favorite moments, but here are our picks for the indisputably GREATEST ones.

The Comic Vine staff has put our noggins together to collect and codify the all-time greatest moments in comics.

We make no pretense at any academic objectivity here - - these aren't supposed to be the most "important" to the history of the medium. These are simply the times where we've been so wrapped up in a story that we literally had to say "Wow!" when we turned the page. These are the most-memorable pages or panels for readers like you (as decided by our highly-discriminating reckoning.)

These are the top fifty greatest moments in comics…

Lest we forget the time Michael Jackson beat up Spidey...
Lest we forget the time Michael Jackson beat up Spidey...

We’re counting down the final 10 today! Catch up on moments #50-41, #40-31, #30-21 & #20-11. [Major spoilers below!]

== TEASER ==

10. Batman KO’s Guy Gardner with one punch in JUSTICE LEAGUE #5

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A large part of the fun of the classic Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire run on JUSTICE LEAGUE can be chalked up to how irascible of a jerk Guy was. You loved to hate this Green Lantern so much that seeing him get some comeuppance made for the biggest stand-out scene of this whole era. There’s no greater fun than seeing a jerk put in his place, so when Guy challenges Bats for team leadership, yet again, you get giddy waiting to see just how he's going to get his. The gag actually starts with a punchline, as Guy's goaded to take off his power ring and promptly clocked with a sure cross from the Batman, allowing the grown ups in the League to then get on with their meeting while Guy lays on the floor, out cold. Classic.

9. The final battle between Cap and the Red Skull in CAPTAIN AMERICA #300

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Bad blood grows thicker with time, so you can just imagine how thick it was by the time Cap and the Skull’s feud finally reached this boiling point after nearly 50 years of stewing. Seriously, anybody who's seen a latter day Clint Eastwood flick knows how much nastier grudges get among seniors. Here, both men's respective gimmicks for staying young forever has run out, making their bodies rapidly age to actually reflect their years; so (even though both guys were subsequently resurrected and rejuvenated) there's a raw sense finality when these old men clawing at each-other. Out of all the ways for the Skull to check out, having him suffer a heart attack and die slowly in Cap's arms while cursing him for the indignity is certainly the most bitterly fitting.

8. Magneto rips all the adamantium out of Wolverine in X-MEN #25

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Few other moments in comics have made you want to say “Ouch” as bad this. Getting your back broken might be a realer threat than having your entire skeleton ripped straight out of your pores, but the sensation doesn’t seem nearly as painful when you roll it through your head. This part of FATAL ATTRACTIONS’ conclusion was a focal point for the X-Men's past and future. Not only did it realize a couple of long-standing“What If?” questions - - What’s the nastiest way Magneto could use his powers on Wolverine’s metal? What’s the worst injury Wolverine’s healing factor could handle? - - it was also the proverbial straw to break the camel’s back, setting Xavier off to mindwipe Magneto and set up years of storylines involving Onslaught, Joseph and a “feral" Wolverine.” It doesn’t matter if he eventually got the skeleton back, this is still the Canucklehead's lowest point ever.

7. Green Goblin captures Spidey and reveals his identity in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #39

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What set Spidey so far apart from other superheroes in his early days was the fact that his problems were always so much more personal. That applied to the small stuff, like how his girl problems seemed just as pressing as his crimefighting duties, and it applied to bigger business like this. Batman and the Joker may be bitter enemies, but it’s not like Mr. J is actually the father of Bruce Wayne’s best friend - - nor has he ever learned the dark knight's secret identity. With a deadly one-two punch, this shocker put a deathly-more-personal spin on the usual feud between a superhero and his arch-nemesis. Norman Osborn didn't play fair then, and he hasn't ever played fair since.

6. The symbiote costume is alive in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #258

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You mean Spidey's suit is a living organism?!?! That had to be as far-out a notion as any for everybody to wrap their heads around in the 80s. Again, due credit must be given to a single moment that set up hundreds of issues, dozens of story arcs and a whole throng of characters like Venom, Carnage, Toxin, Anti-Venom and all those other symbiotes who showed up in SEPARATION ANXIETY. It all started right here, when Spidey's black duds showed that they were much, much more than an alternative outfit to wear after labor day.

5. Clark tells Lois his secret identity in ACTION COMICS #662

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Maybe it’s not as… flashy a method "to take the mask off" as it is for your cowl to be ripped open by a goblin hauling you around in the sky, but this is certainly one of the most romantic ways to go about it. Throughout this list, we've put a lot of significance on the times genies have been let out of their bottles, and few genies have ever waited as long in their respective chambers as this one did. Indeed, it took Supes 661 issues and about five decades to finally open to the lady he loves. That’s all right, though. Still waters run deep, and all that, and the big man's got deeper feelings than anybody else on Earth (or even the rest of the galaxy for that matter.) What's more perplexing is the fact that Ms. Lane, the notorious snoop, didn't deduce this for herself, beforehand.

4. Ozymandias reveals he already “did it” in WATCHMEN #11

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For all of the deconstruction that WATCHMEN performs on the superhero genre, its most masterful deconstructionist stroke cuts the legs out from underneath the most basic conceit of all action-adventures. That is, the notion that might equals right. Forget about how this is a response to all the times you’ve supervillains talk too much about their master plans. The more cutting commentary lies in how Rorschach, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre - - the heroes of this story - - simply can’t defeat this antagonist with punches, bullets or even impassioned appeals to reason. He’s already taken this drastic measure to change the world, and they have as little say in it as all normal civilians do when these capes elect to take the law into their own hands.

3. The death of Phoenix in UNCANNY X-MEN #137

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Imagine the classic Jekyll & Hyde struggle played out on a galactic scale and tied up with an ending tragic and romantic enough to make even the biggest hard-case misty-eyed. One of Jean Grey's first deaths came at her own hand, as she simply couldn't handle the guilt of the atrocities she'd committed while hosting the Phoenix Force (or while the Phoenix Force had re-shaped itself to assume her identity. It gets complicated.) The Shi'ar Imperial Guard was after her to make the Dark Phoenix answer for its unspeakable act of snuffing an entire solar system, star and all, and rather than make her family, the X-Men, and her love, Cyclops, suffer any further for her crimes, she elected to sacrifice herself. Few space operas have ended with as emotional a crescendo as this, let us tell you.

2. The Avengers find Captain America in AVENGERS #4

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Much like how Barry Allen meeting Jay Garrick was the first of the sort of parallel world team-ups that have defined the DC universe for decades, so too was this “reunion” one of the earliest examples of long-term continuity and “retconing” at Marvel. Just think about how typical those two things have become by today! Not only did this establish that there was a whole history to this fictional universe, it also reinterpreted past issues' plots so as to say Captain America had actually been missing since World War II and the one seen in comics for the previous two decades wasn’t really him (an issue that would be explored with even more retcons, later.) This moment defines Cap and the Avengers more than their respective origins even do, and the forthcoming movie’s going to have one seriously tall order to live up to when it does its spin on this scene.

1. Batman kicks Superman’s ass in DARK KNIGHT RETURNS #4

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It's an age-old question that's been hotly debated in playgrounds and on message boards with equal seriousness - - “Who’d win in a fight? Superman or Batman?” Though he did it in an Elseworld (or a "Tale from the Multiverse," if you prefer) Frank Miller offered up the answer as the crux point of his most unforgettable and intense vision of the future. More so than any other versus thread, this grudge match carries with it a thematic struggle between justice and law as the far more politically-dissident Batman exerts his philosophy against a Superman who's long since sold out and become big government's loyal lapdog. The man beats this godlike alien through grit, guts and sheer force of will, and even winds up tricking the Man of Steel into thinking that the fight's killed Bruce Wayne, once and for all. Not bad for a superhero who's infamously never had superpowers.

238 Comments

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rawr

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Edited By rawr

I was really hoping #3 aka the Death of Phoenix would be in this top 10 and I am glad it is or I might have died. The entire thing is heartbreaking and Chris Claremont's writing for The Watcher's speech at the end still rings in my years decades after having first read it.

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cometothedorkside

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i loved this list, its great to see such diversity in the choices not just the same ol usual picks

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Magian

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Edited By Magian

@Primmaster64 said:

>_> Hell No....

Pretty much this lol

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Aiden Cross

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Edited By Aiden Cross

Horrible list, Might've been better had you consulted the community that loves comics.

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leokearon

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Edited By leokearon

 
Not a bad list, but no TF stuff at all

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The Man of Yesteryear

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Oh c'mon! Neither Superman's nor Gwen Stacy's death made even the top 50?

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mbembet

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Edited By mbembet

Batman kicks superman's ass ANYTIME!!!!

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Eyz

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Edited By Eyz

I kinda agree with all of those^^

Well picked!

ONE PUNCH! Ha! If it was up to me, this would have ended up with 50 moments from the JLI only XD

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GuruOfFunk

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Edited By GuruOfFunk

I would swap a bunch with some that didn't make it but overall not terrible. Death of Superman was gay.

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funkyfiction

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Edited By funkyfiction

This has to be a joke, what about when the Scarlet Witch said "No More Mutants" it changed the entire Marvel universe, how can that be nowhere on this list???

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Godlovesusall

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Edited By Godlovesusall

About Batman's records for neutralizing and/or killing his fellow Justice Leaguers in Tower of Babel?

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iaconpoint

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Edited By iaconpoint

Yeah, I'm not a HUGE Supes fan, but Death of... should have been in the top ten. Bats' and Cap's deaths were both in the top 50.

And the next list needs to include more Spider-Man. SPIDEY! SPIDEY! And I DON'T mean anything from the last 15 years.

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deactivated-579fe0ae58107

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Pretty cool list!

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Killer_of_trolls

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Edited By Killer_of_trolls

nothing from SW? ANYWHERE on the list!

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LordRequiem

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Edited By LordRequiem

It would take me a long time to think of my favourite comic-book moments, there's just so many.

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Sekele

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Edited By Sekele

it's been overdone

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Howlverine

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Edited By Howlverine

Okay, I totally agree with #1!

But.....a) the moment when you find out Ra's Al Ghul's incredibly brilliant strategies for crippling the League were really Batman's strategies.

b) The Sentry ripping Ares into two.

c) Iron Man slowly erasing his entire mind to erase the registered superheroes' identities, and then rebooting himself!

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YMCMB

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Edited By YMCMB

Not a bad list, and number 1 is definitely one of my favorite moments ever in comics but you guys left a lot of good stuff out.

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odysseyuwrf

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Edited By odysseyuwrf

Didn't even think of the ending of Watchmen, but seeing it amongst this list, I totally have to agree. It was certainly the ending that the series had to have. If a nut-job like Rorschach, an inept hero like Nite Owl II, and Silk Spectre could have stopped Ozymandias, the series would never have been as highly regarded IMO. Also love the fact that while the heroes are angry and distraught over what Ozymandias did, them realizing that it was probably all for the best, to the point of killing Rorschach, makes this moment in Watchmen, #1 on my list.

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TheIncredibleNightcrawler1999

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I thought #1 was gonna be the shooting of Martha and Thomas Wayne...

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PowerHerc

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Edited By PowerHerc

No, Batman defeating Superman is not the greatest comics moment of all time.

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Primmaster64

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Edited By Primmaster64
@PowerHerc said:

No, Batman defeating Superman is not the greatest comics moment of all time.

Nope. Its just the start of Superman popularity downfall and the rise of Batgod.
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batmarcus

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Edited By batmarcus

@Primmaster64 said:

@PowerHerc said:

No, Batman defeating Superman is not the greatest comics moment of all time.

Nope. Its just the start of Superman popularity downfall and the rise of Batgod.

All Hail the Batgod!!

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higher_evolutionary

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how did batman even hurt superman,

disagree entirely with the list , but all of have their own moments there are too many to put on one list

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kashif1

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Edited By kashif1

Superman saving that girl in all-star superman deserves to be in the top ten

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ulrich200

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Edited By ulrich200

@VioletPhoenix said:

no more mutants! WHERE'S NO MORE MUTANTS?!

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ulrich200

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Edited By ulrich200

@entropy_aegis said:

Knightfall and Death of Superman>>The Dark Knight Returns.

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twisty2k7

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Edited By twisty2k7

I agree that Batman kicking Superman's ass should be in the list but definitely not at the top spot and definitely not that moment.

Far better is in Hush when Superman is under Poison Ivy's influence and Batman breaks out the big guns, a much better scene

Number 1 for me is recently in Flashpoint where Barry gives Bruce a note from his Father, sooo much better for number one

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kittenpride

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Edited By kittenpride

@VioletPhoenix said:

no more mutants! WHERE'S NO MORE MUTANTS?!

i totally thought the same thing!

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acomicbooklook

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Edited By acomicbooklook

I would have put the Phoenix death as number one, but that's just me.

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NYStreets09e

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Edited By NYStreets09e

How is Phoenix's death in the top ten but not Elektra's?

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mattydeNero

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Edited By mattydeNero

Death of Superman is an obvious argument. This is also CV--where Batman is loved. Batman outclassing Supes in an Elseworlds setting is undoubtably one of the coolest moments for any comic reader that is 27 and older. I wasn't surprised that Batman would be in the #1 spot. That said, I still am bummed that Superman revealing to Lois he is Superman(that at this point never happened) posted on the list and the biggest single event in the history of comics got snubbed. On purpose? Probably not, the DoS was over-saturated for sure. But still. Boo.

I agree with the idea of honorable mentions, or hey, why not let the users of the site vote on their favorite moments in a poll type setting?

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EganTheVile1

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Edited By EganTheVile1

Minor nitpick, those other symbiotes did not show up in Separation Anxiety, they showed up in Lethal Protector, aside that, awesome wrap up

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tensor

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Edited By tensor

@Deadcool: Are you joking an icon gets kill ,made crazy sales an made headlines news around the world.An was the most talk about comic for ages after it happen what really beats this on a world scale that is what i am talking about how many heroes can die an made a big deal like superman did the answer to that is none

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noclon

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Edited By noclon

Eh?, this is the first great moment?, and the death of superman?

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Deadcool

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Edited By Deadcool

@tensor said:

Are you joking an icon gets kill

That doesn't mean that is a GOOD story, I have read the dead of a TON of characters, not all of them are that GOOD

made crazy sales

Twilight too.

an made headlines news around the world. An was the most talk about comic for ages after it happen what really beats this on a world scale

Obviusly, it would, as you said he is an Icon, but the point is that if it was a good story, that is what I want to know, all I know about the Death of Superman is that a random big monster came from nowhere ahd killed Sups, that is not a big deal.

that is what i am talking about how many heroes can die an made a big deal like superman did the answer to that is none

No one because all of them retun, if they Kill Superman again, no one would care because he would return again, also DC did a lot of propaganda about it.

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baalroo

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Edited By baalroo

This list is embarrassingly terrible and narrow in scope.

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Omertalvendetta

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Edited By Omertalvendetta

Something told me when I saw the first ten of this list that when we got to the top ten we would have a plethora of whiners complaining because they'd be unhappy their fanboy moment didn't make it to the list.....????? This is an opinion based list; there's no reason for any of you to bitch this much, Jesus... 50+ comments whining about how disappointed you are. You don't agree, make your own list, that's why there's forums and blogs on this site.

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Video_Martian

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Edited By Video_Martian

Death of Superman>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Batman kicking Superman's ass :P

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petlover1112

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Edited By petlover1112

how about death of both superman and batman? uh hello?

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Edgeworth_11

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Edited By Edgeworth_11

think wolverine unknowingly killing his own mongrel children should be here. No one saw THAT coming…!

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TriumphHQ

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Edited By TriumphHQ

@danhimself: Wondering the same thing!

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halfpastwhenever

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Edited By halfpastwhenever

Thanks for putting this list together, it made for interesting reading. However I would have liked to see some more entries from outside Marvel and DC. I think series like Invincible, Scalped, Irredeemable should have had a few moments on this list. Maybe you could do a top 10 or 20 list from other publishing houses in the future.

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deactivated-5c6600594117e

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Bwahahaha, this is a joke right?

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ehicks36

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Edited By ehicks36

Don't agree with number 1. Death of Superman should be top 10 for the impact it had on comics. I think number 1 was World War Hulk when Sentry decides "it's time to play God"after Hulk defeats all the Marvel universe. Epic.

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Jnr6Lil

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Edited By Jnr6Lil

@Primmaster64 said:

>_> Hell No....
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DrHon

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Edited By DrHon

i think the death of superman should have been a definite top 10...heck it schocked people who weren't even reading comics!

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conan2099

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Edited By conan2099

Wow! The Death of Superman was the one I was waiting on this whole time.

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RisingBean

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Edited By RisingBean

# 1 is lame. And it perpetuates the whole Batman beats Superman nonsense. #8 actually drove me out of comics for quite a few years. All in all, underwhelming list in my opinion.