Would you rather have a character die or fade into background?

If you noticed that your favorite character is not getting any attention in any of the comics, would you rather see them die or have them fade into the background?

Personally, I would rather see my favorite character die an honorable death than to fade into the background, but only if I see that the writer who is writing my favorite character has no intention at all to use my favorite character for anything in the storylines. The thing about having my favorite character die an honorable death is that they would be fondly remembered for doing something noble and also, if my favorite character has died, then I wouldn't really have to worry about them being written terribly since they wouldn't be in the stories in the first place. However, if I rather have it where my favorite character is being written into the background, then I would wait it out until a better writer comes along and uses my favorite character in a more proactive role for the storyline.

Given the extraordinary rarity of well-written, truly meaningful deaths in comics, I'm (and this isn't a surprise) firmly in the fade camp. A long shot is better than no shot, I say.

If the character's death is written well, their popularity may increase, thus increasing the possibility of their return.

If a character fades into obscurity, then chance may have it that nobody will care because we all let it happen. Chances are that they might not return.

@akbogert said:

Given the extraordinary rarity of well-written, truly meaningful deaths in comics, I'm (and this isn't a surprise) firmly in the fade camp. A long shot is better than no shot, I say.

This.

@Twentyfive said:

If the character's death is written well, their popularity may increase, thus increasing the possibility of their return.

If a character fades into obscurity, then chance may have it that nobody will care because we all let it happen. Chances are that they might not return.

I definitely agree with this!!

Fade, or more specifically, purposely take an extended holiday. When a character is killed off, I don't often like the silly ways they're brought back when people want them back. In some character's cases though they're fatalists that wouldn't have it any other way than to die honourably or tragically. Its alright if they're a god or demi-god because they weren't really living in the human sense to begin with and they can be brought back without question

A death can be an excellent justification of a character; just look at superman's and spider-man's. Dying in front of their friends while trying to save them. It shows they'll give anything to uphold their convictions, which is what makes them heroes in the first place.

Sure, an honorable death of a character can be considered as a valid option but it also closes the door on ever letting the character shine again in that particular series unless a rare chance comes by where the deceased character is so well-liked after his/her death that the writers decide to resurrect him/her. That is, however, a rare occasion.

Letting the unused character(s) fade away into the background will allow the him/her to be used more flexibly in the series. Chances would appear where the character needs to be used again and the writer has no problem in doing so since he/she is NOT incapacitated and still very well in the game. There you go. Just don't lose hope and your favorite character will show up sooner or later.

Just my 2 cents on the topic.

If the character still had a chance of being picked up years, or even decades later (such as Captain America did), then I would let them fade into the background. If they cannot be revived and must stay in the background, I'd rather let them die in a really epic last stand battle that spans over a story arc.

Definitely fade. What tends happens when a character dies:

-huge, epic death. /status quo.

-one or more storylines about the aftermath

*period of time less than 12 months (or more than 10 years)*

-one or more storylines about the return

-huge, epic rebirth. re: status quo.

They may make good stories, but its still a cheap trick when the character comes back too soon.

@KnightRise said:

Definitely fade. What tends happens when a character dies:

-huge, epic death. /status quo.

-one or more storylines about the aftermath

*period of time less than 12 months (or more than 10 years)*

-one or more storylines about the return

-huge, epic rebirth. re: status quo.

They may make good stories, but its still a cheap trick when the character comes back too soon.

This basically sums it up!

@dtm1980 said:

Fade, or more specifically, purposely take an extended holiday. When a character is killed off, I don't often like the silly ways they're brought back when people want them back. In some character's cases though they're fatalists that wouldn't have it any other way than to die honourably or tragically. Its alright if they're a god or demi-god because they weren't really living in the human sense to begin with and they can be brought back without question

I agree that characters should fade if they are that popular enough for the fans. Killing off characters too often will result in fans getting tired of the whole death game (even though we are already tired of that), so letting the characters live and only show up in stories where they can be the most useful would be the best option for that character.