Fanboys Anonymous

Resurrection is a tricky thing to pull off. Although there are countless stories about it ranging from who's done it, how to achieve it, and why you shouldn't do it, Death remains a natural part of life and should garner the same amount of respect that life does. When there is a lack of respect for natural order, terrible things usually happen. Look at Jurassic Park: great example of how meddling with powerful forces can cause a heap of trouble. Sometimes it’s better to leave things alone rather than try and "fix" them, as illustrated by the following examples.

Aunt May

Art by Joe Quesada

Let's start with Peter Parker and Aunt May. Although technically not a resurrection, the argument still stands that he should have left well enough alone. In the "One More Day" storyline, Aunt May, a woman who has pretty much had a target on her head since the day Peter got his powers, is shot and her life is hanging by a thread. Grief-stricken, Peter makes a deal with Mephisto, who just happens to be passing through this plane of existence. Mephisto offers to save Aunt May, but only if Peter sacrifices his marriage to Mary Jane and all accompanying memories. He agrees, saving Aunt May from what could have been a very nice peaceful rest and bringing her back into a world of being a perpetual target.

Question: What's the worst that would have happened if he'd let Aunt May die? Sure, he'd miss her and he'd grieve but he'd get over it. Maybe there'd be an inheritance. Maybe he'd hit the town all fancied up, hang up the suit for a night, and actually enjoy himself. Who knows? We won't because heroes aren't supposed to be happy. But it's nice to fantasize about, especially for Peter. He's had some rough days. 

BTVS - Season 6 Episode 1

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Knowing that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a television series, I'm still including it due to Buffy's second death and subsequent return to the land of the living. Also, people who use magic shouldn't be trusted. Just putting that out there.

During Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy Summers died twice; first by drowning (resuscitated through CPR) and second when she sacrificed herself to close a portal that would have destroyed the world. Fearing that Buffy was being tormented in a hellish afterlife (but not thinking to check and see if they could contact her, which to be honest should have been the first step; if you're powerful enough to bring someone back from the dead, you should at least be able to spirit-Skype or whatever), her friends bring her back to life using magic. Because they didn't check, they had no idea that Buffy was doing just fine and at peace. Instead, they shove her back into an ugly world that she has to defend all over again. Also: no one was there to maybe give her a hand getting out of her grave and possibly give her a hug.

The depression and self-loathing she experiences as a result of being brought back to life could have been avoided if her friends had just left her alone. Ten Slayers agree: upon Buffy's death (for realsies) another Slayer had already been activated, so bringing her back was neither needed nor deserved. Especially without there being some sort of welcome committee waiting for her. That just sucks.

Daredevil #190 - Frank Miller

Elektra 

Elektra's death at the hand of Bullseye and Daredevil's actions afterward completely make sense. Why she still ends up resurrected does not make sense and, just so you know, the Skrull fiasco will not be addressed.

Here's the scenario: after being stabbed by Bullseye, Elektra shows up on Matt Murdock's front doorstep and dies in his arms. Murdock is heartbroken and buries her but does the right thing when he finds out The Hand is going to attempt a resurrection. Daredevil intervenes and stops the ceremony, ensuring she stays dead. In a momentary lapse brought about by his many feels, he thinks that The Hand may have actually brought her back and tries to revive her. Why? Who knows, maybe the huge cold stone slab she was lying on moved because it was settling, and he thought she had moved her eyes. In any event, he fails to bring her back but succeeds in purifying her soul, which is a pretty great parting gift for your troubled girlfriend but also kind of invasive.

Elektra's mentor Stone is a troubling man: he disappears and takes her body, somehow managing to resurrect her. After the usual round of "What the hell am I doing here?" followed closely by the much angrier "Why didn't you leave me alone? I was happy dammit!" he tells her to go do some stuff like help Wolverine regain his humanity (another story in itself). In a "totally-saw-it-coming" twist of fate, Elektra discovers that the evil purged from her soul didn't actually dissipate: it created an evil double named Erynys. So of course Elektra has to fight her, and when Elektra defeats her, the evil that had been cleansed from her soul is regained and Elektra is as tainted as she was when she died. Hindsight is always 20/20, even for the blind.

The usual suspects such as Barry Allen, Jean Grey, Superman, Bucky, and all the rest who pop up whenever "resurrection" is mentioned were not included for one very good reason: they bore me. Personally, I don't think their stories are quite as frustrating as those mentioned (and believe me, I could have gone on ad nauseum) and I just wish that dead people would stay that way unless they are either Deadman or Resurrection Man. Those guys are cool.

What do you think? What's your least favorite comic/television series resurrection?