Origins of the Marvel Body Count Blog

Origins of the Marvel Body Count Blog!

The purpose of this blog is to document the deaths of innocent civilians in the Marvel Universe. Of course, the first question that will pop into one's head is "Why?" followed by "WHY???"

Well... comic books as a medium are now over 70 years old. They've been around long enough to have a real history, yet not long enough for that history to be so vast as to defy study. As a comic book reader, primarily a fan of Marvel Comics, I've enjoyed an interesting lifelong journey of adventures published by the House of Ideas. I love comic books, and Marvel Comics in particular.

In looking back on the decades of adventures I've purchased, borrowed, and read, I've noticed an interesting pattern regarding the fatalities of innocents in the Marvel Universe.  Comics respond to what readers are interested in reading, based on what is selling in popular media. This fluctuates based on real world war, crime, or poverty, or so I have come to believe.

And so this is my attempt to document in journalistic fashion the loss of innocent life in the Marvel Universe. I will not dwell too long on any one incident, nor will I judge any of them on a moral basis. I might try for a little humor along the way, because what is death without humor?

I will not include the deaths of non-combatants, or the loss of life that is not human or earthly. For instance, I'm not going to get into the deaths of Inhumans, Atlanteans, Eternals, subterraneans, or intelligent species of the Savage Land. Nor will I be recording the deaths of alien life forms, races, planets or civilizations; if only I had a dollar for every time an alien world was snuffed in the Marvel Universe! So no Asgardians, Kree, or Skrulls, for example. I will also not chronicle the passing of agents of organizations such as S.H.I.E.L.D., A.I.M., Hydra, the Hand, Leviathan, or employees of the Raft, Project Pegasus, the Cube, or Ryker's Island. Let's face it, those people knew the risks when they got on the payroll, and some of them just plain have a death wish anyway. They die like poultry on the farm, with less remorse from the survivors.

Lastly - and I had to consider this carefully - I will not chronicle the deaths of military, police, or other peace-keeping personnel, American or otherwise. Once in a while I might, if the death of a soldier is particularly graphic, gratuitous, or is the direct result of a hero or villain's action. I have great appreciation for military personnel and police, and it bothers me when they are portrayed as being cheaply killed in a comic book, but in order to keep this blog on point I have decided to limit the study to non-combatant humans.

Because this blog is being written with a modern eye on comics, even those of the mid-20th century, I will also occasionally post entries which include no casualties only because it was the style in that day to pretend they didn't happen. A Godzilla-size monster crashing through buildings, a giant tidal wave sweeping through a densely populated city, a bridge collapsing during rush hour are all examples of this. I'm reminded of Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One" when the warehouse Batman is hiding in is literally bombed, and Batman is thinking "no casualties... except for a few winos..." Realistically, we know if an entire warehouse district is wiped out, it's taking some vagrants and security guards with it.

I will be providing edited scans when available, but if you want to read the story yourself you will have to acquire the actual comic or collection it appears in. Again, I am a huge comic book fan, and a huge Marvel fan, and I highly recommend comics as a great source of entertainment.

Face front, True Believer, with your tongue firmly in cheek!