Greetings nerdy list afficionados and welcome back to top 10 nerd today we’re taking a
look at a favourite topic just which heroes are going to live forever, canonically. Now
the intriguing thing about being immortal in comics is that, that doesn’t actually
prevent one from dying but it’s meant to be far more of a shock if one of these characters
bites the dust rather than one of their more mortal counter parts. I’m Sasha and these
are the top 10 superheroes who are immortal and of course we’re going to have some fun
if they’ve managed to die anyway along the way. Looking at you Thor. Let’s get started.
Number 10 - The Spectre - Let’s start off with a different type of immortality one coming
from a character who was never mortal to begin with kinda. The spectre first appeared in
More Fun Comics #52 (Feb. 1940) now the spectre dates all the way back to the golden age at
first the spectre was Jim Corrigan and man whose soul was denied entry into the afterlife
by a being known as the voice and is instead sent back to fight evil. This however was
after he was murdered he would create a costume and call himself the spectre however the version
fans would become more familair with and who would become the more iconic was the silver
age verison which would tweak the spectre to a spirit of vengeance who would possess
hosts and have them act as vessel for delivering his brutal brand of justice. This way you
could still also have the Jim Corrigan backstory but the spectre could also possess other character
like Hal Jordan’s turn as the spectre after he snapped and killed the corps but it’s
fine it was parallax I mean you’d think a cosmic being would know that but it doesn’t
matter accept the retcon so no one has to feel bad. The Spectre has waned in popularity
in the modern era and isn’t seen anywhere near as frequently as he once was.
Number 9 - Franklin Richards - the son of reed richards and sue storm richards of the
fantastic four Franklin possesses a terrifying omega level power set that has only grown
over the years. Franklin first appeared in Fantastic Four Annual #6 (November 1968) and
only just became a teenager. Now Franklin’s immortality is implied cause well you’d
have to jump through some hoops to explain it other wise but he has been placed on the
same level as the celestials and depicted as one of the last beings alive in the universe
chillin’ with Galactus. The cosmic set have already taken notice of Franklin because he
can essential do anything hence he is a very desired player as he is also so dangerous.
Hence why in canon at the time of this recording the mutant spearatist movement wants him on
their side and not allied with his human meta powered parents. He has been shown in certain
future timelines to be able to kill celestials so in short franklin richards is one to sit
up and take notice of almost makes hs superhero name powerhouse sound cool… almost.
Number 8 - The Hulk - The Hulk is currently at the time of this recording in a comic called
the immortal hulk and it means what it says the Hulk is immortal, and this isn’t the
only time he has been depicted as such in the very depressing storyline the end he was
shown to be the last person on Earth utterly alone after his counter part Bruce Banner
died. In the immortal hulk banner cannot die properly and instead is dragged back to life
by the hulk if his form is killed. The transformations is this are depicted as monstrous and cronenbergesque
and the punishement the hulk can take is immense such as having his whole body cut up and separated
into jars while his mind stays intact. There are some truly horrifying prospects attached
to proper immortality. The run started off as a really solid horror and then kinda started
diving into multiple personalities and a companion who wanted to be the hulk cause he was”allowed
to be angry” ummm remember when the hulk was sent into space how about how his friends
and allies fear and never really trust him how he lives life drifting from place to place
how he’s a danger to people that love him...the right to be angry ok.
Number 7 - The Phantom Stranger - Another cosmic entity this one with no origin by design
who is the phantom stranger no one knows. The phantom stranger first debuted in Phantom
Stranger #1 (August–September 1952) and he is a mysterious
figure who just kind of shows up when he is needed sometimes he also has abilities that
can do what is needed most of the time and of course he is vague and cryptic for sometime
snot even he knows why he was drawn to an event. Because of how vague all of this was
not only has the phantom stranger been depicted very differently depending upon the writer
but he never really caught on too well it’s hard to get attached to a mystery person who
shows up sometimes cause. He did show up in that one memorable issue where Superman becomes
a marine vampire.
Number 6 - Hercules - Hercules plays a decently large role in the Marvel universe he debuted
in Journey into Mystery Annual #1 (1965) but that’s cause his first appearance in avengers
forever was later said to be that of an imposter. Hercules here is immortal because he is an
olympian god in this continuity and thus gets all the perks no being a doorman for him.
Now Hercules had a fake out death fairly recently again at the time of this recording where
it looked as if the universe he was fighting in had been destroyed however amadeus cho
was able to discover that he was in fact still alive. Hercules is a good friend and rival
to Thor you know like an anime. Hercules has also sacrificed his powers only to have them
mysteriously return. Whyyy who knows phantom stranger although now there may be a reason
that’s what retcons are for.
Number 5 - Iron Man - Going for a more unconventional form of immortality with Tony Stark, now tony
is very frail even by human standards for a time he needed to be in his iron man suit
just to survive and despite all the advancements he built into his suits and one point fusing
them to him permanently with nannites he was still brutally killed by his friend Captain
Marvel Carol Danvers cause he didn’t want to arrest people before they did things. However
Tony did not die no he managed to a.i himself and then build a new body which has led to
an interesting arc in his 2018 run about a.i rights you know like those Voyager episodes.
So Tony can be immortal since he has a found a way to transfer his consciousness into a
digitized format and hence make himself downloadable into a body. However every now and again he
must contend with the idea of is he real does he have a soul are we just supposed to pretend
he’s real Tony and forget civil war 2, probably.
Number 4 - Wonder Woman - Wonder Woman is an interesting case because no matter the
origin there is always at least implication if not the downright statement that she is
immortal be she clay or the daughter of Zeus indeed for a time all Amazon’s on paradise
island later renamed themyscira were said to be immortal. Diana is a goddess a warrior
and a compassionate leader walking an intriguing balance of kindness and pragmatism that is
hard for all writers to caption. And of course she is a staple in some it’s the dystopian
future but wonder woman is still here. This is part of why some fans love pairing her
with Superman as while it varies she is definitely more long lived than most mortals.
Number 3 - Thor - Thor is meant to be immortal as he is a God from Asgard, but Thor keeps
dying now he is meant to be extremely long lived but for all intents and purposes immortal.
However Thor has been killed on more than one occasion most recently by Captain Marvel
largely so they could reboot him and give him his arm and eye back but also to affirm
her status in the marvel universe lining it up with the much for horizontal marketing
purposes all pieces moving in a giant puzzle. Thor’s deaths are unique as well for they
play on his mythological origins so he goes to Valhalla or other realms and can continue
to have adventures there so there is the idea that even if he’s gone he’s not fully
gone and people know where to get them.
Number 2 - The Sentry - The Sentry is immortal don’t ask how they explain it but just let
it be. He took a serum that placed his molecules a second or two ahead in time which activated
a photosynthetic superman style response which allowed him to store energy and power himself
immortal. No matter how it came about the Sentry is immortal and that is part of what
makes or made him so dangerous for a long time at least in terms of the Sentry’s existence
which only dates back to 2000 he was two entities both the Sentry and the Void who was a dark
mirror to the Sentry. So if he existed forever so too did the void it was part of why the
marvel universe was made to forget him which was the crux of his retconned in origin story.
At the time of this recording his two halves have been fused reconciled where it has to
go from there we shall see.
Number 1 - Doctor Manhattan - Jon Osterman’s whole life changed after the accident that
transformed him into Doctor Manhattan the Watchmen universe’s only super powered man
a being of pure energy who recreated himself outside of time and space. Doctor Manhattan
has only grown more and more distant from people and the world largely because he can
exist outside time seeing all of it simultaneously he is completely immortal and omnipotent.
And of course there was doomsday clock which brought the watchmen and dc universes into
proper contact with each other and which essentially concluded with there’s going to be more
timelines and crisis and a crossover 100% worth a 2 year wait.
I’m Sasha and these the top 10 superheroes who are immortal who is your favourite immortal
superhero...