Would you ever be brave enough to kill off an important character?

[AmazementComics]

This topic comes from the idea of an earlier thread:

Or if you don't kill your characters, what kinds of characters do you like to see killed in other works? Although I enjoy killing characters, I'm actually pretty merciful in practice (outside of fanfiction, anyway~). I mostly use death as a tool, to galvanize a plot development or break up a bad ship, things like that. So I end up killing all kinds of characters...for me, the fun part is figuring out how to wring all the emotion I can out of the death, rather than the death itself. ^^ ...But…

But I'm not just talking about random characters. The question is. Would YOU ever be brave enough to kill off your OC(s) or an important character that is almost equivalent to a main character in terms of a story narrative in you comics/novels? For me, it's a simple yes. I'm curious to hear your thoughts down below.

[Bokyongyo]

Really depends.

I know we throw around this advice that “Well if it helps develop your other characters and or character than, yes”

But I don’t know if anyone can relate, when you actually start writing and drawing this character that you are eventually going to kill of, it feels like torture as the time is approaching to do the deed. Makes it worst if that character is a fan favorite amongst your subscribers.

Maybe this happens because over time we grow attach the characters we draw and write so after awhile. Already struggling with this for one of my own characters and saying it’s been a challenge is a understatement.

[AmazementComics]

That's why reboots exist but I totally get what you're saying . Killing off a character doesn't carry nearly as much weight if you're planning to revive them in some other capacity.

[DiegoPalacios]

Depends of the the kind of story i am telling and if it helps to make the story better. (and if it`s planned of course)

[Blizzriel]

I hate downer endings, so I'm unlikely to write a story that involves a main or major character dying, but I've read stories where it's handled really well and gives the right amount of impact to the plot without making the whole thing feel like a net loss. Having it happen early on and having it affect the rest of the story is good, as is having it happen at the end for the right reasons or if it was building up to it and the readers were made aware that that's where the story was headed.

What's not great is when it can easily be reversed. Characters constantly dying and coming back to life makes it seem like the characters' actions have no consequences and cheapens what should be an impactful moment.

So to answer your question, no, but I know how I'll do it if I ever work up the courage.

[KazeRaihi]

If done correctly, killing off important characters can lead to surprising character development and motivations. I think Naruto has a good example of good and bad character death. The death of Jiraya was perfectly timed and held a lot of weight for naruto and lead to great growth for Naruto and one of the best fights in the series both with the emothional weight and the culmination of his training to avenge his master. However, the death of Neji felt forced and unnecessary and was basically used as a stepping stone for Naruto and Hinata's relationship( which had already been done to a better degree in the Naruto v pain fight).I for one plan on permantely killing off at least one of my important characters in my series.

[Berserker]

Yes. But never unplanned or for shock value. If someone dies it will be because the story has been leading to it for a while.

[silverraven0]

I've... Killed several. One of them is the main character. But it's seriously in need because the story need it since shock value is cheap.

[ratscout]

Absolutely. I think character deaths can take a story from 'okay' to amazing if they're well done. There are character deaths that stick with me and chill me to the bone to this day, and ones that make me feel sad long after the story has ended.

[faisalhussein394]

So long as it is planned for the story and not for subversion, then yes.

[MegaRay]

I would say depends on the arc/story. If the story is going on a light conflict, then no. But if there was say a war going, then sure, it wouldn't make sense for everyone to survive.

[Shanny8]

If my story calls for a character to be killed, then it's going down...but I just dont do things needlessly.

[AmysGames]

It's not something I do lightly. As others have said, you want to make sure it's well-planned, and not just for shock value.

But yes, I do have a few major characters who won't make it to the end of their stories.

[DualDragons]

I would, but like others said it wouldn't be for shock value. I'd build up to the death of that character, that way the lasting impact on others and especially the ones closest to them will be more effective.

[rmdooley]

HAHAHAHAHA YES
I got a hit list for my comic

[linaket]

Would YOU ever be brave enough to kill off your OC(s) or an important character that is almost equivalent to a main character in terms of a story narrative in you comics/novels?

Honestly, there's nothing "brave" about killing characters. It's expected at this point. There's no shock, no surprise, and it doesn't have nearly the impact on readers/consumers that it used to because of this.

I know we throw around this advice that “Well if it helps develop your other characters and or character than, yes”

This is always my issue with characters being killed off. It forces character development. It's a cheap and quick way to create a catalyst for change. Instead of having characters grow and develop naturally, you force them into a traumatic situation that dehumanizes the character that was killed. It takes away from who they were in the narrative and makes them into a prop, no matter how "important" they were. And, more often than not, a character is killed in order to show the "hero" of the tale in a different light.

The most common form of this is the girlfriend/mom/wife/other female character being killed off in order to show the sensitive/protective side of a male character that didn't previously portray these traits.

None of this is saying that character deaths can't be done well, and that it's not often important to a narrative.

I'm just real sick of the question. As if somehow killing characters gives you some sort of writer cred. It doesn't. How you do it, and if it is done well, thats what matters.

[DukeOfOool]

Many of my characters have a "neutral" end, they transform, evolve, ascend, change in very unnatural ways, where it isn't clear anymore wether they're still themself or possesed or something totally new.

[Bokyongyo]

Agree and Disagree.

Some stories it feels forced but some of the most classic stories begin with the Hero’s journey archetype that involves a death of a mentor and or loved ones.

Hard for Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi without the deaths of his guardians and Obi Wan.

Difficult for Peter to become Spiderman without the death of his uncle and with the words of Great Responsibility.

Impossible for Bruce to become Batman without the deaths of his parents.

While I understand your distain for the “loved one death” archetype in fiction and yes, there should be more variety in terms of developing character naturally, there’s a reason in 2020 the cliche is still around. It’s just up to the writer to use it correctly and ponder if their story calls for it in order to not just execute it just as “forced emotional garbage”

But again, that’s up to the writer.

[AmazementComics]

Honestly, there's nothing "brave" about killing characters. It's expected at this point. There's no shock, no surprise, and it doesn't have nearly the impact on readers/consumers that it used to because of this.

Okay fair enough.

This is always my issue with characters being killed off. It forces character development. It's a cheap and quick way to create a catalyst for change. Instead of having characters grow and develop naturally, you force them into a traumatic situation that dehumanizes the character that was killed. It takes away from who they were in the narrative and makes them into a prop, no matter how "important" they were. And, more often than not, a character is killed in order to show the "hero" of the tale in a different light.

The most common form of this is the girlfriend/mom/wife/other female character being killed off in order to show the sensitive/protective side of a male character that didn't previously portray these traits.

aaaaaaannnnnnnddd this is what I take issue with. This statement isn't entirely accurate. You say that it forces character development but it really doesn't. In fact once enough character devlopement has been fleshed out, only then does a character death seem the most fitting. It's not about dehumanizing anyone or placing them in any traumatic situation. Not all of the time. Only reason why it would be a cheap and quick catalyst for change is due to poor pacing and when exactly in the story the death occurred.

Also don't try to use the bandwagon of saying that they occur to female characters to give an alpha male character more motivation and seek bloodthirsty revenge. It's not that common anymore in this modern era.

[darthmongoose]

I actually wrote a long rant on why I think OC's are not the same as story characters in the story section of my Guide to getting eyeballs on your Tapas comic.
Basically to summarise my feelings, I think that if you view a character as "your OC" it's very hard to have them face really negative consequences for their actions, change significantly or die, so it's best to keep OCs (static pet characters you "have" as a mascot) and story characters (dynamic characters who are a moving part in a narrative) separate.

Killing off a supporting character to motivate the protagonist is an ingredient that can be used really well, or can be a really crappy cliche, sometimes with unfortunate misogynist implications due to overuse if the character is the male protagonist's female significant other, which was so prevalent in 90s comics it even earned the specific name "Women in Refrigerators" or "Fridging". Having the villain kill the hero's under-characterised girlfriend so that he can be emotional (because of the unfortunate idea that was particularly prevalent in 90s comics that male characters are only permitted to be emotional in this kind of extreme situation) and feel motivated to defeat the villain can be very cheap and dehumanising, especially when it happens so much it's a cliche or trope. It doesn't mean that killing off characters is always bad... but it can be a really cheap way to get shock value, and if the character in question has little presence in the plot, no particular characterisation and you weren't really attached to them, it's not hard to do. It's true that because this is known as a cliche now that it's become a lot less common, with probably the last really noteworthy pointless female comics shock value death being Wasp getting eaten by The Blob in Ultimatum (a comic I think everyone can agree really sucked) back in... when was that, '06? I think it was in '06. Still, I think it's important to be aware of fridging as a concept just because it's such a good example of the cheap way to use disposable characters so that, regardless of the character's gender, people know to avoid overusing that particular tool.

A character death as motivation or to explore how grief affects people can be a really amazing tool if the character is meaningful and has had a personality and agency. Like the entire reason for the famous sudden and unexpected partymember death in the middle of Final Fantasy VII came about because the director experienced the death of someone close to him, and I think that death truly enriches the story of that game. It would not be as deep or moving a story or as memorable without it.
Then you have works that are kind of a mixture like the Harry Potter series, where some of the deaths are really intense and shocking and really seem to impact the plot, like Sirius or Cedric Diggory, but some feel arbitrary, rushed and just kind of thrown in for shock value, especially ones that happen offscreen, like Tonks and Lupin, Harry just kinda rolls up and "oh btw these two beloved major side characters are dead", the entire reason for them dying, according to Rowling, was to make their son an orphan like Harry, so in the epilogue we could see that he was doing okay despite being an oprhan.... Hmmmm... yeah I'm not really feeling it, I don't think it's a good enough reason to kill two really popular characters off-screen with no fanfare or time to really mourn and process it.

So yeah, while I'm not the kind of person who enjoys killing characters and I'm never going to be George R R Martin or anything, I think character death is a tool that a creator shouldn't completely write off. Death is part of the human experience after all.