Although cartoons are often perceived as children’s entertainment in the West, they have never shied away from exploring darker themes, especially in the realm of superhero cartoons. As a result, there have been numerous instances of traumatic moments that have made their way onto our TV screens through these animated series.
Here are 5 examples of traumatic moments from superhero cartoons that left us shaken:
Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes – The Death of Black Panther
In Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Black Panther mantle is an inherited title. Consequently, the Black Panther who was brutally beaten to death in the series wasn’t T’Challa, but his father T’Chaka. This fact doesn’t make the scene any less harrowing. On the contrary, it’s even more gut-wrenching because T’Challa is forced to witness the entire ordeal, adding a sense of unbearable helplessness to the scene.
Batman: The Animated Series – Batgirl’s Hallucination
In one episode of Batman: The Animated Series, Batgirl appears to be killed when the Scarecrow throws her off a roof. She lands on her father, Police Commissioner Jim Gordon’s car, revealing her true identity to him in the most tragic way possible. The emotional impact of this scene is somewhat lessened when it’s later revealed to be a hallucination caused by Scarecrow’s chemicals. However, there’s a significant amount of time between the scene and the reveal, leaving viewers to grapple with the apparent reality of Batgirl’s death.
Fantastic Four – Doctor Doom’s Crushed Hands
Sometimes, the most straightforward injuries can have the most significant impact, perhaps because their simplicity makes it easier for viewers to imagine themselves in the same situation. A prime example of this occurs in the Fantastic Four animated series when Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, crushes Doctor Doom’s hands in a literal sense, despite the superhero team supposedly being de-powered at the time. The brutality of this scene is hard to forget.
Spider-Man – The Death of Mary Jane’s Clone
Spider-Man is often joked about for his terrible luck, and this is exemplified in the animated series when he’s forced to watch a water clone of his love interest, Mary Jane, die. While the concept may sound absurd, it’s important to remember that Spider-Man had been married to the water clone for some time. Regardless of her origins, he essentially watches his wife die in front of him, powerless to help her.
Teen Titans – The Death of Terra
One of the most famous moments in both the comic and animated versions of Teen Titans is Terra’s suicide. She takes her own life to resolve her conflicting feelings about her allegiance to Slade (Deathstroke) and her newfound loyalty to the titular team, whom she was ordered to infiltrate. Terra’s death is somewhat sanitized in the cartoon, as she turns to stone, while Deathstroke suffers a more gruesome fate when Terra casts him into lava as part of her final move. The emotional weight of Terra’s sacrifice and the impact it has on the team is a poignant and traumatic moment in the series.
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