Sorting Algorithm of Deadness/Web Comics

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Sorting Algorithm of Deadness

Using the scientifically Infallible power of the Sorting Algorithm of Deadness, who do you think is the next in line for being brought back from the great Bus in the sky?

To use the Algorithm, simply add the Column's "Death Value", and divide by the number of applicable rows.

Relative deadness factor	Deader Than Dead	Maybe Back Later	Be Back Soon	Death? What's That?
Death Value	4	3	2	1
Cause of death	Irony, Bridge Drop, Overkill, Stuffed in The Fridge, Ret-Gone	Redemption, Sacrifice, Bus Crash, Mortal Wound Reveal	No One Could Survive That, just plain killed in battle	Jumping
Audience Expectation	Anyone Can Die, Kill'Em All	Killed Off for Real, Tonight Someone Dies	Disney Death	Back from the Dead, Death Is Cheap, Nobody Can Die
Body Found?	Dead and Buried Only Bits And Pieces	At The Morgue	Never Found, Frozen, Petrified	Left for Dead
Reaction	Montage, Bond One-Liner	He's Dead, Jim	It's Personal	Faux Death
Last Words	Crap, Killed Mid-Sentence, Carry on men, His Name Is--	Catch Phrase, Famous Last Words, Final Speech, Obi-Wan Moment	"Fly, you fools!" "Piece of cake"	"My Death Is Just the Beginning"
Characterization	Red Shirt, Loved One, Mauve Shirt	Recurring Character, C-List Fodder	Regular	Protagonist, Archvillain
When did they die?	10+ years ago, Series Finale	5–10 years ago	Same year	Same arc
"Died" and come back?	Not yet	Died once, but got better	Twice	I've lost count

If the character hasn't died yet (but seems likely to), see Sorting Algorithm of Mortality. All of this is trumped by the First Law of Resurrection.

Currently, Shirley from Code Geass and the real Caulder from Advance Wars: Days of Ruin have scored 4, the highest possible. The latter is more notable by having 4 in every category instead of getting the CLAMP bonus that the former got. No characters have got the lowest possible score of 1 yet, but Davros and The Master are joint leaders in the death defying derby at 1.75, even beating South Park's Kenny.

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Baseline Example: The death of Superman.

• Cause: Heroic Sacrifice, so he's not coming back from that too quickly, or the sacrifice will be cheapened. 3.
• Genre: It's a comic book, so Death Is Cheap. 1.
• The Body: Deader Than Dead, a Pietà Plagiarism too for supes sake! So no chance of Faking the Dead. 4.
• Reaction: Really Dead Montage, uh-oh. 4.
• Characterization: Protagonist. 1.
• When did he die: Same year, so 2.
• Come Back?: This was a first, so 4.
• Average: So add it up... we get a pretty high score, 19! Since it's not a videogame, divide by 7, and we get... 19/7 = 2.7, meaning supes isn't coming back for at least a few months, maybe even years. In actuality the Death Of Superman happened in January 1993 and he came back some time before May 1994.

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Now let's make a prediction with the recent death of Batman in Final Crisis.

• Cause: Heroic Sacrifice, give or take. 3.
• Genre: Comic book, so Death Is Cheap. 1.
• The Body: Dead and buried, but it's a little more complicated. Still, it's a 4.
• Reaction: He's Dead Clark, plus "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" probably counts as a Really Dead Montage. 3.5.
• Last Words: "Try Me." 3.
• Characterization: It's The Goddamn Batman, people. 1.
• When did he die: Same year, so 2.
• Come Back?: This would be the first time, so 4.
• Average: 21.5/8= 2.7. A semi-high score, and DC seems to be sticking to this one for a while. Still, he'll definitely be back, likely before the end of 2010 at the latest. CORRECT!

Note: This sub-page is for Web Comics examples only. Please ensure that you put new examples in the correct Sorting Algorithm of Deadness sub-page.

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Ciem Webcomic Series

Candi Levens, at least, by the Ciem Tomorrow story arc:

• Cause of death: Beheaded. (Twice!) After being Brought Down to Normal and captured. Wasn't really a Heroic Sacrifice, so counts more as a bridge being dropped - 4.
• Genre: Anyone Can Die. Granted, the first time, it turned out to be an illusion created by another prisoner after stopping time, so only a projection of Candi provided Kolumn with the Gorn he sought from her demise. Second time, there were no illusionists around to get involved, so the death is played much more straight. In the Gerosha universe, precious few characters ever get truly resurrected. - 4.
• Body found: It was all just an illusion the first time. The second time, she was dead and buried - with her head still missing, since the Hebbleskin Gang had already made her skull a museum exhibit along with the skulls of her three (also decapitated) sisters. - About a 3.5.
• Reaction:
  • First time: Kolumn is ecstatic; Dolly declares that It's Personal and nearly forfeits her soul to the Earwig suit helmet AI just to get revenge.
  • Second time: It's Personal! Dana is forced to keep her eyelids open and watch as her mother is beheaded right in front of her! And then, they try to kill Dana in the exact same manner on the exact same block with the exact same blade, without even bothering to clean up first. - 2
• Characterization: Protagonist in Ciem 3. Dana's mother during the Ciem Tomorrow arc. Median value of 2.5.
• When:
  • First time, She was saved at the last possible second by a space-time manipulator, and replaced with an illusion. That happens during Ciem 3, so same arc, so 1.
  • Second time around, shortly before setting of the proposed series proper. We'll call this a 2, for a score of 1.5 for When.
• Died and Came Back: Her first death was just an illusion, so she got better. Pushes the second one definitely into the direction of a 4.
• Average score: 2.375. She may have narrowly avoided fulfilling Arfaasian prophecy the first time around due to being necessary to let live so Dana could be born after the Ciem 3 arc. But once Dana was clearly ready to take over the franchise, her mother lost her Contractual Immortality and became quite dead. On the other hand, if the hands of Heaven allow it, Phaelite Applied Phlebotinum could drag her soul back into her body. Still, they'd need to recover the head and reattach it to truly bring Candi back.

By the Ciem Tomorrow arc, her sisters are all pretty much Deader Than Disco, with an average score of about 3.375.

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Homestuck

• Dream Jade
  • Cause of Death: Overkill: 4
  • Genre: Killed off for Real: 3
  • Body Found?: Found and taxidermy'd: 4
  • Reaction:'Oh Crap': 4
  • Characterization: Protagonists: 1
  • When did they Die?: Last Act: 2
  • Died and came back?: Nope: 4
• Total: 22
• 22/7=3.14 (--> 413!) May be back later, but that's unlikely.
• And there she goes... The dreamself girl... has returned in sprite form. Another victory for the infallible Algorithm.
  • Doubly so when she actually merges with Jade becoming God-Tier.

• Bro
  • Cause of Death: Killed in a duel. I'll go with 3
  • Genre: Killed Off for Real: 3
  • Body Found?: Yeah, it's lying around. 3
  • Reaction: Very understated. 3
  • Characterization: A recurring character. 3
  • When did they die?: Same act. 1
  • Died and came back?: No. 4
• Total: 20
• 20/7=2.86: May be back, but don't bet on it.
• No, he's still not back. PSYCHE
  • Now there's a version of Bro in the post-scratch session. Might not count, since it isn't the same Bro.

• Aradia Megido
  • Cause of Death: Boom. 4
  • Genre: Killed Off for Real: 3
  • Body Found?: What body? 4
  • Reaction: Tear Jerker. 2
  • Last Words: A touching fare 3
  • Characterization: A regular. 2
  • When did they die?: Same act. 1
  • Died and came back?: Yep, once. 3
• Total: 22
• 22/8=2.75: May be back. Though recent updates BRING HER BACK yeah.

• Tavros Nitram
  • Cause of Death: Death by irony; The Page of Breath was impaled through his lungs. 4
  • Genre: Killed Off for Real: 3
  • Body Found?: Yes. Complete with a Written Sound Effect...that says "Dead". 4
  • Reaction: For now, He's Dead, Jim since the story promptly focused on someone else. 3
  • Characterization: A regular, more or less. 2
  • When did they die: Same act. 1
  • Died and came back?: Nope. 4
• Total: 21
• 21/7=3. And the character's life pretty much sucked, too.

• Feferi Peixes
  • Cause of Death: Death by irony; Killed by her former companion Eridan. Plus, the Witch of Life is dead. 4
  • Genre: Killed Off for Real. 3
  • Body Found?: See above. Same Unsound Effect. 4
  • Reaction: It's Personal. Kanaya is there and gets pissed at the one who caused it since she made the murder weapon. 2.
  • Characterization: I guess a regular? The character is actually a bit less focused on than some of the other characters. 2.5
  • When did they die: Same act. 1
  • Died and came back?: Not really? She appears in Jade's dream after she died, but this might not be so much a return to life as a last message. 3.5
• Total: 18
• 20/7=2.86. Same odds as some of the others on this list.

• Kanaya Maryam
  • Cause of Death: Death by irony. Multiple sources of irony actually. 4
  • Genre: Originally Killed Off for Real, but with this death it may have shot up to Anyone Can Die. 3.5
  • Body Found?: IT JUST KEEPS HAPPENING! 4
  • Reaction: Karkat's reaction is probably enough to make this a 4.
  • Characterization: Actually a pretty important character. 1.5
  • When did they die: Same act. 1.
  • Died and came back?: No. 4
• Total: 22
• 22/7 ~= 3.14 That number again. Same odds as Dream Jade, so...
  • Has come back as a rainbow drinker. However, this may not entirely count, since she's not alive, just undead.
    • Her personality has survived intact. It counts.

Equius Zahhak

• • Cause of Death: Death by irony. Strangled by a broken bow. 4
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found? Yes. 4
  • Reaction: It's Personal from an onlooker. 2
  • Characterization: 2
  • When did they die?: Same act. 1.
  • Died and came back?: Nope. 4
• Total: 21
• 21/7 = 3. Ouch....

Nepeta Leijon

• • Cause of Death: Senseless Sacrifice. 3
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body found?: She was Left for Dead. However, recently her decapitated body was found floating in a tube. So 4.
  • Reaction: 3
  • Characterization: 2
  • When did they die?: By now, same year. 2
  • Dies and came back?: No. 4
• Total: 22
• 22/7 = 3.14

Eridan Ampora

• • Cause of Death: There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Half the Man He Used To Be. 4.
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found? Yup. 4
  • Reaction: A pair of sunglasses that flew up into the air lands on the killer; count this as a Bond One-Liner. 4
  • Characterization: Let's say 2.
  • When did they die?: Same act. 1
  • Died and came back?: Nope. 4
• Total: 23
• 23/7 ~ 3.29. Good riddance.

Dad and Mom

• • Cause of Death: Arguably Stuffed in The Fridge. 4
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found? Yup. 4
  • Reaction: "You have just murdered an innocent family. What will you do?" 3
  • Characterization: 3
  • When did they die?: Same act. 1
  • Died and came back?: Nope. 4
• Total:
• 23/7 ~ 3.29. Best hope for WEIRD TIME SHIT.
  • Alternate-universe versions of both are now alive. This may or may not count.

Vriska Serket

• • Cause of Death: I'm calling it Redemption. 3
  • Genre: By now, Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found?: DEAD. 4
  • Reaction: Fanbase - 2X Base Breaker COMBO!!!!!!!! In-universe: I'll go 3, but maybe a 4.
  • Characterization: Troll = 2, no?
  • When did they die?: A couple of updates ago. 1
  • Died and came back?: Yup ^_^ 3.
• Total:
• 20/7 = 2.86. I suppose we can only hope...

Another argument:

• • Cause of Death: It's basically a Deadly Change-of-Heart. 3.5
  • Genre: 4
  • Body Found?: 4
  • Reaction: 3
  • Last Words: That final pesterlog counts. 3.
  • Characterization: 1.5 due to being one of the more important characters.
  • When did they die?: 1
  • Died and came back?: 3.
• Total: 23/8 = 2.875. Okay, so not much difference..

Doc Scratch

• • Cause of Death: ...it had something to do with the author 1.5.
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found?: Repurposed, actually. 4.
  • Reaction: 3.
  • Last Words: Suckers. 1.
  • Characterization: Major Villain. Also narrator. 1.
  • When did they die: 2, due to some confusion over whether he actually died or not.
  • "Died" and came back?: Not yet. 4.
• Total: 20.5/8 = 2.5625. He mentioned alternate versions of himself existed.

White King/ Writ Keeper

• • Cause of Death: Bridge Drop. 4
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found?: Head chopped off. And the universe was destroyed. 4
  • Reaction: 3
  • Characterization: Mauve Shirt, I guess, though it seems odd. 4
  • When did they die?: At the end of the last act. 2
  • "Died" and came back?: We assumed he was dead for a while. 3
• Total: 27
• 27/7 ~ 3.86. We Hardly Knew Ye...

White Queen/ Windswept Questant

• • Cause of Death: Bridge Drop. 4
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found?: She was Left for Dead, but then the universe was destroyed. 4
  • Reaction: 3
  • Characterization: Recurring Character. 3
  • When did they die?: Series Finale. 4
  • "Died" and came back?. Not yet. 4
• Total: 26
• 26/7 ~ 3.71. Probably not.

Aimless Renegade/ Armaments Regent

• • Cause of Death: Bridge Drop, but could be considered a failed sacrifice. Still, 4
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found?: Head chopped off, and the universe was destroyed. 4
  • Reaction: PM tries to avenge him. It's Personal. 2
  • Characterization: Recurring Character. 3
  • When did they die?: Series Finale. 4
  • "Died" and came back?. Not yet. 4
• Total: 26
• 25/7 ~ 3.57.

Wayward Vagabond/ Wastelandic Vindicator

• • Cause of Death: Bridge Drop. 4
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found?: Left for Dead. 1
  • Reaction: It's Personal for PM. 2
  • Characterization: Recurring Character. 3
  • When did they die?: Series Finale. 4
  • "Died" and came back?. Not yet. 4
• Total: 23
• 22/7 ~ 3.14. Not looking too good...
  • Turns out he didn't die after all!

Snowman

• • Cause of Death: So overkill it destroyed the universe. 4
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found?: Yes. 4
  • Reaction: 3.
  • Last Words: "Draw, Spades". Probably a 1.5, actually.
  • Characterization: Recurring Character. 3
  • When did they die: Season Finale. 3.5
  • "Died" and came back?: No. 4.
• Total: 23
  • 23/8 = 2.875. It's pretty much inevitable than she'll have an Alternate Universe counterpart show up.
    • It looks like said Alternate Universe counterpart has been killed off-screen.

Spades Slick

• • Cause of Death: The universe exploded. 4
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found?: Left for Dead, actually. 1.
  • Reaction: Word of God says that he's taking care of him. 1.
  • Characterization: Recurring Character. 3
  • When did they die: Season Finale. 3.5
  • "Died" and came back?: No. 4.
• Total: 20.5
  • 20.5/7 ~ 2.93. Worse odds than Snowman, strangely.

Jane Crocker

• • Cause of Death: Holy sudden explosions, Batman! 4.
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found?: We have no idea if she really died. 1.
  • Reaction: 3, due to sudden cliffhanger.
  • Characterization: New protagonist. 1.
  • When did they die: Same arc. 1.
  • "Died" and came back?: Not yet. 4.
• Total: 18/7 ~ 2.57. Very possible she'll become a ghost.
  • Turns out she never died at all!

Sollux Captor

• • Cause of Death: Heroic Sacrifice. 3.
  • Genre: Anyone Can Die. 4
  • Body Found?: Yup. 4.
  • Reaction: 3.
  • Characterization: 2.
  • When did they die: Let's say 3; it happened in the Season Finale and was heavily Fore Shadowed, but we only saw his actual death later.
  • "Died" and came back?: Once 3.
• Total: 22/7 ~ 3.14. The Sollux that came out of the dream bubble is his replacement. Go figure..

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David Shizukana from Parallel Dementia

• Cause: Either Overkill or No One Could Survive That. I'll go with 3
• Genre: Killed Off for Real. 3
• Body: Left for Dead, at least so far. 1
• Reaction: Montage, through Fall's internal monologue. 4
• Last Words: Looked a lot like Killed Mid-Sentence. 4
• Role: An member of the team, but kind of on the background. I'll go with Regular. 2
• When: Same Arc. 1
• Come back before: No. 4
• Average: 22/8 = 2.75 Not looking good, sadly.

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The end of the To Thine Own Self arc of General Protection Fault featured a few deaths that are up in the air:

The Gamester

• Cause of Death: Bridge Drop. Suddenly killed off without the reader seeing it - 4
• Genre: Killed Off for Real - 3
• Body Found? Initially thought to have been, but later mistaken - 3
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim - 3
• Characterization: Regular - 2
• When Did He Die? Over a year ago - 2
• Died and Came Back? No - 4
• Average: 21/7 = 3 Somewhat unlikely to return despite the Hope Spot of resurrecting him.

Mischief

• Cause of Death: Bridge Drop - 4
• Genre: Killed Off for Real - 3
• Body Found? Fading in Todd's arms - 4
• Reaction: It's Personal - 3
• Characterization: Regular - 2
• When Did She Die? Over a year ago - 2
• Died and came Back? No - 4
• Average: 23/7 = 3.28. Probably dead. She's back.

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Kubota in Order of the Stick

• Cause of death: Does being disintegrated and haveing your ashes blown away count as a bridge drop? I say yes. 4
• Genre: The afterlife is literally a revolving door. 1
• Body found?: Deader than dead. 4
• Last Words : Killed Mid-Sentence - 4
• Reaction?: He's Dead, Jim best fits. 3
• Characterization?: Main villan of an arc, so regular. 2
• When did he die?: This arc. 1
• Ever died and come back?: No. 4
• Total: 23/8 = 2.875. Incorporeal undead, at best.

For comparison Roy, of the same (who it is widely accepted will come back):

• Cause of death: I think a meteor swarm followed by that kind of drop qualifies as "no one could survive that". 2
• Genre: Death is VERY cheap 1
• Body found: Dead and now turned into a golem 4
• Last Words: Killed Mid-Sentence - 4
• Reaction: I think this counts as a 3
• Characterization: Protagonist, so 1
• When did they die: Same year (in-comic time at any rate), so 2
• That gives us 17/7 = 2.4. Given he's been dead for the equivalent of a season I'd say fairly accurate.
  • He's back.

Lord Shojo:

• Cause of death: Nearly bisected. 2
• Genre: Death is cheap. 1
• Body found: Dead and buried. 4
• Last Words: Famous Last Words. 3
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim. 3
• Characterization: Recurring Character. 3
• "Died" and came back?: No. 4
• 20 divided by 7 is approximately 2.86.

Thog (after the arena arc):

• Cause of death: No One Could Survive That. 2
• Genre: Death is cheap. 1
• Body found: Not yet. 2
• Reaction: Bond One-Liner. 4
• Last Words: Oh Crap. 4
• Characterization: Recurring Character. 3
• When did he die?: This arc. 1
• "Died" and came back?: No. 4
• 17/8 = 2.125.

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Miho in Megatokyo.

• Cause of death: No One Could Survive That. A lot of circumstantial evidence but we never saw the impact. 2
• Genre: Death Is Cheap or Disney Death. Ed has come back dozens of times, but always as a running joke. 1.5
• Body: No. 3
• Nobody has reacted, so I'll skip this line.
  • Incorrect: check the page after the one on which said apparent death occurred.
• Characterization: Can make a good case for being the main character. 1
• When: Yesterday. 1
• 8.5 / 5 is 1.7. Seems the only question is how will she come back.

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Mike from CRFH

• Cause of death: Heroic Sacrifice (he was trying to keep April from stabbing Marsha). 3
• Genre: Debatable. In-comic events would indicate Back from the Dead; Word of God is Killed Off for Real. Call it 3.
• Body found: Dead and buried. 4
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim. 3
• Characterization: Protagonist. 1
• When did he die: A year ago. 2
• Died and come back: This is his second death. 3
• Average: 19/7 = 2.7. He'll be gone for a while.

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Sluggy Freelance

Zoë

• Cause of death: Dropped a Bridge on Him more like dropped a fireball on her - 4
• Genre: Hard to decide, has elements of Killed Off for Real and Death Is Cheap. Average - 2
• Body found: Pulled a Died in Your Arms Tonight with Riff, body was not found later - 3
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim - 3
• Last Words: Oh Crap - 4
• Characterization: Protagonist and Love Interest - 2
• When did he die: About a year ago - 2
• Died and come back: Not yet - 4
• Result: 24/8 = 3.0 things don't look good for her

• • She's alive, but not exactly feeling her best

Steve Hereti

• Cause of death: No One Could Survive That - 2
• Genre: Uncertain, likely Killed Off for Real - 3
• Body found: Not Found - 2
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim - 3
• Last Words: Famous Last Speech - 3
• Characterization: Because of what he did to Oasis, he could be seen as a Big Bad. On the safe side he's at - 2
• When did he die: 10+ Years Ago - 4
• Died and come back: Not yet - 4
• Result: 23/8 = 2.875 He might be back and it would really help explain once and for all what the heck Oasis is

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Drowtales

Sene'kha

• Cause of death: Karmic Death, Overkill - 4
• Genre: Anyone Can Die - 4
• Body found: Lost her head and had her body burned - 4
• Last Words: Last minute bargaining with captors - 3
• Reaction: A warning to her clansmen from her killers - 4
• Characterization: Recurring character - 3
• When did they die: Same year - 2
• Died and come back: Not yet - 4
• Result: 28/4 = 3.5. Yeah. Pretty dead.

Naal'suul

• Cause of death: Demon seed take over, No One Could Survive That - 2
• Genre: Anyone Can Die - 4
• Body found: Left for Dead - 1
• Last words: "Farewell... my... friend" - 3
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim - 3
• Characterization: Regular - 2
• When did they die: Same arc - 2
• Died and come back: Not yet - 4
• Result: 19/8 = 2.37 She might come back, but it doesn't look good.

Syphile

• Cause of death: Death by Irony, What an Idiot! - 4
• Genre: Anyone Can Die - 4
• Body found: Presumably buried - 3
• Reaction: He's Dead, Jim - 3
• Last words: Famous Last Words, Calling the Old Man Out - 3
• Characterization: Regular - 2
• When did they die: Same year - 2
• Died and come back: Not yet - 4
• Result: 24/8 = 3 Pretty unlikely.

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Girl Genius

Klaus Wulfenbach

• Cause of death: No One Could Survive That - 1 (the hospital he was convalescing in exploded while under attack)
• Genre: Back from the Dead - 1 (people are regularly brought back to life if the head is intact, and many people are enhanced and very hard to kill)
• Body found: Never Found - 2 (someone was looking for him in the hospital before it exploded, and couldn't find him)
• Reaction: Faux Death - 1 (His son specifically comments, "Surely you have more faith in my father than that. Have they found his body?")
• Last words: None, it all happened off-camera.
• Characterization: Major antagonist, call it 2.
• When did they die: Same (very long!) arc - 1
• Died and come back: Very likely, given the elaborate scars on his body and the milieu, but not explicitly stated. Call it a 3 at the very highest.
• Result: 11 / 7 = 1.6 (st the most). Okay, who thinks he's dead? Yeah, didn't think so either.