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{{trope}}
{{cleanup|This needs to be split into two, three, or four pages: any or all of [[{{TOPLEVELPAGE}}/Comic Books]], [[{{TOPLEVELPAGE}}/Newspaper Comics]], [[{{TOPLEVELPAGE}}/Web Comics]]. and [[{{TOPLEVELPAGE}}/Comedians]]).}}
Guys in spandex beating each other up? Cool (sometimes). Guys in spandex suffering horrible injuries? [[Tear Jerker|Tear-inducing]]...if they stick ([[First Law of Resurrection|which usually doesn't happen]]).
{{examples}}
* [[All-Star Superman/Tear Jerker|All Star Superman]]▼
== [[:Category:Comedian|Comedians]] ==
* [[The Batman Adventures/Tear Jerker|The Batman Adventures]]▼
''Tear Jerkers from people who are funny for a living.''
* [[The Dark Knight Strikes Again/Tear Jerker|The Dark Knight Strikes Again]]▼
* [[Deadpool/Tear Jerker|Deadpool]]▼
* [[Flashpoint (comics)/Tear Jerker|Flashpoint]]▼
* [[For the Man Who Has Everything/Tear Jerker|For the Man Who Has Everything]]▼
* [[Lucifer (comics)/Tear Jerker|Lucifer]]▼
* [[The Mighty Thor/Tear Jerker|The Mighty Thor]]▼
* [[The Nail/Tear Jerker|The Nail]]▼
* [[PS238/Tear Jerker|PS 238]]▼
* [[The Sandman/Tear Jerker|The Sandman]]▼
* [[Scott Pilgrim/Tear Jerker|Scott Pilgrim]]▼
* [[Starman (comics)/Tear Jerker|Starman]]▼
* [[Super Dinosaur/Tear Jerker|Super Dinosaur]]▼
* [[Superman: Birthright/Tear Jerker|Superman Birthright]]▼
* [[Tintin/Tear Jerker|Tintin]]▼
* [[Watchmen (comics)/Tear Jerker|Watchmen]]▼
* [[Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?/Tear Jerker|Whatever Happened to The Man of Tomorrow]]▼
* [[Star Wars/Tear Jerker|Star Wars]]▼
''Tear Jerkers from sequential art stories published in dedicated magazine or bound-book form.''
===Subpages===
▲* ''[[The Batman Adventures/Tear Jerker|The Batman Adventures]]''
▲* ''[[The Dark Knight Strikes Again/Tear Jerker|The Dark Knight Strikes Again]]''
▲* ''[[Deadpool/Tear Jerker|Deadpool]]''
▲* ''[[Flashpoint (comics)/Tear Jerker|Flashpoint]]''
▲* ''[[For the Man Who Has Everything/Tear Jerker|For the Man Who Has Everything]]''
▲* ''[[Lucifer (comics)/Tear Jerker|Lucifer]]''
▲* ''[[The Mighty Thor/Tear Jerker|The Mighty Thor]]''
▲* ''[[The Nail/Tear Jerker|The Nail]]''
▲* ''[[The Sandman/Tear Jerker|The Sandman]]''
▲* ''[[Scott Pilgrim/Tear Jerker|Scott Pilgrim]]''
▲* ''[[Starman (comics)/Tear Jerker|Starman]]''
▲* ''[[Super Dinosaur/Tear Jerker|Super Dinosaur]]''
▲* ''[[Superman: Birthright/Tear Jerker|Superman: Birthright]]''
▲* ''[[Tintin/Tear Jerker|Tintin]]''
▲* ''[[Watchmen (comics)/Tear Jerker|Watchmen]]''
▲* ''[[Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?/Tear Jerker|Whatever Happened to
▲* ''[[Star Wars/Tear Jerker|Star Wars]]''
===Other Examples===
*
* In an issue of [[The Ultimates]], there is a wall of photos of everyone that died in the Hulk's rampage. In itself, it's a really sad moment but seeing a child's drawing of a policeman with the child's handwriting on it with the words "We miss you Daddy" clinches it.
* Swedish children's comic ''[[Bamse]]'' (which is aimed at really young children, like "just learned to read" ones) has this in the origin story of one of the series' villains (Wolf) let's see: {{spoiler|orphaned at birth, raised by three abusive criminals, forced to help them commit crimes, wolf meets she-wolf, she-wolf teaches wolf to read, wolf's parents make him break in at she-wolf, wolf gets caught but escapes with help of she-wolf, wolf tries to get a job but can't because of earlier criminal behavior, wolf becomes pissed off, wolf thinks of she-wolf a lot. Wolf eventually meets main character of comics, and after continuously being thwarted wolf eventually performs his [[Face Heel Turn]]. That should do it, right? Not precisely, wolf still thinks of she-wolf, eventually meets up with her by accident. Happy ending, right? Not quite. She's married, with two children. Sad wolf.}}
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** The girl's design was based on a story in a pre-code horror comic, trust me that was a real tear jerker.
** {{spoiler|She shows up again in the sequel by sneaking into Sheldon's hospital room.}}
* {{spoiler|Jean Grey's death}} at the end of
* {{spoiler|Captain Marvel's redemption and sacrifice}} in ''[[Kingdom Come]]'', along with Superman's reaction. Also, the flashback to {{spoiler|Lois Lane's death}}, and {{spoiler|Magog's [[Heel Face Turn]]}}.
* Superman trying to end famine in Africa in ''Peace
* {{spoiler|The death of [[The Flash]]}} in ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]''. The fact that it had been foreshadowed for half a year up to that point didn't lessen the impact.
{{quote|''"Th-there's hope... there is always hope... Time to save the world! Time... back in time... Do what you have to... we must save the world... we must save the world..."''}}
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{{quote|"We do it because it needs to be done. Because if we don't, no one else will. And we do it even if no one knows what we've done. Even if no one knows we exist. Even if no one remembers we ever existed."}}
* {{spoiler|Xadhoom}}'s [[Heroic Sacrifice]] / [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy]] in ''[[Paperinik New Adventures]]''. If you want details: {{spoiler|after finally defeating the Evrons and saving her people, she realizes that she has no place among them; she flies into space, says "All my life I wanted to do what was best for my people, and now I know how", and uses her powers to turn into a star so that her race can settle on the nearby planets}}.
* Most of the comics written after September 11 and published in the ''9/11'' memorial collection provoke this, but one in particular is especially moving; it outlines the story of a young man who berates himself for his inability to really feel anything after the attacks, blaming his exposure to popular culture and the jading, desensitizing effect it has had on him after bombarding him with so many terrible images over the years. It lasts until he hears The Beatles' "Let It Be" on his car radio when driving home the night after the attacks... and has to pull over as the tears flood out of him.▼
** While we're on the subject of 9/11, the Spider-Man "Black Issue" was quite moving itself. Featuring all the characters, hero and villain, working together, along with a shot of the big name villains (Magneto, Doom, etc.) paying tribute. And to top it off, a single tear rolls down the cheek of the ruler of Latveria.▼
*** The sequence with the small boy waiting for his Dad.▼
* Maybe a little cliche, but the one from the first (?) 9/11 anthology, where a woman trapped in the rubble is saved by a fireman, who pulls her out of the debris and helps her out of the site to the EMTs. He smiles reassuringly behind his oxygen-mask, then turns around and heads back into the blinding ash. We end with the woman, with a bandage or two, paying her respects to a Missing poster of the firefighter who saved her. The woman's narration doesn't help the reader to man up and not cry.▼
** The ''9/11'' collection's story with the two cartoon birds flying around speaking in rhyme. The poem ends with "I know you are / But what am I?"▼
▲* Spider-Man gets a lot of these.
** Aunt May's death in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #400 was a perfect, poignant sendoff for the character. So naturally, it was treated to a sloppy [[Retcon]] less than a year later.
*** On the topic of Spider-Man, the mini comic [http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/5653932.html "Leah".]{{Dead link}} What makes it even more of a tear jerker is that the writer made it in remembrance of a friend.
*** Also, the issue in which Spider-Man visits Tim, a nine year old fan. The story's heartwarming enough already (especially when {{spoiler|Spidey shows Tim his secret identity}}), but what really gets readers is {{spoiler|the revelation at the end that Tim was diagnosed with cancer and given a few weeks to live}}.
** The one event in Spider-Man history which everyone should know - [[The Night Gwen Stacy Died|The. Night. That. Gwen. Stacy. Died.]]
*** "I saved you, honey... don't you see? *quietly* I saved you..."
*** And [[Character Development|Mary Jane's]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012194056/http://spideykicksbutt.com/WhyYouMaryJane/WhyYouMaryJanePart2B.jpg reaction towards the grieving Peter] makes it ''even more'' of a [[Tear Jerker]]. Doubles as one of MJ's biggest CMOAs as well... it's difficult to stay and comfort a guy after he tells you "you wouldn't be sad if your own mother died!" (And for the record, MJ's mother HAD already died, and she was actually QUITE sad about it.)
** Harry Osborn's death, after snapping out of his Green Goblin persona and saving Peter's life. Peter asks him why he did it, and Harry gasps out his last words: "How could I not, Pete? You're my best friend." And much like Aunt May's death, the company saw fit to taint this moment, only this one with one nasty [[Thanatos Gambit]].
** Peter and MJ's goodbye: Even if JMS [[Executive Meddling|couldn't stop the disaster]], he at least managed to make the goodbye scene not suck.
** "[http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/5362381.html Maybe Next Year]{{Dead link}}" is an issue about Peter remembering his Uncle Ben's tradition of taking him out to a baseball game. They support a team that (almost)never wins, but they have to keep cheering...
*** The water works increase by the end. The last game he went to with Ben reveals that for once the their team actually wins, which causes an excited Peter to finally understand Ben's message of always supporting the team no matter what... {{spoiler|And then after this heartwarming moment the narration reveals that this all takes place just three days before Ben's murder.}}
** "[https://web.archive.org/web/20100218130149/http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/2970181.html Everything]", a short one where Peter, having been vacationing in San Francisco, tries to save people after an earthquake. He can only do so much.
{{quote|'''Cop:''' "Can you fly?"
'''Spidey:''' "I can swing." }}
** If you can get past the whole Mary Jane
*** What happens to
** Even his debut ends with one. You know? Uncle Ben's death?
{{quote|'''Peter''': ''My fault... All my fault... Because I didn't stop that punk when I could have! Now Uncle Ben is dead! He's dead!!!''}}
** ''The Final Curtain'' from ''Spectacular Spider-Man'' #27: On Christmas Day, Peter visits Uncle Ben's grave to have a chat with his ghost and wish him Happy Holidays. It slowly slips into Peter sharing a recurring nightmare about finally being defeated by his foes, all interspersed with flashbacks of a seven-year-old Peter going on stage for a school play and freezing up in front of the audience. Peter comes clean about all of his crushing fears and insecurities that he has every day when facing his Rogues Gallery... and it gets all the more heartbreaking when Uncle Ben pointedly tells him, at one point, that he's not really there and that Peter is just talking to himself. The message is that there's ''no one'' with whom Peter can be this honest about how much facing his foes scares him.
* Issue #12 of the mini-series ''Ion: Guardian of the Universe'' was especially emotional. Kyle Rayner's {{spoiler|mother dies, at which point he uses his Ion powers to revive her. The real [[Tear Jerker]] moment comes when she asks him to put her to rest, and tells him she loves him}}.
▲* Most of the comics written after September 11 and published in the ''9/11'' memorial collection provoke this, but one in particular is especially moving; it outlines the story of a young man who berates himself for his inability to really feel anything after the attacks, blaming his exposure to popular culture and the jading, desensitizing effect it has had on him after bombarding him with so many terrible images over the years. It lasts until he hears The Beatles' "Let It Be" on his car radio when driving home the night after the attacks... and has to pull over as the tears flood out of him.
▲** While we're on the subject of 9/11, the Spider-Man "Black Issue" was quite moving itself. Featuring all the characters, hero and villain, working together, along with a shot of the big name villains (Magneto, Doom, etc.) paying tribute. And to top it off, a single tear rolls down the cheek of the ruler of Latveria.
▲*** The sequence with the small boy waiting for his Dad.
▲** Maybe a little cliche, but the one from the first (?){{verify}} 9/11 anthology, where a woman trapped in the rubble is saved by a fireman, who pulls her out of the debris and helps her out of the site to the EMTs. He smiles reassuringly behind his oxygen-mask, then turns around and heads back into the blinding ash. We end with the woman, with a bandage or two, paying her respects to a Missing poster of the firefighter who saved her. The woman's narration doesn't help the reader to man up and not cry.
▲** The ''9/11'' collection's story with the two cartoon birds flying around speaking in rhyme. The poem ends with "I know you are / But what am I?"
* The [[Downer Ending]] of ''[[Pride of Baghdad]]''.
* ''The Death of Captain Marvel''. Mar-Vell telling his lover, Elysius, that's he's dying without dialogue. When the Skrull general salutes Mar-Vell as an honorable enemy, even while his own people, the Kree, reject him. And finally, when Thanos comes to reconcile him to death.
Line 118 ⟶ 123:
* ''[[Elf Quest]]'' has had its fair share over the years:
** In #5 of the original series, Leetah is refusing to submit to her Recognition with Cutter, because she's too proud to give in to an involuntary mating urge. Cutter, the tough young wolf-blooded elf punk chieftain, turns to her with tears in his eyes and tells her "[http://www.elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics/OQ/OQ05/DisplayOQ05.html?page=26 I'm not sure I can live without you]".
** Flash forward to #16... Cutter and Leetah are now happily lifemated and have a pair of children, but last issue they got caught up in a battle and Cutter was grievously wounded. The [https://web.archive.org/web/20140908203806/http://www.elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics/OQ/OQ16/DisplayOQ16.html cover shows Leetah weeping], but we don't know if it's because he's dead or alive. Later that issue, when it's finally revealed that Cutter {{spoiler|will live}}, we see Cutter's best friend Skywise, who's been keeping his emotions under tight rein up to that point, hugging Cutter's children fiercely and weeping while they do their best to comfort him. '''Note''': the following link contains other story spoilers: [http://www.elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics/OQ/OQ16/DisplayOQ16.html?page=11 link].
** There's also the death of {{spoiler|Nightrunner}}, the farewell to {{spoiler|One-Eye}}, and most of all, the death of {{spoiler|STARJUMPER}}. That last one especially because of how hard {{spoiler|Skywise}} tried to save him.
* ''[[Final Crisis]]: Requiem''. ''Especially'' the ending.
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* "When the Wind Blows", good Lord, it was nothing but Tear Jerker. The worst bit of it was how completely ignorant the couple in the story are of their fate while the reader is sobbing on their behalf.
* Mar'i "Nightstar" Grayson's very existence in an alternate reality is enough of a tear jerker in itself, considering the hell that is Dick Grayson's relationship history, but worse is when Mar'i is asking about her grandparents. Yes, there is grandpa Bruce, but recall both Dick and Kori didn't exactly have much more than each other. Being told her Tamaranean grandparents are with X'Hal and the Grayson's are in heaven is one of those moments you just want to pick up and hug her. And Dick.
* ''[[Astro City]]'': "[https://web.archive.org/web/20081002061235/http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/5425290.html The Nearness Of You.]"
** "No one forgets. No one." and "He ''knew'' her. He ''knows'' that. In another time, another world - he ''knew'' her. And he loved her. And that makes all the difference."
** The ''Beautie'' Special.
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* Blankets by Craig Thompson certainly counts as one big Tearjerker, even despite it's [[Doorstopper]] status.
* When the Irredeemable Ant-Man tells the mother of his child that he can't be involved in its life, as well as the whole exchange with the empath he falls in love with. That final speech where he admits his failings and promises that he will honestly try to change, even as it becomes apparent that he probably can't and never will.
* Another dead Captain America issue, from an earlier era. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081017210543/http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/6311370.html Stars & Stripes Forever] is many panels worth of heroes and villains and a few random civilians reacting to Cap's death, culminating in a eulogy by the Falcon. (They [[Never Found the Body]] and [[Unexplained Recovery|he got better]], but it's still sad.)
* The end of [[Bone]], {{spoiler|specifically, Lucius' funeral and Thorn and Fone Bone's goodbye.}}
* Recently in Action Comics, in which [[Superman]] {{spoiler|fails to save Pa Kent from a fatal heart attack, because Kandor was coming back to full size and he was mesmerized}}.
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** Eggman gets one during his climatic showdown with Sonic as he goes from villainous gloating to just screaming in rage and insanity, tearing at his hair and finally just going almost catatonic. In his later appearances, he's so genuinely demented it's actually a little upsetting. He was pure evil, but seeing a man who was once the greatest genius on Mobius not even knowing what year it is or where he is was [[A Fate Worse Than Death]] that even a scumbag like Eggman didn't deserve.
* [[Judge Dredd]]. ''America''. The whole thing, but especially the last issue. Which manages to be simultaneously brutal [[Tear Jerker]] and major [[Squick]].
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
''Tear Jerkers from sequential art stories published in hardcopy media that also run other articles.''
== [[Web Comics]] ==
''Tear Jerkers from sequential art stories published online.''
==Unsorted==
''Tear Jerkers from sources that need to be identified.''
* Half of ''[[Teen Titans Go!|Teen Titans Go]]'' #47 (based on [[Teen Titans (animation)|the animated series]]) deals with Robin reminiscing about his parents on the anniversary of their death, with the other Titans coming in periodically to try and help him cope, each in their own individual way. The story ends with Robin going up to the roof of the Tower, taking off his mask and ''breaking down and crying'' before being comforted by Starfire, while off across the bay a concerned [[Batman]] watches through binoculars, smiling and deciding that Robin's in good hands.
* The first canonical meeting of Superman and [[Captain Marvel]] in the [[Modern Age]], "First Thunder". Billy's friend is killed by mercenaries (hired by Dr. Sivana) and Cap manages to arrest them and take them to the police headquarters. Upon taking his friend's body to the hospital and being told he is dead, Billy transforms to confront the killers and then Sivana. When Superman confronts Cap later on, Supes discovers that the mighty hero he had just recently met was really a young boy.
* In the ''[[Nodwick]]'' story ''It's a Wonderful Afterlife'', we see what happens if Nodwick goes on. {{spoiler|Piffany is working herself to death trying to atone for [[My Greatest Failure|her inability to restore him]].}}
* ''Battle For The Cowl'' had some moments, despite {{spoiler|Batman's actual death}} happening earlier. Notable points include the idea of supervillains doing good to honor [[Worthy Opponent|Batman]], Batman's {{spoiler|holographic will}} attempting to set right what couldn't be fixed in a lifetime, and [[Middle Child Syndrome|Jason Todd]] finally snapping completely. His [[There Can Be Only One|actions]] are [[Heroic Sociopath|hard to sympathize with]], but imagine that your [[Last Words]] from the [["Well Done, Son" Guy|most important person in your life]] are [[My Greatest Failure|'You're broken, and I couldn't fix you. Maybe someone else can.']]
** Similarly, [https://web.archive.org/web/20141120220009/http://crakkajamma.tumblr.com/post/667822240/just-got-a-little-dust-in-my-eye-yeah-sniff the goodbye to Alfred].
* {{spoiler|Mariko's death}}{{who}} and Morph {{spoiler|asking the Timebroker to let him stay on the team even when he's allowed to go back his original reality, which we've seen is pretty nice}}.
** Mimic's death at the hands of Proteus, dying like a dog being mocked until his last moment, and Blink trying to save him, trying to believe he's somehow still alive even as other characters spell it out explicitly. That arc ended on a major [[Downer Ending]], especially after what happened to [[Heroic Sacrifice|Morph]] [[Disney Death|...]]
* The final chapter of ''[[Empowered]]'' 5. {{spoiler|Mindf**k's [[Heroic Sacrifice]] is bad enough, but the following scene with Emp and Sistah Spooky is just heartbreaking.}}
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* The ending of the ''War Of The Supermen'' storyline. {{spoiler|New Krypton is destroyed. Flamebird (Thara Ak-Var) sacrifices herself to reignite the sun while Chris Kent is held back from saving her by the Nightwing entity. Chris Kent seals himself into the [[Phantom Zone]] to make sure General Zod doesn't escape, bidding a final farewell to Superman, his true dad. Sam Lane is hailed as a hero instead of the racist bastard he truly is, while everyone thinks all Kryptonians are evil.}}
* In the climax of [[Blue Beetle]], when he's finally facing down the Reach, we see Jaime decide {{spoiler|to make a heroic sacrifice.}} That's not tearjerking. It's pretty awesome, but not tearjerking. And then you see the Scarab, an alien intelligence designed to help the Reach conquer planets, completely agree to stick with him until the end, stating "Reyes[Friend]/Sacrifice[Good]. Scarab[Hero]" Yes you are, Scarab. *Sniff.* Yes, you are.
* The ending to the Batman: Black and White story [https://web.archive.org/web/20120216184958/https://comics.comixology.com/#/view/2587/Batman-Black-White-Two-of-A-Kind ''Two of A Kind'']: Two-Face, after being cured of his psychosis and having his face restored, falls in love with his psychiatrist and gets engaged. However, {{spoiler|it is revealed that said psychiatrist has a psychotic twin sister who will stop at nothing to get Harvey to herself. She successfully seduces him, but when Harvey tries to break off the affair, she [[Jump Off the Slippery Slope|jumps off the slippery slope]] and brutally murders her sister. Harvey, consumed with rage, destroys his newly restored face and meets with the psychotic twin, so as to exact revenge, and does so successfully, though he breaks down heartwrenchingly after having committed the act, cradling her body helplessly, looking as if he was crying. This is less heartbreaking than what he says to Batman after shooting the sister in the chest:}}
{{quote|{{spoiler|"Then I just waited for you to show up-- as you always do-- to take me back where I belong... with the '''rest''' of the crazy people."}}}}
* The origin of Dex-Starr [https://web.archive.org/web/20160827083744/http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/2088787.html
** That last panel was enough to make a cynical comics reader cry.
{{quote|Cynical comics reader: Did they really [[Disposable Woman|just kill a woman to motivate a cat?]]
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* The ending of the ''Avengers vs. Atlas'', in which an alternate version of the original Avengers team (Cap, Hulk, (Gi)Ant-Man, Thor, Wasp, and Iron Man) willingly sacrifice themselves to stop a time-virus from taking over the timeline they've found themselves stuck in. "Talk about nuttin' up," indeed.
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