Wham! Episode/Comic Books: Difference between revisions

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* ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'', the [[Up to Eleven|single biggest wham episode in all of comics history.]] Was the ''ultimate'' [[Nothing Is the Same Anymore]] for the DC universe.

** What really makes it impressive is how Marvel ''averted'' [[Tonight Someone Dies]]. There was no idea that there even was a secret to give away; Peter David even had the solicitation rewritten for the team's first appearance in ''Incredible Hulk'' to keep it quiet.

* The [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|"Death of Gwen Stacy"]] storyline might qualify as a Wham Issue ''IF'' the cover had not had [[Tonight Someone Dies]] in large letters on it. It was still pretty whammy, though, because [[Like You Would Really Do It|no one really thought they would kill]] ''her''.

** Blame the Comics Code Authority - "If a major character lacking power and unconnected to the antagonist dies in the issue (back then) the death must be listed on the cover." - listing a whole BUNCH of people was an awesome cover for it. It's also universally regarded as the single GREATEST Wham moment in comicdom. Ever.

** Later on, the ''Ultimatum'' event was a big WHAM for the entire [[Ultimate Marvel]] line. We knew that a huge disaster would prompt a line-wide [[Retool]], but we didn't know how bad it would get. Half the X-Men died. B-list heroes (in this 'verse) Daredevil and Dr. Strange died. Spider-Man... ''looked'' like he died. ''Xavier and Magneto'' died. ''Dr. Doom'' died. '''''Wolverine''''', whose mainstream version is patron saint of [[From a Single Cell]], died. And the Fantastic Four and surviving X-Men disbanded.

* [[Superman]]'s [[Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?]]

* [[The Death of Superman]]

* ''[[The Walking Dead]]'', issues 45-50. 9/10's of the cast die, including several main characters and a newborn baby. The few that survive are scattered by the Governor's attack, and forced out of the relative safety of the prison they had been using as a home.

* Ever since [[Frank Miller]] graced the pages of ''[[Daredevil]]'' with his presence, this trope has become a defining element of the series and made [[Nothing Is the Same Anymore]] a recurring theme.

* The concluding issue of the ''War in the Sun'' [[Story Arc]] in ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]]'', the gravity of which was ominously foreshadowed in an early conversation with the Duke:

'''Duke:''' ''As bad as it can.'' }}

* ''[[Invincible]]'' Issue 11 reveals that Omni-Man's origin from issue 2 is carefully-crafted bullshit. Nolan Grayson is a lie. Omni-Man is a lie. The Viltrumite sent to Earth to gather information for its conquest is the truth -- and he wants Mark's help in doing it. When Mark refuses, he ''beats him half to death'' and when confronted with his unconditional love ("YOU, Dad. I'd still have you."), ''flies off into space with no sign that he's ever coming back.''

* The culmination of the infamous Judas Arc of ''[[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]''. Terra, who saved them from Slade and has fought beside them for ages, is [[The Mole]]. She's always been The Mole. She's Slade's weapon and [[Squick|lover]], and she's spent her entire time setting them up.

* The first time [[Alan Moore]] became famous in the US, it was for a one-issue one of these in a comic that was all but canceled; word of mouth alone made it one of the most famous single issues that year. By the time of the Anatomy Lesson, [[Swamp Thing]] had spent nearly ten years trying to reverse the accident that transformed him so he could be plain ol' Alec Holland again. He never will be Alec Holland. He isn't Alec Holland. [[Tomato in the Mirror|He never was Alec Holland.]]

* For the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' comic series, the [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|appropriately titled]] "Endgame" storyline was a four-part string of wham episodes. Starting in issue 47, during another routine Robotropolis invasion, Sally took a near-fatal fall from a high ledge, which was done by a Sonic look-a-like. [[It Got Worse|Things got very bad really fast]] for the real Sonic when he returned to Knothole. Sally was presumed dead from the fall, Sonic was arrested for treason, murder, and was transported to the Alcatraz-like Devil's Gulag. [[Berserk Button|Sonic was not happy with any of this]]. Meanwhile, Robotnik plotted to take over Knothole (which he finally discovered) and use his Ultimate Annihilator device over the place (which would [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|phase the village out of existence instead of merely destroying it]]). Needless to say, the stakes were raised to a level unparalleled to [[Adaptation Displacement|even the SatAM cartoon]]. In the end, Sonic managed to stop Robotnik's plan [[Bittersweet Ending|with mixed results]]. While Robotnik was killed by his own doomsday device, it also permanently jumped Knothole [[Year Inside, Hour Outside|three hours ahead in time from the rest of Mobius]], and Sonic almost died himself, trying to save everyone. But at least for consolation, Sally didn't die. She was stuck in a coma, and in a nice homage to Sleeping Beauty, Sonic kissed Sally to wake her up. Robotnik's demise certainly changed things, but whether it was for the better...[[Broken Base|let's not even discuss it]].

** For those who stuck with the comic after "EndGame", current head writer Ian Flynn likes to do these. At first, it was for "cleaning house" (Killing Tommy Turtle, fusing all the Chaos Emeralds in the universe into a set of seven, etc.) then, came the Destruction of Knothole arc, arguably one of the defining arcs of his run. Robotnik gets dead serious for possibly the first time since the EndGame, sics a FLEET of floating fortresses on the Kingdom of Knothole, destroying it effortlessly, confronts Sonic one on one (again, for the first time since EndGame), and OWNS him. Brutally. For better or worse, THIS is the arc to base your opinion of Ian Flynn around.

** And now issue 234 -- by the end, {{spoiler|Antoine's very nearly been [[Killed Off for Real]], with his survival in doubt}}.

* Volume 9 of ''[[Hellboy (comics)|Hellboy]]'', "The Wild Hunt". It starts off looking like a fairly simple "Hellboy beats people up" arc, as the last volume was. By the end, it turns out that Hellboy is the heir to the crown of England.

* The second-to-last issue of [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffy Season Eight]]. The Seed of Wonder is destroyed, all the magic in the world disappears, and {{spoiler|Giles dies}}.

* Even relative to the overall aura of Total [[Mind Screw]] surrounding [[Grant Morrison]]'s run of ''[[Doom Patrol]]'', the Candlemaker arc was ''made'' of WHAM.