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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.
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.
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 Pieta 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.
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.
Note: This sub-page is for Film examples only. Please ensure that you put new examples in the correct Sorting Algorithm of Deadness sub-page.
Used on Spock's death in "Wrath of Khan":
- Cause of death: Sacrifice (3)
- Genre: Killed Off for Real (3)
- Body Found? Shot into space; landed on Genesis planet (2)
- Reaction: Funeral, and speeches (3)
- Last Words: Final Speech (3)
- Characterization: Protagonist (1)
- When Did They Die? Same arc (1)
- "Died" And Come Back? Not yet (4)
- Average: 2.625. Could've gone either way...
Ra's a'Ghul, Batman Begins Edition:
- Cause of Death: Left on train about to crash, although Death by Irony has some argument too, since he tried to train Bruce to be willing to kill, and died just after Batman got the upper hand complete with Ironic Echo - 2 or 4
- Genre: Nolan-verse, death is common, even among key characters - 4
- Body Found?: Aforementioned train crashes, no mention of the body being found in the movie, and novelization says no body has been found yet - 1
- Reaction: Well... none, really. Perhaps an 'It's Personal' on Batman's behalf when he chooses not to save him - 2
- Last Words: Final speech, about Batman doing what is necessary - 3
- Characterisation: Archvillain. A magnificent one, at that - 1
- When: In-Universe at least a year passes between Begins and The Dark Knight - 2
- Previous Deaths: In this continuity, he's never been dead before, because the wrong guy was killed at the fortress. In other continuities, though, he has almost Joker Immunity. This series - 4. Including other continuities - 1.
- So, all added up, that gives us grand totals of 16/8 (2.0) for the most lenient score or 21/8 (2.625),for the harshest. The door is conceivably open for a return.
Two-face in The Dark Knight
- Cause: I'm calling it as a "No One Could Survive That" - 2
- Genre: Nolan's verse is in Anyone Can Die territory - 4.
- Body: "Deader Than Dead" 4
- Reaction: "He's Dead, Jim" 3
- Characterization: Regular 2
- When: He dies at the end of the same movie he's introduced, so I'd call it as "Same arc" - 1
- Come back before: Not yet in the Nolan-verse, so I'll let this be a 4.
- Average: 2.86.
And, in the same movie, Rachel Dawes
- Cause: a Fridge dropped on her, so 4
- Genre: 4, like above
- Body: "Never found" 3
- Reaction: Two-face uses this death as the touchstone for his crime spree, so you could say that"It's Personal" 2
- Last words: Killed Mid-Sentence 4
- Characterization: Regular 2
- When: "Same Arc" 1
- Come back before: Nope - 4
- Average: 24/8 = 3.0, and worse if you think that showing Harvey and Bruce both grieving and Alfred comforting Bruce bumps this up 3 instead of a 2. Fare thee well, Rachel.
How about another test - Wash from Firefly/Serenity.
- Cause: impaled by an anti-ship harpoon, completely out of the blue, right after saving the day. Joss Whedon even admits he Dropped a Bridge on Him - 4
- Genre: Killed Off for Real - 3
- Body: Found and buried - 4
- Reaction: He's Dead, Jim - 3
- Last Words: "I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I --" - 4
- Character: Somewhat difficult to classify - he's either regular or a protagonist, plus a loved one to Zoe. I'll go in the middle with Regular - 2
- When: With no new episodes planned, the Big Damn Movie can probably be considered a Series Finale- 4
- Died and come back: Nope - 4
- Total: 28
- Average Deadness Score: 3.5 - That's pretty dead.
Anakin Skywalker
- Cause of Death: Redemption Equals Death - 3
- Genre: Killed Off for Real - 3
- Body Found: Deader Than Dead - 4
- Reaction: He's Dead Luke - 3
- Last Words: "Luke, you were right ... you were right about me..." - 3
- Characterization: Originally The Hero, then Anti-Villain - 1
- When: Return of the Jedi, Series Finale - 4
- "Died" and come back? In Revenge of the Sith - 3
- Average: 3. He's gone.
Owen Lars
- Cause of Death: No Kill Like Overkill - 4
- Genre: Killed Off for Real - 4
- Body Found: Deader Than Dead - 4
- Reaction: He's Dead Ben - 3
- Last Words: Killed offscreen - 4
- Characterization: Loved One - 4
- When: Very first movie - 4
- "Died" and come back? Never - 4
- Average: 3.9. Deceased
Admiral Motti
- Cause of Death: No One Could Survive That - 2
- Genre: Killed Off for Real - 4
- Body Found: Nothing left to find - 1
- Reaction: Left for Dead - 1
- Last Words: The Expanded Universe gives him a very hammy Oh Crap - 4
- Characterization: Mook - 4
- When: Very first movie - 4
- "Died" and come back? Never - 4
- Average: 24/8=3
Let's test Darth Sidious' Return of the Jedi death.
- Cause of Death: Cracked his head on a bulkhead in a Disney Villain Death - No One Could Survive That - 2
- Genre: Killed Off for Real - 4
- Body Found: Exploded - 4
- Reaction: The Imps lost fighting spirit - 3
- Last Words: "YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER!" - Famous Last Words - 3
- Characterization: Big Bad - 1
- When: Third film - 4
- "Died" and come back? Not before then - 4
- Average: 25/8=3.125. However, most people who rate above three don't have Raëlian resurrection schemes on standby.
Captain Lorth Needa
- Cause of Death: Heroic Sacrifice - 3
- Genre: Killed Off for Real - 4
- Body Found: Deader Than Dead - 4
- Reaction: Bond One-Liner - 4
- Characterization - Mook, upgraded by the Revenge of the Sith novelization to Recurring Character - 3.5
- When: The Empire Strikes Back - 4
- "Died" and come back? No - 4
- Average: 26.5/7-3.79.
Professor X, X3: The Last Stand
- Cause: Heroic Sacrifice, though it may not have done any good. 3.
- Genre: Comic book movie, but death seems to be pretty legit in this canon. 2.
- Body: 4.
- Reaction: He's Dead, Jim. 3.
- Role: Regular (The Mentor). 2.
- When: Last installment in series. 4
- Revived: Not in movie canon, but many times in the comics. 3.
- Average: 2.75. Back, but probably not next film (that is, chronologically). Confirmed by the after the credits bit.
Cyclops in X3
- Cause: Dropped a Bridge on Him (killed by Dark Phoenix) - 4
- Genre: Comic book movie. 2
- Body: None. He has a grave at the end of the film, but there doesn't seem to be a body to put in it - 3
- Reaction: Surprisingly little.
- Role: Regular: 2
- When: Inapplicable
- Revived: No - 4
- Average: 3. Somewhat steep odds.
Col. Miles Quaritch, Avatar (if only because so many people like him)
- Cause: Two six-foot arrows through his chest courtesy of Neytiri. 4
- Genre: Ton of minor characters die (among hordes of no-name humans and Na'vi). 4
- Body: Drops with the AMP suit onto the ground. We basically see Quaritch draw his last breath. 4
- Reaction: If Neytiri's hiss counts as a Bond One-Liner, then it's a 4.
- Last Words: None, but his reaction is of shock and pain. 3.5
- Characterization: Main villain, in at least the first of the trilogy. 1
- When did they die: Nothing really progresses after his death except for Jake transferring consciousnesses after a month or two. Technically a 1
- "Died" and come back?: No. And given the surprising hardness of the series, highly unlikely. 4
- Average: 3.1875 - Oddly low score, considering other factors, but it'll take a Hand Wave to bring him back. And Jim isn't very fond of that.
Tron: Legacy has a few deaths which people question, so let's see how they fare for a return in the sequel that might come.
Rinzler aka Tron
- Cause: Heroic Sacrifice crossed with Death Equals Redemption. 3
- Genre: It's a Disney flick, so 2.
- Body: Left for dead in the water, 1
- Last words: "I fight for the Users!", probably counts as a Facing the Bullets One-Liner given its delivery. 3
- Characterization: The Dragon but his real name is the title. 1
- When did they die: Near the end of the last movie, probably counts as same year. 2
- "Died" and come back?: He wasn't quite dead, though everyone thought he was. 4
- Average: 2.571. He's got good chances of being back and back to normal in the next movie. If they make a next movie.
Kevin Flynn
- Cause: Heroic Sacrifice. 3
- Genre: Again, Disney, 2.
- Body: Blown up in the process of merging with Clu. 4
- Last words: "Goodbye, kiddo." Sort of an Obi-Wan Moment. 3
- Characterization: Protagonist of the first film, but made into The Obi-Wan for this one. Likely a 4.
- When did they die: Climax of the movie, counts as same year. Probably. 2
- "Died" and come back?: No. 4
- Average: 3.143. Yeah, I think he's gone, passed the torch to his son and all.
Let's do two from Captain America: The First Avenger
Lt. Bucky Barnes
- Cause: Jumping/Falling: 1
- Genre: It's based on Comic Book so Death is Cheap: 1
- Body: Never found: 2
- Reaction: It's personal: 2
- Last Words: Last Words: Oh Crap: 4
- Character: Regular, I suppose: 2
- When: Same Movie: 1
- Died and come back: Not in the Marvel Film 'verse: 4
- Total: 17
- Average Deadness Score: 2.1 Soon
Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull
- Cause: I'm gonna go with No One Can Survive That: 2
- Genre: It's based on Comic Book so Death is Cheap: 1
- Body: Disintegrated, however it looks like a form of teleportation already established in-universe, so I'm gonna call it Never Found the Body: 2
- Reaction: He's Dead, Jim: 3
- Last Words: None, so we'll leave this one out of the tally?
- Character: Archvillain 1
- When: Same Movie: 1
- Died and come back: Not in the Marvel Film 'verse: 4
- Total: 17
- Average Deadness Score: 2.3 I think we all expect to see Johnny Boy sometime again soon.