10 Comic Book Characters Who Actually Stayed Dead

Harold 'Happy' Hogan served as Tony Stark's bodyguard throughout the years and is a notable element in the Iron Man comics. But despite Jon Favreau's MCU portrayal increasing the character's popularity, Hogan has actually been dead for quite some time now in the 616 Universe.

In Iron Man vol. 4 #13, Hogan has a confrontation with the villain Spymaster, who plans on using the bodyguard as bait for Tony Stark. In the fight, Happy manages to drag the villain several stories below and is critically injured. While at the hospital, Pepper Potts tells Tony about Happy's former boxer friend who received brain damage and says that being in a vegetative state was something that Hogan did not want to happen to himself.

At the end of issue 14, the lovable bodyguard dies but it is left ambiguous whether he passed away naturally or through euthanasia from an Extremis-powered Tony Stark who had cybernetic powers.

Happy's demise has not been reversed as of now, which is probably for the best. While mainstream superhero comics often deal with grandiose deaths, this remains one of the more grounded ones, which made it more relatable.