I don’t know what is more surprising, that Pa Kent was killed off by DC Comics again or that the news of his demise was posted on the front page of CNN.com’s entertainment section. (link) Hasn’t the mass media learned by now that no one in the world of comic books stays dead forever? If you don’t believe me just ask Barry Allen and Gwen Stacy.In Action Comics #870, which hits newsstands today, Superman’s Earth father Jonathan Kent dies from a fatal heart attack. Sadly, this is the second time Pa Kent has died. In the original mythos of Superman his Earth parents Martha and Jonathan Kent died shortly after high school. Both characters were retconned back to life in 1986 by John Byrne’s reboot of Superman after the fabled Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series.
Besides being killed off in comic books, Pa Kent also has a history of being killed off on television and on the silver screen. The CW’s Smallville killed off the character played by John Schneider in 2006 and in “the 1978 Superman movie that starred Christopher Reeve, Jonathan Kent, played by Glenn Ford, also died of a heart attack.” (link) The character will be greatly missed, but then again I expect to see him back among the living a few years down the road.If you’re interested in a quick, brief rundown of all of Jonathan “Pa” Kent’s deaths through the years then check out this great article from Newsarama.com.