Looks like James Gunn is bucking this comic book trend with his DCU

Looks like Peter Safran and James Gunn's DC Universe (DCU) is distinguishing itself by keeping death permanent. James Gunn himself confirmed this through his Threads account. This is in firm contrast to death seen in DC Comics, where characters regularly die only for the death to be undone soon enough in a ridiculous manner.

The idea of death being "permanent" in the DCU is very similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where death isn't undone, but the characters' return has a logic.

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Explaining James Gunn's DCU Comments

These comments come from a fan asking Gunn whether Creature Commandos' Princess Ilana Rostovic was the same girl from Weasel's flashbacks. The fan further asked if Ilana was returning in the second season of the animated series of the DC Universe show, as she was fatally shot by The Bride in the Season 1 finale.

Gunn clarified that Ilana is not the girl from Weasel's flashbacks and denied that the princess can return, considering she is dead. Another fan interjected in the reply thread, saying that no one can stay dead in the DCU, like the comics. To this, Gunn responded:

"In the DCU if you die, you're dead."

When another fan pointed out that keeping death permanent in the series could be restrictive and could backfire in the future. To this, Gunn replied:

"What backfires more is people believing there are no stakes and death doesn't mean anything. Dead is dead."

While some have applauded this move from James Gunn, some also feel that the DC Universe could possibly run into the same problem that the later seasons of HBO's Game of Thrones ran into, i.e., running out of protagonists, just to keep up the shock value.

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However, James Gunn does state one exception

Hearing that death might not be undone in the DC Universe, a fan asked Gunn about a major location from the Batman comics, the Lazarus Pit. The question read:

"Question: as someone who loves the no-resurrections rule, I do wonder, doesn't it limit you from using established elements of DC comics lore like the Lazarus pit?"

Gunn's answer to this question was:

"Well I wouldn't mind using the Lazarus Pit (and/or resurrection) in a story. But it would have to be a part of the story itself. I won't be killing major characters just to pop them in the old LP to be alive again."

For those who don't know, the Lazarus Pit/s in the Batman comics are mystical mineral springs used by the Caped Crusader's immortal villain Ra's Al Ghul. Some comics have suggested that there are several Lazarus Pits across the world for Ra's to access. They have the power to revive a dead person, but there's a catch: while they can revive a dead person, they suffer from a blood lust.

The possible involvement of Lazarus Pits does present a lot of dramatic potential for the DCU Batman movie.

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What does this mean for the possibility of the Black Lanterns in the DCU?

Fans have been hoping to get the Black Lantern Corps in the DCU, an aspect that a lot of fans believe only someone like James Gunn could include. Introduced in 2008, this Lantern Corps consists of deceased DC characters that are resurrected as zombies, referred to as the "Black Lanterns". Gunn's recent comments have raised doubts as to whether Black Lanterns will factor into the overall DC Universe.

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How do you feel about death being permanent in the DC Universe?