5 DC Heroes Who Retired for Good, Including One Who Belongs on the Superhero Mount Rushmore

Superheroes, for the most part, are in the business for the long haul. Superman said it best when he called their fight for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow a never-ending battle, but I doubt even he knew just how right he was. DC’s heroes especially have transcended normal limits and become cultural icons, with the entire DC Universe bending around them to keep them starring in stories long, long after they should have retired. Some of these characters have been donning cape and cowl to punch crime in the face for around ninety years, and that’s an insane amount of time for anyone to do anything. Typically, nothing can stop these heroes from fighting for what’s right, be it time, tragedy, or death itself.

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However, there are a select few heroes who have truly hung up their costumes for good. It’s rare, but there are those who have aged past the point where they can continue, or who have decided that they have other things they want to or need to do with their lives. Today, we’re looking at five DC heroes who have, through either choice or circumstance, gotten out of the hero game for good. Of course, this is comic books, so any of these guys could easily put their costumes back on next week for all I know, but based on how things went, their last appearance was meant to be their last. So, without further ado, let’s dive into DC’s removed heroes.

5) Starman (Jack Knight)

Starman is one of DC’s oldest legacies, with the original being an early and essential member of the Justice Society of America. Ted Knight was a hero until he literally could not do it anymore, passing the mantle onto his son, David, who died, and later his second son, Jack. Unlike his brother, Jack had never wanted to be Starman, and was even embarrassed by his father’s legacy. However, when push came to shove, he decided to embrace the role and fought for the world with the Gravity Rod. Still, he never wanted this life. It was always a burden he carried because someone had to, but eventually, he saw that he could leave it to Courtney Whitmore. He passed the Gravity Rod onto her, and she became Stargirl. With that, Jack retired.

Jack’s retirement is bound to be permanent because it is quite possibly the single most effective retirement in DC. Even from Jack’s run in Starman (1994), he felt that he wouldn’t be remembered, and that Courtney would be better than he ever could be. She proved that and then some, rising to popularity that no one else in this legacy had dreamed of. Heck, she starred in her own CW show. Stargirl is so popular that it’s impossible to imagine Jack ever needing to come out of retirement. Courtney has taken everything great about the mantle and evolved it in such a way that it’s impossible to see Jack’s return as anything but a step backwards.

4) Black Canary (Dinah Drake Lance)

Black Canary is one of the most storied members of the Justice League, even being the stand-in founder when Wonder Woman is written out of that part of history. She’s still active today as one of the greatest fighters in the world, but that’s not the Black Canary that we’re talking about. A lesser-known fact about her is that she’s actually the second Black Canary, having inherited the role from her mother, who was originally a member of the JSA. There’s a whole lot of convoluted comic book nonsense about this origin, including them both sharing the same name and the present hero, Dinah Laurel Drake, once being convinced she was her mother. Still, the original Black Canary fought for justice, and then passed the role to her daughter.

What makes this dynamic so fascinating is how Dinah Sr. trained her daughter to take over the role. Unlike Jack, Dinah Jr. took to the idea with gusto and wanted to embody everything her mother stood for. In a sense, this training with other JSA superstar Wildcat turned Dinah Jr. into the bridge between the JSA and the Justice League. Her mother was an iconic member of the former, while Dinah Jr. became even more so with the League. They represent the growing, evolving ways heroes battle to save the world. Dinah Sr. would impersonate criminals to destroy gangs from the inside out, while Dinah Jr. regularly travels across time and space to solve mysteries and save lives. They both embody their eras perfectly, and this passing of the torch adds so much credence to DC’s legacy theme.

3) Firestorm (Jason Rusch)

Firestorm is the hero made when two people combine into one, mastering the nuclear power of the atom. The most famous pairing is the original, sporting Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein, but both of them have also fused with another hero who became just as integral to their history. Jason Rusch was a high schooler just trying to fund his eventual college when he was caught up in an explosion with the Firestorm Matrix, making him its new host. He would serve as the main Firestorm for several years, but eventually decided to retire so he could focus on his family and about-to-be-born son, as of The Fury of Firestorm (2026) #3.

This retirement is far more recent, but even before this, we hadn’t seen Jason as the Nuclear Man for several years. To me, this reads as DC trying to consolidate its B-Listers. The Next Level imprint has seen tons of lesser-known DC heroes take center stage in their own series, from Zatanna to Etrigan, with Firestorm being darn near the top of that list. DC is making a consistent effort to push these characters to, well, the next level, and to do that, their histories and legacies need to stand on solid ground. There can be multiple Flashes or Supermen because everyone knows who those characters are. Multiples can’t detract from how iconic the original is. Firestorm is much more of a niche character, and without that inherent notoriety, having multiple people with the same name could genuinely confuse new fans too much. This is DC staking their claim that they believe in Ronnie to turn Firestorm into something big.

2) Batman (Jim Gordon)

Speaking of multiple Batmen, one of the few who bore the cowl was Jim Gordon. He took up the mantle after Bruce seemingly died in the “Endgame” storyline. He shaved his head, quit smoking, had muscle implants, and piloted a giant robot suit as the first of what was planned to be many state-sanctioned Batmen. Ultimately, he gave up the role when Bruce regained his memories and returned, deciding that Gotham only really needed one Batman. He’s totally out of the hero game, even later detonating his suit, nicknamed Rookie, in Batman/Superman(2019) #3. Funnily enough, Gordon has also retired from being Police Commissioner twice, although he’s working towards taking that role back in the current Batman series.

Gordon’s short stint as a hero shows us the type of retirement that can only come from a character that was never intended to be a hero for long. Even from his first issue in the Batsuit, Gordon’s time was on a ticking clock, with fans eagerly awaiting Bruce’s return to the limelight. Gordon served as Batman to tell a very specific story that still revolved around Bruce. Bringing him back as Batman at any other point would be strange because of how intimately his time in the role is tied to this idea that he was just filling in. Gordon was Batman, but he was never the Batman, so I highly doubt that he’ll ever put on the cowl again. Especially considering that there are at least five other people in line before him.

1) Flash (Barry Allen)

Barry Allen is one of the most important superheroes in all of DC. His debut as the Flash was the official start of the Silver Age, popularized the multiverse with “The Flash of Two Worlds!,” and served as the genesis for the New 52 with Flashpoint. Arguably, Barry’s biggest moment was his death in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8, where he sacrificed himself to save the multiverse. This action inspired Wally West to become the new Flash and race to heights that Barry never could have imagined. Eventually, Barry returned, and though he served as the Flash for many years, he gave the position of the main Flash to Wally once again. He finally hung up his boots for good when he lost his powers at the end of Absolute Power.

Obviously, Barry is a very prominent character. He returned from the dead after twenty years, and many would argue that his return to the mantle is inevitable. I wouldn’t disagree with those who argue that, but let me pitch my case as to why Barry’s time as the Scarlet Speedster is over. In recent years, with Wally reclaiming the title, Barry has taken the role of advisor and mentor much more seriously, and now even serves as the chronicler of DC’s history. The Flash has one of DC’s most iron-clad legacies, and it has always focused on passing on everything to the next generation. Nobody embodies the Silver Age like Barry, to the point where he even feels like a relic of that time. His best place is next to Wally and helping his friends, but not in the spotlight. As much as I love Barry, his character works best when he’s supporting instead of on center stage.

Which retired DC hero would you love to see make a comeback? Let us know in the comments below!

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