History Main / ComicBookLimbo

Sometimes this is a direct choice on the part of the editorial staff. For instance, in the '90s, Hawkman and his family were purposefully put into Comic Book Limbo because the editors decided that he'd only shown up a few years ago -- after other writers had put him into the founding of the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica. So [[ContinuitySnarl an alien spy had been masquerading as him in the interim, except when he hadn't, except that he still knew the characters that knew the alien spy him, and then they didn't know if the reincarnated magical pharaoh Hawkman was related to him or not, and then they merged into the even more confusing Hawk-God]], and... at this point, limbo becomes a mercy.

Characters can be brought back from limbo at the writer's discretion, unlike a ComicBookDeath, where they at least have to give the semblance of having an explanation of why they're back. The likelihood of such a thing happening usually depends entirely on how much the writer likes said character.

** As a bit of a HilariousInHindsight / FunnyAneurysmMoment‎, he ''did'' escape limbo as a member of the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}} and ComicBook/SecretAvengers...only to be [[DroppedABridgeOnHim violently killed off]] as soon as Marvel decided to [[DyingToBeReplaced bring back]] [[LegacyImplosion the Scott Lang version of Ant-Man]] during ''Comicbook/TheChildrensCrusade''.

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* This occurred a lot in the [[Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse Global Guardians campaigns]]. When players left the game, or when individual campaigns shut down, their casts usually faded into the background, never to be seen again. Occasionally one would move from one campaign to another, but it was rare.

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** Comic Book Limbo was later revisited in the Morrison-penned ComicBook/FinalCrisis tie-in Superman Beyond. By Franchise/{{Superman}}. This results in the ''invasion'' of Comic Book Limbo and the King of Limbo (Merryman, one of the Inferior Five) yelling "[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome LIMBO SAYS NO!]]"

* Magog has entered this since leaving the JSA and his own series turned out poorly.

* ''Comicbook/CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew'' after the Oz/Wonderland miniseries generally only ever appeared as background gags or in [[TakeThat Take Thats]] to their comparatively LighterAndSofter tone.

* Of all characters, the ''ComicBook/XMen'' were technically placed in limbo for about half a year in the 70's. Their series was put on hiatus and only reprints were being published with Marvel contemplating cancelling it all together. Luckily, writer Len Wein (who was soon replaced by Chris Claremont) and artist Dave Cockrum restarted the book with an all new team featuring a certain [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} short guy with claws]], and the rest was history.
* The most frequent victims of this (even by X-Men standards) are any of the younger generation X-Men. After Grant Morrison finished up New X-Men, virtually all of them disappeared save one or two who act as sort of 'flagbearers' for that class like Husk and Pixie. The practice became so common that fans call it "becoming wallpaper" since the only time those characters will be seen again is in wide background shots of huge groups of mutants.
* Occasionally occurs in ''ComicBook/TheBeano'' and ''ComicBook/TheDandy'' with past characters disappearing from the two [[AnthologyComic Anthology Comics]] for years before returning. One character, Lord Snooty, disappeared for almost 20 years - then his grandson, Lord Snooty the Third, appeared, heavily implying that the original Snooty was dead (he'd need to be for the younger Snooty to inherit the Lordship), an unusually dark scenario for the Beano. Occasionally characters brought back are heavily redesigned or openly mocked for appearing odd to a modern audience (see Keyhole Kate and Pansy Potter's treatment in one of Kev F Sutherland's strips [http://utproductions.co.uk/scary1.html]).

* Even before the New 52 Reboot, a Superman supporting character named Keith received this treatment. This wouldn't be so strange except that they'd developed the character to the point where he was actually adopted by Perry White.

* [[Comicbook/CrystarCrystalWarrior Crystar, crystal warrior]] and his supporting cast on planet Crystalium haven't been seen since their 1980's series. Despite having been part of a [[MerchandiseDriven toy tie-in,]] Marvel owns all rights to the characters and could bring them back at any time.

* The Marvel MAX universe tends to be DarkerAndEdgier, but its flagship title ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'' doesn't feature a single Marvel hero despite it being the same Frank Castle from Marvel Knights who encountered (read: beat up) Spider-Man, Daredevil and Wolverine. This is likely due to Creator/GarthEnnis' well-established dislike of superheroes (he wrote the aforementioned Marvel Knights Punisher stories) and Frank dealing with real-world issues like drugs and sex trafficking. Eventually ComicBook/NickFury does show up, but his entire backstory isn't touched upon (he's been fighting since WW2 and doesn't age, but nobody knows why).

** Comic Book Limbo was later revisited in the Morrison-penned ComicBook/FinalCrisis tie-in Superman Beyond. By Franchise/{{Superman}}. This results in the ''invasion'' of Comic Book Limbo and the King of Limbo (Merryman, one of the Inferior Five) yelling "[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome LIMBO SAYS NO!]]"

* {{Deadpool}} - After his series was almost cancelled, he had a dream in which he sits in camp with heroes of many closed titles.

* SNK used to have several fighting game series, but most have been apparently abandoned, the the only way some character from the older series ever return is through the KingOfFighters series - so there's [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/snk/images/c/ca/Kofperfect_insert.jpg official artwork of several near-forgotten characters in out-of-focus games waiting for their turn at a KoF return in a locker room]], which is functionally SNK limbo. Some like Hwa Jai have managed to return from it though.

** Comic Book Limbo was later revisited in the Morrison-penned ComicBook/FinalCrisis tie-in Superman Beyond. By {{Superman}}. This results in the ''invasion'' of Comic Book Limbo and the King of Limbo (Merryman, one of the Inferior Five) yelling "[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome LIMBO SAYS NO!]]"

* [[Comicbook/CrystarCrystalWarrior Crystar, crystal warrior]] and his supporting cast on planet Crystalium haven't been seen since their 1980's series. Despite have been part of a [[MerchandiseDriven toy tie-in,]] Marvel owns all rights to the characters and could bring them back at any time.

* Several supporting DC Comics characters vanished after the New 52 Reboot. Over a year later after the reboot, and it was still unclear whether characters like Spoiler, Renee Montoya, and Cassandra Cain were still alive or ever were alive. Fortunately, they did later return.

* ComicBook/{{Darkhawk}} was in limbo for a few, recently returning in a few crossovers.

* ''[[ComicBook/AntMan Irredeemable Ant-Man]]'' - Last issue's cover shows the titular character fighting many forgotten heroes and screaming he will never share their fate.

[[folder: Video Games]]

* ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'' takes place in [[SugarApocalypse Waste]][[ToonTown land]], which is basically Creator/WaltDisney [[WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts Cartoon]] Limbo.

* SNK used to have several fighting game series, but most have been apparently abandoned, the the only way some character from the older series ever return is through the KingOfFighters series - so there's [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/snk/images/c/ca/Kofperfect_insert.jpg official artwork of several near-forgotten characters in out-of-focus games waiting for their turn at a KoF return in a locker room]], which is functionally SNK limbo. Some like Hwa Jai have managed to return from it though.

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* ''Deep Fried'' briefly recruited [[{{Garfield}} Lyman]], mainly known in his home-comic for being absent since the early days of the run, as a replacement for one of the main characters.

Sometimes this is a direct choice on the part of the editorial staff. For instance, in the '90s, Hawkman and his family were purposefully put into Comic Book Limbo because the editors decided that he'd only shown up a few years ago -- after other writers had put him into the founding of the JusticeLeagueOfAmerica. So [[ContinuitySnarl an alien spy had been masquerading as him in the interim, except when he hadn't, except that he still knew the characters that knew the alien spy him, and then they didn't know if the reincarnated magical pharaoh Hawkman was related to him or not, and then they merged into the even more confusing Hawk-God]], and... at this point, limbo becomes a mercy.

[[CListFodder C-List characters are often brought back from limbo just to be killed off]] as part of a TonightSomeoneDies event. For instance, this happened to several third-string ComicBook/TeenTitans members during ''InfiniteCrisis''.

* Several supporting DC Comics characters have so far vanished after the New 52 Reboot. Over a year later after the reboot, and it is still unclear whether characters like Spoiler, Renee Montoya, and Cassandra Cain are still alive or ever were alive.

* ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'' takes place in [[SugarApocalypse Waste]][[ToonTown land]], which is basically WaltDisney [[WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts Cartoon]] Limbo.

* Of all characters, the ''ComicBook/XMen'' were technically placed in limbo for about half a year in the 70's. Their series was put on hiatus and only reprints were being published with Marvel contemplating cancelling it all together. Luckily, Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum restarted the book with an all new team featuring a certain [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} short guy with claws]] and the rest was history.

* Gold Key's ''Hanna-Barbera Fun-In,'' which started in November 1969 and featured H-B characters from 1969 and 1970, went into limbo after issue #10. It returned in February 1974 for five issues and featured characters from mainly 1973 shows (except for issue #13, which featured TheHairBearBunch from 1971).

* ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'' takes place in [[SugarApocalypse Waste]][[ToonTown land]], which is basically WaltDisney [[ClassicDisneyShorts Cartoon]] Limbo.

* The ''Doctor Thirteen: Architecture and Morality'' backup had the {{DCU}}'s premier skeptic exploring Comic Book Limbo and coming into conflict with the shapers of the universe (who bear a strange similarity to the authors working on ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'').

** As a bit of a HilariousInHindsight / FunnyAneurysmMoment‎, he ''did'' escape limbo as a member of the {{Thunderbolts}} and ComicBook/SecretAvengers...only to be [[DroppedABridgeOnHim violently killed off]] as soon as Marvel decided to [[DyingToBeReplaced bring back]] [[LegacyImplosion the Scott Lang version of Ant-Man]] during ''Comicbook/TheChildrensCrusade''.

[[folder: Western Animation]]
* The Void in ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball''.
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