History Main / DyingToBeReplaced

* Steve Rogers, the original ComicBook/CaptainAmerica was killed off after the end of the ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' crossover, with his mantle passing to his former sidekick Bucky. Bucky himself apparently died during the ''ComicBook/FearItself'' storyline (suspiciously around the time the [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger Captain America movie]] was coming out) so Steve could reclaim the mantle. In a twist, it turned out that Bucky's death had merely been a fake-out so that he could return to the Winter Soldier identity.

* The collected edition of Creator/GrantMorrison's ''Comicbook/NewXMen'' run revealed that he had planned to kill off Rogue and replace her with a teen successor who was closer to the character's depiction in ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' and the [[Film/XMenFilmSeries live-action movies]]. As Creator/ChrisClaremont had claimed Rogue as part of his ''X-Treme X-Men'' title, Morrison was unable to follow through with this plan.
* Steve Rogers, the original ComicBook/CaptainAmerica was killed off after the end of the ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' crossover, with his mantle passing to his former sidekick Bucky. Bucky himself apparently died during the ''Comicbook/FearItself'' storyline (suspiciously around the time the [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger Captain America movie]] was coming out) so Steve could reclaim the mantle. In a twist, it turned out that Bucky's death had merely been a fake-out so that he could return to the Winter Soldier identity.

* Tempest, the original Aqualad, was killed during ''Blackest Night'', mere months before DC introduced the new Aqualad from ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' into their continuity.

* This is one of the reasons [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark Kenny]] was KilledOffForReal at the end of Season 5, rather than in the [[TheyKilledKennyAgain usual fashion]]. The final episode was meant to establish Butters' {{ascen|ded Extra}}sion to being one of {{the Protagonist}}s and his replacing of Kenny, who the creators [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness had gotten tired of]]. [[BackFromTheDead It didn't take for long, though.]]

* A rather complicated example in ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'': originally, there was K9999, but Creator/{{SNK}} felt [[CreatorsPest dissatisfied with him]] due to [[CaptainErsatz being a brazen knockoff]] of ''Manga/{{AKIRA}}'''s Tetsuo Shima and decided, from ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2002: [[UpdatedRerelease Unlimited Match]]'' onward, to [[BuryYourArt erase all traces of him]] in favor of propping up the more sympathetically portrayed [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Nameless]]. Then K9999 got rebranded and returned to canon in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'' as Krohnen, but there was still the problem of what to do with Nameless. SNK's answer? Kill him off in ''VideoGame/KOFAllStars''!