5 Saddest DC Origin Stories Of All Time, Ranked

The world of comics loves sad origin stories for its characters. The DC Universe is no different, where it seems like every protagonist needs to become an orphan or experience a serious life trauma on their journey to becoming a superhero. Believe it or not, even these tales aren't always the saddest. There are others that deliver more aggressive and devastating emotional gut punches.

From events embodying Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" rock ballad to alternate realities that see parents lose their children in horrifying circumstances, DC isn't afraid to push the reader's emotions to the brink. As a matter of fact, a few of these stories may result in readers looking at certain characters with a different set of eyes.

With that said, let's check out the saddest DC origins of all time, ranked. Remember, these are from the comics, so tales from films and TV shows have been excluded here.

Post-Infinity Crisis, many DC characters received updated origin stories. One of them was Rory Regan, aka Ragman. In 1991's "Ragman" #1 — by Robert Loren Fleming, Keith Giffen, and Pat Broderick — Rory was introduced as a former Vietnam War veteran who was plagued by voices. He also helped his father, Gerry, at the pawn shop Rag 'n' Tatters. However, Gerry was a good person who aided everybody — even if he had no use for what they were selling.

When drug dealers wanted to use Rag 'n' Tatters for their own purposes, Gerry fought back, but they murdered him. In the aftermath, Rory discovered an old box. As soon as he opened it, the rags inside bonded to him, giving him magical superpowers and providing an answer to the voices he'd heard. Each of the rags represented the soul of someone sinister, which came in handy for Ragman, since these souls would take the brunt of any attacks, but also give their strength to Ragman. Every time he defeated a bad guy, Ragman would gain a new addition to his Suit of Souls — sort of like Shang Tsung from "Mortal Kombat."

Being surrounded by such evil eventually took its toll, as Ragman struggled to contain the souls trying to break free to wreak havoc again. Thanks to a little help and sacrifice, he was able to rein them back. Let's not forget, though, that Ragman's origin also works as an allegory for the PTSD many war veterans experience.

By this point, most people know Batman's origin story, whereby the young Bruce Wayne witnesses his parents, Thomas and Martha, being gunned down in an alley. This leads him on a quest to become the Dark Knight, who protects Gotham City from evildoers. What would happen, though, if Bruce was the one who died that fateful night? That's what DC's Flashpoint timeline explores.

Introduced in 2011's "Flashpoint" #1 — by Geoff Johns, Andy Kubert, and Sandra Hope — this universe's Batman is Thomas Wayne. Instead of him and his wife, Martha, dying after being confronted by Joe Chill, it's Bruce who passed away after being shot. Like Bruce in the main universe, Thomas sought justice — but a more brutal form of it. Following Bruce's death, Thomas beat Chill to death and put on the cape and cowl to hunt down villains. Having said that, the no-kill rule didn't apply to Thomas' modus operandi, as this vigilante demanded blood.

Simultaneously, the tragic event of seeing Bruce die resulted in Martha snapping and turning into Flashpoint's Joker. This twist put Thomas and Martha at instant odds, but it also added a completely different dynamic to the story that gets played out across multiple narrative arcs. For Thomas, he lost both his wife and son on the same night, and it turned him into the most complex version of Batman yet. At times, you wonder: is he the hero or villain of his own story?

DC has many animal characters running around, and more than a few of them have sad origin stories. However, the Red Lantern Dex-Starr may be the one that brings every animal lover to tears. It's a tale that doesn't really have a happy ending if you think about it.

In Geoff Johns, Shawn Davis, and Jamie Grant's "Tales of Red Lantern Corps: Dex-Starr," which appears in 2010's "Green Lantern" #55, readers find out plenty about Dex-Starr. This short story reveals how Dex-Starr was an abandoned cat named Dexter. He was taken in by a lady who loved him, and he adored her in return. Unfortunately, an unknown figure broke into her apartment one evening and murdered her, even though Dexter tried to defend her. With the apartment now a murder scene, the police mercilessly kicked Dexter out. A group of miscreants found Dexter in the alley and decided they wanted to throw him off a bridge. Why? Because they're horrible people.

As Dexter was about to plummet to his death, a red ring found him and chose him to become a Red Lantern, because of the anger burning in his heart. Dexter turned into Dex-Starr, promising to avenge his fallen owner. All this kitty wanted was a home and to be loved, but it was brutally taken from him. It's Ghibli-tier heartbreaking.

Victor Fries is easily the most sympathetic Batman villain in the Dark Knight's rogues' gallery. However, as both Mister Zero and Mister Freeze, he didn't have much of a sad origin story in DC beyond his gimmick of an ice gun and needing a special suit for his cold hands (and heart). This changed after his introduction in "Batman: The Animated Series" — the best superhero TV show ever made — which gave him a backstory involving his wife, Nora. Subsequently, this became canonical in the comics.

In 1997's "Batman: Mr. Freeze" — by Paul Dini, Mark Buckingham, and Wayne Faucher — Freeze receives his ultimate tearjerking origin. Here, readers discover how the young Victor Fries' parents thought him to be a strange child as he tried to preserve the lives of insects and animals by freezing them. In college, Victor fell in love with Nora, and they soon married. They were happy, as he worked as a science teacher and experimented with cryogenics. Not too long into their marriage, though, Nora was diagnosed with cancer. Victor pleaded with companies like LexCorp, Star Labs, and Wayne Tech for assistance, but all of them turned him away. So, Victor began to work for GothCorp and eventually proposed a cryogenic healing solution.

GothCorp wasn't sold on Victor's idea. As Nora's health deteriorated, Victor decided there was no time for corporate chicanery and put her in a cryogenic chamber. Discovering Victor's plan, GothCorp tried to shut him down. In the ensuing chaos, an explosion exposed Victor to the chamber's coolant, thus creating Mr. Freeze, who continued his never-ending search for a cure for his dearly beloved.

There's a dark history to Green Lantern — especially in terms of the Guardians of the Universe who oversee the Corps. Not every action taken by them has been wise, such as the massacre of Sector 666 — Atros' home planet.

Eons ago, the Guardians created robot Manhunters, who were tasked with tracking down criminals across the galaxy. These robots started to glitch, taking their roles a little too seriously and resulting in the genocide of Sector 666, whereby only a few survived. In 2011's "Red Lanterns" #1 — by Peter Milligan, Ed Benes, and Rob Hunter — an extra layer is added to the story, demonstrating how the Guardian known as Krona was responsible for reprogramming the Manhunters for his own nefarious purposes.

Readers discover Atros' past and how he was a psychologist who wanted to help others. When the Manhunters arrived on his planet, he fought to find his wife and daughter, who were still alive. However, he witnessed his wife and daughter's horrific murders, including how his daughter's doll disintegrated into dust. This tragedy of seeing his family and world destroyed led him on a quest of revenge to take down the Guardians and anyone associated with them. Ultimately, this resulted in him creating his own Power Battery powered by rage, forming the Red Lanterns, and using the name of Atrocitus moving forward. He's a villain, yes, but sheesh — this dude has been through the most.