Worst "Got Better"

[Randy Jackson]

We're all quite familiar with the killing off of beloved characters, only to have them revived sometime later. It's something I don't think will ever go away, and quite frankly I don't totally mind it, as most characters that do die do so for short-sighted or poor reasons. I think all of us accept this particular trope as part of superhero comics whether we like it or not.

However, what I want to hear is what is the most implausible, ridiculous manner of revival that you can think of?  What explanation for a character's sudden return really mad you think, "Shyeah, right. Go pull the other one." What's the explanation that made you think "wow, the creative team must have been hitting the sauce really hard when they came up with this one."

I would say that Elseworlds, What If's and Imaginary Stories should not count.

I'm going to nominate the revival of Alfred Pennyworth aka the Outsider, for the very simple reason that his body was crushed by a very large boulder. Even if that didn't kill him, it should have left him crippled for life rather than giving him strange super powers and an evil bent. Not to mention that I sincerely doubt that Batman and Robin could have made such a mistake and believed him dead when he must have had some sort of pulse.

Let's hear your choices for the worst "Got Better".

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

I had a math teacher who had previously also been an English teacher use the diagramming of sentences as a way of showing students how to break down a word problem into the correct equation. It was, however, the most useful example of said exercise I ever witnessed. I did see it a couple of times in foreign-language classes, too.

~Off-topic Tim

[JohnD]

And I thought I was a wise-acre.

On related note, it was once a stated sentiment that having  a strong command of the English language, through both the use of proper grammar and the maintenance of a wide ranging vocabulary, would serve as an advantage to you. As a former supervisor with over thirty years of experience in an office environment, I will say that this is no longer the case. Using simple words, such as "henceforth", in a written directive will earn you a trip to your boss's office, wherein you will coached in the art of "speaking in a way your employees can relate to".  

Commander Benson said:

John DeRubbo said:

I did get your point Commander (I was being a wise-acre).

Oh, I knew that, Mr. DeRubbo, and didn't mind.  I was more addressing the entire group of posts pointing out non-standard pronunciations of place names.

I am impressed that your daughter's elementary school is teaching algebra.  However, I am not surprised that United States history is getting the short shrift.  It is fortunate that I have no direct reason to sit in on a secondary-school U.S. history class or an elementary-school class while U.S. history is being taught because I'd probably get outraged at how the tone of the teaching has changed.  (Such as, I've heard of cases where so-called valid justifications for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are given.)

Equally, I would be dismayed at how English is taught.  One thing I've learnt from reading such experts as Richard Lederer and Bill Walsh and Paul Brians is that when English is taught in elementary and secondary school, quite a few misconceptions slip in.  For example, there are no prohibitions against ending a sentence in a preposition or splitting an infinitive or beginning a sentence with "And".  Yet, these were all things I was told in school were no-nos.

And are they still diagramming sentences in English classes?  I have never endured a more pointless exercise in school.  

Based upon the abysmal number of grammar errors and improperly used words I come across, in all media, to-day, I suspect the current level of English education is even worse than in my day.