Death (theme)

In the Irregular Webcomic! multiverse, there are multiple Deaths - all found, appropriately, in the theme known as Death. In each theme, when a character dies he or she is collected by an appropriate Death. These are often incredibly specialized, for example people who were killed by a Mars Rover Rock Abrasion Tools were collected by Death of Being Ground By A Mars Rover Rock Abrasion Tool until that Death was promoted after his first collection.

These Deaths are in the employ of a sort of Head Death, who promotes and manages them as necessary. It has been revealed that the Deaths are in fact salaried, and are paid $50.00 (presumably AUS) per soul they collect - meaning that certain jobs, such as Death by Being Sat On by a Giant Frog, are reserved only for those who repeatedly fail in their duties. Death has appeared in almost every theme, collecting or almost collecting certain characters. They usually release them under some technicality, but a few have died permanently.

Many of the "main" Deaths have been promoted, demoted, fired and rehired several times, creating animosity between the characters. Many of the Deaths the theme focuses on are lower end, such as Death of Insanely Overpowered Fireballs or Death of Inhaling Hatmaking Chemicals.

Deaths usually wear props denoting their position, although they sometimes keep these props even after being promoted ( or demoted). Many wear hoods or carry scythes, and all deaths speak in capital letters in the presence of mortals.

All the Deaths live - or at least have their base of operations - on the Infinite Featureless Plane.

There have been suggestions that Death is just one department in a larger scheme, sometimes stated as also involving Taxes or the other traditional departments of the Apocalypse (War, Famine and Plague). At present, however, there is little further information available.

Characters

 * Death of Insanely Overpowered Fireballs: the first Death introduced. Could be considered the Main Character of the theme, as he recurs fairly frequently and his character is probably the best explored. Has held the most jobs, including Death of Being Sat On by a Giant Frog, Death of Licking a Giant Frog, and even a Fate Worse than Death. He was responsible for leading a failed strike against the Head Death.


 * Head Death: distinguishable by his light purple cloak. Is a smug, occasionally arbitrary boss who very frequently demotes employees not up to snuff. His desk demarcates the center of the Death headquarters, and infinite featureless plane. Ironically, this means the plane is not featureless.


 * Death of Choking on a Giant Frog: the main competitor to Fireballs. He is smarmy, and viciously competitive. He has backstabbed Fireballs repeatedly, and is not above using foul play to bring in souls.


 * Death of Being Ground By A Mars Rover Rock Abrasion Tool: another early character, this Death was unlucky enough to be stuck on a job with extremely little future. He finally brought in a soul, was promoted to Death of Insanely Overpowered Fireballs, and promptly blew it. Wears a helmet, and carries a gun instead of a scythe.


 * Death of Being Wrestled to Death by Steve: was actually Wrestled to Death by Steve, creating a metaphysical conundrum. Wears a green cape and a Slouch Hat.


 * Death of Inhaling Hatmaking Chemicals: speaks in a Cockney accent and wears a top hat, claiming that "the class system is dead, guv".


 * Death of a Crushed Pelvis: Only appeared once (aside from crowd scenes), and carries a large axe.


 * Death of Being Impaled by a Javelin: Only one appearance, and was promoted to -Annoying the Cartoonist. He carries a Javelin.


 * Death of Annoying the Cartoonist: See above


 * Death of Being stabbed by a Cutlass: Appears in the pirate strips and carries a cutlass.


 * Death of Drowning In A Reactor Pool: Wears a radiation helmet.


 * Death of Going Back in Time and Murdering Yourself: Me becomes this Death after Going Back in Time and Murdering himself.


 * Death of Suspense: Carries a javelin.


 * Charon: an actual character from Ancient Greek mythology, he ferries the souls of the dead over the river Acheron for a coin, but he doesn't seem too fussed if you haven't got any spare change.

Other Death positions

 * Death of Being a Dirty Rotten Snitch


 * Death of Being Hit With A Sword By Your Own Party Member In A Tragic Case Of Mistaken Identity


 * Death of Being Sat On By A Giant Frog


 * Death of Living For Over 900 Years


 * Fate Worse Than Death (Apparently Fate is a separate department from Death)


 * Death of Being Poisoned By Licking A Giant Frog


 * Death of Being Beaten to a Pulp By Your Fellow Party Members


 * Death of Bad Pizza Deliveries


 * Death of Being Stared at Angrily By A Giant Frog
 * Death of Being Stung In The Chest By A Stingray
 * Death of Inciting A Worker's Rebellion In An Organization With Supernatural Powers Over Life And Death
 * Death By Horrible Pun
 * Death of Being Bitten By A Red Mamba
 * Death of Being Crushed By A Falling Motorcycle
 * Death of Being Run Through The Spleen With A Sword
 * Death of Being Shot By A Firing Squad