One Last Time

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

I seem to have a taste for stories about aging heroes facing their mortality. The Dark Knight Returns and Spider Man: Reign are some of my favorite comics, despite the latter's goofiness. I like OO7: Skyfall, and The Dark Knight Rises. I like watching the icon, now grey-haired and frail, putting on his iconic costume one last time.

Why do you suppose this is?

[BeerMug Paladin]

Maybe because it gives a character who is often larger than life a bit of humanity that they often lack? Mortality is something that we all have to eventually face, but it's often just flat out missing in stories, so if it's present in a story, that can give the work a dimension that seems unique.

[Creed]

Could be a sense of finality and conclusion for a character, or it could be that these otherwise immortal, invulnerable, never-failing characters are now legitimately faced with death, as this is the proverbial last hurrah.

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

I also tend to enjoy the Doctor Who episodes where whoever the current doctor is faces his impending death before regenerating.

[Kislath]

Maybe it's because that's when they are at their most heroic of all?

[Brother Oni]

The book 'Legend' by David Gemmell is pretty much built on this theme, including some interesting parts where the hero debates 'cheating' on his own legend but decides against it.

It's easy to fight the good fight when you're at your prime but when you're fighting your own body as well, but still decide to do it - that's heroism as Kislath said.

[BWR]

Maybe it's because that's when they are at their most heroic of all?

1. did nothing the entire episode, then regenerated.
2. forced into it as petty punishment
3. heroic, I guess, but nothing out of the ordinary in that respect
4. While he saved the universe, there was nothing about the particular situation that caused him to regenerate. Pretty much an average amount of danger in most respects.
6. Off screen and sudden.
7. gunned down after opening a door.
War. Can't recall if we found out how he regenerated, but I assume he voluntarily changed once his job was done.
10. ruined by his whining. And the fact that we learned he spent another regeneration to stay alive.
11, not a particularly heroic scene. He just hung around the place for centuries shouting his equivalent of "gerroff mah lawn!" while waving a shotgun, then gave up. Sure his options were a bit limited but it certainly didn't strike me as heroic or amazing.

So that leaves 5, 8 and 9.
5. I generally think he's the worst Doctor, tied with Tennant (not bad, just most boring, coupled with generally lame stories and terrible companions). But he knew the dangers and unhesitatingly headed to certain death rather than his normal almost certain death to save a friend. Most importantly, he'd already won at that point. Everything was basically fixed then.

8. Despairing, knowing that what he is about to do is the exact opposite of everything he's come to stand for over his life, he chooses evil to save the universe.

9. Again, knowing the consequences even after he's won he will happily die to save a friend.

[Metahuman1]

You'd probably love Death of and All Star Superman.

[Serpentine]

I don't know why you like them, but it reminds me of two books: The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett, and The Elenium Series by David Eddings (though the latter's more middle age than approaching his end). You might like to check 'em out.

[Cyrion]

Another thing that can be attractive about those characters is depth of character. As folks have said, they've got more than just the crusade going on- they have to balance their ideals with experience and consequences and... That adds complexity to the character. There's can also be a fair bit of pathos to it- consider Cyrano de Bergerac at the end of the play; he's still trying to live up to his reputation, but it costs (and has always cost) him a lot to do it.