No matter which fandoms you follow, it's the same. The artists and authors always have full copyright of all their characters.
And then they kill off some of their best.

Here's the deal.
Once a character's been killed off? Their creator disowned them. That copyright should no longer exist. If you want to disown a creation, do it for real.
All characters dead to their series, should from then on become the property of their fandom.
It's a fairly simple idea, no?

If one's cruel enough to drop a character from their works, they've abandoned it. And from then on? That was their own fault. They never again should be allowed claim or ownership of it.
This applies both to those who have and haven't gained any fame or money out of the creation.

Certainly I'm not the only one who thinks of this.