THE Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of death, and not every passing of a certain character seems to have worked out for the franchise as a whole in the long run. Over the course of the impressive 34 MCU films there are, the series has killed off many fan-favorite characters, from dastardly villains to valiant heroes. As heartbreaking as many of these death scenes may have been at the time, looking back, it’s hard not to feel like the decision to kill off some of these characters hasn’t aged well as the universe has progressed.
There are a few reasons why deaths in the Marvel Cinematic Universe seem like a bad idea in retrospect. Sometimes a new character is killed off shortly after being introduced, not giving them time to appear in more powerful stories. This is a problem particularly with the series’ antagonists, and is an alarming part of the MCU’s villain problem. In other cases, the deaths have overly disrupted an existing narrative, leading to some strange storylines that struggle to work around a major character’s dramatic passing.
10
Mercury
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Wanda Maximoff’s brother, Pietro Maximoff was a villain-turned-hero who appears in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Despite being a speedster with an incredibly quick reaction time, Quicksilver is ultimately shot down by a fighter jet commanded by one of Ultron’s drones, sacrificing himself to save the lives of Hawkeye and an innocent bystander. For several reasons, Quicksilver’s death so early in the MCU negatively impacted the franchise as a whole.
Scarlet Witch has become an extremely important character in the MCU, even if Wanda doesn’t appear in Ágatha all the time. Her reality-warping powers often put her in the spotlight, and it would have been interesting to see how her brother reacted after his sister’s increasingly desperate actions. His unique powers of super speed also deserved more screen time in future fight scenes, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s performance is sadly overlooked. Overall, the drama of Mercury’s death wasn’t powerful enough to make up for his painfully felt absence later on.
9
Black Widow
Avengers: Endgame
Black Widow’s death in Avengers: Endgame it was undoubtedly dark and heartbreaking when it happened, an unexpected sacrifice that allowed Hawkeye to return home to his family at the expense of one of his best friends. However, as the series continued, the original Avenger’s absence was deeply felt in subsequent films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It didn’t help that his long-awaited solo film Black Widow, was a story-in-a-bottle prequel that was only released after the character’s death in a current story timeline, making the timing of its release confusing.
In fact, Black Widow should have had her own movie much sooner, and her death should have been more tied to her real story. For a dedicated agent of espionage and deception on Earth to die at the behest of an alien gem seems strange and out of place to the most grounded spy. In fact, Black Widow’s death might have been better suited to another Avenger with a closer connection to the Infinity Stones, perhaps Thor or Rocket Raccoon.
8
Ultron
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Quicksilver wasn’t the only precipitous death from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to appear Avengers: Age of Ultron. The titular villain himself was one of the biggest wastes of talent in the MCU, with James Spader’s dulcet tones lending himself well to the AI’s charismatic and terrifying potency. Ultron’s comedic importance truly deserved an adaptation that featured him as the central antagonist of an entire multi-film arc, similar to Thanos, but his threat was unfortunately confined to a single forgettable film.
The Disney+ series And if…? made Ultron’s later absence from the plot all the more regrettable, exploring just how terrifying a properly realized Ultron could actually be. Fortunately, the Marvel Cinematic Universe appears to have plans to resurrect the character, with Ultron’s return confirmed for the Vision series, still without a proper title. Hopefully this second chance will give Ultron the time in the spotlight he deserves as a fearsome and complex villain on the same level of importance as Thanos or Doctor Doom.
7
The Three Warriors
Thor: Ragnarok
The Warriors Three were a big part of the Thor mythos in the first two films, but Taika Waititi Thor: Ragnarok quickly got rid of them without thinking twice. Comprised of Hogun the Grim, Fandral the Bold, and Volstagg the Slender, the eclectic trio served as Thor’s best friends in Asgard, as well as elite warriors from across the realm. With each of them possessing unique weapons and personality traits, the Warriors Three were a fan-favorite part of every Thor movie cast.
Unfortunately, Hela massacres the Warriors Three in Asgard without much thought. Fandral and Volstagg are killed quickly, without even landing a single attack, and Hogun is killed not long after, after putting up only a slightly better fight. It was a shame to see such integral Thor characters killed off with so little narrative weight, as Thor doesn’t even have enough time to properly mourn them in the harrowing back-to-back events of Thor. Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War.
6
Maria Colina
Secret Invasion
Maria Hill was one of the most underrated yet vital characters from the early Marvel Cinematic Universe. Played by Cobie Smulders how I Met Your Mother cast fame, Maria Hill is a decorated SHIELD agent and Nick Fury’s right-hand woman, more or less an honorary Avenger. That legacy made it all the more disrespectful when the MCU killed off her character in such an anticlimactic way in the rarely seen and critically panned series. Secret Invasion.
Maria dies in the commotion after the Unity Day attack, cruelly killed with a shot to the stomach by the Skrull Gravik disguised as Nick Fury. Hill slowly bleeds out in the arms of the real Nick Fury, dying believing that her longtime friend and mentor cruelly killed her. This departure was a bitter disappointment for longtime MCU fans who have seen Maria Hill be an integral part of the Avengers initiative since day one. In truth, her death deserved more seriousness than it received.
5
Erik Killmonger
Black Panther
Despite his painfully limited screen time, Erik Killmonger still has a reputation as one of the MCU’s greatest villains of all time. Played unfailingly by Michael B. Jordan, Killmonger’s spirit and motivations for taking control of Wakanda are quite sympathetic, making him one of the few antagonists in the series who was essentially morally correct, even if his methods were detestable. Of course, Killmonger famously dies in Black Pantherthe final fight sequence underwhelming, his last words being some of the most moving in the entire franchise.
It’s no wonder Ryan Coolger found every excuse to bring Michael B. Jordan back as Killmonger in the Ancestral Kingdom in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, even if it was for one painfully brief scene. Coogler and other Marvel producers have since admitted that killing off Killmonger deprived the series of one of its biggest potential villains very soon. Who knows what kind of potential the character could have had if he had survived his injuries at the end of his debut film.
4
Ulysses Klaus
Black Panther
Speaking of villain deaths in Black Panther, Ulysses Klaue’s death shouldn’t seem like a point of contention in the grand scheme of things. Andy Serkis’ delightfully over-the-top performance as the Vibranium-stealing thief is an underrated element of both films in which he appears, relentlessly destroying the scenery with his over-the-top antics. When Killmonger betrays him, it represents the loss of a surprisingly big opportunity for the MCU to get into an upcoming film.
In the comics, the character Ulysses Klaue, Klaw, has his body transformed into a being of pure sound. This bizarre new way of life gives Klaw a whole new set of powers, but it also gives him surprising importance in the story. Secret Wars crossover plot. In the upcoming MCU adaptation of Secret Wars, It would have been nice to have a sonic form of Klaue to achieve the same rhythm as the plot. Instead, the character was simply killed off to sell the threat of Killmonger himself.
3
The Mighty Thor
Thor: Love and Thunder
Thor: Love and Thunder is widely considered one of the weakest MCU films in recent years, and for good reason. The overbearing humor, poor special effects, and further Flanderization of Thor’s character do not bode well for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. If there was one thing the film got incredibly right, it was Thor’s renewed relationship with Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, who has been suspiciously absent from the series ever since. Thor: The Dark World, except pre-existing footage.
Portman gives a fantastic performance with renewed energy alongside Jane Foster, whose cancer diagnosis led her to seek Mjölnir to become the Mighty Thor, adopting her ex-boyfriend’s powers. Unfortunately, Foster succumbs to her illness in the same film, with the explanation being that the crushing power of the hammer drained her body’s resistance at an alarming rate, even though it temporarily cured her. It’s a shame that Jane Foster couldn’t replace the “real” Thor as Earth’s Asgardian hero, considering Thor ends the film living a peaceful off-world life with Love.
2
Gorr the God-Butcher
Thor: Love and Thunder
Surprisingly, Jane Foster/The Might Thor wasn’t the only major new character introduced by Thor: Love and Thunder which was tragically mismanaged. Christian Bale appears in the film as Gorr the God Butcher, a pious alien who gets his hands on a deity-slaying “Black Necrosword” after his chosen God cruelly allows his daughter to starve. In the film’s brief glimpses of him, Gorr is a chilling and fascinating villain, with a very sympathetic situation.
Of course, all of these qualities left him ripe for death in the eyes of the MCU, once again refusing to allow a major villain to persist past his introductory film. Gorr would have been an interesting and powerful threat to keep around, perhaps even more so than his daughter, Love, who Gorr ultimately sacrifices himself to resurrect. Additionally, the All-Black Necrosword comic could be tied to the recent Venom: The Last Dance villain Knull, possibly uniting the MCU with Sony’s Spider-Man villain universe at last.
1
Gamora
Avengers: Infinity War
Perhaps the death with the greatest impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Gamora’s tragic passing in Avengers: Infinity War admittedly works very well for the dark tone of the penultimate film in the Infinity Saga. With the Soul Stone requiring a genuine sacrifice of a loved one’s life before Thanos can obtain it, the Mad Titan tearfully kills his own daughter to gain the power of all six Infinity Stones. Just as this moment works for the Infinity Saga, it’s worth pointing out how upsetting the event was for Gamora’s home series.
Originally, James Gunn intended for Gamora to be the only one to die Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 instead of Yondu, but MCU bosses forced him to keep her alive due to plans to Avengers: Infinity War. This frustrating disturbance in Guardians of the Galaxy The trilogy can be felt in the last two films, with Gunn addressing it pretty much directly through Star-Lord’s frustrated speech in the elevator in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It’s interesting to imagine what UCM it could have been as if the original plans for Gamora’s death were followed through.