Before Infinity War, real and permanent death among heroes was rare in the MCU, but now
as we stare down Endgame, it seems to be more of a possibility than ever before, and many
of our favorite characters might not escape it this time.
So it's time to talk odds.
If you really wanted to predict possible outcomes like Doctor Strange meditating over the Time
Stone, you could say that Carol Danvers, played by Brie Larson, can absolutely die in just
her second film.
You could argue that she's the best candidate to go toe to toe with Thanos while the other
surviving Avengers are working on their secret plan to undo the snap.
Being in the line of fire would place her in clear mortal danger.
And it could be poetic that Carol, who only just arrived back on Earth, would sacrifice
herself like the space god she is.
You could even argue that, since there are more than two decades separating Endgame and
Captain Marvel, Carol wouldn't really even be "dead."
Marvel could keep churning out movies set in the intervening years.
You'd be wrong.
Carol is the vanguard leading the charge into a new age of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
She'll stick around, and her chance of survival is very high.
Everyone's favorite raccoon with Bradley Cooper's voice is already in a pretty bad spot when
Endgame begins.
He's on an unfamiliar planet, far from home.
As far as he knows, he's the only surviving member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and,
most importantly, he watched his best friend Groot crumble to dust before his eyes.
Rocket and Thor had a conversation in Infinity War about how hard you fight when it seems
you've got nothing left to lose.
"I could lose a lot.
Me, personally, I could lose a lot."
For Rocket, that time has arrived.
Rocket and Groot have become sort of unofficial mascots for the comic side of the MCU.
With a third Guardians movie on the way, it's hard to imagine a world in which they don't
both pull through this, even if Rocket does end up having to wear one of those prosthetics
he finds so hilarious.
His chance of survival?
Moderately high.
Endgame's marketing materials have been very clear about what the surviving heroes' goal
is: "Take it all back…"
"Whatever it takes."
That's a pretty clear mission statement that gives every major character a redemptive arc
as they each quest for personal vengeance.
Bruce Banner, played by Mark Ruffalo, in particular has a goal.
Endgame will have to address Banner's sudden inability to handle the Hulk, who has retreated
into his host body and refused to fight on behalf of Banner and his friends.
This left our heroes at an apparent disadvantage during the Battle of Wakanda.
While Banner overcame it, he and the Hulk still have to have a conversation that will
resolve in Endgame.
That resolution could ultimately end with the Hulk choked out by Thanos' tremendous
power, but that seems unlikely.
Possible remaining romantic tension with Black Widow just gives him too much to do in the
MCU besides dying.
His chance of survival is moderate.
Some may argue that Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, can't possibly die in
Avengers: Endgame because she has a movie in development.
But it's also true that her film could be a prequel about her early years as a spy,
which would make her current status a moot point.
There's honestly a strong case for killing Natasha, and it all goes back to the very
first Avengers film.
"I got red in my ledger.
I'd like to wipe it out."
She's a character who's always had tension bubbling beneath her cool exterior, which
suggests she will never be sated unless can die heroically to wipe away that red.
That said, there are other characters whose deaths would probably be more compelling to
the overall story, and it's very easy to see Natasha's being pretty useful in the MCU going
forward.
There's a world in which she could become the new generation's Nick Fury, an advisor
and spymaster who's seen it all, done it all, and has a cool head under pressure.
Her chance of survival is moderate.
Paul Rudd's Ant-Man clearly has a big role to play in Endgame.
In his previous films, two solo adventures and a supporting role in Captain America:
Civil War, he's primarily played a comedic role.
He sat out Infinity War, but his journey to the Quantum Realm at the end of Ant-Man and
the Wasp suggests he might have some scientific answers for how the team can change history
and defeat Thanos.
He's front-and-center this time around, which means a greater risk of death.
The Wasp could very easily be resurrected and take his place in a future Avengers lineup,
and his daughter Cassie, a Marvel Comics superhero in her own right, could take over.
But Scott Lang still seems to have more heroic potential left in him, so let's hope he gets
to keep having his little, or sometimes giant, adventures.
He has a moderate chance of survival.
In the lead-up to Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, two major character deaths
have been discussed more than any other.
One we'll get to later, but the other is Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man.
Tony Stark is the godfather of the MCU, the original hero who launched it all.
Sometimes he's saved the world.
Sometimes he caused the problems.
But he's always been there, and his journey has all been building to this confrontation
with Thanos.
What better way for it to end than for Tony and the Mad Titan to go down at the same time?
It would be a poetic ending, but is it really what's in store for Tony Stark?
If any of the MCU's major characters could have a life beyond superheroics, funding and
supporting and cheering on future Avengers as a benefactor, it's him, so his chance of
survival is questionable.
The journey of Chris Hemsworth's Thor as a fallen hero with nothing left to lose, pushing
for one last shot at victory makes up the backbone of Infinity War.
His story runs from the very first scene all the way to the seconds before the snap, when
he embeds Stormbreaker in Thanos' chest.
Heading into Endgame, all the Avengers bear a burden of loss and defeat, but Thor bears
it more than the others.
It's easy to see how Thor could be marching to his own death in Endgame, and how his final
act of redemption could be one of self-sacrifice.
Chris Hemsworth has been in the MCU since 2011, so his retirement could be imminent.
But simply sending Thor off to try and rebuild Asgard, having restored himself as a hero,
could be just as satisfying.
So his chance of survival is questionable.
James "Rhodey" Rhodes, a.k.a. War Machine, is one of the MCU's original superheroes.
He was introduced in its very first film, played by Terrence Howard, gained a superhero
identity in Iron Man 2, in which Don Cheadle took on the role, and has been a player many
major stories since.
The running joke has always sort of been that Rhodey isn't quite as relevant and powerful
as Iron Man, which is noted in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
"Why do I even talk to you guys?
Everywhere else that story kills."
"That's the whole story?"
"Yes, the War Machine story."
"It's very good then."
His primary role in Captain America: Civil War was as a casualty, and in Infinity War
he never rose above supporting character status.
War Machine seems primed for an Endgame appearance that could elevate him by ending his story
with a blaze of glory.
Watching Rhodey go down fighting could be a satisfying way to bid farewell to a character
who's been around for more than a decade, and it could give Tony Stark the drive to
keep funding the Avengers in his honor.
For those reasons, we're putting his chance of survival at moderately low.
Hawkeye was conspicuously absent from Infinity War, but his emotional journey is going to
be a major part of Endgame.
Avengers: Age of Ultron told us that when he's not out saving the world, Clint Barton,
played by Jeremy Renner, has a family he loves dearly.
And the second Endgame trailer revealed a mentor relationship with a young girl who
could be a future Hawkeye.
By Endgame, Clint has apparently lost all that.
He's a vigilante, taking on what's left of the world through violence before his old
friend Natasha comes to retrieve him.
That sets up two potential outcomes.
Either he does his part as a member of a successful mission and reunites with his resurrected
family, or he dies trying to give them their lives back.
Both are very possible, but watching a broken Clint Barton make the final sacrifice on behalf
of his children seems like an emotional power play the filmmakers might not be able to resist.
His chance of survival is moderately low.
In the comic The Infinity Gauntlet, Nebula is a key character.
She actually ends up wielding the Infinity Gauntlet herself.
We're not predicting anything like that for Karen Gillan's film version of Nebula, but
she could have an important role in Endgame.
Nebula comes into the film as the one remaining character who knows Thanos intimately, and
she's also well aware of what he did to her sister Gamora in Infinity War.
Since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Nebula has been on a redemptive arc that led to her
fighting alongside the Avengers and the Guardians.
Now, with a possible way to defeat Thanos in sight, she's not likely to slow down.
Endgame presents a very clear opportunity for Nebula to sacrifice herself.
It's hard to see her walking away alive, so her chance of survival is low.
Steve Rogers has been knocked down yet again by a bully.
He's sure to stand up with his fists raised and declare,
"I could do this all day."
Captain America, played by Chris Evans, turned out to have a limited role in Avengers: Infinity
War, but the snap has left him as the de facto leader of the remaining Avengers on Earth.
Trailers are placing him in a key position as the man who will lead the fight to take
back the universe.
Repeated hints that Evans is done with the role after eight years suggest that Captain
America is going to die.
We can't know for sure, even if it is true that Evans is walking away from the role after
Endgame.
Captain America could simply quietly retire to a cabin somewhere, content to split logs.
He could step away from active Avengers duty.
But none of that would be very climactic, so he could very well go down fighting, leaving
a grateful universe to mourn him while Tony Stark continues to protect Earth.
It's impossible to know for sure, but the death of the First Avenger certainly seems
to be approaching.
His chance of survival is very low.
Even as we talk about all these horrible character deaths, Avengers: Endgame is a film in which
more major characters could end up resurrected than permanently dead.
For example, Black Panther and Spider-Man have movies approaching so we shouldn't expect
them to stay dead.
Nor are Shuri, the Wasp, Bucky, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, and Vision likely to stay down, since
they all seem to have promising futures.
In a world in which the Avengers restore many of their friends, what does death really mean?
It's a comic book world, so deaths are almost never permanent in the long run.
Will that change here?
One thing that seems very clear about Endgame is that it's bound to rewrite the rules of
the MCU.
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