Whether the characters are superheroes, supervillains, or perfectly normal people caught in the crossfire,
what follows are some of the most memorable superhero movie deaths ever to darken the
big screen.
Tom Hiddleston's portrayal of Thor's adoptive brother, Loki, is one of the MCU's unquestionable
successes.
As the trickster god whose allegiances seem to change from film to film, Loki has proven
one of the most popular characters in the MCU, whether he's working with or against
Thor and the other heroes.
That's part of why his death in the opening scene of 2018's Avengers: Infinity War proved
not only memorable but shocking.
What really makes Loki's death so surprising is the manner of his death.
“You will never be a god.”
When Thanos literally chokes the life out of his former herald, it's one of
the most brutal moments in the Infinity Saga.
We saw him "die" twice before in the movies, but neither of those fake-outs came close
to the ugliness of watching the Mad Titan calmly and easily wring the last breaths from
the god of mischief.
There were plenty of different theories about how Loki wasn't "really" dead. Between the
announcement he would get his own Disney+ miniseries and the character's history of
fooling his brother into thinking he was dead, it was an understandable reaction
But by the end of Avengers: Endgame, the truth was clear.
While we would eventually become acquainted with a version of the character from a parallel
timeline, Loki hadn't escaped anything.
Clark Gregg's portrayal of Phil Coulson, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., was one of the first things
that made the MCU more than just a collection of disparate superhero movies.
He was there in the beginning trying to get an appointment with Tony Stark in 2008's Iron
Man.
He was there to make sure Stark didn't leave his house in the 2010 follow-up, Iron Man
2, and he mistook the Destroyer for one of Stark's inventions in Thor.
That's why it's such a blow when Loki runs him through in 2012's The Avengers.
“I don’t think I … So that’s what it does.”
Coulson was a big part of the glue that held the Phase 1 films together, and throughout
his appearances, the polite, level-headed agent won over fans' hearts.
No one wanted to see him be one of Loki's victims, which sadly made him the perfect
choice as the sacrificial lamb that caused the team to finally start acting like a team.
Of course, The Avengers wasn't the end for Coulson. It wasn't even the last death he'd
come back from.
He returned from the land of the dead for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and he suffered
death and more rebirth on that show, as well.
Still, those resurrections don't make his death at Loki's hands any less powerful. In
a way, it renders it even more tragic when you finally learn on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
how traumatic his resurrection proves to be.
The murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne has become one of the darkest moments of popular
culture.
Whether it's from 1989's Batman, 2005's Batman Begins, 2016's Dawn of Justice, or 2019's
Joker, it's a scene that's as necessary as it is tragic.
The details aren't always the same. In Batman, for example, they're coming out of a viewing
of The Mask of Zorro, while in Batman Begins, they're leaving an opera early because young
Bruce Wayne freaks out over cast members dressed as monstrous bats.
“Don’t be afraid.”
In Batman, it's a younger Jack Napier who murders the Waynes, while in other versions,
it's either Joe Chill or nameless criminals, like the clown-masked murderer at the end
of Joker.
But the important details are always the same.
The scene always ends with Bruce Wayne's parents stolen from him, and with a young boy finding
himself at the beginning of a path that ends with him becoming one of the most recognizable
superheroes of all time.
Regardless of the movie or who pulls the trigger, Batman is born in Crime Alley.
In a movie filled with superheroes biting the dust, one death hits harder than most.
After Thanos finally assembles all six Infinity Stones in Avengers: Infinity War and makes
his fateful snap, half the universe's living beings die, including a lot of costumed heroes.
Along with taking out a huge chunk of the Avengers, Thanos' snap kills all the Guardians
of the Galaxy except Rocket and Nebula.
Peter Parker's chilling words to Tony Stark are still some of the hardest for us to hear.
"Mr. Stark… I don't feel so good."
It seems likely most audience members knew there was no way Parker's death wouldn't be
reversed, not to mention the deaths of most of the other heroes.
Avengers: Infinity War was Holland's third appearance as Spider-Man, and the consensus
was fans loved this version of the webslinger.
There was no way Marvel would end Holland's time as Spidey so abruptly.
Regardless, when you rewatch the scene, you still hear the fear in Parker's voice, and
you feel the helpless desperation in Stark, along with his guilt for bringing such a young
boy into this dangerous world of interstellar madmen.
You can resurrect Parker a dozen more times, and it won't make his sad death on Titan any
less heartbreaking.
It's surprising how unforgettable the deaths of Howard and Maria Stark are in 2016's Captain
America: Civil War. After all, they're dead at the start of the very first MCU film, Iron
Man. But it's the manner of their death, as well as the identity of the killer, that makes
the scene so powerful.
In 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, we learn that the deaths of Tony Stark's parents
— while officially deemed the result of a car accident — were Hydra-ordered assassinations.
The revelation comes courtesy of the A.I. Arnim Zola, and we don't get many details
until the sequel.
In Civil War, we learn the Starks were assassinated while transporting new batches of the super
soldier formula to S.H.I.E.L.D. The brainwashed Winter Soldier forced them off the road and
finished them both off with his bare hands.
Watching the scene and seeing the Winter Soldier's cold brutality, it's really not surprising
that Zemo correctly guesses that Iron Man would do everything he could to kill Bucky,
whether he was reformed or not.
“It wasn’t him Tony. Hydra had control of his mind.”
“Move.”
“It wasn’t him.”
In 2016's Doctor Strange, the titular hero's mentor, the Ancient One, proves to be much
more deeply flawed than she initially appears. In spite of the loyalty she inspires in the
practitioners of Kamar-Taj, we eventually learn the Sorcerer Supreme has been breaking
her own rules in order to fight back the forces of darkness by tapping into the power of the
Dark Dimension to prolong her life and help keep mystic threats at bay.
It's a betrayal that inspires Kaecilius and his followers to wage war on Kamar-Taj, as
well as eventually convincing Mordo to walk a different path.
The Ancient One's death is no less affecting for these revelations.
When Stephen Strange assumes his astral form to follow the Ancient One's spirit to the
exterior of the hospital, she tells her student the reasons for her dishonesty, as well as
revealing that she's seen her death in visions.
It's a quietly powerful moment.
The Ancient One uses her last words to admit to Strange that she isn't prepared for death.
"But look at me. Stretching one moment out into a thousand, just so that I can watch
the snow."
And then she's gone.
In the final cataclysmic battle of Avengers: Endgame, Thanos means to destroy the entire
universe and everyone in it, all in favor of a new reality filled with servile beings
grateful for Thanos' "vision."
But instead of the Mad Titan snapping his fingers, it's Tony Stark who delivers the
decisive blow to Thanos and his armies. During their fight, Tony grapples with Thanos, and
he lets the villain think he's beaten him when, in reality, Stark steals the Infinity
Stones back.
So when Thanos triumphantly declares, "I am inevitable," and snaps his fingers, nothing
happens.
“And I am Iron Man.”
They're the words 2008's Iron Man end with, and now they're Tony Stark's final words as
well.
He snaps his fingers and lives long enough to see Thanos and his alien armies turn to
dust. Sadly, Tony knows using the Stones will be the last thing he ever does. Only someone
of tremendous physical power can use the Stones and survive.
Peter Parker and Rhodey give Tony their tearful goodbyes, and his wife, Pepper, has to say
goodbye.
"You can rest now."
For the first decade of its existence, Robert Downey Jr.'s amazing portrayal of Tony Stark
was the heart and soul of the MCU. His final scene could never be anything but heartbreaking.
When Wade Wilson's would-be victim Sergei turns up at the mercenary's apartment in 2018's
Deadpool 2, he seems mostly to want to kill Deadpool, but instead, his bullets hit and
kill Wade's main squeeze, Vanessa.
It's a tough death to handle so early in the film, particularly since Vanessa is the same
woman Wade pines over and risks everything to save in the first movie.
Vanessa's death sends Wade spiraling towards self-destruction – a self-destruction that
would be much more literal if he didn't heal himself from everything, including blowing
his own body to pieces.
It also leads to one of Deadpool 2's most brilliant moments.
After catching up to Vanessa's killer, Wade embraces him, fooling us into believing that
Wilson is going to spare him. That is, until Wade steps into traffic while still hugging
his victim, killing Sergei and making his first in a series of futile attempts at guilt-ridden
self-destruction.
It's the most humorless moment in the film, and it's absolutely perfect.
Thankfully, Vanessa is one of the lucky people Wade saves with Cable's time-travel device
in a mid-credits scene, which he balances by killing two different versions of himself
— the Deadpool of 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the one who wrote the script
for 2011's Green Lantern.
In 2008's The Dark Knight, one of the deepest wounds Joker makes is the murder of Bruce
Wayne's old friend Rachel.
Convinced Batman and the cops won't have enough time to save both of them, Joker reveals the
separate locations where he's keeping Rachel and Harvey Dent hostage amidst large amounts
of explosives.
But the Clown Prince of Crime isn't completely honest.
Correctly predicting Batman will prioritize saving Rachel, he lies about which hostage
is at which location. Instead of Rachel, Batman finds Harvey Dent, and in the meantime, the
Gotham PD isn't fast enough to get to Rachel.
Then the bomb explodes, killing Rachel.
One small but desperately important detail about the scene that helps make it so powerful
is the timing. When it comes to our heroes, if they're going to die, we usually expect
their deaths to be portrayed as something with great ceremony and sentimentality.
The good guys always get just enough time to give us their final, noble words.
But in Rachel's case, her death cuts her off mid-sentence. It's merciless and leaves us
shaken.
“Harvey it’s OK ... it’s alright … listen … someone”
Wolverine isn't the only mutant hero we say goodbye to in 2017's Logan. His clone murders
Logan's old friend and mentor, Professor X, and Caliban sacrifices himself to help stop
the Reavers.
But it's the memory of Logan's death at the end of the movie, after he helps save Laura
and her friends from the Reavers, that inspires the most tears.
After an unnaturally long and hard life, Logan finally succumbs to his injuries. The adamantium
in his blood has poisoned him, destroying his mutant ability to heal himself from the
horrible wounds his clone inflicts upon him.
As he's dying, Logan seems almost grateful to finally feel what it's like to die. He
uses his last words to warn Laura to not go down the same path he did.
“Don’t be what they made you.”
You can argue back and forth about what Logan means for the X-Men movie continuity, but
its sad ending feels like the only possible way to conclude the story of Marvel's hardened,
grizzled warrior.
Logan is as bleak and beautiful as any Western, and its hero's noble death gives him a well-deserved
rest after literally centuries of war.
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