Home
Movies
Every major death in the MCU, from Iron Man to Avengers: Endgame

Every major death in the MCU, from Iron Man to Avengers: Endgame

Over the last 11 years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has amassed millions of fans and dollars — but it’s also racked up one hell of a body count

By Devan Coggan

May 02, 2018 at 11:36 AM EDT

Skip gallery slides

1 of 56

**The End of the line**

Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2019

Over the last 11 years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has amassed millions of fans and ticket sales — but it’s also racked up one hell of a body count. Avengers: Endgame, released April 26, bumped up the casualty total even more, with some of the series' most beloved heroes and villains meeting an untimely end. So, we’ve rounded up the ultimate list of all the big deaths from all 22 MCU films. (An important note: We decided to focus on the major character deaths — sorry to the giant space squid in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.)

Obviously, major spoilers for the entire MCU ahead.

2 of 56

Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson)

Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2019

Died in: Avengers: Endgame

Johansson's morally ambiguous spy-turned-heroine sacrificed herself to earn the Soul Stone, allowing Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye to live out the rest of his days with his family. Consider her ledger cleared.

3 of 56

Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.)

Credit: Marvel Studios

Died in: Avengers: Endgame

After more than a decade, Downey's genius billionaire playboy philanthropist said goodbye, going out like a true hero: sacrificing himself by using the Infinity Gauntlet to defeat Thanos for good. Tony Stark may be gone, but his legacy in the MCU will linger.

Continued on next slide.

4 of 56

Thanos (Josh Brolin)

Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2019

Died in: Avengers: Endgame

A two-for-one special! After wreaking havoc in Infinity War, the big purple baddie died in Endgame twice — first after Thor decapitated him in the present timeline and then after Tony used the Infinity Gauntlet to snap him out of existence.

5 of 56

Nebula (Karen Gillan)

Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2019

Died in: Avengers: Endgame

Here's where things get tricky: Yes, Nebula technically was killed during Avengers: Endgame. But it was a past version of herself from 2014, killed by her own future version (who has gone from working with Thanos to actively trying to destroy him). So yes, she died, but she's also still alive within the MCU. Time travel, man!

6 of 56

Wendy Lawson, a.k.a. Mar-Vell (Annette Bening)

Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2019

Died in: Captain Marvel

Mar-Vell, we hardly knew ya. Bening's intergalactic warrior was killed after fleeing to Earth and posing as a scientist — but not before inspiring Brie Larson's Captain Marvel to pursue heroism on her own.

Continued on next slide.

7 of 56

Loki (Tom Hiddleston)

Credit: Chuck Zlotnick/©Marvel Studios 2018

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

The God of Mischief has faked his death multiple times before, but this one’s probably going to stick: Loki met his end at the hands of Thanos after trying to save his brother, Thor.

8 of 56

Gamora (Zoe Saldana)

Credit: Marvel Studios

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

A lot of people bite the dust — heh, dust — in Infinity War, but perhaps the most emotional demise belonged to Gamora, who tried to kill her adoptive father Thanos, then herself, before he sacrificed her in exchange for the Soul Stone. And you thought your family had issues.

Fortunately, a tricky bit of time-travel brought Gamora back in Avengers: Endgame (or at least the 2014 version of her).

9 of 56

Vision (Paul Bettany)

Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2018

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Vision holds the distinct honor of dying not once but twice in the span of roughly three minutes: First, his beloved Scarlet Witch destroys the Mind Stone embedded in his forehead to prevent Thanos from getting it, and then Thanos rewinds time to kill him AGAIN and get the Mind Stone anyway! Sorry, dude.

Continued on next slide.

10 of 56

Heimdall (Idris Elba)

Credit: Jasin Boland/Marvel Studios

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Justice for Heimdall, who died during Thanos’ massacre of the Asgardian refugees. Also, justice for Idris Elba, who is so good and was so underutilized in the MCU.

11 of 56

The Nova Corps

Credit: Everett Collection

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

We don’t actually see any of the Nova Corps kick the bucket in Infinity War, but the offscreen destruction of Xandar is mentioned. Presumably, Thanos killed Nova Corps members like Nova Prime (Glenn Close) and Corpsman Dey (John C. Reilly) as part of his quest to obtain the Power Stone.

12 of 56

The Collector (Benicio Del Toro)

Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2014

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Another “presumed dead.” Thanos’ acquisition of the Reality Stone and his fiery destruction of the Collector’s Museum are both pretty good indicators that Benicio del Toro’s quirky Collector met an untimely end off screen.

Continued on next slide.

13 of 56

Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan)

Credit: Marvel/Disney

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

And so we arrive at the very long list of Thanos’ vaporized victims. The Mad Titan wiped out half of the universe’s population at the end of Infinity War, turning them to dust with a snap of his fingers. The first to fade was Bucky Barnes, a.k.a. the Winter Soldier, a.k.a. the White Wolf.

Fortunately, the Avengers were able to undo Thanos' devastation with a snap of their own, bringing Bucky and others back from the dead.

14 of 56

Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman)

Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2018

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

The king is dead. Long live the king. T’Challa was among those who faded away at the end of Infinity War, leaving behind a mourning nation. Still, T'Challa made his triumphant return in Endgame — good thing, too, considering that Marvel has already confirmed a Black Panther 2.

15 of 56

Groot (Vin Diesel)

Credit: Marvel Studios

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

Everyone’s favorite talking space tree already (sort of) died once in Guardians of the Galaxy, but here, he’s one of the casualties of Thanos’ finger snap. NOT COOL, THANOS.

Continued on next slide.

16 of 56

Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen)

Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2018

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

Wanda Maximoff has been through some stuff. First, she watches her brother Quicksilver die. Then she has to murder her boyfriend, Vision, to prevent a purple psychopath from killing him. Then she has to watch the purple psychopath kill him anyway. And then she herself gets murdered by the purple psychopath! Fortunately she gets her revenge in Endgame.

17 of 56

Falcon (Anthony Mackie)

Credit: Marvel Entertainment

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

Another victim of Thanos’ snap. Hasn’t Steve Rogers been through enough? You didn’t have to go and kill his two best friends! Luckily for Sam, he's brought back in Endgame — and he gets a pretty cool shield out of it, too.

18 of 56

Spider-Man (Tom Holland)

Credit: Marvel Studios

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

We didn't want you to go either, Peter.

Continued on next slide.

19 of 56

Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch)

Credit: Marvel Studios

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

The Sorcerer Supreme used the Time Stone to view 14,000,605 possible outcomes to the Avengers’ clash with Thanos, with only one scenario in which they win. Fortunately for Strange, he knew what he was doing when he gave Thanos the Time Stone and allowed himself to fade away.

20 of 56

Mantis (Pom Klementieff)

Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2018

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

Of all the Guardians, the only ones to survive Infinity War were Rocket and Nebula. That meant we had to temporarily say goodbye to our favorite insectile empath.

21 of 56

Drax (Dave Bautista)

Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2018

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

The gray-skinned, literal-minded warrior faded away before he could get his revenge on Thanos.

Continued on next slide.

22 of 56

Star-Lord (Chris Pratt)

Credit: ©Marvel Studios 2018

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

Peter Quill has faced off against intergalactic psychopaths and his all-powerful god-dad, but he ultimately met his end at the hands of his girlfriend’s adoptive father. Talk about daddy issues.

23 of 56

The Black Order

Credit: Marvel Studios

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Thanos’ creepy compadres each met their own demise in Infinity War. Corvus Glaive (Michael James Shaw) was stabbed by Vision. Cull Obsidian (Terry Notary) was shot into a Wakandan force field and explodes. Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) got sucked out into space, Aliens-style. And Proxima Midnight (Carrie Coon) was squished by a giant alien machine. I guess those are the occupational hazards that come with hanging with Thanos.

24 of 56

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)

Credit: Everett Collection

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

Fury didn’t appear on screen in Infinity War until the post-credits scene, where he, too, found himself fading away. He did, however, manage to reach out to a helpful ally and utter one last profanity before he disappeared.

Continued on next slide.

25 of 56

Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders)

Credit: Zade Rosenthal/Marvel Studios

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

The former S.H.I.E.L.D. deputy director disappeared along with her boss during the end-credits scene.

26 of 56

Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan)

Died in: Black Panther

After terrorizing Wakanda, the MCU’s best villain dies in his cousin T’Challa’s arms at the end of Black Panther. He also gets the most memorable final line in the entire MCU: “Just bury me in the ocean with my ancestors that jumped from the ships ‘cause they knew death was better than bondage.”

27 of 56

Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis)

Died in: Black Panther

The one-armed arms dealer was betrayed by his former ally Killmonger and shot in the head.

Continued on next slide.

28 of 56

N'Jobu (Sterling K. Brown)

Credit: Marvel Studios

Died in: Black Panther

The king's brother (and T'Challa's uncle) was murdered after T'Chaka discovered that he had betrayed Wakanda and begun smuggling Vibranium.

29 of 56

Zuri (Forest Whitaker)

Died in: Black Panther

The beloved shaman met his end after begging Killmonger to spare T'Challa's life in ritual combat. Instead, Killmonger turned his spear on him.

30 of 56

Hela (Cate Blanchett)

Credit: Jasin Boland/Marvel Studios

Died in: Thor: Ragnarok

Turns out that the Goddess of Death can die, too: Thor's sister was destroyed in the apocalyptic explosion that leveled Asgard.

Continued on next slide.

31 of 56

Odin (Anthony Hopkins)

Credit: Everett Collection

Died in: Thor: Ragnarok

The King of Asgard passed away at the beginning of Ragnarok, leaving his two sons to face off against the evil daughter he had imprisoned for centuries.

32 of 56

Skurge (Karl Urban)

Credit: Everett Collection

Died in: Thor: Ragnarok

Hela's cowardly executioner found his courage and helped to defend the fleeing Asgardian refugees — only to get stabbed by his former boss.

Account

Every major death in the MCU, from Iron Man to Avengers: Endgame

1 of 56

The End of the line

1 of 56

2 of 56

Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson)

2 of 56

3 of 56

Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.)

3 of 56

4 of 56

Thanos (Josh Brolin)

4 of 56

5 of 56

Nebula (Karen Gillan)

5 of 56

6 of 56

Wendy Lawson, a.k.a. Mar-Vell (Annette Bening)

6 of 56

7 of 56

Loki (Tom Hiddleston)

7 of 56

8 of 56

Gamora (Zoe Saldana)

8 of 56

9 of 56

Vision (Paul Bettany)

9 of 56

10 of 56

Heimdall (Idris Elba)

10 of 56

11 of 56

The Nova Corps

11 of 56

12 of 56

The Collector (Benicio Del Toro)

12 of 56

13 of 56

Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan)

13 of 56

14 of 56

Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman)

14 of 56

15 of 56

Groot (Vin Diesel)

15 of 56

16 of 56

Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen)

16 of 56

17 of 56

Falcon (Anthony Mackie)

17 of 56

18 of 56

Spider-Man (Tom Holland)

18 of 56

19 of 56

Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch)

19 of 56

20 of 56

Mantis (Pom Klementieff)

20 of 56

21 of 56

Drax (Dave Bautista)

21 of 56

22 of 56

Star-Lord (Chris Pratt)

22 of 56

23 of 56

The Black Order

23 of 56

24 of 56

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)

24 of 56

25 of 56

Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders)

25 of 56

26 of 56

Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan)

26 of 56

**The End of the line**