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 ticket sales — but it's also racked up one hell of a body count. Avengers: Endgame, released April 26, 2019, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 genocidal alien from killing him. Then she has to watch the purple genocidal alien kill him anyway. And then she herself gets dusted by the purple genocidal alien! Fortunately, she gets her revenge in Endgame.

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.

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

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

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.

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.

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.

Died in: Avengers: Infinity War

Resurrected in: Avengers: Endgame

Peter Quill has faced off against intergalactic villains 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.

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 exploded. 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.

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.

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.

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."

Died in: Black Panther

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Died in: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The all-powerful god and contender for "Worst Father of the Year" award got blown to pieces. Guess he shouldn't have killed Peter's mom and squished his Walkman.

Died in: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

He's Mary Poppins, y'all! The notorious Ravager sacrificed himself to save his adopted son, Star-Lord, from the cold darkness of space.

Died in: Doctor Strange

The Sorcerer Supreme was fatally wounded in a clash with her former student Kaecilius. Despite his best efforts, Doctor Strange was unable to save her, and she resigned herself to her own death.

Died in: Doctor Strange

The villainous sorcerer sort of got what he wanted: eternal life. He did so, however, by being painfully disintegrated and sucked into the Dark Dimension with Dormammu. Which is less than ideal.

Died in: Captain America: Civil War

Tony Stark's parents (played by John Slattery and Hope Davis in Civil War) were both assassinated by the Winter Soldier in 1991 in a killing orchestrated to look like a car accident.

Died in: Captain America: Civil War

The Hydra double agent took up the mantle of Crossbones in Civil War and became an international terrorist, killing himself and multiple innocent bystanders in an explosion in Lagos, Nigeria.

Died in: Captain America: Civil War

The S.H.I.E.L.D. founder (and Steve Rogers' "best girl") is one of the only characters to meet a natural demise in the MCU, passing away peacefully after a lifetime of service and badassery.

Died in: Captain America: Civil War

The king of Wakanda and T'Challa's father was assassinated in an explosion after showing his support for the Sokovia Accords. His death sparked political instability in Wakanda and contributed to superhero infighting during Civil War.

Died in: Ant-Man

Ant-Man's nemesis, Darren Cross, was crushed after Scott Lang damaged his suit, causing him to shrink in on himself.

Died in: Ant-Man

R.I.P. Ant-thony, loyal steed to Ant-Man and bravest of all ants.

Died in: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Scarlet Witch's bleach-blond brother died rescuing Hawkeye and an innocent kid from Ultron in Sokovia.

Died in: Avengers: Age of Ultron

After a brief reign of terror (like seriously, it wasn't an "Age" at all), the homicidal robot gets vaporized by Vision.

Died in: Guardians of the Galaxy

Peter Quill's beloved mother and mix-tape master died of cancer in the first Guardians of the Galaxy, although it was later revealed that Quill's father, Ego, intentionally planted a brain tumor in her head.

Died in: Guardians of the Galaxy

Holds the distinction of being perhaps the only character in the MCU to die via dance-off.

Died in: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The HYDRA scientist and First Avenger baddie prolonged his life by embedding his brain in a computer system hidden under a secret base, but he blew himself up in an attempt to take out Cap and Black Widow.

Died in: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The longtime S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was revealed to be a Hydra sleeper agent. Unfortunately, Hydra threw him under the bus by having Winter Soldier throw him under a car.

Died in: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The high-ranking government official spent decades as a secret Hydra sleeper agent, taking down S.H.I.E.L.D. from the inside. He died after Nick Fury shot him.

Died in: Thor: The Dark World

Odin's wife and the queen of Asgard died protecting her realm from the invading Malekith.

Died in: Thor: The Dark World

Thor defeated the Dark Elf in battle at the end of The Dark World.

Died in: Iron Man 3

The true Mandarin gets blown up by Pepper Potts at the end of Iron Man 3.

Died in: The Avengers (well, sort of)

The beloved S.H.I.E.L.D. agent seemingly met his death in the original Avengers, fatally wounded by Loki. He has since been resurrected on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but for all intents and purposes, he remains dead in the MCU.

Died in: Iron Man 2

The whip-wielding Ivan Vanko was destroyed by the combined efforts of Iron Man and War Machine.

Died in: Iron Man

The original Marvel villain met his end facing off against Iron Man, ultimately getting electrocuted.

Died in: Iron Man

The first major Marvel death! The brilliant scientist sacrificed himself to help Tony Stark escape captivity in Afghanistan.