Marvel Comics characters tend to die a lot, only to return sometime later. However, when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, characters ultimately stay dead. A new list shows the entirety of who was killed and how they departed earth, the galaxy, or other planet. From the first Iron Man, to the movie with the most death, Avengers: Infinity War. Surprisingly, not every superhero film has ended with a character death. I’m looking at you Spider-man Homecoming and Ant-Man and the Wasp.
A discussion on Reddit is what developed the well-organized list. It points out that while Captain America and Iron Man technically have not killed main villains, they assisted in the deaths of them. Steve Rogers earns an assist trophy by leading to the death of Corvus Glaive and Tony Stark for telling Pepper how to overload the Arc Reactor to kill Iron Monger. Let’s not forget, both heroes also killed a few lackeys during their first films.
Not counting the gauntlet snap dusting Janet Van Dyne, Hope, and Hank in the credits of Ant-Man and the Wasp, both films featuring insect heroes left the main villain characters alive. Vulture’s flying career was grounded when he was sent to prison. Spider-Man is just a kid. If he ended up killing the villain, fans may see him in a different light. The list includes the lackey Shocker dying, but it was at the hands of Vulture. Spider-Man earns an assist trophy for the death of Ebony Maw, but it was only his idea that led to his death. Tony led the plan of attack while Spidey saved Doctor Strange.
Villains such as Ghost and Sonny Burch lived to tell their stories at the end of Ant-man and the Wasp. While these movies are more lighthearted in nature, the main “villain”, Ghost, was a redeemable character. Her goal didn’t end with killing innocents, she just wanted to be normal again. However, several characters did not make it through the film and were not included on the list; the many ants that helped Scott make it to the ferry. A moment of silence for Antonio Banderas. Murdered before their prime by a seagull.
The list also points out the number one killer of film villains is CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts. She earns two for the death of Iron Monger and Aldrich Killian.
While Thanos takes the cake in most deaths ever. We have yet to see if they will stay that way.