TheMarvel Cinematic Universeis full of death, and not every demise of a given character seems to have worked out for the franchise as a whole in the long run. Over the course of the whopping34 MCU movies that exist, the series has killed off plenty of fan-favorite characters, from dastardly villains to valiant heroes. As poignant as many of these death scenes may have been in the moment, looking back, it’s hard not to feel like the decision to kill off some of these characters hasn’t aged well as the universe has progressed.
There are a few reasons why deaths in the Marvel Cinematic Universe seem like a bad idea in retrospect. Sometimes, a new character is killed too soon after being introduced, not giving them time to feature in more potent stories. This is particularly an issue with the series' antagonists, being an alarming part ofthe MCU’s villain problem. In other cases, deaths have disrupted an existing narrative too much, leading to some awkward follow-up stories that struggle to work around the dramatic passing of an important character.
10Quicksilver
Avengers: Age of Ultron
The brother of Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff was a villain turned hero who shows up inAvengers: Age of Ultron.Despite being a speedster with an impossibly fast reaction time, Quicksilver is ultimately gunned down by a fighter jet commandeered by one of Ultron’s drones, sacrificing himself to save the lives of Hawkeye and an innocent bystander. For multiple reasons, Quicksilver’s death so early on in the MCU has negatively impacted the franchise as a whole.
Scarlet Witch went on to become a massively important character in the MCU, even ifWanda doesn’t appear inAgatha All Along.Her reality-warping powers frequently put her in the spotlight, and it would’ve been interesting to see how her brother reacted in the wake of his sister’s increasingly desperate actions. His unique super-speed powers also deserved to get more screen time in future fight scenes, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s performance is a sadly overlooked one. Overall, the drama of Quicksilver’s death wasn’t powerful enough to make up for his painfully-felt absence later on.
9Black Widow
Avengers: Endgame
Black Widow’s death inAvengers: Endgamewas undoubtedly somber and heart-wrenching when it happened, an unexpected sacrifice that allowed Hawkeye to return home to his family at the cost of one of his best friends. Yet as the series continued, the absence of the original Avenger was sorely felt throughout the following Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. It didn’t help that her long-awaited solo film,Black Widow,was a bottle-story prequel that only released after the character’s death in a present timeline of the story, making for a confusing release timing.
In truth, Black Widow should’ve gotten her own movie far earlier, and her death should’ve been more tied in to her actual backstory. For a dedicated agent of espionage and deceit on Earth to die at the behest of an alien gem feels strange and out-of-place for the more grounded spy. In truth, Black Widow’s death might’ve been better suited for another Avenger with a closer tie to the Infinity Stones, perhaps Thor or Rocket Raccoon.
8Ultron
Quicksilver wasn’t the only hasty Marvel Cinematic Universe death to be featured inAvengers: Age of Ultron.The titular villain himself was one of the biggest wastes of talent in the MCU, with James Spader’s dulcet tones lending themselves well to the charismatic, terrifying A.I. powerhouse. Ultron’s comic importance truly deserved an adaptation that would’ve featured him as the central antagonist of an entire multi-movie arc, similar to Thanos, but his threat was sadly confined to a single forgettable film.
The Disney+ seriesWhat If…?made Ultron’s later absence in the plot even more regrettable, exploring just how terrifying a properly-realized Ultron could actually be. Luckily, the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to have plans to resurrect the character, withUltron’s return confirmed for theVisionseries, yet to be given a proper title. Hopefully, this second chance will give Ultron the time in the spotlight he deserved as a fearsome and complex villain on the same level of importance as Thanos or Doctor Doom.
7The Warriors Three
Thor: Ragnarok
The Warriors Three were a big part of the Thor mythos in the first two films, but Taika Waititi’sThor: Ragnarokquickly disposed of them without a second thought. Consisting of Hogun the Grim, Fandral the Dashing, and Volstagg the Svelte, the eclectic trio served as Thor’s best friends in Asgard, as well as the single most elite warriors of the entire kingdom. With each of them bearing unique weapons and personality traits, the Warriors Three were a fan-favorite part of every Thor movie cast.
Sadly, Hela slaughters the Warriors Three in Asgard with little thought. Fandral and Volstagg are quickly slain without even getting a single attack off, and Hogun is killed not too much later after putting up only a slightly better fight. It was a pity to see such integral Thor characters be killed with such little narrative weight, as Thor doesn’t even get enough time to properly mourn them in the harrowing back-to-back events ofThor: RagnarokandAvengers: Infinity War.
6Maria Hill
Secret Invasion
Maria Hill was one of the most underappreciated but vital characters of the early Marvel Cinematic Universe. Played by Cobie Smulders ofHow I Met Your Mothercast fame, Maria Hill is a decorated S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and Nick Fury’s right-hand woman, more or less being an honorary Avenger herself. This legacy made it all the more disrespectful when the MCU killed her character off in such an anticlimactic way in the critically-disparaged, seldom seen seriesSecret Invasion.
Maria dies in the commotion following the Unity Day bombing, heartlessly killed via a shot to the stomach by the Skrull Gravik disguised as Nick Fury. Hill slowly bleeds out in the real Nick Fury’s arms, dying believing that her long-time friend and mentor had cruelly killed her. This exit was a bitter disappointment for long-time MCU fans who watched Maria Hill be an integral part of the Avengers initiative since day one. Truly, her death deserved more gravitas than it got.
5Erik Killmonger
Black Panther
Despite his painfully limited screentime, Erik Killmonger still has a reputation as one of the MCU’s greatest villains ever. Played unerringly by Michael B. Jordan, Killmonger’s ethos and motivations for taking over Wakanda are quite sympathetic, making him one of the few antagonists in the series who was essentially in the right morally, even if his methods were detestable. Of course, Killmonger famously dies inBlack Panther’s underwhelming final fight sequence, his last words being some of the most poignant in the entire franchise.
It’s no wonder that Ryan Coolger found every excuse to bring Michael B. Jordan back as Killmonger in the Ancestral Realm inBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever,even if it was for a achingly brief scene. Coogler and other Marvel producers have since admitted that killing Killmonger off deprived the series of one of their greatest potential villains all too soon. Who knows what kind of potential the character could have had if he had been allowed to survive his injuries at the end of his debut film.
4Ulysses Klaue
Speaking of villain deaths inBlack Panther,the death of Ulysses Klaue shouldn’t seem like a point of contention in the grand scheme of things. Andy Serkis' delightfully over-the-top performance as the Vibranium-stealing thief is an underrated element of both films he appears in, chewing up scenery relentlessly with his hammy antics. When Killmonger betrays him, it represents the loss of a surprisingly grand opportunity for the MCU going into an upcoming film.
In the comics, the character Ulysses Klaue is based off of, Klaw, has his body transformed into a being of pure sound. This bizarre new mode of living gives Klaw a whole new set of powers, but also gives him a surprising importance in theSecret Warscrossover storyline. In theupcoming MCU adaptation ofSecret Wars,it would’ve been nice to have a sound-form Klaue to hit the same plot beats. Instead, the character was simply killed off to sell Killmonger’s own threat.
3The Mighty Thor
Thor: Love and Thunder
Thor: Love and Thunderis widely considered to be one of the MCU’s weakest films in recent years, and for good reason. The overbearing humor, poor special effects, and further Flanderization of Thor’s character doesn’t bode well for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. If there was one thing the film got incredibly right, however, it was Thor’s renewed relationship with Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, who had been suspiciously absent from the series sinceThor: The Dark World,barring pre-existing stock footage.
Portman gives a fantastic performance with renewed energy with Jane Foster, whose cancer diagnosis led her to seek out Mjölnir to become The Mighty Thor, adopting her ex-boyfriend’s powers. Sadly, Foster succumbs to her sickness in the same movie, with the explanation being given that the hammer’s overwhelming power drained her body of stamina at an alarming rate, even if it did temporarily heal her. It’s a shame Jane Foster couldn’t replace the “real” Thor as Earth’s Asgardian hammer-wielding hero considering Thor ends the film living a peaceful off-world life with Love.
2Gorr The God-Butcher
Amazingly, Jane Foster/The Might Thor wasn’t the only great new character introduced byThor: Love and Thunderthat was tragically mishandled. Christian Bale appears in the film as Gorr the God-Butcher, a devout alien who gets his hands on a deity-slaying “All-Black Necrosword” after his chosen God cruelly allows his daughter to die of famine. In the brief glimpses the film gives of him, Gorr is a chilling and fascinating villain with a very sympathetic plight.
Of course, all of these qualities made him ripe for death in the eyes of the MCU, once again refusing to allow a great villain to persist past his introductory film. Gorr would’ve been an interesting, powerful threat to keep around, perhaps even more so than his daughter, Love, who Gorr ultimately sacrifices himself to resurrect. Additionally, the comic history of the All-Black Necrosword could’ve tied into the recentVenom: The Last Dancevillain Knull, possibly knitting the MCU together with the Sony Spider-Man villain universe at long last.
1Gamora
Avengers: Infinity War
Perhaps the death with the single greatest impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Gamora’s tragic demise inAvengers: Infinity Waradmittedly works quite well for the somber tone of the penultimate Infinity Saga film. With the Soul Stone requiring a genuine sacrifice of life from a loved one before Thanos can procure it, the Mad Titan tearfully kills his own daughter in order to grasp the power of all six Infinity Stones. As well as this moment works for the Infinity Saga, it’s worth mentioning how disruptive the event was for Gamora’s home series.
Originally, James Gunn intended for Gamora to be the one to die inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2rather than Yondu, but MCU brass forced him to keep her alive due to plans forAvengers: Infinity War.This frustrating disruption in theGuardians of the Galaxytrilogy can be felt in the last two films, with Gunn practically addressing it direclty through Star-Lord’s frustrated elevator speech inGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.It’s interesting to imagine what theMCUmight’ve been like if the original plans for Gamora’s death were followed through.
