Warning! This article contains spoilers forAgatha All Along.
TheMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)continues to expand, but as the franchise grows bigger and progresses through each new phase, there are times when meaningful characters pass away, and Phase 5 has done a great job handling these moments. From the very first MCU movie,Iron Man, the franchise has been able to use character deaths as a significant emotional trigger. Tony’s only friend and ally when he was captured in the cave sacrificed himself and inspired Tony to keep moving forward. And in that same movie, Tony’s former friend and colleague, Obadiah Stane, meets a tragic end after he exposes his villainous nature.
Death is a strong tool in any story to inspire and engage a variety of emotions,and as the MCU grows, they continue to feature powerful and emotive death scenes. In Marvel’s Phase 5, the midpoint of the Multiverse Saga, the number of deaths is notably lower than Phase 3, whenthe Infinity Saga was concluding, but it is clearly building towards the epic final chapter in this entry, Phase 6. With that in mind, most of these deaths serve to inspire and push the heroes towards greatness, or they happen as they progress through their incredibly dangerous missions. But Marvel has also done an excellent job of adjusting these moments to the movies where they appear.
15MODOK
Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Kicking off with the death of the MCU’s own version of MODOK, the giant flying head that was formerly the villain inAnt-Man, Darren Cross.In the Quantum Realm, Darren enhances his damaged body after his last encounter with Scott to become a robotically enhanced supervillain.
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However, during the events ofAnt-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, he sees the error of his ways and sacrifices himself when he leads a direct attack against Kang.His death scene was played for laughs, with Darren mentioning absurd ideas of his new status as an Avenger, but it still plays out as emotional, and in-keeping with the tone of the movie. MODOK’s death was a mix of comedy and tragedy, but it did help to establish how much more powerful and terrifying Kang is in Quantumania.
14Kang
Despite MODOK giving his life to try and stop Kang, the Conqueror manages to do a lot more damage before his time is up. Ultimately, though,Scott and Hope get the upper hand and defeat this variant after a brief, but grueling fight.
Kang’s death was underwhelming, and received some negativity online. However, the Kang character was being set up to have many other variants, with some of the others potentially presenting a much larger threat.
Kang almost escaped the Quantum Realm, but thanks to some quick creative thinking from Scott, and Hope returning at just the right moment,they were able to push him back until he was snapped out of existence.
13Lyla, Teefs & Floor
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3stands out as one of the most emotional movies in the trilogy, but even more so, it may be one of the most emotional movies in the entire MCU.Throughflashbacks to when Rocket Raccoonwas young and held in captivity by the High Evolutionary, other animals who were being experimented on were introduced.
The emotional impact this moment had on Rocket alone is extraordinary, but it’s also incredibly hard-hitting for audiences.
And while the deaths of Lyla, Teefs, and Floor all happen off-screen, they remain some of the most heartbreaking and emotional moments in the MCU.They are killed by the High Evolutionary due to his having reached the end of his experiment with them, and so, they were needlessly exterminated.
12Ayesha
Shortly after,GotG Vol. 3also sees another influential character killed off, but one that has a less emotional connection.Ayesha is the ruler of the Sovereign, the golden nobility who served the High Evolutionary.
Adam Warlock is a major character in Marvel Comics, and his introduction to the MCU is likely big, but Ayesha’s death did not inspire much emotion in any other figure.
However, she is also the mother/creator of Adam Warlock.While she was no friend to the Guardians, her death played a part in Adam Warlock beginning to make independent choices, and ultimately siding with the heroes.
11Maria Hill
Secret Invasion, Episode 1, “Resurrection”
Secret Invasion remains one of the weakest shows in the MCU’s roster, but episode one did have an explosive scene when Maria Hill,the high ranking agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is killed by a Skrull disguised as Nick Fury.Maria has been a staple of the movies sinceThe Avengersback in 2012.
Maria Hill’s death is extremely effective in the series, as showcased that no one could be trusted with the shapeshifting Skrulls running amok.
She remained Fury’s closest friend and confidante, and killing her off came completely out of the blue. While the rest of the series went downhill, this scene remains a well-crafted and deeply emotional moment from the show.
10Talos
Secret Invasion, Episode 4, “Beloved”
Talos is another character who has featured in a couple of projects, having first been introduced inCaptain Marvel.By the timeSecret Invasiontakes place, his daughter, G’iah, had grown up to become quite a rebel.
Talos' death inspired his daughter G’iah to turn her back on Gravik and his rebellion, and it further pushed Fury to fight Gravik with every tool in his disposal, which made for a pretty incredible moment in the series.
However,Talos stood by his own conviction that humans and Skrulls could live together in peace.This faith in both species results in Talos losing his life to the corrupt and misguided leader of the rebel Skrulls, Gravik, who stabs Talos with a fatal wound.
9Gravik
Secret Invasion, Episode 6, “Home”
In one of the most controversial moments ofSecret Invasion, when the special effects were actually a spectacle of inadequacies,one of the biggest battles plays out between G’iah and Gravik.Previously, G’iah hung on to Gravik’s every word, and like many other Skrulls, she supported his mission against the humans.
Had the effects been a little better, Gravik’s death could have felt bigger. Instead, the moment is overshadowed by odd artistic choices and feels like a necessary, but very brief moment.
However, after seeing the depths of his cruelty and gifts for manipulation, not to mention his killing her father in cold blood, G’iah begins an intense battle with Gravik.Using the same combination of super DNA to become a super Skrull, G’iah is able to fight, and absolutely destroy Gravik in battle.
8Raava
Raava was one of the Skrulls who infiltrated human government at the highest levels.Having taken on the identity of Colonel James Rhodes, he was able to get close to the president, and manipulate decisions.
Raava’s death was a necessity to help uncover the hidden Skrulls across the world, and alongside Raava, many others died revealing many more holes in governments around the world.
However, Nick Fury was able to convince others of the impostor hiding in Rhodes' skin, and eventually bring the deception to light.In a tense moment with the president standing a few feet away, Raava is exposed, and Fury manages to fire off a shot with pinpoint accuracy that saves the president and puts Raava down.
7Dar-Benn
The Marvels
InThe Marvels, Carol Danvers and company went head-to-head with the powerful Kree warrior, Dar-Benn.Dar-Benn had a grudge against Carol after Carol’s actions to try and save the Kree ultimately made their planet barren and devoid of sunlight.
Dar-Benn’s death by the power of cosmic energy resembled how others, like Ronin, another Kree warrior, was disintegrated by the Power Stone inGuardians of the Galaxy.
After Carol realized her mistakes, and tried to correct them,Dar-Benn continued to seek more powerin an effort to destroy her,but after getting her hands on two ancient bands imbued with cosmic and magical energy, it was more than her mortal body could handle and she disintegrated.
6Johnny Storm
Deadpool & Wolverine
Deadpool & Wolverinewas one of the biggest celebrations of Marvel properties ever seen in the MCU.Throughout the movie, there were gratuitous cameos and appearances from previous Marvel movies, like Chris Evans returning to play Johnny Storm, a character he previously played in 2005sFantastic Four.
This death was used as a means of a punchline for a joke, but it also made sense as Chris Evans' return could have overshadowed other characters.
However,Johnny Storm’s time in the MCU was cut short when he had his skin torn off his body by Cassandra Nova, before swiftly falling down dead.This death was used as a means of a punchline for a joke, but it also made sense as Chris Evans' return could have overshadowed other characters.
