WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame, in theaters now and "The Long Night," the latest episode of Game of Thrones.
The three-day period from April 26-28 may go down as one of the most important weekends in pop culture history. The festivities began on April 26 with the release of Avengers: Endgame, the culmination of the last ten years and 22 films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the movie potentially marking the end of the line for the original six Avengers, fans were left to wonder which of their favorite heroes would fall in battle during the Round 2 rematch against Thanos.
If the thought of a fan-favorite Avenger dying wasn't stressful enough, then you may also be a diehard Game of Thrones fan. The eighth and final season debuted earlier this month, with its first two episodes building anticipation for the showdown between the living and the dead. With the Night King marching his army of White Walkers and the undead to Winterfell, the majority of the cast has assembled in the Stark home for one last stand.
The HBO series has become infamous for making no character safe from the Grim Reaper, as each season was filled with one shocking death after another. The unpredictability of Game of Thrones is a large part of its appeal -- just when we start to love a character like Ned Stark, there is always the possibility his head will get sliced off. However, nothing could prepare fans for what has been dubbed "The Battle of Winterfell."
Similar to Endgame, thes Battle of Winterfell brought with it a large ensemble cast, which of course meant there was a greater chance we'd witness more of our favorites dying. So with all eyes now bleary after focusing on Endgame and Game of Thrones on this monumental weekend, CBR has tallied up the body count on both sides to see which franchise came away with the most impactful losses.
Also, since Game of Thrones employs literal armies of soldiers, we're only giving attention to characters we know by name and who have played an important role in the series thus far.
Black Widow
The former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and original Avenger is the first hero to fall in Avengers: Endgame, and while Black Widow's death didn't come in the heat of battle, her sacrifice during the team's time heist succeeds in being an emotional gut-punch to fans. The remaining members of Earth's Mightiest Heroes are joined by Nebula and Rocket as they use Pym Particles and the Quantum Realm to travel to the past of the MCU, with the goal of collecting the Infinity Stones to reverse the deaths in Infinity War.
Black Widow and Hawkeye are tasked with gathering the Soul Stone from the planet Vormir, which is where Infinity War saw Gamora lead Thanos to the stone. Once they arrive, the Keeper of the Soul Stone (Captain America villain Red Skull) reveals the only way to take possession of the cosmic artifact is with a sacrifice. Whereas Thanos killed Gamora to get the Soul Stone, Black Widow takes her own life so Hawkeye can reunite with his dusted family.
Nebula (From The Past)
So we mentioned earlier how Endgame utilizes time travel for a good portion of the film, even though it decides fairly early on to ignore all of the rules that come with time-traveling. This can be partly to blame for its Nebula conundrum when current-day Nebula kills her past self. If it all sounds confusing, the easiest thing to remember is present-day Nebula is a reformed hero now, and Nebula from the past is still aligned with Thanos.
The outcome is a Nebula vs. Nebula scene where good defeats evil, resulting in Gamora from the past (who still works for Thanos) having a change of heart to fight with the good guys.
Iron Man
The biggest death in Endgame comes from the man who helped launch the MCU: Tony Stark. As much as fans steadied themselves for the loss of either Iron Man or Captain America, nothing could prepare them for the moment Tony Stark slips on his own version of the Infinity Gauntlet and utters the phrase, "I am Iron Man," as he snaps his fingers to erase Thanos and his Black Order from existence.
We've been told that no human could wield an Infinity Stone, so it only makes sense that Iron Man would die after using all six. With his death, Iron Man's story arc finally comes full circle after his near-death experience in The Avengers.
Thanos
After Infinity War saw the Mad Titan secure victory over the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, it was only a matter of how our remaining heroes would turn the tide in Endgame to avenge the fallen. After Hulk brings all the dusted heroes back with Tony Stark's Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos launches into a sneak attack that destroys the Avengers Facility.
However, the appearance of literally every hero in the MCU -- and Captain America's "Avengers Assemble" battle cry -- is enough to even the odds long enough for Iron Man to make the ultimate sacrifice we mentioned above. Once Iron Man snaps his fingers, Thanos slowly turns to dust, mirroring his genocidal act in Infinity War.
Dolorous Edd
Dolorous Edd, the newest Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, traveled to Winterfell ahead of the great battle to warn Jon Snow of the Army of the Dead's march across the North. Jon and Edd go way back, having both served as members of the Night's Watch. Edd's death comes during the early moments of the battle as he tries to rally Samwell Tarly outside the castle walls.
While Edd isn't considered one of the main cast members, he was one of the first to befriend Jon in the Night's Watch. Fans will surely remember the last time Jon, Edd and Sam were all together again in Season 8's Episode 2 as they stood atop Winterfell, with Edd delivering the familiar line, "And so our watch begins."
Beric
Beric, the leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners, has been met with the cold kiss of death on a few different occasions. His last encounter with the Army of the Dead robbed him of Thoros, who normally performed the act of reviving Beric after he was killed. The loyal servant of the Lord of the Light always believed he was brought back from the dead for a reason, and Beric serves that purpose by saving Arya from the wights and allowing her to finish off the Night King in the episode's final moments.
Lady Lyanna Mormont
Lyanna Mormont of Bear Island quickly become of the most popular characters on Game of Thrones, thanks to her fearless attitude and always speaking the truth, no matter how harsh it may sound coming from a child. While she was originally slated to only appear in one episode, the Game of Thrones creators fell in love with Bella Ramsey's performance so much that they found ways to keep bringing her back.
However, even Lady Mormont couldn't survive the Battle of Winterfell. Even though she meets her end, Lady Mormont goes out in a heroic moment, stabbing a giant wight through the eyes.
Theon Greyjoy
Theon has traveled a hard road during Game of Thrones, going from ally to traitor of the Starks, then back to ally when he helped Sansa escape the clutches of Ramsey Bolton. Ever since he was Ramsey's prisoner, Theon has looked for a way to make up for his bad choices in life. Finally, defending Bran against the Night King allowed Theon to prove he really changed.
It also helps that Bran told Theon, "You're a good man," before rushing off to face the Night King. These kind words were exactly what Bran needed to hear before his death, even distracting the Night King long enough for Arya to get the drop on him.
Jorah Mormont
Jorah Mormont has also traveled a long road in Game of Thrones, where he's served faithfully alongside Daenerys for many years after he was initially a spy for The Lannisters. Jorah theoretically cheated death once before when he was diagnosed with greyscale. If it weren't for the efforts of Samwell Tarly, Jorah would have been turned into a stonelike creature.
However, Jorah also dies a heroic death just like his cousin Lady Mormont in "The Long Night," protecting his Khaleesi when the White Walkers attack her. There are certain moments when it seems Jorah may live to see another day, but the sight of Daenerys sobbing over his corpse tells you everything you need to know about his ultimate fate.
The Night King
The mysterious Night King has been an antagonist throughout much of Game of Thrones, raising the dead to serve in his army. His most fearsome addition came in the Season 7 finale when he killed one of Daenerys' dragons and possessed the deceased beast. With an army of White Walkers, the Army of the Dead and a dragon at his disposal, the Night King should have been the favorite to walk away from the Battle of Winterfell victorious.
Unfortunately, the Night King didn't calculate for the assassin skills of Arya Stark. She saves her brother Bran with a sneak attack against the Night King, stabbing him in the stomach with a Valyrian steel knife after he catches her mid-leap. Once the Night King shatters into pieces, all of his minions fall as well.
Melisandre
The Red Witch knew her time was coming to an end, but that didn't stop her from playing a major role in who walked away from the Battle of Winterfell. Melisandre shocks viewers when she arrives at Winterfell right before the fighting begins, upgrading the Dothraki weapons before they charge at the White Walkers. She also helps to light the trenches on fire when Dany and Jon are occupied in the sky by the Night King.
Melisandre ultimately keeps her word to Ser Davos -- she tells him she won't survive to see the dawn -- by dying after she removes her enchanted jewelry from her neck and reverting to her true, older form. We've seen her remove the necklace before, so her death must be attributed to the Lord of Light finally being done with her.
Now it's time to tally the losses and see which franchise came away with the largest body count from the historic entertainment weekend. Running away with a victory at 7-4 is Game of Thrones' Battle of Winterfell! Congratulations to everyone who gave up their life so the HBO series could stand victorious over Avengers: Endgame -- it definitely lived by the motto, "Whatever it takes."
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Don Cheadle as War Machine, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Danai Gurira as Okoye and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, with Gwyneth Paltrow Pepper Potts, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Benedict Wong as Wong, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Josh Brolin as Thanos.
Airing Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO, Game of Thrones stars Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister, Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark and Kit Harington as Jon Snow.