Destiny is on its way for the MCU. In just a few weeks, Avengers: Infinity War will hit the big screen, and all will be revealed in Thanos' quest to destroy half of the universe. With that will come plenty of awesome battles, sure, but we've also been led believe that some Avengers may not make it out of the film alive. And to be honest, we're not totally sure we're emotionally prepared for it.
There's no way to know for sure who's going down in the film, and some heroes like Hawkeye, Ant-Man, Nick Fury and Maria Hill may be no-shows in the upcoming film. On top off that, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor are basically at the end of their MCU contracts, and with the actors mostly mum on the future, it's anyone's guess who will make it out alive. And, of course, there's always the chance that anyone taken off the board in Infinity War could very well be brought back by next year's Avengers 4 to fight another day, what with Infinity Stone hijinks and all. But it's fun to guess. Is your favorite character on their way out? These are the characters of Avengers: Infinity War ranked by how likely they are to die.
25 THANOS
We figured it'd be best to get this one out of the way up front. We don't really see a situation where the big bad Thanos gets taken down in Avengers: Infinity War. And while 2019's Avengers 4 is no longer a "part two" in the basic sense, the films were shot back to back and seem to follow whatever happens in Infinity War.
Aside from that, we just don't see Thanos going down before Captain Marvel gets a chance to take a swing at him.
And while Thanos could certainly meet an early demise, we just find it incredibly unlikely given all of the buildup to his debut in the first place. The other heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe might not be so lucky, though.
24 SHURI, BLACK PANTHER & OKOYE
From an obvious standpoint, we don't see any of these Black Panther alums going down in the first round. Black Panther has been an enormous success for Marvel at the box office, and with each and every character developing their own passionate fans, we don't see these three leaving the board any time soon.
Okoye, Shuri and T'Challa each faced down the threat of death in Black Panther, and seemed to come out unscathed. As the MCU pushes forward, we think they are going to be major players. That being said, it looks like a big portion of Avengers: Infinity War takes place in Wakanda. And what better way for Thanos' threat to be proven true than by a fallen Wakandan warrior? We think it's unlikely, but not totally impossible.
23 STAR-LORD
In a lot of ways, Star-Lord is the poster boy of the Guardians of the Galaxy film franchise. Yes, of course we mean Chris Pratt, but when you consider how integral Star-Lord is to the plot of the films (i.e. he's literally the main character) it's hard to see his character checking out before the Guardians trilogy wraps up in 2020.
Of course, given the nature of the Infinity Gauntlet, Star-Lord could be killed at some point in Infinity War.
With the Guardians knee deep in the film's central plot, we could see the loss of Peter Quill sending the likes of Drax and Gamora off the edge in terms of anger toward Thanos. With that said, we consider Quill's death unlikely, at least until we get a chance to listen to Awesome Mix Vol. 3.
22 ROCKET & GROOT
The dynamic duo of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, Rocket Raccoon and Groot quickly cemented themselves as Marvel Cinematic Universe mainstays. Much of their Avengers: Infinity War plot is said to be teaming up with Thor on a quest to find a suitable weapon for the God of Thunder, so with that alone it's hard to see the two of them checking out anytime soon.
And even if you set aside the fact that Groot alone is a total money maker when it comes to merchandise, we can just look back at the character's film history. He essentially died in the first Guardians flick (James Gunn said so himself), so we'd say it's a little too soon to say goodbye. And Groot and Rocket, they are a package deal, for sure.
21 ANT-MAN
OK, so we're not totally sure Ant-Man is in Avengers: Infinity War, but if he is, we can only assume he'll be doing something not totally integral to that main plot. That is, until Avengers 4, where it looks like he'll play a big part, if set photos are anything to go by. With Ant-Man & The Wasp set to release just a few months after Infinity War, we don't see a situation in which Marvel kills him off ahead of that.
And sure, we don't know exactly when Ant-Man & The Wasp is set, but our point still stands.
The impact of Ant-Man's death would be minimized by the fact that just a few months later we'll see him in action again, past, present or otherwise. It seems there will be more than enough emotions to go around in Infinity War, but mourning for Scott Lang doesn't seem to be one of them.
20 MANTIS
Mantis is the latest addition to the main Guardians of the Galaxy squad, and she was a scene stealer in 2017's sequel. And while she will be with the Guardians at least at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, we're not sure she's going to be a major player throughout the film's story. With that in mind, things could go 50/50 on her survival, literally.
If Thanos makes good on his promise to actually wipe out half of the universe (much like he did in the comics), then we could see Mantis being one of the collateral losses of that move. With the knowledge that anyone killed during this film might not be gone for good, there's potential for anyone's return. But we think Mantis is going to be just fine.
19 DOCTOR STRANGE & WONG
For all intents and purposes, Stephen Strange and Wong are brand new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They went through some pretty Earth-shattering stuff in Doctor Strange, and seem to play an integral part in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War.
If we had to bet, we don't see the Doctor and his trusted partner going the way of the dodo anytime soon.
That all being said, the two do seem to be in the thick of it during the plot of the film, at the very least during key moments of battle. With their mastery of the mystic arts, it looks like they are going to put up one heck of a fight. And even though the latest trailer for the film shows our beloved Doctor in peril at the hands of Ebony Maw, we think he'll find his way out of it.
18 DRAX
If the comics are anything to go by, Drax the Destroyer has a lot of work to do. And while we don't think he'll be punching Thanos's heart out of his chest any time soon, we do think Drax will make it out of Avengers: Infinity War to be a part of what comes next. But we're starting to get into "maybe" territory, and while Drax is one tough dude, Thanos could show some power by taking him off the board.
But Drax has had a rough go of it, and his death at the hands of Thanos or one of his Black Order members would only be more depressing, considering the guy has already lost his wife, kid and basically his livelihood. But the Russo Brothers are going to pull on the heart strings, so maybe Drax could go. It's a toss-up.
17 WAR MACHINE
James Rhodes has his work cut out for him during Avengers: Infinity War. When we last saw War Machine, he was learning how to walk again after being shot down by Vision in Captain America: Civil War. And while it looks like Tony Stark will be giving Rhodey some mechanical supports for his legs, we can't imagine his power is up to snuff for the big purple dude.
Then there's also the recent comic book event Civil War II to consider, where Rhodey is quite literally punched to death by Thanos.
Seriously, he's gutted with one punch. And if Thanos is looking to bring Tony Stark down to his lowest point, killing his best friend might be the way to do that. We're just not sure about Rhodey's fate at this point.
16 FALCON
Here in the middle of the pack, it seems like Falcon has a pretty solid chance of sticking around through Avengers: Infinity War. There are, however, hints as to why we think things could go the other way, the most prominent being what we've seen of Captain America in the Infinity War trailers, namely where he's very angry, going toe-to-toe with Thanos himself.
Sure, he could be angry because the purple guy just wiped out half of the entire known universe, but maybe it's a bit more personal than that. Maybe Thanos has just taken out his modern day best friend, who's been with him through Hydra infiltration, a superhuman civil war and plenty more. And Falcon isn't the only one at risk of falling victim to this.
15 BUCKY BARNES
James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is Captain America's oldest and best friend. The two fought together in war, multiple at that, and were somehow both coincidentally brought to modern day. Fans of the comics will know Bucky and Captain America's relationship is one of the strongest in the Marvel Universe, but could Bucky be the reason Cap goes wild on Thanos? It could be.
But we're going to bet that Bucky will be just fine.
With his character set up at the end of Black Panther to become White Wolf, he's at least got a future mapped out. Will that end with him being Captain America following Rogers' exit? Will Sam Wilson take over for Cap and have Bucky as his sidekick? We think either of those are more likely than Bucky going down in April.
14 NICK FURY & MARIA HILL
Since S.H.I.E.L.D. first became a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there were three names tied to it: Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Phil Coulson. With Coulson off the board (at least in the films and in the present, given he's set to appear in Captain Marvel), it might be a tougher hit to lose the defunct agency's two remaining heavy hitters. That being said, Coulson's death brought the Avengers together. Could the death of Fury or Hill send the team back into that passionate rage?
We're not totally sure. On one hand, we can't imagine Fury and Hill are too integral a part of Infinity War, given that they're allegedly not in the film at all. But leaked set photos show they will appear in some form in Avengers 4, so maybe they're safe after all.
13 SCARLET WITCH
The Russo Brothers have said that the relationship between Scarlet Witch and Vision will pay a big part in Avengers: Infinity War. And while that may be true, does that importance lead to one of the two's demise? Sure, we've seen the quick shot of a scepter on Vision's forehead in an aim to reclaim the Mind Stone, but could the real pain of the film come from the death of Scarlet Witch?
It's possible, and could send Vision into an uncontrollable rage, one that would seemingly put a dent in Thanos' forces.
But we can't really see Scarlet Witch leaving so soon. Her brother, Quicksilver, was killed in his first movie appearance, so with the back trauma and the fact that she may be needed to shepherd potential mutants into the MCU, we can't quite call this one.
12 BLACK WIDOW
Black Widow has been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since almost the beginning, first appearing in Iron Man 2. And though she may have a live-action solo film on the horizon, we still think she might be one of the heroes to go in Infinity War -- at least temporarily.
That's because a Black Widow film doesn't necessarily have to take place in the present of the MCU's timeline, and could easily be a prequel that illustrates her early years and origins as the Russian assassin for hire. Her death could also really knock The Avengers off balance, as she is an integral team member and founder. Though, we expect her to properly take down Proxima Midnight before all is said and done, dead or alive.
11 THE HULK
OK, so we know what you're thinking. The Hulk can't be killed! Well, unfortunately, the comics have proved that statement wrong a few times, at least in the case of Bruce Banner. In addition, we can't really think of a better way for Thanos to prove that he is the ultimate threat than by taking the Avengers' heaviest hitter (sorry, Thor) off of the board for good. And there may be setup for this.
Surely Thanos is aware of what the Hulk can do given Loki's mission debrief.
With Bruce Banner rumored to be staying away from his Hulk transformation in Avengers: Infinity War, maybe Thanos will jump at the opportunity. And honestly, if Hulk is off the board, we're not sure The Avengers have as much of a chance.
10 THE BLACK ORDER
While Thanos is almost certainly safe from demise in Avengers: Infinity War, we're not so certain his crew of evil doers and an army will be quite so lucky. And sure, it's safe bet to say that at least some of the Outrider army will perish in the film, but what about the members of the Black Order? Are Proxima Midnight, Cull Obsidian, Ebony Maw and Corvus Glaive safe from the reaper?
Well, we've got to give the good guys at least one win, and we've been promised plenty of showdowns in Infinity War. We're willing to bet The Avengers will throw down and come out on top of at least a few of them, with Cull Obsidian and Corvus Glaive (though he could return) topping the hit list.
9 GAMORA
Gamora may be the only core member of the Guardians of the Galaxy that we could see getting taken out in Avengers: Infinity War. The trailers have shown us that we will at least get some sort of glimpse back into Gamora's childhood, when she was taken from her people by Thanos, who then proceeded to murder her entire race.
While this could all be setup to build out Thanos' backstory, it could also mean the end of the deadliest woman in the galaxy.
But we're not completely sure. The death of Gamora would surely give the rest of the Guardians the fight they need to take the battle directly to Thanos, but on the other hand, we think Gamora could be the one to finally bring down the big bad in Avengers 4. For Gamora, it's a bit of a toss-up.
8 SPIDER-MAN
Spider-Man may be one of the hardest entries on this list to write. On one hand, we know that Tom Holland is on board for a sequel to 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, so it would be weird for Marvel to take him out in Avengers: Infinity War.
On the other hand, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has seemed to be a visual representation of all of Tony Stark's mistakes.
And while Spider-Man isn't a "mistake," he was still brought into the superhuman civil war as a child, and what better way to bring Tony Stark to his absolute lowest point than to take out the kid who thinks of him as an icon. Spider-Man would almost surely return, but that doesn't mean we can't have some heart strings pulled before he comes back.
7 HAWKEYE
The appearance of Hawkeye in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War has been a complete mystery since the film's first teaser trailer. Then, when Jeremy Renner's character didn't appear on the film's official poster, the fans got worried. Is Hawkeye even in the movie? While we've been assured that yes, he does appear in the film, we don't really know to what extent.
Could Hawkeye and his family be casualties in Thanos' assault on Earth? Will that send The Avengers to Thanos' home world to throw down? As one of the core, original Avengers, the loss of Hawkeye would send a shock to literally everyone, and we'd say there's a high chance he could go down come April. We're just not sure if our little hearts can take it.
6 THOR
Financially, there's no real reason to kill off Thor in the upcoming film. The God of Thunder has just had a hefty resurgence thanks to the wonderful work of Thor: Ragnarok's director Taika Waititi. And while future plans for the character haven't quite been discussed, it might be a safe bet to assume Chris Hemsworth will be back, right? Well, we're not totally sure.
Following Avengers 4, Hemsworth's contract with Marvel is up, so unless they sign something new, we won't see him back as Thor.
That aside, Thor will play a large part in Avengers: Infinity War, seemingly going on a quest with Rocket and Groot to build a new weapon in the fight against Thanos? Will that succeed, well, we'll just have to wait and find out.