With this many movies in the MCU, it’s hard to avoid having characters die. As the Infinity Saga drew to a close, less characters passed on than audiences expected, but some fan favorites are clearly never coming back. Other characters, like Bucky Barnes, have come back to life more than once.
Some characters won't get a chance to come back, and have already breathed their last in the main continuity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While a few characters will have their stories explored further in alternate timelines, for all intents and purposes, these ten characters are officially dead. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean their deaths came at a good time.
10 Iron Man
Time and time again, Tony Stark has come back from the brink of death. He’s even seemingly died on screen; fans thought he might have briefly died in The Avengers, but Bruce Banner brought his new best friend back to life. In the end, though, as Avengers: Infinity War drew to a close, the only one left to sacrifice himself for the greater good was Tony Stark.
As the franchise began with Tony Stark, it only makes sense he would die with it. The problem, of course, is that the franchise hasn’t ended: only the Infinity Saga has. Tony Stark died before he could fully commit to teaching the new generation of the Avengers, something comic fans still lament.
9 Black Widow
When it came down to either Clint Barton (Hawkeye) or Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) sacrificing themselves, the Black Widow was surprisingly the one who died. While it makes sense that Natasha would want to die over her friend – as Clint has a wife and children to return to if they’re successful – audiences definitely prefer the Black Widow over Hawkeye overall.
Luckily, the Black Widow will be appearing in her own eponymous movie, but if she still had story left to tell, this is a definite indicator that she died before her time. Black Widow either should have lived or should have been resurrected, instead of working backwards now.
8 Quicksilver
Even when Wanda Maximoff, also known as the Scarlet Witch, had nobody, she had her twin brother, Pietro Maximoff. Also known as Quicksilver, Pietro is a fan favorite in the comics, on television, and in the movies. He’s even appeared in the Fox X-Men movies, proving just how important he is. Despite this, Quicksilver was killed almost as soon as he was introduced.
For such an important character, it was presumed that Quicksilver would be present for a long time. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case, as he still isn’t returning to the main timeline. While fans may be seeing him in WandaVision, it’s clear he’s not alive again — yet.
7 Vision
Unfortunately for Wanda, losing Vision is the last straw after a lot of straws piled up on her previously. She falls in love with Vision, even though he isn’t really human. Being that she’s a mutant herself — even though the MCU hasn’t officially introduced the concept of mutants yet — Wanda isn’t either, and the two of them are a great match.
It seems that Vision’s death is also the catalyst for Wanda’s complete breakdown that has apparently led to the events of WandaVision. Many fans speculate WandaVision will be an adapted version of House of M, in which Wanda’s mentally created the entire universe she’s living in. It was too soon for her to lose Vision; it has broken her completely.
6 Gamora
Time and time again, Gamora fights against her upbringing by Thanos and her family, including members like Nebula, who try to pull her back to her old ways. Eventually, she and Nebula both are able to leave Thanos behind, turning on him as his true intentions are revealed. His quest for the Infinity Stones is too much. Gamora might be the only one Thanos truly loves, so it’s Gamora that he must sacrifice in order to retrieve the Soul Stone.
As retrieving the Stones is Thanos’ goal above all else, he does kill Gamora. Fans were shocked at her death, as was Peter Quill and the rest of Gamora’s team, the Guardians of the Galaxy. Even more shocking is the fact that Gamora doesn’t seem to be coming back, though Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is likely to change some things.
5 Loki
Another character gone too soon, Loki is a fan favorite that never seemed like he would actually die. Part of Loki’s schtick is that he often appears to die, both to characters in-universe and to audiences watching the movies, just to appear in later films throughout the franchise. This was always his game, so it was surprising to fans when Loki finally died and never came back.
More than that, Loki will be released on Disney+ soon, showing that Loki died before he should have. If Marvel and Disney wanted to do a Loki show, they definitely shouldn’t have killed him off before they were ready to be done with the character completely. Now, things will just be complicated.
4 Heimdall
While Thor’s father, Odin, and his mother, Frigga, raise him to be a strong ruler and a brave warrior, it does take a village to raise any child, especially one so powerful as Thor. This is where Heimdall comes in. Heimdall is the protector of the Bifröst, the bridge into Asgard, and he keeps the realm safe.
More than that, he is one of the guardians helping Thor, showing him the correct path in his life and what responsibility he holds with the power he has. Unfortunately, much like Gamora, Loki, and many other characters, Heimdall was killed by Thanos in his quest for the Infinity Stones. Thor still needed his guidance, and Heimdall still had so much eternal life left to live, but Thanos showed no mercy, ironically enough.
3 Frigga
Thor and Loki still both need a great deal of guidance after they lose their parents. Odin has a hard time connecting completely with either of his sons, and neither Thor nor Loki fully embraces him, though they do miss him after he passes away. Frigga, on the other hand, deeply connected with both of her sons. They still needed the love and guidance she had to give before Frigga was killed off. She was able to reappear for Thor when he went dancing around through space and time, giving him one last bit of advice, but it’s only a brief moment before she’s gone again.
2 Yondu Udonta
For Peter Quill, who was taken from his mother immediately after she died and removed to outer space, a parent is something he has always wanted. He thought he found one in Ego, but it turned out Ego – who was Peter Quill’s dad – was also Ego the Living Planet and wanted to eat Peter. Yondu saved Peter from that fate. Though he wasn’t the best parent ever, a fact that Peter made clear to Yondu time and time again, he was still Peter’s father, a sentiment they both eventually realized. This realization came too late — or Yondu’s death came too early — as, soon after, Yondu had to sacrifice his own spacesuit in order to save Peter’s life.
1 Killmonger
The saddest part of characters like Killmonger — also known as Erik Stevens or N’Jadaka — and Helmut Zemo in the MCU is that they have valid reasons for doing what they do. Audiences largely agree with them, and it’s hard to see them ultimately fail. Whereas Helmut Zemo lives, Killmonger dies in Black Panther. Even T’Challa, the titular Black Panther, is upset to lose Killmonger. It had seemed that Killmonger killed T’Challa earlier in the movie, but, in the climax, the two of them have one last battle. Killmonger is killed in the end, but characters and fans alike wanted him to stay around a lot longer.