Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame have brought the Infinity Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to an end. As amazing as it has been to watch all the heroes of the MCU come together, the journey hasn't been without its ups and downs. In the two movies, many characters fans have come to love are forced to make the ultimate sacrifice.
But Infinity War and Endgame aren't the only MCU releases that have sad moments. The MCU may have a tendency to focus on banter and light-hearted plot threads, but there have been times when heroes have had their whole worlds fall apart – sometimes literally.
10 Steve And Peggy Say Goodbye During The First Avenger
Steve Rogers meets Peggy Carter when he's still a skinny kid from Brooklyn, with nothing more than blind courage to back up his desire to stand up to bullies. From the very beginning, the two share a bond. Their relationship only deepens after Steve becomes Captain America.
Unfortunately, they never get the chance to pursue their romance. While fighting the Red Skull, Steve is forced to crash the plane he is on – the Valkyrie – into the ice, to prevent the bombs on board from doing incommensurable damage. The emotional goodbye between Steve and Peggy is made even sadder by the moment Steve wakes up in the future, seventy years too late for his date.
9 Quicksilver Dies To Save Hawkeye
Introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron as a villain, Pietro Maximoff joins the Avengers' side of the conflict after he and his sister figure out Ultron's true plan. In the ensuing battle, Clint Barton is targeted by the rogue AI while trying to save a child. Pietro intervenes and is shot instead.
His sister Wanda feels his death, and in her desperation, loses control of her power. It's a very sad moment, though it would have hit audiences harder if Pietro had been given more time in the MCU.
8 Tony Saves New York By Delivering The Missile Into The Portal
Even before his death in Avengers: Endgame, Iron Man has always been a figure symbolizing heroism and self-sacrifice. During the first Avengers movie, when the World Security Council shoots a missile at New York, Tony intercepts and flies it into the portal over his tower. His call to Pepper never connects, and it's truly sad to see Tony close his eyes as the missile explodes into the void.
7 Bucky’s Fall From The Train And His Return As The Winter Soldier Are Truly Tragic
Captain America's best friend, Bucky Barnes, has a life full of tragedy. It's hard to say which moment is sadder. As a soldier, he's taken captive and experimented on by Arnim Zola. The serum Zola gives Bucky is the only reason he survived his fall from the train in the Alps. Still, his disappearance into the crags remains horrible, his desperate scream making audiences almost as heartbroken as Steve Rogers is.
Things get even worse with Bucky's return as the Winter Soldier. His shocking confrontation with Steve is followed by a brutal torture scene. Strapped down to the Memory Suppressing Machine, Bucky reluctantly accepts his fate even while he comments that he knew the man from the bridge. He lets out muffled cries of pain as he is electrocuted. Despite not having a lot of lines in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Sebastian Stan manages to make the character's agony clear just through the look in his eyes.
6 Erik Killmonger Dies While Looking At The Sunset
One of the best villains in the MCU, Killmonger may have been incredibly dangerous, but his reasoning echoes problems genuinely existing in today's society. Perhaps that is what makes the ending of Black Panther even sadder. T'challa defeats his cousin by stabbing him with a spear. The wounded Erik responds that his father once described the beauty of Wakandan sunsets.
T'challa helps Erik onto the cliffside and offers to find him help, but Erik refuses. He asks T'challa to bury him in the ocean, like his ancestors who were brought over by their oppressors and jumped out of the ships, choosing death over bondage. Erik then removes the spear from his wound and dies peacefully. Considering his newest appearance in Marvel's What If...?, it's doubtful that he was redeemable, but his passing is still very sad.
5 Loki’s Suicide Attempt And Heroic Sacrifice Are Heartbreaking
Even before his death in Infinity War, the fan-favorite trickster god Loki doesn't have the easiest time in the MCU. In the first Thor film, his mental instability makes him attack Jotunheim with the Bifrost. He is rejected by his adoptive father while dangling over the edge of the Rainbow Bridge and attempts to commit suicide.
He survives, and comes back as the villain in Avengers. Loki's capture and subsequent imprisonment in Asgard don't go well, as he becomes inadvertently responsible for his mother's death. Together with his brother, he confronts the dark elves who killed Frigga. He saves Thor's life and kills Kurse, but he's stabbed in the process. The post-credit scene reveals that he has survived and taken Odin's throne, but in the original draft of the movie, Loki's story was truly meant to end with his heroic sacrifice on Svartalfheim.
4 The Asgardians Watch Surtur Destroy Their Homeworld
Thor: Ragnarok is a complete departure from previous installments of the Thor-centric films. With a distinctively eccentric vibe, vibrant and loud, Ragnarok reminds fans of the colorful comics Thor first appeared in.
But the name of the movie is no joke. Thor is forced to ask his brother Loki to resurrect Surtur, with the specific purpose of destroying Asgard. Thor's plan works and Thor and Loki's evil sister Hela is stopped. But the moment the Asgardians watch their homeworld explode is still heart-wrenching. Asgard may be all about its people, but the Asgardian civilization, as it existed before, is obliterated.
3 Tony Is Heartbroken After He Finds Out The Truth In Siberia
The Avengers are at their strongest when they stand together, but their personalities and pasts don't always blend well. When Steve Rogers finds out his friend Bucky Barnes killed Tony Stark's parents, he hides it, fearing Tony's reaction. His deception blows up in his face, and Helmut Zemo reveals the truth in the worst way.
The moment Tony has to watch his parents' death is utterly heartbreaking, especially once Tony realizes a man he considered his friend has lied to him about it. Both Team Cap and Team Iron Man make valid points when it comes to the Civil War, but Steve's betrayal is still undeniable.
2 Yondu Sacrifices Himself For Peter Quill
The Guardians of the Galaxy have always been among the funniest MCU movies. Maybe that is what makes it so surprising that they could also bring tears to viewers' eyes. A notable example is Yondu's death in Vol. 2.
Yondu's relationship with Peter Quill often seems conflicting and confusing, but his affection for Peter is genuine. After the fight with Ego, he sacrifices himself for Peter, offering his surrogate son the only remaining spacesuit while the two are floating in space. Peter can do nothing but watch Yondu suffocate and freeze, but Yondu reassures him. He tells Peter that even if Ego was his father, he wasn't Peter's daddy.
1 Groot Dies For His Friends
Easily one of the most likable characters in the MCU, the Flora Colossus Groot is first introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, as a mature specimen. After a battle with Ronan the Accuser, the Guardians find themselves trapped on Ronan's heavily damaged ship, the Dark Aster. To save his friends, Groot envelops them in a cocoon of branches. It is the only time he says "We are Groot", instead of "I am Groot." The other Guardians survive the crash, but he doesn't.
While Groot does come back as a smaller version of himself, Director James Gunn has stated that the second Groot is more or less the first one's son. Kevin Feige has a conflicting opinion, stating that Baby Groot has the original Groot's memories. In the end, it's also up to audiences to decide, but if there's one thing every fan can agree on, it's that Groot's sacrifice truly is heart-wrenching.