7 Avengers Who Have Stayed Dead

The Avengers are Marvel Comics’ quintessential superhero team. Over the years, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have had numerous heroes join their ranks and have battled countless threats to the universe. When facing off against so many perilous villains, there are bound to be Avengers who die in the line of duty. Of course, it’s a long-running joke among readers that death is practically meaningless in comics because many Avengers (and other characters) have died and come back to life as if nothing had happened. Still, there are a select few Avengers who are unlucky enough to have remained dead for good and have never been resurrected.

While other heroes like Captain America and Spider-Man can die and be reborn on a regular basis, the following members of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have been deceased for a while, in some cases decades, without any sign that they’ll ever come back to the living. Some of these heroes may appear from time to time as undead; yet they have never been fully restored to life.

7) Starbrand

Over the years, the Starbrand, a mark that grants its bearer vast cosmic power, has been passed down to countless heroes who have met untimely deaths. One of the most recent wielders was the college student Kevin Conner. After learning how to harness the Starbrand, Kevin was recruited by Captain America into the Avengers. Despite being one of the strongest heroes ever to join the Avengers, Kevin met an unfortunate and permanent end. To prevent Ghost Rider from accidentally awakening an all-powerful and malevolent Celestial, Kevin attacked the hellish anti-hero. In self-defense, Ghost Rider used his Penance Stare to kill Kevin. After he died in 2017, Kevin’s Starbrand passed on to two other heroes, who also died heroically.

6) Deathcry

Sharra Neramani, aka Deathcry, was a lesser-known member of the Avengers and the Shi’ar Empire. Queen Lilandra ordered Sharra to protect the Avengers. Sharra fought as a member of the Avengers for a short time before leaving to rejoin the Shi’ar Empire. She was imprisoned by the Kree but later was released by the hero Star-Lord, who recruited her and other convicts to fight the evil alien race known as the Phallanx. During the mission, Sharra got into an argument with her teammate, Captain Universe, who accidentally killed her in self-defense. After she died in 2007, Sharra was briefly resurrected as a reanimated member of the Undead Avengers during the events of 2011’s Chaos War, before returning to the grave when the event concluded.

5) Goliath

Bill Foster, aka Goliath, was a close friend of Hank Pym who recreated the Pym Particles, which give the user the ability to alter their size. As Goliath, Bill became an honorary Avenger. When the Superhero Registration Act required all superheroes to unmask and become government agents, Bill was among the many heroes who rebelled. Led by Captain America, this rebellion sparked the Civil War in 2006, in which Bill was its most significant casualty. To apprehend the Anti-Registration heroes, Iron Man deployed Ragnarok, who was a cyborg clone of Thor. Ragnarok almost immediately went rogue and fired a lightning bolt through Bill’s chest, instantly killing the Avenger. Bill’s death was a turning point in Civil War, and his mantle would be taken up by his nephew, Tom.

4) Yellowjacket

The second person to take the Yellowjacket name, Rita DeMara, has played both hero and villain. Rita was originally a petty thief who stole Hank Pym’s Yellowjacket suit and used it as a member of the Masters of Evil. Despite her criminal record, Captain America recruited Rita to help defeat the villain, the High Evolutionary, after the original Avengers team disbanded. Even though she helped the new Avengers defeat the High Evolutionary, Rita would still bounce back between being a force for good and a force for evil. In 1995, when Rita tried to alert the Avengers of an upcoming attack, she was murdered by Iron Man, who had been brainwashed by the villain Immortus.

3) Valkyrie

Aside from Thor, Brunnhilde, aka Valkyrie, is the Avengers’ most noteworthy Asgardian member. A fierce warrior and leader of the Valkyrie army, Brunnhilde met an honorable end during the events of 2019’s War of the Realms. When Malekith the Accursed, along with the Dark Council, attacked the Ten Realms, Brunnhilde and her fellow Valkyries battled the villains to give the Avengers and the armies of Asgard time to escape. The Dark Council effortlessly slaughtered the Valkyries. In this battle, Malekith impaled and then beheaded Brunnhilde. Her sacrifice gave the heroes of Earth and Asgard a chance to regroup and stage a counterattack. Brunnhilde’s leadership of the Valkyries would be passed on to Jane Foster.

2) Swordsman

The first time Jacques DuQuesne, aka Swordsman, joined the Avengers, he was a double agent working for the villainous Mandarin. After luring the Avengers into a trap, Jacques fled. But remorseful for his actions, Jacques decided to try to become a genuine hero. He reenlisted into the Avengers’ ranks and went on many missions. Jacques even fell in love with his teammate, Mantis. But, in 1972, Jacques gave his life to save Mantis from the villain Rama-Tut. Nonetheless, Jacques would be reanimated several times as an undead member of the Undead Avengers, a team that consisted of many fallen heroes, including Deathcry, Yellowjacket, and Captain Marvel. Jacques and the rest of the Undead Avengers would finally pass on to the afterlife in 2011 with the conclusion of the Chaos War.

1) Captain Marvel

The Kree superhero Captain Mar-Vell is one of the most well-known comic-book characters to remain dead. Wielding the cosmic Nega Bands, Mar-Vell was one of the strongest heroes ever to join the Avengers. Tragically, Mar-Vell’s many years of heroism ended when a run-in with the radioactive supervillain Nitro caused him to develop cancer. In 1982, Mar-Vell died peacefully, surrounded by his fellow Avengers. His death would pave the way for many other heroes to take up the Captain Marvel mantle, including Carol Danvers. While he’s reappeared several times after as a reanimated corpse, Mar-Vell has never had a proper resurrection, and his initial demise is still considered to be one of the most impactful deaths in Marvel Comics history.

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