Marvel Just Killed a Member of the Winter Guard

The pages of Avengers are taking a unique journey through Marvel Comics canon, with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes going up against a surprising array of foes. That was especially the case in the series’ most recent issue, which returned following a months-long hiatus to kick off the “World War She-Hulk” arc. The arc saw Jennifer Walters’ life being turned upside down by the fan-favorite group the Winter Guard — and for one of that team’s members, the encounter turned deadly. Spoilers for Avengers #46 by Jason Aaron, Javier Garron, David Curiel, and VC’s Cory Petit below! Only look if you want to know!

The issue saw the Avengers be ambushed by the Winter Guard, who wanted revenge on the team for their fight against vampires in Russia. The Winter Guard, in particular, wanted to get revenge on She-Hulk, who had been responsible for quite a bit of damage in the ordeal. After Gorilla-Man became a double agent and worked directly with the Avengers, he created a vulnerability that allowed for the Winter Guard to attack, and they kidnapped She-Hulk as a result.

As the group prepared to leave with She-Hulk, Ursa Major pulled Gorilla-Man aside and asked why the Avengers hadn’t been able to stop them, seemingly hinted that the two of them had coordinated a way for the plan to fall apart. Red Widow then accused Ursa of being a traitor, and brutally and fatally stabbed him in the throat.

Gorilla-Man then told Red Widow that killing Ursa wasn’t “the plan”, and that he’d previously struck a deal with Dracula that would lead to his own desired demise.

The timing of Ursa Major being killed in the pages of Avengers is interesting, particularly as Marvel’s Black Widow movie just made its debut in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access. The film features the live-action debut of Winter Guard member Red Guardian (David Harbour) and even sees him arm wrestle a prisoner named Ursa, making some hope to see the full team come to fruition in the MCU.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know a lot about those guys, the Sputnik, Crimson Dynamo, and Ursa. And, I think that if you watch the movie closely, I think you can find some stuff in there,” Harbour recently told ComicBook.com. “Yeah. I like this mirrored universe that these guys set up because we’ve seen The Avengers and what they can do and what they… And there’s almost direct parallels in this Winter Guard to each of those characters, like Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and I would like to see what a mirrored universe in that way would look like and how that would function as a larger phase.”

What do you think of Ursa Major dying in Avengers? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!