Fake-out deaths are a storytelling device that the Marvel Cinematic Universe never shies away from. At the end of Thor, Loki falls off the Rainbow Bridge and begins careening toward endless space. Of course, he returns in The Avengers and has to face a distraught Thor, who had been mourning him. The God of Mischief pulls another fast one in Thor: The Dark World, making his brother think he was dead, only to take his father’s place on the throne. However, it doesn’t take being a god to cheat death. Nick Fury takes a bullet in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and dies on the operating table. That’s not the end of his story, though, because he comes back good as new and helps take down HYDRA later in the movie.
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The MCU is usually pretty good about not leaving a character’s fate up in the air. After all, every figure, no matter how inconsequential they may seem, has a role to play in the world’s biggest franchise. But there is one notable exception: the MCU continues to fail to provide an update on a character who seemingly meets a gruesome end toward the end of Phase 3.
Avengers: Infinity War Doesn’t Pull Any Punches
The first three phases of the MCU build up Thanos into a terrifying threat capable of untold damage to the galaxy. That ends up being an understatement because, when the Mad Titan begins his quest for the Infinity Stones in Avengers: Infinity War, he leaves a trail of bodies wherever he goes. His first stop is the ship housing all of the Asgardian refugees, where he makes quick work of the Hulk and Thor before turning his attention to Loki. Thanos knows all about the God of Mischief’s tricks, so he chokes the life out of him, ensuring that he can’t come back later and stir up trouble. With that out of the way, the villain travels to a familiar location to collect another gem.
Once Thanos leaves, Thor can do nothing but float around space and mourn the ones he’s lost. The Guardians of the Galaxy stumble upon him and provide him shelter, but there isn’t much time to rest because Peter Quill and Co. know where Gamora’s dad is heading next. They arrive on Knowhere, the Celestial head that the Collector, who introduces the concept of the Infinity Stones in Guardians of the Galaxy, calls home, and find their former ally in a cell. It turns out that Thanos already has what he came for, the Reality Stone, which allows him to play tricks on Gamora and her teammates. However, after Thanos completes his mission and departs with his child, the movie doesn’t explain where the real Collector is, making it seem like the Mad Titan put him six feet under.
The MCU Isn’t Trying Hard Enough to Confirm the Collector’s Fate
Of course, the old rule with superhero movies is that, if there’s no body, a character must be considered alive. Infinity War never shows the Collector’s corpse, but having an illusion of him being present during Thanos’ shakedown pushes a particular narrative, since the villain isn’t exactly going easy on anyone. With Knowhere out of the picture for the rest of Infinity War and all of Avengers: Endgame, there’s no reason to discuss the Collector, as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have more than enough on their plate. But The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which is the first appearance for the titular team since Endgame, has a certain obligation, especially since a good chunk of it takes place on Knowhere.
In the special, Nebula mentions that the team bought Knowhere from the Collector, which is how they’ve come to start running it. However, without any other details, it’s entirely possible they purchased it from one of his family members after his passing or bid on it at an auction. What makes the throwaway line of dialogue even stranger is that two characters who could surely provide more information about the Collector’s whereabouts, Howard the Duck and Cosmo, stay silent on the subject throughout the special and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. By no means is the Collector one of the faces of the MCU, but he deserves better than being cast aside after years of service.
Avengers: Infinity War is streaming on Disney+.
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