7 MCU Deaths That Completely Wrecked Us

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has worked hard to structure its storytelling in a way that loss affects viewers. This is no more true than in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, which offers up some heartbreaking moments, and in the crossover movies, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which deliver some of the most devastating moments in comic book movie history. In the latter two movies, it was all about taking characters that viewers loved and killing them in tragic ways, but Gunn was different because he could destroy an audience when someone they barely knew died on screen.

From the death of major characters’ loved ones to the death of some of Marvel’s most beloved heroes, here is a look at seven MCU deaths that completely wrecked us.

7) Meredith Quill

The first Guardians of the Galaxy movie opened with a shocking origin scene for Peter Quill. The opening scene took place in 1988 when Peter was a child and watched as his mother succumbed to cancer. As she lay in a hospital bed and prepared to die, she wanted to see her son one last time. However, Peter wasn’t ready to accept this as a child, and he ran into the night.

He was not there to say goodbye to his mother, and she died without him, and that is when he was abducted by Yondu and taken off Earth. Seeing Meredith showing her love for her son and then seeing the hurt in her eyes when he ran away was heartbreaking, and it is a reason Peter grew up to be such a messed-up hero. In the second movie, when Peter learned his father Ego had given Meredith cancer, it made her death even more tragic.

6) Jane Foster

Jane Foster made her debut in the first Thor movie, but she was mostly pushed to the side after Thor: The Dark World. However, when Jane came back in Thor: Love and Thunder, it was with a shocking revelation that she had contracted cancer. One of the film’s storylines was that she sought out Mjolnir at Asgard’s new home on Earth, hoping it could cure her.

It turned her into a demale version of Thor, and she ended up helping the God of Thunder battle Gorr. Sadly, using the power caused her cancer to worsen, and she ended up dying during this battle at the end. As Thor held her and she sacrificed her life for the greater good, it was genuinely devastating.

5) Loki

Loki’s hero’s journey in the MCU has been fascinating. He started as a villain in the first Thor movie and then in the first Avengers film. He was an ally in Thor: The Dark World and finally became a reluctant hero in Thor: Ragnarok. He became so popular that Marvel Comics gave him a face turn as well. That made his shocking death so emotional when it happened.

What was most shocking was that it seemed Thor, Loki, and Hulk had saved the Asgardians, but then Avengers: Infinity War started, and Thanos arrived, beat up Thor, and murdered Loki in front of Thor’s eyes. Seeing Loki try to be a hero one last time before his death made it a devastating moment. Of course, he didn’t stay dead, but for at least one movie, Loki’s death was a shocking and tragic moment.

4) Black Panther

Black Panther’s death wrecked fans more for the real-life moments than because of the storyline. While T’Challa’s death was emotional in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the fact that he died because actor Chadwick Boseman died in real life made the passing even harder to take. The funeral for T’Challa was done respectfully in the movie, but it was still an emotional moment.

The MCU faced some controversy when it refused to recast T’Challa with a new actor and instead honored the actor by having the King of Wakanda die. It allowed them to pass the mantle to Shuri, and things moved on without the warrior. There are rumors that the MCU is finally bringing back T’Challa with a new actor, but for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it was a sad send-off for a beloved character.

3) Aunt May

Spider-Man has lost so many people in the comics, from his Uncle Ben and Gwen Stacy to other friends and allies over the years. When the MCU began using the hero, his uncle was gone, and Peter Parker was already Spider-Man. However, the psychological trauma didn’t stop there, as Spider-Man lost both his mentor, Iron Man, and his beloved Aunt May.

This death happened in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and seeing Aunt May die was shocking for viewers, since that is the one person Peter hasn’t lost, and even gave up his marriage to save, in the comics. Spider-Man had lost so much in the movies, and when he gave up his friends and happiness at the end of this film, it was clear that losing Aunt May might have marked the end of his fight.

2) Black Widow

Black Widow was a shocking death in Avengers: Endgame, and she was also one of the most polarizing because she sacrificed herself to save Hawkeye, which rubbed some fans the wrong way. This happened when Natasha and Hawkeye went to obtain the Soul Stone for the Time Heist, and they faced the Red Skull. She died to trade her life for the Soul Stone and to save the universe.

However, her death was a tragic moment and showed that not all the original Avengers would make it out of this movie alive. It was added to the tragedy when her “sister” Yelena Belova was introduced in the Black Widow movie (which took place in the past), and Natasha’s death caused Yelena to go to dark places, including trying to kill Hawkeye, whom she blamed. Black Widow was a beloved MCU hero, and her death hit hard.

1) Iron Man

The hardest-hitting death that wrecked every MCU fan came when Iron Man snapped and sacrificed his own life to destroy Thanos and the villains invading the Earth. It was a great way to close Iron Man’s story, but seeing him lying there and dying as Spider-Man broke down over him and Pepper Potts told him it was okay to move on was devastating.

Iron Man’s funeral, being one of the moments that ended the Infinity Saga, was perfect, and it brought back all Tony Stark’s friends, allies, and teammates to pay tribute to him one last time. It was this funeral, this death, and this sad moment that wrecked every MCU fan, and it proved how great the movies leading into this moment really were.

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