10 Most Powerful Characters Who Died in the MCU

From its very beginning, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has adapted some of Marvel Comics’ most iconic characters onto the big screen. As the franchise has continued to grow in popularity, so too has its cast of characters, with more heroes and villains added to the MCU’s expansive ranks with each passing year. However, the movies of the MCU don’t simply add to the franchise’s cast, and it’s not at all uncommon for characters to be permanently killed during its high-stakes stories. While it might seem natural that there would be some collateral damage in a world filled with beings possessing godlike abilities, the victims aren’t always the characters one might expect.

On many occasions throughout both the official MCU timeline and those of the other realities depicted in some of its TV shows, incredibly powerful characters have been killed. Whether part of a scene with high emotional impact, the result of a heroic intervention against a dangerous villain, or just a simple, shocking moment, the MCU has proven that it is more than willing to kill off even its most powerful characters. In a universe in which the hierarchy of power is constantly being challenged, it would seem that not even its biggest powerhouses can be considered safe.

10) Ikaris

Making his MCU debut in 2021’s Eternals, Richard Madden’s Ikaris is one of the most powerful MCU heroes introduced since Avengers: Endgame. The MCU’s version turned out to be not so heroic, after all, with Eternals‘ story revealing that he had chosen to side with Arishem over his teammates. Intent on protecting the emerging Celestial Tiamut, the other Eternals were forced to fight against Ikaris, and he more than proved himself as perhaps the most powerful among them.

Realizing that he couldn’t win against the amassed might of the other Eternals, Ikaris chose to fly into the sun. While the act killed him, the MCU has left things open for a potential return due to the nature of its Eternals. Even so, as Ikaris is commonly considered one of Marvel’s answers to Superman, the character’s unceremonious death in Eternals is one that saw a hugely powerful MCU character meet his end on the big screen.

9) Ego the Living Planet 

Since the end of the MCU’s Phase 1, the franchise has considerably upped the power threshold of its villains. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 introduced Kurt Russell’s Ego the Living Planet, established as the biological father of Peter Quill, the MCU’s Star-Lord. In the movie, Ego identifies himself as a Celestial, and his ability to control and manipulate all aspects of life on his planet-sized being makes him massively powerful, especially in comparison to other MCU villains.

Ego is one of the MCU villains who could have beaten the original Avengers easily, thanks largely to the colossal scale of his abilities. However, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 sees Ego meet his end, after revealing to Quill that he was responsible for the death of Peter’s mother years before. The less-powerful Guardians are able to plant explosive batteries in Ego’s core, thereby killing him in spite of his awesome power.

8) Doctor Strange

In terms of raw power, Doctor Strange isn’t necessarily one of the MCU’s most powerful heroes. Over the course of his time in the franchise, however, he has been given subtle power upgrades, like the one he received by making use of the Darkhold and its corrupting influence. Additionally, Strange’s creative use of the magical abilities at his disposal makes him one of the franchise’s most important heroes, and he has been able to overcome enemies far more powerful than himself as a result.

Doctor Strange has also been killed many times across the MCU’s various timelines. In live-action, this was shown in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where a Strange variant is killed in the opening scene, and where another Strange is executed off-screen by the Illuminati. In the MCU’s animated series What If…?, Strange is shown dying as a result of Multiversal tampering with timelines to his own selfish ends, proving that even the powerful heroes of the MCU can perish.

7) Captain Marvel

Many consider Captain Marvel to rank as one of the MCU’s most powerful heroes. Carol Danvers’ cosmic abilities make her an incredibly versatile figure who makes use of an impressive array of powers, including flight, super strength, the ability to shoot blasts of cosmic energy, and remarkable resilience. Though her live-action story has been somewhat limited compared to the MCU’s most important characters, she has been firmly established as one of the strongest heroes currently active within the franchise’s continuity.

Captain Marvel may not have died in the MCU’s Sacred Timeline, but she has been killed on more than one occasion in the franchise. In What If…?, one episode imagines what would happen if Ultron won, and one of his first orders of business was to kill Captain Marvel. Additionally, Marvel Zombies established early that Danvers was one of the first heroes to fall victim to the zombie virus, proving that even with all her power, she isn’t entirely unstoppable.

6) The Hulk

There have been several different Hulks in the MCU since the character was first introduced into the franchise in 2008. However, the most iconic remains the original, and Bruce Banner’s big green alter-ego has been a staple of the MCU’s stories since its earliest days. Hulk is often considered one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe, and this has been subtly reflected in some of his stories within the MCU.

Even so, the Hulk has been killed within the MCU’s Multiverse. What If…? season 1 saw the Avengers killed one by one as part of Hank Pym’s revenge plot, involving a particularly gruesome and amusing death for the Jade Giant. Pym shot the Hulk with a chemical that would force his body to continue to rapidly expand upon transforming, resulting in him quite literally exploding. While the Hulk might be seemingly impossible to kill, the MCU has found a way to have the powerful hero meet his end in the Multiverse.

5) Vision 

There are some MCU characters that are weaker in the movies than in the comics, and Vision sadly ranks among them due to the way his story has played out in the franchise. Introduced as an android brought to life by the raw power of the Mind Stone, Vision is undeniably a hugely powerful asset to the Avengers in the latter stages of the Infinity Saga. Despite being the physical embodiment of the Mind Stone’s power, Vision isn’t invulnerable, though.

A body made of vibranium and powered by the Mind Stone wasn’t enough to protect Vision from death, not just once, but twice. He first died in Avengers: Infinity War after urging Wanda Maximoff to destroy the Mind Stone to stop Thanos, only for the Mad Titan to reverse time. Then, Thanos plucked the Mind Stone from Vision’s head, killing him all over again. As powerful as Vision was established to be, the scene proved that no one could be truly safe within the MCU.

4) Kang the Conqueror

Despite being one of the most powerful MCU villains introduced since Avengers: Endgame, Kang the Conqueror’s story came to an unceremonious end in the franchise. Though he was originally intended as the main antagonist of the Multiverse Saga, behind-the-scenes events led to a change of plan, making the character’s exit in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania more permanent than originally planned. Kang’s status within the wider Marvel Universe has earned him a reputation as one of the Avengers’ most formidable adversaries, and his MCU counterpart was shaping up in much the same way.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania saw Scott Lang’s Ant-Man encounter Kang the Conqueror in the Quantum Realm, where the latter had been imprisoned. The movie’s ending saw Kang seemingly killed, and plans to explore the character’s story further have seemingly been scrapped entirely. This makes Kang’s death seem decidedly permanent, and while perhaps unavoidable on Marvel’s part, it marks another occasion on which an MCU powerhouse has been killed off.

3) Odin 

As the most powerful MCU character to wield Thor’s hammer, Odin is undeniably one of the franchise’s most substantial figures. First introduced in 2011’s Thor, Odin played a supporting role in the first two movies following his sons, Thor and Loki. In that time, Odin was established as the wise and powerful ruler of Asgard, respected across the Nine Realms for his remarkable abilities and his status as the All-Father of the Norse gods.

For all that power, Odin wasn’t invincible, though. After spending too much time on Earth, Odin’s power waned, and he passed away peacefully in Thor: Ragnarok after a final visit with his sons. The MCU never overtly depicted Odin at his most powerful, but his status as a commanding figure respected by Thor and Loki established the hierarchy of power within Asgardian society. This firmly cemented Odin as one of the MCU’s most powerful characters, making his death even more surprising.

2) Thanos

The MCU’s story has grown from several seemingly disconnected narratives into a sprawling and successful shared universe. In that time, the Infinity Saga was established as the first main narrative arc of the MCU, with Thanos written as the main antagonist of the MCU’s Phase 1 through Phase 3. Although the Mad Titan didn’t make his full debut until Avengers: Infinity War, he had already been firmly established as a dangerous and powerful adversary.

Thanos’ specific power levels in the MCU weren’t detailed, but his ability to wield and use all six Infinity Stones speaks for itself. He was able to easily beat Thor, Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man in battle, and outmaneouvered even some of the MCU’s greatest magic users. For all his power, though, Thanos wasn’t able to cheat death, and was shown being vanquished by the heroes of the MCU twice in live-action in Avengers: Endgame, and multiple times within the MCU’s animated series in the Multiverse Saga.

1) Scarlet Witch

After spending her time in the Infinity Saga as one of the MCU’s most powerful magical heroes, Wanda Maximoff’s alignment shifted in the MCU TV show WandaVision. The series saw Wanda grieving Vision and being manipulated by Agatha Harkness, eventually resulting in a villain turn that saw Wanda embrace the mantle of the Scarlet Witch. This saw Wanda become one of the most powerful beings in the entire MCU, bolstered by the evil power of the Darkhold.

Wanda’s uniquely powerful command of chaos magic didn’t stop her from dying within the MCU, though. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ended with the death of the Scarlet Witch after her plan to recover her sons failed, and Wanda was also shown dying or undead in multiple animated shows in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. Even in death, Wanda proves to be dangerously powerful, as evidenced by the story of Marvel Zombies, showing that her abilities endured even after her life had expired.

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