The first season of Marvel’s What If…? had a major ace up its sleeve when one episode introduced the world of Marvel Zombies into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and gave us an entire world with undead Avengers. Lucky for all of us horror fans, Marvel felt the overwhelming response to that episode and has gone back that world in a major way. This week saw the release of the four-episode first season of Marvel Zombies, one that picked up after the events of that series and gave us even more carnage, bloodshed, and brain-eating than we got before.
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The cast of Marvel Zombies has way more characters than you expect, and the biggest surprise perhaps is how many of them actually survive. That said, even with heroes that appear to make it out of the show alive, far more meet a grisly end across its four episodes. Below, we’ve ranked the deaths of every hero found within Marvel Zombies‘ first season, and though not every ending was created equally, some of them are clearly better than others. Naturally, spoilers follow.
18) Red Guardian
Though he has a sizeable part in the larger plot, Red Guardian’s conclusion in the show comes from eating tainted meat in New Asgard, prompting a zombie transformation that feels underwhelming even if it is in keeping with the character’s personality. That said, he does kill zombie Captain America early in the series, so his time on the show isn’t a total waste.
17) Thor
Chris Hemsworth only has a few lines as the god of thunder in the series, but he really makes them count. Though Thor’s place in the larger plot is really interesting and unique compared to his MCU status, the fact that the character dies off-screen and becomes a zombie is only there to make the undead return surprising. In truth, it’s not that surprising.
16) Melina
A noble sacrifice, but Melina’s death comes via Zombie Okoye’s Vibranium spear, something that could just as easily happened to the character in any other universe. It’s not that special of an end in the grand scheme of this horror universe.
15) Valkyrie
This one has to come with a caveat, because even though Valkyrie is stabbed in the exact same way as Melina, it’s not entirely clear that she’s dead. That said, it’s only a step above Melina’s actual death as we see the visceral reaction to it happen, and that Valkyrie fought to the bitter end. We’re keeping it low because it may not be an actual death, but if it is, it’s not that creative or visually interesting.
14) Shang-Chi
A pretty classic zombie movie death, Shang-Chi’s end comes from what appears to just be a zombie taking a bite out of him from behind. Even though the team is surrounded by this point, it’s a death that seems to have been added for shock value and not for any reason that tracks logically. Shang-Chi has dispatched countless zombies in the series, but one just takes him out via right place, right time; it’s cheap.
13) Yelena
Though this one also has “happens off-screen” working against it, the writing of Yelena’s sacrifice in the series, along with Florence Pugh’s performance, makes this a memorable event. Not only is this one of the best dramatic moments of the series, but it’s entirely in-character for the Marvel hero.
12) Black Panther
Yet another noble sacrifice in the series, Marvel Zombies reveals that in the aftermath of the What If..? episode that started the story, T’Challa himself also fell. While fighting the zombified Thanos, who still possessed several infinity stones, the Black Panther took the Mad Titan down with him as he attempted to ensure that the threat ended in Wakanda and didn’t continue to spread. His sacrifice gave way to the Infinity Hulk, so it was a worthy one at the time.
11) Jimmy Woo
Simply overwhelmed by the undead in New Asgard, Jimmy Woo goes out like any good soldier in a zombie movie. His death is gruesome and tough to watch, made even worse by the screams that Randall Park lets out as he’s consumed. That said, the character himself is not a very memorable one in the show as a whole, so his death is just another tick on the counter.
10) Wenwu
Wenwu’s return in Marvel Zombies is a welcome surprise. His ending, however, is one that checks two boxes: a noble sacrifice and a classic zombie movie death. After watching Shang-Chi be bitten, Wenwu throws the ten rings to his son, preventing him from turning and giving the world a new hero to protect it. He’s quickly consumed after that, devoured by a horde in a moment that’s satisfying for horror fans. The moment proves there’s more to the character than initially thought, but also gives some dramatic weight to Shang-Chi’s place in the series.
9) Kate Bishop
One of the biggest surprises in the entire series, Kate Bishop being annihilated by a zombie Captain Marvel’s energy blast, after shooting her with a party favor arrow, is both horrifying and hilarious. For that reason alone, it’s one of the most memorable deaths in the entire MCU; good thing it’s only canon to this universe.
8) Rocket & Groot
A surprising number of characters in a Marvel Zombies show are destroyed not by the undead but by expansive beams of power that are fired upon them. Rocket & Groot’s return in the series echoes their arrival in Avengers: Infinity War, but quickly sees them atomized by zombie Thanos. It’s not as tough to watch as some of the other deaths, but the aftermath is the part that makes your heart drop.
7) Rintrah
This character from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness makes his MCU return, and he goes out like a champ. While fighting the zombie army of Wanda Maximoff he’s steadily overrun by some of the undead, who run him through with several spears before he eventually perishes. It’s a tough one, but a good death for a warrior.
6) The New Black Widows
Marvel Zombies confirms that Alexei has trained a new troop of Black Widows amid the zombie apocalypse, but their training isn’t enough as all of them are quickly dispatched by the zombie Ghost. It’s one of the best choreographed moments in the series, showing off not only trademark Marvel action but gruesome horror bits to boot. Overall, a great combination of what it means to be “Marvel Zombies.”
5) Sara and the London Master
Though the two characters themselves are pretty far from memorable, the way that they go out is, tragically, hilarious. Amid the fight with Wanda’s zombie army, the pair becomes the landing spot for zombie Thor as he makes his grand entrance. A beam of red light shines down, burning their clothes and skin off, leaving behind just charred skeletons frozen in place. Thor then lands on the bones and sends them into a pile. It’s the kind of death that you wish the series had more of, something that winks at the audience to have a little bit of a good time while also being horrified.
4) Baron Zemo
Two pieces of Baron Zemo’s death cause this to be so high; the first is the fact that he literally has his heart ripped out of his chest from behind by an Asgardian zombie. The second is that this happens right after he delivers his final line of the series: “I deeply regret meeting all of you.” It’s funny, it’s gross, and it tracks for who Zemo really is.
3) Death Dealer
One of the coolest-looking characters in all of the MCU gets the chance to really shine in Marvel Zombies, dispatching the undead in creative and unique ways. Their death ranks this high on the list not only because of how gruesome it is, he’s crushed under tremendous strikes from Asgardian zombies, but also because the series can make you be shocked by a former villain with no dialogue who bites the dust in a grisly way.
2) Blade
Blade’s death in Marvel Zombies ranks high not only because of the surprise, fans have waited years to see the character properly appear in the MCU, but also because of the way it’s animated. Once again, Blade is killed by a surging beam of power from the sky like so many on this list, but his death looks different. The way that Blade’s death is animated, eschewing the cel-shaded style of the rest of the series in favor of a more anime-like aesthetic, makes this death shocking and also one of the best pieces of animation in the entire series.
1) John Walker
There is only one death in Marvel Zombies that tops Blade’s conclusion, and it’s one that, if you blinked, you might have missed it. As Baron Zemo’s forces on the raft are trying to quell the zombie Namor, John Walker attempts to stop him. Despite being somewhat superpowered himself, Walker is quite literally torn in half by zombie Namor.
Not only does the series show this happen in slow motion, but it gives us a quick look at the aftermath too, as Zemo looks down to find the top half of Walker on the ground, a pool of blood forming at the base of what was once his waist, and his spinal column flailing out of the wound. It’s grim, dark, bloody, and, honestly, pretty funny. It’s the best kind of on-screen death for a series with superhero zombies, one that stays in R-rated territory and utilizes the premise perfectly.
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