41 Greatest Moments In The Marvel Cinematic Universe

7. The Avengers – Phil Coulson dies (at least for a while)

There’s an interview with Clark Gregg where he discusses how Joss Whedon told him Coulson was the reason bringing the Avengers together and it took him a moment before he thought, Wait, how am I bringing them together?!

Coulson’s death is heartbreaking every time — literally, with Loki stabbing him through the heart. Loki makes the fight personal, hitting the Avengers in the one place they never expected.

But it’s Coulson who gets the last laugh in the scene, telling Loki he’ll never win because he lacks conviction before blowing him through the nearest wall with the gun that came to be branded as “Coulson’s Revenge.”

It’s not just the Avengers who were brought together by Coulson’s death; fan outcry reached a ridiculous decibel that the character was resurrected for Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD on ABC. Agent Coulson tied the Marvel Cinematic Universe together, appearing in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and Thor as well as the Marvel One-Shot, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer.”

Watching him die on the big screen was too much to bear, and one of the biggest emotional scenes in an action-packed blockbuster. No amount of shawarma could console our broken hearts.

(Write-up by Christina Roberts, Bam Smack Pow staff writer)

Next: No. 6: Maybe this Stark guy isn't so selfish after all