MCU: 25 most heartbreaking Marvel Cinematic Universe character deaths

Alexandria Ingham

Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME..Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019

Some deaths will always hit us harder than others. Here’s a countdown of the 25 most heartbreaking Marvel Cinematic Universe character deaths from each of the 22 movies over the 10 years.

As a fair word of warning, there are spoilers from all Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, including Avengers: Endgame, within this post.

It’s taken 22 movies and 10 years to see how Avengers would come to a complete end. Over the years, we’ve said a permanent goodbye to many characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Others have only been a temporary goodbye, but that doesn’t make them any less heartbreaking.

Some have been harder to take than others. Even the death of villains have been hard to take if they’ve meant something to our favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe characters. And it’s often been the reaction from the characters that has left us mourning these fictional characters.

For the sake of this post, I’m looking at the movies only. Yes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe does extend to ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and the Netflix-Marvel series could be considered as part of the movie universe, but for this post it’s about the movies that have led us to the point of Avengers: Endgame. All the movies in between (and including) Iron Man, where it all technically starts, and Endgame are included on this list.

I’ll share a brief look at how they died and why they were so heartbreaking. Sometimes, it’s not about our reactions or our feelings for the characters, but about how much the characters meant to our favorites. For example, you may see parents who we never really knew or met but they meant the world to a couple of our characters.

Here are the 25 most heartbreak Marvel Cinematic Universe character deaths to happen over the course of the last 10 years.

Marvel Studios INFINITY WAR..Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes in Avengers Infinity War TV Spot..©Marvel Studios 2018

25. Bucky Barnes

Movie it happened in: Captain America: The First Avenger

Why it was so heartbreaking: While we found out in The Winter Soldier that Bucky Barnes hadn’t actually died, we didn’t realize it would happen at the time of the death. In Captain America: The First Avenger we thought that we’d lost Steve Rogers’ best friend.

Okay, if you hadn’t read the comics then you thought he was definitely dead. The source material is a giveaway of what could happen.

But whether you knew or not that Bucky would be back as The Winter Soldier, it didn’t stop this death from being heartbreaking. In fact, it starts off our list (and if he remained dead, he would have been moved further up the list).

Bucky died a hero. He had no thoughts about his own life. All he knew was that he needed to stop the bad guy and he was thrown off a train for his efforts. Cap tried to get to him, only to fail. All Cap could do was watch his best friend fall to his death in the icy valley below.

But why did Bucky affect us?

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Well, this was Steve Rogers’ best friend. We’d seen the two together from the beginning, watching as Bucky made fun of his friend but always looked out for him at the same time. When everyone else would be against Cap, Bucky was right there for him and went on one of the most dangerous missions without any questions.

This was a best friend you wanted. It was clear from this why Cap would risk the Avengers when Bucky was returned.

MARVEL’S AGENT CARTER – “Valediction” – Peggy faces the full fury of Leviathan, as Howard Stark makes his return in the explosive season finale of “Marvel’s Agent Carter,” TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Kelsey McNeal)

HAYLEY ATWELL

24. Peggy Carter

Movie it happened in: Captain America: Civil War

Why it was so heartbreaking: I guess it’s sort of unfair to include this. Peggy died off-screen and it wasn’t really the Peggy we’d got to know and love. Okay, yes, it was technically the same Peggy, but it wasn’t Hayley Atwell in the role by this point. It’s due to this technicality that she just can’t be moved further up this list.

Yet, regardless of this, losing Peggy Carter was hard for one person in particular, Steve Rogers. And it was because of seeing his reaction to the loss that puts her death onto my list of the most heartbreaking deaths in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Steve had only just gotten to see Peggy again, and she was an old woman close to the end of her life – a good life, but still at the end. There was so much loss for them when Steve crashed the plane into the icy water and remained there for decades. Peggy’s death gave us so much regret.

Had it not been for the fact that Steve had an interest in Peggy’s niece, Sharon Carter, then this death may have been higher up on the list. Likewise, had it not been for the funeral being the place he found out about Sharon’s connection then this death would have been much higher.

However, Peggy made a huge impact on Steve Rogers. I’m just glad he got to go back in time and live a life with a version of her in the end.

Credit: Marvel Studios for Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) — Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt)

23. Meredith Quill

Movie it happened in: Guardians of the Galaxy

Why it was so heartbreaking: We first met Peter Quill as a young boy at his mother’s deathbed. She’d died of a brain tumor and shortly after that death, he was taken away by a space ship. He never forgot about his mother or his time on Earth, but his life went on a mysterious and crazy journey.

22. Odin

Movie it happened in: Thor: Ragnarok

Why it was so heartbreaking: When you think of the death of someone like Odin, you’d expect plenty of fire, fighting, and shouting. You’d expect a huge war and him to die in battle. That’s not what happened.

Not getting that ending you’d have likely imagined is why this death has made this list. Going out in fire and with fighting would have been easy. It wouldn’t have meant as much as it did with the way that Odin did die. After being under Loki’s spell, he’d finally broken free but it wasn’t for long.

He had messages for his sons. Some of the messages were ones of love and pride, but others were messages of what would come next. And there was an important message about Asgard: it’s a “people, not a place.”

Instead of dying in war, Odin went out as a slightly frail and old man. There was a humanity to the death, as well as a dignity. He was loved and he clearly loved his sons, wishing that some things could have been different. And while many others have been alone or had just one or two people around them, Odin had the two people who meant the world to him by his side as he said goodbye.

His death did bring on the end of Asgard. You know you sat and screamed at him to tell them the full truth. I wished he’d said something sooner about Hela. However, that was never meant to be. At least he went out with a mention of her.

Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME..Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019

21. Hawkeye’s family

Movie it happened in: Avengers: Endgame

Why it was so heartbreaking: At the very beginning of Avengers: Endgame, we finally got to see how Hawkeye was pulled back into the fight. We knew something had to happen to his family. The question was whether all had gone or just the children had gone, so Hawkeye’s wife would be pulled in too.

In the end, we found out that his three children and wife were taken away. But we got to see Thanos’ snap in the way that everyone else around the world would have. While the Avengers and everyone working with them would have known the threat if Thanos got to snap his fingers, most of the world would have been going about their days as normal.

Hawkeye was just living out his house arrest with his family. He was teaching his daughter to shoot arrows while getting ready for the meal his wife was making. It was supposed to be just a normal day. And then suddenly, he was all alone.

There was ash left behind, which we all knew to be the ash from the disappearances. However, Hawkeye wouldn’t have known any of this. As a parent, losing your child causes unimaginable pain, but losing them like this was just darn heartbreaking for Hawkeye.

It was made all the worse when he went on his vendetta. As he was grieving over the loss of four innocent lives, he hated the fact that criminals were allowed to live. You can understand why he went on a killing spree around the world.

Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

L to R: Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel)

Photo: Film Frame

©Marvel Studios 2018

20. Teen Groot

Movie it happened in: Avengers: Infinity War

Why it was so heartbreaking: We got to the end of Avengers: Infinity War with all sorts of questions. One of those was how Thanos had won. Why hadn’t Doctor Strange told Iron Man what would have to happen. In Endgame, we found out why it all had to play out the way it did, but that didn’t stop some of the deaths after Thanos’ snap being absolutely heartbreaking.

Not all of them are going to make this list. Yes, they are all equally heartbreaking for the various characters, but some of them stood out more for us as fans. One of those was Teen Groot.

As he started to disappear, he said “I am Groot.” Okay, so he would always say that but after the events of the movie, we found out what that actually meant. He was reaching out to Rocket, and his words meant, “Dad.”

He was calling Rocket, “Dad.”

In that moment, everything that Rocket had done up to this point hit us like a ton of bricks. We got to see the effect Rocket had on Groot. He had been made from the death of one Groot and was raced by the Guardians. He had gone from cute but destructible baby to sullen teen across two movies, but in the end he was still a child.

And Rocket clearly understood. You can see the shock and loss in his eyes as Groot starts to disappear. Knowing what Groot is actually saying makes this Marvel Cinematic Universe death all the more heartbreaking.

Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War..Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.)..Photo Credit: Zade Rosenthal..© Marvel 2016

19. Howard and Maria Stark

Movie it happened in: Pre-MCU, but we got to see it happen in Captain America: Civil War.

Why it was so heartbreaking: In a way, Tony Stark needed to lose his parents to have everything happen to him that needed to happen. And in a way, he became a much greater man because of his parents’ deaths. But that doesn’t mean they should have happened, right?

Many of the great superheroes have all developed their powers or skills from loss. Tony Stark is the Marvel version of DC’s Batman. He is a billionaire thanks to his parents’ fortune and his parents’ deaths helped him become the man he is when we meet him. He’s also smart, forward thinking, and has a sort of butler/assistant.

And like Bruce Wayne, we never really got to know Tony Stark’s parents. While their deaths were heartbreaking for Tony, they don’t have that much of an effect on us. It’s because of that their deaths can’t be moved further up this list.

However, they are heartbreaking. The way their deaths happen is what makes them heartbreaking. We see Bucky Barnes brainwashing into killing them. He has no remorse, even after he’s been brainwashed, he doesn’t exactly show how sorry he is for his actions.

Seeing how his parents died is what pushed Tony Stark into another fight against Steven Rogers. It put Iron Man and Captain America on opposite sides of an Avengers Civil War and we’d see Tony act out in ways we’d never noticed before. It also made that moment in Endgame in the past all the more bittersweet.

Credits: Marvel Studios

18. Professor Yinsen

Movie it happened in: Iron Man

Why it was so heartbreaking: Without Professor Ho Yinsen, there wouldn’t have been an Iron Man. It was because of this man that Tony Stark survived the cave in Afghanistan in the first movie, and that means Yinsen most definitely needs to be on this list.

For those who haven’t seen the first movie in these 10 years of Marvel Cinematic Universe stories, you’ll be slightly forgiven for not remembering him. Professor Yinsen was the surgeon and scientist charged to attend to Stark’s medical issues after an explosion. This wasn’t the first time the two had met, although it would be the first time Stark would remember.

Yinsen was the one to help make sure Tony Stark survived. Because of this, Stark was able to make the first Iron Man suit and he managed to find a way to escape the cave.

However, the escape wasn’t without Yinsen’s help. Yinsen chose to sacrifice himself to make sure that Stark could get free. He knew that the help would mean a death sentence to him, but he didn’t care.

In a way, there was a selfish element to his death. He did it to be reunited with his family in death. While it was sacrificial to help Stark, it wasn’t pure sacrifice like some of the other deaths that have happened on this list. That’s why it doesn’t quite make it into something like the Top 15. Considering he was the one to help create Iron Man, there’s no way it could be missed off entirely.

Marvel’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron..Ultron (voiced by James Spader)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel 2015

17. Ultron

Movie it happened in: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Why it was so heartbreaking: It’s not often that a villain’s death can be heartbreaking, but Ultron deserves to have a spot. His death was more than just the end for him. There was an element of a life lesson thrown in.

Avengers: Age of Ultron brought us a villain that thought he was doing the right thing for the world in an A.I. point of view. It also delivered us Jarvis in a way we’d never seen him. The two ended up going head to head, with Jarvis being the one to defeat the James Spader-villain.

There was a sadness to the way Ultron went out. He had been so arrogant and viewed himself as indestructible and then he realized that his efforts would all be for nothing. Jarvis gave us this sense of humanity to the technology, explaining that Ultron felt fear of death. It’s something we see all villains feel by the end, but with Ultron this stood out because, as A.I., he shouldn’t have been able to feel.

And then there was the very end. Ultron wasn’t going to just shut his eyes and stop working. He needed to go out in a blaze of glory. Jarvis never wanted to destroy him but he had no other choice.

We knew that Ultron had to go. There was no other way to stop him and he was never going to fight on the side of the good guys, but that didn’t stop us from feeling something sad for this great and powerful villain.

Marvel Studios’ Captain America: The First Avengers.. Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans).. ©Marvel Studios 2011 in association with Paramount Pictures

16. Captain America

Movie it happened in: Captain America: The First Avenger

Why it was so heartbreaking: So technically, Cap didn’t die. And it’s because of this that he’s not in the Top 15. However, in a way, he did.

The life he knew was gone. For all intents and purposes, the 1940s Captain America died when he sunk the ship into the icy waters. And he went down believing that he was going to sacrifice himself. He never assumed that he would return and he was shocked to find out that he was later saved.

As he went down, he delivered a heartbreaking message to Peggy Carter. He made it clear that he was sorry for breaking his promise. It was a message of loss and regret. While he knew he was doing the right thing to protect the Earth, part of him was angry that it would have to be him, that he was the one that wouldn’t get to have the life with the woman of his dreams.

That last dance wasn’t going to happen. And for that Peggy Carter it never did.

With the rules of time travel, Steve never returned to that Peggy Carter in Avengers: Endgame. He ended up in a different timeline strand, one where he was able to return from the dead. He and Peggy got to have their life together without affecting the timeline that Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson found themselves in after everything with Thanos.

Watch Cap crash and seeing the look on Peggy’s face remains heartbreaking. Cap may have returned, but it was decades too late to recover what they had lost.

Image: Marvel Studios

15. Quicksilver

Movie it happened in: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Why it was so heartbreaking: It’s not always easy to like the people who are perceived as the villains. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were portrayed as the bad guys, although it was very quickly established that they were just out for revenge. It wasn’t that they wanted to harm the world, but that they thought they were going to do good by taking out Tony Stark.

And it’s because of the way Quicksilver was made as a villain for so long that it’s difficult to push him further up the list. Naturally, his death was heartbreaking for Scarlet Witch, but did it really hit all of us?

However, his death was heroic and honorable in the end. He ran in front of a rain of bullets, knowing that he’d probably never make it out. His actions saved Hawkeye and a Sokovian child, making it clear that he definitely never meant to do bad with his powers. Ultron manipulated him but he never wanted to see the country burn. Instead, he was a hero just like so many others that we’ve come to know and love.

And this is why his Marvel Cinematic Universe death does belong on this list. He went out in a hero’s way, even though for the whole movie we’d never really considered him the hero. And we’d hoped by this point that there wouldn’t be a death, especially when there was so much potential for both Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.

Oh, what could have been!

Marvel Studios’ BLACK PANTHER..L to R: Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Shuri (Letitia Wright) ..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2018

14. N’Jobu

Movie it happened in: Black Panther

Why it was so heartbreaking: There are two Black Panther deaths that deserve to be on this list and they really are as heartbreaking as each other. The first up, though, is N’Jobu.

T’Challa finds out the truth about a secret that has been kept from him for all his life. He finally learned about his uncle and how his father was the one to actually kill N’Jobu. It was a shocking twist, but one that left us heartbroken.

This wasn’t necessarily a death that had to happen. It was one of brother vs. brother but not in the usual Marvel Cinematic Universe way. The death was one that was more a product of the situation. T’Chaka had to act out of his own safety when he knew that he could have been shot.

Black Panther gave us a tale of oppression, anger, fear, and reaction. N’Jobu had visited the world to see what had become of people his own color and he was, understandably, angry and upset. All he wanted was to fight back. He needed to take power back and make sure people of his own color were protected.

T’Chaka wouldn’t agree to that, so N’Jobu reached for a gun and threatened to kill his own brother. T’Chaka was too quick, killing N’Jobu with the Black Panther paw. There wasn’t just a look of shock from N’Jobu, but from T’Challa, as he found out the real story behind his uncle’s death. It was clear he knew there was no other option if T’Chaka wanted to survive, but that didn’t mean T’Chaka ever wanted to do it.

Marvel Studios’ BLACK PANTHER

L to R: Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman)

Photo: Matt Kennedy

©Marvel Studios 2018

13. Zuri

Movie it happened in: Black Panther

Why it was so heartbreaking: Killmonger had spent the majority of his life blaming T’Challa for his father’s death, but it all turned out to be a lie. We found out, along with T’Challa, that it was actually T’Chaka who had stabbed N’Jobu in the chest with the Black Panther claw.

However, Killmonger wasn’t ever supposed to know the truth. Because he didn’t get the truth, he reacted by taking over Wakanda and challenging T’Challa to a battle to the death. It was close to being the end for our Black Panther, but Zuri stepped in.

We’d spent the movie getting to know Zuri. As a former War Dogs member, he’d become loyal to the crown and T’Chaka’s shaman and secret-keeper. He continued to support the crown by helping T’Challa. Zuri’s death was just another stage of supporting the rightful King of Wakanda.

He never got the chance to share the full story to Killmonger, but he did have the chance to confess that he had a role in it. The idea was to protect T’Challa, but Killmonger wasn’t going to listen to reason. All he heard was that Zuri was partially to blame and he attacked, stabbing Zuri in the chest.

With everyone screaming or watching on in shock, we couldn’t help but feel heartbroken by Zuri’s death. Sure, we had a feeling it was going to happen, but he was such an important character and we wanted to see more, right?

Credit: Marvel Studios

12. Doctor Erskine

Movie it happened in: Captain America: The First Avenger

Why it was so heartbreaking: Who was Doctor Erskine, I hear some of you say. Considering Captain American: The First Avenger was one of the first movies, I get why you’d forget some of the characters. But you shouldn’t forget Doctor Erksine.

Like Professor Yinsen to Tony Stark’s Iron Man, if it wasn’t for Doctor Erskine, there wouldn’t be a Captain America. He was the one that created the serum and chose Steve Rogers to become the initial test dummy. It was Erskine who saw all the potential in Rogers – the potential that also most definitely makes him worthy of Thor’s hammer! – and chose him to be the one to receive the serum.

You just knew that someone who would be the creator of a hero could never survive, right? That’s how these sorts of movies work. Erskine was, for all intents and purposes, a mentor to Rogers. They may have only known each other for a few months – the timeline in Captain American is a little vague – but this was the man Steve owed everything to.

And it wasn’t like the two got to bond after Rogers became Captain America. Erskine never saw everything come to fruition. He just knew that Steve Rogers would do the right thing, and that he did! Erskine was shot after the injection of the serum, once it was clear that he had managed to complete his task.

In a way, it was a mercy, though. If Erskine was captured and tortured, there was a chance he would have been coerced into giving the bad guys the full serum. This could have led to the world being a far more darker and dangerous place than it was with just Thanos around.

Marvel Studios’ THOR: RAGNAROK..Heimdall (Idris Elba)..Ph: Teaser Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017

11. Heimdall

Movie it happened in: Avengers: Infinity War

Why it was so heartbreaking If it wasn’t for Heimdall, Bruce Banner wouldn’t have escaped the ship to pass on the message of Thanos being around. Heimdall sacrificed his life to make sure others were safe, something he didn’t have to do, but did it because he knew that he was right.

Idris Elba’s Heimdall was one of the best parts of the Thor movies. He was the gatekeeper and always there to help our heroes. He would do what it took to keep Asgard safe. And it was Idris Elba. Of course, we were going to love the socks off him!

There was hope that he would survive and help everyone escape. In the end, he only got a few away – although I think we can assume he got Valkyrie and others away when Thanos initially killed half the ship. He didn’t quite manage everything he would have liked to do, but it was a worthy effort.

It was a death that would throw Thor over the edge. During the war against Hela, he’d already lost his three best friends – they don’t make it to this list because they deserved a much bigger death in the movie considering the roles they played in the first two movies! – and now he was losing Heimdall and Loki at the same time.

Seeing Thor’s reaction broke our hearts. He just wanted it all to be over. At first, he focused on revenge. When he got that but couldn’t reverse everything that happened, he completely broke. He became nothing like we knew and it showed just how hard he took Heimdall and Loki’s deaths.

Marvel Studios’ THOR: RAGNAROK..Loki (Tom Hiddleston)..Ph: Teaser Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017

10. Loki

Movie it happened in: Avengers: Infinity War

Why it was so heartbreaking: Don’t get me wrong. This death was absolutely heartbreaking and the way that it happened was awful, but it only kick starts my Top 10. Yes, there are sadder Marvel Cinematic Universe deaths than Loki’s.

There’s one reason for this. Throughout the movie, we just thought, “no, it can’t be.” Hands up if you were just sure that Loki was pulling yet another of his tricks, that he was going to pop up at some point and yell, “surprise!” He’d done it so many times before, so what was stopping him now?

It was only by the end that we’d come to terms with the fact that Loki was actually dead. But even then, there was a part of us on the fence. After all, the Disney+ streaming service told us that there would be a Loki series with Tom Hiddleston.

Endgame tells us how that is likely to happen. It’s not going to be our Loki. And while the death of Thor’s brother is definitely sad, knowing that we get to see a possible redemption arc play out again leaves us with some hope and excitement.

However, with all that said, this death deserves to be in the Top 10. Loki’s death tipped Thor over the edge. His brother had died trying to protect Thor. After years of selfishness and trickery, Loki had finally stepped up and there was no way to bring him back. Thor was a broken man and that made Loki’s death all the more worse.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. – ABC’s “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” stars Clark Gregg as Director Phil Coulson. (ABC/Kurt Iswarienkio )

9. Agent Coulson

Movie it happened in: The Avengers

Why it was so heartbreaking: You’ll be forgiven if you thought I was talking about the more recent death in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but that’s not the case. As I promised at the very start of this list, this is only for the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. That means the deaths in the ABC series don’t count, even if they are connected to the movie universe.

Plus, Agent Coulson’s first death was far more heartbreaking because we weren’t sure how he could come back. And he died at the hands of a villain that we just wanted (and needed) to be good.

We’d spent the movie getting to know Coulson. It was clear that Fury trusted him and there was an element of brotherhood between them. Others respected him and that was more than enough for us to put our own trust him in.

Just as it looked like the world could be saved, Loki had a trick up his sleeve. Were we really that surprised? Well, not really. But that didn’t make killing Coulson any easier on us.

But it wasn’t this that puts Coulson’s death in the top 10. The bit that stands out is that even on death’s door, Coulson was able to protect the Avengers. He used his dying moments to take down Loki and give Fury time.

In a way, the fact that Fury resurrected Coulson adds to this heartbreak. Fury had never done it to anyone else, making it clear that Fury felt lost after Coulson’s death. By watching Captain Marvel, we now get an understanding of why.

Credit: Walt Disney Motion Pictures Studios

8. Frigga

Movie it happened in: Thor: The Dark World

Why it was so heartbreaking: There may not have been much great about The Dark World, but that doesn’t stop Frigga’s death being one of the most heartbreaking of all Marvel Cinematic Universe deaths.

For those who aren’t great with names, Frigga is Thor and Loki’s mother. Biological mother to Thor and adoptive mother to Loki, she has always been kind, caring, and loving to both of her sons. She had never been one to treat her biological son better than her adoptive one, and you just know you fell in love with her because of that.

And she wasn’t just a mother. She was the Queen of Asgard and acted as that queen. The people loved her, which made her death in Thor: The Dark World all the more heartbreaking.

To protect Jane Foster, Frigga got in the way of Malekith. It ended up with a duel that would cost Frigga’s life, however, it was certainly exciting to see Frigga duel against the Dark Elf and be on par with his skills. She was only restrained when Kurse interrupted the duel.

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After Malekith realized that Jane was an illusion, Kurse stabbed Frigga in the heart. The death would have been quick, but her memory would live on with others. Thor also saw the aftermath, meaning we saw his immediate reaction out of fear, loss, and a last hope that his mother was still alive.

Despite everything going on, there was time for a funeral. Hands up if you cried. You can be totally honest here! This is an Marvel Cinematic Universe safe space.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2..L to R: Yondu (Michael Rooker), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Voiced by Vin Diesel)..Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2017

7. Yondu

Movie it happened in: Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2

Why it was so heartbreaking: Admittedly, it was difficult to like Yondu at first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was viewed as the bad guy, but it was soon clear that there was more to him. Eventually, he worked on the side of good and we learned far more about his role in Quill’s upbringing over the years.

In fact, we learned that Yondu had chosen to raise Quill as his own. He taught Quill everything he knew, even though his initial task was to take Quill to Ego. Yondu’s actions were to protect the boy – okay, there were ulterior motives to prevent Ego’s plan, but it was also to protect the boy.

At the end of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Yondu decided not to get revenge against Quill for his role in Yondu not getting one of the Infinity Stones. This was a sign of weakness, but it also showed his love for Quill. It also made us start to love him, before the second movie when he helped Quill further.

As Ego’s planet started to collapse, it was clear that not everyone would make it out alive. Yondu, once again, put Quill first. He gave up his own spacesuit so that Quill would survive, knowingly sacrificing his own life while making it clear that Quill made him proud.

While that was definitely heartbreaking, it’s what came afterward that would put his death so high up on this list.

Quill refused to let Yondu’s body go until the rest of the Guardians showed up. Then Rocket called the Ravangers, who had previously abandoned Yondu. In the end, they were there to give Yondu the Ravanger farewell he deserved.

It was heartbreakingly beautiful and one of the hardest Marvel Cinematic Universe deaths in the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe to take.

6. Vision

Movie it happened in: Avengers: Infinity War

Why it was so heartbreaking: Admittedly, a lot of the heartbreaking Marvel Cinematic Universe deaths are from the final two Avengers movies. Vision is one of them, but not the death at Thanos’ hands. While that was the permanent death, it was the one that came just before it – the one that Thanos erased by turning back time.

Scarlet Witch realized that there was only one thing she could do to stop Thanos from getting all six Infinity Stones. The Mind Stone was the last, and the one that made Vision who he was. There was hope that Shuri would prevent the need to kill Vision off, but it was never meant to be. There wasn’t enough time.

Scarlet Witch had the power to destroy the Mind Stone. Destroying it meant that she was going to destroy Vision, the man she loved. And that’s exactly what she did.

Full of grief, heartache, and anger, she disintegrated the Mind Stone into hundreds of pieces. It was supposed to be over, a final sacrifice for the fate of humanity.

And then, the Time Stone happened. That’s what made this even more heartbreaking that just watching Scarlet Witch kill the man she loved. Thanos undid it all and made all that pain worthless. And then he ripped the stone from Vision’s head and left the man just an empty machine.

On top of that, it was clear that this would be one of the deaths we’d never see reversed. It happened before the snap, meaning it couldn’t be changed. Like Hawkeye would need to do with Black Widow, Scarlet Witch would need to make Vision just a memory and act in that memory moving forward.

Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

Gamora (Zoe Saldana)

Photo: Chuck Zlotnick

5. Gamora

Movie it happened in: Avengers: Infinity War

Why it was so heartbreaking: We knew that Avengers: Infinity War was going to be hard to watch. There were deaths coming and we knew that we would be devastated by the majority of them. However, what we didn’t realize was that some of those deaths would be far more permanent than others.

4. Groot

Movie it happened in: Guardians of the Galaxy

Why it was so heartbreaking: I know Teenage Groot has already been on this list, but there’s another Groot to put on. This time it’s the Groot from the very first Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

As Ronan’s ship is destroyed, it looks like all the Guardians are going to be killed. Groot sacrifices himself to protect them all, dying in the process.

But he doesn’t die, does it? We get Baby Groot out of it.

Well, Baby Groot and Groot are not the same people. Baby Groot is actually Groot’s son, which makes the death in Guardians of the Galaxy all the more heartbreaking. This “Tree,” as we so commonly hear of the Groots referred to, puts his own life on the line to make sure those who he doesn’t necessarily know that well – most he met during the movie – managed to survive.

It’s a lot to ask to put your life on the line for others. The Guardians wouldn’t have even been classed as heroes up to this point. In a way, they were just a bunch of misfits that ganged together to protect the solar system. This death brought us that look of heroes, the bunch of them.

The fact that we got Baby Groot out of it did soften the blow a little. There was some confusion over whether Baby Groot was the same Groot for a long time, but James Gunn confirmed they were father and son.

Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland)

Photo: Film Frame

3. Peter Parker

Movie it happened in: Avengers: Infinity War

Why it was so heartbreaking: While now we know that Peter Parker comes back, it didn’t stop this death from being so heartbreaking at the time, leaving us in tears from the trauma. Even knowing he returns, rewatching the death is hard.

It’s easy to forget Peter’s age when he’s dressed up as Spider-Man. He takes on the weight of the world on his shoulders as the “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” and you can overlook the fact that he’s just a teenager. So, the way he reacted to the idea of disappearing may have been surprising to some.

The death wasn’t the bit that hit me the most. It was seeing Peter’s reaction, the way he clung onto Iron Man. He didn’t want to go and he was willing to do whatever it took to remain on Earth. We were given that stark reminder that he was just a teenager and we were reminded of how we would react if we were thrown into that situation.

And this was a death that hit Tony Stark hard. You could see it in his eyes that he regretted everything that came to pass up to this point. He put the blame on himself for failing to stop Thanos. That loss was a personal one for him and it became personal to get him back. The hug Tony gave Peter when everyone returned made it clear that in five years, he’d never really gotten over that death.

Credit: Marvel Studios for Avengers: Endgame (2019) — Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.)

2. Tony Stark

Movie it happened in: Avengers: Endgame

Why it was so heartbreaking: After 10 years and 22 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, it ended with the one to kick-start it all. Iron Man was the Avenger to permanently put his life on the line for his fellow heroes and the world. It was a fitting end for Tony Stark, but that didn’t stop it from being heartbreaking.

You just couldn’t help but think of everything that he was leaving behind. You couldn’t help but feel for the daughter that would grow up without a father – and it was all because of Thanos and his inability to just accept that he would be defeated.

What made this scene all the more heartbreaking was the way that both Peter Parker and Pepper Potts were there. He was surrounded by the people who mattered. While they were sad, they didn’t shout at him to hold on. They knew there was nothing that could be done.

Pepper could have allowed grief to take hold of her, but she was just there for him when he needed her the most. She was the last thing he saw.

Then finally, we got to see the final message he recorded on his helmet. He knew that the war against Thanos was likely to kill someone. There were sacrifices that would need to be made and that sacrifice was his. He was ready for it. There were no regrets and we shouldn’t have them either.

For many, I know that Tony’s death will be the number one most heartbreaking, but there’s one from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that affected me more.

Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: ENDGAME..L to R: Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2019

1. Black Widow

Movie it happened in: Avengers: Endgame

Why it was so heartbreaking: We knew there were going to be deaths in Avengers: Endgame. One of the biggest reasons why Tony Stark is number two on this list is because it was expected. With Robert Downey Jr. walking away at the end of the movie, the Marvel Cinematic Universe had to deal with it in some way permanent.

The one Marvel Cinematic Universe death that many didn’t see coming was Black Widow’s death. After years of development, Black Widow’s storyline had, effectively, come to an end. She was the one who had little to lose – only the Avengers and other heroes who had fought by her side to miss her.

When we saw Black Widow and Hawkeye head to get the soul stone, we knew one would have to die. And then, we got the confirmation that this death couldn’t be undone. Even if the soul stone was returned, the death couldn’t be reversed. So, it was one or the other.

Black Widow made a huge sacrifice to make sure Hawkeye’s family still had him. After all, while he was grieving right now, his family would return if everything worked out. Sacrificing himself and allowing Black Widow to live wouldn’t have made much sense for them afterward.

To make this Marvel Cinematic Universe death even more heartbreaking, the two fought for the right to sacrifice themselves. There was no massive heartfelt speech from either. They went out the way they have always decided on something – the one to win the fight would be the one to “win” the right to sacrifice themselves.

Do you agree with this Marvel Cinematic Universe list? Which Marvel Cinematic Universe death affected you the most? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Alexandria Ingham

Alexandria Ingham is the Site Expert at Claire and Jamie, Precinct TV, and Last Night On within the FanSided network. She is also a contributor at many other sites, including Show Snob, GeekSided, and Winter Is Coming, and has been with FanSided since 2016, writing about Game of Thrones, Outlander, Grey's Anatomy, The Boys, Supernatural, and much more. When she's not writing, you can find her curled up with a good book or an intriguing dystopian or fantasy TV series. She is also a freelance writer for hire in niches such as lifestyle, entertainment, parenting, budgeting, and more.