Top 10 Most Brutal Over the Top Deaths in MCU
#10: Loki
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“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) Until the opening scene of “Infinity War,” big bad Thanos had merely made cameos or been referenced to. But this moment signified how much trouble he’d be for the mighty Avengers. After murdering a multitude of Asgardians and physically besting the Hulk, Loki thought he’d take a literal stab at stopping the Mad Titan. Thanos isn’t one to be fooled easily, however. Seeing the fan favorite anti-hero get the life choked from him after finding redemption was tragic. Everything from Loki’s gagging sounds to his purple face is absolutely cold-blooded. Although we now have an alternate version of Loki to adventure with, that doesn’t stop this death from being impactful.
#9: Happy Hogan
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“What If…?” (2021-) While the zombie episode of “What If…?” doesn’t quite match the ferocity of its comic source material, it still has some pretty nasty moments for an animated series aimed at kids. One is the death of everyone’s favorite Stark employee, Happy Hogan. As one of the surviving team’s members without powers, Happy uses one of Tony’s repulsor gloves to fight the undead. Sadly, that doesn’t really help against a zombified Hawkeye shooting arrows from the dark. Happy is pulled into the darkness as he futilely fires towards his attacker, getting turned moments later. Sharon Carter, quick on her feet, turns the undead Happy’s glove back on him, blasting him straight in the face. We don’t see the carnage, but the sound effect is gross enough.
#8: Nico
“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021) We all immediately knew something was off with John Walker. The would-be Captain America never seemed fit to hold Steve’s shield. That concern was solidified in the mini-series’ most brutal moment. Following the death of his friend Lamar Hoskins at the hands of Karli, John lost all sense of composure. He ran down one of Karli’s Flag Smashers and proceeded to beat him in the chest repeatedly with his shield. Nico’s cries of innocence and the thuds from Walker’s tremendous force had us stunned. But the most powerful aspect of this death is the shot of Walker holding Cap’s bloodied shield. The shocked expressions of the witnesses mirror our own.
#7: Maria & Howard Stark
“Captain America: Civil War” (2016) We had long known that Tony Stark lost his parents at a relatively early age. But we had no idea how dreadful their passing was. The exact nature of their deaths was revealed in “Captain America: Civil War.” During the climax, Zemo shows Tony footage of what happened to them on that fateful night in 1991. A then-brainwashed Bucky was ordered to hunt them down and intercept a briefcase holding a recreation of the Super Soldier Serum. After running them off the road, Bucky beat Howard multiple times in the head before choking Maria. This revelation is made all the more terrible by the fact that Cap knew and never told Tony. We can’t really blame him for lashing out.
#6: Thanos
Gorr vs Thanos
“Avengers: Endgame” (2019) With Thanos successful at the end of “Infinity War,” many were left with unfathomable loss. One hero who took the weight of that loss to heart most was Thor, who had failed to kill the villain before he snapped his fingers. Surprisingly, the remaining heroes were able to band together quickly and track Thanos down. Unfortunately, by the time they got to him, Thanos had already destroyed the stones. With no way to actually win, Thor broke and decapitated him. We don’t see many decapitations in the MCU, yet what makes this death brutal on an emotional level is that it’s far from a victory. The villain is killed in a savage manner, but the heroes are still left with loss.
#5: Darren Cross
“Ant-Man” (2015) Darren Cross isn’t exactly a popular villain among fans, but at least his demise is pretty gnarly. With his plans foiled by Ant-Man and his allies, Cross decided to make things personal and attack Scott’s family. The ensuing fight is a pretty entertaining one, particularly the toy train bit. But Cross’ death is much darker. With no other option, Scott shrunk down to a subatomic level to destroy Cross’ Yellowjacket suit. The villain’s screams as he realizes what’s about to happen is particularly satisfying. The suit begins to collapse in on itself, contorting and crushing Cross’ body in the process. Although there’s no blood, this seems an incredibly poor way to go.
#4: Kamar-Taj Librarian
“Doctor Strange” (2016) Thanos wasn’t the first character to get decapitated in the MCU. Preceding the Glass Dimension fight, one of the best opening sequences in the franchise, Kaecilius and his followers break into Kamar-Taj’s library. But before he can get what he’s after, he disposes of the librarian. Director Scott Derrickson tapped into his Horror roots, having Kaecilius string up the poor book keeper as he screams. He then lobs his head off with silhouettes showing the grisly murder. Most disturbing shadow puppets ever. Although it’s a character we never get the name of, the cold, swift nature of it makes the scene exceptionally barbaric. And it sets the villain up as a ruthless antagonist.
#3: Hulk
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“What If…?” (2021-) In a particularly macabre episode of “What If…?”, a vengeful Hank Pym starts slaughtering heroes before the Avengers have a chance to form. His most cruel murder is that of Bruce Banner. Throughout the episode, we see events of several heroes’ origin stories. During the University fight of “The Incredible Hulk,” things take an even nastier turn. After transforming and battling with General Ross’ forces, Hulk begins to grow even larger. Normally, the Hulk growing larger would be cause for celebration. But here, it’s deadly. His body swells until it can’t anymore, bursting in front of the awe-struck soldiers. That’s one nasty demise, even if it does just result in a cloud of green smoke.
#2: The Illuminati
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“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (2022) With Sam Raimi at the helm, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” was chock full of surprisingly vicious violence for a PG-13 feature. No scene was more brutal than the fight between the Illuminati and the Scarlet Witch. We were still riding the high of seeing these heroes when they started to drop like flies. Black Bolt’s death is perhaps the most ruthless; Wanda vanishes his mouth, causing him to scream in horror and pop his own skull. However, cutting Captain Carter in half with her own shield is also pretty ferocious. Regardless of whose death is the most shocking, the entirety of the fight is undeniably bloodthirsty.
#1: Vision
“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) At least the members of the Illuminati only had to die once. With Thanos hunting Infinity Stones, we went into “Infinity War” worried for the character who had one embedded in his head. But it was so much worse than what we imagined. As the Avengers try to slow Thanos down, Wanda is forced to destroy the Mind Stone along with the person she loves. That’s bad enough, except that with the Time Stone, Thanos is able to reverse Vision’s death so that he can rip the Time Stone out of the android’s head with his bare hands. Tossing the lifeless, gray body with a gaping hole in its head aside, Vision’s death signals Thanos’ victory. Both of his deaths are heartbreaking and utterly brutal.
