Top 10 Over the Top Kills by MCU Heroes

“Thor: Ragnarok” (2017)

As Hela’s forces ravage Asgard, her monstrous wolf named Fenris prepares to chomp down on some tasty Asgardians. Luckily though, making the save is our favorite angry green Avenger. That’s right, not even mythological beasts are safe from the wrath of the Incredible Hulk! During a pretty nasty battle, Hulk gains the upper hand by punching the wolf off him with enough force to send him plummeting to his death. This humongous wolf’s demise is a moment that’s quite literally larger than life! It’s also a reminder of what Hulk is capable of when you let him off of his leash. Word of advice: if you want to stay alive, then remember to never piss off the Hulk!

“Eternals” (2021)

While the Eternals aren’t exactly traditional MCU heroes given they actively choose to not get involved in various pivotal events, when they do step up, they do so in a big way. Taking down a gigantic cosmic Celestial is pretty good evidence of that. Tiamut is a Celestial whose very birth would cause the entire annihilation of planet Earth. Fortunately for humanity, Sersi prevents this by turning Tiamut’s entire body into stone. Though the decision to kill him wasn’t an easy one—heck, it even led to a lot of in-fighting—it may have been the right choice.

“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (2023)

Desperate to escape from the Quantum Realm, the villainous time traveler Kang the Conqueror nearly kills Ant-Man. But with the help of the Wasp, Ant-Man turns the tables on him. The Wasp hits Kang with a series of powerful stinger blasts before Ant-Man delivers the final blow, sending him into the multiversal engine core. This powerful device, capable of manipulating time and space, obliterates him. How many other superheroes can say they’ve knocked off a Thanos-level threat on their own? This superhero power couple definitely has some serious bragging rights.

“Thor: The Dark World” (2013)

This dark elf sure meets a dark fate at the hands of the mighty Thor in this movie. The evil Malekith tries to gain control of the Reality Stone so he can shroud the universe in darkness. However, those plans are quickly killed alongside him. Thor sends Malekith into Svartalfheim. And with the help of his crew of scientists, Malekith’s warship follows. Not long after, the massive structure crushes him to death. Thor might not have ended Malekith’s life directly, but he seals this villain’s fate in the end. And what a terrible fate it is—seriously, getting squished to death by your own battle weapon?

“Iron Man” (2008)

Don’t you just hate it when a business partner conspires to kill you? Obadiah Stane tries to have Tony Stark killed, but fate has other plans. With Pepper’s help, Stane is struck by a massive surge of electricity from the arc reactor. Electrocution isn’t a fun way to die, but it’s slightly better than getting set on fire…maybe. Hey, remember when Iron Man did that to a bunch of goons from the Ten Rings? Anyway, if getting zapped wasn’t hardcore enough, Stane falls into the reactor, causing a massive explosion. Stane’s vision for the Iron Monger was to be a bigger and badder version of Iron Man. But Tony and Pepper ultimately send him and his dreams crashing back down to reality.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017)

When Star-Lord meets his long-lost father Ego for the first time, we have hopes that everything will work out. But, unfortunately for us, this little family reunion turns sour. After learning that Ego’s actually a maniac, the Guardians have to stop him fast. In the first “Guardians of the Galaxy” film, they disintegrate Ronan with the Power Stone. But Ego presents a whole new challenge. If you’re wondering how they could possibly defeat a sentient planet, the answer is with a ton of explosives. The Guardians expertly detonate a bomb, causing both Ego and the planet to wither away. Sorry, Ego, but that’s what you get for being a deadbeat parent!

“Black Panther” (2018)

The radical Erik Killmonger is a vengeful man who seeks to claim the throne of Wakanda through extreme force. Naturally, this puts him at odds with T’Challa. If things aren’t hard enough, these two are also cousins, making their battle one difficult family reunion. As they fight within the Great Mound, T’Challa stabs Killmonger. Even though Killmonger has a special vibranium suit on, it doesn’t save him in the end. He even refuses T’Challa’s help as he’s slowly dying, which is extra hardcore. Looking back, it’s painfully tragic how far this bitter rivalry goes. While Killmonger needed to be stopped, we doubt T’Challa wanted to kill his own cousin.

“Iron Man 3” (2013)

Aldrich Killian sure goes out in a blaze of glory at the end of this film—okay, well maybe not a blaze of glory, but definitely a blaze nevertheless! He meets his fiery demise at the hands of Pepper Potts, who strikes him in the face with a makeshift Iron Man arm. That isn’t actually what kills him though. What seals the deal is a repulsor blast that blows up in Killian’s face. It’s an impressive and brutal display of Pepper’s strength. Not even Iron Man could take Killian down! Sure, she’s all hopped up on Extremis—but still, she kills a major big bad. That’s impressive!

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017)

Yondu really shows who he is in this second outing in the “Guardians” franchise, going from space criminal to guardian of the galaxy. After being unceremoniously kicked out of his own group by the ambitious Taserface, things don’t look good for him. A life behind bars alongside Rocket and Groot wasn’t something on his wish list. After engineering a breakout, Yondu gets payback on the Ravagers who betrayed him. Many of these members are painfully taken down by Yondu’s special Yaka Arrow. If it weren’t for the catchy music that accompanied this scene, we’d all be terrified of Yondu. Oh, who are we kidding, we are a little bit terrified of him!

“Avengers: Endgame” (2019)

After the horrible things that Thanos does at the end of “Infinity War,” the Avengers need to put the Mad Titan down for good. In “Avengers: Endgame,” the superheroes track him down to his garden and attack him. Thor is the one to finally deliver the killing blow, decapitating Thanos with his new weapon, a mystical axe known as Stormbreaker. While the execution that Thor carries out is certainly vicious, it's sadly not the end of Thanos. He comes back later due to time-travel shenanigans and is killed by Iron Man. Guess he really is inevitable after all. Look, the point is, the Avengers may eventually take Thanos down, but it certainly isn’t easy.




Is there a wild kill carried out by a hero that we missed? Let us know in the comments!