All eighteen Marvel movies have been leading up to the arrival of Thanos. While it’s been a little frustrating to watch movie after movie where the stakes seem to only build to the next movie, this one should be different. We’ve been promised that this time not everyone is gonna survive. Marvel has had no problem killing its bad guys in the MCU, but it has been VERY hesitant to get rid of any of its heroes. Besides Coulson’s death in the first Avengers, the closest thing we’ve gotten to an actual superhero dying is Quicksilver’s death in Age of Ultron (and that character’s entire purpose seemed to be becoming a sacrificial lamb for Ultron).
So before every other website does the same thing, let’s handicap who is most likely to actually die in this movie (and JUST this movie, we’re not getting into round two with Thanos, the fourth untitled Avengers, yet). We’ll go from least likely to most, working our way from the heroes who have multiple guaranteed movies after this to the ones whose arc has sadly run its course. I didn’t include any of the SHIELD people because I don’t think they technically count, and who really cares if Cobie Smulders doesn’t make it? Onward!
16. Peter Parker/Spider-Man
There is literally no way Tom Holland’s version of Spider-Man dies in this movie. Besides there being an untitled sequel that already has a 2019 release date, it is obvious Marvel has high hopes for the web slinger to carry them beyond phase three of the MCU. There is a very good chance that he will take over the centerpiece role of Tony Stark, and eventually become the new leader of whatever the next phase of The Avengers looks like. He was hand picked by Stark, and is the only one Iron Man has taken on as a sort of apprentice. He might get in harms way more than Tony is comfortable with in Infinity War, but I’ll be shocked if he gets more than a scratch.
15. T’Challa/Black Panther
Even though we don’t have an official Black Panther sequel on the books yet, Marvel isn’t stupid. The film just cracked the top ten domestic box office of all time, and it will very likely pass Dark Knight and settle in at number 7 (edit: holy crap it ended up at number 3!). You definitely don’t kill off the main character of a colossal new franchise, and you can be assured that T’Challa is safe. The same goes for his sister Shuri, the Q to his James Bond, who HAS to be in the sequel or people will revolt, and his top bodyguard Okoye is probably safe, too. I will say I’m a little worried for the only other character carrying over from Black Panther, M’Baku, the scene-stealing leader of the gorilla mountain tribe. He might die in the battle at Wakanda to make things more personal for Black Panther, but hopefully not.
14. Guardians of the Galaxy
I’m lumping the Guardians together here, because there’s just no way we’re losing any of them in this movie. They are the only ones besides Spidey to also have a sequel locked in for a 2020 release, and you’re not doing another Guardians movie without Starlord, Gamora, Rocket, Groot, Drax, or even Mantis (if Mantis was going to die, she would have sacrificed herself in Guardians 2). The one character I could definitely see dying from this part of the Marvel Universe is Nebula, who you might remember is not only Gamora’s sister, but more importantly Thanos’ daughter. This will be a very personal battle for both Gamora and Nebula, and Nebula will assuredly get a great chance for redemption and save her sister while sacrificing herself.
13. Doctor Strange
A Doctor Strange sequel has been all but confirmed at this point, with MCU mastermind Kevin Feige saying he was very interested in making it happen. They have barely scratched the surface of all the weird adventures Strange can go on with alternate dimensions and what not, and I’m sure Marvel has more in store for him. Benedict Wong is reprising his role from the first movie as well, and while there’s the possibility that each franchise will have to sacrifice one of their side characters, I think he’ll be safe here, too.
12. Thor
One of the original core, Thor was probably the most expendable of the original Avengers. And I’m betting Chris Hemsworth was getting sick of playing him, too. But then came Thor: Ragnarok, injecting a ton of new life and fun into the character, and after hearing how excited Hemsworth is again in interviews, now there’s no way he’s done. Fully expect Thor to get another sequel after this. His evil brother Loki will be making an appearance as well, and while Loki has a lot of history with everyone involved after the events of the first Avengers, I don’t see him dying in a non-Thor movie. And even though she was just introduced, the same goes for Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie.
11. Bruce Banner/ Hulk
While Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk might not ever get his own movie (due to a bizarre copyright that allows only Universal to distribute standalone Hulk movies), he has been a fan favorite in the Avengers films and was fantastic in Thor: Ragnarok. Ruffalo has talked about how they are essentially doing a Hulk movie seperated into three parts, through Ragnarok, and the next two Avengers movies. So we can be pretty sure he’ll be safe at least through Infinity War. That being said, I think there’s a good chance Hulk will die in the fourth Avengers film, the final showdown with Thanos after everyone gets womped in this one. He might switch back to Banner at the wrong time, or just sacrifice himself to save Black Widow.
10. Tony Stark/Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr. can’t play Iron Man forever, right? He is the one that started all of this ten years ago, and while it might seem fitting for him to die in Avengers 4, there’s no way he goes down in this one. I also just can’t see Marvel killing the golden goose, and I’m guessing they will keep him around as a mentor figure to the next generation of heroes. He might not fly in the suit anymore after Avengers 4 (hopefully passing the Iron Man mantle to Black Panther’s sister Shuri!), but he will still be a great character to have around for Spider-Man to learn from. And imagine how cool it will be when old man Stark suits up to help out the young guns in another ten years. Plus Tony had his big sacrificial moment at the end of the first Avengers movie, I don’t see Marvel having him do the same thing again.
9. Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
After the success of Wonder Woman, you really have to think Marvel will finally give Scarlett Johansson’s character her own movie. The only thing that could throw a wrench in this is if it ends up being a prequel like the upcoming Ant-Man movie, where we explore her backstory as a deadly assassin/spy. In that case, she could very well die in one of these Avengers movies and still get her own movie. She is one of the only Avengers to have no “powers,” and will certainly be vulnerable and pretty useless against Thanos, but I don’t think they will kill her in this.
8. Scott Lang/Ant-Man
You might be surprised to see Ant-Man this high on the list, since he has a movie coming out right after Infinity War, but remember that Ant-Man and the Wasp is a prequel, set between the events of Civil War and Infinity War. While it would be a very strange move, he could technically die in Inifinity War and then pop right back up in his own movie months later. Paul Rudd is incredibly charming and delightful in this role, and I don’t see them getting rid of him. Although his (literally) big moment already came in Civil War, I still think he’s safe.
7. Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
While Barnes has run the gamut from trusty sidekick to full blown bad guy to the entire reason for the conflict in Civil War, he finally seems to be positioned to be firmly on the heroes side. And while he will never have a good relationship with Tony Stark, he is very likable and seems to have earned the trust of Shuri and the rest of Wakanda while he’s recuperated there. I could easily see him appearing in the next Black Panther movie, and while he’ll probably never get his own movie, there’s another big reason I think he’s safe that we won’t get into yet.
6. James Rhodes/War Machine
This is where the list gets very dicey…anyone from this point on could die for sure. Besides Iron Man and Pepper Potts, War Machine is the only character who’s been with this thing from the beginning. Even though it was awkward that he had to be recast with Don Cheadle, Cheadle has done enough in the five movies that he’s appeared in to make us really like the character. This is all to say it would be very powerful to see him die. But we already saw Rhodey have a near death experience in Civil War, so I think he’s probably the safest of the tertiary Avengers. But that’s not saying much.
5. Clint Barton/Hawkeye
It took us a while to care about Barton, since he was mostly used as a brainwashed bad guy in the first Avengers, but Marvel worked extra hard to flesh out Hawkeye in Age of Ultron, showing us that he is ready to retire and be with his family. I thought they were setting that all up to have him die in that movie, but he ended up making it through…so it might not look so good for him this time. Besides being missed back home, he also has a close relationship with Black Widow, and as the two weakest Avengers, odds are that one of them doesn’t make it. If they want to get really dark, they’ll kill Hawkeye and give a moment to Linda Cardelinni as his grieving widow. This one would tug on the heart strings a lot, which is why I think they might do it.
4. Sam Wilson/Falcon
Anthony Mackie has been a welcome addition to the MCU since Captain America 2, and he has made a pretty boring character extremely likable. His budding friendship with Bucky and loyal sidekick shtick with Captain America has worked really well, but depending on how high they want the body count to be, this might be the end of the line for him. The only way I would feel confident Falcon doesn’t die in this movie is if we shockingly lose Winter Soldier instead, but I’ll explain why that would matter more in a second!
3. Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
I loved Elizabeth Olsen in Ingrid Goes West, but she has never really made me care about this character. Maybe it’s the wonky accent, or the lack of screen time, but she is pretty easily the most expendable Avenger. Even though they have given her a brother to grieve over, an accident to feel guilt about, and a budding romance with Vision, it’s still hard to feel as connected to the Scarlet Witch as we do to everyone else. Her powers can potentially make her one of the strongest Avengers, so she won’t be an easy out for Thanos, but I think Olsen’s time as this character is over. And she will probably go down trying to avenge who’s next on this list…
2. Vision
Clearly the main premise of Infinity War is that Thanos is attempting to collect all of the Infinity stones to put in his fancy glove so that he can become unstoppable. I think Thanos is going to succeed in this plan by the end of this movie, and that’s very bad news for Vision, because he happens to have one of those Infinity stones in his freaking head. This one is so obvious that they are showing parts of it in the trailer, so it won’t be that much of a surprise. It will still be plenty rough though, because of our attachment to the voice of Jarvis and his relationship with Wanda. I could see Tony resurrecting Vision in the second movie, rebuilding a robot that houses his consciousness much like Ultron. But he will definitely die at least momentarily.
1. Steve Rogers/Captain America
To really gut us at the end of this movie…to really show how powerful and bad Thanos is, we are going to have to lose one of the original Avengers. And since I don’t think Tony is going anywhere yet, all signs unfortunately point to Cap. He is the only Avenger who has not one but TWO heroes ready and willing to take up his mantle and become the next Captain America if called upon (Bucky and Falcon). And really this has always been Steve’s destiny. If you go back to the first Captain America movie, he believes his whole purpose is to give his life for his country. He knows he won’t fare well in the war, he just wants to get a chance to die for what he believes in. Then he was given super human strength, and a Vibranium shield, and the rest is history. But in case you haven’t noticed, Vibranium isn’t exactly that rare anymore now that Wakanda is going to share its technology with the rest of the world. It will be an extremely sad and powerful moment, but I think it’s something that really has to happen to raise the stakes. Chris Evans nailed this role, and the Captain America trilogy is easily the strongest part of the MCU, but it’s time to move on to the next phase.
And that’s it. Luckily, we don’t have to wait that long to see if I’m right or not. What do you guys think?
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