While dozens of characters in the MCU have been killed off over the last 17 years, there are a few dead heroes and villains that fans wish were still around.
Death has been a major part of MCU storytelling since its early days in 2008, perhaps topped off by the franchise killing off Marvel mainstays like Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark. While Iron Man is arguably the most notable death yet, fan favorites like Michael Rooker's Yondu and Tilda Swinton's Ancient One also made their mark upon their deaths.
Unfortunately, the MCU's deaths fans saw as satisfying also came with plenty of endings for other characters that did not meet expectations.
MCU Characters Who Bit the Dust Too Soon
Quicksilver
Aaron Taylor-Johnson delivered his portrayal of Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron after debuting in the mid-credits scene from 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Initially an ally of Baron Von Strucker, he and his twin sister, Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff, later defected to the Avengers after Ultron's turn to evil.
Unfortunately, Taylor-Johnson's MCU tenure only lasted through that movie, as Ultron killed off Quicksilver in the final moments of Age of Ultron. Pietro jumped before Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye as he protected a young child, ending the speedster's journey barely after it started.
Considering the powerful character only appeared in barely more than one MCU movie (outside of a Multiversal version of Pietro in WandaVision), Quicksilver marked one of the franchise's bigger letdowns early in its run.
Ulysses Klaue
Alongside Taylor-Johnson, mocap master Andy Serkis appeared in Age of Ultron as the classic Black Panther villain Ulysses Klaue. The character initially came in as a black-market arms dealer branded as a thief by the Wakandans, and he eventually got his arm chopped off after an argument with Ultron.
Klaue returned in 2018's Black Panther after popping up on Wakanda's radar, with T'Challa and Everett Ross capturing him before Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger broke him out of captivity. Unfortunately, following this breakout, Killmonger took Klaue out and transported his body to Wakanda as a sign of solidarity.
Just like Quicksilver, Klaue's MCU tenure only lasted for a little more than one movie, leaving plenty of material for the character on the table.
Heimdall
Idris Elba enjoyed a reasonably long run in the MCU as Heimdall, appearing in six movies as the all-seeing/all-hearing protector of the Bifrost in Asgard. He was a regular part of Thor's team and protected the Nine Realms across his tenure, even assisting in the evacuation of Asgard before its destruction in Thor: Ragnarok.
Sadly, Heimdall met his gruesome end in the opening scene of 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, as Thanos stabbed him in the heart after he sent the Hulk to Earth. Although he made a post-credits cameo from Valhalla in Thor: Love and Thunder, this long-standing character's run in the MCU is now over.
This was a major disappointment to fans due to his lack of action and meaningful story impact during most of his tenure, especially considering how many times he showed up.
Black Widow
Arguably the biggest name on this list is Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow, who first showed up in 2010's Iron Man 2. She went on to play roles (or have cameos) in eight more MCU movies as the former Red Room assassin, eventually becoming a founding member of the Avengers.
Widow's journey was one of redemption as she overcame her dark past, wiping out the red in her ledger and learning to be a hero. To the dismay of many fans, Avengers: Endgame brought Widow's death, as the heroine sacrificed herself so Hawkeye could obtain the Soul Stone in the battle against Thanos.
This death left fans hanging for more, mainly because Natasha had yet to get her own solo story after being such an integral part of the Avengers. While that film came in Phase 4 (2021's Black Widow), there was always the feeling that there could have been more for such an important character.
Mysterio
2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home pitted the friendly neighborhood web-slinger against a brand-new adversary in Jake Gyllenhaal's Quentin Beck, better known as Mysterio. The former Stark employee was originally an ally to Peter Parker and Nick Fury before revealing his evil intentions.
Although Mysterio later appeared in an episode of What If...? Season 3, Beck's tenure in the live-action MCU was limited to just the one appearance in Far From Home. He impacted the story for 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, but he has not been seen in the six years since his debut.
Given his vast history in Marvel Comics and his initial tease as a heroic figure, this character did not land well with many Marvel fans.
Wenwu
Tony Leung's Mandarin/Wenwu finally appeared in the MCU in 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as Shang-Chi's father and the film's main villain. This antagonist served as the leader of the Ten Rings organization, seeking power across the generations as Wenwu searched for his dead wife.
This was a retcon for the MCU, as 2013's Iron Man 3 previously teased Sir Ben Kingsley's Trevor Slattery as the Mandarin as he and Aldrich Killian took on Tony Stark. Slattery even returns in Shang-Chi behind Kinsgley's performance after the character is captured by the Mandarin.
Shang-Chi's final battle finished with the Mandarin losing his life to the massive soul-sucker, leaving fans unsatisfied with how little was added to this character's legacy.
Ikaris
Amidst a massive cast of newcomers in 2021's Eternals, Richard Madden helped lead the way as the ultra-powerful Ikaris. Known for his Superman-esque abilities (flight, eye beams, and super-strength), Madden's character became the physical backbone of the team and served as one of the Eternals' strongest members.
Although multiple Eternals team members met their end throughout the movie (Ajak and Gilgamesh), Ikaris' death was saved until the story's final moments. After being revealed as the movie's main villain, Madden's Eternal flew directly into the sun to repent for trying to push for the Emergence to destroy Earth.
While fans have theorized how Ikaris could be brought back in later projects, many were not expecting an actor like Madden to only be in one Marvel project.
Scarlet Witch
Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff/the Scarlet Witch joined the MCU alongside her twin brother, Quicksilver, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier's mid-credits scene. Known for her telepathic and telekinetic abilities, she quickly became one of the MCU's most powerful characters.
Olsen made six appearances in the live-action MCU as Wanda Maximoff, most recently playing the villain role in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Unfortunately, that sequel ended with Wanda seemingly being crushed by the collapsing Mount Wundagore, leading to her apparent death.
This brought Wanda's adventures to a shocking end, with fans particularly surprised that such a powerful character was killed off by something as innocuous as a collapsed mountain. Due to her incredible powers, many are expectant and hopeful that Wanda found a way out of that situation and is still alive somewhere.
Jane Foster
First introduced in 2011's Thor, Natalie Portman has three MCU appearances as Dr. Jane Foster, one of the world's leading astrophysicists. In her most recent movie, 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder, she took on a story from her comic roots and transformed into the God of Thunder after a cancer diagnosis.
In that movie, even though Jane was cured of cancer while holding Mjolnir, it came back stronger each time she transformed into a mortal. By the end of the film, it drained the last bit of energy from her, leading to her death in Thor's arms after they reached Eternity.
Due to Jane only appearing in three MCU movies (including an absence from Thor: Ragnarok), many were disappointed that her story was not more fully explored. Combine this with the heroine's death in 2022, and it seems like plenty of her comic background will remain unexplored.
T'Challa
One of the toughest entries to handle on this list is Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, who suited up as the Black Panther in four MCU movies after debuting in 2016's Captain America: Civil War. Ascending to the post of Wakanda's King, the powerful fighter shone brightly throughout the MCU's Phase 3 slate.
Tragically, Boseman passed away in 2020 after a long battle with colon cancer, putting Marvel Studios in a difficult situation regarding his MCU role. After a long struggle, Marvel decided not to recast the role, leading to T'Challa being killed off in the MCU during the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
This caused a massive debate amongst the MCU fandom, with many arguing the character should have been recast rather than killed off. After Black Panther 2 introduced a younger version of T'Challa, recent rumors indicated that Marvel may now be looking at a change of direction regarding a recast.
MODOK
After Corey Stoll brought Darren Cross to the MCU in Ant-Man, his character was reborn in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as the supervillain MODOK. The mechanical antagonist was discovered in the Quantum Realm as Ant-Man and his team encountered him and learned about his partnership with Jonathan Majors' Kang.
This movie marked Stoll's second appearance in the MCU and the first in eight years, giving him a chance to take on a much wilder villain than Yellowjacket. However, by the film's end, he joined Team Ant-Man and was eventually killed as he tried to take on Kang in the final battle.
His appearance let down many fans who were hopeful of seeing more of a villain as powerful as MODOK, with Stoll providing a new take on the villain.
Maria Hill
First joining the MCU in 2012's The Avengers, Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill played a key supporting role across Phases 1-5 and appeared in seven live-action projects. She even had a few pivotal guest-starring roles in Marvel TV's Agents of SHIELD, after the organization fell to ruin in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Smulders' last appearance was in 2023, in a one-episode role in Secret Invasion, which featured Nick Fury's return to the MCU as a rogue group of Skrulls sought to take over Earth. However, that episode was it for Hill, as she was killed off by the Skrull, Gravik (disguised as Fury), and removed from the MCU's greater narrative.
This death was a sore subject for MCU fans, particularly with this being her first live-action project in four years. It left an unsatisfying feeling for viewers, with so much of her character unexplored. While writer Brian Tucker tried to explain how her death gave the series some stakes, it remains one of the biggest disappointments in MCU history.
Bonus #1: Talos
Ben Mendelsohn joined the MCU in 2019 with a role in Captain Marvel as Talos, one of the Skrulls' leaders. Initially pitted as an enemy for Carol Danvers, he revealed that he and his family sought a home to escape the oppressive Kree. He and Carol eventually came to an understanding and a truce.
After a cameo in Spider-Man: Far From Home's post-credits scene, Talos returned in Secret Invasion, teaming up with Nick Fury to take on the Skrulls seeking to invade Earth. While the two had plenty of entertaining moments together, Episode 4 came with tragedy when Pagon shot Talos, and Gravik stabbed him to death.
With Secret Invasion so focused on Fury and Talos, and considering how big of a fan-favorite Talos was, this death did not sit well with most fans. This was further compounded by the show being one of the worst-received projects in MCU history.
Bonus #2: Muse
Wednesday's Hunter Doohan took on a big responsibility for the MCU by playing the terrifying villain Muse in 2025's Daredevil: Born Again Season 1. While he does not boast any extraordinary superpowers, Muse uses the blood of his victims to paint huge murals across New York City, inciting fear in the general public while the Kingpin's reign as Mayor moves forward.
Later in the season, Muse is revealed to be seeing Margarita Levieva's Heather Glenn, Matt Murdock's girlfriend, taking her captive and revealing his identity. Matt comes for Heather as the three of them get into a tussle, ending with Heather shooting Muse and killing him in her office.
Muse had built up hype for his ruthlessness and scary nature before the season started. His death let many fans down due to how underdeveloped his story was in Season 1.
Bonus #3: Taskmaster
Included in Thunderbolts*' core roster was Olga Kurylenko's Antonia Dreykov, better known to the MCU fandom as Taskmaster. Originally introduced in Black Widow, the daughter of the Red Room's leader (Dreykov) was trained as an assassin who could mimic the fighting style of anybody she watched.
She returned to the MCU for a second appearance in Thunderbolts*, infiltrating the OXE Group's facility alongside Yelena Belova, John Walker, and Ghost. However, she was promptly killed by Ghost after about two minutes of screentime and one line of dialogue, marking a swift exit from the MCU (which was teased throughout Thunderbolts*' marketing campaign).
Although director Jake Schreier explained that her death was needed to give the film some stakes, Taskmaster only showed up for barely more than one MCU movie before her death. With the villain being so beloved in the comics and other media, this became the biggest letdown of Thunderbolts*, as she is likely never to be seen in the MCU again.
