Every Major MCU Phase 5 Death So Far

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Agatha All Along.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continues to expand, but as the franchise grows bigger and progresses through each new phase, there are times when meaningful characters pass away, and Phase 5 has done a great job handling these moments. From the very first MCU movie, Iron Man, the franchise has been able to use character deaths as a significant emotional trigger. Tony’s only friend and ally when he was captured in the cave sacrificed himself and inspired Tony to keep moving forward. And in that same movie, Tony’s former friend and colleague, Obadiah Stane, meets a tragic end after he exposes his villainous nature.

Death is a strong tool in any story to inspire and engage a variety of emotions, and as the MCU grows, they continue to feature powerful and emotive death scenes. In Marvel’s Phase 5, the midpoint of the Multiverse Saga, the number of deaths is notably lower than Phase 3, when the Infinity Saga was concluding, but it is clearly building towards the epic final chapter in this entry, Phase 6. With that in mind, most of these deaths serve to inspire and push the heroes towards greatness, or they happen as they progress through their incredibly dangerous missions. But Marvel has also done an excellent job of adjusting these moments to the movies where they appear.

15 MODOK

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania

Kicking off with the death of the MCU’s own version of MODOK, the giant flying head that was formerly the villain in Ant-Man, Darren Cross. In the Quantum Realm, Darren enhances his damaged body after his last encounter with Scott to become a robotically enhanced supervillain. However, during the events of Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, he sees the error of his ways and sacrifices himself when he leads a direct attack against Kang. His death scene was played for laughs, with Darren mentioning absurd ideas of his new status as an Avenger, but it still plays out as emotional, and in-keeping with the tone of the movie.

MODOK’s death was a mix of comedy and tragedy, but it did help to establish how much more powerful and terrifying Kang is in Quantumania.

14 Kang

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania

Despite MODOK giving his life to try and stop Kang, the Conqueror manages to do a lot more damage before his time is up. Ultimately, though, Scott and Hope get the upper hand and defeat this variant after a brief, but grueling fight. Kang almost escaped the Quantum Realm, but thanks to some quick creative thinking from Scott, and Hope returning at just the right moment, they were able to push him back until he was snapped out of existence.

Kang’s death was underwhelming, and received some negativity online. However, the Kang character was being set up to have many other variants, with some of the others potentially presenting a much larger threat.

13 Lyla, Teefs & Floor

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stands out as one of the most emotional movies in the trilogy, but even more so, it may be one of the most emotional movies in the entire MCU. Through flashbacks to when Rocket Raccoon was young and held in captivity by the High Evolutionary, other animals who were being experimented on were introduced. And while the deaths of Lyla, Teefs, and Floor all happen off-screen, they remain some of the most heartbreaking and emotional moments in the MCU. They are killed by the High Evolutionary due to his having reached the end of his experiment with them, and so, they were needlessly exterminated.

The emotional impact this moment had on Rocket alone is extraordinary, but it’s also incredibly hard-hitting for audiences.

12 Ayesha

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

Shortly after, GotG Vol. 3 also sees another influential character killed off, but one that has a less emotional connection. Ayesha is the ruler of the Sovereign, the golden nobility who served the High Evolutionary. However, she is also the mother/creator of Adam Warlock. While she was no friend to the Guardians, her death played a part in Adam Warlock beginning to make independent choices, and ultimately siding with the heroes.

Adam Warlock is a major character in Marvel Comics, and his introduction to the MCU is likely big, but Ayesha’s death did not inspire much emotion in any other figure.

11 Maria Hill

Secret Invasion, Episode 1, “Resurrection”

Secret Invasion remains one of the weakest shows in the MCU’s roster, but episode one did have an explosive scene when Maria Hill, the high ranking agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is killed by a Skrull disguised as Nick Fury. Maria has been a staple of the movies since The Avengers back in 2012. She remained Fury’s closest friend and confidante, and killing her off came completely out of the blue. While the rest of the series went downhill, this scene remains a well-crafted and deeply emotional moment from the show.

Maria Hill’s death is extremely effective in the series, as showcased that no one could be trusted with the shapeshifting Skrulls running amok.

10 Talos

Secret Invasion, Episode 4, “Beloved”

Talos is another character who has featured in a couple of projects, having first been introduced in Captain Marvel. By the time Secret Invasion takes place, his daughter, G’iah, had grown up to become quite a rebel. However, Talos stood by his own conviction that humans and Skrulls could live together in peace. This faith in both species results in Talos losing his life to the corrupt and misguided leader of the rebel Skrulls, Gravik, who stabs Talos with a fatal wound.

Talos’ death inspired his daughter G’iah to turn her back on Gravik and his rebellion, and it further pushed Fury to fight Gravik with every tool in his disposal, which made for a pretty incredible moment in the series.

9 Gravik

Secret Invasion, Episode 6, “Home”

In one of the most controversial moments of Secret Invasion, when the special effects were actually a spectacle of inadequacies, one of the biggest battles plays out between G’iah and Gravik. Previously, G’iah hung on to Gravik’s every word, and like many other Skrulls, she supported his mission against the humans. However, after seeing the depths of his cruelty and gifts for manipulation, not to mention his killing her father in cold blood, G’iah begins an intense battle with Gravik. Using the same combination of super DNA to become a super Skrull, G’iah is able to fight, and absolutely destroy Gravik in battle.

Had the effects been a little better, Gravik’s death could have felt bigger. Instead, the moment is overshadowed by odd artistic choices and feels like a necessary, but very brief moment.

8 Raava

Secret Invasion, Episode 6, “Home”

Raava was one of the Skrulls who infiltrated human government at the highest levels. Having taken on the identity of Colonel James Rhodes, he was able to get close to the president, and manipulate decisions. However, Nick Fury was able to convince others of the impostor hiding in Rhodes’ skin, and eventually bring the deception to light. In a tense moment with the president standing a few feet away, Raava is exposed, and Fury manages to fire off a shot with pinpoint accuracy that saves the president and puts Raava down.

Raava’s death was a necessity to help uncover the hidden Skrulls across the world, and alongside Raava, many others died revealing many more holes in governments around the world.

7 Dar-Benn

The Marvels

In The Marvels, Carol Danvers and company went head-to-head with the powerful Kree warrior, Dar-Benn. Dar-Benn had a grudge against Carol after Carol’s actions to try and save the Kree ultimately made their planet barren and devoid of sunlight. After Carol realized her mistakes, and tried to correct them, Dar-Benn continued to seek more power in an effort to destroy her, but after getting her hands on two ancient bands imbued with cosmic and magical energy, it was more than her mortal body could handle and she disintegrated.

Dar-Benn’s death by the power of cosmic energy resembled how others, like Ronin, another Kree warrior, was disintegrated by the Power Stone in
Guardians of the Galaxy
.

6 Johnny Storm

Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool & Wolverine was one of the biggest celebrations of Marvel properties ever seen in the MCU. Throughout the movie, there were gratuitous cameos and appearances from previous Marvel movies, like Chris Evans returning to play Johnny Storm, a character he previously played in 2005s Fantastic Four. However, Johnny Storm’s time in the MCU was cut short when he had his skin torn off his body by Cassandra Nova, before swiftly falling down dead.

This death was used as a means of a punchline for a joke, but it also made sense as Chris Evans’ return could have overshadowed other characters.

5 Pyro & The Void Mutants

Deadpool & Wolverine

While Cassandra was able to swiftly eliminate Johnny, Deadpool, Wolverine and the gang were able to get their own back on her group of Void mutants. The titular heroes were joined by X-23, Elektra, Gambit, and Blade, as they mowed down these villains with incredible power and speed. However, Pyro, formerly Cassandra’s right-hand man, was actually killed by Nova upon discovering his treachery and growing tired of his lies. All together, many of these mutants were killed in this epic, but brief battle.

The impact of villains dying, especially ones who were more minor, was minimal, but Nova killing Pyro helped to clarify how twisted and unfeeling she was as a character.

4 Nicepool

Deadpool & Wolverine

One more good guy was a casualty during the Deadpool & Wolverine movie, Nicepool. Nicepool is a Deadpool variant who still has his face perfectly intact, and some other vital differences from the others too. Namely, Nicepool does not have any regenerative healing powers. Despite Deadpool being able to heal from any injury, he chose to avoid the temporary pain by using Nicepool as a body shield, allowing the variant to be riddled with bullets from the numerous other variants that were firing at them.

Nicepool was kind of annoying and boring. His death was no great loss, and it meant that Wade was able to steal Dogpool for himself, as well as some awesome golden handguns. Win-win (except for Nicepool).

3 Cassandra Nova

Deadpool & Wolverine

Finally, the last death in Deadpool & Wolverine was anticipated to be one of the titular heroes, but thanks to plot armor and the success of the franchise, they both survived. When Cassandra Nova was attempting to use the reality ripper to destroy timelines, Wade and Wolverine made their way down to the heart of the machine, where the power to run it was flowing from. In an act of incredible heroism, they both put their lives on the line to destroy the machine, which then pumps its reality shredding powers through them both, and Cassandra Nova. Nova’s lack of a healing factor meant that she was swiftly shredded and removed from reality.

Ultimately, Cassandra’s death saved many, many lives, but the survival of Wolverine and Deadpool was cause for ecstatic joy.

2 Sharon Davies

Agatha All Along

Image via Disney+

Sharon Davies, formerly known as Mrs. Hart, was the unwitting human who Agatha dragged along on her adventure down the Witches’ Road. The trials on the road are incredibly dangerous, even to supernatural beings, but for a human, it was never likely to be a good outcome. While working through one such trial, Sharon unfortunately died when she wasn’t given a cure for poison before the timer ran out.

Sharon Davies passed away swiftly, but it helped to highlight just how dangerous the Witches’ Road could be.

1 Alice Wu-Gulliver

Agatha All Along

Alice Wu-Gulliver is another member of the makeshift coven that Agatha pulls together to travel the road. Unlike Sharon, she is a witch, and along the path, she was able to find her magical spark and destroy a curse that hung over her family. Through the journey, Alice grew close to the others in the coven, even growing to be protective of Agatha. While trying to save Agatha from being possessed, her powers were restored, but this was not in Alice’s favor. Agatha, revealing her true colors, turned on Alice after being freed from possession, and drained Alice of her powers to the point where her body was drained of life, making this one of the most tense and treacherous deaths in the MCU to date.

Alice’s death was a huge moment in
Agatha All Along
, revealing Agatha’s true nature as a villain, and killing off a character who had recently gained so much.

Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Created by Kevin Feige First Film Iron Man Latest Film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Upcoming Films Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania First TV Show WandaVision Latest TV Show She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Upcoming TV Shows Secret Invasion First Episode Air Date January 15, 2021

Summary

The monolithic franchise that kicked off with Iron Man, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), is one of the industry’s longest-running and largest cinematic franchises. Based on the heroes from Marvel Comics, the MCU is a new way for fans and newcomers alike to enjoy the ever-expanding universes of some of the world’s most famous superheroes. Releasing as “Phases,” Marvel Studio’s first three Phases came to be known as “The Infinity Saga,” which surrounded the formation of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and their showdown with the Mad Titan known as Thanos as he sought to collect the Infinity Stones. With his ultimate goal of indiscriminately wiping out half of all life in the universe, this plot ultimately reveals itself over ten years of films, ending in a two-part finale that changed the world’s fate – and the core cast forever. Currently, the MCU is preparing to enter the fifth phase, focusing on Kang the Conquerer as the new core series villain.

Expand

Upcoming MCU Movies

• Captain America: Brave New World

  Release Date February 14, 2025

• Thunderbolts*

  Release Date May 2, 2025

• The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

  Release Date July 25, 2025

• Blade (2025)

  Release Date November 7, 2025

• Avengers: Doomsday

  Release Date May 1, 2026

• Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date May 7, 2027