Avengers: Endgame — Ranked: Who’s likely going to die?
April 25, 2019
Disclaimer: There will be spoilers to previous Marvel movies including “Captain Marvel” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” You have been warned.
The shocking ending to “Avengers: Infinity War” left us with several devastating deaths that we hope will somehow be reversed in the upcoming sequel “Avengers: Endgame.” But even if the remaining Avengers will bring back our dusted heroes, it’s highly unlikely everyone will survive what’s to come.
The first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is comprised of 22 films that create the “Infinity Saga.” “Avengers: Endgame” will conclude the entire saga and the MCU will presumably set up a whole new narrative in phase four.
With that in mind, I ranked the likeliness on who’s probably going to die in “Avengers: Endgame.”
Least Likely
Spider-Man
Considering that Spider-Man had just been welcomed into the MCU and a sequel set to premiere on July 5, 2019, I think it’s clear to say that Spider-Man will make it out alive after “Endgame.” The sequel, “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” is supposed to serve as an epilogue to the “Infinity Saga,” and will complete phase three of the MCU. “Far From Home” producer, Amy Pascal, has confirmed that the movie takes places minutes after “Endgame.” Now I’m not going to get into much detail on the meaning of that (*cough cough* time travel in “Endgame”). With all that said, he’s probably not going to be the same person that he was before the events of “Infinity War,” but definitely still alive. There’s a reason why Peter Parker is becoming somewhat of a “prodigy” to Tony Stark — his days are not over and he has a bigger story to tell in the future of the MCU.
Captain Marvel
Having been officially introduced into the MCU in her film debut in March 2019, and a slight Captain Marvel tease at the post-credit scene in Infinity War, it’s safe to assume that one of the strongest Avengers will come out of Thanos’ wrath alive. The president of Marvel Studios, and producer of all the Marvel movies, admitted in the book “Captain Marvel: The Official Movie Special” that Carol Danvers will be the forefront of the MCU after the Infinity Saga.
Black Panther
With the success that Black Panther had back in February 2018, I don’t think Marvel would kill him off that fast. The Wakandan king still has more duties to fill, especially since a sequel for Black Panther has been confirmed.
Doctor Strange
The sorcerer supreme had just barely started in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so his chances of dying are pretty low. Assuming that Thanos is defeated in “Endgame,” there’s going to have to be another big bad villain looming over the universe in the next saga. Doctor Strange is way too powerful to kill off right away, and we haven’t even seen his full capabilities of his magic yet.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
“Ant-Man and the Wasp” gave several introductions to the MCU. We got a first look of Goliath and Ghost, a debut of Hope Van Dyne’s wasp, and more information of the quantum realm which could be helpful for “Endgame.” The post-credit scene of the movie left off at a sad note with the disappearance of Hope, Janet Van Dyne, and Hank Pym. With Ant-Man having a suspected important role in “Endgame” and the fact that they just debuted the Wasp, there’s more story to explore between the two of them.
Most Likely
Drax
The former intergalactic criminal and member of the Guardians of the Galaxy has faced many hardships, notably witnessing the death of his family at the hands of Ronan and Thanos. In the first “Guardians of the Galaxy,” he seeks out vengeance by foolishly lashing out on Ronan but the latter was too powerful to defeat. The same thing happens again in “Avenger: Infinity War.” I wouldn’t be surprised if he does it again in Endgame, but would the third time be successful? Or will he finally reunite with his family?
Nebula
Nebula has a personal vendetta against Thanos. Throughout her lifetime, she has been ripped apart piece by piece to be replaced with machinery just so she can be an equal match to her adopted sister, Gamora. Nebula is every bit alive and dead at the same time. Back in “Infinity War,” she was foolish enough to hunt down Thanos in an attempt to put an end to him. That resulted in her getting captured, and the events that followed ultimately warranted the soul stone for Thanos after sacrificing Gamora. In Endgame, we could see Nebula blaming herself for the death of her sister and go full blaze of glory on Thanos. Not to mention that the film could follow the comic, “Infinity Gauntlet,” and have Nebula’s arc come to an end when she attempts to wield the Thanos’ gauntlet.
Hulk
Before “Infinity War,” Hulk was practically undefeatable. He faced Loki with no problem, outsmarted the Hulkbuster, became the Grandmaster’s prized champion, and single handedly defeated Hela’s Norse wolf god, Fenrir. However, we saw Hulk basically punched into submission by Thanos in “Infinity War” that he refuses to come out throughout the entire movie. A consensus on a popular fan theory suggests that “Endgame” will introduce Professor Hulk, a combination of both Hulk’s body and Bruce Banner’s brain. This will make Hulk the strongest and smartest Avenger. However, this could lead to his inevitable death if he were to sacrifice himself to defeat Thanos.
Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr. jumpstarted the MCU with 2008’s “Iron Man,” and it has been quite a long journey for Tony Stark. It all started out in a cave, with nothing but scraps to get him out. He then dove into a huge alien wormhole to save Manhattan, which lead to the unfortunate creation of Ultron. The aftermath of all that resulted in the disbanding of the Avengers in “Captain America: Civil War,” and left off at a rocky relationship between Iron Man and Captain America. Iron Man has become the most popular character and is strongly associated in the MCU that it would be unimaginable to think that he won’t be in it. But with all that said, it would be greatly fitting for him to finally say goodbye as he was the one that started it all.
Captain America
If there’s only one person that dies in Endgame, (as much as it pains me to admit) it’s going to be Captain America. The MCU has been focusing on Captain America’s journey ever since his sequel, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Bear in mind that “Avengers: Endgame” directors Joe and Anthony Russo’s first Marvel movie was “The Winter Soldier.” They then directed “Civil War” and “Infinity War.” The outcome of those three movies have swayed the events to follow for “Endgame.”
Marvel has been foreshadowing Steve Rogers’ death since “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in Tony Stark’s vision. He has never really found a place in the current world as he is the man out of time. Steve Rogers is as wholly good and heroic as Captain America should be. The devastating death of The First Avenger paves the way for the MCU’s future. With Falcon and Winter Soldier already playing a key part in Steve’s life, one of them could take up the mantle of Captain America as they did in the comics.
“Avengers: Endgame” will serve as the final conclusion to the greatest cinematic saga of all time. As someone who has been a part of this epic journey since phase one, it will definately be an emotional movie to watch.
“Avengers: Endgame” comes out in theaters on April 26, 2019.