The 5 Best And Worst Death Scenes In 2018's Marvel And DC Superhero Movies
A lot of comic book characters checked out on the big screen in 2018 (and not just in Avengers: Infinity War), but who had the most satisfying death scenes and which ones were ultimately a major let-down?
2018 has been an exciting year for superhero movie fans. We kicked things off with Black Panther (which could very well end up being Oscar-nominated) before moving on to the game-changing Avengers: Infinity War. Then, Deadpool 2 came along to deliver some big laughs, while Ant-Man and The Wasp proved to be an effective sequel for the pint-sized hero.
As we moved into the Fall, Venom arrived to break box office records no one could have guessed would be shattered, while that was followed by the amazing and spectacular animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Finally, we have Aquaman; a great DC Comics adaptation which helps put Warner Bros. on the right track ahead of Shazam!'s release next year. Now, with 2018 nearing its end and Christmas just days away, our final best/worst breakdown is going to put the spotlight on the heroes and villain who bit the dust (literally, in Avengers: Infinity War's case).
To see who had the most satisfying send-offs and highly disappointing deaths, all you guys have to do is click on the "View List" button below to check out this feature in its entirety.
THE BEST
Spider-Man
This was a tough one.
Even if we'd known that Marvel Studios was planning to kill a number of heroes in Avengers: Infinity War, I highly doubt that any of us would have predicted that Peter Parker would be among the casualties. It happened, though, and Spidey managed to hold off his passing as long as he could before dying in the arms of Tony Stark.
It was heartbreaking to see him essentially begging to live as he collapsed into Iron Man's arms, and the fact that he is ultimately just a child is what makes this so hard to watch.
Unless everyone who returns after the "Snap" has no memories of what happened to them, this is bound to have an impact on the wall-crawler moving forward and it could explain why he leaves his costume behind when he heads overseas in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Erik Killmonger
I do wish Marvel Studios hadn't killed Erik Killmonger off in Black Panther as I think more still could have been done with the villain but as death scenes go, this has to be up there as one of the best.
After finally being defeated by T'Challa, the wounded Killmonger pulls the spear from his chest and chooses to die while watching the Wakandan sunset. "Just bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships because they knew that death was better than bondage," he tells his cousin before succumbing to his injuries in a powerful and poignant moment.
This was expertly handled and my desire to see more of the character aside, a fitting ending to his story arc in this amazing film.
Gamora
One of Avengers: Infinity War's only permanent deaths (at least on the surface), Gamora's murder at the hands of her father Thanos was nothing short of jaw-dropping.
Realising that the only way to get his hands on the Soul Stone was to sacrifice Gamora, the Mad Titan drags her to the edge of a cliff as she screams for mercy and tosses the hero over the side to her death.
It's still hard to believe this happened and while I'm sure there's a way to bring her back, this is definitely going to go down as one of the most memorable scenes in the MCU.
The Vanisher
I loved this. While Matt Damon's Deadpool 2 cameo was pretty much impossible to spot, there was no mistaking Brad Pitt's face when he was electrocuted in the sequel.
The Vanisher wasn't seen at all during the course of the sequel (because he was, you know, invisible) but when X-Force's parachute jump goes horribly wrong, we see that the hero actually looked exactly like the famous actor!
The Vision
Yes, Avengers: Infinity War is getting a lot of mentions here but what did you expect when it killed off so many of our favourite heroes? Regardless, poor old Vision ended up dying twice during the course of this movie and both were handled well.
His emotional sacrifice when the Scarlet Witch killed him was one thing, but seeing Thanos reverse time and bring him back so he could tear the Mind Stone from his head was heartbreak times two and left the fan-favourite android a hollowed-out shell.
Personally, I think that means he'll be brought back with no emotions similar to what happened in the West Coast Avengers comic books (where he was also grey), and that's an interesting direction to take the hero in after he found love with Wanda.
...And THE WORST
Riot
Venom played fast and loose with Eddie Brock's vulnerabilities. In one breath his Symbiote is highly sensitive to flames and sound and in others, it really doesn't seem to make a huge difference!
Regardless, Riot's demise was lazy, dumb, and pretty damn forgettable.
Going up in flames in a rocket he's hoping to pilot into outer space, Carlton Drake being blown up along with Riot was not only a very convenient way to get rid of these two but also a lazy ending to his story arc that could and should have been handled in a far more imaginative fashion. Look at the "best" list above and compare this to any of those. It sucked!
The Wasp
Let me start by saying that I think this scene was handled perfectly. To go from the Quantum Realm back to Earth and see that Hank Pym, Janet Van Dyne, and Hope Van Dyne (a.k.a. The Wasp) had all turned to dust was a chilling and very memorable moment.
My issue here is the fact that Hope was killed in the first place!
Scott was given the chance to shine in Captain America: Civil War so seeing The Wasp take his place in Avengers: Endgame would have been immensely satisfying and actually been something new. With any luck, she'll still be given the chance to shine here.
Shatterstar
Shatterstar may have a cheesy 90s costume but he's actually one of the coolest characters from the original X-Force comics. Unfortunately, he was a punchline in Deadpool 2 and ended up being killed when he parachuted directly into the blades of a helicopter.
On the plus side, his green blood confirmed the character's alien origins, but I definitely think he deserved better.
Groot
Whoa, before you jump down my throat, there's a very good reason this is included here!
There's no denying that Groot's death was handled perfectly by the Russo Brothers but the fact it was so heartbreaking is what's actually led to it earning a place here. After Avengers: Infinity War was released, James Gunn revealed that Groot's final word was "dad" and after already shedding a tear over his demise in Guardians of the Galaxy, doing it again was just too much for me.
I hated saying goodbye to Groot again and while "worst" is used very loosely here, the fact it was so damn heartbreaking means that I'm struggling to get over having to sit through this.
Peter Parker
I loved every second of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse but seeing Peter Parker go out in such a disappointing fashion didn't sit well with me. After stopping The Kingpin from enacting his plan, the hero is killed with a single punch from Wilson Fisk as his head is presumably caved in by the massive bad guy. It's effective and sets Miles Morales on the right path but was that really it?
Personally, I would have been happier seeing Spider-Man have a proper "final stand" before being taken out but that didn't happen and while Peter B. Parker more than made up for it, this just didn't work for me and was a rather disappointing moment as a result.