Avengers Endgame: Everybody That Dies And Stays Dead

Avengers: Endgame has finally arrived, bringing the Marvel Cinematic Universe Infinity Saga to a close. And it does so in epic fashion, whether you like the ending or not. The film is loaded with superheroes, massive battles, and just about everything you'd expect from an MCU movie--on a much grander scale. But who's left dead by the end of it, if anyone? While we're prepared to answer that question, stop reading now if you haven't seen the movie. Warning: The following contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame--and Infinity War, for that matter.

With Endgame being the end of the first decade of MCU stories, we all knew there would likely be casualties when all was said and done. There was plenty of speculating about which character would bite the dust forever and how they would go. Now that the movie's out, though, it's time to talk about who was lost.

Both sides, good and evil, lost plenty between Infinity War and Endgame. So let's go through each "permanent" casualty of this massive war. For more Endgame goodness, make sure to take a look at GameSpot's review, as well as a look at what the true end of MCU Phase 3 is--it's not this Avengers movie. We also have a roundup of Easter eggs and references--of which there are many, as you'd expect from a three-hour movie bringing together so many elements of the MCU. And remember, if you don't want to know who dies, stop reading now. The following is loaded with spoilers.

Sadly, Heimdall is still gone. A moment of silence for Idris Elba's place in the MCU. Then again--and this goes with all of these lost souls--time travel officially exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, honestly, anybody could come back eventually.

As with Heimdall, Loki's death stuck. At least, it kind of did. While present day Loki is gone, 2012's Loki took the Tesseract and disappeared into a portal. Where did he go? Who knows, but we'll probably find out in that Disney+ show about the character. That said, that would mean the version of Loki in the TV show is the absolute worst one, who was trying to kill everyone--and nice, redeemed, brotherly Loki from Thor: Ragnarok is gone.

The hits keep coming for Asgard. When Infinity War begins, Thanos has slaughtered half of the surviving Asgardians in his search for the Space Stone. Sadly, they're all still gone. Luckily for the survivors, though, they have a new place to live in their settlement on Earth.

This one's difficult. It looks like Gamora is gone for good, after being sacrificed by Thanos to acquire the Soul Stone. There's a wrinkle here, though. The 2014 version of Gamora, which came to present day with the 2014 versions of Thanos and his minions, is alive and well, currently. When last we see the Guardians of the Galaxy--and Thor--Peter is searching for this new old version of Gamora. It's important to note that this version of Gamora didn't experience the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 or 2, nor was she present for Infinity War. That means the romance between Gamora and Quill is likely dead for now. Though it's certainly something Vol. 3 could work up to.

Vision is another character whose death wasn't undone by Hulk's reverse snap. Those dusted by Thanos came back but, sadly, Vision was killed before that. Given that there's a Wanda and Vision show in the works, though, we definitely haven't seen the last of Paul Bettany in the MCU. While we don't know much about WandaVision--the show's off name--Elizabeth Olson has hinted that it's set in the 1950s.

At least all the deaths aren't heartbreaking. The Children of Thanos that were killed during Infinity War remain dead. In your ugly face, Ebony Maw.

This is where things get good, as it's time to dig into those that actually did die during Endgame. The first of which was none other than… Thanos. The Mad Titan had his head lopped off in quick fashion by Thor, after revealing he had destroyed the Infinity Stones. Maybe Thor should have done it this way last time.

This one hurts and was also very unexpected. When it came time to get their hands on the Soul Stone, Hawkeye and Widow fought over who should sacrifice their lives, as dictated by the apparent rules of possessing the stone--trading "a soul for a soul." In the end, Natasha won the fight and plummeted to her death. It's a horrible moment, to be honest. It's also a rehash of Gamora's death one movie earlier, right down to the camera angles used. At the very least, we'll be getting a Black Widow movie eventually. Though, surely it has to be a prequel, right?

So… time travel. There's plenty of it, a lot of which is very messy. The Nebula from 2014--AKA the beginning of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie--comes to the present as a villain and is ultimately killed by...herself? Present day Nebula fires the fatal blast. It all sort of makes sense when you watch it.

We actually get to watch Thanos die twice in this movie, which is immensely satisfying. Late in the film, the 2014 version of the Mad Titan gets dusted thanks to an Infinity Stone snap from none other than Tony Stark.

As with Thanos, so goes his children. The version of them from 2014 are also dusted by Tony's snap.

As are the hordes of Chitauri fighters Thanos brings to Earth for the final battle. They're all gone in an instant as the ash floats away.

Unfortunately, the power of the snap is too much for Iron Man to handle. While Dr. Strange made it clear there was only one way to victory against Thanos, it's unfortunate that this had to be it for the character who launched the MCU. At least he gets a hero's ending, and final moments with Peter Parker, Pepper Potts, and Rhodey.

Alright, this one is a cheat. Steve doesn't actually die in the movie, though he is seemingly taken out of play for the future. Instead of sticking around in the present day, he instead goes back and lives a life with Peggy Carter in the past. Whether that ending makes sense for the character is up for debate, but his final scene--as a very old man--shows him passing Captain America's shield onto Sam, closing the book on Steve Rogers in the MCU. For now, at least. Remember, time travel exists now.