Top 20 Most Brutal DC Movie Deaths Ever

Top 20 Most Brutal DC Movie Deaths Ever

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most gruesome deaths in DC movies. We’ll be getting into spoilers for various projects so consider this your warning!

#20: Malik Ali

“Superman” (2025)

Superman is one of the strongest superheroes around, but even he needs the help of ordinary people every now and then. When he was injured by the metahuman the Hammer of Boravia, Malik Ali is who came to his rescue. Unfortunately, that made him a target for Lex Luthor. After imprisoning Superman in a special pocket dimension, Lex rounded Malik up too. Not long after Lex put a gun to Malik’s head and pulled the trigger, executing the citizen in front of Superman. This was a sadistic display of cruelty from Lex and a jarring shift in the movie’s tone. It’s an optimistic film overall, but moments like this brought a haunting amount of darkness to the table.

#19: The Board of Directors

“Shazam!” (2019)

Although “Shazam!” is a family-friendly pseudo-Christmas comedy, the villain almost feels like he should be in a different movie. After gaining immense power from the Seven Deadly Sins, Dr. Sivana pays a visit to the father and brother who emotionally tormented him. His brother actually gets off relatively easy, getting tossed through the window. Everyone else has the Sins to deal with, who waste no time tearing them apart. The PG-13 rating means this scene isn’t as violent as it realistically could be. But there are still some genuinely alarming moments, like seeing the board members pressed up against the office windows, shrieking for help. Dear old Dad gets the worst of it; Sivana makes him watch before siccing Greed on him.

#18: Batman

“The Flash” (2023)

During a climactic battle against General Zod’s forces, Batman knows that he has to do whatever it takes to even the odds. He then makes the decision to take out a protective forcefield by crashing his batplane into it, effectively sacrificing himself in a fiery explosion. Since Batman is the Dark Knight, a dark death feels appropriate. However, what makes this even more brutal is how utterly stupid this whole sendoff was. Considering that Batman’s final attack didn’t actually break anything of importance, that means he basically took his own life for no reason. It’s such a bizarre sequence of events that it makes the aftermath even more grim than before. Seriously, if that isn’t a rough way to go out then what is?

#17: Zod

“Man of Steel” (2013)

In the entry to kick off DC’s live-action, shared universe, Michael Shannon brought high-level intensity to the role of Zod. The Kryptonian general takes it upon himself to bring his people back from the brink of death by wiping out another: us. Thankfully, Supes doesn’t let that happen. In one of the most destructive superhero fights ever, the two rage through Metropolis. As Zod threatens to destroy an innocent family right in front of him, Superman does the only thing he can think of and snaps his enemy’s neck with tremendous force. Clark’s turmoil over the decision is evident in Henry Cavill’s performance. But it’s also caused debate among fans and creators over whether it was the right thing for Superman to do.

#16: Dollmaker

“Batman vs. Robin” (2015)

When Batman and Robin investigate the disappearances of several children, their trail leads them back to the demented Dollmaker. Amidst the ensuing chaos, Robin battles against the serial killer and is close to killing him but ultimately spares his life. But not long after that, Dollmaker dies anyway when his heart gets ripped out. The murderer is revealed to be Talon, a deadly assassin from the Court of Owls. It shouldn’t be too hard to see how getting your heart ripped from your body can be a horrific experience. That being said, Dollmaker totally had it coming. Sure it’s a horrible way to die, but he was also endangering countless lives. So yeah, we definitely aren’t going to be missing the Dollmaker!

#15: Jesse Kane

“Aquaman” (2018)

If you’re a pirate going up against a superhero, expect to meet a very swift end. Towards the beginning of the movie, father and son duo Jesse and David Kane lead an attack on a submarine. It isn’t long before Aquaman shows up and lays the smackdown on David, leading Pops to step in with explosives. Despite one being effective against the hero, explosives on a submarine are obviously never a good call. After a short bout, Jesse ends up pinned underneath a torpedo with the water rushing in. When Aquaman leaves them to fend for themselves, David refuses to abandon his dad until Jesse holds up a grenade. The off-screen explosion signals the birth of Black Manta.

#14: Lois Lane

“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” (2021)

There are some elements of certain DCU films that we might not see come to fruition due to behind-the-scenes changes at Warner Bros. One of those elements are the visions of an apocalyptic future with an evil Superman. In “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” the team must combat Steppenwolf and the threat of his immensely deadly master, Darkseid. In order to do so, they revive Superman, but we see that the possibility of their failure can lead to disaster. One brief scene shows Clark holding the charred remains of Lois and weeping, likely the outcome of Darkseid’s omega beams. Although we don’t see it, Joker does say she suffered…

#13: Starro

“The Suicide Squad” (2021)

When James Gunn entered the DCU, we knew we’d be getting something special. Without the constraints of a PG-13 rating, that “something special” was soaked in as much blood as possible. During the climax, the Squad faces off against Starro the Conqueror, and it’s just as over-the-top as a fight against a giant starfish should be. Although Starro mind-controls many humans, they pale in comparison to the number of rats on the island. Ratcatcher 2 commands her furry allies to swarm the giant alien, creating an opening for Harley to pierce Starro’s eye with her javelin. As she floats inside the eye with an army of rodents nibbling away, the music swells. It would almost be a sight to behold if it wasn’t so gross.

#12: Superman

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016)

The DCEU was a turbulent universe for Superman. In his second movie appearance he had to square off against Batman and later an unhinged beast known as Doomsday. His battle would be so intense in fact that it’d cost him his life. The death occurred when Superman stabbed him with a special kryptonite spear. It stopped Doomsday but the creature was smart enough to then use one of his special spikes to stab him as well. The action-packed sequence essentially took both of these powerhouses out of the equation. But while no one really missed Doomsday, the world felt the loss of Superman. His death rattled the DCEU, and while he was quickly brought back, it showed how even Superman wasn’t immortal.

#11: Murray Franklin

“Joker” (2019)

The TV business is rough but the late night landscape has never turned this lethal. When Murray Franklin invited Arthur Fleck to his program things went completely off the rails. The talk show host antagonized Arthur prior to their meeting and continued to do so during the actual interview. Arthur deserved criticism, but Murray’s words would cost the host dearly. His sharp jabs would get shut down as Arther shot him point blank on air. The looks of horror on the other guests as Murray’s blood splattered everywhere really sold just how disturbing this primetime event was. Arthur was appropriately punished for his actions, but this televised execution should serve as a reminder not to push the Joker’s buttons.

#10: The Cow

“Peacemaker” (2022-)

James Gunn kept the violent absurdity going from “The Suicide Squad” with a series dedicated to one of its more absurd characters. “Peacemaker” follows the anti-hero as he works with Waller’s underlings to stop an alien invasion. They eventually learn the aliens, called Butterflies, brought one of their cows with them; a gigantic, bug-like monstrosity that produces their only source of food. During the group’s final mission, Peacemaker activates the Human Torpedo helmet on Adebayo’s head, shooting her straight through the cow’s chest. She then falls out of it, bringing lots of gross goop with her. There were already some fairly vicious death scenes throughout the show, but the insane circumstances make this one of the more memorable.

#9: Black Mask“Birds of Prey” (2020)

As the first movie within DC’s shared universe to go for an R rating, “Birds of Prey” features an appropriate level of brutality. A big portion of it comes from the sadistic villain, Ewan McGregor’s Black Mask. However, the most savage death in the movie is his own. After plenty of blood has already been shed, Harley Quinn catches up with Black Mask on a pier with the young Cassandra as his hostage. But the girl proves her proficiency at sleight of hand. She clips a grenade to Black Mask’s waist and pulls the pin, while Harley rushes to toss him over the railing. It’s a very quick death, but an undeniably brutal one.

#8: Max Shreck

“Batman Returns” (1992)

Step aside Bruce, because the chemistry between Max Shreck and Selina Kyle is electric. In fact, sparks flew between them. No, seriously, that’s what happened. After getting almost killed by Shreck, Selina went from a shy receptionist to a flamboyant vigilante. And as Catwoman, she got revenge on her former employer. By pressing a stun gun against him and grabbing hold of an electrical cable, she fried Max while also giving him a kiss of death. This was one elaborate way to go out to say the least. It’s also undeniably a traumatizing moment since it effectively turned Max into a charred corpse. With this and the horrifying way that Penguin died (xref) it’s no wonder why so many kids were scared of “Batman Returns”!

#7: Jason Todd

“Batman: Under the Red Hood” (2010)

Few sidekicks have had it worse in the DC Universe than Jason Todd. Not only was he captured by the Joker, he was also beaten nearly to death with a crowbar. Then, to ramp things up, Joker rigged the warehouse he was in to explode. Torture and humiliation wasn’t enough, a massive explosion also had to be engineered to screw Jason over. Even though he came back to life, his death remained a traumatizing chapter in his history. It makes perfect sense. Death is never easy to deal with, but a death like this is even more crazy than what audiences normally expect. Joker’s murder of Jason Todd is the reason Jason became Red Hood, and also the reason Batman considers him his greatest failure.

#6: Joker

“Injustice” (2021)

Joker is one of DC’s most unhinged villains, and this movie proves it. He messed with Superman’s head and tricked him into killing his pregnant wife Lois Lane. So as you could imagine, the Man of Steel wasn’t happy about this. If you thought getting shot by Tim Drake in “Return of the Joker” was grim, you haven’t seen anything yet. Once Superman found the Joker he rammed his arm through the clown’s chest. Brutal doesn’t begin to describe how grizzly this death was. The execution was a level of violence we’d never expect from Superman. And after this murder, it’d turn our hero into a ruthless dictator. Joker deserved to be punished, but in the end, his death arguably doomed this universe.

#5: Sabbac

“Black Adam” (2022)

“Black Adam” may not have changed the hierarchy of DC the way we were promised. But it nevertheless has some pretty awesome beatdowns courtesy of its heroes. During the climax, Black Adam learns the importance of playing well with others when he and the Justice Society take on the demon Sabbac. His power may have been outmatched if it weren’t for Hawkman, who provides Adam the assist for a slam dunk. With a little wizardry, Hawkman holds the villain down while Adam sends electricity coursing through his body. He then rips him in half the long way, with Sabbac’s insides consisting of pure molten lava. That could not have been a pleasant way to go.

#4: The Good Guys

“The Suicide Squad” (2021)

Long before the Suicide Squad even knows about Starro, they have to rescue Rick Flag after he gets captured. Or, at least, that’s what they think they’re doing. Under orders from Amanda Waller, our anti-heroes mount a stealthy assault to free Flag from his supposed captors. The sequence is filled with some grisly kills. Highlights include King Shark eating someone whole and Bloodsport and Peacemaker’s competition over who can get the coolest kill. It’s some pristine carnage, made even more hilarious when the group finds out that Flag was never in any danger. In actuality, they just murdered a whole host of freedom fighters, who would’ve gladly aided them on their mission against those in power. Whoops…

#3: Mera

“Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox” (2013)

After discovering that her husband Aquaman was having an affair with Wonder Woman, Queen Mera decided that she was out for blood. Unfortunately, she got too ahead of herself in her ambitions. You actually have no idea just how true that is. When Mera went to kill Wonder Woman she ended up getting decapitated. Needless to say, things didn’t go well for her as she died instantly. Mera was right to be upset by her husband’s betrayal, but there’s simply no world where she has any chance at killing Wonder Woman. Sorry, there’s no ifs or buts about it! Maybe instead of picking up her sword, she should’ve picked up some divorce papers instead. Who knows, it could’ve saved her life!

#2: Rorschach

“Watchmen” (2009)

Many key relationships broke down in this movie, including Rorschach and Doctor Manhattan’s. After discovering Ozymandias’ horrific plans for humanity, Rorschach was understandably furious. To make matters worse, Manhattan didn’t want to expose Ozymandias for his crimes, which meant that Rorschach had a bone to pick with him too. He called Manhattan out, even daring the walking nuclear bomb to destroy him. And well, that’s exactly what he did by exploding Rorschach. It’s pretty hard to forget the disturbing visuals of someone blowing up. Instead of accepting things, Rorschach chose to go out on his own terms in a chilling act of defiance. Getting wiped out by someone who’s basically a god is a rough deal, but it’s weirdly poetic for a character like this.

#1: Team 1

“The Suicide Squad” (2021)

To say 2016’s “Suicide Squad” disappointed fans would be putting it lightly. For those wary of the IP’s second outing, the opening sequence showed the team was in good, blood-soaked hands. Amanda Waller sends two teams into Corto Maltese; the first runs into trouble when Pete Davidson’s Blackguard betrays them. With one blast to the face, the mayhem begins. The team does what they can, dispatching the island’s military in ways befitting of supervillains. But they’re soon overwhelmed. Captain Boomerang and Mongal go out in a fiery helicopter crash while Savant gets his head blown up by Waller when he tries to flee. It’s just as chaotic and violent as an R-rated “Suicide Squad” should be. Which is to say, extremely.

Are there any other intense DC deaths we missed? Gross us out in the comments!