Top 10 Satisfying Marvel Villain Deaths
#10: Destroying Ego
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017) Ego is a living planet and a celestial who can manipulate the matter that makes up his “body” in a countless number of ways. So, you can imagine that he’s pretty hard to take down permanently. Ultimately, Peter Quill has to use his own celestial powers to keep Ego busy while Rocket and Groot plant a bomb near Ego’s brain. Watching his battle with Star-Lord play out is incredibly cool and cathartic because the celestial ended Meredith Quill’s life. Thanks to the teamwork of all the Guardians, we get the very satisfying image of Ego crumbling away to nothing.
#9: Young Mutants Bring Pierce Down
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“Logan” (2017) “Logan” is a positively brutal movie that’s full of emotional ends that hit you like a truck. But there’s also a few triumphant character demises too. Throughout the film, a mercenary named Donald Pierce works for a company that exploits, imprisons, and creates mutants. He’s willing to torment mutants just to get what he wants. When he tries to capture young mutants, he finally gets his just desserts. After Pierce “pierces” Logan with a weapon, the youth attack him with all their powers. Watching him get bombarded by a variety of painful abilities would be hard to watch if Pierce hadn’t been such a scumbag!
#8: Ultron’s Broken Dreams
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“Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015) Shortly after this AI was born, Ultron decided to destroy humanity. After he mobilizes a robot army, he and his forces have to fight all the Avengers. We get to see tons of robots blasted apart in the final battle. But Ultron’s ultimate destruction is his best. While trying to escape, he’s confronted in the forest by the heroic Vision. Ironically, Ultron ensured the newest Avenger’s body got built. But now the villain was forced to reflect on his failures and humanity’s inevitable demise with the synthetic being. At the end of this surprisingly poignant scene, the mad A.I. is destroyed by his own creation. While all we see is a flash of light, we still get the poetic picture.
#7: Yellowjacket is Cut Down to Size
“Ant-Man” (2015) Darren Cross is the former protégé of Hank Pym. However, after betraying his mentor and weaponizing his shrinking technology, Cross goes off the rails [insert clip of toy train here]…so to speak. The villain eventually battles Scott Lang’s Ant-Man in a tense battle in a bedroom. While the clash may be miniature, it still has plenty of tension because the hero’s daughter is in danger the whole time. After Cross threatens Cassie Lang and her step-dad directly, Scott steps up, shrinks beyond his limits and destroys Cross’ suit from the inside. The resulting damage causes his suit to malfunction and make Yellowjacket painfully shrink away into nothing. His brutal and well deserved demise allows Scott to have a beautiful reunion with his daughter.
#6: Hela Experiences Ragnarok Firsthand
“Thor: Ragnarok” (2017) The god of thunder couldn’t hold a candle to his sibling Hela. Known as the goddess of death, she’s powerful enough to slay Thor’s friends, take out her brother’s eye, and survive a lightning blast. Since Hela draws her power from Asgard itself, the only way the thunder god can win is to let his home be destroyed. Thor and the revengers help unleash the huge and demonic Surtur to wreck the world completely. Before long, the fiery giant drives his sword through Asgard while smashing Hela at the same time. While we definitely weren’t fans of Hela, we have to admit that the fact that Asgard needed to be destroyed just to stop her makes her a pretty tough and epic foe.
#5: Iron Monger Majorly Malfunctions
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“Iron Man” (2008) Obadiah Stane worked closely with both Howard and Tony Stark. But this businessman is far more ruthless than the father and son combined. After Stane secretly plots to assassinate his business partner from a distance, he builds a huge suit of armor to finish his former friend himself. The villain’s size and power manage to overwhelm Tony and leave the hero nearly helpless by the end of the battle. But Iron Man eventually makes sure they end up standing over what’s essentially a giant version of the reactors that power their suits. After Pepper overloads the tech, Stane is literally and figuratively so shocked that he falls into a reactor. It’s fitting that a traitor was destroyed by the stark tech he wanted to weaponize.
#4: Francis Finally Falls
“Deadpool” (2016) Francis a.k.a. Ajax is just such a hateable villain! Not only is this smug snake always smirking, but he took pleasure tormenting Wade Wilson. To top it all off, Ajax kidnapped Deadpool’s love interest Vanessa and subjected her to harsh treatment. The only thing keeping the villain alive is his promise that he can fix Wade’s physical features. However, Ajax laughs while revealing that he was lying about fixing Deadpool the whole time. Wade is ready to end the villain before Colossus tries to discourage the violent action with a sentimental speech. But just as the music swells, Deadpool shoots Francis. The sudden end makes Colossus sick and has us laughing. It’s a hilarious reversal of expectations and a fitting end for what’s-his-name.
#3: Ronan Feels the Power…Stone
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“Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014) Although the guardians, Ravagers and Nova Corps try to stop the sinister Ronan the Accuser, the big bad looks poised to destroy the planet Xandar with the Power Stone. But Peter Quill distracts the villain with a dance-off. After guardians knock the power stone away from Ronan, Quill grabs the cosmic item and is nearly destroyed by it. But his friends come together to share his pain. Together, they’re able to harness the power stone to decimate Ronan. This kill has comedy, drama, and heartwarming friendship rolled into one scene. It’s a demise that will make you laugh and bring a tear to your eye. If Ronan had accepted that dance-off, he might still be around to see the team that united against him thrive.
#2: Moving the Coin
“X-Men: First Class” (2011) When Erik Lehnsherr was a child, he watched his mom get shot because he didn’t move a coin when Sebastian Shaw wanted him to. The two men meet up for a climactic clash in a nuclear sub decades after this incident. After Charles Xavier freezes Shaw in place, Erik finally gets time to get his long-awaited revenge. The future Magneto uses his powers to move the same coin from his fateful test in his childhood through his old enemy. Watching Erik finally take down his enemy is both beautiful and horrific. But given everything Magneto’s been through, it’s hard not to root for him. Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: Green Goblin is Struck Down by His Own Glider, “Spider-Man” (2002) Apparently, He Doesn’t Have Goblin Senses That Could’ve Kept Him Alive Stryker is Lost in the Flood, “X2: X-Men United” (2003) After Trying to Eliminate All Mutants, a Mutant Leaves Him to Die In a Flood Pierce Didn’t Keep Both Eyes Open, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014) The Villain Watches His Plans Go Up in Flames Before the Man He Betrayed Shoots Him
#1: Thanos Bites the Dust
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“Avengers: Endgame” (2019) Since Thanos was the MCU’s big bad during the Infinity Saga, his death is quite the event. It’s an occurrence so nice that we get to see it twice! Thor takes the 2018 titan down while repeating the villain’s old advice. [xref] During the final battle between his forces and the Avengers, Thanos and Tony Stark wrestle with the Infinity Stones. The titan seemingly wins and smugly snaps his fingers again. But then Tony reveals he’s won before declaring who he is. After we hear that awesome line, the villain watches his army get dusted before he starts to disappear himself. Seeing the 2014 mad titan suffer the fate his 2018 self imposed on half the universe was perfect.
