About a year ago, I made a list of everyone who had just died in Infinity War, and told you it might not have really mattered. I’m now back with a similar list of victims following Endgame, and this time it does matter. Beware, spoilers follow below, so proceed only if you’ve seen the film.
I’m going to remind you again that Endgame spoilers will come up next, so make sure you avoid them — also, don’t spoil Endgame for anyone who hasn’t seen the film yet:
Before we proceed to the actual Endgame deaths, I’ll remind you that everyone who was dusted in Infinity War was brought back to life. The ones who were killed before the Snap remain dead, although some of them might be resurrected in some capacity, but maybe not how you think. In what follows, I’ll also revisit some of the big Infinity War deaths that were not caused by the Snap, including a couple who are not technically Avengers:
Loki
The God of Mischief died in Infinity War trying to kill Thanos. We thought he might have faked it, but that’s not the case. We know now that he’s gone for good, although I will point out that there is a timeline, which I’ve called the 2012-Loki timeline in this explainer, where he escapes The First Battle of New York, and is alive in that timeline branch. So, who knows what happens next? After all, Loki has a Disney+ show in the works.
Heimdall
Also dead early in Infinity War is Heimdall, and there’s no way he’s alive in our current 2023 timeline. When Hulk undid the snap, he revived only those people who were turned to dust by Thanos, not the ones who died before it.
Gamora
Gamora died on Vormir when Thanos sacrificed her for the Soul Stone. But, as I’ve already explained, a 2014 Gamora was brought to the main MCU-timeline in 2023, and she switched sides, fighting against her father, together with the Avengers. Tony Stark snapped his fingers and turned Thanos and his armies to dust, but Gamora may have been spared. The film ends with Star-Lord searching for her, but it’s unclear if she’s still alive. In any case, this Gamora has no history with Peter Quill and the other Guardians, and if she’s alive, we may see a reset of her story.
Vision
There was no Vision whatsoever in Endgame, but Wanda did talk to Hawkeye about him. We expect Vision to be resurrected in some capacity off-camera, although he might not have the Mind Stone, which doesn’t exist in this universe anymore. That’s because Disney+ already committed a WandaVision TV series, and although it is possible, we don’t think it would make much sense for it to take place pre-Infinity War.
Natasha
The moment we realize Clint and Natasha are going to Vormir to get the Soul Stone, it’s clear to everyone in the audience that one of them will die. There’s just no other way to obtain the artifact. The Stone requires a soul, and the two fight it out, as each of them wants to die for it. Ultimately, Black Widow wins and dies. It’s painful to watch, and it hurts instantly, because you know this is a death that can’t be undone by the Infinity Gauntlet. Hulk tried to bring her back when he undid the Snap, but it just wasn’t possible.
I would point out that there’s a Black Widow movie in the works, but it’ll surely be a prequel.
Also, let’s not forget that Steve Rogers is purposefully returning the Soul Stone to Vormir in 2014, to kill any potentially malignant timeline branches from forming. It’s unclear what happens when you bring back a Soul Stone to its keeper. Do you get the soul you’ve sacrificed back? If so, maybe Nat isn’t gone for good.
Iron Man
We’d always assumed that Iron Man, Captain America, or both of them would die in one of the final two Avengers movies. They both survived Infinity War, but we knew that didn’t mean they were safe.
It turned out to be Tony. It was the only way, and he knew well in advance that it might happen. He recorded a goodbye message to Pepper, Morgan, and friends before they jumped back in time, anticipating the worst. Moreover, he built a secondary gauntlet which he incorporated into his suit to make sure that he’d have one handy in case something happened to the original, like Thanos getting a hold of it. Pretty clever.
He knew that, if push came to shove, he’d die from using the gauntlet. After all, the Stones nearly killed Thanos, and Hulk was seriously injured as well. Tony Stark is dead. He was Iron Man. We love him 3000.
But will he be back in any capacity? Some theories say that Tony may have uploaded his consciousness to the cloud and he may have merged it with a computer. If that’s the case, he could reappear in Jarvis/Friday fashion, but probably only as a voice over.
Too bad that a certain Sorcerer Supreme who’s able to manipulate time wasn’t there to use the Time Stone to revive Stark. But, Doctor Strange was busy keeping others alive. More importantly, Robert Downey Jr.’s contract is up, so an exit from the MCU was imminent. On the other hand, Endgame makes it clear that there’s more than one Tony Stark, all living their lives in alternate timelines. So, who knows what will happen down the road.
Everyone else
All the superheroes that aren’t included in the list above are alive and well, as I’ve said before. They woke up from a coma of sorts after being revived, and we’ll see them in future MCU adventures down the road, with Peter Parker suiting up first in Far From Home. If your favorite Marvel hero isn’t in the list above, then he or she is still alive.
The only exception is Captain America — or better said, Steve Rogers. The original Cap stayed in the past, in the MCU-timeline or a branch of it, and grew old with Peggy Carter. He did pass on his shield to the new Captain America, Sam Wilson, so will we still see Steve Rogers in future Marvel movies? Who knows. But Captain America will be there.
Moving on to civilian deaths, when Hulk used Tony’s gauntlet to bring everyone back to life, he revived all those people who died when Thanos used his Infinity Gauntlet in the previous movie. But Hulk did not change anything that happened in the five years between the two Snaps, which presumably means that everyone who died directly after the original Snap, or in the five gruesome years that followed, is still dead.
