The Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe saw many major deaths in 2023. After ten years, the DCEU came to an end in 2023, with 2024 marking the start of James Gunn’s new DC Universe with the animated Creature Commandos series. While not the best-reviewed of the franchise, the DCEU’s 2023 movies featured many exciting and shocking moments, which included a few major character deaths, and at least one of them could impact DC’s upcoming movies despite the universe reboot.
The MCU will continue for the foreseeable future without a reboot; however, 2023 also brought along a series of ups and downs for Marvel Studios. While the MCU’s quality was uneven, both projects considered to be among Marvel’s best movies, such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and some of the MCU’s most criticized entries, like Secret Invasion, gave the MCU heartbreaking deaths. Here are the biggest character deaths of the MCU and the DCEU in 2023.
Related
Every Upcoming Marvel Movie: Full MCU Phase 5 & 6 List (& Beyond)
Between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment, here is every upcoming Marvel movie release date and what we know about the projects so far.
12 Shazam Dies After Defeating Kalypso
Shazam! Fury Of The Gods
Billy Batson used his powers in Shazam! Fury of the Gods to overcharge the Wizard’s staff and allow him to defeat Kalypso, her dragon, and her army. The energy released from the battle was too much for Shazam to handle, with Billy dying. However, the character would not stay dead for long, as Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman appeared for a surprise cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Wonder Woman uses her god-like powers to restore the staff and resurrect Billy.
11 MODOK Dies As An Avenger
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
Corey Stoll’s return as Darren Cross to the Ant-Man franchise led to one of the movie’s most controversial aspects. Cross going from Yellowjacket to the MCU’s version of MODOK due to his time in the Quantum Realm was a big creative swing, and while the actor’s performance led to a hilarious MODOK, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s CGI never made the character look good enough. MODOK being killed after destroying Kang the Conqueror’s shield and dying as an “Avenger” after betraying Kang to help the Ant-Man family at least led to a sweet and heartbreaking moment.
Related
Every Avengers Team In The MCU, Ranked By Power
The original Avengers team might be the MCU’s most iconic, but it is far from the only one, and the many Avengers rosters have differing power levels.
10 Talos Is Killed By Gravik
Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion is one of Marvel’s most controversial releases ever, and the series killed two popular MCU characters. Secret Invasion episode 4 shockingly saw Gravik, the leader of the invading Skrulls in the series, stab and kill Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos after using his shape-shifting abilities to pretend he was a soldier helping the injured character. Talos’ relationship with Nick Fury was the best part of the series, with the potential for more exciting interactions in the future, which led to this death in the poorly-received show being a waste.
9 Supergirl Is Stabbed By General Zod
The Flash
Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, although exciting, did not get much to do in The Flash. The character was powerful, taking on General Zod’s army and those who kept her captive at the start of the DCEU film. However, Supergirl would be murdered by General Zod, with Michael Shannon’s character stabbing her from behind when it seemed like the hero had defeated him. As DC cut two different The Flash endings that would have seen Barry Allen’s multiverse travels bring Supergirl back, Calle’s character remained dead.
Related
Every DCEU Movie Ranked From Worst To Best
The DCEU is almost complete after 15 movies, but how does Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom compare to the likes of Justice League and The Flash?
8 Young Barry Allen Sacrifices Himself To Save Older Flash
The Flash
The Flash followed two main versions of Barry Allen, with Ezra Miller pulling double duty as the DCEU’s Barry and a younger version of himself. Sadly, after not being able to save Batman and Supergirl despite having tried to multiple times, young Barry turned into Dark Flash. The villain then met his past self and the main Barry, with the young version of The Flash sacrificing himself to save his older counterpart. Young Barry’s death was one of the DCEU’s most tragic moments.
7 Michael Keaton’s Batman Repeatedly Dies
The Flash
The Flash saw quite a few of the biggest MCU or DCEU deaths of 2023. Michael Keaton returned as Batman in the film, only for his character to be shockingly killed. Batman first dies by sacrificing himself to attempt to take out Zod’s ship, then dying again in a fight with a Kryptonian after young Barry reversed time. Keaton was originally reported to become the DCEU’s Batman, taking over from Ben Affleck, which would have given his character a different ending.
6 Jaime Reyes’ Dad Dies From A Heart Attack
Blue Beetle
Alberto Reyes had one of the most impactful deaths of the DCEU. Jaime Reyes’ dad died in Blue Beetle while his son could do nothing to help him, as he was captured by Victoria Kord’s team. Alberto dying from a heart attack was not the last time he was seen in the movie though. Blue Beetle saw Jaime and Alberto reunite in the afterlife for a bittersweet sequence where Jaime embraces his superhero destiny fully.
5 Strange Supreme Sacrifices Himself For His Universe
What If…? Season 2
Strange Supreme is one of the most powerful characters of the MCU. After his obsession with saving his Christine Palmer led to Strange Supreme’s universe getting destroyed, the anti-hero returned in What If…? season 2 with the plan to sacrifice thousands of multiversal heroes and villains to The Forge in hopes of restoring his universe. After an intense battle with Captain Carter and Kahhori, Strange Supreme escaped the influence of all the dark beings he had absorbed and sacrificed himself, ending the fight and restoring his universe and Christine, though he tragically never got to see them.
4 Barry Allen’s Mom’s Death Leads To Flashpoint
The Flash
The Flash featured many huge deaths, but none were more important than that of Barry Allen’s mother. Though the Reverse-Flash was not shown or teased to be behind Nora Allen’s death in the movie, The Flash‘s story hinged on the death of Barry’s mom. That is the main force behind the film, with Barry going back in time to save her and that action leading to a series of heartbreaking events before Barry realizes he has to let her go.
Related
10 Most Heartbreaking DC Movie Moments
Over the years, DC movies have had their fair share of emotional moments, and some have managed to emerge as the most heartbreaking of the bunch.
3 Maria Hill Is Shockingly Shot By Gravik
Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion seemed like the project to finally give Maria Hill her time to shine, only for Cobie Smulders’ character to be killed at the end of the series’ first episode. Maria Hill’s demise became the MCU’s most controversial death of 2023. Secret Invasion episode 1 saw Nick Fury shoot Hill, only for it to be revealed that it was actually the Skrull Gravik. Hill then bled to her death, ending the character’s time in the MCU without her ever getting a big role in a project.
2 Rocket Raccoon’s Childhood Friends Are Killed By The High Evolutionary
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is one of the MCU’s saddest movies. Rocket Raccoon’s tragic backstory was finally revealed, with the MCU movie being responsible for three heartbreaking deaths. Rocket and his friends attempted to escape from the High Evolutionary’s ship, only for the MCU villain to gun down Lylla the Otter and Rocket’s other two childhood friends, Floor and Teefs, to be shot by the High Evolutionary’s forces. The tragedy explained why Rocket was so filled with grief in the future.
1 Kang The Conqueror
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
Finally, the biggest MCU or DCEU death of 2023 was that of Kang the Conqueror. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was responsible for introducing the MCU’s successor to Thanos, only for Kang to seemingly die at the end of the movie after Ant-Man and the Wasp sent the villain flying into the multiversal core of his Time Chair, which collapsed and sucked Kang into the void. With Jonathan Majors’ firing from the MCU, what was likely a fakeout might become a real death for Kang the Conqueror, with the Marvel villain topping the 2023 deaths in the MCU or the DCEU.
