The Marvel Cinematic Universe have seen many powerful characters come and go, usually not sticking around long enough to show off the full strength of their staggering powers. For the most part, the power levels of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are overall somewhat low, with many street level heroes and low-powered Avengers relying on technology and training to take down major threats. Every now and then, however, the series will introduce a character with universe-warping levels of strength, only to unceremoniously kill them off.

There are many reasons why high-powered characters don’t tend to last long in the MCU. Many of these examples are villains who are killed off far too soon into their careers, just one of the several glaring problems with villains the MCU has. Others are actually heroes who make a poignant sacrifice over the course of their journey, whether intentionally or not.

10

Thanos

Died Via Decapitation, And Then Infinity Stone Snap

Thanos will forever be the ultimate big bad of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and for good reason. One of the most successful MCU villains, Thanos was actually able to realize his disturbing plan to kill off half of all life in the universe. He’s beheaded by Thor for his troubles after succeeding, only for an alternate variant of himself to run into the Avengers once more. This iteration is finally killed when Iron Man manages to Snap him out of existence with his own use of the stones.

There are several things that made Thanos so intimidating. Of course, the Infinity Stones are the strongest weapons ever conceived in the universe, and his possession of them made Thanos capable of reality-warping feats. Even without the stones, it’s worth mentioning that Thanos is absurdly strong, enough to overpower the Hulk in single combat, and he’s tough enough to survive the ravaging cosmic forces generated by using the stones.

9

Scarlet Witch

Died Under The Collapse Of Mount Wungadore

Few characters have had as tumultuous a path as Scarlet Witch’s journey through the MCU. Going from villain to hero to villain again before ultimately redeeming herself in a noble sacrifice, Scarlet Witch’s history was a long and complicated one. She finally meets her end collapsing Mount Wungadore, along with the Darkhold Castle, making a noble sacrifice play in order to prevent the damage she had caused from getting any worse.

As the incarnation of chaos magic, Scarlet Witch is a uniquely powerful being whose arrival was heralded by ancient prophecies. A gifted user of chaos magic, Scarlet Witch was able to overwrite reality itself at an atomic level, creating life, controlling people’s minds, and overpowering incredibly powerful beings through sheer willpower. If it wasn’t for her ultimate decision to sacrifice herself for the greater good thanks to a last-minute change of heart, it’s difficult to say if anyone in the MCU could’ve stood up to her power.

8

Vision

Died When The Mind Stone Was Plucked From His Brow By Thanos

Despite being an artificially created machine, Vision was by far one of the strongest Avengers during his run on the team, perhaps supplanted only by his lover, Wanda. Powered by an Infinity Stone, Vision was essentially the corrected version of Ultron — An all-powerful android with a vested interest in humanity’s survival. Vision dies when Thanos, seeking the Mind Stone, comes to Earth to find it, snatching it from Vision’s head and killing him in the process.

What made Vision so strong largely came down to his power source. Using the Mind Gem, Vision was able to perform all kinds of fantastic feats, including becoming intangible, firing a powerful laser beam out of his forehead, and flight. As if that weren’t enough, Vision’s android physiology and processing power made him wickedly strong, fast, and intelligent, putting most other MCU heroes to shame. Luckily, at least Vision’s counterpart, the White Vision, still lives on in the MCU.

7

Ultron

Died After Being Whittled Down To One Body By Vision

Perhaps one of the most wasted Marvel villains ever, Ultron had the potential to threaten more than a single movie in the MCU. Born of the passion project between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, Ultron was built to be a global peacekeeping initiative that could protect humanity with an interlinked network of Iron Man drones. Unfortunately, Ultron ended up abandoning his mission in favor of humanity’s extinction, and dies to Vision after being whittled down to a single body.

Speaking of his multiple bodies, the ability to split his consciousness across thousands of backups was part of what made Ultron so special. If it wasn’t for Vision, there’s nothing to say that Ultron wouldn’t have simply continued to survive the Avengers’ onslaught. There’s no denying that without Vision, Ultron might still be roaming far-off corners of the MCU today.

6

Gorr

Died When The Necrosword Was Shattered

By far the most compelling aspect of Thor: Love and Thunder was Christian Bale’s Gorr the God butcher. Once a simple desert nomad living on an unforgiving desert planet biome, Goor is forced to watch his daughter die of dehydration during a drought that nearly kills him as well. He dies in earnest when Might Thor uses Mjolnir to shatter the All-Black Necrosword, to which Gorr had bound his soul.

As the steward of the god-slaying weapon, Gorr’s offensive might was not to be underestimated, capable of devouring the very gods with his blade. As if that weren’t enough, the weapon was also capable of generating structures, appendages, and even controllable monsters formed from shadow, making Gorr a fearsome opponent indeed. If it wasn’t for the fact that his soul was bound with the blade itself, Gorr might’ve lived on to continue as an alarming threat for Thor and company.

5

Ego

Died When The Core Of His Planet Is Nuked

One of the few Celestials of the MCU and the only one to fully die during the course of their movie appearance, Ego was one of the most powerful beings ever named in the series. Once an isolated consiousness drifting through space, Ego gains sentience and the ability to shape matter around him through sheer force of will, turning him into a living planet. When his true nature is discovered, the Guardians of the Galaxy plant a bomb on his core, killing him when it detonates once and for all.

As a living planet, Ego had full control over all matter and energy on his surface, making him essentially a god so long as he remained within his own celestial body. Even then, Ego was capable of sending vessels far into the vast reaches of outer space, implanting nascent versions of his consciousness all over the galaxy. If it wasn’t for the Guardians’ intervention, Ego could’ve very well had taken over the galaxy and re-made it in his image.

4

Ikaris

Took His Own Life And Flew Into The Sun

Of all the original Eternals sent to protect the Earth from Deviants, it could be said that Ikaris was the strongest. Just like his cohorts on the planet, Ikaris was sent to preside over the emergence of a new Celestial, Tiamat, and was one of the few Eternals willing to carry out the true plan. However, even his grand powers weren’t enough to protect him from heartbreak once his compatriots had managed to rebel from their purpose and prevent Tiamat’s rise.

Upon realizing that he had essentially failed his life’s purpose, Ikaris found the emotions too much to bear, and committed suicide by flying into the sun. The closest thing the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gotten to its own Superman, Ikaris had many of the same powers, including flight, super strength, invincibility, and powerful laser vision. It seems his invincibility had much shallower limites, however, causing him to be very mortal in a specific way.

3

Hela

Died In The Destruction Of Asgard

Odin’s secret eldest child and the sister of Thor and Loki, Hela’s existence was a shock to even the 1500+ year-old Asgardian gods. The self-proclaimed goddess of death, Hela was a fearsome conqueror that helped Odin establish much of the Asgardian empire at his side through a tyrannical spree of subjugation across the realms. In the end, Hela is killed by the fire giant Surtur, who was destined to destroy Asgard when Thor awakened him, willing to accept the destruction of his home as collateral in defeating Hela.

LIke all Asgardians, Hela enjoyed a physiology far stronger and more durable than most other living beings, able to take out and dish incredible amounts of punishment with her divine rage. On top of that, her ability to conjure and fling deadly razor-sharp constructs, as well as summon and command an army of the dead, made her a one-woman army capable of defeating Thor in a one-on-one battle. If it wasn’t for Surtur, Hela would’ve surely succeeded in her egomaniacal goals of conquest.

2

Gilgamesh

Died At The Hands Of The Deviant Kro

Like all the other Eternals, Gilgamesh was assigned to keep humanity safe from the Deviants, inter-galactic super-predators that feed on sapient life. Perhaps second only to Ikaris, Gilgamesh was by far the strongest of the bunch, but was also considered to be one of the kindest. Staying behind to defend his comrade Thena from a sudden influx of Deviants, Gilgamesh fights valiantly, but ultimately falls at the hands of the Deviant Kro, overwhelmed by his bestial fury.

Gilgamesh had the same enhanced strength, speed, and immortality as all the other Eternals, though his super strength seems to stand out in a league of its own compared to the others. He was also able to coat himself in a golden armor of cosmic energy, enhancing his power and durability even further. It’s worth mentioning that his strength was legendary enough to inspire a real world epic, one of the oldest mythical heroes in human history.

1

Ronan The Accuser

Died To The Power Stone

The first enemy of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ronan the Accuser was not to be underestimated as an opponent. A Kree fanatic and zealot of Thanos, Ronan essentially acted as an enforcer, enacting Thanos’ will on other planets through the use of the Orb, which contained the Power Stone, later embedded in Ronan’s mighty hammer. Ronan dies when this power is turned against him by the combined forces of the Guardians of the Galaxy, able to withstand the ravaging cosmic forces thanks to Peter Quill’s half-Celestial physiology (plus the power of friendship).

Like Thanos, Ronan was powerful enough of a being to weather the incredible power of an Infinity Stone, specifically the purple Power Stone embedded in the Orb. It’s unknown whether Ronan could survive using multiple stones at once, but it wouldn’t be altogether out of the question. It’s a shame Ronan was easily distracted by dancing, making one of the MCU‘s most powerful villains defeated by his own weapon.