The bombshell cliffhanger ending of Avengers: Infinity War saw Thanos completing his Infinity Stone collection, snapping his fingers, and using the full might of the cosmos to wipe out half of all life in the universe. This included turning a handful of fan-favorite superheroes to dust in the blink of an eye.
Some of these superhero dustings, like T’Challa disappearing as he reached out to Okoye and Peter Parker collapsing into his father figure Tony Stark’s arms, were more heartbreaking than others, like Mantis and Sam Wilson.
Mantis
Mantis is certainly a lovable character and it was a great loss when she met a grim fate at the hands of Thanos (or technically just one hand, armed with the Infinity Gauntlet). But it didn’t hit as hard as the others, because she was the most recent addition to the MCU ensemble to turn to dust.
Mantis vanishes in the blink of an eye around the same time as a few other Guardians of the Galaxy that fans had more time to get endeared to, like Star-Lord and Drax.
Sam Wilson
Sam Wilson is the second one to die in the first wave of dustings on the Wakandan battlefield. Sam is a beloved character, but his death doesn’t really sink in because he disappears quite quickly.
Even Anthony Mackie himself was underwhelmed by his death scene. Screen Rant reports that in an interview with BUILD Series, Mackie said, “I wish I died in a better way,” because everybody else got a “cool death scene.”
Drax
Since Drax lived purely driven by revenge for the deaths of his family, there was a sense that he finally achieved peace and that pain went away when he turned to dust. Plus, his death scene only lasts for a few seconds, so the audience doesn’t have long to sit with it.
But by that point, Drax had become a fan-favorite character, widely adored by the Marvel fan base, so it was still saddening and shocking to see him go.
Doctor Strange
When Doctor Strange starts turning to dust, he accepts his fate with dignity because he’s seen the future and he knows it’ll all work out in the end. By giving up the Time Stone, he allowed the snap to happen so it could be reversed a few years later.
As Tony watches Strange crumble into thin air, the sorcerer’s haunting final words pave the way for the next movie: “There was no other way.”
Wanda Maximoff
Wanda Maximoff had already lost everything when Thanos killed her. Not only did she lose her parents as a child and lose her brother in battle; she reluctantly killed the love of her life, Vision, only for Thanos to bring him back to life and kill him all over again, making the sacrifice moot.
After that, it seemed more like mercy than cosmic punishment when Wanda was wiped from existence. As WandaVision proved, her survival would’ve just paved the way for intense feelings of grief and trauma.
Star-Lord
A lot of fans lacked sympathy for Peter Quill at the end of Infinity War after he let his emotions get in the way and unwittingly sabotaged the Avengers’ best shot at getting the Infinity Gauntlet away from Thanos. But those fans ignored two things: if they’d managed to get the Gauntlet off Thanos’ hand, he would’ve gotten it back in seconds; and Quill was heartbroken after learning that the Mad Titan killed the love of his life.
When he realizes he’s one of the ones turning to dust, Quill accepts his demise with the same low-key resolve that he had on Ego’s planet before Yondu’s sacrifice: “Oh, man...”
Bucky Barnes
Bucky is the first to go. Right after Thanos’ snap, as Captain America desperately looks around for the Mad Titan for a rematch, Bucky calls out to him: “Steve...”
Steve turns as Bucky falls to his knees when his feet and shins disappear, then vanishes completely. There’s an added tragedy to this death with Steve watching in disbelief as his best friend fades away.
Groot
As Groot starts to turn to dust, his best friend and father figure Rocket reaches out and cries, “No, no, no...” The loss of Groot is even more heartbreaking with the context of his final whimper of “I am Groot.”
According to IndieWire, James Gunn revealed the translation of Groot’s final “I am Groot” to simply be: “Dad.” This version of Groot thinks of Rocket as a father after he replanted the remains of the previous Groot and raised the offspring.
Black Panther
T’Challa died as he lived: helping others. Assuming that the dusting will apply to everyone, he reaches out to help Okoye up and tells her, “This is no place to die.” But before he can take her to a more appropriate setting to turn to dust, he turns to dust himself.
This was just a couple of months after Black Panther’s first solo movie had made him a globally adored icon. Danai Gurira nails the look of terror and bewilderment on Okoye’s face as her king disappears in front of her.
Spider-Man
Thanks to his Spidey-Sense warning him that it was coming, Peter Parker got the longest, most drawn-out, scenery-chewing death scene out of any dusted Avenger at the climax of Infinity War. When the tingle hits him, Peter tells his ironclad superhero mentor, “Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good...”
In a heartbreaking payoff to their awkward hug from Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter collapses into Tony’s arms and holds on for dear life as he slowly turns to dust. “I don’t wanna go, Mr. Stark!” Every death scene in Infinity War hits fans in the feels, but this one is a real tearjerker.