The Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn't been resistant to killing off famous characters. Yet, there are plenty of moments where a supposed death has actually been revealed to be a fake-out, whether it was a plot from the characters themselves or a twist to keep the audience on their toes. Kingpin's supposed murder recently could be an example of that.
These fake deaths might not stand the test of time, considering those emotive moments are shifted after the character actually survives, but they are important in regards to understanding the stakes that these heroes have to actually face. Some of these deaths have set up brilliant returns for fan-favorite comic book characters though.
Loki Laufeyson
Loki Laufeyson has been involved in the most fake-outs in his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The trickster God adores putting his brother on the back foot and sometimes finds it pretty convenient to fade into the background, before triumphantly returning from the supposed afterlife.
Whether he's allowing himself to fall from the rainbow bridge into the unknown or his illusion is getting stabbed in the field of battle, Loki always makes a comeback much to the shock of Thor. Even when he was finally bested by Thanos in a particularly terrible moment, the Asgardian's story continued in the form of a Multiversal Variant.
Steve Rogers
Steve Rogers has an array of heroic moments to his name, and his self-sacrifice during WWII is one of his most iconic. Calling Peggy Carter one last time, Captain America crashes his ship into the ocean in the hopes of detonating the explosive that could have killed thousands.
This selfless act was seemingly the end of the war hero, but in true comic book fashion, Steve was reborn in the modern era. After being frozen in ice, the character picked up where he left off, with this fake death becoming a core of Rogers' life and his struggle with a changing world. Without that arc, the rest of Steve's portrayal would be completely different and there's no telling if he would have even become an Avenger.
Brock Rumlow
Brock Rumlow has met death on numerous occasions, but as his allegiance to Hyrda became more prominent, he would find himself in increasingly dangerous situations. At the height of his battle against Cap and his allies, it seemed as if the collapse of a building had put an end to Crossbones.
Miraculously the antagonist would survive and go on to suit up for one last mission, despite his terrible injuries. It seems now that the character has self-destructed, this really is the last of Crossbones. But Rumlow does have a habit of escaping and living to fight another day. For audiences, his initial death fake-out was paid off relatively quickly though.
Janet Van Dyne
Janet Van Dyne was introduced as a hero of the past, working alongside Hank Pym and raising a strong and capable daughter. Her disappearance was a mystery, with the audience being led to believe that she had been lost forever and would not be making a return.
This turned out to be false, with Ant-Man rescuing the former Wasp from her Quantum Realm prison. With renewed abilities and a grander sense of the universe, her comeback was a huge turning point for her husband and daughter, who were given renewed hope in their fight for justice.
Bucky Barnes
Bucky Barnes was a war hero in his own right and his path has very much mirrored Steve Rogers. He was the first to be put on ice, but his own experience was linked to Hydra's brainwashing and the creation of the Winter Soldier program. Over the years Barnes became a tool for military and espionage-based use.
His eventual return and reveal that he had not perished on that dangerous train, was huge for Steve Rogers who gained his best friend once more. His journey has been a long one, but Bucky has changed so much thanks to being brought into the modern era and leaving his shackles behind. It's another fake death that defined the character.
Johann Shmidt
Johann Shmidt spent his whole life trying to understand the mythical and impossible. As the leader of Hydra, his lust for power brought him into a world war, but his supposed demise was at the hands of the very power he sought to control.
Fans assumed he had been burnt up by the Tesseract, but were shocked that the death was really revealed to be a moment of transportation. Red Skull became the keeper of an Infinity Stone, but with the Stone now removed does that mean he is able to return back to Earth? The death and reappearance of Shmidt is transformative for the character, who now understands more about the cosmos than most.
Nick Fury
Nick Fury is a master of espionage, disguise, and going off-grid. Faking a death is really a part of the job and sometimes he has to keep even the likes of Captain America in the dark. Fury went underground after one of his plots, even allowing a gravestone to get built in his name.
Fans were shown that Fury was alive pretty early on and the character has remained active in the universe even if officially he is still deceased. It wouldn't be surprising that if in the hunt for Skrulls Fury would have to employ similar tactics to disguise himself once more and avoid detection from sleeper agents.
Pepper Potts
Pepper Potts has been the one person in Tony Stark's life that he would do anything to protect. So when she was thrust into the middle of the action against Aldrich Killian, it made sense to tease her death in order to see how Iron Man would really react.
That tease was clearly revealed to be a fakeout, as Pepper would be bonded with the Extremis serum, which would ultimately allow her to beat down the fake Mandarin. She would heal and the powers were eventually taken from her again. This death was consequently designed to say something about Stark and his arc more than Potts herself.
Phil Coulson
Phil Coulson's death was designed to bring the Avengers together. Marvel superfans will know the character was revived though, after being bonded with Kree blood that would continue to corrupt him and eventually lead to his death. Even then, Coulson seemingly can't die.
As an LMD or even as a Multiverse Variant, Phil Coulson just keeps on coming back, even joking that it was his true superpower. While the original Coulson may now have been laid to rest, that original fake death not only acted as a catalyst for the whole MCU but has continued to affect the growth of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
Elektra Natchios
Elektra Natchios is now officially canon in the MCU after both Wilson Fisk and Matt Murdock were added to the line-up. The character has been killed in combat but was revived by the Hand much like her comic book narrative. This would awaken a darkness with the assassin.
Elektra would go on to seemingly die again in the collapse of a building that Daredevil survived in a similar death tease. If the man without fear can make it out then so too can the murderous fighter. It's likely the character will reappear down the line in yet another example of the audience being tricked.