Every Major MCU Character Who Died & Came Back To Life (Before Endgame)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a tendency to kill characters and bring them back almost immediately and usually in the same movie – and here’s every character that went through that process before the events of Avengers: Endgame. The MCU began back in 2008 with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, introducing Robert Downey Jr as the title character and preparing the ground for the arrival of the Avengers. Since then, the MCU has produced over 20 movies, all of them part of one universe and connected in different ways.

The MCU reached its peak with Avengers: Infinity War, which saw Thanos finally getting all the Infinity Stones and using them to wipe out half of life in the universe, and Avengers: Endgame, where the surviving heroes joined forces to reverse the snap and were later joined by the rest to finally defeat Thanos and his armies. The characters that vanished with the snap were brought back in Endgame, but before that, resurrections in the MCU happened quite often. Many characters died and were brought back in the same movie, with one big exception.

Of course, there have been many others that weren’t lucky enough to go through the resurrection process and continue to be dead – look no further than to every villain (with a few notable exceptions, like Baron Zemo) and Quicksilver. Though the characters that died and came back were usually secondary characters – though that doesn’t mean their temporary deaths weren’t heartbreaking and, in some cases, shocking – one of the original Avengers went through that experience in his first solo movie. Here’s every major MCU character who died and came back to life before Avengers: Endgame.

Thor

The God of Thunder went through a lot in his first solo movie: he was banished to Earth, his powers were taken away from him, he was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., and he also died. When Loki sent the Destroyer to create chaos in New Mexico, the Warriors Three did their best to stop it as Thor was powerless, but the Destroyer was no easy opponent. Thor then pleaded to Loki through the Destroyer to stop killing innocent people and take him instead. The Destroyer began to walk away but then stopped and stroke Thor across the face, sending him flying backward and breaking his bones. With Jane now by his side, Thor expressed his joy over saving her, and died.

Moments later, he was brought back thanks to Mjolnir, which sensed his self-sacrifice and flew all the way from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s investigation site into Thor’s hand, bringing him back and restoring his powers as he was worthy again. It was a very brief death, but Thor can say he has gone through the experience of dying and coming back to life.

Phil Coulson

Phil Coulson was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director and Nick Fury’s right-hand man, and was introduced in Iron Man, where he led the investigation of Stark’s kidnapping, “rescue”, and the aftermath of those events. Coulson came back in Iron Man 2, Thor, and The Avengers, where he helped Fury bring the Avengers together. When Loki escaped from his prison cell and trapped Thor in it, Coulson threatened the God of Mischief with a weapon created from the Destroyer, but he wasn’t aiming at the real Loki but at an illusion, as the real one was behind him. Coulson was stabbed with the scepter, and the audience saw Coulson die.

Coulson returned in Captain Marvel, set in the 1990s, but his resurrection happened outside the MCU movies. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. revealed that days after his death, Coulson was sent to the Guest House as ordered by Nick Fury, where S.H.I.E.L.D.’s medical staff used an experimental drug to repair his wounded organs. It was an extremely painful process, and Coulson begged the doctors to let him die. He went through various mental breakdowns and the doctors chose to erase his memory, so he couldn’t remember anything following the incident at the Helicarrier.

Groot

In 2014, viewers were introduced to a peculiar team of heroes in Guardians of the Galaxy, formed by Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot. The latter is a hyper-intelligent, tree-like organism from the species Flora colossus and is the accomplice and best friend of Rocket Raccoon. Despite his intelligence, Groot has very limited speech (as a result of his physiology) and can only say the phrase “I am Groot”. Groot became an instant favorite among MCU fans, who definitely weren’t ready to see him die in his first big screen adventure.

After the Milano crashed through the Dark Aster, causing a lot of damage, Groot decided to save his friends by forming a large dome of wood out of his body to protect them. Rocket begged him not to as if he did he would die, to which Groot replied “we are Groot” before the ship crashed. Luckily, Groot’s physiology was on his side, and after Rocket retrieved a twig from his remains and planted it on a vase, a new tree began to grow. It’s worth noting, however, that Baby Groot is the son of the original Groot, so whether this counts as a resurrection or as something else is up to every viewer.

Wong

Wong is a Master of the Mystic Arts and former librarian of Kamar-Taj, where he helped Stephen Strange with his studies. Wong also assisted Strange in fighting Kaecilius and the Zealots, and that’s how he died. Wong arrived to Hong Kong to defend the Sanctum located there, as it was the last one standing. Sadly, the Sanctum was destroyed and Wong died defending it, but was revived when Strange used the Eye of Agamotto to reverse what had happened. Wong continued to work alongside Strange to protect the New York Sanctum, and was among the many characters that didn’t survive Thanos’ snap. He was brought back in Avengers: Endgame, and fought alongside the rest of the MCU.

Fake Deaths

Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes Winter Soldier

Some major characters in the MCU have had fake deaths, whether to help their arcs evolve or to push the movie’s plot forward. First was Bucky Barnes, who Captain America and viewers saw falling to his death in Captain America: The First Avenger. Barnes was revealed to be alive in Captain America: the Winter Soldier, where it was explained that he had been heavily experimented on by HYDRA and turned into a weapon under the codename of “Winter Soldier”. Bucky was brainwashed numerous times, but he eventually regained control of his life.

Nick Fury had a fake death in Captain America: the Winter Soldier. After escaping an attack from the Winter Soldier, Fury retreated to Steve Rogers’ apartment, but he was followed by the Winter Soldier and was shot in the chest. Fury was later revealed to be alive, having faked his death by using a heart-rate suppressant and retreating to a hidden facility. Last but not least is the God of Mischief himself. In Thor: The Dark World, Loki fought alongside his brother against the Dark Elves, and looking to avenge Frigga’s death, he stabbed Kurse from behind. The Dark Elf then pulled Loki into the blade, fatally wounding him. Loki “died” in his brother’s arms, but it was revealed at the end of the movie that he was actually alive and took Odin’s place by disguising himself as the Allfather.

Next: Every Marvel Story & Plot Thread The MCU Has Dropped