Like most big-budget blockbusters, the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe usually end with the heroes triumphing over the villains. But it’s not always a happy ending. Some MCU entries have ended on a subversively down note, either because the villain won or because the hero had to make a heartbreaking sacrifice to prevent that from happening.
From Thanos wiping out half of the universe’s population in one fell swoop at the end of Avengers: Infinity War to Peter Parker losing everyone he cares about at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, some Marvel movies end in tragedy.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
The ending of Captain America: The First Avenger is bittersweet. It sets up a bright future for Cap as one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but everyone he ever cared about is dead. The life he knows and the era in which he was raised are forgotten relics of the past.
When Nick Fury fills him in on the fact that he’s been frozen for nearly a full century, there’s only one thing on Cap’s mind: “I had a date.” He can lead the Avengers in the 21st century, but he left behind the love of his life.
Black Panther (2018)
Usually, when the hero defeats the villain at the end of a comic book movie, it’s a triumphant, satisfying moment. But the beauty of Black Panther is that the audience can see both sides of the argument. T’Challa wants to protect his people and maintain peace in Wakanda, but Killmonger has a good point about the lasting effects of colonialism.
Killmonger has a sympathetic motivation, and his final monologue – “Bury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, because they knew death was better than bondage” – makes his death truly heartbreaking.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Odinson finally becomes the leader that the Asgardian people need him to be at the end of Thor: Ragnarok, but he has to sacrifice their homeworld in order to do so. Since Hela draws her power from Asgard, Thor realizes he has to destroy Asgard in order to destroy her.
Having lost his parents, his eye, and now his home, Thor thinks he has nothing left to lose. But with Thanos’ ship looming over them, he’s about to experience a heck of a lot more loss.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Thanos and his armies are finally defeated for good in the battle royale at the climax of Avengers: Endgame, but Tony Stark has to make the ultimate sacrifice in order for the Mad Titan to lose. “I... am... Iron Man” is a glorious moment of victory, but it’s followed by the death of a fan-favorite icon.
There isn’t a dry eye in the audience during Tony’s funeral. Every superhero that MCU fans are familiar with is in attendance as Pepper sends her late husband’s arc reactor out onto the lake with the caption she added in the original movie, “Proof that Tony Stark has a heart.”
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Baron Zemo became one of the MCU’s few successful villains in Captain America: Civil War. In retaliation for the loss of his family, Zemo turns Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against each other. By revealing all their secrets, Zemo manages to get Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in a brutal fight, nearly to the death.
Tony and Steve’s fallout still hasn’t been resolved by the end of the movie, but there is a glimmer of hope when Steve sends Tony a care package with a note attached: “No matter what, I promise you, if you need us – if you need me – I’ll be there.”
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is another Marvel movie that ends with a heartbreaking sacrifice followed by a heartbreaking funeral. Fans always choke up when Yondu gives Quill the only spacesuit and tells him, “He may have been your father, boy, but he wasn’t your daddy.”
Quill gives his adoptive dad a heartfelt eulogy that doesn’t forgive years of shaky parenting but does acknowledge that he always did his best and loved him like he was his own son. Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son” perfectly resolves the movie’s themes on the soundtrack as Yondu’s old Ravager buddies shoot bursts of color into the vacuum of space to honor his memory.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Peter Parker managed to save the day at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, but he lost everything in the process. In order to close up the cracks in the multiverse and send the other Spider-Men and their enemies back to their own universes, Peter agreed to let Doctor Strange wipe him from the memories of everybody on Earth.
MJ and Ned make Peter promise to remind them who he is once the dust has settled. But after seeing the scar on MJ’s head and remembering the danger that knowing he’s Spider-Man put her in, he decides against it. Now, Spidey is truly a lone wolf. He’s got his own apartment, he’s lost all his friends and mentors, and he’s back to fighting street crime as a friendly neighborhood webslinger.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
The most infamous downer ending in the MCU – and, arguably, the greatest downer ending in a blockbuster sequel since The Empire Strikes Back – arrived with the bombshell cliffhanger in the final reel of Avengers: Infinity War. All throughout the movie, Thanos promised to snap his fingers and wipe out half of all life in the universe once he collected all six Infinity Stones. This sounded like the kind of grandiose evil scheme that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had thwarted countless times before, so audiences expected the same to happen by the end of Infinity War.
But, shockingly, the Mad Titan succeeded. The Avengers failed to stop him and half of the universe’s population – including a bunch of fan-favorite superheroes – turned to dust in the blink of an eye.