The MCU is known for releasing highly entertaining, action-packed films. Most people don't expect to leave a Marvel movie crying, but the MCU is also capable of doing just that, especially with Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Over the years, fans have become attached to characters in the MCU. They have watched the heroes develop and followed their relationships, breakups, and growth on screen. Even though the movies tend to focus on action, there's undeniably a lot of emotion at their core. Naturally, there have been plenty of times that the MCU broke viewers' hearts, whether it be through a character death or a sad goodbye.
Tony Stark's Death
Iron Man has faced death quite a few times, most notably in the first Avengers movie when he flew into space in order to stop Loki's army. He barely survived his fall back to Earth, but thankfully he did and was able to enjoy shawarma with the rest of the Avengers.
Tony Stark's death revisits his sacrifice from the first movie, demonstrating he was willing to sacrifice himself yet again. He died when he used Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet and brought everyone who had previously disappeared in the blip back to life. He saved many lives, and this sacrifice was especially significant because Tony often made non-heroic and selfish comments throughout the movies.
When Groot Saved The Guardians
In the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot was an adult who often carried Rocket Raccoon around. He was always very protective of Rocket and followed his orders, and it was obvious the two were close and depended on each other for survival. But while it seemed Rocket often called the shots, Groot ended up taking charge in a critical moment.
After Ronin caused massive destruction that would crush the Guardians, Groot extended his arms into protective branches and cocooned his fellow Guardians teammates. By protecting his team, he ended up getting killed. This moment was very bittersweet because his death resulted in baby Groot being born.
When Spider-Man Was Blipped
In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos' snap caused half of the world's population to turn to dust. Many of the Avengers disappeared because of this, but one of the most impactful scenes was when Spider-Man began to disappear.
While most of the other Avengers had no clue what was happening, Spider-Man's spider-sense caused Peter Parker to suspect his upcoming fate. In his final moments, he held on to Tony Stark and cried about how he didn't want to go. It was a heartbreaking moment, especially because he was only a high school student at the time. Whether he temporarily died or was brought somewhere is one question fans still have about the blip.
Frigga's Death
Thor and Loki have been through a lot together, but in Thor: The Dark World, Asgard was invaded by elves and this war resulted in Frigga being killed. Her final moments were hard to watch, but her funeral caused even more emotion in fans.
Even though Loki is often heartless, his love for his mother was evident after he heard of her death. He tore up his jail cell in anger and even agreed to help Thor on his quest afterward. Frigga's funeral was a beautiful scene that displayed her casket in the water and her spirit leaving. Her funeral was made even more emotional by Brian Tyler's moving soundtrack, making this one of the most heartbreaking deaths in the MCU.
Scarlet Witch Losing Vision
Scarlet Witch and Vision's relationship started to develop in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the two were inseparable ever since. Wanda has lost almost everyone she loves, including her brother Pietro and her parents, but her connection to Vision helped her cope with grief and feel love again.
In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos kills Vision by removing the Infinity Stone from his head. Vision's life was basically connected to the Mind Stone, and without it, he could no longer function. Losing Vision caused Scarlet Witch to create a new version of him with her powers as she kept a town hostage in WandaVision. Unfortunately, her bubble had to be burst, resulting in Wanda tragically losing Vision twice.
Peggy Carter Thinking Steve Rogers Died
In Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve Rogers defeated Red Skull and prevented a plane full of deadly toxins from crashing into people. By doing so, he crashed in the ocean and ended up becoming frozen in ice for years.
The fact that Rogers nearly died was heroically tragic, but to make things even sadder, he was talking to his girlfriend Peggy Carter over the radio as his plane was crashing. Steve promised her that they would dance together, even though they both knew his fate. She spent years believing he was dead when he could have been rescued, all along.
Black Widow's Sacrifice
The Avengers battle against Thanos had high stakes, so it was expected that the team would lose a few heroes along the way. But it was definitely a surprise that Black Widow was one of the lost heroes.
Black Widow sacrificed herself in order to stop Thanos, but she had to fight Hawkeye in order to do so. It was fitting that her final moments were spent with Clint since the two were close friends since the first Avengers movie. Natasha is much younger than Clint and her character had a lot of potential, so it was sad to see her go.
Aunt May's Death
In nearly every version of Spider-Man, Peter Parker loses his uncle Ben. In the MCU, Uncle Ben is hardly mentioned, making some fans question whether he even exists. MCU Peter has a pretty good life compared to other Spider-Man movies until No Way Home.
In No Way Home, Aunt May is shockingly killed by the Green Goblin. Before she passes, Peter Parker finally gets the "great power, great responsibility" speech. Her death was so heartbreaking and makes Peter Parker's life more similar to the comics since now he has to become independent and make his own money to survive. Aunt May's death is one of the most important deaths in Marvel's Phase 4, as it makes a huge change in Peter's life.
Doctor Strange Trying To Save Christine
Marvel's What If...? introduced fans to the various multiverses in which many of the Avengers' lives differed drastically. In one episode following Doctor Strange, Christine Palmer was killed in the car accident that she survived in the MCU.
After losing Christine, Doctor Strange lost his mind in an attempt to save her. He continued to attempt to undo her death, but no matter what he did, she would always end up dying. After losing Christine so many times, he slowly began to go insane. This was one of the saddest episodes of What If...? and the tormented Doctor Strange was one of What If's best characters because of it.
Everyone Forgetting Peter Parker
All of the problems faced in Spider-Man: No Way Home were the result of Peter asking Doctor Strange to make everyone forget that he's Spider-Man. In the end, Peter is left with no choice but to make the world forget who he is in order to prevent villains and others from the multiverse from coming to his world.
This moment was terribly sad, and even Doctor Strange was sad about letting go of his memories of Peter Parker. Even more sad was Peter's final embrace with MJ, as the couple formed so many memories together and all of his history with both her and his best friend Ned has been wiped. No Way Home deviates from the Marvel formula by basically restarting Peter Parker's story at the end.