Ranking my favorite MCU death fakeouts; which affected me the most?
For a little bit of context, ever since Iron Man came out in 2008, I have been a fan of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. The mastery of how they stitched one movie to another remained an impressive commodity for me to watch. So, when I came across the ScreenRant article listing down every death fakeout (so far), I couldn’t help but add my unfiltered thoughts about it. If you wish to read the ScreenRant article, click on this link. Usually, death fakeouts are done to fool the other characters in the film, the audience, or both. Plenty of instances exist where the MCU pulled a fast one and a “dead” character remains bafflingly alive and well. This list includes Loki, Nick Fury, Pepper Potts, Bucky Barnes, Phil Coulson, and Vision.
Ranking my favorite MCU death fakeouts; which affected me the most?
LOKI
Despite having a full-fledged crush on Tom Hiddleston, his deaths never really hit that hard on me. Mainly because I knew that he was going to come back being the God of Mischief and all. He had the most death fakeouts in the MCU which just proved how exceedingly difficult it is for anybody to kill Loki. The trend of his deaths starts all the way back from the first Thor movie in 2011. He allowed himself to fall into oblivion following the destruction of the Bifrost. Of course, he obviously survived which lead to him pioneering the trouble in The Avengers movie in 2012.
Then, he seemingly died at Kurse’s hands in Thor: The Dark World in 2013. However, he came back to survive and assume the identity of Odin. At this point, his prosperity for survival had become a running joke. Then, Thanos finally did kill Loki for real in Avengers: Infinity War in 2018 and when he stated, “No resurrections this time.” Sure, I gasped out loud. However, due to the fact that there were rumors regarding a TV series revolving all around this character, I had hopes of him coming back to life. And, he did.
NICK FURY
Samuel L. Jackson never dies. And, that’s a fact. Whatever movie he seems to be in, he does not die. Nick Fury had easily become one of the toughest characters in the MCU. As he faced the Winter Soldier, he had a serious car accident and a spray of bullets hit him. Then, an assassination attempt was made on his life. By the way, keyword: attempt. Of course, Fury miraculously survived despite appearing to die on the operating table. As always, he remained ten steps ahead of his enemies. He faked his death and of course, was able to come back soon after.
PEPPER POTTS
Okay, so, this fakeout had me worried so much. Throughout the entirety of MCU, the only constant in Tony Stark’s life was Pepper Potts. In the first Iron Man (even its sequel), Tony had always arrived in the nick of time to save Pepper from whatever might have been threatening her. However, that has always happened with the help of his trusty suit. So, in Iron Man 3 in 2013, Tony couldn’t do anything as Aldrich Killian seemingly killed her.
I almost cried and really hoped for her to come back. It broke my heart when Tony gasped as she fell into what seemed to be the abyss. My chest literally constricted. Thankfully, her exposure to Extremis gave her superhuman abilities. This allowed her to survive her fall and kill Killian herself. Aside from Natasha Romanoff, she had been the only other woman to be shown off as a badass woman to save Tony Stark.
CAPTAIN AMERICA
Unfortunately, Captain America is not safe from MCU death fakeouts. However, this particular incident likely never fooled anyone into thinking he was really dead. During Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011, Cap pilots the HYDRA craft into the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean. He had decided to sacrificed himself to save the world from the said organization. Sure enough, Captain America survived being frozen alive. Well, duh, especially with the beginning of the film revealing the discovery of Cap’s downed craft. The audience was already aware that his story wasn’t over. Therefore, his death fakeout wasn’t meant to trick the audience, but rather further the plot of the merchandise.
BUCKY BARNES
IF I WAS NOT IN THE FREAKING CINEMAS, I WOULD HAVE YELLED AT THE SCREEN WITH THIS SCENE. At the time, I was unfamiliar with the comics. Steve Rogers’ longtime friend, Bucky Barnes. During a WWII mission, he had fallen to his “death.” Of course, just like every other character on this list, he survived the fall. I guess we could give a huge thanks to Hydra??? For the intervention. They replaced his mangled limb with his now-famous cybernetic arm and brainwashed him into becoming an assassin known as the Winter Soldier. His return had me screaming.
VISION
The dude died twice. The first time, Vision and Wanda had a heartfelt goodbye. She had destroyed the Mind Stone herself to keep it from landing in Thanos’ hands. He had died staring at the one he loved. He had died, accepting their fate. However, he was horrifically killed when Thanos turned back the time with the Time Stone and ripped the Mind Stone from his head during the climactic battle of Infinity War. It made their goodbye invalid. And, it absolutely hurt me. The moment Vision turned grey and his undead eyes showing the hurt – instead of love and hope – absolutely made my heart cringe and my eyes tear up. I fucking hate it.
PHIL COULSON
This is the first-ever MCU death that affected me. When Loki used his magic thing and stabbed Phil Coulson from behind, I gasped out loud. I genuinely thought that no one was going to die at this new superhero film. But, the MCU has proved time and time again that death does not last long in this universe. Although he didn’t show up in MCU films as much, he was in the Agents of SHIELD where he was brought back to life using Kree blood. Then, in the succeeding seasons, he could give Loki a run for his money regarding the number of resurrections. While his most recent sacrifice in seventh season seems to be more permanent affair, it remains wise to never underestimate the unkillable Phil Coulson.
How about you? Which MCU death fakeout affected you the most?
