Over the last 12 years, the MCU has taken the world on an immense journey. There has been laughter, tears, fights, and a lot of drama. Its characters have also played an integral part in the fans' lives as a lot of people have found comfort and been able to relate to the comic book superheroes.
However, in 2018, the writers ended up throwing a spanner in the works when Thanos ended up being responsible for the death of half the universe. 2019 provided even more emotional trauma when half of the Avengers sacrificed themselves for the greater good. But which death in the MCU would fans say was the most heroic?
Gamora
In Avengers: Infinity War, audiences were heartbroken to witness Thanos take another life as he killed Gamora for the Soul Stone. However, this doesn't mean that she didn't go without a fight. As fans know, Gamora attempted to take Thanos's life several times to prevent his plans.
When that didn't work and she became Thanos' hostage, Gamora was willing to sacrifice herself to stop him from getting the stone. Unfortunately for her, Thanos was too powerful and sacrificed her to get the Soul Stone. It's a shame that none of the Avengers or the Guardians knew the extent she went to to try and stop him.
Phil Coulson
The first major character death to occur in the MCU was that of Phil Coulson. The SHIELD agent died in the first Avengers film after Loki ran him through with the Scepter. At the time, Coulson was trying to prevent the villain from ejecting Thor from the Helicarrier and taking over the command center.
Nevertheless, Coulson still went down fighting, managing to blast him with the weapon created from the Destroyer's remains. Before he died, Coulson insisted that Fury use his death to unite the Avengers and motivate them into winning their first battle as a team. At least something good came from it.
Peter Parker/Spider-Man
One of the most heartbreaking deaths in the MCU had to be Peter Parker's in Avengers: Infinity War. After Thanos managed to attain all the stones, audiences were horrified to watch as many of their favorite heroes were disintegrated. However, Peter's death was the most emotional as audiences were forced to hear the 16-year-old beg to stay while he slowly faded away.
It was an upsetting moment, particularly as everyone had just witnessed the web-slinger work hard to prevent Thanos from destroying the universe. Considering his age, he proved to be just as good of a fighter as the other experienced heroes. At least Tony knew he was honorable to the end.
Loki
Although Loki started as the primary antagonist of the Avengers, fans have been taken on an emotional journey with his character arc. Over the last ten years, the writers had decided to give Loki a redemptive arc, where audiences saw him reconcile with his brother and save his people from Hela.
While it looked as if Loki was about to betray Thor (again) when he pledged his allegiance to Thanos, it turned out he was trying to stop the Titan from causing more chaos. He begged Thanos to stop torturing Thor and even attempted to kill the Titan in a sneak attack. Unfortunately, Thanos saw this coming and broke his neck. Despite everything he did in the past, seeing Loki's last gamble fail was still sad.
Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver
Although the fans weren't as emotionally attached to Pietro Maximoff, they couldn't deny that his death wasn't sad. While Quicksilver was introduced as a secondary antagonist, he had a change of heart after he realized how corrupt and murderous Ultron actually was. As a result, he ed the Avengers and helped them to save the citizens of Sokovia.
However, Pietro didn't get to see the battle through to the end as he died protecting Clint and a young boy. He may not have been a fan-favorite character, but his death was quite honorable. The Avengers would that.
Yondu
One other death that got fans really emotional was Yondu's. As everyone knows, Yondu was the only paternal figure Quill's life. He was the one who had taught Quill everything he knew and protected him from harm. Although Peter believed Yondu had abducted him for no reason, he soon discovered the truth in Guardians vol. 2 when he met Ego.
After realizing Ego was killing the children he brought to him, Yondu decided to put a stop to it by taking in Quill. When he realized that Ego had found Quill, Yondu wasted no time in going to get him back. Fans couldn't help but shed tears when the disgraced Ravager sacrificed himself to save his adopted son. Those tears turned into ones shed in joy as Yondu was given an honorable funeral by his former Ravager allies - Yondu deserved it after everything.
Groot
In the first Guardians of the Galaxy, went through another heartbreak when they witnessed the death of Groot. The Guardians were on the verge of death after their battle with Ronan resulted in their ship becoming badly damaged. As a result, Groot decided to sacrifice himself to protect his new friends.
While fans were broken when they saw Rocket beg Groot not to do it, they couldn't help but ire his sacrifice especially since his death allowed the Guardians to save Xandar and its citizens. He is, without a doubt, the most selfless Guardian by far.
Vision
Vision was also another superhero who made an ultimate sacrifice in Infinity War after he realized Thanos was coming for the Mind Stone. Since Thanos needed the stone to fulfill his plans, Vision headed to Wakanda to try and get it removed so Scarlet Witch could destroy it. However, plans changed once Thanos and his army invaded the country.
With time running out, Vision insisted that Scarlet Witch needed to kill him if they were to destroy the stone. Although this meant the end of Wanda and Vision's relationship, Vision's sacrifice would have ensured the universe was still alive. Unfortunately, Thanos managed to reverse their actions with the Time Stone and fulfilled his plans.
Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Two people made the ultimate sacrifice in Endgame - one of these was Natasha, who sacrificed herself to help bring everyone lost in Infinity War's ending back. Since the Avengers planned on reversing Thanos' genocide, they split up to different times and places to retrieve the stones from certain points in the MCU's history. Natasha and Clint drew the short straw as they were sent Vormir to get the Soul Stone.
Once Natasha and Clint realized one of them would have to die, they battled it out on top of the cliff. Since Clint had a family, Natasha refused to let him die and ended up sacrificing herself. Without Natasha's sacrifice, it wouldn't have been possible for the Avengers to bring everyone back and defeat Thanos. She deserves to have more recognition.
Tony Stark/Iron Man
Fans will agree that Tony's sacrifice was one of the most heroic and heartbreaking deaths in the MCU. As many , Tony ended up dying in the Battle of Earth after he performed the Snap. Since Thanos was prepared to exterminate all life on the planet, the Avengers had to work quickly to make sure he didn't get the gauntlet again.
Tony managed to prevent Thanos from performing an encore of the dreaded Snap by robbing the stones from him and putting them in his own gauntlet. He then managed to thwart the Titan and his army by creating a Blip of his own. However, Tony ended up dying after the power of the stones drained his life force. His death was, by far, the most heroic of all.
