Some of the most memorable comic book deaths happened under Marvel’s watch. Marvel has birthed some of the biggest deaths (and resurrections) in comic book history, often being celebrated for being either groundbreaking or heartwrenching. That being said, not every death has been so highly regarded. Oftentimes, Marvel faces controversy for the characters they choose to kill off.

Certain Marvel fans still can’t get over how controversial some deaths have been over the years. Controversy tends to transpire whenever readers deem a tragic death to either be pointless or done tastelessly for shock value alone. All deaths can be shocking, but they need to serve a significant narrative purpose for a lasting impact. These deaths do the opposite.

10

Rhodey Was Basically Killed Off-Panel

Died Solely to Set Civil War II in Motion

The moment that kicks the second Civil War event into high gear is when Tony Stark’s best friend and Captain Marvel’s lover at the time, James “Rhodey” Rhodes, is murdered in battle by Thanos. Captain Marvel trusts the word of a clairvoyant Inhuman named Ulysses and ushers an unprompted attack on Thanos head-on, leading to Rhodey’s demise.

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In Civil War II #1, Rhodey’s death is revealed in an off-hand comment, then a brief flash of what transpired pages later. This is a character who’s not only a pivotal supporting player in Tony’s world, but a former Iron Man with decades of history – and Marvel doesn’t even consider him worthy of being killed on-panel. Rhodey is reduced to a narrative device to create conflict instead of a character worth respecting.

9

Talon Was Exterminated to Progress Her Lover’s Story

Some Say This Falls Under the Women in Refrigerators Trope

Talon is the original Laura Kinney (the current Wolverine is a younger clone) who spent 100 years locked inside the Vault. Upon her release, she developed a romance with Synch that would become particularly pivotal in her future. In X-Men #30, near the end of the Krakoa Era, she’s killed by The High Evolutionary.

Not only is she killed halfway through the issue, but Synch uses Jean Grey’s power to pull her into his mind until he can bring back her physical body. Everything that transpired seemed rushed, as if to create a quick solution to Marvel having two Lauras at the time, not to mention her death was used to advance Synch’s story instead of her own.

8

Jean Grey’s Phoenix Run Ended in Death Instead of Its Alternative

The Original Plan Was to Simply Take the Phoenix Away from Jean

Reportedly, Chris Claremont and John Byrne originally planned for Jean Grey to be de-powered at the end of the “Dark Phoenix Saga” arc to help her reconcile with the damage she caused. Instead, editor Jim Shooter intervened and the decision was made to kill her off instead. It was decided that, to Shooter, death was the most suitable punishment for Jean given the destruction she created as Phoenix.

Not only that, but one would assume that death of Jean Grey would be considered the most shocking result to fans. To Marvel’s surprise, readers did not respond in kind, as several fan letters writing to the company expressed anger and disattisfaction with the decision to kill off Jean. She was subsequently revived.

7

Scott Lang’s Death Set the “Disassembled” in Motion

Ant-Man Was Used to Start a Traumatic Avengers Event with a Bang

“Disassembled” was the event that broke The Avengers emotionally and literally, disbanding upon the Scarlet Witch’s lore-altering breakdown. In mourning losing her children, her fractured mind enforced a number of improbable events that led to the downfalls of numerous Avengers, including Scott Lang. Ant-Man was the first when a revived Jack of Hearts exploded in his face.

As the first death of “Disassembled,” Lang’s death feels like a casualty of the events. Despite his importance to the team, Ant-Man is given no agency in the story and is merely killed off to shock the reader immediately within the first few pages of the story. On the bright side, his death does lead to the introduction and the rise of Cassie Lang, a.k.a. Stature, a fan-favorite from the Young Avengers.

6

Hawkeye’s Death Felt Nonsensical For Some

Forced for the Sake of a Reaction

One of the feel-good moments of “House of M” was the tease at the end that the Scarlet Witch’s magic brought Hawkeye back to life. The reason that it was so glorifying for readers is because of the backlash Marvel received for killing him off during “Disassembled.” Like Ant-Man, Clint Barton’s death was largely conceived to shock audiences.

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By the time he did die, the stakes were already high during a Skrull invasion manifested by a Wanda Maximoff on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Hawkeye’s death didn’t raise the stakes any higher than they already were. Some have called Hawkeye’s death an admirable sacrifice, while others see it as easily avoidable.

5

Ms. Marvel’s Death Enraged Fans

Marvel’s Most Recent Death Controversy

Days before it hit shelves, panels for Amazing Spider-Man #26 by Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr. leaked, revealing the death of Ms. Marvel, using her shapeshifting powers to save Mary-Jane Watson, and fans were livid. While all could agree that her sacrifice was noble and in-character, readers were furious to see Kamala Khan killed in a comic she wasn’t even the lead of.

Adding fuel to the fire was when it was alleged that Kevin Feige ordered her death so that she could be resurrected as a mutant to create serendipity between her identity in the comics and the MCU. It all made fans deem her death to be both tasteless shock value and a betrayal of Ksmala Khan as a character.

4

The Wasp’s Death Seemed to Come and Go Out of Nowhere

Secret Invasion Saw An Avengers Founder Suddenly Die

The “Secret Invasion” event went out of its way that any and every Marvel hero was liable to either be a Skrull or a target. One founding Avengers member fell into the latter when it was revealed that a Skrull Hank Pym had poisoned Janet van Dyne’s growth formula, turning her into a ticking time bomb. Thor was forced to kill her.

For many, her death came out of nowhere when she wasn’t integral to the story. It seemed like shock value for the sake of shock value, made all the worse by the fact that The Wasp still hasn’t recovered from this event. She’s been revived, but her status in Marvel’s pecking order isn’t as high or prominent as it was before her death. “Secret Invasion’s” biggest victim deserved better.

3

Goliath’s Death Had Problematic Optics for Some Fans

Marvel’s Most Regrettable Death Decisions

Bill Foster is the third man to achieve the Goliath mantle, also calling himself Black Goliath. Foster’s Blackness is a major reason why his death left a bad taste in the mouths of numerous readers. The hero’s fall in Civil War #4 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven was long shrouded in controversy.

The controversy had less to do with Goliath being killed by a cybernetic clone of Thor, but because some viewers felt Marvel treated a Person of Color like he was expendable simply to add him to the shocking body count building in the series. The optics looked bad, so Marvel understandably regretted killing him off.

2

The Death of Wolverine Was Anti-Climactic

This Applies to Both His Character and the Storyline

From the moment that The Death of Wolverine was announced, no one believed it to be a permanent ending for the character. For all the hoopla and spin-off series created for it, “Death of Wolverine” as an event felt like a quick cash grab to audiences who believed it was propagated merely to elicit shocked responses and boost sales.

That feeling was even more prevalent for fans once Wolverine was quickly resurrected shortly after his death. For Marvel to raise the stakes so highly for Wolverine’s demise and then be so quick to undo it made readers believe that everything they read up to that point was, well, pointless. It ranks among one of Wolverine’s gnarliest deaths, but not the most emotionally effective nor significant.

1

Bruce Banner May Have Been Civil War II’s Most Disrespectful Death

Yes, Even More Disrespectful Than Rhodey’s That Came Before

In comparison to its predecessor, Civil War II is a sequel that feels more prone to killing characters merely for shock. One of the more egregious cases comes from Hawkeye sniping Bruce Banner on the grounds of an ambiguous Hulk Out suspicion. This is one of the pioneers of Marvel content and founding Avengers members, killed off to simply steer the plot along.

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For a character of this magnitude, Bruce and the Hulk deserved to have more spectacle and build to their death rather than a blink-and-you-miss it scene. On the bright side, his death did open the door for The Immortal Hulk, which pumped new life into the character. His mishandled death accidentally turned out to be one of Marvel’s smartest decisions in recent memory.