The Avengers are known as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but even they aren’t invincible – several powerful members have been killed by villains throughout the years. Following the success of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers were Marvel’s second superhero team. While the Fantastic Four brought together a single group, the Avengers assembled Marvel’s biggest stars, like Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Wasp, to fight threats such as a Hulk manipulated by Loki. After the Hulk left, Captain America joined, and the team’s legendary story began. Sadly, some of these heroes have since lost their lives.
Even though characters in comic books often return from the dead, it’s still surprising when a major hero falls. It’s especially shocking when a Marvel villain is the one who does it. Here’s a look at seven villains who have killed members of the Avengers throughout the years.
7) The World Serpent Killed Thor
For those familiar with Norse myths, Thor’s death isn’t unexpected. Traditionally, his demise signals Ragnarok – the end of the world and its subsequent rebirth. While the events in the Fear Itself storyline didn’t follow that pattern exactly, Thor’s death still triggered the downfall of the Norse gods, followed by their eventual return.
Odin intended for Asgard to attack and destroy Earth as a way to prevent Ragnarok, believing it would defeat the monstrous Serpent. However, Thor opposed his father and fought to protect Earth. After a difficult battle, Thor defeated the Serpent’s powerful guardians, Nul and Angrir, and ultimately used Odinsword to kill the Serpent itself. Though victorious, Thor perished, seemingly fulfilling the prophecy of Ragnarok. But Thor was reborn and managed to restore Asgard to life on Earth.
6) The Skrulls Killed The Wasp in Secret Invasion
In the storyline Secret Invasion, the Skrulls launched an attack on Earth. This happened after members of the Illuminati visited the Skrulls’ home world and tried to intimidate them. The Skrulls secretly replaced many people on Earth, including members of the Avengers and those in positions of power in various governments. When the attack began, it created widespread distrust, as no one could be sure who was really who. Several heroes were also seriously harmed during the invasion.
The death of Janet Van Dyne, also known as The Wasp, was a tragic event orchestrated by the Skrulls. Earlier, they had replaced Hank Pym with a Skrull impostor named Criti Noll, who infected Janet with a dangerous failsafe. This caused her to grow to an enormous size and transform into a living bomb. Though Thor ended her suffering to prevent a massive explosion, the Skrulls were ultimately responsible for her death.
5) Secret Empire Captain America Killed Black Widow
The Secret Empire storyline featured a shocking twist: it appeared Captain America had killed Black Widow. However, the situation was more complex. This controversial series revealed Captain America had secretly been a Hydra agent all along. He activated as a sleeper agent and aided Hydra in taking control of the U.S. government, outlawing many heroes and even ordering the deaths of some.
Deadpool killed Agent Phil Coulson at Captain America’s behest, creating future complications. More tragically, Captain America seemingly killed Black Widow – Natasha Romanoff – by snapping her neck with his shield. However, it wasn’t the Captain America we know. This act was committed by a version of Steve Rogers from another universe (Earth-61311), who had swapped places with our Captain America due to the influence of a powerful, living Cosmic Cube named Kobik.
4) Onslaught Killed The Avengers
Onslaught was an incredibly powerful being who defeated and killed the entire Avengers team, as well as the Fantastic Four. He was only stopped when a rampaging Hulk attacked him, and it appeared he was destroyed in the battle. Onslaught came into existence when Professor X attempted to shut down Magneto’s mind. The resulting trauma within Xavier and the intense anger from Magneto merged to create this new, immensely powerful entity – a being stronger than all of Earth’s heroes combined.
The Avengers faced a major crisis when Onslaught appeared to destroy them, the Fantastic Four, and the Hulk. However, they were secretly saved at the last moment. A month later, Marvel released new comics with updated versions of these heroes, with no reference to the battle with Onslaught. It seemed like a completely new universe, but it was actually a reality created by Franklin Richards to protect them.
3) Terraxia Killed Iron Man
The Infinity Gauntlet is considered one of Marvel’s greatest stories. It featured the deaths of several Avengers and other heroes as Thanos collected the Infinity Stones and then wiped out half of all life. Unlike the movies, where Thanos claimed he was acting for the greater good, the comics reveal his motivation was simply to win the affection of Death, who didn’t return his feelings.
Although Thanos’s snap eliminated many lives, another villain actually killed an Avenger before the snap happened. Thanos created Terraxia to impress Death, and Terraxia fought the Avengers. During that battle, Terraxia was the one who killed Iron Man by beheading him and presented his head to Thanos. Fortunately, these events were later reversed.
2) Scarlet Witch Killed Ant-Man, Hawkeye, & Jack of Hearts
Scarlet Witch is generally portrayed as a hero in Marvel Comics, though she’s sometimes become a dangerous villain. When Wanda regained memories of the children she believed were taken from her, she became overwhelmed and acted aggressively. This led her to kill her teacher, Agatha Harkness, for keeping the truth about her children hidden, and she subsequently attacked the Avengers.
During the battle, she was responsible for the deaths of three Avengers: Jack of Hearts, Ant-Man (Scott Lang), and Hawkeye. She destroyed Avengers Mansion, killing Jack of Hearts and Scott Lang who was present at the time. She also created a false scenario of a Kree invasion, during which Hawkeye died. Later, Scott Lang and Hawkeye were both revived – Scott through time travel and Hawkeye when the events of House of M concluded.
1) Crossbones Killed Captain America
Following the end of Civil War, Captain America turned himself in to the authorities. But on his way to court, he was shot and killed. The attack came from two sources: the villain Crossbones fired the initial shots, and Sharon Carter, who had been hypnotized, also shot at Captain America to make sure he didn’t survive.
Captain America didn’t actually die; his spirit traveled back in time, allowing him to experience his life again while finding a way back to the present. He was ultimately brought back to life, though in a changed state. It’s common for Avengers heroes to be killed by villains, but they rarely stay dead.
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2025-10-29 17:41