10 Most Epic Marvel Movie Deaths (Outside The MCU)

:0:0

Marvel movies are full of intense, emotional moments, and some deaths hit particularly hard. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become not only the most successful superhero shared universe but also the biggest movie franchise in history. Due to that, it is easy to see how the MCU is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Marvel's live-action projects; however, the comic book company already had many touching adaptations before the MCU was created and continued to have while Kevin Feige's universe took off.
Marvel has had a great deal of success across its live-action movies outside the MCU, and while some of them might not end up being the best, like 2015's Fantastic Four reboot, Marvel has hit gold many times. Fox's X-Men franchise has convoluted timelines, but some of the hardest-hitting moments in comic book cinema come from there. Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy is one of the best trilogies of all time, and the animated Spider-Verse films are not only great additions to the superhero medium but also groundbreaking entries for modern animation. All those Marvel films have had emotional moments, and ten deaths rise as particularly poignant.
10 Mystique In X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique was a sometimes controversial part of the younger X-Men timeline that started with X-Men: First Class. The character had a bigger role in the team than she is known to have in the comics, which bothered some. Still, Mystique was an important part of the more recent X-Men films, which contributed to the shock felt when the character was killed early on in 2019's X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Sophie Turner's Jean Grey lost control of her powers, which led to the character impaling Lawrence's Mystique with a piece of wood in an abrupt manner.
9 Jean Grey In X2: X-Men United

2003's X2: X-Men United saw Famke Janssen's Jean Grey sacrifice herself to allow Wolverine, Cyclops, Charles Xavier, and more to escape from the flooding water from the damn that was threatening to engulf the entire team. Realizing what needed to be done, Jean left the X-Jet unnoticed, using her powers to hold the waters and levitate the X-Jet out of the situation before allowing the waters to engulf her. The scene was heartbreaking and set the path for the first Dark Phoenix movie adaptation in the sequel.
8 Prowler In Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

The animated realm has also been the place for one of the non-MCU Marvel movies' biggest deaths. After having their tight-knit relationship built throughout the film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sees Miles Morales reveal his identity to his Uncle Aaron, the Prowler. The villain has a moment of change, sparing his nephew, but is then shot to death by Kingpin before being able to change sides. Miles holding his dying uncle's hand as the Prowler tells him how he failed his nephew is devastating, and the moment is a big sign that Miles truly is the new Spider-Man, as such tragedies are known to be part of the hero's history.
7 Green Goblin In Spider-Man

Green Goblin is one of Spider-Man's greatest foes, and Willem Dafoe's performance as the villain is so iconic that he was brought back from the Raimi movies to be the main villain of Tom Holland's Spider-Man: No Way Home, going as far as to kill the MCU's Aunt May. In 2002's Spider-Man, Norman Osborn tried to manipulate Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man during their final fight, one of the most visceral across superhero adaptations. Green Goblin getting impaled by his glider is one of the most memorable moments in any comic book film. It was a perfectly dark ending to Maguire's debut movie and one that would completely change Harry Osborn's trajectory.
6 Doctor Octopus In Spider-Man 2

Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus was a tragic character in Spider-Man 2, one of the most beloved superhero movies of all time. After his wife's death, Otto Octavius was transformed by his technology, giving a life of their own to his cybernetic arms. Doc Ock's death comes as the character decides to sacrifice himself, seeing the error in his ways, and destroys his machine by sinking it in the river along with him. Otto's death hits harder than Norman's in the previous film, as the character had been shown to be a nice person prior to the accident that transformed him into Doc Ock, whereas Norman was unstable from the get-go.
5 Harry Osborn In Spider-Man 3

James Franco's Harry Osborn had quite the arc in Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, with him and Peter going from best friends to mortal enemies throughout the films. Harry's death in Spider-Man 3 was a deeply emotional moment, edging out Doc Ock's death in the previous film, as the character had been developed over Raimi's trilogy. Harry finally realizes that his best friend was not responsible for Norman's death and helps Spider-Man defeat Venom and Sandman. Venom stabs Harry with his own glider, mirroring his father's death. Harry dying surrounded by Peter and Mary Jane while making peace with his best friend stands as a poignant ending to Harry Osborn's journey.
4 Charles Xavier In Logan

Charles Xavier's final words in Logan and the way that he died make for one of the most shocking and sad deaths in a comic book film. Wolverine's evil clone, X-24, entered Professor X's room in the middle of the night. Not knowing it was not the real Logan, Xavier reveals that he remembered the Westchester Incident, the event where he lost control of his powers due to a brain disease and killed several X-Men, as well as seriously injured hundreds of civilians. Xavier then being killed by X-24 is a heartbreaking moment, with the real Wolverine coming in later to tell the stabbed Xavier that it was not him.
3 Wolverine In Logan

Jackman had the perfect final chapter in Logan, with Wolverine's arc beautifully ending after the character managed to protect X-23 to the very end. One of the most iconic comic book movie scenes happens at the moment that Dafne Keen's Laura turns the cross in Logan's grave into an "X," representing Wolverine's long history as an X-Men. The moment was a tearjerker, even if it's being partially undone by Jackman's return as Wolverine in Deadpool 3.
2 Uncle Ben In Spider-Man

"With great power comes great responsibility." Uncle Ben's death in Spider-Man might be the most iconic death in any comic book film. It is the defining moment in Peter Parker's journey to becoming Spider-Man. Maguire's Peter crying over a dying Uncle Ben on a sidewalk will forever remain one of the saddest moments in superhero media, with every Spider-Man franchise that has followed the film alluding to that scene or creating their own version of the iconic death, as Raimi's use of the Spider-Man moment from the comics elevated it to common knowledge even for those who never read a single comic book.
1 Gwen Stacy In The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Gwen Stacy's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 death is the most epic Marvel movie death outside the MCU. While it might not be as iconic as Uncle Ben's death in Raimi's trilogy, Gwen's death hit harder. The romance between Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker and Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy was the best thing about the two The Amazing Spider-Man films, so having the character die in such a tragic way — a perfect adaptation of her comic book death — was harrowing. While a controversial film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 got some things right, and Gwen's death was among them, becoming one of the most important comic book movie moments.
The scene has had a lasting impact, with the moment that Garfield's Spider-Man saved Zendaya's MJ from suffering the same fate as Gwen's, being one of the most talked about scenes in Spider-Man: No Way Home, seven years after Gwen's death. The death is more emotional than Uncle Ben's due to Stone's Gwen being built up across two films as the second lead in the franchise and with so much potential. Based on that, The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Gwen Stacy death stands as the most epic Marvel movie death outside the MCU.
Key Release Dates