Why Are Marvel Fans Obsessed with Death?
As 2023 races by at alarming speed, Marvel Studios have altered their release schedule. They’re releasing fewer projects so they can focus on quality over quantity. After the wobbly mess of Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantamania, this is music to my ears. The next release is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, which looks fantastic. However, the fandom seems distracted. There’s a constant theme among discussions: death. Fans were convinced Scott Lang would die, and they’re still convinced Rocket Raccoon will imminently meet their demise. It might be because I’m an optimist, but what the heck is going on?
I’m confused as to where this increased negativity came from. The MCU isn’t ruthless at all. This isn’t Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, where a spontaneous death could claim anyone at any time. Don’t take this as me shrugging off death, because I’m deeply invested in the characters. Rocket is one of my favourite Marvel characters, so I’d be upset if his story ended. However, the point of engaging with the MCU is enjoyment. There are so many things to be excited about, so I can’t get caught up on negativity.
This obsession with death in the MCU fandom is not only silly, but unfounded, and here’s a few reasons why.
1. Death isn’t the only option
There are lots of ways to write a story arc and land an emotional conclusion. Death is one option, but it’s not the only option. Captain America is a great example. Seeing an older Cap in the present day, then revealing he spent a long and happy life with Peggy Carter was intensely emotional and unbelievably satisfying. But crucially, it was a positive ending. Focusing so much on death is not only limiting, but it’s incredibly unimaginative. Teams disband or change their roster, characters retire, characters get lost in a different universe or timeline - anything is possible!
2. We need characters
If we take these films in isolation, then there’s potential for characters to meet their demise. However, considering the MCU release schedule, it’s clear they need to keep characters alive. There are multiple Avengers films scheduled, which can’t happen if every character dies beforehand.
An interesting point of comparison is Game of Thrones, which saw a fantastically hilarious change towards the end. So many characters were killed throughout the course of the series, the writers were left in a position where characters couldn’t be killed. In later seasons, certain characters were guaranteed to survive, because otherwise who would be in the finale? There’s a handful of characters being swarmed by White Walkers at Winterfell, and they all survive despite impossible odds. Why? Because those characters needed to be in the finale. Characters were suddenly imbued with inhuman strength, durability and armour-like skin, just to make sure the finale could happen. Marvel are in the same boat now. If they kill too many characters, they can’t have another team up.
3. The multiverse brings the opposite problem
We’re not far into the multiverse saga, but fans already know what to expect. The key focus for Marvel is cameos. There’s an infinite number of universes and anything is possible, yet the peak of their imagination is to bring back actors we’ve seen before. It doesn’t matter if a character already reached a satisfying conclusion, like Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, because the multiverse means anyone can come back for the purpose of a lazy crowd-pleasing moment. Even the likes of Robert Downey Jr might not be safe from a cheap cameo appearance, regardless of whether it undermines Tony Stark’s powerful and emotional conclusion.
Arguably, the stakes have never been lower. If someone dies, it doesn’t matter! There’s an infinite number of variants who can replace them! Yay?
4. Aren’t fans untrusting of death?
I thought fans had reached a point of cynicism when it came to death in the MCU. The impermanence of death in comic book media is widely known, to the point of being an easy punchline. We’re all wise to comic book storytelling tropes, and death being used as a temporary measure for shock tactics. So, why would Ant-Man or Rocket be exceptions?
In truth, fan expectations are a total contradiction. People get carried away with theories of Rocket dying, based on absolutely no evidence, yet not a single person was convinced Scarlet Witch died at the end of Multiverse of Madness. She was crushed under a collapsing mountain, and everyone knew she wasn’t dead, and we’ll definitely see her again. We weren’t convinced by that, but we’re convinced Rocket will die based on…a hunch?
5. The MCU has the opposite problem - characters CAN’T die
The MCU has been running for 15 years, and there’s a continuous trend: characters don’t really die. Villains and side characters are different, many are intended to be disposable in their respective films. However, consider some of the heroes who have “died”:
- Iron Man and Black Widow - Admittedly, they’re both dead. It took eleven years, but they are both gone.
- Yondu - Also dead, and hopefully they don’t copy the comic books and use time travel to bring him back.
- Phil Coulson - Died in The Avengers, but was swiftly brought back in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Groot - Died at the end of the first Guardians film and was reborn before the end credits hit.
- Gamora - Died in Avengers: Infinity War, then time travel brought the Gamora of 2014 to the present day. It undermines an emotional moment in Infinity War, and it means Gamora is still out there.
- Vision - Died in Avengers: Infinity War, but their consciousness has been uploaded to a new model, like transferring everything from your old phone to a new one. They’ve gone AWOL, but White Vision is out there.
- Heimdall and Jane Foster - They’re both in Valhalla, but we know from the comic books they could return. We saw Heimdall at the end of Thor: Love & Thunder, and I figure they wouldn’t show us that without wanting to plant the seed. Also, if they keep taking inspiration from Jason Aaron’s Thor comics, we could see Jane Foster come back as a Valkyrie.
- Loki - There’s no chance of him being dead at this point. He’s died multiple times, including a supposedly “final” death in Avengers: Infinity War, and yet the second season of his solo TV show is starting soon. Doesn’t seem too dead to me.
Based on this pattern, it’s unlikely we’ll see any big heroes taken off the board any time soon. There might be some fake outs, but irreversible deaths rarely happen in the MCU.
6. Consider the trailers
Looking at the trailers, it’s clear there’s a sense of finality. It feels like this will be the last time we see this exact Guardians line-up, as alluded to by James Gunn. However, there’s some things to remember.
Firstly, trailers are designed to draw you in, playing on your emotions and your attachment to these characters. Secondly, if you consider other MCU deaths, none of them were teased or alluded to in the trailers. If Marvel, and particularly James Gunn, care about these characters then they wouldn’t reveal something so significant in the trailers. Character deaths are supposed to take us by surprise, because they’re more impactful if they’re unexpected. Take Iron Man for example. If we’d seen footage in the trailers which alluded to his death, it wouldn’t have made the same impact. We’re living in a time where fans, creators and the studio are conscious of spoilers, so why would they put them in the trailer?
Trailers don’t exist to provide a complete run down of exactly what happens in the film, they’re intended to excite us and give a flavour of the story and tone. If trailers revealed significant plot points and spoilers, then there would be no point seeing the film.
Side note: I think the trailers have tricked people into focusing too much on Rocket. Dave Bautista announced he’s leaving the MCU, so it’s more likely death is lingering over Drax’s shoulder than Rocket’s. Plus, there’s a general rule in Hollywood: you don’t kill the cute animal. I’m remaining hopeful that no one will die, but I think Drax is more likely than Rocket.
While on the topic of fan speculation, it’s important to address the misinformation on social media. People are circulating images from the 2019 Guardians of the Galaxy comic book series, where a visibly ill Rocket is in hospital surrounded by his fellow Guardians:
At face value, this is scary. However, context settles any fears. Rocket doesn’t die, and he’s back to normal by the series relaunch which immediately followed. Al Ewing took over as writer, and Rocket was on the cover of the first issue, which released only one month later:
If you see people sharing the first image, please remember it’s a happy ending because Rocket survives. Anyone claiming Rocket will die “just like in the comic books” potentially hasn’t read this story and might not be a trustworthy source of information. In fact, if we want to draw theories from the comic books, then death is even less likely. The Guardians have a long and rich history, and the roster has changed numerous times. James Gunn has said this is the last time we’ll see this team, but he might not be alluding to death’s involvement. He could be hinting another team roster will form, which seems likely given the inclusion of newcomers like Adam Warlock and Cosmo. Again, anything is possible, death is only one possibility.
I won’t pretend this is a new issue in the MCU fandom, because death has lingered in the background for a while. Previous projects went through the same treatment. The best example, aside from Infinity War and Endgame, is Captain America: Civil War. There were endless fan theories about characters not surviving, and either Cap or Tony were destined to die. What happened in reality? Every character took an emotional beating, Rhodey was injured in combat, Tony and Cap went through a messy break-up, and Cap gave up the shield. It was an intense story, but no one died.
I understand why people worry. We’ve spent so long watching the universe grow, and the prospect of losing a beloved character isn’t easy to accept. However, worrying about it won’t change what happens, and if it does happen then there’s nothing we can do to change it. The most important thing is good storytelling, especially at the end of a character’s journey. If the creators are able to draw out an emotional response from the audience, because they’ve brought a character’s time on screen to a satisfying conclusion, then they’ve done their job properly and we should be grateful.
There’s a simple solution to this phenomenon: patience. Everyone needs to remain calm. The only way we’ll know what happens in a film is if we wait to watch it. Until then, there’s no point worrying about something that hasn’t actually happened and isn’t guaranteed. And even if it turns out I’m wrong, I won’t feel foolish. Staying open minded isn’t a bad thing, and I’m glad I’ve stayed optimistic and patient. I will have let the creators do their thing, and sweep me away on the journey they want to take us on.
Lighten up folks, It ain’t over til it’s over!
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