The MCU will continue for the foreseeable future without a reboot; however, 2023 also brought along a series of ups and downs for Marvel Studios. While the MCU’s quality was uneven, both projects considered to be among Marvel’s best movies, such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and some of the MCU’s most criticized entries, like Secret Invasion, gave the MCU heartbreaking deaths. Here are the biggest character deaths of the MCU and the DCEU in 2023.

12Shazam Dies After Defeating Kalypso

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods

Billy Batson used his powers in Shazam! Fury of the Gods to overcharge the Wizard’s staff and allow him to defeat Kalypso, her dragon, and her army. The energy released from the battle was too much for Shazam to handle, with Billy dying. However, the character would not stay dead for long, as Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman appeared for a surprise cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Wonder Woman uses her god-like powers to restore the staff and resurrect Billy.

11MODOK Dies As An Avenger

Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania

Corey Stoll’s return as Darren Cross to the Ant-Man franchise led to one of the movie’s most controversial aspects. Cross going from Yellowjacket to the MCU’s version of MODOK due to his time in the Quantum Realm was a big creative swing, and while the actor’s performance led to a hilarious MODOK, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s CGI never made the character look good enough. MODOK being killed after destroying Kang the Conqueror’s shield and dying as an “Avenger” after betraying Kang to help the Ant-Man family at least led to a sweet and heartbreaking moment.

10Talos Is Killed By Gravik

Secret Invasion

Secret Invasion is one of Marvel’s most controversial releases ever, and the series killed two popular MCU characters. Secret Invasion episode 4 shockingly saw Gravik, the leader of the invading Skrulls in the series, stab and kill Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos after using his shape-shifting abilities to pretend he was a soldier helping the injured character. Talos’ relationship with Nick Fury was the best part of the series, with the potential for more exciting interactions in the future, which led to this death in the poorly-received show being a waste.

9Supergirl Is Stabbed By General Zod

The Flash

Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, although exciting, did not get much to do in The Flash. The character was powerful, taking on General Zod’s army and those who kept her captive at the start of the DCEU film. However, Supergirl would be murdered by General Zod, with Michael Shannon’s character stabbing her from behind when it seemed like the hero had defeated him. As DC cut two different The Flash endings that would have seen Barry Allen’s multiverse travels bring Supergirl back, Calle’s character remained dead.

8Young Barry Allen Sacrifices Himself To Save Older Flash

The Flash

The Flash followed two main versions of Barry Allen, with Ezra Miller pulling double duty as the DCEU’s Barry and a younger version of himself. Sadly, after not being able to save Batman and Supergirl despite having tried to multiple times, young Barry turned into Dark Flash. The villain then met his past self and the main Barry, with the young version of The Flash sacrificing himself to save his older counterpart. Young Barry’s death was one of the DCEU’s most tragic moments.

7Michael Keaton’s Batman Repeatedly Dies

The Flash

The Flash saw quite a few of the biggest MCU or DCEU deaths of 2023. Michael Keaton returned as Batman in the film, only for his character to be shockingly killed. Batman first dies by sacrificing himself to attempt to take out Zod’s ship, then dying again in a fight with a Kryptonian after young Barry reversed time. Keaton was originally reported to become the DCEU’s Batman, taking over from Ben Affleck, which would have given his character a different ending.

6Jaime Reyes’ Dad Dies From A Heart Attack

Blue Beetle

Alberto Reyes had one of the most impactful deaths of the DCEU. Jaime Reyes’ dad died in Blue Beetle while his son could do nothing to help him, as he was captured by Victoria Kord’s team. Alberto dying from a heart attack was not the last time he was seen in the movie though. Blue Beetle saw Jaime and Alberto reunite in the afterlife for a bittersweet sequence where Jaime embraces his superhero destiny fully.

5Strange Supreme Sacrifices Himself For His Universe

What If…? Season 2

Strange Supreme is one of the most powerful characters of the MCU. After his obsession with saving his Christine Palmer led to Strange Supreme’s universe getting destroyed, the anti-hero returned in What If…? season 2 with the plan to sacrifice thousands of multiversal heroes and villains to The Forge in hopes of restoring his universe. After an intense battle with Captain Carter and Kahhori, Strange Supreme escaped the influence of all the dark beings he had absorbed and sacrificed himself, ending the fight and restoring his universe and Christine, though he tragically never got to see them.

4Barry Allen’s Mom’s Death Leads To Flashpoint

The Flash

The Flash featured many huge deaths, but none were more important than that of Barry Allen’s mother. Though the Reverse-Flash was not shown or teased to be behind Nora Allen’s death in the movie, The Flash‘s story hinged on the death of Barry’s mom. That is the main force behind the film, with Barry going back in time to save her and that action leading to a series of heartbreaking events before Barry realizes he has to let her go.

3Maria Hill Is Shockingly Shot By Gravik

Secret Invasion

Secret Invasion seemed like the project to finally give Maria Hill her time to shine, only for Cobie Smulders’ character to be killed at the end of the series’ first episode. Maria Hill’s demise became the MCU’s most controversial death of 2023. Secret Invasion episode 1 saw Nick Fury shoot Hill, only for it to be revealed that it was actually the Skrull Gravik. Hill then bled to her death, ending the character’s time in the MCU without her ever getting a big role in a project.

2Rocket Raccoon’s Childhood Friends Are Killed By The High Evolutionary

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is one of the MCU’s saddest movies. Rocket Raccoon’s tragic backstory was finally revealed, with the MCU movie being responsible for three heartbreaking deaths. Rocket and his friends attempted to escape from the High Evolutionary’s ship, only for the MCU villain to gun down Lylla the Otter and Rocket’s other two childhood friends, Floor and Teefs, to be shot by the High Evolutionary’s forces. The tragedy explained why Rocket was so filled with grief in the future.

1Kang The Conqueror

Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania

Finally, the biggest MCU or DCEU death of 2023 was that of Kang the Conqueror. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was responsible for introducing the MCU’s successor to Thanos, only for Kang to seemingly die at the end of the movie after Ant-Man and the Wasp sent the villain flying into the multiversal core of his Time Chair, which collapsed and sucked Kang into the void. With Jonathan Majors’ firing from the MCU, what was likely a fakeout might become a real death for Kang the Conqueror, with the Marvel villain topping the 2023 deaths in the MCU or the DCEU.