Time to kill some superheroes!

Marvel boss Kevin Feige confirmed to JoBlo that Avengers: Infinity War will be the last appearance for some central figures of the MCU, which means they might shuffle off their mortal capes or retire to their secret, woodsy homes… or alien planets or state-of-the-art mansion towers. But hopefully a bunch will get killed.

Don’t look at me like that! Marvel needs to show some stakes, especially if the long-promised fight against Thanos is going to live up to the hype as something on a scale we’ve never seen before.

Considering their longevity, significance, and power, here are the heroes of Infinity War, ranked by killability.

Iron Man

Killability Score: 10

Gotta do it. Robert Downey Jr. has portrayed Iron Man in an insane eight movies. Just ask James Bond and Indiana Jones; it’s time for Tony Stark to meet a righteous and justified end, whether that means acting selflessly a la The Avengers or using his last breath to pass the torch (which is what he seems to be doing with young, scrappy science whiz Peter Parker).

The only downside is that the impact of his death might be muted by the company of other heroes’ deaths. Still, there’s already an expectation that he’s on the way out. Done right, he could be the perfect martyr for the new team to rally around.

Captain America

Killability Score: 9.9

Killing Cap would likewise have a huge impact. Similarly, it also lets someone else emerge as the true leader of the pack. That leader could either be the new Captain America (Bucky or Falcon) or someone could take over the mantle while another character (like Black Widow) becomes the head tactical honcho. If Marvel is cleaning house, this would be the perfect opportunity for a clean break from a figure who has done a lot of its heavy lifting.

War Machine

Killability Score: 9.5

They teased War Machine’s death in Civil War but ended up just paralyzing the character, because Marvel has serious trouble ever saying goodbye. Unlike Tony and Cap, Colonel Rhodes is completely expendable, but his death would still be strong emotional fodder. That combination isn’t good for his health.

Vision

Killability Score: 9.2

It would be a shame to squash Paul Bettany’s embodied role as a hero so powerful that he thoughtlessly picks up Mjölnir like he’s pulling a claw hammer off the rack at Home Depot. What makes him set for the chopping block? For one, even with his flirtations with Scarlet Witch, Marvel hasn’t proven that they know what to do with him. For two, Thanos has gotta get the Mind Stone in Vision’s forehead somehow. Ripping out would be simplest, and killing one of the most powerful (if not the most powerful) Avengers would be a quick way to show how serious a threat Thanos is.

Heimdall

Killability Score: 9.2

Speaking of which, Thanos has to get across the Bifröst into Asgard to get the Tesseract, so either Heimdall is abandoning his post (nah) or he’s gonna get thrown into space.

Falcon

Killability Score: 8.4

The only reason not to kill Sam Wilson is if he’s going to become the new Captain America.

The Winter Soldier

Killability Score: 8.4

And the only reason not to kill Bucky Barnes is if he’s going to become the new Captain America.

The Guardians of the Galaxy

Killability Score: 0 to 8.0

As a bedrock of the next MCU phase with their third film hitting theaters (probably) in 2020, there’s no chance that Peter Quill or Gamora are going to kick the bucket here. That goes double for Rocket and Groot. It’s possible Nebula will survive the fight with her adopted dad (because James Gunn has tons of ideas for her and because she’s just now joined the good guys) but Drax, on the other tattooed hand… he might not be so lucky.

He’s desperate to face Thanos in battle to avenge his family, and he would get crushed by the space throne-owning supervillain. It would be a shame to sacrifice the joy Dave Bautista brings to the Guardians of the Galaxy movies in service of another film’s plot, but boldly attacking and losing to Thanos would bring his arc to a bittersweet, powerful end.

Thor

Killability Score: 7.2

After completing the standalone trilogy with Thor: Ragnarok, Chris Hemsworth is primed to leave the MCU with a thunderous bang, but killing Thor would be crazy. Whether he lives or dies may depend on how many of the original Avengers Feige and Friends want to remove from the equation. Simply because Iron Man and Captain America are expected to go, Thor–live or die–may have the most surprising fate of them all. That offers some serious incentive for a studio looking to shake things up. Hopefully Darryl lives no matter what.

Hulk

Killability Score: 5.0

Could Hulk be killed by Thanos? Absolutely. Like offing Vision, it would quickly prove the insane level of his power. Should Hulk be killed? Nope. There’s so much more Marvel can do with the character, and Ruffalo has never gotten his own standalone film. Meanwhile, the actor has talked about Ragnarok and Infinity War forming a standalone arc for the big green guy, which speaks to a certain degree of finality.

So, even if Hulk dies and Bruce Banner lives, Marvel should comic book logic that death with lightning speed.

Hawkeye

Killability Score: 4.9

There’s just no telling. Clint got a foundational storyline in Age of Ultron that head-faked a tragic ending. He hugged his pregnant wife, Laura, and his adorable children and somehow still survived the next big battle. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but maybe–like Black Widow–there would be a cheapness to killing him now. After cementing him as the mortal bravely and stupidly fighting next to gods, it’s hard to understand what Thanos murdering him would prove narratively, and if Iron Man and/or Captain America also die, Hawkeye’s death would be relegated to a diminished emotional space. Of course the flimsy human got obliterated; it would be more radical to see the flimsy human live.

Plus, we’re all still waiting on a Hawkeye Netflix show.

Scarlet Witch

Killability Score: 4.3

One of the toughest to prognosticate on the list, Wanda Maximoff’s destiny may be tied to Vision’s. If he lives, maybe she’ll die. If he dies, maybe she’ll live. Or maybe they’ll survive together and finally consummate the whole Ross and Rachel thing they’ve got brewing. She’s not slated for a standalone film, but there’s got to be some continuity between the old team and the new one, so some of her Phase Two class need to survive. There presumably need to be some Avengers around for Avengers 4.

Black Widow

Killability Score: 3.2

Before she gets a standalone movie? Come on. (Please, can she get a standalone movie? There’s still time!)

Doctor Strange

Killability Score: 2.0

There’s virtually no chance Doctor Strange will die in Infinity War. Even though he owns the Time Stone as part of the Eye of Agamotto, it’s not currently attached to his body and/or powering his entire life, so there are ways to get it without killing him. Then again, Marvel has been cagey about confirming a sequel, saying that it could be a long time until one gets made. That lines up with the timeline Marvel has set out for its Phase Three films, building a slate through 2019. Doctor Strange was a big hit, but that’s not the only elements to whether a sequel moves forward. Waiting until 2020 to see the next movie is not business as usual for Marvel, but clearing a path over the dead bodies of Phase One heroes may be exactly what the surgeon ordered.

Everyone

Killability Score: 1

The only heroes with their own movies on the horizon are Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Ant-Man, The Wasp, Spidey, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. There’s a fantastically slim chance that Marvel would kill literally everyone else, but it would be bold as hell and send my respect for them into the stratosphere.

(They can always bring heroes back from the dead anyway, right?)

Captain Marvel

Killability Score: 0

It’s not prudent to kill a hero whose standalone movie comes out the next year. Carol Danvers is part of the super safe, next generation that will be carrying the mantel until they’re killed en masse in Avengers 8: Marvel Zombies.

Ant-Man & The Wasp

Killability Score: 0

If you stay in the theater after the Infinity War credits (for two months) you’ll be able to see Ant-Man & The Wasp as a special bonus!

Spider-Man

Killability Score: 0

No kidding. Did you see Tom Holland destroy “Umbrella”? Holland’s gonna be around long enough to play Fat Spider-Man from Universe X.

Black Panther

Killability Score: -1

No. Just no. T’Challa is about to become the warm sun around which the Marvel Universe rotates.

Nick Fury

Killability Score: ∞

Surprised? Nick Fury was technically a 10 in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and his fake-out non-death was a slap to the face. Marvel missed their perfect opportunity to kill Nick Fury (and prove that violence comes with consequences), so it doesn’t really matter what they do with eyepatch-rocking Father Time now. Kill him. Don’t kill him. Give him a Killability Score of 0 or 11 or 100. It’s hard to imagine his death or survival affecting the plot or the emotional tone all that much anymore.

What do you think? Who should die?

Images: Marvel/Disney