The Most Tragic Superhero Deaths Of The 21st Century

Superheroes are some of the most popular fictional characters in this day and age. In a post-9/11 world, everyone's looking for a hero, and with the success of the original "X-Men," "Spider-Man," and "The Dark Knight" films at the turn of the century, there's no denying the cultural impact that these sorts of characters can have. Originating in the pages of comic books, superheroes have found new life in film and television, with stories being told for all sorts of audiences across various mediums, and we couldn't be happier.

Of all the comic book publishers out there, DC Comics and Marvel Comics reign supreme. With heroes like Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, and the Avengers at their disposal, they tell some of the most iconic, challenging, and heart-wrenching stories out there. Everyone loves a hero, which makes it all the harder to watch them die despite their often meaningful and heroic deaths. Speaking of, death and superheroes have a unique history in that, most of the time, death is pretty inconsequential in the long run anyway.

With the advent of more and more comic book adaptations in film and television, superhero deaths have arguably more of an impact now than ever. While we couldn't possibly list them all here, these are some of the most tragic superhero deaths of the 21st century from across film, television, and, yes, the original comic books that inspired them.

After two incredibly successful "X-Men" films, director Bryan Singer bowed out of the third installment in favor of "Superman Returns" and took actor James Marsden with him. The results were pretty disastrous for "X-Men: The Last Stand," and as such the famed X-Man himself, Scott Summers (Marsden), was essentially written out of the movie. After Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) resurrects as the Phoenix following her demise at the end of "X2," she pulls Scott into a seductive embrace and kills him off-screen.

While Cyclops had been a main cast member for the previous two features and the field leader of the team, he doesn't even suit up in "The Last Stand." Following his death, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Storm (Halle Berry) take over leadership duties as they battle against the villainous Jean Grey, the love of Logan's life. To stop her from killing all humans and mutants alike, Wolverine is forced to kill Jean in a shot that mimicked her second comic book death a few years prior. Needless to say, Scott and Jean end up together in the end, just 6 feet underground.

After Wolverine helps change the timeline in Singer's return to the series, "X-Men: Days of Future Past," Scott and Jean appear alive again in the revised timeline, as the events of "The Last Stand" never happened. While there was still a "Dark Phoenix" story in this timeline, Scott and Jean seemingly make it out alive.

At the end of Marvel's "Civil War" — the comic book, not the movie — Captain America surrenders to SHIELD to end the conflict between superheroes. Hoping to make amends with Iron Man and keep his fellow resistors out of prison, he believed that the only way to truly end this conflict was by giving himself up. As he's taken into custody, Cap is assassinated on the steps of the courthouse by Crossbones under the orders of the Red Skull, but it turns out that there was a conspiracy afoot.

After the death of Steve Rogers, his former partner and reformed assassin Bucky Barnes picked up the shield, working alongside the Avengers and Cap's modern-day sidekick Falcon to discover the truth behind Steve's assassination. Years later, in Ed Brubaker's follow-up, "Captain America: Reborn," the entire truth would be revealed that the Red Skull had brainwashed SHIELD agent and Cap's lover Sharon Carter into shooting him on the steps, sending his consciousness forward and backward throughout time.

Eventually, like most deceased comic book heroes, Steve was restored and eventually reclaimed the mantle of Captain America as Bucky returned to his role as the Winter Soldier, but his death was especially tragic at the time given the War on Terror climate of 2007. No doubt, the Marvel Universe wasn't the same without Captain America, and while others may don the shield for a while, Steve Rogers perfectly embodies the role.

Whenever a direct comic book adaptation is brought to the screen, chances are that we already know how it's going to end. But even if we know what's coming, if done right, the ending can still be just as shocking. This is certainly true with Zack Snyder's adaptation of the iconic graphic novel "Watchmen." Though longtime fans of the Alan Moore story knew how the film would end, they played the scene so well that you can't help but feel it.

After it's revealed that the Watchmen's longtime ally Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) was behind a nuclear attack on the world's biggest cities, framing Doctor Manhattan (Billy Crudup) in the process, the former team decides that the only way to keep world peace is to let the world believe Manhattan was responsible. Well, except for Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), who believes that the world has a right to know. "Never compromise, not even in the face of Armageddon." That's what he says to his oldest friend, Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), before he walks out to meet his explosive fate.

Confronted by Doctor Manhattan, Rorschach defends the truth rather than plead for his own life, leaving the godlike being with seemingly no other choice. As he blows Rorschach away, Nite Owl screams at the loss of his friend and his conscience. Though Rorschach dies, his words remain as the end of "Watchmen" reveals that his journal, containing information about Ozymandias' plan, was leaked to the press — and the truth lives on.

No superhero's death has been the topic of such fiery debate as was Darwin's death in 2011's "X-Men: First Class." A mutant with an ability called "reactive evolution," Darwin (Edi Gathegi) embodies his namesake by being able to survive just about anything. In the comics, Darwin is a strange, almost alien-like mutant who has been around since the early 21st century, though in the film — much like fellow mutants Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) — he looks mostly human.

Upon an attack from Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) and his Hellfire Club, the newly formed X-Men are faced with a choice: join Shaw and turn their backs on everything they stand for or stand with Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender). Well, aside for one of them, the X-Men make the right choice, though Darwin and Alex Summers (Lucas Till) attempt to trick Shaw, which results in Darwin's death. Unfortunately, the highly-adaptable mutant wasn't able to adapt to the energy burst in his body.

"I thought that was a huge miss, killing Darwin," Gathegi said about his time on the "X-Men" prequel (via Comicbook.com), "and I think Darwin does deserve redemption." Most fans agree, and with all the potential of an unkillable mutant (not unlike Wolverine in some ways), "X-Men: First Class" fails to use him in any creative capacity whatsoever. No doubt, the word "tragic" doesn't even begin to cover it.

When Firestorm, the Nuclear Man, was introduced in the very first season of "The Flash," fans were excited at the possibilities of introducing other superpowered heroes to the Arrowverse. At the time, only the Flash (Grant Gustin) himself and a few others had any special abilities, and from there the universe only expanded further. As characters Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell) and Dr. Martin Stein (Victor Garber) merged into the conjoined transmuted being called Firestorm, they were able to use their powers to aid their friends and save the universe from destruction.

After having just gotten married to Dr. Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker), Robbie is forced to merge with Stein once again in order to help the Flash save Central City from a singularity. Tragically, this costs Robbie his life, and while he saves Stein — who carries on the Firestorm name with newcomer Jefferson "Jax" Jackson (Franz Drameh) — and the rest of the world, he and Caitlin never make it to their honeymoon. Years later, an alternate version known as Deathstorm would arrive claiming to be Robbie, but the real Firestorm was dead.

Though other characters throughout the Arrowverse would meet their ends — including Martin Stein, who sacrifices himself for Jax, thus ending Firestorm forever — none are as heartbreaking as Robbie's, who never got that "happily ever after" with his wife. It's a tough one to watch unfold, for sure, but that's often what being a hero means, making the ultimate sacrifice.

Of all the movies in the DC Extended Universe, none were more controversial among audiences at the time of release than "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." Whether you loved Zack Snyder's attempts to merge multiple comic book storylines together or you hated the conflict between the World's Finest duo, there's no doubt that Superman's (Henry Cavill) ultimate sacrifice was both unexpected and pretty hard to watch. After making amends with Batman (Ben Affleck), the Man of Steel worked alongside the Caped Crusader and newcomer Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to battle the Kryptonian abomination Doomsday.

As this trinity of heroes battled Lex Luthor's (Jesse Eisenberg) brainless monster, Batman uses his kryptonite-infused weaponry to slow it down and Wonder Woman held the creature at bay. This gave Superman the chance to use Batman's kryptonite-pointed spear to pierce its heart — though, sadly, Doomsday also impaled Superman in the struggle, killing the Man of Steel also. As Batman and Wonder Woman retrieved his body, Lois Lane (Amy Adams) holds his lifeless corpse, which is incredibly hard to stomach once we learn that Clark was about to propose.

Of course, Henry Cavill's Superman is later resurrected in both versions of "Justice League" to help the titular heroes against Darkseid's forces — but had "Batman v Superman" been the end to Snyder's canon, it would've finished on a truly sour note. Thankfully, just like in the comics, Superman returns from the dead just in the nick of time.

To mention everyone who died in "Avengers: Infinity War" would take a lot longer than we have time for here, but there are a few characters whose deaths have been a bit more permanent since they weren't restored in "Avengers: Endgame." Among them are the reformed Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the android Vision (Paul Bettany), and the Guardians of the Galaxy member Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) who was sacrificed by her father Thanos (Josh Brolin) for an Infinity Stone.

In the battle against Thanos, both Loki and Vision sacrificed themselves to save Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), and the universe from the Mad Titan's schemes. While their deaths are tough to watch, especially after everything these characters had gone through, it is Gamora's death that's the most tragic. After she and Star-Lord aka Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) had finally commenced their relationship, Thanos took that all away in a moment that seemed just as painful for him as it was for us.

Though everyone who died in "Infinity War" has made their way back to the MCU in some capacity since — yes, including variants of Loki, Vision, and Gamora — these well-developed versions of these characters haven't been seen since. In fact, neither Star-Lord nor Scarlet Witch have gotten over their lovers' deaths, with the latter not handling it well at all. At least Thor seems to be getting along somewhat okay.

As the one who started it all, Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man is easily the most recognizable face in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Beginning with 2008's "Iron Man," Downey played Tony Stark for over a decade before "Avengers: Endgame," appearing not only in his own solo trilogy, but also in each "Avengers" film and installments of the "Captain America" and "Spider-Man: Home" trilogies, leaving his mark on the MCU in more ways than one.

After "Infinity War," Iron Man, like everyone else, was left defeated with little hope for the future. Then he had a daughter (Lexi Rabe), and his family became his sole priority. So when the Avengers came up with a plan to reverse Thanos' snap, it's no wonder that Stark was leery of messing that all up. However, after the Avengers restored all those who were lost, Thanos arrived to reclaim the Infinity Stones and remake the world in his own image, prompting Stark to make the ultimate sacrifice.

As Iron Man used the Stones to erase Thanos and his forces, they drained the life out of him. Thankfully, most of his loved ones — including his best friend Rhodey (Don Cheadle), Peter Parker (Tom Holland), and his wife Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) — were there to see him off. Afterward, a funeral was had for Tony as members of the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Marvel universe mourn his passing. Needless to say, Tony's death led to plenty of tears in the theater.

From the very first episode of "The Flash," it was teased that — just like his comic book counterpart — Barry Allen aka the Flash would die in the upcoming Crisis. While this ultimately proved true, it didn't happen the way we all thought it would. Instead of the Grant Gustin Flash meeting his end during the "Crisis on Infinite Earths," the Flash from the short-lived 1990s "The Flash" series, played by John Wesley Shipp, gave up his life for the universe in a scene that perfectly mirrored Barry Allen's comic book demise.

Fans of the original '90s series rejoiced when Shipp returned as the original live-action Barry Allen in the Arrowverse's "Elseworlds" crossover back in 2018, though his return was short-lived. Shipp had previously played Barry's father, Henry Allen, on "The Flash," as well as the Earth-3 variant Jay Garrick aka the original comic book Flash, but his second return as the original Barry Allen was particularly heartbreaking. As Gustin's Barry said goodbye to his best friends, he was about to fulfill his destiny before Shipp's Flash stepped into the anti-matter cannon, which tore him apart.

After years of fear that Barry Allen might die on "The Flash," these fears were ultimately realized in the Earth-90 Flash's demise. But even if it wasn't Gustin's Flash who sacrificed himself, the death of Shipp's Flash was one of the most tear-jerking moments from the highly anticipated five-part mega-crossover.