How Marvel Kills Off A Superhero
Superhero movies are fun, but there are rarely any high stakes for the characters. Avengers: Endgame changed that. After watching the 20-plus film series, a marvel-ous interconnected cinematic universe rich with some of Marvel Comics’ biggest marquee superheroes brought to life, we all became pretty attached to the likes of Captain America, Black Widow, Spider-Man, Gamorra, and Iron Man, among others.
Marvel did a great job teasing the demise of some of these characters. Much speculation on who was going to make the ultimate sacrifice spread like a virus across social media. Comparisons to the comics were made, and interviews with some of the series’ stars were analyzed in case they slipped up and accidentally revealed who would meet their end. Fans not only speculated who would die, they openly feared their favorite character would die. It was the best promotion any film has received online, and probably in any format.
But promotion would mean nothing if Avengers: Endgame didn’t raise the stakes. A tepid and unsatisfactory ending could invalidate the whole Infinity Saga. In a video for Vanity Fair, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely explained how endgame centred on resolving the character arcs for both Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Tony Stark (Iron Man).
While writing Civil War, the screenwriters realized that both Iron Man and Captain America could only become their best selves through their relationship to sacrifice.
Iron Man was becoming less self-centered as time progressed and more focused on saving others. And Captain America was slowly realizing there was more to life than sacrificing yourself for a greater good.
“We realized for Steve to become his best self, he needs to get a life,” said McFeely. “And for Tony to become his best self, he needs to lose his.”
While the character arcs of Captain America and Iron Man enhance each other around the theme of sacrifice, Tony needed a good death–a well-earned death–to bring his journey to a satisfactory close. When he finally gave his life so half the universe could keep theirs, Avengers: Endgame achieved what no other superhero film had before. It evoked pathos.
In the video below, Nerdstalgic explains how the writers and directors crafted a satisfying and meaningful death for Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man. The narrator runs through four aspects of a well-earned death, which though related to Iron Man, is important for any satisfactory death of any prominent character across all genres.
Nerdstalgic’s requirements for a well-earned death are:
1. Tie Up Loose Ends
2. How He Dies
3. Hero Moment
4. Reaction
As the video explains, to make a death count or to give it emotional resonance, you need to tie up loose ends first. What the video doesn’t explain is that the 20-plus film saga spent plenty of time on Tony’s troubled relationship with his father; his father-like relationship with Spider-Man; his difficult relationship with Captain America, and working through his own selfishness so he could make the ultimate sacrifice so half the Universe could live. Its an epic narrative, but apart from saving half the universe, the loose ends Tony needs to resolve are purely human. They relate to his relationships with other characters, and they’re relationships we can all identify with.
Spider-Man meets an untimely death in Infinity War, only to be brought back to life through Tony’s self-sacrificing act in Avengers: Endgame. Its an example of circular narrative that works so well in evoking pathos. Another, which the video covers, is when he looks Thanos directly in the eye and says “I am Iron Man.” As the video states, Tony first uttered those words when he decided to egotistically reveal his true identity in front of the press in the very first film in the franchise, Iron Man (2008). Fastforward to Avengers: Endgame, he utters those same words right before he gives his life. This reference, itrinsically references how far Tony has come. His character arc is now complete. Its a well-earned death.
This relates to both number 2 (How He Dies) and number 3 (Hero Moment) on Nerdstalgic’s list.
Tony’s death is given even more resonance with the time and care the Russos spend on the other character’s reaction to his sacrifice. The characters–and the audience–get time to reflect on his passing. There is real impact. His death its a hollow plot device to give another character motivation or just move to the next scene. It just is. And perhaps a fact of life that comes to everyone no matter how rich they are, or how smart they might. These are all aspects of Iron Man–the billionaire, genius, philanthropist. But as Cap says in Avengers Assemble, “Take away the armor and what are you?” The answer is human. The film–and the whole Infinity Saga–ends on a very human moment.
