4 Saddest Main Character Deaths Ranked (And 4 That Are Coming Soon)
Some Storytelling tropes are as old as time itself. One of these includes the death of the main character at the end of their story arc. The writers seem to confuse death with a satisfactory instance in some situations. But there are times when it is implemented so well that it makes sadness well up inside us. Here we have listed the 4 saddest main character deaths and ranked them for you. Keep in mind that we haven’t added characters like Man of Steel, or the Dark Knight as they came back to life. Apart from the deaths that have happened, we have also collected 4 more that we think will meet the same fate in the future. Here are the two lists.
Spoilers for certain movies exist in this article.
Saddest Main Character Deaths Ranked
4. Terminator
In his last outing as the T-800, we see Arnold Schwarzenegger play Carl in Terminator: Dark Fate. Much like the original Terminator, a new advanced machine by the name of Rev-9 is sent back in time to kill Dani in 2020 who becomes the next leader of the resistance. But this plan is thwarted by an aging T-800 who barely reactivates himself at the end of the movie only to restrain Rev-9. The self-sacrifice of Arnold’s character has become a series staple at this point but this was supposed to be his last outing as the character so this one hurts a little. No doubt one of the saddest main character deaths in movie history.
3. Bond
This is going to be a spoiler for all of you who haven’t watched No Time To Die. But by the end of that movie Bond meets his ultimate fate. Many fans had speculated that this would happen in the movie mostly because this was Daniel Craig’s last outing as the suave British super spy. But we did not think that the hero would die in such a way. We did not want carnage around his death, he deserved retirement and peaceful death. But you get what you get and this death gets the 3rd rank.
2. Tony Stark
After almost 22 movies and 11 years of movie-making, we received one of the most awaited movies of all time. We are talking about Avengers: Endgame. This movie was absolutely a wild ride with all kinds of carnage on the screen. But one of the greatest moments in the MCU occurred when Tony stole the stones from Thanos and integrated them into his armor. This allowed him to male a pseudo infinity gauntlet which is he used to snap away Thanos and his army. The day was won, but the cost of using the gauntlet was Tony Stark losing his life. This is and will remain one of the saddest main character deaths.
1. Logan
For those of you who have seen the OG X-men movies know that Logan is not the kind of character who can be killed easily. But by the time Logan came out Hugh Jackman had been playing the character for the better part of two decades. So they decided to go with the fact that Logan’s healing factor was slowly failing him. This made the character more vulnerable and susceptible to death. Many fans assumed that this was done to artificially escalate the stakes of the movie but in reality, it was a setup for what was to come. By the end, Logan lays down his life for the next generation and this is THE saddest main character death we have ever witnessed.
Main Character Deaths That Are Probably Coming Soon
1. Ethan Hunt
With the next Mission Impossible on the Horizon, we believe that Ethan Hunt will soon receive the Tony Stark treatment and die while trying to save everyone. The character has been around long enough to warrant such a treatment and the death would carry the necessary emotional weight with it. It would also be a fitting way to end the story of Ethan Hunt.
2. Dominic Toretto
Dom has had a hard life, trying to protect his family and keeping all of them together. He has also had a fun life, full of all kinds of crazy adventures, fast cars, and exotic locations. Dom is a man’s man but it feels like he is heading towards an early grave with the path that he’s on. We cannot be sure whether this will happen in the next movie but it is the logical end of the Fast and Furious series.
3. Batman
Although there is a new Batman movie in the works, it is our expectation that the current Batman (Ben Affleck) would meet his fate in the near future. You see, a flashpoint movie is planned and it will be the one where we expect Batman to sacrifice himself for the good of everyone else. Zack Snyder had already planned to give Bruce Wayne a big sacrificial death at the end of the Justice League 3. While we may not see that now, we think that his luck may not last through Flashpoint. That’s how his character might be written out of the DCEU.
Rocket Raccoon
Rocket Raccoon is a fan favorite in terms of popularity. He is known for his sharp wit and his skill to build complicated contraptions from scrap. He is like an animal version of Tony. We are not joking, even his character arc is similar to that of Tony’s. He started off as a loner who only cared about one other person in the world but has evolved to see what it means to have a team to support oneself. This made him into a Guardian of the Galaxy rather than just a thief.
Fans speculate that the character will continue to develop on the same lines and sacrifice himself to save his team at the end of the third Guardians movie. This would make sense since the Guardians’ movies are all about self-sacrifice. Groot did it, Peter Did it, even Gamora tried to do it in Endgame. Maybe this is Rocket’s chance.
What do you think of the theories we have presented above? Do you agree with our ranking? Let us know in the comments below and keep watching this space for Marvel, DC, and Hollywood.
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