Marvel Studios’ Avengers Doomsday takes a major step toward comic book accuracy by embracing an infamous tradition most comic book fans are quite well acquainted with. The MCU has gradually pushed the boundaries of comic accuracy throughout the years. What used to be overly fantastical in Phase 1 could now be considered grounded in Phase 6.
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars promise to push the envelope even further. The possible end and rebirth of the multiverse are unprecedented events, even for the sprawling MCU. But there’s one concept that serves as an even clearer test of suspension of disbelief.
Avengers: Doomsday Proves Comic Book Characters Never Stay Dead
Most Comic Book Characters End Up Coming Back To Life Sooner Or Later
Unlike the victims of Thanos’ Snap, several MCU characters have died real definitive deaths. Loki, Phil Coulson, Heimdall, Gamora, Natasha Romanoff, and Pietro Maximoff have all met their end so far. Yet, each of these characters has been returned some way or another. Loki, Gamora, Black Widow, and Quicksilver’s variants have popped up in the Multiverse Saga, Phil Coulson was resurrected through Project Tahiti, and Heimdall appeared in Valhalla.
Three other major Marvel characters received their perfect farewell, but two of them have also come back. Hugh Jackman’s original Wolverine finally died in Logan and Steve Rogers was set up to die peacefully of old age after Avengers: Endgame. Only a few years later, Wolverine and Captain America are back, albeit through multiversal means. Robert Downey Jr. is also back, only playing a mysterious version of Doctor Doom.
Both Downey and Evans are returning in the very next Avengers movie following Avengers: Endgame. Regardless of what Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars establish about their return, it’s rather disappointing for Avengers: Endgame‘s perfect ending to be tampered with. This, of course, is a familiar problem for comic book fans. Nobody stays dead in the comics, and nobody’s death will ever seem permanent again after Avengers: Doomsday.
Characters Never Stay Dead In The Comics
Only A Select Few Enjoy An Actual Definitive Death
Death is often a temporary narrative hurdle rather than a final conclusion when it comes to comic books. The primary reason is commercial. Iconic characters are multi-billion-dollar assets that publishers simply cannot afford to leave on the shelf indefinitely. Major comic book universes like Marvel and DC also exist on a cyclical status quo where writers constantly look to the past to tell new stories, resulting in resurrections via cloning, time travel, or cosmic intervention.
Jean Grey is the poster child for repeated resurrections, famously dying and returning via the Phoenix Force multiple times. Steve Rogers was seemingly assassinated after Civil War, only to be revealed to be displaced in time. Wolverine and Thor, whose deaths were marketed as groundbreaking events, eventually return through different sci-fi means. These frequent resurrections often dilute the emotional weight of hero sacrifices, but they’re necessary to keep the characters around forever.
A select few Marvel characters remain canonically deceased in the comics. Uncle Ben’s death remains the cornerstone of Peter Parker’s morality, which makes his permanent absence essential. Similarly, the original Captain Marvel died of cancer, earning a grounded, human end that Marvel has respected for decades to maintain the dignity of his legacy. These rare exceptions prove that when death sticks, it serves a character’s permanent growth.
Robert Downey Jr. & Chris Evans’ MCU Return Brings One Advantage And One Disadvantage
Iron Man & Captain America’s Endgame Farewell Will Never Be The Same
All things considered, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans’ MCU portrayals are shorter than they could have been. Both stars are still passionate about the MCU and in good shape to continue playing their respective superheroes. Against the odds, Avengers: Doomsday and possibly Avengers: Secret Wars find a way to give fans more of the actors’ talents. Besides, there are only so many chances to see Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Tobey Maguire, and Tom Holland playing their Marvel heroes together.
On the other hand, Iron Man and Captain America’s stories are bound to change. Even if the actors are actually playing completely unrelated variants, the fact that a new Steve Rogers and a Doctor Doom who resembles Tony Stark are fighting for the fate of the multiverse will inherently change the way audiences will rewatch Avengers: Endgame. Just knowing that Iron Man’s snap and Steve Rogers’ final kiss with Peggy aren’t the last images they leave affects the Infinity Saga’s conclusion.
The MCU Can Still Honor Tony Stark & Steve Rogers’ Perfect Endings
Iron Man & Captain America’s Stories Can Still Remain Untouched
After Avengers: Secret Wars shakes up Captain America and Iron Man’s farewell alongside the whole MCU, Avengers: Secret Wars could rebuild a new Marvel multiverse. In a soft-rebooted continuity, both Steve Rogers and Tony Stark’s story could be restored to their original, untarnished version as the X-Men and the Fantastic Four get incorporated into the new Earth-616.
This could mean that Captain America and Iron Man remain dead for good after Avengers: Secret Wars, or that their deaths are remembered by the whole universe while new variants replace them. Iron Man and Captain America won’t be absent forever, after all. Either way, the MCU should respect the bookend that Avengers: Endgame provided and give Cap and Iron Man their well-deserved farewell.
- Release Date
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December 18, 2026
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Vanessa Kirby
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
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Johnny Storm / Human Torch
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Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Ben Grimm / The Thing
