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Marvel’s heroes are some of the greatest and have done their best over the years to save the day. They’ve faced down immensely powerful villains, godlike terrors, and armies of foes all in the name of protecting the innocent and while these fights have always succeeded, they aren’t without their casualties. Over the years, many of Marvel’s greatest heroes have paid the ultimate price in the battle against evil.
While they’ve often been resurrected, that doesn’t change the fact these heroes gave it their all against the worst thrown at them. They paid the ultimate price of heroism without flinching.
10 Captain America Gave Up At The End Of Civil War When Victory Was In His Grasp
Mark Millar’s Civil War has its problems but it’s one of Marvel’s most important stories of the last twenty years. The battle between Captain America and Iron Man’s side was back and forth until the last battle. Cap’s side had a clear advantage in this battle and Cap himself was trouncing Iron Man. His side was winning but after he was pulled of Iron Man by civilians, he realized the cost of this fight.
Cap surrendered, sacrificing his freedom to stop the fighting and end the devastation. This would lead to his death due to the machinations of the Red Skull, which was an unforeseen consequence of this sacrifice.
9 The Heroes Of The Earth Threw Themselves At Thanos In A Futile Battle In Infinity Gauntlet
Infinity Gauntlet #4 by Jim Starlin was the big fight issue of the miniseries after three issues of set-up and it did not disappoint. Pitting the heroes of the Earth against the godly power of an Infinity Gauntlet wielding Thanos, the battle ended with pretty much all of them dead at the Mad Titan’s hands, using his amazing power to kill them in unique and clever ways.
The heroes of the Earth had exactly no chance against Thanos and were only there to serve as a distraction for Adam Warlock and Silver Surfer to grab the Gauntlet. Everyone failed that day, as the heroes were killed and Warlock and Surfer were unable to get the Gauntlet.
8 Human Torch Sacrificed Himself To Stop Annihilus’s Invasion
Annihilus is one the most dangerous beings in the Marvel Universe, using the Annihilation Wave to try and destroy everything in his path. On one of those occasions, only the Fantastic Four stood between the universe and destruction. Human Torch, long known as the team’s party boy, decided to make the ultimate sacrifice, staying back in the Negative Zone to hold back Annihilus’s forces.
Human Torch was the last one that anyone expected to make that sacrifice but he did it without thinking twice. While it was revealed he survived, for a time his friends and family mourned him, and it was still a great sacrifice.
7 Kate Pryde Saved The Earth By Phasing A Giant Bullet Through It
Kate Pryde had long been one of the greatest X-Men and once had to make the ultimate sacrifice. The people of the Breakworld, trying to stop the prophecy of a mutant from Earth destroying their planet, launched a giant bullet at the Earth. Kate was the only X-Man at the launch site and hitched a ride on the bullet, trying to disrupt it with her phasing powers.
It had no electronics to mess with, so she did the next best thing and phased the whole thing through the planet. She stayed with the bullet, keeping it phased as it moved through space. Eventually, Magneto was able to stop the bullet and pull it back to Earth, where the X-Men found Kate was still alive inside the bullet.
6 Thor’s Sacrifice Against The Serpent Saved The Earth From Fear
Fear Itself isn’t the most well-remembered or beloved Marvel event story but it contains an epic sacrifice from Thor. As the Norse god of fear, the Serpent, menaced the Earth and the heroes fought back using weapons constructed from Uru against his Worthy, Thor took the fight directly to his foe. Their battle was fierce and while Thor triumphed, he lost his life in the process.
Thor has actually made a habit of sacrificing himself, having done so before to stop Ragnarok. While he didn’t stay dead for long after the battle with the Serpent, his sacrifice enabled his friends to keep fighting for another day.
5 Nova Sealed Himself In The Cancerverse To Stop Thanos
Nova has long been one of Marvel’s most underrated heroes, a powerhouse on par with some of the most powerful heroes. He got a chance to shine in the 21st century during the various Annihilation events and was forced to give his all in battle. Saving the Guardians of the Galaxy from the Undying Lord, he stayed behind in the Cancerverse along with Star-Lord to keep Thanos from endangering reality.
For years, everyone thought him dead but he and Star-Lord battled Thanos unceasingly. He’d eventually return, with everyone realizing that he was a greater hero than they ever suspected.
4 Ultimate Peter Parker Sacrificed Himself To Save His Loved Ones
Spider-Man has been through a lot of changes since his debut and Ultimate Spider-Man was a way to give fans a version of the hero without all of that baggage. This version of Peter proved to be just as great a hero as the 616 one and his final battle was one of his most epic. With Norman Osborn and the Six coming after him and his loved ones, Spider-Man gave his all to stop them.
He was able to run through the rest of the Six but Osborn proved to be the greatest threat. He savagely beat Spider-Man, but with the help of Mary-Jane and a truck, Spider-Man was able to stop him. Unfortunately, his wounds were too great and he died, having saved his family.
3 The X-Men Sacrificed Themselves To Stop The Construction Of Nimrod
House Of X/Powers Of X brought many revelations to light but one of them was spurred on by a great heroic sacrifice. A group of X-Men consisting of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Mystique, M, Nightcrawler, Archangel, and Husk stormed the Orchis Forge in solar orbit and destroyed the structure, giving their lives in the process, in order to stop the creation of humanity’s most dangerous anti-mutant weapon, Nimrod.
While they’d be resurrected by using the new Krakoan method, they went into the fight not knowing what was going to happen next and fought to their deaths. They bought the mutant race time to consolidate its power with their lives.
2 Wolverine Gave His Life To Stop More People Being Tormented By Weapon X
Wolverine has proven to be one of Marvel’s greatest heroes and this is no more apparent than looking at the circumstances of his death. Learning that Weapon X’s Doctor Cornelius was after him, he hunted him down, learning that the doctor was trying to recreate the adamantium bonding process and needed Wolverine’s healing factor to ensure the survival of his new subjects.
When Cornelius learned Wolverine’s healing factor was gone it didn’t stop him from beginning the process, so Wolverine sprang into action, cutting the feed lines and getting doused in molten adamantium. He survived long enough to kill Cornelius, giving his life to save others from what happened to him.
1 Phoenix Ended Its Human Life Rather Than Devour The Universe
The Dark Phoenix Saga is one of the greatest X-Men stories of all time and it ends with an amazing sacrifice. The Phoenix Force, learning what it means to be human by taking Jean Grey’s place, lost its mind and became Dark Phoenix. The X-Men, believing it’s Jean, tried to stop it but proved unable to. Finally, the Shi’Ar Imperial Guard, punishing the Phoenix for its destruction of the D’Bari solar system, forced the X-Men into a trial by combat to see if the X-Men could save what they thought was Jean Grey.
Realizing the destruction it could cause if it stayed human, the Phoenix sacrificed itself so the entire universe could survive, having learned the ultimate lesson of humanity.
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