27 Times Avengers: Infinity War Was More Heartbreaking Than Any Other Marvel Movie
If you've seen Avengers: Infinity War, you know it's one doozy of a film.
While it's packed with moments that'll make you laugh and cheer, it's better known for the scenes that'll completely break your heart.
Below is our list of the times it was more heartbreaking than other Marvel movie—and if you haven't seen the film yet, don't even think about scrolling down. This article is one big spoiler, so avert your eyes and come back once you've watched it.
1. The Destruction of the Statesman
Even before the Marvel opening sequence has fully played out, we know something is very, very wrong. A distress call reveals that the Asgardian Statesman ship's passengers have been decimated. We felt really hopeful about the fate of the Asgardians after the events of Thor: Ragnarok, and to find out that half of them are already dead sets a very dark tone for the rest of the movie.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
2. Heimdall's Death
Thor considers Heimdall his best friend, so when Thanos stabs him through the heart, it hits very close to home. We've known and loved Heimdall since the first Thor came out in 2011, and his death proves that Infinity War isn't joking around.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
3. Loki's Death
If the loss of Heimdall wasn't enough, Thanos also kills Loki just minutes into the movie—and it comes just when Loki has finally proven himself as a hero. After playing the villain more often than not in film after film, he finally played a pivotal role in saving the Asgardians in Ragnarok before putting himself in danger to stop Thanos in this movie. Loki was also a fan favorite, and his shocking death proves that no one is safe in this movie.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
4. Tony Leaves Earth
As Tony Stark and Pepper Potts' story begins in Infinity War, it feels like their relationship is ramping up to something even bigger. The two are engaged to be married and Tony teases the idea of having kids—but Pepper slows him down and makes him promise to take her out to a nice dinner instead. So when Tony gets caught in a spaceship that will definitely not make it back by their 8:30 reservation, she pleads with him to come home. It becomes clear pretty quickly that he might not make it back at all.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
5. Wanda and Vision Are Found
Maybe Infinity War is just a movie about taking everything away from people who are happy. Wanda Maximoff and Vision have started living slightly off the grid. They're madly in love, superhero things don't concern them anymore, and they decide to forego responsibility so they can spend their life together. Of course, Thanos is after the Mind Stone in Vision's head, so it's not long before the couple is ambushed and Vision is badly hurt. With the knowledge that the stone can empower Thanos, difficult decisions lie ahead.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
6. Gamora's Planet
We'd heard about what happened to Gamora's planet, Zen-Whoberi, but actually seeing it onscreen is particularly devastating. After little Gamora is separated from her mother, Thanos sees her and offers her protection while he kills half of the citizens of her planet. He effectively kidnaps her, and from this early stage tries to instill a totally messed up ideology within Gamora. This plants the seeds of their twisted father-daughter relationship.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
7. Gamora's Request and Peter's Promise
This one is rough. Gamora knows something that can change the fate of the universe so she makes Peter promise that, if Thanos gets his hands on her, that he'll kill her. Understandably, he's upset and baffled by the request, but eventually he understands the gravity of the situation and agrees. This is made even more heartbreaking by being followed by the couple's first onscreen kiss, since their romance was always more of an unspoken thing.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
8. Thanos' Death Fakeout
When the Guardians get to Knowhere and Gamora confronts Thanos, she manages to two powerful slashes in, and Thanos appears to die. In one of the most heartbreaking moments of the film, Gamora breaks down. She's overwrought with relief as well as profound pain. She's been manipulated for so long that she does feel grief at the loss of her horrible father figure. And it's all made even worse when we find it's all been a game, since Thanos has had the Reality Stone all along and just made everyone think he'd been defeated.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
9. Peter Quill's Bubbles
When Thanos captures Gamora, Peter has to make good on his promise. Of course, thinking about killing the woman he loves is the hardest thing he's ever had to do. After Gamora and Peter admit they love each other, he pulls the trigger to do it—only for a stream of bubbles to leave the gun instead of a fatal blast. She's spared because of Thanos' trick, and Peter has to deal with the weight of what he nearly did.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
10. Thanos' Philosophy
Thanos' ideas about how the universe works are so distorted that it makes us upset to think about it. His understanding is that wiping out half of all life is the kind, sensible thing to do because it frees up resources for the survivors. He believes this with such conviction, but it's so clear that he's dead wrong.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
11. Gamora Saves Nebula
The scene of Thanos torturing Nebula is extremely painful to watch, and it must be a thousand times tougher for her sister, Gamora, to experience in person. We discover that Gamora has the location of the Soul Stone, and that Thanos will keep hurting Nebula until he gets it from her. Gamora relents to save Nebula, despite what might happen if Thanos gets the stone.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
12. Rocket and Thor's Heart-to-Heart
A lot of horrible things have happened to Thor, but he hasn't really stopped to process any of them. He's lost his mom, his dad, his brother, his best friend and half of his planet, but all he fails is anger and vengeance. Feeling like it's what a captain would do, Rocket has a heartfelt conversation with him about whether this is what he really wants. Tearfully, Thor reveals that he has to do it, and that there's nothing else than Thanos can take from him.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
13. The Destruction of Nidavellir
Nidavellir is supposed to be an incredibly mystical place, so when we see it looking drab and lifeless, it's clear something is off. Eitri—the dwarf who forged Mjölnir—is the only dwarf not to be killed by Thanos, and his skilled hands have been destroyed so he can no longer create. Add the fact that the rings are totally frozen and the star is dying, and things are looking really dire for Thor.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
14. Dr. Strange's Odds
When Dr. Strange uses the Time Stone to look into the future and find out how to beat Thanos, the results aren't too promising. After identifying more than 14 million potential outcomes, they only win in one. That does not bode well for our heroes.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
15. Gamora's Sacrifice
When Thanos learns he must sacrifice something he loves to get the Soul Stone, Gamora laughs in his face. She firmly believes that she doesn't love anything, but as soon as she realizes he loves her, she goes into a panic. She's totally willing to sacrifice her own life to prevent Thanos from succeeding, but the dagger she tries to use transforms to bubbles in her hands.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
16. Thanos' Sacrifice
In what might be the most affecting death of the movie, Thanos kills Gamora by throwing her off a cliff. We've come to truly adore her over the last four years, and she's not a character we ever expected to lose—and the fact that Thanos is also broken up over her makes it hurt even more.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
17. Outnumbered in Wakanda
When Thanos' forces show up in Wakanda, it's immediately clear that the good guys don't have the forces to take them on. Between the giant ships and the "space dogs," the squad in Wakanda is vastly outnumbered and there's no way they're going to be able to defeat them. They're willing to die if it means protecting Vision's Mind Stone. Given the rest of the movie, we as the audience are prepared for the worst.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
18. Thor Puts His Life on the Line
With the rings of Nidavellir frozen, Thor has to step in to fix them. With Rocket's help, he breaks off the ice and the star comes back to life—but the mechanical workings break. The only way to forge the Stormbreaker involves opening them manually, standing right in the wake of the star's full power. In all likelihood, it's going to kill Thor—and the scene cuts away just as Groot completes the axe for him.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
19. Peter's Fury
When Thanos shows up on Titan, Tony, Peter, Dr. Strange and the Guardians actually have a plan to take him down. Everyone works together in tandem to get Thanos under control and remove his gauntlet. And then Peter Quill finds out that Thanos killed Gamora, and he understandably loses it. When he hits Thanos in a rage, he ruins any chances they had of stopping the Mad Titan. But we probably wouldn't react any differently if we found out that something horrible had happened to someone we love.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
20. Tony's Mortal Wound
When Tony Stark tries to take on Thanos head-on, the Iron Man suit just isn't enough to keep him safe. Thanos breaks off a long, sharp piece of the armor and stabs Tony with it, and the wound looks absolutely fatal. We were so sure that this would be the end of Tony—but what happened next surprised us even more.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
21. Losing the Time Stone
After stating that he would gladly let Tony Stark or Peter Parker die in order to protect the Time Stone, Dr. Strange does the unthinkable and trades it for Tony's life. Tony makes it out alive, but that leaves just one more stone for Thanos to collect and makes him exponentially more powerful.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
22. Wanda and Vision's Last Moments
At this point in the movie, the only stone Thanos hasn't collected yet is the one embedded in Vision's head. It's too late, and the stone must be destroyed, killing Vision along with it. Worst of all, the only one with the power to do it is his love, Wanda. In the scene that makes us cry more than any other in the movie, Wanda fights off Thanos with one hand while killing Vision (and saving the world) with the other. We would never have the strength.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
23. Thanos' Reversal
Because Infinity War is a cruel, cruel movie, Wanda and Vision's sacrifice doesn't count for anything. Moments after Vision dies, Thanos uses the Time Stone for the first time to turn back time. He restores Vision, only to kill him again by ripping the Time Stone from his forehead. The scene that just had us in tears was for nothing, and Thanos gets all of the stones.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
24. The Stormbreaker's Failure
As the power of all six Infinity Stones courses through Thanos' body, he's struck by a bolt of Thor's lightning. In another moment, Thor throws his axe, catching Thanos in the chest. It should have the strength to kill Thanos, but Thor's thirst for vengeance brings him face to face with the evildoer, buying him enough time to snap his fingers and bring about the destruction he's worked so hard for.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
25. Turning to Dust
Noooooooooooo. At first, it doesn't seem like the snap did anything at all. But then Bucky slowly turns into a cloud of ash and blows away. Then it happens to Sam, and Wanda and T'Challa. Groot's disappearance, right in front of Rocket, absolutely breaks our hearts before we head to Titan, where the Guardians disappear, too. But the worst instance is Peter Parker, who can sense his end more deeply than the others and is so, so scared to go. Unbelievably, half of our heroes are actually gone.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
26. The Realization
The reactions of the remaining Avengers might be even more devastating than the losses themselves. While all of the characters are left reeling, Tony's realization is the toughest to deal with. He's spent the last six years dealing with trauma from Thanos' actions, and now he's failed to protect not only Peter Parker, but half of the known universe. It's too much for any one person to handle, and only Nebula is left with him on Titan in the aftermath.
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
27. Thanos' Peace
Thanos' final scene is fraught with emotion. The music is oddly dramatic and uplifting, and as Thanos watches the sunrise, the look on his face is a mixture of sadness and satisfaction. He's finally gotten what he wants, and the fact that he finds all of that killing peaceful is incredibly disturbing. Plus, this is the last moment of the movie, leaving us on a massive cliffhanger. You can't end a movie like this!
(Avengers: Infinity War via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
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