Movies Where The Hero Dies Long Before The End

«Avengers: Endgame» is an ensemble piece, but if the story belongs to any one character, it’s Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). After all, it’s his story that kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and his arc is arguably the most central to the Infinity Saga. The stakes are high in this film, but Tony probably has more to lose than any other Avenger, because he managed to find a happy ending after the Blip. By the end of the movie, Tony manages to bring back everybody lost during the Blip, but he must pay for it with his own life.

The film, already running for two and a half hours, continues for a full 15 minutes after Tony’s death. Yet it needs every second. The ending of «Avengers: Endgame» is basically the ending of two movies. It’s meant to wrap up the stories of dozens of characters, including some who haven’t really appeared since «Avengers: Infinity War.» The entire cast pays their respects at Tony’s funeral, while Clint (Jeremy Renner) and Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) also mourn the people they’ve lost. 

Meanwhile, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) passes the rule of New Asgard to Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and there’s also a small but kind of important loose end: Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) needs to go back in time and return the Infinity Stones that he borrowed, otherwise he will, as the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) puts it, «open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities.»