10 Most Devastating MCU Deaths

10. Phil Coulson - The Avengers

Throughout Phase One, before the coming together of the titular team in The Avengers in 2012, there were two people that showed up across multiple different franchises. One was Nick Fury, who set up the entire Avengers Initiative himself, and the other was Agent Phil Coulson.

He may have been slightly more reserved than his Director, but Coulson was just as important to the Avengers as Fury. He was his boss’ workhorse, was a leader throughout the S.H.I.E.L.D. side of the operation, and made one hell of an impact on the superheroes he surrounded himself with.

So fearless was Coulson, and so determined to do what was right, he stood up to a literal demigod with a weapon he didn’t know the function of. This, of course, was when Loki deceived him and stabbed him in the back, leaving him just long enough to speak once more with Nick Fury before clocking out.

Before Coulson’s death, the Avengers weren’t Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. They were bickering, fighting, and for Tony to say that it took them a little while to gain any traction was a wild understatement. It was Agent Coulson’s death that was able to finally bring the heroes together as one united team to defend the world.