10 Things MCU Phase 3 Must Avoid (And Why)

Much has been written about the controversial decision to bring S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson back from the dead after Loki killed him in The Avengers, resurrected in the TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Marvel Studios were at least smart enough to appreciate the issues it would cause in the movies, and so have ensured to keep him in the TV show and not even remotely reference him in the movies. As such, those who only watch the films can happily create their own "head-canon" where Coulson is still dead.

However, in a broader sense, this does reduce the stakes and emotional impact of death, which is already something of a problem when you're dealing with supernatural characters like Thor, who can die but also be returned to life.

Sure, Quicksilver appeared to die for real in Age of Ultron, but shockingly not a single Avenger died in Civil War, and after a point it's necessary in order to sell the stakes of all this fighting.

Still, Phase 3 has a ton of opportunities to remedy this, especially with Thanos wreaking havoc in Infinity War and almost certainly killing at least a few Avengers when he gets the fully-loaded Infinity Gauntlet.

If Cap dies, as many suspect, hopefully he'll stay dead and allow Bucky to take up the Cap mantle, but don't be surprised if Cap is resurrected with one of the Infinity Stones...because magic!