11 Comic Book Movie Characters Who Were Killed Way Too Quickly

7. Red Skull - Captain America

Like Norman Osborn, Cap's most famous Nazi antagonist was killed off way too soon considering how important he has been to the Captain America comic book universe, and how many times he has reared his big red head across the years.

Taking away Red Skull blunts Cap the same way that removing The Joker takes something away from Batman: the two are inseparably defined by one another, and while it was engaging to see Cap face off against HYDRA as a whole in a more political intrigue-charged environment for Winter Soldier, the longer he is forced to fight drones and henchman, without going toe-to-toe with a real big bad, the less impact he will have.

Clearly, Red Skull could be back; it's not like there was a body to bury, and the introduction of the Infinity Stones opens up the possibility that some of HYDRA's surviving Nazi officer types might find a way to bring him back, but in the comics (and indeed within the established logic of the films) they would probably choose to bring Hitler back instead.

Or they should given their affiliation to the Fuhrer, so bringing Red Skull back that way wouldn't make a great deal of sense. Killing him, rather than having him run off with his tail between his legs, meant that bringing him back will be a problem for scripters, and those are the easiest problems to pick apart for comic book movie fans.