When will Marvel Studios permanently kill a major character off? In phase one, the likes of Phil Coulson and Thor were seemingly killed only to be brought back to life in varying circumstances - and phase two has picked up where it left off in that regard. Pepper Potts appeared to perish in Iron Man 3, only to be revealed to be alive. Loki appeared to perish in Thor: The Dark World, only to be revealed to be alive. Nick Fury appeared to perish in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, only to be revealed to be alive. And Groot appeared to perish in Guardians of the Galaxy, only to have a small part of himself replanted, so he's now simply regrowing. Essentially, until a major character is permanently killed off, we're never going to believe it's going to happen and the films are going to become too safe and predictable.
