50 Movies Where Evil Won

Plot: Avengers old and new unite against Thanos, who plots to wipe out half of all life in the universe. 

When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the heroes generally win. It might be a pyrrhic victory on occasion, such as in films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Thunderbolts, but it'll almost always be a victory nonetheless. Avengers: Infinity War is the one time when they truly, totally lost. 

Thanos (Josh Brolin), the most fearsome enemy the Avengers ever faced and most likely ever will face, overwhelms Earth's Mightiest Heroes and does exactly what he always said he was going to do: he used the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of all life in the universe. The Mad Titan murders trillions, including many beloved heroes.

Sure, many guessed something like this could happen, especially thanks to Tom Holland's notorious issue with dropping spoilers, but that didn't prepare audiences for this, not by a long shot. This conclusion sent shockwaves through the cultural ether all over the world, and fans experienced one year of agonized anticipation before Avengers: Endgame finally arrived and reversed Thanos' actions. 

That really was a time to be alive. 

This ending might've broken millions of hearts, but it was an incredible piece of storytelling nonetheless, one which helped to make both this and Avengers: Endgame two of the biggest event movies of all time. Retrospectively, it's ridiculous that the MCU carried on after Endgame - they're never going to top this.