8 Recent Movie Deaths That MUST Stay Permanent

4. Erik Killmonger (Black Panther)

avengers endgame
Marvel Studios

In Erik Killmonger, fans were treated to one of the greatest villains that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen so far.

While Thanos and Loki are two who instantly jump out as being fantastic, one of the minor complaints about the MCU is that so many of this shared realm's rogues feel nothing more than throwaway characters who ultimately end up lost in the shadow of whichever hero they're facing. In the case of Killmonger, this was far from the case.

For 2018's Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan gave a tour de force performance as this multi-layered rogue. A character with a rightful claim to Wakanda's throne, Killmonger was a sympathetic villain in some ways, yet in other ways he was utterly ruthless and soon began to lose himself as the picture played out.

By the conclusion of that movie, we saw one final battle between Killmonger and Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa end in Black Panther fatally stabbing his cousin. Refusing help and choosing to die as a free man rather than live a life incarcerated, there was some sense of nobility to the death of Killmonger.

Film franchises can often make the call to erase a death purely due to how well received a character has been. And while Erik Killmonger was one of the greatest MCU arrivals of the past few years, his time in the MCU sadly has to remain as just a one-and-done affair.

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