Avengers 4: 9 Ways Thanos Could Be Killed

Sooner or later, Thanos has to die. Or at the very least, he has to be dealt with in a way that means he can never return again. That's just how the MCU has dealt with its villains so far. Aside from Loki, they've basically been one story and out figures whose defeats were presented as monuments to the success of the heroes. And in the mostly very black and white world of the MCU, the heroes are unquestionable - they're who we're supposed to cheer.

That much has changed a little recently with more sympathetic - and even understandable - villains like KIllmonger, Zemo and Thanos - but there's no getting around the fact that Thanos is STILL a traditional villain of the oldest order. He's still the antithesis of everything the Avengers and their allies stand for. And he has to go.

But simply killing him off isn't really a simple matter and there is any number of options for the Russos to use to bring the curtain down on the Infinity Saga with Avengers 4. So how could the big guy meet his maker?

9. Tony Stark Sacrifices Himself And Kills Thanos In One

By far the most hotly-tipped end for Tony Stark in Avengers 4 is that he'll follow through on the hints established right through his arc and give his own life for the greater good.

Stark was previously a character defined by selfishness and arrogance and his MCU appearances to date have been about atonement and self-realisation. He's tried to sacrifice himself more than once and has proven himself willing to do "whatever it takes" to ensure victory in the long-term. Given that he got on Ebony Maw's ship intending it to be a one-way ticket suggests what his own end-game is meant to be.

And then there's the fact that he and Thanos are mirror images - both "haunted by knowledge", both futurists, both terrified by the idea of the end of the universe and both willing to do whatever it takes - and them defeating each other would make a lot of sense.