Avengers: Infinity War - Why Every Victim Was ACTUALLY Chosen To Die

10. The Black Order

How They Died

All three of the Black Order were killed thanks to battles with the Avengers. Ebony Maw was tricked by Peter Parker and Tony Stark and sucked out into space, Proxima Midnight was killed by the combined might of Okoye, Scarlet Witch and Black Widow, Cull Obsidian was destroyed by Bruce Banner and Corvus Glaive was stabbed to death by Vision.

WHY They Died

There are three reasons here. Firstly, the Avengers' victories over the Black Order were designed to be positive misdirection, to make it seem like Thanos' invasion may not work out for him. They offered a flicker of hope that ultimately made the ending even more devastating.

Secondly, they were removed so that Thanos is isolated in the sequel, which will be important. And thirdly, they were killed because they couldn't be as powerful as they were in the comics. As the director's commentary confirms, it was about making sure Thanos looked more powerful:

"The Black Order, in particular, we worked hard to adjust them to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the Hickman run, I thought the characters were too powerful. And nobody wants the sub-villain to outshine the villain. And we adjusted their power sets so that they lined up in a way that was more interesting with our heroes. Which is why Maw is a wizard... he can control things on a molecular level."