A tribute to some of those we lost in 2017 in Marvel films and television.
(spoilers ahead)
Yondu
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
Scallywag, Ravager, and Peter Quill’s substitute dad, Yondu parted this life under the delusion he was a nanny with a magical umbrella.
Stick
The Defenders
The blind mentor of kung fu fightin’ super heroes, he was done in by one of his own students.
The Patriot
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Very different from his comic book counterpart, the Patriot was an Inhuman who sacrificed himself saving the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. while they were all trapped within The Framework which meant his real world body died as well.
Daredevil and Elektra
The Defenders
I’m not even going to eulogize these guys since I know a third season of Daredevil is coming.
Hair
Thor, Medusa
Thor Ragnarok, The Inhumans
Two of Marvel’s heroes whose hair was a part of their iconic image went under Marvel’s barber’s shears. Chris Hemsworth was tired of the lengthy process to apply Thor’s mane (who were you before Thor, Chris? Suck it up!) and Maximus sheared off all of Medusa’s living tresses in the first act of the premier episode of The Inhumans and by the end of the series she hadn’t gotten her hair back. An inexcusable insult to arguably the favorite Inhuman in the Royal Family. Undoubtedly it contributed to the show’s failure.
Mjolnir
Thor Ragnarok
Adding injury to insult, Thor’s trusty hammer Mjolnir was destroyed by Hela, seemingly forever.
The Warriors Three
Thor Ragnarok
Thor can’t catch a break. Within two minutes of appearing on screen, Thor’s best buds Fandral, Hogun and Volstag are casually murdered. No respect to the characters, just get them out of the way.
Odin
Thor Ragnarok
After all this carnage Odin just went “My contract’s fulfilled, I’m outta here”. Asgard is destroyed by Hela and Thor, one of Marvel’s founding heroes is stripped of literally everything and turned into a comedian. Someone sure had a hate for Thor.
Professor Xavier
Logan
After having his premature death at the hands of Jean Gray erased by one of those annoying temporal paradoxes, Prof. X lives to a ripe age however, he’s endured murdering the X-Men in a fit brought on by some super psychic mutant Alzheimer’s thing. His second death is about as unsatisfying as his first, dying at the hands of a Logan clone.
Wolverine
Logan
Certainly, no one will argue the most memorable death of 2017 was James Logan, the Wolverine. Holding the record for reprising a super hero, Hugh Jackman hung up his claws and called it a day. He fleshed out a comic book character and brought him to life in ways no one could have predicted. Even when scripts were less than stellar Wolverine remained solid. Other actors will step into the role in the future to be sure, but for most of us Hugh Jackman will always be our Wolverine.