Warning: spoilers for multiple Marvel movies ahead.
With Avengers: Infinity War ending with Thanos wiping out half of all living things – including Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and, as it later turned out, The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) – the body count in the MCU is extremely high.
But fans on Reddit have discovered an interesting factoid that links the two heroes: they’re the only ones with titular roles in the MCU who have never once directly killed anybody.
A spreadsheet has even been made documenting every significant kill in each movie over the last ten years – and it’s only Holland and Lilly’s aliases who have no blood on their hands.
Interestingly, though, Captain America – who was admittedly involved in the takedown of Ultron – could also be included, given that Red Skull was seen alive and kicking in Infinity War.
Looking outside of the titular characters, Pepper Potts has a surprisingly high body count – having seen off both Stane and Killian.
One fan joked on the Reddit thread: “They should’ve brought her against Thanos, that m-fer wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Highest main villain kill count in the MCU. Pepper’s a f*****’ weapon,” remarked someone else.
Rocket is also something of a killing machine, having been one of the instigators of Ronan’s demise, and creating the bomb that took out Ego.
With Spider-Man: Far From Home currently in production, will Peter Parker’s kill count begin to creep up?
That remains to be seen, but first there’s the small issue of his apparent death: despite having a confirmed sequel in the pipeline, Avengers 4 will presumably have to address how he and other MCU favourites will come back from their unexpected fate in Infinity War.
Current fan theories doing the rounds involve the Time Stone, the Quantum Realm, and the ‘inside’ of the Soul Stone.
Before we find out any answers, Captain Marvel – due out next March – will finally introduce us to Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers.
The movie is set in the 1990s and will see Danvers established as the universe’s most powerful superhero – before she swoops in to help overpower Thanos in Avengers 4.
The all-star blockbuster hasn’t even had its title released yet, but is expected to draw a definitive line under the current era of Marvel moviemaking.
Avengers 4 is out on April 26, 2019.