TheMCU’s newest villain death breaks a major villain trend in the franchise in a suitably dramatic and exciting fashion.The MCU timelinehasn’t been short of villains or antagonists of any variety for some obvious reasons, with a good chunk of Marvel’s most iconic supervillains having made their debut over the course of the close to two decades the franchise has now been running. A lot of said villains have already had their stories cut shorter than their comic counterparts, as plenty of antagonists have died in their first-ever MCU appearance after squaring up against a Marvel hero.
While this can seem a shame in terms of preventing future appearances - or at least making them much more complicated - it does also mean there’s a fascinating range of villain deaths to look at over the course of the MCU’s history. It also makes it all the more interesting when a release kills a villain off in a way that contrasts with the usual convention of both the MCU’s releases and the traditions of the superhero genre as a whole, as has recently been the case with the MCU’s latest villain to be placed on the proverbial on-screen chopping block.
The MCU Naturally Follows A Major Trend When It Comes To Its Villain Deaths
Unsurprisingly,most of the demises of antagonists in MCU releases are down to the hero they face- much like the majority of superhero movies and shows, be they Marvel or otherwise. This can obviously happen via the protagonist directly killing the villain they find themselves facing off against, though MCU releases often instead have this be because the villain inadvertently orchestrates their own death in some grand manner during their conflict with their rival, or actively sacrifices themselves.
Indeed, since the MCU has historically tried to veer on the side of family-friendly releases, it’s been pretty common for a hero to thwart their enemy right up until they do something that leads to their elaborate downfall and death. For example, this crops up more than once in the Thor movie series, as Thor orchestrates Hela being killed by Surtur by sacrificing Asgard to ensure her destruction inThor: Ragnarok, and Gorr dies from the effects of the Necrosword after being moved by Thor’s love for Jane Foster inThor: Love & Thunder.
On a similar note, Mysterio dies from a gunshot wound from a drone he was controlling to try and kill Spider-Man inSpider-Man: Far From Home, though he stages things to look as though Spider-Man killed him. In much the same vein, Ikaris actively flies into the sun in the final act ofEternalsafter being beaten by his former allies, and Dar-Benn appears to die inThe Marvelsafter tearing a hole in reality following her once again turning on the story’s main hero trio after losing a fight to them
However, the franchise is also often just willing to have a hero directly kill the villain of the story, with some examples coming fromBlack WidowandBlack Panther- though it’s worth noting T’Challa offers Killmonger a chance to survive the wounds he inflicted on him - as well as the first and secondGuardians Of The Galaxymovies, where Ronan is vaporized by Star-Lord with the Power Stone, and Ego is then destroyed via an explosive placed and detonated by the Guardians. All of this combines to make one story decision inDaredevil: Born Againall the more surprising.
Daredevil: Born Again Episode 7 Provides A Very Different Kind Of Death For An MCU Villain
Daredevil: Born Againepisode 7provides a far more grounded and far less hero-focused take on villain deaths whenMarvel villain Museis instead shot down by a civilian. After Bastian Cooper reveals his serial killer secret identity to his therapist, Heather Glenn, he prepares to kill her and add her to his portfolio of twisted murderous “art”, attempting to convince her that this is a good thing because she had inspired him to begin killing people and being the version of himself he considered the true and authentic iteration.
However, this doesn’t end well for Muse.Daredevil arrives to save Glenn, and while he certainly distracts the character by once again brawling with him, it’s Glenn who actually finishes the fight, shooting Muse several times in the chestand killing him off. Though the show realistically explores the traumatic after-effects of both this attack and Glenn killing Muse - showing this wasn’t a straightforward sort of victory - it does mean the Marvel villain was taken down by a civilian with seemingly no fighting training, which feels especially unique for the franchise given its usual approach to these moments.
Why Breaking The Villain Death Trend Works So Well For Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Againfollows in the footsteps of its predecessor, Daredevil, in terms of trying to ensure its street-level hero story is as grounded as a superhero narrative can conventionally be, with very few characters having any notable superpowers, and things usually revolving around figures who are more similar to those you could meet in real life than the likes of Groot or Ego the Living Planet. As such,having one of its villains be dispatched by a regular person with a gun feels appropriate, and underlines that these characters are largely conventional humansdespite the world they exist in.
Having Heather Glenn be so personally involved with the death of Muse also reinforces why she might find herself more motivated to learn more about Daredevil, which could justify her learning Matt Murdock’s vigilante identity later down the line - or otherwise explain why Glenn’s story may become more intertwined with the idea of vigilantes, allowing the story to weave more narrative threads together. On a more straightforward level, it’s also a great plot twist in its own right, as the rarity of civilians killing villains makes this all the more striking of a moment.
That said, this decision is, funnily enough, somewhat more akin to the originalMCUIron Man movies, where it’s actually Pepper Potts who’s often more directly responsible for villain deaths, having pressed the button that drops Obadiah Stane to his death in Iron Man, and having murdered Killian in Iron Man 3. In the same vein, it’s also possible the decision made in Daredevil: Born Again serves another purpose, in that it avoids Daredevil himself from having to make that choice, allowing him to keep questioning his morals and whether he might have made the same call.
Daredevil: Born Againseason 1 is set to release weekly until June 12, 2025.
