The MCU has included some major deaths over the years, but there are multiple characters who somehow managed to last longer than expected.

There are some Marvel Cinematic Universe characters that are still alive despite all odds against it. The MCU is not afraid of killing characters, as the universe itself started with Tony Stark developing his first suit of armor with Doctor Ho Yinsen, who would sacrifice himself so that Stark could escape from the Ten Rings in 2008’s Iron Man. After that, the MCU has amassed a wide list of casualties thanks to its many fights between heroes and villains over the years, be they human, alien, or something else entirely.

Even Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man himself perished in the Avengers’ fight to defeat Thanos, although the hero’s sacrifice brought back several MCU characters from what would have been their untimely death. While characters like Iron Man, Black Widow, and Yondu have had emotional deaths that concluded their arcs and pushed other characters’ stories forward, some MCU characters have incredibly managed to avoid death until now, despite their natural arcs hinting at their deaths or the characters having close brushes with fate. These are the 10 MCU characters we can’t believe are still alive.

10.Hank Pym

Michael Douglas’ Hank Pym was the original bearer of the Ant-Man mantle in the MCU, with his adventures taking place in the franchise’s past. Given that Scott Lang inherited the Ant-Man mantle back in 2015, it is a wonder that Hank Pym is still alive to this day. The character has had some close brushes with death in the MCU, notably getting shot point-blank in the chest in Ant-Man and somehow making it out alive. More than that, Douglas wants Hank Pym to die, so the character still being alive in the MCU after Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania almost killed Hank and turned him into ants is definitely surprising.

9.Scott Lang

Kang the Conqueror’s death in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania — which is unlikely to stick — was certainly surprising, especially due to the movie’s marketing. Before Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s debut, the movie’s trailers teased a bloody fistfight between Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang and Jonathan Majors’ Kang that seemed to hint at Ant-Man’s death. Kang was being hyped up as the MCU’s next main villain after Thanos, so his death in the movie, rather than Ant-Man’s, was certainly unexpected, especially since the film set up Scott’s daughter, Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang, as his potential replacement.

8.Red Skull

Multiple characters have been brought back from what looked like a certain death in the MCU, but no return was as surprising as that of Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War. Red Skull had seemingly died after coming into contact with the Tesseract in Captain America: The First Avenger. Despite being absent from the MCU since his seeming death in the 1940s, Red Skull returned with The Walking Dead‘s Ross Marquand taking over from Hugo Weaving. Red Skull being revealed as the keeper of the Soul Stone was shocking, and with him freed from his position after the Soul Stone’s destruction, Red Skull could appear in the MCU’s future.

7.Tyler Hayward

WandaVision introduced Tyler Hayward, the former acting director of S.W.O.R.D., and made him a character impossible to root for. While Hayward was not responsible for Wanda’s suffering and creation of her own reality in Westview, Hayward sure contributed to aggravating the Scarlet Witch’s pain and anger with his actions in the Disney+ series. While Wanda was not evil like she was in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness during WandaVision, she was still removed enough from the “good” side to have killed Hayward for meddling with Vision’s dead body to create White Vision or for attempting to shoot her kids, which makes Hayward’s survival shocking.

6.Emil Blonsky

Tim Roth first played Emil Blonsky/Abomination in the MCU in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. After that movie remained largely untouched for several years, Roth has returned as a way calmer version of Blonsky in the MCU, appearing in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. While Abomination’s MCU return has been exciting, the fact that the character didn’t die in The Incredible Hulk after a pre-Abomination Blonsky got kicked in the chest with the Hulk’s full force is stunning. Despite breaking pretty much every bone in his body, Blonsky survived and, more than a decade later, is finally thriving in the MCU.

5.Star-Lord

Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill is still safe and sound in the MCU, with Star-Lord’s future return teased after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s credits. However, the final movie of the team directed by James Gunn almost killed Star-Lord in a very emotional moment. Without his helmet and a protective suit, Star-Lord almost froze to death in the cold vacuum of space before Adam Warlock swooped in to save the hero. The moment mirrored Yondu’s death, and even though Adam Warlock was able to take Star-Lord to safety, Peter’s face became bloated in such a way that seemed like his death was guaranteed, only for him to breathe again.

4.Mordo

Chiwetel Ejiofor’s main Baron Mordo has been absent from the MCU for years, only that was not always the plan. Mordo’s death scene was cut from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Mordo was originally set to continue his quest from Doctor Strange‘s post-credits scene, going after those who have abused magic. That would have taken him to Wanda’s doorstep, with the Scarlet Witch decapitating him after he threatened her. With the MCU now having Doctor Strange dive deep into the multiverse, there seem to be few opportunities for the original Mordo to come back, which would have made his death in the movie make more sense.

3.Bucky Barnes

Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes has been with the MCU for a long time, debuting in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. Bucky cheated death in the film, as he was believed to have fallen to his death, only to return as the murderous Winter Soldier in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Given the size of his fall and all the major fights Bucky Barnes has gone through since his MCU return, going up against Iron Man, Black Panther, and even getting snapped away by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, it is a miracle that Bucky is still alive to be the Thunderbolts’ team leader in the MCU.

2.Steve Rogers

Avengers: Endgame saw the sacrifices of two original Avengers, Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and RDJ’s Iron Man. However, the movie featured a major surprise, as Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers not only survived the battle against Thanos but went back in time to live with Peggy Carter, returning to the present-day as an old man to pass on his shield to Sam Wilson. Captain America had been the most popular choice to die in either Infinity War or Endgame due to Thanos killing Steve in the comics that inspired the movies. Despite trailers and the films themselves teasing Steve’s death multiple times, Captain America surprisingly lived, getting his ideal MCU ending.

1.Rocket Raccoon

Finally, the most surprising character to not die in the MCU’s recent history is Rocket Raccoon. All signs pointed to the character biting the dust in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The movie focused on Rocket’s backstory, revealing his tragic childhood, dead friends, and major score to settle with the High Evolutionary. While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s story revolved around Rocket being between life and death, the character not only managed to come out okay at the end of the movie, but Rocket became the leader of the new Guardians of the Galaxy team, which should keep him alive in the MCU for the foreseeable future.