Marvel sent off one of its most recent dead MCU villains with a tribute unlike anything ever seen in this franchise. The MCU is no stranger to killing off its villains over the years, with only a few antagonists still standing in the greater Marvel universe 18 years into its run. However, following the most recent death, fans saw the studio's social media feed do something much different than anything past villains have gotten.
Marvel Studios released a tribute image to Ayelet Zurer's Vanessa Fisk following the character's death in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2. The image showed a funeral pamphlet with Vanessa's picture on it, complete with a heartfelt message honoring her death after she passed away in the hospital in Season 2, Episode 5:
"In loving memory of Vanessa Fisk
Loving wife of Wilson Fisk
First Lady of New York City
'Somehow I must've known that you would walk through those doors and change everything.'"
This is the first time Marvel Studios has released an "in memoriam"-style poster for a dead MCU villain after their on-screen death came to fruition on screen. Even though this kind of poster has never been done for another MCU antagonist outside of Vanessa Fisk, Marvel Studios is no stranger to releasing posters focused on a movie's main villain.
This started in 2010 with Iron Man 2, which starred Mickey Rourke as the film's main villain, Ivan Vanko/Whiplash. Clouded in shadows, Rourke stands tall in his own poster and dons the electricity-infused whips he developed to take on Iron Man after his father's death.
Three years later, Marvel continued this trend for 2013's Iron Man 3, which eventually revealed Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian to be the main villain (after the wild twist involving Sir Ben Kingsley's Trevor Slattery faking his role as the Mandarin). Killian was revealed to be the man behind the Mandarin charade, as he used Extremis to empower himself and plot to control the global war on terror.
In 2014, James Gunn delivered the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie to the world, which included Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser. Known as a Kree leader and fanatic, he stands tall in his poster with his warhammer (called the Universal Weapon), which also houses the Power Stone later in the film.
Marvel Studios closed out Phase 2 in 2015 with Ant-Man, featuring Corey Stoll as Darren Cross/Yellowjacket. Holding Ant-Man between his fingertips, he dons his more business-like black dark blue suit and black shirt/tie combo in this image, saving his powerful Yellowjacket armor for the movie before his eventual return to the MCU as MODOK in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
2016's second MCU movie (and the second film of Phase 3), Doctor Strange, brought the world of magic and the mystic arts to life for the first time. The film's villain, Mads Mikkelsen's Kaecillius, gets his own poster that shows him using his magical expertise in the Mirror Dimension, with buildings and landscapes shifting around him.
James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 marked the MCU's first 2017 movie, bringing Kurt Russell into the cast as Ego the Living Planet. Not revealed to be the film's antagonist until the third act, Ego was set up as Peter Quill's biological father, hoping to use his son to help with his expansion across the universe.
To close out 2017, Marvel delivered Chris Hemsworth's third Thor movie, Thor: Ragnarok, which featured Cate Blanchett as the film's main villain, Hela. Introduced as Thor and Loki's long-lost half-sister, she came in with a bang by destroying Mjolnir before enacting her plan to rule over Asgard.
Future Oscar-winner Michael B. Jordan staked his claim at MCU glory in 2018's Black Panther, bringing one of the franchise's best villains (Erik Stevens/Killmonger) to life. Before invading Wakanda and hoping to take over as the king in this movie, his poster showed him holding his classic spear and blade over his shoulders, with a menacing look on his face.
Closing out Phase 3 and the Infinity Saga, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios teamed up for a second time for Spider-Man: Far From Home, using Jake Gyllenhaal's Quentin Beck/Mysterio as the key antagonist. Shown on the poster in a powerful pose with his fist glowing, Mysterio started off as an ally for Spider-Man before revealing his true intentions.
2021's Black Widow, the first movie in the MCU's Multiverse Saga, brought the powerful antagonist Taskmaster into the spotlight. Eventually revealed to be Olga Kurlyenko's Antonia Dreykov, her poster shows off her full costume and mask, complete with a sword in her right hand and a shield in her left.
In 2021's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings rectified a previous MCU plot point with its villain, bringing Tony Leung's Wenwu into play as the real Mandarin. Leading the Ten Rings organization, he wields the film's titular weapon on his arms in his poster, teasing an exciting reign of dominance in his MCU debut.
2021's Eternals introduced over a dozen major new characters to the MCU's Multiverse Saga, including Richard Madden's Ikaris as the Eternals' team leader. Turning on his teammates later in the movie, his poster focuses on his face with a stern look, teasing the immense power he shows throughout the film.
2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness brought one of the most shocking moments in MCU history when Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff was revealed as the main villain. She shared her true intentions to bring her children back from another universe early in the film, and her poster teased her continuing evolution as one of the MCU's most powerful characters.
In 2022, Marvel Studios introduced former Batman star Christian Bale as a new villain, Gorr the God Butcher, in Thor: Love and Thunder. His poster showed him standing tall with the Necrosword, which he used in his quest to destroy all of the gods in this film.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 is Marvel Television's second live-action release on Disney+ in 2026. Starring Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock and Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk, the series shows New York City under martial law during Fisk's tenure as mayor, while Murdock builds a team of resistance fighters to take him down. New episodes of Daredevil: Born Again debut on Disney+ at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET on Tuesdays on Disney+.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
