The 15 Saddest Superhero Movie Moments of All Time, Ranked

Superhero flicks have had their fair share of heartbreak. It's not always action scenes and cool bits of dialogue. So the question on our lips is which are the best?

Keep on scrolling to get a peek at our top 15 pics.

15. Arthur Learns The Truth - Joker

Arthur Fleck takes hit after hit all through 2019's Joker. Both physically and emotionally. But nothing hurts more for him, and us an audience, than him finding out the truth of his heritage and rough upbringing.

Poor Arthur sneaks a file from Arkham State Hospital (Arkham Asylum to the initiated), and learns his mother was mentally unwell. She physically abused him as a child. She's even allegedly the reason for his laughing affliction. Yeah he goes on to be a notorious villain, and it's all kind of still up in the air if this is all true as the credits roll, but it hurts watching Arthur emotionally laugh as he discovers what his Mother is believed to have hid from him.

14. Barry Decides His Mother’s Fate - The Flash

Say what you want about The Flash, but at the centre of the story is some real heartache.

Push away the terrible CGI and lazy writing, and you get the heart of the story which is Barry's mission to save his Mother. Of course, he gets what he wants and then has to reverse everything due to how much chaos his Flashpoint Paradox causes.

It's when Barry decides to change the course of his Mother's fate, bringing her to impending death back into play, that he gets a final, slow-mo emotional moment with her. Ezra Miller's acting is so gut wrenching here. You really do feel for Barry having to essentially sentence his mom to death for the good of the universe. That moment of him wincing as he put the tomatoes back on the shelf. Ouch.

13. Natasha’s Sacrifice - Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame sealed the deal as probably the biggest event movie of any superhero movie continuity. It had shocks. It had twists. It had emotion. One big example of that is the demise of Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow.

Natasha's fight with Clint for who would sacrifice themselves for the soul stone had us going for a moment. We had no idea which way it was going to go. Ultimately, Natasha got her way, and we, along with the rest of the Avengers five minutes later, were left in tatters.

That "let me go". Natasha. Damn.

12. Steve Says Goodbye To Peggy - Captain America: The First Avenger

The first outing for Chris Evans' outing as the Star-Spangled Man With a Plan was a real hit. And it finished off on one hell of sob-worthy note. Just as Steve Rogers defeated the Red Skull and saved the world, he had to put the Hydra ship in the water, and therefore sacrifice his blooming relationship with Peggy Carter.

They got some final emotional words to exchange, before Steve cut off and he was believed to be gone. Sob sob.

A really sad moment...that probably would have been sadder if we didn't know Cap's story from the comics and the fact that Evans was scheduled for the Avengers movie the following year. Alas, on first watch, it was such a heartbreaking moment.

11. Diana Loses Steve Again - Wonder Woman 1984

Another example of a superhero movie that wasn't exactly a hit with fans, but still had nuggets that hit us in the ticker.

Wonder Woman 1984 saw Diana Prince reunited with Steve Trevor 50-odd years after his heroic death in the first movie, all thanks to some magical wish mumbo jumbo.

It was before too long that Diana and Steve knew that she had to undo her wish and give up her beau in order to get her powers back and defeat Maxwell Lord. Watching Diana wrestle with that decision and walk away from Steve as he pours his love out to her one last time, really is a gut-wrenching watch.

If you have to force yourself to watch WW1984 again in the future, just know it's worth this plot thread.

10. Rachel Dawes’ Death - The Dark Knight

One emotional death we definitely didn't see coming, and it is one of the best superhero movies to grace our screens ever.

The Dark Knight saw Katie Holmes' Maggie Gyllenhaal's Rachel Dawes get blown up in a shocking switcheroo of the Joker's. Batman thought he was racing to save the love of his life, but the Clown Prince of Crime's evil plan had him saving her lover, Harvey Dent, instead.

I still remember seeing this moment for the first time like it was yesterday. Harvey's shrill screams. Bruce's broken reaction in the aftermath. Alfred holding onto Rachel's secret note. The whole thing agonising to watch.

9. Bruce And Alfred Finally Connect - The Batman

The Batman is a very brilliant yet dark and dismal film, but it also holds some heartstrings to play. Here, that's between Alfred and Bruce.

Their relationship in this movie is very frayed, but it's after Alfred almost bites the dust and Bruce learns the truth about his family's history that we get to that heart-wrenching hospital scene.

Years of words unspoken finally unleash, and it gets me every time watching this masterclass in emotional acting. That handhold at the end. Yikes. You're made of stone if that doesn't get to you.

8. Yondu’s Funeral - Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

The Guardians movies have always been able to juggle sadness and humour expertly. With James Gunn at the helm, what else would you expect?

It's with Yondu's death in the climax that we get to feel all of the emotional. Star Lord loses the man that he kind of felt was his enemy growing up, but eventually turned into his father figure.

Everything hits as Peter gives a eulogy as he is about to lay Yondu to rest, and there shouldn't be a dry eye in the house. That "I had a really cool dad". Knowing that line came from a personal place for Chris Pratt himself just makes it almost hard to watch. Easily one of the saddest moments ever in the MCU.

7. Peter Doesn’t Want To Go - Avengers: Infinity War

Infinity War's climax had all of our jaws on the floor. But then Spider-Man's reaction to being dusted had us filling them with tears.

Tom Holland's naive, young character, clinging to his mentor as he is literally turning to ash, is distressing to say the least. No matter how many times you watch it, not only does the Thanos winning twist still shock, but Peter's repeated "I don't want to go" really hurts. Like really.

6. MJ Tells Peter She Doesn’t Love Him - Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has a lot of emotional moments in it. The movie is basically Peter Parker at his most downtrodden and emotionally damaged. But the worst of the lot has to be when MJ finds out the truth.

Peter has to stand there and watch as the girl he's pined for for years, who loved him endlessly before her memory was erased, told him she is someone different now. That she doesn't have the old MJ's feelings. That she doesn't love him.

Watching Peter's reaction as she outright says that "I don't love you" just depresses you, doesn't it. Especially given that it's his real life wife saying it!

The moment felt so earned given what the story of the movie was and everything that had led up to it.

5. Aunt May’s Death - Spider-Man: No Way Home

The Spider-Man PS5 game may have done it first, but it was hear that we all really weeped.

No Way Home pulled the rug from under us in more ways than one over and over, but we were all really on the edge of our seats when Norman Osborn went all Goblin again. Then the unexpected happened when for the first time in Spidey movie history, Aunt May passed away.

A helpless Peter holding his aunt as she slipped away was definitely cry-worthy. More so because we just didn't see it coming. It hurt even more after seeing Tom Holland and Marisa Tomei's amazing chemistry over their time together in the MCU.

4. Tony Stark’s Death - Avengers: Endgame

This was obviously going to be in the list, guys. Never fear.

We said earlier about how emotional and surprising Endgame could be, and the moment of Tony Stark's demise was definitely not exempt.

We knew what was coming from the moment Tony snapped his fingers with those darn infinity stones. And watching his final moments with Rhodey, Peter and Pepper is just...I-I can't.

"You can rest now". WHY HURT US SO MUCH, MARVEL?!

3. Rocket Loses His Friends - Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

The Guardians movies, and any movie they featured in in general, had us trying to pick apart Rocket's origins where we could. It was in Vol. 3 that his tragic experimentation at the hands of the cruel High Evolutionary were revealed. Rocket just wanted a nice life with his kind-hearted friends, and they were gunned down in front of him as he tried to save them all.

That scream. That anguish. That cruel mocking from the High Evolutionary. It barely gets worse than that. You finally realise where Rocket's tough and angry persona comes from. Never before have I felt such sorrow for a CGI raccoon. Well...as far as I can remember.

2. Gwen Stacey’s Death - The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Right. Again. Say whatever you want about this movie. In my opinion, it's complete garbage. But having said, that love story plot between Peter and Gwen is it's only real strong point narratively.

That all comes crashing down in the final chapter of the movie when Gwen Stacy tragically dies. That moment of hope that she might be okay. The realisation that comic book lore was taking hold. Then of course, Andrew Garfield's harrowing performance. This is easily one of the most emotional moments of any superhero movie.

Superhero movies may not be big during awards season, but Garfield deserved something for this. Something. Anything. Even a Razzie of some form. The guy killed it in this scene. Literally. Haha. Okay, sorry.

1. Logan’s Death - Logan

Nicking the top spot is WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE Hugh Jackman's final scene as our favourite X-Man. Ah well, it still earns itself a number one here.

Jackman had played James 'Logan' Howlett for 17 years by the time this supposed swansong rolled around. Take away the current knowledge that he would return in Deadpool & Wolverine, And this is a really fitting ending for our much-loved Wolvie.

The journey Logan goes on throughout this movie proved that he deserved some kind of rest, even in the form of a dirt nap. Those final moments between him a Laura. Just unquestionably tragic. "Don't be what they made you". Just...*sniff sniff*...just stop.

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Agree with our choices? Disagree? Let us know! Shout about your opinions in the comment section!