History Main / SuperheroMovieVillainsDie

* Though the Penguin, the Joker, the Riddler, and Catwoman are arrested at the end of ''Film/BatmanTheMovie'', it is slightly hinted that they may be executed for attempted world domination based on the Penguin's quote:
-->'''The Penguin:''' We must hang together, or most assuredly we shall hang separately.

* In the first live action ''{{Film/Transformers}}'' film, all Decepticons in the climatic battle including Megatron die except Starscream and Barricade (the latter probably would have, but they forgot to film the scene). Megatron is brought back to life and survives the sequel, but The Fallen dies. In the third film all major Decepticons and Sentinel Prime are killed. Lockdown is killed at the end of the fourth film, but Megatron, rebuilt as Galvatron, escapes and lives to fight another day. Both Megatron and Quintessa survive the fifth film.

* Unicron in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'' dies, although he later returns in the TV show. However, his powers are rather limited due to being a disembodied head in orbit around Cybertron, and when left alone is considered harmless.

** In ''Film/SpiderMan1'', the Green Goblin is killed by his glider impaling him. This happened to him in the comic books as well, though he came back from that decades later. The mugger who killed Uncle Ben also dies earlier in the film after tripping and falling out of the building where Peter Parker was confronting him. [[spoiler: In ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' the Green Goblin returns to life thanks to Doctor Strange’s spell pulling him out of Raimi’s universe when he was still alive. Despite Norman enraging MCU Spidey to the a murderous extent due to killing Aunt May, he is ultimately sparred and cured of the Green Goblin personality.]]

* In the original ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' films, many of Spidey's foes end up dying.
** In ''Film/SpiderMan1'', the Green Goblin is killed by his glider impaling him. This happened to him in the comic books as well, though he came back from that decades later. The mugger who killed Uncle Ben also dies earlier in the film after tripping and falling out of the building where Peter Parker was confronting him.
** In ''Film/SpiderMan2'', Doctor Octopus is killed by either drowning or the heat when he tears apart the base of the fusion reactor, sending the miniature sun (along with himself) into the river in a RedemptionEqualsDeath moment.

* Electro is seemingly killed in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2''. Norman Osborn is presumed dead much earlier (though behind-the-scenes shots show his head is kept in a jar a la ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''), while both the Green Goblin (Harry Osborn) and the Rhino survive as part of a SequelHook for the [[WhatCouldHaveBeen then upcoming]] ''Sinister Six'' spin-off.

** The ''Film/IronManFilms'' play it straight with all of their movies {{Big Bad}}s: [[Film/IronMan1 Obadiah Stane]] gets electrocuted, [[Film/IronMan2 Whiplash]] gets killed by the combined blasts of Iron Man and War Machine and [[Film/IronMan3 Aldrich Killian]] gets killed by Pepper Potts. Minor villains Justin Hammer and Trevor Slattery however avoided the fate and got PutOnAPrisonBus.

* In ''Film/PunisherWarZone'', Jigsaw dies. The villains of the other movies don't count, as they are original characters.

* In the Creator/ChristopherNolan Batman (''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'') movies:
** ''Film/BatmanBegins'': Ra's al Ghul is killed when Batman refuses to save him, letting him crash in the train he's in. Scarecrow survives and cameos in the two other movies. More minor villains like Victor Zsasz and Carmine Falcone are also alive by the end but locked up and driven mad in Arkham.
** The "major villain dies, minor villain lives" sub-clause is inverted in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' when Batman captures the Joker alive but, to save Gordon’s son, kills Harvey Dent/Two-Face by pushing him off the edge of a building, falling to his death. Sal Maroni is also killed by Two-Face earlier in the film. Sadly, Nolan did this because he had plans to use Joker in future installments (he thought the original Batman movie should have let Joker live) but Creator/HeathLedger died after the movie was completed, leaving no chance for him to appear in the sequels. [[https://comicsalliance.com/dark-knight-rises-novelization-joker-heath-ledger/ The novelization]] for ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' reveals that the Joker was incarcerated in Arkham Asylum, but nobody outside of Arkham knows if he’s truly still there or escaped.
** Both Talia al Ghul and Bane are killed in the course of the final battle in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'' has the Joker taken away by the Phantasm presumably to be killed, and that's the last we ever see of him in it. As he later appears in episodes of the animated series and the DCAU it can be presumed that he escaped somehow. One tie-in comic released a few years after the film ultimately confirms it as well as shows how he did it.

* In ''Film/Deadpool2'' Russel is saved from going down the path of villainy by Wade's TakingTheBullet and The Juggernaut spends the climax convulsing in an electrified pool but, [[TheJuggernaut true to the trope that shares his name]], walks out unscathed after the protagonists have left the scene. Indeed, the only antagonists to be killed are the unnamed humans running the OrphanageOfFear.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse:
** In ''Film/ManOfSteel'', Zod's crew was resealed inside the PhantomZone, though since their ship was breaking apart it's unclear if they could survive in it.
** In ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', Lex Luthor survives and gets arrested.
** In ''Film/{{Suicide Squad|2016}}'', the Joker survives a helicopter crash. [[JokerImmunity Unsurprisingly]].
** In ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'', Doctor Poison seemingly survives. That said, since the film takes place in the 1910s, she's more than likely dead from old age in the present-day films.
** In ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'', Steppenwolf is swarmed by his own Parademons after getting pummeled by Superman and getting his axe shattered by Wonder Woman, and then gets beamed back on Apokolips through a Boom Tube. He most probably survives. Subverted in [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague the Snyder cut]], where Wonder Woman cuts off his head and the Justice League sends his body back to Darkseid.
** In ''Film/{{Aquaman|2018}}'', Orm surrenders and is imprisoned after Arthur defeats him in the climactic battle. Black Manta survives albeit badly injured and is last seen offering a partnership with disgraced marine biologist Dr. Stephen Shin.
** In ''Film/Shazam2019'', Doctor Sivana is depowered and arrested.
** Both Maxwell Lord and Barbara Minerva survive ''Film/WonderWoman1984''. They recant their wishes and lose their powers. However, given that they’d be in their seventies in the present day, it’s unlikely they’ll come back for the third film.

* In the Adam West ''[[Film/BatmanTheMovie Batman]]'' movie, JokerImmunity is in full effect, as it was the movie of the series and the villains needed to return. (As noted above, Penguin's "hang together or hang separately" suggests the possibility that they might be executed for their crimes, but there is no indication that they suffered anything worse than the usual visit to CardboardPrison.)

* In the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' series:

* In the Creator/TimBurton ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' movies:

* In the Creator/JoelSchumacher movies:

*** While He Who Remains ended up dying, alternate universe versions of him ended up appearing [[MyDeathIsOnlyTheBeginning because of his death]], meaning that series will not be the last appearance of any version of him - and indeed, [[ComicBook/KangTheConqueror a hostile version of him]] has apparently taken over the TVA when Loki gets back there.[[note]]Actor Creator/JonathanMajors, who plays He Who Remains, had been previously announced as playing ComicBook/KangTheConqueror in 2023's ''Film/AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania''.[[/note]]

* In the original ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' comic The Shredder was killed at the end of the first story. So the trope is subverted as Shredder is a more formidable opponent before his death -- and inverted as he revives in the next movie, ''The Secret of the Ooze''. At the end of that film, after a OneWingedAngel transformation, he is killed off for good.

** Miss Minutes also ended up dying as well, but she went to become [[HeelFaceReincarnation rebooted as a good guy]] in Loki's new TVA.
** Judge Renslayer got pruned, and was left stranded in the Void. It's implied that she'll be consumed by Alioth soon, but we never saw that on-screen.