Avengers: Infinity War - Who lived, who died, and who was entirely absent

*WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR*

Avengers: Infinity War has been promised to fans as the "most ambitious crossover event in history": it's the thrill of seeing all our MCU favourites gathered together, with the Avengers meeting the Guardians, and Wakanda flinging its doors open to the world.

But there's an impenetrable threat looming: Thanos, who's embarked on his relentless search for the six Infinity Stones in earnest, with the aim to complete the Infinity Gauntlet and thus acquire control over the entire universe.

It's apocalyptic stuff and, in the run-up to its release, cast and crew were sincere in their assertion that Infinity War would change the universe forever. That means deaths. Some serious, big-time deaths. One more warning: SPOILERS AHEAD.

The film's shock ending saw Thanos acquire all six Stones and complete the Gauntlet, allowing him to achieve his ultimate desire: to achieve balance in the universe by wiping out half of all its life. Cue, a bunch of superheroes simply disintegrating into ash.

Here are the victims: Bucky Barnes, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Groot, Star-Lord, Mantix, Drax, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Maria Hill, and Nick Fury. With a bunch of these characters with confirmed - or unofficially confirmed - sequels, you can count on Thanos' actions being reversed in Avengers 4 by some means.

Though these deaths are likely temporary for the MCU, there are five key deaths that seem fairly irreversible: Loki is crushed by Thanos, while Heimdall is soon the next go. The Collector is almost certainly killed offscreen when Thanos destroys his hoard of curiosities.

The most emotional death of the film belongs to Gamora, the adopted daughter of Thanos; she is thrown into the pit containing the Soul Stone as a sacrifice, as Thanos must destroy what he loves to acquire its powers. Lastly, Vision has the Mind Stone ripped out of his head by Thanos, moments after we're led to believe Scarlet Witch had destroyed it herself.

Of course, there's the potential for any of these characters to be brought back in some form later on, especially Gamora, who is such a key member of the Guardians that she may just make it back in time for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

So who are we left with? Well, the list isn't all that long: Captain America, Black Widow, Iron Man, Bruce Banner, War Machine, Okoye, Rocket Raccoon, and Nebula. Add to that, the possible arrival of Captain Marvel to help bolster their ranks. We also don't see either M'Baku or Shuri disappear, which hopefully ensures they both survived.

Indeed, there's a long list of characters whose fates are still entirely unknown, due to a pretty glaring absence during Infinity War: Ant-Man and Hawkeye are both quickly dismissed as still being deep in hiding, putting their families first. There's also no word from the Wasp.

We see both Pepper Potts and Wong early on in the film, but never find out their eventual fates. There's also no sign of Valkyrie (or Ragnarok scene-stealers Korg or Miek, for that matter): with the Asgardian ship utterly destroyed by Thanos, are we to assume no one other than Thor made it out alive?

Hawkeye and Ant-Man will almost certainly be making an appearance in Avengers 4, though it's hard to tell what roles Infinity War's other absentees may play (if any). Avengers 4 is out 3 May 2019.

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook for all the latest on Film, TV, Music, and more.