The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has introduced audiences to a vast array of cosmic entities, each with a distinct role within the complex framework of life, death, and the multiverse. Recently, Agatha: All Along unveiled Aubrey Plaza’s portrayal of Lady Death, or Mistress Death, as a powerful entity that plays a significant role in guiding every Marvel character who meets their end. With this reveal, Death becomes more than just an abstract concept in the MCU; she is a character with purpose, ferrying souls to their respective afterlives.
In this article, we’ll explore the origins of Lady Death in Marvel Comics and how her presence has been woven into the MCU. We’ll look at how Death functions as a cosmic guide, examine her connection with key characters, and revisit significant MCU deaths through her lens.
Comic Book Background of Lady Death
Lady Death, or Mistress Death, first appeared in Marvel Comics in Captain Marvel #26 in June 1973, as a cosmic force central to some of Marvel’s most impactful storylines. Her early significance is largely tied to Thanos, the Mad Titan, whose deep obsession with Death leads him on a quest to prove his worth. In his pursuit, he seeks to win her favor by causing mass destruction, believing this will prove his devotion. This dynamic would later be expanded in Jim Starlin’s Infinity Gauntlet storyline in the early 1990s, where Thanos gathers the six Infinity Gems, ultimately eradicating half of all life in the universe. This storyline laid the groundwork for the MCU’s Infinity War adaptation.
In the comics, Lady Death is more than an earthly concept; she is a cosmic entity whose domain encompasses the entire universe. Her presence and impact span across galaxies, embodying the abstract concept of mortality on a cosmic scale.
Evolution of Lady Death in the MCU
The MCU’s interpretation of Lady Death has been subtle yet deliberate, with early visual cues hinting at her existence as part of the universe’s cosmic architecture. Her first subtle appearance in the MCU occurs in Guardians of the Galaxy, in the form of an engraving on the walls of the Morag temple. This design includes images representing Death, Entropy, Infinity, and Eternity as they surround the Infinity Stones. This moment, while easily overlooked, hints at Death’s presence in the MCU as a foundational cosmic force.
Thor: Love and Thunder gives audiences a closer look at Lady Death’s role within the MCU’s cosmic hierarchy. In one scene, we see a chamber containing statues and carvings of several cosmic entities, including Eternity, the Watcher, the Living Tribunal, and Death herself. This scene underscores Death’s importance alongside other entities like Infinity and Eternity, placing her as part of the MCU’s core cosmic structure. These hints suggest that Death, like other cosmic entities, holds a fundamental role across the universe and may even be a guiding force for souls transitioning to the afterlife.
Aubrey Plaza as Death/Rio Vidal
In Agatha: All Along, Lady Death is introduced to the MCU in a tangible, physical form, portrayed by Aubrey Plaza. Initially presented as Rio Vidal, a member of Agatha Harkness’s coven known as the Green Witch, Death’s true identity is revealed later in the series. In Episode Seven of Agatha All Along, she unveils her actual form to Lilia Calderu, showing herself as the skull-faced Lady Death, or Mistress Death, of the MCU.
Rio Vidal’s physical design reflects her role as the embodiment of Death. The show’s costume designer, Daniel Sallon, brought Death’s skeletal attributes into Rio’s character design, incorporating rib-like patterns and an overall structure reminiscent of a skull-faced entity. Even in her Green Witch form, elements of nature, such as a mycelium network and a spider perched on her shoulder, hint at her connection to decay and regrowth. The costume pays homage to Lady Death’s design in the comics while ensuring that her appearance in the MCU feels grounded in the visual language of the series.
Death’s Connection to Nature and Neutrality
Agatha: All Along presents Death not simply as a force of destruction, but as an impartial element of nature itself. Head writer Jack Schaefer explained that the writers wanted to emphasize Death as an entity in conversation with both life and nature. Death in the MCU is neither inherently benevolent nor malevolent but exists to maintain balance. She embodies the natural cycle—growth and decay, creation and destruction. As Schaefer describes, Death in the MCU is “beautiful, fierce, terrifying, uncaring, but also capable of holding and filling you.”
This neutrality reflects Death’s cosmic nature. She is neither the cause of destruction nor its agent but rather a fundamental aspect of existence itself. In designing Lady Death, the creators and costume team sought to avoid portraying her as a force that withers everything in her path. Instead, she is shown as an eternal, neutral being—an inevitable part of the cycle of life and death.
Cosmic Beings and Realms Beyond Earth
In the MCU, Death is shown to be part of a hierarchy of cosmic entities, existing alongside beings like Eternity, Infinity, and The Living Tribunal. These entities govern fundamental aspects of existence, with Death’s domain encompassing mortality itself. Her presence in the cosmic structure, particularly in scenes such as the chamber of statues in Thor: Love and Thunder, demonstrates that Death is not confined to Earth. She exists as a universal force, appearing in forms that fit the species and culture of the souls she guides.
This multiversal adaptability suggests that Death, as a cosmic entity, transcends specific worlds or dimensions. Her role as a guide for souls allows her to adopt forms that are familiar to the deceased, whether in a humanoid shape, as with Aubrey Plaza’s portrayal, or potentially even in animalistic forms for non-human species. This universality emphasizes that Death’s reach extends across the multiverse, facilitating transitions between realms regardless of time or space.
Overview of Afterlife Realms in the MCU
The MCU has introduced a diverse array of afterlife realms, each shaped by the beliefs and cultures of different characters and civilizations. The Wakandan ancestral plane, seen in Black Panther, offers a spiritual space where deceased Wakandans reunite with their ancestors. Valhalla, introduced in Thor: Love and Thunder, serves as an afterlife for Asgardian warriors like Heimdall and Jane Foster. Other afterlife realms include the Duat, or Field of Reeds, in Egyptian mythology as depicted in Moon Knight, where Egyptian deities guide believers to their resting place.
In Moon Knight Episode Five, the goddess Taweret, who guides souls to the Duat, explains that the afterlife is not a singular realm but an interconnected web of realms, with each culture creating its version of paradise. Taweret refers to the afterlife as “planes of untethered consciousness,” highlighting that different cultures and species have unique interpretations of the afterlife. This pluralistic approach to the afterlife in the MCU hints at Lady Death’s role as a cosmic entity guiding souls across these various realms.
Death as a Neutral Guide Across Afterlives
Lady Death’s role within the MCU is that of a guide, ferrying souls to the appropriate afterlife according to their beliefs and identities. Unlike gods who preside over specific realms, Death does not choose or control the destination. Instead, she helps souls sever their connections to the material plane and gently guides them to realms that fit their nature. This guidance emphasizes her neutrality, as she serves as a cosmic ferryman rather than a judge or enforcer.
The concept of “untethering consciousness” is central to Lady Death’s role. She helps souls transition away from the mortal plane without imposing her own will, allowing each soul to find rest in its fitting afterlife. This portrayal reinforces Death’s status as a cosmic being, connecting with all souls while remaining impartial to their fates. Her depiction as both the decaying force and the nurturing aspect of life further illustrates her place within the natural cycle, where death is a fundamental part of cosmic balance.
Revisiting Key MCU Deaths with Lady Death’s Involvement
With the introduction of Lady Death in the MCU, we gain new perspectives on some of the most impactful deaths in the Marvel universe. Re-examining these moments through her presence offers insight into the significance of each character’s journey and final moments.
Thanos’s Death(s)
Thanos, one of the most consequential villains in the MCU, meets his end multiple times, each encounter with Death adding layers to his complex character arc. In Avengers: Endgame, Thanos is first decapitated by Thor in the opening act, then dusted in the film’s climactic battle. Later, an alternate-universe version of Thanos is killed in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’s 838 universe, impaled by his own weapon. Even animated portrayals, like the zombified Thanos in What If?, show Thanos facing death in various forms.
When Thanos was decapitated, we can imagine that, from his perspective, he looked up from the floor of his garden planet to find Lady Death waiting for him, ready to ferry him to the afterlife. Given Thanos’s complex relationship with mortality and his efforts to erase half of all life, this meeting would likely be contentious. As a cosmic entity, Death transcends time and is aware of future events. She would have foreseen that, in five years, the Avengers would use the Infinity Stones to reverse Thanos’s Snap. In this scenario, Death might even confront Thanos, questioning why he burdened her with the “temporary” task of ferrying billions of souls. This theoretical interaction provides a new perspective on Thanos’s actions and Lady Death’s omniscient role in guiding souls across time.
The Dusted and the Blip
During the Blip, when Thanos’s Snap wiped out half of all life, Lady Death would have played a key role in guiding those “dusted” souls to a temporary afterlife. This transition was seamless, with characters like Monica Rambeau in WandaVision and Yelena Belova in Hawkeye returning after the Blip in the exact spot they left, as if no time had passed. From the dusted characters’ perspectives, the transition felt like an instant jump forward in time, which was likely facilitated by Death.
Death’s role in creating a smooth transition ensures that those dusted would not have memories of any afterlife. This seamless return highlights her cosmic role in the universe, as she ensures a peaceful transition back to the material world for those revived by the Hulk’s Snap. Interestingly, in Agatha, Agatha Harkness mentions that “120 bodies are emptied out every minute,” which could be a nod to Lady Death’s immense workload across the multiverse. Given that the real-world death rate is roughly 105–106 people per minute, the MCU’s figure hints that apocalyptic events and battles across the galaxy increase Death’s responsibilities as she ferries countless souls to their destinations.
Iconic Character Deaths (Natasha, Gamora, Vision, Tony Stark)
Several iconic deaths in the MCU gain new context with the presence of Lady Death. When Natasha Romanoff sacrifices herself on Vormir, she might have “awakened” to see Death waiting for her, just as Gamora did when Thanos sacrificed her for the Soul Stone. Both Natasha and Gamora would likely have noticed the eerie resemblance between Lady Death and the Soul Stone keeper, Red Skull, who shares Lady Death’s skeletal, skull-faced appearance. Both characters, who sacrificed themselves in a place referred to by Nebula as a “dominion of death,” would naturally encounter Death in this setting.
Vision’s death in Avengers: Infinity War also invites new speculation. Although Vision is an artificial being, his connection to the Mind Stone may have endowed him with a soul, meaning Death would likely have guided him to the afterlife. The version of Vision seen in WandaVision is arguably a projection of Wanda’s grief, rather than Vision’s soul itself. This opens up the possibility that Lady Death may have transported Vision’s soul to a different realm, while his “essence” lingered in Wanda’s pocket reality.
Tony Stark’s death scene in Endgame also gains new depth with Lady Death’s presence. As he lay dying, Pepper Potts tells him to look at her, suggesting he may have been looking toward something—perhaps someone else. It’s possible that Tony was seeing Lady Death herself in those final moments, as she prepared to guide him to rest. Although this wasn’t intended by the filmmakers, Death’s presence adds a poetic layer to Tony’s farewell, giving meaning to the way he “untethers” from consciousness.
Vormir as a “Dominion of Death”
The planet Vormir, where the Soul Stone resides, is directly connected to the concept of death, further cementing Lady Death’s presence in the MCU. Nebula refers to Vormir as a “dominion of death,” a mysterious location that lies at the center of celestial existence. This unique description suggests that Vormir itself is a place where Lady Death has significant influence. Red Skull, the Soul Stone’s keeper, seems to be in service to Death, awaiting those who would make the ultimate sacrifice.
Given Vormir’s connection to the Soul Stone, Lady Death’s domain might have a unique link to this particular Infinity Stone. The Soul Stone demands a sacrifice, a transaction that could be Death’s way of collecting souls bound for her domain. This bond between the Soul Stone and Lady Death enhances her cosmic significance, making Vormir a focal point for the concept of sacrifice in the MCU.
Conclusion
Lady Death’s arrival in the MCU as a cosmic guide reshapes our understanding of mortality and the afterlife in this expansive universe. From her origins in Marvel Comics to her appearances in the MCU as a neutral guide for souls, Lady Death embodies the natural cycle of existence. Her portrayal as an impartial force provides insight into the MCU’s approach to cosmic beings, grounding her in both decay and renewal.
As we revisit iconic deaths in the MCU and speculate on future possibilities, Lady Death’s role offers a new lens through which we can view the afterlife and the journey of the soul. Her presence highlights the interconnected nature of the multiverse and the cosmic balance of life and death, making her a vital and fascinating character within the MCU’s narrative.
