When it comes to comic book movies, DC has built the reputation as the dark, more violent, of the two major brands. However, it turns out that Marvel actually kills significantly more people. According to a recent study, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has a larger body count than any major Hollywood film ever made. Even more shocking, it's not even close. It turns out they're not very good guardians after all. They let 83,871 people die.
In one of the climactic scenes in the final battle of Guardians of the Galaxy, 80,000 Nova pilots are killed. In addition to the civilian casualties seen on the ground, the movie kills off the massive number, all on screen. According to financial services comparison website Go Compare, who looked at major Hollywood films since 1940, the number two film, Dracula Untold only kills 5,687 people on screen. Guardians look like an absolute bloodbath. The Guardian reports that in addition to GotG being at the top of the list, Marvel's The Avengers also sits at number 10 with 1,019 on screen deaths. Who said DC was too dark again?
Needless to say, it's a bit surprising that the body count is so high, not simply for a PG-13 Marvel movie, but for one of the MCU films that is one of the lightest as far as tone. Part of the issue appears to be that 2014 was a bad year to be a nameless grunt at the movies. Four of the films in the top 10 for deaths were released that year. In addition to Guardians of the Galaxy and Dracula Untold, 300: Rise of an Empire and The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies also made the list.
The notable film missing from this list is, of course, Man of Steel. The film has been derided by many fans for the level of destruction that takes place, along with the degree to which the hero doesn't seem to notice. Of course, the major issue is that many of the apparent deaths that take place don't happen on-screen, meaning it's impossible to count them. We can guess that when Superman goes flying into a building, a bunch of people probably die, but there's no way to know how many. Though, even if we had numbers, it likely wouldn't be as bad over 80,000 people. Guardians of the Galaxy shows the Nova Corps ships exploding one after the other.
For whatever it's worth, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn isn't refuting the idea that he killed over 80,000 people on screen.
Did the survey miss one? Which movie really has the most people dead by the end? Lt us know your entries for the list in the comments below.
