This article mentions suicide.
Summary
Death scenes insci-fistories tend to stand out from their counterparts in many other genres, as the fantastical nature of the story can often allow the macabre sequences to be far more creative than just the standard passing away of a character. Somehorrifying sci-fi death scenes in moviesand TV shows aren’t necessarily weird, but rather gory and somewhat disturbing. However,sci-fi deaths don’t have to be all blood and guts to be compelling. In fact, the weird sci-fi deaths and gory ones don’t often cross over, although there can obviously be some shared territory.
All theoverused sci-fi tropesallow the genre’s writers to get pretty creative with death scenes, allowing for scenarios that simply wouldn’t occur in reality. That being said, even within the world of science-fiction, certain deaths still stand out as especially unusual. This can be due to a bizarre setting, an unknowable ethical dilemma, or even a character boasting abilities that are inarguably a work of fiction. Ifa weird sci-fi death sticks in the mind of the audience, the writers have done their job well.
10 Best Sci-Fi Movies Of All Time, Ranked
Sci-fi is one of Hollywood’s biggest markets, and these films are the best of what the genre has to offer, from space operas to family adventures.
Star Trek: Voyager
Cast
In this sci-fi series, the starship Voyager becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant, 70,000 light-years from Earth. The diverse crew, led by Captain Janeway, embarks on a perilous journey home, encountering unfamiliar species and challenges while adhering to Federation principles in uncharted space.
Star Trek: Voyagerseason 2, episode 24, “Tuvix,” is infamous among the fanbase for a decision made by Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Kathryn Janeway to end the life of one of her crew. The episode’s titular character, played by Tim Wright, was a genetic amalgamation of Tim Russ' Tuvok and Ethan Phillips' Neelix. The accidental member of Voyager’s crew bore the best and worst traits of both men, making him seem intensely familiar while also coming across as a stranger. His death wasn’t violent, butit placed a mental toll on Janeway as she ordered what was essentially Tuvix’s execution.
It’s a long and drawn-out death that spans almost the entire episode, with Tuvix himself even contributing to the work that eventually leads to his unwilling demise.
Throughout the episode,the crew is slowly working toward a solution to separate Tuvixback into the ship’s security officer and chef. However, the moment they achieve their goal of arriving at an answer is also the same moment they realize that Tuvix will need to die for them to pull it off. It’s a long and drawn-out death that spans almost the entire episode, with Tuvix himself even contributing to the work that eventually leads to his unwilling demise.
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Star Wars is a seminal science fiction film released in 1977 that follows the quest of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo to rescue Princess Leia from the oppressive Imperial forces. They are aided by the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, as they strive to restore peace to the galaxy.
Alec Guinness' legendaryStar Warscharacter becoming one with the Force seems pretty pedestrian by modern standards. However, speaking objectively, it’s still a very weird onscreen sci-fi death. Being struck with a lightsaber more often than not results in the unfortunate recipient losing a limb, or at the very least sustaining a minor burn. Kenobi’s special ability to transcend his physical form upon death leads to his entire body vanishing whenDarth Vader lands the killing blow inA New Hope.
Although Kenobi does die at the hands of Vader, becoming “one with the Force” allows Guinness' character to continue interacting with the world of the living.
Ben Kenobi’s “death” changed what it meant for a Jedi’s life coming to an end. Although Kenobi does die at the hands of Vader, becoming “one with the Force” allows Guinness' character to continue interacting with the world of the living. In a way, he becomes immortal, but not in the traditional sense.The development set a tone of endless hope in theStar Warsuniverse, with Yoda also following the same path when he dies at theend ofReturn of the Jedi, as well as Anakin following his redemption.
Altered Carbon
Altered Carbon is set in the far future, at a time when a human’s consciousness can be stored in a device called a Stack and transferred into different bodies, allowing people who have the means to become functionally immortal. Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman and Anthony Mackie), the former member of a rebellion against Stack technology, is awakened and released from prison so that he can be employed by a wealthy man to solve the man’s own murder. The Netflix original series is based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Richard K. Morgan.
Bancroft’s death inAltered Carbonseason 1 is the heart of the story, with Joel Kinnaman’s Takeshi Kovacs being enlisted to find his employer’s killer. As it turns out, Bancroft shot himself, after being unable to live with himself because of his merciless killing of a prostitute. However, the weirdness of his passing lies in the show’s complex lore. In the world ofAltered Carbon, devices known as “stacks” are implanted in the human spine and back up an individual’s memories. If the person dies, their stack can be “resleeved,” which means it can be inserted into a new body.
As a member of the social elite, James Purefoy’sAltered Carboncharacter has the added advantage of his stack’s data being backed up to a remote satellite every 48 hours.
If a stack is destroyed, the person is gone forever. As a member of the social elite, James Purefoy’sAltered Carboncharacter has the added advantage of his stack’s data being backed up to a remote satellite every 48 hours. So, he destroyed his stack knowing that as long as he did so before the backup cycle ended, the memory of the act he was so desperate to forget would be lost. Therefore, when Bancroft was resleeved, he returned as cold and unfeeling as he was before his murderous act. It was more of an extreme system restore than suicide.
In a way, the person Bancroft had become after he committed murder was scrubbed from existence when his older backup was resleeved.
Dark Matter
Dark Matter (2024): Jason Dessen is thrust into an alternate reality where he must confront an ominous version of himself. His quest to return to his original life leads him on a challenging journey to reunite with his family, navigating the complexities of parallel existences.
Some sci-fi deaths initially seem compelling rather than weird, until it’s considered that what the character is experiencing would indeed be incredibly bizarre if one were to witness it firsthand. During the early stages ofDark Matter’s Jason Dessen trying to work out how multiversal travel works, he finds himself in a universe where he sees an alternate version of himself escaping to his interdimensional vessel marginally later than he did. The trippiness of the moment is compounded when his other self is gunned down before him by the lab security.
Dark Matterhas other instances wheredifferent versions of Joel Edgerton’s Jason Dessenare forced to either kill one of their variants or watch them die. What’s especially harrowing is that the different versions of the character are all essentially the same man.Dark Matter’s grounded approach to interdimensional travelavoids huge disparities between versions of its protagonist, so it doesn’t allow for the degree of separation that other multiverse stories might.
The Boys
The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
Prime Video’sThe Boysis no stranger to iconic and gruesome death scenes, but very few fall under the category of “weird.” Instead, the superhero show tends to focus on gory deaths rather than unusual ones.The Boysseason 3 premiere, “Payback,” wasted no time in adding to the show’s unconventional kill count. Within minutes of the episode beginning,Brett Geddes' Termite shrinks down small enough to enter the aperture of his partner’s penis, and things very quickly go awry.
10 Character Resurrections In TV Shows, Ranked By Creativity
The death of a TV character can be an emotional affair, but their comeback is also often just as rewarding and can require some creative thinking.
Termite isThe Boys' answer to the MCU’s Ant-Man, so it’s especially unusual watching the parody of a family-friendly superhero engaged in such an explicitly sexual act. While it’s weird on its own, whenTermite sneezes while deep into Peter’s anatomy, his involuntary return to his regular size results in one of the most bizarre onscreen deaths in sci-fi history - and the show gets to add to its gore tally too.
Men In Black
Men In Black is a science fiction film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as agents of a secret organization overseeing extraterrestrial activity on Earth. The agents are tasked with managing alien immigrants while protecting humanity from intergalactic threats. The film explores their partnership as they confront various challenges while ensuring the public remains unaware of alien presence.
The real Edgar isn’t in 1997’sMen in Blackfor very long, butVincent D’Onofrio’s role goes far beyond the death of his first character in the movie. While theDaredevilandEchostar begins by playing a human character, Edgar is brutally killed offscreen by a nefarious extraterrestrial known simply as the Bug. While the death itself isn’t shown, the gruesome noises suggest an unpleasant demise. The weirdness comes immediately after the pained cries come to an end.
What’s possibly even weirder than the actual death is the lack of suspicion from Edgar’s wife when her “husband” returns looking and acting very differently.
Edgar has all of his insides drained by the Bug, with just his completely intact skin remaining. With the pesky organs, bones, and vital fluids out of the way, the movie’s alien antagonist is able to slip into his new disguise and masquerade as a human being for the duration of the movie. What’s possibly even weirder than the actual death is the lack of suspicion from Edgar’s wife when her “husband” returns looking and acting very differently.
WandaVision
WandaVision, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first TV show on Disney+, first aired in 2021. The series kicked off the MCU’s Phase 4 and brought back Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch, and Paul Bettany as Vision. WandaVision strayed away from Marvel’s typical formula, this time formatting itself more like a classic sitcom as Wanda struggles to cope with the death of Vision.
Vision is one of the fewcharacters who died in 2018’sAvengers: Infinity Warwho wasn’t resurrected in 2019’sAvengers: Endgame. Instead, he had to wait until theWandaVisionTV show aired in 2021. Interestingly,Paul Bettany’s role in theWandaVisioncast was as temporary as it was meta, as he wasn’t really playing the real version of Vision, but rather a memory forced into existence byWanda Maximoff’s immense power. So, his “death” scene at the end ofWandaVisionticks the rare combination of boxes relating to weird and moving as the Scarlett Witch accepts her reality.
The Scarlet Witch creates a new form of life, and in turn, a new form of demise.
There is a great deal of speculation surrounding whether Vision was a sentient being inWandaVision, but the awareness of his situation and the emotionally loaded farewell monologue suggest he was alive in one way or another. So, his death is equally bizarre, as he’s arguably experiencing his end for the first time, even though his memories would appear to come from - and at times exceed - what Wanda is capable of instilling in him. The Scarlet Witch creates a new form of life, and in turn, a new form of demise.
Torchwood
This Doctor Who spinoff follows the adventures of beloved character Captain Jack Harkness as he works for the Torchwood Institute, a small team in Cardiff dedicated to investigating extraterrestrial phenomena.
Torchwoodfocuses on more mature themes than are addressed inDoctor Who, with the show featuring more sexual moments as well as greater levels of violence, existentialism, and even deep dives into death. One member of theTorchwoodteam meets his end in the conventional sense before being brought back using the resurrection gauntlet. While his comeback was intended to be temporary, the alien device brought him back for good, but in a state of permanent undeath inTorchwoodseason 2, episode 7, “Dead Man Walking.”
Owen’s death allows him to maintain his consciousness, movement, and autonomy. Unfortunately, his condition also comes with several hallmarks of real death. As well as being unable to sleep, digest food, or breathe, his wounds would not heal either. Eventually,he sacrifices himself to save the rest of the team in theTorchwoodseason 2 finale, “Exit Wounds,” but it’s unclear if any remains that may have “survived” the nuclear meltdown would have clung to the character’s new definition of life.
Bicentennial Man
Bicentennial Man is a science fiction film directed by Chris Columbus, starring Robin Williams as Andrew, an android who embarks on a journey to become more human. Spanning two centuries, the film explores themes of humanity, identity, and the evolving relationship between humans and artificial intelligence. Sam Neill and Embeth Davidtz co-star, with the story adapted from Isaac Asimov’s novella and subsequent novel, The Positronic Man.
Robin Williams' character in 1999’sBicentennial Manhas an interesting view of death. He begins the story as a robotic being, but his ultimate goal is to become mortal, gradually making his way to humanity.Andrew views death as a rite of passage that any human must experience, so he spends the movie gradually adapting himself piece by piece until he’s eventually transformed into a biological lifeform who can die like any other person.
10 Perfect Scenes From Sci-Fi Movies That Still Blow Us Away
Sci-fi films have a unique ability to lift the viewer into vast and imaginative worlds, with many great scenes still mesmerizing fans every time.
The character’s spiritual view on existence and immortality is strangely refreshing and drives home the value of life and the fact it’s so precious because it’s also so fleeting.Many sci-fi characters without the ability to die often cling to their infinite lifespanswith both hands. So, at first, it can be a little jarring to process Andrew’s alternative point of view. For a character who starts very far from human, it’s very weird seeing him experience a pedestrian death that almost feels like it has abandoned itssci-firoots.
TV show
1995
1977
2018
2024
2019
1997
2021
2006
1999
