An Avengers: Infinity War Mistake Ruins Marvel's Most Tragic Marvel Death
"Avengers: Infinity War" was the first of two movies — the other being the often confusing "Avengers: Endgame" — to honor the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe throughout its first decade. It brings together all the established characters one would want to see, including some with more meaning than you realized, in an epic battle against Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his minions. But despite being a celebration of the MCU's tenure up to that point, "Infinity War" doesn't shy away from a tragic ending. With Thanos' collection of the six Infinity Stones and a snap of his fingers, half of all life in the universe is destroyed. Numerous heroes fall in an emotionally devastating sequence, though one of the saddest demises is hampered by a VFX flub.
The death of Spider-Man (Tom Holland, who was never the same after becoming the Marvel hero) beside his mentor, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), is heartwrenching as he pleads for his life before turning to dust. However, a small detail pointed out by @MadvocateYT on X, formerly known as Twitter, adds a bit of humor to the moment. Tony Stark's hand is on Peter Parker's shoulder before disintegrates, and once he does so, the hand seems to inhumanly slide away. They posit that the hand was rendered as a PNG file and simply translated out of the frame. Once you notice it, it's hard not to spot it upon repeat viewings.
Even though this might diminish the impact of this scene in the eyes of some fans, Holland looks back on it fondly.
Hand PNGs aside, Tom Holland takes pride in Spider-Man's Infinity War death scene
The sequel to "Avengers: Infinity War," "Avengers: Endgame," brings back all of those killed by Thanos. The Avengers traverse time to collect Infinity Stones of their own, using them to undo Thanos' destruction and defeat the Mad Titan once and for all. Spider-Man is very much included in the group of revived heroes, but his "Infinity War" death scene — PNG hand and all — still packs an emotional punch. Tom Holland has expressed his enduring appreciation for the scene, even if his improvised dialogue wasn't particularly deep.
"It's amazing when people think it's some mind-blowing piece of improv, because I just say the same line five times in a row," he said in a 2021 interview with Deadline, noting that Marvel fans come up to him all the time and quote some of Spidey's dying words. After telling Tony Stark that he doesn't feel so good, he repeatedly says that he doesn't want to go. He then falls to the ground, tells Stark he's sorry, and the urns to dust. Holland continued, "People tell me they imagine that scene must have been horrendous to shoot, but I look back on it with nothing but happiness." He joked that hugging Robert Downey Jr. and crying on his shoulder about 60 times was a highlight of the shoot.
Much like filming a high-emotion scene, VFX work is no joke. It can be tedious and requires sharpened skills and dedication to get right, as evidenced by the incredible work done in Spider-Man's "Avengers: Infinity War" death scene. Still, Iron Man's floaty PNG hand is hard not to notice and chuckle at once you see it.