HOBAN “WASH” WASHBURNE
Serenity
“I am a leaf on the wind. Look at how I soar.” And with that, a piece of a Reaver ship pierced Serenity’s beloved pilot and ripped him from the Verse.

TARA MACLAY
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Seeing Red”
A stray bullet from the barrel of a fool’s gun snuffed out sweet Tara’s life in the blink of an eye ... and sent a bereft Willow on a magical murdering spree.

JOYCE SUMMERS
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “I Was Made to Love You”
It wasn’t some rogue demon that took the life of Buffy’s mother. Nor was it vampires or zombies or mummies or hellbeasts. It was a brain tumor. It was mundane. And it was devastating.

BUFFY SUMMERS
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “The Gift”
Buffy was told that death was her gift—and when the end of the world was at hand, one that could only be reversed with her sister’s sacrifice, Buffy steps up and takes her place. (Sure, that death wouldn’t stick, but it was meaningful nonetheless.)

AGENT PHIL COULSON
The Avengers
It takes a hell of a man to stand up to a god, which is exactly what Agent Coulson does, when he faces down Loki. He was never going to win, but he knew better than anyone that a group called the Avengers needs something to avenge.

WINIFRED BURKLE
Angel, “A Hole in the World”
It’s a slow death, as poor Fred is basically being hollowed out to make room for the god Illyria. And Wesley is by her side the entire time. *Snfff*

WESLEY WYNDAM-PRYCE
Angel, “Not Fade Away”
Whedon didn’t plan to kill Wesley; he wanted the former Watcher to survive Angel’s battle with the Powers That Be. But when Angel’s writers pitched him the idea of Wesley dying in Illyria’s arms—after she took on Fred’s downy-soft form—the die was cast.

SHEPHERD BOOK
Serenity
Mal Reynolds is a man who needs to be pushed into doing more than going his own way. And how better to do so that kill the personification of his conscience? A man has to believe in something, after all.

KITTY PRYDE
Giant Size Astonishing X-Men #1
Longtime Whedonites know full well that he’s big on sacrifice, especially out of his heroines, so when a massive projectile is fired at Earth by some alien menace, Kitty uses her phasing ability to alter the Big Bullet’s density so it passes through our planet—but by doing so, she’s forced to ride that bullet forever.

JENNY CALENDAR
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Passion”
How better to show how cruel and merciless Angel could be when he turns evil than to have him snap the neck of the woman Giles loves, and then lure the Watcher to a romantic rendezvous ... only to find her dead body waiting? Yeah, that’ll do.

ANGEL
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Becoming, Part 2”
Buffy is forced to kill Angelus—who has been very much the Big Bad—and just as she’s about to run him through with a sword, Willow casts a spell that restores Angel’s soul. And now Buffy has to kill the man she loves to save the world ... and she does.

ANYA
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Chosen”
In a giant, climactic battle against the forces of evil, there are bound to be casualties. But for someone like Anya—former revenge demon, current fiancée of Xander—to get cut down and have no one notice?

PAUL BALLARD
Dollhouse, “Epitaph Two”
There wasn’t much left of Ballard, after his mind had been fractured by Alpha the gleeful psychopath. But what was there was in love with Echo ... at least until a bullet extinguished it like a dying candle.

RUPERT GILES
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #39
Once again, Angel does something horrible to someone Buffy loves by getting all neck-snappy.

PENNY
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
When Captain Hammer turns Dr. Horrible’s “death ray” back on its owner, and it self-destructs, shrapnel sprays the room. And poor Penny catches a chunk in the chest.