Because of the high volume of characters, many have found themselves in numerous films, often creating a sense that the narratives are overstuffed and lacking in any true tension.

In "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," the eponymous character was joined by the Black Widow and Nick Fury. At one point in the film, Fury was "killed," creating the first major instance in which the franchise got rid off a crucial character. Suddenly the stakes jumped massively. The Marvel Universe could never be the same without the man who had constructed the Avengers project.

Disney, as Obi-Wan Kenobi of Star Wars would say, had "taken its first step into larger world."

Except it had not. An hour later, Fury was back in the film and then tension that had been created was gone. Marvel would never kill a major character simply because of the inherent value for sequels. Moreover, if Fury, whose function is replaceable, is off limits, then how could one conceive of major superheroes, the faces of the franchise, to be in any sort of peril?

In the "Avengers" movies, two characters died, but neither was particularly integral to the massive machine. One of them, Phil Coulson, got brought back from the dead to lead a TV series. The other, Quicksilver, was barely in the film.

Something has to give, however, as the cast grows larger. "Captain American: Civil War" is slated to feature Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Black Panther, the Hulk, Ant-Man, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Falcon, Hawkeye, Vision and Spider-Man. As the cast continues to grow, there has to be an expectation that someone is going to get killed off to make room for other characters to grow in the universe.

Who is (or should be) in peril?

Black Panther, Ant-Man and Spider-Man are relatively new to this universe and are likely safe for now. Disney is not going to bring them into one movie to get rid of them quickly and not bank on the character In future installments.

Scarlet Witch might be a prime candidate for death since her brother was the victim of "Avengers: Age of Ultron," likely expressing that these characters might not be essential for the franchise moving forward. Falcon and War Machine have never been prominent characters on their own, so killing one off might be huge for the main heroes' journeys, thus allowing them moments of reflection on the consequences of war.

Hawkeye is also a likely possibility as he was presented as the everyman of the last Avengers movie, the moral center of the group and the one, because of his having a family, with the most to lose. Killing him would add a terribly tragic dimension to the universe.

Then there are the three major players in all of this -- Captain America and Iron Man. On a financial level, actors Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Chris Evans have expiring contracts that would require more money. Could Disney and Marvel decide to part ways with the actors and simply go in new directions with the Universe.

From a narrative standpoint it might be best for the franchise as well. None of the characters seems to have any way to grow. Captain America remains as morally rigid as they come and there is no plausibility at this point that he starts showing a dark side. Tony Stark has traversed the same arc of learning responsibility in every movie he has appeared in but continues to revert to the same mistakes time and again. The Hulk is not even getting a chance to flourish in his own movie in the current iteration. It is getting exhaustive and taking away from more interesting character explorations.

Killing one of the major pieces allows other characters to evolve into the leadership roles, thus allowing for newer dynamics within the Avengers team.

The question, of course, is whether Disney finally lets major characters die in its movie, strengthening the narrative, but weakening its marketing machine in the near future (they can always indulge in reboots).

Who should die?