Avengers: Infinity War is only one week away from devastating/impressing/angering us all. Over the past decade -- Odin's ale-soaked beard you guys, a decade -- the Marvel Cinematic Universe has woven quite the intricate narrative tapestry that has encompassed a wide range of genres: space operas, gritty spy thrillers, old-fashioned superhero epics, and comedies.

Avengers: Infinity War will mean the ends of some journeys. This means deaths, deaths, and more deaths. Have you seen that Infinity War poster? It's far too cluttered. It needs a good tidying.

And, look, it's a given that Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Ant-Man and such are safe from the purple Mad Titan's fatal wrath. It's foolish to even think that the babies will bite the dust. But some of the OGs? Well, uh...

So, we've narrowed it down to five characters who're most likely to die in Avengers: Infinity War.

5. Loki

This one will happen in the opening scene, in order to establish Thanos as the ultimate badass. Given that Loki heroically overcame his selfish nature at the end of Thor: Ragnarok and made an effort to mend his broken bond with Thor, it's a fine way for him to go out as a tragically flawed anti-hero. Tom Hiddleston has served this delightfully conniving villain well, but even he can only push the character so far before the cycle of ally-ship/sudden-but-inevitable betrayal gets too repetitive. Moreover, if you watch the trailers closely, you'll notice that the only scene Loki is in is when he reluctantly hands Thanos the Space Stone. Is Thanos going to let a lacklustre lackey like Loki live? Probably not.

4. Nebula

Gamora and Nebula, the daughters of Thanos, have more reasons than most to want to kill the golden gloved purple baldie. Gamora is a key member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, so she's probably safe. Nebula, though? A periphery Guardians of the Galaxy character? Absurdly determined to kill Thanos without any help? Dead as a blue doornail. Because Gamora and Nebula took tentative steps at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 to heal their fractured relationship, it's naturally the ideal time to violently sever it for good.

3. Vision

C'mon, he's got an Infinity Stone embedded in his strange noggin. Powerful though Vision is, there's no way that Thanos isn't ripping that Mind Stone from his head and leaving only a sad red, green and gold android shell in his wake.

2. Black Widow

Amidst the deaths of heroes who're larger than life, there needs to be the death of a hero who's just a person. And besides, let's be real, Black Widow peaked in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which was 4 years ago. The creatives have struggled to find interesting things for Natasha Romanoff to do since then. The most notable storyline was an ill-conceived relationship between her and the Hulk. And that she's at the centre of a gigantic battle in Wakanda with little more than body armour and a blond wig for protection...yeah, best to make your peace with this, you few Black Widow stans.

1. Tony Stark

A lot of people are convinced that Captain America will die in Avengers: Infinity War. I'm sorry, but are you nuts? Just look at the sorry state Cap's in: Bearded, morose, without his mighty shield, and the none-too-subtle visual cue of his costume missing the star heart, indicates that this is a man at his lowest point. He ain't going out like this. There's redemption to be had.

Tony Stark, on the other hand, has completed his character arc. The man has faced his demons and emerged...not unscathed, exactly, but still willing to be a hero and do right by every body. From callous weapons manufacturer to callous father figure to a young Spider-Man, from an irresponsible douchebag to a control freak douchebag -- okay, so his arc isn't perfect; but it's all too human, and satisfying in its own way.

We know that Spider-Man and Tony Stark are together for much of Infinity War. Perhaps in helplessly witnessing Stark make the sacrifice play, there's potential there for the "Uncle Ben dies" scene; the moment that forces little Peter Parker to grow up, and fast.