Avengers: Endgame brings together pretty much every big-screen Marvel superhero ever for an action-packed final act that is quite simply mind-blowing. As Earth's Mightiest Heroes assemble to battle the Mad Titan, we get to see a lot of unexpected faces, but it's hard to escape the fact that there are some big omissions.
Due to budget constraints and a myriad of other practical and story reasons, the likes of Sharon Carter, Sif, and Talos were nowhere to be seen in that battle. The question is, why not?
Well, in this breakdown, we take a look at the 15 characters who failed to make the cut, while also explaining why they didn't show up for the biggest battle of the of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's history. We can't really hold it against the Russo Brothers for their absence, but some fans were definitely disappointed.
So, to check out this list of characters, all you have to do is click on the "View List" button below.
Goose
Goose stole the show in
Captain Marvel, and considering Earth's Mightiest Heroes needed all the help they could get against Thanos, it's pretty surprising that the Flerken was nowhere to be seen. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has indicated that he could still be alive in the present as he's not a normal cat, so why was he M.I.A.?
Well, the logical explanation here is that
Avengers: Endgame was shot before
Captain Marvel and Goose's appearance hadn't been settled on by that point. Marvel also had no way of knowing that he would be so massively popular, so it's no wonder Carol Danvers wasn't shown heading into battle alongside Goose.
Everett Ross
Martin Freeman appeared in
Captain America: Civil War and played a key role in
Black Panther, so common sense says he'll have a part to play in the sequel to the latter.
Based on everything that had happened to the Earth during the five years since the events of
Avengers: Infinity War, the Sokovia Accords no longer had a bearing on the actions of the team (they had more important problems to address) and getting government approval for their trip through time was hardly a priority.
So, no matter whether Ross was dusted or working closely with the Wakandans, it makes sense for Marvel Studios to hold off on bringing him back.
Sharon Carter
The last time we saw Sharon Carter, it appeared as if romance could be on the cards for her and Steve Rogers. After all, they shared a kiss shortly before he went on the run but the simple fact she works for the C.I.A. and he's a wanted criminal likely meant the brakes was put on their budding relationship before it even had chance to get started.
Throw in the fact that the focus of
Avengers: Endgame was very much on Steve's love for her aunt Peggy, and it's no wonder the Russo Brothers decided against bringing her back. It's possible that she was dusted and could return in the planned TV show on Disney+ starring Bucky and The Falcon.
Erik Selvig
Erik Selvig was a key part of both
The Avengers and
Thor: The Dark World, while he was also responsible for helping the God of Thunder learn more about the Infinity Stones in
Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Despite all of that, he's nowhere to be seen in
Avengers: Endgame and it seems there may not have been any need for the scientist during either the past or present (where he was among those dusted by Thanos). After all, by the time Earth's Mightiest Heroes travelled back to 2012 and 2013, they already knew what had to be done and there's little he could have brought to the table.
Eitri
During
Avengers: Infinity War, we see that Eitri still has the mould he used to create Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet. Despite that, it seems like it simply never occurs to The Avengers to head back to Nidavellir in order to retrieve it. Instead, Tony Stark creates a new Gauntlet that syncs up to his armour and changes size based on who is wielding it.
That actually goes a long way in explaining their decision, but it's hard not to wonder what became of him.
Sif
With no sign of Sif in
Thor: Ragnarok or
Avengers: Infinity War, fans were hopeful that Jaimie Alexander would reprise the role for this movie. Sadly, whether or not she was among Thanos' victims, the God of Thunder's old flame is completely absent from the final battle and it's damn near impossible to think of a logical story explanation for why that is.
Ultimately, Alexander's busy schedule is probably the most likely cause and given her absence from the MCU as of late, perhaps Sif was just killed off camera at some point (what a waste...).
Arnim Zola
Howard Stark mentions Arnim Zola when he unwittingly meets his son, and considering the fact that we know it was two years after 1970 that he died of a mysterious illness and transferred his consciousness into a series of computers, you'd think the Russo Brothers would have considered tying into that somehow, right?
Honestly, as fun as it would have been to see Steve Rogers come face to face with his old foe, there was really no need for it and in an already expensive movie, the budget would have been stretched even further. A casual mention was more than enough for fans.
The Nova Corps
A number of different heroes are present for the final battle in
Avengers: Endgame, including a huge number of sorcerers and the Ravagers (look closely and you'll even spot Howard the Duck).
The Nova Corps, however, are nowhere to be seen, and that's probably because Thanos wiped all of them out when he attacked Xandar. Bear in mind that while he had a habit of going from planet to planet and killing half of their populations, if he perceived the Nova Corps as a threat, it's no wonder he made sure they could never bother him again.
What that means for Nova himself in the Marvel Cinematic Universe remains a mystery.
Talos
At the end of
Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers heads into outer space with the Skrulls to try and find them a new home but that was twenty years ago and they don't accompany her to Earth to take on Thanos. In fairness, that could be because they weren't really soldiers and the fact her solo movie hadn't started shooting at this stage is another obvious factor in their lack of screentime.
Chances are it will be in the sequel that we learn more about what came next for the shapeshifting aliens, and by the time
Avengers: Endgame takes place, Talos could be an old man/dead anyway.
Maria And Monica Rambeau
Talking of Carol, her screentime in this superhero ensemble is pretty limited anyway and so it's no great surprise that we don't get to find out much about what she's been up to or her reaction to how much Earth has changed in her absence.
It's somewhat hard to believe that she didn't at least consider tracking down her old friends upon her return, but if they were dusted, that saves the reunion for her next movie - assuming some of it takes place in the present day (personally, I'm betting we get a mixture of that and what she spent those two decades doing).
Agent Coulson
Considering the fact that The Avengers assembled because of Agent Coulson's death, it's a shame he's not even mentioned throughout the course of this adventure. That can be blamed on the divide between Marvel Studios and Marvel Television, and seeing as Coulson died (again) the last time we saw him, it's no wonder the Russo Brothers couldn't figure out a way of fitting him in here.
The same applies to the Marvel characters who inhabit the corner of the MCU on Netflix, as
Avengers: Endgame's writers have been quoted as saying they would have all been dusted because there was no way of incorporating them into the movie from a chronological standpoint.
Nick Fury
Nick Fury was dusted at the end of
Avengers: Infinity War and makes a very brief appearance during Tony Stark's funeral.
Clearly, Doctor Strange didn't think he and Maria Hill would be able to bring much to the table in that final battle, which is a shame as they could have taken down a few aliens with some well placed shots...and that Helicarrier they had in
Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Nakia
Nakia was T'Challa's main love interest in Black Panther but she must have been on some sort of mission in
Avengers: Infinity War because there was no sign of her during that battle in Wakanda.
Nor was she among the Wakandans who arrived at the Avengers Compound to battle Thanos, so my guess is she was either watching over her home or was among the dusted and unable to get back there in time. Either way, it will be interesting to see how her relationship with T'Challa is impacted by what happened. It's also worth noting that W'Kabi was M.I.A., so he's likely in prison.
Maggie And Paxton
When Scott Lang tracks down his daughter, there's no sign of her mother or step-father. While there was no real need for them to appear, it's hard not to wonder if they were both there for her during the five years Ant-Man was missing.
This could be something Marvel Studios addresses in the next solo Ant-Man movie as there really wasn't a huge amount of time here.
The X-Men And Fantastic Four
Heading into
Avengers: Endgame, there was a lot of speculation that Annihilus could appear or that Marvel Studios would tease the debut of the X-Men and Fantastic Four (even if it was a throwaway mention). That didn't happen, and in the words of the movie's writers, they simply weren't allowed to do this from a legal standpoint.
With any luck, some sort of reference about the Mutant Gene will make its way into
The Eternals.