7 Most Underrated Avengers Movie Storylines Over The MCU’s 13 Years of Films In The Series

Ever since The Avengers came out, these movies have worked hard to tie together dozens of incredible heroes, but some storylines fall by the wayside while others take center stage. There is no doubt that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has managed to do something completely out of this world with several successful superhero team-up movies. Most movies struggle to balance a handful of characters, but the Avengers movies can juggle literally dozens.

However, despite delivering exciting movies that bring together various heroes, it’s inevitable that some stories are overshadowed. Despite this, there are a lot of these side stories that deserve a lot more recognition, and should have been explored in more depth in the MCU. From relationships, to the fallout from universal disasters, the MCU contains a lot more stories than the ones that made it to the big screen.

7

Wanda & Vision’s Romance

Wanda Maximoff speaking to Vision in WandaVision

After the events of Captain America: Civil War, Wanda and Vision run away together, but the thing is, this relationship got almost no room to breathe. One minute, Vision is guarding Wanda, and the next, they find themselves in Scotland hiding out after the fallout from the Sokovia Accords. But the truth is, a lot happened to this couple in the meantime that happened entirely off-screen.

Their relationship is one of the most curious in the MCU, due to Vision being a synthetic being whose life force literally came from the Mind Stone, and Wanda is a powerful sorceress. Of course, there is a glimpse at their relationship in WandaVision, but all of that was born out of Wanda’s imagination, after Vision was killed. The relationship remains one of the most intriguing and complex to come from the MCU.

Bruce Banner and Tony Stark with SHIELD in The Avengers

On the flipside, one relationship that is much more straightforward is the friendship that forms between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Stark is a genius inventor and engineer who single-handedly made the Iron Man suit. Bruce is a genius scientist whose research led to him becoming a terrifying green giant that can level buildings. The two have shared interests, and a huge mutual respect for one another.

When they first meet, they are aware of each other, but over time, Tony turns to Bruce as a therapist, and a friend in times of need. And it’s significant that it’s both Tony and Bruce that don the Infinity Gauntlet in Avengers: Endgame to put things right. These men are incredible figures who had one of the best relationships in the MCU, and it would have been great to see the pair team-up in a film because it would have been packed with fun, action, and some incredible wit.

5

Natasha Romanoff & Clint Barton’s History Together

Another interesting relationship in the MCU is the one that exists between Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, and Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow. These two elite agents originally found themselves on opposite sides in Budapest. While Nat was working for the Red Room, an organization that raised her, and treated her only as an ᴀsset and a murderer, and Clint was working for SHIELD. But due to his incredible ability to see things others can’t, Clint recognized Nat’s reluctance to be a Black Widow, and he helped her to leave that life behind her.

From that point onward, the pair became close, with Nat becoming a part of Clint’s family, and becoming an aunt-like figure to his kids. Nat and Clint always supported each other, and when it came time to choose who to sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, both of them rushed without hesitation to give up their lives for the other. Nat ultimately won out, but the closeness and their bond was a remarkable thing that got very little screen time, yet it still made an incredible impression in the few scenes that see it develop.

4

The Blip Should Have So Much Further Of A Reach

Peter Parker turning to dust in Avengers Infinity War

When Thanos snapped half of all life out of existence, the snap did not just impact the Earth. The truth is that Thanos’ snap made half of all life in the universe disappear. And we can only imagine that in the vast expanse of the universe, there were a lot of other worlds dealing with utter chaos and a lack of understanding as to how and why half of all life disappeared. Captain Marvel spent the five-year span travelling through space, helping other planets, but none of that was ever shown or really discussed.

In addition, the Guardians of the Galaxy would have met people across other worlds, and also Thor, all of which would have had blip stories to tell. Obviously, the MCU can only dedicate so much time to exploring the impact of the blip, but the reality of this far-reaching destruction must be enormous, and the MCU only scratched the surface looking at its effect on Earth.

3

Thor’s Power Upgrade In Avengers: Infinity War

Thor holding Nidavellir open in Avengers Infinity War

Thor had a rough time in Thor: Ragnarok when his sister Hela destroyed his hammer, but he learned to harness his abilities without Mjölnir. However, when it came time to fight Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, Thor went on a journey to forge a weapon capable of taking down the Mad тιтan. This led to the God of Thunder acquiring Stormbreaker, which once again helped him to channel his now greatly enhanced powers through his new weapon.

However, despite this, Thor’s power upgrade has largely felt unexplored in the subsequent stories. Thor: Love and Thunder saw Thor take on new challenges, but the reality is, this is the god that killed a version of Thanos, fought Hulk one on one, and completed numerous impossible feats of endurance and power.

2

Quicksilver’s Sacrifice Was Quickly Forgotten

Pietro Maximoff running fast in Avengers Age of Ultron

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff join the fray, initially on the side of the terrifying robot AI, Ultron. However, these two young heroes soon learn that they are fighting on the wrong side, and they begin to help the Avengers to save lives and take down Ultron. In the midst of the incredible battle on Sokovia, Pietro saves dozens of lives, but some stray bullets end up fatally wounding the hero.

This was initially a terrible thing for Wanda to face, and one that haunts her for many years after, as seen in WandaVision, but due to other major events, and new relationships, it feels like the character is kind of forgotten. Pietro does have a cameo role in WandaVision, but even then, it’s not Wanda’s brother from Earth-616. Pietro’s sacrifice was huge, and it led to Wanda being accepted into the Avengers, before a lot of other complications.

1

The Reunion In Endgame Was Monumental

Portal scene in the Battle of Earth in Avengers Endgame

Speaking of complications, the battle that takes place between heroes and former allies in Captain America: Civil War was huge. And it resulted in James Rhodes becoming seriously injured. The friendship between characters like Tony Stark and Steve Rogers was irreversibly damaged, and lines were drawn. So it would have been easy to see how this division would continue to define the relationship between both these heroes for as long as they lived. But when they join forces again in both Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, it’s a huge moment.

These heroes didn’t see eye to eye on things, and the choices they made ended up seriously affecting each other in negative ways. But despite all of that, when the Earth was in trouble, and it needed its heroes, the Avengers rallied together and did what they needed to do to save the day. Yes, there was still tension, and things got worse over the five-year blip when the heroes went their separate ways, but again, when there was a glimpse of hope for accessing the quantum realm, the heroes put their differences aside and they worked together as The Avengers.