The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has introduced an incredible array of characters over the course of The Avengers‘s movies, but some characters deserved so much more than they got. While these movies have pushed the narrative of the MCU forward, they have also shone a light on individual heroes’ stories.

From Tony Stark, who progressed from a selfish billionaire to one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and Steve Rogers, who came from humble beginnings to save the universe, there are a lot of incredible heroes who meet spectacular and worthy ends.

However, there are a handful of characters who disappear more abruptly, or their endings feel disappointing. And in those cases, these characters deserve so much more.

10

Maria Hill

Maria Hill was largely relegated to being a background character in the Avengers movies, which is a real shame considering the casting of Cobie Smulders, who could have offered so much more.

Maria had a few rare moments to shine, but these often happened outside the central Avengers films, until she was eventually murdered by a rebellious Skrull in order to hurt Nick Fury. Maria deserved a better life, and a better ending.

9

Quicksilver

While Wanda Maximoff is often highlighted for the immense sadness of her MCU story, one character that often gets overlooked is her brother, Pietro Maximoff. Both characters lost their parents at a young age, before being taken and experimented on for years.

Then, when it came down to it, they recognized the error of their ways, and sided with the heroes, only for Pietro to be killed while saving the lives of innocent bystanders.

It’s a heroic ending, but the fact that Wanda goes on to lose Vision and her children kind of overshadows Pietro’s end. And ultimately, he is forgotten as a much smaller part of the story than he deserved to be.

8

The Other

The Other was introduced first in The Avengers as a personal servant to Thanos who aids Loki in his effort to invade Earth. The Other provides the Chitauri army, and serves faithfully to his master, however, he never shows up in any other Avengers movies after this.

The reason being, in a brief scene in Guardians of the Galaxy, Ronan brutally executes the Other in front of Thanos, who shows no regard for the death of his servant. He wasn’t a hero, but the character was used and discarded with so little care that he deserved better.

7

Red Skull

Red Skull first shows up in Captain America: The First Avenger, opposite Steve Rogers. At that point, Johann Schmidt is a mortal man enhanced with the power of an unrefined Super Soldier serum. And despite his enhanced abilities, he loses against Steve Rogers.

But surprisingly, Red Skull returns later in the MCU in Avengers: Infinity War when Thanos arrives to collect the Soul Stone from Vormir.

However, while Steve Rogers returns the stone to Vormir in Avengers: Endgame, there is no scene depicting their reunion. Red Skull is a fascinating character, but one that is criminally underdeveloped despite subsequent appearances.

6

Heimdall

Heimdall is a dear friend to Thor, and a gatekeeper in Asgard who helps to ensure safe travel for his people. However, after serving faithfully and surviving the fall of Valhalla, Heimdall is eliminated by the hand of Thanos.

In his dying moments in Avengers: Infinity War, he chooses to open a portal for Thor and Bruce Banner to escape to Earth away from the Mad тιтan. After all he endured, Heimdall deserved better. He is seen again in Thor: Love & Thunder in the afterlife, but his story was cut short.

5

Hawkeye

Clint Barton is an exceptional man who, despite his mortality and lack of superpowers or wealth, became a human weapon. His skill with an arrow is unrivaled, and he formed a close friendship with Natasha Romanoff.

However, while Nat eventually had a movie to expand her story, Clint remains one of the most underrated and underappreciated heroes in the MCU. When the blip happens, Clint struggles to accept the loss of his family, and he goes on a killing spree as Ronin.

Then, when his family returns, he hides his shameful past, and chooses to retire from superhero life. It’s sweet that he could pᴀss the mantle down to Kate Bishop, but it felt like Clint was short-changed.

4

Black Widow

While Clint’s life spiraled out of control, Natasha Romanoff’s came to a sudden and abrupt halt in Avengers: Endgame. Natasha Romanoff had a full life beyond the Avengers, and she had just recently reconnected with her estranged family.

However, after being a pillar of the team for over a decade, Natasha Romanoff sacrificed herself and her future in favor of saving the world. Of course, it was the right call, but it feels like an overwhelming loss to see this incredible character disappear without ever really getting the spotlight.

Once again, it’s fortunate that her mantle could be pᴀssed on to her sister, Yelena Belova, but it’s sad to think about how much more she could have accomplished if she had survived those events.

3

J.A.R.V.I.S.

J.A.R.V.I.S. is often forgotten from the MCU. Initially, J.A.R.V.I.S. is the AI voice ᴀssistant of Tony Stark, who helps to run and operate his home. However, in Avengers: Age of Ultron, his story comes to a horrifying end when he is essentially killed by Ultron.

Tony has the bright idea of trying to revive J.A.R.V.I.S. by putting his memory into the new body Ultron was creating for himself, but despite having the same voice, the creature that emerges is not J.A.R.V.I.S.

Instead, the melding of the Mind Stone with this synthetic body and an AI program results in the creation of an entirely new being. But J.A.R.V.I.S. is no more.

2

Vision

Speaking of Vision, this brand-new life in the MCU was an incredible addition to the team in Age of Ultron, who helped put a stop to the rampaging Ultron. But after that, the character is forced to take sides in Captain America: Civil War, before running away with his love, Wanda Maximoff.

However, Avengers: Infinity War sees both Wanda and Vision dragged back into the action when Thanos and the Black Order begin to attack Earth. As a living Infinity Stone, Vision stands to lose more than most, and Wanda and Shuri try desperately to preserve his life.

However, he is ultimately killed by the hand of his beloved in order to thwart Thanos, before time is reversed, and Vision endures a second death with the stone being ripped from his head by Thanos.

It’s one of the most brutal and tragic character arcs in the MCU.

1

James Rhodes

James Rhodes has stood by Tony since the start of his time as a hero. However, Tony is a handful, and Rhodes often ends up in trouble because of his friend’s actions. This is perhaps most obvious when Rhodes sides with Tony in Captain America: Civil War, and ends up with a severe spinal injury.

However, things get even worse for Rhodey as seen in Secret Invasion. At some point in the timeline, Rhodey was swapped out with a Skrull, while he was kept alive in a pod that kept him connected to the Skrull who was walking around and living his life.

Rhodey did get to step up as War Machine, but his life has been a roller-coaster that has been more downs than ups in the MCU. Hopefully, his story after being rescued can be a marked improvement from everything that came before.