With the Marvel Cinematic Universe growing larger than ever, it’s easy to forget that several once-prominent characters have quietly vanished. Whether sidelined by studio plans, multiverse complexities, or ongoing development delays, many figures from the MCU timeline poised for more screen time have disappeared for years. In a constantly evolving universe, the absences are becoming harder to ignore.

The MCU’s sprawling universe is so expansive and interconnected that developments can ripple throughout and force a change of trajectory. This is especially noticeable with characters left to languish after their introduction. While many of these characters have appeared in alternate realities in What If…?, this list focuses exclusively on Earth-616, considering characters missing from the mainline MCU universe.

10

White Vision

Last Seen In WandaVision

White Vision debuted in WandaVision (2021), where he was last seen flying off into the sky after recovering his memories from the original Vision. This incarnation was built from Vision’s destroyed body by S.W.O.R.D.. Importantly, he lacks the emotional connection to Wanda that the original and the Hex-created Vision had.

White Vision’s fate was left ambiguous, leaving to ponder his fate as an Avenger. However, the MCU announced a spin-off series тιтled Vision Quest in 2022, which was said to follow his journey post-WandaVision. Frustratingly, since that announcement, there have been no concrete updates.

Vision also hasn’t made any appearances in other Marvel projects, despite being one of the MCU’s most powerful characters. With so much multiverse chaos and threats involving synthetics and AI, Vision’s absence feels more glaring with each pᴀssing phase. With numerous Avengers teams forming in the wake of Thunderbolts*, hopefully, he’ll return to the fray soon.

9

Kang / The Council of Kangs

Last Seen In Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania

Kang the Conqueror was being built as the MCU’s next big bad, filling the large, Infinity Stone-bejewelled shoes left after Thanos’s defeat. Much like Thanos, the MCU began teasing his arrival in advance, with variants from across the multiverse appearing in Loki. His fully formed appearance in Quantumania was intended to set up Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

The movie would have depicted him ᴀssembling the “Council of Kangs,” teaming up with his own variants to conquer the multiverse. Unfortunately, Jonathan Majors, who played Kang, was dropped from the MCU after a flurry of abuse allegations, leading to a conviction. This prompted the pivot to Avengers: Doomsday.

Marvel has quietly dropped its Kang narrative completely, despite emphasizing his importance to the multiverse and the TVA. While understandable, this leaves several promising narratives tantalizingly out of reach. While it’s likely Kang will return at some point, it probably won’t be until Majors is a distant memory.

8

Tommy Maximoff

Last Seen In WandaVision

Tommy Maximoff, Wanda’s speedster son from WandaVision (2021), hasn’t appeared in the main Earth-616 continuity since the series. Tommy, along with his brother Billy, was created by Wanda’s Westview Hex and disappeared along with it. His next appearance was in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), though that version belonged to a different universe.

However, Tommy’s Earth-616 future seems to be slowly forming. In Agatha All Along, Agatha and Billy worked to place Tommy’s spirit into a drowning boy. While audiences saw glimpses of this, Tommy himself has yet to be revealed.

The show ends with Billy Kaplan and Agatha Harkness setting out to find him. Still, despite this setup, the mainline Tommy Maximoff hasn’t appeared, and there’s still no confirmation of his actual reappearance. His future role in the Young Avengers or another major arc remains in limbo.

7

The Eternals

Last Seen In Eternals

Marvel’s Eternals (2021) introduced ten new heroes and expanded the MCU’s cosmic lore dramatically. However, since then, the entire team has been missing. This is especially galling as the movie ended with half of the Eternals departing Earth and the others being abducted by Celestial Arishem.

Eternals set up a mᴀssive cosmic conflict. It also introduced Thanos’s brother Eros, played by Harry Styles. While Eternals 2 has been mentioned in rumors, Marvel Studios has confirmed a sequel isn’t being considered.

Despite connections to Earth’s mythology, the multiverse, and larger threats, the characters haven’t appeared in any subsequent MCU film or show. The closest reference to anything from Eternals came in Captain America: Brave New World. There, Celestial Island, created from the hand of an emerging Celestial, was central to the movie’s adamantium plot.

6

War Machine

Last Seen In Secret Invasion

War Machine, aka James “Rhodey” Rhodes, hasn’t had a major MCU appearance since Secret Invasion. While Rhodey appeared throughout, he was revealed to be a Skrull impersonator. The real Rhodey was returned at the end of the miniseries, with the implication that he had been missing since some time after Captain America: Civil War.

Originally, War Machine was set to headline Armor Wars, a movie spun off from the scrapped Disney+ series of the same name. However, that project has undergone major delays. It currently remains in development limbo.

Despite being a longstanding Avenger and close ally of Tony Stark, Rhodey has largely been sidelined during the multiverse and cosmic upheavals. It’s been years since audiences saw the real War Machine suited up and in battle. Even more frustrating is that Rhodey isn’t listed among the cast members for Avengers: Doomsday, meaning he might not encounter Robert Downey Jr.’s Doom.

5

Everett Ross

Last Seen In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Everett Ross, the CIA operative played by Martin Freeman, last appeared in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). There, he evaded being arrested by his ex-wife Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Before that, he played a supporting role in Black Panther (2018) and had minor involvement in broader MCU intelligence matters.

Ross was once seen as a bridge between Wakanda and the rest of the world. However, his story has since stalled after this role became slightly redundant with other characters such as Ironheart filling this void. While Ross did appear in Secret Invasion, he was revealed to be a Skrull impostor, with the real Everett still missing.

Although his ties to Val, the CIA, and Thunderbolts-related operations could easily justify a return, Ross has been absent from key global developments in the MCU, such as Thunderbolts* or Captain America: Brave New World. With no confirmed future appearances, Ross remains in narrative limbo, missing from screens for nearly three years now.

4

America Chavez

Last Seen In Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness

America Chavez exploded into the MCU with multiverse-hopping powers in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). She was poised to be a major player in the Multiverse Saga as one of the few characters able to traverse the multiverse. At the film’s end, she began training in the mystical arts at Kamar-Taj, hinting at a significant future role.

However, years later she has yet to return. Despite her connection to the multiverse and potential team-ups with characters like Doctor Strange, Wong, or the Young Avengers, America hasn’t been referenced or shown in any other MCU project since. Her unique power set would make her vital in any battle across dimensions.

However, despite this, she remains sidelined. As Marvel pivots its multiverse plans, America Chavez’s role seems increasingly undefined. Despite being introduced as vital, she’s completely disappeared.

3

The Hulk

Last Seen In She-Hulk: Attorney At Law

Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk, last appeared in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (2022). Throughout the series, he briefly mentored his cousin Jennifer Walters and later revealed he had a son, Skaar. Yet despite mᴀssive implications, Hulk has since disappeared.

More surprisingly, Hulk doesn’t appear at all in Captain America: Brave New World (2025), which functions as a spiritual sequel to The Incredible Hulk (2008). It featured characters like The Leader and Thunderbolt Ross, whose fates were inextricably connected to Bruce and his gamma experiments. Hulk’s exclusion from a movie so deeply tied to his legacy is a glaring omission.

Given how central Banner was in the early MCU phases, his current lack of involvement is frustrating. Hulk has been repeatedly sidelined due to rights issue with Universal Pictures. Yet despite finding a way around this for his villains, Marvel failed to do so for the Jade Giant himself.

2

Aaron Davis

Last Seen In Spider-Man: Homecoming

Aaron Davis, played by Donald Glover, was introduced in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) as a small-time criminal who mentioned his nephew. This was a clear nod to Miles Morales, who was actually based on Glover. Glover returned briefly in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) as a live-action Prowler variant.

However, that appearance was in a Sony production and not considered canon to the MCU. Since Homecoming, Aaron Davis hasn’t reappeared in any MCU projects, despite growing demand for Miles Morales’ introduction. Even the MCU’s Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is pushing for Miles’s entry in the near future.

Aaron Davis’s appearance confirmed Miles’s existence. If Miles does appear, Aaron might not be far behind. As Marvel is preparing to explore Peter Parker’s street-level connections further after Spider-Man: No Way Home, the time is perfect to follow up on this thread.

1

Baron Mordo

Last Seen In Doctor Strange

Earth-616’s Baron Karl Mordo was last seen officially in Doctor Strange (2016). The movie ended with a thrilling tease wherein Mordo was set up as a future antagonist who declared he would begin eliminating rogue sorcerers. Yet when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) arrived, it instead featured a multiverse variant of Mordo from Earth-838.

More galling, Mordo’s war against sorcerers was reduced to an off-hand comment. Mordo’s previous position as an ally was restored, acting as a member of the Illuminati. The mainline MCU’s Mordo has not appeared since his post-credits tease nearly a decade ago, despite his ominous new mission.

While his appearance in MOM was fun, it was extremely unfulfilling. Marvel didn’t bother to follow up on the original Mordo arc, or indeed any variant since. For a former ally-turned-potential-villain of Strange, his silence across Phases 3 and 4 makes him one of the MCU’s biggest dropped threads.