The Avengers that banded together in the Infinity Saga have since disbanded, with questions now being raised over where they might return in the MCU.
The Avengers that formed in the eponymous MCU movie of 2012 have disassembled, with a huge question mark hanging over when and where they could return. The Multiverse Saga is over halfway through its three-phase lifespan, and there hasn’t been a single Avengers movie to punctuate each phase. This has arguably put the MCU timeline in a precarious position as waning enthusiasm culminated in the historic box office flop that was The Marvels. The sheer popularity of the original team is now more evident than ever, prompting calls for their return to help reinvigorate the franchise.
Avengers: Endgame , the last movie in which the Avengers appeared together, remains the MCU’s highest-grossing movie.
Why The Avengers Aren’t Together After Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame concluded with a distinct power vacuum as the titular team’s two leaders seemingly left the MCU for good. This is enough to put the organization in disarray, particularly under the assumption that Tony Stark was the main financier of the outfit. Captain America’s leadership remained unsubstituted indefinitely, with no remaining Avenger stepping in to maintain the team in his stead. This led to John Walker taking up the mantle and tainting the symbolism of the shield before Sam Wilson finally stepped into the role.
Nick Fury, meanwhile, has been preoccupied with off-world events, shifting his focus from the Avengers he helped form to SABER and its super-powered associates like Monica Rambeau and Carol Danvers. The latest developments surrounding Captain America: Brave New World suggest that President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross intends to fill the void left by Fury, tasking Wilson with reforming the team in the exclusive footage aired at CinemaCon. This could finally lead to Wilson embracing the role of Captain America in earnest, though who they should unite against is yet to fully materialize.
The Avengers Need A Suitable Threat To Come Back Together
Presumably, the threat that will unite the new Avengers will be Kang the Conqueror, who was last seen rallying variants of himself in the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. While the fate of Kang the Conqueror in the wake of Jonathan Majors’ departure is still relatively unclear, no confirmation from Marvel either way leads to the assumption that his arch-villainy will continue and culminate in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Until then, there are few threats on the current release slate that comprise a threat as large as Thanos and his minions.
With that being said, the incoming debut of Sentry in the MCU will arguably pose a danger to Earth on a par with Thanos. Yet his arrival in Thunderbolts* suggests that a darker version of the team will debut sooner than Sam Wilson can rally the original members and their newfound allies to a common cause. However, regardless of whether the asterisk in Thunderbolts* will give way to a new title spotlighting the Dark Avengers or another team of antiheroes, the more morally unambiguous Avengers will likely regroup in earnest in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Where All Of The Original Avengers Are Now
While the Avengers may have disbanded, half are still operating within the MCU, albeit in a diminished capacity. This creates an opportunity for them to come out of retirement should a world-ending threat rear its head on Earth or beyond. The multiverse, meanwhile, offers plenty of opportunities for the deceased members of the original team to return as variants from other universes.
Tony Stark/Iron Man
Tony Stark’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame drew a definitive line beneath Iron Man’s MCU journey, rounding out the Infinity Saga with its most meaningful death. With that being said, the multiverse’s infinite strands are sure to house a variant of Tony Stark that may make an appearance somewhere down the line. This is most likely to occur in Avengers: Secret Wars, which is rumored to precede a soft reboot of the MCU after bringing multiple variants together in a cataclysmic yet nostalgic final bout.
Robert Downey Jr. has expressed his stipulations for returning, stating that it would have to be necessary and make sense within the narrative. Given Tony Stark is one of the smartest characters in the MCU, it is hard to see variants living within other universes shirking the opportunity to lend a hand against a multiversal threat like Kang the Conqueror. Whatever the case, Tony Stark’s death on the Sacred Timeline should remain untouched, lest it diminish its impact and harm Avengers: Endgame‘s legacy.
Steve Rogers/Captain America
After time-traveling back to the 1940s, Steve Rogers poignantly decided to live a full life with Peggy Carter instead of returning to the present MCU. This saw Rogers appearing as a very old man to bequeath his shield and mantle to Sam Wilson. Estimates put Steve Rogers’ age at 180 during this scene, with his relinquishment of the shield proving that he has no intention of returning to the Superhero business.
Where Captain America is now remains a mystery, as he may either be living out the remainder of his years in hiding or have already met his end after bidding his final farewells to his friends. Another, wilder theory stemming from Joaquin Torres in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier suggests that Rogers is currently carrying out a secret mission on the moon. While this may sound frivolous, the MCU is more than capable of vindicating this madcap conjecture somewhere within the next few years. A safer assumption, however, is that Evans will also reprise his role in Avengers: Secret Wars.
Thor
Following Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor is arguably the most active of all the Avengers. Thor was last seen protecting the galaxy alongside his newly adopted daughter, Love, wielding Mjolnir. While he did not reclaim his throne after abdicating in Avengers: Endgame, a fifth solo movie is almost certainly on the cards for the God of Thunder thanks to the post-credits scene of his most recent movie, in which Zeus set his son, Hercules, on Thor.
Despite this, Thor is reaching the end of his MCU tenure. Thor’s own MCU arc has come full circle now that he has taken on the responsibility of fatherhood, fulfilling the purpose he set out to achieve after leaving New Asgard in the hands of King Valkyrie. Regardless, Thor being off-world means that returning to the Avengers will likely come with the advent of a universal threat rather than a terrestrial one.
Bruce Banner/Hulk
Bruce Banner is still operating in his Smart Hulk persona, though he has discovered a way of suppressing the physical transformation from human to Hulk. He was last seen alongside his cousin in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, where a swift return to Sakaar saw him introduce his son, Skaar, to his family and the MCU. Suffice it to say, Banner will make another appearance somewhere down the line.
The arrival of Skaar opens the door for the MCU to explore a World War Hulk adaptation, though the unclear situation with Hulk’s distribution rights puts a significant obstacle in the way of another solo Hulk movie. Instead, Banner/Smart Hulk is more likely to return as part of another movie as a secondary character. Whether this will come before Avengers: The Kang Dynasty remains to be seen, though a handful of important characters who appeared in his MCU debut will be returning in Captain America: Brave New World.
Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
After sacrificing herself so that Hawkeye could retrieve the Soul Stone in Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow is extremely unlikely to return. Similarly to Tony Stark, a variant of Natasha Romanoff may appear in Avengers: Secret Wars, but to retcon her sacrifice would diminish the impact it had on the future of the MCU. It is unlikely that the MCU will bring the original Avengers together in Avengers: Secret Wars without also including Black Widow, meaning her return will possibly coincide with that of Tony Stark.
Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Although Hawkeye seems to have relinquished his mantle to Kate Bishop, the aging Avenger is still very much alive and capable of coming out of retirement once more. Hawkeye has placed the eponymous hero back at his ranch alongside his family while in close contact with his newfound protégé. As Hawkeye demonstrated, it is unlikely that Clint will balk at facing a world-ending threat should one emerge in the near future of the MCU.
