Every Missing MCU Hero In Endgame’s Final Battle (& Where They Were)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's greatest heroes assembled in Avengers: Endgame's final battle against Thanos (Josh Brolin), but there are also several missing characters who could have lent their skills. Thanos' shocking victory in Avengers: Infinity War paved the way for the sequel to be all about the Avengers fighting to bring back those that were lost. The Avengers traveled through time to collect the Infinity Stones so Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) could reverse Thanos' snap. And after the latest version of the Avengers tried to hold off Thanos' latest power grab, they got reinforcements when Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and other sorcerers helped bring dozens of MCU heroes and additional support to the battle.

Avengers: Endgame's final battle was the culmination of the MCU's Infinity Saga in many ways. Superteams like the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy were present for the fight, while the Ravagers, Wakandans, and Masters of the Mystic Arts helped out as well. The high power level was necessary as Thanos' side had himself, the Black Order, Chitauri, Outriders, and Sakaarans. The end result was an epic battle across the ruins of the Avengers Compound that resulted in Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) dying after using the Infinity Stones to wipe out Thanos and his army.

In the time since Avengers: Endgame debuted in theaters, though, the MCU has only continued to grow. As a result, there is a growing list of heroes who could have helped out in the fight but didn't. There are several reasons in-universe and practically why there were some missing MCU heroes in Avengers: Endgame's final fight, but that doesn't mean the absent participants aren't worth mentioning. Here are all of the MCU heroes missing from Avengers: Endgame's fight against Thanos and where they were instead.

Nick Fury & Maria Hill

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) are two of the longest-tenured MCU characters who didn't help out in Avengers: Endgame's final fight against Thanos. The former SHIELD director and deputy director were last seen in Avengers: Infinity War's post-credits scene, where they were both casualties of Thanos' snap. They turned to dust in the streets of Atlanta, which means they also came back after Hulk's snap in this same location. It appears they were not part of the Masters of the Mystic Arts' roster of characters to recruit to fight Thanos. This may have been accidental or by design, as the non-powered spies might not have fared well against an army of aliens. However, it could have been a great reminder of their individual skills if they did fight.

The Skrulls

The Avengers recruited a lot of help to battle Thanos in Avengers: Endgame's finale, but they didn't include the Skrulls. The shape-shifting aliens could have potentially brought mass reinforcements to the battlefield depending on how they regrouped after Captain Marvel. Instead of Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and his alien race getting into the fight, it is likely that they spent this time on the Skrulls' new home planet - if they ever found one. There is a chance that the Skrulls were present for Avengers: Endgame's fight if they'd secretly replaced some MCU characters in the lead-up to Secret Invasion. However, the alien race as a whole and their advanced technology did not help defeat Thanos.

The Eternals

Posters for Eternals showing the main characters

The Eternals also did not help out in Avengers: Endgame or any of Thanos' plans prior. This was explained in Eternals because they were ordered to not interfere in any events on Earth that did not involve a Deviant threat. While Thanos is part-Deviant in the comics, it appears the Celestials didn't want the Eternals to help out - even though Thanos' snap slowed down plans for The Emergence. When it comes to the main ten Eternals characters, they were all on Earth during Avengers: Endgame's final battle. It is most likely that each of them was in a similar place as Eternals showed. This would mean Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Sprite (Lia McHugh) were in England, Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) was in the Domo, Thena (Angelina Jolie) and Gilgamesh (Don Lee) were in Australia, Druig (Barry Keoghan) was at his compound in Peru, Ajak (Salma Hayek) was at her home in South Dakota, Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) was with his family in Chicago, and Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) was in India. The whereabouts of Ikaris (Richard Madden) are unknown at this time, but he also did not help the Avengers fight Thanos.

Starfox

The post-credits scene for Eternals also confirmed that Starfox (Harry Styles) is in the MCU and the brother of Thanos, yet Eros did not interfere when it came to the Mad Titan's plans. While the rest of the Eternals are known to be on Earth during this time regardless of their status as Snap victims, Starfox's past is still a mystery. Styles' MCU character is introduced as Thena, Makkari, and Druig travel through the cosmos, so that is most likely where he was when the rest of the MCU fought Thanos. However, Pip the Troll's teleportation capabilities mean Starfox could have been anywhere during Avengers: Endgame's final battle. Instead of using those powers to travel to Earth and fight Thanos, it seems that the young Eternal was elsewhere in the cosmos, potentially enjoying the company of others instead.

Blade

The Eternals post-credits scene also confirmed that Mahershala Ali's Blade is an active superhero in the MCU, meaning he too could have been recruited to fight Thanos in theory. The vampire hunter didn't make an appearance in Avengers: Endgame, though, in part because Ali was not yet cast in the role. However, his introduction in Phase 4 did not confirm whether or not any of the other MCU characters know of his existence. If the Avengers didn't know about his superhero efforts during this time period, they also would not know to ask for Blade's help in fighting Thanos. As for where Blade was instead of fighting in Avengers: Endgame's final battle, the UK native likely was across the Atlantic as this event transpired.

Yelena Belova

The MCU also used Phase 4 to introduce a new hero in Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), but she was not around for Avengers: Endgame's final fight either. This was explained in Hawkeye, as it confirmed that Yelena was a victim of Thanos' snap. When she returned thanks to Hulk, she found herself in the house of a former Black Widow assassin. The reason why Yelena is one of the missing MCU heroes in Avengers: Endgame's finale, though, is because no one really knew about her. Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) was dead by this point, and while Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) knew of her, they had never met or been in contact at this point.

Red Guardian

Red Guardian (David Harbour) also could have potentially helped out in Avengers: Endgame's fight against Thanos. The Russian super-soldier would have given Earth another brawler to fight Thanos' army and given him a chance to play the part of a superhero. It also could've put Red Guardian and Captain America on the same battlefield. However, it is not known what happened to Alexei after the events of Black Widow, so whether or not he was readily available to partake in this fight eight years later is unclear. Since Red Guardian isn't known by any other Avengers members, it would seem that his lack of involvement in fighting Thanos' army was because there wasn't anyone to suggest he should be brought into the fold.

Shang-Chi

Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) was also absent from Avengers: Endgame's big fight scene, but his absence makes a lot of sense. For starters, the Master of Kung Fu was not yet really a superhero when these events took place. His journey of acquiring the Ten Rings and elevating his powers didn't happen until after Avengers: Endgame, meaning he was still known as Shaun, a poor valet with secret martial arts training living in San Francisco. This is where he should be as the Avengers were busy saving the universe once again. And while Simu Liu's character missed out on this team-up, Shang-Chi will be an Avenger moving forward.

Daredevil

Thanks to an appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it is also confirmed that Matt Murdock a.k.a. Daredevil exists in the MCU. Since he clearly has his powers at this point, it is possible that he was active as Daredevil when Avengers: Endgame took place. If Daredevil is another missing MCU hero in the fight against Thanos, his absence is likely another result of his secret operations. It appears that Matt Murdock is keeping his vigilante status under wraps. Since he hasn't had any confirmed MCU team-ups in the past, it is understandable that the Avengers wouldn't recruit Daredevil to fight Thanos.

Nakia

Despite her prominent role in Black Panther, Nakia was notably absent during the events of both Infinity War and Endgame. However, for all her abilities as a skilled Wakandan warrior, there is a clear explanation for her non-appearance. After T'Challa's radical policy shift at the end of the 2018 movie, Nakia was charged with leading Wakanda's international outreach program. Naturally, this would necessitate spending time away from the country's borders, explaining why she was missing from both the Infinity War and Endgame final fights. Given that she didn't meet up with the Avengers like her compatriot Okoye in the intervening years, it's entirely possible that she was dusted by Thanos' snap.

Moon Knight

There's also a chance that Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac) could have helped the Avengers during Avengers: Endgame's fight with Thanos. The character's MCU Disney+ show teased that Marc Spector became Khonshu's Avatar many years ago, indicating that it was before Hulk reversed Thanos' snap. This would put Moon Knight in a position to fight Thanos alongside the Avengers if that was what Khonshu wanted him to do. This clearly didn't happen, likely because the Egyptian moon god had Marc busy doing something else when the fight took place. However, Avengers: Endgame won't be the last time Moon Knight has the opportunity to potentially team up with the MCU's biggest superteam.

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