The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to grow with new television series and movies coming out often and with a lot more content slate for the future. However, while many characters will likely appear in many more stories, others are pretty much done in the MCU. Avengers: Endgame wrapped up the storylines of many characters, and some of these endings were more satisfying to fans as a whole than others.
While most of the people on this list are characters that aren’t likely to come back, at least as far as we know, there are a few whose stories were restarted in a slightly different way while they might still appear later on. These endings speak to both specific endings and endings of a phase in a character's journey.
Reject: Peggy Carter
Before Endgame, Peggy Carter’s last MCU appearance was in Captain America: Civil War. In this film, she died of old age after living a successful life both professionally and personally. And, she even had her own television series at once which explored her falling in love with Daniel Sousa and founding S.H.I.E.L.D.
So, when the MCU went back on all of this character development, it was a bad move. By sending Steve to the past, it reduced her to his love interest and erased all of the great things that had been done with the character before.
In Character: Valkyrie
While Valkyrie will return to the MCU as this has already been confirmed for Thor: Love and Thunder, her story got a bit of a reset in the movie.
As the new Queen of Asgard, Valkyrie will have a more influential role and a lot more power than she had before, and she definitely deserves this. The only downside to how this storyline was handled is that we didn’t really see much of her character development and leadership happen on screen.
Reject: Nebula
Avengers: Endgame made a lot of things a bit confusing with all of its time travel storylines. And, this was especially the case with characters from Guardians of the Galaxy. Nebula really got the short end of the stick. Instead of being given the opportunity to really go against Thanos, her past self really messes things up for her future self and the rest of the heroes.
She could have been given a great moment where she gets revenge against her abusive father. But, instead, like many of the female characters in the MCU, she gets scraps.
In Character: Sam Wilson
Sam Wilson is another character who is not done in the MCU. In fact, he’s getting his own television series which is something many fans are looking forward to. However, he’s another character who did get a bit of a new start and character arc at the end of Endgame.
It was the right choice to give Sam the shield and have him take on the mantle of Captain America in the MCU just like he has before in the comics. Many fans are excited to see how the character develops and what he does in the future.
Reject: Gamora
Gamora is another woman who didn’t get a fair ending. While she’s not technically gone from the MCU entirely, Endgame did kill her in a rather gruesome way.
She was murdered by Thanos, her adoptive dad, and so her current/future self that had grown and found family and love is now gone. While the past Gamora is now back and alive, it seems like a step backward.
In Character: T’Challa
The inclusion of T’Challa on this list is one of the most tragic of all. While he was only in the very end of Avengers: Endgame, he did triumphantly return and his last moments were with his mother and his sister as they looked out over a celebrating Wakanda.
This was a fitting moment for him, but it wasn’t really meant to be an end. However, with the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, T’Challa’s story in the MCU ended through events in the real world.
Reject: Steve Rogers
One of the most controversial and most hated endings of any character so far in the MCU is Steve Rogers. He’s one of the characters who is supposed to be done in the story, and many fans weren’t pleased with how things went. Instead of staying loyal to his friends, staying with Bucky who he had just gotten back again, and fixing things, he was out of character and gave up by returning to the past.
He seemed to be "rewarded" with Peggy Carter in a way that many people felt was sexist and something that Steve wouldn't do. Also, he broke the rules of time travel, and he just came off as really selfish.
In Character: Tony Stark
Tony Stark’s ending in the MCU did upset people, but it’s mostly just because it made them sad. While they weren’t happy about him dying, they felt like it was in character.
Tony’s death was tragic because he left behind his daughter, Morgan, and his wife, Pepper, not to mention all his friends. But, it is in character for Tony to do what it takes to save the world and be willing to sacrifice himself.
Reject: Natasha Romanoff
Other than Steve Rogers ending, Natasha’s was the one most hated by fans. Many felt that killing the first female Avengers, and one of the only main female characters was a bad move.
Her death was also handled very poorly because while Tony got a funeral and a big heroic moment, Nat’s death was glossed over quickly. It was also a poor choice to not even release a solo Black Widow movie until after the character had already died in the narrative.
In Character: The Hulk
It's unknown how much of a role the Hulk will play going forward, but for now, fans support the present end to his story. After wrestling with the Hulk for his entire MCU existence, Bruce Banner finally manages to co-exist with the monster inside of him, and seems pretty content, compared to many of the other characters.
Though Professor Hulk wasn't given too much serious development, it's good to know the two sides are finally at peace.