Avengers: Infinity War changed the Marvel Cinematic Universe forever, as the Mad Titan Thanos wiped out half of all life in the universe. On the heels of the Avengers' greatest defeat, the universe was forced to endure five long, hard years of pain and loss, which have come to be known as the Blip.
When all was said and done, certain Avengers proved to be more profoundly affected by the Blip than others. As Phase 4 continues to explore the psychological effect of this event on its characters in projects like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and She-Hulk, fans can now ascertain exactly which Avengers were most challenged by Thanos' actions.
Peter Parker
Peter Parker was among the trillions who found themselves reduced to dust as a result of Thanos's snap in Infinity War. Remaining dead for five years, Peter would later return to fight in the Battle of Earth, eventually returning to his life only to find that everything had changed.
Not only did Peter return to a very different world, but the cost of returning the Blipped to life left his mentor, Tony Stark, dead. Peter's grief would be explored in depth during Spider-Man: Far From Home as the burgeoning superhero sought solace following Tony's heroic sacrifice.
Stephen Strange
Though Doctor Strange was in part responsible for the Decimation and subsequent Blip, he found himself greatly affected by the life-altering events. Not only did Wong take Strange's place as a sorcerer supreme, but the returned Master of the Mystic Arts also came to discover how his decision affected the regular people of the world.
Because of his gamble at the end of Infinity War, Strange was left to grapple with whether or not he had done the right thing. The sorcerer comes face-to-face with the consequences of his own actions in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as he attempts to unravel if there really had been "no other way."
Wanda Maximoff
Wanda Maximoff was one Avenger who never truly recovered from the effects of the Blip. Not only was she herself killed for five years as a result of Thanos's snap, but she also returned to find that her husband, whom she had killed to protect the world, had died for nothing.
Wanda's grief would take her down a truly dark path, resulting in the former Avenger becoming one of the MCU's most powerful villains yet. While she also suffered from the corrupting effects of the Darkhold, it was in large part the character's sorrow from the events pertaining to the Blip that led her to her villainous turn.
Scott Lang
Though Scott Lang was not among the Blipped in Avengers: Infinity War, he was missing for those five years, trapped in the Quantum Realm after his friends and partners were reduced to dust. Upon his return, Scott found his friends dead and his daughter fully grown.
While Scott's relationship with Cassie is mostly unexplored thus far, the loving father must cope with the fact that he missed some of the most formative years of his daughter's life. This is a dynamic that is certain to be explored further in next year's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Bruce Banner
By the time that audiences catch up with Bruce Banner in Avengers: Endgame, they find a new version of the Hulk, who has spent the Blip in a Gamma-radiation lab. Over the course of the Blip, the Avenger managed to combine Banner's brain and the Hulk's brawn to create the creature now known as Smart Hulk.
Bruce seems to be one of the few Avengers who managed to improve himself during the course of the Blip. However, following the reversal of Thanos's snap and the sacrifice of two original Avengers, Bruce found himself grieving for the lost friends despite all the advancements he had made in his own life.
Tony Stark
After his failure in Infinity War, Tony Stark apparently retires from being an Avenger, going off to start a family with Pepper Potts. During the course of the Blip, he and Pepper have a child and forge a life for themselves despite the global tragedy.
Tony proves to be the most reluctant of the Avengers when it comes to joining the Time Heist, believing that he has found his second chance at life in the midst of great tragedy. However, continuing to be one of the smartest people in the MCU, he cannot resist but crack the code that would eventually lead to the Avenger's success--and his own inevitable demise.
Steve Rogers
Steve Rogers experienced his worst defeat at the hands of Thanos during the Battle of Wakanda. In the ensuing Decimation, Steve lost several close friends, including Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson. He would spend the next five years engaging in group therapy sessions attempting to help others work through their grief after losing half of their loved ones.
Though Steve attempted to help others following the Decimation, he was truly hiding his own hurt in doing so. Endgame makes it clear that Steve, like so many others, hadn't moved on from his tremendous losses, but was rather stifling his inner grief in favor of keeping a brave face.
Natasha Romanoff
After Thanos's snap, Natasha Romanoff did her best to hold the Avengers together, though she was only partially successful. The many casualties of the Blip included Natasha's foster sister Yelena and many of her close friends, including the entire family of her best friend, Clint Barton.
The opening act of Endgame takes the time to explore Natasha's grief following Thanos's victory, including her fear that Clint had lost himself in his own pain. These feelings would prove strong enough for Natasha to sacrifice her own life later in the film in order to bring back all those who had died five years prior.
Thor
Thor was one of the Avengers who was most profoundly hurt by the age of the Blip. The god of thunder felt primarily responsible for the Avengers' defeat at the hands of Thanos, being the last line of defense against the Mad Titan, yet failing all the less. Endgame explores Thor's guilt following his defeat, presenting an entirely new version of the character.
In the five years following the Decimation, Thor truly let himself go, closing himself off to his friends and colleagues in favor of a life filled with self-torment and excessive pleasantries. It would take the character years to overcome his guilt, though he would eventually do so in Thor: Love and Thunder. Now that the character is finally free from this weight, fans are excited to see where his new lease on life will take him whenever Thor might appear next in the MCU.
Clint Barton
Clint Barton lost everything during the Blip. After Thanos's snap erased his entire family from existence, Clint turned to the criminal underworld with a vengeance, spending the next five years brutally murdering criminals all around the world. It was only after the intervention of his friend and sister-in-arms, Natasha Romanoff, that Clint would return to his heroic roots.
Not only did Clint lose his loved ones during the Blip, but he also lost himself. Everything he had once stood for as an Avenger was thrown away when he became the Ronin. And, though he would eventually regain both his family and his heroic nature, such restitution would cost him the life of Natasha Romanoff, leaving a hole in his heart nonetheless.