Avengers: Endgame has been Hulk-smashing box office records with its debut last weekend with its ambitious scale and promise of a defining resolution to an epic journey. Avengers: Infinity War showed us that the might of the Mad Titan Thanos claimed the lives of numerous characters within the over-arching MCU cast, and now the remaining heroes are left to pick up the pieces. In the quest to regain what had been lost, Iron Man, Thor, and the remainder of the rag-tag crew encounter many familiar faces from MCU history. Even more obscure characters such as Howard Stark's butler, Jarvis, of television's Agent Carter fame graced the screen for a second or two.
Endgame may have been bursting at the seams with the biggest collection of characters of any other cinematic universe in a single film. However, the question still remains -- who were we missing from this celebratory Marvel finale that spanned multiple time periods within the MCU? What cameos missed the big curtain call to a decade-long narrative?
10 10. Thaddeus Ross
The spitfire who originally hunted Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk returned in Captain America: Civil War as the Secretary of State to be a thorn in Cap's side as he sought to diminish the accomplishments of the heroes over the years. Even after the initial incursion of Thanos's forces in Infinity War, Thaddeus Ross was still unsympathetic toward the heroes. It's anyone's guess what the status of the Secretary of State was in Avengers: Endgame. Obviously, world governments were in shambles after losing half of their leaders. Wouldn't it have been nice, however, to see Ross's face at the end of the film to witness all everything that the heroes had done for the universe?
9 9. Sharon Carter
Let's not forget that Cap shared a kiss with Peggy Carter's great-niece, Sharon Carter, during the events of Captain America: Civil War. The film universe never ultimately shared what might've been between these two. Perhaps, the kiss in Civil War was more along the lines of a farewell, than actual blossoming relationship.
The act was never really defined, but it might've been interesting to bring things full circle and receive some form of closure within that apparent relationship -- whatever it may have been. Cap eventually finds his way back to Peggy Carter for a happy ending. Though, it's hard not to wonder if he ever shared any details with her about her future grandniece.
8 8. Arnim Zola
We were actually so close to seeing the Red Skull's former associate, Dr. Zola, in Endgame. When Tony Stark and Steve Rodgers form plan B for retrieving the Tesseract after the first plan failed, they wind up at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in 1970. It is here that Tony has the chance to interact with his father one more time. It's during this sequence that Howard references Dr. Zola by name. Dr. Zola was responsible for the destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D. internally during Captain America: Winter Soldier. While he wasn't alive during that film, his master plan of secretly injecting Hydra agents within every level of the agency came to fruition.
7 7. Everett Ross
The CIA operative Everett Ross got his start in the MCU hunting Bucky Barnes for the bombing that killed the Wakandan leader, King T'Chaka. Of course, Bucky was framed for that event. Ross re-entered the Marvel world in Black Panther when he crosses paths with T'Challa in during an arms sale in South Korea. Heroically, Ross takes a bullet to the spine to save Nakia. Thankfully, Wakanda was equipped with the right tools to help him. From that point forward, he assisted T'Challa and his family in reclaiming Wakanda from Kilmonger's tyranny. While world governments were heavily crippled at the beginning of Endgame, it would have been interesting to see the damage from Ross's perspective.
6 6. Lady Sif
Portrayed by actress Jaime Alexander in Thor (2011) and Thor: The Dark World (2013), Lady Sif stood as a friend alongside Thor. In the films, Lady Sif, the Warriors Three, and Thor always shared space on the battlefield. Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg of the Warriors Three met their demise rather quickly by the hand of Thor's sister, Hela, during the events of Thor: Ragnarok. Lady Sif, however, did not witness the destruction of Asgard because Jaime Alexander could not return due to scheduling conflicts.
The Russo brothers confirmed that she was eliminated with The Snap heard around the universe in Infinity War. Therefore, it's completely plausible that she could have returned for an emotional reunion with her pal, Thor, during the final act of Endgame.
5 5. Yondu
Yondu Udonta was, perhaps, one of the most radically altered characters in the MCU from his comic book counterpart. He certainly left an indelible mark on the franchise in the climactic third act of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. If you didn't shed a tear during Yondu's sacrifice to save his adoptive son, Peter Quill (a.k.a. Star-Lord) in the final moments of that film, you might be devoid of emotion. The Ravager funeral was the send-off Yondu earned. While the blue space pirate wasn't entirely likable in the first cinematic adventure of the Guardians, he made up for that in spades when his true feelings and motivations for his actions were revealed in the sequel. Yondu and Rocket Raccoon even made a great team! Like Loki or any of the other deceased characters, Michael Rooker could have reprised his role as Yondu Udonta simply thanks to time travel.
4 4. Goose
Why not? Goose, a seemingly ordinary cat, stole the show in Captain Marvel for revealing at the end of the film that he wasn't quite so ordinary. In fact, he had a rather large appetite. Goose was actually a Flerken, an alien race that looks like cats on the outside but has a voracious appetite and tentacles inside of their mouths with which to pull in their prey. Thankfully, Goose was a good guy and enabled S.H.I.E.L.D. to take possession of the tesseract by consuming it, and then subsequently hacking it up like a fur ball on Nick Fury's desk. Surely Goose is wandering around somewhere in the world during Endgame -- provided the Flaken race has a longer lifespan than ordinary cats.
3 3. The Collector
Benicio Del Toro's eccentric portrayal of the Collector was largely limited to post-credit scenes and the debut of the Power Stone's power in Guardians of the Galaxy. While we also witnessed a version of the Collector being interrogated by Thanos in Infinity War, it was all a ruse put on by Thanos to draw out the Guardians. It's possible that we could have taken one more peak at the Collector's collection of oddities if the heroes in Endgame decided to visit him for the Reality Stone instead of obtaining it from Jane Foster. However, we wouldn't have been treated to Thor's emotional reunion with his mother otherwise. Allegedly, accordingly to Del Toro, the Collector is still alive beyond the events of Infinity War.
2 2. Phil Coulson
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that began this journey alongside Iron Man was, unfortunately, absent during the entirety of Endgame. While Captain Marvel offered a chance to see Agent Phil Coulson on the big screen once again, it seemingly left many wanting more. His scenes were limited. Because the film was set in the '90s, he was also quite young and green in his duties as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. So, we never quite received that experienced charm behind that warm smile that we were so familiar with during Phase 1. While Coulson would be resurrected for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television series, his untimely death in The Avengers stung for us as much as it did for the heroic team on screen.
1 1. Vision
It seems odd thinking of Vision being a cameo. In the very last film, he played a significant role as his body harnessed the power of the Mind Stone. True-to-form, Thanos ripped the stone from his head mercilessly. Of course, this was more tragic for Wanda Maximoff (a.k.a. Scarlet Witch). She brought the pain of losing the person that meant the most to her back to Thanos in the final standoff of Endgame, and it was quite spectacular. Paul Bettany, the actor behind Vision, has been a part of the MCU since the film that started it all, Iron Man. In this film, of course, he portrayed Vision's earlier incarnation as Tony Stark's AI assistant, Jarvis. Unfortunately, Vision was not resurrected nor was he any part of the time-traveling escapades of the Avengers in this film.