The Marvel Cinematic Universe began with individual characters before they began teaming up in films like The Avengers to deal with cataclysmic events over the course of a decade. Which led to the ultimate crossover battle between almost every hero in the MCU and Thanos and his powerful armies that closed off the Infinity Saga.
However, throughout the various events that featured either world-threatening events or crossover team-ups between established characters, there are a few noticeable characters absent from events that have stood out to fans.
10 Thor Was Searching For The Infinity Stones/Rooming With Darryl During Civil War
2016's Captain America: Civil War saw Captain America and Iron Man divided by the government's attempts to take control of the team's operations, which also separated the Avengers on either side of the conflict.
Thor was noticeably absent from Civil War both due to his power set and his likely ability to bring his two friends to peace and understanding if he was involved. While Thor revealed he had been searching the universe for Infinity Stones in Thor: Ragnarok, he also appeared as Darryl's problematic roommate in Australia in a series of extras.
9 The Ancient One Avoided Numerous Potentially World-Ending Threats
While Doctor Strange took a mostly active role in events that threatened the universe after he became the Sorcerer Supreme, it was revealed in 2019's Avengers: Endgame that The Ancient One had participated in the Battle of New York that occurred in 2012's The Avengers.
However, while The Ancient One defended the Sanctum Sanctorum and deflected the alien invaders, she didn't take an active role in that or other events that threatened the Earth, avoiding more than one big event in the MCU.
8 War Machine Wasn't Available To Help During The Battle Of New York
Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes suited up as War Machine for the first time in 2010's Iron Man 2 to help deal with the threat of Whiplash and his Hammer Industries armored drones before he began officially working with the U.S. government as their own armored superhero.
However, War Machine was not called in by either the U. S Air Force or Iron Man to help deal with the Chitauri invasion, which was potentially the call of the World Council who opted to nuke New York City.
7 Black Widow Wasn't Sent By S.H.I.E.L.D. To Save The President
2013's Iron Man 3 introduced a series of attacks on U.S. soil by a suspected international terrorist known as the Mandarin that captivated the world and caught the attention of heroes like Iron Man and War Machine, who represented the USAF.
However, when the President was kidnapped by Aldrich Killian and A.I.M., S.H.I.E.L.D. and its best agents like Black Widow weren't called in to investigate the terrorist threat or attempt to help rescue the President despite her earlier association with Stark in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers.
6 The Avengers Were Missing During The Convergence In Thor: The Dark World
The Convergence is a powerful alignment of the Nine Realms that reawakened the Dark Elf known as Malekith the Accursed, who attempted to use the Aether/Reality Stone to create a new dark age during 2013's Thor: The Dark World.
Thor was aware of Malekith's plans in advance and knew that the battle could take them to Midgard, yet S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers weren't warned or called in to help safeguard their own universe by assisting on the planet when needed.
5 Captain Marvel Missed The MCU's Modern Age While She Was Off-Planet
While Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel first gained her powers during the '90s shortly before she first met Nick Fury, she missed a number of key events on Earth like the Battle of New York and the Battle of Sokovia due to being off-planet for decades.
Following the discovery of Skrull refugees in 2019's Captain Marvel, Danvers agreed to help the Skrulls find a new home across the universe in order to escape the ongoing war with the Kree, which Captain Marvel also promised to bring to an end. While the Avengers protected Earth, Captain Marvel was protecting the galaxy.
4 Hulk Was Lost On Sakaar During Captain America: Civil War
Thor wasn't the only Avenger who was missing from the climactic battle between teammates in Captain America: Civil War, as Bruce Banner/Hulk had been missing in action since the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron after he escaped with a Quinjet.
2017's Thor: Ragnarok revealed that Hulk and his Quinjet had been transported across the universe by a wormhole, where he was lost on the planet Sakaar. Hulk would become the champion in a galactic gladiator arena in an adaptation of the "Planet Hulk" storyline that kept him busy during Civil War.
3 Doctor Strange Wasn't Able To Prevent Ego's Expansion On Earth
2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 introduced Ego The Living Planet and his plans to expand his eternal consciousness across a number of other planets in the universe using the additional power stolen from his son, Peter Quill/Star-Lord.
Ego's spores began to take seed and spread across the planets including Earth, yet no one appeared to fight back the cosmic infection. Doctor Strange revealed he kept a watchlist of cosmic threats, yet was nowhere to be found when Ego began his planetary expansion.
2 Ant-Man Was Exploring The Quantum Realm During Infinity War
While the rest of the Avengers were fighting against Thanos and his forces on multiple fronts during the events of Infinity War, Scott Long was serving house arrest for his role in Civil War before he was once again drafted by Hank Pym in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Ant-Man joined with his new partner for the first time to help rescue Janet van Dyne from the Quantum Realm, which led to Scott Lang's further exploration of the mysterious dimension during Thanos' decimating snap. The loss of his team in the Blip stranded Ant-Man in the Quantum Realm for five years until 2019's Avengers: Endgame.
1 The Avengers Were Missing During Mysterio's Elementals Attack
2019's Spider-Man: Far From Home took place after the climactic events of Avengers: Endgame that left the heroes of the Avengers scattered across the universe on their own respective missions when Mysterio arrived with warnings of Elemental threats from an alternate reality.
Nick Fury (secretly the Skrull known as Talos) was forced to call in young Spider-Man to help Mysterio deal with a potentially world-ending threat, as characters like Doctor Strange, Thor, and Captain Marvel were all otherwise occupied, allowing Mysterio to attempt to take their place as a new hero.