10 Epic MCU Battles Where The Avengers Mysteriously (And Conveniently) Disappear
Ever since the Chitauri invasion back in the 2012 Avengers movie, Earth has been constantly put under major threats from both external and internal forces. Some of them, as Jake Gyllenhaal calls it, are at least “Avengers-level” threats, yet except for certain events like Ultron’s emergence or Thanos’s conquest to find the Infinity Stones, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are nowhere to be found in some of the biggest battles that can alter the fate of the whole planet.
Of course, the Avengers can’t arrive every time to save the day, as their appearance can hinder the protagonist’s arc in their own Movies, but some of the fights take place on such a big scale, that their absence doesn’t make any sense. Especially after the latest ending of Secret Invasion, the Avengers once again failed to intervene as the Skrulls slowly took over human society from the shadow.
Let’s take a look at these 10 times in the MCU where the Avengers just conveniently disappear when the world needs them most, and leave one superhero to do all the hard work alone in this article.
#1. President Ellis’s Kidnapping (Iron Man 3)
Source: Marvel
In the Iron Man threequel, President Ellis was abducted by the Extremis, led by Aldrich Killian, as part of their plan to take over the government by using Vice President Rodriguez as a puppet. Getting their President captured is no laughing matter, and Tony Stark could use a little help from some Avengers who resided in the US at the time, such as Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, or Black Widow.
However, no one reacted, and as a consequence, Tony had no choice but to go to the rescue alone, with James Rhodes as his only ally. Ironically, Bruce Banner, who didn’t help at the time, still has the luxury to hear the story from Tony afterward in the post-credit sequence.
#2. Battle of Greenwich (Thor: The Dark World)
Source: Marvel
After taking the Reality Stone from Jane Foster, Malekith came to Earth to start the Convergence in Greenwich, the first step to taking control over the Nine Realms. Thor chased after him, and a fierce battle ensued, which saw the entire city almost crumble.
At a time, the portals to all Nine Realms were opened on Earth and aligned with each other, so it’s hard for the Avengers not to notice. Especially with someone like Tony Stark, who can detect the strange occurrence right away with his technology and get to Greenwich as soon as possible with his armors.
#3. S.H.I.E.L.D. vs HYDRA’s final battle (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
Source: Marvel
As Nick Fury survived the sudden ambush by S.H.I.E.L.D. (which was taken over by HYDRA at the time), he teamed up with Captain America and Black Widow for one big-scale attack on the organization’s headquarters. An Earth-shattering battle followed in the S.H.I.E.L.D. compound, as multiple aircraft and heli-carriers were dropping like flies in the middle of Washington D.C.
It’s impossible for the other Avengers in the country to not notice this incident. Given the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ association with S.H.I.E.L.D., it’s impossible for the likes of Iron Man, Clint, Bruce and such not to intervene as the organization crumbled.
#4. Mysterio’s attack in London (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
Source: Marvel
After tricking Peter to acquire Stark’s entire satellite network using E.D.I.T.H., Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio launched a full-scale attack onto London, with thousands of drones projecting illusions and wreaking havoc everywhere. As the villain described it himself, this event was an "Avengers-level threat,”, yet ironically, no Avengers except Peter arrived on time to save the day.
#5. Wanda took the entire Westview hostage (WandaVision)
Source: Marvel
Wanda Maximoff’s power grows stronger every day, and unfortunately, she prefers to use it for her own personal desire. In the series WandaVision, she uses her magic to hold the entire town of Westview hostage.
Despite S..W.O.R.D’S presence, this is usually a chance for the Avengers to step in and put a stop to their comrade, but they didn’t. Doctor Strange later even reveals that he was well aware of the situation, but gives no reason why he didn’t intervene. A canon event, maybe?
#6. The Flag-Smashers’ terrorism (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier)
Source: Marvel
In the final episode of the series, the terrorist group launches a large-scale attack onto Washington D.C., targeting the Global Repatriation Council. With this level of assault, it’s more than enough for the Avengers to step in, but instead, only Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes react quickly enough to save the city from peril.
#7. Tiamut’s awakening (The Eternals)
Source: Marvel
This got to be the most baffling event where the Avengers fail to appear, as it occurs on a much bigger level than the others. In fact, the Earth was almost destroyed as the Celestial emerged, yet somehow the superhero group decided to stay silent as the ground shattered around them due to the awakening.
Besides, despite Tiamut’s great size as he sticks out of the Indian Ocean like a sore thumb (funnily enough, his thumb does stick out, as shown in the picture above), the giant’s existence is continuously ignored by later MCU entries for some reason.
#8. The Sinister Five’s attack (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
Source: Marvel
Another Spider-Man movie with great collateral damage, as this time not only a city, but the entire universe was almost destroyed, as the barrier between dimensions was broken due to the Green Goblin, and about to send different villains into Peter’s universe.
The Sinister Five’s appearance alone should have alerted the Avengers, but even as the Multiverse was about to collapse, the superheroes didn’t even bat an eye, leaving Strange, Peter Parker, and his other two variants to do all the hard work.
#9. The Scarlet Witch’s Kamar-Taj rampage (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
Source: Marvel
In the Doctor Strange sequel, Scarlet Witch, under the Darkhold’s influence, has single-handedly turned the Kamar-Taj sanctuary into a bloodbath, with hundreds of experienced sorcerers laying down their lives in the process.
Stephen Strange, as smart as he is, should know full well how strong Wanda can be, and should have called some backup from his fellow Avengers instead. With the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ presence, the damage could have been reduced, and they can even subdue the powerful Scarlet Witch with some luck.
#10. The Skrulls’ invasion (Secret Invasion)
Source: Marvel
Quite recently, the Avengers also failed to appear, as the Skrulls tried to take over the world from the shadow with their shapeshifting ability and the DNA they collected from the Battle of Earth in Endgame. With the newfound power, Gravik, the rebel faction’s leader, turned into a Super-Skrull with immense abilities that can outpower any Avenger on Earth.
With humanity’s fate at risk due to the Skrulls, it doesn’t make sense why Fury refuses to call the Avengers for help. The director claimed more than once that the fight between him and the Skrulls was personal, yet this reason of his almost caused the entire human race’s peril, if not for G’iah’s help.
Do you think the Avengers should have appeared in these big battles? Why so? Let us know your answer in the comment.