Earth’s Mightiest Heroes faced one of their toughest battles in Avengers: Infinity War, but the team was missing some key allies that could have made defeating Thanos so much easier. Set up by the events of Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War picked up two years following Steve Rogers and Tony Stark’s falling out. This left Earth at its most vulnerable state, allowing Thanos easier access. The Avengers eventually banded together with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and other independently-operating heroes to put up a decent fight against the villain. Unfortunately, their efforts simply weren’t enough to stop the villain from snapping half the universe out of existence.
Much has been said about why exactly the Avengers lost in Avengers: Infinity War. Looking solely at the events of the film, there were several factors that contributed to the team’s defeat. Star-Lord’s emotional breakdown in Titan and Captain America’s refusal to give up Vision are two notable ones. Thor’s cockiness at the end of the blockbuster has been mentioned multiple times. Knowing more about the MCU in the Multiverse Saga, however, the lack of support from some heroes may have also been a big factor in why Thanos emerged victorious in the film.
8 Hawkeye
As one of the original Avengers, Clint Barton’s absence in Avengers: Infinity War was noticeable. His whereabouts weren’t properly explained until the beginning of Avengers: Endgame, when it was revealed that he was under house arrest for his involvement with Team Cap in Captain America: Civil War. Because of his inability to leave his farm, the remaining Avengers didn’t even try to recruit him anymore. Given Hawkeye’s relatively low power levels compared to his fellow Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, his appearance may have not changed the outcome of Avengers: Infinity War. Still, it would have been great to see him with his bow and arrow fighting.
7 Ant-Man
Following his debut, Scott Lang’s next MCU film was Captain America: Civil War. He was recruited by Sam Wilson for Team Cap, and like Hawkeye was put on home arrest. Aside from being a relatively new player in the franchise then, this was the reason why Ant-Man couldn’t participate in Avengers: Infinity War. Ant-Man And The Wasp‘s eventual exploration of the Quantum Realm, where time and space don’t matter, was a key factor that made the Avengers’ win in Avengers: Endgame possible. So while Scott could have helped in the initial bout with Thanos, his accidental entrapment in the Quantum Realm paved the way for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ ultimate win.
6 Eternals
Director Chloé Zhao’s Eternals film may be part of the MCU Multiverse Saga, but the Eternals have been on Earth for thousands of years. While the 2021 movie confirmed their ties to the Avengers, with Kingo and Thor having a pre-existing relationship, they were not permitted to meddle with human tragedies unless it involved the Deviants. Because of this, they kept to themselves and blended in. Most importantly, they opted to sit out the events of Avengers: Infinity War.
5 Blade
Aside from its titular characters, the Eternals post-credits scene also confirmed that Mahershala Ali’s Blade is an active superhero in the MCU. While the specifics of his story and situation are still tightly under wraps, this establishes that he too could have been recruited to fight Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. However, since there were still no concrete plans for his arrival in the universe, Marvel Studios cannot understandably get him involved. When the much-anticipated Blade film comes out in 2024, the vampire hunter’s absence in the MCU’s still biggest fight gets explained, hopefully.
4 Starfox
Thanos’ brother, Starfox, played by Harry Styles, was introduced in Eternals as well. Aside from a brief cameo, there isn’t much known about the MCU character yet. Looking at this Marvel Comics background, however, he could have been a big player in Avengers: Infinity War. Starfox has all the basic Eternals powers such as shooting energy blasts, superhero strength, as well as, healing and flying capabilities; his body is able to process cosmic energy that allows him to live longer. Uniquely, he can also psionically stimulate the pleasure centers of someone’s brain. However, like Blade, Marvel Studios wasn’t ready to field him yet in Avengers: Infinity War.
3 Namor
Marvel Studios has debuted several new characters in the Multiverse Saga, including Namor the SubMariner in Black Panther: Wakanda: Forever. The Ryan Coogler-directed sequel, however, confirmed that he and the rest of the Talokanils have been quietly existing for decades in the MCU. However, considering their decision to lie low to ensure that they will continue to be able to exist in peace was reason enough to skip the Avengers’ first bout against Thanos.
2 Nakia
Earth’s final stand against Thanos was in Wakanda. As the most advanced nation in the world, it made sense that Captain America decided to ask for Black Panther’s help. Realizing the danger that the Titan brought, King T’Challa mobilized his whole Wakandan Army to help Earth’s Mightiest Heroes defend the planet. One notable character missing from the events of Avengers: Infinity War was Nakia. Considering her new role at the end of the original Black Panther movie, spearheading Wakanda’s international outreach program, it’s possible that she wasn’t informed about the havoc that was going down in her home country at that time.
1 Yelena Belova
Introduced in the prequel film, Black Widow, Yelena Belova is Natasha Romanoff’s adopted younger sister. In the Multiverse Saga, she is set to step into the shoes of the next MCU Black Widow, but the Cate Shortland-directed flick has confirmed that she was already an active hero in the MCU during the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Subsequently, Hawkeye did reveal that she was dusted from Thanos’ snap, after debates about her fate after the Decimation. That being said, given her ties to the Avengers and fighting capabilities, she could have helped in the fight in Wakanda.
