The Marvel Cinematic Universe is synonymous with the Avengers, and for good reason – many of Marvel’s most popular heroes were founding members. Considering 23 different characters have been part of the Avengers at some point, it’s inevitable that some received less focus and development than others. That’s why we’re listing the 5 least developed MCU Avengers, and here’s what we based our choices on.
Simply put, this isn’t about saying these characters or the actors who portrayed them were bad. Instead, it means these Avengers either didn’t have enough opportunities to stand out, weren’t particularly interesting while they were part of the team, or caused so many problems that the difficulties they create outweigh any benefits.
5. War Machine
War Machine officially joined the Avengers after the events of Age of Ultron. He was with the team when disagreements over the Sokovia Accords caused a split in Civil War, and he remained an Avenger through Avengers: Endgame. It’s easy to miss just how long he’s been a member, though, because he didn’t play a major role in those films.
It’s not that War Machine doesn’t have some enjoyable scenes as an Avenger. His partnership with Nebula is a real highlight, and his part in Age of Ultron still holds up well even after watching it many times. However, these moments are rare. For the most part, Rhodes gets overshadowed, and there isn’t a lot that makes him a particularly compelling character on his own.
He doesn’t really shine in the action scenes either. While there are a couple of cool moments, like when War Machine is protecting Wakanda, it’s hard to think of any other memorable fight scenes besides the one where Vision defeated him. And that actually weakened the impact of the Secret Invasion reveal that he was a Skrull, because it didn’t really change much about what happened. War Machine is alright, but he had the potential to be a much more compelling character.
Vision
Vision initially seemed like one of the MCU’s brightest heroes, and unlike some of our earlier choices who struggled with controlling their temper, Vision was remarkably calm and collected. It’s hard to find anyone more even-tempered, which made his eventual romance with Wanda all the more compelling. However, as an Avenger, his success rate was somewhat inconsistent.
Vision hasn’t always made the best decisions as an Avenger, and his actions in Civil War were particularly problematic. He prevented Wanda from leaving the Avengers HQ, siding with Iron Man’s perspective and following his commands. While Wanda retaliated by forcefully sending Vision crashing through the floor, things unfortunately escalated further from that point.
Vision became caught up in the airport fight between Team Cap and Team Iron Man. After a quick conversation with Wanda, he attempted to assist War Machine by targeting Falcon mid-air. However, Vision wasn’t fully focused, and his blast missed Falcon, unfortunately striking War Machine instead. This caused War Machine to fall from the sky and sustain serious injuries. It wasn’t a successful moment for Vision, to say the least.
Following those events, we see him in Avengers: Infinity War being easily defeated in fights with Thanos’ Black Order, almost like a test dummy. It often seemed like his power level changed drastically depending on the opponent, which was a recurring problem during his time with the Avengers. This inconsistency and some poor decisions prevented Vision from reaching his full potential until WandaVision arrived. However, by then, he had already died, though he did get a second chance at life as White Vision.
3. Savage Hulk
The Avengers included a Thunder God, but the Hulk was really their strongest member. When he first joined the team, though, he was much wilder and more unrestrained than he became later on. This created some incredibly exciting fight scenes, but it also caused a huge amount of damage to the city and fostered public distrust of superheroes – a sentiment that would be exploited in Captain America: Civil War.
Currently, Hulk has mastered his strength and can also tap into the intelligence of Dr. Bruce Banner, which is honestly how I like the character best. It really is the ideal combination of both sides of him, but with the savage Hulk, you could quickly find yourself wishing he wasn’t nearby, especially considering the mental control he demonstrated in Age of Ultron.
Wanda could easily provoke him into a furious state, leading to a fight with Iron Man that severely damaged the city and forced residents to flee. Something similar occurred in Avengers with Hawkeye, but Hawkeye doesn’t have the ability to demolish an entire city block in seconds, meaning the destruction happened much faster. Considering all the unpredictable factors, while immense power is appealing, it might be wiser to have a more stable teammate instead.
2. Sentry
That leads us perfectly to one of the newest members of the Avengers: The Sentry, also known as Bob. Bob joined the New Avengers team, first appearing in Thunderbolts, and similar to the Savage Hulk, his immense power might create more problems than it solves.
It’s rare for a superhero to also be their own biggest enemy, but Sentry is a prime example. He not only possesses incredible power, but also contains the embodiment of pure evil, known as The Void, within his own mind. While Sentry strives to be selfless, The Void represents everything opposite to that, wielding truly terrifying power. Viewers of Thunderbolts saw The Void erase hundreds of beings from existence, turning them into shadows. Without the assistance of Yelena and the team, Bob could have been fully overtaken by The Void, potentially leading to the destruction of the world.
Unlike The Hulk, whose transformations are often triggered by external factors, The Sentry constantly battles with The Void internally. There’s no way to completely guarantee he won’t revert back. The comics have repeatedly shown this, and a string of unfortunate events could easily bring The Void back. This raises a key question: is having such a powerful hero worth the risk of global destruction? It’s definitely something to think about.
1. Hawkeye
At the very top of the list is Hawkeye, the skilled archer from the Avengers, and there are primarily three reasons for this. Firstly, Hawkeye often feels like his contributions to the team and the overall story aren’t significant, and this isn’t because he lacks superpowers. Characters like Black Widow (Natasha), Sam Wilson, Yelena Belova, and Kate Bishop also don’t have powers, but they all manage to make a noticeable difference to those they meet and the missions they undertake.
Honestly, I didn’t really think much of Hawkeye as a character until his Disney+ series came out. And I’d say a big part of *that* success is down to Kate and Yelena too! Before that, he was mostly memorable as the bad guy, you know, thanks to Loki messing with his head in Avengers. And while it was enjoyable seeing him pop up in Civil War, he felt more like a symbol of support for what Steve Rogers was doing, rather than having a strong role of his own. It was less about *him* and more about showing where his loyalties lay.
That’s before even considering the destruction he caused as Ronin in Avengers: Endgame. We’ve seen characters struggle with darkness and redeem themselves before, but his journey doesn’t feel justified and isn’t really addressed by his fellow Avengers. Seeing him reunite with his family is touching, but because he doesn’t truly face consequences for his actions, that happy moment feels somewhat empty. That’s why he’s at the top of the list.
Avengers MCU Roster (Active, Inactive, and KIA)
Iron Man
Captain America
Thor
Black Widow
Hawkeye
Hulk
Falcon
Scarlet Witch
Quicksilver
War Machine
Vision
Spider-Man
Ant-Man
Captain Marvel
Okoye
Nebula
Rocket Raccoon
Yelena Belova
U.S. Agent
Ghost
Red Guardian
Winter Soldier
Sentry
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2025-10-04 00:42