Marvel Cinematic Universe films are packed with iconic heroes and characters who helped define a generation of blockbuster cinema. But for every Iron Man, Captain America, or Thanos, there are those characters who appeared briefly, served a purpose, and then vanished without leaving much of a mark. Some were poised to be more important, while others were designed to be more than just one-off characters. Nevertheless, all of them share the unfortunate distinction of being largely forgotten, despite their presence in some of the biggest movies of all time.
This list looks back at characters from The Avengers movies who are simply forgettable. They might have relatively significant screen time or narrative setup but never registered in audiences’ minds after the final post-credit scene ended. Whether due to thin writing, wasted potential, or simply being overshadowed by bigger characters, these are the characters from The Avengers movies that Marvel and audiences have forgotten.
10
The World Security Council
‘The Avengers’ (2012)
The World Security Council first appeared in The Avengers as a shadowy governing body overseeing S.H.I.E.L.D. Its members talk to Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) through teleconference call in rooms that look incredibly uncomfortable and ominously lit. Their biggest contribution to the plot is making the dramatic call to nuke Manhattan during the Battle of New York, as the Avengers seemed overwhelmed by the Chitauri attack. Fury defies their orders and chooses to trust his newly formed superteam.
Their presence literally brings nothing but a slight tension. Fury and his S.H.I.E.L.D. team already know that the Avengers will save the day. But they never show up again. Their members briefly appeared in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but were once again rendered useless. For an entity that supposedly outranked S.H.I.E.L.D. and had the authority to launch nukes on U.S. soil, they have zero lasting impact. They don’t influence future decisions, and they even vanish entirely after the whole Hydra fallout. It’s wild how a group that powerful could disappear so quickly. It does not help that they’re forgettable too.
The Avengers
- Release Date
-
May 4, 2012
- Runtime
-
143 minutes
-
Chris Evans
Steve Rogers / Captain America
-
Robert Downey Jr.
Tony Stark / Iron Man
9
Beth the Waitress
‘The Avengers’ (2012)
In The Avengers, a young waitress (Ashley Johnson) appears during the climactic Battle of New York. She gets a few close-ups and lines of dialogue, including a TV interview saying Captain America (Chris Evans) saved her. That’s quite poignant, but in the film she’s just a random stranger. In early drafts and deleted scenes, she had a larger role. She had previously met Steve Rogers in the café before, making him rescuing her much more impactful. Most of that was cut and what was left is just a few scattered moments.
…Beth seems to be getting a level of focus that suggests she’s a little more important.
The problem is that the final cut makes her feel oddly prominent without any payoff. Viewers remember her face (because she’s also in the trailers) but not her name, and Beth seems to be getting a level of focus that suggests she’s a little more important. Audiences with eagle eyes can see that her name tag reads ‘Beth’. While the character vanished entirely from the MCU, Ashley Johnson, the actress who played her, went on to continue working in various mediums, including in The Last of Us games as Ellie and even appeared in the HBO series as well.
8
Baron Strucker
‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ (2015)
Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Krestchmann) is introduced in the post-credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier as a high-ranking Hydra officer experimenting on the Maximoff twins. He’s framed as a powerful villain who will be a serious threat moving forward. When Avengers: Age of Ultron opens, he’s overseeing a base packed with Chitauri weapons and preparing for a battle with the Avengers. Then he’s arrested in the first 10 minutes and killed offscreen shortly after.
His demise is only mentioned in a throwaway line by Ultron (James Spader), and the Avengers never treat him like he was anything significant. For a character with major comic book roots and big villain energy, his on-screen role is just part of a cold open that’s more interested in reintroducing the Avengers in the film. Strucker is a classic example of wasted buildup. With an actor of Krestchmann’s caliber playing him, he could’ve had a bigger role as a recurring Hydra villain or even just survived long enough to challenge the Avengers more meaningfully. Instead, he joined a long list of wasted villains in the MCU. If you asked any casual fan about his name, most likely no one would recognize it.
7
Brock Rumlow aka Crossbones
‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
Brock Rumlow (Frank Grillo) was a notable antagonist in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, most memorably involved in the famous elevator scene. He evolves into Crossbones in Captain America: Civil War, but is relegated to villain-of-the-week as he’s easily defeated in the film’s opening sequence. His inclusion in Avengers: Endgame, as part of the time-heist flashback to 2012, is meant to be a fun callback as he meets Cap in another elevator.
But outside that nostalgic wink, Rumlow is basically a cardboard cutout. There’s no menace and no character development. In all fairness, the scene in Endgame works because he’s still Rumlow. However, as Crossbones, he definitely has no impact in the MCU. While comic fans know Crossbones as a legitimate threat, the MCU turned him into a glorified extra with a cool helmet and no staying power. It’s so forgettable that a casual fan might mistake him for The Punisher (Jon Bernthal). He had potential as a recurring villain, but never gets the chance to be memorable in any Avengers installment.
6
Dr. Erik Selvig
‘Avengers’ (2012) and ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ (2015)
Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) first played a big role in Thor, then got pulled into the main Avengers storyline as a scientist manipulated by Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in The Avengers. He’s responsible for helping create the portal device that threatens New York, and later aids the team in understanding the nature of the Infinity Stones. He also returns in Age of Ultron to help Thor (Chris Hemsworth) interpret his vision in a baffling detour involving a magical cave.
Selvig’s presence could’ve been meaningful, especially considering his proximity to the cosmic storylines…
Despite his multiple appearances, Selvig’s role in the Marvel films is mostly functional exposition. He doesn’t really evolve as a character but only there as an exposition tool. He had charm and emotional depth in the Thor films, but in the Avengers movies, he’s stripped down to “Thor’s scientist friend who’s not his love interest.” Selvig’s presence could’ve been meaningful, especially considering his proximity to the cosmic storylines, but instead he becomes a forgettable side character with no real identity apart from being a nerdy professor.
5
Pietro Maximoff
‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ (2015)
Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, makes his debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron as one half of the Maximoff twins. Played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, he’s gifted with super speed and has a deep protective bond with his sister Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen). He begins the film aligned with Ultron, driven by resentment toward Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Over the course of the movie, he switches sides, fights alongside the Avengers, and ultimately sacrifices himself to save Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and a child during the final battle in Sokovia.
The film barely gives Pietro time to build a rapport with any of the other characters other than Wanda…
Despite his surprising death, Quicksilver feels more like a footnote than a fallen hero, especially because it’s completely avoidable for a speedster. The film barely gives Pietro time to build a rapport with any of the other characters other than Wanda (his one-liners with Hawkeye do not count). Moreover, as a second iteration of the character, he’s completely overshadowed by the X-Men version, played by Evan Peters. His death isn’t referenced in any significant way by the team afterward, and he’s notably absent from Wanda’s later emotional struggles in the MCU films. For someone with such potential and tragic backstory, he’s surprisingly easy to forget.
4
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine
‘Thunderbolts*’ (2025)
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) finally steps to the center stage in Thunderbolts* aka The New Avengers, after appearing on the sidelines in Marvel projects from Black Widow to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In the film, she’s the acting CIA director, and she personally dispatches Avengers rejects, which include Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), to do her bidding. One of her projects that needs cleaning up is her experiment of creating a new superhero after the Avengers disbanded.
Valentina’s appearance in Thunderbolts* might be confusing for those who do not follow the MCU timeline religiously. In her previous films, she was basically a glorified cameo appearance, similar to how Samuel L. Jackson first appeared in Iron Man. Her appearance never had any impact that even Julia Louis-Dreyfus herself kind of forgot that she shared the screen with Martin Freeman‘s Everett Ross in the Black Panther sequel.
She’s now leveled up to be more important, but the character’s lack of development and overall screen time might hinder her potential. It does not help that she just looks like a slightly sinister version of Veep‘s Selina Meyer.
3
Corvus Glaive and Cull Obsidian
‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018) and ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
Corvus Glaive (Michael Shaw) and Cull Obsidian (Terry Notary) are two of the four members of Thanos’s Black Order, serving as elite generals in the assault on Earth. Corvus, the tall one, is a cunning assassin with a deadly glaive, while Cull, the muscular one, uses his brute force to attack. In Avengers: Infinity War, they join the ground assault in New York, Edinburgh and Wakanda, facing off against the Avengers.
But let’s be honest, most people can’t tell them apart, let alone remember their names. While Corvus is played by actor Michael Shaw and Cull is performed by renowned mo-cap actor Terry Notary, they barely speak, have no discernible personalities, and are only visually distinct due to size. Unlike Ebony Maw (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor), who stands out because he talks a lot and fights the Avengers more often, or Proxima Midnight, who’s played by Carrie Coon and has at least one memorable fight scene, Corvus and Cull are just generic goons that get quickly overpowered. They’re simply included in the film because of the source material. The comic books actually have one more Black Order member, Supergiant, but probably the audiences would struggle to recognize her even more.
Avengers: Infinity War
- Release Date
-
April 27, 2018
- Runtime
-
149 minutes
-
Robert Downey Jr.
Tony Stark / Iron Man
-
Chris Evans
Steve Rogers / Captain America
2
Harley Keener
‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019)
Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins) first appeared in Iron Man 3 as the resourceful kid who helps Tony Stark rebuild and reflect while hiding out in Tennessee. He formed a sweet, if short-lived, bond with Tony, and the film gave the impression that this kid might return as a mentee. In Avengers: Endgame, Harley makes a surprise reappearance at Tony’s funeral, now a teenager standing quietly among the crowd of heroes who knew and loved Tony.
…Harley’s inclusion feels more like a trivia Easter egg than an emotional beat…
Tony’s funeral is a poignant moment, but there’s one problem: no one remembers who this teenager is. His presence is clearly meant to be touching, a nod to Tony’s legacy and the people he influenced. But because the MCU never followed up on his story or gave him any weight beyond that one movie, the moment falls flat. Instead of feeling warm, audiences are left questioning who the character is. In a better, more well-planned scenario, Harley is at least mentioned in Tony’s post-Iron Man 3 adventures. But here, Harley’s inclusion feels more like a trivia Easter egg than an emotional beat, which makes him forgettable even in a scene that aims to remember the universe’s best hero.
1
Helen Cho
‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ (2015)
Dr. Helen Cho (Claudia Kim) is introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron as a brilliant geneticist and the developer of the regeneration cradle that helps Hawkeye to recover after a battle. The cradle is also a crucial piece of tech that ends up creating Vision (Paul Bettany). Right from the beginning of the film, she’s established as an important figure, working directly with the Avengers and may even be a mainstay. She’s smart and seems like someone who could become a refreshing presence in the lab frequented by Tony Stark or Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo).
Dr. Cho’s background, motivations, and personality are paper-thin, making her forgettable despite how foundational her work was.
But after that one film, she disappears without a trace. No follow-up, no callbacks, and not a mention in later movies or even Marvel’s Disney+ shows. Her brilliance is quickly replaced by other intelligent MCU characters, like Shuri (Letitia Wright). Despite her clear importance, the script treats her as a temporary plot device rather than a character. Dr. Cho’s background, motivations, and personality are paper-thin, making her forgettable despite how foundational her work was. She’s actually in the room when The Avengers’ members try to lift Mjölnir, but audiences may not even notice her. While she’s probably just included in the film because Age of Ultron decided to shoot in South Korea for an important action sequence, her character deserved so much better.