10 Problems With Reviving The Original Avengers In The MCU

Although The Avengers are perhaps Marvel’s most successful superhero team, bringing its original MCU members back would come with significant problems. The overwhelming success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has hinged largely upon Marvel Studios’ ability to build a large, cohesive shared universe. Adapting superheroes from the comics into live-action movies isn’t always straightforward, but the movies of the MCU have found a winning formula by gradually expanding the scope of the franchise with each new entry. However, practically all of the MCU’s early success centered on building towards the franchise’s first big team-up movie: 2012’s The Avengers.

The MCU’s original Avengers – Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye – played a crucial role in Phase 1 of the franchise. As a result, the six Avengers rank among the MCU’s most important characters, owing to the way that their presence shaped the crucial early stages of the shared universe. However, despite their continued importance, bringing back the retired or deceased members of the team to reunite the MCU’s original Avengers would cause huge issues for the franchise both on and off the screen. With that in mind, here are 10 problems with reviving the original Avengers in the MCU.

Related: Every Avengers Movie, Ranked Worst To Best (Including Endgame)

10 Actor’s Ages Would Present A Challenge

The Original Avengers Actors Have Aged Since Their Last Appearances

One of the most obvious difficulties with bringing back the original Avengers is the aging of the actors involved. The MCU movie timeline has continued in the absence of multiple heroes, meaning that surviving members have aged while those who would need reviving presumably wouldn’t have. Being able to convincingly explain the reason for revived characters to have aged might seem somewhat unnecessary, but to ignore the age-related changes of the actors in question would risk breaking immersion in the franchise’s story.

9 Balancing The Characters Presents An Issue

Having Surviving Avengers Reunite With Their Dead & Retired Teammates Would Be Messy

Another way that balancing surviving heroes with their fallen teammates would be difficult is from a narrative perspective. The surviving original Avengers have moved on in the MCU, with the stories of Thor, Hawkeye, and Hulk all continuing to develop after the deaths of Black Widow and Iron Man and Steve Rogers’ one-way journey into the past. Having the remaining heroes explain various changes to their lives and circumstances would be all but essential, even if it does seem like a particularly tedious piece of continuity to explore.

8 Robert Downey Jr’s Salary

Downey Jr’s Salary Makes An Avengers Reunion Too Expensive

From a financial standpoint, bringing back the MCU’s original Iron Man would potentially be too difficult. Robert Downey Jr. would need to sign a new contract, and the increased profile he has enjoyed thanks to his massive MCU success has undoubtedly driven his hypothetical salary to new heights. As one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood after Avengers: Endgame saw him exit the MCU, bringing him back to the franchise to reunite the original Avengers would almost certainly be too expensive to warrant.

7 It Would Cause Problems For The MCU’s Future

Reviving Dead Characters Undermines Narrative Continuity

A major concern involved in reviving the original Avengers in the MCU would be the precedent it sets within the franchise. If the likes of Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff were to be revived, or if Steve Rogers was swiftly brought out of retirement and away from his happy ending, it would have ramifications for the franchise’s narrative integrity moving forward. The MCU’s willingness to kill or retire major characters is incredibly bold, but to undo such developments would only undermine any sense of permanence in the franchise’s overarching story.

There Are New Characters Who Deserve To Join The Team

Since the events of Avengers: Endgame, there have been many characters introduced who would make excellent Avengers. With so many new heroes now in the MCU, there’s an entire roster of candidates to join the ranks of Earth’s mightiest heroes, and reviving the original Avengers would draw focus away from new characters. Though the original Avengers remain beloved characters, the MCU is packed with interesting heroes who deserve a chance in the spotlight by starring in one of the franchise’s much-anticipated team-up movies.

5 Black Widow’s Ending Perfectly Fit Her Arc

Bringing Back Romanoff Would Cheapen Her Sacrifice

Black Widow was a key player in bringing the MCU’s original Avengers together, and her arc was one of the franchise’s most subtly poetic. Though she started as a weapon in human form, her role within SHIELD and the Avengers saw her come to a greater understanding of her capacity for heroism and sacrifice. By the time her story ended, she had become one of the franchise’s greatest heroes, culminating in her making the ultimate sacrifice. Reviving Romanoff would undo the perfectly bittersweet ending to her hero arc by robbing her of her most heroic deed.

4 Re-Uniting The Original Avengers Couldn’t Last

Reuniting The Team Would Only Be Temporary

They may still be fan-favorite characters, but the MCU’s original Avengers have already played their part in the franchise as a team. Bringing them back together would surely prove to be excellent fan service, but it would also have to be temporary. The only way to prevent the franchise’s continuity from getting too messy would be to have them reunite only briefly, but that would also feel like a cheap cash-in on their popularity. As there’s no good way to make the revival permanent, the best course of action is to leave the original Avengers team disbanded.

3 Reviving Original Avengers Would Undermine Legacy Characters

Several Avengers Have Already Passed The Torch

Many of the original Avengers have already seen their mantles or roles within the franchise pass to other heroes. There are multiple replacements for the original Avengers that already exist within the MCU, including a new Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye. She-Hulk can naturally step into the team’s Hulk role, and Iron Man entrusted Spider-Man with the culmination of his technological legacy. Bringing back the original heroes would only weaken the impact of the MCU’s legacy characters, which would damage their future stories in the MCU.

2 It Would Undermine Iron Man’s Sacrifice

Iron Man’s Heroic Ending Is A Key Part Of The MCU

As Tony Stark was the unofficial main character of the MCU’s Phases 1 through 3, his character arc is one of the franchise’s most prominent. He started life in the MCU as a selfish billionaire and gradually became one of the universe’s most important heroes. By the end of Avengers: Endgame, Stark had come to understand the true meaning of heroism, laying down his own life in order to undo Thanos’ snap. Reviving Stark in any way would throw away the emotional significance of his sacrifice, which remains one of the MCU’s most substantial and important moments.

1 The MCU Will Never Capture The Magic Of The Original Avengers Movie

The Perfect Chemistry Of The Original Avengers Movie Can’t Be Replicated

Part of what made The Avengers great was its balance of characters and the nature of the world they inhabited. The fabric of the MCU has shifted massively since the original Avengers team was formed, and therefore, replicating their dynamic simply wouldn’t work. With each surviving character having undergone changes since Endgame, their chemistry wouldn’t match their original appearance as a team. Though reviving the original members of The Avengers seems possible, it simply causes too many problems for the MCU.

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