WARNING: Major spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.

Marvel Studios closed out their 22 film story in style with Avengers: Endgame and brought together one of the biggest casts ever put to screen to do so. The Endgame cast is even larger than the one that was made for Avengers: Infinity War and finally delivered on the every character scene that was hyped since last year.

For much of Avengers: Endgame, the main cast is reduced as much as possible. This is really the story of the original six Avengers and their latest, and some cases last, attempt to save the universe. In order to do this, it requires the remaining heroes to travel through time to try and bring back those who were snapped before by Thanos. This plot structure allows for many past MCU characters to return in Avengers: Endgame, as well as the snap victims to be brought back before everything is said and done.

The end result is a film that features almost too many characters to count. Luckily we’ve compiled a complete list of all the Avengers: Endgame characters. Whether they were alive from the start, returned at the end, or made brief appearances during time travel scenes, here’s everyone who appears in Avengers: Endgame.

Avengers In Endgame Who Survived The Snap

The Avengers’ ranks were depleted thanks to the Sokovia Accords, but the amount of people who have been true Avengers has never been that large. The original six Avengers were all noticeably still alive at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, with few additional survivors.

  • Robert Downey Jr. - Tony Stark/Iron Man: The first MCU hero to ever grace the screen makes his tenth, and ultimately final, appearance here. He helps find the solution to time travel and goes to the past to steal the Space Stone. Even though it is the snapping of his fingers that defeats Thanos, he pays the ultimate price to fix the universe. Chris Evans - Steve Rogers/Captain America: The oldest MCU hero returns and remains integral to the story all the way through. He is responsible for getting the Mind Stone in the past, and proved his worthiness to wield Mjolnir as he attempted to hold off Thanos. Once they were victorious, he goes back to the past to return the Infinity Stones, but stays there to grow old with Peggy Carter. Chris Hemsworth - Thor: The God of Thunder is an overweight drunk who must find the strength to face Thanos one more time. He’s tasked with getting the Reality Stone and eventually gets his rematch with the Mad Titan. He is not the one to ultimately save the universe, but accepts this, deciding to leave Asgard behind to join the Guardians of the Galaxy. Scarlett Johansson - Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow: She’s had red on her ledger as long as she’s been part of the MCU, and Natasha finally gets the chance to wipe it clean here. Nat makes the sacrifice play on Vormir to give the Avengers the Soul Stone, giving the Barton family a shot at a reunion. Jeremy Renner - Clint Barton/Hawkeye: The sharpshooter is back after sitting out Avengers: Infinity War, but the latest MCU film doesn’t waste time showing he also suffered losses from the snap. Clint takes on the Ronin guise for the purposes of this movie, and even has to protect the Infinity Stones in the final battle. He does survive the fight and gets an emotional reunion with his resurrected family. Mark Ruffalo - Bruce Banner/Hulk: After the complications Bruce and Hulk experienced in the past, the perfect medium has been found in Professor Hulk. He helps figure out time travel and has to get his hands on the Time Stone. He later volunteers to put on the Iron Man made gauntlet to bring back those who were lost in the snap. He’s successful in doing so, but the snap causes severe - and potentially permanent - damage to his right arm. Don Cheadle - James Rhodes/War Machine: Rhodey is always surprised and somewhat confused by what he doesn’t understand (see Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron), and time travel is the latest example of that. He does come around to the idea and needs to steal the Power Stone from Morag. Ultimately reverting to a new look Iron Patriot armor, Rhodey is left mourning the loss of his best friend.

Other Avengers: Endgame Characters Who Survived The Snap

Beyond official Avengers members, Avengers: Endgame brings back many other MCU characters who survived the snap. Some of them have been working with the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes since the incident occurred, while others have not been seen or heard from in this universe for some time. Here are all the pre-existing MCU characters who survived the snap and returned for Avengers: Endgame.

  • Josh Brolin - Thanos: The Mad Titan is surprisingly killed off in the first 20 minutes of the film after already destroying the Infinity Stones, but his role grows thanks to time travel. The 2014 version of Thanos returns and attempts to protect his future self’s plan. He is ultimately defeated as well, as his own confidence in taking down Tony Stark allows the human to get the Infinity Stones back, resulting in Thanos and his entire army being dusted. Paul Rudd - Scott Lang/Ant-Man: Thanks to a curious rat, Scott is able to escape the Quantum Realm five years after he entered, but it was only five hours for him. He devises the time travel solution to the Avengers’ biggest problem and becomes the guinea pig to work out all of the kinks. It is partially his responsibility to get the Space Stone, and then helps save Hulk, Rocket, and War Machine from drowning when Thanos attacks Avengers HQ. Karen Gillan - Nebula: The daughter of Thanos is able to tell the Avengers what his location is at the onset, but continues to work the Avengers after the snap is not able to be reversed initially. She then has to find the Power Stone, but her memory network betrays her and the entire team. It alerts the past version of Thanos of what they are doing, bringing upon the ultimate destruction, but she kills her past self to help fix this and takes her place as an official member of the Guardians of the Galaxy at the end. Bradley Cooper (voice)/Sean Gunn (motion capture) - Rocket Raccoon: The sweet rabbit is the last true member of the Guardians and once again has to be the captain to get Thor back in the game. Rocket gets the Reality Stone from Asgard in 2013 and takes part in the final fight that ends in their victory. He then recruits Thor to the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the team begins to search for a new mission. Brie Larson - Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel: She joins the team shortly after the snap occurs, but she also leaves them almost just as quickly. After she saves Tony and Nebula and once Thanos is killed in the present day, Carol leaves Earth to go back to patrolling the galaxy. She only returns at the very end to help swing the balance of power in favor of the heroes. Tessa Thompson - Valkyrie: Her absence from Avengers: Infinity War was highly recognized by viewers, but the Thor: Ragnarok breakout makes her return now. She’s living in New Asgard and joins the final fight with the return of her pegasus. After helping save the day, she is crowned the Queen of New Asgard. Gwyneth Paltrow - Pepper Potts: The wife to Tony Stark, Pepper is happy to finally have a regular life with the billionaire after he steps away from the superhero game. She finally gets the chance to suit up properly in the Rescue suit and take part in the final fight at Avengers HQ, where she has to say goodbye to her love. Benedict Wong - Wong: After quickly removing himself from the events of Avengers: Infinity War, Wong waits until the end to return. He helps teleport the Avengers’ own army to Avengers HQ to fight Thanos, with their spells helping protect them from the firepower raining down on the war zone. Danai Gurira - Okoye: The head of the Dora Milaje remains in contact with the Avengers following the snap, but doesn’t get too involved in what they are doing. Okoye does make her grand return to combat with the rest of Wakanda at the very end to fight Thanos’ army. Winston Duke - M’Baku: The Black Panther scene stealer and ruler of the Jabari tribe only returns for the final battle at Avengers HQ, where he’s shown running into the heat of combat. Taika Waititi - Korg: The warrior days of the wise-cracking Kronan are behind him at the start, as he is busy playing video games, but Korg does get involved with the battle at Avengers HQ. Jon Favreau - Happy Hogan: Tony’s former security guard is only briefly featured here, present for his longtime friend’s funeral. Ty Simpkins - Harley Keener: Last seen in Iron Man 3, the Chattanooga native makes his long-awaited return, just not under the best circumstances. The special connection he shared with Tony Stark was enough to see him attend his funeral. William Hurt - Thaddeus Ross: He’s been a longtime adversary to the Avengers, and despite their sometimes contentious relationship, Ross is shown attending Tony’s funeral. Emma Fuhrmann - Cassie Lang: After the five-year time jump, an older Cassie is shocked to see her father after all these years. There’s no signs that she’s become a hero of her own during this time, but they are reunited for possible future adventures. Miek: The insectoid creature is still alive after a brief scare at the end of Thor: Ragnarok and is largely relegated to eating pizza in New Asgard in his small appearance here. Angela Bassett - Ramonda: The mother of T’Challa and Shuri previously stated that she survived the snap and returns here reunited with her children as they overlook Wakanda. Marisa Tomei - May Parker: Confirmed to have survived the snap by the Russo brothers, Peter Parker’s aunt returns to attend Tony Stark’s funeral with her nephew.

Characters Brought Back In Avengers: Endgame

The snap wiped out half of all life across the universe, but that’s reversed in Avengers: Endgame, meaning that everybody who turned to dust in the last movie is back for the final fight against Thanos.

  • Tom Holland - Peter Parker/Spider-Man: The friendly neighborhood hero returns after being snapped on Titan, making his grand entrance during the battle at Avengers HQ. He has to say goodbye to his mentor Tony Stark and then attend his funeral, before going back to school and trying to move on. Benedict Cumberbatch - Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange: He sacrificed the Time Stone knowing he would be snapped on Titan for the chance that the only path to victory out of 14,000,605 scenarios came to fruition. Strange helped teleport an entire army to Avengers HQ so the final fight could occur, and got to see first hand how Thanos was defeated. He then attended the funeral (he knew was coming) for Tony Stark. Chadwick Boseman - T’Challa/Black Panther: The recent star of the MCU was surprisingly snapped in Wakanda but returns here to lead the Wakandan army during the battle that ensues at Avengers HQ. He then heads back to Wakanda to watch over his country with his family. Anthony Mackie - Sam Wilson/Falcon: Snapped after the Battle of Wakanda, Falcon returns for the final fight at Avengers HQ. He survives the battle and attends Tony’s funeral. Then, after Steve Rogers doesn’t return from his time travel mission, he sees an aged Steve sitting on a nearby bench, who offers him the Captain America title and shield to carry on the legacy. Sebastian Stan - Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier/White Wolf: The first victim of Thanos’ snap shown, Bucky returns to fight at Avengers HQ. He isn’t who Steve chooses to carry on the mantle, but he doesn’t appear to be upset in the slightest with this decision. Chris Pratt - Peter Quill/Star-Lord: His blunder on Titan was partially responsible for the snap happening at all, but he returns here to fight at Avengers HQ. He encounters the past version of Gamora and begins searching for the version he knows after attending Tony Stark’s funeral. We last see him aboard the Benatar with the Guardians of the Galaxy searching for a new adventure. Evangeline Lilly - Hope van Dyne/Wasp: She disappeared at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp, but Hope returns to join the fight at Avengers HQ in support. After the superhero adventure, we last see her spending a night relaxing with Scott and Cassie. Vin Diesel (voice)/Terry Notary (motion capture) - Teen Groot: The anthropomorphic tree-like creature was snapped in Wakanda and now returns to fight at Avengers HQ. He’s protected by Rocket and attends Tony Stark’s funeral, before he rejoins the Guardians of the Galaxy aboard the Benatar to go on a new adventure. Dave Bautista - Drax the Destroyer: He was snapped on Titan after failing to stop Thanos and returns now to join the battle at Avengers HQ. He attends Tony Stark’s funeral before heading off on a new adventure with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Pom Klementieff - Mantis: An addition to the Guardians of the Galaxy in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, she was snapped on Titan and reappears at Avengers HQ. She attends Tony Stark’s funeral and then boards the Benatar with the rest of the Guardians. Letitia Wright - Shuri: The Black Panther break out was snapped off-screen in Wakanda and makes her return during the battle at Avengers HQ. She then heads back to Wakanda to be reunited further with her family. Michael Douglas - Hank Pym: Snapped at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Hank returns at Tony’s funeral, but this isn’t all. He briefly is shown during a time travel sequence in 1970, where the young S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist is still perfecting his shrinking tech. Samuel L. Jackson - Nick Fury: The man who started the Avengers Initiative and was snapped at the end of Avengers: Infinity War makes a quick return to attend Tony Stark’s funeral, remembering his first recruit. Michelle Pfeiffer - Janet van Dyne: Snapped at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Janet only returns to attend Tony Stark’s funeral at the very end. Linda Cardellini - Laura Barton: Laura is snapped right at the beginning of Avengers: Endgame, and it takes all the way until the very end for her and the three Barton kids to be reunited with Clint. Cobie Smulders - Maria Hill: A recurring character throughout the MCU makes another return after being brought back from the snap to attend Tony Stark’s funeral. Jacob Batalon - Ned Leeds: Peter Parker’s best friend from Spider-Man: Homecoming returns to have a reunion with Peter at school. His fate in the snap was never confirmed, but his lack of aging should point to him being a snap victim too.

Avengers: Endgame Characters Who Return Via Time Travel

On the other side of this coin, Avengers: Endgame also brought back many characters through time travel. The film revisits five main times and locations - Camp Lehigh/1970, The Battle of New York/2012, Asgard/2013, Vormir/2014, and Morag/2014 - and each is used to bring back a familiar face or two. Here are all the characters who returned in Avengers: Endgame thanks to time travel.

  • Zoe Saldana - Gamora: The Guardians of the Galaxy star died in Avengers: Infinity War but returns here with the 2014 version of her, showing how she helped conquer planets and civilizations for Thanos. She makes it to the present day and her fate is unclear, as she could be among the latest batch of snap victims from Tony or be living a brand new life. Tilda Swinton - The Ancient One: Doctor Strange’s mentor is shown fighting off Chitauri on top of the Sanctum Sanctorum during The Battle of New York from The Avengers. She encounters Professor Hulk during this time and, after initially saying no, gives him the Time Stone once he mentions Strange gave it up in the future. Hayley Atwell - Peggy Carter: Captain America: The First Avenger’s romantic lead and future founder of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns briefly during a scene in 1970 with Steve Rogers. She doesn’t see him during this scene, but the two are fully reunited during the end when Steve decides to stay in the past to grow old with her. Tom Hiddleston - Loki: The trickster is shown briefly in captivity during Thor: The Dark World, but also is part of them revisiting the aftermath of The Battle of New York from The Avengers. He gets his hands on the Tesseract and teleports away, leaving his fate potentially up in the air. Ross Marquand - Red Skull: The former head of Hydra returns in his new form on Vormir and guides Black Widow and Hawkeye through the process of getting the Soul Stone. John Slattery - Howard Stark: Tony Stark’s distant father returns in a 1970 scene and sees him meet his fully grown son, although he doesn’t know it. Natalie Portman - Jane Foster: Thor’s former girlfriend from the first two Thor films makes her return when Thor and Rocket visit Asgard during the events of Thor: The Dark World. Rene Russo - Frigga: Thor’s mother gets one more encounter with her son during his time on Asgard as he revisits the events of Thor: The Dark World. Robert Redford - Alexander Pierce: Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s villain was the head of Hydra and returns in the revisit to The Battle of New York from The Avengers. Frank Grillo - Brock Rumlow/Crossbones: A side villain from the Captain America franchise was a sleeper Hydra agent in S.H.I.E.L.D. and returns as The Battle of New York from The Avengers is revisited. Tom Vaughn-Lawlor - Ebony Maw: The intellectual Child of Thanos was killed by Iron Man and Spider-Man’s plan in Avengers: Infinity War, but returns in 2014 to help figure out Nebula’s memory network and then joins the fight at Avengers HQ. Carrie Coon (voice)/Monique Ganderton (motion capture) - Proxima Midnight: A Child of Thanos who first appeared in Avengers: Infinity War and died at the hands of Scarlet Witch returns here in her 2014 form to fight with Thanos’ army at Avengers HQ. Terry Notary - Cull Obsidian: The giant Child of Thanos introduced in Avengers: Infinity War was killed by Bruce Banner before, but his 2014 self now returns to help lead Thanos’ forces during his attack on Avengers HQ. Michael James Shaw - Corvus Glaive: One of Thanos’ children was killed by Vision in Avengers: Infinity War and reappears now as his 2014 self at the battle of Avengers HQ. James D’Arcy - Jarvis: The longtime Stark butler, friend of Peggy Carter in Agent Carter, and inspiration for Tony’s A.I. of the same name returns during a 1970 scene with Tony and Howard Stark. Maximiliano Hernandez - Jasper Sitwell: A supporting character throughout MCU Phase 1 was secretly working with Hydra and returns in an elevator during The Battle of New York from The Avengers. Callan Mulvey - Jack Rollins: Another sleeper Hydra agent from Captain America: The Winter Soldier returns here during The Battle of New York, but isn’t dismantled by Captain America in an elevator this time.

New Characters In Avengers: Endgame

With so many familiar faces returning, Avengers: Endgame is short on new additions to the MCU. There are a few fun Community cameos that are included, but here are the few new characters that you need to know about.

  • Hiroyuki Sanada - Akihiko: The villain of The Wolverine, Sanada makes his MCU debut with a small role as a member of the Yakuza in Tokyo. He is hunted down and killed by Barton. Morgan Stark: The daughter of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts was born after the snap. She spends most of her time in the film with Tony, but will now have to spend the rest of her life without him.

And there you have it, that is every character who appears in Avengers: Endgame. The cast is incredibly large, but so is everything - from the runtime to likely box office opening - about this film.

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