Who were the MVPs of Avengers: Endgame?

Who were the MVPs of Avengers: Endgame? For obvious reasons, spoilers lie ahead.

The 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe juggles a lot of characters, so some have a significantly higher impact on the storyline than others. But that raises the question: who are the MVPs of Avengers: Endgame? 

There are many ways that a Most Valuable Player could be determined. Is the criteria based on the characters’ overall arcs through the MCU thus far? The amount of times an actor or actress has appeared onscreen? The strength of the character’s abilities or skill sets? Where does comedic value come in, if at all?

Based on initial impressions from Avengers: Endgame, it seems the following characters are worthy of the distinction.

Clint Barton/Hawkeye/Ronin (Jeremy Renner)

Since being introduced as a SHIELD operative in Thor, Clint’s had a rough existence in the MCU. He was mind-controlled by Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in The Avengers, and then SHIELD was dismantled during/following Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Viewers got a better understanding of the enigmatic character with the introduction of his family in Avengers: Age of Ultron, so the opening moments of Endgame hit all the harder when Laura and the kids were decimated during a barbecue.

Is it any wonder Barton snapped and went rogue as the brutal assassin Ronin? Given that half of all existence vanished without a trace, of course people would not handle that well. Given his strict adherence to upholding the law combined with his solitary and aloof nature, Clint’s decision to go after criminals and gangsters who sought to pounce on the opportunity caused by the chaos makes perfect sense as an attempt to regain some sense of normality, of purpose.

Upon rejoining the Avengers on their last-gasp suicide mission, Barton manages to secure the Soul Stone, reuniting with his family and offering advice to his mentee, Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).

Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson)

“I’m always cleaning up after you boys,” Nat sighs in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It was a funny moment during a tense chase scene, but it’s an accurate description of her role within the Avengers as the older sister keeping everyone doing her best to keep everyone in line.

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Like Barton, her shadowy KGB past was left mostly unexplored aside from interesting-sounding hints, though she has tried to “wipe the red out of her ledger” through her spy work within SHIELD, and then after its downfall through the leadership of the Avengers.

Following the Snap, she takes on a mission coordinator role for the remaining members of the team, and then tracks down Clint to recruit him to the time-travel scheme once Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) shows up and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) figures out it’s possible.

Going back to Vormir in 2014, and knowing that permanently repairing her checkered legacy through her descendants isn’t an option, she sacrifices herself so that , firstly, the team can accomplish the mission, and secondly, so that Clint can return to his family.

Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr)

“I am Iron Man.” With flippant disregard for bureaucratic protocol, Tony Stark became the first publicly-known superhero. In the years that followed, among many other things, he survived alcoholism and blood poisoning, saved Earth several times, dealt with PTSD and gained an understanding of his father, Howard (John Slattery).

Five years after the Snap, he and Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow) are living in a rural, wooded area with their daughter Morgan, and Tony’s fine with that, honestly.

But the arrival of his old teammates convinces him to go along with the time-traveling plan, where he is able to have an actual deep conversation with Howard, just prior to his birth in 1970.

With all the Stones gathered and accounted for, Tony ends the colossal battle for the ages with the Infinity Gauntlet on his wrist, and with a reprise of that famous quote, snaps Thanos and his minions out of existence, saving the universe at the cost of his own life.

Who did you think should have been named the MVPs of Avengers: Endgame?