These 2 Characters Are Completely Missing From 'Avengers: Infinity War' & Here's Why

Avengers: Infinity War has one of the most epic cast lists of all time, bringing together dozens of superheroes from every branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But despite the big, superpowered team-up, there were still a handful of notable absences from the Thanos beatdown. So, why aren't Hawkeye and Ant-man in Avengers: Infinity War, and also, what about Valkyrie? The movie actually did offer up a quick explanation about some of these absences, but fans might have missed it in all the hubbub.

Spoiler alert: This post will contain spoilers about Avengers: Infinity War, so don't read on if you haven't seen it yet. One of the biggest talking points ahead of Infinity War's release was the fact that Hawkeye didn't appear in any of the trailers or promotional posters at all. As one of the founding members of the Avengers, Marvel fans were quick to point out Hawkeye's glaring absence, and began to worry that despite his central role in both previous Avengers movies, the super-archer may not even appear in this third one. It turns out, those worries proved to be founded, as Hawkeye never makes an appearance in Infinity War, along with fellow absentees Ant-Man and Valkyrie. So, what gives? Let's go over the reasons behind each of these characters' absence, and more importantly, whether or not they might be dead after Thanos' big move.

Hawkeye

As one of the six founding members of the Avengers, Clint Barton's absence from Infinity War felt the most pronounced. The reason he didn't show up to help his super-buddies is actually explained briefly in an early scene: When Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon reunite with their fellow rogue Avengers War Machine and the Hulk, we find out that both Hawkeye and Ant-Man took deals with the government after the events of Captain America: Civil War to go on house arrest in order to spend more time with their families. That's actually something I never really thought about before now: Hawkeye and Ant-Man are the only two Avengers that have children (that we know of, at least).

We learned a lot more about Hawkeye's home life in Avengers: Age of Ultron, when the Avengers regroup at his farmhouse and meet his wife Laura and his three children, who have been a secret to everyone except for Black Widow. We also see Laura expressing her concern over Clint's continual, life-threatening heroics, which is probably a big reason behind him taking the house arrest deal after Civil War.

Ant-Man

We also find out that Scott Lang took the same house arrest deal that Clint Barton did, in order to take some time away from the chaos and bond with his daughter. It makes sense because Ant-Man and Hawkeye were both on Captain America's rogue team in Captain America: Civil War, and wound up imprisoned by the government in the end (only to later be freed by Cap). To further underline the deal, Ant-Man is clearly sporting an ankle monitor in the trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Although Ant-Man steered clear of Thanos, his house arrest does not keep him totally free from superhero-related shenanigans. His movie Ant-Man and the Wasp is coming out on July 6, less then two months after Infinity War premiered. It's unclear whether Ant-Man and the Wasp will be taking place before or after the events of Infinity War — which is a big distinction, since that movie ends with half of Earth's population disappearing — but if it is after, then we know for a fact that Ant-Man is one of the heroes that didn't end up dissipating as a result of Thanos' finger-snap.

Valkyrie

And finally, we have one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's more recent additions. Tessa Thompson's Asgardian warrior made a huge splash in Thor: Ragnarok, but Valkyrie was nowhere to be seen in Avengers: Infinity War. Since the movie begins with Thanos decimating all of the survivors of Asgard's destruction (except for Thor), it sounds like Valkyrie might have been killed. However, the fact that Valkyrie's death wasn't shown on-screen and a quick implication by Thor that not every Asgardian was killed seem to mean that Valkyrie lives to fight another day... if she survived Thanos' snap, that is.