Being a hero in the MCU isn't for the faint of heart. It feels like a new world-ending event arrives weekly and tests the resolve of anyone brave enough to face it. But even the street-level good guys can reach their limit. In fact, Daredevil: Born Again just put one hero through the wringer, forcing them to consider where they have it in them to suit up again.
Wilson Fisk hasn't kept his feelings about vigilantes secret in the Disney+ series. The Anti-Vigilante Task Force's whole purpose is to round up anyone who treats the mayor poorly, including his own associates. New York City socialite Jack Duquesne found himself in Fisk's crosshairs, and his time moonlighting as The Swordsman made him an easy target. Before he knew it, he was in prison and being charged for crimes he didn't commit.
Fortunately, Duquesne had a friend looking out for him: Daredevil, who broke his fellow vigilante and many others out of the Red Hook Port facility. Duquesne decided not to stick around, though, opting to leave the fighting to the Man Without Fear. It's hard to blame anyone without superpowers or heightened senses for deciding to walk away, especially because many heroic characters have come to the same conclusion.
MCU Characters That Left Being a Hero Behind
Captain America
As a young man living in Brooklyn, New York, Steve Rogers wanted nothing more than to get into the fight. He got his wish after undergoing an experiment that granted him superstrength and made the most of his opportunity. After teaming up with The Avengers, Captain America became more than a hero; he became a symbol for everything good in the world.
Unfortunately, the Sokovia Accords and the subsequent conflict with Thanos really did a number on Cap. After all was said and done and the galaxy was whole again, he passed his shield down to Sam Wilson, which means he'll have to dust off a backup when he returns in Avengers: Doomsday.
Iron Man
Tony Stark became a hero by accident. When the Ten Rings captured him in Iron Man, he was all about himself. However, losing Ho Yinsen and seeing what his weapons were capable of changed his tune. Tony came back to America, ready to turn over a new leaf.
As Iron Man, Tony saved the world numerous times. But losing Spider-Man on Titan was too much for him to bear, so he called it quits during Avengers: Endgame's five-year time jump. Of course, he got back on the horse when The Avengers needed him and sacrificed his life to defeat the Mad Titan.
Hawkeye
In The Avengers, it felt like Clint Barton had one foot in and one foot out of the hero game. Well, it turned out he had a family he desperately wanted to spend time with, and fighting gods and robots got in the way of that. Following the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Hawkeye retired to his farm, but he couldn't stay away.
Captain America: Civil War saw him rush to the titular character's aid, only to end up in prison. And after getting broken out, he lost his family in The Snap and unleashed Ronin onto the world. Thankfully, Hawkeye finally gave Clint the chance to pass down his bow, so his latest retirement should stick.
Hank Pym
While Iron Man would surely want to be credited as the MCU's first hero, that just isn't true. Hank Pym developed Pym Particles decades before Tony entered the cave and used them to operate as Ant-Man. He and his wife, Janet Van Dyne, were a really great team until she disappeared into the Quantum Realm.
Without Janet at his side, Hank put being a hero on the back burner. He threw himself into his work and only took the suit back out when he needed Scott Lang to do him a favor. At least his succession plan worked out because the second Ant-Man is still going strong.
Star-Lord
Peter Quill probably would've been content spending his life in Missouri with his family. Yondu, who Peter's father, Ego, hired to transport his son, had different plans, turning the young man into a galactic outlaw. Star-Lord took everything he learned and formed the Guardians of the Galaxy alongside his best friends.
The Guardians were instrumental in defeating Ronan the Accuser, Ego, Thanos, and the High-Evolutionary. But by the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Peter was burnt out. He left his friends behind and decided to return to Earth to spend time with his grandfather.
Daredevil
A chemical spill turned Matt Murdock's life upside down as a child. He lost his ability to see and had to master his other senses. The young man was up for the challenge, though, becoming the hero that his home, Hell's Kitchen, needed. And he wasn't just attacking villains on the streets; he was besting them in the courtroom as a defense attorney.
Matt started a law practice with his best friend, Foggy Nelson, and everything was going great until Vanessa Fisk entered the picture. She sent Bullseye after Foggy, who died in the very place he was working so hard to protect. Losing Foggy was too much for Matt to handle, so he gave up being Daredevil. Luckily for Swordsman, the Devil of Hell's Kitchen resurfaced and began working to honor his friends' legacy.
