Jeremy Renner says his Hawkeye won’t be in Avengers: Doomsday: Where are the original six Avengers now?

Jeremy Renner has done what no villain ever could: he retired Hawkeye. In an interview with Power 105.1 FM’s

Breakfast Club

, he was asked if he’d appear in

Avengers: Doomsday

or

Secret Wars

. His reply was simple: “No. No.” When pressed about Marvel replacing him with a Hawkeye variant, he laughed and said, “If they want to do that, by all means, go ahead.

I’m pretty busy myself.

”And with that, the last ordinary man in an extraordinary team quietly walked off stage. No death scene, no swelling orchestra, just a shrug, a smirk, and a goodbye. With Renner’s exit, the circle that began in 2012 with

The Avengers

finally closes. The era of the original six is over.Let’s take a look at where they all ended up, and what their journeys really meant.

Iron Man: The Man Who Died Talking

It began in a cave in Afghanistan. A billionaire arms dealer built a heart out of shrapnel and irony.

Tony Stark was the embodiment of America’s contradictions: genius and guilt welded together in a metal suit. Over a decade, he went from weapons dealer to saviour of worlds, from narcissist to redeemer. He found love, a daughter, and a cause greater than himself. And then he died the way he lived, taking control of the room.His last words were the first words that made him a god: “I am Iron Man.”Stark’s arc was Shakespearean in scope. He was the prodigal son of modern capitalism who tried to atone by saving the world from his own inventions.

His death was inevitable. It wasn’t tragedy; it was punctuation, a full stop written in light and sacrifice.But because nothing in Hollywood truly ends, Robert Downey Jr. is reportedly returning as Doctor Doom in

Avengers: Doomsday

. The man who once built the Iron Man suit will now wear the mask of Marvel’s greatest villain. It is poetic, almost Biblical, the creator becoming the destroyer.

Captain America: The Soldier Who Chose Peace

Steve Rogers began as the scrawny kid who wouldn’t back down from a bully.

After the serum, he became the symbol of idealism, a living poster for everything America pretended to be. But unlike the flag he carried, Rogers evolved. Over time, he saw his government betray him, his friends fall, and his moral clarity blur into moral fatigue.In the end, he didn’t die in battle or burn out under glory. He simply walked away.After returning the Infinity Stones, Steve travelled back to the 1940s to live the life he was denied.

He married Peggy Carter and grew old. When he reappeared in the present, wrinkles and wisdom intact, he handed the shield to Sam Wilson. No speech, no drama, just a quiet acknowledgment that every symbol must eventually be passed on.If Tony’s story was about redemption, Steve’s was about fulfilment. He fought his war, found his peace, and finally got his dance. In an era of reboots and endless sequels, that might be the rarest kind of ending: a happy one.

Black Widow: The Soul That Paid in Full

Natasha Romanoff was never supposed to be a hero. She was a spy, a killer, a ghost with a red ledger. When she joined the Avengers, she wasn’t looking for redemption, just a place to belong. She found it, and then she gave it up.Her death on Vormir was brutal in its simplicity. No army, no villain, no applause. Just two friends fighting to die first. She won that fight. The Soul Stone demanded a sacrifice, and Natasha gave hers freely.What makes her story tragic isn’t that she died. It’s that she was forgotten too quickly. Tony got a funeral; Natasha got a footnote. Her solo film came years too late, released after her death like a corporate apology email. But narratively, she was the glue that held gods and soldiers together. Without her, the Avengers lost their conscience.She jumped for the soul of humanity, and nobody looked down to see where she landed.

Hulk: The Monster Who Made Peace and Lost His Teeth

Bruce Banner’s journey was never about strength. It was about shame. The scientist cursed by his own creation spent years running from the beast within him. When he finally embraced it, fans expected a reckoning. Instead, they got Professor Hulk, a smiling green academic who takes selfies with kids.The transformation was clever in theory: man and monster merged into one. But something vital was lost. Rage was replaced by reason, fear by comfort.

The character who once symbolised inner conflict now lectures about balance.Banner’s story is both inspiring and hollow. He got what he wanted, control. Yet in gaining control, he lost the very chaos that made him compelling. The Hulk is no longer a metaphor for the fury of man. He’s a metaphor for corporate risk management.

Thor: The God Who Learned to Be Human

Thor began as arrogance made flesh, a prince of thunder banished for pride. Over the years, he lost everything that defined him: his father, his hammer, his kingdom, his people.

Each loss stripped away another layer of divinity until only the man remained.And yet, he never quite found peace. After

Endgame

, he drifted into

Love and Thunder

, a cosmic comedy about midlife crises. He became the MCU’s wandering Viking, equal parts warrior and punchline.But there’s something oddly comforting about his persistence. While everyone else died or retired, Thor endured. Not because he’s unkillable, but because he’s unfinished.

He’s the only god still searching for purpose in a universe that’s outgrown him. Perhaps his journey isn’t about saving the world anymore; it’s about finding out who he is when there’s nothing left to save.

Hawkeye: The Last Human Hero

Clint Barton was never the flashiest Avenger. No armour, no serum, no hammer, just a man with a bow and too much responsibility. He was the team’s moral barometer, the one who fought not for glory but for family. When everyone else fell apart, he went home.After

Endgame

, he trained Kate Bishop to take his place. That story was his farewell letter to heroism. Now, with Renner’s confirmation, it’s official: Clint Barton has hung up the quiver.His exit isn’t a tragedy. It’s a relief. In a universe obsessed with infinite timelines and eternal wars, Hawkeye gets something radical: normalcy. He doesn’t need to die to matter. He just needs to live.

The End of an Era

And so the circle closes.Tony is dead. Steve is gone. Natasha is buried.

Bruce is tamed. Thor is lost. Clint is home.Each of them represented a human idea disguised as a superhero: guilt, morality, sacrifice, control, faith and duty. Together, they built the mythology of modern cinema. Now they are myths themselves.The new

Avengers: Doomsday

will no doubt have bigger explosions, deeper lore and shinier suits. But it will never have this, the messy, human poetry of six people learning how to be better than they were.Renner’s “No. No.” was more than a career decision. It was an elegy for an age of heroes that actually ended. Not rebooted, not recast, not reborn. Ended.And maybe that’s what makes the original Avengers truly immortal. They knew when to stop fighting.