Over nine years and 17 movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has woven a complex web of interconnected stories and characters.

However, some significant characters have fallen through the holes in that web. Where are they now and what are they doing? And will Disney ever bring them back again?

And yes, most of them are women. Go figure.

1. Lady Sif

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Last seen – Agents of SHIELD Season 2 Episode 12

Jaimie Alexander's badass warrior goddess has received pretty short shrift in the MCU as the long-time almost-but-not-quite third point in the Thor love triangle and, later, an amnesiac in Agents of SHIELD.

She missed out on Thor: Ragnarok – technically because Alexander was filming Blindspot, although Marvel Studios president said she wasn't in Asgard when Hela attacked. Judging by how her pals the Warriors Three fared in Ragnarok, that was probably for the best, but if you see Sif wandering the Nine Worlds, please ask her to call.

2. Jane Foster

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Last seen – Thor: The Dark World

It's no fun being a Thor love interest. After being abandoned once (for apparently no real reason) and made the living vessel of the nasty magical force called the Aether, she was left out of Avengers: Age of Ultron and revealed to have broken up with the god of thunder after he left Earth to hunt for Infinity Stones.

To be honest, we think Natalie Portman is probably okay with this.

3. Maria Hill

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Last seen – Avengers: Age of Ultron

Nick Fury's place in the MCU has been in question for a while, but while we still don't have confirmation that he's in Avengers: Infinity War or its sequel, he has been confirmed for Captain Marvel, even if it's set entirely in the '90s.

But as for his second-in-command, Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill, she went so far underground after SHIELD collapsed that there's been no word on her in years.

4. Betty Ross

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Last seen – The Incredible Hulk

For the love of his life, Bruce Banner really seems to have forgotten about poor old Betty Ross. We know her original co-star Edward Norton was shuffled out of the MCU, but Liv Tyler's character hasn't even been mentioned by name since 2008.

Even her dad, Thunderbolt Ross, seemed to have forgotten her when he returned in Captain America: Civil War.

5. Darcy Lewis

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Last appearance – Thor: The Dark World

Jane Foster's colleague Dr Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) has at least been rumoured for Infinity War after his no-show in Thor: Ragnarok, but what of poor old assistant and comic relief Darcy?

To be honest, we can't see Kat Dennings showing up without Natalie Portman, as their roles were so closely tied together, while Selvig got the chance to appear without them already in first two Avengers films.

6. Justin Hammer

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Last appearance – All Hail the King

Villains come and go in the MCU, but most of them go by dying spectacularly. Sam Rockwell's Iron Man 2 antagonist, on the other hand, survived. We even saw him again in the Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King (where he was technically revealed as the MCU's first LGBTQ character, even if it was played for a joke).

How long can a prison hold a sociopathic genius inventor? We're not sure, but if he's escaped in the meantime, no one seems to have noticed.

7. Samuel Sterns

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Last appearance – The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk, it turns out, is full of characters who were never seen again. We can kind of understand that, it being one of the oldest and least popular movies in the MCU.

But Samuel Sterns' storyline is one of the dangliest threads in the whole franchise – teasing his transformation into Hulk's nemesis the Leader before carting him off.

From: Digital Spy