Because they were always heroes, even before they officially became them.
#ok but no #no no no no #that is literally tony being a villain #like #absolutely 100% supervillain territory #that is a giant ass bomb that he built and then didn’t care who got it #he was NOT a hero first #that’s the whole point of him #that’s what he brings to the shitfest that is the avengers team #some of them ARE heroes who needed a little something extra to prove it to everyone else #steve right #i basically mean steve #but thor was a genocidal playboy #tony was a supervillain #and bruce had the most dangerous bad practices with science of a tropey mad scientist ever #no they were not good men #steve was always a great man #sam is always a great man #but these other guys are proof that owning your mistakes is the best way to be a better man #THAT’s the POINT