While many are speculating original Avengers characters will die in Avengers 4, what if they were to travel to the past and stay there?
Videos by ComicBook.com
A new theory claims Captain America will do just that when his band of heroes discovers the ability to travel through time while trying to undo Thanos’ deed of wiping away half of the universe from existence. No character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has such strong ties to the past in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain America, whose origin story begins in 1941.
In fact, Captain America has been sent to the past in hallucinations where he dreams about his love Peggy Carter. Should the opportunity arise, Steve Rogers will almost certainly wish to see his late lover one more time. Whether or not he decides to remain in the past is unknown.
The problem with Captain America staying in the past is that a butterfly effect is then presented. If he were to travel back in time and stay there, not only would there be two of him in the timeline (with the other being frozen under water following the events of Captain America: The First Avenger) but he would also create an alternate timeline in which the current version of himself gets to spend time with the previous version of Peggy Carter. Many of the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe would therefore change, possibly meaning he would never go back in time in the first place.
Assuming he does go back in time and decide to stay there, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has an opportunity to write Steve Rogers (and therefore Chris Evans) out the equation, should the actor feel as though his run as Captain has reached the end of the line. It would be an emotional exit for a key Marvel Cinematic Universe character without having to kill him off.
Furthermore, the characters who remain in the corrected timeline in which Thanos has ideally been defeated would also know that their friend elected to say goodbye to them in favor of the love of his life. What this means for the surviving heroes and their legacy beyond Captain America is unknown. Furthermore, it could mean Captain America’s legacy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe from 2012’s The Avengers through Avengers 4 might be erased entirely or at least in part. It does, however, offer the opportunity for Bucky Barnes or Sam Wilson to fill Steve Rogers’ shoes and become the present-day Captain America moving forward, as both have done on the pages of Marvel Comics.
If Captain America does stay in the past, Evans will be open for a return, which is the most important thing here. He will, in a sense, have been exiled from the upcoming stories but remain available without the Marvel Cinematic Universe having to undo another death and lose stakes credibility in the process.
What do you think is in store for Captain America in Avengers 4? Will he survive? Will he stay in the past?
Avengers: Infinity War is available now on digital download and blu-ray. Avengers 4 hits theaters on May 3, 2019.
Related Posts
-
Fantastic Four begins filming even sooner than we imagined.
