What Happens to Captain America in Avengers: Endgame?

Avengers: Endgame has officially been released into the universe, providing a conclusion to Marvel's "Infinity Saga" of films. As those who have seen the film know, the film takes all of its characters on some pretty epic journeys -- including a major one for the franchise's "first" Avenger.

As you would probably expect, spoilers for Avengers: Endgame lurk below! Only look if you really want to know!

Endgame opens with the remaining Avengers trying to deal with the immediate effects of Thanos' (Josh Brolin) universe-shattering "snap". After the Avengers learn that Thanos had completely destroyed the Infinity Stones, the film cuts to five years later, as each of the heroes are in completely new circumstances. For Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), this new normal involves being part of a support group for those who lost their loved ones in The Snap, as he tries to figure out exactly how to move on from the casualty.

Through the sudden arrival of Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) through the Quantum Realm, the team realizes there is a way they could potentially retrieve the Infinity Stones from various points in history, with the goal of returning them once The Snap is undone. The team goes about their mission, with Steve among those who travel to the Battle of New York in 2012.

After the Tesseract accidentally gets away in the scuffle, Steve and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) decide to go find it at a different point in history -- at a SHIELD facility in the 1970s. The pair go undercover to retrieve both the Tesseract and more Pym particles, so that they are able to travel back to the present day. While undercover, Steve accidentally stumbles into the office of Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), his ally and potential love interest before he went into the ice in the 1940s. He doesn't interact with her, but he notices that she still has a photo of him on her desk all these years later.

Steve and Tony return to the present day, where the Avengers reverse the effects of the Snap and bring everyone back. Of course, that is complicated by the arrival of 2014 Thanos, who decides to just decimate the entire universe instead. Steve, Tony, and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) begin to fight him off, with Steve happening to (finally) harness the power of Mjolnir in the fight. The battle gets larger and larger as the previously-dusted heroes return, culminating in Tony grabbing the Infinity Gauntlet and erasing Thanos and his army, but dying in the process.

After Tony's funeral, Steve's mission ends up being to return the Infinity Stones to their proper point in time, with the idea being that he'll return back to the present day soon after. But to the surprise of some of the Avengers, a much older Steve is then found in the present day. As Steve explains to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Tony's death inspired him to try to live a life once he had returned the Stones. Steve passed the Captain Americashield on to Sam, who then noticed and asked about a wedding ring on Steve's finger. Steve decided not to talk about it, but the film then cut to a '40s-era Steve and Peggy, finally having their dance in an empty house, implying that they were able to live a long and happy life together.

It's a storyline that plays out in both a surprising, heartwarming, and bittersweet way for Cap fans, considering the arc that Evans' Steve has undergone in the MCU. With a lot of talk prior to Endgame about Evans being done playing Captain America, many had worried that Steve would be among the film's casualties in one way or another. But in a way, the film subverts what everyone had assumed Evans' goodbye meant, as the Captain America mantle now appears to be passed from Steve to Sam. This doesn't mean that it would be impossible for Evans' Steve to return in a future MCU appearance, it just might not be in his red, white, and blues in the process.

Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame are in theaters now. Spider-Man: Far From Home will land in theaters on July 2nd.