Avengers: Endgame has only been out for a few days, and fans already have a lot of thoughts about what happened. While the reception for the film has been positive overall, there are some problems that fans have pointed out. One thing in the movie that many fans have strong feelings on is Captain America’s ending in the film. Instead of dying as many people expected, Steve Rogers uses Pym particles to go back in time to replace the Infinity Stones. While there, he stays in the past so he can find Peggy Carter and live out a life with her.
Some people loved this ending, while others hated it. But, overall, many people have questions about this choice and the logistics and implications of it. Here are 10 questions fans still have about Captain America’s ending.
DID CAPTAIN AMERICA GO BACK TO A DIFFERENT TIMELINE?
One of the biggest questions about this decision is how it works with the time travel rules set up in the film. The movie doesn’t go into details about how Steve went back in time and how it all worked, so audiences have to fill in the gaps.
Upon watching for the first time, it’s easy to wonder if Steve went back to a different timeline and lived a completely different life. This, however, would go against the time travel rules set up in the film. But, according to a recent interview with the Russos, this is what they had in mind.
WERE THERE TWO STEVE’S IN THIS TIMELINE ALL ALONG?
While the Russos seem to have shut this question down, their explanations about time travel were still pretty vague. If Captain America had stayed in the same timeline, this would mean that all along there were two Captain America’s, but nobody knew it, except Peggy.
While this makes more sense given how time travel is set up in Endgame, it does raise more questions. While, so far, the best explanation is that there were two Steve Rogers in the world, one in the ice and one living a normal life, this just raises more issues. However, it looks like this option has mostly been shut down.
WOULDN’T ANYONE HAVE NOTICED THAT?
If Steve was living through the 40s, 50s, 60s, etc, unless he was hiding at home all the time, people would have recognized him. So, when he came out of the ice, it’s likely that would have caused a big stir. Overall, all of this seems like a big plot hole. Obviously, Peggy Carter would know what was going on, but what about the rest of the world. Overall, the time travel issue is a mess that needs to be explained by Marvel.
SO…WHAT ABOUT PEGGY’S HUSBAND?
In the MCU, it’s been somewhat established that Peggy lived a full life and had a husband and children. We even meet her future husband, Daniel Sousa, in the Agent Carter television show. In the MCU films, we don’t ever actually see a picture of Peggy’s husband, just her kids. So, there’s a chance that Steve being Peggy’s husband all along could fit into the canon. However, this still seems messy.
Did Peggy just lie about Steve rescuing her husband when she talks about this in Captain America: The Winter Soldier? Given that the Russos have confirmed there are now two timelines, how does this change Peggy’s story?
WHY DID STEVE AGE AT ABOUT THE SAME RATE AS PEGGY?
When Steve returns to the bench by the lake to meet up again with Bucky and Sam Wilson, he has aged tremendously. He looks very, very old. Practically as old as Peggy did when she passed away in Captain America: Civil War.
This seems not quite fitting with Steve and the super soldier serum, however. Peggy only died in 2016 in the MCU, while Steve meets with Bucky and Sam in 2023. This is only seven years later. It seems Steve would have aged a little more slowly than this.
WHAT ABOUT BUCKY?
One questions that many fans are really upset about is what this means for Bucky. Since most of Captain America’s trilogy was focused on Steve saving Bucky, it seems strange that he would leave him behind so quickly after he just got him back. This seems like a big departure from how Steve acted about Bucky in past movies.
Some fans feel this is an unfortunate and unsatisfying way to resolve the relationship and arc between these two characters.
DID STEVE GO BACK IN TIME AND ALTER ANYTHING ELSE?
This question also relates to how this decision impacts Bucky. If Steve did go back in the same timeline and there were always two Steves, he would have known about the bad things that were happening. Many people are wondering how Steve could sit back knowing that Bucky is being held captive by HYDRA all those years.
Also, Steve would know about lots of other bad things that were happening, leaving fans to wonder how he could just sit back and do nothing. So, if Steve did go to a different timeline, what happens to the Bucky that lives there?
IS IT CONSISTENT WITH HIS CHARACTERIZATION?
While some of the questions about this ending are more concrete or logistical, some are a little more metaphorical. Big fans of Captain America are wondering if this decision makes sense given Steve’s personality.
Captain America has always been the type to put himself last. While he definitely deserves to have some peace and rest, it seems strange that he could just sit back and live a quiet life while knowing he could be helping other people.
WHY DIDN’T HE TELL FALCON?
At the very end of the film, the question of who will become the next Captain America is answered. Steve gives Sam Wilson the shield. While Sam is the most logical choice for the shield, it seems strange that Steve didn’t give him any warning about what was going to happen.
It seems that Sam should have been warned that he was going to have to live most of the rest of his life without his best friend. Not telling Sam seems out of character. It’s especially disturbing given the fact that Steve was so upset when he saw Peggy in The Winter Soldier when she was old and frail, and now he has done the same thing to two of his best friends.
HOW MUCH DID BUCKY KNOW?
The ending scenes between Bucky and Steve are a bit strange. Mostly because it’s clear that Bucky knows what’s up, or at least most of what’s up. He clearly has been told something by Steve. Many fans want to know what Steve told Bucky and how that conversation went down.
Given the fact that the old Steve doesn’t even look back at Bucky, this interaction leaves fans wondering what that was all about. Hopefully, some of these questions will be answered in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier series coming to Disney+.
