Avengers: Endgame Writers Reveal Where The “America’s Ass” Line Came From

According to co-directors Anthony and Joe Russo, the spoiler ban for Avengers: Endgame lifts tomorrow, at which point, you can expect social media to become flooded with an array of brand new Marvel memes. That being said, there’s one particular line from Captain America that’s already managed to get quite a bit of traction online. And as we delve into the origin of this moment, be warned that a few spoilers lie ahead.

The line in question comes in the film’s Battle of New York sequence, where Tony Stark jokes that Steve Rogers’ 2012-era costume did no favors for his rear end. Scott Lang, however, disagrees, declaring Cap’s posterior to be “America’s ass.” Later, when Steve has successfully knocked out the past version of himself, he looks at his unconscious double’s buttocks and observes, “That is America’s ass.”

In an interview with the LA Times, Endgame co-writer Stephen McFeely reflected on this popular moment, and explained how it originated from Chris Evans’ long-held insecurity about his costume in The Avengers:

“It’s a little meta. Chris Evans has never been comfortable with that outfit from the first ‘Avengers’ movie. And so in the rearview mirror, it’s a little way to wink at how that was then and this is now. And then it sort of just built from there. By the time we got to the fight scene where he defeated himself, his butt is on the ground and was just sitting there for a callback.”

Co-writer Christopher Markus then went on to explain just what bothered Evans about his 2012 outfit:

“I think it’s the color, but also his ears are covered in that outfit. When he puts on the helmet, he has these little Princess Leia dents over his ears and it throws the whole thing off. You wouldn’t normally think that an ear is an important part of an outfit but it balances everything in a way that when they go, you look dorky.”

For 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve’s “dorky” costume matched with his role as a 1940s propaganda figure. Once you jump to the present day, however, Cap’s old design starts to look a little out of place. In that sense, the slightly grittier makeover received by the character in The Winter Soldier was probably for the best.

In any case, now that Avengers: Endgame has quite literally brought Cap’s journey full circle, it’s expected that Steve has worn his last outfit. Nonetheless, you can judge for yourself if Sam Wilson and his ass live up to their respective predecessors when the Falcon and Winter Soldier TV show comes to Disney Plus.