By the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame, it took the efforts of nearly every superhero in the MCU’s catalogue to fend off Thanos and his army. The welcomed return of Doctor Strange and the hundreds of “dusted” cohorts certainly helped turn the tide, but as the filmmakers put it, one man nearly did it all himself.
And that man, ladies and gentlemen, is none other than Captain America.
In a moment of deep fan satisfaction, audiences peered towards the screen in awe as Steve Rogers wielded Thor’s Mjolnir for the first time, finally proving his worthiness. According to the commentary track released with the digital copy of the movie, combining his newfound powers with his own fighting repertoire, it seems Rogers’ efforts almost took down the Mad Titan on their own.
Viewing the climatic scene, here’s what the voices of co-directors Joe and Anthony Russo, as well as co-writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus had to say:
“Now, he really knows how to use this thing,” McFeely said of Thor’s hammer, as Captain America used it to conduct electricity and bat his own shield around.
“Well it’s a hammer,” Markus joked. “How hard could it be? ”
“Oh, he’s banging the shield off of it,” McFeely pointed out.
It’s at this moment that the conversation shifts to Steve’s fighting skills, with Joe pointing out that Cap is such a good brawler that he nearly took down Thanos all on his own.
“We learn in Civil War that Cap is one of the most expert fighters,” Russo said. “When Friday tells Tony that he can’t beat Cap hand-to-hand. Now we get to see what a powered-up Cap looks like against Thanos. And he almost takes him.”
Of course, “almost” is the important word there, as Steve ultimately failed to take the Mad Titan down, with Iron Man eventually finishing off the villain for good with his tragic snap that also took his own life. But still, Cap’s effort was certainly a respectable one and this is yet another interesting piece of insight to come from the Avengers: Endgame commentary track, confirming what many had assumed for several months now.
