Avengers: Endgame brought Captain America’s story to a close in an emotional, satisfying way, for sure, it’s just that the mechanics of it weren’t defined on-screen. As we all know, Steve Rogers went back in time to replace the Infinity Stones after Tony Stark’s funeral, with it being revealed that Cap stayed in the past to get married to Peggy Carter and was now an old man.
Fans wondered how Old Man Cap could be in the prime timeline, however, when the previously established rules of time travel stated that he should have created a new timeline by getting hitched. Confusingly, we’ve got two differing explanations from the filmmakers – directors the Russos believe Steve was in another timeline but hopped back to give Sam Wilson the shield, but writers Markus and McFeely say there’s been two Caps in the MCU all along.
While at their fascinating panel at Comic-Con last month, the scribes once again doubled down on their view of the situation. Markus explained that they know it doesn’t fit with the pseudo-science set up beforehand, but that they like to believe that Steve “looped back into time” rather than stepped into another universe.
“I would like to believe that through some sort of bullshit time loop paradox–throw in the words you use when you’re bullshitting science in a movie: ‘some sort of quantum paradox’–that there are indeed two Captain Americas in the MCU timeline. That Steve Rogers who looped back into time has therefore always been there, and that he is living somewhere else in the movies you’re watching.”
Specifically, the duo like to think that Old Man Steve attended Peggy’s funeral, as seen in Captain America: Civil War, meaning he was there twice. This somewhat confirms a fan theory that suggested much the same thing, except that it was believed he was one of the pallbearers.
“And what I really like to believe is that there’s an old man sitting in back at Peggy’s funeral in Civil War, and that’s old Steve Rogers, watching young Steve Rogers, carry old Steve Rogers’s wife up to the front of the church. Can I explain it scientifically? Not really, no.”
Tell us, what’s your personal take on the debate? Join the discussion in the comments section down below and remember to grab Avengers: Endgame on Digital HD if you haven’t already.