The final minutes of Avengers: Endgame remain a topic of much discussion, as fans speculate and debate over the logistics of Steve Rogers’ journey into the past and his reunion with Peggy Carter. But before we get too bogged down over who was in which timeline and when, or who attended whose funeral, let’s take a moment to remember what the First Avenger’s final mission was really about: proving Ultron wrong.
As a new post on Reddit observes, the titular villain of 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron at one point mocks Cap for “pretending [he] could live without a war.” He may’ve had a point back then, but as we now know, Steve eventually shows himself to be quite capable of quitting the superhero game. Boy, would Ultron’s face be red now if he hadn’t died several years ago.
Of course, in the A.I.’s defense, Cap’s pre-Endgame adventures have often shown him to be uncomfortable living a life without conflict. Indeed, even his catchphrase (“I can do this all day.”) suggests a hero who prides himself on never backing down. Though Steve has proven his stamina in the field of battle time and time again, it took him multiple movies and an opportunity to reunite with Peggy for him to finally learn how to stop.
In an interview earlier this year with Fandango, Endgame co-writer Stephen McFeely argued that Steve’s arc was always about the hero “trying to find some personal life” and learning to be “a man for himself,” as opposed to “a man for others.” That being said, Cap’s story after traveling back in time is still a blank canvas for the most part, and should Chris Evans ever reprise his role for a future project, we may find that his life with Peggy wasn’t so peaceful after all.
Until then, however, we’ll just assume that Steve’s final adventure was Avengers: Endgame, which is now available to watch on Digital, and will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on August 13th.
