Steve Rogers didn’t become a soldier or a superhero for the money, but rather a burning desire to protect his country at all costs. And although it was never made clear whether or not S.H.I.E.L.D. financially compensated the Avengers for their efforts in saving the world over and over again, after spending almost 70 years trapped in a block of ice, Captain America‘s bank account would have surely accumulated a decent amount of interest.
However, some intrepid number crunching fans have now worked out that the U.S. Army would actually owe the star-spangled legend millions of dollars in back pay, though you get the impression that he’d be far too kind to go knocking on their door demanding a payout.
While Steve never officially returned to active duty after being thawed out, he was evidently allowed to retain the rank of Captain. And having spent 66 years years on hiatus without being discharged, Redditor Anon33249038 has worked out that Captain America would be due over $3.1 million dollars adjusted for inflation. That’s based on the pay rate for someone of his rank in 1945, biannual raises and, of course, the six decades and change he spent as a Capsicle.
However, Army spokesman Wayne Hall has disputed those figures, which led Nerdist to put together an investigation of their own. As per those findings, Captain America was in fact due almost $4.7 million when adjusted for inflation, and based on the relatively modest apartment we saw in The Winter Solider, he clearly hadn’t gone looking for the compensation.
Then again, the more likely scenario is that the entire Avengers operation was funded by Tony Stark, who isn’t exactly short of a dollar or two, so there was probably no need for such a wholesome character as Captain America to go chasing down his missing paychecks.