The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has now concluded, bringing Sam Wilson’s journey to taking on the mantle of Captain America to a close. The social media reaction to the finale was mostly positive, though it has attracted some criticism for not doing everything fans wanted it to. In fact, it left one major mystery frustratingly unsolved. That being, just where is the original Sentinel of Liberty, Steve Rogers?
In the premiere episode, several characters try to get it out of Sam exactly what happened to Steve following Old Man Cap retiring at the end of Avengers: Endgame. There’s a widespread belief that he’s living on the moon, but Wilson laughs at the idea. When he rescues the GRC in the finale, he announces himself as Captain America, which causes one official to say that they thought he was on the moon. That brings a running joke full circle, but it doesn’t tell us the real story or offer any explanation as to where Steve really is.
So, what are the potential options here? Well, perhaps Old Man Steve is still alive and kicking and simply wants to stay out of the superhero life. This seems unlikely, though, as Sam would surely go to him for guidance during the events of the show if he could. Maybe he passed away shortly after his Endgame return, then. This is certainly more feasible, though his funeral would’ve had to be extremely private to stop his death from getting out.
Alternatively, maybe he returned to another timeline. We’re still unclear on if Steve created a new timeline when he traveled to the 1940s to be with Peggy, but if he did, then he could’ve gone back there after handing Sam his shield. To be honest, the confusion over exactly how his Endgame comeback worked is likely the reason why Falcon avoided the topic in the first place, and it’s also possible they didn’t want to outright kill Steve off in case Chris Evans returns someday.
The good news is there’s a natural place where the mystery of Steve Rogers’ fate could be solved – Captain America 4, which was announced to be on the way from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman. As always, it looks like Marvel is playing the long game here and maybe we just need to be patient