The biggest problem with Steve Rogers’ return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ may not be Doctor Doom, the multiverse, or even the Avengers. It may be the timeline itself. ‘Avengers: Endgame’ set up a very specific ending for Steve: he went back in time to retrieve the Infinity Stones, had a life with Peggy Carter, grew old, and only then came back to the main timeline to give Sam Wilson a brand new shield as Captain America.
The official Endgame script even states that he is 112 years old in that scene. Now ‘Doomsday‘ brings a young bearded Steve Rogers, who coexists with Sam Wilson. That raises an odd question: how can Steve be there if he hasn’t lived the decades necessary to become the old man who gave Sam the shield?
Steve’s Endgame Ending Was Supposed To Be Final
The Russos had previously explained the original ending. Joe Russo stated that Steve would have had to go back from the branch timeline to the main timeline in order to pass the shield to Sam. The previous explanation was that Steve could live his life with Peggy in another timeline and then, with the help of the Pym particles, he could come back.
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But Doomsday potentially puts Steve back into the story before that journey is complete. If it’s the same E-616 Steve, then Marvel has created an apparent loop. Steve will need to eventually become Old Man Steve, go back to the main timeline, and hand the shield to Sam. But when this younger Steve shows up, Sam already has it. And that’s where things get really interesting.
Steve Rogers Could Be Caught In A Massive MCU Time Loop
A possible reason is that the shield is in a closed causal loop. Old Steve gives Sam the shield, and somehow, during his own journey, he runs into the same shield, making it impossible to determine where the shield came from. Steve left without his shield, and even the ‘Endgame’ script makes sure to note that he came back with a brand-new one.
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Alternatively, ‘Doomsday’s Steve could be a Variant, or maybe Marvel has changed the rules for Steve after the ‘Endgame’ timeline. In either case, it’s not some minor continuity error. The whole ‘Endgame’ ending was about reaching his goal of completing his journey.
If ‘Doomsday’ places him back in the MCU while Sam is already Captain America, Marvel now has to explain which Steve we’re watching, where he has been, and how his future can still lead to a past event we’ve already seen. And honestly, that’s exactly the kind of insane time-travel problem only the MCU could create.
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