'Avengers: Endgame' Writers Confirm Captain America Fan Theory
It's been more than two weeks since Avengers: Endgame was released in theaters, but the internet has been abuzz with speculation about the Marvel Studios film and its characters' fates. To answer some of these Avengers Endgame fan theories, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely attempted to smooth out some of the logistical wrinkles and answered questions about the Infinity Gauntlet's true powers.
Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame below.
The Life and Death of Captain America
Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) decision to travel back in time to live out the rest of his life with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) has been the source of the most frenzied debate, as the implications of Steve rewriting his own timeline were just too much even for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's loose idea of canon. But in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Markus and McFeely explained that Steve being Peggy's mystery husband, first mentioned in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, was always in the cards:
"It was always our intention that he was the father of those two children. But again, there are time travel loopholes for that," said McFeely.
Added Markus: "It does introduce the idea that there are two children who have somewhat super soldier DNA."
Steve's whole arc in the last 10 minutes of the film could make up for an entire movie, especially considering one of his most monumental reunions with an old villain would happen offscreen. That includes Steve's last conversation with Bucky (Sebastian Stan), Steve's oldest friend and the reason for most of his impulsive actions. And yet, Bucky barely got a word with Old Man Steve, who passed on the shield to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). But, according to Markus and McFeely, they did have one final conversation: offscreen, before Steve made the jump.
"That's not our intent, no. It's just honoring their relationship," said McFeely. "Steve, clearly, before he stepped on that platform ... told Bucky what he was going to do. Whether he knew he was going to appear on that bench, I don't think so. Why would Bucky say, 'I'm going to miss you pal,' if it was only going to be five seconds?"
The Full Power of the Gauntlet
The Infinity Gauntlet — and its later incarnation, the Nano Gauntlet — is an all-powerful object that allows its user to manipulate reality, at heavy cost to their life. But despite its incredible power, Marks and McFeely didn't even consider the idea that a hole would be torn in the fabric of reality, leading to the creation of alternate universes. Not until they saw the Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer. Could that also lead into another fan theory that a whole race of mutants were created in the aftermath of the snap?
"Anything is possible, but I don't whether you'd need that. Genetic mutation is genetic mutation. It just happens. Maybe they are already out there," said Markus.
"I do think that whenever Kevin decides to do X-Men or Fantastic Four, it won't be how you think it's going to happen," McFeely added. "I think he's going to have a real clever version of it."
Markus and McFeely are alluding to the mutants of the X-Men, who now have agency to be folded into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, alongside their fellow Fox acquisitions, Fantastic Four. Fans have been frantically theorizing that these characters could be introduced in the MCU as one of the consequences of the Snap, which had greater ramifications for the MCU at large than even Markus and McFeely anticipated.
But Markus and McFeely are clear on the Gauntlet's limits when it comes to life and death. "The Gauntlet, as of yet, has not brought back anybody to life that wasn't removed by the Gauntlet. Tony was physically killed," said Marcus.
The exception might have been Vision, who was temporarily brought back to life and killed again by Thanos, who used the Time Stone to rewind Vision's death. But that could not be done for Tony — who is gone for sure.
Read more of Markus and McFeely's answers to fan theories in the full article here.