Captain America Fan Theories That Are Actually Plausible

The MCU is one of the largest franchises ever. With over twenty films, countless interesting characters, and so much source material to pull from, it’s no question as to why. One of fandoms’ favorite things to do is come up with fan theories, and when it comes to the MCU there are a lot of them. Especially about our First Avenger – Captain America. We managed to round up some of the most interesting fan theories surrounding Steve Rogers.

Which Captain American fan theory do you think is most believable? Vote up your favorites below!

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Steve Rogers Was Able To Resist Thanos Because Of His Strong Will

From Redditor u/XanPerkyCheck:

Thanos moves his glove hand towards Rogers, and Rogers stops it with both hands. Thanos strains a bit more, but is unable to move his hand forward or close his grip, so he just knocks Rogers out with his non-glove hand instead.

If you look at his facial expression, he looks shocked upon the initial block, then onwards he looks really perplexed with his eyes squinting and all, like he’s thinking “how is this guy able to do this”? But what is ‘this’ that Rogers is doing?

I don’t believe it’s physically blocking Thanos’ hand. Thanos beat up Hulk, and Rogers is definitely not stronger than Hulk, not to mention Thanos knocks out Rogers seconds later, while Rogers’ uppercut punch did nothing to Thanos.

The glove works by responding to the will of the user, and in that moment, both of them were in physical contact with the glove. So Rogers was kind of “out-willing” Thanos, and while none of the infinity stones were actively being used, they were implicitly responding to both Thanos’ and Rogers’ wills respectively, with Rogers’ influence being greater. And that’s how he was able to resist Thanos.

Captain America Was Killed In The Battle Of Wakanda But Was Brought Back With The Time Stone

From Redditor u/commander_wong:

Thanos ended his short battle with Cap with a punch to the back of the head. Many wondered how Cap recovered in mere seconds from a punch that even took out the Hulk and the most logical explanation is that he didn’t. As Thanos used the time stone to bring Vision back, the surroundings also reverted: Natasha was no longer trapped under pillars of stone, Bruce was no longer fused to a rock, and Cap showed no signs of injuries from a blow that should’ve easily killed him.

The Reason Captain America Is Able To Wield Mjolnir Now Is Because He Is Worthy

From Redditor u/MDuncan1182:

The reason Captain America is able to wield Mjolnir now is because he is worthy. This seems like a duh but it’s not so simple.

In Age of Ultron we see that he is able to move the hammer because for a moment the hammer senses all the good that Cap is but then it notices his one fault…

Later in the movie Scarlett Witch gives all of the Avengers nightmares and they see their worst fears realised. Cap’s worst fear is that there will be no more fight. No more war.

THIS is the exact reason Odin took Mjolnir from Thor and placed the spell on it. “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Remember that Thor had a strong desire for combat regardless of the consequences. He was unable to see how to resolve conflicts without violence. This seemingly makes someone unworthy.

Now back to Cap in Endgame. He has never felt such defeat like this ever before in his life. But rather than punching away and breaking 30 punching bags a day(Avengers 2012) he is counseling people through their loss. Then in the elevator he easily could have taken all those guys down(we have seen it before Winter Solider 2014) but this time he realizes he doesn’t need to fight when he can trick them and no one gets hurt. He obviously had no choice but to fight thanos when he was right there in front of them but he did not want to “punch his way out of this one”-Black Widow(Civil War 2016)… he just wanted to bring back everyone they lost.

Now to the end… just like Tony. Cap is ready to rest. He is ready to live a normal life and just be happy. He isn’t Captain America anymore. He hasn’t been since the Snap. He has just been Steve Rogers. Trying to do what’s right and go back home. This makes him worthy.

Captain America Knew Who Spiderman Was

From Redditor u/j_u_s_t_i_n:

In the segment of the airport scene where Pete and Steve have their 1:1 fight, Steve drops a skybridge on Pete, who is able to catch it.

How was Cap confident that this wouldn’t kill Spidey? Surely their fight didn’t reveal how strong Spidey was, since they were all pulling their punches.

A better explanation is that Cap already knew about Spiderman. After all, it’s clear that Tony had been watching him for an unknown amount of time, and even had a suit to give him, and this was while Tony and Steve were still allies. Tony and Steve were both evaluating Spidey for recruitment, and took catalog of his powers as he stopped crimes in Queens.

‘Braddock’ Is The Alias Steve Rogers Uses In His Life With Peggy

From Redditor u/CinematicESP:

If Steve is trying to lay low when he goes back in time to spend a life with Peggy, it would make sense that he might use an alias. What if the Agent Braddock mentioned in Endgame was Steve, hence Peggy’s concern for his whereabouts?

Jumping off from that, perhaps they settle down in Peggy’s home country of England to raise a family… including Brian and Betsy Braddock, either their children or grandchildren.

Captain Britain, the super soldier son (or grandson) of Captain America.

The Serum Didn’t Deform Steve Like Red Skull Because Of Penicillin

From Redditor u/rafael-a:

The real reason Red Skull got deformed and Captain America didn’t.

Bacteria is the answer. In the scene of the transformation of skinny Steve Rogers into big buff Captain America there is a small joke where Erskine injects him penicillin beforehand. The penicillin shot was much more important than it seems, because human body is full of bacteria, and the Super Serum would enhance microbes as well, therefore they should be killed beforehand.

In the movie it is shown that Johan “red skull” Schmidt injected the serum by himself, it worked but it also enhanced the bacteria, the grow in such a way that they destroyed the skin of his face (and maybe entire body), and it would have killed him if he wasn’t enhanced as well, so his body is in a constant battle against super microbes and that messed up his face.

The Super Soldier Serum Increases Intelligence As Well As Strength

From Redditor u/StoneGoldX:

The Super Soldier Serum increases intelligence as well as strength. It’s just Captain America only studies beating people up.

I originally developed this theory for the comics, but it should work for the movies as well. Abraham Erskine’s Super Soldier Serum enhanced Steve Rogers’ body to operate at peak human efficiency. In the movies, he’s a little more blatantly superhuman, and with the caveat that it also enhances your personality.

I believe, however, that the SSS also drastically increases mental capacity, perhaps to the level of a Stark or even a Richards. It’s just that rather than studying the physical sciences, Steve Rogers studies how to best save the world from evil, preferably by punching evil in the face.

After a bit of post-SSS training, Steve immediately went from being a combat novice to one of, if not the, greatest hand to hand combatants in the world. He figured out the aerodynamics and impossible physics of throwing his shield just from holding and throwing it a few times. Since being defrosted, he immediately was able to use sci-fi level electronics like the computers at Avengers HQ. It’s been remarked many times by various characters, from Nick Fury to Kang, that within moments he immediately masters any vehicle or weapon he touches. Not to mention being the foremost metahuman combat tactician of the Marvel Universe.

I believe that if Steve wasn’t so focused on saving the world through strength of arm, he could be saving the world with his mind through discovery and invention. It’s just he’s so focused on studying how to better punch people in the face, that he hasn’t focused on creating anti-posineutronic engromatic devices and such.

Howard Stark Didn’t Want Steve Rogers To Choose The Vibranium Shield Because He Wanted It For Himself

From Redditor u/Adam_Underscore:

In Captain America: The First Avenger, Howard Stark shows the Cap a bunch of shield prototypes he designed before Rogers notices the vibranium shield tucked away on the bottom shelf. A lot of people wonder why Stark didn’t show Rogers the vibranium shield first, since it’s obviously the best choice.

My guess is that Stark knew the vibranium shield was the best one, but he was hoping Cap would choose a different shield so Stark could use the vibranium for other projects. Stark likely knew how versatile vibranium is, and given that it’s all the vibranium that the military has, he likely didn’t want to give it all away for just one soldier.

Since it was the military’s vibranium, they probably ordered Stark to make a prototype shield with the vibranium for Rogers, but Stark likely saw this a waste of the precious metal. So he made a few more options with more bells and whistles to distract Rogers from vibranium shield. Too bad Cap is a man of simple tastes

No One Is Able To Recreate The Super Soldier Serum Because It Comes From The Heart Shaped Herb

From Redditor u/4DimensionalToilet

The Super Soldier Serum that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America was derived from the Heart Shaped Herb that gives people the powers of the Black Panther. The Heart Shaped Herb was incorporated into the Serum by Howard Stark, who somehow got a sample of the Herb from Wakanda, where he also obtained the vibranium used to make Cap’s famous shield. The Herb contains a key ingredient that prevents the enhanced individual from getting f*cked up like the Red Skull, the Hulk, and the Abomination did.

In the MCU it’s been established that Dr. Abraham Erskine, the scientist who turned Steve Rogers into Captain America in The First Avenger (2011), was the only person to ever successfully produce an effective Super Soldier Serum. It’s also established that Cap’s shield is made of vibranium, a supermetal that is only found in Wakanda.

Skip forward from WWII to the present day, and the closest we’ve seen in the MCU to powers resembling those of Steve Rogers are those of the Black Panther. T’Challa and Erik “Killmonger” Stevens both have enhanced speed, strength, and endurance when they possess the powers of the Black Panther. They aren’t necessarily superhuman, but they are at peak human ability, just like Captain America.

Going back to WWII, Erskine’s original attempt at making a super soldier failed, deforming Johann Schmidt into the Red Skull. A few years later, Erskine was ready to try again. With the help of the brilliant Howard Stark, he perfected it and turned the weakling Steve Rogers into the super soldier Captain America.

The difference between the two attempts is that Erskine was now working with Howard Stark. Stark, as we know, had acquired enough vibranium to make a shield sometime before Cap formed the Howling Commandos.

Seeing as vibranium only comes from Wakanda, Stark must have gone to Wakanda (or at least he had a contact there) in order to get his hands on the vibranium needed to make the shield. At some point during his dealings with the Wakandans, Stark must have heard about the Black Panther and his superhuman abilities.

Stark, if not already working with Erskine by this point, would have realized that if America could harness the powers of the Black Panther, they could be used to create a super soldier. Seeing as how Stark was working with and doing science for the US military, he could have figured out that Erskine was the man to talk to about creating an American super soldier.

If Stark was already working with Erskine by the time he found out about the Black Panther, he would have told Erskine about the Black Panther and gotten the go-ahead to figure out how to incorporate it into the super soldier program.

So Stark manages to get some Heart-Shaped Herb via some kind of deal, or maybe he just steals some of it (à la Rocket and the Sovereign’s batteries) when he finds out that the Wakandans aren’t willing to exchange it for anything.

Now that the Americans have the Heart Shaped Herb, the Super Soldier program can continue unhindered. The Herb seems to contain a stabilizing agent which prevents unwanted mutations (e.g. turning into the Red Skull) during the enhancement process. The research is completed and they are ready to find a candidate. That candidate ends up being Steve Rogers.

In short, because both are derived from the same source, Cap’s powers and T’Challa’s powers are very similar.

The influence of the Heart Shaped Herb on the MCU doesn’t stop there. The reason that Bruce Banner got turned into the Hulk instead of successfully relaunching the Super Soldier Program (like Ross wanted) in The Incredible Hulk (2008) is that the key ingredient — the Heart Shaped Herb’s stabilizing agent — was missing, and the same goes for Blonsky when he turns into the Abomination.

Captain America Was A Virgin Until ‘Infinity War’

From Redditor u/SpideyFan914:

THE FIRST AVENGER: In the car with Peggy before his procedure, Peggy comments, “You don’t talk to many girls, do you?” Steve replies, “This is the longest conversation I’ve had with one.” Now he could be exaggerating, sure. I sincerely hope he’s had longer conversations with his mom, for instance. However Steve is a man I believe we can take at his word, and the implication here seems that he has not been intimate before The First Avenger, potentially not even having kissed a woman. This is further backed up by the era, as conservative values were more prevalent at the time.

Now there are several montages throughout the film, and it’s noteworthy that he later kisses the Game of Thrones woman. In that scene, she comes onto him, and he doesn’t really have much choice in the matter. Peggy is rather angry (she literally shoots at him – damn Peggy, what if the shield didn’t work?). Based on her reaction, and Steve’s apparent loyalty toward Peggy despite the misunderstanding, I don’t believe this circumstance is normal, and while it may not have the only time some fan has kissed him, I’d be shocked if he’d gone any further.

Of course, at the end of the movie he’s frozen before he and Peggy can have even one date, although they do share a kiss.

THE AVENGERS: Not much to analyze here. Next!

THE WINTER SOLDIER: It’s been a couple of years now since he’s been thawed. Has he made any progress? Well, after kissing Natasha, she outright asks Steve (again in a car – what’s with Steve’s sex life getting talked about in cars?) how active he’s been. “That bad, huh?” he replies. “No, that was not my first kiss since 1945.” Okay, that’s something – it means he’s canonically kissed more than the four women we’ve seen him kiss in these movies. However, he also says there hasn’t been anyone special. Hence Natasha’s persistence on getting him a date.

What about a one-night stand? This is Captain America guys, come on! He doesn’t do one-night stands, he’s not Tony Stark! Don’t believe me? Let’s go back to that other car scene, the one in The First Avenger. Steve tells Peggy, “I guess I’m just waiting for the right partner.” Again, Steve is a man I believe we can take at his word. He isn’t just hamming up for the pretty trigger-happy Brit, he’s legit waiting for the right partner.

Lucky for him, he finds one in this same movie! Sharon Carter! But Nat only tells Steve that her name is Sharon, leaving out the Carter part for a lackluster reveal in Civil War. But before we get to that –

AGE OF ULTRON: The Avengers movies don’t add much to this. They don’t really get into Steve’s love life. Sorry!

CIVIL WAR: Okay so most important thing is to track his relationship with Sharon. When he sees her here at Peggy’s funeral, he’s genuinely surprised. He didn’t even know her last name, it’s unlikely they’ve kept in major touch between movies. More importantly, when he kisses her (outside a car this time), he says that was “late.” Obviously, this was their first kiss. (I mean it’s pretty obvious from all their interactions in the movie, but I want to leave as few holes as possible.) And then they drive away and we actually haven’t seen Sharon since this moment.

HOMECOMING: I guess we know now what he meant about patience in the post-credits, huh?

INFINITY WAR: Okay so no intimacy on screen, but it’s worth noting there was a deleted scene with Sharon Carter in it. I haven’t seen this scene though I believe it implies they’ve been intimate, however I also don’t believe in counting deleted scenes as canon. So… have Steve and Sharon done it?

First off, let’s establish whether or not they’re able to meet. I mean, if they met in a deleted scene, the answer to the possibility is obviously yes. Steve is a fugitive, but so is Sharon (for stealing his and Falcon’s gear in Civil War – it’s explicitly stated that “they’ll be after [Sharon] too now”). That kiss in Civil War was a beginning, not an end. Plus, if Vision and Scarlet Witch can find each other on the run (and unlike Vision and Wanda, Steve and Sharon ran away at the same time and would have made plans), this is obviously not a problem.

Thus, Steve and Sharon have been a relationship for… is it two years in the official timeline? One and a half, maybe? Someone (I think Falcon but could be wrong) says, “It’s been a rough couple years,” when they all meet up with Rhodie, so I’d say one and a half at minimum. This is likely enough time, especially since… damn Steve, you’ve waited so long for the right partner you wound up settling for her great-niece!

IN CONCLUSION: He might die, but at least we can say he won’t die a virgin.

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Buffy Mote

Buffy Mote is a die-hard Marvel enthusiast with an encyclopedic knowledge of the Marvel Universe. Having spent years engrossed in comic books, movies, and television series, Buffy has developed a keen eye for details and a passion for storytelling that has made her a beloved figure among Marvel fans. With a background in journalism and creative writing, Buffy's insights and engaging style have attracted a dedicated readership eager to delve deeper into the complex world of superheroes and villains.

Outside of her writing for marvelnerds.com, Buffy is an active participant in comic book conventions, often hosting panels and sharing her analyses of character development and plot intricacies. Her love for Marvel isn't just confined to the printed page or screen, as she's known to collect rare memorabilia, participate in cosplay, and even run a Marvel-themed podcast. Whether you're a casual fan or a fellow Marvel nerd, Buffy Mote's contributions are sure to enrich your appreciation for the expansive and thrilling Marvel Universe.