The Marvel Cinematic Universe usually takes its heroes seriously, keeping many of them alive even if they aren’t among the most popular ones. Of course, the most casualties came from Thanos’ activities in Avengers: Infinity War when he snapped half the universe away with the Infinity Gauntlet. But, in Avengers: Endgame, all those heroes were saved when the Hulk snapped everybody back.

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Unfortunately, both Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) perished in the movie, and aside from Black Widow, neither of them has returned. Another character whose arc came to an end was Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) aka Captain America. But unlike the other two, he wasn’t killed on-screen. In fact, he wasn’t killed at all. 

The last we saw of him, he was in the past dancing with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), but not before he gave the shield and title of Captain America to Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon (Anthony Mackie), while he was an old man. Seemingly, Steve Rogers lived out his entire life with Peggy through time travel, then he transported himself back to Sam as an old man. But, does this make him dead? No, it just makes him old. If Steve’s not dead, where in the Marvel Universe is he?

Where is Steve Rogers?

Assume that after Steve Rogers returned the Infinity Stones to their rightful places, he went straight to Peggy and lived happily ever after with her. If he did, he wouldn’t be living in the timeline we know, because of how time travel was explained in Avengers: Endgame. Remember that they couldn’t change anything in the MCU timeline; that’s why they had to collect the stones to bring everyone back. Otherwise, they could have just stopped Thanos when he was younger and everything could have been avoided. 

So, the Steve Rogers we know went and lived with Peggy, presumably. But, he must have come back old for a reason. Sure, maybe he didn’t want to bring the shield back until he was old in case Nick Fury or one of the Avengers tried to force him into facing yet another world-ending force, but that seems too selfish for the man who just wanted to stand up to bullies. Plus, Captain America’s serum slows his aging process, we know this based on Captain America: The First Avenger demonstrating how alcohol doesn’t affect him.

That would mean the old version of Steve Rogers we see isn’t just a 60 or 80-year-old man, or even a 150-year-old man, counting the years he was on ice. Instead, he was probably somewhere between 200 and 300 years old. Now, assume that Steve went back to be with Peggy shortly after he crashed the plane into the ocean in The First Avenger. He’s already around 100 years old in Avengers: Endgame, so he’s that same age when he is reunited with Peggy.

Now, remember Steve doesn’t need to live out the same amount of time parallel to the MCU timeline to come back. So there’s no guarantee he returns to the MCU’s version of 2023. This is important because we know the MCU Peggy dies years earlier, in Captain America: Civil War. Again, that alternate Peggy didn’t need to die at the same time either, but it’s likely she is dead by the time Steve comes back because he is so much older. 

So, if she died earlier, why did Steve wait so long to come back with the shield? Well, that could be for a few different reasons. The first reason could be that the Steve Rogers that returned with the shield isn’t actually the MCU’s Steve at all, but rather an alternate version of the character or maybe even a Skrull, although that seems doubtful. 

What might have happened instead, is that Steve returned the Infinity Stones, returned to Peggy, and then went on his own adventures. Ones to either protect his timeline, or Peggy’s. This would explain both his absence and then his reappearance to give Sam the shield. For example, what if he was summoned to fight against Kang or a greater force in Avengers: Secret Wars? We could get Chris Evans to return for a fight or two, only for him to return a little older to live with Peggy again.

There is also the constant reference to the theory in the MCU that Steve Rogers is actually on the moon. The joke is brought up a bit in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. While this is likely a joke to explain away Captain America’s disappearance, there is a possibility he is actually on the moon. In the comics, the moon is sometimes the home to the Inhumans, one of which is Black Bolt who we saw in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The Inhumans fought with the Skrulls often in the comic books, and with the Disney Plus show Secret Invasion coming up, we could see the Inhumans introduced in the MCU proper. If they are, and their home Attilan is located on the moon, he could easily be there either under the orders of Nick Fury or because he has befriended Black Bolt. 

We’re not saying he would suddenly become Captain America again, either. We know Sam Wilson has the mantle and will be the main character in Captain America: New World Order, so it isn’t as if he’ll suddenly turn up and take the shield back. This theory would instead place two shields in the MCU, as Steve wouldn’t have given his to Sam yet, because he still wouldn’t have aged. Speaking of aging, we didn’t see the old Steve Rogers die, either. There’s a chance that after Peggy’s death in the alternate timeline, he came back to the MCU to live somewhere and watch over his old friends. Maybe he’s back in New York, in Brooklyn, living off of his years of service. That’s a nice thought. 

Whatever the case might be, it seems unlikely we’ve heard the last of Steve Rogers in the MCU. After all, Steve’s legacy is referenced in different Marvel projects, but not with the finality that both Black Widow and Iron Man are discussed. Who knows, he might return in Avengers: Secret Wars only to get the death he deserves. Although, that would probably be an alternate version of the character, too. 

Of course, it could just be a neat way to tie a bow around Chris Evans not returning as Captain America after playing the character for years. That would be fine, too, but longtime Marvel fans would undoubtedly miss him when Secret Wars eventually releases. Who knows, he might pop up as the Human Torch instead.