So Cap, it looks like your days are numbered. You might have survived World War II, being frozen in a block of ice, an invading Norse god, battling Thanos and that godawful costume they had you in in The Avengers, but nobody thinks you’re walking out of Avengers 4 in one piece.
The latest negative prognosis for the hero comes from MovieWeb, who’ve broken down the narrative reasons why Steve Rogers is a dead man walking. Much of this centers on an eminently reasonable analysis of him as a character who will not hesitate to do the right thing, protect the weak and place himself in the path of danger.
This was the essence of Rogers even before he was given the Super-Soldier Serum, evidenced by him diving onto what he thinks is a live grenade to protect fellow soldiers, or simply standing up to a bully in a crowded cinema who beats the crap out of him in an alley. Then, at the climax of Captain America: The First Avenger, he believes he’s sacrificing his own life by flying a plane full of deadly weapons into the Arctic.
This all comes to a head in Infinity War, where MovieWeb explains that in not allowing Vision to sacrifice himself, he exposes the contradictions in his moral code. His hubris is that he wants to be the one to make the heroic sacrifice rather than allowing other heroes to choose their own ends. If he’d followed Vision’s wishes, then Thanos would not’ve acquired all the Infinity Stones and would obviously have never been able to wipe out half of all life in the universe.
This logically leads us to Steve Rogers suffering under an insane amount of guilt in Avengers 4 and possibly now actively searching for the moment where he can lay down his life to return the universe to its pre-Thanos status quo. Or, as you might put it, he’s had his chips.
Of course, this could all be a bunch of baloney, but at least it’s interesting and well thought out baloney. After all, I was convinced that Rogers, Stark or possibly both would bite the dust in Infinity War, only to see them and the original team being among the few survivors.
All I can say is roll on Avengers 4 – and c’mon Marvel Studios, can we get an official title already?