Captain America/Steve Rogers is renowned for not just his strength and agility, but for his tactical instincts and strategy. This is why a new fan theory’s argued that we should look at Cap’s final battle with Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War from a slightly different perspective.
In one of the best scenes in the finale (and much teased in the trailers), we see the Mad Titan apparently attempting to lunge at Cap, only for him to begin grappling. As Captain American throws all his strength into resisting Thanos, the villain gives him a curious look of surprise, almost as if he doesn’t think a mere human should be capable of a feat like this. It only lasts for a moment before Thanos’ free right-hand swings down and clobbers Cap, knocking him out.
It’s awesome to watch, but Reddit user Rammen4 argues that what Captain America is actually trying to do is make a last-ditch attempt to pull the Infinity Gauntlet away from Thanos, perhaps having had the same idea as the space-bound team led by Tony Stark in Infinity War. Given how much combat experience Cap has in taking down foes bigger than him, it’s plausible that even at a glance he could tell that this particular giant angry baddie was drawing his vast power from the glove and decided to try and remove it.
While it’s a neat idea, it’s also pointed out that Thanos is clearly pushing towards Captain America, and that the cinematic language of the scene tells a tale of an unstoppable force attempting to be stopped by a single man, making Captain America into the epitome of self-sacrifice and bravery. It’s notable that earlier in the film (even before he had the rest of the Infinity Stones), Thanos was beating up Hulk without breaking a sweat yet here, a ‘mere’ man is resisting him. It’s also a little echo of Captain America and Thanos’ confrontation in the original Infinity War comic.
Whatever your interpretation, you can’t deny it’s an awesome moment, but do you think this theory holds water? Let us know in the comments section down below.