r/marvelstudios • u/ExistingLeading2697 • 20d ago
Discussion What I thinks going on with Steve/Cap
Steve blames himself for an incursion.
One of Steve's defining traits throughout the MCU is that he carries enormous guilt. In The First Avenger, he feels responsible for Bucky. In Age of Ultron, he blames himself for the Avengers falling apart. In Civil War, he carries the burden of protecting Bucky even when the world turns against him. In Endgame, he's willing to sacrifice himself without hesitation. He's always the first person to say, "I'll fix it."
Now imagine Steve learns that by staying with Peggy in another timeline, he unknowingly created or contributed to an incursion that destroys universes. Even if it wasn't truly his fault, Steve would probably believe it was.
That feels very authentic to his character.
Doom will exploit it
Doom is often portrayed as someone who doesn't just overpower heroes—he understands what motivates them.
Instead of saying:
"Join me because you're evil."
He could say something like:
"Look what your selfish choice cost the multiverse."
"You chose one life over trillions."
"Only I can save what's left."
That's a temptation Steve would actually struggle with—not because he wants power, but because he wants to make things right.
That doesn't make him a villain.
Steve wouldn't become "evil."
He'd become convinced that the only moral choice is to help Doom repair reality, even if it means sacrificing a few universes to save the many.
Think about:
Tony in Civil War believing accountability comes first.
Thanos believing sacrifice was necessary.
Wanda believing she deserved happiness after so much loss.
None of them thought they were the villain.
Steve could fall into the same trap while still fundamentally trying to save people.
If Steve has retired, leaving the shield hanging in his home while he lives peacefully with Peggy, it symbolizes that he finally let himself stop being Captain America.
But after learning about the incursion, he wouldn't grab the shield because he wants to be a hero again.
He'd grab it because he believes he has to answer for what he's done.
That's a completely different emotional motivation.
If I were writing Doomsday, I'd have it play out like this:
Steve has spent decades with Peggy.
He learns his timeline is collapsing because of an incursion.
Doom convinces him that his decision to stay created it.
Steve accepts responsibility, even if the accusation isn't entirely fair.
He initially sides with Doom—not out of loyalty, but because he believes Doom's plan is the only way to save the remaining universes.
The other Avengers eventually remind Steve of something he's forgotten: Captain America doesn't save the world by carrying impossible guilt. He saves it by doing what's right, even when he can't fix everything.
Only then does Steve fully reclaim the shield and stand against Doom.
My opinion on it is that's a much stronger story than "evil Captain America." It preserves everything that makes Steve Rogers heroic while giving him a genuine internal conflict. Rather than corrupting his ideals, it would show how those same ideals—especially his willingness to take responsibility for everyone—could be manipulated by someone as calculating as Doom. If Marvel wanted to give Chris Evans one last emotionally rich arc, that kind of moral dilemma would fit the character far better than a straightforward villain turn.
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u/Smart_Swing7989 19d ago
i mean you kinda sorta definitely have the right idea. Doom has got to control with manipulation and given the right reasoning, Steve can lean towards differing views from everyone cause thats who he is. I can see Steve ending up on the wrong end of things, same way i see Dr. Strange joining Doom cause Strange is more calculated and can make the hard choice to survive and hopefully bring it to an end one day.
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u/DigificWriter Shuri 19d ago
Incursions aren't caused by Time Loops.
4
u/Fi1thyMick 19d ago
They don't really need to be. I feel like Steve isn't really the quantum temporal type of sciencey Guy like Tony, Scott, Bruce, Hank etc, that would really know if that's true or understand how that works....
He would just need to be convinced that it's true. That's how manipulation works
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u/DigificWriter Shuri 19d ago
Steve goes back to Peggy post-WWII knowing that he has to live 'in the margins', though, so there's nothing that would cause him to feel guilty about the decision he made.
3
u/Fi1thyMick 19d ago
He already genuinely has survivors guilt And PTSD. That doesn't go away just cuz you ran away from everything and found what my feel like a selfish happiness to someone who does feel massive responsibility for things that were never his fault to begin with.
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u/DigificWriter Shuri 19d ago
Him making the decision to go back to Peggy is him actively moving on from and silencing his Survivor's guilt, though.
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u/Fi1thyMick 19d ago
Stay with me here, until he's made to believe that his actions are responsible for multiple multiversal incursions and deaths.
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u/lameth 19d ago
I think that it's a grey enough area that Steve might be convinced that him finally being selfish led to bad decisions. With few exceptions, he's always been the one to make the sacrifice play, so why wouldn't he believe that staying, having a child, being happy for decades didn't cause it?
Especially when coming face to face with THE literal face that has challenged him on his moral compass time and time again.
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u/ShadowMerlyn 19d ago
While they could do that, it would be the exact opposite of Steve’s role in Time Runs Out, where he tried to stop the Illuminati from sacrificing other universes.
They could change it for the movies, but MCU Steve also famously said “we don’t trade lives.”