Infinity War hit us hard. But Avengers: Endgame took it up a notch and hit us even harder. It was really hard to see our heroes die in Infinity War. But we managed to live through that ordeal partly because we knew all of them will return. In Endgame, that possibility was thrown out the window. Endgame meant the end of the line for a lot of our most beloved superheroes. Chief amongst the departures was Captain America. He did not die per se but actually retired. After ensured Captain America had his last dance with Peggy and live a happy, wholesome life. He went back in time to put the Infinity Stones back in place, came back an old and battered guy. Chris Evans’ exit was confirmed but there were still doubts whether Marvel would actually go through with it. They did. And without Captain America, the MCU will never be the same. Presenting – 10 Amazing Captain America Storylines we will never see in MCU thanks to Endgame!!
10. The Secret Empire
This is not the controversial Hail Hydra Captain America storyline. This is actually an older storyline that was released way back in 1974. It was the Watergate Scandal and the press revealed how USA’s government was abusing its powers to spy on the opposition. In The Secret Empire, Captain America realizes that the USA is under the presidency of a closet Dictator and Madman that calls himself the POTUS. Everything he has done for America in the name of the President’s Orders comes to question. As a result, Captain America renounces his mantle, deciding to let the Shield go and become Nomad.
9. Under Siege
Many consider the manner in which Zemo was portrayed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War, an absolute travesty. In the comics, Baron Helmut Zemo was one of Captain America’s greatest foes. He even once led a group of supervillains against the Avengers, led by Captain America at the time, and even won. Under Siege was probably the first comic book storyline that showed the Avengers are not invincible. It is not only godlike powers that can defeat him. A well-executed plan and a brilliant strategist could also do the trick. Zemo and his Masters of Evil became quite famous after this comic book arc.
8. The Death of Captain America
It will take time for us to heal after seeing Chris Evans depart from the MCU like that. But had the MCU followed even a tinge of this storyline, the situations would have been way grimmer. Civil War saw Iron Man and Captain America trading fists and leading their respective groups against each other. The movie ends with Team Cap defeated and all of its members incapacitated. But in the comic books, Captain America does not just end up in prison. He ends up dead, killed by an assassin who thinks he was the reason for Civil War ever happening in the first place.
7. Madbomb
All of Captain America’s storylines in the MCU are kind of dark and bleak. The comic book storylines they took inspiration from are like that as well, more or less. Captain America issues are not always that dark though. Captain America: Madbomb was one of the most acclaimed Captain America storylines and it has a generally lighter, humorous take. It deals with Cap and Falcon trying to stop a bomb from exploding and causing havoc in New York all the while uncovering a huge conspiracy.
6. Captain America: No More
Steve Rogers is the American Way of Life. He represents the best of the Free World. As a stalwart of modern-day democracy, a lot of people trust him with their lives and have faith in his actions. All that faith came crashing down when Captain America turned into public enemy number one after shooting an assailant in cold blood in front of all the people. The public sentiment forced Captain America to start considering giving up the red, white and blue. Several other superheroes like Nike and Super Patriot were ready to replace him. The US Government gave Cap an ultimatum – he will become their agent and will work under the government. Steve refused and the future US Agent became the new Captain America.
5. Operation Rebirth
Captain America dying at the end of Civil War from an assassin’s bullet made everybody sad. But the way he was brought back from the dead was even sadder. It was Sharon Carter, his former girlfriend that helped Captain America be resurrected. And to help her in her endeavor was the Red Skull. Two long-time foes becoming allies would never have made sense if the threat of old World War Two enemies threatening the whole world would not have come into play.
4. The Strange Death of Captain America
Marvel Comics has a strange fascination with killing off Captain America every now and then. In this story arc, Captain America is not a poster child of the American Way and a superhero celebrity. He is a super spy that does covert ops missions behind enemy lines. It was indeed a unique take on the superhero. It also ended up with Captain America dying. The storyline also had Madame Hydra and Rick Jones as the new sidekick to the Super Soldier.
3. The Second Secret Empire
And now we come to the most controversial Captain America storyline to ever exist. It was so divisive a storyline that Avengers: Endgame even poked fun at Marvel comics by making Chris Evans playing Captain America utter the most memorable lines from the arc – Hail Hydra“. The storyline involved Captain America revealing him to be a Hydra Sleeper Agent all along, rewriting years of his adventures trying to stop its greatest enemy. The world can never forget the Hail Hydra moment but the storyline did take an interesting turn, with the actual Villain revealed to be Kubik, a reality-altering supervillain.
2. Secret Avengers
Amongst all the storylines mentioned in the list, Secret Avengers has the most chances of being actually the one arc to get away with being realistic enough to be used to make a movie out of, Post Endgame. In Secret Avengers, an aged Captain America now leads a new team of Avengers composed of Black Widow, Beast, Moon Knight, and Valkyrie against the bad guys. The MCU version of the Secret Avengers team was probably inspired from this version of the Avengers.
1. Castaway in Dimension Z
If you thought the Quantum Realm was a topsy-turvy town, wait till you visit Dimension Z. In Dimension Z, time runs differently as well, just like the Quantum Realm. Arnim Zola rules the entire dimension in the most ruthless manner possible. He conducts inhumane experiments on children and has consolidated his power in such a manner that there is nothing left for the entire world to fight for. Zola traps Captain America in Dimension Z because he wants the Super Soldier Serum for him to be injected into his “children”. Captain America teams up with Dimension Z resistance fighters and spends 12 years there fighting Zola. When he comes out of the Dimension, he realizes that the number of days he was away in the real world was just a few days.
The Last solo Marvel movie to be released under the Disney banner is Captain Marvel. The movie is currently in theatres. The official film synopsis for the movie reads:
Captain Marvel is an extraterrestrial Kree warrior who finds herself caught in the middle of an intergalactic battle between her people and the Skrulls. Living on Earth in 1995, she keeps having recurring memories of another life as U.S. Air Force pilot Carol Danvers. With help from Nick Fury, Captain Marvel tries to uncover the secrets of her past while harnessing her special superpowers to end the war with the evil Skrulls.
Avengers: Endgame released on the 26th of April, 2019. The official film synopsis of the movie has been released and it states:
“After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.”
