Recently, a piece of alleged promo art (shown below) for Avengers 4 was leaked online, supposedly showing what our surviving heroes will look like in the war against Thanos. At the very forefront of the picture is Steve Rogers, and he is sporting a brand new (or possibly more accurately old) look. It looks like the final film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s Phase 3 will see Rogers don the mantle of Captain America once again.
At the conclusion of Captain America: Civil War, we saw Steve Rogers dropped the shield that Tony Stark proclaimed he no longer deserved, effectively dropping the symbolism of Captain America along with it. He became a man on the run, a war criminal in hiding, moving from prolific figurehead hero of the Avengers to clandestine vigilante, working in the shadows. He let his hair grow out a bit, grew a fantastic beard, and donned a blacked out version of his uniform.
This move was reminiscent of his time as Nomad in the comics (albeit without the Zorro like mask, pirate boots, and yellow inner-lined cape), when Rogers became disenfranchised with a growingly corrupt U.S. Government (not too far off from his disdain for the Sokovia Accords). However, after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and the aftermath of half of the planet’s population being wiped out with the literal snap of Thanos’ fingers, it seems that Rogers may have a change of heart.
This seemingly-official AVENGERS 4 art has leaked online!
(via @morfeubarreto) pic.twitter.com/JsvenPJTJ8
— MCU News & Tweets (@MCU_Tweets) June 5, 2018
With the world in utter disarray, now more than ever the surviving people of the planet need a symbol they can get behind and feel a sense of hope again. Rogers understands this better than most, and knows that the mantle of Captain America can be that symbol. This may be way, in the alleged promo art, we see a clean shaven Captain America in the Red, White, and Blue once again (albeit sans shield).
The look is very similar, if not the same as, his Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron look. Similar to the chain mailed Ultimate Marvel version of the character, this uniform is practical for combat, but still bright and memorable. Rogers once again becomes the symbol of freedom and right, this time for the entire world, rather than just for the United States.
Another theory may be a time travel one. Assisted by the leaked set photos from Avengers 4 showing Tony Stark seemingly traveling back in time to the Battle of New York in the first Avengers film, we see a Cap from that time in his original uniform. Stark may very well bring back this version of Rogers to the future (considering they’re still friends and cohorts at that time)to help fight Thanos.
This theory might actually answer the question of why Iron Man and Captain America are fighting side by side again in the promo art, as the tension between them is still palpable (noted by Stark’s hesitation to call Rogers in the opening battle of Infinity War).
Whilst the damage inflicted by Thanos is definitely warrants burying the proverbial hatchet between the two, the fact that Black Widow in the promo pic is also sporting her old look of red hair and black tights may give the time travel theory a bit more traction. So, maybe this particular Captain America is a man out of time, out of time, as he is a past Rogers brought forward to aid in the battle for the universe.
We may not actually know that answer to this theories until at the very least the first trailer for Avengers 4 is released, but that is most likely not until November. So, we will just have to wait patiently and continue to debate our fan theories.
What is your theory for the alleged new/old Cap costume? Let us know in the comments below!