The indestructible She-Hulk has finally arrived to smash the MCU as we know it. The first episode delivered more than a few unexpected twists, including changing the character’s origin, healing the Hulk, and even revealing whether or not Captain America was a virgin.
One thing we didn’t expect the Marvel series to do, though, was drop a significant hint that news of Steve Roger’s death may have been highly exaggerated. Last we saw the Star Spangled Man he’d just returned from a trip to the past where, after dropping off the Infinity Stones, he chose to try and live an everyday life with his beloved Peggy.
Steve eventually returned to his timeline, presumably after Peggy’s death, now an older man. He passed his shield on to Sam Wilson, and we were led to believe that was it for America’s ass. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, students included Steve in a montage of those who lost their lives in the battle with Thanos, and it was presumed that sometime after the events of Endgame, he passed away of old age.
In the TV series and superhero movies following Endgame, there’s been scant mention of Cap, even in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Chris Evans, meanwhile, has been emphatic that he’s done with the character and will not return to the MCU. And yet, a throwaway line in She-Hulk may have shown Marvel’s hand.
During Jen and Hulk’s conversation about Steve and whether he died a virgin, Hulk says, “Steve Rogers is not a virgin.” Notice he doesn’t say, “Steve Rogers was not a virgin”. He talks about him in the present tense, as though he’s still alive, something he noticeably doesn’t do when talking about missing Tony Stark.
So is Steve still alive? We think it’s possible. We never saw him die after all; he was just left sitting on a bench by himself. Perhaps the Avengers decided that now Steve’s no longer in his physical prime to keep his return to our timeline a secret, and instead, they pretended he had died.
Why? Well, Steve would have a lot of enemies from his days as an Avenger, enemies who may want to take advantage of his infirmity. Do we think this means we’re going to see Evans return to the MCU anytime soon? No. No, we don’t.
It’s likely that Marvel Studios hasn’t shown Cap’s death because that way, it always leaves the door open for Evan’s return, should he ever decide he wants another go with the shield, perhaps in time for Avengers: Secret Wars?