After Steve Rogers received his own entire trilogy in the Infinity Saga to explore his character arc, fans were hoping that he would eventually reach a satisfying conclusion. As the MCU’s first big story came to a close, viewers grew more and more curious about how Captain America would make his exit. These very same fans were shocked when Steve Rogers inexplicably chose to go back in time and live his entire life in a different timeline where he did nothing at all.
Not only does this walk back on all of the character development Steve had been building on in the MCU, it functionally never made sense as a decision for the character. Most fans agree that Steve Rogers would never have retired the way that he did. As such, it’s obvious that any of these alternate futures would have potentially been a better option for Steve Rogers than retirement.
10 Training Up Bucky Or Sam As The Next Captain America
There are two natural options to fill the role of Captain America once Steve Rogers has moved on. Those options are perhaps his two closest friends in the world: Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson. Either one of them would be a great choice for Steve to train up as the next Captain America.
He could even train them both up and have them decide whatever they wanted to do, which could've served as the main arc behind the series Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Because Steve has been the only Cap so far, it would make sense for him to be the one to personally train whoever he chose to be his successor.
9 Allowing Peggy Carter To Have The Life She Chose For Herself
One of the worst parts about Steve’s decision to stay in the past and restart a life with Peggy Carter is that he took her agency away from her. When Steve showed up in the 21st century, he developed a new relationship with elderly Peggy, understanding and respecting that she had lived an entire life without him.
Steve took this choice away from Peggy in going back and inserting himself into her life. Not only that, but a lot of Steve’s character development has been centered around letting go of what he lost and moving forward into what he can gain. Having him step majorly backwards as his last move is a huge misstep.
8 Fighting For Good With The Knowledge & Powers He Has
Steve Rogers was able to go into the past with the vast knowledge that he has of the future. As many people have pointed out, Steve knows a lot of terrible events that he could potentially prevent. If he doesn’t, he wouldn’t even be recognizable as himself.
Even more, Steve still has the super soldier serum coursing in his veins. He is a super-powered human, whether he likes it or not. Rather than living an isolated life, Steve could have used his knowledge and his abilities to continue helping people, even if he wasn’t doing it as Captain America.
7 Becoming A Guiding Light For The New Avengers Team
There are very few leaders left behind for the new Avengers team as they try to assemble themselves. After all, Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff just died, Thor left the planet, and Bruce Banner has been left to pick up the pieces of the team. Cap has been a great leader for a long time, and he could continue to be that for the new Avengers team.
Even if Steve didn’t keep fighting as Cap, he could serve as a guiding light for the new Avengers as they try to find their footing in the MCU. Having somebody to lead these heroes from the last generation would not only be helpful, it would help tie the two sagas together even further.
6 Advocating For Regular People As A Civilian
Steve may be an extreme guy, but he has always known that life should never be all or nothing. Even if Steve isn’t Captain America, he could still reasonably still keep helping people out as a civilian. Sam Wilson showed Steve before that there are any number of things he could be doing to help people out in a real-world way.
Every day, people suffer in a billion small ways, things that can’t just be punched like Ultron or Thanos can. Steve could dedicate himself to helping people like that, as he would have wanted to, logically, as a character, rather than doing nothing at all.
5 Turning Into A Street-Level Hero For A While
There are actually several street-level heroes already kicking around in the MCU, and countless more within the pages of Marvel Comics. Already fans have seen heroes like Daredevil working on the streets. There are more heroes in the MCU than just the huge heroes like Captain America and Iron Man.
Steve Rogers could adapt his hero fighting style to a smaller scale and defend a small area. After all, he has referred to himself as still feeling like that same little guy from Brooklyn. Steve could always move back home and keep Brooklyn safe as his job for the foreseeable future.
4 Returning To His Time As The Traveling Hero Nomad
Steve Rogers became a war criminal out of devotion to Bucky Barnes, and, in that time, he transitioned from the hero Captain America into somebody whose stars were a little less spangled. The traveling hero Nomad stuck to the shadows, eluding anyone who tried to confront him.
Of course, because Steve was a war criminal and technically a traitor, he couldn’t work as Captain America. Once he was ready to give up the role of Cap, he could have returned to being Nomad. In this role, Steve really could have adapted his lifestyle to keep being a hero in any way he wanted.
3 Setting An Example As Captain America For The Modern Age
Honestly, there is no real reason that Steve Rogers has to give up being Captain America right away. There wasn’t all that much time in the MCU for the heroes to actually exist as themselves. Only briefly did viewers ever see normal moments for the characters, like the party scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Giving a bit more space to each of the heroes, and especially Steve, wouldn’t be the worst decision in the world. If Steve even got to spend more time as Captain America in the 21st century, in order to set an example for others, as well as who he wants to follow as Cap, he would have been far happier than he is having simply retired.
2 Continuing The Work That He Started With Bruce Banner & Thor
While Tony Stark passed away, Natasha Romanoff sacrificed herself, and Hawkeye is apparently training up his replacement, there are still two other Avengers left. Bruce Banner and Thor grew closer than ever before in Thor: Ragnarok, and obviously have a compelling and friendly dynamic with one another.
Steve Rogers would be the perfect addition to this duo to make them the MCU’s new main trio. The three of them could reform a new Avengers team, bringing in their existing knowledge from having founded the original team. They could continue their work together, keeping the Avengers assembled a little while longer.
1 Choosing To Live A Happy Life As He Grew To Understand It
Steve has to spend a lot of time in the MCU coming to terms with what he can and cannot do. It takes some growing, but, eventually, he realizes he cannot keep living in the past. He has to accept what has happened and move forward, embracing what he can change and acting on that.
By having Steve move backwards, the character’s growth moved backwards, too. If nothing else, allowing Steve to simply step away from being Cap and live a happy life in the 21st century would have been the logical end to his story. The fact that this didn’t happen just shows that, in the end, the MCU truly didn’t know— or didn’t care— who Steve Rogers is as a character.