Chris Evans’ much-speculated return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain America hasn’t yet been confirmed, but a new theory explains how he could return as a villainous Steve Rogers. Chris Evans previously portrayed the original Avengers, Steve Rogers’ Captain America, between 2011 and 2019, and returned as Johnny Storm in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. A new theory suggests that an alternate universe’s Rogers could have been taken captive by HYDRA during World War II instead of Bucky Barnes, however, which opens the door for a variant of Evans’ hero to become the Winter Soldier.
The theory, posed by @doll.with.a.dagger on Instagram, suggests that there may be an alternate universe in which Steve Rogers fell from the train instead of Bucky Barnes during the events of Captain America: The First Avenger. This could have caused childhood friends Rogers and Barnes to swap roles, with Bucky becoming the new Captain America, and Steve becoming HYDRA’s elite Winter Soldier. There are flaws in this theory, but this could perfectly explain how Chris Evans can return in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars as an evil variant of Steve Rogers.
A villainous turn for Steve Rogers has been speculated for some time, increasingly so after Robert Downey Jr. was confirmed to be returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom, rather than his former hero, Tony Stark’s Iron Man. Doctor Doom’s debut in Doomsday has spurred theories that he’ll be leading a team of dark Avengers, which could include the Maestro iteration of the Hulk, the Ronin version of Hawkeye, a more-murderous Black Widow, and, most excitedly, a HYDRA-controlled Captain America. This has precedence in Marvel Comics, so it would be fantastic to see play out in the MCU.
2016’s Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 debuted the evil version of Steve Rogers in Marvel Comics, as the Cosmic Cube, Kobik, created an alternate universe where Rogers had been indoctrinated by HYDRA from an early age. This Steve Rogers joined Earth-616 and helped HYDRA rise back to power, even taking over the United States during the Secret Empire event, though Kobik eventually brought back the original Captain America, who helped bring down his evil counterpart. The What If…? scenario posed in this new theory presents the perfect backstory for HYDRA’s Steve Rogers in the MCU.
While this theory has holes, including the fact that Bucky Barnes was not a super-soldier when he fell off the train, and the United States had no super-soldier serum remaining, so there’s no clear way he could become Captain America, pieces of this theory could still come to fruition. Chris Evans was previously reported to be returning in Avengers: Doomsday, but then later back-tracked these rumors. Since then, he has remained mum about a possible role in the MCU’s Phase 6, but it would be very interesting to see him reprise his iconic Marvel role with a villainous twist.
Do you want to see Chris Evans appear as a villainous version of Captain America in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars? Let us know in the comments!
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