Avengers: Endgame — In defense of Steve Rogers

Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War..L to R: Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan)..Ph: Zade Rosenthal ..©Marvel 2016

Missed Opportunity

There is one place where I believe the filmmakers dropped the ball narrative-wise. As I pointed out earlier, the cinematic arc of Steve Rogers was always focused on losing and finding Bucky Barnes. In The First Avenger, Steve first became a soldier instead of the dancing star-spangled man with a plan when he risked his life on a one-man mission to rescue Bucky from the Hydra facility, only to lose him when he fell from the train while they fought side-by-side. In The Winter Soldier, when faced with his presumed long-dead friend who was tasked with assassinating him, Steve refused to fight back after he completed his mission. Instead, as Bucky beat him to near unconsciousness, Steve kept trying to break through to his friend. “I’m not gonna fight you. You’re my friend. I’m with ya til the end of the line.”

In Civil War, the Avengers were torn apart because Steve believed in Bucky’s innocence and put protecting his friend above everything and everyone else. They parted as Bucky willingly put himself back into cryo-freeze in Wakanda as Steve watched. In Infinity War, they reunited again. A recovered Bucky joined the fight alongside Steve. After the snap, Bucky disintegrated into dust while calling to and walking towards Steve. Steve fell to the ground touching the dust left behind. Bucky was the first dusted character. The first shock.

Steve and Bucky were torn apart and reunited multiple times over the course of these movies. We should have seen their reunion. Even a brief battlefield reunion similar to the Tony/Peter and Star Lord/Gamora scenes would have satisfied me. We should have seen Steve’s face when he saw Bucky living and breathing in front of him again for the first time. Their goodbye before Steve jumped into the Quantum Realm was sad. I really wish they would have included a brief moment of happiness first. I truly hope their reunion is included in the deleted scenes.

Choose Your Outlook

Did Steve and Bucky really discuss his decision? Was Steve really Peggy’s husband all along? I don’t know. I think the evidence supports my theories. The point is there is a way to watch Endgame, accept Steve’s decision, and still support your hero even if you disagree with the choice he made.