12 Marvel Cinematic Universe moments that made no sense

10. Steve traveled between timelines without any explanation

Avengers: Endgame may be one of the greatest superhero movies ever created, but it wasn’t without a few unexplainable moments. Let’s face it, any narrative that deals with time travel is prone to have a few plot holes along the way and Marvel’s greatest project to date was no different. This time around, it was Steve’s farewell in the MCU that left fans scratching their heads in confusion. After all, he jumped between two different timelines with no seaming explanation (and not even the directors and writers seem to be on the same page about what really happened with him). So, let us explain:

In Avengers: Endgame, The Ancient One tells Bruce Banner that if anyone travels to the past, and makes a change significant enough, a divergent timeline is created. That’s why Earth’s Mightiest Heroes had to return the Infinity Stones to the exact same point in time where they took them from. If they hadn’t put everything back in its place, a bunch of alternate realities would’ve been created thanks to their reckless actions. To prevent that, Steve goes back in time at the end of the movie to return the stones and, in the process, starts a life with Peggy Carter.

Joe and Antony Russo confirmed that Captain America created an alternate reality by staying in the past and living with Peggy. However, that doesn’t explain how he returned to the main MCU timeline as an old man to give his shield to Sam Willson.

Many theories have surfaced ever since trying to explain this confusing moment, but none of them quite fill the gap perfectly. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (the movie writers) even went as far as stating they don’t think Steve’s actions resulted in a branched timeline and, instead, he just created a time loop.

So what exactly happened? What is the definite answer? Well, no one knows at this time. Perhaps Marvel will one day create a project where this plot whole is properly explained. But until that happens, Steve’s actions will forever remain a mystery within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.