Tony Stark, Natasha Romanoff, and Steve Rogers are all original Avengers whose stories come to a close in 2019's Avengers: Endgame, but Captain America's narrative end is particularly perfect. The Marvel Cinematic Universe faces a problem unique from Marvel Comics in that its heroes simply can't continue on in perpetuity. Whether due to contracts, actor interest, or narrative necessity, it wasn't a shock that the Avenger's fourth cinematic outing was the end of the road for several household names. As much was expected in the closing team-up movie of the MCU's Infinity Saga, but expectations didn't make saying goodbye to Iron Man, Black Widow, and Captain America any easier.
While Black Widow returned in her self-titled prequel movie, Marvel Studios has so far refrained from undoing any of the original Avengers' deaths or departures via the multiverse. Steve Rogers could still technically return as his ultimate fate is left ambiguous, but doing so could be a mistake that undoes what is a truly perfect ending for The Star-Spangled Man. Steve achieved a rarity in the superhero movie genre: closure with a happy ending.
Avengers: Endgame Gave Steve Rogers The Ending He Deserved
Steve Rogers narrowly survives Avengers: Endgame, and when presented with the opportunity to time travel once again to return the Infinity Stones, he chooses to stay in the past and live out a new life with Peggy Carter. The scene of Steve and Peggy finally getting the dance that was promised is emotionally resonant and well-earned. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Peggy Carter actor Hayley Atwell voiced her own thoughts on the scene, expressing a similar sentiment. Read her thoughts below:
It's such a... what an amazing moment to end everything, for that sweetness for them to get that dance and the song that they chose. And when they told me there'll be this, like, long shot of the house, and the doors would already be opened ... There's something for me when I watch it now more evocative by the fact that you just see the door opened the song's already playing; it's like that they had that initial moment at the door just for themselves. ... Then you go in, and they're already, they've already found each other, and it feels like you're just - it's a voyeuristic kind of discovery of them both together, which I thought was so sensitively done.
Indeed, after Steve and Peggy both spent a lifetime marred with difficulty and tragedy fighting for the forces of good, it felt earned that the two were able to find peace with each other. More perfect yet is the fact that the exact details are left to the imagination. Steve's choice to keep their story private while ing his Captain America shield to Sam Wilson further adds an aura of intimacy and contentment befitting the pair.
Why Steve And Peggy's Reunion Was So Hard To Pull Off
There's a reason that most superheroes who have left the MCU have died instead of enjoying other narrative ends. Simply put, it's hard to write out a living hero in a way that both makes sense and provides satisfying closure. Most franchises don't go on long enough for a hero to simply retire from old age, and it makes little sense for an able-bodied hero to sit idly by why their companions continue fighting in future films. However, Avengers: Endgame provided an incredibly unique narrative opportunity for Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter to find each other once again.
Steve and Peggy had to overcome several obstacles, most notably that in the then-present timeline of the MCU, they were decades apart in age, and Peggy had already lived a full life. Endgame addressed this with its limited concept of time travel, and keeping things vague avoided cementing any plot inconsistencies or confusion. Furthermore, by returning to on his mantle as an old man, he ensures that the world still has Captain America to fight for it.
Steve And Peggy's Ending Avoided Being Repetitive
If Steve hadn't gotten his perfect ending with Peggy, the other likely option is that he could've died heroically fighting off Thanos' forces. However, Avengers: Endgame already features several deaths, including that of the original Avengers Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff. These two deaths are spread out enough that they don't step on each other narratively, but adding a third may have made each feel a bit less impactful.
Furthermore, taking advantage of Avengers: Endgame's time-traveling story to actually let a hero "retire" and live out a long, happy life is a rare move in the superhero movie genre as a whole. While examples do exist, like Bruce and Selina escaping Gotham and the burden of vigilantism in The Dark Knight Rises, it's far more common for heroes to die in the line of duty or simply have their franchises end while they're still active and able-bodied. The result is a unique narrative journey for Steve Rogers that didn't seem possible until the movie in which it happened, and the execution has clearly impressed even those in the movie itself.
