3 ways Marvel could say goodbye to Captain America in the next Avengers movies

Captain America’s run in the MCU is coming to an end. Though Avengers: Infinity War isn’t out yet, we have some ideas about how he might exit the franchise.

While we always said we’d be with Captain America ’til the end of the line, we didn’t think the end of the line would actually come. And Chris Evans’ run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will definitely come to an end now that he’s fulfilled his movie contract.

In an interview with the New York Times, we learned that Evans went back for re-shoots of the Avengers 4. So he’ll still be in the next movie; we just don’t know why. And while we still don’t know much about the nitty-gritty of Avengers: Infinity War’s or Avengers 4′s plot, we came up with a few ideas on how the MCU could part ways with Steve Rogers for good.

Thanos kills him

It might be a hard truth to come by, but Thanos’ power could ultimately take out Steve Rogers in an instant. In the trailer, we see Captain America trying his darnedest to hold off Thanos’ hand, but Cap’s strength can only go so far. Thanos, on the other hand (no pun intended), has the Infinity Gauntlet, which grants him an immense amount of power.

In the comics, as ScreenRant pointed out, Thanos had the ability to wipe out half of the universe with the snap of his fingers. That’s intense. So we’re pretty sure Thanos is just holding back in the clip where he’s fighting against Captain America.

If Cap does have to go, we’d rather see him go in a blaze of glory. It would make for an amazing scene if Steve gave it his all to fight against Thanos, using all his strength and then some to finally conquer the villain. It’d be more heartbreaking, though, if he tried all that he could to fight against Thanos, and Thanos still defeats him like it was nothing. We really don’t want that.

Cap wins the good fight and retires

Oh, if only this were to be true. Marvel could definitely take the high road on this one and just give our poor hearts a break. The only major superhero Marvel has killed off was Quicksilver. Remember him? As we’ve talked about before in a discussion about Black Panther 2, the MCU has had problems killing its darlings. This might be a stretch, given all the talk about some Avengers’ stories really coming to an end, but we can still dream.

If we had it our way, Cap would fight nobly and opt to have this be his final battle. Then Bucky Barnes or Sam Wilson could take over the moniker as Captain America, as they did in the comics. We’d like nothing more than to send Cap home at the end of the day with a cocktail in hand and a coupon to the spa.

The villain of Avengers 4 ends him instead

We’ve got good news and bad news. Captain America might be able to live through all of Infinity War. Hooray! Here’s the bad news: he could still die by the end of Avengers 4. Boo.

But just like the last two scenarios, either outcome is possible: Captain America can die, or Captain America can retire in Avengers 4. Again, this is all based on speculation, but if the Avengers are dealing with the aftermath of Thanos’ rule by the fourth movie, there certainly has to be a new foe to take his place.

The Avengers 4 foe might not be as powerful as Thanos, though. It’s hard to beat the guy who has all of the most powerful stones in the universe. So it’d be a bit silly to have Captain America survive Thanos (the guy with all the power) but die shortly after by some random villain who’s probably no better than Loki in the first Avengers.

Related Story: Robert Downey Jr. reveals his favorite Infinity War scene

Avengers: Infinity War is out in theaters on April 27, and you might want to bring a box of tissues just in case.