When you think of the most important and pivotal figures in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, your mind will understandably be drawn to the Tony Starks of the world, along with the rest of the franchise’s heaviest hitters who’ve saved the world and even the entire universe from extinction more times than you can count.
However, a fascinating theory being put forth suggests that one of the superhero saga’s defining figures only appeared for a fleeting moment over a decade ago. In case you haven’t figured out, we are of course referring to Boy on Dock – played by Maxwell Newman in Captain America: The First Avenger.
As pointed out on Reddit, had the red-headed child not known how to swim as he helpfully reminded the freshly-minted super soldier, then the HYDRA assassin Steve was chasing would have gotten away. By extension, he would have delivered the serum to Red Skull, who would have then created an unstoppable army that would have handily emerged victorious in World War II and then probably taken over the world.
Not only that, but the entire future of superheroism would have turned out completely different given the impact and legacy left behind by Captain America, which would have extended to everyone from Howard Stark and Bucky Barnes to Sam Wilson and Hanky Pym to name but four, and we haven’t even mentioned that Peggy Carter was a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D.
That means there would be no Avengers to stop Thanos when he came calling for the Infinity Stones, letting the Mad Titan win an instant. All of this and plenty more besides was technically only avoided because Boy on Dock was capable of keeping himself afloat, and for that we salute you.