The Infinity Saga that the MCU covered with the past decade of films came to a head in Avengers: Endgame. And now, after scouring every film in the series with a fine-tooth comb, fans are finding new details and throwbacks that recall earlier installments while completing character arcs.
One such callback connects Avengers: Endgame with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as fans on Reddit recently pointed out with a viral post. In the latter, when Cap’s getting ready to take on the Hydra agents hiding within S.H.I.E.L.D., he makes a rallying call to genuine S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to help him defeat Hydra, declaring that he was willing to stand alone against the enemy if he had to, but he bets that he’s not alone. And his belief was vindicated when the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. rose to back him up for the fight.
Then, in Endgame, when Cap once again found himself standing alone against the forces of Thanos, he prepared to make a stand all on his own. Thankfully, though, the portals opened and the entire MCU entered the battlefield to back him up. It was a euphoric moment that served to bolster the fact that Captain America had gone from being seen as a leader within S.H.I.E.L.D. to being seen as a leader by the entire roster of heroes.
In a lot of ways, Captain America had the most satisfying story arc in the entire MCU, staring out with his sacrifice of crashing into the ice to save everyone else, to his re-awakening and joining the Avengers, to going rogue, to his triumphant return, to his final stand against Thanos and finding happiness again with Peggy Carter at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Clearly, the Steve Rogers saga has been one of the best feats the MCU has pulled off so far.