Chris Evans Says the Russos' Steve Rogers Ending in Avengers Doomsday Is "Absolutely Brutal", and Leaked Plot Details May Explain Why

Chris Evans has just described Steve Rogers' arc in Avengers Doomsday as "absolutely brutal," and when I line that up with the earliest plot leaks we have covered for this movie, it starts to look like those leaks might be pointing at something real.

This matters for fans because Steve Rogers' ending in Avengers Endgame already felt complete, and Evans has been clear he did not want to return for just any story. If the Russos are now putting him through something this dark, it changes how we should be reading every Captain America moment in the marketing so far.

Chris Evans Calls His Avengers Doomsday Arc "Absolutely Brutal"

This comes directly from Chris Evans in a quote at the recent Boston Fan Expo, where he was live on stage answering questions about Avengers Doomsday as much as he could. He talked about Steve Rogers' legacy, how he did not want to return for just any story, and how the things pitched to him were not quite worth undoing an ending that had already landed perfectly. Then he said this: "The Russos love beating up Steve Rogers. Their favorite thing to do is just beat the crap out of him. To them, that's what makes him a hero. And that's someone who gets punched so many times but still gets up. So, they keep finding new ways to kick his butt. And this one was brutal, a really good examination into his nature and his values."

You have to read between the lines a little here, but not far. For someone to have their values and nature examined, they need to be pushed to a point where compromise becomes possible. For Steve Rogers, we know there basically is no compromise. That is what defines him as Captain America, and it is also what makes him worthy of wielding Mjolnir.

The Castle Doom Leak: Steve Rogers Faces Dr. Doom and His Cloaked Followers

This is where I have to reissue the spoiler warning, because it hearkens back to earlier plot leaks about how the movie is said to end. At some point, Steve Rogers ends up at Castle Doom in front of Doom and his followers, who Marvel Studios has already confirmed wear Doom-like masks and different colored cloaks, mostly green, with one gold and one purple. These followers are said to be powerful sorcerers from across the universe, or possibly across the multiverse, since one of them is reportedly Doctor Strange, with Doom himself coming from Earth 828 and this Strange possibly from Earth 616.

Peggy Carter Rumored to Appear as One of Doom's Followers to Torment Steve

Going a step further, the leak claims that in the moment Doom is about to punish Steve for being the reason incursions happened and cost Doom his family, one of the masked followers gets unmasked and turns out to have shapeshifted into, or taken the form of, Peggy Carter, just to torment Steve by revealing that his loved one is apparently one of Doom's followers.

The Rumor That Dr. Doom Kills Steve Rogers' Son James in Front of Him

Going even further, his son James, whom we see as an infant in the preview trailers, is said to be aged up to around nine or ten years old. The rumor is that right at the end of the film, Dr. Doom kills James Rogers in front of his father. That is exactly why I put a disclaimer on this one: even this feels a bit far for Disney.

Looking back at the first trailer and the preview footage, there is a clear focus on the heroes' children. We see Human Torch embracing Franklin Richards, Ant-Man embracing his daughter Cassie Lang, Thor praying about his daughter Love, and Steve Rogers embracing his infant son James. That subtheme of the children running through all the promo we have seen so far lines up with Doom using these kids as a way of enacting punishment.

Why Dr. Doom's Comic Book Personality Makes This Plausible

In the comics, Dr. Doom is his own worst enemy. His pride and his vanity are his biggest hang-ups. A pragmatist like Thanos would just go about his business, as he said in his own monologue, "I don't consider enjoyment when balancing the universe, but this is going to put a smile on my face." Dr. Doom is the opposite. He is vindictive and wants to punish those he feels have wronged him. If Steve Rogers caused the incursions that cost Doom his family, it is completely conceivable that punishing Steve the same way Doom is looking to punish Reed Richards, by targeting Sue Storm and Franklin, is part of his plan all along: torturing or killing these heroes' kids in front of them.

The Russos Have Already Warned Fans About the Tone of Doomsday

The Russos themselves, in the few interviews they have given so far, have been trying to warn us. They have said the biggest difference between Doomsday and other Avengers films is the tone, the stakes, and the emotional weight, and that it will feel far more serious than previous entries, without the levity that lightened crucial moments in past films. I do not have a problem with that. Doomsday has to answer to the multiverse saga, the entire Avengers franchise, and the overarching MCU story while introducing Dr. Doom as its biggest villain, so a heavier tone fits the stakes both inside and outside the film. I expect the tone to lighten again once we reach Avengers Secret Wars, since that lighter Marvel humor will be called for there.

Theory: Some Deaths in Doomsday Will Be Permanent, Not an Infinity War Repeat

There is one other theory worth examining. Not every hero in Avengers Doomsday is making it out alive, and to avoid repeating Avengers Infinity War, some of those deaths simply will not be undone in Avengers Secret Wars. Some deaths may not be permanent, like Thor possibly dying and coming back from Valhalla, but for mainstay characters who have been around since the early days, the longer they have been in the MCU, the more likely they are to take a permanent off ramp. Characters who arrived recently, like Red Guardian, feel safer than characters like Ant-Man or Bucky Barnes, who have been around from the start.

Why Bucky Barnes Dying Again in Front of Steve Would Be Uniquely Devastating

The only thing more traumatic than watching Steve Rogers' own son killed in front of him, with Peggy Carter apparently standing beside the man who did it, would be Bucky Barnes being killed in front of Steve again while he is helpless to stop it, forcing Steve to relive the trauma of losing his friend after already getting him back once.

Not Every Death Will Hit the Same, and That's the Point

Since there is a whole new cast of heroes coming in behind Doomsday and Secret Wars, some of these actors leaving will be permanent, and it is going to hurt to watch Winter Soldier or Paul Rudd's Ant-Man leave the MCU. But that is how stakes get built: you kill characters that actually matter and do not bring them back. None of us felt much when Taskmaster died in Thunderbolts, and even a character like Ghost would not hit hard if she died. Losing David Harbour's Red Guardian would sting a little more since he is likable, but it has to be characters the audience has history with for a death to really land, which is why the longest running characters are the ones most likely to hurt the most if Doomsday follows through.

Which long running MCU character do you think is most likely to die permanently in Avengers Doomsday, and do you buy the rumor that Dr. Doom kills Steve Rogers' son on screen?