Evil Steve Rogers in the Avengers: Doomsday Trailer? Why I Think Marvel Is Tricking Us

Steve Rogers returns in the Avengers: Doomsday trailer, and while plenty of people suspect he has turned evil, I don't think he has. I don't think this is Captain Hydra or any evil version of Steve. I do agree that something seems off about the scene, but I don't think it is what most people think, and I think there might be some trailer editing going on here.

The trailer had been out for just a day when I wrote this, and there was one particular scene that fans had been really dissecting. It is Steve Rogers returning, and I say Steve Rogers rather than Captain America for a reason: in Avengers: Doomsday, he is not Captain America anymore. I understand why fans feel something could be off. But I'm not convinced an evil Steve makes any sense based on what we already know about the movie, and I don't think it is something Marvel Studios would do.

The Avengers: Doomsday trailer backs up the reports about Loki's TVA card

The trailer actually confirms a lot of the reports we had heard about Avengers: Doomsday. One of them is Loki being in the trailer with the TVA card. We had heard a lot about that card: Loki gives it to Steve Rogers so he can contact Loki if he ever needs to.

Some of those same reports, which the trailer has now supported, say Steve uses the card to take Thor to see Loki. From there, they go back to meet with the Avengers and fight Doctor Doom.

What happens at the TVA is unknown, but I have a theory. Maybe they find out that Doom attacked the TVA. Maybe Doom killed Loki, and someone who survived tells them it was a figure with a metal mask and a green hood who came and destroyed everybody. That may be when they go back to meet up with the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, and it may be why Thor wants to fight Doctor Doom one on one, as we see him try to do in the trailer.

Why bring Chris Evans back just to make Steve Rogers evil?

The biggest question I've been asking myself is why. Why would Marvel bring Chris Evans and Steve Rogers back for this story arc just to make him evil? We already have Robert Downey Jr., who is basically now evil. Why do it with another character who is so beloved?

The Russo brothers have said they are coming back to tell a very specific story, and that they could not do it without Steve Rogers. I don't see them picturing that as Steve Rogers being evil. They also said they want to continue the story they were already telling with these characters. I find that kind of funny, because I think it might be their way of saying they don't like the multiverse story much and want to pick up from Endgame with the story and characters they want.

Then there is the first teaser. When the four teasers arrived, I believe his was the first, and it showed him holding his child. He went back in time, married Peggy, they had a child, and he is happy now. Why would they bring him back, show us his happy ending, and then undo it by making him evil? It's very clear to me that we are getting the same Steve Rogers from Avengers: Endgame and the whole multiverse saga. I think that is why the Endgame re-release, announced at the time with new material, was going to show us a little more of Steve: to set up a Steve Rogers who stayed back in time and how that affects Doomsday. Becoming evil is simply not in our Steve Rogers' character.

Steve Rogers lifting Mjolnir argues against a Captain Hydra twist

Then there is Mjolnir. A lot of people are talking about this, but I don't think he should be able to lift Mjolnir if he's evil. Yes, there is a story in the comics where Madame Hydra changes the spell and Captain Hydra wields it. But why would Marvel include that storyline in Avengers: Doomsday? It takes away from the real story, which is Steve Rogers returning not just to save the world once again, but to save the entire multiverse. That is the story the Russo brothers are telling.

This movie is already really packed. Think about all the characters, all the stories between those characters, let alone Doctor Doom. Why would they add that out of nowhere? I do think that story, and that character, might show up in Avengers: Secret Wars, but not in Avengers: Doomsday.

Beyond the reports, there is the leaked scene in which Doom raises the Sentinels. In that fight, Steve Rogers is with the Avengers and the X-Men, wielding Mjolnir. He is fighting with the heroes, and Thor is there too. That supports my belief that Steve and Thor visit Loki. Fans spotted that the person holding the TVA card in the trailer is wearing a wedding ring, and it looks like the same ring from that first Steve Rogers teaser. So that is very clearly Steve holding the card, and Loki very clearly visits him, much like the reports said. I think he pulls out the card to show Thor, and that might be why Thor says it's not possible.

The Mjolnir moment could be Loki, edited to look like Steve Rogers

Even if it is the real Steve, I think the scene might be deceptive, and the deception might involve Loki. I don't mean Loki disguised as Steve Rogers, even though we know he can do that and literally saw him do it in Avengers: Endgame. I mean it could actually be Loki in that scene, with Marvel editing it to look like Steve.

Marvel is famous for that. "Famous trailer edits." Remember the Hulk running with the Avengers in the forest in Avengers: Infinity War? I don't remember it, because it wasn't in the movie. It was in the trailer only.

So I think this scene might actually be Loki visiting Thor and grabbing Mjolnir from him, which is why Thor could be saying it's not possible. One, it's not possible that Loki is alive. Two, he is wielding Mjolnir, which is completely out of character with the Loki Thor knows. But after everything Loki went through in seasons one and two of Loki, literally sacrificing his life to give the universes and all those branched timelines free will and allow the multiverse to exist, he is totally worthy now. "I have no doubt in my mind that he could lift Mjolnir."

Thor's "it's not possible" feels too big for just seeing Steve

Even if it is not Loki and that really is Steve, I think Thor's line is a little over delivered. It's a bit much for just seeing Steve Rogers again, and I don't think that alone would warrant it. But Steve telling him that Loki visited him to save him, because Loki is now in a position of multiversal power, would kind of throw Thor for a loop, especially just learning that Loki is alive at all.

I use the word alive loosely, because it is not exactly the same Loki from the 616 universe who is his brother. That Loki did die. But the Loki we have went through a lot of the same things, not all of them, and he is still a Loki who loves Thor, and Thor loves his brother. It will be a Loki standing in front of him, so it's going to be pretty emotional.

Steve Rogers wouldn't know any of that. He probably doesn't know much about the multiverse until Loki shows up. So Steve is probably telling Thor that his brother appeared to him, saved him, moved him to a different universe, and that the multiverse is real and Loki is a main player in keeping it alive. That would warrant an "It's not possible" from Thor.

Steve Rogers returns as Steve Rogers, and Sam keeps the shield

There is so much pointing to this not being an evil Captain America. It's the same Steve Rogers we've known; it's just that Sam is now Captain America. Steve gave him the shield, and he respects that.

That is why Steve is not returning as Captain America. He is returning as Steve Rogers, which is why I think he will wield Mjolnir throughout this movie. That's his weapon, not the shield. I think he respects Sam as Captain America enough not to wear the suit again. He might at some point, but I think at least at the start and for most of the movie, Sam is Captain America and Steve is Steve Rogers with Mjolnir, a person worthy enough to wield it.

The fan theories for an evil or controlled Steve Rogers

To play devil's advocate, when I asked my Discord whether they think this is an evil Steve Rogers or the real one, people were kind of split on it, and some of them brought up pretty good theories. One fan pointed out that he has his ring on when he catches the hammer, which marked him as our Steve. I think that's a very good point. The ring indicates this is the same Steve Rogers who is now a father, and it would be completely out of character for him to turn evil.

Another suggested he might not start out evil, but if Doom kills his son and offers to bring him back, that could lead to a heel turn. That is a possibility, but in all honesty I don't think Doctor Doom would give him the chance. I think Doom just wants him to suffer and then wants him out of the equation. If he kills his son, I think he releases him after, which might mean trying to kill him or telling him to go fight with his Avengers and die in battle.

Someone else said the Captain Hydra idea doesn't sound too crazy. They don't think it is Captain Hydra, but said it would make sense and would explain why Marvel is marketing Steve in just a black shirt, saving a Captain Hydra suit as the big reveal, though they still think it's most likely our main Steve. I don't think the shirt is any kind of marketing ploy. If he is in the Fantastic Four universe, he is back in the 60s, so I think he is just wearing a plain shirt, jeans and a jacket, and we have seen him with the long hair and beard before. People are reading a lot into the dark colours, which I get, because we look into everything.

Another theory had the TVA and Loki warning Steve about Doom, Steve keeping his wife and son hidden and safe, and Loki sending Steve to wherever Thor is so they reunite. I love this, and it makes a lot of sense. I would hope Steve would seek out Loki again and ask him to look after his family, though maybe it doesn't go that way.

One fan thinks it's Captain Hydra from the Secret Empire comics, which is the Madame Hydra spell story I described above. I just don't see them going that route, but you never know. One fan noted Hela broke the hammer and that it's not out of the question; I agree, but I still think people are looking way too into this, and there may be trailer or sequence editing going on. Another argued that if we see Captain Hydra at all, it will be in Secret Wars, and I totally agree.

One fan suggested Doom could change who is worthy of Mjolnir, given how powerful his magic seems when he stops Stormbreaker with two fingers. I don't think there has been any point between Thor: Love and Thunder and now, or even during the movie, where Doom or anyone would have the opportunity to manipulate the spell. Another floated mind control: the real Steve, but not in his right mind. That could be possible. I don't really think Doom would choose to control Steve, but maybe at first, to have him do his bidding, since Steve is someone everybody trusts. And if it's still the same Steve, he is probably still worthy to lift Mjolnir even under mind control.

In the end, I don't understand why he would be an evil version. I think the Steve Rogers we know and love is coming back as a good guy, fighting to save not just our world but the multiverse, for the good people once again.

Is this an evil Cap, or just our good old Steve Rogers?