Avengers: Endgame paved the way for a crucial future MCU plot device, and Chris Evans’ performance was the best example of it working. The culmination of the Infinity Saga introduced the concept of the multiverse, directly setting up the MCU’s next arc, the Multiverse Saga. The multiverse opened up the franchise to brand-new possibilities with alternate timelines and variants. Even if there’s an MCU character that is completely familiar to fans, the studio can still put a new spin on them through a multiversal variant.

The beginning of the Multiverse Saga was established in Avengers: Endgame as the Infinity Saga wrapped up. In order to get all of the Infinity Stones, the Avengers had to go back in time to various locations where they knew the stones would be. Though not a direct use of the multiverse, it introduced how multiple versions of a character can exist simultaneously. There were several versions of Steve Rogers shown in particular, meaning that Evans got to play several versions of Captain America in just one film.

Chris Evans Plays 3 Different Versions Of Steve Rogers In Avengers: Endgame

The Avengers Time Travel To 2012

Evans has been synonymous with Captain America since he debuted as the character in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. Including the main modern MCU version of Steve, Evans got to play three different Steve variants in Endgame alone thanks to some of the Avengers traveling back to the 2012 Battle of New York that was featured in the original Avengers movie. While in 2012 New York, Steve is tasked with escaping with the Tesseract. After talking his way past an elevator of corrupted SHIELD agents, he is confronted by the 2012 version of him.

It was hilarious to see Steve forced to fight a past version of himself, especially since that version was almost unrecognizable due to all of the character development he’s been through. That wasn’t even the first Steve that fans got to encounter in the 2012 sequence, as Loki briefly imitates Steve when he’s first captured. Although it’s a very brief moment, it was still a different version of Steve that Evans got to portray and a good callback to the first time it happened in 2013’s Thor: The Dark World.

Old Steve Rogers Means Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers Repertoire In Avengers: Endgame Is Technically Even Bigger

Endgame Revealed An Elderly Steve Rogers

After defeating Thanos, Steve took on the task of returning all of the Infinity Stones back to their rightful timelines. However, when he returned to the main universe, he was now an aged-up version of himself. Although it’s never specified exactly how he did that, the Russo Brothers have since said that they believed Steve created a branched timeline so that he could stay and live a peaceful life in the past with Peggy Carter.

The elderly Steve that appears at the end of Avengers: Endgame is technically the same version of Steve that was present throughout the film. However, just as Endgame’s 2012 Steve was a different version of the character that fans grew to know and love, elderly Steve was as well. Steve’s elderly counterpart lived a whole separate life that made him a different person, even providing wisdom to his closest friends before pᴀssing on Captain America’s shield for good. It’s fair to count him towards Evans’ Endgame variant count, expanding his repertoire even more.

Avengers: Endgame’s Steve Rogers Roles Provide A Perfect Sendoff To The MCU Character

The Beloved Character’s Arc Came To An End

Avengers: Endgame notably marked the end of Evans’ time as the Captain America that MCU fans got to know for almost a decade. It was the end of his character’s arc, so it makes sense that Marvel let the actor go out with a bang. Evans’ portrayal became iconic not just among Marvel fans, but within the superhero genre. Allowing him to flex his understanding of the character by portraying different versions of him was a great tribute in a film that marked a lot of endings.

Though Evans portrayed four different versions of Captain America in Endgame, every version of Steve was still rooted in the same values. That just made Evans’ subtle changes with each version all the more special as he understood how certain circumstances would’ve shaped the character. It’s always special when an actor gets to portray the same character for several projects, let alone for almost a decade. Evans may have said goodbye to Captain America in Avengers: Endgame, but his final performance was definitely a memorable one.

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