What if the Steve Rogers we’re seeing in Avengers: Doomsday isn’t Steve Rogers at all? A new Marvel Studios TV spot has fans continuing to question Captain America’s return, and one particularly fun theory suggests Loki has been impersonating him the entire time.
The latest footage only offers a few bits of new material, but fans have already picked up on a couple of interesting details involving Steve, played by Chris Evans, that suggest something might be off about the former Captain America.
The first clue comes during a scene where Scott Lang addresses Steve as “Cap.” Steve immediately turns around, which seems perfectly normal until you remember that he passed the Captain America mantle and shield to Sam Wilson in Avengers: Endgame.
Steve knows he isn’t Captain America anymore, but Loki might not be aware of that little detail if he’s pretending to be him.
The second clue involves Steve’s interaction with Thor. Just before the two travel through the Bifrost, Steve gives Thor a smile that some fans think looks suspiciously similar to the familiar grin Loki has given his brother over the years.
Then there’s a fun exchange between Steve and Thor that adds another interesting piece to the theory. Steve holds up Mjölnir and asks, “This doesn’t bother you does it?” Thor replies, “You know it does.”
Now, imagine if that’s actually Loki holding the hammer. After everything he’s been through, particularly his sacrifice to save the multiverse, Loki might finally be worthy of wielding Mjölnir.
If that’s the case, you can understand why Thor would have a problem with it. Seeing his mischievous brother casually holding a hammer he once struggled to prove himself worthy of would be pretty strange, especially if Thor knows who’s really standing in front of him.
It’s a small moment, but considering Loki’s history of messing with Thor, it’s easy to see why fans are making the connection.
We’ve even seen Loki pull this exact trick before. In Thor: The Dark World, the God of Mischief briefly transforms himself into Captain America while annoying his brother. It was a hilarious scene, and bringing that gag back with much bigger consequences would be a pretty awesome move.
Of course, Marvel fans have a long history of turning tiny details into massive theories, and plenty of those predictions never go anywhere. Remember all the Mephisto speculation surrounding WandaVision?
Still, there’s something strange about Steve’s return in Doomsday, and Loki isn’t the only explanation fans have come up with.
Fans have also questioned Steve’s appearance, particularly his longer hair, which doesn’t match how he looked during his final scenes in Endgame.
Things get even more interesting when you consider the additional Doomsday footage included with Avengers: Endgame Encore. That footage offered more clues about the movie’s multiverse storyline, including an approaching incursion that threatens the universe inhabited by the Fox X-Men.
It also gives some context to that troubling shot of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X looking toward the sky with tears in his eyes.
Meanwhile, the TVA is working to stop these incursions from destroying entire realities, and Loki shows up at Steve Rogers door saying he can help him and Peggy. Maybe helping them in a way where the real Steve Rogers doesn’t have to get involved with the fight.
Whether he’s actually disguised as Steve or simply responsible for bringing him back remains to be seen. Whatever Marvel is planning, Avengers: Doomsday appears to be heading toward some serious multiverse chaos, which will continue in Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027.
If the film is drawing heavily from Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers comic book run and the 2015 Secret Wars event, and we know we’re heading toward a massive conflict involving Doctor Doom, collapsing universes, and Battleworld.
The possibility that Loki has been walking around disguised as Captain America would make for a fun reveal. But, there’s always the possibility that it is Steve Rogers.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026.
