It's clear The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is going to keep us guessing when it comes to the status of Steve Rogers following his return to the present day as an old man in Avengers: Endgame. It's a clever way to give fans another reason to tune in each week, but if a newly spotted Easter Egg is any indication, it does appear that he's still alive.
As you can see below, one fan has spotted that the display paying tribute to Captain America in the Smithsonian drops some pretty noteworthy hints about what Steve is up to.
And no, he's not on the Moon!
"With the death of Tony Stark, Steve Rogers honored his friend by finally retiring and laying down his shield, enjoying the world he had fought so hard to protect," it reads. "With this exhibit we honor the life and legacy of Steve Rogers, Captain America: patriot, soldier, hero."
Now, Marvel Studios will be all too aware that this made it into the premiere of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and the tribute could be read in either the past or present tense. That means Steve may still be enjoying his retirement six months later, or that he's passed away. Something tells us we'll get an answer in the weeks to come, and we wouldn't be too surprised by a Chris Evans cameo!
What do you think happened to the former Captain America after his trip through time?
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10 best moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe!
10. Taking Out Nick Fury
What an introduction. The First Avenger has a lot of story to cover, and Bucky arguably didn't receive as much screentime as he should have. Of course, we knew he'd be back as the Winter Soldier for this sequel, and the Russo Brothers instantly established him as an unstoppable force of nature.
Taking aim at Nick Fury, the HYDRA assassin made short work of his mission. In fact, it was pure luck that Fury managed to escape because he really met his match in the Winter Soldier.
It was important to make Cap's best friend a formidable opponent here, while emphasising the weapon he'd become thanks to the machinations of HYDRA. This scene did a perfect job with that.
9. "Let's Hear It For Captain America"
It's easy to forget this, but Bucky was actually the first person to call Steve Rogers "Captain America" unironically. It came shortly after Steve decided to ditch the USO show and save his best friend from HYDRA's clutches. Returning to camp, Steve received a hero's welcome from his fellow soldiers.
Bucky, who had been tortured and experimented on (little did we know what that would lead to) still managed to support his best pal, rallying the troops and declaring, "Let's hear it for Captain America!"
It's a small moment, though those are sometimes the best ones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
8. Bucky Gets A New Arm
Captain America: Civil War ended with Bucky being put on ice once again, this time for his HYDRA programming to be removed once and for all. By the time Avengers: Infinity War rolled around, the former Winter Soldier had found peace, but it was then T'Challa finally came calling for him.
Presenting Bucky with a new, Vibranium arm, Black Panther made it clear he would be needed again, and despite everything he'd been through, the hero sacrificed his happiness to return to action.
This says a lot about him as a hero, and no one could have blamed the one-time assassin for giving up his old life for good and embracing his new role as the White Wolf. Alas, it wasn't to last.
7. Rocket Team-Up
As the Winter Soldier, Bucky saw a lot, but a talking raccoon? That was definitely something new.
In this epic final battle from Avengers: Infinity War, Bucky saw all sorts of crazy stuff, but his team-up with Rocket was an undeniable highlight. After the Guardian of the Galaxy attempted to buy Bucky's arm, the two later found themselves fighting alongside each other, with Buck spinning his fellow hero around as the two of them blasted away the incoming Chitauri soldiers.
We never expected to see this on the big screen, but damn, we sure are glad it became a reality.
6. "Can You Move Your Seat Up?"
Another small moment (don't worry, we'll reach the big ones), this memorable exchange in Captain America: Civil War played a huge part in establishing the dynamic between these two heroes.
Forced to cram into a comically small car alongside Steve, Bucky and Sam watched on as their friend hit it off with Sharon Rogers. However, before that memorable GIF-worthy moment featuring the two of them nodding in approval at their friend, they bickered about this seating arrangement.
"Can you move your seat up?" Bucky asks Sam with disdain in his voice. "No," his future partner responds with an equal level of apathy. It's a fun scene, and one fans still talk about today.
5. Wielding The Shield
There are a few occasions when Bucky has wielding Captain America's shield, so we're going to lump them all together here. The first came during World War II on the train the hero eventually falls from. Later, after attempting to assassinate Nick Fury for a second time, the Winter Soldier catches it much to Steve's shock.
Our favourite, however, came during that perfectly choreographed battle on the streets of Washington.
The Russo Brothers put themselves on the map as action movie directors with this sequence, and the shot above of the HYDRA assassin holding the shield has become iconic. It felt a lot like Marvel Studios might be teasing his future as Captain America, but we obviously now know that was seemingly never the plan.
4. Saving Steve Rogers
As we've mentioned, Bucky didn't get a huge amount of time to shine in 2011's The First Avenger.
That was Captain America's movie at the end of the day, but Marvel Studios still did everything possible to make us buy into the friendship Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes shared. That included having the latter show up to save his best pal right in the nick of time when he was being attacked by some thugs.
With that, we were fully on board with these two being friends, and it was clear Bucky viewed Steve as not just a buddy, but a brother as well. That would continue playing out for years to follow.
3. The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Take On Spider-Man
It's almost as if Marvel Studios knew The Falcon and The Winter Soldier would one day become a reality.
During Spider-Man's Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Captain America: Civil War, it was Bucky and The Falcon who found themselves having to deal with the wall-crawler. That led to a lot of very funny moments, and now serves as a great hint of what we can expect from the duo's future team-ups.
This was just a spectacular action sequence, and while both Bucky and Sam found themselves overwhelmed by their superpowered opponent, they certainly gave Spidey a good fight.
2. Battle With Iron Man
Captain America: Civil War revealed that the Winter Soldier was responsible for the deaths of Howard and Maria Stark, and Steve's decision to keep that from Iron Man destroyed their alliance.
Knowing that Bucky wasn't in control of his actions as the Winter Soldier, Cap couldn't stand by and watch Tony kill his friend in anger, and what followed was an awesome two on one battle. Out powered by Iron Man's tech, Steve and his oldest ally were pushed to their limits, with Bucky even losing his arm (again).
Ultimately, the duo managed to overpower Tony, with Cap very nearly taking lethal measures to put his fellow Avenger down. This was an epic battle, and one with a truly great team-up.
1. Saving Steve Rogers...Again
Steve did everything he could to get through to his best friend as the Helicarrier came crashing down to Earth, and ultimately three his shield to one side and let the Winter Soldier nearly beat him to death.
Thankfully, this led to Bucky breaking free of his programming, and when they both fell into the water below, the former HYDRA assassin pulled Steve from the water and saved him once again. He quickly left, but this left the door open a crack to the two friends being reunited somewhere down the line.
This fight remains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's best, and this was a great way to tease fans before Steve and Bucky would find themselves once again fighting side-by-side in Civil War.