Captain America's rumored return to the MCU is far more than a money-making exercise to bring back a beloved, lucrative superhero: it actually has a potentially huge narrative set-up in Marvel's Phase 4. If Chris Evans does indeed strap on his shield and take up arms in the name of justice again, it will be to restore what he signed up for in the first place. Because not only is the good name of Captain America under threat but so too is that of the country he loved as a young man.
Evans' Steve Rogers retired in spectacular fashion at the end of Avengers: Endgame, choosing a life with Peggy Carter after returning the Infinity Stones to their rightful place in the confusing MCU timeline. After a life defined by that initial sacrifice, Steve got his happy ending as a poignant dedication to Tony Stark giving his up to save the world. But Cap's work may not be done, thanks to the events of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, which already looks like a battle for his legacy. That show is also, crucially, set up for Sam Wilson to take on the Captain America mantle, but it may all be a little more complex than that.
Despite early speculation that Zemo would be the main antagonist of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, it appears that Sam and Bucky will actually be facing off against a version of Flag-Smasher and ULTIMATUM. It is, of course, possible that Zemo is secretly running the anti-nationalist organization as Red Skull was in the comics, but whatever the case, those new villains will presumably be motivated by the same thing they were in the comics: world unity. That might not sound particularly threatening, but ULTIMATUM is a terrorist organization, working in conflict with everything Captain America stood for and that counts for the MCU version as well. So even if Sam Wilson becomes the true new Cap, Steve Rogers will be needed in Phase 4 as the MCU's symbol of hope.
Just as Superman's death in Batman v Superman turned the world a shade darker, Cap's disappearance after Endgame, which has to have some canon explanation for the public beyond him heading back into the past, will have an impact. The US government are known to be taking on another Captain America in the form of John Walker and both Bucky and Sam are still operating as heroes in Steve's wake, fighting not for what he was, but for what he has become. Zemo's importance in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier is interesting as he was a portent of doom for superheroes in Civil War (and the catalyst for it) and having him return to reflect a rising hatred for the same jingoistic nationalism that inspired Cap's initial creation and will now greet Walker's arrival makes perfect sense. So too does Steve Rogers' to balance it out.
While nationalism is an incendiary issue now - and an intriguing plot point for The Falcon & The Winter Soldier as a result - the original Captain America needs to return not only as that symbol of hope but to dispel the lie that he IS a nationalist symbol. Steve turned his back on the government in the wake of the Sokovia Accords, rejecting his old hero name. He remains closer to the MCU's version of Nomad as he was Cap and returning to confront the misuse of "Captain America" as a political branding iron and weapon makes as much sense as him returning to pick up the pieces after Sam and Bucky fight the Flag Smashers. Fundamentally, while The Falcon & The Winter Soldier might appear to be a journey to find a new Captain America, Steve's return should crown the arc exploring whether anyone should be. And even if the name endures, the politics of it may not.
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