Is the Time Traveler Captain America? Real-World Event Predictions of the MCU
The Captain America films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) have a natural ability to reflect current events. From the World War II backdrop of Captain America: The First Avenger to the more recent Captain America: Brave New World, these films have explored issues of government policies, gun violence, and even pandemic anxieties. However, some really crazy coincidences raise questions about whether someone on the production crew has access to a time machine.
Captain America: Brave New World and Trump Rally Shooting
The first Captain America: Brave New World trailer dropped just two days before the shooting at a Pennsylvania rally for former President Trump. And in a strange turn of events, the teaser started with a scene where Thaddeus Ross—now President—was the target of an attempted assassination at the White House. Given the proximity of the release date to the real-life occurrence, the parallels between the scene in the trailer and the events actually occurred were striking.
It is noteworthy that the actual incident was an appalling act of violence deserving of criticism. And even if the events in Captain America: Brave New World were meant for entertainment value, it's difficult to overlook their exact coincidence reflecting a real-world tragedy.
Cut Pandemic Subplot for Falcon & The Winter Soldier
Sam Wilson donned Captain America in the Disney+ series The Falcon & The Winter Soldier in 2021. But a subplot involving a fast-spreading disease was cut out during series production. 2020 was here, the year the COVID-19 epidemic was raging around the globe. Although Malcom Spellman, the producer of the show, clarified that the subplot wasn't cut especially because of the epidemic, it's a bit of a head-scratcher that it was written in first place. This lends still another level of complexity to the intriguing story of Captain America projects apparently foretelling actual events.
The Edward Snowden Leaks and Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is among the most arresting examples of a Captain America movie reflecting reality. Published in 2014, the movie included Project Insight, a scheme using surveillance data to spot possible dangers. This plot was quite similar to the 2013 Edward Snowden revelations on the degree of NSA monitoring of American citizens. It's all the more intriguing since the script for the movie most likely was written before the leaks became known.
Is Captain America then a time traveller? Generally not. Still, the striking similarities between these Captain America initiatives and actual events are clearly subject for conjecture and conversation. It's evidence of the writers of these movies' ability to capture the zeitgeist and produce tales relevant to current affairs.
