Old Captain America’s Shield In Avengers: Endgame Doesn’t Make Sense

Old Steve Rogers’ shield in Avengers: Endgame appears to be a plot hole, since the shield was destroyed by Thanos and he didn’t receive a new one – at least on-screen. Avengers: Endgame never explains how Captain America (Chris Evans) had the shield repaired prior to handing it off to Falcon (Anthony Mackie) at the end of the movie.

In the final battle of Avengers: Endgame, Cap has an epic showdown with Thanos. Armed with both Mjolnir and his shield, Steve Rogers puts on an impressive show. For a while, Steve is even able to pose a significant challenge to Thanos. Unfortunately, he isn’t able to keep it up and is eventually defeated. Thanos strikes his shield repeatedly with his sword, breaking it into pieces. The shield is later seen intact and in seemingly perfect condition at the end of the film when Steve returns from an alternate timeline as an elderly man. After spending the last several decades with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Steve returns to the present and gives the shield to his hand-picked successor, Falcon.

What Avengers: Endgame fails to explain is how Captain America acquired a version of his shield that’s apparently in perfect condition. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is dead, so he couldn’t have rebuilt it for him. Also, the shield bears one striking difference to the original: there’s a thin stripe in the middle of the large silver stripe on the shield. This means that it’s not the same as any other version of the shield wielded by Steve at any point in the MCU. Surprisingly, Avengers: Endgame makes no effort to explain where this shield came from or how it came to be in the possession of Steve Rogers.

Steve could have had the shield rebuilt while he was living in the past, of course. The new shield could have been made by Howard Stark, or perhaps by someone associated with Wakanda in some way or another. Either way, it had to come from someone who had access to a cache of vibranium. Regardless, it’s an important question that deserves an answer since it’s neither explained nor explored in any way, shape, or form at the end of Avengers: Endgame.

Old Steve Rogers’ shield will remain a plot hole until Marvel finds a way to make it fit into the timeline of events. It is possible that an explanation will finally be offered in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier when the shield makes its next appearance, whether be in the hands of Falcon or even U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell). But until then, it’ll be a mystery.

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