Captain America: Did Steve Rogers & Peggy Carter Have Children?

After saving the world and giving up the mantle of Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) finally got that dance with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) he'd promised her decades earlier — not to mention, a long and happy life together. Good.

There's no question that after saving the world a handful of times (twice from an alien invasion), Captain Rogers had dealt with some of the toughest challenges the universe could throw at him. But it does make you wonder: After tying the knot with Peg, did he ever endure one of life's biggest challenges (one that even surpasses bringing down twisted Titans, advanced artificial intelligence, and a dictator with a bright red noggin) and start a family?

When Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) asks about the ring on his finger at the end of "Avengers: Endgame," Cap, who is a very old man by that point, keeps quiet, leaving us to wonder what happened in the years since the superhero out of time, well, returned to his time. Luckily, however, we already more or less have an answer. Indeed, thanks to certain blink-or-you'll-miss-them details in previous MCU films (coupled with some comments from the people who helped make them), we can verify what Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) ultimately discovered on "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" — Captain America f***s.

The clues about Cap having kids in the MCU were coincidentally laid down a few movies before Thanos (Josh Brolin) came knocking on Earth's door in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Endgame." In "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," it's revealed that Peggy did go on to live a happy life after Steve was lost in the Arctic in the 1940s. Not only did she eventually get married, but she also ended up having two children of her own, although neither her husband nor her kids were ever named. 

As such, fans were quick to theorize that after Steve returned the Infinity Stones to their rightful places in history and reunited with Peggy in the '40s, he began a new timeline as the mysterious Mr. Carter. Shortly after "Endgame" hit theaters in 2019, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely confirmed this theory was, in fact, spot-on. "It was always our intention that he was the father of those two children. But again, there are time travel loopholes for that," McFeely explained at the time.

Being the son and daughter of Steve Rogers must come with some perks (namely, sharing the same genes as the legendary Captain America), which McFeely said undoubtedly adds an intriguing element to the MCU. "It does introduce the idea that there are two children who have somewhat super soldier DNA," as he (teasingly) put it. Not only that, there's even a precedent for this. In point of fact, some of Steve's kin having followed in his footsteps in the Marvel Comics universe (while others have taken a much darker path entirely). Peggy, however, isn't always part of the equation.

The Marvel Comics version of Steve Rogers has fathered several children, depending on which reality you're referring to. One of the most prominent children in the Rogers family tree, James Rogers (named after Bucky), was introduced in 2008 in the animated film "Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow." This little troublemaker, who was the son of Captain America and Black Widow, led the next generation of heroes to confront Ultron, who had wiped out many of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Two years after that, James and his super-powered friends appeared in "Avengers" #1, joining the titular team to fight A.I.M.

Besides Jimmy, there are a handful of Steve's offspring scattered across the multiverse. There's Ellie Rogers (the daughter of Steve and Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel), Sarah Rogers (aka Crusader, the daughter of Cap and the X-Men's Rogue), and the Rogers Twins (the sons of Steve and Wanda Maximoff). Steve's adopted son, Ian Rogers, formerly known as Ian Zola, is also in the main Marvel universe (Earth-616). This poor guy was the biological son of Arnim Zola, who was discovered by Steve in Dimension Z before growing up under Cap's protection. Over the years, he eventually took the name of Nomad (one of Steve's former aliases) and fought the good fight alongside Sam Wilson's Captain America. In another universe, however, one son sired by Steve Rogers went down a very different and incredibly dark route.

While the majority of the next-generations Rogers have turned out okay, in one reality, the son of Captain America turned out anything but. Making his debut in "Ultimate Comics: Avengers" #1 in 2009, this problem child revealed himself as the son Steve never knew he had. Born sometime after this version of Cap went missing in Iceland, Rogers Jr. was handed over to the military in secret and trained in the hope of molding another star-spangled hero. Surpassing his father in every way until at the age of 17, he killed his captors, escaped the facility, and, as a sign of protest against the legacy he was bound to, even flayed his own head (teenagers, right?). Years later, he became a high-level assassin who revealed himself to his father after successfully stealing Reed Richards' cosmic cube.

His demise was as terrible as his presence, though. After his son proved to be almost unstoppable, Captain America resorted to impaling him with a jet. In his final moments, the son of Rogers then revealed that his various acts of tyranny were all part of his attempt to get the cosmic cube, revert time, and stop his dad from ever taking that ill-fated flight that turned him into a Capsicle. It wasn't enough to defend his cause, though, and this iteration of Red Skull was ultimately shot in his hospital bed by the Red Wasp (who was posing as a doctor), putting an end to him once and for all. It's a grim read, and proper proof that if an apple this rotten falls far from the tree, perhaps it really is worth getting rid of it in the end.