TheMCUhas had its fair share of canon pairings that have little to no chemistry or are just downright confusing. The romance between Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff, for example, felt out of place because of their lack of chemistry. Then there’s the kiss scenebetween Loki and Sylvie, since Sylvie is a variant of Loki. So he’s kissing himself, but also not kissing himself… The debate on that is still ongoing. But of all the on-screen kisses and relationships, one that fans cannot seem to comprehend or accept is the kiss between Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter inCaptain America: Civil War.
Why is that, some of you may ask? It’s not because of their chemistry both in the MCU and in the comics. They actually have good chemistry. But inCivil War, we learn that Sharon is the great-niece of Peggy Carter, Steve’s first love in his time period. So kissing his first love’s great-niece feels a bit awkward. But, that’s not the reason why either. The reason is that Steve travels back to his own time period and marries Peggy. Which would make Steve the great-uncle of Sharon, making their kiss feel incestuous. Which then begs the question: are Steve and Sharon actually related?
Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter Aren’t Related by Blood
Let’s get one thing totally clear: Steve and Sharon are not blood-related. In the MCU, Sharon is the great-niece of Peggy and they have a blood relation. After the events ofAvengers: Endgame, Steve traveled back to 1948 to retire from being a hero, finallysettling down with the love of his life, Peggy Carter. By technicality, Steve would be Sharon’s great-uncle because he married into the family. Yet despite this, the MCU timeline didn’t change. This means that, down the line, Steve would still wake up from the ice into what feels like a brand new world. Make new friends and allies, reunite with old ones, kiss his first love’s great niece, and so on. Meanwhile, the Steve that went back to 1948 would grow old alongside Peggy.
The whole time travel thing can get complicated. But Professor Hulk explains inAvengers: Endgamethat “If you travel to the past, that past becomes your future, and your former present becomes the past, which can’t now be changed by your new future.” So when you think about it like this, Steve going back in time to be with Peggy didn’t change the timeline. But it may have created a brand-new one. Nobody in the MCU has provided any information about Steve’s life with Peggy leading up to himbestowing the shield to Sam. We don’t know for sure if Old Steve’s life is in the same timeline as the MCU timeline.
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Sharon Possibly Never Knew Steve
Captain America: Civil War
Let’s say that Steve going back in time to marry Peggy didn’t branch off into a separate timeline and that his life with Peggy is in the same timeline as the chronological events of the MCU movies. We don’t have much information to go on, so keep in mind that all of this is just speculation. Sharon may not have known who Steve was when the two started getting romantically involved. Meaning, there’s a chance she may not have ever gotten to know her “great-uncle Steve.”
If Sharon knew that she was related to Steve Rogers by his marrying her great-aunt, we highly doubt that she would have kissed him, let alone pursued him in any way other than professionally. Even if she did know Steve as someone part of the family, it’s possible that Steve went by a different name during his life with Peggy. Therefore, she would have little to no recollection of the Steve that she kisses.
Again, this is all pure speculation, so take it with a grain of salt. Technicallyduring the time ofCaptain America: Civil War, Steve and Sharon have no relation at all. During the events of the film (as far as we know), Sharon was beside Steve since he was first broken out of the ice. She posed as a nurse to try and help keep him grounded when he wakes up in a new era. Sometime after that, she reveals that she is Agent 13 and Peggy’s great-niece during Peggy’s funeral. So, while Steve and Sharon’s attraction to one another was growing, neither one of them took it too far (aside from the controversial kiss) because of Sharon’s relation to Peggy. Not Steve’s relation.
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So, there you have it. Steve Rogers is both Sharon Carter’s great-uncle and not her great-uncle at the same time. If we are to believe that Steve going back in time doesn’t change the MCU timeline, but creates a new one, then he is not related to Sharon. If his married life with Peggy exists in the same timeline as the MCU Steve Rogers we have been following sinceCaptain America: The First Avenger,then yes, Steve is technically related to Sharon through marriage. But the Steve who kisses Sharon is not her great-uncle. Not yet, anyway. Does this make the kiss between them weird still? That depends on your take on their whole relationship.
