Marvel Finally Explained How Captain America Survived Being Frozen

Chris Evans Captain America

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of some fairly implausible sci-fi concepts, but the cryogenic survival of Steve Rogers at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger is one of the most insane. Nevertheless, Marvel has used science to back up the character's survival, and apparently the Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. in Las Vegas actually features an explanation for the character's survival. In the Captain America section of the area, it says:

Physical examination of Capt. Rogers revealed that while thickened, his blood's water was not frozen. Blood tests revealed that his blood contained excessive amounts of glucose as a result of his liver processing his glycogen stores, thus lowering the freezing temperature of blood-borne water and creating a 'cryoprotectant'. This process is similar to that of Water-Bears (Tardigrades) and hibernating Wood Frogs who metabolize glycogen in their liver to circulate copious amounts through their body to reduce the osmotic shrinkage of cells and stop from freezing. This, however, has never been seen before in humans.

So there you have it, folks. Marvel has an official explanation for the survival of Steve Rogers at Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. (via Reddit), and it sounds fairly well thought out. With some precedent rooted in animals, the basic science behind the cryogenics of Captain America is that his enhanced human body was able to lower its own freezing temperature, which prevented Rogers from dying in the ice.

That moment stands out as one of the most crucial scenes in the history of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe because Steve Rogers has handily become one of the most important figures in the entire MCU. Following his survival at the end of The First Avenger, he has since gone on to become the leader of The Avengers, an outlaw following the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, and he most recently played a vital role in the defense of Earth against Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. All evidence currently points to Captain America actor Chris Evans hanging up his red white and blue tights at the end of Avengers 4 next year, so we will have to wait and see how Marvel will pay off the character's long history that began when he crashed that plane into the icy waters of the Atlantic.

Of course, Steve Rogers isn't the only Avenger with a major adventure in 2018, as Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne are about to team up for Peyton Reed's Ant-Man and The Wasp, which will debut in theaters this weekend on July 6. Make sure to check out CinemaBlend's review of the film, and then head over to our movie premiere guide to see what else is coming this year!

Conner Schwerdtfeger

Originally from Connecticut, Conner grew up in San Diego and graduated from Chapman University in 2014. He now lives in Los Angeles working in and around the entertainment industry and can mostly be found binging horror movies and chugging coffee.