Did We Solve What Timeline Steve Rogers Was Dropped Off In?
I knew it in an instant. The way the teardrop-formed tank flowed rearward, as if drawn back by the force of the wind. And tucking beneath the teardrop, another shape flowing forward as if running down to the sea. And then the seal-the-deal detail that reminded me of a long-ago past: the thin dark stain indicating an oil leak. Because they all leaked. What is it I’m speaking of? The bottom half of an old Triumph motorcycle that appeared in a trailer for the Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for release this December. And why, you may ask, does this matter? Because to an entire fandom of people, it matters a great deal.
Even for those who can’t differentiate between Captain America and Captain Morgan, identifying the lineage of the motorcycle raises some interesting questions about history and the use of modern technology in pop culture.
Let’s say you can’t sleep; you’ve exhausted your options on Netflix and Prime, so you stream an old cop show. Los Angeles in the 1970s. The clothes, the shag carpet and, of course, the cars and the motorcycles. But what year, exactly, was the show filmed? If you know your vehicles, it’s a breeze to figure out. A 1974 Camaro, to the discerning eye, has features that distinguish it from a ’73 or a ’75 Camaro. Ditto for Monte Carlos or even the (very) occasional imports that appear, like a Porsche 914. But none of this helps us with our current problem.
You needn’t dive very deeply into the online superhero rabbit hole to learn that for fans of Marvel’s Captain America franchise, every single element released by the studio is cause for intense debate and scrutiny. Fans of the Marvel Cinematics Universe (MCU) are rabidly chomping at the bit to find out which timeline Captain America/Steve Rogers dropped off at the end of Avengers: Endgame after defeating Thanos. Determining the age of this bike is a crucial piece of the puzzle.
Unfortunately, the process of narrowing down the motorcycle in question to its specific model and year has been complicated by the apparent use of CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery).
When we see the bottom half of the Triumph motorcycle engine, it’s because Steve Rogers has just stopped his motorcycle in front of a sensible, midwestern-ish style home and the camera picks up his foot extending the bike’s sidestand. That’s when we see the engine, a 500 cc (or perhaps the much rarer in the US 350 cc variant) parallel-twin of early-to-mid ’60s origins. I know this, as I know of the oil stains, because my father owned a 500 cc Triumph of similar vintage, and the rocker boxes on top of the engine were of a design that no amount of silicone sealant could stop from leaking. That we set the motorcycle in the ’60s is of profound importance to fans-of-the-franchise, in that it could hint at the era in which the superhero finds himself. Or not. As eagle-eyed watchers of the video were about to learn.
After Rogers flips out his kickstand, the trailer cuts to him hanging his open-face helmet on the left end of the handlebar. Here’s where things get weird. We clearly see the Triumph logo on the fuel tank (product placement at its finest) only to discover that it’s not the 1960s logo, but the updated logo first used in the 1990s when the company was resurrected by English industrialist John Bloor. And the fuel tank is of a more modern design, too. And, looking back, now we remember that when we first saw the engine a sharp eye could also catch the front disc brake. Very non-’60s Triumph. Based on what we’ve learned, the bike is a Triumph of indeterminate age. Got it. But what does it mean, if it means anything at all.
It is also noteworthy that Captain America is riding a motorcycle built by a brand of British origin for the first time. Another clue, perhaps? During the World War II era, he rode a 1942 Harley-Davidson WLA modified with gadgets, a leather shotgun scabbard, and a mount for his shield. After being revived, he can be seen piloting a Street 750 in the trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Evidently, the Triumph we’re now seeing on our screens is an amalgam of components separated by three decades, stitched together by a computer program managed by a designer who likely doesn’t know the difference between a Panhead and pickleball. New technology changes our lives in ways we can’t predict. Screens have rewired our brains and thwarted our ability to use vehicle year-of-manufacture to carbon-date works of popular culture, a mild casualty in a world relentlessly marching onward.
It would be tempting to compliment the filmmakers for throwing a curve ball at their fans. Has the wedding ring-wearing, baby-holding Rogers resurfaced in the ’60s, or the ’90s, or from somewhere in-between? Are these clues intentional or are we grossly overthinking it? Did he and Peggy settle down somewhere in the United Kingdom? Given the information we have, it would be plausible that Rogers is living in the 1990s where he rides a custom Triumph motorcycle comprised of parts from various earlier decades.
Even with all the clues provided in the trailer, we are still left with more questions than answers. We’ll just have to wait until the next trailer drops to uncover more.
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Neil Graham
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