According to She Hulk showrunner Jessica Gao, Kevin Feige knew exactly when and to whom Captain America lost his virginity.
In the first episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, cousins Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) get caught up in an ongoing discussion ripped straight from the MCU fandom: Is Steve Rogers the first Avenger and now former Captain? America, a virgin?
While Jennifer excitedly argues that he probably hasn’t had time to be intimate with anyone before and after the freeze due to his various superhero commitments, Bruce initially declines to discuss his friend and colleague’s personal life. But as Jennifer wears him down, a trusted Bruce finally blurts out, “Steve Rogers is not a virgin. He lost his virginity to a girl on the USO tour in 1943.”
Gao told io9 that when the She Hulk writing team broached the subject, Kevin Feige was not only on board to settle the age-old debate, but rushed in to help them sort out the details.
“Kevin really got into that joke and he was actually the one who volunteered the answer to that question,” she said. “I couldn’t believe we had to finally settle this issue once and for all.”
Gao also explained why the show decided to take up the issue of whether Steve Rogers had ever been intimate with anyone. “Our philosophy really was that we should just do things until they tell us we can’t, because when you start asking for permission too much, you give people an opportunity to say no,” he said you.
The She Hulk showrunner also noted that when planning the Disney+ series, the team not only thought about what would be “fun,” but also the types of conversations she and other fans would have. “What have we always wanted to see in the MCU?” she said. “There are some things like Captain America’s virginity that have really surprised us that it’s continued.”
Chris Evans, the actor behind Steve Rogers and the MCU’s former Captain America, also responded to the show’s joke on Twitter on Thursday, tweeting the laugh-cry emoji alongside the zippered mouth emoji, indicating his lips were sealed .
But in an interview clip by Vanity Fair’s Anthony Breznican, who covered the Captain America: Civil War press tour and actually asked Evans about it years ago, he also had a few thoughts of his own.
According to Evans, who answered the question in 2014, Steve’s selflessness is part of the reason fans didn’t see who he might have been dating. “Cap puts what he wants at the end. That’s his MO,” the actor explained. “And I think he’s refusing to bleed on people for so long. So it’s hard to explore a guy who doesn’t want to make waves with his own personal conflict.”
Evans went on to promote the prospect of an on-screen relationship with a woman for Steve, but admitted he thought Steve was probably a virgin. “It’s funny when you think about it. He’s probably a virgin. He’s probably a virgin! I don’t know when it would have happened,” Evans explained.
When Breznican mentioned that Steve had been touring during the war and had been exposed to enough women, the actor suggested Steve was “old-fashioned” and would probably stick out for Peggy Carter. But he also made another – and now correct – suggestion.
“Maybe one of them [dancing] Girls knocked him out,” Evans said, laughing.