Science Explains How Captain America Really Survived Being Frozen
So, you're saying Cap is basically a frog...?!
You could be forgiven for thinking that Captain America survived his decades long dip in the Arctic Ocean because he was a superman with Super Soldier serum running through his veins. And to be honest, you'd be partly correct, because it was certainly Steve Rogers' improved physiology that led to him surviving the deep freeze for so long without so much as a hair out of place.
But we now have an even more insightful explanation, thanks to Marvel themselves, who have revealed a strange change to Steve's biology that might well suggest he's more frog than man.
Treasure Island in Las Vegas has been hosting the Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibition and among its exclusive intelligence files, classified studies and experiments exploring the background of the Avengers, there's a revelation concerning Steve's death-defying stint in the ice.
Reddit user darthalex22 shared a photo of the exhibit that reveals the surprising reason he didn't die:
Physical examination of Capt. Rogers revealed that while thickened, his blood’s water was not frozen. Blood test 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.
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So it's not just that the Super Serum turned him into a super soldier. More importantly, it also seems to have changed his biology so much that he literally took on some attributes of frogs and tardigrades. Now that is strange, and you really have to wonder if there's something more to it? Could it come back in future?
Tardigrades ARE basically indestructible, after all. Maybe we've just had a big hint designed to ease concerns that Cap might end up being killed off in Avengers 4?
What do you think?