Captain America would have a big paycheck coming, if he was real

Captain America, the Marvel hero at the center of Captain America: Civil War, is a soldier in the United States armed forces. He’s an employee of the government. As such, he has to be paid for his service, right?

Reddit user Anon33249038 thought so, and they laid down some calculations showing what they think America’s super soldier might be hauling in.

The explanation, posted to the FanTheories subreddit, goes like this. Cap was in service for a few years before being frozen for a full 66 years after that. In his first year, Cap would pull in $1,984, accounting for his status as a new soldier, his special training, and his living allowance. He’d pull in $5,952 in those first three years.

Anon went onto explain that there’s a biannual increase that caps at 22 years. Over the next 22 years he would’ve received $81,684 plus that previously mentioned chunk of change for a total of $87,636, if they kept him at his 1945 pay scale. Paying him up through his thaw date and adjusting for inflation, Anon says that Steve Rogers would have a paycheck of $3,154,619.52 waiting for him.

“After doing this calculation,” Anon says, “the saddest part to me is that is still ridiculously low for the danger that he and all other American soldiers, past and present, put themselves in.”

Oof. That’s not wrong.

Captain America can once again be seen earning way more than he’s theoretically being paid in Captain America: Civil War, in theaters right now.