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Get excited, blockbuster fans, Marvel fanatics, and anyone who appreciates all that is awesome in life. As you probably already know, Captain America: Civil War is now in theaters, just in time to sate your craving for something epic. I’m not going to reveal any spoilers, but there’s been a lot of drama, mystery, and twists in the lives of our favorite superheroes, and this new installment promises to push all of that up to eleven. However, for all the surface level super-drama, there are a few holes in the Marvel cinematic universe that have given us pause.

This week, we’re focusing on the first and arguably the sweetest avenger, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. You know his story — he was a hapless kid from Brooklyn who, through a mixture of heart, luck, and all the steroids, grew to be as physically great as he is emotionally. Oh, and along the way he was frozen for almost 70 years and probably became really rich.

WHAT’S THE THEORY?

Remember the lovably headstrong Brooklyn kid we first met in Captain America: The First Avenger? That scrappy teen who didn’t have two coins to scrape together but he had a wealth of heart? Yeah, there’s a chance he’s now worth $8.63 million due to military back pay.

For the record, this particular theory only takes the Marvel cinematic universe into account. There are a couple of Captain America comic book storylines that directly deal with Steve Rogers’ increased wealth, which are certainly interesting to read about but not applicable to this argument.

WHY IT’S NOT THAT CRAZY:

This theory comes from the delightful subreddit, r/theydidthemath, which you should really check out if you’re looking for detailed calculations about basically useless topics. There are several theories out there that speculate how much money Cap made while he was frozen for almost seventy years, but I appreciate this particular theory for how methodically it breaks down Cap’s wealth by decade. So let’s see how a poor kid from Brooklyn came to earn over $8 million by sleeping.

Assuming that Steve Rogers was paid the same amount as other soldiers during that time, at the time of his freezing, Captain America’s personal wealth would have been about $5,000, which translates to about $60,000 today. This also takes into account the surplus pay invested in U.S. savings bonds, but this theory assumes the government withheld Cap’s personal subsistence allowance because, you know, he was frozen. Already we’re starting off strong, but we have a lot further to go. Let’s break down that backpay. If you want to fact check along, check out this nifty inflation calculator:

1950: Assuming Cap’s earning money at a 2 percent interest rate, he now has over $27,000, which has the purchasing power of about $252,000 in 2011.

1960: Cap’s now at about $99,000, which would be a little less than $800,000 in 2011.

1970: Rogers is raking up. He now has about $270,000, which would translate to over $1.5 million when he wakes up.

1980: Now he has over $807,000, aka about $2.3 million in 2011. Cap now has more money in his account than Chris Evans was paid to star in The Avengers (Evans was paid around $2 million).

1990: We’re up to $2.45 million now, which translates to about $4.5 million. As you may know from living in the past two decades, it’s around this time that inflation gets a bit crazy, so prepare for some big numbers.

2001: Cap’s at about $5 million, which will be over $6 million a decade later. Incidentally, $6 million is about how much Evans was paid for Avengers: Age of Ultron.

2011: Steve Rogers finally wakes up, and he’s rolling in paper. Captain America is owed $8.63 million in U.S. savings bonds. The theory imagines that Agent Coulson told Cap this information, and I’ve now adopted that scenario as head-cannon.

WHY IT’S QUESTIONABLE:

This theory give me pause for an insane reason. Even though $8.63 million is a lot for anyone who isn’t Tony Stark, it honestly doesn’t seem enough. One of the commenters on the aforementioned Reddit thread, who claims to be on active duty, argues that Cap would be getting BAS and BAH (basic allowance for housing and basic allowance for sustenance) because Cap was technically listed as MIA. Also, if the government labels the ice where they find Captain America to be a hazardous duty or combat zone, then all of that back pay would be completely tax free. Then there’s the merchandising.

This one is me throwing my own thoughts into the ring, but it’s clear that in the Marvel cinematic universe, Captain America achieved mainstream success complete with Cap merch. Some of that merchandise — Coulson’s beloved deck of Cap cards — is even a big plot point in The Avengers. Who is making this merchandise, and would Steve Rogers get a cut of those profits after he wakes up? Ethically, he definitely should because it’s his image that’s been paraded around for over half a century. It’s possible that Rogers has signed over the rights to his image for Army use, so if they’re the ones making all of this Cap swag, they’re in the legal clear. However, I can’t see the army investing too much in toys.

Want the TL;DR version?

The government owes The First Avenger waaay too much money for him to be living in an apartment that looks like that. It’s time for an upgrade, Cap. Though he’s such a sweetheart, he’s probably already donated his millions.

Captain America: Civil War is now in theaters.

[Where to stream Captain America: The First Avenger]

[Where to stream Captain America: The Winter Soldier]