Sam Wilson is so slept on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom
I know, I know, Sam is just a retired soldier with a set of wings and guns that Steve only seems to fully rely on. He definitely would lose a fight to even someone like Natasha, who doesn’t have serum, viking magic and/or full body armor.
I had that argument with my male cousin about how useful Sam is in the MCU team lineup. That he appears more sidekick than first African-American superhero… and don’t get me wrong I love me some Bucky. But Sam Wilson is the underdog of the MCU and its fandom and I have a really soft spot for the underdogs of any fandom.
I marvel at the fact he is willing to go toe to toe with any villians the Avengers face, despite him only having wings, Redwing and guns. Not to mention the fact that the only real training regiment he had was jogging around the Mall before dawn after his retirement and he was able to handle his own against still active soldiers.
I also, dont care much for the double-standards. I mean Bucky could render Steve Roger’s into an invalid and Steve and the fandom would defend his actions. But if Sam drinks the rest of the milk and Bucky wanted cereal that day, the MCU fandom going to give my guy Sam all the smoke.
Lol, the fact that Sam was hated on so hard just for not pulling up his seat cause he still ain’t forgive Bucky for nearly killing him three damn times.
Bruh, if you tried to kill me and totaled both my car and wings and all I do is not give you some legroom, you should be happy. Especially when Bucky still had kill commands in his head.
Lol, people keep forgetting Sam left his perfectly good 9 to 5 job with benefits at the Veterans Affairs to chase Bucky ass all across the world to give Steve some peace of mind. Bucky crew also need to stop hating on Sam’s legit concerns and need to don the Captain Petty cape every once in a while. Cause even though Sam is petty. He never tries to handle Bucky with kid gloves. He gives Bucky the same energy and short of telling him no and shut up, has been nothing but nice to the guy. I bet soon their on screen dynamics will mirror the flirty love/hate friendship of the actors who play them Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan.
I also marvel at the fact that Sam Wilson is the only Avenger in Infinity War pt. 1, who managed to mend the most bridges after Civil War broke up our lovable boy band. I know, I know, what about Bruce and Thor. They werent involved in Civil War and so didnt need to choose sides and sadly hurt feelings. So they dont count. Sam was in the thick of it though.
Think about it… He was one of the first Avengers that turned down signing the Accords. It was his decision, he didnt just blindly follow Cap like some happy go lucky sidekick everyone labels him as. Rhodey, Natasha and Vision got into a heated debate on the validity of signing the Accords with him.
But Sam never signed up to be at the call of some entity ; especially after Steve came running to him after the curruptness of SHEILD. Sam had a life before he decided to help Steve and if he had wanted to be a soldier he’d have join Nick Fury instead of volunteering to help Steve find Bucky.
Sam knew Steve needed him more and the fact that Steve felt at ease leaving his second best friend to search for his first should mean something. Steve could have relied on anyone to help him with Bucky or come to Peggy’s funeral and he choose to take Sam because guy is loyal and Steve’s ride or die. Sam was actually the only one to ask if Steve was happy and if he ever thought of being something other than Captain America.
Sam might not be the strongest, but he definitely the bridge/mediator among the group. Tony went to Sam in Civil War at the end not just cause he knew where Bucky and Steve were going cause they could have told the other team before the fight in the airport; it was also because Tony knew Sam would at least hear him out instead of throwing insults like Scott did when they were in lockup. Sam could have said no simply because, despite fighting through PTSD and trying to save Rhodey, Tony blasted Sam when he couldnt dave him. But he didnt because Sam was the bigger man and knew Tony was in his feelings.
If Sam had been hit by the blast that Tony issued to Vision to make Sam ‘a glider’ he would have died. If that blast crippled Rhodey and he had full-bodied armor than someone with goggles, wings and light armor would have died if he hadn’t air rolled out of the way.
But Sam tried to save Rhodey cause at the end of the day they are friends. He apologized to Tony because he knows first hand how it feels to try to rescue a friend and risk lose them because you just weren’t fast enough. It happened with Riley and he never begrudge Steve for getting his best friend back ‘despite the years and brainwashing’ after a fall that should have killed him. He is not like that.
Sam and Rhodey gave one of the warmest greetings letting you know clearly there was no hard feelings and that they were friends.
Vision and Sam clearly bear no I’ll will towards each other despite being initally on opposing sides and Vision nearly killing Sam. Sam even volunteered to support an injured Vision and was part of the rescue mission to save Vision.
Sam was the one who recruited Scott Lang. One of the same people that fought and beat him in Ant-Man, he was humble enough to see his worth and recruit him.
Bucky who have fought each other on sight because Bucky keep breaking Sam’s shit and trying to kill him, are even cool. By Infinity War, despite the frosty glare when Steve greets Bucky, Bucky and Sam have been in sync and have fought along side each other in both Civil War and Infinity Wars
Despite all the mistakes Sam and his friends have made since Civil War, Sam is the most, warm-hearted, forgiving, genuine guy on the team. He is someone who will stay loyal to you, but will voice his opinion when need be. Sam is still good with all the members of Team Captain America and not only is he still good with them, he is clearly friends with a lot of Team Iron Man in Infinity War when it is clear some can’t let bygones be bygones even with a threat like Thanos afoot.
So stop sleeping on my guy Sam Wilson. ‘Cause everyone on the Avengers team serves a purpose and who wouldn’t want a ride or die in their pocket?
I would also like add that after being thrown from a speeding car Sam brought a knife to a gunfight – outnumbered at least 5 to 1 and that’s being generous.
He is a certified EMT, counselor of war vets and martial arts fighter. He is not just a guy with a set if wings which I dare you to try and fly without faceplanting.
I adore Bucky but I love Sam too. It’s a shame a lot of people see it as either or. They are both amazing in their own right.
I have to comment on the fact that when it comes to the serum, Bucky is souped UP on that stuff. Steve probably tones back how much he’s hitting normal humans, but GOOD LANDS. Bucky’s not just knocking someone down, he’s getting them air borne. With a kick. We know the cyborg arm is really strong, but BUCKY is insanely strong. Reminds me of the comic where he throws an arrow through someone’s face with his good arm, not even the cyborg one. Bucky is scary ramped up in the strength department.
This is why when people talk about Bucky having received an “inferior” version of the serum, I kind of raise my eyebrows. The overall effects of Zola’s serum might have differed from Erskine’s, but it certainly doesn’t seem to have left Bucky physically weaker. There are a lot of fics that assume Bucky would not be a match for Steve if Steve were actually willing to fight him, but Bucky more than proves his strength in Winter Soldier.
This should also make people realize that he isn’t some lost puppy. He can take care of hisself, even if he doesn’t have memories. He got the Smithsonian by himself right? He got those clothes himself right? He can take care of himself.
He was manipulated to be a predator. He is strong enough, swift enough to take down prey. He is intuitive enough to find who or what he wants. Even before The Soldier, Bucky was smart as a whip and could hold his own in a fight. But now? Now he is the perfect weapon, whether or not he wishes to be. He adapts, he fights, he wins.
You know what else bugs me? When people act in fics like he’s just going to snap and kill everyone around him. Bucky is not a violent person. I don’t think the Winter Soldier is a violent person either. He killed because he was ordered to, but if he wasn’t ordered to? TBH I think the Winter Soldier would probably be pretty chill and quiet. Like, you wouldn’t want to startle him or whatever, because yeah, scary ninja personification of death, but if you were just, like, sharing a train car? Or sitting in a waiting room? Not a randomly violent guy. No homicidal urges. Probably largely just wants to be left the fuck alone to, like, contemplate Dostoevsky or something.
I recently re-watched Cap2, and this scene — it’s basically Bucky’s equivalent of what Steve did on the Lemurian Star — he takes out a whole squadron (???) of pilots single-handedly. And it’s … stunning how brutallly effective he is. No fancy Cap parkour. Just straight up killing machine.
Which I think gets at the above meta/commentary — WS is not just a soldier, he’s a highy trained Super Soldier. He can go toe-to-toe with Steve on basically everything — hand-to-hand combat, leading a team (he leads a team when he’s tracking Nat/Steve), and taking down a large # of machines/men single-handedly.
The difference, then, is the drive. Which is that WS has none. He is a ghost that simply follows orders (and when he doesn’t, he gets wiped.) Bucky has no direction, so he goes where he’s pointed. One thing I find so interesting about mcu!WS is how neutral he is. There’s no Soviet brainwashing (we see Pierce giving him The Talk, but he doesn’t seem to actually care), no misguided sense of right or wrong. Just … nothing.
Of course, Steve was like that, too, at the beginning of the film — just following orders and muddling through life. But Steve knew enough to be dissatisfied by that, to Want Out. Which is why he’s Steve.
And this is one of the larger themes of CA:TWS — it’s about a bunch of highly skilled people who no longer find satisfaction in following orders, and want to find meaning outside of their jobs. Sam did it, Nat and Steve are looking, and Bucky is just starting.
I know a guy called Mark Watney who’d strongly encourage Marvel fans not to rely solely on NASA to ensure the survival of someone lost in space with no chance of rescue
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