fanfictionroxs

Unpopular (?) opinion about the serum…

I don’t think the serum necessarily increases any kind of personality traits within a person when they take it. What the serum is representative of is power - not just physical, but power in general. And when people gain power, they don’t necessarily change as a person, but it reveals things about them.

When Steve Rogers took the serum, he didn’t become a better person. That little kind-hearted spitfire of a man with brittle bones and shitty lungs was no less brave than the muscular hunk he became after the serum. What changed was that the serum gave him power, and because of that people could finally see his bravery and goodness. Because people don’t look twice at disabled people, but they’ll pay attention to a military poster boy built like a brick house.

When John Walker took the serum, he didn’t become a more violent, angry man. It just allowed him to express his violence and anger in a more catastrophic way. Because that’s what power allows people to do. When you have more power, your good deeds are more visible, more impactful - and so are your misdeeds.

And I think it’s really interesting, considering the title and theme of the episode, that almost as soon as John took the serum - as soon as he gained this new power - everyone saw his darker side. Everyone realises that John Walker wasn’t such a great guy all along.

GOD I ADORE THIS POST AND AGREE WITH IT SO MUCH!

The serum really is a metaphor for power, while in the MCU is just makes you physically stronger. And we all know how humans handle power.. catastrophically. Just look at what we do to animals just because we consider ourselves the superior race (cough Nazis cough)

And yes, Steve was no less brave when he was that boy in the alley (the person that Bucky chose to follow. He was never with the stars and stripes thing, just his bestie who he knew was amazing and brave and kind and good). But as OP correctly said, being the military's poster boy brought Steve to attention.

BUT what people loved about him (and I'm sure many never even realised it) was that he was a man of GOOD morals and not just a military puppet.

my family: OH MY GOSH, THEY BROKE OUT ZEMO AND FOUND SHARON.

me, someone who only watches the films that i get bugged into watching and thus hasn’t seen a single avengers film: who’s zemo. who’s sharon. also why do they keep calling bucky the winter soldier i thought he just had super strength does he have winter powers?

No no. They call him the winter soldier because he's Elsa's older brother and has ice powers like she does. He uses that metalic arm to make it snow. So people are like, "Winter is coming" because his powers literally bring winter.

bucky: *jumps out of a plane with no parachute*

steve digging himself out of his grave: BUT I WAS THE ONE TAKING ALL THE STUPID WITH ME, WASN’T I, BARNES—

fuck i don’t know why my brain went there but-

bucky is probably the only person alive right now that knew who steve was before he got the serum and became Captain America.

and this moment right here,

steve: how about you? are you ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?

bucky: hell no. the little guy from brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight, i'm following him.

is exactly why bucky hates the new guy.

I don't know if it's that deep, but I suddenly realized the difference between why Steve became Captain America and why John Walker became Captain America, and how that relates to Sam so well.

Steve never got picked for the serum because he was particularly tall or strong or skilled or smart, he got picked because Erskine saw something good in him, something special he knew would become even greater with the serum.

Erskine specifically didn't pick the obvious choice he was pressured to pick by others, which was Hodge at the time. Like Col. Phillips said, "Hodge passed every test we gave him. He's big, he's fast and he obeys orders. He's a soldier", does that remind you of someone?

John Walkers is big, fast, and he obeys orders. He's a soldier.

Steve never chose Sam because he was big or fast or a good soldier, he chose Sam because of why Erskine had chosen him; his good heart and the determination to do what's right. He saw that in Sam, the goodness of his heart, his determination and the strong will to help others no matter the cost.

That's why Sam is Captain America, even without the shield. The shield is not Cap, the heart is. The shield is a tangible symbol, one you can hold up and claim as yours, but the "not a perfect soldier but a good man" metaphor of Erskine is what's most essential, and that can't be forced by governmental support or flashy public stunts.

John Walker with his missions and skills and orders may be a perfect soldier, but Sam is a good man. A good man who kicks ass

And that's why Sam Wilson is Captain America.

an old married couple