Itâs weird how people treat Bucky as the mysterious and secretive one within Sambucky when you can look at him for like two seconds and deduce everything you need to know about him. Sad boi, traumatic past, doesnât like talking about it, quiet, frustrated, you better donât interact with him unless he lets you.
Sam Wilson on the other hand? I have no clue whatâs going on in his head most of the time. (I mean⌠I kind of do, as a viewer. But Iâm not sure the characters he encounters are just as informed.) He seems like a pretty positive, optimistic person, but there are so many moments when he just looks desperate and on the verge of tears. Like heâs not sure anything will ever work in his favour. He doesnât talk much about his emotions or his past unless itâs very relevant - and he does that mainly to connect with other people through shared experience. Thatâs why he mentioned Rileyâs death. Or his aunt⌠who also died.
Karli called him a hopeless optimist. But is he an optimist? I wouldnât say so. He likes joking and smiles⌠relatively often⌠but thatâs it. For me he seems more like a realist who knows when he can get the job done to fix a problem. And he fixes a lot of problems. It seems like he helps other people all the time, so you might think heâs just selfless. But his desperate attempts to keep the family boat against Sarahâs protests were pretty selfish. (Objectively. Iâm not judging him here.) Giving the shield away was not exatly selfish (he had every right to do so), but he still didnât listen to anyone telling him to take up the mantle, because he didnât want to, end of discussion.
For people like Walker he seems like a sidekick and a âwingmanâ. Someone who followed Steve around. But he didnât. Sam made all the decisions himself - in ca:tws Steve even discouraged him from joining the fight. He went and fought anyway. Even Bucky, who knew Sam way longer than Walker, just assumed that he went against the Accords, because Steve did. But Sam formed his opinion first - it just happened to align with Steveâs. And how can he be a sidekick who just follows other people when during just his second conversation with Steve he said he likes working at the VA, because thereâs no one above him giving him orders and thatâs nice?
âSam is the rational one!â - says the fandom. âŚSam kicked a fucking helicopter mid-flight. And jumped into one almost falling into the rotor.
âSam is stubborn and will hold a grudge for a long timeâ - says the fandom (or at least the part of it who clearly dislikes the guy). ⌠Meanwhile, Sam helped Tony find Steve right after he was shot by him in the face for an accident that was not Samâs fault. And he helped Vision in Infinity War even thought he was part of said accident. He still talks with Rhodey like theyâre okay and nothing happened. And he tried to become friends with Barnes after he almost killed him three times. (As the Winter Soldier, but still.)
Zemo didnât expect Sam to not hesitate about rejecting the serum.
Karli was surprised by Samâs character. Later she was suprised again and disappointed that he (of all people) decided to become the new Captain. Isaiah didnât expect him to take the shield either. But he did take it and Isaiah had to admit he was wrong about Sam after he heard his speech.
âI never said pilot ;)â ⌠Yeah, I know. You never did, Sam. Because you say so little about yourself. And itâs so vague and carefully selected.
âHe speaks ArabicâŚâ Yeah, Torres. I was surprised too.
This whole show (and Samâs entire story in the MCU) seems like itâs just a person after a person, after a person making assumptions about Sam and then realizing that⌠Actually they were wrong the whole time. Either partially or complitely.Â
Sam is so secretive about his own thoughts and feelings that he tricked everyone around him into thinking heâs an open book, so no one bothers to even ask any questions. Because they feel like they know him, but⌠Do they really?
And I can just imagine that the longer Sam and Bucky work and live together the more Bucky sees how other people misjudge his partner⌠all the damn time. (Just as he himself used to do.) They just assume Sam will let them do anything they want and he doesnât. Or they assume they can give him orders and heâs like: âSubtle? Got it!â - and does whatever he planned, following only his own rules.
It must be pretty amusing to watch. And it probably feels like some kind of honour to actually get a chance to know the real Sam Wilson.
