I Myself am Strange and Unusual

N’Jadaka a.k.a. Erik Killmonger

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“What the hell is that?”

“You couldn’t have done that earlier?”

Bucky spends the entire movie measuring his words with everybody, including Steve, and suddenly he’s saying aloud what he thinks. He’s making jokes. 

And that’s emblematic because on the one hand we have Bucky who decides: fuck it, I don’t even know how many times I almost killed this dude but since he’s still here because apparently he has the same amount of self preservation Steve does (which is ZERO. ZERO. Where did Steve find him oh god I don’t even want to imagine what they could accomplish together who’s making sure they’re not gonna kill themselves in the process did they at least eat breakfast), he might as well move his seat up a little, right? Whatever. I’ve been through enough. I’m gonna ask. 

And on the other hand there’s Sam who is definitely, definitely NOT ‘being a therapist’ or using reverse psychology or anything like that, he’s fucking TIRED and still kinda wondering if trusting the guy who tried to off him just a few hours before (and that’s not even counting all the other times!) is really a good idea, and if becoming an outlaw for this was actually worth it… and then he hears said guy ask him if he can move his seat up and, honestly. Honestly. Sam has been through enough. He doesn’t even need to think before answering “no.” 

But that’s it. Sam isn’t trying to accomplish anything. He’s simply speaking his mind. And what does Bucky have to lose by doing the same? It’s not like Sam’s opinion of him can get any lower. Sure, he could stop replying to what Bucky says. But he doesn’t. Bucky’s so thrilled he almost can’t bring himself to shut up anymore.

I love this. I LOVE IT when people appreciate the great friendship growing between these two. Because that’s what this is going to be. 

This is the Russo brothers paying homage to the fact that Sam Wilson was one of the people who helped save Bucky Barnes from himself in the comics. 

This is going to become a most excellent friendship. This is two, naturally snarky, battle-hardened warriors talking shit to each other and freaking loving it. The wounds (more ego than physical boo-boos) they’ve inflicted on each other are still a little fresh, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not totally warming up to each other. 

The one thing I will disagree on the commentary above is when this all started, because I don’t think it began with the car scene in CACW, I think it began much earlier, in CATWS, when Sam Wilson flew in and kicked Bucky hilariously from behind:

At first you don’t think it means anything because Bucky’s more preoccupied with what Steve has just said (and then subsequently escaping) to really consider the fact that a dude literally just flying-kicked him in the back in a freaking bird-costume. But we do know that there’s a sense of arrogance in the Winter Solider: this is a guy who murder-struts everywhere. He doesn’t rush because he doesn’t have to. He knows he’s the best at what he does and that his precision comes from the fact that he’s cold and calculating. The only time he loses his temper in the entire highway fight of CATWS is when Natasha gets a shot in at him. Look at how angry he was:

That’s when he lost it and started firing wildly, i.e. the Winter Soldier does not like to be bested. 

And when he gets another chance at the Falcon, he goes all out. I mean, yeah, he knew that Sam was a threat, even without his wings, and thus needed to be taken out, but look at this:

There was no way the Winter Solider was letting this guy get the better of him. He had to win this one. It was the closest thing he’d experienced (since the shoot-out with Natasha) that was personal. 

And that’s where the rivalry started.

The reason Bucky opens up at all to Sam in CACW is because they have history together. They’ve fought each other. Yes, for Bucky there’s the important factor that Sam genuinely likes Steve and that Steve trusts him in return (which is a good indicator for Bucky that Sam is awesome), but aside from Bucky’s friendship with Steve, the only other person Bucky can remember actually having had emotional contact with is Sam - it was entirely within the context of a fight, but these guys are fighters, what happens on the battlefield matters. And Sam was good enough that Bucky had to work for his win. 

He also approves of the fact that Sam is smart enough not to immediately trust him despite helping him, but more significantly, that Sam isn’t afraid to stand up to Steve in order to keep Steve level-headed - which used to be Bucky’s burden (“So just like that we’re cool?”). Sam has done enough to earn a rare spot in Bucky’s good books. He likes what he’s seen of Sam so far. 

Plus there’s the added fact that both of them are naturally snarky. They have similar senses of humour: Bucky likes to tease. He’s dry, he deadpans. Sam is king of put-downs and, more importantly, he enjoys a good rivalry. The first time we meet him, he gets irritated because he can’t outrun super-soldier, serum-enhanced, Captain freaking America, despite knowing exactly who he was up against. Scott Lang beat him in a fight and then Sam goes and recommends him for their team, and starts up the banter immediately upon seeing him again: “What’s up, Tic Tac?” Yeah, his ego took a little blow (as it did when Steve kicked his ass in the jog) but that’s what impresses Sam Wilson. 

Bucky is an impressive fighter. It took Steve, Sam and Natasha to win the highway-fight in CATWS.

Even though Sam isn’t actively being a therapist in CACW, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t understand and empathise with what Bucky might be going through. While Steve was off doing Avengers business in between CATWS and Age of Ultron, it was Sam who was doing most of the leg work - chasing the cold leads - in the search for Bucky. You can’t tell me that Sam hasn’t seen those files, that he doesn’t know exactly what Bucky has been through, that despite his snark and attitude towards Bucky, his heart doesn’t bleed for the guy. He’s the type of person who retired from the fight and then dedicated his life to helping others who’d suffered like he had. He was para-rescue. His natural instinct is to help people. Especially people like Bucky. 

But helping them doesn’t mean he can’t be friends with them, it doesn’t mean that he has to walk on egg-shells around them (sometimes that’s the worst thing you can do), it doesn’t mean he’s ‘therapising’ them either. His views toward Bucky go much deeper than just ‘here’s a guy who’s suffered and needs my help, and because I’m a good person I want to help him’. They’re more like: 

“You tore my fu*k!ng wings off and then threw me off a goddamn helicarrier, you piece of shit, i.e. you kicked my magnificent ass and I’m still really salty about it, but Cap likes you, and you’ve been through a lot of pain and suffering (much of which I understand and empathise with), and you’re actually pretty impressive, so I respect you. I’m not going to treat you like you’re just a victim, because you’re not, you’re a person who’s been through hell and who’s now trying to get his shit together, and you seem to respond better when challenged and pushed in the right way (which is great because that’s totally my jam). Now, let me see how you’re going to take my genuine personality (which is made up entirely of unabashed bluntness and snarky banter) because I want to figure out if we can actually be friends… even though I totally still hate you.”