#tfatws rant

[alitontress]

Everyone, please go watch Captain America: Brave New World. I beg you. Please don’t listen to the critics; they are biased and a lot of people are complaining because “Sam shouldn’t be Captain America—Bucky should be” or “Chris Evan’s is better” or “People will never accept a Black Captain America”. Anthony Mackie has done an amazing job and he deserves all the accolades. He deserves to have a successful movie. I feel like no matter what though, Sam Wilson/Anthony is never going to be seen as his own character without being compared to the original. I’m already hearing from people that Sam will always be BLACK Falcon to them. And it’s disappointing. The same qualities Sam has in the film, which Tumblr especially would be making dozens of gifsets of or writing metas of, etc isn’t happening but I think would be happening if Sam was a white character. Tumblr is giving his sidekick more love and posts than Sam. Sam is the HEART and SOUL of the story. “Well the plot was slow”—why does that matter when Sam is an amazing character with depth? If the film had the same plot and pacing but Bucky Barnes was the main character, I think people would be losing their minds and saying how much they loved it and Tumblr would be obsessing in its usual fashion and making meta about how wonderful Bucky was. Sam has been in the “Magical Negro” film trope since Captain America: Winter Soldier, and now that he’s not anymore, I’m being told that Sam doesn’t fit the role as Captain and should be Bucky’s sidekick. I shouldn’t be upset—The Falcon and The Winter Soldier show already predicted people would react this way. I just hope it doesn’t rob Anthony of a sequel. I just want it to be successful. I could continue to write a whole essay about this, but I’m going to conclude by saying: I beg y’all to watch it—even if you think you’d hate it for whatever reason. I need Anthony to have this win.

Please.

[fr0stb1ttenheart]

It’s great that Sam Wilson is finally getting more content now that he’s Captain America, but it’s frustrating how so much of it is centered in angst—pain, struggle, and constant emotional labor. And worse, the fandom often glosses over his insecurities and the weight of his arc, acting like his journey to becoming Cap was just a box checked instead of a deep, meaningful transformation. Instead of exploring his growth, people keep shifting the focus to Bucky, treating Sam like a supporting character in his own story. And on top of all that, there are still people criticizing him simply because he’s not the white, blonde captain america they wanted—as if his skin color somehow makes him unworthy of the shield. It’s racist, it’s loud, and it’s honestly heartbreaking, because Sam earned that title, and he’s doing more than enough to carry it with pride.

[waywardsou2]

My head canons for domestic boyfriend Sam and Bucky

Based on what little I've seen from the Thunderbolts trailer and Brave New World

Spoilers ahead!!!

- Bucky is only living in that apartment temporarily it's just a place he can live whilst.hes going around doing his little camagins. He still lives with Sarah and Sam in New Orleans. Same with Sam's office. It's just that, an office for his work

- That call that Bucky is on in the trailer is to Sam, telling him he's probably going to miss dinner and to tell SarH he's sorry

- A long time ago AJ and Cass believed they were too big to be picked up and thrown like they were when they were little. Think again with Uncle Bucky around!

- Sarah had to explain to Bucky that being queer was legal and he could actually get married in many of the states. She then looked pointedly at Sam and never brought it up again.

- Bucky and Sam have fishing days on the boat, talking, bickering, arguing like an old married couple. But it's all in good faith and they always manage to get off the boat laughing

- Sam, being the dumbass that he is, challenged Bucky to a drinking contest one night, forgetting that Bucky has his whole super soldier metabolism. Bucky downed an entire bottle of vodka in one go that night. He had to carry Sam back to the car and drive home because he was fucking wasted

- Sam took Bucky to see the fireworks on the 4th of July. It was the first time he was actually able to sit down and enjoy them since he was free. They toasted to Steve considering it was his unofficial birthday

- Bucky still visits the Wakandan's every now and then, he payed tribute to T'Challas death and even got to meet his son. He still keeps in contact with Ayo even though she is still a little bit pissed at him for the whole Zemo fiasco

- Bucky taught Sam how to dance and Sam convinced Bucky to listen to something other than 40s music.

- As is his nature Bucky was worried sick about Sam after he heard what happened with Ross. He knows what type of man Ross is, and he knows Sam can hold his own. But it didn't stop him from calling Sam as soon as he knew he would be away from the battle

- Bucky knew about Torres from the news and asked his secretary to figure out where he was because he knew Sam would be right along side him. Sam had told him about Riley so he knew he must've been shaken

- Bucky still has nightmares, they are persistent and often really bad. Sam had to basically slap Bucky to wake him up sometimes because he's too far gone into his nightmare.

- Because of this Bucky started sleeping in Sam's bed WAY before they started dating

- Which is how Sam found out that Bucky is indeed a cuddler. Not that he minds, he hasn't had a girlfriend in years.

- Sam confessed first, he was never opposed to the idea of being attracted to men he guessed he had just never found the right man, not that he was ever really looking. Same with how he was never really looking for a girlfriend.

- Bucky was genuinely surprised when Sam told him how he felt. Bucky had convinced himself that any feeling he had were stupid and insignificant and that Sam was straight and could never love him.

- AJ owes Cass 20 dollars. Much to Sarah's amusement and dismay.

That's all I've got for tonight but I might think of some more soon!

[kazisonline]

My problem with the character of John Walker - well, not even with his character tbh - is that I've seen a lot of people treating him just like the Devil himself or as a Saint who did nothing wrong, when both of those are so fucking WRONG

I'm sitting here like, girl, where did media literacy go. I was treating him just like a villain with no redeeming qualities when I first watched this show, back when I was 15. are you 15?????? Cuz if you are then okay you can think that and I don't care, you'll come around. But if you're 20+, then where did media literacy go holy fuck!!!!

I just watched a short analysis of the character of Walker and let me tell you, that was really eye opening to how some people watched that show holy shit

The ASSUMPTION that we're supposed to think that everything was Walker's fault because writers intended for him to just be wrong is mindboggling. Especially when the hearing scene exists, when in that scene it's STRAIGHT told to us: he's a victim of the US military-patriotism-brainwashing-bullshit.

What the person in the analysis said and is kinda funny to me is "the writers intended for us to see him as being always in the wrong, but I'm not disagreeing with him because I'm not stupid" like brother, that's not some groundbreaking discovery, you're not going against the authors' intentions, that's literally the text 😭😭😭😭😭

On the other hand, people who just actually treat Walker like stupid villain guy who is going against our boys so we can dislike him. That's also dumb, he is objectively just doing his job. He was actually trying to work with Sam and Bucky. He just loses it when Lamar dies, but really that's understandable and I don't think anyone over the age of 16 will think that the shield murder scene was unjustified, even if messed up.

He's an anti-hero. On the one hand, the people who make the argument that he's just a villain... I think those people are just 15, and don't have full media literacy skills yet so I can let that slide. But people who say "Walker did nothing wrong and the show is stupid because we're supposed to disagree with him when he's doing nothing wrong and he killed a terrorist so that's actually okay",,,, I'm like, dude, you probably think blue lives matter okay. That's the vibe you're giving off

[marvelwizardz]

“I loved you I loved you I loved you it's true I wanted to be you And do what you do I lived here I loved here I thought it was true I feel so stupid I feel so used”

[captainpikeachu]

So, Screen Rant recently released an article on the 6 rules of being Captain America in the MCU, mostly it's just about how Steve and Sam fit those rules and John doesn't.

But this article is terribly written and incredibly inaccurate to even just basic factual things, and I'm going to go through and address each of the point it makes against John and tell you why it is wrong and hypocritical.

First, the article claims that Cap must be a strong and sure leader. It claims that it's always hard to imagine John ever having this leadership role and that's why his downfall is spectacular. Yet it completely ignores that John has been in leadership roles AND been successful. He's a Captain, he's been serving and leading his men into war and successfully completed missions for decades. We are not talking about some green young soldier with little experience as Comics John may have been. MCU John has been in the military for nearly 20 years. He has a clear and effective record. This claim also ignores that John's leadership ultimately failed in the MCU because no one wanted to listen to him, they were all still angry about Steve being gone and John getting the shield (that he didn't ask for). They were angry and had no intentions of wanting to listen since day one. He wasn't failing because he didn't know how to lead, he was failing because they had refused to let him lead.

Second, the article claims that Cap must be a skilled and brave fighter. It describes in a previous paragraph about Steve and Sam's fighting skills but when it gets to John, it immediately backtracks to dismiss the point. Even in the one "rule" that John can clearly fit under, this article refuses to do so and instead moves the goal post to talk about John's morality and doing questionable things. Implying that if he thought his time in war were the worst days of his life, then it must not make him a good Cap. But let me just ask here, who the hell thinks war is a good time? Steve and Sam's worst days were also when they were serving in the war, they have all done questionable things, do this now mean they aren't good Caps either? Steve even admitted to Fury that they've done their share of questionable things during the war. Sam served in the same wars in the Middle East that John served in. Pretending that John is somehow the only person to act like their worst days are during war time is to display an ignorance to the realities of war and military service. NOBODY thinks war is a walk in the park, wars have always been the worst days of a soldier's life. There is a reason people end up with massive amounts of PTSD!

Third, this article claims that Cap must make fast and tactical decisions. It claims that John's "quick thinking" led to him killing a Flag Smasher, so this is why he isn't good at quick thinking. But I just want to ask here, since when is a heat of the moment trauma response now considered "quick thinking"? If someone kills your loved one right in front of you and you scream and lash out, are you now bad at quick thinking and tactical decisions? So are we now saying trauma responses are bad tactical decision making? Was T'Challa bad at tactical decisions when he decided to seek revenge on Bucky in Civil War for the death of his father? Was Thor bad at tactical thinking when he chopped off Thanos' head? Was Clint bad at tactical thinking when he went on a five year murder spree? Was Steve bad at tactical thinking when his own rage led him to beat down on Tony after Tony blasted and incapacitated Bucky in Siberia? So not only does this article not seem to grasp that a trauma response is not a judgment on anyone else's tactical acumen, it also ignores the number of times that John IS capable of quick thinking. When Karli kicked Lemar off the truck, it was John's quick thinking and throwing out the shield that saved Lemar. In fact, in that same fight, it was John's quick thinking that saved Sam from getting his head bashed in by one of the Flag Smashers.

Fourth, this article claims that Cap must have a strong moral code. It uses Steve fighting against Loki and Thanos and protecting Bucky while Sam tries to talk down Karli as examples of their strong moral code. It claims that John doesn't have this "gift" because John would rather see Karli dead and killed an "innocent" Flag Smasher. If the act of wanting to fight villains to save people and not wanting to kill someone is enough to fit this rule, then John should too. Why does this article ignore that John taking on the mantle of Cap and willing to risk his life to protect others satisfies this rule demonstrated by its own examples? What about John saving Sam and Bucky and Lemar in that truck fight? What about John risking his life doing hostage rescue? What about John grabbing that truck full of hostages to prevent them from dying? And let's not forget, John NEVER had any intentions of killing any one of the Flag Smashers, he was always trying to simply arrest them. Death was something that only happened after they tried to kill him first and killed Lemar instead. He didn't walk into Episode 1 just going all excited about murdering folks.

Fifth, this article claims that Cap must be willing to pay the ultimate price. It claims that it's hard to imagine John ever willingly sacrificing himself for others. This is perhaps the most egregious claim and the most obvious demonstration of a complete misunderstanding of John Walker as it can get. He's risked his life for Sam, for Bucky, for Lemar, for his own fellow soldiers during his years of active duty service, for the hostages in that truck and any other hostages he's saved previously. He's even jumped on grenades FOUR times. To claim that a THREE TIME Medal of Honor recipient can't sacrifice himself for other is to claim that Simone Byles can't do a flip or Michael Phelps can't swim. Why don't we ask families of dead Medal of Honor recipients who got their medals posthumously, just how willing the recipients are to sacrifice their lives for others? Maybe not everyone knows this, but the military doesn't even like to hand out MOHs, you have to do the most high level and extraordinary kind of sacrifice to even be considered for ONE medal, and some people who have done that don't even get their medals until decades later. For John to have received THREE before he's even hit 40 years old speaks to a level of willingness for self sacrifice that readily matches any MCU hero. And even if we don't count the medals, he's demonstrated in the show itself that he is willing to sacrifice. He threw his only weapon, the shield, to save Lemar, even though it left him unarmed to face all those Flag Smashers. He left himself open to attack and death when he refused to let go of the truck filled with hostages even as the Flag Smashers pounced on him from all sides.

Lastly, this article claims that Cap must be "a good man". It states that the serum has corrupted many greedy and egotistical people over the years and that John taking the serum only made him even worse. Only worse? Are we just going to ignore that despite having taken the serum and supposedly being "corrupted" and have all this evil in him amplified, John still CHOSE to let go of revenge and do the right thing and save people? He didn't need Sam or Bucky to tell him, HE made that choice ON HIS OWN. If he is so corrupted and bad, then why did he willingly make a conscious decision to do good? How much goodness does John have to ALREADY have to overcome all the bad in him and still make the right decision? And when will we realize that the serum isn't a "good becomes great" or "bad becomes worse" but rather "good becomes great" AND "bad becomes worse". Everyone has light and dark, the serum amplifies all, and if John's bad qualities are amplified, then so are his good ones, and those good ones are the reason he CHOSE to make the right choice. And that choice matters. In Ms. Marvel, we have Kamala learn that very important lesson, "good is not a thing you are, it is a thing you do".

The irony of this whole article is that there are actually reasons why John is not suited to being Captain America, but none of those reasons are actually even properly addressed in this article.

It doesn't talk about John's insecurity and how guilt and untreated PTSD plays into that emotional volatility and fear that drives him to make wrong decisions.

It doesn't talk about his lack of a solid self-identity, and how that leads to him being easily manipulated and exploited by others (particularly those in power that he feels loyalty and duty towards) because he has tied his self worth to other people's opinions. And how a Captain America needs to know who they are and be firm in their own self, which is what John does not yet have.

Instead, this article lists a bunch of "rules" and inaccurately applies them to John in some half ass attempt to show how he's not a "real" Captain America. What is even the point of writing an article like this if you're just gonna demonstrate that you were clearly watching the Falcon and the Winter Soldier with your eyes, ears, and brain closed?

People continue to fundamentally misunderstand John Walker, and I can only hope that the Thunderbolts movie will fix this problem.

I don't claim John to be perfect, I don't even claim that he makes a good Cap, but the way some of yall still to this day refuse to recognize any kind of good in John is baffling. He isn't Steve's "total opposite", he IS Steve but 200% on crack. Wyatt Russell himself has even stated that John and Steve share the same desire to help and defend innocent people, but where they differ is the method to achieve that result. JOHN GENUINELY CARES. Even if sometimes he makes bad decisions in that care.

[pfeiffer-cipher]

It's fucking crazy that a movie about a team of (mostly) ex-HYDRA/Red Room assassins manages not to call Bucky "the Winter Soldier" in every second of promo, but the show where he's a titular character doesn't even bother to change his name in the title card at the end

[thekingwhereitallends]

You know back when it was just released, i had no interest in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier because of the premise and the look of Captain America attire on John Walker. Never did i ever know i would be watching for the same John Walker that killed my excitement.

I found out he is hated and seen as a prick, but when i watch the series i figure that John actually is nothing like that. He is humble about his accomplishments and comes to rescue Bucky and Sam numerous times. Hell, the first time John and Lemar come to assist Sam and Bucky, the veteran duo never return back to support them considering the possiblity that they might get killed by Super Soldier Terrorist Group. Even then, John offers them a ride and they still do not trust him at all. John gets Bucky out of the prison and asks for his (and Sam's) guidance, but they continue to stomp on his nerves. Bucky has the audacity to bring up the fact John that "things are getting a little intense for you."

I am like "f*** you, man. I would be pissed off if everyone treats me like i am a scum while i try my best to help them and keep manners.", and I am a huge fan of Bucky but all this mini-series does is character assassination. Realistically, you would expect at least Sam to reason with and try to support John (it is his job to treat soldiers dealing with PTSD), but no.

And when he is mourning the murder of his friend and going through an inner turmoil?

Sam and Bucky arrive.

John tells them they must go to hospital to have their injuries treated.

HE IS STILL GIVING THEM BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT AND WORRIES ABOUT THEM😭

Do they try to comfort him?

Hell no.

They just say they want the shield.

And that makes John go berserk.

Bucky surely was dreaming to beat John into a pulp for no sane reason.

Bucky and Sam go all out against him. They never look so strong against flagsmashers at all.

Yes, shatter the arm of the man who saved you multiples times because heroes do that. Sam and Bucky acted like petty, immature adults throughout the show whenever they were around John.

People then use this scene:

And mention how it exists to serve the purpose of the beginning of a redemption arc for John Walker. What the hell did John ever do to need that? Executing a goddamn villain whose hands was stained with blood of innocent citizens that he blew up with help of Carli? John has always strives to save people and make them feel safe, and in the last episode he throws away the shield to do that. Never give up and do not listen to politicians, even after that they stripped him of his rank and forced him to a retirement in spite of all his sacrifices. This is what they reward a hero who earned three badges of excellence, which is an impossible in the modern era if you think about how the most one would get in a world war was two.

The protagonists instead focus on Flagsmasher who have no problem with taking innocent lives as long as they deem it "important" and helpful in fulfilling their goal which was so vague yet sounded like death for half the population of earth.

In the end, John benefits the most from this show as he has a nearly-complete character arc. He feels real, and is complex enough to deserve a solo movie of his own. He proves himself worthy as a hero who is capable of overcoming his demons, and make the best decision in heat of battle just as his late friend said. Even after the whole world discriminated against him and oppressed him.

I would give him a hug. But lord knows he deserves so much better than that.

Nothing but love and respect for John Walker.

The Best Phase 4 Character.

I am looking forward to watch Thunderbolts primarily for him, and then Bucky.

[justyoursicanon]

Im VIBRATING right now bro

SAM WILSON AND JOAQUIN TORRES DUO???

BLUE CAPTAIN AMERICA SUIT FOR SAM???

THUNDERBOLTS TEAM UP???

I am being FEDDDD next year and Sam's movie is coming out on my birth month AND Valentines

I KNOW WHAT IM GONNA BE OBSESSING OVER ON FEBRUARY UNTIL MAYYY🗣🗣🗣🗣

They better spill why the fuck Bucky and Sam split after 3 years when tfatws happened bro or else i WILL strangle someone

[northlt03]

Heard someone say "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier made Captain America political" and how fucking dense do you have to be to utter something like that?? truly?? do you taste shit with how far your head up is in your ass??

Captain America has always been political you fool!!! He was a character created as a superhero fighting the fucking Nazis during WW2. Steve Rogers would hate your guts btw!! He was created with H!tler as a nemesis in mind!! He was born to a single not-well-to-do mother!! He was frail and had a bucket load of conditions that made life really difficult for him!!!

If you think Steve Rogers would have stood for the racism and real life commentary in TFATWS you have severely missed the point of Captain America by miles

Steve Rogers has always been against discrimination!!

[hqwkeyes]

John Walker rant

So today I rewatched TFATWS while I crocheted for the first time since it came out (shocker). And I know we all hate John Walker but I didn't expect to be so angry about him again. I think I might've been even angrier this time around than last time, maybe because of all that's going on in the world.

But one thing that really pissed me off this time, which I don't think I fully realized during the first watch, was John's reaction to Lemar's death. Yes, he was angry and upset and he killed that one Flag Smasher guy, who wasn't even the one who killed Lemar. And all of the privilege, entitlement, and toxic masculinity aside, what bothers me so much is his interaction with Lemar's family. Even then, he has to save face. Even then, he makes himself out to be the hero of the story. Lemar's family is grieving his loss and John lies to them, saying he avenged him. And when Lemar's mother asks again if the man he killed was the one who killed Lemar, he lies again. And I just know that he wasn't saying that for her sake. He wasn't saying that to make her feel better, but to make himself feel better.

There are so many differences between Steve Rogers and John Walker—so many that they shouldn't even be compared—but one of the most basic differences is that Steve Rogers always did what he thought was right, and John Walker always does whatever makes him feel good about himself, regardless of right and wrong.

[aichmoph0bia]

when im in a being insufferable competition but my oponents are people who think that the winter soldier is a sex god

when im in a mischaracterisation competiton but my oponents are tumblr bucky barnes fanfiction writers

when im in a lacking media literacy competition but my oponents are people who refuse to acknowledge the implied sa bucky went through

when im in a having no empathy whatsoever competiton but my oponents are bucky barnes' fans

[wenellyb]

I have nothing against that ship but could you please stop comparing Sambucky to St*cky???

They are 2 completely different ships with different circumstances, we are not going “ going throught the same thing”. And this is valid for other ships as well.

Stop trying to ruin our joy by saying, the showrunners will never run with this and that we would hurt in the end.

First of all, newsflash they already run with it.. We already got a Happy Ending so how about that?

St*cky is a nice ship but the showrunners clearly made some decisions to pair Steve up with other people.

In the First Avenger, Steve's love interest is Peggy

In Civil War, Steve's love interest in Sharon

In Endgame, Steve's love interest is Peggy again

You cannot compare that with Sam & Bucky’s relationship

In Endgame, Sam’s love interest is Bucky

In the Falcon and the Winter Soldier,

Episode 2, Sam's love interest is Bucky

Episode 3, Sam's love interest is Bucky

Episode 4, Sam's love interest is Bucky

Episode 5, Sam's love interest is Bucky

Episode 6, Sam's love interest is Bucky

When Steve kissed Sharon, Bucky smiled. When Sharon complimented Sam on his suit, Bucky got mad and told her they had to leave.

Stop comparing Stucky shippers and Sambucky shippers, we don't have the same motives, we don't have the same content. Some of us ship both Sambucky and Stucky but they are not the same!!!

When your OTP gets a scene of them staring at a sunset and then walking away together, then we can start talking. 

Do I know what going to happen in Cap 4? No. Will it keep me from enjoying TFATWS? Also no.

[starbloggirl]

What 10 yr old me thought the mcu was:

-Captain America: the first avenger

-Iron man

-Black Widow

-avengers

-Age of ultron

-The one with the fighting (It was civil war lol)

-Hawkeye

-Wandavison

[jbbarnesandnoble]

I was wondering why it felt so odd watching Bucky in Thunderbolts* and then I realized it's cause that's the most screentime he's had in a Marvel Movie

[mademoisellefantasy]

" There has never been another Steve Rogers,has there? " | Captain Ameri...

Actually, this is soooo trueee!!!!!

As much as I like Sam Wilson as a character, it just wasn't the right decision for Marvel to replace Captain America. Maybe it makes sense in the comics where, because the storylines literally continue over decades, passing on the mantle of certain characters to others is narratively helpful and refreshing.

But in the MCU, it feels totally wrong. The whole point of Captain America being Steve and vice versa is that NO ONE ELSE had the moral integrity and strength of Steve Rogers. That's the reason he was chosen and no one else, no matter how great of a character they might be on their own right, could ever feel in his role.

Kinda how no one else is as brilliant, eccentric, and self-sacrificial as Tony Stark, thus no one but him can be Iron Man. I think that Steve and Tony were kinda supposed to be mirrors of each other, the one the heart and the other the brain of the Avengers. And so both should be irreplaceable.

I also think that it would have been much more honorable for Sam to accept that his old friend left a legacy behind that shouldn't be changed or affected by anyone (including himself), and go make his own arc focus on the future of America, symbolized by him AS THE FALCON.

In previous movies, because Steve (and Bucky, tbh) was always the main focus, we never got to see the full potential, backstory, motivations, etc. of the Falcon, just vague mentions. He was just a loyal friend and sidekick to Steve.

Imagine if the Falcon FINALLY had an arc that didn't center Steve Rogers, imagine if he was allowed to keep his core hero identity but also evolve in it. It would have been SO MUCH BETTER.

Additionally, I think that most of that passing on the mantle stuff, is just pandering to minorities, which in of itself isn't bad AT ALL, but they were SO LAZY about it in TFATWS.... Seriously, the script was mostly trash (apart from the more intimate Bucky and Sam interactions and Zemo's storyline), and it didn't allow Sam, the AFRICAN AMERICAN MAN THE WHOLE SERIES IS ABOUT!!!! to actually evolve in his own right and be a truly good protagonist.

Anyways, after TFATWS it became apparent to me that Marvel is no longer interested in good storytelling, character development, and representation. So, at least for me, Captain America in the MCU will forever only be Steve Rogers.