Why should Sam not take the Super Solider Serum?
From what I can tell in the movie, they seem to push the idea that Sam doesn’t need to take It, as being Captain America isn’t just about power and strength, but the person themselves.
Sam strengths aren’t that he can win in combat, but his empathy, leadership, etc
But what harm would It do? All of those qualities, mixed with the strength to take on powerful enemies seems like It would be no problem. Especially this new version
We have 9 characters who have used the serum
Steve
Red Skull
Bucky
Alexei
Isaiah
Bruce
Blonsky
Karli
Walker
We have 3 cases where the serum causes issues
Red Skull (original serum)
Bruce (flawed serum)
Blonsky (flawed serum)
But outside of those 3 cases, the serum has shown no real issues for anyone else
Steve obviously is the crown jewel of It, Bucky, Alexei, and Isaiah had different versions but show no signs of It effecting them negatively.
Karli’s issues come from her views and actions, there is nothing to suggest the serum causes her to do what she does
Walker shows signs that it’s effecting him, but more physically struggling and his mental struggles of having the mantle. His one “bad moment” seems like something he’d do regardless, he just had the power to cause damage he did. Once that episode ends he shows no signs of It effecting him
So why shouldn’t Sam? It’s presented like he’s making an admirable and correct choice. Even if we want to say it still enhances the users personality, is Sam not shown to be similar to Steve?
Sam strengths aren’t that he can win in combat, but his empathy, leadership, etc
But what harm would It do? All of those qualities, mixed with the strength to take on powerful enemies seems like It would be no problem. Especially this new version
We have 9 characters who have used the serum
Steve
Red Skull
Bucky
Alexei
Isaiah
Bruce
Blonsky
Karli
Walker
We have 3 cases where the serum causes issues
Red Skull (original serum)
Bruce (flawed serum)
Blonsky (flawed serum)
But outside of those 3 cases, the serum has shown no real issues for anyone else
Steve obviously is the crown jewel of It, Bucky, Alexei, and Isaiah had different versions but show no signs of It effecting them negatively.
Karli’s issues come from her views and actions, there is nothing to suggest the serum causes her to do what she does
Walker shows signs that it’s effecting him, but more physically struggling and his mental struggles of having the mantle. His one “bad moment” seems like something he’d do regardless, he just had the power to cause damage he did. Once that episode ends he shows no signs of It effecting him
So why shouldn’t Sam? It’s presented like he’s making an admirable and correct choice. Even if we want to say it still enhances the users personality, is Sam not shown to be similar to Steve?
Commentaires
Red Skull was the original original serum, pre Steve, and was known to not be complete. Bruce messed up his serum, causing his issues. The only one who got the serum thinking it’d work is Blonsky. And his was based on Bruce’s failed work
The new serum is based off Isaiah’s blood, and shown to be fine for both the flag smashers and Walker. Sam has this info available to him
was like "whose hocking their weird miracle drugs in the marvel sub"
Especially if we take the whole “It enhances personality” idea they started with?
I could see some drastic event that causes him to lose faith in himself. Like not being able to save a bunch of friends from death. That could sending him down a dark path that tempts the serum. I'd be disappointed if Sam did it, but perhaps that disappointment is part of the sacrifice made for him to resolve a major problem.
Feels like they just replaced the serum with his suit, so he can still do all the hero stuff they want him to
But when you think about it, Sam beat the Hulk without throwing a single punch.
Sam is either smarter than that, or has some dark secrets we haven't seen yet. Either way, both are stupid choices narratively.
Remember that even before the abomination blonsky was injected with serum implied to be derived from the same as Steve’s.
He was relatively stable if not a bit macho tendencies before the first dose.
then got high on the boost, and the abomination form came from trying to combine what was already in him with a hulk blood cocktail.
Sam might have the valid worry that issues he can control currently might be less manageable with the serum. He also might just not want to deal with needing to work around the enhanced physique all the time. He can take off the suit and be normal.
The serum is forever a division between him and his fellow man.
Sam isn't John. Sam is a good man. Just like Steve. So it really doesn't feel like there's any good, in-universe reason for Sam not to have made the choice.
The MCU doesn’t really portray it as a flaw, but that’s sort of how I see it.
Isaiah is because of the governments treatment of him, Bucky was under control of hydra, Alexei never found purpose past being a hero for Russia, Walker was a result of choices he made.
The 3 I mentioned all had something wrong with their serum when they took It, and we know the new serum doesn’t have those flaws
Same with Karli and the flag smashers. They are all perfectly fine after taking It, their struggles are due to other reasons
Than being said I still think he’d have a similar reaction regardless of taking It or not, the serum just gave him the strength to actually attack them
And as Erskine said, "bad becomes worse".
If Walker didn’t take the serum, and was in that situation with Lamar, do you think he acts differently? Maybe he can’t catch up to the guy or take him 1v1, but I don’t feel like the serum effects his choices there, just his ability
The way thunderbolts presents the watching his son thing, It feels more like him struggling to deal with the consequences of what he did, not him being unsafely aggressive
He views the shield as a status, that he’s above people because he’s Captain America
But again, take away the serum and put him in that situation still. I think he acts the exact same way he did with the serum
Maybe the serum enhances It but It doesn’t cause him to randomly have that rage
And they have told us over and over how great a man Sam is, so why would It cause him similar issues?
Could It be argued that it’d be fine if he hadn’t taken It and then immediately went Into action?
But to me, I think it's more about that HE doesn't need it. I think his gift is communication and empathy, and I think he's a better person than Steve honestly. Steve is like trying to beat the fuck out of people at the end of the day lol. But Sam is always trying to talk, is always on the defense, his flight powers are very evasive and less aggressive than other heroes powers.
So I think I just see it as Sam is there to lift people up, literally and figuratively. He doesn't need the serum to do that.
I think that’s a fair argument, and I don’t disagree. I guess what I’m looking for is why it’d be an issue if he did take It, since we don’t see why the new serum is such a negative thing
Besides just “he’s a good man and doesn’t need It to be a good man”
Even most of the comments here just seem to say he doesn’t feel he needs It, which doesn’t seem like a strong reasoning for It
And before you say anything, no it hasn't been said if Nat or Yelena has taken that wannabee Super Solider Serum from the comics yet, only Alexei and maybe Taskmaster.
Steve survives by borrowing Thor's power level. Should Sam have Mjolnir too?
I don’t disagree at all that it’s a better storyline to have him struggle with that, but the movie makes It where he had a choice and just chose not to because he doesn’t need It, yet then has him say himself it’d have helped him
It’s more that I don’t feel they’ve done a great job showing us why he shouldn’t do It
But some of the stuff they’re getting him to do while still being human is insane.
I understand vibranium can shock absorb but still
They clearly want him to have those feats, and we haven’t seen the negative side of It since Cap1, so why wouldn’t he?
We also haven’t seen if Sam has a dark side enough to where if he takes the serum it’d make him more prone to anger
With walker we were given little hints that he had a darker past and that’s why he is so much more angry with the serum
To make it make more sense they should’ve shown that Sam had a darker past to mirror walker and that he is making the choice not to take it for the sake of others
‘Steve gave people something to believe in. You give them something to aspire to.’
I think him not having the serum makes him more real. He knows he’s not ever going to achieve the ‘symbol’ status that Steve had as a legend, war hero. But as a normal human fighting to make a difference, he leads by example in a way Steve couldn’t.
That and also, hes a trained soldier. There’s probably a part of him that is afraid the serum will turn him into John walker.
I think it’s one of the things that makes his Cap different from Steve Rogers, and kind of fascinating.
Maybe this is me assuming too much, but serum or no serum I think Walker goes after the flag smashers either way. The serum just gave him the strength to not make It a challenge
Most of the negatives we’ve seen from Walker are him dealing with the consequences of his actions, not struggling with the serum
They’ve done nothing but tell us how great a man Sam is, so It feels like he’d be in the same boat as Steve was
Outside of Bruce’s failed experiment It seems anyone who wasn’t already a villain overall comes out fine from It
Sam might see those things in himself, and is (rightly I think) wary that he could end up in the same frame of mind and end up making the same kind of mistake. In CATWS he described the helpless feeling of watching his wingman get blown out of the sky.
That will leave a deep, dark mark on someone’s soul. The serum would make it deeper and darker.
Many had pointed out It may have led to higher adrenaline and lack of clarity, so I think that’s definitely fair
However since that moment they haven’t shown that side of him anymore.
If he had taken the serum and didn’t go right into combat would things be the same?
I’m just disappointed with how they’ve presented It so far. They could tell stories that show Sam’s strengths and what not.
Instead they have him go toe to toe with fighter jets, red hulk, etc
If Sam takes the serum, it will be a shortcut and a crutch. It will undermine the faith that Steve had in him. It will send a message that Captain America, as a concept, is bonded to the dependence of the serum. It cheapens the legacy of Steve by reframing it around the serum rather than only upon Steve's character.
We see the difference in someone like Walker vs someone like Sam. The way Walker views the shield vs the way Sam does
It’s in their actions as a hero and who they stand up for, an who they stand against.
The post isn’t supposed to be saying Sam needs It to be a hero, more of why he wouldn’t have It when we’ve seen that It doesn’t cause the issues It used to cause
Steve Rogers was a super soldier that wore the costume.
Sam Wilson is The Falcon that wears the costume.
There doesn't need to be a fixation on the serum. He can achieve success through other means, like vibranium-enhanced wings, or other things. The difference is that if he takes the serum, it adversely affects the legacy of the mantle; but if he uses any other means, he shifts the association of super soldier serum away from the legacy. He wants people to remember Steve for his virtue without people fixating on the serum.
Also, it's a big plot point that the pursuit to replicate the super soldier serum creates so many bad situations. He would be a hypocrite to try to fight that epidemic AND use it.
But the idea of taking It has been a big part of both the show and the movie, and I don’t think they’ve done a good job showing why he shouldn’t, doesn’t need to, or doesn’t want to
And I would agree with that last part if they didn’t decide It now works perfectly
Sam is just a guy. He's every person with the inclination to do good. He doesnt need German science or whatever, he just does the best with what he is able to get. He's a good man that also needs to put in the work to be a good soldier. That to me is more inspiring. He's not a symbol of good like Steve, he's a symbol of the good that you and I can do if we work hard enough.
Also, not for nothing, but the serum has been linked to America's terrible treatment of black people, as per Isaiah's experiences. Why would he want to utilize something that contributed to the torture and abuse of his friend and people? (This isnt even to mention Bucky's horrifying past with it.).
Like, a lot of people put this serum on a pedestal, but it's honestly a pretty horrific thing. Like read your own post, how many of the people on that list, in the long term overall, actually benefitted from that serum? Bruce and Blonsky are monsters, Bucky and Isaiah were tortured for years, it landed Red Guardian in prison after being used by a child trafficker, drove Walker and Karli crazy, and Red Skull is an actual fucking nazi. The serum is honestly kind of problematic and I don't really blame Sam for not wanting to attach his legacy to it
People keep overlooking this, but it's very important.
Maybe he never did
* **It wouldn't make that much of a difference** By the end of his tenure, Steve was fighting things like "the encroaching authoritarianism of the western surveillance state" and "Thanos", both of which were so much larger than him that he may as well have not had the Serum. He fought those things through cleverness, courage and "borrowing Thor's power level". Should Sam have Mjolnir too?
* **It's not his thing, his thing is that he flies**. At a certain point you're just asking why *every* super hero doesn't have the Serum, and it boils down to "not every superhero is the same." The scene in BNW over the Indian Ocean was a perfect example of what a Sam Wilson action scene can look like. His fight scenes a bit less so.
* **The serum has kind of an iffy history** it represents science making the Nazi Ubermensch a real thing. Steve's not a nazi, obviously, but a sizable chunk of his arc in the movies is his trying to make sure his existence isn't wielded by the US/SHIELD in nazi-adjacent ways. Sam's rejection of the serum is a rejection of the idea that you need to be a super-man to be an American hero.
Granted, Sam has a lot of problems as a character and his movie/show have a lot of problems, but this isn't one of them. It's always kind of been an instance of Marvel fans not understanding why they don't like something and just assuming its a power scale thing.
That could have been a good contrast especially coming from from F&TWS where Sam sees the serum as dangerous because it takes away choice and gives the wrong people too much power.
And The Leader would have been trying to prove that power is inevitable and that even someone like Sam can’t escape it.
Coulda been really cool...
Unless im misinterpreting Brave new world, Sam had the chance and chose not to
So I prefer we keep that vague "no one fully understands the side effects yet so it's risky".... even when we have several successfull cases.
They’ve really done nothing to suggest It is bad, we just had a movie where 3 of the people who have It are doing perfectly fine
I’d love if they showed Walker, Bucky, and Aleixie struggling with It, they just haven’t
We had brief moments of Walker struggling, and now he’s good to go and an overall good guy, alone with the other 2
My point is that in my eyes, they haven’t shown us why the serum is bad. They’re spent a show and a movie discussing if Sam should take It or not, and it’s viewed as a commendable decision by Sam to not take It
But they haven’t shown us why he shouldn’t, at least since cap 1 came out
Isaiah has some mental degradation.
Bucky didn't take it voluntarily (which is why Zemo didn't feel the need to kill him in F&WS), & he has enough issues from what Hydra did to his brain that whatever the serum would've done is nothing in comparison.
Personally I think he should have the serum. The whole point of captain America is trusting a noble person with great power.