Bucky: I Have An Idea.

Bucky: I have an idea.

Tony: [turns in fear] Where did you come from?

Bucky: Tony, I’ve been walking next to you this entire time.

just curious why does everyone assume Bucky's serum (and also all the other serums) was inferior to Steve's? There's not any evidence to suggest this, aside from Erskine obviously not being the one to administer it. We don't know anything about what exactly is in Bucky, not for certain (we don't even technically know for certain if he had a serum at all it could come from something else Zola did, except maybe word of god) we can only make educated guesses that it's derived from Schmidt's blood, which is I think the same serum as Steve, Schmidt was just the wrong man.

The perfect serum would entirely depend on what you're after and there was a reason Erskine was after a Good Man for the soldier since who the person is that's taking the serum impacts massively on the end result. Most of the language used to describe Steve's serum relies on the context that "perfected" means the ideal soldier, not the strongest/quickest/sharpest sense etc.

I've always interpreted it that Steve is the ideal soldier, he's the right balance, even if he's not necessarily the strongest (Banner would be that, but just look at the Hulk, not exactly the goal) nor has the quickest reflexes (I'd argue this is Bucky, his reaction times seem quicker than most and he disappears from under Steve and other enhanced people's noses constantly). He's undeniably the Ideal, the best all rounder with minimal impact on his psyche, but I don't think that means the other serums (which there seems to be five variations that have created 'successful' ie surviving soldiers) are weaker.

They are probably "weaker" in the sense that they're not producing all rounders like Steve, but again it hinges entirely on what you're after, if you're after the strongest then you get the Hulk, but if you're after the best senses like sight, smell, hearing etc. you might get another variation coming out on top.

The serums are just like any other tools, the best is defined by what you need it for.

this hit me like a truck

“Looks like breaking all those laws is treating you well.”

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER (2021) dir. Kari Skogland

lol people are running out of things to say about the trailer why is there a whole article about how revolutionary the vibranium arm in the dishwasher is for the broader universe lore on water safe prosthesis in the marvel universe when Bucky took a whole ass dive into the potomac river in the first movie he appears with a metal arm in

the dishwasher is a comic relief bit I don't think it's intended to be that deep

That is literally not what I fucking meant and you know it. I meant Sam did one occasional nice thing because that's who he is as a person and I specified that he is not Bucky's therapist and isn't his job to do that, so don't go there

(I only just watched the show yesterday before I posted this, but holy shit three years of that bullshit?? Sorry for coming off strong there, I don't blame you then if people have been that fucking dense for three years)

things about recovery and therapy that TFATWS did right: Sam, who has 10+ years as a PTSD and trauma therapist with lived experience of his specialist field, notifying Bucky when his symptoms are presenting or worsening (such as when Bucky starts staring off, an extremely common symptom of PTSD) or deescalating situations wherein Bucky has been triggered (the notebook, most interactions with Zemo...), while still framing it all as light hearted jokes appropriate for their type and level of rapport (i.e that of a colleague/friend rather than a clinical therapist)

things about recovery and therapy that TFATWS got wrong: basically everything else. they didn't frame it as a critique of veteran psychological care like they could have, they framed it as ha ha no bullshit therapist lady makes comic relief scenes at the expense of her client's health

(I also can't be the only one who thinks Bucky was assigned the wrong speciality for his therapy, his trauma aligns closer with survivors of cult conditioning, kidnappings/hostage situations, abuse and/or sexual assault than the strictly war veteran angle the show took. Not all therapy is the same and not all trauma requires the same kind of care, and just because Bucky was a soldier does not necessarily mean the kind of trauma he experienced and the care he needs is tied to that.)