For Your Shipping Consideration: Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson are Super Cute
On your left indeed
I know. It’s heresy to suggest Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America, could ever love anyone as much as he loves Bucky Barnes or Peggy Carter. This is very much a Less Popular Fandom Ship, one consigned to an eternity of fewer fanfics, fewer edits, and a tag full of unrelated or other ship related material. The plague of the less popular ship is very real, and affects more members of your fandom than you think. #TheMoreYouKnow
But don’t let the lack of popularity fool you. Steve/Sam is one of those wonderful OTPs that hits you from the moment they meet-cute in The Winter Soldier. Sam is on a run and Steve keeps lapping him; each time he says “on your left,” Sam gets more and more frustrated until he stops running and Steve finally works up the courage to talk to the cute guy that he’s probably been running past for weeks. Come on, Steve’s got to be a little shy with the cuties, we all saw The First Avenger.
As it turns out, they have so much in common! Both are veterans! Sam doesn’t treat Steve like a fossil or like he has no idea what the modern world is! They understand each other on a level that very few other MCU characters understand Steve. It makes sense that Steve would instantly trust him to shelter him and Natasha as they’re on the run from the government and SHIELD, and that he’d want Sam as his wingman (and boyfriend. Again, this is a shipping manifesto folks).
Sam immediately rises to the occasion as an honorary Avenger. Let’s face it, as underrated as Steve/Sam is as a ship, Sam Wilson is also incredibly underrated. He’s a complete and utter badass who rises to the occasion to help Steve save the world without a second thought. He’s also compassionate; when Rhodey is injured in Civil War, he tries to pull him out of a free fall and lets himself be arrested because he was trying to make sure that Rhodey was okay.
His loyalty as a friend (or as more) to Steve is also powerful and shows the kind of person that both characters are. Steve never asks Sam to sacrifice everything, but Sam believes in Steve so much that not only does he risk his life to help him stop Hydra in The Winter Soldier, but he also puts everything on the line to help Steve rescue Bucky in Civil War. And he’s still fighting by Steve’s side in Infinity War, though we were robbed—robbed!—of Steve reacting to his demise via snap.
If you’re still not on the Steve/Sam train, let’s just flashback to the end of The Winter Soldier, where Steve wakes up in the hospital. Marvin Gaye plays in the background. Sam is at his side, reading. Steve softly says “on your left,” and Sam looks up and smiles. Not a bro smile. A lowkey flirty smile.
Face it folks, we were deprived of the Steve/Sam party when Marvel changed Captain America 3 from We Up All Night to Get Bucky to Superhero Tantrums: The Movie.
Unfortunately, the lure of Stucky is too strong, and both Chris Evans’ and Anthony Mackie’s contracts are up at the end of the next Avengers movie. At least they’ll go out together, right Marvel?? And we’ll always have that sweet, sweet fanfiction to help us get through the long, bitter nights without our Cap and Falcon, though if Mackie’s contract is renewed and we get Sam taking up the mantle of Cap to honor his man then I will not complain in the slightest (especially if it means we get more Mackie and Sebastian Stan interviews).
So go forth and spread the good word, shippers. Also give Sam some credit because he’s as integral to Team Cap as the rest of the crew is, despite being just as awesome. Come on Twitter. Step up.
(Image: Marvel Studios)
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