"There has never been another Steve Rogers, has there?"
Well, Zemo. You're wrong.
There is another superhuman who hasn't been corrupted by the serum. In fact, you are looking at him right now. Bucky.
When Zemo said this line I realized this narrative felt off somehow. Because going by what he said before about all superhumans being supremacists and inevitably ending up down that path, it would mean Bucky is like Karli, or like all the other "corrupted enhanced individuals". And there's nothing farther away from the truth. This may get a bit long so bear with me.
After Bucky was first captured and tested on back in Azzano, he already had a version of what would become the super-soldier serum. It was the one thing that allowed him to survive the fall. If we take Zemo's words as true, it means Bucky had to have been already different (personality-wise) ever since then. So, did he become a machine of hatred and jealousy? did he start killing people left and right? No. You know what he did? He followed his best friend and kept fighting alongside him against the nazis. He may have had to kill back then, but it was war so what are we expecting. Until the moment he fell off the train, there was no indication of something "evil" lurking inside him.
I have an issue with the way certain storylines regarding the Winter Soldier have been dealt with. Starting with the "make amends" notebook. You make amends when you've wronged someone. But Bucky's situation is different. Even if it was him physically doing this stuff, it was beyond his control. HYDRA is the one and only responsible for those horrible things, and yet no one so far (not even his therapist) has actually told him that, or at least reminded him of it. The only person who has ever said this to Bucky was Steve, back in Civil War. He even owns the insult "my people" as if he had truly been part of HYDRA willingly, even if he acknowledges he was captured, he still sees himself as a villain. Those killings were forced upon him. And still, we see him making amends for something he had no say on.
The single moment Bucky regained a small piece of his will, he saved someone. He saved Steve. The first moment he was able to be himself again, even if everything was confusing and scary, he still jumped after this man and pulled him from the river. Flashforward two years, in Bucharest. Is Bucky doing something heartless and evil like going on a murder spree? has he joined any fascist group? No. he's buying plums, living in a small apartment room, and writing his memories on tons of notebooks, trying to cling on to the only thing that reminds him he was, he is good.
And now, with Zemo's comments implying Bucky too is corrupted by the serum... it doesn't sit well with me. I don't know if this is Zemo being Zemo, or if this is the actual approach taken by the writers. Although I'm inclined to believe the latter, given that no one has said anything against it nor corrected Bucky or Zemo about it.
Which I find troubling. Because Bucky isn't bad. He wasn't corrupted by the serum. He's still this loyal, nerdy man troubled by his past. He has never done anything evil by his own decision. Hell, the first thing he did after running away from the countries trying to kill him was to ask to be put on cryo again. "I can't trust my own mind. So until they find a way to get this stuff out of my head I think going back under is the best thing. For everybody." And even in this episode, when he asks Ayo if she's sure about this. She replies with "I won't let you hurt anyone." Because that's what he feared the most. Hurting those around him.
So, I honestly hope this was just Zemo messing with his head again. And I hope the writers manage to acknowledge this before the finale. Because no, Steve wasn't the only superhuman who remained true to himself after the serum. Bucky is too.
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