So. Y’all know that compass the MCU had Steve carry around? The one with Peggy’s picture in it? Because she was supposed to be framed as his ‘true north’ or something, despite them knowing each other for a relatively short time?
Well. Can y’all imagine how much more meaningful it would’ve been if they had used someone Steve actually knew for the majority of his life? Someone he looked up to in the comics and is the reason he is the man he is?
What if the picture in the compass was of Sarah Rogers instead?
As I said, in the comics, she was his true north and always taught him to stand up for himself and for others, regardless of what the world had to throw at him. She taught him to be kind and good and never gave up on him, even though she had all the cards stacked against her. Like. She was an Irish Catholic immigrant in 1920’s America and a single mother of a heavily disabled child. She had to have been even more stubborn than Steve to make it through. And, of course, she must’ve loved Steve with all her heart and Steve obviously must’ve loved her, too.
So, imagine Steve packing what little he has before he ships out to Camp Lehigh and making sure he grabs the one and only picture he has of his ma. It’s seen better days for sure, but she never liked getting her picture taken, so it’s all he has. Imagine him keeping it close by and making sure it’s extra hidden from the other soldiers once it’s clear that they have it out for him. Imagine him pulling it out after he’s got the serum, tracing his fingers over her face and wondering if she’d even recognize him now. Imaging him getting his hands on the compass itself and immediately putting the picture inside, grateful to finally have a safer place for it.
Imagine him, finally, on that plane. Bucky is gone. He feels he has nothing left to live for now, so the solution is obvious. Maybe he could jump out and live before the plane crashes, but he simply doesn’t have it in him. This is the end of the line. But, despite all of that, he’s still scared. So, he pulls out the compass and leaves it open on the console. Seeing his ma’s face is an even greater comfort than he could’ve predicted.
“Wait for me, ma…Bucky. I’m coming. Wait for m—,”
(If you want extra psychic damage, imagine that the compass did not survive the crash. Imagine that Steve’s one and only photo of his ma is gone.)
