Aaaaaaah, here we are... After 17 years... Let's finally talk about our MCU Leader!
Disclaimer, I will spoil EVERYTHING, read at your own risk!
I'm SOOOOOO excited about this post you have no idea, I waited forever to be able to talk about this and BOI I have a lot to say. It's gonna be clumsy.
I'm not gonna repeat what I said about nerfing him and removing a huge part of his writing, I talked about here already.
Let's talk design first.
Of course I'll have to spoil his look for that so here you go :
The very cool thing with Sam is he has A SHIT TONS of design so you can do pretty much whatever the fuck you want as long as he's green (and it's not even that true 'cause you have a Red Leader) and his brain is visible or his head is big.
They took the McFarlane way with this Sam, thus the disgusting brain and spot on his head and neck but also the white "blind" eye.. It is a clear hommage to the Peter David era, during which Sam had white eyes. Why one then. Well I guess to keep that bright green one, to give him a more "wounded" look also. To me it looks great this way, I deeply, deeply love it.
No mustache nor goatie sadly. But I love the deformed head with these weird, like, I don't know how to name that in English (in French either honestly), "gamma bubbles" on his head. The "blind" left white eye was a great addition to properly make a callback to that while keeping the glowing green eyes (I don't CAAAAARE how he looks like, green glowing eyes are hot and I like that his blind white eye still glow in the dark, in a different way).
I wouldn't have mind if they stayed with their first choice but let's be real, would his whole goal and speech about being a monster and having his life taken away from him would hit the same way if he looked like my math teacher?
The brain seems more developped on the right, even invading his neck and if you now how brain works, you know in most case numeration is made through the right lobe, probably a coindence but I like that it matches this idea considering his obsession with pourcents.
And if you wonder why his white eye is the left one, it's most likely because that's where he was wonded, left part of his forehead, above that eye and that little wound is where he got infected by Bruce's blood so it probably destroyed his eye in the process. His eyes (or more like his unique green eye) glow the same way Norton's Hulk/Bruce eyes glow. Ruffalo's version only glow during the process of Hulking out, it doesn't stay like this.
Tim Blake Nelson compared Sam to Icarus, saying that he flew too close to the Sun and burnt himself (he kinda did this to himself, basically). He was talking about his mutation but I'll go deeper and say his mutation does look like he was burnt. It follows similar codes if you will. I see it as a giant burn (so I kinda headcanon, but it's just me, that it must still be painful, like a burn). I don't know if it was the intention but to me it makes sense, as a metaphor for the rage that is consuming him.
I'm really obsess with his eyes, it gives him some kind of odd-eyed cat energy that I crave a lot and I can't wait to draw that. I really wouldn't mind if it was incorporate in upcoming comics he's in (if he ever comeback this decade LOL).
A lil' touch that I like a lot also are his very blue-ish dark circles, it reminds of his Trimpe/Buscema era (though his dark circles were more yellow, not blue/purple) it also reminds me of Tales to Astonish and to me his MCU design is a mix of both McFarlane and Tales to Astonish.
But most importantly, his very yellow-ish green skin and blue dark circles reminds me of my own arts and designs and there's nothing nicer, as an artist, to have your headcanons being validated in canon
Even his mutation was comics accurate. Because yes, it's mentioned how Ross kept irradiating Sam more and more, uping the gamma dosage instead of helping him and removing it and so giving him a second mutation (my lil' guess is they used the Bruce blood Sam cloned in Incredible Hulk, to add to the irony of his self-inflicted misery). In comics his second bald mutation was also induced by a second mutation and most importantly a too high dosage of gamma, like here.
Also I'm not sure but his hoodie looked kinda dark purple, which could be a callback to his purple era (before he went orange).
Comics Sam and MCU Sam are different in their origin and motivations, basically comics Sam had nothing so he saw his mutation as a salvation. MCU Sam had everything so he sees it as a curse and it's an incredibly interesting approach.You basically have the tragic emo version of Sam and I love him so much lol, it's nice having a version of Sam exploring his desire for normality and giving us a Leader who actually shows how he hates being one. I often wondered how they would make him interesting and respectful but also tragic without Hulk/Bruce. Sam is a character full of ressent and bitterness, a rage born of abuses in comics so it was the direction to take. And they did and boi, he went through 16 years of daily tortures, no wonder he's incredibly upset. They did a very good job to bring his ressent, his anger, making us feel empathy for him even and kinda wanting for him to get his revenge (and honestly it feels kind of unfair that Ross got forgiveness, dude killed way more people than Sam lol). He's incredibly respectful to what Sam is about (hate) and to what he craves the most (love and acceptance). When Captain America uses Sam's computer and watches a video of him, you can not only spot the logo of the College where he was teaching as his wallpaper but you can also easily guess that he was a passionate and respected teacher and biologist. That's what he misses the most, teaching, for all these reasons. Because as a teacher he's able to share his passions, because as a teacher he can be loved and respected.
MCU Sam is about hate and that makes him a very respectful Sam.
His personality, also, he has sass, he has a few good lines. The way he talks, everything he said, the way he moves, it was typical Sam. His overly confidence in his gamma brain, also, which is kind of what had him loose his bet, like in comics. Sam Wilson surprised him because even if the odds were at like 89% of him letting go, so not 100%, Sam couldn't bring himself to believe in that 11%, I mean, he did prepare himself just in case, which is why he's so powerful, because he does take failure into consideration and prepare to it but sometimes he does NOT believe it will happen, just like how Ross' betrayal hurt him even more because even if it was "written in probabilities" he still wanted to believe it would happen since he helped him anyway. He's still very human and just like his comics self his own feelings and his own needs take the best out of his calculs. He wants to believe, basically.
I knew Tim Blake Nelson would do well and he did! There's two specific moment when he was so Sam and it felt soooooo satisfying, near the end when he meets Sam Wilson one last time and tells him "you ruined my grand final so now I'm forced to turn myself in" and he sounds incredibly annoyed but in a kinda childish way. It really reminded me of that moment in Incredible Hulk 345
And of course when he's on the phone with Ross, trying to trigger his Hulk and his voice just gets more and more excited and angry and when it fails he just violently shake out of rage and scream. It's not much for you maybe but for me who mostly follow (lol) Sam through comics, it's very nice seeing and earing his rage, like, animated at last.
We also had his insecurities and I love how they used his mutation for that considering his past life seemed pretty comfortable.
And I love, I love how he clings to his past. I said it in one of my trailer analysis when I spotted his lil' certificate that the movie focus on to reveal his name how cool it would be if it means Sam is clinging to his past, having regret about it, I love that so much (kinda unrelated but I love how he decorated his lab the way it looked like where he worked in Incredible Hulk, same aesthetic, same mess). His lab is very dark-ish, no mirror, or anything, it's obvious he's avoiding his own reflexion, hidding himself from the light also like some damned figure (that's very Immortal Hulk-ish of him!). Like I said not so long ago :
And yes, that's how it felt like (at least to me). That's why his grotesque design is amazing. "he looks awful", yes! Exactly, that's the point. It's not only comics accurate, it also perfectly serves the plot, it's not just some kind of fanservice to please nerds like me, it has a purpose. Same with the white eye, it could just be an hommage to McFarlane and it would have been cool already but it makes him look wounded, hurt. It makes it obvious he went through shit and physically suffered like Hell even without him talking about it (and it looks insanely good), as I said above he's painful to look at because you can only imagine the pain he went through through his revulsive face. And I'm glad Marvel didn't pull a dumbass joke during his reveal, just a surprise on people's face (especially Joaquin) and a "damn". Marvel treated his mutation as a real curse and not as a funny haha joke. I liked that a lot, they were respectful to him and it was important for the empathy we would feel for him to keep it serious and to not joke about it to lighten the mood. You have to look at him and think "damn" and understand his anger.
Speaking of anger, Tim Blake Nelson's acting not only gave him a very empathic side, it also gave him a very cool badass aura through his lack of emotion (and BOI how hard it is to portray an emotionless character) ESPECIALLY if you know how genuinely overly excited he used to be.
He had the perfect balance between Sam's tantrums and annoyance and the cold calculator computer mind Ross turned him into. It made him very tragic but also very threatening. You can ear Sam's rage and ressent through Tim Blake Nelson's voice.
His entrance was very cool and I really can't wait to be able to share it. The way he just stood in the dark and lurked in it for a while before showing himself was very horror coded and I crave that. I don't know if it was meant to be this way but it really was horror game coded when you think of it. Sam (Wilson) look at a file that brings lore, he turns around and there's some creepy-ass shadow standing in front of the door LOL.
The horror wasn't only in his look but in the way he was staged. And yes, it's important because Hulk characters were all meant to be horror character and so does Sam. His very first reveal in Tales to Astonish was meant to be kinda gross.
There's also a huge focus on the chair he sits on when he reveals himself, to reinforce the realisation that what Sam went through was torture. That's the chair where Ross kept irradiating him, it's literally a torture chair.
The giant-ass lock on his door looks like an eye also. Maybe that's also why he has one eye left, the eye of clairvoyance. The symbol of him seeing everything including invisible things through calculations (which is funny 'cause I often draw him with eyes in the background and shit)
He showed himself when he started mentionning what he went through to Captain America and so, through Cap, to us. That's when he becomes more than a monster, that's when you see that he's a human and most importantly a victim.
Let's talk about comics inspiration while we're at it. It's obvious now that, as I predicted lol, the main inspiration is Peter David/McFarlane. But of course it's not the only one, I suspect a bit of Hulkverine as well because Camp Echo One reminds of the Shadow Base remote facility 438 he's in in the beginning before breaking out. It's kinda similar. Also this panel highly reminds me of the post credit scene and it's one of the most famous Sam pic online so it wouldn't be a stretch to thing it inspired, even inconsciously people behind it :
The moment when he says "I'm the hero" would have make more sense if they didn't cut off the parts where he's also after the US Gov (my only Sam disappointment) but it's still here and it could very well be used if we ever see him again (I'll go back to this soon). It's an important part of Sam actually, having him think he's doing the right thing even if humanity doesn't comprehend it. Just like starting a World War is a very common Sam plot.
The way Ross irradiated Sam to use him also reminds me of their Thunderbolts era, Ross also used and abused him and once Sam got his memory back all he cared about was to take his revenge on Ross. Also that moment he has his hood on.
Surprisingly, I also see part of Hulk and the agents of SMASH here, accidental most likely, Sam trying to have Ross becoming a hated criminal while calling himself the hero is basically the plot of this show so who knows.
Worth mentionning that Fury's big week is no longer canon, even if what happened to Sam afterward seems a bit similar (it's actually WORST than Fury's Big Week). BUT the Incredible Hulk movie book by Peter David most likely is because it is mentionned that Sam had a youtube channel in which you could see his conferences and some of his classes and you see one of these vidéos saved on his computer.
Sam using Mr Blue song was a cool hommage to his name in Incredible Hulk (which is an hommage to Jones' Incredible Hulk run) and it's conveniant that it's an old sont because it makes a lil' callback to Immortal Hulk, in which he was also based on an old song.
Some lyrics also conveniantly matches MCU Sam's story
I said it in my review but there's a few time that I was actually surprised, even destabilized by things Sam did or said that were so specific to things I point about him but never see in comics or just deduce from lil' hints and plot hole (so headcanon, not canon) that I was just "how????". I know they didn't read anything I wrote OF COURSE and that's the thing, they understood him so well, honestly this Sam is something I could have wrote. For exemple that part he says he has no joy in killing Cap's friend but has to, it's something I often tried to explained about Sam, that he doesn't feel joy in killing but do it because he's "pragmatic", he only cares about science, so whatever collateral damage it brings, only the result matters (even if the collateral damage is himself, as shown when he gives himself in for the sake of his plan).
Really I was "hah! Typical Sam!" literally everytime he shows up. I already know most of his quote by heart through ONE single view lol, that's how hard it hit me.
As I said my only complain was to have his "reset America" part removed but otherwise he was perfect. He was perfect physically (loves when he just stand here and does nothing when people turn around, it's creepy af) even if I wouldn't mind a mustache, he was perfect in his writing (his emotionless speeches, his rage) and Tim Blake Nelson pulled such a great acting. I don't know what haters think about him and I couldn't care less about it, I'm not gonna check that but I can tell you he's a very great Leader and if he wasn't I wouldn't be talking about him right now. There's a few Leader writing that I personally don't agree with, I just don't talk about it because it's not interesting talking about stuff you don't care about. So if I tell you this Sam is peak, then he is.
You can dislike, of course, but it means you dislike his character as a whole, or just don't know him. Which is fine.
I don't really mind the "casual" outfit, feels like Zemo to me and honestly I wouldn't be surprised if he ever comes back again. I highly doubt it because I guess Marvel would rather focus on mutants and stuff but it would be very possible and I already see so many way to reintroduce him, taking the occasion to give him a more comics accurate outfit (like they did with Zemo), a name drop ('cause when you think of it, he was never, ever called the Leader, technically he's NOT just yet), a fight with Bruce even, I mean, think about it. Bruce Banner will see what happened to him, BECAUSE of him in fact (like his comics self! What a coincidence!). How do you think he will react to that? And most importantly, how do you think Sam will feel about Ross being forgiven by heroes, Bruce having a good life and being loved while he is a monster, locked in, hated and all of that for what? For helping Bruce, for having empathy for him and for trying to reveal Ross' nefarious plan. And yes, he was too bold and he crossed the line by himself but personally, if I was him I would be incredibly pissed off toward Bruce too. And when you think of it, he did win, Ross ended up in the Raft with him. Could be part of his plan. In fact Sam ploting through high security prisons to study his surounding is INSANELY common in his writing and not only 616 comics (my boy literally sent himself to HELL for his studies, that's how insane for science he is) so who knows, maybe he's after a bigger fish and Ross was merely the first step in that, that's what Sam is about after all, every failure is a step forward.
That's the great thing with his ending, he could stay here forever and wait for his death (as he's aware of the upcoming Secret Wars and end of the multiverse) and never shows up ever again or it could be part of his plan and we could see him later. Or we could even have him in Secret Wars in fact with Sam Wilson asking for help or whatever (wouldn't be the first time Sam helps enemies to save his own ass or protect something he cares about and he does care about this World). Everything is possible so whatever the future hold.
MCU Sam is the perfect balance between free interpretation and respectful adaptation. He's a totally different Sam, giving us some part of him that were barely explored in comics, while being incredibly respectful to who he is. He is cold but full of emotions. He's smart and a bit blinded by it. He is sassy and kinda playful as well. The way he bets with Cap, the way he tells him "don't be boring", when Cap tells him he has a different kind of humor. The way he talks to people "President Ross, I miss your little visits", manipulate Ross to have Hulk out. It's just Sam, what can I say. He just has so much potential, I really don't want to be greedy but how I wish they could bring him back again...
I probably have more to say but I watched it only once a few days ago so I'm probably forgetting stuff that I'll go back to on BlueSky or whatever once I have the Blu-Ray in a few months but what I can say so far is how much I love him and I feel so bad for him, I already have a lot of love and empathy for Sam but I understand him, he's easy to identify to even if you don't go through 16 years of torture without seeing the Sun, you can understand how he feels and you just want him to win. Maybe that's why he's so disturbing, because he's incredibly human and even if he's the villain, it's hard to call him that.
This is the best Sam interpretation I ever saw outside of his 616 comics. Better than EMH because unlike it, it took a lot of liberties. His origin story and motivations are different and yet, yet he is with and yet he behaves like Sam.
And it's apparently an unpopular opinion but I do not want to see what I already know better than everyone else again on screen, I want to discover something new and to spend years making new theories and analysies that will lead to nowhere and develop my own headcanons and all. Sure I was able to predict a few things but I still had a lot of surprises and I loved that, I love discovering a new Sam, a very tragic one. I'm really happy right now.
If I had to write him in a two hours movie about him with such a chaotic production I'd probably come with something very similar.
"I want to see MCU Sam as the Leader" was the thought that kept me alive for 17 years and I couldn't feel more grateful for Tim Blake Nelson for putting all his heart in this role and for taking him so seriously. It's the role that kept me alive and he was up to the job. A two hours movie isn't enough to properly unleash Sam's potential but through Tim's interview I got to know him better.
I really wanna go back to theater to see him again haha and I couldn't be happier that the World is discovering my boy(s) through this movie.
Enjoy~
