the theory of bunnies and MCU and Maria/Steve

[tielan]

This is mildly out of left field, but I’m starting to wonder.

What if the Steve-pairing endgame in the movies really were Maria/Steve?

I mean, we have the look Maria gives him when he walks on deck in Avengers. Which Cobie was pretty coy about in a casual way when asked about it during the media blitz for Avengers. “Maybe she’s just looking him over – she’s heard a lot about him from Phil.”

Then there’s the way Steve trusts her in The Winter Soldier. She’s here to get them out, she’s got a plan, no doubts, no questions. He doesn’t even know that Fury’s alive at this point – his trust in Maria. Sure, Natasha could vouch for Maria but she’s kind of out of it with blood loss. And Sam and Maria have never met. So Steve makes the call, and the call is to trust Maria.

There is, of course, her protest when told to fire on the helicarriers with him on it. Shipper material all the way.

In Age of Ultron, there’s the easy interaction – she gives Steve the reports, even as she calls Tony ‘boss’. Rather than openly pointing out that Maria’s criticizing him as well as the twins, Steve draws the parallels between the Maximoffs and himself in a wryly humourous way. And Maria backs down with what effectively amounts to, “Well, your situation is different.”

There’s the fact that she’s wearing his jacket by the end of the party (also, note the colour of her dress: lady in red / is dancing with me) – Steve is wearing it at the start, Maria’s wearing it by the end.

Finally, in the scene after the Hulk/IronMan+Veronica fight, when Maria’s giving the status report from her room, there’s a WWII Captain America poster on the wall.

Yes, Sharon is slated as the love interest for Steve in Civil War. Or, at least, for Captain America. Does that Captain America have to be Steve, however? Sure, it is in the comics, but we’re way off the map for comics now, and here be monsters. What if the Captain America that Sharon ends up with is Bucky, when Steve dies in battle and Bucky takes up the shield.

Admittedly, I have personal prejudices in this direction. :D And I like the idea of Bucky finding Sharon – a tough broad, one he can respect, admire, and, yes, desire – and the two of them turning up in the middle of the Registration War as an already-integrated unit. (Plus Steve’s reaction to Bucky/Sharon would be “you’ve shacked up with my literal girl next door?” while Bucky’s reaction to Maria/Steve would be “Do you have a death wish? You always fall for the ones who shoot you down.”)

And in the post-credits end scene for Civil War, there’d be a table with a bunch of papers scattered over it, and a phone on the papers with the sound of tapping, while a screen nearby blares the news about the new Captain America, James Barnes, and how he’s integrating into the role with the Avengers. And then there’s a beep from the phone and a message from Fury: righteous man incoming. A moment later, someone knocks on the door, and the camera pans back to show Maria putting the phone down on papers labeled “Secret Avengers” and picking up and cocking her gun. But when she opens the door, a still-recovering Steve is standing there. “Heard you’re working on a new project. Got space for an old soldier?”

Far-fetched? Possibly. Maybe it’s all just ship-tease and shadows? That’s okay – I’m having a ball running with it. And maybe it’s just too complicated for Marvel Movies and their comic-book origins.

But Maria fits Steve’s type; it ties together all their interactions from the get-go (and the fact that Maria is the woman who’s had the most interaction with Steve on-screen after Peggy and Natasha, both of whom are not in the emotional running anymore); and pairing her up with Steve puts him back in the fight even if he’s no longer the figurehead.

And damn it would be fun!

Note: I have seen exactly one spoiler pic for Civil War, and I’m not paying attention to the spoilers anyway. So don’t tell me outright if I’m wrong. I know the odds, and I'm resigned to them.

(Just squee with me about how awesome this would be if they were actually doing it!)

:D

Comments

[monanotlisa]

I do like this idea! The way you draw it out makes sense; they have been shown to constantly work with each other, rely on each other, and clearly trust each other. We already know trust and shared experience is what Steve values most of all -- Maria covers all the bases (hehe, she actually does).

If Civil War were anything but a Russo Brothers movie I'd outright say there's zero chance of it; having a Maria/Steve endgame would require filmmakers to acknowledge that there can be more than one fleshed-out woman per movie. But the Russo Brothers (1) carefully decided against a romance, keeping Natasha as a free agent ;), (2) spent time to establish Sharon as strong and able to think independently, and (3) made sure we know that Maria is much more than Fury's second-in-command, so --

yeah, I'd totally squee if that's where they went in the end. I love Natasha/Steve and Steve/Sam best, as you know, but this is totally a Top 3 pairing.

[tielan]

Oh, I know it's unlikely in the extreme. And I'm pretty resigned to Steve/Sharon.

But it's a lot of fun to speculate, especially given all the cues, and the way Maria's been played out through the movies.