If you are a hardcore fan of the MCU then you are probably familar with the fan “ship” of Steve Rogers and James “Bucky” Barnes. Or if you’re more of a Star Wars fan, then you are aware of the undeniable connection between Finn and Poe Dameron in the newer Disney franchise. These pairings are fan favorites because of the interactions between the characters within each franchise. While neither of these ships are romantic canonically, fans have run full speed ahead with edits, fan art and even fan-fiction based on these pairings.
It’s no secret that introducing characters who identify within LBGTQIA+ community in these franchises would result in pushback from fans. Even though, in the Marvel Comics these characters identify within the LGBT community. So why do these characters have so much chemistry?
I recently saw some discourse on TikTok from creators discussing this exact topic, and it got me thinking. In our society, male friendships are often mistaken for romance because the male writers of these films have never been able to distinguish romantic love from platonic love. Bucky and Steve are the perfect example of this.
Before Steve became Captain America, he was an easy target for bullying and abuse. Throughout this era, Bucky was always there to defend him when things got out of hand, as any good friend would. Once Bucky became the Winter Soldier, Steve did everything in his power to get his friend back from the clenches of Hydra. They have a history, they fought a war together, they fought each other, they found themselves again with the help from one another. They advocate for each other in ways that we see in female friendships all the time. (i.e. Christina Yang & Meredith Grey from Grey’s Anatomy) Sisterhood within television and film is often encouraged and even forced at times. Yet, once it becomes a strong relationship between two male characters, the only justification for that kind of dedication to your friend is romance.
Similarly, Finn and Poe Dameron have an undeniable chemistry from their very first meeting. Throughout the rest of the trilogy, they also advocate for one another in the same way and while they don’t necessarily have the same history and Steve and Bucky, it is evident that they seem like a little more than bros. I would even go as far to say that they have more chemistry than some of the canon romantic relationships within the sequels. Yet they are still “just friends”.
While I would love to see both of these pairings together canonically, I think the major reason for this is due to the writing of the characters. The men who write the screenplays for these movies, have themselves been unable to discern between romantic and platonic relationships, so it makes sense that this would be present in their writing. This isn’t particular to these male writers specifically, I would say that most men are unable to distinguish these feelings between romantic love and platonic love. This is in large part due to the stigma around men caring for each other due to the fear of appearing homosexual. Anytime two bros have a nice moment together, it is almost always followed by “no homo”. These moments are prevalent in film and TV as well.
While I certainly don’t think it’s a bad thing for fans to have this romance forward tunnel vision with their favorite male besties, I do think it stems from a larger issue within society, where male friendships are interpreted as more “acceptable” than queer romance in a large movie franchise.
