In a world, both in entertainment and in reality, that seems like we’re all searching for a hero — it comes as no surprise that fans are spending a lot of time with superheroes and villains across multiple realms and mediums, researching what makes them great and what contributes to their demise.
One such example has just surfaced on Reddit, where one fan recently posted a well-researched and documented theory on the secret ingredient in Captain America‘s super-soldier serum.
Captain America resembles hope for many fans, and while his story had its ups and downs, he was simply a kid from Brooklyn who wouldn’t (and couldn’t) sit by idly while his country needed him. So a super-soldier serum helped him become all that he wasn’t physically, and a Reddit user is asking if we may know what secret ingredient helped Steve Rogers become America’s greatest patriot.
User LogicDog suggests that the Heart-Shaped herb native to Wakanda is, in fact, the missing ingredient used in the original experiment on Steve Rogers and subsequently not added in later attempts to replicate Cap. Could the herb be the secret ingredient, and where is its ability capped as far as bringing back a hero we know and love?
As MCU fans know, Sam Wilson has taken over the role of Captain America. Disney Plus series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sees both Wilson and James “Bucky” Barnes navigating a realm without their best friend and hero Steve Rogers and the discourse that comes along with that — not just in the world but within their relationship.
Of course, Wilson knows that Rogers handed him the shield for a reason, and many questioned why we’d bring Rogers back at all. The real focus of the discussion isn’t on getting him back as much as what made his becoming possible in the first place. What made his serum the one that worked.
The entire theory can be found by hitting the link above, but we’ve highlighted some of the critical points for you down below.
First, the user shares similarities between the powers of the Wakandan heart-shaped herb and the super-soldier serums. Of course, their increased strength and resistance to cold are noted first. Super soldiers and The Black Panther, as MCU fans are well aware, are powerful while not all are as strong as Steve and T’Challa, as the poster notes.
They also mention an increased aversion to cold and use the quote from T’Challa himself, stating he “never freezes.” Plus, we all remember that Black Panther scene that had us gasping in the theater.
Of course, there are differences between the herb and the serum, and the Reddit user shares those as well. This user doesn’t leave anything out, from how they enter the body to how they leave it and even the strength and color differences.
The user also shares that the Vibranium shield and super-soldier serum were introduced after a trip to Africa, specifically “deepest Africa.” They also point out that if deepest Africa is a place near Wakanda, the events of the Black Panther film that broke our hearts may not have truly ended the possibility of something quite special still existing.
Before ending their post, the fan also shares other instances within the Marvel realm where other serums and enhancers resemble both the super-soldier serum and the heart-shaped herb. This allows for more argument that the secret ingredient is necessary to achieve the level of greatness Captain America did; and the errors come from not having that particular herb.
What do you think about this fan theory? Let us know in the usual place below!
