In the buildup to The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and the wake of WandaVision, there has never been a better moment to review the characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe fans are about to see in a whole new light, and for Bucky Barnes, that means going back to the beginning.
Although he's better known as the Winter Soldier, Bucky was one of the earliest characters in the MCU and has had an incredible journey. So, with that in mind, let's look at the character's most iconic MCU moments -- ones that without Hydra brainwashing, fans won't forget anytime soon.
First impressions matter, and it's hard to ask for a better introduction to Bucky's character than Captain America: The First Avenger. The film starts with a preview of the threat overseas from the menacing Red Skull before turning to the plucky Steve Rogers grappling with his inability to join the war effort. When he confronts a bully in an alley behind a movie theater, the scrawny Steve gets overpowered, and that's where his friend Bucky steps in to save the day.
The moment is a great introduction to Bucky's character. Uniformed and ready to set sail soon, the familiar friends not only establish their relationship in the scene but also build the foundation for their growth together. These are the kind of warm moments fans later learn Bucky remembers when he thinks back to a more innocent time before his trauma.
When death is as impermanent as it is for superheroes, characters often receive more than one introduction, and Bucky is no exception. Following a heroic sacrifice in his debut film, Bucky was thought lost to the ages, but his salvation and corruption at the hands of Hydra served as the main story to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In order to tease out the reveal that Bucky survived, he appears as a hyper-capable masked assassin when he first shows up in the film, granting him a memorable reintroduction.
After Nick Fury narrowly escaped a hit squad attacking him in his vehicle, the Winter Soldier shows up to take out the super spy's flashy tank with a single hit. Stepping into the street with a special gun in tow that fired a magnetic explosive onto the undercarriage of the vehicle and then casually stepping out of its way as it flipped through the air, it was clear this was a threat more than capable of providing a challenge. Every moment with the Winter Soldier thereafter only further underlined Bucky's dark and deadly new abilities.
Bucky's character arc took on dramatic developments over the course of the MCU as Steve fought to redeem his friend. With decades of brainwashing layered into his mind, it was painful for Bucky to peel back those layers and rediscover who he truly was. Watching Steve engage with that conflict could be heart-wrenching, and if there's one thing the MCU excels at, it's combining such moments with thrilling action. Few scenes could adequately capture that union than Bucky's escape from armed forces in Captain America: Civil War.
Framed for Zemo's crimes and scrambling to piece together his past, Bucky rebuffs Captain America's frantic attempts to talk reason into him as a team of agents quickly close in. When they arrive, a truly excellent action sequence kicks into gear in which Bucky blocks bullets with his cybernetic arm, outmaneuvers his pursuers in a narrow stairway and escapes outside to a thrilling chase that draws in the other heroes of the film for its conclusion. Civil War steadily ramps up the heroes and the stakes in its buildup to the memorable airport scene, but this character-fueled moment with Bucky invests the audience in the light show that happens later.
With a character as dark and brooding as the Winter Soldier, it can be difficult to make space for the humor and levity that keeps his story from being terribly bogged down in the darker emotions. Such light moments help ease tension and humanize characters so they aren't just action figures carrying loads of emotional baggage, but they need to be sparingly employed in order to keep from undermining the drama -- and that's exactly what the legroom scene from Civil War accomplishes.
At last on the side of good, Bucky and Sam Wilson wait in the car as their mutual friend Steve speaks with Sharon Carter. When Bucky asks from the back seat if Sam can make legroom, the tension between them bursts into the comic refusal. Moments later, the tensions ease and the seeds of their friendship begin as they nod and smile with shared approval at Steve and Sharon's kiss. Falcon and Winter Soldier will further explore the fascinating relationship between these two characters, and everything that proceeds will have its origins in this lighthearted moment that takes no more than a few seconds of screen time.
After Civil War, the rest of his arc came in reintegrating with the rest of the MCU's heroes and fighting alongside them. No longer the ordinary soldier out of his depth, Avengers: Infinity War offered a look at Bucky once he is at peace with himself and allowed to fight for good. With his brainwashing cleaned out and a new arm both courtesy of Wakanda, Bucky memorably showcases his newfound comfort alongside Rocket Raccoon in battle.
Facing down Thanos' horde while defending Wakanda, Bucky lifts Rocket up and spins him around as both heroes fire their weapons at the surrounding enemies. Rocket's banter about wanting Bucky's prosthetic arm feels so perfectly MCU that it crystallizes the Winter Soldier's place among the pantheon of heroes. Cracking jokes and fighting alongside a space raccoon with a laser gun, Bucky came a long way since WWII -- and he still has so much further to go.
Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. The series premieres March 19 on Disney+.
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