While Steve Rogers may have passed the shield on to Sam Wilson in Avengers: Endgame, many fans had been expecting Bucky Barnes to take up the mantle of Captain America next. In the comics, Bucky takes up the title of Cap after Steve. Because Steve and Bucky have been closer than arguably anybody else in the entirety of the MCU, it only seemed to make logical sense that Steve would want to pass the Cap mantle on to Bucky, too.
Since then, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has surprisingly been building Bucky up into somebody who could potentially become the next Captain America. Whether or not he actually will become Cap in the future still remains to be seen, but it is inarguable that Bucky has proven time and time again that he does genuinely deserve to be Cap, no matter what.
10 Bucky Has Been Training For This For Nearly A Century
Back in the 1940s, Bucky Barnes was the one backing up all the fights that Steve got himself into. As the movies say, even when Steve had nobody, he had Bucky. Even more, they were inseparable on the schoolyard and on the battlefield — and, for a young Steve Rogers, these two were likely indistinguishable.
Bucky has always been the stronger fighter, and this remained true when he entered military service. He fought in World War II, he became the Winter Soldier, and he even kept fighting after he consciously came back into his body. Bucky has been training to become Captain America for nearly a century now. He’s more than ready to start.
9 Even When Bucky Was Young, He Was An Incredible Fighter
Steve Rogers had to cross into enemy territory to save Bucky, but he did it without thinking twice. The two of them would die for each other, and it was more than worth it for Steve if he died trying to save Bucky from the same fate. After rescuing Bucky from the enemy, Steve learned that Bucky had been trained into becoming one of the greatest sharpshooters America had ever seen.
Bucky’s training made him strong enough to be Cap’s right-hand man, and his bond with Steve was strong enough to keep him there. He’s been an incredible fighter since he was young, and he’s known Captain America that entire time.
8 Bucky Has The Same Super Soldier Serum (To An Extent)
Captain America needs to be somebody who is set apart from others. Whether or not they are actually beyond humanity, they need to feel like a larger-than-life symbol. Steve was able to cultivate his own image over time, but having the super-soldier serum obviously didn’t hurt his cause.
The fact that Bucky Barnes was dosed with a variant of that serum makes him powerful enough, both in his body and in his image, to take on the mantle of Cap. Whoever becomes Captain America needs to fight as well as Steve fought, and few could actually do this as well as Bucky.
7 If Anyone Understands What Being Cap Meant To Steve, It’s Bucky
As Bucky has pointed out a few times now, nobody knew Steve as he did. They loved each other since they were children, and Bucky knew Steve as he became Captain America. He has seen Steve’s entire life, learned his entire story as he lived it with him, and was able to discuss with Steve the truth of what Cap meant to him.
Nobody knew Steve as well as Bucky knows Steve, and so nobody could possibly understand what being Cap meant to Steve better than Bucky does. He knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what Steve was thinking. Even if his thinking was flawed, or if people believe he was wrong, Steve is the original Cap, and understanding what that meant to him is vital to understanding how to be the next Cap.
6 Bucky Has Seen The Truly Horrible Sides Of Life
When Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers were young men, it was basically them against the world. Over the years, Bucky has been able to succeed and surpass in some ways, but he has been continually diminished in others. When audiences found Bucky again in the MCU, he was not as he had been before he died.
Being brainwashed and turned into a weapon of HYDRA traumatized Bucky deeply, and he has seen some truly horrible things. He has experienced terrible things and came out the other side still wanting to fight the good fight. This is crucial for Cap, and inherent for Bucky.
5 Being Captain America Means Everything To Bucky
Captain America is not a title to take on lightly. Even John Walker, as god-awful as he is, understands just how heavy the head that wears the crown is. Becoming Captain America requires an immense amount of dedication to an ideal, and to executing that ideal in every facet of your life.
It’s exhausting and needs a sort of commitment that few people are capable of. However, nobody alive is as committed to the idea of Captain America as Bucky. Steve meant everything to him, and still does. Steve’s title of Cap means everything to him as a result, and he would know how to treat it with respect and live up to its expectations.
4 Steve Trusted Bucky With His Life In All Respects
Ever since they were children, Steve has been able to trust Bucky in every aspect of his life, without hesitation. When they were young, they kept each other alive, the two of them against the world in Brooklyn, New York. During World War II, Steve and Bucky trusted one another to have each other’s backs.
When Steve lost Bucky, he felt so much guilt and shame he went under the ice not long after. Even when Bucky came back as the Winter Soldier, Steve trusted him. He became a war criminal for Bucky; he left the Avengers for him; he turned his back on Tony Stark for him. He trusted Bucky with his life, and he would trust him with the title of Cap. Bucky has proven that much over the years.
3 Bucky Has Always Been Captain America’s Right-Hand Man
Bucky was Steve’s best friend since they were children, but he earned his place at Captain America’s side. He wasn’t allowed to be in the Howling Commandos just because they were buddies, but because he could actually hold his own. In fact, it was Bucky who showed enough prowess to be on a special team in the first place.
While Steve got there with help from the serum, Bucky fought his way through on his abilities alone. He has always stood at Cap’s side, whether he was Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, or the White Wolf. No matter what, he’s been Captain America’s right-hand man — nobody would be better to become Cap next.
2 There Are Few People Alive Who Can Beat Bucky
The MCU is expanding at an exponential rate, and there seem to be more and more heroes every week. These heroes are also experiencing increasingly powerful abilities. In the last Disney+ show to air in conjunction with Marvel, WandaVision, Wanda Maximoff was described as surpassing even the abilities of the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange.
With all of these heavyweights around, and an incredible amount of powerful villains always coming out of the woodwork, Captain America will need to be somebody who can match these formidable foes. Bucky Barnes has been physically modified and enhanced, and he has trained for nearly a century to be a fighting machine. In addition, he is capable of working in the grey areas if he needs to. When it comes to fighting, in any capacity — physical, mental, tactical, et cetera — Bucky Barnes has the rest of the world beat.
1 Bucky Knows What It Truly Means To Be Cap — & Who Cap Should Truly Be
Recently, Bucky pointed out that he’s not sure anybody understands what it truly means to be Cap. However, knowing that is part of understanding what it is to be Captain America. Whoever takes up the mantle will have to be different than Steve just by their nature. When Steve was passing on the shield, he chose to pass it on to Sam.
Bucky hasn’t fought to take it but has instead insisted to Sam that he should listen to Steve, that Steve was right to choose Sam as his successor. Bucky knows what it means to be Cap — and that means he knows it’s important that Sam becomes Cap. This is, perhaps ironically, what has proven him most worthy of the title.
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