Bucky Barnes
After the (Infinity) War
by Phil Perich for the Capes and Lunatics Blog
In the last few days more images and info have been released for the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War movie. One of the announcements got me thinking. Bucky Barnes, now free of enemy mind manipulation will use the codename of White Wolf instead of Winter Soldier. I wasn’t sure at first how I felt about the new name, then it hit me. What if the White Wolf name is a temporary “placeholder” that won’t spoil future events?
We keep getting teased that not everyone will make it out of Infinity War and it’s as yet unnamed sequel alive. I have a few theories on how this could pertain to Bucky Barnes and his taking a bigger, more active role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Nomad
After the supposed death of Bucky Barnes towards the end of World War II, Jack Monroe was tasked with taking the young heroes place. But when he and his fill-in Captain America partner were driven insane by a faulty super soldier serum, the duo was frozen for decades. Eventually Monroe was cured of his madness and partnered with Steve Rogers. After he decided to become his own hero, Rogers gave Monroe the identity of Nomad, which Rogers had created years before when he needed a break from being the symbolic champion of America.
Perhaps this is the identity Bucky Barnes will take after Infinity War. Either out on his own or working with a new Avengers team, could Bucky become the MCU’s Nomad? Perhaps in a version of the suit worn by Rogers in Infinity War?
US Agent
In the event that Steve Rogers is taken out of action either temporarily or permanently, Bucky Barnes might have to step up to fill the void, perhaps in the identity of US Agent. The “black Captain America” suit was originally worn by Steve Rogers when his identity, suit, and shield was stripped from him by a part of the US government. After Rogers returned to the role of Captain America, his new suit and shield was given to his temporary replacement, John Walker. Walker sought to do good and seek redemption in the role of US Agent after his violent tenure as Captain America.
Maybe this will be the path Bucky takes to seek his own redemption. And the original shield US Agent used was given to Rogers by the Black Panther, it was made purely of vibranium, which is now playing a big part in the MCU.
Captain America
It is possible that the storytellers will just cut out the fancy identities and just give Bucky the name, costume, and shield of Captain America. After Bucky first returned before the first Civil War, he was seeking a mission and purpose. He found it after Steve Rogers was supposedly assassinated and killed. Following Rogers’ wishes, Tony Stark helped Bucky take on the role of Captain America. Bucky really didn’t want to be Captain America, but would rather do it himself than have anyone else dishonor the role.
Could this be the temporary (or not so temporary) destiny of Bucky in the MCU?
Super Soldier
Upon his return from “death”, Steve Rogers became the head of a new version of Shield which left Bucky to continue operating as Captain America. But what if the MCU swaps those roles? Is it possible that Steve Rogers will go back to his original suit and shield while Bucky goes on to be a high level Shield agent working directly with Nick Fury? Or could Bucky even become the ultimate secret weapon of Phil Coulson and his Agents of Shield?
Man On The Wall
Following the events of the Original Sin miniseries, Bucky took over as the “Man On the Wall”. This was an ongoing position of a human that kept watch for extraterrestrial threats that could bring doom to the planet Earth.
This could be an interesting plot line for the MCU seeing as how the movies are going more alien and “cosmic” with more Guardians of the Galaxy movies and the upcoming Captain Marvel movie. So if Bucky does travel to space to battle aliens, will it be in the company of the Guardians or Captain Marvel?
Tales to Astonish
Most of Bucky’s recent comic book appearances have had him teamed up with one or several partners. During his time as Captain America Bucky reunited with old girlfriend Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow and worked with her in the field on missions.
Later after his time as the man on the wall Bucky worked briefly with most of the original members of the team of villains seeking redemption known as the Thunderbolts.
And currently Bucky has been working with Hawkeye to search for the missing Black Widow who most of the world thinks is dead. Is this the way to go with Bucky in the MCU? A trilogy of movies pairing him with a single person or teams of heroes/villains every time?
So what do all you true believer Marvel fans think? Do any of my theories have merit? Could Bucky sacrifice his life to save the world? Let me know YOUR thoughts, I love feedback!!
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