16 Reasons the Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes Is the Best Avenger

His movie, The Winter Soldier, is one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s best films.

While all of the Cap movies are great, The Winter Soldier stands out as an amazing film in itself. The Russo Brothers didn’t waste any time making their MCU debut. We get action, connection to the rest of the universe, and depth. After huge Iron Man movies that made lots of money but got mixed reviews, TWS was refreshing.

It also gave us character development for Cap, which was sorely needed after his simplistic Avengers portrayal. We finally get to see Steve face current political issues and his past, all in one film. This is where we see the separation between Steve Rogers and Captain America, which only grows wider in Civil War.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but a necessary commentary on patriotism, and on Steve as a person. TWS also introduces one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first complicated villains. Bucky seems like the antagonist, but we quickly see it’s really Hydra controlling the movie’s main conflict.

In an incredible feat of storytelling, Bucky Barnes was less the antagonist, and more of a metaphor for the film’s overarching themes. Bucky began as a well-intentioned American, just like SHIELD’s agents did before HYDRA completely overran it. The Winter Soldier set up the MCU to be able to be fun to watch AND have meaning, which was why Civil War did so well.