***SPOILERS AHEAD FOR CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD***
While most superhero fans are familiar with Captain America, portrayed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for nearly a decade by Chris Evans, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame marked a massive turning point for the iconic hero. In a pivotal scene towards the end of the movie, Evans’ Steve Rogers officially passes the mantle of Captain America to his sidekick Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie), before returning to the 1940s to live the life he’d previously missed out on with his love, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).
Sam wasn’t the only contender to wear the Stars and Stripes, though. At the time (and, to be honest, a bit even now), a subset of Marvel comics fans expected to see the mantle passed to former HYDRA assassin and Steve’s longtime best friend, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). Both men have carried the mantle at different times in the comics, but onscreen, the MCU remained firm in its conviction that, in the overarching narrative it was interested in telling, Sam was the best man for the job. Steve, conversely, would retire to the past, and Bucky…
Well, as will be made clear in this article, Bucky would stick with Sam. Having both made their debuts in Steve Rogers-led Captain America movies (Bucky in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, and Sam in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier), these two have always been linked to the original Star-Spangled Man, and, by extension, linked to each other.
Admittedly, they didn’t get off to the best of starts, with a then-brainwashed Bucky repeatedly trying to kill Sam throughout The Winter Soldier. Captain America: Civil War (2016) confirmed that this animosity still very much existed even after Bucky regained control of his mind — despite the duo sharing only a few short scenes together, Sam and Bucky spent most of their interactions bickering like an old married couple. They quickly became a fan-favorite pairing, an affection no doubt bolstered by the real-life camaraderie on display between the co-stars across numerous interviews and red carpet premieres. (It’s widely assumed that the progression of Sam and Bucky’s MCU relationship has been at least partially aided by both Mackie and Stan frequently acknowledging their respective fondness for each other in interviews for the MCU and for unrelated projects over the years.)
Thankfully, Marvel appeared to recognize what an absolute home run it had on its hands with this duo. After including them in the next two Avengers movies, Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and the aforementioned Endgame, the studio announced that Sam and Bucky would be starring in their very own streaming series, aptly titled The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TFATWS).
The six-episode miniseries, which aired on Disney+ from March to April of 2021, interrogated the idea of what Sam’s promotion actually meant to a Black man trying to represent today’s America. Simultaneously, it examined Bucky’s process of fully recovering from the trauma of his decades spent as a brainwashed Super Soldier. The show concluded with Sam fully accepting his role as the new Captain America and Bucky finally completing his healing journey, but on top of that, it cemented the bond between the two of them.
When it was then announced on the day of the TFATWS finale in April 2021 that there would be a fourth Captain America film, this time with Sam as its lead, it felt like a given that Bucky would be involved. After all, the duo had just spent six episodes overcoming their previous disdain for one another, and going on to become bonafide partners, friends, and even family (by the end of the series, Bucky is a welcome addition to the Wilson family cookouts in Sam’s hometown of Delacroix). (Depending on who you ask, the show even presented enough evidence to support the idea of a romantic relationship between Sam and Bucky, but such a classification has never been explicitly confirmed by anyone involved in TFATWS’s production.)
However, it appeared the franchise had different plans for Bucky. Rather than co-star in what would become Captain America: Brave New World (Sam's movie that just hit theatres earlier this month), Bucky would instead play a prominent role in Thunderbolts* (yes, the asterisk is part of the official title), the MCU’s yet-to-be-assembled team of anti-heroes, coming to theatres this May.
I certainly wasn’t the only one baffled by this news. Fans everywhere were deeply confused — hadn’t Bucky just solidified himself as a hero? What was he doing on a team that included the likes of John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), a secondary antagonist from TFATWS? And wasn’t it clearly established in their show that he and Sam were a unit now? Could it even be a proper Captain America movie — especially the first one with Sam in the title role — without Bucky Barnes also playing a part in it?
It turns out we needn’t have worried, though, because the release of Brave New World on February 14 confirmed something we’ve known all along — Sam and Bucky really are better together.
While he’s not a part of the core cast, Stan's Bucky does in fact make a surprise cameo in the movie. He only appears onscreen for a three-minute scene late in the runtime, but his presence — and his connection with Sam — is certainly felt throughout. Early on, Sam mentions to his new sidekick Joaquín Torres/Falcon (Danny Ramirez, who made his MCU debut in TFATWS) that he has a friend that used to be controlled by trigger words. Later, when the movie visits Sam and Joaquín’s shared headquarters, audience members get a good, long look at a framed photo of Sam and Bucky that's proudly displayed on one of the shelves in the office.
Finally, when Joaquín is critically injured during an aerial battle at Celestial Island (remember the celestials from 2021’s Eternals?), it’s Bucky who takes time out of his congressional campaign — an absurd and amusing new development that’s bound to be addressed in Thunderbolts* — to check up on a distraught Sam who's waiting in the hospital while his wingman undergoes emergency surgery.
This moment is one of the strongest in the movie, and it’s entirely because of the rich, emotional bond that’s been built up between these two over their 11 years of appearing in projects together. In one simple scene, audiences are immediately shown how much Sam and Bucky’s relationship has progressed over the years, and how deeply they care about each other now (the exchange starts with a hug and even ends with an “I love you, buddy” from Bucky, which is pretty remarkable considering where these two started).
When Sam's at his absolute lowest, Bucky is truly the only person who knows exactly what to say to make him feel better. When Sam questions his suitability as Captain America, especially since he's never taken the Super Soldier serum like Steve and Bucky have, his partner is quick to counter this display of self-doubt. "Maybe Steve made a mistake," Sam tells Bucky, to which Bucky responds, "No, he didn't," a conviction that is especially impactful given that Bucky had previously told Sam (back in Episode 2 of TFATWS), "So maybe [Steve] was wrong about you. And if was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me." Clearly, their time together has made him change his tune.
“He gave you that shield not because you’re the strongest, but because you’re you," Bucky goes on to remind Sam. "You think if you had that serum, you’d be able to protect all the people you care about? Steve had it, and he couldn’t. You’re a human being and you’re doing your best."
He finishes with this declaration: "Steve gave people something to believe in, but you, you give them something to aspire to." It's a pretty good speech — perhaps too good, which Sam notices and calls Bucky out on. "Did your speechwriters help you with that?" he asks him, and the question brings with it an opportunity for a dash of Sam and Bucky's trademark banter, an ingredient that's been an essential part of why we love watching them onscreen together.
I’ve always felt that the MCU is at its best when it leans on the unique narrative privileges afforded to it by its interconnected universe, and Sam and Bucky’s ever-evolving dynamic is a perfect encapsulation of that. Thanks to Stan and Mackie’s undeniable chemistry, as well as the storytelling decisions made for their characters over the years, but most recently by director Julius Onah and his writers, Sam and Bucky’s meaningful interaction in Brave New World is truly top-tier MCU.
To put it simply, these guys are a packaged deal. There’s an invisible tether that exists between them that the MCU has mercifully recognized can only be stretched so far, and the franchise is all the better for it. I look forward to seeing where this duo goes next — I can't be the only one hoping for a Sam Wilson cameo in Thunderbolts*, right?
Captain America: Brave New World is currently playing in theatres worldwide.