Warning: This article contains spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World.

Bucky Barnes is returning to the MCU in Thunderbolts*, and the trailers for the Phase 5 crossover movie have made me very glad that Sebastian Stan’s villain-turned-hero didn’t become Captain America in Avengers: Endgame. Throughout his entire MCU career, dating back to his debut in 2011, Bucky Barnes has been intimately connected to Captain America, first as Steve Rogers’ childhood friend and then Sam Wilson’s partner and confidant. I’m thrilled that Bucky will finally come out from Captain America’s shadow in Thunderbolts*, and even more happy he didn’t become the Star-Spangled-Man himself.

Thunderbolts* will mark Academy Award-nominee Sebastian Stan’s tenth live-action appearance in the MCU, but will be the first time that the former Winter Soldier hasn’t been seen alongside Captain America. Instead, we’ll see Bucky form a new team of antiheroes to take on the Void, so he’ll be continuing Steve Rogers’ legacy by leading his own group of misunderstood Avengers. I’m so happy this is the future Marvel laid out for Bucky Barnes, as the alternative would have contributed to a wildly different Multiverse Saga.

Some Wanted Bucky Barnes To Be The New Captain America, Not Sam Wilson

Steve Rogers Gave Sam Wilson The Captain America Shield In Avengers: Endgame

In Marvel Comics, it was Bucky Barnes who succeeded Steve Rogers as Captain America after the latter was presumed ᴅᴇᴀᴅ during 2007’s The Death of Captain America storyline. This caused many to speculate that it would be Bucky who took on the Captain America mantle following the departure of Chris Evans from the MCU and Steve Rogers’ retirement. Bucky is a super-soldier like Steve, so his evolution into Captain America perhaps wouldn’t have been as jarring, but Rogers instead hand-picked Sam Wilson to wield Captain America’s shield.

An elderly Steve Rogers pᴀssed his legacy to Sam Wilson at the end of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, forcing Wilson to contemplate the weight of ᴀssuming the position throughout The Falcon and the Winter Soldier before finally embracing his new role. Many fans wanted Bucky Barnes to get this storyline in the MCU, but I’m actually much happier with Sam Wilson as Captain America and Bucky remaining separate from the mantle. Bucky’s cameo appearance in Captain America: Brave New World and the trailers for Thunderbolts* have only made me more sure of this.

Thunderbolts* Trailers Make Me So Glad Marvel Didn’t Make Bucky Captain America

Bucky Barnes Has A Prominent Role In Thunderbolts*

Of course, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes’ similarities seemed to suggest that Bucky becoming Captain America would have been a natural evolution for the mantle in the MCU. The lifelong friends share similar abilities, both have an elongated lifespan, and are both men out of time, so Bucky can perhaps relate to Rogers and knows the true meaning of the Captain America mantle more than any other character. However, I am convinced that Captain America would have been the wrong role for Bucky Barnes, not least because of his reputation as the world’s greatest ᴀssᴀssin.

Thunderbolts* trailers have proven that Bucky fits in much better among antiheroes and reformed villains such as Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, US Agent, Ghost and Taskmaster, so I think making him Captain America would have been a mistake. I am so excited to see Bucky Barnes stand on his own two feet without the ᴀssistance of Captain America, forming his own team and forging his own new future in the MCU. This wouldn’t have been possible had he become Captain America in Avengers: Endgame, so I’m so relieved Marvel avoided this transformation.

Why Bucky Just Wouldn’t Have Worked As Captain America In The MCU

Bucky Barnes Isn’t Captain America Material

While this transition might have worked in Marvel Comics, Sebastian Stan’s live-action Bucky Barnes is very different to his comic counterpart. He is darker, more hardened and much more rough around the edges. These qualities don’t fit the Captain America mantle, but Sam Wilson embodies the ideals of Captain America arguably even more than Steve Rogers, so he was the perfect candidate to take on the role. Bucky Barnes has been on a quest for redemption for several years, and so has a brighter future outside the world of Captain America.

Captain America: Brave New World revealed that Bucky Barnes is running for a position in the United States Congress. His new political aspirations and his former work as an elite soldier for HYDRA mean that, even if he wanted to, becoming Captain America would likely be a fever dream for Bucky. Thunderbolts* will give Bucky Barnes a new group of superpowered allies in the MCU, all of whom are much more his speed, so I’m very glad Marvel didn’t try and force him to become a bona fide superhero after Avengers: Endgame.

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Thunderbolts*

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  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

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  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  
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  Spider-Man Homecoming 4

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  July 24, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

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  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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