Bucky Barnes has had an incredible journey throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but some of his most important moments have taken place entirely off-screen. There are many important scenes that happen off-screen in the MCU, from The Hulk merging his two idenтιтies together as Smart Hulk to Steve Rogers finally reuniting with Peggy in the past. Bucky in particular seems to have a lot of critical scenes happening in the background of the larger MCU story.
Few characters have had as harrowing a journey through the series as Bucky’s MCU timeline has been, though he’s slowly become one of the longest-running and most recognizable heroes still active today. It’s perhaps because of this quiet background importance that so many important moments in his story have taken place off-camera, only implied to have happened later or straight up spoken of by other characters. Some of these unseen scenes are more important than others, but most have a significant bearing on Bucky’s life.
10
Nebula Steals Bucky’s Arm
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
One of the funniest running jokes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Rocket Raccoon’s consistent obsession with cybernetic body parts. It figures that when he meets Bucky, who is famous for his super-powerful robotic arm, Rocket practically salivates over the high-tech prosthesis. It doesn’t seem as he’ll get his way when Bucky coldly refuses to sell it to him, but Nebula had some other ideas.
In The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Mantis and Drax kidnap Kevin Bacon to present him as a gift to Star-Lord for Christmas. It seems as though Nebula also made her own solo trip to Earth, though it isn’t directly shown, as she gifts Rocket Bucky’s Vibranium arm wrapped up in a festive box. This isn’t a moment of huge consequence for Bucky, but the mental image of him suddenly being attacked by fellow cyborg Nebula for such petty reasons is quite a hilarious one.
9
The Winter Soldier Encounters Black Widow
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
During his time as The Winter Soldier, Bucky had quite the ominous reputation as a boogeyman in the world of espionage prior to showing up on screen. As the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier unfold, Black Widow lets Steve Rogers in on the fact that she’s one of the few people to have survived an encounter with The Winter Soldier. She describes a mission in Iran in which she was tasked with protecting a nuclear scientist who had some sensitive intel.
Natasha ultimately wasn’t able to succeed thanks to the appearance of The Winter Soldier, who ᴀssᴀssinated the scientist by shooting him through her stomach. The scar left on her abdomen is the only proof of this story, but it’s a chilling enough warning of just how dangerous The Winter Soldier truly is. This scene isn’t of that much consequence in the grand scheme of things, but it’s at least the first time that Bucky would meet an Avenger other than Captain America himself.
8
Bucky Becomes A Decorated Soldier In His Own Right
Captain America: The First Avenger
It’s worth noting that even before Bucky received his powers, he was far from the average soldier in the United States military. Shortly after enlisting in the Army, Bucky rose through the ranks of the military quite quickly, becoming a special forces commando and a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly sniper. There’s a good reason he was able to quickly become an officer in the 107th Infantry Regiment, the same unit that Steve Roger’s father served in in World War I.
It’s important to understand just how skilled Bucky was as a soldier even before being given the super soldier serum or a mechanical arm. Without his previous skill, Bucky might not have survived the grueling transformation process that ultimately turned him into The Winter Soldier, deserving more respect for his natural talent alone. It would have been nice to see Bucky make waves on the battlefield before Steve ever showed up, but it’s ultimately not a huge point of contention against the MCU.
7
The Winter Soldier Fights Isaiah Bradley
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Bucky was far from the only super soldier to be deployed after the ᴀssᴀssination of Dr. Erskine. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier introduces Isaiah Bradley, who comes back in a big way in Captain America: Brave New World. Bradley is an African American man who was cruelly experimented on by the United States government, being given his own version of the super soldier serum, before being deployed to the Korean War.
It’s here that Bradley apparently encountered Bucky as The Winter Soldier, engaging him in hand-to-hand combat on the battlefield. Amazingly, Isaiah was apparently able to punch through The Winter Soldier’s cybernetic arm, a feat of strength even Steve Rogers wasn’t able to demonstrate. Bradley and The Winter Soldier’s battle has some huge implications on the power levels of both characters, if not to the actual plot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
6
Bucky Becomes A Sitting U.S. Congressman
Captain America: Brave New World
The most recent and perhaps most bizarre important moment in Bucky’s MCU career has been his apparent election to the United States Congress. It’s revealed in Captain America: Brave New World that at some point, Bucky apparently entered into the world of politics, successfully running a campaign to get himself elected as a sitting Congressman. This is one of the strangest, out-of-left-field developments in Bucky’s entire MCU story.
It’s hard to imagine what kind of campaign Bucky must have run to get himself elected despite having a controversial past as a literal living weapon. While Bucky’s abhorrent actions were certainly not his own fault, it’s shocking that he managed to clear that kind of nuance with the average voter. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how the upcoming Thunderbolts* drags Bucky out of his political career and back into the fray.
5
The Winter Soldier ᴀssᴀssinates JFK
Captain America: Civil War
It’s even more incredible that Bucky was able to be sworn into such a lofty political office knowing the calamitous effect he’s had on American politics. The real-life ᴀssᴀssination of John F. Kennedy is an event that has been shrouded in unsubstantiated conspiracy theories for a long time. The MCU plays with this notion by cheekily implying and then outright stating that The Winter Soldier was actually the real ᴀssᴀssin behind Kennedy’s death, not Lee Harvey Oswald.
The first time this ludicrous retcon is implied is in Captain America: Civil War, when an image board containing information on Bucky in the background includes a pH๏τo of the famous motorcade J.F.K. was a part of when he was sH๏τ. A promo for the film showing Sebastian Stan in-character as Bucky confirms his involvement outright. It’s certainly alarming that Bucky had a hand in one of the most important events in U.S. history, even if it is entirely off-screen.
4
Bucky Is Given His Own Super Soldier Serum
Captain America: The First Avenger
It’s not always that an important event regarding Bucky happens in the distant past, justified as not being on-screen due to needing a flashback to accurately portray. Sometimes, the character’s most important beats are only moments away from being on-camera, but are just barely not able to make the cut of the action. The most egregious example of this is in Captain America: The First Avenger, where Bucky is first experimented on by HYDRA.
Bucky is one of the many super soldier serum users in the MCU after Steve Rogers, and was first given this concoction during a HYDRA experiment after being captured. Captain America: The First Avenger shows Bucky mere days after surviving this ordeal, looking sickly and drained when Steve manages to rescue him, but the actual process of his origin goes completely unseen. Considering this is the start of his superhero origin story, it’s surprising this moment never got acted out in person.
3
Bucky Gets Brainwashed By HYDRA
Captain America: The First Avenger
As if being captured by HYDRA once wasn’t bad enough, Bucky falls into their clutches once again after the botched raid sees him plummeting to his apparent demise in the European mountainside. While the MCU first implied this was the end of the plucky soldier, it’s later revealed that HYDRA managed to save him, though he lost an arm, and turn him into the terrifying Winter Soldier. But the exact process of his brainwashing remains a mystery.
Though other Winter Soldiers were attempted to be made, and later iterations of the Black Widow program would use a dangerous drug to accomplish similar effects, exactly how Bucky was brainwashed is never actually shown. Considering just how impossible to overcome his programming seemed at first, it’s a surprise HYDRA didn’t utilize such a technique far more frequently. Since his brainwashing was so critical to his character, it was a bold choice for the MCU to never actually pull back the curtain on this element of Bucky’s backstory.
2
Bucky And Steve Meet And Become Best Friends
Captain America: The First Avenger
Of course, the second most defining thing about Bucky Barnes outside of his Winter Soldier programming is his friendship with Steve Rogers. By the start of Captain America: The First Avenger, the two had allegedly already been friends for years. They first meet in similar circumstances to how the film begins, with Bucky bailing Steve out of a fight with some bullies he’s hopelessly outmatched against.
In reality, a scene showing the two of them meet for the first time would have been unnecessary and perhaps even out of place in Captain America: The First Avenger. However, if it wasn’t for his friendship with Steve, it’s likely Bucky’s life would have turned out far differently, perhaps never becoming The Winter Soldier in the first place or never escaping from servitude. Either way, his first meeting with Steve had a crucial ʙuттerfly effect throughout his entire life.
1
Shuri Frees Bucky From His HYDRA Programming
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
After being smuggled out of custody by Steve in Captain America: Civil War, Bucky is kept safe in Wakanda by Black Panther as a courtesy for trying to kill him after falsely believing he had ᴀssᴀssinated King T’Chaka. While there, Bucky became known as the “White Wolf”, gaining a shiny new Vibranium arm to aid him in his life as a hermit. More importantly, Shuri was able to crack the code behind his HYDRA programming, officially freeing him from the influence of his Winter Soldier brainwashing once and for all.
It’s still a mystery as to exactly how Shuri was able to do this, though it’s not hard to believe a scientist as genius as her could have figured it out. At least The Falcon and the Winter Soldier treats viewers to a flashback of Bucky crying in graтιтude after hearing his old activation words for the first time without losing his free will. This is the single biggest step in Bucky’s MCU journey not to be depicted in the films, though it is portrayed in comic form.
Upcoming MCU Movies
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Thunderbolts*
- Release Date
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday
- Release Date
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May 1, 2026
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- Release Date
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July 31, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027
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