I Don't Understand Why Bucky Barnes Didn't Team-Up With Sam Wilson In Thunderbolts*

Thunderbolts*

saw Bucky Barnes join forces with a new team of heroes, but it completely ignored his closest ally, Sam Wilson. Bucky has been a central part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)

since Captain America: The First Avenger, when he appeared as Steve Rogers’ closest friend. And while Steve ends up being frozen until the 2010s, Bucky actually managed to survive thanks to none other than the central bad guys of that movie, HYDRA.

Since reuniting with Steve, and shedding the brainwashing from HYDRA, Bucky has been a core part of Steve’s most trusted allies, alongside Sam Wilson, another soldier that Steve got to know after he thawed from the ice. Initially, Sam and Bucky ʙuттed heads a little, but when Steve chose to retire at the end of Avengers: Endgame, the pair became incredibly close, and their adventures together were seen in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. So why didn’t Bucky turn to Sam when he needed help in Thunderbolts*?

Bucky Had Time To Recruit More Help To Fight The Sentry In Thunderbolts*

Sam Wilson Could Have Flown In To Help

From the outset, Bucky is in a tough position as an elected official, and he is struggling to adjust to a life where his work is contained inside an office. So, when the chance to use subterfuge and take on a special mission presents itself, he jumps at it, trying to dig up dirt on Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. This leads him to capture the former employees of Valentina, as a way to provide evidence and get her impeached from her position. But Bucky learns that there is a powerful new threat, Bob, who Valentina plans to use for her own gain.

When he begins to take the threat seriously, he joins forces with the ragtag mercenaries, but he makes no attempt to call in any other backup or support. Obviously, he underestimated the threat that Bob could present, but it feels a little weird that he wouldn’t reach out to someone who he has built up such an extensive relationship with to prevent a bigger incident occurring.

Bucky Not Asking Sam Wilson For Help In Thunderbolts* Doesn’t Make Sense

Bucky & Sam Have Become Family

The thing is, Bucky and Sam are not just allies at this point in the MCU, they are more like brothers. Brought together by their mutual connection to Steve, the pair grew close helping each other in TFatWS. They support each other in times of need, and it seems like they should be the first point of call when either needs help. And depending on when this movie comes in the timeline, Sam may also have some more backup if he has begun recruiting heroes for his Avengers team, as was set up at the end of Captain America: Brave New World.

It’s true that Bob had more power than anyone on Bucky’s new team could predict, but they did know that he survived being sH๏τ hundreds of times at close range. They saw him fly, and he survived a further crash into the Earth after pᴀssing out in the sky. Bucky should have played it safe and at least given Sam a heads-up of where he was going in case he needed back up.

Thunderbolts* Shows The Fallout Of Bucky Not Teaming Up With Sam Wilson

The New Avengers Face Stiff Compeтιтion From The Avengers

Ultimately, this lack of communication appears to have put their entire relationship in jeopardy. Bucky didn’t plan to become part of a team, and it wasn’t his idea to call them The New Avengers. Despite this, he happily took on the role, and spent the next 14 months in this new team, as seen in the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene. And interestingly, this scene also shows the fallout of Sam and Bucky’s friendship, with Sam trademarking the Avengers team name, and setting up another team of heroes that will operate opposite to The New Avengers.

If Bucky called Sam, and he had his friend arrive in time to support their group of misfits, it’s possible that Valentina would have ended up rubber-stamping the entire ensemble, and Sam’s New Avengers would have been ready to go in the MCU. But now, the two teams appear to have a rivalry, and Bucky mentioned that his efforts to reach out to Sam have been ignored, indicating that their friendship is not in a good place after the events of Thunderbolts*.