Steve Rogers’ best friend Bucky Barnes made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: The First Avenger, and came back in full super soldier mode in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which established him as a dangerous threat but also a powerful potential ally. However, his following appearances in the MCU didn’t carry on with this, and Marvel seems to have forgotten that Bucky is capable of doing as much as his best friend.
Viewers witnessed Bucky Barnes’ apparent demise in Captain America: The First Avenger, and it was later revealed that he was captured by HYDRA and experimented on to the point of torture, turning him into a weapon of their own. Under the identity of “Winter Soldier” and HYDRA’s command, Bucky became an assassin, and was the one responsible for the deaths of Maria and Howard Stark. Bucky was at the core of conflict in Captain America: Civil War, but with the help of Shuri in Wakanda, he regained full control of himself and joined Captain America and the rest of the heroes in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
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But the Bucky Barnes that audiences saw in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and at some points in Captain America: Civil War, is nothing like the one in the last two Avengers films, and it has nothing to do with HYDRA having full control of his mind and actions.
Marvel Hasn’t Used Bucky As A Super Soldier
Arnim Zola’s “Winter Soldier Program” turned Bucky Barnes into a weapon through constant brainwashing and injections of a serum similar to the Super Soldier Serum given to Steve Rogers. As result, Bucky has enhanced strength, durability, speed, agility, stamina, regenerative healing factor, and (of course) a bionic arm. His abilities are easily on par with Captain America’s, something that was clear in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and that Marvel left behind in his subsequent appearances. As noted by a fan on Reddit, Bucky was reduced to another character with a weapon, and didn’t show any of his super soldier skills. However, this change could be attributed to Bucky wanting to stay away from what HYDRA made him, even though there are ways to use his super soldier abilities without becoming a bad guy again.
How Marvel’s Phase 4 Can Fix Bucky
Bucky was underused in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but all that will change with the upcoming series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This is a new opportunity for Marvel Studios to do justice to an enhanced Bucky not only in terms of showing off his skills and power, but also when it comes to character development. It’s understandable that Bucky didn’t have any big moments in the last two Avengers films because there was too much going on already, and Avengers: Endgame was all about giving closure to the original Avengers. Hopefully, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will bring back Bucky as the super soldier he is, proving that he’s a powerful hero that can use those skills for good.
