Doesn’t Matter If It’s Thunderbolts or New Avengers, WTF Is the MCU Doing With Bucky Barnes?

This nonfiction contains spoilers for Thunderbolts.

Thunderbolts yet joined the MCU pantheon past week aft a agelong hold and precocious anticipation. While nary of america were rather acceptable for the film’s affectional exploration of slump and the quest to find one’s purpose, it was a invited summation to Marvel’s accepted storytelling that intelligibly resonated with fans. While I’m connected committee with each of that, you mightiness person already work conscionable however overmuch Thunderbolt’s ending missed the people for maine and, unfortunately, I person 1 much bony to prime with the MCU. Not to enactment excessively good a constituent connected it oregon anything, but I would similar to cognize what successful the hellhole this franchise is doing with Bucky Barnes. His trajectory successful the past 2 films has been unusual astatine best, and wherever we permission him astatine the extremity of Thunderbolts is downright irritating.

First we had the full congressman concern unceremoniously dropped successful our laps successful Captain America: Brave New World. It didn’t marque a lick of sense, but it was truthful retired of the bluish and truthful far-fetched for the MCU’s iteration of James Buchanan Barnes (Sebastian Stan) that it was hard not to laugh. Brave New World was already chock-full of distractions pulling from Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson with the movie being a stealth Red Hulk movie and all, truthful it was beauteous casual to constitute the infinitesimal disconnected and anticipation Thunderbolts would connection immoderate meaningful context.

No specified discourse came, though, and Bucky’s MCU communicative lone got worse.

Even worse, it became instantly evident that Bucky either had nary involvement successful being a congressman oregon perfectly nary cognition of what it would entail. He wants to impeach Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) but isn’t adjacent speechmaking the packets?! To the constituent wherever it needs to beryllium a scene?!

Listen. You bash not go a United States congressman by accident. It is thing that you person to actively choose. And, erstwhile you’re a erstwhile mind-controlled assassin whose past is truthful analyzable it broke the archetypal iteration of the Avengers astir beyond repair, you person to run similar hellhole to person radical you’re not going to virtually (or figuratively) stroke much worldly up. America mightiness person a past of electing immoderate existent pieces of enactment some successful world and fiction, but the benignant of detachment from world that benefits the Wilson Fisks of the satellite successful voting scenarios doesn’t transportation to really decent radical truthful acold arsenic past and voters are concerned. In short: Bucky precise apt had to combat for thing helium didn’t adjacent privation and, worst of all, made nary dang consciousness for his character. But don’t worry, it gets worse.

Smash chopped to the post-credits country of Thunderbolts, wherever it’s revealed that not lone did Bucky spell on with Yelena (Florence Pugh) and the remainder of the squad erstwhile it came to letting Valentina get distant with everything, but helium was destroying his narration with Sam implicit it.

Let’s commencement with the Valentina of it all. Bucky has a full speech with Val’s adjunct Mel (Geraldine Viswanathan) successful the archetypal enactment of the movie wherever helium tells her that helium didn’t person a prime who helium worked for erstwhile helium was Winter Soldier, but Mel does erstwhile it comes to moving with Valentina. Mere days later, Bucky and the squad are moving for the enemy.

The movie tries to skirt this with possibly the slightest meaningful solution to a Marvel movie yet with Yelena’s small “we ain you now” susurration during Valentina’s property league revealing the New Avengers, but the thinly veiled menace means perfectly nothing. Valentina got distant with murder, and each of the Thunderbolts are present complicit.

Here’s the happening astir the Thunderbolts, though. For the remainder of the team, moving with the evil overlord due to the fact that of your ain hubris makes sense. John Walker (Wyatt Russell)? Absolutely belongs connected a squad with Valentina. The feline hasn’t known close from incorrect since the 2nd helium dosed up connected ace worker serum and present has a misguided accidental to absolve himself. Ghost (Hannah John Kamen)? Bless you girlie, I privation thing but fantastic things for you but the trajectory tracks. Red Guardian (David Harbour)? Yeah! Obviously. He wants to beryllium with his girl and helium wants fame and fortune. Yelena? She’s inactive excessively greenish to spot past her ain ego and believes that she has the precocious manus for once.

But Bucky? No. Bucky Barnes being consenting to beryllium tied to a pistillate who helium knows murdered a clump of radical to get a ace worker serum connected steroids is profoundly against character. Bucky’s past is marred with sins, but helium didn’t marque any of those choices. We were each capable to collectively absolve Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) for the radical helium killed portion nether Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) control, but each it takes is 1 weepy Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) for everyone to hide that Bucky Barnes was kidnapped, tortured, and utilized against his volition for decades.

All of the supra would beryllium ridiculous connected its own, but the Sam Wilson concern is wherever it shifts from absurd to inexcusable. At the opening of Thunderbolts’ 2nd post-credits scene, a forlorn Bucky sits connected a sofa successful the tacky redesign of Avengers tower, lamenting to his caller squad that not lone would Sam not beryllium giving up the sanction “Avengers” but that helium would beryllium suing them for the rights.

Back successful The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Bucky delivers the astir poignant enactment of his MCU tenure successful “because if helium was incorrect astir you past helium was incorrect astir me!” It’s an affectional speech betwixt him and Sam, wherever Bucky’s vexation implicit the aboriginal Captain America’s reticence to instrumentality connected the shield and each that it means yet comes to a head. Sam must be Captain America due to the fact that Steve Rogers chose him to be, and if Steve made the incorrect prime past possibly that means that his religion successful his champion person was unfounded. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is marred with issues, but processing Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes’ narration is the champion facet of the bid by a mile.

Steve Rogers’ 2 champion friends yet go each that each different has arsenic they combat done their respective struggles and gradually go champion friends themselves. The MCU further solidifies this constituent by having Bucky look close erstwhile Sam needed him the astir successful Brave New World. To past person Bucky wholly betray Sam to broadside with a smarmy warfare transgression who made it her ngo to make a would-be god? And to cram it each successful a throwaway post-credits scene? Infuriating.

I don't cognize what the MCU is doing with Bucky close now, but lad bash I anticipation they people close earlier we person different Civil War connected our hands.