- Bucky Barnes taking up the mantle of Captain America after Steve Rogers' retirement would have been more consistent with the comic book lore.
- Bucky Barnes has a heroic backstory, having fought in World War II and overcoming brainwashing to become himself again.
- The strong bond between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, as well as Steve's loyalty to Bucky, makes it illogical for Steve to skip over Bucky when passing on his legacy and shield.
After what seemed like an eternity, the curtain closed on over ten years of MCU awesomeness with Avengers: Endgame. While the ending was pretty satisfying it also left fans with a lot of questions heading into the new phase.
The speculation over who would take up the mantle of Captain America has been bubbling under the surface ever since the MCU introduced us to The Winter Soldier and The Falcon way back in 2014. With Chris Evans tweeting about retiring from the role before Endgame dropped, we always knew that Steve Rogers would have to choose a successor.
And he did…
At the end of Endgame an aged Steve Rogers comes back to hand over the shield to Sam / Falcon.
“How does it feel?” Steve asks.
“Like it’s someone else’s,” Sam answers.
“It isn’t,” Steve tells him.
“I’ll do my best,” Sam assures him.
While this is all very poetic (because the essence of Captain America is about doing your best no matter what the odds are) was Sam/Falcon really the right choice?
Why Bucky was the more logical choice…
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Comic Book Lore
If you’re making movies based on comic books they should be based on the comic books – especially the big stuff! Going by the source material, it was Bucky Barnes who took up the mantle of Captain America after Steve Rogers’ untimely death. Consistency is important.
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All The Markings Of A Hero
In the MCU timeline, James Buchanan Barnes (born March 10, 1917) enlisted with the army to serve his country in World War II. He spent the next three years fighting in a horrific war until he went MIA in 1945. During this time he was captured and handed over to Hydra to become the first member of their “Winter Soldier program”.
He was constantly brainwashed and kept cryogenically frozen between missions. Despite the odds stacked against him, Bucky fought persistently to overcome his brainwashing. His attempts were futile, but with the help of King T’Challa, and the technology on Wakanda he was finally able to be himself again. This back-story clearly has “hero” written all over it.
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“I’m With You Till the End of the Line.”
Ever since we were introduced to Steve and Bucky in Captain America: The First Avenger, it was pretty clear that these characters had a brotherly bond. That bond and Steve’s loyalty to Bucky was a key factor in the chaos during Captain America: Civil War. So it doesn’t really make sense for Steve to skip over Bucky when passing on his legacy and shield.
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Super Soldier
While Captain America may have had the only successful dose of the Super Soldier Serum, Bucky Barnes is a super soldier in his own right. He also has some useful gadgets that give him the upper hand in combat. He has formidable skills with assault rifles, combat knives and grenades.
And thanks to the folks on Wakanda he has a new vibranium cybernetic arm which can project energy, discharge an EMP, project holographs and enhance his reaction time. Sure, Sam worked with the military too, but the bionic arm gives Bucky a clear advantage.
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Icon Status
In both the comic books and movies, Bucky Barnes has always been one of the most iconic villain-turned-heroes of all time. As the Winter Soldier, he was created to rival Steve Rogers in every way. Serving a unique mirror of Steve’s abilities and traits, a redeemed Bucky Barnes should have been the obvious choice when passing on the Captain America torch.
Final Thoughts…
Being a hero isn’t always about being the perfect soldier. There’s no doubt that Bucky Barnes is flawed and has made some huge mistakes (albeit while he was brainwashed). But over time he has worked to redeem himself. Remember, it was his idea to go back on ice while Shuri figured out how to deprogram the Hydra part of his brain.
He’s fiercely loyal, has fought alongside the Avengers and has the ability to lead. Most importantly, he encouraged Sam to talk to the old version of Steve, seemingly having the foresight to know what was coming next. And in spite of his history with Steve, he didn’t mind. That’s a real hero. And that’s why he deserved to be Captain America.
Yes 100% he is steve’s best friend and he gives it to someone he hasn’t know from the beginning
while I like the non physical attitudes of falcon, the lack of the super soldier serum makes him a poor choice. He’ll lack the speed, strength, health recovery, and the reaction time of steve rogers or bucky. He may be a trained soldier, but not in the use of unarmored combat and a shield. Try to imagine the average man throwing a shield sixty feet. For most, they’ll be lucky if it gets to the target. The force necessary to make do actual damage is way beyond the falcon. Or how about a fist fight with multiple villians. How many times did cap deflect bullets with that shield at the last second. That was more about his reaction speed than the shield. Falcon wouldn’t last a day doing that. Or how about slugging it out with super human villians. One punch and falcons dead.
I get the PRINCIPLE of Falcon becoming Cap, but… Sam could barely keep up with Crossbones during the Winter Soldier movie and had to run away. He’s nowhere near dextrous enough to be able to use the shield. The heck. Unless he gets a Stark power suit, he gets some kind of generic weak super serum or something 95 % of the mcu bad guys who aren’t nameless normal guy henchmen named Bob or KKK member with a 9 mm or knife will ruin his day.
Also, Bucky was a wanted war criminal and terrorist for the longest time. The public would not trust the Avengers if an assassin who killed countless people was suddenly made Captain America.
In the comics, the Winter Soldier DID replace Stever Rogers after he was assassinated by Crossbones. At the end of his arc as Cap, he got his @$$ handed to him during one of Marvel’s mega-crossovers. Needless to say, since no one ever truly stays did in Marvel 616 (proper), Steve Rogers came back to life. Jump forward a few years and Steve’s youth is taken away from him. He offered the job to Bucky and he turned it down. HE suggested Sam and he accepted (White people flipped out).
I agree with most of the arguments made by the author.
The most important fact brought in this article is that in Marvel Comics’s history, it is Captain America’s close friend Bucky Barnes who replaces him often, not Falcon, as in the film. Falcon is a huge Captain America ally, but he did not deserve this mantle and responsibility. Plus, if Bucky is the character that replaces Steve Rogers’ Captain America in the comics, then the film creators should follow that as a guideline.
I can’t help but think that the choice of Samuel Wilson becoming Captain America was based on the fact that he is Black, which would further the social justice takeover of our culture.
Agree 100%
Additionally in Civil War he demonstrated skill with the shield too
Bucky is still too damaged to be Captain America. Sam embodies the same values without the baggage. He deserved it.