The Marvel Cinematic Universe has dishonored or minimized Bucky Barnes’ character a number of times, and that needs to end in Thunderbolts.

Bucky Barnes aka the Winter Soldier will next return in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Thunderbolts, and the studio needs to use the opportunity to truly explore the character instead of minimizing his story. Bucky was introduced early on in the MCU timeline, joining the franchise alongside Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger. But while Steve has passed on the Captain America shield to Sam Wilson, Bucky continues on, and will next be the leader of Marvel’s Thunderbolts team.

However, though Marvel has taken great care with the story of Steve Rogers in the MCU, Bucky Barnes has largely been relegated to, at best, a supporting character and, at worst, the punchline of cheap jokes. With Bucky taking on a leading role in Thunderbolts, albeit in a movie with an ensemble cast, Marvel is positioning him more as a main character, and they need to fix some of the problems created in his past appearances. Thunderbolts needs to give Bucky Barnes the leading turn he deserves after nine appearances in the MCU.

Avengers: Endgame Didn’t Give Steve And Bucky A Proper Ending

Steve And Bucky’s Relationship Was An Important Part Of The Captain America Movies

As Steve Rogers’ childhood best friend, Bucky Barnes was an incredibly important element of the first Captain America’s storyline in the MCU. Bucky being taken prisoner by Hydra prompted Steve to go on his first mission as Captain America, then Bucky’s return as the Winter Soldier helped lead Steve to discover Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD. In Captain America: Civil War, Steve’s friendship with Bucky caused a rift with fellow Avenger Tony Stark aka Iron Man. However, when it came time to close out Steve’s story in Avengers: Endgame, Bucky only got a brief moment to say goodbye before his best friend abandoned him to travel back in time.

Even if it could be argued that Steve’s friendship with Bucky was irrevocably changed by the five years Steve spent without his best friend following Thanos’ snap, it’s an unsatisfying conclusion to the relationship between the two characters. Bucky was a pivotal person in Steve’s life, but he’s not given the respect of a proper farewell before Steve leaves to live out his life in the past. The lack of attention paid to Steve and Bucky’s friendship in Avengers: Endgame minimizes the rest of their storyline in the MCU, and because Bucky’s story was so closely tied to Steve, it left the character bereft of any emotional tether – with the exception of the next Captain America.

The Falcon And The Winter Soldier Skipped Past Bucky’s Hydra Deprogramming

The Show Didn’t Dive Deep Enough Into Bucky’s Healing Journey

Considering Bucky Barnes’ history with Captain America, having even served in Steve’s Howling Commandos before becoming the Winter Soldier, it made sense for his next appearance after Steve’s exit to be alongside Sam Wilson in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. However, though Bucky shares top billing with Sam, the show was largely an origin story for Sam as the next Captain America. This left little time for character development for Bucky.

This was best epitomized by the title change at the end of the final episode, with the show becoming Captain America and the Winter Soldier. Although Bucky’s journey to heal from his trauma of being a brainwashed Hydra assassin was a recurring plot on the show, it wasn’t sufficiently resolved. In fact, except for one flashback scene to his time in Wakanda, the MCU largely skipped over Bucky’s recovery from being brainwashed, which does the character a great disservice. The result is a rushed, disordered storyline of development for Bucky, which is only made worse by other projects poking fun at him.

The GOTG Holiday Special Turns Bucky’s Disability Into A Joke

Nebula Gifts Bucky’s Arm To Rocket Raccoon

Rocket Raccoon’s fascination with prosthetic limbs dates back to the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, and it was played for laughs in Avengers: Infinity War when he offered to buy Bucky’s arm. However, the joke was continued in a fashion that could be considered gruesome in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. At the end of the special, Nebula gives Rocket Bucky’s arm as a Christmas gift, with the implication being she stole it from the Winter Soldier. Presumably, that leaves Bucky without his prosthetic, turning his disability into a joke at his expense.

It’s likely the joke won’t have much impact on the MCU and when Bucky next appears in Thunderbolts, he’ll still have a prosthetic arm. But if Thunderbolts doesn’t establish Bucky was in on the joke, and gave Nebula his arm willingly, then it’s just a one-off punchline that comes off in poor taste. The MCU has sensitively explored disabilities among its heroes in the past – Tony Stark’s PTSD in Iron Man 3 and Clint Barton’s hearing impairment in Hawkeye – so it would be out of place to treat Bucky’s disability as a joke rather than a harsh reality of the world the Marvel characters live in. That said, it would be par for the course of the MCU treating Bucky as a lesser hero because of his past as a Hydra assassin.

Thunderbolts Makes Bucky The Leader Of A Team Of Villains

It’s Unclear Why Bucky Is Still Considered A Villain In The MCU

The MCU has established that Bucky doesn’t believe himself worthy of being a hero because of the people he killed while operating as the Winter Soldier, but he’s been acting like a hero since he was freed from Hydra. In Civil War, Bucky is innocent of killing T’Challa’s father, King T’Chaka, and is merely used as a pawn to create a rift between Steve and Tony. Once he’s spent time healing in Wakanda, Bucky joins the war against Thanos, is blipped away, and returns to fight again. In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, he helps Sam become the new Captain America. By all accounts, Bucky is a hero, but the MCU won’t seem to let him forget he still has red in his ledger despite the fact that he was brainwashed to make those kills.

This is clear from the fact that Bucky is on the Thunderbolts team, which comprises other anti-heroes and villains like Yelena Belova, John Walker, Taskmaster, Ghost and Red Guardian. It’s not yet known how Bucky becomes the leader of the Thunderbolts, but the movie offers Marvel the opportunity to finally give his character a storyline that isn’t tied to another character. If Thunderbolts makes Bucky a proper hero in the MCU – without having him sacrifice himself to do so – it’ll rectify the years of disrespect and sidelined development. Bucky Barnes is a fascinating, compelling character, and it’s time the MCU stopped wasting his potential. Hopefully they don’t make that mistake again in Thunderbolts.