This text accommodates spoilers for “Captain America: Courageous New World.”
Earlier than the endgame of “Captain America: Courageous New World” kicks in, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is watching over the injured Joaquin “Falcon” Torres (Danny Ramirez) in a personal hospital room after the worldwide incident between Japan and the U.S. close to Celestial Island. Out of the blue, a door opens. With Joaquin harm and Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) unfairly imprisoned, Sam is decidedly not within the temper for chitchat, however his temper shifts when he realizes who has walked in. As an alternative of the most definitely culprits like Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus Ross or Shira Haas’ Ruth Bat-Seraph, we see none aside from James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan, who initially thought he’d solely play the function for one film), aka the Winter Soldier.
The initially ornery duo turned fire-forged pals throughout the occasions of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” so it is sensible that they have been holding tabs on one another. Nevertheless, one thing about Bucky appears unusual this time round. He wears an costly swimsuit in lieu of his typical road garments, with a really politician-coded American flag pin on the lapel. After the pair share some pleasantries and a fast heart-to-heart, we discover out that Mr. James Barnes is certainly now a politician, and aspires to turn into a congressman within the upcoming election.
The concept of one of many Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most constantly tormented superheroes voluntarily including much more difficulties on his plate by stepping into politics is a enjoyable one. Nevertheless, the character’s newfound ardour in politics additionally raises a number of questions on his present authorized standing within the universe, in addition to the components of his MCU future we already find out about.
Bucky’s political future faces countless questions
Bucky Barnes has proved to be a very good man many occasions over, however his previous is eternally marred by the truth that he spent many years as a brainwashed Soviet murderer with a fearsome repute and a hefty kill depend. If the varied challenges his historical past poses (or the truth that he is technically 110 years outdated) will not render him ineligible for election, they need to at the least give his political opponents loads of ammunition in opposition to him. Even discounting all the pieces else and bearing in mind his heroics after he got here to his senses, simply the truth that he killed the dad and mom of Earth’s most esteemed savior, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), carries the makings of a career-ending scandal.
There’s additionally the not insignificant matter that the following Marvel film, “Thunderbolts,” options Bucky working round with what quantities to a black ops workforce, which is an exercise U.S. congressmen traditionally are inclined to keep away from. Mix Bucky’s historical past and his looming “Thunderbolts” future with the truth that Thaddeus Ross’ (Harrison Ford) Purple Hulk antics doubtless do not precisely do any favors for superpowered people seeking to turn into elected, and it definitely begins to appear that the character’s budding political profession is little greater than a one-scene surprise.
The factor is, there’s additionally some indication that he’ll truly get elected. On the 2024 San Diego Comedian-Con, Sebastian Stan and his “Thunderbolts” co-star Wyatt Russell casually revealed in an interview with ComicBook.com that Bucky will certainly be a congressman within the film. For the aforementioned causes, this raises much more questions than the failure of his political aspirations would — however, for now at the least, evidently this extraordinarily unlikely character is becoming a member of James “Warfare Machine” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) in Washington D.C.’s halls of energy.
