When most people think of Bucky Barnes, their minds immediately turn to Captain America. Even now, the infamous Marvel character is ultimately connected to the Falcon thanks to the Disney Plus series. Even though he typically falls under or alongside other Marvel characters, Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, actually has a tremendous story of his own.
Since his introduction way back in 1941, Bucky Barnes has had one of the most complicated stories of any Marvel hero. Throughout his time on both sides of the shield, Barnes comes together with a number of different super-powered allies as well as a solid collection of enemies he’s made along the way. Taking a trip down memory lane through Bucky Barnes’ almost 80-year history provides a look at Marvel heroes that would consider themselves a friend of the Winter Soldier and those that simply despise him.
Updated on April 27th, 2021 by Amanda Bruce: With the journey of Bucky Barnes in Falcon And The Winter Soldier giving the comic book hero a little more depth on screen, fans are eager to see where the MCU takes him next. Looking to his comic book past could be an interesting way to speculate, but his relationships in the MCU are a little different than those of Marvel comics. Not just the Winter Soldier’s love interests, but his allies and enemies can see some interesting differences from the page to the screen. Some of Bucky’s biggest relationships in comics and on-screen are highlighted here.
The following does contain spoilers for The Falcon And The Winter Soldier.
Despise: Sharon Carter
Despite Sharon Carter’s comic book history being just as tied to Captain America as Bucky Barnes, the two don’t have quite as significant of a history together. Instead, Sharon not particularly liking Bucky is courtesy of the MCU. Her entire career blows up in her face when she decides to help Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson save Buck in Captain America: Civil War. As a result, she turns her back on the system she used to believe in and builds her own criminal empire. It’s extreme, but Bucky can be blamed for her whole world being shattered, and she doesn’t even bat an eye when he calls her lack of faith in the ideal of Captain America “awful.”
Love: Ayo
Much like Sharon, Ayo and Bucky don’t share a lot of comic book history. The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, however, demonstrated that they do have some unique MCU history. It’s the Dora Milaje leader who helps to make sure that Bucky’s Winter Soldier programming is no longer active. She respects him enough to call him “White Wolf,” just as Shuri does. She also respects him enough to trust him with Helmut Zemo for a few days, despite knowing the risk of allowing the criminal to remain a fugitive.
Even when Ayo reprimands Bucky for his actions – and disables the arm provided for him by the Wakandan royal family – Ayo still grants him the favor of a new suit, wings, and drones for Sam Wilson. She might not feel for the Winter Soldier the way a love interest might, but she certainly holds a lot of respect for the man who has turned his life around.
Despise: Nick Fury
Bucky Barnes’ relationship with the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is complicated on both page and screen. In the comics, Barnes actually worked for Nick Fury for a time, operating underground after being reactivated as the Winter Soldier. Although Barnes does technically work as an underground operative of S.H.I.E.L.D., the plot of Captain America: The Winter Soldier changes their relationship with Barnes trying to assassinate Nick Fury. The two don’t interact much in the films beyond that, so you’d have to just assume that Fury has some contempt for Barnes, regardless of the fact that the latter was under Hydra mind control.
Love: Namor
One of the more popular supergroups in Marvel comics outside of the Avengers or the Fantastic Four actually involves Bucky Barnes’ Winter Soldier. The group called the Invaders is one of the more unorthodox pairings of heroes in Marvel’s history. Starting during World War II, Captain America and his sidekick Bucky Barnes, Namor, the Human Torch, and Toro were enlisted by the United States. With Barnes officially joining the team in the more recent iterations, he and Namor were essentially forced into a companionship. While it might be a stretch to say that Namor loves Barnes, the two certainly seemed to get along just fine.
Despise: Black Panther
Another Marvel hero with a complicated history with Bucky Barnes is T’Challa, the King of Wakanda, and the Black Panther. While the two don’t have too much of a background in the comics, they have obviously shared the screen on a number of occasions. During the events of Captain America: Civil War, the framing of Barnes as the UN bomber in Vienna set T’Challa on a furious rampage to kill the man believed to have murdered his father.
Up until the final sequence in which Zemo confesses to bombing the UN, T’Challa was fully prepared to carry out his mission of taking down Barnes. Yes, he would eventually go on to help rid Barnes of the Hydra programming in his mind, but the Black Panther’s hatred for the Winter Soldier was enough to carry throughout an entire MCU movie.
Love: Thunderbolts
It’s no secret that Bucky Barnes has gained his fame in the Marvel world as being a sidekick to Captain America. His role, however, in the comics has grown exponentially over the past several years. Most notably, after the events of Pleasant Hill, Bucky Barnes formed his own version of the Thunderbolts, tasked with protecting the Earth outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. control.
His team was instrumental in bringing down the S.H.I.E.L.D. Kobik Program, as well as many other facets of the intelligence agency. Although this version of the group only lasted about a year, we didn’t get much time seeing all these characters operate together. However, in that time we saw that they were fairly capable of working in harmony, and all had a great deal of respect for their leader, Bucky Barnes.
Despise: Hawkeye
Although the two fought on the same side during Captain America: Civil War, Bucky Barnes and Hawkeye have never exactly been the best of friends. Clint Barton was one of the loudest voices against the idea of Barnes taking on the mantle of Captain America from Steve Rogers in the comics, and especially against him using an identical costume. The two did actually join forces at one point in Tales of Suspense #100, after the events of Secret Empire, to uncover who was killing off the enemies of the late Black Widow. Regardless, however, of the two working together, much of their work side-by-side seems to just be tolerating one another long enough to discover the truth simply because they both care about Black Widow.
Love: Falcon
Much of the love between Falcon and the Winter Soldier comes from their time in the MCU films. Although Barnes initially tried to kill Sam Wilson as he fought alongside Captain America, the two eventually developed something like a friendship during the events of Captain America: Civil War. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Disney Plus series sees the two work together as more than simply bickering allies. The audience finally gets to see Barnes and Wilson develop their own story together outside of the scope of Rogers. Sam Wilson gives Bucky a second home in New Orleans, and Bucky Barnes gives Sam someone who believes in him carrying Captain America’s shield.
Despise: Iron Man
As you can probably tell, most of Bucky Barnes’ true relationships come from his appearances in the MCU. Captain America: Civil War is largely responsible for most of Barnes’ relationships with the Avengers other than Steve Rogers, and it unfortunately built on a relationship with Tony Stark that started way back when Stark was just a teenager. Stark made his hatred for Barnes abundantly clear at the end of Civil War, eventually blasting his metallic arm off his body. Iron Man was able to eventually forgive his fellow Avenger, Captain America, but it’s doubtful that he was ever able to forgive Barnes for murdering his parents.
Love: Black Widow
Bucky Barnes’ love interests are few and far between in both the MCU and the comic book pages. One of the few serious relationships that Bucky built outside of the MCU was with his love interest Natasha Romanoff. The two had a fascinating partnership, as Barnes was initially her trainer in the Red Room. Despite it being off and on several times, their relationship lasted years in the comics and is commonly considered one of Marvel’s best couples.
Time has passed for Marvel to showcase this relationship in the MCU, even with Black Widow getting a solo movie, and that is truly a shame. Their underlying love for another was wildly unanticipated and one of the more interesting partnerships that have existed in Marvel comics.
Despise: Wolverine
Bucky Barnes’ days as the mind-controlled Winter Soldier are the source of his rifts with characters like Iron Man and Black Panther, and it’s the cause of one of his biggest rivalries in Marvel comics with an unlikely enemy. As the Winter Soldier, one of his most memorable and unfortunate assassination targets was a woman named Itsu.
Itsu was actually the wife of Logan a.k.a Wolverine. At the time Barnes murdered her, she was also carrying Logan’s child, which just added to the fury that sparked a massive feud between Wolverine and the Winter Soldier. Their fights were both wildly intriguing and brutal, as the two held nothing back against each other. Their contempt for one another was as real as it gets, and yet another unfortunate circumstance of Barnes’ days as the mindless Winter Soldier.
Love: Captain America
Last, and certainly not least, is the most obvious part of the list. Bucky Barnes and Captain America have been practically inseparable since either of their creations. For years, Barnes fought alongside Rogers as not just his sidekick, but as his best friend as well. Although his life as the Winter Soldier complicated their close relationship, Barnes always has had a soft spot for Steve Rogers.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe did a brilliant job of illustrating the friendship of Bucky Barnes and Captain America. It also beautifully portrayed the complications of their relationship, gifting us some of the best fight sequences of any MCU film. Steve Rogers is likely out of the picture now, and it’s finally Barnes’ time to shine, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the near-century of true brotherly companionship that Barnes and Rogers have shared between both page and screen.
