Who is Bucky Barnes?
James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is Steve Rogers's best friend from Brooklyn, the guy who looked out for a skinny kid before that kid became Captain America. In Captain America: The First Avenger he fights in the Second World War and is presumed dead. The MCU's most famous reveal for him comes later: Hydra captured him, rebuilt him with a metal arm and turned him into a brainwashed assassin known only as the Winter Soldier.
His story is the long climb back from that. Few MCU characters have a redemption arc that is spread across so many titles.
Bucky's appearances in order
- Captain America: The First Avenger (2011, film, essential)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014, film, essential)
- Ant-Man (2015, film, recommended, post-credits scene)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016, film, essential)
- Black Panther (2018, film, essential, credits scene)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018, film, essential)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019, film, essential)
- What If...? (2021, animated series, optional)
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021, series, recommended)
- Captain America: Brave New World (2025, film, recommended, brief cameo)
- Thunderbolts* (2025, film, essential)
- Avengers: Doomsday (2026, film, essential, upcoming)
- Avengers: Secret Wars (2027, film, essential; plot details not announced)
Turning points in his redemption
The Winter Soldier is the shock: the masked assassin is someone Steve knows. Civil War is the fallout. Bucky is blamed for an attack, and the question of whether he can be trusted splits the Avengers down the middle. At the end he chooses rest and treatment over running, and the short Black Panther credits scene shows where that choice led him. After Infinity War and Endgame, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier gets personal, as he tries to make amends for what the Winter Soldier did. Thunderbolts* puts him in a new role among a team of other people with complicated pasts.
Friends, allies and rivals
Captain America (Steve Rogers) is the friendship that never breaks, no matter what Hydra did to him. Falcon / Captain America (Sam Wilson) starts as an irritated rival and becomes a true partner; their bickering is the heart of their series. Natasha Romanoff had run into the Winter Soldier before, and her own past as a trained assassin makes her one of the few who understand him. T'Challa and Shuri give him a home in Wakanda when he needs one most.
Sebastian Stan as Bucky
Sebastian Stan has played Bucky from the start, which is rare for a role that changes this much. He went from charming sidekick to a nearly silent killer to a tired, sarcastic man in therapy, and he makes each version feel like the same person. Outside Marvel, he played Jeff Gillooly in I, Tonya, Tommy Lee in Pam and Tommy, a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice, and the lead in A Different Man.
Best order to watch
Release order is the right call. Watch the three Captain America films together, then Black Panther for the credits scene, then the two big Avengers crossovers. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier comes next, followed by Thunderbolts*. What If...? is optional and fits anywhere after Endgame. Our characters index covers the rest of the Thunderbolts* lineup.