Although Bucky has come a long way in his recent MCU appearances, his history as the Winter Soldier disqualifies him from ever becoming Captain America. Throughout the entire Cold War and beyond, the Winter Soldier operated as a Hydra assassin, killing numerous American operatives during that time.
Usually, Captain America is considered the best fighter in the Marvel Universe, but on this occasion Bucky beat him fair and square, even using Steve's own shield to deliver the final blow. The power levels of Marvel characters vary greatly according to writers' preferences and story needs.
Bucky BarnesWinter Soldier. Bucky Barnes was brought back from his supposed death to be a brainwashed assassin called Winter Soldier. Reformed by his friends, he now fights alongside the Avengers.
James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes enlists to fight in World War II, but eventually literally falls in battle. Unfortunately, the evil Arnim Zola recovers him and erases his memory, turning him into a highly-trained assassin called the Winter Soldier.
Evolution of Winter Soldier in movies and cartoons (60fps)
Who does Bucky love in MCU?
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.
Of course, he's one of the exceptions as he turned evil even before becoming the Avenger. Bucky was a hero who fought alongside Steve Rogers in World War Two. But when he was captured and brainwashed, he became an assassin known as the Winter Soldier.
Despite possessing no enhanced traits such as Captain America or any superhuman abilities, Bucky is still alive, his body partially preserved by the freezing waters, and is able to be revived. Along with the loss of his left arm, he has brain damage and amnesia as a result of the explosion and his time in the water.
However, while Tony did make amends with Steve, he wasn't able to do so with Bucky. In fact, they didn't even get to have any interaction before Iron Man's death.
The fact of the matter is, the arm still functions as a part of his body. The superpowered enhancements do not change the fact that he will still naturally experience pain when his body is put under such stress, especially when the arm is attached to so many nerves that could've been damaged from losing his actual arm.
In the MCU, with his Winter Soldier mindset, Bucky is as strong as Captain America. If we're talking about the comics, it's because Bucky never received a version of the super soldier serum. He's still a highly trained man with a metal arm, but most of him is ordinary human.
Bucky ended up at the Red Room, an assassin training facility, where he participated in the Black Widow Ops program as a trainer—and that's where he met Romanoff for the first time. The two soon started having an affair.
In the comics, the U.S. government developed a virtually indestructible metal called adamantium. It is a classified government secret, and Bucky getting an adamantium arm would make sense with the theory that he joins the Thunderbolts in exchange for a new prosthetic from the government.
Despite what The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special revealed about Bucky losing his arm, Marvel has already confirmed that a new one is in his future. Early concept art for Thunderbolts showed Bucky with a vibranium arm resembling the one given to him by the Wakandans in Avengers: Infinity War.
By not telling Stark sooner, Rogers was perhaps also sparing his fellow Avenger from a great deal of pain, even though it seems as though Iron Man deserved the truth, especially when the deaths of his parents had weighed so heavily on him in earlier MCU adventures.
Despite giving Bucky eight hours with Zemo, the Dora Milaje eventually came for him, which led to Bucky fighting those who aided and supported him so much. This naturally resulted in the Wakandans seeing Bucky as a traitor, specifically Ayo herself. Wakanda is not wrong to be angered by Bucky's actions.
During Tony's funeral, everyone else is dressed in formal closthing, but Bucky shows up wearing a jacket instead. I don't think this is because Bucky was trying to be disrespectful to Tony. If he had a grudge against Tony, he wouldn't have showed up at the funeral to pay his respects in the first place.
A side effect of the Super-Soldier Serum that the Winter Soldier shares with Captain America is that neither can get drunk. In The Falcon and The Winter Soldier's premiere, Bucky noticeably downs several bottles of beer while on a date with Leah (Miki Ishikawa) and he suffers no ill effects.
In the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which released before Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Nebula gives Bucky's arm to Rocket as a Christmas gift. Although it's meant as a callback to the Infinity War and GOTG 1 jokes, it created some confusion about how exactly Nebula got the arm.
Surviving the war and believing Rogers had died during his last mission, Bucky eventually married Rogers' fiancé, Peggy and had two children, Marvin and Rebecca.
Even when Bucky was the villainous Winter Soldier, he was forced to commit evil acts due to the Hydra brainwashing and programming. This makes Bucky more of a tragic figure than a true villain, since he didn't choose to do anything evil.
Bucky is no longer treated like a villain because his name was cleared and the horrible actions of his past as the Winter Soldier haven't been made public, but it's that same past that makes him more suitable for the Thunderbolts.
Bucky Survived Through Cryogenic Freezing And The Super-Soldier Serum. After surviving his fall from the train, Bucky would be kidnapped by a HYDRA cell in the Soviet Union, and then placed in the same super-soldier experimentation that Steve was.
