Warning: This article contains spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World.

Captain America: Brave New World‘s update to Bucky Barnes’ MCU arc already serves to make his story in Thunderbolts* look more tragic than before. While Bucky’s early MCU story saw him become the mind-controlled villain known as the Winter Soldier, he’s now one of the longest serving heroes in the franchise. Thanks to a combination of his interesting arc, his entertaining friendships with characters like Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, and Sebastian Stan’s acting talents, Bucky is also one of the most popular heroes in the MCU timeline, meaning plenty of people are invested in how his story continues to unfold.

Thankfully, Barnes’ temporary hiatus is being made up for in a big way in 2025’s MCU releases. February has already seen Captain America: Brave New World debut with a surprise return from the character, and the story of Thunderbolts* is set to feature him in a focal role within the new MCU team. However, the information Captain America: Brave New World did reveal about Bucky’s story and where the character is currently at in his personal arc sets up the hero’s story in Thunderbolts* to have extra layers of tragedy within it.

Captain America: Brave New World Provides A Fascinating Update On Bucky Barnes’ MCU Story

Image via Marvel Studios

After a not inconsiderable hiatus from screens, Captain America: Brave New World provides an interesting look at what’s been happening in Bucky Barnes’ life since audiences last saw him. This is a welcome addition to the movie, given otherwise the last time audiences got any real update about him was either 2021’s The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, or the Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special suggesting Rocket stole Bucky’s mechanical arm as a gift to Nebula.

Following the Falcon being hospitalized after a fight to prevent an all-out war being created by The Leader’s plans to pit Japan and the US against one another, Bucky meets Sam Wilson at the hospital to lend him some much-needed words of support and encouragement. As it turns out, though, Bucky can’t stay for very long, as the movie reveals he’s gotten into politics and is running for Congress, with him having to jet off shortly after reuniting with Sam to head to a campaign fundraiser. While a nice glimpse into Bucky’s current reality, the MCU has already teased some issues with this.

Bucky’s Current MCU Arc Makes His Thunderbolts* Story Seem Way More Tragic

Bucky running for Congress makes a lot of sense for the character following his arc thus far, as he aims to make life better for those around him through non-violent means and further balance the scales from his time as the Winter Soldier that he’s still shown to feel guilt for. Based on Bucky’s cameo in Brave New World, it seems this avenue is working out for him, and he looks to have taken to the political sphere well given his jokes with Sam about how to make a speech hit just right to its intended audience.

However, previews for Thunderbolts* show Bucky once again breaking back into the skillset he had honed during his time as the brainwashed Winter Soldier. The Thunderbolts* trailer shows Bucky shooting several guns, headbutting an opponent, and seemingly kidnapping the other members of the Thunderbolts to sell them on teaming up to face what appears to be the Void, which is a pretty drastically different tone to his appearance in Captain America: Brave New World and his talks of fundraisers and using his words and wits versus any more physical confrontations.

Thunderbolts* is set to release on 2 May 2025, three months after Captain America: Brave New World.

Though he appears in Congress towards the start of the trailer, it currently doesn’t seem likely that Bucky can maintain being both a congressional representative and an active superhero or vigilante, meaning he may find himself forcibly pulled into the superhero sphere once more. While there have been real-life cases of some individuals serving in the US reserve forces and Congress, the MCU’s depiction of the government’s stance on superheroes doesn’t align with them allowing someone to do both, particularly after the Sokovia Accords storyline highlighted the concerns the American government had with even non-powered heroes.

This suggests either that this career path may fall through for the character, or that Barnes may find himself forced to sacrifice his position in order to defend the same people he sought to help as a congressman from a new deadly threat. Even in a best-case scenario where Bucky was allowed to keep being a part of Congress, he’s at a natural disadvantage to those around him, since his time and priorities can’t be as focused on this alone, which seems genuine shame given how at ease and happy Bucky appears to be in Brave New World.

The Multiverse Saga’s Final Movies Suggest Bucky’s Story Is Only Going To Get More Intense

While seeing Bucky go into politics and essentially retire peacefully from being a hero but still try to make the world a better place would arguably be a suitable happy ending for him, that doesn’t appear to align with the MCU’s current plans for the future. Whatever happens in Thunderbolts* already puts Bucky back in harm’s way, and it stands to reason that Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will also bring him back into the fray, as may other conflicts between these two releases.

As one of the MCU heroes that’s been in the franchise the longest, it makes sense to have Bucky return for the Avengers movies, especially since he’s one of Sam Wilson’s closest allies, and Captain America is set up as the character to reassemble the Avengers themselves following the ending of Captain America: Brave New World. This also stands to reason since at least Avengers: Secret Wars will deal wih the fate of the multiverse, which it would seem outright bizarre for Bucky to not be invested in when he’s willing to throw down to protect seemingly New York alone in Thunderbolts*.

With all of this in mind, while Captain America: Brave New World‘s look at Bucky’s current life is a promising one, it’s also one that makes the future seem all the more fraught, since the character seems about to swap out the path he has chosen for once again putting his life on the line – and it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to take his life off the line for at least the next few years or so. While this is great news to some degree for Bucky fans who want to see more of the character on-screen, it certainly doesn’t give the character a break.