"We're going ... to the future".
When I watched Captain America - The First Avenger for the first time, both I and husband fell asleep at some point of the movie. I saw enough to know Steve's backstory and who is who and how life royally screwed him up, but I missed some details and even characters. Like Bucky Barnes. He's a secondary character in the story, and on the surface he is Steve Rogers' best buddy who saves Steve, then Steve saves him, and then Bucky falls off a train. Except, it's more complex than that if you watch more closely (in fact, entire movie is filled with all kinds of layers and things like HYDRA developing super tech and weapons, which was what Nazis did, only they didn't posses tesseract), Bucky does have a storyline and thigns happen to him, and will probably play into Captain America - The Winter Soldier. My intention here is to put my headcanons and thoughts into one box (since I've been writing about this boy a lot lately), also, it might be interesting to take a better look into James "Bucky" Barnes character since the next Captain America movie will be dealing with Bucky in more detail than the first one. But before we start I want to thank to ashen_key for discussing all of this with me back and forth. This meta is her baby as probably much as it's mine. We could have a joint custody. :)
When we meet Bucky in the film, he is the guy in shiny uniform who saves Steve from being beat up in a back alley. Compared to scrawny looking Steve, Bucky is tall and shiny. He's a sensible guy who tries to talk actual sense into Steve (but we know how that goes).
We don't know much of Bucky's MCU background, but it seems he and Steve were friends since childhood (just before the train job - I'm calling it that on purpose - there's a reference to their childhood, and you get a sense of shared history and shared pranks). I tend to go with orphan!Steve and big Irish family!Bucky (a family which looked after Steve too). But when we meet Bucky, he is a nice young man with manners, who is just about to ship out to Europe and wade into war. He doesn't come across as a cruel or violent prone person - he uses just enough force to scare the bully away from Steve. Even though he volunteered to go to war, like many young men did then, he is a nice and sweet guy whom I can see on dance floors, not in trenches. Bucky is really good with ladies, he is really really nice, which is quite important for later reference.
This is what he looks like in the beginning - not quite unimportant either -
He is put together, healthy looking, and a contrast to Steve, who is shorter and obviously frail. Bucky treats Steve like a friend, jibes and teases him, but doesn't seem to display "I am better than you" kind of attitude. If anything he is really, truly fond of Steve and that is one of the things that doesn't change through the movie (as long as Bucky's there). But he is certainly aware that he is taller and better looking than his friend. Steve and Bucky go on a double date in Bucky's arrangement, and while Bucky is there to have fun (his last night before shipping out); Steve is fixated on getting himself admitted into Army (which he manages, this time, enlisting into an experimental program which will eventually make him a human guinea pig, but a willing one at least); Bucky wants fun and girls and dancing and wants to see Howard Stark's shiny tech from the future. (And consider how he's going to become a part of that future, and how technology is going to affect him.) Anyway, when Steve and Bucky part their ways, both are headed into their war flavored adventures, which will turn out quite differently than we might expect.
Fast forward through following events of the movie - Steve is getting through his training somehow, and what he lacks in physical department, he makes up with smarts and wit and human decency. It's because of the human decency and his personality that he's picked to become Erskine's first test subject in super soldier program. we know how that goes. Steve finally gets a body that matches his heart and his ideals, but instead of being used as a soldier, he first serves his country as a morale boosting dancing monkey. (Which is definitely the most embarrassing thing in the film and I have absolutely no heart to watch it). What makes him snap out of it is learning that the unit where his best friend is serving is captured by HYDRA. Steve embarks onto one man rescue mission and that's when several interesting things happen.
We finally run into Bucky again. We've heard before that he's killed in action, but when Steve finds imprisoned soldiers in HYDRA base, he learns there is a restricted section on the base and that "nobody comes back" from there. It's where Bucky was supposedly brought and Steve runs to see if he can find him. (It seems that HYDRA was randomly picking captured soldiers and taking them to the restricted section of, what we've seen is a research base. They had a pool of unwilling test subjects and thus, Bucky ended up as a human guinea pig as well, but he certainly didn't sign up for it like Steve did. When Steve finds him, Bucky is strapped to a bed from head to toe, mechanically repeating his name, rank and serial number, which leads to assumption that he was interrogated and did what every soldier is trained to do. Resist. I suppose he lucked out and got out of it alive because Steve found him in time, and whatever Schmidt and Zola were doing with him, they didn't manage to finish. (I think it was confirmed that whatever they were doing with Bucky - another version of serum perhaps? - is directly linked to Bucky surviving the train accident.)
At first Bucky doesn't even recognize Steve. After few moments he does. (I wonder if this could be foreshadowing to what's about to happen in Winter Soldier movie.) In the next few moments Bucky's world turns upside down. Steve comes to save him, Steve is taller, stronger, Steve even physically carries him for a bit. Bucky is the one who's beaten and physically frail here and everything he knew about himself, in relation to his best friend, was just flipped upside down.
Add his reality to the mix, and you get on very messed up boy. I assume (although it wasn't clearly shown) that Bucky dealt with PTSDish symptoms and various physical symptoms (serum!).
The scene in the pub, when Peggy shows up in that knockout red dress is hard to watch. Remember when I said that Bucky was really really good and nice with ladies? When he tries to seduce Peggy, he is nowhere close to that guy we saw at the start of the film. His appearance is messed up, he looks raw, hungry and dark, his facial expressions and body language have changed. That Bucky who let a girl drag him by the hand, the boy in tidy, buttoned up uniform is gone. All he wants right now is one night stand, to prove himself he is still human. It doesn't happen, Peggy doesn't spare him a look, but carries entire conversation with Steve, which is another slap for Bucky who says to Steve later he's becoming invisible. But back to the start of Bucky and Steve interaction in this scene - while Howling Comandoes are sharing a table and drinking and singing together, Bucky is ... curled up in a corner, drinking alone, possibly trying to get drunk, and not succeeding. It's not stated anywhere, but one can speculate. We know Steve's metabolism makes it very hard for him to get drunk, I assume whatever was done to bucky has similar effects (we know both survived crashing from heights and being frozen, only Bucky ended up with shorter end of that stick).
Bucky really looks messed up. Notice the difference from what he was like in the beginning. I suppose things could be said about the way he's wearing his uniform. He is apparently neglecting his looks and he just doesn't look right.
It's interesting how Bucky doesn't want to follow "Captain America", but "that kid from Brooklyn who never could get away from a fight". I read it as Bucky trying to cling to something familiar, a world that made sense. Nothing makes much sense right now, but there is another important thing to note. Bucky doesn't act with resentment towards Steve. Not once. Not even when Peggy rejects him - he's disappointed and messed up, but he is proud of Steve and happy for Steve and he accepts his spot of a lieutenant in their different dynamics between them. he tries so damn hard to convince Steve he is doing okay and be the old Bucky - except he never goes to old Bucky any more. The thing is, Steve doesn't notice this - he is too busy finally being able to do what he always wanted to do, and Bucky does what he promised, he follows his friend.
We and Steve lose Bucky on the train. he tires to defend Steve and gets blown through train's wall, and falls off. Steve doesn't manage to catch him. That particular moment is, I think, the moment when the war really touches and changes Steve. he goes from the guy who "doesn't want to kill anyone" to a guy who "won't stop until entire HYDRA is dead or captured". Losing Bucky changes Steve and adds up to his pain and grief which increases tenfold when he finds out he woke up 70 years in future... and pretty much lost his entire world, and everything and everyone he knows... and the world merely carried on.
Considering that next Marvel film carries the name of Winter Soldier, we can merrily speculate and expect tons of Steve-angst, because of Bucky. (And I am all for that. Bring it on!) We know from comics where Bucky ends up - in hands of Soviets who brainwashed him and gave him a mechanical arm after he lost his real one to frostbite. They used him as a killing machine and put him into stasis when they didn't need him. It seems that Bucky won't remember Steve at all, going by the shots from the movie shoot that we were able to see recently. They fight each other in the street, and I'm assuming, neither recognizes the other, since Bucky is wearing a mask. (I can only imagine Steve's reaction when he eventually takes it off.)
Another interesting thing here is Natasha. In comics she and Bucky have quite an extensive history - the Winter Soldier was one of Natasha's trainers, and they were also lovers (in most recent version of Winter Soldier story if I'm not mistaken - I haven't read the comics, but I have heard/read lot of things about them). I'm wondering which route MCU will take, and how deeply they'll go into Bucky's story (since it is an ensemble movie with what seems a considerable plot). At this point I am completely okay if they hint at or show some past relationship between Natasha and Bucky, but even if they don't what they have in common offers a potentially interesting storyline and parallels. They've both been used and brainwashed by Soviets/Russian spy underground. If anything Natasha knows what kind of experience Bucky's been through. There's another interesting parallel there, one between Bucky and Clint - as both men have been brainwashed and forced to commit violent acts against their will. It's an interesting connection to play with in fanfiction at least. Whatever MCU decides to do, I'meagerly awaiting the new Captain America. In the first film Steve asked Bucky where they were going (before they went on a double date) and Bucky's answer was "To the future". The horrible irony of it is, it turned out to be the truth. it was pretty painful for Steve, and depending how the movie goes, it can only be worse for Bucky, at least initially I'm wondering if they'll allow him to regain his memories and switch to the good side, which I really hope they'll do. Bucky ended up as a forgotten boy whom the war swallowed - except he didn't die. he didn't get the privilege of finding peace but only more suffering, and I hope he's given some kind of justice.
To end this incredibly long and probably not too interesting meta post -
When we meet Bucky in the film, he is the guy in shiny uniform who saves Steve from being beat up in a back alley. Compared to scrawny looking Steve, Bucky is tall and shiny. He's a sensible guy who tries to talk actual sense into Steve (but we know how that goes).
We don't know much of Bucky's MCU background, but it seems he and Steve were friends since childhood (just before the train job - I'm calling it that on purpose - there's a reference to their childhood, and you get a sense of shared history and shared pranks). I tend to go with orphan!Steve and big Irish family!Bucky (a family which looked after Steve too). But when we meet Bucky, he is a nice young man with manners, who is just about to ship out to Europe and wade into war. He doesn't come across as a cruel or violent prone person - he uses just enough force to scare the bully away from Steve. Even though he volunteered to go to war, like many young men did then, he is a nice and sweet guy whom I can see on dance floors, not in trenches. Bucky is really good with ladies, he is really really nice, which is quite important for later reference.
This is what he looks like in the beginning - not quite unimportant either -
He is put together, healthy looking, and a contrast to Steve, who is shorter and obviously frail. Bucky treats Steve like a friend, jibes and teases him, but doesn't seem to display "I am better than you" kind of attitude. If anything he is really, truly fond of Steve and that is one of the things that doesn't change through the movie (as long as Bucky's there). But he is certainly aware that he is taller and better looking than his friend. Steve and Bucky go on a double date in Bucky's arrangement, and while Bucky is there to have fun (his last night before shipping out); Steve is fixated on getting himself admitted into Army (which he manages, this time, enlisting into an experimental program which will eventually make him a human guinea pig, but a willing one at least); Bucky wants fun and girls and dancing and wants to see Howard Stark's shiny tech from the future. (And consider how he's going to become a part of that future, and how technology is going to affect him.) Anyway, when Steve and Bucky part their ways, both are headed into their war flavored adventures, which will turn out quite differently than we might expect.
Fast forward through following events of the movie - Steve is getting through his training somehow, and what he lacks in physical department, he makes up with smarts and wit and human decency. It's because of the human decency and his personality that he's picked to become Erskine's first test subject in super soldier program. we know how that goes. Steve finally gets a body that matches his heart and his ideals, but instead of being used as a soldier, he first serves his country as a morale boosting dancing monkey. (Which is definitely the most embarrassing thing in the film and I have absolutely no heart to watch it). What makes him snap out of it is learning that the unit where his best friend is serving is captured by HYDRA. Steve embarks onto one man rescue mission and that's when several interesting things happen.
We finally run into Bucky again. We've heard before that he's killed in action, but when Steve finds imprisoned soldiers in HYDRA base, he learns there is a restricted section on the base and that "nobody comes back" from there. It's where Bucky was supposedly brought and Steve runs to see if he can find him. (It seems that HYDRA was randomly picking captured soldiers and taking them to the restricted section of, what we've seen is a research base. They had a pool of unwilling test subjects and thus, Bucky ended up as a human guinea pig as well, but he certainly didn't sign up for it like Steve did. When Steve finds him, Bucky is strapped to a bed from head to toe, mechanically repeating his name, rank and serial number, which leads to assumption that he was interrogated and did what every soldier is trained to do. Resist. I suppose he lucked out and got out of it alive because Steve found him in time, and whatever Schmidt and Zola were doing with him, they didn't manage to finish. (I think it was confirmed that whatever they were doing with Bucky - another version of serum perhaps? - is directly linked to Bucky surviving the train accident.)
At first Bucky doesn't even recognize Steve. After few moments he does. (I wonder if this could be foreshadowing to what's about to happen in Winter Soldier movie.) In the next few moments Bucky's world turns upside down. Steve comes to save him, Steve is taller, stronger, Steve even physically carries him for a bit. Bucky is the one who's beaten and physically frail here and everything he knew about himself, in relation to his best friend, was just flipped upside down.
Add his reality to the mix, and you get on very messed up boy. I assume (although it wasn't clearly shown) that Bucky dealt with PTSDish symptoms and various physical symptoms (serum!).
The scene in the pub, when Peggy shows up in that knockout red dress is hard to watch. Remember when I said that Bucky was really really good and nice with ladies? When he tries to seduce Peggy, he is nowhere close to that guy we saw at the start of the film. His appearance is messed up, he looks raw, hungry and dark, his facial expressions and body language have changed. That Bucky who let a girl drag him by the hand, the boy in tidy, buttoned up uniform is gone. All he wants right now is one night stand, to prove himself he is still human. It doesn't happen, Peggy doesn't spare him a look, but carries entire conversation with Steve, which is another slap for Bucky who says to Steve later he's becoming invisible. But back to the start of Bucky and Steve interaction in this scene - while Howling Comandoes are sharing a table and drinking and singing together, Bucky is ... curled up in a corner, drinking alone, possibly trying to get drunk, and not succeeding. It's not stated anywhere, but one can speculate. We know Steve's metabolism makes it very hard for him to get drunk, I assume whatever was done to bucky has similar effects (we know both survived crashing from heights and being frozen, only Bucky ended up with shorter end of that stick).
Bucky really looks messed up. Notice the difference from what he was like in the beginning. I suppose things could be said about the way he's wearing his uniform. He is apparently neglecting his looks and he just doesn't look right.
It's interesting how Bucky doesn't want to follow "Captain America", but "that kid from Brooklyn who never could get away from a fight". I read it as Bucky trying to cling to something familiar, a world that made sense. Nothing makes much sense right now, but there is another important thing to note. Bucky doesn't act with resentment towards Steve. Not once. Not even when Peggy rejects him - he's disappointed and messed up, but he is proud of Steve and happy for Steve and he accepts his spot of a lieutenant in their different dynamics between them. he tries so damn hard to convince Steve he is doing okay and be the old Bucky - except he never goes to old Bucky any more. The thing is, Steve doesn't notice this - he is too busy finally being able to do what he always wanted to do, and Bucky does what he promised, he follows his friend.
We and Steve lose Bucky on the train. he tires to defend Steve and gets blown through train's wall, and falls off. Steve doesn't manage to catch him. That particular moment is, I think, the moment when the war really touches and changes Steve. he goes from the guy who "doesn't want to kill anyone" to a guy who "won't stop until entire HYDRA is dead or captured". Losing Bucky changes Steve and adds up to his pain and grief which increases tenfold when he finds out he woke up 70 years in future... and pretty much lost his entire world, and everything and everyone he knows... and the world merely carried on.
Considering that next Marvel film carries the name of Winter Soldier, we can merrily speculate and expect tons of Steve-angst, because of Bucky. (And I am all for that. Bring it on!) We know from comics where Bucky ends up - in hands of Soviets who brainwashed him and gave him a mechanical arm after he lost his real one to frostbite. They used him as a killing machine and put him into stasis when they didn't need him. It seems that Bucky won't remember Steve at all, going by the shots from the movie shoot that we were able to see recently. They fight each other in the street, and I'm assuming, neither recognizes the other, since Bucky is wearing a mask. (I can only imagine Steve's reaction when he eventually takes it off.)
Another interesting thing here is Natasha. In comics she and Bucky have quite an extensive history - the Winter Soldier was one of Natasha's trainers, and they were also lovers (in most recent version of Winter Soldier story if I'm not mistaken - I haven't read the comics, but I have heard/read lot of things about them). I'm wondering which route MCU will take, and how deeply they'll go into Bucky's story (since it is an ensemble movie with what seems a considerable plot). At this point I am completely okay if they hint at or show some past relationship between Natasha and Bucky, but even if they don't what they have in common offers a potentially interesting storyline and parallels. They've both been used and brainwashed by Soviets/Russian spy underground. If anything Natasha knows what kind of experience Bucky's been through. There's another interesting parallel there, one between Bucky and Clint - as both men have been brainwashed and forced to commit violent acts against their will. It's an interesting connection to play with in fanfiction at least. Whatever MCU decides to do, I'meagerly awaiting the new Captain America. In the first film Steve asked Bucky where they were going (before they went on a double date) and Bucky's answer was "To the future". The horrible irony of it is, it turned out to be the truth. it was pretty painful for Steve, and depending how the movie goes, it can only be worse for Bucky, at least initially I'm wondering if they'll allow him to regain his memories and switch to the good side, which I really hope they'll do. Bucky ended up as a forgotten boy whom the war swallowed - except he didn't die. he didn't get the privilege of finding peace but only more suffering, and I hope he's given some kind of justice.
To end this incredibly long and probably not too interesting meta post -