Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) has become a staple of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but with Captain America (Chris Evans) gone, he should return to Wakanda in Black Panther 2 as the White Wolf. Bucky will next appear in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where he will team up with fellow Cap mentee Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). After that, it’s assumed that Bucky will remain on the small screen with appearances in future Avengers films. However, Wakanda has already played a critical role in Bucky’s arc, and taking him back to T'Challa's (Chadwick Boseman) nation would serve Bucky's story best.
After teaming up with best pal Captain America to fight Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) in Captain America: Civil War, a mind-controlled Bucky was sent to Wakanda. There, Black Panther’s genius younger sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), was able to free him from the hypnotic Hydra curse, taking his mechanical arm in the process. Bucky regained the powerful limb in Avengers: Infinity War before Thanos’s (Josh Brolin) arrival in Wakanda. After Infinity War turned half of the Marvel roster to dust, Bucky returned in the climax of Avengers: Endgame. Now, it looks like Bucky and Falcon will take up the work of Captain America for the Disney+ show.
In Infinity War, T’Challa refers to Bucky as the White Wolf, who plays a large role in the Black Panther comic series. A white man raised by T’Challa’s father, King T’Chaka, the White Wolf becomes a mercenary after he is denied the throne. He’s usually an enemy of T’Challa, but the White Wolf isn’t above fighting alongside Black Panther when Wakanda’s safety is threatened.
With Cap retired, there are few hints about Bucky’s future. One clue is the return of Civil War villain Zemo in Falcon and Winter Soldier. Zemo tore the Avengers apart by reciting the words that trigger Bucky’s transformation into the ruthless Winter Soldier. If Zemo is Falcon and Winter Soldier’s villain, it’s possible that he’s found a new way to bring back the Winter Soldier persona. If Zemo turns Bucky back into an unstoppable assassin, only one place will know how to rescue him again: Wakanda.
The Winter Soldier could return to Wakanda in two feasible ways. Either he will face capture once again and be returned to Shuri, or he will fight the Wakandans to prevent a final, irreversible transformation into Bucky. In the hands of Wakanda, Bucky and the Winter Soldier might have to find common mental ground, the way Bruce Banner and Hulk became Professor Hulk in Endgame.
The happy middle between Bucky the hero and the ruthless fighter, the Winter Soldier, is the White Wolf. Freed of his Hydra hypnosis, the White Wolf would be a formidable force for good in Wakanda. As in the comics, he could arrive as a villain but become an important ally for T’Challa. If Falcon and the Winter Soldier ends with Bucky’s arrival in Wakanda, expect him to buddy up with the Black Panther. If he doesn’t, he could still manage an appearance as a subplot in Black Panther 2 alongside new MCU characters. With Black Panther 2 likely to continue the cultural themes of Black Panther, the Winter Soldier won’t be the sequel’s main villain. In the current MCU timeline, though, Bucky is without a home. Hydra and the New York of his youth are both gone. Wakanda is the place of his rebirth, and his life as the White Wolf belongs there.
