While Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes might not have a romantic bond in the MCU, they are still a fan-favorite duo that many people wish had been an LGBTQ+ canon relationship. However, whether audiences view them as close friends or more romantically, their relationship was key to the plot in the Captain America trilogy, and Bucky acted as a driving force in Steve’s life.
Their bond impacted a lot of the decisions that Steve made, and this had a ripple effect that caused some major conflicts within the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War. Overall, this relationship defined a lot of Steve’s journey.
Bucky Defending Steve From Bullies As Kids
The bond between these two men was forged early in childhood when Bucky would look out for the much smaller Steve. While this is only mentioned briefly, fans do see the two as young adults and see how Bucky defends Steve from bullies.
This sets up the fact that they were there for each other from an early age, and when the roles reverse later in the story, it’s easy to see why Steve feels like it’s his turn to be the one to defend Bucky.
Bucky Being Drafted
When Bucky is drafted to go overseas to fight in World War II, it’s the first main conflict that’s shown between these two. Firstly, Steve and Bucky have been “inseparable” since childhood, so there’s an element of loss here especially as war is so dangerous.
Secondly, Steve has a desire to fight in the war and protect others, so he feels upset that he’s left behind because of his size and health problems. Bucky being drafted further compels Steve to keep trying to get into the Army.
Steve Becoming Captain America
After Bucky leaves, Steve finally gets the chance he was looking for when Erskine enlists him into the program to be a supersoldier. While Steve doesn’t know exactly what he’s singing on for, he shows right away that it’s his strength of character that sets him apart.
Steve is able to withstand the serum, and his newfound superhuman abilities will come in handy later when Bucky is in distress. It’s the real turning point in Steve’s life that also changes the dynamic between them.
Steve Saving Bucky And The Howling Commandos
For a while, after Steve becomes Captain America, he’s being used basically as a symbol to sell war bonds, and he’s not being utilized for anything important. However, it’s when he learns that Bucky and the Howling Commandos have been captured behind enemy lines that he goes against orders.
His first real act as the Captain America most fans know and love is breaking the rules to save Bucky, and this is a pattern he will continue to exhibit in the following films. This illustrates how key this relationship is to Steve’s choices along the way.
Bucky Falling From The Train
While Steve and Bucky might have spent the first 20 or so years of their together, things change drastically when Bucky falls off the train and his string of sad times in the MCU starts.
This also begins a new pattern in the movies of Steve losing Bucky over and over again only to find him again and again, too. This loss is devastating to Steve, but it also seems to drive him forward to keep fighting against HYDRA and the Red Skull.
Steve Learns Bucky Is Alive
The big reveal in Captain America: The Winter Soldier is that the terrifying assassin is actually Bucky Barnes. This changes things in many ways for Steve. Not only does he suddenly have to try to save Bucky again and feel guilt over not knowing he was alive all this time, but it also provides him with a link to his past once again.
He was rather alone in the world, save for Peggy who was in her old age, but Bucky was a connection from his previous life he could hold onto.
Steve Breaking Bucky’s Brainwashing
Many important things happen between these two in The Winter Soldier, but the next most important is when Steve refuses to fight Bucky after dismantling the weapons aboard the helicarriers. Steve drops his shield for Bucky.
This is rather symbolic as one of his first real acts as Captain America is saving Bucky, so when he lays down the shield to save him, too, things come full circle. Telling Bucky that he’s “with him till the end of the line” is what jogs Bucky’s memory and breaks him out of HYDRA brainwashing which also shows just how strong this bond is between them.
Steve Finds Bucky In Romania
After Bucky pulls Steve from the river, another important moment that shows Bucky is still trying to save Steve, too, he goes into hiding. Steve is trying to find him and enlists Sam Wilson’s help, but he doesn’t until the UN bomb is let off by Zemo.
There is a lot of tension in this scene as Steve has clearly been worried about Bucky’s well-being, but he’s also been led to believe that Bucky has killed innocent people. However, he is willing to break laws and go against Tony Stark in order to keep Bucky alive.
Steve Fights Tony To Save Bucky
The fight scene between these three at the end of Captain America: Civil War changes things for all of the Avengers. Steve protects Bucky from Tony, and this creates a rift between Tony and Steve, with each believing they were in the right.
Because of this rather personal struggle between friends dealing with their past traumas, the Avengers are torn apart. It’s really a turning point for so many characters in the MCU, not just Steve and Bucky.
Bucky Is Healed In Wakanda
After Steve becomes a fugitive, he and Bucky are given refuge in Wakanda by T’Challa. There, Bucky is healed by Shuri, and he finally has a place where he can find safety and some peace after his suffering.
While Bucky and Steve aren’t always together during this time, Steve seems relieved to finally know Bucky is being taken care of. But, while he does feel happy about this, he is still cut off from his other friends and isn’t able to be Captain America like he used to be.
Bucky Is Snapped
Even after the other times Steve found and saved Bucky, the peace in Wakanda is ended when Bucky, like many other characters, is snapped by Thanos. This is a devastating blow for Steve who also loses best friend Sam Wilson.
While Avengers: Endgame didn’t do the best job of wrapping up the character arc between these two men, Infinity War did show that Bucky was a huge part of Steve’s story up to this point.