The trailer for the Thunderbolts* movie could hint at one big change for the Winter Soldier in the upcoming MCU release. As the MCU continues to expand and embrace more heroes and villains from across the vast multiverse, one upcoming title is set to bring back a number of characters who’ve faded into obscurity in the movies. Thunderbolts* brings together a group of misfit heroes, or perhaps more appropriately anti-heroes, in order to go on a secret mission. The details of the story are still under wraps, but the recent trailer release has got fans excited about what is to come.
However, as with any trailer drop, there is plenty of speculation about what the moments revealed in this three minute teaser could mean for the movie and the characters that will appear. While it’s clear that Yelena reunites with her father, and John Walker finds a new reason to pick up his shield, there are other characters whose fates seem less clear from the trailer. Namely, Bucky Barnes, who was last seen working closely with Sam Wilson in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but now appears to be running with a very different crowd, including the man that he helped bring down in that series.
The Thunderbolts Trailer Sets Up Bucky Fighting The Team
Bucky Does Not Appear To Be Himself In The Thunderbolts* Trailer
However, even that isn’t all that clear-cut, as the trailer also sees Bucky pick up a rocket launcher, and fire it at the rest of the team as they appear to flee in a vehicle. There are brief clips that see Bucky standing with John Walker, both inside the elevator, and in the office of Valentina, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but the rest of the trailer puts a cloud over this relationship. But, it could all be explained if Bucky’s alter ego, the brainwashed Winter Soldier, was back.
While the intentions of the team are unclear, and the mission that they are embarking on is totally in the dark, it does not appear to be the kind of mission that heroes are hired for. Yes, the Avengers have disassembled, but they are not all gone. However, Valentina chooses to recruit smaller figures with extraordinary gifts, like Yelena and John in order to carry out whatever mission she is putting together. While Bucky Barnes’ past is murky, he isn’t a villain.
However, his alter ego is. The Winter Soldier is a dangerous assassin that was created and controlled by HYDRA after WWII. Bucky somehow survived the war, but remained imprisoned, which led to him becoming an experiment by HYDRA who they used in order to wreak havoc and perform contract kills. And the Thunderbolts* movie appears to be hinting that Bucky may actually be back under the brainwashing spell that leads him to act as the Winter Soldier.
Bucky Is Using A Classic Winter Soldier Tactic Against The Thunderbolts
A Familiar Weapon From Captain America: The Winter Soldier Is Back
One scene in particular in the trailer provides the biggest connection that could point to Barnes being brainwashed. When the rest of the team are driving at speed, they see a shadowy figure aiming a weapon at their vehicle. The trailer reveals that this is Bucky, and he is holding an odd-shaped weapon which is pointed at the escaping vehicle. When he fires the weapon, it flips the car over at a high velocity, incapaciting the people inside.
However, this weapon is not new, and it has been used by Bucky before in one specific instance. When Bucky is still under the control of HYDRA in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, he goes after Nick Fury early in the film. As the head of SHIELD, Fury presents the biggest threat to HYDRA, and it’s clear that they want him taken care of so that they can expand their operations and work without interference. Bucky is assigned to do the dirty deed, and he uses a familiar weapon to shoot at Fury’s car and flip it over. The same clunky rocket launcher, with a large round section wedged into the front of the gun.
While the character using the same weapon may not be enough evidence to prove he has gone back to his old ways, or that someone has found a way to trigger him again, it does raise the question. Bucky working with John Walker is weird. Bucky firing a rocket launcher at a group of people in a car while remaining expressionless is weird. All things considered, it appears as though something has happened to cause Bucky to act in rash and aggressive ways. And it could be easy to assume that this means he has become the Winter Soldier once again.
Has Bucky Become The Winter Soldier Again?
Who Could Be Controlling The Winter Soldier In Thunderbolts*?
The Winter Soldier may as well be an entirely different entity to Bucky. They speak a different language, they have drastically different codes of conduct, and while Bucky has been seen to have emotions, the Winter Soldier remains devoid of anything so inherently human. The trailer doesn’t reveal any moment where Bucky speaks, or even properly interacts with the others. This could hint at Bucky no longer being himself.
The Winter Soldier is a dangerous assassin that was created and controlled by HYDRA after WWII.
If someone like Valentina, or someone else with ill intentions was able to get inside Buck’s head, and reactivate his Winter Soldier persona, that would make him an incredibly dangerous weapon, and an effective tool to command and send on missions. Considering it doesn’t feel like Bucky would just put aside his differences and start working with John Walker, this theory could hold a lot of weight. Evidently, he isn’t behaving like himself, but whether this is due to his brainwashing taking over again, or simply because he was given an offer that was too good to refuse, it’s unclear from the currently released trailer.
All of that being said, it does seem like Bucky is acting out of sorts. In his most recent appearances, he has a sense of humor, opinions he is readily willing to share, and a strong sense of morality. In the trailer for Thunderbolts*, there is no evidence that any of this aspects of the character remain. Of course, it’s just three minutes of the total film, and it could be cut to intentionally hide other details, but from what has been shown so far, it seems likely that Bucky will be brainwashed in Thunderbolts*.
