One of the best things that happened in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton, is the film’s credit scene. In it, General Ross, portrayed by William Hurt, gets a surprise visit from none other than Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, who informs the future Red Hulk that he’s putting together a team: the Avengers. In retrospect, that wasn’t the first post-credits scene in cinematic history, but it was the one that announced the biggest cinematic franchise of all time. Soon, post-credit scenes and cameo appearances became Marvel’s favorite tool for announcing new projects.
Fast-forward to MCU’s most recent release, Captain America: Brave New World, and we’re introduced to a new Star-Spangled Avenger. Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson dons the stars and stripes and leads his first MCU film after the original Captain America Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) left his shield in Wilson’s possession at the end of Endgame. However, the shield and the mantle of the First Avenger weren’t the only things Rogers had left Wilson with. He also left him with his best friend, James Buchanan Barnes, better known as Bucky or the Winter Soldier.
Both Wilson and Bucky held their own in MCU’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which was renamed to Captain America and the Winter Soldier at its conclusion, offering us a glimpse of what was to come. Of course, the MCU delivered, and Sam Wilson became the Captain. But what happened to Bucky? Well, as seen in Captain America: Brave New World, Bucky is actually campaigning to become a congressman, setting up his role in the upcoming Thunderbolts*. But when did that happen, and have we missed all the clues?
To be entirely fair, there haven’t been many clues indicating that Bucky Barnes would even consider entering the political arena in the MCU — at least not on the silver screen. But the idea actually isn’t all that surprising. While The Falcon and the Winter Soldier saw Sam Wilson wrestling with the weight of becoming Captain America and honoring Steve Rogers’ legacy, Bucky spent a good deal of time making amends for his lethal tenure as the Winter Soldier while also attending therapy to help him reconcile with his past actions as a brainwashed Hydra assassin.
He then appears in Captain America: Brave New World — after he received a presidential pardon for his aid in fighting Thanos — when Sam needed some encouragement after his sidekick got gravely injured. Barnes is too familiar with the feelings of guilt Wilson is currently burdened by (having unwillingly injured so many) and conveniently appears to offer some heartfelt words of encouragement to the new Cap, reminding him that Rogers entrusted him with the shield and the symbol for a reason. Wilson then makes an off-handed joke about Barnes’s speech writers before the conversation casually pivots to Barnes running for political office.
However, while there haven’t been many clues within the MCU, some clues were dropped off-screen during future project announcements. Discerning fans might’ve noticed that Barnes is wearing a congressional pin in the latest trailer for Thunderbolts*, where he’s set to play a major role. Additionally, actor Wyatt Russell — set to portray US Agent John Walker in the upcoming film — did mention that Barnes is now a congressman during a red-carpet appearance several months ago. Admittedly, though, it sounded more like a joke than an actual possibility.
Truth be told, while unusual for the character and quite surprising to the MCU audiences, Bucky is hardly the first Marvel character to run for office in comic book history. Those more familiar with the comics know that Tony Stark was the Secretary of Defense, and Matt Murdock (Daredevil) was the mayor of New York City. Even Steve Rogers was a presidential candidate back in the 1980s; two versions of the character, actually — one was elected, and the other one dropped out of the race. For Bucky, however, running for political office is unprecedented, even in comics.
Following the character’s appearance in the Captain America comic book back in 2005, Bucky has basically been an Avengers mainstay who had, at one point, taken up the mantle of Captain America. He went on numerous adventures in the comics, including time-traveling, becoming Earth’s protector and whatnot, but he never ran for political office. However, since he never actually received the shield in the MCU, this could be Marvel Studios’ way of having him still follow in Steve Rogers’ footsteps and run for office.
Whether or not that’s true isn’t really significant since the MCU is known for taking some creative liberties with Marvel Comics’ material, chucking it all under the “it’s a multiverse” umbrella and calling it a day. The main question now is whether his return to action in the Thunderbolts* means that he’s potentially relinquishing his office in the process, or is he really that dedicated to his constituents?