Marvel"s Thunderbolts* Trailer Has Me Concerned About The MCU"s Handling Of Bucky"s Arm

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The Thunderbolts* trailer suggests Bucky Barnes" Vibranium arm will continue to lose its impact in the MCU"s Phase 5. The most important part of Bucky Barnes" MCU journey is definitely his near-death experience in Captain America: The First Avenger and his transformation into the legendary Winter Soldier before he returned in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Representing Bucky"s brainwashing is his metal arm, which made him a powerful villain-turned-hero but also serves as a permanent reminder of his many decades" worth of brainwashing under Hydra.
Sebastian Stan"s Bucky Barnes returns after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier"s finale to join the titular team in Thunderbolts*. As the first Thunderbolts* trailer suggests, Bucky has brought his Winter Soldier persona back to some degree, leaving his hair longer and using his sticky bomb to blow up moving vehicles. Yet, while Bucky"s current arm is much more powerful than his original Winter Soldier arm due to its Vibranium nature, it seems to be the source of comedy relief once again.
I'm Concerned Thunderbolts* Is Making Bucky's Arm Into A Joke In The MCU (Again) Bucky Barnes' Metal Arm Has Been The Butt Of Jokes For A While Now

Custom image by Nicolas Ayala The threat of Bucky Barnes" arm started to decrease after Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The first instance of Bucky"s metal arm being used as comedy relief came in Captain America: Civil War, where Spider-Man stopped Bucky"s punch effortlessly and told Bucky "You have a metal arm? That is awesome, dude". Avengers: Infinity War later saw Bucky meet Rocket Raccoon, who offered to buy Bucky"s arm in the middle of battle. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special calls back to this scene when Nebula gifts Rocket Raccoon with Bucky"s Vibranium arm.
The vibranium arm featured in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special seems to be a replica created by Nebula.
The first Thunderbolts* trailer presents Bucky at Valentina Allegra de Fontaine"s refurbished Avengers Tower and then shows him retrieving his metal arm from a dishwasher. Although Thunderbolts* seems to be bringing Bucky back to his deadly Winter Soldier days, his arm continues to be shown in a comedic light. Whether as a coveted prize for Rocket Raccoon, as a useless weapon against the Dora Milaje in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, or as a regular object Bucky washes and stores in his dishwasher, Bucky Barnes" metal arm is far from the deadly weapon it used to be in Phase 2.
Why Marvel Needs To Stop With The Jokes About Bucky's Arm Bucky Barnes' Prosthetic Arm Is More Than A Simple Fictional Weapon Close Bucky Barnes" arm could still be an MCU weapon as iconic as Captain America"s shield or Thor"s Mjolnir. But apart from wasted action-scene opportunities, the MCU"s recent treatment of Bucky Barnes" metal arm is insensitive, as Bucky is a disabled veteran who uses a prosthetic. Bucky lost his arm in World War II, and he returned from the brink of death with significant physical and psychological side effects. Bucky learned to overcome his Winter Soldier programming and mastered the wide range of abilities his prosthetic arm provides him. His Vibranium arm should be celebrated, not mocked.
Bucky"s metal arm has repeatedly been depicted as a hindrance and the butt of jokes
The MCU has featured characters" wounds and assistive devices in comedic moments before. For instance, Iron Man 2 included a comically shocking scene where Pepper Potts helped Tony Stark change his arc reactor, and Hawkeye included a scene where Clint Barton turned off his hearing aids in order to ignore Kate Bishop. However, the comedy in these scenes relied on how the characters used their devices and the funny situations they found themselves in, whereas Bucky"s metal arm has repeatedly been depicted as a hindrance and the butt of jokes.
How Thunderbolts Could Actually Redeem The MCU's Handling Of Bucky's Arm Bucky Barnes' Metal Arm Could Be The Best Weapon Of The MCU's Thunderbolts Team

Thunderbolts*" plot seems to be putting some focus on the different ways the main anti-heroes deal with their trauma. For example, John Walker a.k.a. US Agent is now living a family life with his child, whereas Florence Pugh"s Yelena Belova is going on increasingly dangerous missions by herself. Instead of bringing back Bucky as a living weapon once again, Thunderbolts* could continue The Falcon and the Winter Soldier"s story with Bucky"s therapy work. Now, Bucky could weaponize his Winter Soldier training and his metal arm"s deadly abilities, but also welcome them as part of himself without losing control.

Related Bucky's New Look In Marvel's Thunderbolts* Footage Has Me Concerned About His MCU Story Bucky is sporting a new look in the first Marvel"s Thunderbolts* footage, and it has me worried the MCU is undoing his character development.
4 Rather than portraying Bucky Barnes" prosthetic arm merely as a weapon or as comedy relief, Thunderbolts* has the chance to use it as a representative element of Bucky"s character arc — from a broken man manipulated by forces beyond his control to a hero who reclaimed his autonomy and power. Likewise, every member of the MCU"s Thunderbolts could have similar elements. For instance, US Agent"s shield could represent a more restrained approach to combat after his controversial use of Captain America"s shield, and Ghost"s phasing abilities could represent her conquest of her dark past.

Thunderbolts* (2025)
Director Jake Schreier Writers Lee Sung-jin , Eric Pearson , Joanna Calo Release Date May 2, 2025 Cast Florence Pugh , Sebastian Stan , David Harbour , Wyatt Russell , Olga Kurylenko , Hannah John-Kamen , Julia Louis-Dreyfus , Geraldine Viswanathan , Lewis Pullman , Joshua Mikel Budget $200 million Upcoming MCU Movies