In 2024, Marvel will debut their version of the Suicide Squad when Thunderbolts comes to cinemas. The team’s roster largely consists of superpowered anti-hero types already introduced elsewhere in the MCU and, while the hype is building, many are already adamant about not wanting a potential romance subplot to go ahead.
In a recent post on Reddit, one fan admits they don’t know how to feel about a potential romance between Yelena Belova and Bucky Barnes. Some aren’t concerned about such a pairing taking place, as romance generally isn’t a focus in the franchise, but admit both characters deserve some happiness and, for others, there’s a better path to have the pair walk to develop their characters. Given their shared traumas, it would make sense for Bucky to become a sibling-like mentor.
Another touches on previous allusions to Yelena being an asexual character. In their view, this would be a nice change of pace to the trend of major characters adhering to a straight norm all the time, but, for another, if this happens, they believe Marvel is not likely to embrace it and would end up censoring the film to make it eligible for release in repressive societies.
For one fan, the characters still harboring scars from traumatic past events makes them unlikely to be ready for anything approaching a relationship. Essentially, you cannot give your time to someone else if you still have a variety of demons weighing you down daily.
Thunderbolts is scheduled for release on July 26, 2024. It marks Harrison Ford’s first turn in the MCU as Thaddeus Ross, taking over the role from the late William Hurt.
