Marvel Cinematic Universe fans heard the name White Wolf during the post-credits scene of the first Black Panther film, when children in a Wakandan village called Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) “White Wolf.” While comic book fans recognized the term, others wondered what it meant for the character they knew as the Winter Soldier and the MCU as a whole. Five years – and 24 projects – later and fans still don’t know how Bucky earned this nickname, but we do know where the name originated in the comics and how the White Wolf could possibly feature in the third installment of the Black Panther franchise.
Comic book origin
In the comics, a plane crashes deep in the forests of Wakanda, leaving one survivor, a white baby. The villagers who discovered the infant take him to King T’Chaka, who decides to adopt him as his own son, naming him Hunter. Hunter is an expert, well, hunter and is highly skilled at combat, earning him the nickname White Wolf. Years later, T’Challa is born and declared the rightful heir, causing a lot of jealousy and animosity from Hunter. After King T’Chaka’s death, T’Challa took the throne while Hunter plotted a coup. As the White Wolf, Hunter committed a lot of serious crimes, including the murder of women just to get T’Challa’s reaction, before he was finally arrested.
Bucky’s story
After Shuri (Leticia Wright) was able to erase the brainwashing he underwent as the Winter Soldier, Bucky joined the Avengers to help fight Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War. Proving how much Wakanda trusts him, King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) gave Bucky a vibranium arm specially made for him by Shuri.
After everyone was brought back from the Snap during Avengers: Endgame, Bucky went on a mission – to answer for the crimes he unknowingly committed as the Winter Soldier. With a full pardon from the United States, Bucky decided to try to atone for his sins by making amends with all the people he wronged as the Winter Soldier. Bucky, the man who always had Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans) back, lived a tragic life and has finally become the hero fans hoped for, so now would be the perfect time for him to fully embrace the White Wolf moniker.
What’s next?
Stan is set to reprise his role in the upcoming Thunderbolts movie, a surprising turn for the reformed criminal, considering the characters that make up the Thunderbolts aren’t really upstanding members of society. He could be working undercover for Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) to uncover the goal of the Thunderbolts.
Looking ahead to the next Black Panther film, it would make sense for Bucky to play a part in the next film, considering the Dora Milaje named Ayo (Florence Kasumba) warned him not to show his face in Wakanda again after he helped Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl) escape from prison during The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to help him and Sam on their mission. Since both Bucky and Zemo will star in Thunderbolts, he could wind up on Wakanda’s growing list of enemies if he breaks him out of prison again. But then again, if he is working for Sam Wilson’s Captain America for information on the Thunderbolts, his friendship with the African nation could prove vital in whatever storyline they have planned. He is, after all, a highly skilled soldier and one of the deadliest assassins in Marvel history.
Our guess is the powers that be didn’t keep Bucky around all this time just to destroy his character arc by turning him to the dark side so soon after his redemption story. If Bucky does fully embrace the White Wolf moniker in the Thunderbolts or Black Panther 3, it will be great to see him don the white vibranium suit from the Marvel comics and fight alongside, instead of against, the Black Panther.
