The relationship between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes featured heavily in every Captain America movie. Friends since childhood and squadmates in World War II, Rogers assumed Bucky died during the events of The First Avenger. Things got complicated in the modern day though, where Rogers discovered his friend had been brainwashed into becoming the Winter Soldier. Their story came to a head in last year’s Avengers: Endgame, where an aged Steve had a choice of who to bequeath the Captain America title and shield to.
In a controversial twist, he passed over Bucky in favor of Sam Wilson/the Falcon. The consequences of his decision will be explored in the Disney Plus series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, but it’s safe to say Bucky fans weren’t happy with the choice. The depth of feeling on this can be seen in the reaction to a new promo released by the Marvel UK & Ireland Twitter account.
Cutting together similar scenes featuring both characters, the tweet reads: “Together until the end of the line.” Even leaving aside everything else, Steve Rogers literally didn’t stay “together” with Bucky. Instead, he hopped off into the past and lived out the majority of his life in romantic bliss with Peggy Carter. He definitely deserved that happy ending, but he also abandoned all his friends to do it and fans haven’t been shy about pointing that out.
together until the end of the line. Or until bad, inconsistent, out-of character writing turns Steve Rogers into his own anti-thesis. Shouldn't it be "together until the end of the lie" now?
— Jjinggu Nina 💎- 🐰🌙🗝🔥🧀 (@TheNenya) January 29, 2020
https://twitter.com/sassypeppotts/status/1222585454320590849?s=20
— Mary 🤍 (Taylor’s Version) 🤍 (@AtLikeTwoAM) January 29, 2020
https://twitter.com/sommarpatriot/status/1222684058393534464?s=20
https://twitter.com/ZeeLynd/status/1222599194403360769?s=20
And it goes on like this…for a very long time.
I’m betting this wasn’t the reaction that Marvel UK anticipated when they posted their apparently harmless video showing off Steve and Bucky’s friendship. That said, this anger at least proves that the movies did a great job of making audiences care about these characters and their friendship.
And, for the record, I think if Steve had asked Bucky for his blessing to spend the remainder of his life with the woman he loved, Bucky would have told him to go and never look back. In fact, Sebastian Stan summarized Bucky’s feelings on the matter in an interview last year, saying, “He was happy for him, obviously.” And maybe that’s all that needs to be said.