Will Bucky Barnes be a good guy or a bad guy in Avengers: Infinity War? It’s a good question, as the character’s morality has been the most flexible of all the super-powered heroes in the MCU. He was good in Captain America: The First Avenger, evil in The Winter Soldier and then mostly good in Civil War, though his murderous side came back when his brainwashing was reactivated.
Seeing as Black Panther suggested that Bucky’s now free of HYDRA’s influence, though, we thought that he’d be able to revert to his original heroic self, just like he was during his service in World War II. However, while chatting with Entertainment Tonight, Sebastian Stan suggested that Bucky may now operate in shades of grey, even though he’s not particularly dangerous anymore.
“I think that’s always up to question, in a good way, to be honest, because the thing is that I haven’t really thought about it other than the fact that every time you see him, he’s in a very different place, and he’s not really a very dangerous guy, for the most part. I feel like he’s still got the hair and the look and as long as he has this situation going, then I think he can look a little skeptical.”
If you’re wondering exactly where Bucky’s brainwashing stands going into Infinity War, the official prequel comic revealed that Shuri managed to create an algorithm that deleted HYDRA’s mental conditioning from his mind, meaning that he’s his own man again. However, Stan’s comments make it clear that it’s not so easy to wipe away seventy-something years of evil-doing.
Whether he’s properly a hero or not, Bucky will get himself a new codename in Avengers: Infinity War: White Wolf, as the Wakandan kids called him in Black Panther‘s post-credits scene. The change of name also comes with a replacement cybernetic arm, which we’ll finally get to see in action on April 27th.