Marvel Studios' decision to split up Bucky and Sam Wilson after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was a huge mistake.
For a long time, those two were practically inseparable in the eyes of fans, and their dynamic was one of the best things to come out of the post-Endgame era. But a lot of that magic is gone now as we head towards Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. It's a truck-load of potential, absolutely squandered.
Bucky and Sam's connection goes all the way back to 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, arguably one of the best movies in all of Marvel; it introduced Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson while transforming Sebastian Stan’s Bucky from a tragic WWII sidekick into a brainwashed, nigh-unstoppable assassin.
What started as serious tension turned into hilarious bickering in Civil War as the two competed for Steve's attention and eventually evolved into genuine, hard-earned trust by the time the duo teamed up on Disney+.
When Steve Rogers handed Sam the iconic shield at the end of Endgame, it felt like a no-brainer that these two needed to stick together for the long-haul as a package deal for the MCU’s next chapter, with Sam providing the moral compass while Bucky brought the grit, Super Soldier muscle, and deeper history with Steve.
So why did Kevin Feige and co. decide to break up one of their best duos for Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World?
Albeit with the benefit of hindsight, it's clear that they were split merely for the benefit of narrative reasons and not character development.
Marvel needed a recognizable, veteran hero to anchor the Thunderbolts* lineup, and Bucky was just simply the easiest narrative glue that was readily available. Meanwhile, the studio was in a bit of an experimentation mode and wanted to see if Sam could carry a tentpole film entirely on his own before potentially taking the reins of the next Avengers film.
These decisions completely backfired.
Thunderbolts* earned solid reviews from critics and fans alike, but it still floundered at the box office.
On the flipside, all of the promise Sam had at the end of Endgame, as he accepted the shield from Steve, has been completely squandered. Brave New World suffered through endless reshoots and script overhauls, resulting in a mess of a movie whose only real takeaway was setting up The Leader as Doctor Doom’s lackey.
Somewhere in the multiverse, there's a version of the MCU where the ideas and plotlines of Thunderbolts* and Brave New World are combined, where Sam and Bucky team up to investigate the actions of The Leader and have to deal with competing government factions from President Thaddeus Ross and CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to create their own versions of The Avengers.
The film concludes with the revelation that both Ross and De Fontaine want to create their own teams to wipeout evideince of their past misdeeds, which lead Bucky and Sam to decide to form their own version of the Avengers, separate from the government, and to continue Steve's legacy on their own terms.
Marvel's decision to split up Sam and Bucky trades a fan-favorite, battle-tested dynamic for two disjointed solo storylines that fail to stick the landing.
By trying to force Sam into a solitary spotlight and using Bucky as an ensemble fix-all, the studio managed to weaken both characters right when the Multiverse Saga desperately needed a grounded, reliable core.
Heading into Avengers: Doomsday, Sam Wilson is set to lead a brand-new Avengers team. The only problem? Fans have never actually seen them form, let alone go into battle together.
For the Thunderbolts* or New Avengers/Avengerz, it's not explicitly clear who leads that team- is it Bucky or is it Yelena?
Sam and Bucky were supposed to carry on Steve Rogers' legacy - his leadership, his core moral compass, and his uncanny ability to hold a team of diverse personalities together in order to overcome insurmountable odds. Marvel had the perfect setup, and somehow, they completely botched it for both of them.
Anthony Mackie seemingly alluded to this sentiment himself while making Brave New World.
Sebastian Stan was a little more humorous in his take on this topic but admitted that he was also missing his running mate while filming Thunderbolts, commenting, " Thunderbolts*, let me tell you, it was a much quieter year for me because I didn’t see Anthony Mackie. So, I’ll say that. Although I miss Anthony Mackie like daily, and it’s something I don’t like to admit."
Their real-life chemistry was obvious, and it came through crystal clear on screen.
Instead of building toward Doomsday and Secret Wars with a unified Captain America front, fans are left to ponder about what could've been.