The last time we saw
Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier, he was entering cryostasis at the conclusion of
Captain America: Civil War, having lost his robotic arm in a battle with Iron Man. While we know that Barnes will be returning in
Avengers: Infinity War, it remains to be seen how (or even if) he gets a replacement for that arm, and how his story develops.
Fans of the comics are well aware that Bucky becomes Steve Rogers' successor to the mantle of Captain America when the latter dies, though whether that will also translate to the MCU films is still up in the air. Sebastian Stan has now added some fuel to the fire in his most recent Instagram post, which shows him carrying a shield that pays homage to both Captain America and the Russian-styled arm he had as the Winter Soldier. The shield, which was made by props replica company
Shield Labs, is obviously not a direct confirmation that Bucky will take up Steve's mantle, but Stan's tease that it
"will come in handy" is quite an obvious nod.
Do you want to see Bucky pick up the shield after the events of
Infinity War? Let us know in the comments!