Bucky is a character that fans have been reading as queer for years now, ever since Captain America: The First Avenger. The character’s arc from hero to tortured, brainwashed victim/villain who is rescued by his best friend is one that is compelling and nuanced. While he’s had a very small amount of screentime in the MCU, and very few lines of dialogue, he’s been a fan favorite from the jump, especially in transformative fandom. While many in-depth and well-written articles have explored this ending and how it does a disservice to Steve Rogers (and Peggy Carter, too), Bucky Barnes’ role in this narrative is often not talked about enough outside of fan circles.īucky’s fan popularity and the relationship to queer fandomīucky Barnes is a character that fans love. This conclusion left little room for even subtextual readings of the pairing and very firmly gave Steve Rogers a heterosexual love story. T he ending of Endgame left many fans feeling like Marvel wanted to shut down the Bucky/Steve narrative for good. At the end of both movies, he drops the shield, literally, his Captain America identity, metaphorically, to save Bucky. Shipping aside, the canon friendship between the two has been a driving force of Steve’s actions throughout the MCU, especially in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War. One of the biggest reasons fans were upset was because of the lack of resolution to the Steve/Bucky story arc set up in the Captain America trilogy. The ending, at least for now, of Steve Roger’s story arc in the MCU left many fans unsatisfied for many reasons. In the wake of Avengers: Endgame, one of the most controversial moments of the film was the last scene where Steve Rogers goes to the past to return the Infinity Stones and decides to stay there and marry Peggy Carter instead of returning to the future. However, the Steve/Bucky ship has been one of those rare queer ships that has crossed over into general awareness with even large media outlets discussing the relationship and the subtext between the two characters in the films. Of course, shipping is a separate entity outside of canon, and whether or not there is textual evidence in canon for a fan pairing is somewhat irrelevant to popularity.
In fact, a recent survey about shipping with over 17,000 participants has “Stucky” listed as the most popular current ship of any fandom. It’s no secret to fans of the MCU, especially those involved in fandom, that Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes is one of the most popular fan ships of recent years.
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