Marvel Cinematic Universe: Ranking the 20 greatest superheroes

13. The Winter Soldier

One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most intriguing characters, Bucky Barnes played the role of a hero and villain in multiple movies. From Captain America: The First Avengers to The Winter Soldier and Civil War, it has been a wild ride for the best friend to Steve Rogers.

Bucky’s arc remains one of the most fascinating of any MCU figure, as well. He’s not the basic hero that just undergoes wardrobe changes and fights new foes. Instead, this is a man that went through a lifetime of trauma, from the moment he fell off that bridge in the first Captain America movie.

Civil War turned Bucky into an anti-hero. He committed heinous acts that contributed to the Avengers’ breakdown, but due to Russians brainwashing him. Once out of this controlled state, the Winter Soldier realized what he did, went to Wakanda and may do something that gets revealed in Infinity War.

Barnes’ slippery slope around the hero/villain line keeps him out of the top 10, however. If one of the Avengers movies pushes him as a good guy, then he can work his way into the upper tier. A potential donning of the Captain America suit and shield would only help this, too.