Look, I didn’t make Bucky’s capture and possible death the catalyst that caused Steve to fully embrace Captain America. I didn’t make Bucky’s death the thing that shifted Steve’s moral center from “I don’t want to kill anybody” to “I’m not gonna stop until all of Hydra is dead or captured”. I didn’t write a conversation about romance where Steve uttered the line, “It’s kind of hard to find someone with shared experience,” about fifteen minutes before Bucky miraculously reappeared with a boatload of shared experience. I didn’t make a vow of lifelong devotion the thing that broke through Bucky’s seventy years of brainwashing. I didn’t write it so the mere mention of Bucky’s name caused Steve to lose focus long enough for someone to almost blow him up. I didn’t make Steve so devoted to Bucky that he went against not only his own government and half his friends but also one hundred and seventeen nations to protect him even when Bucky was actively trying to run away from his help. I didn’t make Steve try to stop a helicopter with his bare hands to keep Bucky with him even though Bucky was trying to kill him in that moment. I didn’t make Steve fight Tony literally almost to death to protect Bucky. I didn’t make Steve drop his shield for Bucky, symbolically and literally choosing him over being Captain America, not just once but twice. I didn’t base Steve and T’Challa’s alliance mostly on T’Challa’s willingness and ability to protect and take care of Bucky when Steve can’t. I didn’t make Bucky the only person Steve ever truly and fully smiles at in Infinity War, and I definitely didn’t choose him as the person to disintegrate before Steve’s eyes, leaving him shocked and devastated.
In short, I didn’t write Bucky Barnes into the traditional role of Steve Rogers’ love interest, but I sure as hell noticed when Marvel did.
