Bucky Barnes · Winter Soldier: their Marvel watch route
Bucky Barnes connects Steve Rogers' beginnings with a later chapter shared with Sam Wilson and the Thunderbolts* team. This selection combines film and television to follow his relationships and choices without explaining each movie's secrets. Release order works well here: knowing which titles include him does not require knowing what happens to him beforehand.
Place The Falcon and the Winter Soldier after Endgame and before Thunderbolts*. You do not need every brief appearance to follow this route. The First Avenger provides a useful introduction even though Bucky is not its lead character.
Selected major appearances, not an exhaustive list of cameos, credit scenes or animated variants.
Movies in release order
01 · 2011 · 124 minCaptain America: The First Avenger
This is the fifth film in release order, although much of its story takes place before the earlier films. Here we follow the order in which they reached cinemas.
02 · 2014 · 136 minCaptain America: The Winter Soldier
It combines superheroes with espionage and has major consequences for the MCU's organisations and alliances.
03 · 2016 · 147 minCaptain America: Civil War
Although it belongs to the Captain America saga, it develops the Avengers as a whole and introduces new lead characters.
04 · 2018 · 149 minAvengers: Infinity War
It is best enjoyed after the earlier films. This is the first part of the major conclusion that continues in Endgame.
05 · 2019 · 181 minAvengers: Endgame
It is best watched after Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Captain Marvel. This page avoids revealing the outcome of the story.
06 · 2025 · 127 minThunderbolts*
It brings back characters from several films and series. Black Widow offers particularly useful context for part of the group.
Their TV journey
Series are listed separately; their seasons are not included in the movie calendar.
Reference source: Marvel · Thunderbolts*.