imafanblog

Starting where I think Bucky’s story starts:

Bucky is seen here spending some much-needed downtime in a country that could be Spain or Italy (see: farmacia in background) but is probably Romania. He has his signature red shirt with cap and jacket, but no backpack. He looks like he’s just spotted or been spotted, particularly since he apparently disappears in the next frame (or hops on a passing car).

The editing suggests that it is Steve who spots Bucky, but judging by the “A” on Steve’s uniform, which is removed in his later scenes with Bucky, I think this shot of Steve is actually from the opening sequence, when they are tracking Crossbones in an African-looking country (Wakanda?) My theory is that Bucky has actually been spotted by Black Panther, who wants revenge for a bombing earlier in the film, which Bucky is accused of orchestrating.

1:47 - Bucky grabs his backpack(?) and takes off running, but soon sees he is pursued from above (maybe that pesky helicopter?). I wonder if that’s just his belongings, weapons, or something more important? 

1:02 - Bucky then nabs a motorcycle and flees into a car tunnel. It’s important that he is defensive, not offensive here. He really doesn’t want any trouble, this a man who just wants to hide from the world.

1:03 - Hard to see in this screencap, but if you refer to the video you can see that Bucky is wearing the backpack, so this is probably part of the same chase sequence. The red tunnel walls are also important, along with the fact that Bucky isn’t wearing a cap anymore. Maybe it fell off when he started running?

1:53 - It seems that Bucky’s escape through the tunnel is hampered by the arrival of Black Panther, who somehow gets Bucky off his motorcycle so the chase continues on foot. At this point Steve arrives to stop Panther and try to capture/reason with Bucky before anyone else gets to him.

1:56 - Bucky still has the backpack, as he jumps up on some cars to escape. 

But the chase ends with Cap and Bucky surrounded by police, and Cap hanging up his shield. It seems like Cap is defending Bucky but still subject to the authority of the police, who probably take Bucky away after this scene. 

1:14 - You can see Bucky (with backpack but no cap) right before the camera pans over to Cap. Also note, there is no “A” for Avengers on Steve’s shoulder, so this is after his uniform was claimed and modified by the CIA.

After this sequence, Bucky is likely captured. There is a scene from the D23 trailer where Bucky is seen in a glass holding cell? Pure conjecture here, sometime after this point is when Steve gets the news that the plan is to kill Bucky, not put him on trial. Which is when he and Falcon come up with their covert plan...note the gray t-shirt...

Also note Sam’s cover polo shirt as they plan in the bar, which is the shirt he wears in another scene...

0:17 - It looks dirtier here, so more evidence that the “planning” scene came first. And that Natasha was warning Steve against messing with Bucky’s extradition/trial/execution, and Steve went and did it anyway. 

0:07 -  In the post credits scene, this sequence begins with Falcon saying, “Hey, Cap” as he first catches sight of Bucky. The  tone of Falcon’s voice suggests that Cap didn’t know where Bucky was in the room. My guess is that after the rescue (see helicopter scene below) Falcon (or someone, maybe Sharon Carter or another ally?) brought Bucky here. Note: Bucky is down to his red shirt w/o the jacket.

0:11 - Cap’s dialogue “Do you remember me?” has an air of conditionality, in other words, he’s in the middle of a decision and the deciding factor will be Bucky’s memory of him. Also note that Steve is wearing a dirty gray t-shirt and his face is a bit scuffed up. This seems to indicate that scene follows the helicopter scene in the trailer...

1:57 - As director Joe Russo stated, “He’s hanging onto that helicopter for an extremely passionate reason.” Is there any bigger reason besides Bucky being in that helicopter, most likely against his will? 

So does that disprove my earlier theory, maybe Steve saved Bucky from being taken away in the helicopter, sent him to a secure location and are trying to convince him to come with them? Which explains why they don’t have much time: “The people who think you did it are coming right now...”

Bucky’s memories of Steve plus his statement of innocence ( “I don’t do that anymore”) are all the proof Steve needs. Going back to the Ant-Man post credits scene, it seems that Bucky gives them additional info, something that Tony would never believe or wouldn’t be able to help with because of the Accords. Is the info that Bucky knows who is behind the bombing? Does Bucky know about Zemo? Was Bucky investigating Zemo and then Zemo framed him? Do they need to convince the world that Bucky was mind-controlled, in order to prove his innocence?

Whatever it is, it’s something that Ant-Man can help with, as we see  in the D23 trailer with Cap, Bucky, Sam, Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye tracking Scott Lang him down under a bridge. At that point, the full team is assembled. But before we can get there, we see a daring escape with Cap and Bucky:

0:32 - Cap is in full uniform, so somehow he had time to change. Bucky has his jacket again. Bucky leaps off a building, hopefully to be caught by Falcon?

In these screencaps you can see that Steve pulls the rifle aside and Bucky kicks the officer, with a classic tag team move. Again the goal is flight, not fight. They are most likely going to find Ant-Man, whose specialty is breaking into things, so that could be an indication of what type of mission this is.

After this escape is where I imagine the “arming” scene comes in, where Bucky picks out a weapon. 

1:25 - Bucky has new clothes and seems more like his old self, though still disturbed. His expression seems to be one of guilt and regret, wondering if he even deserves to live. 

Steve’s reassurance is pretty clear. I also wonder where these weapons are coming from, as Steve wouldn’t have the resources of SHIELD or the Avengers at this point. Bucky seems pretty confident, maybe he has a hidden stash from Hydra, which includes his new outfit?

At some point after this he meets the team, and the German airport scene takes place. 

*Alternatively, I think I remember from D23 that Bucky was in the background of the Scott Lang bridge  in his casual outfit, so perhaps they go find the rogue Avengers and Scott, then return to Germany for the airport confrontation.

1:46 - The characters in this scene (Cap, Bucky, Falcon, Hawkeye, and Scarlet Witch) are all present in the D23 scene under the bridge with Scott Lang. So chances are they survive the confrontation, or vice versa, the confrontation occurs first.. We see Black Panther in some serious action vs. Bucky, whom he seems to have a special interest in. I agree with the rumors that Bucky is framed for an event that causes T’Chaka’s death (BP’s father) and that the goal of revenge unites him with Tony, whose father also died because of Bucky.

Tony’s expression at the end of this scene is also important. He is holding Rhodey, who seems to have crash-landed with a gutted reactor. It’s likely this was done by Bucky, as we will see later. His eyes are looking upward, as if watching someone (Cap’s team) fly away above him.

Next comes the D23 trailer shots of Steve and Bucky on a separate mission in the mountains. Not sure what happened to the rest of the team, but if they were captured somehow it could make the situation even more dire for Cap. The mission is interrupted by Tony’s arrival. We can see Bucky in the background covering Cap.

Which leads to one of the most epic battles in the MCU:

Some have pointed out that this location may be an old Hydra fortress, or even the Red Skull’s main base from CATFA. Either way, it appears that Steve is seriously wounded during this battle, causing a violent reaction from Bucky.

Iron Man is facing forward with his arms outstretched, looking at something across the room. My guess is that he has just shot Cap.

2:04 - Bucky reacts by attempting to remove Tony’s arc reactor, as he likely did with Rhodey. He looks pretty furious, but doesn’t immediately go to help Cap. So either Cap is across the room, but recovering, or he is beyond Bucky’s reach.