Relationships in the Marvel Cinematic Universe might not be the focus of the movies, but they still play an important role. Many of the characters have had significant others at one point or another in the series but many of the supporting characters have not. One fan-favorite character that hasn’t had any canon romances in the MCU so far is Bucky Barnes. While he has been romantically linked to characters in the comics, this was never featured in the MCU although this isn’t completely out of the question to happen in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
Here are ten people that would have been a great match for Bucky Barnes in the MCU.
Thor
There are many people that fans have paired Bucky within fandom. While some of these ships are more popular than others even some of these less popular ships make a good point. Thor and Bucky haven’t really interacted in the MCU, but they are both strong, tough-looking men who both have good hearts and softer sides than you might think.
Thor also usually has a positive outlook on life that would help Bucky considering everything he’s been through.
Wanda Maximoff
Bucky and Scarlet Witch is another ship that isn’t super popular, but there is some validity to this pairing. While Wanda is in a committed relationship with Vision in the MCU, the backstories of Bucky and Wanda have some similarities.
They could both relate to one another on their troubled pasts and understand what the other has been through. While this isn’t the most popular ship, there are some people who have pointed out the things they have in common.
Clint Barton
This is another relationship that might not make a ton of sense in the MCU, but there is a lot of comic book evidence for this pairing. In certain comic runs, these two have worked together and had a great relationship banter that many fans have loved.
While in the films Clint has a wife and kids, these two could at least relate to one another on the fact that they were both brainwashed and controlled at one time in their lives.
Peggy Carter
This is another ship that isn’t extremely common, but it’s rather popular amongst some fans as a polyamorous couple with Steve Rogers. While Peggy and Bucky seem to mostly share jealousy over Steve’s attention and while Steve might end up with Peggy in canon, there is something rather endearing about the thought of all three of them being happy together.
Even without Steve seeing these two support each other and become at least close friends would have been great to watch but it sadly never happened.
Loki
This is another pairing that doesn’t necessarily have a lot of canon evidence, but this doesn’t mean there isn’t a good chunk of fans who like this ship. While Loki and Bucky are very different people, they are both fan favorites.
Because they have both been seen as villains at certain points in their lives, even if Bucky didn’t have any control over his actions, makes the idea of their relationship appealing to some people.
Natasha Romanoff
Bucky and Natasha are a canon couple in the comics, but they haven’t actually interacted that much in the MCU. In the movies, Natasha has had flirtations and short relationships with a couple of different people, but they’ve never gone this route with Natasha.
While the canon situation has pretty much ruined any possibility of them together, they could have been good. They both have pasts that make people think they aren’t good people, and they even interacted in their pasts. This would make for an interesting dynamic.
Tony Stark
This is a pairing that some people saw a lot of possibilities in even if they never got the chance to even be friends in the MCU. Given that the drama between them and Steve Rogers was such a huge part of Captain America: Civil War, many people wanted to see these two go from enemies to friends to romantic partners.
These two could bond and heal over their shared traumas, and it would be rewarding to see them forgive each other. Also, many people have put them in a polyamorous relationship with Steve.
T’Challa
This might not be the biggest ship that Bucky is a part of, but it’s a more recent one that some people enjoy. While in canon T’Challa has an endearing relationship with Nakia, T’Challa and Bucky could be quite sweet together.
T’Challa provided a safe place for Bucky to live and heal after everything that happened to him. They clearly know each other and Bucky lived in Wakanda for a good period of time which would have given them a chance to become close.
Sam Wilson
This pairing is the one that has the highest chance of becoming something given where canon is at now, but this is highly unlikely given that the MCU is so resistant to exploring LGBT relationships.
Sam and Bucky definitely didn’t start out getting along, but they were shown to be friends to some extent in Avengers: Endgame. Given that they are co-starring in a television series together, these two will still be interacting a lot.
Steve Rogers
It’s no secret that Steve and Bucky are one of the biggest fandom relationships in the entire MCU. This ship is extremely popular, and many people were frustrated by the lack of resolution in this relationship even on a friendship level. While the MCU might not have been willing to see their relationship as romantic, there is a fair amount of subtext that makes reading this friendship as romantic easy to do.
There’s no denying these two mean a lot to each other, and it wouldn’t be hard to make this relationship romantic.
