Everything Falcon & Winter Soldier Revealed About Bucky’s Arm

Bucky Barnes’ arm featured prominently in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which made some big and surprising reveals above the vibranium appendage’s powers and weaknesses. First appearing in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Bucky’s prothetic metal arm was very much a visual representation of what Hydra had done to him. Its brainwashing program turned him into a ruthless killer and efficient weapon, and while so much of that was internal, Bucky’s arm was very much an outward sign of how he had changed in becoming the Winter Soldier.

Given to him by Hydra after he lost his original left arm falling from Arnim Zola’s train in Captain America: The First Avenger, Bucky’s metal limb was one of his greatest weapons until he lost it fighting Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War. That itself, however, became a blessing in disguise, as it led to a new vibranium arm made in Wakanda. That arm, so coveted by Rocket Raccoon in Avengers: Infinity War, is even stronger and has more abilities and tech packed into it, but as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier revealed, it isn’t flawless either.

The second of Marvel’s Disney+ shows explored Bucky’s attempts to leave the Winter Soldier behind, despite having a reminder of that past attached to him. Bucky’s arm was a key focus as he fought alongside Sam Wilson, and given he didn’t feature much in Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame, viewers got to see just what it’s really capable of in Falcon & Winter Soldier.

How Powerful Bucky’s Arm Really Is

While the original metal version was strong, it’s clear that Bucky’s vibranium arm has a few key upgrades, which are on display in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. As explained previously by Howard Stark, vibranium is both stronger and lighter than steel, and also absorbs vibrations. This means for both offensive strikes and defensive maneuvers, Bucky’s own strength is enhanced beyond both his old metal arm and the power he has from being a super soldier. This can be seen in his action sequences in Falcon & Winter Soldier: Bucky uses his left arm to hit and (usually) catch Captain America’s shield, and for other objects and opponents where he wants to pack more of a punch (such as fighting other super soldiers).

Bucky can, impressively, use the arm for a superhero landing (thanks to it absorbing the impact for him), to rip a welded door off an armored van, cling on to a speeding truck, and, rather sweetly, to lift up Sam’s nephews. The combination of his own super soldier strength with the vibranium properties seemingly make Bucky’s arm incredibly powerful and capable of great feats of strength and causing huge damage, should he wish to do so (though there’s often a sense of Bucky holding back a little).

Bucky’s Arm Has Black Panther’s Most Impressive Power

It’s not just that Bucky’s vibraniun arm has the metal’s usual shock-absorbing properties, meaning his arm doesn’t take the impact from blows he lands (or landings he makes), but seemingly some of the advanced tech seen in T’Challa’s suit that Shuri made. That includes the ability to not only absorb energy, but turn it back against the opponent. As evidenced by his fight as the Winter Soldier in Madripoor, it seems as though Bucky’s arm has Black Panther’s most impressive power. Effectively harnessing kinetic energy and then unleashing it, this proved very handy for T’Challa, and was also a feature of Killmonger’s stolen suit. In both cases, the suit glowed when the kinetic energy was being used, and when Bucky fights in the Madripoor bar, his arm can be seen glowing the same yellow as Killmonger, suggesting he too has this power, even if he doesn’t use it too often.

Bucky’s Arm Failsafe

Bucky’s arm may be extremely strong, but it isn’t infallible – especially not when fighting with a Wakandan who knows how the technology works better than he does. During The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 4, Bucky and Sam come into the conflict with the Dora Milaje over Baron Zemo. Bucky is quickly taken out of action by Ayo, who uses a secret failsafe to immediately deactivate and detach the arm, much to the shock and horror of the former Winter Soldier. Bucky’s arm failsafe proved divisive among viewers, with some arguing that Bucky not knowing about it went against the work and trust he’d put in during his time in Wakanda, and others that the Wakandans were fully justified in doing so, given his history. Both viewpoints are understandable, and it’s a shame that it was necessary, but it’s not hard to see why Wakanda wanted a failsafe built into Bucky arm. Luckily for him, at least, it’s unlikely many people will ever be able to actually use it besides the Wakandans.

How To Damage Bucky’s Arm

The failsafe isn’t the only way to deactivate Bucky’s vibranium arm. In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 5, Bucky and Sam face off against John Walker, fresh from his murder of Nico. The newly enhanced super soldier proves a considerable match for Bucky and Sam despite the uneven numbers, and he gains the upper hand when squaring off with the former by throwing him into some power cables. The electrical surge that hits Bucky causes his metal arm to malfunction, effectively disabling it. While the effects aren’t long-lasting, it does show another way of taking Bucky’s arm out of the equation. Interestingly, electricity was also a weakness for Bucky’s old metal arm too, as evidence by Black Widow using a taser against it in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The vibranium brought with it several new upgrades, but some problems surprisingly still exist.

Isaiah Bradley Destroyed Part Of Bucky’s Arm

One of the biggest additions to the MCU in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was Isaiah Bradley, a super soldier who was subject to countless experiments by the US government (against his will), kept imprisoned, and then had to live a life in secret. Isaiah’s backstory is a tragic one that has some dark real-life parallels to the Tuskegee Study. Among Isaiah’s past, though, was also a meeting with the Winter Soldier, at a bar in Goyang during the Korean War. Isaiah was sent in to deal with an enemy who was killing off US soldiers, who turned out to be none other than Bucky, now brainwashed and working for Hydra. While Isaiah didn’t kill the Winter Soldier, he apparently did severely damage his metal arm, as he says: “I took half that metal arm in that fight in Goyang, but I see he’s managed to grow it back.” That shows just how powerful Isaiah is; Bucky would later fully lose his metal arm during a fight with Iron Man, but it’s likely he had a few variations over the decades.

Bucky’s Arm’s Key Weakness

Among the several weaknesses to Bucky’s arm that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier revealed, one of the most surprising (if humorous) was that it isn’t best-placed to give him a true advantage. When helping with some repairs, Sam asks why Bucky didn’t use his metal arm for a job that required a bit of extra strength and effort. Quite dryly, Bucky responds that he is right-handed, so doesn’t always think to use the metal arm. While funny, it does highlight that Bucky’s arm is not used to full effect in the MCU: not only does he not use it as much as he ought to in order to fully maximise its potential, but it’s also on the weaker side of his body, so doesn’t pack the same punch it would if it were on his right arm (which might be a good thing, given how potentially devastating a tool it could be then). Bucky’s right arm obviously still has super soldier strength, but his left arm, while stronger, certainly isn’t perfect.

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