What Bucky Being The “White Wolf” Actually Means

Bucky recalls his Wakandan moniker in episode 2 of Falcon and the Winter Soldier – here’s what it really means for Bucky to be the White Wolf. The new original Disney+ series follows Bucky’s and Sam’s struggles with their place in the world post-Blip and a newly-appointed Captain America. As Bucky learns to live without Hydra in his head and move on from the Winter Soldier, his new persona may very well be manifesting itself in the form of the White Wolf.

Bucky is first referenced as the White Wolf is in the Black Panther post-credits scene with Shuri, where the children who come upon him in a hut call him that name in jest. In Avengers: Infinity War, T’Challa declares that the White Wolf has had enough rest and presents Bucky with a new synthetic arm. In Falcon and the WinterSoldier‘s episode 2 entitled “The Star-Spangled Man,” Sam teases Bucky’s stealth during an investigation of the Flag-Smashers, saying Wakanda made him the “White Panther.” Bucky says it was a White Wolf instead.

Bucky is a stranger in a strange land now that he is no longer brainwashed by terrorists. His mind may be his own and he is free to do whatever he pleases, but he remains haunted by the past. His court-mandated therapy sessions have set him up to grudgingly atone for his past mistakes, but these encounters do not relieve his nightmares. The White Wolf seems to represent a calmer, more reasonable side of Bucky Barnes, the anthesis of his ultra-violent Winter Soldier persona. Bucky needs to face a lot of personal hurdles if he expects to attain that peace of mind again, but the fact that he even brings up the White Wolf suggests that such a transformation is feasible. Just as Steve had to move forward to catch up with the times and ultimately end up with his past love, Bucky must confront the past to move forward with his future.

Judging by how Bucky has been handling his therapy sessions and the list of people he still needs to apologize to, the transformation into the White Wolf will be gradual. In episode 2, Bucky accuses Sam of giving up Steve’s shield and dishonoring Steve Rogers’/Captain America’s legacy and friendship, saying “if he was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me.” Bucky is still deeply affected by his friend’s death and everything he did as Hydra’s super-assassin. He laments the possibility that perhaps Steve was mistaken in his belief he was a good and decent person, and that realization could undo any progress Bucky has made towards a happy, if not normal, life. For all intents and purposes, the White Wolf may be Bucky’s endgame.

Bucky’s MCU arc doesn’t align with the comic-book version of the White Wolf, who survives a plane crash in Wakanda as a boy and is raised by King T’Chaka as his own, but they share a commonality, and that is their fondness and loyalty to Wakanda. Since Bucky found respite in that country, perhaps he will return in a future film, when he finishes making amends for his sins. Until then, Bucky may need to fully shed his past identity as the Winter Soldier before he can embrace, and feel truly comfortable in, the well-rounded and harmonious nature of the White Wolf, a process that will surely be explored further on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.