Captain America: The Winter Soldier has some of the best action, suspense, and dialogue throughout that make it a serious contender for Marvel Studios' best work ever.
Marvel knows this, as they continued with the film's directorial duo Joe and Anthony Russo for three more MCU flicks including what would become the highest-grossing movie of all time with 2019's Avengers: Endgame .
One of the most crucial elements to The Winter Soldier's success was the in-depth exploration of the dynamic between Steve Rogers and his long-lost friend Bucky Barnes. Bucky made his MCU return in this film after it appeared he had been killed off in the first Captain America movie, but he came back as something else entirely in the sequel flick.
Cap was the one who had to deal with this new development, and it made for some exciting moments that still rival the latest and greatest action sequences from Marvel Studios. With this in mind, Marvel has started a new line of merchandise honoring Cap and his MCU efforts, and the Winter Soldier is the first to get the latest memorabilia makeover.
A NEW FUNKO BUCKY WIELDS THE STAR-SPANGLED SHIELD
Funko officially announced a new Pop! for Bucky Barnes from his MCU debut as the HYDRA assassin. Coming from 2014's hit film Captain America: The Winter Soldier , this new Pop! highlights one of Bucky's most memorable MCU moments opposite Steve Rogers as he wields Captain America's shield against the super soldier himself.
The new figure is the first to be announced from a new line of Funko merchandise titled "The Year of the Shield," which will presumably honor Captain America's (or his vibranium shield's) MCU tenure.
This Winter Soldier Pop! is now available for preorder via Amazon with an expected release date of May 15.
The announcement for the figure can be viewed in the tweet below:
THE HISTORY OF CAPTAIN AMERICA'S SHIELD
This Bucky Barnes MCU moment is one of the most iconic shots from the 2014 hit film in which Cap and Bucky were pitted against each other.
The street fight that led to Bucky wielding the shield for the second of three separate occurrences in the film heavily alluded to the assassin's complicated history as he once took up the mantle of Captain America. This also was a key moment to show audiences that Cap had finally met a match, as he defeated the infamous Batroc in hand-to-hand combat with ease earlier in the film.
Bucky Barnes isn't the first figure to get the Funko feature with Cap's trusty shield in-hand, though, as Black Widow was given the same treatment back in 2015 . When Avengers: Age of Ultron showed Natasha wield the shield twice against Ultron and his robot army, she got a Pop! of her own sporting the patriotic piece because of it.
This new line of merchandise being titled "Year of the Shield" is especially interesting when taking into account that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is due to debut next month and has promised to explore the history of Captain America's shield. More specifically, Sam Wilson has stated in promo footage for the Disney+ show that the history of the shield is complicated , implying that the seventy years that Steve Rogers spent on ice will finally get its time in the MCU spotlight in the coming months.
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