We all saw Rocket pull Bucky Barnes’ vibranium arm out of a box The Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special. And despite fan theories, tweets from directors, and confusing speculation, hardly anyone has bothered to wonder: What will Bucky do without his arm? No one knows how he lost it, especially if it’s attached to his shoulder. We have not seen Nebula go to Earth. We didn’t even see the Guardians going to Earth come close to visiting Bucky. But according to James Gunn it happened, and now we have to deal with the consequences.
Bucky has gone armless before. When he lived in Wakanda he purposely refused to wear it, perhaps because it was made by the people who brainwashed him, perhaps because it symbolized a time in his life when he had no control over himself. But in the end the Wakandans made him another one, and the winter Soldier used it to fight Thanos. One thing we saw though is that arm came with a quick release. Okoye pressed a button and the arm fell from Bucky’s body. Now Bucky is walking around without a right hand again, but what threats are there that he needs to prepare for, and how will he deal with them with only one arm?
One-armed Bucky
After Bucky ran away from Tony Stark and the Black Panther Captain America: Civil War, he found asylum in Wakanda when Black Panther realized his cycle of vengeance would not bring him peace. When Bucky was considered an innocent puppet in Hydra’s scheme to kill powerful people, he lived alone in Wakanda for some time. He couldn’t control his own mind, but he still blamed himself for the murders he had to commit. He lived in guilt and threw off the metal arm through which he killed those people. We saw him inside Avengers: Infinite War working the planes of Wakanda, with only one arm. But eventually, when Thanos reared its ugly head and the need became dire, the Wakandans made Bucky a new arm with their vibranium.
We saw Bucky put on his new arm, but Okoye showed us how he came off easily. Apparently the Wakandans added a quick release in the shoulder that made it easy to remove the arm, if you knew where to press. But it didn’t matter to Bucky. Last time we saw him, he was still in fighting shape during The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and he still had his arm. What happened in The Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special must have been something memorable for Nebula to go grab Bucky’s arm. James Gunn tweeted that Bucky is much weaker than Nebula, and it wouldn’t have been a hard fight for her to get his arm off. Many fans were unsatisfied with the explanation, but unfortunately we’ll have to wait to find out what canonically happened to Bucky’s arm.
Although at the moment there are many possibilities. Nebula could have wrestled it from him in a fight, simple as that, but Bucky could have dropped his arm for some reason. What we do know is that Bucky would only lose his arm for a major life-changing event, and maybe one will emerge for him in the MCU.
Bucky’s next appearance
The next time we see each other, Bucky will probably be there Captain America: New World Order where we can get some explanation. But we’re all aware that the Winter Soldier will join Valentina Allegra De Fontaine’s Thunderbolts, and star in the next movie. There are many things that could happen between now and then that could allow Bucky to get a new arm. One thing is for sure, Valentina won’t let him go armless into battle.
Bucky won’t be able to really fight without his arm, but he’s still caught up in circles that can make him quite powerful. Remember, at the end of The falcon and the winter soldier, we found out that Sharon Carter was the Power Broker. While she will keep this position a secret from Bucky, she, Valentina, and most of the US government would be willing to invest their time in getting Bucky a new arm. In fact, it’s likely that these powerful people would get together to get an arm of adamantium for Bucky. That She Hulk gave us that little easter egg, and we know Wolverine is running around, the US government probably invested their time in developing adamantium, because of the recent backlash from Wakanda refusing to give them vibranium. Valentina Allegra De Fontaine will probably do her very best to get as much of this metal as possible and get Bucky’s arm back.