'Black Panther' Brings SPOILER Back to the MCU

The latest film from Marvel Studios is largely a self-contained affair, but one of the [...]

The latest film from Marvel Studios is largely a self-contained affair, but one of the post-credits scenes does build into the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War by checking in with one of the major characters.

After the events of Captain America: Civil War, the former Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes (Bucky Barnes) is given sanctuary in Wakanda, where the country's brightest minds work on reversing his programming.

In Black Panther, fans finally get a progress report on Bucky's current status. He is no longer kept in stasis, but instead is residing in a small, lakeside hut that appears to be on the outskirts of the main city.

After being teased by a group of children who call him "White Wolf," Bucky awakens from sleep and approaches the lake, where T'Challa's genius sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) awaits. Given her own advanced knowledge of science and technology, it is assumed that she has broken Bucky's conditioning — but there's still more work to do.

With one problem out of the way and Bucky no longer susceptible to HYDRA control, it appears that Shuri has turned her attention to repairing Bucky's arm. After Iron Man blasted it off in the climactic showdown in Civil War, the cybernetic prosthetic has yet to be replaced. But in a nation filled with Vibranium, Bucky can likely look forward to an upgrade.

Shuri has a line of dialogue earlier in the film that prefaces this scene, after Everett Ross dives in front of a hail of gunfire to protect Nakia. He is shot in the spine and his allies believe he'll die, so T'Challa takes him to Wakanda where their advanced tech can heal him.

When T'Challa brings Ross into Shuri's lab, she humorously mentions "oh great, another broken white boy to fix." Then the post-credit scene reveals Bucky has been healed and presumably reconditioned, making him another formidable ally when Thanos' forces inevitably arrive on Earth.

black panther winter soldier bucky barnes

But there's also the 'White Wolf' tease, which carries a major connotation with regards to the Black Panther mythos.

In the comics, T'Chaka's first son is an adopted white child whose family died in a plane crash in Wakanda. The orphaned child was named Hunter, and after T'Challa was born he realized he would not be inherit the throne — so he became a ruthless warrior in order to prove his worth.

Hunter became the leader of Wakanda's clandestine enforcement team, the Hatut Zeraze, and was known as the White Wolf. Though he and T'Challa never saw eye to eye, their mutual love of Wakanda fostered a respect and Hunter would aid his brother in times of need.

It remains to be seen if Bucky will keep the Winter Soldier moniker or embrace the name the children of Wakanda have called him.

Black Panther is now playing in theaters.

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