‘Avengers: Infinity War’: Inspiration for Bucky’s New Arm Revealed

The last fans saw of James “Bucky” Barnes, his prosthetic arm was destroyed. But Barnes has a new arm in the Avengers: Infinity War trailer and, according to the Russo Brothers, the Winter Soldier‘s time in the African nation may have influenced it.

In the Avengers: Infinity War trailer fans got a brief look at Barnes’s (Sebastian Stan) new prosthetic arm is only seen briefly in the Infinity War trailer, but it’s notably without the communist red star and has a very different look than its predecessor. Anthony Russo told the Chinese microblogging website Sina Weibo that the new arm has its roots in the ending of Captain America: Civil War.

“Well, this is not a spoiler by me answering this question because we know at the, exactly, it’s in the trailer,” Russo said. “But also, for everyone who has seen Captain America: Civil War, they know that Bucky was taken in by T’Challa in Wakanda, and so I think they, you know, we catch back up with him after he’s been there for a while and if there is an influence on his arm it may perhaps have to do with that country he’s been spending time in.”

Fans may remember that, in Captain America: Civil War, it was revealed that Barnes, who had previously been brainwashed by Hydra following his apparent death in Captain America and turned into a super-soldier for the villainous organization, killed Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey, Jr.) parents. They happened to be in an automobile carrying the case of super-soldier serum Hydra had tasked Barnes to retrieve. Enraged upon discovering not only that it was Barnes who killed his parents but that his friend Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) knew and hid it from him, Stark turns on both men and dismembers Barnes’ prosthetic arm in the process. Rogers is able to stop Stark by disabling his armor, allowing both himself and Barnes to escape. But Barnes is still plagued by Hydra’s brainwashing and, granted sanctuary in Wakanda, he chooses to return to suspended animation until a cure for the brainwashing can be found.

While the Russos didn’t elaborate on if Barnes’ appearance in Avengers: Infinity War means that a resolution to the brainwashing problem had been worked out, the new prosthetic arm inspired by the technologically advanced African nation seems like a solid indication that Hydra’s hold over the hero has come to an end and not a moment too soon. The world will need all of its heroes — as well as a few from the galaxy at large — when Thanos arrives in his quest to complete the Infinity Gauntlet. Joe Russo also revealed to Sina Weibo that the Mad Titan may well steal the show in Avengers: Infinity War.

“Okay, I’m going to start with Thanos,” Russo says. “I’m most excited for the audience to learn about him. I think he’s a very interesting and complex villain. That’s why I like him. That’s why I’m excited for the audience to learn about him. I think his motivations, albeit psychotic, are compelling. And I think that in a lot of ways this is his movie, so it’s going to be very interesting to see how people respond to Thanos in the film.”

Avengers: Infinity War currently has a 4.38 out of 5 ComicBook.com User Anticipation Rating, making it the most-anticipated upcoming comic book movie among ComicBook.com Users. Let us know how excited you are about Avengers: Infinity War by giving the movie your own personal ComicBook.com User Rating below.

Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on May 4, 2018.

Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include; Black Panther on February 16, 2018, Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.