Bucky was Steve's best friend growing up, he looked after Steve when Steve was small and sickly, then went off to war. After Steve got turned into Captain America, he re-connected with Bucky in the war, and they served together in a special unit called the Howling Commandos. Bucky fell off a train to his apparent death on the mission before Steve crashed the plane and got frozen for many decades. Steve felt Bucky's loss deeply, and everything else is best revealed in the movies.

I haven't seen ANY of these movies. I don't go to movies. And I don't read comic books. Everything I know about this stuff I have learned from you guys. (Seriously, I think the last movie I saw in a theater was Frozen. And before that, the first New Muppet Movie.) (You still love me, though, right?)

And basically, Connie has told me all I need to know about Bucky. Who is clearly not a nickname for the Hulk or Thor or anything, so I am good.

Okay, I've known you people for 15 years, so I think I can come out and ask the world's dumbest question, and you'll still love me. Is Steve Captain America? If so, who the hell is Bucky?

I know Connie already answered, but when and if you see the movies, you will understand why I am laughing and laughing and laughing right now. If you have no intention of ever seeing it, I will spoil you so you may also laugh.

His comics origin is different (I actually prefer the MCU one for many reasons), not that that matters. So you could get a different answer depending on who is answering.

In fact, flea, to know why I am laughing, here, from the comics: [link]

this happens in the movie too, as it's an iconic scene

I was also laughing at poor flea.

My opinion of the movie is that it seems like a miracle any of these directors get to make anything close to the movie they might wish to make. This movie had to juggle the six Avengers, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Rhodey, Sam, introduce Wanda and Pietro and Ultron and The Vision, set up more of the Infinity Gem stuff, deal with Hawkeye's family, deal with the Natasha/Bruce romance, refer to Bucky and Jane and Pepper, and, you know, have a plot.

I assume that very little of that is under the control of the director and writer, so the fact that we got an enjoyable and fairly coherent movie (at least, I enjoyed it), seems like gravy.

I'm also very pleased that Wanda turned out to EMPHATICALLY NOT be Yet Another Super-powered Mentally Unstable Waif

That made me SO happy, and I'm not even a Marvel comics reader. (I'm MCU, so everything I know about comics canon(s) I've learned from other people.)

Also, I liked her clothes and jewelry. I want her red shawl thingie.

Just saw the movie. I don't believe Tony will stop being an Avenger. And he certainly seemed to have a lot of suits again. Clint's family is way out of left field. He sure didn't seem too worried about them in the last movie, though fans of the family can think he asked Tasha about them off camera. I think this is pretty much as close as we're going to get to a Hawkeye movie (the Mission Impossible movie trailer we got was amusing).

Bruce and Natasha were not as awkward as I thought they'd be, and I think Bruce will be back. Tony will find him regardless.

Seeing the old helicarrier was lovely. I wonder if Phil will show up now that Joss isn't doing Avengers anymore.

re: Wanda--I didn't know you could have a power walk with one person. Apparently you can, with the right person.

Everything I know about this stuff I have learned from you guys.

I think I've seen all the movies up to this one, and I'd still say this. Because comics, and my lack of knowledge therein.

On second viewing I think it held together better than my first impression. Apparently I took a bathroom break during Fury's critical Win One for the Gipper speech in Clint's farmhouse that really tied things together.

Still think Spader made Ultron too smug and human for his origins. In this case I think a Black Manta-esque voice effect and a few less wisecracks would have helped immensely.