Being an MCU superhero can be pretty awesome if you forget all the life-threatening missions and the ‘people who want to kill’ you aspect of the job. One of the perks of the role is the cool outfits, and even the actors will admit that it’s once the costume goes on that they start to really feel like a superhero. Fans are currently praising the costume design of one character in particular, and utility has a lot to do with it.
No, it’s not Yelena and her jacket with many pockets – it’s the Winter Soldier aka Bucky Barnes. When we first met Barnes in Captain America: The First Avenger, he wasn’t yet the brutal Winter Soldier. Taken by Hydra after his fall from the train, he was transformed and brainwashed, turned into their own personal killing machine when needed, and put on ice when not. When we were introduced to this new persona in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, he didn’t have much to say, but his outfit spoke volumes.
Along with his Vibranium arm, Bucky has a dark and dangerous look that seems one hundred percent utilitarian. His dark leather jacket offers protection from regular scrapes and scuffs that might be incurred in a fight. He has a utility belt which is likely stuffed with weaponry and other equipment he would find useful in his line of work. He sports dark cargo pants with large pockets, again for stashing invaluable items, and knee pads to protect his knees from hard impact. On top of that is the lower face mask.
Usually, heroes cover the top half of their face, not the bottom, but in this instance, the mask shows how Buckey has been muzzled, like a vicious dog. It points to his being leashed by Hydra, he is wordless, and his only function is to kill whomever they point him at. Fans love the costume design, and with the pandemic and the wearing of facemasks, it has become a little too relatable to many over the last few years.
On Reddit, one user shared a picture of the character in costume, gushing over its design.
Many feel like the costume does the character justice, here he isn’t a superhero and his costume is efficient.
Many were happy about how it didn’t deviate very far from the comic design.
With the pandemic, it would appear that some dudes have taken the mask-wearing as an opportunity to cosplay at the gym.
Be careful what you say around them though… you never know.
Being able to wear a mask and look like an MCU character is at least one cool thing you can take away from the last two hellish years.
The hair was loved by many.
Why did they need to chop it in Falcon and the Winter Soldier?
Another thing that fans love about it is that it isn’t too hard to recreate if you really wanted to. No purple paint is necessary.
Of course, there are a tonne of cracking costumes throughout the MCU but Winter Soldiers sure did make his look threatening and vicious. Gym bros may decide to carry on wearing the masks in the gym if only to continue looking like their favorite MCU character a little longer.