10 Most Overrated Performances In MCU History (So Far)

Sebastian Stan is undeniably great as Bucky Barnes in The First Avenger, acting as a solid support and emotional counterweight for Chris Evans' first appearance as Captain America.

Equally, Stan is pitch-perfect as the Winter Soldier for Cap's second solo outing, putting on his bag guy face and treating us to an unexpectedly sinister spy thriller. However, once the mask and the eyeliner come off, and Bucky returns to the fold, the teeth really fall out of his performance. He remains a fan-favourite, but (at least in the films) it has been increasingly difficult to fathom why.

Meandering, moping, sulking, and not doing a whole lot of anything else, he is a wet blanket of the highest order. Even as the MacGuffin of Civil War, he has a hard time giving the audience anything juicy to sate our thirst for Bucky. This is surprising, given Stan has proven time and again that he has chops, range and credibility as a skilled performer (one need only look as far as Hulu's new Pam & Tommy to testify to this).

But, outside of playing Captain America's perfect moral dilemma, the writers don't really know what to do with him. With appearances spanning a whopping seven MCU films, Bucky has had little development and few hero moments to speak of (spinning a raccoon doesn't really count), so perhaps we should just stop expecting so much of him.