Avengers 4 Theory: 10 Clues Bucky Will Take Over As Captain America

5. The Sheer Amount Of Foreshadowing

Though it seems a long time ago now, when audiences witnessed the supposed 'death' of Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The First Avenger, they were watching the seeds being planted for the character's future.

That final scene, in which Arnim Zola lays a trap for Cap, Bucky and the rest of the Howling Commandos on a Hydra train, featured a striking shot of Bucky wielding Cap's shield with a pistol in his other hand. The image is unmistakable and, for comics fans familiar with the aforementioned Brubaker-Epting series, the homage was plain to see.

In the comics, Bucky was determined to retain a firearm while donning Cap's mantle. As such, the above scene played out in First Avenger was a common pose in the comics, with Bucky using the shield more defensively, while relying on his bionic arm and his proficiency in firearms as his key offensive outlets.

Then, in Winter Soldier, Bucky held onto the shield again. More notable, perhaps, was the time he used it in Civil War, trading the shield effortlessly between himself and Steve in one fluid motion to take down Iron Man. It's a weapon he's certainly comfortable using, and when the series has made explicit reference to Brubaker and Epting's run countless times before, it's hard not to see the foreshadowing paying off in some way.