Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson |
| Alternative name(s): | WinterFalcon, SamBucky |
| Gender category: | Slash, M/M |
| Fandom: | Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel 616 |
| Canonical?: | No |
| Prevalence: | Popular |
| Archives: | |
| Other: |  sam and bucky are relaxing (and in love) in the soul stone post iw you cant change my mind by suitfer. As of February 2020, it has over 9,500 notes on Tumblr. |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Bucky Barnes/Sam Wilson, also known as WinterFalcon or SamBucky, is the slash pairing of Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier) and Sam Wilson (Falcon) in the Marvel Universe, though especially in the Captain America Movieverse.
Canon
In the MCU, Sam and Bucky meet only very briefly in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, during a fight against each other. They are on the same team in Captain America: Civil War, where they interact and fight together.
Sam and Bucky have a majority of their scenes together in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In them, the snarky antagonism between the two largely seems to have died down, replaced by a newly formed friendship and trust.
The two are leading Marvel's miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, originally released in spring 2021.
Fandom
The pairing first appeared in Captain America Earth 616 fandom, at least one story was tagged with it in 2007 in AO3. It's not until 2013 that MCU-related works started appearing.
Despite first meeting in Captain America: The Winter Soldier in the MCU, Sam and Bucky were not often shipped together until Captain America: Civil War, when the two actually interact with each other and share many great lines/scenes in the film. Sam and Bucky spend most of Civil War antagonizing each other, despite the fact that Sam has apparently spent the last two years helping Steve Rogers search for Bucky around the world, sometimes on his own. A lot of the fandom focuses on this dynamic, usually in a humorous manner.
From 2014-2016, the Sam/Bucky pairing was often used in association with Sam/Steve, Steve/Bucky, or Sam/Steve/Bucky pairings, and increasingly since Civil War they get shipped together without Steve in the picture.
The off-screen friendship and bromance between actors Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie has helped fuel the popularity of the ship, as the two have frequently been paired together for press tour interviews since the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This relationship has in turn launched the RPF pairing "Stackie".
This pairing saw a substantial increase in fanworks during and following the release of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series. In November 2020, there were just over 3000 fanworks in the Sam/Bucky tag on Ao3.[1] Trailers released ahead of the TV show inspired a lot of interest from shippers as they played up the bickering dynamic between the two. Also, some fans may have already been looking forward to this pairing following the release of Endgame. By November 2021, the number of fanworks on Ao3 had more than doubled, with more than 7600 works.[1]
Sam/Bucky was Number 40 on AO3 Ship Stats 2021, after not appearing the previous year.[2] This was in fact the pairings first appearance on Ao3 Ship Stats.
Common Tropes in Fanworks
- Undercover, often as a Pretend Couple
- Curtainfic
- Steve as matchmaker
- Sam and Steve find Bucky (or Bucky finds them), Post-Winter Soldier
- Sam visits or stays in Wakanda with Bucky, Post-Civil War
- Sam and Bucky navigate the Soul Stone, Post-Infinity War
Challenges
Fanworks
Fanfic
- I swear to god that I was thinking about the summer by suzukiblu (2016)
- a thrill to press my cheek to series by prettylittlementirosa (2016)
- warm blood (feels good, i can't control it anymore) by notcaycepollard (2016)
- Just Stay Alive series by Dira Sudis (2014-2015) (Steve/Bucky/Sam, with a focus on Bucky/Sam)
Fanart
- They’re good now., Archived version, fanart by Tumblr user thorkyrie
- i got you, Archived version by tazatouille
- Stop ruining my mission!, Archived version by iokilauf
- I’m so fucking lucky, Archived version by falcondiment
- They’ve still got each other, Archived version by buckybarbedwire
Graphics and Gif Sets
- You couldn’t have done that earlier…?, Archived version gif set by tchillax
- can you move your seat up?, Archived version moodboard by barneswilson
Zines
Rec Lists
- Sam/Bucky fic rec list, Archived version originally posted by a now-deactivated Tumblr user
- A Sam/Bucky Rec List, Archived version by helahler
- Note: This rec list includes Bucky/Sam stories as well as non-shippy stories that explore their friendship.
Archives & Fannish Links
- Bucky/Sam works on Archive of Our Own
- Bucky/Sam works at FFN (CA movieverse)
- Tumblr tags: sambucky, bucky x sam, sam x bucky