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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has become a hit with audiences for a number of reasons but, of course, one of the biggest reasons for this is that it finally gives Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes their time to shine. Sebastian Stan’s Barnes has a particularly compelling arc that sees the character facing the demons of his past as HYDRA’s top assassin. Well, it seems that this past has also caught up with Stan in real life, as many fans like to recite the character’s trigger words to him in public.
When Bucky Barnes was the Winter Soldier, HYDRA operatives would activate his programming by saying a specific set of words. This was alluded to in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s most recent episode, and Stan, in a recent interview with BBC Radio 1, revealed how he feels about the various times fans have recited the words to him:
It happens quite often. It happens at coffee shops, it happens a lot. And it’s always very funny, and it’s an honorable thing, I guess. You know, you’re very taken with it all the time, but you do sometimes have to look people in the face and say, ‘No, I will not become the Winter Soldier if you say that. You can keep saying it, and maybe you should say it, maybe that’s a moment we both need to have together, now, here. But nothing crazy will happen.
So it sounds like Sebastian Stan doesn’t exactly have a problem with Marvel fans saying, “Longing, rusted, seventeen, daybreak, furnace, nine, benign, homecoming, one, freight car.” However, he does seem to keep it real with them by letting them know that nothing will actually come from them reciting the now-iconic words.
As is the case with Sebastian Stan, the words have no effect on Bucky Barnes, since the ex-assassin was cleared of his HYDRA programming during his time in Wakanda. Yet after the damage the words caused in Captain America: Civil War, it’s easy to see why some fans are still captivated by them. You can revisit the third entry in the Captain America trilogy by streaming it on Disney+, which you can sign up for using this link.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom is strong for a number of stars, and Sebastian Stan has definitely emerged as a fan favorite. If anything, these encounters are merely a representation of the major come-up Bucky Barnes has had over the last decade. And with the journey he’s had, the war vet has definitely earned it.
New episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiere Fridays at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. CT on Disney+.
