Yeah, that was pretty much it. Steve & Bucky have never been portrayed as anything other than straight. Now, would I mind if Marvel gave the go ahead to have one or both of them explore their sexuality? HELL NO. I would be the first person in line to buy that comic series or watch that movie or TV show.
But I also think true platonic soulmate love stories are really hard to come by in mass media – in fact, the other other one I think that might come close is Dom Toretto & Brian O’Conner in the Fast & Furious series, and let’s be honest. There is NOTHING well-written about those movies. 😀
Totally agree, and I wish fans would recognise the difference between fanon and canon.
Except that, as far as I’m concerned, there have been plenty of platonic soulmate stories between men, starting with Holmes & Watson, Kirk & Spock, Starsky & Hutch, Butch & Sundance and a million other movies and tv shows focusing on male bonding… I wish TPTB would finally give us some romance, but I’m honestly not holding my breath. If it happens in the MCU, I think the best bet is in one of the tv shows.
As far as Bucky & Steve are concerned, I’ll be over the moon if the Russos continue to focus on their friendship and not waste time on introducing het romantic subplots (although I do like Steve/Sharon and especially Bucky/Natasha a lot in the comics). The platonic friendship between Steve and Nat was one of my favourite things about Winter Soldier.