Steve Rogers chose Sam Wilson to be the new Captain America over his friend Bucky for some very important reasons, which prove Sam was perfect.

So Bucky Barnes appears and reunites with Sam Wilson in Captain America: Brave New World, but what happens in their one scene together? Bucky arrives to comfort Sam at one of his lowest points in the movie.

This timeline tells us that Thunderbolts* will happen either soon after the events in Brave New World or a little later down the road. Whatever the case, Congressman James Buchanan Barnes will be elected to office before he and the Thunderbolts become the New Avengers.