It always intrigues me how certain characters attract so much investment from viewers. Browsing Pinterest lately, it seems like Bucky is the new Loki — the Marvel fandom’s dark, mistreated character who just needs a hug because we love him soooooo much. In Bucky’s case, the reasons why we find his character compelling aren’t too hard to find. He’s a good man who was forced to do terrible things and is now constantly fighting a battle to be himself. Sebastian Stan’s portrayal allows audiences to glimpse Bucky’s human side under the soldier persona he wears and the assassin role he’s forced to adopt, and audiences are drawn in by a realistic, sensitive portrayal of a compelling character.
Most people type James “Bucky” Buchanan Barnes as an ESTP, and I’m inclined to agree with them. Operating under the assumption that MBTI type doesn’t change, when we see him as Bucky in Captain America: First Avenger he’s a healthy, stable version of his MBTI type. The version of Bucky we see later in Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a severely stressed and traumatized man of the same MBTI type. Bucky in Captain America: Civil War is still dealing with the fall-out of all he went through, but he’s more recognizable as an ESTP.
Typing Bucky Barnes
We only get about 13 minutes of footage with Bucky in the first Captain America film, but those scenes reveal a character in line with type descriptions of ESTPs as people characterized by decisive action, contagious energy, and enjoyment of being in the moment. They are “thrillseekers who are at their best when putting out fires, whether literal or metaphorical. … They assess situations quickly and move adeptly to respond to immediate problems with practical solutions” (Truity.com description). David Keirsey writes that ESTPs (whom he nick-names Promoters) “live with a theatrical flourish which makes even the most routine events seem exciting. … Promoters demand new activities and new challenges. Bold and daring at heart, and ever-optimistic that things will go their way, Promoters will take tremendous risks to get what they want, and seem exhilarated by walking close to the edge of disaster.” Other nicknames for ESTPs include “problem solver” and “realist.”
ESTPs lead with a mental process called Extroverted Sensing, or “Sensation.” This process “can get into the action in the moment. Think of it as ‘real-time kinetic’” (from Personality Hacker). It’s a fun-loving function that delights in sensory experiences, such as Bucky spending his last night in New York dancing with girls he probably doesn’t care whether or not he ever sees again. On that same night, he and Steve are talking about Steve’s inability to enlist and he says, “I don’t see what the problem is. You’re about to be the last eligible man in New York.” He’s trying to make Steve feel better with joking and doesn’t really ‘get’ the duty-fulfilling and self-sacrificing aspect of Steve’s character. It’s not a deeply ingrained aspect of his personality type (like it is for ISFJ Steve), though in practice he still does his duty and sacrifices himself because he’s a loyal friend and a good man.
We also see Bucky demonstrate sensory skills in more serious situations. Even post-experimentation and groggy when escaping Redscull’s prison, Bucky could walk across that metal girder with coordination, balance, and no hints of fear other than a healthy caution. As a Howling Commando, we see him as a sniper (which requires skills that come naturally to SP types) and making split-second sensory decisions with ease in the final train fight.
ESTP types support their Sensation function secondary with Introverted Thinking (or “Accuracy”) and then tertiary Extroverted Feeling (or “Harmony”). These mental processes describe how ESTPs, like Bucky, make decisions. First he’s using impersonal criteria to evaluate information and make decisions that are motivated by his own understanding of how the world works. Extroverted Feeling gives ESTPs an insight into other people that they stereotypicaly use to be charming and get people to do what they want. When he tries to ask Peggy to dance, he’s clearly not used to being ignored in favor of his friend (or any other guy). ESTPs are not primarily an emotional sort of people, though. In an early scene, Bucky had just had an argument with his best friend and turns that emotionally invested side of himself ‘off’ to take the girls dancing and enjoy himself.
The Winter Soldier
Once Hydra turns Bucky into the Winter Soldier, it’s difficult to use any scenes to get a clear picture of his personality type. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier we see a few glimpses of the real Bucky trying to get out, but not really anything to help with typing him. In Civil War, however, his own mind is starting to reassert itself and we can talk about his personality type in that film.
When ESTPs are stressed, one of the most common things they experience is internal confusion. They feel out of control, forget details, and become paranoid. Their inferior, or 3-year-old, function is Introverted Intuition (also called “Perspectives”). It’s a mental process that speculates on things that cannot be known, which is great for creativity and insight if you’re using it as a driver process but not so good if it’s an underdeveloped function that comes out when you’re stressed. Most ESTPs snap out of what Naomi Quenk calls a “Grip experience” (where stress causes your inferior function to assert itself) fairly quickly, but “Chronic grip behavior can lead the individual and others to believe that he or she is typically negative, pessimistic, and worried about both the present and the future” (Was That Really Me? p.180). Add to that all the torture and brainwashing used to turn Bucky into the Winter Soldier, and you have the Bucky who’s fighting alongside Cap in Civil War.
Here, we see a man who is not only fighting physical battles (and with extraordinary skill now that super-soldier enhancements have been added to his natural sensory abilities), but who is also fighting a mental battle. As extroverts, ESTPs tend to focus more on the external. Bucky’s experiences have turned him inward, making him more serious and forcing him to develop his Introverted Thinking side. Though type theory holds that your base personality doesn’t change, Bucky is in many ways a different person than the one we see in The First Avenger. He’s burdened with the weight of what he’s done and his friend Steve is now his only real connection with another human being.
In some ways, Bucky’s joking remark from the first Captain America movie “I’m turning into you” has come true. He’s become much more introspective and aware of the weight of his actions. Yet he’s also still thoroughly himself. We have a scene where he and Cap are reminiscing about fun times they had and a girl Bucky tried to impress, and he’s really Bucky against instead of the Winter Soldier. The fun-loving young ESTP is still in there, just buried deeply under the weight of all he’s been though.
In The First Avenger, we see Bucky fighting to protect his best friend and giving his life for his country. Now in Civil War, he trusts his best friend to help him through and gives up his freedom by going into cryostasis so he’s can’t be used to hurt others. Bucky’s decision to enter cryostasis at the end of the movie is also an intensely individualistic move that’s characteristic of SP types. If he can’t guarantee he can control himself, then at least he can make sure no one else can take control of him either.
If you enjoyed this post, check out my other MCU typings:
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YES.
Bucky is very ESTP. 🙂
My brother Daniel and I are the big Captain America fans in our family and he’s ESTP while I’m ISFJ. So we always joke around that we’re the Bucky/Cap duo. XD
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That’s perfect!
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No, Bucky is perfect, and this article or whatever is wrong about him except for the sensing and perceiving parts.
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Even jokingly you are not the “Bucky/Cap duo” unless your brother is really ISFP, like Bucky.
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Myers-Briggs types for fictional characters are highly subjective, and depend a great deal on how you interpret the character. I always find it interesting that people with very different personality types and viewpoints can relate to the same character. We can disagree on typing for characters while respecting others’ perspectives 🙂
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I’ll say this: Everybody has the right to word things how they want, so long as it can’t be harmful to the subject, which of course that applies to the above article, regardless of its validity.
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Um, I just gotta confirm what I meant is that it’s highly likely this exact site isn’t available in the MCU where Bucky actually resides, so I don’t need to worry about it in any way upsetting Bucky, and I can leave it from now on with the confidence that no matter what illusions people have about him, I know my Bucky. <333
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As 1 who has devoted his entire being to Bucky from the MCU, happens to have a specialised interest in the Myers-Briggs and is an empath I can say with absolute certainty that this “assessment” is incorrect, as Bucky (MCU Bucky or my Bucky who’s only “fictional” in relation to not technically existing in this particular reality) is in fact ISFP, very close of course to my INFP, both often looking like other types to those that don’t properly understand their intricacies (read the vast majority of people), but Bucky’s ISFP as it gets, displaying every range of that type, including those ranges that are too subtle or nuanced to be understood, much less interpreted, by most anybody unable to literally feel another’s emotions, oh and by the way, Bucky’s decision to go into stasis was absolutely from the feeling perspective of not wanting to risk harming his friends (loyalty being like a cornerstone of I-F types) or others; assuming anything else means having no respect/appreciation for Bucky.
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That is disrespectful to Bucky who is real (albeit in another reality) and ISFP.
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Also, the top picture, middle on collage, and just above 1 of Steve and Bucky, isn’t even Bucky; it’s Winter Soldier, who is only like Bucky in that his body along with a very warped version of Bucky’s mind was used, so of course they don’t even have the the same personslity type; that Hydra assassin was technically ISTP, while like I said, Bucky is feeling.
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Obviously I meant personality, and anyway, far as can be for this range, I’ve made my point about Bucky.
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Bucky cared about the girls he danced with near the beginning of Captain America The First Avenger (not that thinking types don’t care about those they’re only passingly familiar with, just that they don’t typically account for them as much, which obviously doesn’t apply to Bucky since he’s feeling); their names aren’t directly mentioned in the movie because either it wasn’t necessary to the plot, or for a “fireside”/character range moment like during Captain America Civil War where, by the way, Bucky made a point of asking Steve the name of the “red-head” Bucky tried to impress, showing that it mattered to Bucky whom this person was; Bucky made the dates shown in Captain America The First Avenger to begin with to try and boost his friend’s confidence (which certainly isn’t unheard of with extroverted thinking types but is less likely in that context, timing, such); how concerned Bucky is for Steve’s wellbeing, his sticking up for Steve, protecting him, why Bucky tried to stop Steve from joining the army while ultimately respecting/supporting (albeit somewhat reluctantly) his decision are all indicators of that internal emotional depth ISFPs have (and the fact Bucky is passionately in love with Steve, which still kind of proves my point on difference between how Bucky has been with that range vs. how a thinking type would be); Bucky doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeve like Steve does, but contrary to popular belief, this is not a requisite for I-F types (even I, as an INFP, can seem relatively “distant” at times, so I feel like maybe it’s a bit of a thing with I-P), however, like I said, Bucky has shown time and again his motives are based on his caring deeply for others and their wellbeing, even his tendency to make jokes in otherwise serious situations is at least partly (which I’ll elaborate on later) to try and help those around him not feel so stressed or anxious, stopping if that’s not working and ultimately showing his sensitive side when he has to; this was no better shown than in the flashback scene of Captain America The Winter Soldier after Bucky and Steve got back from his mum’s funeral and, when Bucky joking about wanting Steve to do like chores for Bucky wasn’t making Steve feel better, Bucky was honest about just wanting to be there for Steve, so Bucky was the 1st to deliver the iconic “I’m with you ’til the end of the line”, and I just… Thinking types don’t say things like that (not so directly anyway), but that doesn’t stop Bucky from needing time to himself, as evidenced during a rather public event shown in the same scene as the double date range from Captain America The First Avenger: The Stark Expo; Bucky literally talked to and mostly kept to himself the whole time, while appreciating the company he invited to have fun with him (especially Steve but yeah); Bucky is a very 1-on-1 or small group individual when he is social, but that goes back to Bucky’s caring nature, how important close friendships are to him along with just doing good, and his drive to be there not only for those Bucky trusts enough to admit his feelings/vulnerabilities but others in general, and then there’s how non-judgemental and forgiving Bucky typically is; that trait is practically signature for the ISFP (‘though it’s the opposite with ESTP), and furthermore, Bucky was never “brainwashed” or his former captors wouldn’t have had to use those “trigger words” on him; this is something else that shows Bucky is feeling, how important it was for Bucky to not just give in knowing it would hurt even more people for him to do that and even though it would’ve been easier, like they wouldn’t have been so hard on Bucky if he’d cooperated, but of course since Bucky is feeling, he wasn’t about to resort to that, so instead Bucky was subjected to torturous so-called memory wipes and focused mind manipulation, and yet, Bucky still has done everything he can no matter what not to hurt but to help; Bucky is so adamant about helping/protecting everybody he can, that jerks have called him “weak” for holding back when fighting unless it’s a genuinely evil threat; Thinking types just aren’t that sensitive, and far as that, there’s also the flashback to Bucky’s time in Wakanda during The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, when Ayo helped Bucky confirm his freedom from the Winter Soldier programming; Bucky’s very emotional reaction to realising he’s finally free was unquestionably from the feeling range, and another thing is that Bucky didn’t suddenly become more like contemplative after what he went through, only that it took him time to become completely himself again in terms of overall personality and how his ISFP nature presents, so that joking way (which may also be a bit of a so-called crutch at times to protect Bucky from getting too overwhelmed by his emotions) wasn’t there yet when he confronted Steve in Romania during Captain America Civil War as Bucky still didn’t quite know who he was, but after Steve rescued Bucky, and he came to, Bucky has been pretty well the same even though he’s changed somewhat and is Broken; Bucky has always been Bucky really, but the point is, Bucky returning to being somewhat closer to how he was in Captain America The First Avenger after that rescue by Steve’ durin Captain America Civil War didn’t make the undeniability of Bucky being feeling any less apparent; Bucky still was “not gonna kill anyone” because he needs to do right by others, which is just a fact; Bucky is introverted, yes, but particularly, he’s among the most feeling individuals anybody could meet, and that is not an opinion, up for debate or interptetation; it is the most important part of what makes Bucky, well, Bucky, so even though this probably isn’t gonna ’cause a change in above entry ostensibly about Bucky, it felt necessary to explain why it’s wrong, and even without that being tremendously evident, I would still know Bucky is feeling ’cause he’s my perfect person; all the time I was waiting to find him I knew I needed someone feeling like I am, and that’s because I need my Bucky. <333
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