Guardians of the Galaxy 3: James Gunn Clears Up (Some) Confusion About Bucky’s Arm From Holiday Special
The following contains an anti-spoiler — meaning, information about something that didn’t happen! — from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Did Rocket Raccoon return the gift he received in Disney+’s The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special?
That burning question thus far remains unanswered for those who this weekend saw the trilogy-ending Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 — though writer/director James Gunn did shoot down one theory about the whereabouts of Bucky Barnes’ vibranium left arm.
As last Thanksgiving’s Holiday Special drew to a close with a festive montage, we saw that Nebula (played by Karen Gillan) had gifted Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) with Bucky’s tricked-out arm. Rocket of course had coveted Bucky’s left arm ever since he first laid eyes on it during Avengers: Infinity War‘s Wakanda-set battle sequence.
“How much for the arm?” he asked Bucky, who met his inquiry with an unamused glare. “Ohhh, I’ll get that arm,” Rocket said to himself after being rebuffed.
Yet despite having it gift-wrapped for him in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Rocket did not rock said appendage in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Nor was it seen or even mentioned at all.
Some moviegoers have suggested that the modified, nanotech-based arm that Nebula puts to good use in Vol. 3 is in fact Bucky’s, but Gunn has dismissed that theory.
“Nebula’s arm is the Bucky’s arm from Holiday Special?” a Twitter follower asked Gunn during a weekend Q&A. Gunn replied, “No. It’s way better.”
No. It's way better.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 6, 2023
Gunn, however, has yet to answer any of the many tweeted inquiries about where Bucky’s vibranium arm now is, given that that particular Holiday Special plot point was 100% ignored by Vol. 3.
At the time Disney+’s Holiday Special was released, Gunn fielded fan Qs about how Nebula came into possession of Bucky’s arm in the first place, explaining(/joking?), “She took a trip to Earth and tore it off his body because she was feeling so Christmasy.”
He also added that whether MCU fans buy into the idea that Nebula could ever best Bucky, or if her doing so was some form of “forced inclusion” (as one tweeter argued), “now it’s canon.”
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MCU films are connected and yet little unexplained things like this ruin the continuity of having a connected cinematic universe.
It was a *joke*. The joke’s over. You either understood it in the special, or you didn’t.
Not every scene in every MCU production needs follow-up in the next production.
Exactly as you it was a joke and one of the funnier one’s although I was laughing the whole time watching it as Kevin bacon genuinely seemed to be having fun the entire time
multiverse
Sadly, this is why we can’t have throwaway jokes. Nebula gave Rocket the arm. That’s the joke. It’s over. But people always ask “What’s next?”
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There is no “next.” It’s over. It was never meant to be explained or brought up again.
Kind of have to explain it unless Bucky has a new arm in Thunderbolts. That’s the problem, not what was or was not shown in GoTG.
Why couldn’t she have just asked Okoye for the Wakandans to make a spare to give to Rocket? If it were to ever get damaged, he’d have a backup. So she gave him that one.
Ok so here’s my take. If you watch Ironman, his armor changes constantly. Why wouldn’t Siri be constantly upgrading things too? Sgt Barnes I have your new upgraded arm, but I need your old arm….simple. Here you go Nebula, I hope he appreciates how much you secretly care.
It was one off joke. Why everyone treating it as the biggest plot point? James Gunn only making it worse with his tweets. Instead of saying it was a joke move on, he’s playing along making it feel like big deal. I’m sure it never be mentioned again in the MCU
Nebula has a fancy left arm herself, surely she would know where to get upgrade for herself. I can’t remember she actually said it was Bucky arm? Rocket (and everyone else) just assume it’s Bucky’s? Like everyone said, it’s just a joke.
My theory is that she goes to Earth to get it, they get into a fight, and at some point she screams “I NEED IT FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR ROCKET!” and he goes “…Well why didn’t you just say so?” and passes it over.
^ Seems the most appropriate scenario. He probably has a new arm by then, but wanted to hold on to the old one.
I thought the arm itself was the follow-up: Nebula & Rocket spent 5 years together during the Blip. She’s the only one who knew how important that arm was to Rocket because the rest of the Guardians where gone just like Bucky. And Nebula the only one who could think to get that arm for Rocket when Bucky himself came back to life.