While Brubaker praised Winter Solider actor Sebastian Stan (“he’s both a great guy and the perfect Bucky/Winter Soldier, and I’m glad to see him getting more screen time finally”), he noted, “For the most part, all Steve Epting and I have gotten for creating the Winter Soldier and his storyline is a ‘thanks’ here or there, and over the years that’s become harder and harder to live with. I’ve even seen higher-ups on the publishing side try to take credit for my work a few times, which was pretty galling.”
Brubaker suggested his inability to watch “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” comes from not getting paid for his part in creating the Winter Soldier since he did so as a worker-for-hire under Marvel Comics. Marvel owns the character, not Brubaker, and thus Marvel doesn’t have to pay the writer for using the character in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” or any Marvel Cinematic Universe property. “Work-for-hire work is what it is, and I’m honestly thrilled to have co-created something that’s become such a big part of pop culture — or even pop subculture with all the Bucky-Steve slash fiction — and that run on Cap was one of the happiest times of my career, certainly while doing superhero comics,” Brubaker wrote. “But I also can’t deny feeling a bit sick to my stomach sometimes when my inbox fills up with people wanting comments on the show.” Brubaker concluded, “So…I’m sure I’ll watch it, and you should too if you’re a Marvel movie universe fan, but I’ll probably be waiting a while to check it out myself.” Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
