'Captain America: Civil War': the return of the bromance between Cap and Bucky

You know the saying: all's fair in love and war. From Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to James 'Bucky' Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and so forth, that is something that Captain America (Chris Evans) knows all too well in his 75 years as Marvel's first Avenger - and the world's first super-soldier.

Now, that old saying takes on a whole new meaning in "Captain America: Civil War", as the love between Cap and armored Avenger Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) has literally been lost over the Avengers registering as government-sanctioned superheroes. However, Cap will find love again in this film - and we're not just talking about Sharon Carter (Emily Van Camp). We're talking about his first love - but it's not Peggy, and it's not a she; it is a he, and his name is Bucky.

"What's fascinating about the Cap-Bucky story as well is it's a love story," Joe Russo told Empire. "These are two guys who grew up together and so they have that same emotional connection to each other as brothers would, and even more so because Bucky was all Steve had growing up."

That is what Steve/Cap said in 2014's "Winter Soldier": even when he had nothing, Steve had Bucky, who told his friend that he was with him until the end of the line. That is Steve also said during the climax when Bucky, who was reprogrammed by HYDRA as their top assassin, tried to complete his mission until Steve told him that he was with Bucky ... until the end of the line. Bucky was Team Cap as a member of the Howling Commandos in the fight against HYDRA during World War II. His "death" was avenged by Cap, who went on to helped assembled the Avengers, followed by his brief career as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Now, "Civil War" finds Bucky somewhat back on Team Cap: finding their groove once more in their fight with Iron Man.

"I think it's easy and generalizing it to say that they're lovers, when you're forgettable that one has a lot of guilt because he swore to be the protector of the other, the father figure or older brother, so to speak, and then left him behind," Stan said. "I have no qualms with it, but I think people like to see it much more as a love story than it actually is. It's brotherhood to me."

That brotherhood of Cap and Bucky is about to become a trio with Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) remaining on Team Cap since "Winter Soldier" and becoming an Avenger himself since "Age of Ultron".

"Captain America: Civil War" comes out on May 6.