Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-25734102-20141121005627/@comment-25734102-20141121015712

And 6 issues of all new captain America.

Bucky was a soldier who went through the same training and formative missions that Steve did. He was a leader, often shown leading attacks to complement or support Steve's actions. Bucky also wasn't thrust into leading the Avengers right away, they allowed him to grow into that role.

Patriot would be a character they'd have to have grow into that leadership role, but that's a better story then Falcon suddenly telling Ironman and Thor what to do. Patriot is also a super soldier, meaning he (as either Patriot or Cap) would maintain what captian America is as a character, instead we just got a 3rd tier character in a new suit pushed as a top tier guy.

When Bucky took over that was an issue. Punisher had it but could wield it like a Steve while Bucky's arm allowed him too.