Winter Soldier

"Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists. The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's a ghost. You'll never find him."

- Black Widow

James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes was a soldier and the childhood friend of Steve Rogers. During World War II, he became a member of the Howling Commandos. They attacked many HYDRA bases together. During a battle on a HYDRA train, Bucky was attacked and fell off the train. He was then assumed to be deceased, but he actually survived, though he lost his left hand. Armed with the new cybernetic limb, he eventually became a mercenary terrorist known as the Winter Soldier.

Early life
James Buchanan Barnes was orphaned at an early age and was living in an orphanage ever since. During a regular day, he noticed a skimpy, weak kid getting beaten up by some bullies. He stepped in and saved the kid, who introduced himself as Steve Rogers. Years later, during an art class Bucky and Steve find out that America has joined the Second World War. Over the next two weeks he trains Steve at Goldie's Boxing Gym. They visit US Recruiting and Induction Center in New York City where Steve is classified as 4F and rejected from service. But Bucky was later enlisted in the Army.

Sergeant Barnes
Eventually, Barnes rose to the rank of Sergeant. The day before his shipment out to England, Bucky defended his friend Steve from being beat up by a bully. Bucky and Steve then went to the Stark Expo on a double date, though Bucky was having fun, Steve was interested in enlisting for the fifth time. Despite Bucky's protests Steve went through with it but said goodbye to Bucky before doing so. Bucky and his unit the 107th then shipped to England the next day.

Prisoner of War
On the battlefields of Europe, Bucky and his men were captured by the Germans and sent to work at the HYDRA weapons facility in the Austrian Alps, halfway between Kitzbühel and Klagenfurt. In October 1943, he met other Allied POWs: Jacques Dernier, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, and James Montgomery Falsworth.

During his stay in the facility, he was viciously beaten by the commander of the compound, Colonel Lohmer. However, other prisoners organized "an accident" which resulted in Lohmer's death.

Bucky and his friends worked on parts of the Valkyrie, the giant super bomber. Bucky became too weak to an he was taken to an isolation clinic. In November 1943, Steve (who had become Captain America) infiltrated the facility, freed the prisoners and Bucky too. During the escape Bucky and Steve encountered Johann Schmidt and Arnim Zola. Steve and Bucky were able to escape them and the facility before it blew and walked all the way back to Colonel Phillips' base in Italy, 30 miles out.

Howling Commandos
Eventually, Bucky, Dugan, Dernier, Jones, and Falsworth joined Rogers in his crusade against the Nazis and HYDRA, forming an elite group of fighters known as the Howling Commandos. Over the following months, Bucky, Cap, and the Commandos progressively destroyed most major HYDRA operations, preventing Schmidt and Zola any real ability to work on their scientific projects and plans. Bucky also participated in Cap's raid on Castle Zemo where they destroyed the gigantic robot called the Sleeper.

"Death"
In the winter of 1944, Bucky and Captain America boarded a HYDRA train carrying Arnim Zola. Bucky takes Captain America's shield and blocks him while he's down, but clearly not having the upper body strength to hold on to it when getting hit it shoots him out the side of the train. He was hanging on to a rail on the outside of the train, but it broke before Cap was able to save him, which resulted in Bucky falling into an icy river below.

More than seventy years after the end of World War II, Steve Rogers, awakened in the 21st century, studied S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files about the Commandos. In Bucky's file, he was reported as "Missing in action", implying that he may be still alive in the modern age.

As of 2014, "Bucky" Barnes' name was listed in the Wall of Valor of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy of Science and Technology.

The Winter Soldier
Through unknown circumstances, Bucky managed to survive the fall from Zola's train, though he lost his left arm. His whereabouts for the next sixty years are mysterious, but he replaced his lost arm with the robotic one. He also remained young until the 21st century, eventually becoming a mercenary known as the Winter Soldier.

Powers and Abilities
"He's fast. Strong. Had a metal arm."

- Captain America

After Bucky fell into a trench in an ice mountain, he was saved and given a metal arm, along with some other enhanced abilities.

Abilities

 * Enhanced Strength: The Winter Soldier has strength that is even superior to Captain America. Much of his strength is due to his cybernetic left arm.
 * Enhanced Speed: Bucky's speed is also paramount to Captain America's.

Skills

 * Master Combatant: The Winter Soldier is a fantastic hand-to-hand combatant.
 * Expert Marksman: Bucky has been a great marksman, even before becoming the Winter Soldier.

Relationships

 * Captain America - Teammate, Best Friend, and Leader. Later Enemy.
 * Chester Phillips - Leader
 * Red Skull - Enemy
 * Arnim Zola - Enemy
 * Crossbones - Ally

Trivia

 * It is possible that while Bucky was captured, Arnim Zola was experimenting the Winter Soldier program with him, leaving him able to survive his fall. This could still be true, as he has been confirmed to return in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.