Winter Soldier Program

"Sergeant Barnes... the procedure has already started. You are to be the new fist of HYDRA!"

- Arnim Zola

Arnim Zola began a top secret Soviet project that involved brainwashing American hero James Buchanan Barnes and turning him into a deadly assassin for HYDRA using a serum similar to the Super Soldier Serum.

Death and Rebirth
In the winter of 1945, Bucky Barnes and Captain America boarded a HYDRA train carrying Arnim Zola during a Strategic Scientific Reserve operation. Bucky took 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 Rogers was able to save him, which resulted in Bucky falling into an icy river below. Surviving the fall from Arnim Zola's train, although missing his arm, Bucky was found by a Soviet soldier some time later.

Zola's Experiments
Bucky became a lab rat for HYDRA, and was brutally experimented on. These experiments included a Soviet version of the Super Soldier Serum and replacing his lost arm with a metal Prosthetic Arm. Bucky was also subjected to multiple mind control methods to keep him under their command. Over time Bucky would lose all memory of his former life and became nothing more than a weapon. Forgetting who he once was, he was trained by the KGB to become one of the worlds deadliest assassins.

Mindless Assassin
Over the next 50 years HYDRA would use Barnes as their weapon eliminating any target that got in their way. Using a Cryostasis Chamber Barnes was kept in suspended animation preventing him from aging, he was only awakened when HYDRA had use of him. The Winter Soldier would be responsible for countless assassinations including political parties. Due to his expertise on the field and the shadowy nature of his existence, the Winter Soldier became something of a Ghost Story with Intelligence Agencies doubting he even existed. Barnes even had an encounter with master spy and expert assassin Natasha Romanoff, which almost resulted in her death.

Project Insight
In 2014 Alexander Pierce awoke Barnes for HYDRA's plan to wipe out over a million targets using S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarriers. He was first given the mission to assassinate Nick Fury.

Winter Soldier No More
"Your name is James Buchanan Barnes. I'm not going to fight you; you're my friend."

- Captain America

Steve and Bucky began a brutal and bloody fight on the Helicarrier, after Steve completed his mission he refused to continue to fight his best friend. As the Winter Soldier claimed Rogers to be his mission, Steve quoted something Bucky said to him more than 70 years prior after his mother's funeral. Memories flooded to the surface, as Bucky relented, unwilling to throw another punch. The surface beneath them fell away, and Rogers plummeted into the river below. Bucky quickly grabbed on to a metal beam, which allowed him to stay on the Helicarrier. Realizing that Rogers truly was his friend, Bucky let go of the beam and leaped in after Steve and pulled him ashore, saving his old friend's life. After saving him, Bucky quickly checked to see if Rogers was still breathing. After he discovered he was, he began slowly walking off into the nearby woods, going on a mission to discover his true identity. Some time later, Barnes visited the Smithsonian Institution's Captain America Exhibit and stared intensely at his memorial.

Soviet Super Soldier Serum
Arnim Zola and Soviet scientists created a serum similar to Captain America's. It presumably enhanced Bucky's body to peak human levels.

Bionic Arm
Bucky's Arm was partially lost when he fell off Zola's train and was completely removed when he was found by the Soviet Army. It was replaced by a metal bionic arm that is very durable and additionally enhanced Barnes' strength. However it could still be damaged by Captain America's Vibranium shield and Black Widow was able to shut the arm off temporarily using a taser disk. A red Soviet star was painted on the shoulder.

Memory Erasing
To make Barnes the ultimate weapon, scientists had to erase the man he was, so they could rebuild him as they saw fit. The machine was able to erase three decades worth of memories from Barnes' mind, this procedure caused him excruciating pain, causing him to howl in pain. He usually had his mind "wiped" after each reawakening from the cryostasis chamber. Even after dozens of memory wipes, his memories still returned with the help from his old best friend Steve Rogers.

Cryostasis Chamber
These chambers use cryogenic technology, to freeze whomever is inside it and put them in a "hibernation" preventing them from aging, or their body and and mind from deteriorating. These chambers were designed to give HYDRA complete control over any recipients life, only unfreezing them when they were needed for a mission and allowing them to use the recipient at any point in time.

Appearances

 * Captain America: The Winter Soldier