Winter Soldier

"What you did all these years ... it wasn't you. You didn't have a choice." "I know. But I did it."

- Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes

Sergeant James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is a former soldier of the 107th Infantry Regiment and the childhood best friend of Steve Rogers. As the threat of World War II was still escalating, Barnes enlisted in the army to do what he could, only to soon be captured by the forces of HYDRA, however Barnes was eventually rescued by Rogers, who had just become Captain America during Barnes' absence. Joining forces in the continuing war, Barnes and Rogers formed the Howling Commandos to battle the Red Skull's forces. During an attempt to capture HYDRA scientist Arnim Zola, Barnes was caught in an ambush and plummeted from the HYDRA train, where he vanished and was then presumed to be deceased.

Unbeknownst to his team, Barnes had actually survived the attack on the train, albeit with the loss of his left arm. Brainwashed and armed with a new cybernetic limb, Barnes ultimately became an enhanced HYDRA operative known as the Winter Soldier. Over the next several decades, he would eliminate anyone who posed a threat to HYDRA, including his former ally, Howard Stark as well as his wife Maria. Between his missions, Barnes would be put into a cryogenic stasis to preserve his longevity. Over half a century later, when he was ordered by HYDRA's new leader Alexander Pierce to assassinate S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, the Winter Soldier was unexpectedly confronted by his old friend, Steve Rogers, triggering him to begin remembering his prior life before HYDRA.

In the wake of the Battle at the Triskelion, the Winter Soldier went on the run from HYDRA onto a mission to remember his past and end his long violent history. However, Barnes was then accused of causing a terrorist bombing, which claimed the life of T'Chaka, the King of Wakanda, among others. As Black Panther sought revenge for his father's death, Barnes was soon saved by Captain America, sparking the Avengers Civil War as Tony Stark was sent to capture him. As it was revealed that Helmut Zemo had organized the Civil War, he revealed that Barnes had murdered Stark's parents years ago. Having survived the latter's revenge, Barnes was then taken into Wakanda where he was allowed by T'Challa to be frozen until his mind could be cured of all HYDRA's mental programming, Barnes gradually recovered with help from T'Challa's sister Shuri and was nicknamed by certain children as White Wolf.

Meeting Steve Rogers
"You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of that freezer truck?" "Was that the time we used our train money to buy hot dogs?" "You blew three bucks trying to win that stuffed bear for a redhead."

- Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes

James Buchanan Barnes was born on March 10, 1917 and was the eldest child of four. Barnes grew up to be an overachiever, having been an excellent athlete who had also excelled inside the classroom. Sometime during his childhood, he met Steve Rogers when bullies were trying to steal his money. . The two became best friends and stuck together for many years, with Barnes often defending Rogers from bullies who would have attempted to take advantage of Rogers' short height and small build.

During one of their trips together, Barnes and Rogers had ended up being forced to get a ride back towards Brooklyn on the back of a freezer truck as they had used all their remaining train money to buy hotdogs, while Barnes had also inadvertently managed to spend three dollars as he attempted to win a stuffed bear for a red headed girl named Dolores who Barnes had called Dot. Another time when they were at Coney Island together, Barnes convinced Rogers to ride the cyclon, which soon resulted in Rogers throwing up due to the ride, much to Barnes' great amusement.

Training Rogers
"We can put the couch cushion on the floor like when we were kids. It’ll be fun. All you gotta do is shine my shoes, maybe take out the trash. Come on." "Thank you Buck, but I can get by on my own." "The thing is, you don't have to. I'm with you to the end of the line, pal."

- Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers

In 1936, Steve Rogers' mother, Sarah Rogers, died of tuberculosis and they buried her beside Rogers' father, Joseph Rogers. After her funeral, Barnes walked Rogers home and offered him his place to stay, but Rogers refused, saying he could get by on his own. Seeing Rogers struggling to find his house keys, Barnes revealed his secret key and told him that he did not have to because he was with him "to the end of the line," something Rogers would always keep to heart. A year later, during their art class, Barnes and Rogers found out that the United States of America had joined the Second World War. By this time, Barnes was now the three-time YMCA welterweight boxing champion. He then spent two weeks training Rogers at Goldie's Boxing Gym. They visited the US Recruiting and Induction Center in New York City where Rogers was classified as 4F and rejected from service. Barnes was later successfully drafted in the Army.

Sergeant Barnes
"They'll catch you and worse they'll actually take you." "Look I know you don't think I can do this..." "This isn't a back alley, Steve. It's war! Why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs."

- Bucky Barnes to Steve Rogers

Barnes, along with the rest of the 107th Infantry Regiment, was trained during the winter at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. Eventually, Barnes rose to the rank of Sergeant. The day before his shipment out to England, Barnes found Steve Rogers getting beaten up by a bully. He came to the defense of his friend and quickly sent the bully running away with a punch to the jaw and a kick to the behind. Barnes learned that Rogers had been attempting to enlist in the army again so he could fight in World War II, using false documents to try and get deployed. Barnes informed Rogers that he had received his orders and would be going to war the next morning. At first, Rogers seemed upset, as he was not shipping out to war as well. Barnes remained determined to cheer his friend up and reminded him that he would last be the last eligible bachelor left in New York City. Barnes and Rogers then went to the Stark Expo together, with Barnes determined to enjoy his last day in the city before shipping out. What Barnes did not tell Rogers, however, was that it was in fact a double date with Connie and Bonnie, who were both highly excited to spend the evening with a handsome soldier like Sgt Barnes. When Rogers asked what Barnes had told his own date about him, Barnes simply replied, "only the good stuff" while greeting the girls. While happily exploring the Expo together, the group of four saw the inventions which Stark Industries was showing off, such as Phineas Horton's Synthetic Man. They later watched as Howard Stark himself demonstrated his prototype flying car, which had greatly impressed Barnes, until it malfunctioned and fell to the ground hard, although Stark was still able to joke that the car was only a prototype. When Barnes turned around to suggest the group go dancing, he saw that Rogers had walked away from the group to try and enlist in the army yet again, despite Barnes' many previous objections. Barnes soon found Rogers trying to enlist, and first tried to persuade him to rejoin him on the double date. When that did not work, he reminded him that he wasn't going to be fighting in a back alley, but in a war. Despite Barnes' protests, Rogers went through with it, but said a heartfelt goodbye to Barnes before doing so. Rogers told him not to win the war until he got there, and Barnes left with the girls. Barnes and his unit, the 107th shipped out to England the next day.

Prisoner of War
"Here they come!" "I hate these guys."

- Bucky Barnes and Dum Dum Dugan

While serving on the frontlines of World War II, Barnes and his unit, which included Dum Dum Dugan and Gabe Jones, were ambushed by the Nazis at Azzano. Although the battle seemed hopeless as they were strongly outgunned without any reinforcements, the battle turned when another German unit had then appeared and used an extremely powerful tank which proceeded to easily kill the remaining Nazis who fled. As Barnes, Dugan and Jones got out of the hiding place and looked over the remains of the battlefield, the tank then turned it's weaponry towards Barnes' unit and they were soon captured by HYDRA. Once they were HYDRA's prisoners, they were sent to work at the HYDRA weapons facility in the Austrian Alps, halfway between and  where they were forced to help make the new weaponry for HYDRA's forces under Johann Schmidt's direct orders. In October 1943, Barnes met other Allied POWs: including Jacques Dernier and James Montgomery Falsworth. During his imprisonment in the facility, he was viciously beaten by Colonel Lohmer. However, other prisoners organized an "accident" which resulted in Lohmer's death. Barnes and his friends worked on parts of the Valkyrie, a giant super bomber. When Barnes became too weak to continue, he was taken to undergo experiments conducted by Arnim Zola.

Saved by Captain America
"I thought you were dead." "I thought you were smaller? What happened to you?" "I joined the army."

- Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes

In November 1943, the facility was infiltrated by Steve Rogers, who had undergone an experiment giving him enhanced strength. Rogers made his way through the base and freed the prisoners, including Barnes, having discovered him while chasing down Arnim Zola. Seeing his friend and his newly transformed body, Barnes was surprised and confused, noting that he remembered Rogers being considerably shorter than he was now while Rogers dragged him out. As the freed POW's battled against the HYDRA forces, being led by Dum Dum Dugan, Rogers and Barnes became trapped inside the base as it began to self destruct. During the escape, Barnes and Rogers encountered Johann Schmidt and Arnim Zola, who mocked Rogers' transformation at the hands of Abraham Erskine. After a brief fight, Schmidt and Rogers soon became separated before Schmidt revealed to them his true demonic face, caused by taking an early version of the Super Soldier Serum. Schmidt mocked Rogers' belief that he was still just a simple soldier despite being a higher class of humanity before then escaping from the exploding base. With Schmidt gone, Rogers and Barnes refocused their efforts and began working out an escape route. Rogers suggested that they move up and they decided to use a support beam to move to a safe section of the facility. Due to his poor health, Rogers insisted that Barnes get himself to safety first, however just as he reached the other side, the beam fell apart from under Barnes' feet, trapping Rogers on the other side of the exploding facility. Although Rogers ordered that Barnes escape now before the base exploded and killed them both, Barnes refused, insisting that he would not leave his friend behind; he claimed that they would be able to find another way across. Barnes watched in amazement as Rogers used his strength to bend a steel bar out of his way before launching himself across the gap and rejoining Barnes. They were then able to escape moments before the entire facility was destroyed.

Return to Camp
"Hey, let's hear it for Captain America!"

- Bucky Barnes

Barnes and Captain America eventually regrouped with all the rest of the escaped Prisoners of War and together they then walked with the other freed United States Armed Forces soldiers all the way back to Colonel Chester Phillips' base in Italy, 30 miles out. Once they had all arrived along with the weapons and vehicles they had stolen from HYDRA, they were then greeted warmly by the other soldiers, who were amazed that Rogers' mission to save them all had somehow been successful. While Barnes and Dum Dum Dugan were reuniting with their fellow soldiers, Rogers then offered to surrender himself for court marshal, however Colonel Phillips chose not to punish Rogers for undertaking the rescue mission against all of Phillip's strict orders against that plan. As the entire unit gathered together and Rogers was reunited by Agent Peggy Carter, who teased him for being late as Rogers had been unable to contact her to inform her of the success, Barnes then called for the soldiers to cheer for their savior, Captain America. The Prisoners of War were then given some medical attention before all being given some time away from the battlefield to recover.

Howling Commandos
"You ready to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?" "Hell, no. That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb to run away from a fight, I'm following him."

- Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes

After their escape from the HYDRA prison, Barnes and all the other former Prisoners of War, including Dum Dum Dugan, were given a break from duty. Steve Rogers later joined them inside of the Whip & Fiddle pub and convinced them to join his crusade against the Nazis and HYDRA, forming a group of fighters known as the Howling Commandos. Barnes told Rogers that he would not follow Captain America, but he would follow his friend. When Peggy Carter also arrived at the pub to inform Rogers of an upcoming meeting with Chester Phillips and Howard Stark, Barnes had to deal with the realization that Rogers was now the one who gets flirted with, not him. Rogers teased his friend by suggested that she might have a friend before discussing if Rogers would be keeping the uniform of Captain America. Having agreed to return to the battlefield, Barnes alongside the newly formed Howling Commandos joined Captain America back into the front lines of World War II. Over the following few months of the war, Barnes and the rest of the Commandos had progressively destroyed most major HYDRA operations and key science facilities, which was preventing Johann Schmidt and Arnim Zola from completing more projects with all their work on their world dominating plans. Barnes followed the team while they focused on destroying HYDRA's army units, tanks and other facilities, ensuring that HYDRA's strength was greatly reduced while the United States Armed Forces as well as the Strategic Scientific Reserve continued moving forward against them. Barnes would often work as the sniper of the group, protecting his team of Commandos, standing by while Jacques Dernier planted bombs on the HYDRA tanks to successfully destroy them.

Final Mission
"I had him on the ropes." "I know you did."

- Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers

At the beginning of 1945, Barnes, Captain America and the rest of the Howling Commandos prepared for a mission to board a HYDRA train carrying Arnim Zola, with the aim of capturing the HYDRA scientist to learn about the plans of the Red Skull. While they looked over the side of the snowy mountain they would have to manurer around, Barnes joked that this mission was Rogers' way of getting payback for the time Barnes made Rogers ride a roller coaster that made him throw up, which Rogers neither confirmed nor denied. When Jim Morita intercepted a radio signal from HYDRA confirming that Zola was on the train, Barnes, Rogers and Gabe Jones used a zip wire to board the train as it traveled through the mountains. While Jones stayed on top of the roof of the train, Barnes and Steve Rogers entered and began exploring the various carriages. Moments after their arrival however, they were suddenly split up and ambushed by a team of armored HYDRA soldiers sent to kill them by Zola. While Rogers was forced to fight the heavily armed HYDRA guard, Barnes became pinned down by three soldiers. Although he was able to kill two, Barnes soon ran out of ammunition and feared he would soon be killed. Rogers, however, was able to open up the door and throw him a new gun which he used to kill the last remaining soldier when Rogers distracted him. Barnes claimed that he had him on the ropes and Rogers assured him that he still believed him. However just as the pair began to relax, another HYDRA soldier then appeared behind them and fired at them with a HYDRA Assault Rifle, blowing a hole through the side of the train and knocking Rogers off his feet. Barnes picked up Captain America's Shield and fired at the soldier, but he was shot again, the power of the blast throwing him off the train and leaving him hanging on to the damaged rail for dear life as the train continued to speed through the mountains. Rogers had dispatched the soldier by launching his shield at him and turned his attention onto desperately trying to rescue Barnes as he hung off a rail on the side of the train. Rogers begged Barnes to hold on as he inched closer to him and tried to grab his hand, but before they could reach each other the rail snapped, which then resulted in Barnes falling down to the icy below as Rogers could only look in horror as Barnes seemingly disappeared forever.

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

- Arnim Zola to Bucky Barnes

Due to his enhanced physiology produced by HYDRA's experiments, Barnes was just able to survive the fall from Arnim Zola's train, though his left arm was ripped from his body upon impact. His nearly lifeless body was discovered by a Soviet soldier, and was handed over to HYDRA. He was kept their prisoner for many years, until Arnim Zola was released from the SSR's custody, wishing to continue his experiments. In the care of the new HYDRA, working within S.H.I.E.L.D., Barnes underwent further experimentation at the hands of Zola, as the first subject of the Winter Soldier Program. Removing the remnants of his severed arm, the doctors replaced the missing limb with a prosthetic one. Barnes underwent mind control methods to keep him under their command. Over time, Barnes would lose all memory of his former life and became nothing more than a weapon. With his body at the peak of physical perfection and his arm at the highest level of weaponized technology, HYDRA put Barnes to use as their personal weapon for many years. They had him frozen in suspended animation to prevent him from ageing after every mission. Whenever Barnes completed a mission, HYDRA would have his mind wiped to ensure he remained memory-free and emotionless towards those he killed.

Taking Out HYDRA Threats


"Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists. The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years."

- Black Widow to Captain America

Receiving vast training from HYDRA, Barnes became a formidable fighter and an even more ruthless killer. His experiences with the KGB would earn him the name of the "Winter Soldier". The Winter Soldier would remain frozen for long periods of time until HYDRA saw fit to unfreeze him for missions. Over the next 50 years, Winter Soldier was responsible for numerous assassinations, killing various sorts of targets, from scientific minds to political figures. Due to his expertise on the field and his shadowy nature, the Winter Soldier became something of a ghost story, with intelligence agencies doubting he even existed.

Assassination of the Starks
"Желание, Ржавый, Семнадцать, Рассвет, Печь, Девять, Добросердечный, Возвращение на родину, Один, Товарный вагон. Солдат?" "Я жду приказаний.""

- Vasily Karpov and Winter Soldier

While being kept on ice in a Cryostasis Chamber, Winter Soldier was held in the HYDRA Siberian Facility alongside other Winter Soldiers. Eventually he was defrosted by Vasily Karpov who, once his memories had been wiped yet again by the Memory Suppressing Machine, ensured Barnes was loyal to HYDRA by using key words to activate all his training. With his mind clear of his own past life, the Winter Soldier once again became just an empty shell of a man simply awaiting his new mission orders. Karpov then informed Barnes that they needed him to steal a supply of the Super Soldier Serum from the car of Howard Stark, and assassinating Stark in the process. As Barnes had no memories left of his time serving in World War II alongside Stark, he agreed to take on the mission without any hesitation or possible remorse. Taking on this mission, Winter Soldier waited for Stark to leave his home and travel down the road; at which point he gave chase on his motorbike and fired into the car, causing it to veer off the road and crash into a nearby tree. Momentarily ignoring all the injured victims, Winter Soldier first ensured that the Super Soldier Serum was safe before turning his attention onto Stark, who had survived and slowly crawled away from the car wreak to attempt to escape. As the badly wounded Stark crawled away from the car wreak and begged for his attacker to help save his wife's life, the Winter Soldier ignored the pleas and took ahold of Stark with his robotic arm. As Stark looked up at his assassin, he recognized him from their time together during World War II, as well as working with their mutual friend, Captain America. Confused, Stark addressed him by his real name of Barnes, which had no affect on the Winter Soldier. However, the Winter Soldier ignored the comments and proceeded to beat Stark to death with his Prosthetic Arm, cracking Stark's skull and killing him. With his first target now dead, the Winter Soldier then carried Stark's corpse and placed him back inside the car, to make it appear that he had been killed during the crash, before proceeding to strangle Maria Stark to death. He then ensured the crash looked like an accident and destroyed the various CCTV cameras. With both his targets now dead and their murder having seemingly been covered up by the destruction of the CCTV cameras, the Winter Soldier then took the Super Soldier Serum from inside of Stark's car and made his escape, before he then returned back to the HYDRA Siberian Facility, presenting it to Karpov, who then complimented the Soldier's work. The Serum was then used to create and enhance all the new Winter Soldiers, who were prepared for missions.

Training other Winter Soldiers
"I'm not the only Winter Soldier." "Who were they?" "The most elite death squad."

- Winter Soldier and Captain America

As HYDRA's enemies continued to grow onwards, they had decided that more enhanced Winter Soldier assassins were needed, so new volunteers were injected with the Super Soldier Serum that the Winter Soldier had stolen from Howard Stark and used in the Winter Soldier Program. To ensure the soldiers were battle ready, the Winter Soldier was tasked with training them; if they were able to overpower and subdue him, then they would be accepted into the program. During one of these training sessions at the HYDRA Siberian Facility, the Winter Soldier was defeated and Vasily Karpov then came in to congratulate the victor while a doctor went to check on his vitals. However, the Soldier was fueled by the adrenaline and attacked the doctor, slamming his face hard into the ground and killing him. As a result a riot began with the other Winter Soldiers rising up against their captors and attacking Karpov and the other guards. As a fight broke out, the Winter Soldier was ordered by the terrified Karpov to protect him and took him away from danger, locking the Soldiers in the cage. While the HYDRA guards eventually subdued the other soldiers and put them back into Cryostasis Chambers. It was then decided by Karpov that they should all be kept on ice until they could be controlled. As Karpov fled to the U.S., the facility was abandoned after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Encounter with Black Widow
"Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot at my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me. A Soviet slug, no rifling."

- Black Widow to Captain America

In 2009, the Winter Soldier was sent to kill a nuclear scientist. He found his target being escorted by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Natasha Romanoff. Without hesitation, he attacked his target, sending the car containing the scientist and Romanoff over a cliff. Finding that Romanoff had saved the target from falling to his death, the Winter Soldier fired a single round through Romanoff's stomach. The bullet struck the scientist, effectively killing him. He then made his getaway without pursuit.

Bucky Barnes' Legacy
"Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country."

- Smithsonian Institution

Almost 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", as his corpse was never found. Therefore, he was never officially classified as deceased. In the Smithsonian Institution, a part of the Captain America Exhibit is dedicated to Bucky's memory and shows a short biography of his life. Before 2014, Barnes' name was listed on the Wall of Valor of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy of Science and Technology.

The attack on Nick Fury
"He's fast. Strong. Had a metal arm."

- Captain America

In 2014, the Winter Soldier was activated once more to assassinate the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury after he had just begun to finally unravel HYDRA's secret existence due to questioning Project Insight. When Fury managed to escape death at the hands of over a dozen HYDRA agents in Washington, D.C., the Winter Soldier managed to get ahead of Fury's car and disabled it using a Magnetic Disk Grenade, which caused the car to flip as the Winter Soldier moved aside just in time. However, when the Winter Soldier made his way to the vehicle to finish Fury, he found his target had used a Mouse Hole to escape from his wrecked car and into the sewers to escape his would-be assassins. Unwilling to allow his target to get away alive, the Winter Soldier later located Fury at Steve Rogers' apartment, where he was attempting to give Rogers vital information about his attack and the possible infiltration within S.H.I.E.L.D. Before Fury could reveal his information, the Winter Soldier shot him through the back multiple times, puncturing straight through his Bulletproof Vest, through the wall from another building all the way across the street. With Fury seemingly dead, the Winter Soldier made his escape, but Rogers gave chase and attempted to subdue Barnes by throwing his shield at him. However, Barnes stopped running and simply caught the shield with his bionic arm, throwing it back with incredible force after looking at Rogers for a moment. As Rogers stood frozen in shock at the assassin's strength and reflexes, Barnes leaped off the roof and escaped before Rogers could see where he went. Instead of being returned to his Cryostasis Chamber, the Soldier was sent to Alexander Pierce's house for his next orders in the wake of Director Fury's apparent death. He was informed that his next targets were Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, who were attempting to reveal HYDRA's Project Insight plan which had involved killing over a million targets using S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarriers. When the Soldier and Pierce were seen by Renata, he watched as Pierce executed her.

Battle of Washington, D.C.
"Она моя. Найдите его."

- Winter Soldier to HYDRA team

The next day the Winter Soldier had managed to track down all of his targets and attacked on the freeway while they were kidnapping the HYDRA sleeper agent, Jasper Sitwell. Managing to land of the roof of the car, Winter Soldier threw Sitwell from the car into the path of an incoming truck, before he fired inside the car to try and assassinate his targets. Before he could get a confirmed kill however, the Winter Soldier was then thrown off the car's roof as Sam Wilson slammed on the breaks. Having stopped himself using his Prosthetic Arm, the Winter Soldier managed to get out of the way as the car charged towards him and proceeded to rip out the steering wheel, which caused the car to lose control and crash, with Steve Rogers just able to get all his allies to safety. Seeing they had survived, the Winter Soldier proceeded to fire a grenade at his targets, Rogers took the blow on his shield and went flying off the bridge and crashed into a bus down below. Winter Soldier then turned his attention to Natasha Romanoff, as he and his HYDRA team fired upon her until an explosion caused by the Winter Soldier's grenade launched caused her to fall from the bridge, barely saving herself with a Grappling Hook Gun. With his targets off the bridge and at a disadvantage, the Soldier took his machine gun and aimed off the bridge to finish them off. However, he was shot in the eye by Black Widow, surviving due to his protective mask. Furious at being shot at, the Winter Soldier fired down at Romanoff, barely missing all his shots as she ran for her life down the street. Instead of sharpshooting Romanoff, the Soldier ordered his men to deal with Rogers while he targeted her. Leaping from the bridge, the Winter Soldier landed on a car and pursued the S.H.I.E.L.D. through the streets of Washington, D.C., as the civilians ran for cover while the Soldier's agents fired upon both Rogers and Wilson. As he reloaded his grenade launcher, The Winter Soldier eventually believed that he had Romanoff cornered when he heard her voice from behind a parked car. In an attempt to kill his target, the Winter Soldier silently dropped a grenade and let it quietly roll towards the source of the sound, however he soon discovered it was a trick as Romanoff had left her phone playing her voice to distract the Winter Soldier while snug up behind him for a sudden ambush. Once the Soldier was distracted by the fireball Black Widow jumped onto his shoulder and then furiously attempted to strangle him by using her Garrote. Engaging her in a fierce fight, the Winter Soldier had eventually managed to throw her off him by slamming her onto a nearby car before having his prosthetic arm temporarily disabled by one of Romanoff's Taser Disks, which had allowed Romanoff to run into the crowd while the Winter Soldier reactivated his arm. With his arm working once more, the Winter Soldier went in pursuit of Romanoff, who was desperately attempting get the innocent people out of harms way while running for her own life. Catching sight of his target, the Winter Soldier took aim and fired a single shot while hit Romanoff directly in the shoulder, causing her to fall down. Once he had shot Romanoff through the shoulder, the Winter Soldier charged forward, leaping onto a car as he prepared to finish her off.

Showdown with Captain America
"Bucky?" "Who the hell is Bucky?"

- Captain America and Winter Soldier

Just before the Winter Soldier could kill Black Widow, he was then confronted by Captain America who ran to his allies aid. Seeing the Captain coming, the Winter Soldier spun round and attempted to hit him with his Prosthetic Arm, only for the Captain to block the blow with his shield. As Winter Soldier kicked him down to the ground, the two engaged in a brutal one-on-one fight, both rivaling each other with every move. Determined to kill his target, the Winter Soldier fired every round in his machine gun at Captain America, only for them to be blocked by the shield, forcing the Winter Soldier to use his other weapons all of which were low on ammunition, forcing him to throw them aside and continue their fight with hand-to-hand combat. Having lost all of his guns during their clash, the Winter Soldier managed to briefly got a hold of Captain America's Shield before knocking him back with a hard punch to the chest. As Captain America charged towards him, the Winter Soldier launched the shield at Rogers with considerable force, but it missed Rogers and it imbedded itself in by van. As the Winter Soldier and Captain America's furious battle continued throughout the streets of Washington, D.C., the Winter Soldier then resorted to using his knife, attempting to plunge it into Rogers' throat as he furiously slashed at Captain America. However as both proved themselves to be equally skilled in combat, the Winter Soldier was still unable to land the deadly blow and had soon been disarmed as Captain America managed to launch him across the street and into a nearby car before landing another hard strike against him. The pair were forced to resort to hand to hand combat as the Winter Soldier had struck back against Captain America, managing to avoid being slammed to the ground before using his Bionic Arm to attempt to strangle the Captain before then launching him across a car. Once Captain America was briefly defenceless on the floor, Winter Soldier attempted to finish the job by striking a hard blow but he missed and instead cracked the concrete as Rogers moved out of the way. Enraged he still had not killed his target as he had been instructed to do by Alexander Pierce, the Winter Soldier began furiously striking at Captain America with his Prosthetic Arm, knocking him back into a nearby van before pulling out his second knife. Using his Bionic Arm to give him even more strength, the Winter Soldier plunged the knife into the van and tore through the metal, while Captain America still avoided the blade and then threw the Winter Soldier off him. Rogers was able to reclaim his shield as he blocked all of the Winter Soldier's continued strikes with his knife before he was able to dodge one blow and imbedded his shield in the Winter Soldier's bionic arm, causing serious damage. In the midst of the fight, Rogers ripped the Soldier's mask off his face and stared in disbelief as Barnes turned and revealed his true face. Having recognized him as James "Bucky" Barnes, Rogers brought the Winter Soldier to a stand still. While the Winter Soldier briefly questioned who Barnes was, he soon remembered his mission and swiftly raised his gun to take a shot and kill Rogers in order to complete his mission for HYDRA. However, just before he could fire the shot at Captain America, the Winter Soldier was then suddenly knocked down onto the ground by Falcon who swopped past in his EXO-7 Falcon before the Soldier was then shot at by Natasha Romanoff with the grenade launcher he had dropped while fighting Rogers. While the Winter Soldier dodged the fireball, he was still forced to escape from the streets while Brock Rumlow and his own HYDRA agents charged in and captured the fugitives.

Forgotten Memories
"The man on the bridge, who was he?" "You met him earlier this week on another assignment." "I knew him."

- Bucky Barnes and Alexander Pierce

Regrouping with HYDRA, the Winter Soldier was then taken straight back to the Ideal Federal Savings Bank, where he became erratic and violent towards the doctors. As they were repairing his bionic arm, he began to remember fragments from his past. These fragments included his fall from the train back during World War II, as well as all the operations performed on him by Arnim Zola which threw him into a rage as he furiously attacked one of his doctors. While the Winter Soldier had continued to struggle to control his ever growing rage, Alexander Pierce arrived at the Base to obtain Barnes' mission report. Despite Jack Rollins warning that the Winter Soldier was unpredictable, Pierce spoke to him only to find the Soldier was unresponsive and refusing to speak until Pierce struck him across the face. Barnes claimed that he knew Captain America somehow, which unnerved Pierce who secretly knew the truth about them. Pierce claimed that he only remembered Rogers because he had met him a few days ago on the assignment to kill Nick Fury, but Barnes insisted that he knew him. As Brock Rumlow watched closely, Pierce noted how Barnes' work with HYDRA had been a gift to mankind and told him he needed him to do it one more time during Project Insight. Seeing he was still struggling, Pierce then ordered Barnes to undergo some further mind alterations to force Barnes' cooperation.

Battle at the Triskelion
"People are gonna die, Buck. I can't let that happen... Please don't make me do this."

- Captain America to Winter Soldier

Just before HYDRA could complete their goal to rid the world of all potential threats to their reign with Project Insight, as they prepared to activated all of the Helicarriers, their plans were then suddenly intercepted when Captain America and his allies had infiltrated the Triskelion and revealed HYDRA's presence to his fellow agents who had actively engaged in battle with all of HYDRA's undercover agents. In order to stop this from continuing, Alexander Pierce activated the Winter Soldier who arrived and attacked the agents. In the ensuing chaos, the Winter Soldier charged into the battle firing grenades at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in order to keep them from aiding Captain America. Using his superior strength and skills, the Winter Soldier easily overpowered the agents, kicking one agent inside the engine of one of the Quinjets while destroying others with grenades. Once the Winter Soldier had cleared through the main teams of the agents, he flew a Quinjet towards one of the Helicarriers. Having now made it onboard the Helicarrier, the Winter Soldier then ambushed Captain America and Falcon, as he shoved the Captain off the Helicarrier in an attempt to make him fall all the way to his death upon landing on Washington, D.C. below. The Winter Soldier then proceeded to rip the Falcon out of the air before he destroyed the EXO-7 Falcon by ripping off one of the wings and kicked him off the Helicarrier to hopefully fall all the way to his death as well. Seeing that Captain America did not die from the sudden fall and had managed to stay onboard of the Helicarrier, the Winter Soldier ran ahead to meet him at the Target System for a final showdown. While the battle continued in the Triskellion, with Pierce currently being held hostage by Nick Fury and Black Widow, while the Falcon was forced to battle against Brock Rumlow, Winter Soldier had gone to confront Captain America just before he could reboot the Helicarrier's Target System to stop Project Insight. As the two had stood opposite each other, Rogers pleaded with his former friend for him to remember him and think of all innocent people who were going to die. Despite everything Captain America said, the Winter Soldier had still remained silent and ignored all these pleas. Seeing no other choice, Rogers engaged Barnes in combat, launching his shield at his enemy which the Winter Soldier blocked with his Prosthetic Arm before he began shooting at the Captain. Having wounded the Captain, the pair fought in a lengthy violent hand-to-hand battle with the Winter Soldier attempting to use his knife to kill Captain America. during which the Winter Soldier attempted to get possession of the Targeting Chip which would allow Maria Hill to take control and stop Project Insight. As the chip became lose, the Soldier attempted to stop the Captain from taking it by throwing his shield at him before shooting at him, which Captain America blocked using the shield the Soldier had thrown at him. Once he had deflected the thrown shield away from him, the Winter Soldier then ran forward with his knife. Engaging Captain America back in close quarters combat again, the Winter Soldier then managed to plunge his knife into the Captain's shoulder before he grabbed the chip and attempted to destroy it. Desperately trying to obtain the chip back however, Captain America pulled the knife out of his shoulder and fought against the Winter Soldier, furiously breaking his arm and injuring his leg as he subdued him, before retaking the targeting chip out of his hands. The Winter Soldier, however, managed to regain consciousness just before Captain America could reach the System Override, shooting him multiple times. Despite this, Captain America still managed to swap the Data Chips and had Hill reset the three Helicarriers open fire at each other, with himself still aboard. While the Winter Soldier could do nothing, Russo and the operatives inadvertently destroyed Project Insight by shooting the Helicarriers out of the sky.

Regaining Memories
"I'm not gonna fight you. You're my friend." "You're my mission. You're... my... mission!" "Then finish it. 'Cause I'm with you to the end of the line."

- Captain America and Winter Soldier

As the Helicarrier began to fall apart in mid-air due to the other ships firing upon it, the Winter Soldier suddenly became trapped under all of the falling debris. Upon seeing this, Captain America quickly leapt to his friend's aid and freed him by lifting the debris off him. Taking a moment to catch his breath, the Winter Soldier listened as Captain America insisted that he knew him, however the Winter Soldier instantly betrayed the Captain and attacked once again. Begging for Barnes to remember him, Steve Rogers reminded him of his name and past, noting that he had known him for his entire life, before he had been captured by HYDRA and had been turned into their assassin. Refusing to fight him, Rogers removed his helmet and allowed his shield to drop out of the Helicarrier. Despite this however, Barnes still refused to listen to what he was saying, violently beating Rogers with his bionic arm as their surroundings deteriorated. As the Winter Soldier ignored Captain America's words and insisted he was his only mission, he continued brutally beating Rogers into submission before Rogers then quoted something Barnes said to him more than 70 years ago after his mother's funeral. As Barnes began to remember, he relented, unwilling to throw another punch. However before the Soldier could do anything more, the surface beneath them fell away, and Rogers plummeted down into the river below. Barnes quickly grabbed on to a metal beam, which allowed him to stay on the Helicarrier. Realizing that Rogers truly was his friend, Barnes let go of the beam and dove into the water after Rogers and then pulled him ashore, saving his old friend's life. After saving him, Barnes quickly checked to see if Rogers was still breathing. After he discovered he was, he then slowly walked away towards the nearby woods, going on a mission to discover his true identity. Having escaped the Triskelion wreckage, Barnes returned to Ideal Federal Savings Bank, where he encountered the HYDRA scientists. Free from the mind control, Barnes assaulted them; however, this reminded Barnes of the people he murdered, preventing him from killing them. Seeking information about his past, Barnes later went to the Smithsonian Institution in disguise, where he found a memorial for the late Howling Commando James Barnes, who had seemingly been killed back during World War II.

Found by Captain America
"I wasn't in Vienna, I don't do that anymore." "Well the people that think you did are coming here now, and they're not planning on taking you alive." "That's smart... Good strategy."

- Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers

Free from HYDRA, Barnes was on the run from the government. He traveled to an old Romanian safe-house to investigate his past; the more he learnt of his past life in the Howling Commandos, the more he added into a notebook of all his memories. While walking through Romanian capital of Bucharest and buying plums from a street seller, Barnes caught sight of a nervous man staring at him. Fearing that his identity might be at risk of being discovered, Barnes walked over to the man who ran as fast as he could away from him. Taking one of the newspapers the man was selling, Barnes had then discovered that he was being accused of the Bombing of the Vienna International Centre in Austria, which had claimed the lives of several people, including the King T'Chaka of Wakanda. Seeing this, Barnes decided to collect his belongings and to then escape for his life. Returning into his hideout, Barnes discovered Captain America was already there. When Rogers then asked if Barnes knew who he was, Barnes claimed that he had learnt of him inside a museum although Rogers knew he was lying. Barnes had still insisted that he was not responsible for all of the terrorist attacks as that was not who he was anymore, but Rogers noted that the people who did blame him were coming to their location now intending to finally kill him. Their re-union would eventually be interrupted by the arrival of the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre who charged into the building from the rooftop and the hallway. While they were working together, Barnes and Rogers deflected their grenade thrown inside by covering while using Captain America's Shield. Barnes took his backpack and threw it out of the window where it had landed on the next building's roof, reassuring Rogers that he did not plan on killing anybody. As more agents charged into the room, Barnes used his Prosthetic Arm to block the gunshots before using any weapons were nearby to subdue his attackers, including a concrete block. Moving into the stairway where a large unit of Joint Counter Terrorist Centre agents were moving to him, Barnes then continued to fight back against his would be killers, while Rogers followed behind, ensuring nobody was accidentally killed due to Barnes' less careful fighting style. Leaving Rogers behind, Barnes jumped down several stories, using his Prosthetic Arm to catch himself before running to a balcony and leaping onto the next building's rooftop, regaining his backpack and continuing to run. However just as he began running, he was attacked by Black Panther, who had lost his father in the bombing. Without a word being spoken, Barnes and Black Panther began fighting as he used his Panther Habit to try and kill Barnes. As Panther tried to use his claws to cut Barnes' throat, he became distracted as the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre helicopter began shooting at the pair, only for Panther's vibranium armor to protect him from the bullets. Barnes began to run again, with the Panther and Captain America running close behind him as they leaped down from the building and onto the street while the Falcon managed to knock the helicopter out of the way of danger to protect them all. Barnes used his momentary lead to run ahead of Black Panther and jumped down into a busy underground road, fleeing through the traffic while Black Panther and Captain America followed close behind him. Realizing that Black Panther would be able to catch up to him eventually, Barnes was able to get ahold of a man's motorbike and used the extra speed to get ahead in the chase while Rogers and the Panther used a stolen car to try and catch up with him. Despite his head start, the Black Panther managed to catch up with Barnes and attempted to kill him, however Barnes was just able to use his Prosthetic Arm to block Black Panther's attack, grabbing him by the throat and knocking him into the road. While also grinding his hand across the tarmac to keep from falling off his bike and had still continued to ride away from danger while the still determined Joint Counter Terrorist Centre agents followed behind in their cars. Coming to the end of the tunnel, Barnes used an explosive to destroy the roof, hoping to trap his attackers and get away. However Black Panther was able to gain extra speed by jumping on Falcon's back and knocked Barnes off his bike before Rogers kept him from killing his friend. The manhunt was finished as War Machine cornered them and they were arrested by the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre, with Black Panther revealing himself to be King T'Challa of Wakanda.

Captured
"What the hell is this?" "Why don't we discuss your home? Not Romania. Certainly not Brooklyn. No, I mean your real home."

- Bucky Barnes and Helmut Zemo

With Barnes now in custody, he was locked in a containment cell with his cybernetic arm tightly fixed down and taken to the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building in Berlin, Germany. From within his cell, Barnes watched as Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson and T'Challa were greeted by Sharon Carter and the leader of the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre, Everett Ross, before Barnes was taken away to await his questioning. Barnes was later greeted by what was supposedly the psychiatrist Theo Broussard, who had been sent to interview Barnes and evaluate his mental well-being. "Broussard" claimed to only want to ask Barnes some simple questions in order to help him, but Barnes remained silent, only answering to say that he would prefer to be called Bucky rather than James while "Broussard" asked him about the horrors he had seen during his time with HYDRA. "Broussard" set off a blackout that cut the security cameras, and began reciting the trigger words that would reactivate Barnes' Winter Soldier Program training by using the Winter Soldier Book originally owned by Vasily Karpov. Unwilling to be a slave to HYDRA again, Barnes gathered all of his strength and attempted to break free of his restraints and stop "Broussard"'s plans, ripping his arms free and punching the glass in an attempt to escape. However, "Broussard" was able to finish saying the code words just as Barnes broke free and went into his compliant assassin mode, blind to all his loyalty to his friends. "Broussard"'s first question was about his mission in 1991 where he had assassinated Howard Stark and his wife, Maria Stark, in order to steal the Super Soldier Serum. "Broussard" demanded to know the location of the HYDRA Siberian Facility so he could unleash the other Winter Soldiers.

Escape from the JCTC
"Желание, ржавый, семнадцать, рассвет, печь, девять, добросердечный, возвращение на родину, один, Товарный вагон. Солдат?" "Я жду приказаний."."

- Helmut Zemo and Winter Soldier

The Winter Soldier was then ordered by "Broussard" to fight and kill anyone who attempted to stop him, before getting escaping in a helicopter to seemingly prove his guilt for the recent terrorist attacks. The Winter Soldier was soon found by Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, who were trying to question "Broussard", so the Soldier quickly fought and subdued the pair before heading back upstairs. Finding himself surrounded by Joint Counter Terrorist Centre agents, the Winter Soldier fought his way through until he was attacked by Tony Stark, who attempted to use an Iron Man Gauntlet to subdue the Soldier. Despite being hit by several shockwaves, the Winter Soldier was able to withstand them and attacked Stark, attempting to shoot him in the head, however Stark fought back and disarmed the Soldier before being subdued himself with a punch to the chest. Before the Winter Soldier could kill Stark however, Sharon Carter and Natasha Romanoff came to his aid and began fighting the Winter Soldier together, using their combined skill to try and subdue the assassin. However the Winter Soldier's remarkable strength allowed him to defeat the pair and smashing Carter against a table before attempting to use his Prosthetic Arm to strangle Romanoff to death, despite her attempts to reason with him. The Winter Soldier was again stopped from killing one of his own allies when T'Challa charged in and began fighting his enemy, proving that even without his Panther Habit he remained a fierce opponent to the Winter Soldier. The pair proved to be eventually matched as they each managed to briefly subdue the other until T'Challa was able to kick the Winter Soldier down a stairway where he managed to escape towards the rooftop. Having gotten to the helipad, the Winter Soldier ripped the cables away and prepared to make his escape from the building, however not before Steve Rogers found his friend and refused to allow him to leave. Using all his might, Rogers grabbed ahold of the helicopter and pulled it back down towards the helipad, with the Winter Soldier watching as Rogers managed to pull it towards the ground despite the Soldier's attempts to fly away. Seeing that Rogers would not allow him to leave, the Winter Soldier instead crashed the helicopter towards him, hoping to decapitate him with the blades. When Rogers survived, the Winter Soldier grabbed him by the throat as they fell into the river below. During the crash, Barnes hit his head and was knocked unconscious. Rogers then rescued his friend from drowning and took him to a warehouse as police helicopters continued their search.

Fighting Back
"He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where." "Why would he need to know that?" "Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier."

- Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers

Later, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, not knowing if Barnes was still activated as the Winter Soldier or not, trapped his metal arm in a vice leaving him defenseless and unable to continue fighting or running. When Barnes woke up, he recognized Rogers, prompting him to ask Barnes whether it was him or the Winter Soldier speaking. Barnes replied that Rogers' mother's name was Sarah and that he had worn newspapers in his shoes, personal facts that only Barnes knew that were not in a museum. Rogers and Wilson discussed the situation, deciding they would not call Tony Stark and Wilson saying he knew a guy who could assist them in Stark's place. Barnes also revealed he was not the only Winter Soldier, and Helmut Zemo, the man posing as Doctor Theo Broussard, was seeking the program's Siberian training facility to presumably free the other Winter Soldiers from cryostasis, and then unleash them upon the world to cause chaos. Stealing a car, the three went to meet with Sharon Carter, who had recovered Captain America's Shield and the EXO-7 Falcon. While Rogers spoke with Carter, Barnes asked Wilson if he could move his seat forward in the car to give him more room, but Wilson refused, as he still disliked Barnes due to their many fights. When Rogers and Carter shared a brief but passionate kiss before she departed, both Barnes and Wilson smiled at their friend. Having regained their equipment, the group met with Clint Barton, who had successfully rescued Wanda Maximoff from the New Avengers Facility and had also recruited Scott Lang into their cause. While Lang expressed his delight in being invited to join the fight, Barnes listened as he overheard an announcement saying that the nearby airport was being evacuated due to Iron Man's arrival and translated this for everybody else to understand.

Clash of the Avengers
"I didn't kill your father." "Then why did you run?"

- Winter Soldier and Black Panther

With time running out to find Helmut Zemo before he reactivate the other Winter Soldiers, Barnes and the rest of the assembled members of Captain America's team arrived at the airport to locate him. Barnes and the Falcon took position inside the building while Rogers was confronted by Iron Man and the people supporting his views of the Sokovia Accords, advising Rogers to hand himself and Barnes over to Thaddeus Ross for questioning before the situation got even worse. When Rogers made his move, Barnes and the Falcon ran to their position, only to find themselves being followed and confronted by Spider-Man. When Spider-Man attacked and kicked Falcon away, Barnes tried to hit him but the hero caught his Prosthetic Arm and commented on how cool it was. A fight then broke out with Falcon and Spider-Man chasing each other while Barnes threw items at Spider-Man, only for them to be thrown back at him. As the fight continued throughout the airport, Barnes found the Falcon had been almost subdued by Spider-Man, who had used his Web-Shooters to pin him to a wall. When Barnes attempted to assist his ally, they were both knocked off a platform and pinned to the floor with Spider-Man's webbing. When Spider-Man tried to mock them, Falcon used Redwing to throw him out of the building, at which point Barnes mocked him for not doing that sooner. Rejoining the rest of his teammates, Barnes attempted to run for the Quinjet to escape, only to find that their path was blocked by Vision, who used the power of the Mind Stone to stop them and insisted that they surrender now before it was too late. As Barnes and Rogers' team faced off against Iron-Man's team, it became clear that their views of the Sokovia Accords would not change. Seeing no other alternative, Rogers ordered his team to fight and together they ran forward against their opponents. Barnes quickly found himself engaged in a one on one fight with the furiously vengeful Black Panther. As the battle raged on, Barnes managed to wrap his Prosthetic arm around the throat of the Panther Habit, while locked together, Barnes tried to insist that he was not responsible for the death of King T'Chaka during the Bombing of the Vienna International Centre, but Black Panther only questioned why he had run when confronted about it. Not accepting his plea of innocence, Black Panther managed to gain the upper hand and kicked Barnes across the runway. Once Barnes was on the ground and recovering from the blow, the Panther then attempted to cut his throat with his claws. However, Scarlet Witch intervened and used her powers to stop Black Panther's hand inches before they cut Barnes, stopping him before he could kill his enemy; she then launched him across the runway. Having regrouped with Captain America, Barnes listened in as the group, including Hawkeye agreed that the only way to win this war was if a lot of them lost the battle of Iron Man's team while Rogers and Barnes escaped. Knowing that it would be almost impossible to reach the Quinjet without being stopped, Ant-Man volunteered to make a distraction, turning himself into Giant-Man and attacking War Machine while Barnes and Rogers ran to the Quinjet. While Giant-Man caused chaos, both Barnes and Rogers ran to the Quinjet, almost being stopped when the Vision tried to destroy a tower to block their path, although Scarlet Witch ensured it stayed up long enough for them to make it under. They were then confronted by Black Widow who considered stopping them, but knowing Rogers would not stop, decided to use her own Taser Disks to keep Black Panther at bay while they escaped on the Quinjet. While travelling on the Quinjet having escaped from Iron Man's team, Barnes asked Rogers what would likely happen to the members of the Avengers who were supporting his cause. Although Rogers claimed he did not know, he in fact knew that Thaddeus Ross would send them to the Raft Prison. Although Barnes questioned if his life was worth all this suffering, Rogers insisted that everything he had done while a HYDRA assassin was not his own fault.

Battle of the Siberian HYDRA Facility
"Do you even remember them?" "I remember all of them."

- Iron Man and Winter Soldier

Iron Man later discovered Barnes' innocence and followed them to Siberia to form a truce to capture Helmut Zemo. As they explored the Siberian Winter Soldier facility, they discovered that Zemo, who never intended on releasing the Winter Soldiers, who were still in Cryostasis Chambers, shot all of them in their sleep. Zemo then used security footage of Howard Stark's "car crash" to reveal Barnes was responsible, having been sent to steal the vials of Super Soldier Serum in Howard's possession. Iron Man, blinded by rage, attacked Barnes and did not listen to Captain America's explanation that HYDRA made Barnes kill them via brainwashing, resulting in a fight with both Barnes and Captain America.

Barnes attempted to flee through the top of the silo, but Iron Man destroyed the hatch. The fight ended with Barnes' bionic arm destroyed and Captain America disabling Stark's Arc Reactor, shutting down the the armor Stark was using. Now fugitives, the two fled, Captain America laying down his shield, as Stark's father was the one who created it.

Once outside the facility, Rogers and Barnes were confronted by the Black Panther, who revealed that he had overheard everything and had already apprehended Zemo. Before leaving to take Zemo to the authorities, Black Panther told Barnes that he had sources in Wakanda that could help him in removing his Winter Soldier programming.

As Rogers went to save his teammates from the Raft, Barnes stayed behind in the Quinjet, his injuries making him unable to assist in the escape.

Awaiting a Cure
"Sure about this?" "I can't trust my own mind. So until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head, I think going back under is the best thing."

- Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes

Some weeks after the Escape from the Raft, Barnes was granted face asylum within Wakanda and had all of the remains of his mostly-destroyed robotic arm removed. Barnes and Steve Rogers were then told by T'Challa that Barnes would have to return to cryo-sleep stasis to have a better chance of having his Winter Soldier programming removed. Though Rogers disagreed, he left the choice to Barnes, who decided to give it a chance. Once Shuri had explained how she intended to remove the HYDRA programming, Barnes willingly went back into cryogenic sleep until all their Wakandan scientists could cure him of HYDRA's brainwashing. As Barnes went under the ice, Rogers then stood by his friend and offered him support as they said goodbye to each other once again just before Barnes was then refrozen. Worried that the governments of the world would invade Wakanda for harboring Barnes, Rogers spoke with King T'Challa, who mockingly dared them to try, claiming that both Barnes and his father were victims as Helmut Zemo's actions and therefore he wanted to help Barnes find peace. Months later, Shuri voiced her idea to "reset" Barnes to remove the trigger words to T'Challa. Barnes was later brought out of cryo-stasis by Shuri and began his recuperation in a remote Wakandan village. One morning, Barnes woke to find himself being pestered by a trio of Wakandan children before Shuri arrived to help with his rehabilitation.

Personality
"This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck." "It always ends in a fight."

- Captain America and Bucky Barnes

Bucky Barnes was extremely devoted, loyal, headstrong and patriotic and had a strong moral center. He was a good and close friend to Steve Rogers during their youth; he helped him when he got into fights and tried to cheer him up and look after him when Rogers' mother died. Best friends since childhood, they went through many trials and tribulations together. He was also protective of Rogers, as when he planned to enlist in the United States Army. Barnes tried to talk him out of it, as he knew he would die because of his physical condition and poor health.

Due to his advanced physiology however, Barnes survived his apparent death, but was found by HYDRA instead. Trained as a living weapon, Barnes became a new man so to speak as his memories and identity were constantly being wiped until he was augmented into the perfect assassin, the Winter Soldier. As the Soldier, he was brutal and ruthless with an utter lack of conscience, and followed remorselessly on Hydra's any order. Even so, he still saved Steve Rogers from drowning after the Insight Helicarrier blew up. Although he states he did not know why he did such, it was due to Rogers reminding him of who he was, which he initially reacted with violence before finally accepting.

While he still holds a mostly serious demeanor, he is still shown to retain a sense of humor, as shown when he and Falcon both smiled with approval at Rogers' kiss with Sharon Carter and later as the two reminisced over earlier times in their friendship. His sense of humor can also be dry at times, as shown when he asked Wilson why he couldn't use his gadget on Spider-Man earlier to take him down.

Even though Barnes has regained his identity and former values, he has also developed a guilt-ridden conscience, and became deeply ashamed over his actions as the Winter Soldier. He previously stated that he has an absolute memory of every person he has killed, and knows that the fact he was brainwashed does not change the fact that he killed them. Fearing for his mental state and anyone around him (as Helmut Zemo was able to manipulate him with the Winter Soldier Program), Barnes ultimately decided that placing himself in cryogenic stasis until he can be cured of HYDRA's mental programming completely would be the best course of action.

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

- Captain America

Powers

 * Artificially Enhanced Physiology: Barnes was one of many prisoners of war used in Zola's quest to recreate the Super Soldier Serum. There were no apparent effects at the time of his rescue by Steve Rogers, but the changes brought on Barnes' body were sufficient to let him survive plunging into an icy river at the bottom of a fall that should have killed him. Zola further refined Barnes' body in the Winter Soldier Program, ultimately creating an enhanced soldier with physical abilities equal to the Captain America, and without psychological instabilities which continue to plague similar programs into the 21st century.
 * Enhancd Strength: As the Winter Soldier, Barnes's physical strength is immensely enhanced to the early levels of superhuman condition by a series of treatments performed on him by HYDRA scientists. He has used his legs and right arm to strike enemies with tremendous force and his physical might is easily on par with Captain America.
 * Bionic Arm: HYDRA also removed the remnants of his severed left arm and replaced the missing limb with a cybernetic one. The bionic arm gives him extraordinary superhuman strength superior to that of Captain America, though not quite on par with that of Spider-Man. Winter Soldier was able to rip open a S.H.I.E.L.D armored SUV, rip apart Falcon's EXO-7 suit, and smash concrete by punching it. With his bionic arm supporting his already enhanced natural strength, the Winter Soldier was shown to be able to overpower Captain America in a fight.
 * Enhanced Speed: Winter Soldier's speed is tremendously enhanced beyond the peak of human potential, moving into the early levels of superhuman condition. Bucky's speed is equal to both Black Panther and Captain America, as he was able to stay ahead of them with a slight head start. In combat, he can easily keep up with the extremely agile Black Widow and Black Panther.
 * Enhanced Durability: Winter Soldier's bones and muscles are apparently vastly denser and more resilient than a normal human's. He even managed to survive a fatal fall from immense heights into Daube River in the Swiss Alps. Arnim Zola's further experiments greatly fortified his physique to the extent that he routinely leaps from significant heights onto hard surfaces and lands without any apparent injury.
 * Enhanced Stamina: Winter Soldier's musculature produces far less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human, allowing him to exert himself at peak capacity for hours before tiring. Hence, he could endure the Clash of the Avengers and the later showdown at the HYDRA Research Base without showing signs of fatigue.
 * Enhanced Agility: Winter Soldier's vastly enhanced agility is superior to even Olympic gold medalists. He could quickly leap on top of midsize cars in a single bound and do complicated acrobatic flips to avoid gunfire into cover.
 * Enhanced Reflexes: Winter Soldier's reflexes are enhanced to extraordinary levels. His reflexes are responsive enough to catch Captain America's shield being thrown at him at a high velocity. He was also able to catch enemy grenades thrown at him, dodge fire from Falcon's Steyr SPPs, and leap on top of a moving car accelerating towards him with pinpoint accuracy.
 * Regenerative Healing Factor: Winter Soldier's body is able to heal with extraordinary speed and efficiency, that are beyond of a regular human being, though he is unable to regenerate missing limbs. This may be one of the factors of his survival from the Swiss Alps. Also, the injuries he had received during his battle with Iron Man healed in a matter of days without bruises or scars.

Abilities

 * Master Martial Artist: Winter Soldier is an extremely skilled and formidable martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant, excelling at improvisation and weapons handling. Originally, Barnes was a three-time YMCA welterweight boxing champion. Later, as the first Winter Soldier, Barnes received vast training from HYDRA, as well as the United States Armed Forces. Combined with his enhanced physical abilities, Barnes became a dangerously capable master assassin who can slaughter dozens of enemies alone, take on and even overpower extremely skilled combatants such as Black Widow and Falcon with relative ease, being in charge of training the other Winter Soldiers, and going toe-to-toe with the likes of Black Panther and even Captain America himself. The two engaged in a brutal one-on-one fight, both matching each other with every move, though Rogers was ultimately able to defeat him in their second duel. He later beat Rogers after being released by Zemo, catching him off guard. Barnes also single-handedly killed up to a dozen well-armed Quinjet pilots in a single encounter, and escaped uninjured. Bucky later overpowered a suitless Tony Stark, Sharon Carter, and Black Widow, all in rapid succession and fought evenly with Black Panther, although he was pressured and could not defeat him, chosing to flee instead. He also could fight off Black Panther in his suit and Iron Man, even dominating the latter once alone and being able to easily pummel him alongside Captain America, forcing him to use his repulsors to blast Rogers aside. He employs a mixed martial arts that include elements of Kali knife fighting, Boxing, Taekwondo, and Krav Maga.
 * Knife Mastery: Winter Soldier excels in knife fighting with an emphasis in Kali knife fighting. The Winter Soldier usually resorts to his combat knife in close quarters combat. He usually holds the knife in his natural hand and uses his bionic arm for support should he need more force to overpower a downward stab or toss it between hands to advance his assault.
 * Master Marksman: Barnes is highly proficient in handling firearms with remarkable precision, even prior to being turned into the Winter Soldier. During World War II, he shot a HYDRA operative that even Captain America did not see until he was down. As the Winter Soldier, he became an even deadlier master marksman. He accurately fired a single round through Black Widow's stomach and into a nuclear scientist that she was protecting, killing him. Winter Soldier is also capable of making long range shots without the use of a rifle, for example, shooting Nick Fury multiple times through the wall of Steve Rogers's apartment and from the top of another building. As the Winter Soldier, Barnes has caught and handled Captain America's Shield on two occasions and showed impressive ability in doing so.
 * Master Assassin: Winter Soldier is a master assassin. Ever since he's been brainwashed, Winter Soldier has lived in complete anonymity with most of the intelligence community not even believing he exists. He's been credited with over two dozen of HYDRA's most crucial assassinations in the last 50 years. He was even able to shoot Nick Fury while himself outside of Rogers' apartment, and shoot through Black Widow to take out his target.
 * Master Acrobat: Due to his extraordinarily enhanced agility and reflexes ,Winter Soldier has shown immense capability in using flips to evade fire such as when he flipped to cover when he was being shot at by Falcon's Steyr SPPs. He could also maintain balance of a moving motorcycle he was utilizing while engaged in a fight with Black Panther.
 * Expert Pilot: Winter Soldier was able to hijack a Quinjet after killing the pilot.
 * Multilingualism: Barnes speaks his native English, as well as fluent Romanian and seasoned Russian (albeit with a thick accent). It is shown that he can also understand (and possibly speak) German. He most likely is able to speak and understand a multitude of other languages as well, seeing as he mentioned that the other Winter Soldiers knew over thirty languages.

World War II Weapons

 * : Barnes was issued a M1911A1 as his sidearm during World War II. He carried it after joining Captain America and the Howling Commandos in a series of attacks across Europe. Barnes resorted to use it in a mission to capture of Arnim Zola, when he ran out of ammunition in his primary weapon.
 * : Barnes carried a M1928A1 as his weapon of choice during World War II, using it during the attacks led by Captain America against HYDRA across Europe. He also carried it during his final mission to capture Arnim Zola, running out of ammunition when he was ambushed inside the train.
 * : Barnes was the sniper of the squad who were led by Captain America during World War II, the Howling Commandos. When he acted as such during missions against HYDRA. He used it once to save Captain America himself from a soldier who almost shot him while examining a destroyed HYDRA base.
 * : Barnes used this sniper rifle during the Battle of Azzano, in an attempt to battle German forces in Italy. Despite his efforts, he was captured along the rest of his unit by HYDRA, and taken to one of its facilities as forced labor.

Winter Soldier's Arsenal
"Ballistics." "Three slugs, completely untraceable." "Soviet made?" "Yeah."

- Natasha Romanoff and Maria Hill



While working for HYDRA, the Winter Soldier carried a vast array of weapons for combat, adapting his uniform with customized holsters to carry them. He was also usually handed extra weapons by his support henchmen.
 *  : The Winter Soldier's weapon of choice in close quarters combat. He has two of them holstered with the hilts both facing opposite sides (one at the back of his utility belt and the other in the lower back of his uniform). He used it against Captain America while confronting him on the streets of Washington, D.C. and inside one of Project Insight Helicarriers.
 * Gerber Yari II Tanto: The Winter Soldier was equipped with 2 of these knives. They were holstered with the hilts facing opposite sides on his lower back. He used one against Captain America during their battle on the streets of Washington, D.C. and another one inside one of the Project Insight Helicarriers successfully stabbing Rogers in the shoulder.
 * : The Winter Soldier was equipped with this pistol during his Assassination of Howard and Maria Stark. Barnes used this semi-automatic pistol to destroy a nearby security camera which recorded his successful assassination.
 * : The Winter Soldier's weapon of choice, a semi-automatic pistol heavily used by armed forces and police of many countries. He used it against Captain America while confronting him on the streets of Washington, D.C. and inside one of Project Insight Helicarriers.
 * : The Winter Soldier dual-wielded the Glock 19 along with a SIG-Sauer P226R, using them against Captain America during their final confrontation inside one of the Project Insight Helicarriers.
 * : The Winter Soldier dual-wielded the SIG-Sauer P226R along with a Glock 19, using them against Captain America during their final confrontation inside one of the Project Insight Helicarriers.
 * : A very small gun that the Winter Soldier carried in the right thigh custom holster. He tried to use it against Steve Rogers in the streets of Washington, D.C. while he was distracted, but he could not fire as Natasha Romanoff shot a grenade against him.
 * : A very small gun that the Winter Soldier carried in the right thigh custom holster.
 * : A sub-machine gun carried on the back of his vest. Steve Rogers forced him to use it as he had to drop his assault rifle, but Rogers quickly disarmed him. He later used it to kill a Quinjet pilot at the Triskelion, stealing the jet to board a Helicarrier.
 * ' with a ': A fully automatic carbine and the standard weapon used by S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Team members, outfitted with a grenade launcher. The Winter Soldier was handed one of them by one of the mercenaries that accompanied him on the streets of Washington, D.C. while trying to kill Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, using both the grenade launcher and the assault rifle against them. He lost it during the battle, but he obtained another in the Triskelion, and used to kill all S.H.I.E.L.D. pilots that were about to board their Quinjets and help Captain America.
 * : A heavy rifle that the Winter Soldier used as a sniper rifle during an assassination. He was captured in a photograph released by the press, but his image was so blurry and small that needed technological enhancements to be distinguished.
 * : Barnes took this machine gun from Black Widow's equipment locker on the Quinjet in order to investigate the HYDRA Siberian Facility with Steve Rogers. He carried it while navigating inside the base, but he was quickly disarmed when he and Rogers started a fighting Iron Man.
 * : A grenade launcher customized to fire Magnetic Disk Grenades. The Winter Soldier used it against Nick Fury's SUV, in an assassination attempt against Fury.
 * : A six-shot revolver-type grenade launcher, that the Winter Soldier used on the streets of Washington, D.C. against Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff. His first shot sent Rogers to the street down a highway, and he kept using it to destroy the cars that Romanoff used for cover until she also fell to the street.
 * : The Winter Soldier caught a grenade thrown against him by one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents protecting the pilots at the Triskelion, and quickly threw it inside a Quinjet to destroy it.
 * Winter Soldier Grenades: The Winter Soldier rolled a heavily-customized variant of the "Ручная Граната Наступательная (Ruchnaya Granata Nastupatel'naya)", a Soviet hand grenade, underneath a car towards what he thought was Natasha Romanoff, but was in reality just her PDA.

Other Equipment
"You have a metal arm?! That is awesome, dude!"
 * Uniform: HYDRA designed a lightweight tactical suit for Bucky, complete with a half-face mask in an attempt to conceal his true identity from the world. The uniform is constructed from nomex thread and kevlar fiber. The lightweight suit provides resistance to small arms fire, and has advanced flexibility for close quarters combat. In addition, he also sometimes wears bulletproof tinted goggles to further conceal his face and for eye protection.

- Spider-Man


 * Bionic Arm: HYDRA designed a special metallic bionic arm to replace Bucky's lost arm, which he lost after falling from the train. During his transformation progress, he started to gain control over his new arm, strangling a HYDRA scientist. His new arm has also a red star on its shoulder, hinting that the Soviets who operated as HYDRA's allies had also participated in the process of Barnes's transformation into the Winter Soldier. During the Battle at the HYDRA Siberian Facility, Bucky's arm was disintegrated by Iron Man when trying to rip the arc reactor out of the suit.

Allies

 * Steve Rogers/Captain America - Best Friend and Temporary Enemy (while under HYDRA control)
 * Sarah Rogers †
 * Connie
 * Bonnie
 * Dolores
 * United States Armed Forces - Former Allies
 * Chester Phillips † - Former Superior Officer
 * Howling Commandos - Former Teammates
 * Dum Dum Dugan
 * Gabe Jones
 * Jim Morita †
 * James Montgomery Falsworth †
 * Jacques Dernier
 * Peggy Carter †
 * Avengers (Captain America's Team)
 * Sam Wilson/Falcon - Enemy (while under HYDRA control) turned Ally
 * Clint Barton/Hawkeye
 * Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
 * Sharon Carter - Enemy (while under HYDRA control) turned Ally
 * Scott Lang/Ant-Man
 * Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow - Longtime Enemy (while under HYDRA control) turned Ally
 * T'Challa/Black Panther - Enemy and Attempted Killer turned Ally
 * Shuri - Rehabilitator

Enemies

 * HYDRA - Former Allies (while under HYDRA control)
 * Red Skull
 * Arnim Zola † - Creator
 * Vasily Karpov †- Former Superior
 * Alexander Pierce †- Former Superior
 * Jasper Sitwell †- Former Ally Turned Victim
 * Winter Soldiers †
 * Josef †
 * STRIKE - Allies turned Enemies
 * Brock Rumlow/Crossbones †
 * Jack Rollins
 * Howard Stark † - Ally turned Enemy and Victim (while under HYDRA control)
 * Maria Stark † - Victim (while under HYDRA control)
 * John F. Kennedy † - Victim (while under HYDRA control)
 * Renata †
 * S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Nick Fury - Assassination Target (while under HYDRA control)
 * Avengers (Iron Man's Team) - Situational Enemies
 * Tony Stark/Iron Man - Enemy turned Situational Ally turned Attempted Killer
 * James Rhodes/War Machine - Situational Enemy
 * Vision - Situational Enemy
 * Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Situational Enemy
 * Joint Counter Terrorist Centre
 * Everett Ross
 * Helmut Zemo - Former Enthraller
 * Thaddeus Ross

Trivia

 * In the comics, James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, named after the 15th President of the United States of America,, had a complicated romantic relationship with Black Widow, and took over the mantle of Captain America after Steve Rogers was assassinated.
 * In Wakanda, Barnes is nicknamed "White Wolf" by the local population. In the comics it was the codename of Hunter, a foreigner adopted by King T'Chaka who became an anti-hero and the head of the Hatut Zeraze.
 * It was highly likely before being confirmed in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, that while Bucky was captured, Arnim Zola was experimenting with an alternative to the Super Soldier Serum, thus granting Bucky the ability to survive his fall from the train.
 * Winter Soldier proved Howard Stark's quote that HYDRA would not attack Captain America with a knife untrue.
 * In Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, Winter Soldier briefly uses Captain America's Shield, a reference to his role as Captain America's successor in the comics.
 * After the death of the Ancient One and the presumed deaths of the members of the Hand, Barnes is now the senior most living human character within the mainstream movies in the MCU. Canonically, in the television shows, Leo Fitz is three years older than him, thus making Barnes the second oldest within both the movies and the television shows.

Behind the Scenes

 * Winter Soldier co-creator, Ed Brubaker appears in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, as a HYDRA doctor who helps repair the Winter Soldier's mechanical arm.
 * Sebastian Stan was uncredited for his appearances in Ant-Man and Black Panther.
 * James Young, Jason Charles Hill, Greg Rementer, Jimmy N. Roberts and Justin Sundquist were stunt doubles for Sebastian Stan in the role of Winter Soldier.
 * Colin Botts and Jared Leland Gore were stand-ins for Sebastian Stan in the role of Winter Soldier.