For the organization, see Winter Soldiers |
For other uses, see Winter Soldier (disambiguation) |
For alternate versions of Winter Soldier, see Winter Soldier's Character Hub |
James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is a World War II veteran, former officer of the 107th Infantry Regiment and the best friend of Steve Rogers since childhood. Barnes had enlisted into the Army following the attack on Pearl Harbor and was assigned to the 107th in 1943. His unit was captured by HYDRA, where Barnes was injected with the Super Soldier Serum by Arnim Zola. Barnes was rescued by Rogers, who had become Captain America. Barnes and Rogers then formed the Howling Commandos to battle Red Skull's forces. However, during the attempt to finally capture Zola in the Austrian Alps, Barnes was caught up in the ambush and plummeted hundreds of feet. As no body was recovered, Barnes was presumed deceased and honored as a hero who died in service to his country.
Unbeknownst to his team, Barnes' enhanced abilities allowed him to survive the fall, albeit with the loss of his left arm. Once he was found by the Soviet Armed Forces and HYDRA, Barnes was brainwashed and armed with a new cybernetic arm in order to become their operative, known as Winter Soldier. Over the next fifty years, he killed anyone who posed any kind of threat to HYDRA or the Soviet Union, including John F. Kennedy as well as Howard Stark and his wife, Maria. Between missions, Winter Soldier would be put back into a cryogenic stasis to ensure his longevity. In 2014, Winter Soldier was ordered by Alexander Pierce to kill Nick Fury, in order to ensure that all Pierce's schemes with Project Insight could go ahead. However, Winter Soldier was challenged by Steve Rogers, leading to him to begin remembering his prior life.
In the wake of the Battle at the Triskelion, Barnes, now free, deserted HYDRA in order to remember his past and end his long, violent history. Two years later, Barnes was framed for the bombing of the Vienna International Centre, which claimed the life of T'Chaka. As Black Panther then sought his revenge for his father's death, Barnes was repeatedly saved by Captain America, which sparked the Avengers Civil War as a team of Avengers led by Iron Man was sent to capture him. However, they learned that Helmut Zemo framed Barnes and reactivated his brainwashing so that Zemo could reveal that Barnes had murdered Stark's parents years ago. Having just survived Stark's revenge, Barnes was given amnesty in Wakanda by T'Challa and was placed in cryostasis until all HYDRA's control could be removed.
With the help of Shuri, Barnes was finally cured of his brainwashing, earning the nickname White Wolf. However, as Thanos attempted to kill Vision for the Mind Stone, Barnes received a new vibranium arm and joined the defense of Wakanda. Winter Soldier defeated many of the Outriders alongside Rocket, only for Thanos to defeat them and assemble all of the Infinity Stones. Barnes was killed when Thanos eliminated half of all life in the universe. Five years later, Barnes was resurrected by Hulk and participated in the final battle against Thanos. In the aftermath of the battle, he attended the funeral of Tony Stark with all the other heroes. Later on, Barnes bid Rogers farewell, knowing of his intention to time travel back to the 1940s. Barnes then witnessed Rogers, as a much older man, return home in order to pass the shield onto Sam Wilson.
With his name pardoned, Barnes sought atonement for all his actions as the Winter Soldier. His attempts were interrupted when John Walker was made the next Captain America, and the Flag Smashers emerged to act against the GRC's efforts to handle the aftermath of the Blip. He and Sam Wilson would go on a mission to stop the Flag Smashers, working with Helmut Zemo and Sharon Carter. However, their mission was complicated by Walker's attacks, until Walker murdered a Flag Smasher over Battlestar's death. Barnes and Wilson were forced to defeat Walker to stop him from continuing to be Captain America. Barnes would then join Wilson and Walker in the final battle with the Flag Smashers, helping in their defeat and making amends with his past. The next year, he was attacked by Nebula, who stole his arm so that she could give it to Rocket as a Christmas gift.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
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[src]
James Barnes was born on March 10, 1917 to George and Winnifred Barnes[2] in New York City[14] and was the eldest child of four. Barnes had grown up to be an overachiever, having been an excellent athlete who had also excelled inside the classroom.[2] Sometime during his childhood, he met Steve Rogers when bullies were trying to steal his money.[5] The two became best friends and stuck together for many years, with Barnes often defending Rogers from the bullies who would have attempted to take advantage of Rogers' short height and small build.[1]
After one trip together to Rockaway Beach, Barnes and Rogers 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 hot dogs, while Barnes had also inadvertently managed to spend three dollars as he attempted to win a stuffed bear for a girl named Dolores.[4] Another time when they went to Coney Island together, Barnes convinced Rogers to ride the Cyclone, which resulted in Rogers throwing up due to the ride, much to Barnes' great amusement.[1]
World War II[]
Sarah Rogers' Funeral[]
- "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." - ―Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers[src]
In 1936, Steve Rogers' mother died of tuberculosis and was buried her beside her husband. Barnes walked Rogers home after her funeral and offered to let Rogers move into his family house in exchange for Rogers doing chores, but Rogers refused, saying he could get by on his own. Seeing Rogers struggling to find his house keys, Barnes took out a hidden 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.[2] In 1937, Barnes read The Hobbit as it was first released.[15]
In December 1941, during their art class, Barnes and Rogers found out that the United States of America had joined World War II, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.[5] That day, they visited a United States Recruiting and Induction Center in New York City where Rogers was classified as 4F and rejected from service, while Barnes enlistment was accepted into the United States Army where he earned the rank of Sergeant and underwent sniper training. Barnes, along with the rest of the 107th Infantry Regiment, had been trained during the winter at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.[5]
1943 Stark Expo[]
- "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 and Steve Rogers[src]
The day before his shipment out into England, Barnes found Steve Rogers getting beaten up by his 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 into war the next morning. At first, Rogers seemed upset, as he was not shipping out to war with them. Barnes remained determined to cheer his friend up and reminded him that he would last be the last eligible bachelor left within New York City.
Barnes and Rogers went to the Stark Expo together, as Barnes was 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 both of these girls.
While happily exploring the Expo together, the group of four saw the latest inventions, which Stark Industries was showing off. They later watched as Howard Stark himself demonstrated Hovercar, which had greatly impressed Barnes until it malfunctioned and fell to the ground hard, although Stark was able to joke that the car was his prototype. When Barnes turned around to suggest their group go out 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 had 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 this 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 both of the girls. Barnes and his unit shipped out into England the next day.[1]
Prisoner of War[]
- "Here they come!"
"I hate these guys." - ―Bucky Barnes and Dum Dum Dugan[src]
While serving on the front lines of World War II, Barnes and his unit, which included Dum Dum Dugan and Gabe Jones, were ambushed by the Wehrmacht troops at Azzano on the Italian Front.[16] Although the battle seemed hopeless as the Americans were strongly outgunned and without any reinforcements, the battle turned when another German unit 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 their hiding place and looked over the remains of the battlefield, the tank then turned its weaponry towards the Americans and they were soon captured by HYDRA. Once they were HYDRA's prisoners, Barnes and the others were sent to work at the weapon facility in Austria where they were forced to help make the new weaponry for HYDRA's forces.[1]
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 Lohmer, however, other prisoners organized an "accident" which resulted in Lohmer's death.[5] Barnes and his friends worked on parts of the Valkyrie. When Barnes became too weak to continue, he was taken to serve as a test subject for Arnim Zola's super soldier experiments[1] and received Zola's recreated version of the Super Soldier Serum.[15]
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[src]
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 POWs 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 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 him 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.[1]
Return to Camp[]
- "Hey, let's hear it for Captain America!"
- ―Bucky Barnes[src]
Barnes and Steve Rogers eventually regrouped with all the rest of the escaped Prisoners of War and together they then walked all the way back to the American base in Italy, 30 miles away. 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 the missing men had somehow been successful.
While Barnes and Dum Dum Dugan were reuniting with their fellow soldiers, Rogers then offered to surrender himself for court-martial; however, Phillips chose not to punish Rogers for undertaking the rescue mission against all of Phillips' strict orders against that plan. As the entire unit gathered together and Rogers was reunited by 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 Rogers as their savior. The Prisoners of War were then given some medical attention before all being given some time away from the battlefield to recover.[1]
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[src]
Following 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 in London. 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 a dressed up Peggy Carter 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 was popular with women, not him. Rogers teased Barnes by suggested that Carter might have a friend before discussing if he would be keeping the uniform of Captain America.
Having agreed to return to the battlefield, Barnes alongside the newly formed Howling Commandos joined Rogers back into the front lines of World War II. Over the following year of the war, Barnes and the rest of the Commandos progressively destroyed most major HYDRA operations and key science facilities, preventing Johann Schmidt and Arnim Zola from completing more projects designed to progress 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 Army, as well as the Strategic Scientific Reserve, continued moving forward against them. Barnes would often work like 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.[1]
Final Mission[]
- "I had him on the ropes."
"I know you did." - ―Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers[src]
At the beginning of 1945, Barnes, Captain America and the rest of the Howling Commandos prepared for a mission to board the Schnellzug EB912 train carrying Arnim Zola, with the aim of capturing him to learn about the Red Skull's plans. While they looked over the side of the snowy mountain they would have to navigate, 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 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 Arnimhilation 99L Assault Weapon, 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 a 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 to 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 Danube River below as Rogers could only look in horror as Barnes seemingly fell to his death.[1]
HYDRA's Greatest Soldier[]
Captured by HYDRA[]
- "Sergeant Barnes... the procedure has already started. You are to be the new fist of HYDRA."
- ―Arnim Zola to Bucky Barnes[src]
Due to his enhanced physiology granted to him by the Super Soldier Serum, Barnes was just able to survive the fall from the train, though his left arm was ripped from his body upon impact. His nearly lifeless body was discovered by a Soviet soldier, who dragged him back to a Soviet POW camp, where he remained until Arnim Zola was released from the SSR's custody.
Now a captive of the new HYDRA, working within S.H.I.E.L.D., Barnes became 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.[2] In order to erase his memories as Barnes and remold him to their liking, HYDRA frequently used a Memory Suppressing Machine to perform electroconvulsive therapy, which inflicted serious damage to the part of Barnes brain which controlled memory and executive functions. With his limbic system being severely compromised, Barnes lost access to his memories prior to the experiments while becoming hyperaware of his environment and highly susceptible to commands.[17]
With his body at beyond the peak of physical perfection and his arm at the highest level of weaponized technology, Barnes was put to use as HYDRA's personal weapon for many years. They kept him frozen in suspended animation between missions to prevent him from aging and offset the healing factor of his serum. Whenever Barnes completed a mission, HYDRA had his mind painfully wiped to ensure he remained memory-free and emotionless towards those he killed.[2]
A Mysterious Assassin[]
- "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."
- ―Natasha Romanoff to Steve Rogers[src]
Receiving vast training from both HYDRA and the Soviet Union in conjunction with being a super soldier, Barnes became a formidable fighter and an even more ruthless killer. His experiences as a Soviet super soldier would eventually earn him the moniker of "Winter Soldier." Winter Soldier would remain frozen for long periods of time until HYDRA saw fit to unfreeze him for missions.[2]
In 1951, Winter Soldier was unfrozen and deployed to aid the Soviet forces during the Korean War, where he encountered an American super soldier named Isaiah Bradley. Despite his best efforts, Winter Soldier was unable to kill Bradley, with Bradley being able to nearly destroy his metal arm, although they both survived the encounter.[15]
Over the next fifty years, Winter Soldier was responsible for numerous assassinations, killing various sorts of targets from scientific minds to political figures,[2] including John F. Kennedy in 1963.[18] Due to his expertise in the field and shadowy nature, Winter Soldier became a ghost story within intelligence circles, most of whom doubted his existence.[2]
Assassination of the Starks[]
- "Желание. Ржавый. Семнадцать. Рассвет. Печь. Девять. Добросердечный. Возвращение на родину. Один. Грузовой вагон. Солдат?"[19]
"Я готов отвечать."[20]" - ―Vasily Karpov and Winter Soldier[src]
While in the Cryostasis Chamber, Winter Soldier was held in the HYDRA Siberian Facility. On December 16, 1991, 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 reinforce his conditioning.
With his mind programmed, Karpov informed Barnes that they needed him to steal a supply of the Super Soldier Serum from the car of Howard Stark, and assassinate Stark and his wife Maria in the process. Winter Soldier traveled to Long Island in New York and waited for Stark to leave his home and travel down the road; at which point he gave chase on his motorbike and shot at the car with a handgun, causing it to veer off the road and crash into a nearby tree. Momentarily ignoring all the injured victims, Winter Soldier first ensured that he retrieved the Super Soldier Serum before turning his attention onto Stark, who had survived and slowly crawled away from the car wreck in an attempt to escape.
As the badly wounded Stark crawled away from the car wreck and pleaded to save his wife's life, Winter Soldier ignored his pleas and grabbed a hold of Stark with his metal arm. As Stark looked up at his assassin, he recognized him from their time together during World War II, and addressed him as Sergeant Barnes. However, Winter Soldier appeared not to recognize the name and proceeded to bash Stark's face with his metal arm, cracking Stark's skull and killing him. With his first target now dead, Winter Soldier then carried Stark's corpse and placed him back inside the car before proceeding to strangle Stark's wife to death.
With both his targets now dead, Barnes destroyed the CCTV camera, thereby making it seem like the Starks had died in a car accident. Returning to the HYDRA Siberian Facility, he delivered the serum to Karpov, who complimented him on his success. The serum was then used to create multiple Winter Soldiers, who were prepared for missions.[4]
Training Winter Soldiers[]
- "I'm not the only Winter Soldier."
"Who were they?"
"The most elite death squad." - ―Winter Soldier and Captain America[src]
As HYDRA decided that more enhanced assassins were needed, members of a HYDRA death squad were injected with the Super Soldier Serum that Winter Soldier had stolen from Howard Stark and used in the Winter Soldier Program. To ensure the other Winter Soldiers were battle-ready, 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, Winter Soldier was defeated. Vasily Karpov congratulated Josef, while a doctor went to check on his vitals. However, Josef 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 masters and attacking Karpov and the other guards.
As a fight broke out, Winter Soldier was ordered by the terrified Karpov to protect him. He took him away from the 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 United States of America, the facility was abandoned after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.[4]
Massacre at the Hotel Inessa[]
Still under the control of HYDRA, Winter Soldier traveled to eliminate another target at the Hotel Inessa, who was guarded by a personal selection of his bodyguards. Winter Soldier began his attack on the guards by punching his metal arm through a wall, grabbing a guard and quickly disabling him, before throwing a blade at the next guard, and shooting the next two before they could realize what was happening. With his target fleeing, Winter Soldier leapt off the balcony to get ahead of him.
The fight was a quick one as the target attempted to run, although his personal protection unit was quickly killed by Winter Soldier, with his target's two closest guards being shot and impaled with Winter Soldier's knives within a matter of seconds. With his target defenseless, Winter Soldier grabbed his neck, uttering "Hail HYDRA" as he used his Prosthetic Arm to crush his throat, before dropping his corpse to the floor.
However, once his target had been executed, Winter Soldier then noticed RJ Nakajima, who had been attempting to enter his hotel room and inadvertently witnessed the massacre, and was too afraid to be able to get his door unlocked and escape. As Winter Soldier approached Nakajima, he was told that Nakajima had seen nothing, although still the ruthless super soldier shot Nakajima in the head before escaping.[21]
Encounter with Black Widow[]
- "Five years ago, I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot out my tires near Odesa. 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[src]
In 2009, Winter Soldier was sent to kill a nuclear scientist who was being escorted by Black Widow. Without hesitation, he attacked his target, sending the car containing the scientist and Black Widow over a cliff. Finding that Black Widow had saved the target from falling to his death, Winter Soldier fired a single round through her stomach and the bullet struck the scientist, effectively killing him. As his mission was accomplished, Winter Soldier made his getaway without pursuit.[2]
HYDRA Uprising[]
Attack on Nick Fury[]
- "He's fast. Strong. Had a metal arm."
- ―Captain America to Black Widow[src]
In 2014, Winter Soldier was activated by Alexander Pierce once more to go assassinate Director Nick Fury after he had just begun to 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., Winter Soldier managed to get ahead of Fury's SUV and disable it using a Disc Grenade, which caused the car to flip over as Winter Soldier then easily stepped aside from the flaming wreckage.
However, as Winter Soldier had made his way to the vehicle to finish Fury off, he found his target had used a Mouse Hole to escape from the wreckage and into the sewers to flee from 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 some more vital information about his attack and the possible infiltration in S.H.I.E.L.D.. However, before Fury could reveal anything else, the Winter Soldier shot him through the back multiple times, which punctured straight through his Bulletproof Vest, through the apartment wall from another building way across that street.
With Fury seemingly dead, the Winter Soldier made his escape, but Rogers gave chase and attempted to subdue the Winter Soldier by throwing his shield at him. However, Winter Soldier stopped running as he 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, Winter Soldier then escaped before Rogers could see where he went.[2]
Alexander Pierce's Orders[]
- "The timetable has moved. Our window is limited. Two targets, level six. They already cost me Zola. I want confirmed death in ten hours."
- ―Alexander Pierce to Winter Soldier[src]
Instead of being returned to his Cryostasis Chamber, Winter Soldier was sent to Alexander Pierce's house for his next orders in the wake of Nick Fury's apparent demise, with Winter Soldier sitting in the darkness until Pierce returned. Upon seeing him, Pierce jokingly offered Winter Soldier some milk, although Winter Soldier remained silent as Pierce explained that their timeline had been shifted.
He was then informed that his next targets were Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, who had uncovered and caused the destruction of Arnim Zola, and were now attempting to reveal HYDRA's Project Insight scheme which involved killing twenty million targets across United States using the Helicarriers. As they were then discovered by Renata, Winter Soldier watched as Pierce shot and killed her to maintain their secrets.[2]
Battle of Washington, D.C.[]
- "Bucky?"
"Who the hell is Bucky?" - ―Captain America and Winter Soldier[src]
The next day, the Winter Soldier had managed to track down all of his targets and attacked on the freeway while they were kidnapping Jasper Sitwell. Managing to land on the roof of the car, Barnes threw Sitwell from the car into the path of an oncoming truck and 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 brakes.
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, Barnes proceeded to fire a grenade at his targets. Rogers took the blow on his shield and went flying off the bridge, crashing 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 Barnes' grenade launched caused her to fall from the bridge as well, barely saving herself with a Grappling Hook Gun. With his targets off the bridge and at a disadvantage, Winter Soldier took his machine gun and aimed off the bridge to finish them off. However, he was shot in the eye by Black Widow, only surviving due to his protective mask.
Enraged at being shot at, Winter Soldier fired down at Romanoff, barely missing all his shots as she ran for her life down the street. Instead of sharpshooting Romanoff, Winter Soldier ordered his men to deal with Rogers while he personally targeted her. Leaping from the bridge, Winter Soldier landed on a car and pursued the S.H.I.E.L.D. spy through the streets of Washington, D.C. while the civilians ran for cover and Winter Soldier's agents fired upon both Rogers and Wilson.
As he reloaded his grenade launcher, 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, he silently dropped a Ball Grenade and let it quietly roll towards the source of the sound. However, Winter Soldier soon discovered it was a trick as Romanoff had left her phone playing her voice to distract him so she could sneak up behind him for a sudden ambush.
Once Winter Soldier was distracted, Romanoff jumped onto his shoulder and then attempted to strangle him by using her garrote. Engaging her in a fierce fight, the Winter Soldier had eventually managed to throw Romanoff off him by slamming her onto a nearby car before having his prosthetic arm temporarily disabled by one of her taser discs, which had allowed Romanoff to run into the crowd while Winter Soldier reactivated his arm.
With his arm working once more, Winter Soldier went in pursuit of Romanoff, who was desperately attempting to get the innocent people out of harm's way while running for her own life. Catching sight of his target, Barnes took aim and fired a single shot while hit Romanoff directly in the shoulder, causing her to fall down. Once he had Romanoff cornered on the street, the Winter Soldier charged forward, leaping onto a car as he prepared to finish her off.
Just before Winter Soldier could kill Black Widow, he was then confronted by Captain America, who ran to his allies' aid. Seeing Captain America coming, Winter Soldier spun around and attempted to hit him with his prosthetic arm, only for Captain America 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, Winter Soldier fired every round in his machine gun at Rogers, only for them to be blocked by the shield, spurring Winter Soldier to use his other weapons, all of which were low on ammunition, which he was eventually force to toss aside and continue with their fight. Having lost all of his guns during their clash, Winter Soldier managed to briefly get a hold of Captain America's shield before knocking him back with a hard punch to the chest. As Rogers charged towards him, Winter Soldier launched the shield at Rogers with considerable force, but it missed him and it embedded itself in a nearby van.
As Winter Soldier and Rogers' furious battle continued throughout the streets of Washington, D.C., Winter Soldier then resorted to using his knife, attempting to plunge it into Rogers' throat as he wildly slashed at his foe. However, as both proved themselves to be equally skilled in combat, since Winter Soldier was still unable to land the deadly blow and had soon been disarmed. Rogers managed to launch Winter Soldier 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 again as Winter Soldier had struck back against Rogers, managing to avoid being slammed to the ground. He used his bionic arm to begin strangling Rogers before then launching him across a car. Once Rogers was briefly defenseless on the floor, Winter Soldier attempted to finish the job by striking a hard punch with his metal arm, but he missed and instead smashed 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 attacking 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, Winter Soldier plunged the knife into the van and tore through the metal, while Captain America still avoided the blade and then threw Winter Soldier off him.
Rogers was able to reclaim his shield as he blocked all of Winter Soldier's continued strikes with his knife before he was able to dodge one blow and embedded his shield in Winter Soldier's arm, causing serious damage. In the midst of the fight, Rogers ripped the Winter 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 Winter Soldier to a standstill.
While 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 swooped past in his EXO-7 Falcon before then being shot at by Natasha Romanoff with the grenade launcher he had dropped while fighting Rogers. While Winter Soldier dodged the fireball, he was still forced to escape from the streets while Brock Rumlow and the team of STRIKE agents charged in and captured the fugitives.[2]
Forgotten Memories[]
- "The man on the bridge, who was he?"
"You met him earlier this week on another assignment."
"I knew him." - ―Winter Soldier and Alexander Pierce[src]
Regrouping with HYDRA, 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 robotic arm, Barnes started to remember fragments from his past. These memories 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 attacked one of his doctors.
While 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 Winter Soldier was unpredictable, Pierce spoke to him, only to find Winter Soldier was unresponsive and refusing to respond 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 Winter Soldier only remembered Rogers because he had met him a few days ago on the assignment to kill Nick Fury, but Barnes continued insisting that he knew him. As Brock Rumlow watched closely, Pierce noted how Barnes' work with HYDRA had been a gift to mankind and he needed 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.[2]
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[src]
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, 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, Winter Soldier easily overpowered the agents, kicking one agent inside the engine of one of the Quinjets while destroying others with grenades. Once Winter Soldier had cleared through the main teams of the agents, he flew a Quinjet towards one of the Helicarriers.
Having now made it on board the Helicarrier, Winter Soldier then ambushed Captain America and Falcon, as he shoved Captain America off the Helicarrier in an attempt to make him fall all the way to his death upon landing on Washington, D.C. below. Winter Soldier then proceeded to rip 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 on board of the Helicarrier, Winter Soldier ran ahead to meet him at the Target System for a final showdown. While the battle continued in the Triskelion, with Pierce currently being held hostage by Nick Fury and Black Widow, while Falcon was forced to battle against Brock Rumlow, Winter Soldier had gone to confront Captain America.
Knowing that Captain America had intended to reboot the Helicarrier's Target System to stop Project Insight, Winter Soldier prepared to do whatever so required to prevent this. As the two had stood opposite each other, Captain America had then pleaded with his former friend for him to remember him and think of all innocent people who were going to die. With Winter Soldier not moving, Captain America asked him not to make him fight him.
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 Captain America. Having wounded him, the pair fought in a lengthy violent hand-to-hand battle with Winter Soldier attempting to use his knife to kill Captain America.
Winter Soldier then attempted to get possession of the targeting chip which would allow Maria Hill to take control and stop Project Insight. As the chip became loose, Winter Soldier attempted to stop Captain America from taking it by throwing his shield at him before shooting at him, which Captain America blocked using the shield Winter Soldier had thrown at him. Once he had deflected the thrown shield away from him, Winter Soldier then ran forward with his knife.
Engaging Captain America back in close-quarters combat again, Winter Soldier then managed to plunge his knife into Captain America'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 Winter Soldier, forcefully breaking his arm and injuring his leg as he subdued him, before retaking the targeting chip out of his hands.
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 Winter Soldier could do nothing, Russo and the operatives inadvertently destroyed Project Insight by shooting the Helicarriers out of the sky.[2]
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[src]
As the Helicarrier began to fall apart in mid-air due to the other ships firing upon it, Winter Soldier suddenly became trapped under all of the falling debris. Upon seeing this, Captain America quickly leaped to his friend's aid and freed him by lifting the debris off him. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Winter Soldier listened as Captain America insisted that he knew him; however, Winter Soldier then instantly betrayed Captain America and attacked once again.
Begging Barnes to remember them, Rogers then 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 own assassin. Refusing to fight him, Rogers then removed his helmet and allowed his shield to drop out of the Helicarrier. However, despite this, Barnes still refused to listen to what he was saying, violently beating Rogers with his bionic arm as their surroundings deteriorated.
As Winter Soldier ignored Rogers' 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 seventy years ago after his mother's funeral. As Barnes finally began to remember, he relented, unwilling to throw another punch. However, before Winter Soldier could do anything more, the surface beneath them fell away, and Rogers plummeted down into the river below.
Barnes then 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 onto his mission to discover his true identity.[2]
Having escaped the Triskelion wreckage, Barnes returned into Ideal Federal Savings Bank, where he encountered the HYDRA scientists. Freed from their mind control, Barnes assaulted them; however, this reminded Barnes of all the people he murdered, preventing him from killing them.[22] Barnes later went to the Smithsonian Institution as he found a memorial for a late Howling Commando James Barnes, who had seemingly being killed in his combat during World War II.[2]
End of the Line[]
Found by Captain America[]
- "This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck."
"It always ends in a fight." - ―Captain America and Winter Soldier[src]
Free from HYDRA, Barnes was on the run from the government. He traveled to an old safe-house in Romania to investigate his past; the more he learned of his past life in the Howling Commandos, the more he added into a notebook of all his memories.[22] While walking through 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 the Jurnalul de Lugoj newspaper the man was selling, Barnes had then discovered that he was being accused of the Bombing of the Vienna International Centre within Austria, which had claimed the lives of several people, including King T'Chaka of Wakanda. Seeing this, Barnes decided to collect his belongings and then escape.
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 learned 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 currently coming to their location now intending to finally kill him.
The reunion would eventually be interrupted by all the arrival of GSG 9 agents, 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 it with Captain America's Shield. Barnes took his backpack and threw it out of the window where it had landed on the next building's roofs, reassuring Rogers that he did not actually plan on killing anybody.
As more agents charged inside the room, Barnes used his prosthetic arm to block the gunshots before using any weapons were nearby to subdue all his attackers, including a concrete block. Moving into the stairway were that large unit of GSG 9 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 than a 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 away, he was attacked by Black Panther, who had lost his father in the bombing. Without a word being spoken, Barnes and Black Panther had begun fighting as he used his Panther Habit to attempt to kill Barnes.
As Black Panther tried to use his claws to cut Barnes' throat, he became distracted as a GSG 9 helicopter began shooting at the pair, only for Panther's vibranium armor to protect him from the bullets. Barnes began to run again, with Black Panther and Rogers running close behind him as they leaped down from the building and onto the street, while Falcon managed to knock the helicopter out of the way of danger to protect them from the guns.
Barnes used his momentary lead to run ahead of Black Panther and jumped down into a busy underground road, fleeing through all the traffic while Black Panther and Captain America were following close behind him. Realizing that Black Panther would be able to catch up to him eventually, Barnes was able to get a hold of a man's motorbike and used the extra speed to get ahead for their chase, while Rogers and the Panther used a stolen car to try and catch up with him.
Despite his head start, Black Panther managed to catch up with Barnes and attempted to kill him; however, Barnes was just able to use his bionic 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 GSG 9 agents followed behind in their cars.
Coming to the end of the tunnel, Barnes used Ball Grenades to blow up the roof, hoping to trap his attackers and escape. However, Black Panther was able to gain extra speed by jumping onto 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 all arrested by GSG 9, with Black Panther revealing himself to be Wakandan King T'Challa.[4]
Captured by Everett Ross[]
- "I'm not here to judge you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you know where you are, James? I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James."
"My name is Bucky." - ―Theo Broussard and Bucky Barnes[src]
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. 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 a man who was supposed to to be the psychiatrist Theo Broussard, who had been appointed by the UN to conduct a pyschological evaluation. Broussard had, in fact, been met at a train station then taken to a hotel and murdered by Helmut Zemo who was impersonating him. "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. Not wanting to be forced to kill again, Barnes gathered all of his strength and attempted to break free of his restraints and stop "Broussard," 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.[4]
Escape from the JCTC[]
- "You could at least recognize me."
- ―Black Widow to Winter Soldier[src]
Winter Soldier was then ordered by "Broussard" to fight and kill anyone who attempted to stop him, before escaping in a helicopter to seemingly prove his guilt for the recent terrorist attacks. Winter Soldier was soon found by Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson, who were trying to question "Broussard," so Winter Soldier quickly fought and subdued the pair before heading back upstairs.
Finding himself surrounded by Joint Counter Terrorist Centre agents, Winter Soldier fought his way through until he was attacked by Tony Stark, who attempted to use an Iron Man Gauntlet to subdue Winter Soldier. Despite being hit with several shockwaves, Winter Soldier was able to withstand them and attacked Stark, attempting to shoot him in the head. However, Stark fought back and disarmed Winter Soldier before being subdued himself with a punch to the chest.
Before Winter Soldier could kill Stark, however, Sharon Carter and Natasha Romanoff came to his aid and began fighting 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, smashing Carter against a table before attempting to use his prosthetic arm to strangle Romanoff to death, despite her attempts to reason with him.
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 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, Winter Soldier ripped the cables away and prepared to make his escape from the building; however, not before 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 Winter Soldier watching as Rogers managed to pull it towards the ground despite Winter Soldier's attempts to fly away.
Seeing that Rogers would not allow him to leave, Winter Soldier instead crashed the helicopter towards him, hoping to decapitate him with the blades. When Rogers survived, 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.[4]
Helmut Zemo's Plan[]
- "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[src]
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 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 Theo Broussard, was seeking the program's training facility in Siberia to presumably free the other Winter Soldiers from cryostasis, and then unleash them upon the world to cause chaos.[4]
Building the Team[]
- "We should get moving."
"Got a chopper lined up." - ―Bucky Barnes and Clint Barton[src]
Stealing a car, the three went to meet with Sharon Carter, who had recovered Captain America's Shield and the EXO-7 Falcon. While Steve Rogers spoke with Carter, Barnes asked Sam 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 with pride, much to Rogers' embarrassment.
Having regained their equipment, the group met with Clint Barton, who had successfully rescued Wanda Maximoff from the Avengers Compound 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.[4]
Battle at Leipzig-Halle Airport[]
- "I didn't kill your father."
"Then why did you run?" - ―Winter Soldier and Black Panther[src]
With time running out to find Helmut Zemo before he could reactivate the Winter Soldiers, Barnes and the rest of the assembled members of Captain America's team arrived at the airport to locate him. Barnes and 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, leaving Barnes bewildered. 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 secretly used Redwing to throw him out of the building, at which point Barnes mocked him for not doing that sooner, only for Falcon to reply that he hates him.
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 a blood-lusted 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 T'Chaka, 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, Wanda Maximoff intervened and used her powers to stop Black Panther's hand inches before he tried to 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 as 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 his giant form 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 Vision tried to destroy a tower to block their path, although Maximoff 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 discs to keep Black Panther at bay while they escaped on the Quinjet.
While traveling 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. 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.[4]
Battle at the HYDRA Siberian Facility[]
Upon arriving in Siberia at the Facility there, Barnes armed himself before he and Captain America then discussed their time growing up together, with Rogers teasing Barnes over a time when he had tried to impress Dolores by spending their bus money to win her the stuffed bear. When Barnes noted how Dolores would be over a hundred years old, Rogers then noted that they were, too.
While they both had explored the facility, they were soon alerted to a noise in the elevator and had discovered Iron Man had arrived. While Barnes aimed his gun at Stark, fearing that he was still his true enemy, he revealed that he had discovered recently Barnes' own innocence regarding T'Chaka's death and followed them to Siberia to form a truce to capture Helmut Zemo, with Stark convincing Barnes to lower his weapon eventually as he established his peace.
Having established their peace, for the time being, the group had then explored the facility while searching for their target, they had soon discovered that all of the Winter Soldiers had been shot in their Cryostasis Chambers while they were still asleep, seemingly destroying their theory that they were planned to be unleashed upon the world. They all then discovered Zemo had always been watching them, noting that Zemo had never actually intended to have more Winter Soldiers in the world. While his allies confronted Zemo over why he had killed innocent people to bring them there, Barnes kept his gun raised at Zemo, ready to fire upon him if needed.
While Rogers personally confronted him, Zemo revealed that he had in fact been from Sokovia and had lost his entire family during their terrible final battle between the Avengers and Ultron. While Barnes had watched on with horror, Zemo unleashed his plan by using the security footage from Howard Stark's own fatal "car crash" to reveal Barnes was actually responsible for the deaths of Stark's parents, as he had been sent to steal the Super Soldier Serum from them.
Iron Man, blinded by his utter rage upon learning who had actually killed his own mother and father, attacked Barnes and did not listen to Rogers' explanation that HYDRA had made Barnes kill them via brainwashing, resulting with a fight with both Barnes and Captain America. Although Barnes attempted to defend himself, Iron Man had thrown him across the facility and pinned him down, furiously attempting to avenge his parents' murder at Barnes' hands.
Despite Captain America attempting to come to his rescue, Barnes was still pinned down as Iron Man knocked back his former friend and launched the Winter Soldier into the air. Once airborne, Iron Man had attempted to fire a rocket directly into Barnes' face, which he deflected and caused much of the facility to crumble around them. While this fight continued, Zemo silently made his escape, satisfied that he had caused this utterly terrible rift between the heroes.
Having just freed himself by Iron Man's vengeful rampage, Captain America then ordered Barnes to then desperately attempt to flee through the top of the silo, while he held back Iron Man. While the Winter Soldier attempted to make it up the several platforms to reach freedom, Iron Man had followed him despite considerable damage to his Mark XLVI Armor. Although Iron Man almost reached him, Captain America came to his aid and helped him escape.
Despite having left him at bay, for the time being, Captain America acknowledged that Iron Man was not going to stop and ordered Winter Soldier to escape while he could, while Captain America still attempted to keep him at bay. Despite having Captain America still fighting him, Iron Man still managed to prevent Winter Soldier from escaping as he destroyed the hatch by firing his missile at it, which had kept Winter Soldier trapped inside the facility.
Now trapped with the man who was determined to kill him, Winter Soldier then desperately tried to defend himself by using a steel beam before Iron Man locked him into a headlock. As Iron Man questioned if he even remembered killing his parents, Barnes then responded by insisting that he remembered every single person he had been forced to murder while working for HYDRA before Captain America had managed to separate their furious conflict.
Witnessing Captain America desperately fighting to defend him as Iron Man demanded vengeance for his mother's murder, Barnes furiously grabbed Captain America's Shield and attacked Iron Man, as Winter Soldier and Captain America both fought together to defeat the enraged Iron Man who was determined to gain revenge for the murder of his parents. Once Captain America had been subdued, Winter Soldier angrily fought against Iron Man on his own.
The fight ended when Winter Soldier had attempted to rip out Stark's own Arc Reactor, which then had just resulted in Barnes' metal arm being destroyed by a powerful blast of energy. Captain America then responded by disabling Stark's Arc Reactor, shutting down the armor Stark was using. Now fugitives, the two then fled the facility, Captain America laying down his shield, as Stark's father was the one who created it and therefore still technically owned it.[4]
Once outside the facility, Rogers and Barnes were then confronted by the Black Panther, who revealed that he had overheard everything and had already apprehended Zemo. Before leaving to take Zemo to Everett Ross, Black Panther then told Barnes that he had sources in Wakanda that could help remove HYDRA's programming. As Rogers went to save his teammates from the Raft, Barnes stayed behind in the Quinjet, his injuries making him unable to assist.[23]
Healing His Mind[]
Treatment in Wakanda[]
- "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[src]
Some weeks after their escape from the Raft,[23] Barnes was granted asylum within Wakanda where he had all 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 finally 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,[23] Barnes willingly went back into cryogenic sleep until the 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.[4]
Freedom from Brainwashing[]
During their months of work, Shuri voiced her idea to reset Barnes to remove the trigger words to T'Challa as she continued her work to try and help him return to a normal life.[23] By 2018, Barnes had been released from his Cryostasis Chamber, and found himself in the Wakandan forest with Ayo in order to try to see if Shuri's deprogramming permanently removed the Winter Soldier Programming that turned him into a ruthless killer.
However, Barnes was skeptical of this, believing it would never work, but Ayo swore she would stop him from hurting anyone. Ayo thus uttered the trigger words that turned him into the Winter Soldier, although Barnes was stressed hearing them, only to find that the latter was immune to HYDRA programming and was a sign that Shuri's deprogramming had worked perfectly and he was finally free from the trigger words which had turned him into a brainwashed assassin. This was much to Barnes' delight and he cried tears of joy upon hearing this news.[24]
Speaking with Shuri[]
With the HYDRA brainwashing having been removed from his mind and him having been set free from his Cryostasis Chamber, Barnes had then began his recuperation in the remote Wakandan village. One morning, Barnes, who had been titled as the "White Wolf," woke to find himself being pestered by a trio of Wakandan children, who were watching him as he slept, before Shuri arrived to help with his rehabilitation, with Barnes stepping out of his hut and watching the children leave.
As Barnes looked over a river, Shuri stood by him and greeted him, calling him Sergeant Barnes, to which he insisted that she instead call him Bucky. Shuri had then asked Barnes how he was feeling, to which Barnes told her he was feeling good and thanked Shuri for all of her work in curing him of what HYDRA had done. Shuri then invited Barnes to follow her, noting that there was still much more for him to learn, while Barnes took a moment to look at the peaceful Wakandan rivers.[3]
Infinity War[]
Recruited to Fight[]
- "How you been, Buck?"
"Not bad, for the end of the world." - ―Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes[src]
Having had his mind repaired by Shuri, Barnes' recovery continued as he had begun to work as a farmer within Wakanda to try and gain some normality back into his life and find inner peace away from his life as an assassin for HYDRA. However, Barnes' attempts at a peaceful life were shattered in 2018 when T'Challa and Okoye visited him, needing his help as T'Challa noted that the White Wolf had rested for long enough.
Barnes had then greeted them both while he saw T'Challa had come bearing a new cybernetic arm to replace the one that Tony Stark had destroyed in Siberia. Without any hesitation, Barnes asked where the fight was, knowing this would be the only reason why T'Challa would bring him a new arm. T'Challa told him that the fight was currently on its way as Thanos was attempting to unite all of the Infinity Stones in a final effort to wipe out half of all life in the entire universe.
Barnes accepted the mission to defend the Earth, attaching his new arm to his body as he joined T'Challa and the Dora Milaje in greeting all of the remaining members of the Avengers once they had arrived in Wakanda in an attempt to protect Vision from Thanos' forces and ensure Thanos would not get his hands onto the Mind Stone. While T'Challa then explained their situation, Barnes greeted the team and reunited with his old friend, Steve Rogers as the pair shared a hug.
While the Avengers then met with Shuri to try and figure out a way to remove the Mind Stone from Vision without killing him, Barnes and Falcon stood outside where they noticed Thanos' army arriving. Barnes and Falcon had then watched as Thanos' dropships began to crash onto Wakanda's protective dome, which exploded on contact and making Barnes declare that he loved Wakanda. However, Barnes then saw more dropships began to land outside of the dome.[10]
Battle of Wakanda[]
As the Outrider Dropships landed at the border of Wakanda, Barnes had then joined the forces of Wakanda in mounting a defense, along with the remaining Avengers who were with them. Barnes then stood back with M'Baku's forces as he watched on as Steve Rogers had then gone down to the shield barrier to negotiate with the Black Order before their fight could begin, along with both Natasha Romanoff and Black Panther, although their negotiations had soon failed.
As Rogers returned to the Wakandan forces, Barnes then questioned whether Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian had agreed to surrender to them, although Rogers noted that they had not. Barnes then stood by and watched on as Midnight had opened their Dropships, causing thousands of Outriders to charge towards the shield barrier, as they then began getting torn apart upon making contact with their barrier, as Barnes realized they were not stopping pushing through.
Despite being killed by their barriers, the mindless Outriders pushed through regardless, killing themselves until a few dozen got past, as Barnes, along with other Wakandan soldiers, fired upon the Outriders before they could reach them. However, they soon realized that these Outriders were running around the barrier, in order to reach Shuri and Vision before they could remove the Mind Stone, which then forced Black Panther to order that their barriers be slightly opened up.
Once Black Panther had opened these barriers so they could directly fight them, Barnes took out several Outriders with his gun until one attacked him and had knocked his gun away, slaying it with his knife. Once Barnes started to become overwhelmed by the army, he was saved from their grasp once Thor arrived along with Rocket and Groot via the Bifrost Bridge. The arrival of Thor gave Barnes and the warriors the advantage they needed to hold back the Outriders.
As the battle continued, Barnes had crossed paths with Rocket and the two were shooting down the Outriders until Barnes noticed that they were becoming surrounded by multiple enemies from all sides. Needing to quickly take down the Outriders from around them before they became completely overwhelmed and slaughtered, Barnes had resorted to picking up Rocket and spinning in a circle while both fired their weapons, cutting down a number of these Outriders in time.
With the Outriders around them gunned down, Barnes then dropped Rocket, who had then inquired how much Barnes wanted to sell his gun for. Barnes simply replied that it was not actually for sale. Rocket then inquired about Barnes' prosthetic arm, which he also wanted to buy from him, but Barnes walked off without answering the question. Rocket muttered that he was going to get that arm. As the battle had concluded, Barnes continued fighting against all the Outriders.[10]
Thanos' Victory[]
- "Steve?"
- ―Winter Soldier to Captain America[src]
Barnes joined the others in the forest to protect Vision and then witnessed a wormhole open up. He watched as Thanos walked through and survey the area. As Thanos walked towards Vision, Barnes attempted to stop him by shooting his guns at Thanos, with Natasha Romanoff and Okoye joining him, only for Thanos to effortlessly blast Barnes away with the Power Stone, after all of Barnes' shots proved to be completely useless against him.
When Barnes regained consciousness, he watched as Thanos united the Infinity Stones in the Infinity Gauntlet and snapped his fingers. Afterwards, Barnes sensed something was off and called out to Steve Rogers before disintegrating into dust.[10]
Battle of Earth[]
- "Avengers... assemble!"
- ―Captain America[src]
Five years later, as a result of the Blip, Barnes was restored to life and reappeared in Wakanda. Soon after, he, Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, Groot and the Wakandan armies were recruited by the Masters of the Mystic Arts and brought via Inter-Dimensional Portals to the ruins of the Avengers Compound in New York. There, Barnes joined the other Avengers and assembled allies to face off against an alternate Thanos and his entire army.
Following Captain America's leadership, Barnes had charged to the battle against Thanos' army of Sakaarans and Chitauri. During the battle, Barnes reunited with Rocket as they shot down Thanos' soldiers side-by-side.
However, when Thanos saw that the battle was seemingly going against him, he instructed Corvus Glaive to fire down upon the battlefield from the Sanctuary II. As missiles began firing down at the battlefield, Barnes barely survived one blast which struck next to him, sending Barnes flying back. However, they were eventually saved from all these missiles as Carol Danvers entered the battle and had managed to destroy the Sanctuary II.
As their battle continued, Barnes resumed fighting against Thanos' entire army, until Iron Man had managed to steal the six Infinity Stones and inserted them into his armor to keep them away from Thanos. Stark then wiped out Thanos and his entire army at the cost of his own life.[25] With Stark dead, Barnes and the other heroes then dropped down to one knee, in a sign of respect for the Avenger who sacrificed his life to save their entire universe.[26]
As Barnes had been wounded during the battle, he spilled his blood on the battlefield, which was collected by Nick Fury's secret Skrull unit and placed into a vial known as the Harvest alongside other enhanced DNA samples. The Harvest vial was later administered by Super-Skrulls Gravik and G'iah, granting them access to Barnes' super soldier physiology and abilities.[27][28]
Steve Rogers' Retirement[]
- "Gonna miss you, buddy."
"It's gonna be okay, Buck." - ―Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers[src]
A week later, Barnes attended Tony Stark's funeral at Stark's home. Barnes stood alongside Wanda Maximoff and Sam Wilson and watched on while Pepper Potts and her daughter placed Stark's final Arc Reactor into the lake to float away, with Wilson placing a comforting hand on Barnes' shoulder.[25] Rogers then confided in Barnes that he was planning to live the rest of his life in the past after completing his final mission, and he would return to the present at an old age to give a new version of his shield to Wilson.[29]
The next day, Barnes was present with Wilson and Bruce Banner in the forest outside of the Avengers Compound, which was being cleaned up, when Steve Rogers was preparing to undertake a mission to return all the six Infinity Stones and Mjølnir to their correct places in time in order to erase the branched timelines. While Rogers readied himself, Barnes shared a fond farewell with his best friend, as they recalled the final conversation they had before Barnes went to serve during World War II, before embracing each other.
Barnes then stood by, watching as Rogers donned his Advanced Tech Suit and collected all the artifacts to be returned, before he was sent through the Quantum Tunnel by Banner in order to complete the mission. However, Rogers had failed to return after the scheduled five seconds, but Barnes appeared calm and turned away to spot an old man sitting alone on a bench near a lake. Barnes had immediately recognized this man as an elderly Steve Rogers.
Knowing what was actually happening, Barnes called Wilson over as he beckoned him to approach Rogers, having been aware of his plan to travel to an alternate timeline to be with Peggy Carter in the past to live a long and peaceful life with the woman that he loved, leaving his life as a superhero behind. Barnes then watched proudly, as Rogers had passed his shield onto Wilson, effectively giving Wilson the title of the new Captain America, which Barnes had quietly accepted was the correct decision.[25]
Making Amends[]
Confronting L. Atwood[]
- "Senator Atwood. She was a HYDRA pawn for years. Helped her get into office when I was the Winter Soldier. And after HYDRA disbanded, she continued to abuse the power I gave her."
- ―Bucky Barnes to Christina Raynor[src]
Returning to the United States of America, Barnes was offered a deal by the federal government, wherein they would pardon him for his actions as Winter Soldier under the conditions that he undergo their court-mandated therapy sessions to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder.[30] Wishing to atone for his past, Barnes compiled a list of names in a notebook, consisting of the individuals whom he wished to seek closure, including Yori Nakajima, the father of his victim RJ Nakajima, whom he had befriended. Barnes would also receive texts from Sam Wilson, although he elected to ignore them.
Barnes located L. Atwood, a former HYDRA asset, and discovered that she was continuing to abuse her power as a member of the United States Congress. Barnes went to the parking garage where her car was and attached a device to it that hacked into the vehicle. Later on, when Atwood and her co-conspirator got into the car and planned to kill Atwood's political rival, Lockhart, Barnes activated the device, locking the car's doors and driving it around the parking garage, terrifying Atwood.
Stopping the car, Barnes walked up to the car and spoke to Atwood through the car's now-open window, asking if she remembered him. When her co-conspirator tried to shoot Barnes, Barnes grabbed the gun and knocked him out with his vibranium arm. Barnes informed Atwood that he was no longer Winter Soldier and that she was part of his efforts to make amends, smiling before leaving the location. Federal authorities swarmed Atwood and took her into custody, as Barnes crossed her name off his list.[21]
Therapy Sessions[]
- "Give me a break. I'm trying, okay? This isn't... This is new for me. I didn't have a moment to deal with anything, you know? I had a little... calm in Wakanda. And other than that, I just went from one fight to another for ninety years."
- ―Bucky Barnes to Christina Raynor[src]
Following the capture of Senator L. Atwood, Barnes returned home. However, he had a nightmare of the massacre at the Hotel Inessa, where he killed an innocent bystander named RJ Nakajima, causing him to awake in a cold sweat. Later that morning, he attended a therapy session with Christina Raynor, informing her once again that he did not have a nightmare, although she did not believe him. Barnes notified her that he had crossed Atwood's name off his list, and ensured her that he did not break any of the three tenets he was told to follow.
As the pair continued talking, Barnes spoke of how he had been involved in conflict for nearly a century and he had a brief time of calm while living in Wakanda, and that he wanted to live in peace, which Raynor scoffed at. After looking through his cell phone, Raynor reminded him that he had been ignoring Sam Wilson's texts and that he should get closer to people, citing that being alone was a personal hell. She added that with his brainwashing being cleared from his mind in conjunction with his pardon, he was now free, although Barnes pondered what he was now free to do.[21]
Lunch with Yori Nakajima[]
- "I can't believe you did that. It's a dance to these things. You can't... You gotta warm up and I haven't danced since 1943."
- ―Bucky Barnes to Yori Nakajima[src]
Following his therapy session, Barnes met Yori Nakajima outside their apartment arguing with a neighbor named Unique for putting his trash in Nakajima's can. After Barnes settled the problem, he took Nakajima to their regular restaurant Izzy and bought his lunch. Nakajima boldy asked the waitress Leah if she would go on a date with Barnes, to his embarrassment. While they were eating, Nakajima brought up his deceased son, and how he did not know how he died, which made Barnes fall silent, realizing that he was the one who killed his son, while being brainwashed.[21]
Date with Leah[]
Barnes went to the restaurant and brought Leah flowers in a gentlemanly fashion. There the two played the board game Battleship and drank some beer. However, after Leah brought up Yori Nakajima's deceased son, Barnes excused himself and left. He then went to Yori's apartment, feeling guilty for having killed his son when he was brainwashed as the Winter Soldier, where he paid Yori his lunch money and left.[21]
New Captain America[]
- "You had no right to give up the shield, Sam!"
"Hey, this is what you're not gonna do, you're not gonna come here in your overextended life and tell me about my rights!" - ―Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson[src]
In his apartment, Barnes watched the news, and learnt to his shock and outrage that John Walker had been named as the new Captain America and listened as he was announced to the world and was interviewed, seething more and more especially as Walker stated he felt Captain America was a brother.
Furious with Sam Wilson for giving up the shield and letting Walker become the next Captain America, Barnes went to a United States Air Force base and found Wilson at the USAF terminal and demanded to know why he abandoned the shield when it was clearly the wrong thing to do. Getting frustrated as Wilson made it clear he never saw that coming, Barnes continued to berate Wilson, stating that he had no right to give up the shield and it wasn't what Rogers wanted, only for Wilson to hotly fire back that Barnes also didn't have any right to talk about his rights.
Barnes and Wilson then stopped walking, for Wilson to tell him that he had more important issues to focus on. Wilson then revealed that he was travelling to confront the online terrorist group Flag Smashers and told Barnes about them. Wilson also stated that he thought they were part of the big three, which were aliens, androids, and wizards. They then mentioned what terminology Doctor Strange was, before Wilson walked to the craft. Feeling that he should accompany Wilson, Barnes joined him and Joaquín Torres on the aircraft.[15]
Partnership with Falcon[]
Chase of the Flag Smashers[]
While on board the aircraft to Germany, Barnes became frustrated about Falcon not having a plan of attack and mentioned that Steve Rogers would have had a plan. After they had reached Munich, Barnes witnessed Falcon leap out of the plane. Soon after, Barnes followed and surprised Joaquín Torres, by jumping out of the aircraft without any flight gear. Barnes tried to use his vibranium arm to hold onto tree branches as he was falling, but he still landed roughly on the ground.
He and Falcon met up at an abandoned factory and Falcon used Redwing to tease Barnes, who was not amused. There they spotted the Flag Smashers loading up heavy boxes. After Falcon informed them that someone was inside the first truck whom he believed was a hostage, Barnes rushed off to the rescue.
On the highway, Barnes hopped onto one of the trucks and found boxes of vaccines and medicine. He then spotted what he and Falcon believed to be a hostage, but it was the leader of the Flag Smashers, Karli Morgenthau who with superhuman force kicked Barnes out of the truck.
Barnes was restrained by Matias and Gigi on top of the truck, until Falcon came in to fight them off and Barnes freed himself after fighting back. Barnes and Falcon were aided by the arrival of John Walker and Lemar Hoskins who arrived via a helicopter and joined the fight against the Flag Smashers. During the ongoing fight, Barnes fell off the top of the truck and held onto the side of the truck, where Dovich attempted to kick him off.
Due to Barnes' vibranium arm, Dovich was unable to force his arm away. Shortly, Falcon swooped underneath the truck and grabbed Barnes, with the two rolling in the grass and Barnes landing on top of Falcon. Barnes then told Falcon that they were super soldiers, before Falcon told him to get off of him.[15]
Refusing the Offer[]
- "Just 'cause you carry that shield, it doesn't mean you're Captain America."
"Look, I've done the work, okay?'
"You ever jump on top of a grenade?" - ―Bucky Barnes and John Walker[src]
Barnes and Sam Wilson had then returned to the highway and started walking towards the nearest airport which was twenty miles away. However, along the way they were found by John Walker and Lemar Hoskins, who passed them in their vehicle and then invited them to ride with them, but they refused initially.
After being asked a second time, Barnes and Wilson then took the offer and joined Walker and Hoskins on their vehicle. However, after Hoskins mentioned he was called Battlestar and Walker referred to Wilson and Barnes as Captain America's wingmen, Barnes told the driver to stop the vehicle. He and Wilson then got off and left them.[15]
Reunion with Isaiah Bradley[]
- "The reason we're here is because there's more of you and me out there."
"You and me?"
"And we need to know how." - ―Bucky Barnes and Isaiah Bradley[src]
While on the plane back to the United States of America, Barnes suggested stealing the shield from John Walker again. However, Sam Wilson reminded him of what happened the last time, that Sharon Carter become an enemy of the state and he and Steve Rogers were in hiding for two years.
Back in the United States, Barnes took Wilson to Baltimore, Maryland to the house of Isaiah Bradley, a black super-soldier who he had met in 1951 in the Korean War. His grandson, Eli Bradley answered the door and told them his grandfather would not be seeing them, but Barnes told him to tell Bradley something only he would know.
After the two were let in, Barnes told Bradley that he thought there were more super-soldiers out there and asked for his help, only for Bradley to become angry, as he made it clear that he was not interested in helping them and angrily told them to leave.
After the two left, Wilson asked Barnes why he had kept Bradley a secret and Barnes told him that no one had known about him. They were interrupted when Baltimore policemen arrived and stated that Barnes was under arrest for missing his mandated therapy.[15]
Arrested and Released[]
- "He gave you that shield, and you threw it away like it was nothing."
"Shut up."
"So maybe he was wrong about you. And if he was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me." - ―Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson[src]
Barnes was taken to the police station, but was soon released. He was then taken to the main lobby where Christina Raynor, his therapist was waiting on him, as well as Sam Wilson. Raynor then instructed Barnes and Wilson to have a therapy session there at the station.
Barnes and Wilson were then asked to have open dialogue and Barnes told Wilson how he felt with him giving up the shield. After Wilson realized the therapy session was not for him, he left, and Barnes followed shortly after, before asking Raynor what the second rule was they discussed.
Outside the station, he and Wilson found John Walker and Lemar Hoskins waiting on them, but both turned down Walker's invitation to ally noting they were free agents. While walking down the street, Barnes told Wilson that he felt they needed to go and see Helmut Zemo to find out more about the Flag Smashers, which Wilson was highly reluctant about.[15]
Freeing Helmut Zemo[]
- "Someone recreated the Super Soldier Serum. I need to find out who."
"You are assuming HYDRA has something to do with this, which is why you came to me. Which means you are desperate. Luckily for you, I know where to begin." - ―Bucky Barnes and Helmut Zemo[src]
Barnes and Sam Wilson went to see Helmut Zemo, who was in an isolated cell in the Berlin Correctional Facility. Barnes told Wilson that he had to see Zemo alone, citing his hatred of the Avengers. Wilson pointed out to Barnes that Zemo did not particularly have an amicable relationship with Barnes either.
Barnes went inside the cell and came face to face with Zemo, who was on the other side of glass. Zemo was surprised that he was there and recited the Winter Soldier Programming words, only for Barnes to say that did not work anymore. Zemo then told him that he knew that, but was just messing with him. Stepping closer to the glass, Zemo looked into Barnes' eyes, claiming that he still saw the Winter Soldier in him. Changing the subject, Zemo noted that Barnes had the luxury of being kept in a Cryostasis Chamber during his imprisonment, to which Barnes insisted that it had not been a pleasant time.
Zemo had then apologized to Barnes, insisting that his actions in framing him for T'Chaka's murder had never been personal, while calling him a means to an end. Barnes changed the subject and told Zemo that someone had recreated the Super Soldier Serum which got Zemo's attention and believed that Barnes was desperate to have to have come for his assistance. Barnes then asked Zemo what book he was reading and was given the book, after Zemo slipped it under the glass. Barnes then put a key card inside the book and returned it to Zemo, before leaving the cell, thus having given Zemo the means to escape the prison.
Barnes and Wilson left the facility and Barnes took him to a garage nearby. After Wilson questioned what happened in the cell, Barnes told him in an indirect way that he had started a prison riot to allow for Zemo's escape. When Wilson figured that out and saw Zemo walking into the room, he got upset with Barnes for having freed Zemo without talking to him first. Wilson demanded that Zemo be returned to prison, but Barnes argued that they needed him. While they were talking, Zemo tried to intervene, but was immediately silenced by them.
Barnes and Wilson took Zemo to his garage so he could get his belongings. After Zemo gathered his belongings, he took Barnes and Wilson to an airfield. Barnes and Wilson were brought by Zemo to his private plane and they flew off. On the plane, Zemo told them that they didn't know what life had been like in the correctional facility, but that Wilson might since he was on the Raft at one point.
Zemo became fascinated while reading Barnes' notebook, questioning who Nakajima was. In response, Barnes launched out of his seat and grabbed Zemo by the throat, vowing to kill him if he ever touched the notebook again. Zemo apologized, noting that he understood that it was a list of names of the people he had wronged as the Winter Soldier, while Barnes warned Zemo not to push his luck any more.
Zemo then informed them that they were going to Madripoor, while Wilson questioned what this place was, to which Barnes explained that it was an island in Indonesia, with Zemo noting that it was a lawless place. However, Zemo explained that they could not walk into Madripoor as themselves, as members of the Avengers would likely draw far too much attention, as Zemo informed Barnes that he would have to become the Winter Soldier once again, which Barnes reluctantly agreed to.[31]
Journey to Madripoor[]
- "A Power Broker? Really?"
"Every kingdom needs its king." - ―Winter Soldier and Baron Zemo[src]
Once they arrived on the outskirts of Madripoor, Helmut Zemo told Barnes and Sam Wilson that they needed to remain in character upon entering the city. Once they had arrived inside Madripoor's center , Barnes and Wilson were led by Zemo through the streets, passing armed guards and secret dealings along the way, as he took them past the Princess Bar and instead took them to the Brass Monkey Saloon.
Barnes stood with Zemo and Wilson inside the saloon, where he was noticed by many of the patrons. When Power Broker's henchmen laid a hand on Zemo, Barnes was signaled by Zemo to pretend to be his Winter Soldier persona. Barnes then unleashed his brutality upon the men and easily fought against them. While he was choking a man using his vibranium arm, Zemo stopped him, telling him they had to stay in character, before the bartender told them they could be seen by Selby.
Zemo explained that he wanted Selby to tell them everything they knew about the Super Soldier Serum, and in exchange, he would give her the Winter Soldier, as Zemo walked over to Barnes, who did not react, promising that he would give Selby the code words that would allow her to control him. Zemo had continued to mock Barnes, by caressing his face while promising that he would do anything that Selby required of him, with Selby noting that this was more like the Zemo she remembered, noting that she was glad she did not immediately have him killed.
Selby informed them that the Super Soldier Serum was on Madripoor, where it was being developed by Wilfred Nagel, who had been recruited by the Power Broker to work on the serum, but things had since not gone to plan. However, after Wilson's phone rang and his cover was blown, Selby ordered them killed, only to be killed herself by a sniper. Following Selby's death, a bounty was placed on Barnes, Wilson, and Zemo immediately. Zemo urged them to leave and the three made a run for it out of the city as bounty hunters started appearing everywhere.
The three found themselves saved from the bounty hunters when Sharon Carter stepped out of the shadows and removed her hoodie. Barnes and Wilson told her not to shoot at Zemo who she wanted too, since it was his fault that she had to go into hiding. When asked why she was there, Carter reminded them of her going into hiding after stealing Captain America's Shield and the EXO-7 Falcon. She then agreed to help them and led them to her apartment.[31]
Undercover Mission[]
- "You buy into all that stars and stripes bullshit. Before you were his pet psychopath, you were Mr. America! Cap's best friend."
"Wow. She's kind of awful now." - ―Sharon Carter and Bucky Barnes[src]
At Carter's apartment, Barnes relaxed on the couch while Wilson changed clothes and Zemo got a drink. Carter then asked how John Walker was and noted that Barnes had always believed in a patriotic worldview, teasing him about being Captain America's best friend in World War II and how he was "Mr. America." Barnes listened on as Wilson explained how the Flag Smashers had stolen the Super Soldier Serum, noting that Wilfred Nagel was their lead, who worked for the Power Broker. Although she warned them to stay out of this, Carter had eventually agreed to help them, if Wilson helped to clear her name.
With Carter agreeing to help, she explained that she would be hosting a party with some connected people, and advised them to stay out of trouble. At Carter's party which was in a night-club setting, Barnes kept an eye on Zemo. Eventually, Carter rejoined Barnes, Wilson, and Zemo, explaining that she had been able to locate Nagel, and they left.[31]
Ambush at Buccaneer Bay[]
- "You're not going to move your seat up, are you?"
"No." - ―Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes[src]
The following day, Barnes followed Sharon Carter's lead to the Buccaneer Bay shipyard on the outskirts of Madripoor and Carter reminded them that was still a bounty on their heads. Carter led them to a container where Wilfred Nagel seemingly was, giving each of them an earpiece so they could stay in contact, while she would stay outside to keep watch. Helmut Zemo led Barnes and Sam Wilson into Nagel's Laboratory. Entering the lab, Barnes and Wilson raised their guns, and soon found Nagel working on the Super Soldier Serum, as they turned off his music and surprised him.
Although Nagel tried to force them out, he stopped once he saw Barnes, recognising him as Winter Soldier, while Nagel introduced Zemo, noting that Nagel would have heard of Zemo. While Nagel attempted to suggest they make a deal, Carter warned Barnes and the others on the radios that bounty hunters were arriving at the shipyard.
Barnes listened as Nagel explained that HYDRA had recruited him into their Winter Soldier Program, continuing their work after the Winter Soldiers had failed to be controlled. Barnes listened to Nagel as he explained that he had come to Madripoor following the Blip, where the Power Broker funded his work, noting that he had created twenty vials of the serum, before Karli Morgenthau stole them. Once Carter stormed into the lab, warning that they were out of time, Zemo shot Nagel in the chest, killing him before Wilson and Carter took the gun away from him.
Within seconds, a bounty hunter shot the laboratory causing it to explode and Barnes, Wilson, and Carter hit the ground to avoid the blast. After they got back up, they noticed that Zemo had escaped. The three quickly found themselves cornered, but soon saw Zemo on top of a container shooting at the hunters, causing another explosion. Once they could run clear from the bounty hunters, they made their escape, and ran throughout the shipyard. As they were running, Barnes threw a pole into one of the hunters' shoulders.
After running throughout the shipyard, Barnes, Wilson, and Carter were shortly met by Zemo who had stolen a getaway car. When Barnes got in the car, he got in the front seat and told Wilson he wouldn't give it up, who was forced to sit in the back. This was reminiscent of when he didn't give up his front seat for Barnes in 2016. So Wilson sat in the back as Zemo drove off away to his private plane.[31]
Tensions Increasing[]
Confronted by the Dora Milaje[]
While on the plane, Barnes was told by Sam Wilson of a lead in Riga, Latvia about a woman named Donya Madani who had just died at a Global Repatriation Council camp. After Wilson said that he wishes he had destroyed the shield, Barnes said he would take it if that was the case.
Upon arriving in Riga, Barnes noticed Kimoyo Beads lying in the street and told Wilson and Helmut Zemo he would meet up with them shortly. He followed the beads down the street and soon came face to face with Ayo. She demanded to know where Zemo was[31] and asked why Barnes had allowed him to escape prison. Barnes, who had learned Xhosa, told a disappointed Ayo that Zemo was a means to an end, to which she said he had eight hours left with Zemo. After Ayo left, Barnes returned to the building where they were staying.[24]
Searching for the Funeral[]
- "Are you going to let him do this? Are you going to let your partner walk into a room with a super soldier alone?"
"He's dealt with worse. And he's not my partner." - ―John Walker and Bucky Barnes[src]
Back in the room, Barnes talked with Sam Wilson and Helmut Zemo and they decided to go search for Donya Madani's funeral by exploring the Global Repatriation Council's refugee camp. At the camp, Barnes and Wilson split up and found that the refugees living there were followers of the Flag Smashers. With no luck in getting the funeral location, Barnes and Wilson met up in the courtyard where they watched Zemo talking with the refugee children, and were suspicious after Zemo got a girl to whisper something in his ear.[24]
Tensions with Helmut Zemo[]
- "Keep talking."
"Leaving you to turn on me once we get to Karli. I prefer to keep my leverage."
"You wanna see what someone can do with leverage?" - ―Bucky Barnes and Helmut Zemo[src]
Getting himself a drink, Barnes walked over and sat on the couch opposite Sam Wilson. However, when Helmut Zemo mentioned leverage over them, Barnes walked over and threw his drink out the window. He then threatened Zemo not to speak of leverage, until Wilson walked up and told Barnes to control his temper.[24]
Funeral Interrupted[]
They followed Zemo through the streets, until they ran into Captain America and Battlestar who ended up joining them to the funeral location. At the building, Walker handcuffed Zemo to the wall, while Wilson went into the funeral to speak with Karli Morgenthau. Barnes stayed outside the room, standing in the doorframe. However, Captain America, growing impatient, tested Barnes' patience and mocked him for having the serum. He then told Barnes that if something happened to Wilson, it would be on his hands.
Eventually, Captain America broke into the room and threatened to arrest Morgenthau, leading her to flee. Barnes gave chase and leaped down the floor to the next floor, only to lose Morgenthau. He and Wilson met up and continued to search the building. Along with Battlestar, they eventually found Captain America standing next to an unconscious Zemo.[24]
Skirmish with the Dora Milaje[]
- "Looking strong, John!"
- ―Bucky Barnes to John Walker[src]
Once they had returned to their building in which they were staying, Barnes got a drink while Sam Wilson talked to Helmut Zemo, who was recovering from getting knocked out.
Barnes then realized the eight hours were up when Ayo, and two other Dora Milaje named Yama and Nomble arrived to arrest Zemo. Barnes and Wilson watched as Captain America challenged Ayo and then started fighting her and the others with Battlestar joining in. Barnes mocked Captain America as he struggled to fight against the Dora Milaje. Soon Wilson asked Barnes if they should intervene, so Barnes tried to stop Ayo telling her they should talk over it, but she detached his vibranium arm instead, disappointed with him for having freed Zemo.
Once Ayo realized Zemo escaped, she and the other Dora Milaje left, while Barnes reattached his arm while still in shock that Ayo had removed it. Afterwards, he and Wilson left the room shortly, leaving Captain America and Battlestar behind.[24]
Ambushed by the Flag Smashers[]
Back on the street, Barnes walked with Sam Wilson and heard from Wilson after he got a phone call that Karli Morgenthau wanted to meet with him alone. Barnes told him he was coming too and went with Wilson to an abandoned building, where they saw Morgenthau. Morgenthau noticed Falcon did not come alone, looking at Barnes, and told Falcon that she did not want to kill him, rather ask if he would join her.
When Falcon got a notification from Sharon Carter about Captain America, Falcon told Barnes they had to move. Barnes leaped off the balcony only to get slammed into by Morgenthau who leaped the same time. As Falcon flew off, Barnes got back up and chased after Morgenthau as they ran towards the location. Once at the location, Barnes saved Falcon from Diego, jokingly telling him he was welcome, before engaging with another Flag Smasher using his knife mastery.
After Battlestar was killed by Morgenthau and Captain America sped after the Flag Smashers, Barnes and Wilson left the building. Outside, Barnes and Wilson watched in the public square as Captain America murdered Nico with the shield, while onlookers watched in horror at the sight.[24]
Fighting for the Shield[]
- "You don't want to do this."
"Yeah, we do." - ―Captain America and Winter Soldier[src]
Following Captain America's incident, Barnes and Falcon chased after him to an abandoned warehouse and confronted him. Sympathizing with Captain America's desire to kill the Flag Smashers and his grief over Battlestar's death, despite their previous argument, Barnes attempted to reason with him, stating that the path Captain America was going through would not end well, but as Captain America adamantly rebuked Barnes, stating he was not like him, and made it clear he would not give up the shield, Barnes, realizing there was no other way, solemnly stated they would when Captain America asked if they would fight him for the shield.
Barnes and Falcon then started a vicious fight with Captain America, faring better than Wilson and disarming him of his pistol, but still being overwhelmed by Captain America combination of his shield and martial arts. Eventually, Captain America threw the shield at Barnes, sending him flying back. Barnes caught the shield and Walker fiercely reclaimed it, throwing Barnes flying into an electric circuit, causing Barnes to fall to the ground and momentarily be knocked out.
Barnes regained consciousness in time to save Falcon, as Captain America was about to kill him with the shield, and tackled Captain America, freeing Falcon. Barnes then delivered several blows on Captain America and upon being knocked down managed to stop him from using the shield to kill him and then proceeded to help Falcon yank the shield out of his hand, breaking Captain America's arm in the process.
Captain America tried to take the shield again from Falcon, but with Captain America now disarmed, Barnes easily defeated him, punching him in the face before proceeding to lift him off the ground by the shoulder and allow Falcon to deal the finishing blow with the shield, knocking them all to the ground and Walker out for good. Barnes then got back up and grabbed the shield, dropping it next to Falcon, and then gave him a look of disappointment before leaving the warehouse.
Following their fight with Captain America, Barnes and Wilson went back to the Global Repatriation Council resettlement camp and met with Joaquín Torres there. Upon arriving, Torres greeted Barnes and commented on how Barnes seemed to have gotten his sleeve back after having ripped it off back to jump out of the plane in Munich. Leaving Wilson and Torres, Barnes traveled to find Helmut Zemo.[29]
Amends with Helmut Zemo[]
- "James, do what needs to be done. Karli has people everywhere, and there's only one way to make sure she cannot continue her mission."
"I appreciate the advice. But we're gonna do it our own way." - ―Baron Zemo and Winter Soldier[src]
Barnes went to Sokovia to the Sokovian Memorial where he found Helmut Zemo. Zemo commented that he had decided not to kill Barnes, and Barnes replied sarcastically that he was relieved. Zemo told Barnes that he needed to kill Karli Morgenthau as he was programmed to kill once, and that Sam Wilson was too stubborn like Steve Rogers to do so. However, Barnes told him that he and Wilson had other plans on how to handle Morgenthau.
Barnes then took out his handgun and pointed it at Zemo's face, with Zemo embracing it, knowing his fate. Barnes then smiled and dropped the blank bullets out of his hand, showing Zemo that he wasn't a killer anymore and how he was a free man. The Dora Milaje led by Ayo arrived then and arrested Zemo. Zemo wished Barnes well and told him he had crossed his name off in his book, before being led away.
Ayo told Barnes that Zemo would be going to the Raft and told Barnes to lay low from Wakanda for sometime due to his involvement with Zemo's escape. She also called him White Wolf, signalling she wasn't disappointed with him anymore. She then left, but Barnes stopped her, and asked for a favor from them for Wilson.[29]
Working with Sam Wilson[]
- "I've been making amends."
"Nah. You weren't amending, you were avenging. You were stopping all the wrongdoers you enabled as the Winter Soldier, because you thought it would bring you closure." - ―Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson[src]
After receiving a box from the Wakandans, Barnes returned to the United States of America and went to Delacroix, Louisiana to be with Sam Wilson. He arrived, bringing the box with him, and helped lift a heavy box off of the Wilson's family boat, surprising Wilson who was pleased to see him. Barnes then gave Wilson the box. He also helped Wilson out but used his right arm instead, with Wilson questioning why he didn't use his vibranium arm.
Shortly, Barnes was introduced to Wilson's sister Sarah, who was happy to meet him. Later in the day, Barnes told Wilson that he would stay at a nearby hotel, but Wilson told him to stay with him at Sarah's house instead. For the next few days, as Barnes stayed with Wilson, he opted to sleep on the couch at Sarah's house, where he met Wilson's nephews Cass Wilson and AJ Wilson.
Working with Wilson on the boat, Barnes occasionally would watch Wilson struggle with manually removing objects, and then use his vibranium arm to lift it easily. Each time Barnes saw Sarah, he would say hello to her and give her a big smile, leading Wilson to jokingly tell him not to flirt with her.
After fixing the boat, Barnes and Wilson practiced training with the shield. Barnes had no problem throwing and catching the shield, but Wilson had to work harder at it. As they were practicing, Barnes apologized to Wilson for criticizing him after he gave the shield to the government and told him that the shield was of sentimental value to him. He then told Wilson that when he and Steve Rogers talked the night before Rogers handed Wilson the shield, they had no idea what it would have been like for a black man to have the shield. Wilson understood, and helped Barnes come to peace with his time brainwashed as the Winter Soldier and told him to not just help himself, but the victims of the Winter Soldier's actions.
Barnes agreed and expressed his gratitude for Wilson's pep talk, knowing that Wilson use to be a counselor. They then did a handshake hug and commented on how they weren't technically friends but more like co-workers, but then realized they were actually friends. Barnes then told Wilson to call him once he heard from the Flag Smashers, patted him on the shoulder, and left for New York City.[29]
Stopping the Flag Smashers[]
- "Sorry, I was, uh, I was texting and so all I heard was, um, 'a Black guy in stars and stripes.' Nice job, Cap."
- ―Winter Soldier to Captain America[src]
Two months later,[33] Barnes learned that the Flag Smashers were planning to attack the GRC on the night that they were voting on the Patch Act. Barnes returned to New York City, suited up, and walked over to the GRC New York Headquarters. As he was walking over, he passed a NYPD officer who greeted him and recognized him as Sergeant Barnes.
Before he could get to the building, Barnes was stopped by a man, which was revealed to be Sharon Carter wearing a Photostatic Veil. Surprised, Barnes asked Carter what she was doing there without being pardoned and if she was worried, but Carter responded saying that no one would notice her there. In communications with Captain America, Barnes hooks Carter up to join their line and the two go inside the GRC building. However, Carter is unable to continue as she sets off security check and tells Barnes that she will go rescue the GRC hostages from the parking garage.
Barnes goes up to the second level, and is promptly handed a phone by a woman who told him the caller is for him. He answered the phone and found the caller to be Karli Morgenthau. Barnes told Morgenthau that she will regret her actions as it will always haunt her if she doesn't back down, until realizing that Morgenthau had distracted him by the call. Frustrated for having fallen for the trap, Barnes ran out to the parking garage and hopped onto a motorcycle.
Riding the motorcycle out of the garage and onto the street, Barnes was asked by Wilson to help with a helicopter rescue, only for Barnes to say that that was in Wilson's category since he was the only one who could fly. After locating the armored trucks carrying the GRC hostages in a construction site, Barnes rammed his motorcycle into the barrier, flipping him over to the position to tackle Dovich. As Barnes easily overpowered Dovich, Morgenthau told her teammates to set one of the trucks on fire so Barnes could rescue the hostages, allowing for her to escape.
Upon seeing the truck on fire, Barnes knocked down Dovich and went to save the hostages. Seeing that the truck was locked shut by a device, Barnes used his vibranium arm to pull it off and then opened the doors. He then helped the hostages off the truck and away from the fire, with one hostage thanking Barnes for rescuing them.
Returning to fight the Flag Smashers, Barnes saw John Walker trying to fight them and came to his help. Barnes punched Dovich into construction equipment and fought Morgenthau, who tore a parking meter out of the ground and swung it at him. Dodging her blows, Barnes grabbed a heavy chain and swung it at her, knocking her down, only for Dovich to kick him away. Barnes landed on the riverbank below as Dovich landed down to engage him. Forced into combat with Dovich and unable to help any longer, Barnes was able to defeat Dovich once again even when he was using a metal bar.
Barnes then watched as one of the trucks drove off the ledge barely and as Walker's shield was flung over to the riverbank. He then saw the Flag Smashers grab Walker and cause them all to fall down to the riverbank also. Barnes then helped Walker up and watched as Captain America, in his new uniform, pushed the truck back to the ground, saving the hostages. Barnes smiled upon seeing this.
Upon seeing the hostages were saved, Morgenthau then threw a pole at Barnes, but he caught it easily. Captain America then arrived, hitting the Flag Smashers back with the shield. Barnes then watched as Georges Batroc filled the air with smoke, allowing the Flag Smashers to escape. Barnes, Captain America, and Walker teamed up and chased after them into the underground tunnels. After Captain America suggested they split up, Barnes went with Walker, realizing that Walker may need his help. Barnes used the phone given to him earlier to send a message the last three Flag Smashers through their app to meet them at a location. Then he and Walker waited until DeeDee, Gigi, and Dovich arrived, looking confused. The New York City Police Department units then swarmed them and took the three into custody, while Barnes and Walker walked away, with Walker giving Barnes a friendly pat.
Barnes and Walker walked back to the street and witnessed Captain America's speech to the rescued GRC members and news reporters. Barnes said goodbye to Walker and waited for Captain America to come over to him. Barnes then told him that he only heard a little bit of the speech, teasingly, before calling him Cap in approvement, and patting the shield.
Barnes and Captain America then met with Sharon Carter, who was injured and leaning against a parked car. Barnes and Captain America both told her she needed to get medical treatment, but Carter refused. When Captain America departed, Barnes went with Carter and helped her leave the area.[34]
Being at Peace[]
Telling Yori the Truth[]
- "I have to tell you something. About your son. He was murdered."
"What?"
"By the Winter Soldier. And that was me." - ―Bucky Barnes and Yori Nakajima[src]
Afterwards, Barnes went to Yori Nakajima's apartment and surprised Nakajima, who said that it wasn't a Wednesday and commented on how late it was. Nakajima then invited Barnes inside, and Barnes told him that he needed to tell him something. They sat down and Barnes told Nakajima that he, as the Winter Soldier, had killed Nakajima's son. Nakajima then asked why Barnes did and Barnes told him that he had had no choice in the matter. He then left a shocked and confused Nakajima and returned to his apartment.
The next day, Barnes dropped his completed notebook in a bag at Christina Raynor's office along with a note thanking her for helping him. He then walked outside Izzy and looked inside the window seeing Nakajima at the bar talking with Leah. After making eye contact with Leah, Barnes left New York City.[34]
Lousiana Cookout[]
Barnes then returned to Delacroix, Louisiana and attended the community's cookout, bringing a cake for dessert. Upon arriving, he was greeted enthusiastically by AJ and Cass, who called him "Uncle Bucky." He then hugged Sam Wilson and greeted Sarah, before joining them to eat and have fellowship.
Feeling relaxed and comfortable in doing so, Barnes showed his vibranium arm to AJ, Cass, and other children, while Sarah watched and laughed. After the cookout, Barnes and Wilson watched as the sun went down on the water and both smiled, since both were feeling good about themselves. Barnes, opting to stay there with Wilson, then walked back with Wilson to talk with the community.[34]
Attacked by Nebula[]
In December 2025, Barnes was attacked by Nebula of the Guardians of the Galaxy, who had come to Earth specifically to steal his vibranium arm so that she could gift it to Rocket as a Christmas present.[35][36] Nebula succeeded in removing his arm, after which she returned to space.[37]
Personality[]
- "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[src]
Prior to his brainwashing, Bucky Barnes was extremely devoted, loyal, headstrong, and patriotic. 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 demonstrated when Steve 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 erased or suppressed until he was augmented into the perfect assassin, the Winter Soldier. As the Winter Soldier, he was brutal, ruthless and appeared totally emotionless, often completely silent and not uttering a word except to his handlers. This may have been due to the damage inflicted on the parts of his brain which controlled not just memory, but also emotional regulation from the constant mind wipes.
However, his first encounter with Rogers following his fall and brainwashing, caused him to remember parts of his old life and realize he knew Rogers. In his second encounter with Rogers, he refused to believe he remembered him due to his memory being wiped again, but after Rogers repeated the same line Bucky said to him following the funeral of Rogers' mother, Bucky realized how he knew Rogers, which freed him from Hydra's mind control. No longer under Hydra's control, Barnes saved Rogers after the Insight Helicarrier blew up. While he later told Steve he did not know why he did it, it was due to Rogers reminding him of who he was, to which he initially reacted with violence before finally accepting the truth of it.
While he still holds a mostly serious and introverted demeanor, he retains a sense of humor, as shown when he and Falcon both smiled with approval at Rogers' kiss with Sharon Carter and later as he and Captain America 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 Redwing on Spider-Man earlier. Barnes was shown to be a fan of board games, during his date with Leah. He also retains his flirtatious nature, constantly flirting with Sarah Wilson, much to her brother's annoyance.
Even though Barnes has regained his identity and former values, he has also developed a guilt-ridden conscience, and became deeply ashamed and remorseful over his actions as the Winter Soldier. He previously stated that he has an absolute memory of every person he has killed, and acknowledges with great regret and self-loathing that the fact he was brainwashed does not change the fact that he killed them. Upon watching his murder of Howard and Maria Stark, he was visibly stunned and ashamed of what he had done. Fearing for his mental state changing and what he might bring about those around him, Barnes ultimately decided that placing himself in cryogenic stasis until he could be cured of HYDRA's mental programming completely would be the best course of action.
After being cured of HYDRA's programming, Barnes appears to have come to terms with his past. As the White Wolf, Barnes lived quietly in Wakanda, where he spent his time entertaining the children and farming, until T'Challa asked for his assistance in the Battle of Wakanda. When presented with a replacement cybernetic arm, Barnes, recognizing its meaning, didn't hesitate to join his allies in the battle. However, severe self-loathing persists due to the extent and nature of the crimes HYDRA forced him to commit, to the extent that he recognized that John Walker was dangerously unstable and unfit for the mantle of Captain America, long before the Super Soldier Serum and Lemar Hoskins' death caused Walker to become unhinged, purely because he saw aspects of himself in Walker.
Despite the years of brainwashing, Barnes still contains many elements of his old self, being rather old-fashioned on his first date with Leah, presenting her with a bouquet of flowers, as well as later confessing to Sam Wilson that he still listens to the 40s era music. Barnes holds a deep personal connection to Captain America's Shield, stating that it's the closest thing that he has left to a family. He is deeply hurt after finding out that Wilson has given the shield to the Smithsonian Institution, and that Walker has subsequently taken the mantle of Captain America. The legacy of the shield is what ultimately causes Barnes and Wilson to cross paths once again. Barnes initially confronts Wilson on several occasions, directly criticizing him for surrendering the shield, believing that he has disrespected and discarded Captain America's legacy like it was nothing. Barnes later confesses that the reason why he has initially pressured and blamed Wilson for giving up the shield was because it made him question Rogers' decisions, as well as his own.
Regardless of their many differences, Barnes has developed a close bond with Wilson during their struggle against the Flag Smashers, with Barnes later voluntarily helping him fix the Paul & Darlene family boat, and with Wilson subsequently inviting Barnes to sleep over at the Wilson Family Residence. After helping him practice throwing the shield, Barnes sincerely apologizes to Wilson, stating that he now realizes the pressure that Wilson was under after Rogers initially gave him the shield. Barnes also confesses about his nightmares, showing his newly developed trust in Wilson.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- "This is all really easy for you, isn't it? All that serum runnin' through your veins."
- ―John Walker to Bucky Barnes[src]
- Artificially Enhanced Physiology: Barnes was one of the recipients of HYDRA's Super Soldier Serum. There were no apparent effects at the time of his rescue by Steve Rogers, but the changes the serum caused in Barnes' body were sufficient to let him survive a plunge into an icy river at the bottom of a fall that should have killed him. According to the Smithsonian Institution, Barnes was already "an excellent athlete." Like Steve Rogers, he too has early levels of superhuman conditioning, due to his enhanced physiology. He was also equipped with a titanium arm capable of deflecting bullets and was later given a new vibranium arm after losing his original one.
- Enhanced Strength: As a result of the Super Soldier Serum, Barnes' physical strength is enhanced to the early levels of a superhuman condition. The superior strength afforded by his metallic left arm aside, Winter Soldier's innate superhuman physical might alone rivalled that of Captain America's, allowing him to use his legs and right arm to deliver strikes of exceptional force that can casually incapacitate and launch his opponents several meters away, through walls, and knock them out even while holding back not to kill them. He is able to harm other enhanced individuals, such as Steve Rogers, with blows from both his right hand and legs. Barnes was also able to match Black Panther in his suit in terms of strength and managed to hold his attempts to kill him at bay. Barnes also proved able to easily handle the Flag Smashers, who were similarly enhanced by the Serum, with only his natural strength, as shown by how he knocked down a Flag Smasher with a leaping punch during the Chase of the Flag Smashers and staggered another with a punch and during the Ambush at the Latvian GRC Resettlement Camp, he easily launched a Flag Smasher flying through the air, knocked him out with two kicks, and quickly stunned and lifted another off his feet and tossed him to the ground. Later on, his enhancements and cybernetic arm afforded him the strength to effectively fight against John Walker, who was not only a Super Soldier but also already physically fit and athletic, able to hurt and make him bleed with his blows, hold Walker when he tried to use the shield to hit him in the chest to a stalemate, and help Wilson to disarm him by firmly restraining him for Wilson to successfully rip away the shield, before easily stunning him with a punch to the face and man-handling him for Wilson to deal the finishing blow. However, Bucky was unable to outmatch Nebula in strength, as the latter was able to overpower him and steal his arm.
- Enhanced Durability: Barnes' bones and muscles are denser and more resilient than a normal human's. Barnes even managed to survive a fall from immense heights into the Danube River in the Swiss Alps that his comrades, unaware of his enhancements, believed to have been fatal. Further experimentation by Arnim Zola's greatly fortified his physique; to the extent that he routinely leaps from significant heights onto hard surfaces and lands without any apparent injury. Bucky was able to leap off of a bridge onto the top of a car below, crushing the roof and shattering the windows while he was unfazed by the landing. He was also able to withstand blows from various opponents that would have seriously injured or killed an average person. Winter Soldier has withstood brutal blows from Iron Man as well as his energy blasts, and while in Munich, he survived crashing through a forest whilst falling from an approximate drop of 200 feet.
- Enhanced Speed: Barnes' speed is tremendously enhanced beyond the peak of human potential, moving into the early levels of superhuman condition. Barnes' speed is equal to both Black Panther and Captain America, as he was able to stay ahead of them with a slight head start, and match their speed in combat; countering their attacks and delivering his own. In the same fight, Barnes managed to disappear from T'Challa's sight and run to the roof of the building in only a matter of seconds. Barnes has also repeatedly been able to match the similarly enhanced Flag Smashers in combat. He was able to combat and surpass their speed to deliver several powerful blows that quickly defeated them; easily kicking one down before they could react, and intercepting a Flag Smasher before he could hit Wilson, and outrun them to stop them from attacking Wilson and Walker. He also proved able to keep up in combat with John Walker after he had taken the serum, being able to dodge his attacks, intercept him from killing Wilson, and deliver blows of his own, even when Walker was using his shield to block. Barnes was also able to overtake and catch up to a speeding truck during the Chase of the Flag Smashers.
- Enhanced Agility: Barnes' enhanced agility surpasses that of normal human capabilities, even highly trained, Olympic gold medalists. Barnes can leap higher and further than normal humans, being able to leap onto the doors on a speeding truck during the Chase of the Flag Smashers, as well as quickly leap on top of midsize cars in a single bound while running. Barnes is also able to perform complicated acrobatic flips in order to avoid gunfire and to quickly dive into cover.
- Enhanced Stamina: Barnes' musculature produces far fewer 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. Barnes, alongside Sam Wilson, was able to participate in the Ambush at the Latvian GRC Resettlement Camp against the Flag Smashers, then go on to fight John Walker, all of whom had also been enhanced by the Super Soldier Serum, and by the end of it was still strong enough to walk away from the fight.
- Enhanced Reflexes: Barnes' reflexes have also been enhanced; they are responsive enough to catch Captain America's shield being thrown at him at a high velocity, as well as other projectiles such as enemy grenades, knives and poles. Barnes can also dodge gunfire from Falcon's Steyr SPPs, and leap on top of a moving car accelerating towards him with pinpoint accuracy. His reflexes are also fast enough to dodge or block Captain America's shield attacks and Black Panther's slashing attacks with hooked and clawed fists.
- Regenerative Healing Factor: Barnes' body is able to heal with extraordinary speed and efficiency, at a rate well beyond that of a regular human being; however, he is unable to regenerate missing limbs. Barnes' rapid healing also prevents intoxication by alcohol and may be one of the factors that allowed him to survive his fall in the Swiss Alps. His healing allows him to quickly recover from injuries received in battle; the injuries he received during combat with Iron Man healed in a matter of days, without bruising or scarring. In the span of a single day, he was able to fully recover from the vicious wounds he suffered from fighting John Walker, without any lasting bruises or scars.
- Longevity: As a result of the Super Soldier Serum, Barnes ages at a much slower rate than normal humans, a trait he shares with fellow super soldiers Steve Rogers and Isaiah Bradley. Barnes' lifespan has also been artificially extended by being frozen in a Cryostasis Chamber; allowing HYDRA to weaponize him for many generations by keeping him frozen between missions. He is currently over 100 years old, but retains the appearance of an adult man in his prime.
- Cybernetic Enhancement: Barnes lost his left arm and had it replaced with a cybernetic one by HYDRA. His cybernetic arm is incredibly resistant to physical damage, which is completely bulletproof, made evident when Barnes used the arm to block several gunshots from a German officer. However, it did have its limitations, as one shot of Iron Man's Unibeam cut right through it. After his original arm was destroyed, Barnes received a new vibranium arm from T'Challa. This new arm grants him even higher durability due to it being composed of vibranium, as well as the benefit of being vibration absorbent. The arm is not above invulnerable however, as members of the Dora Milaje knew secret buttons within the arm that expelled it from Barnes' shoulder, though it could be reconnected easily.
- Superhuman Strength: The bionic arm gives him extraordinary superhuman strength, superior to that of Captain America's strength, 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 Falcon, 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. More evident for this was during the fight at escape from the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre, Barnes used his bionic arm to successfully overpower Captain America, who used both of his hands while attempting on stopping Barnes with extreme effort. However, his bionic arm's strength has its limitations as it was shown to be outclassed by Black Panther, Josef, Spider-Man and later Iron Man Suits like the Mark XLVI.
Abilities[]
- "They literally programmed you to kill."
- ―Baron Zemo to Bucky Barnes[src]
- Master Assassin: Winter Soldier is an extremely skilled 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, including John F. Kennedy and Howard and Maria Stark. He was even able to shoot Nick Fury himself while outside of Rogers' apartment, and shoot through Black Widow to take out his target.
- "Buck, stop! You're going to kill someone."
- ―Steve Rogers to Bucky Barnes[src]
- Master Martial Artist: Winter Soldier is an extremely skilled and formidable hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist, excelling at improvisation and weapons handling, making him one of the most powerful and best fighters on the planet. He employs mixed martial arts that include elements of systema, karate, boxing, muay Thai, Krav Maga, and kali. Originally, Barnes was a three-time YMCA welterweight boxing champion.[5] 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 an extremely dangerous master assassin who can slaughter dozens of enemies alone, take on and even overpower highly skilled martial artists such as Black Widow and Falcon with relative ease, be in charge of training the other Winter Soldiers, and easily beating and locking them away when they went berserk, and go toe-to-toe with the likes of Captain America and Black Panther. In the Battle of Washington, D.C., 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 Helmut Zemo, catching him off guard. While under Winter Soldier programming Barnes effortlessly beat Falcon, an expert trained combatant, by grabbing his face and throwing him to the prison cell, knocking him out during the second encounter. Barnes also single-handedly killed up to a dozen well-armed Quinjet pilots in a single encounter and escaped uninjured. Barnes easily overpowered a suitless Tony Stark, Sharon Carter, and Black Widow, all in rapid succession and fought evenly with Black Panther. Barnes also held his own repeatedly against T'Challa, even when he wears his Panther Habit, Barnes was able to competitively push him back and restrain him. Although Barnes was briefly outmatched by Iron Man in Mark XLVII Armor, he was able to hold off Iron Man's attempts to kill him, almost defeated him alongside Rogers, and later on he managed to beat him to submission. He has display noticeably superior fighting prowess over super soldiers Flag Smashers and even the U.S. veteran John Walker who was chosen to be the next Captain America. Barnes was able to easily overpower the also super soldiers Flag Smashers with his combat training, quickly delivering blows that pummeled them into submission. In Chase of the Flag Smashers, he managed to resist them while caught off guard over their physical prowess at first but later able to defeat two before being knocked down the truck. With knowledge of their physical prowess which gained from the previous battle, Barnes easily defeated two Flag Smashers in the Ambush at the Latvian GRC Resettlement Camp, even handling a knife using Flag Smasher without using the knife he was given until the end. He also easily fended off Ayo's spear assaults while trying not to harm her and she was only able to end the fight due to using her knowledge of how to disarm his Vibranium arm, which he had absolutely no knowledge of. When he fought the highly decorated U.S. Army veteran John Walker who was chosen to be the next Captain America and after he too had taken the Super Soldier Serum, his fighting prowess combined with his own superhuman abilities allowed him to directly contend with him even as Walker was using his shield whereas Falcon was outmatched even with his technology, disarming him of his pistol, briefly taking the initiative and countering his attacks with the shield and ultimately landing several blows on Walker and holding his attempts to hit him in the chest with the shield at bay before Falcon disarmed him, proceeding to easily overpower and man-handle Walker for Falcon to deal the finishing blow to once he was disarmed of his shield. During the Flag Smashers final assault on the GRC, he completely dominated a Flag Smasher to where Morgenthau saw the need to cause a distraction, with Barnes still kicking him down even after being hit, and managed to easily overpower Karli Morgenthau to where he simply dodged her attacks and punched her and Dovich down without much effort even when they were armed, whereas Walker had visibly greater trouble fighting Morgenthau and the Flag Smashers in the battle. Barnes has also proven to be a great mentor, as he trained Wilson in shield throwing and hand-to-hand combat to prepare him to finally become the next Captain America, improving his combat skill to a point where he was able to defeat Georges Batroc even though he lost to him before.
- Knife Mastery: Winter Soldier is extremely skilled at using a knife in combat, with an emphasis in Kali knife fighting. Winter Soldier usually resorts to his combat knife in close quarters combat, as seen during his duel with Rogers on the streets of Washington, D.C. He usually holds the knife in his natural hand and uses his bionic arm for support should he need more force to overpower an opponent, using a downward stab or tossing it between hands to advance his assault, making use of swift and skillful jabs, stabs, and slashes at the enemy's vital points. During his hotel assassination mission as Winter Soldier, he easily killed enemies with a single knife move and has also shown to be highly skilled at knife throwing, easily hitting his targets with excellent accuracy. Barnes was able to use a knife effectively against Rogers, nearly scoring hits on him during their first fight and impaling him in their second fight. Barnes also used a bayonet knife with a great effect against the Outriders, he was able to kill an Outrider without many difficulties, quickly delivering several lethal stabs and slashes to its neck and vital points. He also easily managed to overwhelm and get a knifepoint on a knife-wielding Flag Smasher upon having pummeled them.
- "Barnes' marksmanship was invaluable as Rogers and his team destroyed HYDRA bases and disrupted Nazi troop movements throughout the European Theater."
- ―Smithsonian Institution[src]
- Master Marksman: Barnes is an extremely skilled marksman, being able to handle firearms with remarkable precision, even prior to being turned into Winter Soldier. During World War II, he shot a HYDRA operative that even Captain America did not see until he was down. His marksmanship was deemed invaluable to the Howling Commandos destruction of HYDRA's bases and the thwarting of the Nazi troops. Colonel Chester Phillips remarked that his long-range scope accuracy is 90%.[17] 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' apartment and from the top of another building. Barnes has also proven to be highly skilled with pistols as well, being able to accurately fire at Rogers while fighting him in close combat, even managing to land a single shot on Rogers and thus push him into defensive, and later even manage to land two shots on Rogers with one bullet went through his stomach when he was stopping Project Insight from initiate. As the Winter Soldier, Barnes has caught and handled Captain America's Shield on two occasions and showed impressive ability in doing so. He was also able to use his gun to swiftly take out many Outriders during the Battle of Wakanda. He even attempted to shoot Thanos to prevent him from extracting the Mind Stone out of Vision, only to be subdued by Thanos, who blasted him into the bushes with the Power Stone. Barnes later on easily shot multiple mercenaries hired by the Power Broker with a pistol.
- 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 the balance of a moving motorcycle he was utilizing while engaged in a fight with Black Panther.
- "The weakest point in any system isn't the software or the hardware. It's the meatware, the human element."
- ―Bucky Barnes to Sam Wilson[src]
- Expert Tactician: Barnes has received training in military tactics and leadership, and has spent decades as a soldier and covert operative, using quick thinking and resourcefulness to execute his assignments, which has proven to be an accomplished strategist and leader, earning the title of Sergeant. He was able to command an entire unit during World War II and serve as Rogers second in command among the Howling Commandos. As Winter Soldier, his strategical aptitude was only enhanced even further with training to be HYDRA's most covert operative, having been able to successfully come up with flawless plans that allowed him to both execute his victims while leaving no traces behind. After escaping HYDRA's control he managed to stay off the grid for two years despite the active search of Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers, with an already formulated escape plan with a burn bag ready should he be found. Barnes quickly formulated a plan with Zemo to assist the criminal in his escape from the Berlin Correctional Facility and noted that the most vulnerable portion of any security system was the staff members.
- Pilot: Winter Soldier was able to hijack a Quinjet after killing the pilot. He also effortlessly flew a helicopter in Berlin.
- Multilingualism: Barnes is fluent in his native English, as well as Romanian, Russian, and Xhosa, albeit in an American accent. He is also able to understand German and Japanese.
Equipment[]
World War II Weapons[]
- Colt M1911A1: Barnes was issued an 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 using it in a mission to capture Arnim Zola when he ran out of ammunition in his primary weapon.
- M1928A1 Thompson: Barnes carried an 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.
- M1903A1 Springfield: Barnes used this sniper rifle during the Attack at 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.
- M1941 Johnson rifle: Barnes was the sniper of the squad who was led by Captain America during World War II, the Howling Commandos. When he acted as such during missions against HYDRA. He used the rifle once to save Captain America himself from a soldier who almost shot him while he was examining a destroyed HYDRA base.
Winter Soldier's Arsenal[]
- "Ballistics."
"Three slugs, completely untraceable."
"Soviet-made." - ―Natasha Romanoff and Maria Hill[src]
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 and kept relying on firearms for battle even after HYDRA collapsed and he overcame his brainwashing.
- Gerber Mark II Combat Knife: The Winter Soldier's weapon of choice in close-quarters combat. He had one holstered on his right thigh. 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 ll 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. He could even use it as a throwing knife, shown during his attack on Hotel Inessa.
- Benchmade SOCP Dagger: The Winter Soldier was equipped with this knife. He carried it in a holster next to his Gerber Mark ll, though he was never seen using it.
- Push Dagger: Winter Soldier used a push dagger sheathed on his right boot to kill a bodyguard during his assassination at Hotel Inessa.
- Ontario M9 Bayonet Knife: Barnes had this knife holstered on his right thigh during the Battle of Wakanda and the Battle of Earth. He used it to kill an Outrider who tackled him to the ground.
- Cold Steel Master Tanto: Barnes caught this knife thrown at him, using it to fight knife wielding Flag Smasher and threw next to his head to intimidate him.
- Beretta 92FS Inox: Winter Soldier carried this gun during his mission to assassinate Howard Stark. He shot at one of the wheels of Stark's car, causing an accident, and then proceeded to kill both Stark and his wife Maria with his hands in order to make it pass as an actual accident. Once the couple was dead and he had retrieved the Super Soldier Serum that Stark was carrying, Winter Soldier used his gun again to destroy a nearby security camera that recorded the incident.
- SIG-Sauer P226: Winter Soldier used a pistol to execute RJ Nakajima for witnessing the Massacre at the Hotel Inessa.
- SIG-Sauer P220ST: 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.
- SIG-Sauer P226R: 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.
- Glock 19: 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.
- COP .357 Derringer: A very small gun that 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 at him.
- Intratec TEC-38: A very small gun that Winter Soldier carried in the right thigh custom holster.
- Glock 17: Barnes took one of these handguns from security staff at the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building. Tony Stark prevented him from using it to kill two security guards and engaged Barnes, who shot at Stark at point-blank range. Stark was able to block the bullet with his Iron Man Gauntlet, before dismantling the handgun to disable it.
- Walther PPK: Barnes disarmed L. Atwood's bodyguard of his sidearm.
- SIG-Sauer P226 Super Capacity Tactical: Barnes used this handgun during the raid on Nigel's lab and a gunfight at the Madripoor Buccaneer Bay. He later used it during a confrontation with Zemo at the Sokovia Memorial, only to reveal the gun was empty the whole time.
- STI Perfect 10: Barnes disarmed Walker of his sidearm when he and Wilson reclaimed Rogers' shield.
- Vz.61 Skorpion: A submachine gun carried on the back of his vest during the Massacre at the Hotel Inessa. 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.
- SIG-Sauer MPX: Barnes disarmed one of Selby's bodyguards of their submachine guns.
- Colt M4A1 with a M203 Grenade Launcher: A fully automatic carbine and the standard weapon used by S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Team members, outfitted with a grenade launcher. 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 the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilots that were about to board their Quinjets and help Captain America.
- Barrett M82A1M: A heavy rifle that 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 it needed technological enhancements to be distinguished.
- M249 SAW Paratrooper: Barnes obtained this machine gun from Black Widow's equipment locker inside the Quinjet and took it to infiltrate the HYDRA Siberian Facility with Steve Rogers. However, he was unable to use it, as Tony Stark disarmed him as soon as he engaged Barnes and Rogers. Barnes was given another one in order to prepare for the upcoming Battle of Wakanda. He used it to attack the first waves of Outriders that managed to cross the barriers, and to continue fighting when they all directly confronted them. Once Rocket arrived, he held him on one arm while aiming with the other, shooting their weapons and sparking Rocket's interest in both the weapon and Barnes' Prosthetic Arm. Once Barnes was snapped out of existence, the weapon was left behind. He took another of these machine guns in order to join the Avengers and the rest of their allies in the final battle against Thanos and his armies, shooting at multiple enemies during the battle.
- FN Mk 13: A grenade launcher customized to fire Disc Grenades. Winter Soldier used it against Nick Fury's SUV, in an assassination attempt against Fury.
- Disc Grenade: During the assassination attempt on Nick Fury, Winter Soldier used a disc grenade to disable Nick Fury's SUV.
- Milkor MGL: A six-shot revolver-type grenade launcher, that 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.
- M67 Grenade: 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.
- Ball Grenade: 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 phone. Winter Soldier later used another grenade to destroy the roof of a tunnel while being chased by Black Panther and the GSG 9, hoping to trap his attackers and get away.
- Battering Ram: During a fight with GSG 9, Barnes took a battering ram from them and briefly used it to fight against the agents before discarding it on his way out of the building.
Other Equipment[]
- "Why didn't you use the metal arm?"
"Well... I don't always think of it immediately. I'm right-handed." - ―Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes[src]
- Bionic Arm: HYDRA created a titanium bionic arm to replace Barnes' lost arm, which he lost after falling from the train. As the Soviet Union was involved in the Winter Soldier Program, Barnes' titanium arm was marked with the Soviet red star. During the battle at the HYDRA Siberian Facility, Barnes' arm was destroyed by Iron Man when he tried to rip the arc reactor out of the suit. T'Challa gave Barnes a new one built by Shuri before the battle of Wakanda; the new arm functioned similarly to HYDRA's one, but with enhancements stemming from the use of vibranium.
- "That shield's the closest thing I've got left to a family."
- ―Bucky Barnes to Sam Wilson[src]
- Captain America's Shield: Barnes had wielded Captain America's Shield on a few occasions. During the Capture of Arnim Zola Barnes briefly used the shield while trying to kill a HYDRA soldier but was unsuccessful. During the attack on Nick Fury, Barnes shot Fury and was chased by Captain America across rooftops. Captain America caught up to him on a rooftop and threw his shield at him. However, Barnes caught his shield with his bionic arm and threw it back at him, allowing Barnes to escape. During the battle of Washington, D.C., Captain America and Barnes fought again and during that fight, Barnes managed to steal the shield and briefly used it against Captain America. During the battle at the Triskelion Barnes briefly used the shield against Captain America by throwing it at him. During the Battle at the HYDRA Siberian Facility, Captain America and Barnes fought Iron Man, as the fight continued, Barnes used the shield against Iron Man alongside Captain America.
- Uniform: HYDRA designed a lightweight tactical suit for the Winter Soldier, 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 provided resistance to small arms fire and had advanced flexibility for close-quarters combat. In addition, he also sometimes wore bulletproof tinted goggles to further conceal his face and for eye protection.
- Grapple Device: A line cable firing device that automatically entangles a limb of flying or fleeing culprit, thus preventing their escape. Winter Soldier used this cable to pull Falcon out of the air by his wing.
- Memory Suppressing Machine: When Barnes was captured by HYDRA, his mind was then wiped which removed any memories of his time fighting in World War II and his friendship with Captain America. Before his upcoming missions, the Winter Soldier would have his mind wiped once again, to ensure that he remained an empty vessel of a man who would obey HYDRA's orders without question. Following his brief encounter with Rogers, the Winter Soldier began questioning his past, leading to Alexander Pierce ordering that the Winter Soldier be put back into the machine and have his mind wiped yet again.
- Cryostasis Chamber: During his time as an assassin for HYDRA, Barnes was placed in a cryostasis chamber to be kept under control. HYDRA would only unfreeze him when they had a mission ready. That way, he could last for decades, and not succumb to age and become wasted. As soon as the mission was over, HYDRA would return him to this chamber. After finding asylum in Wakanda, Barnes voluntarily allowed himself to be placed in cryostasis until Wakandan scientists could find a way to reverse his brainwashing.
- Steve Rogers' Notebook: Once Barnes had recovered from his brainwashing, he made a list of names in a notebook that Rogers had given him, featuring people who he felt he still had business with. These names were of people he had wronged as the Winter Soldier, including Yori Nakajima, whose son he had murdered, as well as people such as L. Atwood, who he knew was still conducting criminal activities, and Barnes felt he needed to stop. Barnes was incredibly protective over this list, as he threatened to kill Helmut Zemo for merely looking at it.
Vehicles[]
This section requires expansion |
- Schnellzug EB912: During a mission, Barnes, Captain America, and the Howling Commandos boarded the train to capture Arnim Zola. Barnes and Rogers soon found themselves in battle. Rogers got knocked over, so Barnes picked up his shield. The HYDRA goon shot him, sending Barnes flying out of the train. He held onto the rail for his life, but fell off the mountain.
- Harley-Davidson FXDL Dyna Low Rider: Following his orders from Vasily Karpov, the Winter Soldier had used this motorcycle on his mission to steal Howard Stark's version of the Super Soldier Serum. Waiting until the night, Winter Soldier rode alongside the Stark's car as they were leaving for a dinner party, before destroying their back tire, causing the car to crash. Winter Soldier then parked his motorcycle and proceeded to murder the Starks, before stealing the serum and returning to Karpov.
- Harley-Davidson Street 750: Having been framed for the bombing of the Vienna International Centre, Barnes was hunted down and managed to get onto the streets while being chased by Black Panther and the GSG 9, where Barnes was able to knock a man off this motorcycle, before turning it around and continue to escape with it. Barnes attempted to ride this motorcycle to freedom, but eventually Black Panther managed to destroy the back wheel, causing him to crash and then be arrested.
- Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil: Barnes, brainwashed by Helmut Zemo, used this helicopter in an attempt for escape from the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building. However, before Barnes could escape, Steve Rogers managed to catch up with him and used his strength to attempt to pull the helicopter back down. In a final attempt to kill Rogers, Barnes turned the helicopter blades on him, which Rogers managed to avoid, while the helicopter crashed as a result, with Barnes still inside.
- Quinjet: During the Battle at Leipzig-Halle Airport, Barnes and Steve Rogers managed to hijack the Quinjet, while their allies stayed behind and gave them a chance to escape. After shaking off Iron Man and War Machine, Barnes and Rogers arrived at Siberia, where they intended to catch on Baron Zemo, who intended to find the Winter Soldiers.
- Jeep: To be added
- Helmut Zemo's Private Jet: Barnes and Sam Wilson boarded Baron Zemo's private jet to travel to Madripoor, so they could track down a source of the Super Soldier Serum.
- Paul & Darlene: To be added
Facilities[]
- "Let's talk about your home. Not Romania, certainly not Brooklyn. No. I mean your real home."
- ―Helmut Zemo to Bucky Barnes[src]
This section requires expansion |
- Fort McCoy: Barnes trained for the war at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin.
- HYDRA Siberian Facility: As an assassin for HYDRA, Winter Soldier would report back to his HYDRA superiors in Siberia after he completed an assassination mission for the terrorist group. He would then be put under deep sleep under the Cryostasis Chamber to ensure that he would remain loyal towards HYDRA and emotionless towards those he killed. In 1991, Barnes was kept at the Siberian compound, the main headquarters of the Winter Soldier Program. After he assassinated Howard and Maria Stark and obtained all the Super Soldier Serum, five additional HYDRA assassins were chosen for candidates for the program. However, the soldiers instigated sedition against their HYDRA superiors, and they were eventually put under suspended animations. After, Winter Soldier was relocated from the Siberian facility to the Ideal Federal Savings Bank in the United States of America.
- Ideal Federal Savings Bank: As a HYDRA facility located in Washington, D.C., Winter Soldier was taken care of by HYDRA by repairing his prosthetic arm, which was damaged by Captain America and Black Widow. When Winter Soldier started to experience flashbacks of his fall from the train in the Alps, Alexander Pierce ordered to wipe his memory with painful electroshocks before going on his next assignment.
- Bucky Barnes' Apartment: After remaining in hiding once S.H.I.E.L.D. had collapsed, Barnes hid inside a small apartment in Bucharest, but once Captain America had infiltrated his home, he decided to leave the apartment once he realized that the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre had ambushed it.
- Wakanda Medical Center: Now needing his mind to be fixed, Barnes traveled to Wakanda with Steve Rogers, undergoing cryostasis at the Wakanda Medical Center until his HYDRA's programming could be completely removed. Once Barnes was cured of his programming, he would no longer receive any treatment from the medical center.
- Barnes Residence: Following his resurrection, Barnes got an apartment in Brooklyn, where he lived alone and met neighbors, who he talked to frequently.
- Helmut Zemo's Latvian Residence: To be added
- Wilson Family Residence: To be added
Prisons[]
This section requires expansion |
- HYDRA Base Camp C3: In World War II, Barnes and his unit were captured by HYDRA. They were forced to work in the prison, but Barnes refused. He was then brutally beaten by Lohmer. His cellmates proceeded to kill Lohmer and staged it as an accident. Later, Barnes would be experimented on by Arnim Zola. Eventually, him and his unit were freed by Captain America.
- Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building: To be added
- Baltimore Police Station: To be added