In the current
Marvel Comics universe, the Winter Soldier is one of the most enigmatic figures. Bucky, unlike the other of the Marvel characters that have graced the big screen, is a serious character. He was truly dead until 2005 in comics continuity, and in the two movies he appears in, he's either smirking like a moron or grimacing like an adolescent who just seen his parents in the shower.
If you're excited for Captain America: Civil War but don't know why Bucky Barnes is important, check out our Winter Soldier quiz and learn to adore Steve Rogers' sidekick. Below are the 23 secrets about Winter Soldier that we never knew before.
1. Bucky Barnes Is Named After a President
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky Barnes is named after President Chester A. Arthur James Buchanan, which is self-evident. Nobody knows why he was given the designation of the 15th President. Maybe President Buchanan had a robotic arm all along?
2. He Battled Communism with The Liberty Legion
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky escaped a brainwashing attempt by Red Skull (which is ironic) and formed a squad of patriotic heroes, including The Whizzer, Miss America, and Red Raven, to battle Communists roaming America in a 1970s throwback to the Golden Age.
3. Bucky Came Off with a Bang
Source: Marvel Studio
The issue about Bucky Barnes is that he constantly dies. Bucky dies in The First Avenger when he jumps from a HYDRA train, but his death in the original comic is a little more thrilling. He and Cap are attempting to deactivate a drone armed with an explosive device, which detonates mid-flight and sends Bucky and Cap to their watery graves.
4. Bucky Stayed Deceased for a Long Time
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky was one of the rare comic book characters that died and remained six feet beneath. "No one in comics remains dead except Bucky, Jason Todd, and Uncle Ben," according to the Bucky Clause at one time. Given that Jason Todd has been back and mixing it up as the Red Hood for numerous years, whomever made that up certainly feels like a fool.
5. The Winter Soldier Was Initial of Russian Design
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky is brought back by HYDRA in the current Marvel movie, and that's the end of it. However, things get a little timey-wimey in the comics. Bucky was resurrected as the Winter Soldier in 2005, after being restored by Russian scientists and then destroyed by Russian government operatives who were also members of HYDRA. Isn't humorous logic entertaining?
6. Why He Looks So Young
Source: Marvel Studio
Here are Cliff's Notes if you're attempting to figure out why Bucky looks so babealicious after being alive for 80 years or so. Bucky's amnesia drives him insane and makes him extra goth, so he's kept in cryogenic hibernation when he's not on a mission. That's how, despite spending all those years on ice, he and Captain America are practically the same age.
7. He And Black Widow
Source: Marvel Studio
Much has been written about Natasha Romanoff's romantic life with the Avengers, from Hawkeye to Hulk, yet in the comics, she and Bucky had an almost normal relationship. Although that partnership is more than likely to remain in the comics' 616 worlds, it would still be wonderful to witness Marvel's mercenary power couple on film.
8. Wolverine Hates Bucky
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky performed some very horrible things while he was a memory-wiped government asset, including releasing Wolverine from the Weapon X facility (which was a good thing) and then murdering his wife, Itsuo (the bad thing). Fortunately, Wolverine forgot about it, but he did recall it in Wolverine #40, so these two aren't exactly friends.
9. Bucky's Arm Can Work Even When It's Not Attached
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky loses his left arm in practically every universe and is replaced with a mechanical arm that primarily simply looks nice. However, in Captain America #53, it is revealed that Bucky can control his arm through a cybernetic implant, allowing it to operate even if the rest of his body is removed.
10. He Has A Strange Relationship With Red Skull
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky survived WWII as a press photographer, married, and lived to see Steve return to the Captain America costume in current times in Marvel's Ultimate continuity (i.e. Marvel's attempt at retconning their history while tripling their comic production). Oh, and he has an illegitimate son named Red Skull. Isn't it strange?
11. He's Killed Lots of People
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky has amassed an incredible body count throughout the course of his career. From Red Skull to Nomad, Professor Xavier, and even [REDACTED], he's taken out everyone.
12. Bucky Broke the Cosmic Cube
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky becomes so enraged at being the Winter Soldier in Captain America #15, which is where the story for Winter Soldier comes from, that he breaks the Cosmic Cube (the plot device in The Avengers) after swiping it for Aleksander Lukin. Bucky, that's why we can't have good things!
13. Teen Bucky Was A Time Traveler
Source: Marvel Studio
Yes, sir! Bucky flies ahead in time to defend his crew of Golden Age heroes in the 2008 Avengers/Invaders miniseries, spitting lines like "This dame's bulletproof" and attempting to stop Hitler from doing something with ghosts or aliens or something.
14. Bucky's Been Steve's Sidekick In Multiple Universes
Source: Marvel Studio
There's always a Bucky for Steve to hang out with, no matter what universe you're seeing, from 616 to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Their plots are often identical (WWII!). Someone dies! ), but their old friendship is usually given an unexpected twist.
15. He Is A Member of All the Teams
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky Barnes was a member of the Invaders, Kid Commandos, and Young Allies, to mention a few superhero teams.
16. He Was on a Stamp
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky Barnes was one of the characters featured in the first series of Marvel Value Stamps, which was released in the 1970s. Given that he was deceased at the time, this is rather touching.
17. Winter Soldier Is Originated From A Thomas Paine Quote
Source: Marvel Studio
The name Winter Soldier is derived from a famous Thomas Paine quotation, which reads, "These are the times when men's souls are put to the test. In this moment, the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will shrink from serving his country; but he who stands it now deserves the love and gratitude of man and woman..." But what about the soldier in the spring and fall?
18. There Have Been Multiple Buckys
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky wasn't always such a popular figure. Multiple characters have stepped up to assume Bucky's position beside Steve Rogers throughout history, even while he was not among the living. Let's see who's on the list: Fred Davis, Jack Monroe, Rick Jones, Lemar Hoskins, Rickie Barnes, and Julia Winters, a newborn!
19. Stan Lee Actually Hated Bucky
Source: Marvel Studio
"One of my many pet peeves has always been the youthful adolescent sidekick of the ordinary superhero," Stan the Man says. So claims the man who came up with the idea for Johnny Storm. Bucky, who predates Marvel from the days of Timely Comics, was long one of the only plucky adolescent sidekicks in Marvel continuity, and this is a huge part of why.
20. Bucky Was Once Brought Back to Life to Fight The Avengers
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky was brought back to life as a ghost by the villain Grandmaster and forced to face his old comrade Steve Rogers in a bizarre Avengers tale. Because it was the late 1980s, no one seemed to mind, and Bucky returned to the tomb for another few decades.
21. He Was Batman's Comrade for A Comic
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky and Robin swapped places and served their counterparts' heroes for the duration of a non-canonical Elseworlds one-shot set during WWII. Bucky, obviously, died off-page.
Source: Marvel Studio
Legendary artist Jack Kirby stated that he would have preferred to bring back Bucky after his dramatic demise in WWII, maybe merely to annoy his friend turned archenemy Stan Lee. "I wouldn't mind bringing Bucky in; he symbolizes teens, and there are always teenagers; he's a global figure," says the author.
23. The Winter Soldier's Mask is The Contrary of Captain America's
Source: Marvel Studio
Bucky's Winter Soldier mask covers his lower face and displays his eyes, but Cap's mask covers his eyes and reveals his lower face, in a semiotics decision likely to make stoned college students talk incoherently for hours. Dude.