Winter Soldier

*"I am no longer the Winter Soldier. I am James 'Bucky' Barnes, and you're part of my efforts to make amends."*
―Bucky Barnes to L. Atwood[src]
**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 given a variant of the Super Soldier Serum by Arnim Zola. Barnes was later rescued by Rogers, who had become Captain America. Upon joining forces, Barnes and Rogers 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 had subsequently been brainwashed and armed with a new cybernetic arm in order to become their operative, known as the **Winter Soldier**. Over the next fifty years, he would eliminate anyone who posed any kind of threat to HYDRA, including Howard Stark and his wife, Maria. Between all assassination 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 then 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 Wakandans and the Avengers to defend Wakanda. Winter Soldier defeated many of the Outriders alongside Rocket Raccoon, only for Thanos to defeat them and assemble all of the Infinity Stones. Barnes was subsequently disintegrated as Thanos eliminated half of all life in the universe. Three 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 Emmett Baxter, 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, Baxter, and Wilson were forced to defeat Walker to stop him from continuing to be Captain America. Barnes would then join Baxter, 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 Raccoon as a Christmas gift.

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5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `CAFV`
6. ↑ Translates from Russian to: "*Soldier*"
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `AIW`
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `TFaTWS102`
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11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `TFaTWS106`
12. ↑ *Spider-Man: Far From Home*
13. ↑ S.H.I.E.L.D. Files
14. ↑ Bucky Barnes' Smithsonian Memorial
15. ↑ *Captain America: The First Avenger Adaptation*
16. ↑ D23 Expo 2022: Marvel Studios' 'Thunderbolts’ Casting Announced