James Buchanan Barnes

* James Buchanan Barnes
* Winter Soldier

**James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes** was a former soldier in the U.S. Army during World War II, and the best friend of Steve Rogers, since childhood. He is a minor anti-hero of Season 2 of Avengers Assemble.

## History

In the closing months of World War II, Bucky was presumed dead during a mission. In reality, he survived and was taken to Belarus and experimented on by Baron Zemo, Red Skull, and Arnim Zola. Bucky was brainwashed, and given a variant of the Super Soldier Serum and a cybernetic arm, turning him into the HYDRA assassin **Winter Soldier**.

## Biography

### Origin

Bucky accidentally walked in on Steve Rogers changing into his uniform, thus discovering his friend was Captain America and insisted that he join him. He underwent extensive training and was assigned to be Captain America's partner. Together, Bucky and Steve fought in many battles throughout the war alongside James Howlett and Robert Frank.

In the closing days of World War II in 1945, Bucky was believed to have been killed in action.

### Revenge

In modern times, the Winter Soldier infiltrated the Avengers Tower to abduct the Red Skull, who was being imprisoned by the Avengers at the time. He used the Aven-Jet as a distraction to escape in the sewers, where Captain America followed him. Steve tried to convince the Winter Soldier to give the Skull back, as he had valuable information on Thanos, but Bucky knocked him out and escaped by climbing on a train. Captain America caught up with them, but the Winter Soldier escaped in a drone and caused an explosion in the train tracks to slow him down. Falcon used a tracking device that Black Widow had been put in the Red Skull to pin the Winter Soldier's location to a missile silo in New Jersey. After pinning the Red Skull to one of the missiles, the Winter Soldier found the tracking device and destroyed it. Having realized the Avengers would come for him, Bucky launched all the missiles in the base. Captain America and Falcon tracked down one of the missiles headed to Belarus, the place where the Winter Soldier had been created, as the rest of the team dealt with the other missiles. On the missile, Captain America was confronted by the Winter Soldier after trying to free the Red Skull. Captain America tried to make the Winter Soldier understand that if he let the missiles hit their targets, he would only finally become what the Red Skull wanted, a villain. With 27 seconds for impact, the Winter Soldier escaped the missile but not before warning Captain America about the time limit for some reason. Captain America would manage to disarm it with the help of the Falcon.

### Guilt

When Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man destroyed the "power amplifier" that Ant-Man built for Doctor Spectrum. Spectrum used his power prism to unleash the fears and regrets of the three Avengers. In Cap's case, it was the guilt of his involvement in Bucky becoming the Winter Soldier. The prism's nightmare version of Winter Soldier claimed that Cap had left him to die and that he was lying to himself when Cap stated he tried to save Bucky. Cap was able to defeat Nightmare Winter Soldier by admitting that his inability to save Bucky was something he would always have to live with, causing Winter Soldier to return to the power prism.

## Personality and Traits

Originally Bucky was very much like Falcon, but after he was brainwashed he became a stone-cold mercenary, though there could still be some good in him. Once he is freed from brainwashed, he desires nothing but vengeance towards Red Skull, for what he did to him.

## Relationships

### Captain America

Steve Rogers was Bucky's best friend during and before the war against the Axis Powers and HYDRA. While never suspecting that the clumsy army private whom he befriended during his beginning years was the American hero and idol whom he cherished, Captain America. Until the day he stumbled upon Rogers while changing into his costumed alter ego. Not losing any respect for his friend and his hero; Bucky became a loyal vassal to the star-spangled icon as the two pressed on against the forces of Johann Schmidt, The Red Skull nearing the end of the WWII. Decades later after Cap and he himself were presumed dead when the soviets Winter Soldier backed by the Skull's Hydra initiative; Bucky Barnes became rather embittered with his old friend as well as the world at large. Somewhat ashamed of himself and angry at Steve for not saving him when he needed it most.

### Red Skull

Bucky as the Winter Soldier deeply despises Red Skull for the torturous physical/mental modifications he suffered under the Winter Soldier program. Initially, only an American patriot fighting against the Nazis and Hydra's plans of global conquest as Captain Steven Rogers's sidekick, his training and abuse under the Skull's machinations left lasting psychological scars which damaged Barnes's psyche and persona. The reason for his kinder and moral characteristics being eaten away over the course of decades being used as the attack dog of other greedy and apathetic individuals with ties to Hydra.

## Powers and abilities

* **Artificially Enhanced Physiology:** Due to Hydra's Super Soldier Serum infusion and a powerful vibranium based cybernetic arm, being placed upon his missing left arm; he gained a vast array of physical attributes, which combined with rigorous training makes him a powerful soldier.
	+ **Superhuman Strength:** He has shown to be able to go hand-to-hand in combat with Captain America and hurt him through his durability with his right hand. His left arm is cybernetic and has greater strength than Captain America.
	+ **Superhuman Speed:** He has shown to have the exact amount of inhuman speed as Captain America. Through years of rigorous training, he has increased his speed beyond Captain America's limits.
	+ **Superhuman Agility:** He has shown slightly greater agility than the likes of Captain America, likely due to his super-enhanced abilities combined with rigorous training.
	+ **Regenerative Healing Factor:** His blood has a regenerative healing factor in its system, which regenerates his injuries at an accelerated rate. It seems unlikely that he can regrow limbs. This constant cellular regeneration is causing his aging process to come to a complete stop. This healing factor makes him very difficult to kill.

### Abilities

* **Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant:** As a martial artist, Bucky has mastered several forms of martial arts. He shown to be skilled enough to rival with the likes of Captain America.
* **Master Marksman:** He is also a master-level marksman.
* **Espionage Agent:** He is a master of manipulation, tracking, marksmanship, tactical analysis, espionage skills, assassination, and computer hacking. He also has other espionage skill such as vehicular driving, escaping, disguise, gadgetry, weaponry, and thievery expertise.

## Equipment

* **Bionic Arm**: Bucky had been modified with a cybernetic prosthetic which further served to bolster his physical strength. The replacement limb was created to compensate for the loss of his left arm when Barnes fell in the war. Aside from acting as a functional limb, the arm also has a couple of useful features and weapon mods to it.
	+ **Hacking Capability**: The limb's own A.I. enables the user to hack into and infiltrate even the most advanced security systems
	+ **Wrist Laser**: Bucky's robotic hand sinks into the wrist revealing a plasma caster, able to fire lasers powerful enough to blow holes in large missile casings.
* **Taser Coil**: Electrified stun cable, latches onto and shocks a target into unconsciousness.
* **Knockout Gas**: Sleeping vapor capsule potent enough to knock out Gamma Mutates and Asgardians. Used by Bucky to incapacitate Hawkeye, Hulk, and Thor while infiltrating the tower.
* **Energy Rifle**: Winter Soldier's regular equipment cache consists of a potent energized firearm with a great many weapon capabilities. With an under and over gun-barrel style, similar to a battle rifle with a grenade launcher addition to it. The main gun fires charged particle blasts while the mini-gun casts plasmite charges capable of wrecking infrastructure.
* **Winter Soldier Suit**: His standard uniform comes with a glider webbing for which he can soar on air currents.

## Appearances

**Season Two**

* *Ghosts of the Past* (first appearance)
* *Spectrums* (specter)

**Season Three: *Ultron Revolution***

* *Saving Captain Rogers* (flashback/hallucination)
* *Seeing Double* ()

**Season Five: *Black Panther’s Quest***

* *The Vibraniam Curtain, Part 1* (last appearance)

## Trivia

* In the new retconned Marvel's Spider Man Bucky has been redeemed.