James Barnes

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"I'm with you to the end of the line, pal."

―Bucky Barnes to Steve Rogers ^[src]

Sergeant James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is the protege and childhood friend of Steve Rogers and a member of an elite special unit of Allied soldiers formed in World War II known as the Howling Commandos. He was assumed deceased after falling off of Zola's Train. Unbeknownst to the Commandos, Zola's experimentations allowed Bucky to survive the fall.HYDRA subjected him to brainwash treatment as a candidate for the "Winter Soldier" program. Under HYDRA's control, Bucky would be responsible for countless assassinations including political parties. Bucky became a formidable fighter and an even more ruthless killer. His experiences with the KGB would earn him the name of The Winter Soldier. After the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Bucky started to remember who he was.

Biography

Captain America: First Vengeance

In 1930, when he was thirteen, James Buchanan Barnes noticed a weak, scrawny-looking boy around his age getting beaten up by some bullies and stepped in to save the kid, who introduced himself as Steve Rogers. Years later, during an art class Bucky and Steve found out that America had joined the Second World War. Over the next two weeks he trained Steve at Goldie’s Boxing Gym. They visited a US Recruiting and Induction Center in New York where Steve was classified as 4F and rejected from service. But Bucky was enlisted in the Army.

Captain America: The First Avenger

"This isn't a back alley, Steve. It's war!"

―Bucky Barnes^[src]

After meeting him in his childhood, Bucky became Rogers' best friend. After the Pearl Harbor attack, Bucky enlisted in the U.S. army and assumed the title of Sgt. Barnes.

The day before his shipment out to England, Bucky helped his friend Steve from being beat up by a bully by punching him in the jaw and kicking him in the backside as he ran. Bucky and Steve then went to the Modern Marvels Pavilion on a double date but Steve was more interested in enlisting for the fifth time. Despite Bucky's protests, Steve still went through with it but they parted on friendly terms before he did. Bucky and his unit, the 107th, then shipped to England the next day.

A year later, Bucky and his unit consisting of 200 men went up against a Nazi sup group named HYDRA lead by Johann Schmidt at the orders of the SSR but 150 of the men were either killed or captured while 50 barely escaped. Bucky and the Howling Commandos were among the captured. Bucky was taken to a prison where he was forced to work to design rockets called Valkyries, but it eventually became too much when he contracted pneumonia and despite the efforts of his fellow prisoners to keep the HYDRA officers off his back, he was taken to an isolation clinic for interrogation and experimentation. But a little less than month later, Steve (who had become Captain America) infiltrated the base, freed the prisoners, finding Bucky on an examination table, suffering from whatever they were doing to him. Steve freed Bucky and the two made their way to escape the factory that was now self destructing. During the escape, Bucky and Steve encountered Schmidt and Zola but were able to escape them and the facility before it blew and walked all the way back to base, 30 miles out.

After Steve's impressive job saving the prisoners, he was officially promoted and allowed to put together a special team. Bucky was of course completely on board with following "that little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb not to run away from a fight." Then over the course of several months, Captain America and his team, now known as the Howling Commandos, went on special missions taking down HYDRA facilities and forces. On one of these missions, Bucky, Captain America and Gabe Jones zip-lined onto the top of a HYDRA train carrying one of HYDRA's top scientists, Arnim Zola. They ran into trouble inside the train and a gun fight broke out, Steve temporarily went down and Bucky took his shield and blocked him from enemy fire. But he didn't have the upper body strength to hold on to it when getting hit and it shot him out the side of the train. Steve was unable to save him, and he fell into an icy ravine below.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Prologue

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

―Arnim Zola^[src]

Bucky survived the fall from Zola's train (although he lost his left arm) thanks to Zola's experiments when he was held captive with the 107th. Though found by Soviet patrols, it was HYDRA that replaced his missing arm with a cybernetic one. Bucky underwent further experimentation to enhance his body and had his memory of his former life wiped clean in order to make him nothing more than a weapon in the care of the newly recreated HYDRA embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D. Subsequently, Bucky was subjected to cryonic preservation.

Bucky would remain frozen for long periods of time until HYDRA saw fit to unfreeze him for certain missions. Over the next fifty years, Bucky would be responsible for countless assassinations including political parties. Due to his expertise in the field and the shadowy nature of his existence, Bucky became something of a ghost story with intelligence agencies, many doubting he even existed. The legend around him would earn him the name of the Winter Soldier.

During his long career as HYDRA's personal assassin, it was heavily implied that the Winter Soldier was responsible for the death of former ally Howard Stark. Years later, he was sent to kill a nuclear scientist and found his target being escorted by Natasha Romanoff. Without hesitation, he attacked his target, sending the nuclear scientist and Natasha over a cliff in their vehicle. Finding Natasha saved the target from falling to his death, the Winter Soldier fired a single round through Romanoff's stomach and into the scientist, effectively killing him. He then made his getaway without pursuit.

Upon crossing paths with Romanoff years later, the Winter Soldier spoke Russian while commanding his subordinates to leave him to pursue her alone. This, along with the Red Star on his arm, implies that the Winter Soldier indeed spent some time in the service of the Soviet Union during his career. As Zola stated: HYDRA had been shaping world history, making it probable that HYDRA had infiltrated many governments in addition to the United States.

During WWII, the Soviet Union and America were known as the two 'superpowers'. It can be assumed that HYDRA infiltrated the KGB much like they did SHIELD, and that the Winter Soldier was transferred to Alexander Pierce's command following the dissolution of the USSR.

The Avengers

In a deleted scene from the film, Bucky Barnes' file is among the ones overviewed by Steve. Oddly enough, he is reported as "Missing in Action", implying that S.H.I.E.L.D. thinks he may still be alive.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Seeds"

S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel Skye and Grant Ward see Barnes' name on a wall in memorial of those who were killed in action. As Barnes was assumed killed before the formation of S.H.I.E.L.D; it can be presumed he received posthumous honors.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

"Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, but the ones that do call him The Winter Soldier. He's a ghost, you'll never find him."

―Black Widow to Captain America^[src]

The Winter Soldier was activated and sent out to assassinate Nick Fury when he began to investigate Project Insight. During an intense car chase in Washington D.C. between Fury and a rogue tactical unit from D.C. Metropolitan Police, the Winter Soldier appeared in the middle of the street, armed with a magnetic disk grenade launcher which he fired upon Fury's SUV. Upon arriving at the wreckage, intending to kill Fury, the Winter Soldier discovered that Fury had escaped into the sewers. Later that night, the Winter Soldier gunned Fury down at Steve Rogers' apartment from a nearby rooftop. As the Winter Soldier attempted to flee into the night, Rogers chased after him and launched his shield at him. However, he intercepted and threw it back at Steve and then vanished into the night.

When Rogers and Natasha Romanoff became a troublesome threat, Brock Rumlow requested assistance from "the asset." The Winter Soldier arrived at the residential home of Alexander Pierce who ordered for Rogers' and Romanoff's immediate termination. The Winter Soldier then proceeded to track them down when they, with the help of Sam Wilson, kidnapped Agent Jasper Sitwell who they were transporting on the highway. Using his enhanced strength, the Winter Soldier pulled Sitwell out the window and threw him into oncoming traffic where a truck ran him over and killed him.

While holding onto the roof of the car, The Winter Soldier fired his gun into the roof and when the brakes kicked in, he was thrown clear across into the pavement, but used his metal arm and acrobatics to stabilize his landing and slide to a stop. He then stood up without a scratch on him. When Wilson tried to run him over, he simply leapt on top of the car once again and ripped the steering wheel out through the windshield. Romanoff fired at him, but he leaped onto his humvee which was tailing close behind. The henchman driving the humvee rear ended the heroes' car, and they jumped out right before it lost control and flipped over, Rogers uses the car door to protect them from being torn up by the road. The Winter Soldier then fired a grenade at Romanoff, but Rogers pushed her out of the way and used his shield to deflect it, sending him flying off the bridge and onto the streets below right into a bus.

The Winter Soldier, aided by his own crew of mercenaries, advanced on Romanoff and Wilson, with the henchmen firing their guns. Romanoff ran for cover, but the Winter Soldier fired his grenade launcher at a nearby car. It exploded, sending Romanoff over the edge, but she saved herself with a grapple gun. While running, she saw the Winter Soldier's shadow on the pavement from under the bridge and then went in a different direction to catch him off guard, firing at him several times when his attention was elsewhere. One of her shots hit the upper part of his mask and broke his goggles.

Silently enraged, the Winter Soldier exchanged blind fire with Romanoff before she ran away. Then, he ordered his men to kill Rogers while he dealt with her personally. He jumped off the bridge and onto a car, followed by some of his men who used wires to lower themselves instead. He saw Rogers and fired at him, but lost him. He then heard Romanoff's voice coming from behind a parked car and rolled a grenade to the curb. The car was destroyed, but her voice was just a recording, a distraction for the Winter Soldier. Romanoff leapt on top of him from behind and the two engaged in combat. She ran and threw a taser disc at his bionic arm. The Winter Soldier furiously detached the disc and pursued her, then shot Romanoff through the shoulder from afar. He advanced on her, about to finish her once and for all, but Rogers intervened and the two exchanged blows.

After an intense fight, Rogers ripped off the Winter Soldier's mask and instantly recognized his best friend. Petrified, he exclaimed, "Bucky?", to which the Winter Soldier responded, "Who the hell is Bucky?" He was about to shoot Rogers but was knocked down by Wilson. When he got up again, he hesitated for a split second before aiming his gun at Rogers again. But an injured, but still strong Romanoff fired at the Winter Soldier with his grenade launcher, but missed. As the Strike team arrived to arrest the heroes, the Winter Soldier disappeared.

That night, as the Winter Soldier was being prepared for his next mission, he started to remember fragments of his past: falling off of the train, being found by Dr. Zola, and receiving his bionic arm. His mind having snapped from the flashbacks, the Winter Soldier threw a doctor across the room. Alexander Pierce was summoned and the Winter Soldier started to question him about Rogers. But Pierce told him that Rogers was a mission and that he needed to do his part. When the Winter Soldier still insisted he knew Rogers, Pierce ordered for his mind to be wiped again to ensure his cooperation. As the mind wiping process began, the Winter Soldier screamed in agony.

Fully reprogrammed, The Winter Soldier reappeared at the Triskelion loading bay preventing S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from aiding Captain America in his mission to take down the three Insight Helicarriers. He took control of a Quinjet and landed on Helicarrier Charlie where he ambushed Sam Wilson and Rogers, he used a grappling hook to break apart one of Falcon's wings and kicked him off the platform of the Helicarrier.

Then he went after Rogers, confronting him on the deck blocking his path from the Helicarrier's Target System chip centre. Rogers attempted to plead with his best friend to remember who he was, and that they were not enemies. As The Winter Soldier proceeded to attack Rogers furiously in hand-to hand combat, Rogers tried his best to fend him off and detain him without seriously hurting him until he obtained the targeting chip.

Trying to obtain the targeting chip from The Winter Soldier and forcing him to release it from his hand, Rogers broke Bucky's human arm and had his legs in a submission lock as he began to choke him. Finally releasing the chip from his grasp by rendering The Winter Soldier unconscious, Rogers quickly raced up to the control targeting chip station. However, The Winter Soldier regained consciousness quicker than normal and shot him multiple times from afar, severely wounding him. In spite of the wounds, Rogers managed to swap the Data Chips, causing the three helicarriers to target each other instead. Then he told S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill to engage fire even with himself still aboard one.

As the Carrier began to fall apart in mid-air, the Winter Soldier became trapped under a steel foot column. A badly injured Rogers made his way to him, and with all of the remaining strength he could muster lifted the column, allowing The Winter Soldier to be freed. Rogers again pleaded with him to remember who he was, and told him his name is James Buchanan Barnes, and that he has known him his whole life. Rogers let his shield drop to the water below, refusing to fight. The Winter Soldier refused to listen, and violently began beating Rogers' face into a bloody mess, stating he's only a mission. Rogers then quoted something Bucky had once said to him years ago when his mother had died: "Then finish it, 'cause I'm with you to the end of the line." These words restored small pieces of Bucky's memories, enough to believe Rogers, just in time to save him after he plummeted into the water below. With his enhanced bionic arm, he dragged Rogers to a nearby shore. Then, filled with internal conflict, Bucky left, knowing Steve would survive.

Later, disguised in civilian clothing, Bucky resurfaced at the Smithsonian, viewing the Captain America exhibition. He read a memorial dedicated in his honor, A Fallen Comrade. Finally coming to decipher his true identity, Bucky realized that Steve had confessed the truth.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Steve joined the other Avengers, with Sam Wilson and James Rhodes for a party to celebrate their victory over HYDRA at Avengers Tower. Rogers and Wilson discussed working together and their continued search for Bucky.

Ant-Man

Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers successfully captured the Winter Soldier, with his bionic arm trapped in a device. Discussing what to do next, they decided not to inform Tony Stark, after which Wilson stated he knew someone to contact.

Captain America: Civil War

To be added

Character traits

Bucky is a loyal and brave man, an honest person and a good soldier. He firmly believes in the duty of protecting his country, and is eager to test his own value. Bucky shares a very close friendship with Steve Rogers, who he has always protected from bullies. But thanks to Zola's experiments and HYDRA's brainwashing, Bucky became their master assassin known as The Winter Soldier. Without a doubt, The Winter Soldier is one of the deadliest men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is credited with over two dozen assassinations as stated by Natasha Romanoff. He will not stop until his mission is accomplished. He will eliminate his target without hesitancy or remorse. However, upon regaining snippets of his past memories and rescuing Steve, he appears to have reformed. Given that Bucky was in a brainwashed mentality for seven decades, it seems that he was mentally unconscious of his wrongdoings.

Bucky is a highly trained soldier, an expert fighter and a talented marksman. In battle, he uses canonical firearms, and most of all as a sniper, Bucky is an expert on sniping. As The Winter Soldier, Bucky is highly skilled in all forms of hand-to-hand combat. He is skilled with all types of firearms and bombs, and is a master knife fighter and expert marksman. His entire left arm has been rebuilt by HYDRA, making it cybernetic, which has granted him enhanced strength.

Powers and Abilities

Surviving the fall from Zola's train, Bucky was found by HYDRA agents. Some time later, Bucky's memory was wiped by HYDRA scientists, and was given some form of the Super Soldier Serum, that affected his tissue strength and physical capabilities. Working underneath S.H.I.E.L.D.'s nose, Bucky underwent further experimentation at the hands of Arnim Zola and various other doctors to become HYDRA's secret weapon, "The Winter Soldier".

Winter Soldier Abilities

Enhanced Strength: The Winter Soldier's physical strength is enhanced to the very peak of human potential. HYDRA also removed the remnants of his severed left arm and replaced the missing limb with a cybernetic one. The bionic arm gives him enhanced strength superior to that of Steve's. The Winter Soldier was able to rip open a S.H.I.E.L D. armor SUV. Then later, threw Jasper Sitwell from a moving car into an oncoming truck. The bionic arm is also not the only source of his strength, whatever serum HYDRA used on him also helps. He has used his legs and flesh arm to kick and punch others with a display of strength that far surpasses normal humans and is equal to Captain America's own abilities.
Peak Human Durability: The Winter Soldier's bones and muscles are denser and harder than normal, to the highest human potential, which makes him very durable compared to a normal human. Zola's experiments fortified his form to the extent that he survived a high fall in the Eastern Alps that would have been fatal to an ordinary man. The Winter Soldier was able to leap off a bridge to the top of a car below, crushing in the roof and shattering the windows.
Peak Human Speed: The Winter Soldier can run and move at speeds that are superior of a normal human. The Winter Soldier's speed is also comparable to Steve's, who had difficulty catching up to him.
Peak Human Stamina: The Winter Soldier's musculature produces less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human.
Peak Human Reflexes and Agility: The Winter Soldier's reflexes and agility are superior to an ordinary human. When Steve throws his shield at him while he was chasing after him, he easily catches it with his cybernetic arm and throws it back at him. The Winter Soldier was able to dodge gunfire from Sam Wilson's machine gun pistols.
Peak Human Healing: The Winter Soldier's healing speed and efficiency is at the highest limits of human potential, which means he can heal faster than most humans.
Slowed Aging Process: Extended periods of cryonic preservation dramatically slowed Bucky's overall ageing process. Despite being in his late nineties, he continues to retain the physical condition and appearance of an average man in his late twenties. He was in the same age group during the events ofCaptain America: The First Avenger.

Other abilities:

Master Combatant: Receiving vast training from HYDRA, Bucky became a master assassin that can even rival a Super Soldier. The two engaged in a brutal one-on-one fight, both rivaling each other with every move. The Winter Soldier also single-handedly killed up to a dozen well-armed Quinjet pilots in a single encounter and escaped uninjured.
Expert Marksman: The Winter Soldier fired a single round through Natasha Romanoff's stomach and into a nuclear scientist, that she was protecting, effectively killing him. The 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's apartment and from the top of another building.
Expert Pilot: The Winter Soldier was able to "hijack" a Quinjet after killing the pilot.

Weaknesses

Over seven decades of constant mind control and manipulation from HYDRA, there is no way to tell how much damage has been done to Bucky's mind. During Captain America: The Winter Soldier, when Pierce demands that the Winter Soldier's mind is to be completely wiped clean again after he started to remember Steve slightly, we are shown just how painful the procedure is. He is strapped into a chair, and is given a mouthguard before highly advanced electrical equipment is put on his head and electrocutes his brain, causing him unbearable pain. This procedure was probably inflicted upon Bucky anytime HYDRA believed he started to remember any trace of his former life. It is also possible that this could have damaged his brain due to his brief catatonic states, only reacting to violence and displaying little emotion when it comes to his missions.

Equipment

Uniform: HYDRA designed a lightweight tactical suit for Bucky, attempting to conceal his true identity from the world. The uniform is constructed from nomex thread and kevlar fiber. The lightweight suit is entirely bullet proof to small arms fire, and has advanced flexibility for close quarters combat.
Weaponry: The uniform has a vast array of weapons for combat. The main weapons are dual knives, a submachine gun and a handgun. The Winter Soldier also carries extra weapons that the mission may require, including grenades, a grenade launcher, a gun that launches magnetic bombs and an assault rifle with a grenade launcher attached.

Relationships

Steve Rogers/Captain America - Best friend turned unwilling enemy; turned friend (upon rescuing Steve).
Howling Commandos - World War II allies.
Strategic Scientific Reserve - World War II allies.
- Peggy Carter
- Howard Stark - Eventual Assassination Victim
- Chester Phillips
KGB - Former allies
HYDRA - Enemies/former allies
- Alexander Pierce - Former commander and handler

Appearances/Actors

Marvel Cinematic Universe (4 films)

- Captain America: The First Avenger - Sebastian Stan
- The Avengers (Photograph only) (Deleted scene)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Sebastian Stan
- Avengers: Age of Ultron - (Mentioned only)
- Ant-Man - Sebastian Stan
- Captain America: Civil War - Sebastian Stan
Marvel Cinematic Universe (1 TV series)

- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
  - "Seeds" (Mentioned only)
  - "End of the Beginning" (Archive footage)
Marvel Cinematic Universe (3 comic)

- Captain America: First Vengeance (First appearance)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Scepter'd Isle
- Avengers: Operation HYDRA (Photograph only)

Behind the scenes

Sebastian Stan was considered for the role of Captain America, but got the role of Bucky instead.
Bucky's uniform from Captain America: The First Avenger is based on his original and his codename The Winter Soldier.
About the role, Stan stated, "Steve Rogers and Bucky are both orphans and kind of like brothers. They kind of grow up together and look after each other. It's a very human, relatable thing.... I also wanted to look out for how their relationship changes once Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. There's always a competition and they're always one-upping each other. I paid attention to how Bucky is affected by Steve's change and suddenly Steve is this leader".
When Steve finds Bucky hooked up to machines in Arnim Zola's HYDRA Lab and Bucky is in a sort of trance. These experiments allowed him to survive his fall.
Though Bucky was a HYDRA asset in the film, his body was recovered by Soviet officers. Given the fact he uses Russian weaponry and spoke Russian while pursuing Black Widow; it can be presumed at some point HYDRA infiltrated the KGB like they had done with SHIELD. This is supported by Arnim Zola's reveal that HYDRA had infiltrated many governments and manipulated world history. In the wake of WWII both the United States and the Soviet Union were the two greatest powers, making it logical that sleeper cells would lay within both.
To prepare for the role of the Winter Soldier, Sebastian Stan went through five months of physical training and historical research: "I dove into the whole Cold War history: I looked at the KGB. I looked at all kinds of spy movies, and all kinds of documentaries about that time, and what it was about. I grabbed anything from that time period and anything about brainwashing."
Stan also went through rigorous fight and weapons training. He took a lot of good-natured ribbing from his friends because he would walk around all day practicing his moves with a plastic knife because he wanted his movements to feel natural.

Trivia

In the comics, Bucky is younger than Steve Rogers. In the initial stories by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Bucky was a teenage mascot for Captain America's regiment. He was later adapted to having been older. In the Ultimate Universe, Bucky was a paratrooper/war photographer who was a childhood friend of Rogers, often having defended him from bullies. Fifty-seven years after Rogers fell into the ocean and shortly after Rogers was revived, Bucky had become an aging, cancer-ridden veteran and had married Rogers' wartime girlfriend.
Bucky's codename is Winter Soldier, much like his older self in the comics.
In the comics, Bucky wears a mask, and his identity is a secret.
Bucky used Captain America's shield in Captain America: The First Avenger while on Zola's train. This is a reference to Bucky Barnes becoming the new Captain America in the comics when Rogers fell into the ocean.
In the comics, Bucky was a trainer and lover of Black Widow, and the two have rekindled their relationship and remained steady since Bucky's resurrection.
The Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) is able to match Captain America (Steve Rogers) move by move, even to the point of catching Rogers' shield. This foreshadows Barnes taking over as Captain America (which happened in the comics).
The Winter Soldier creator Ed Brubaker appears in a cameo as a scientist during Bucky's transformation as Winter Solider.
According to his Smithsonian biography, Bucky's birth date is either 1916 or 1917, making him one or two years older than Steve. However, his 'death date' was listed as 1944, given that he was assumed deceased after falling from Zola's Train. Ironically, in the post-credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Bucky visits the exhibit, reading his biography, despite the fact that it still states he died.
Bucky and Peggy Carter are the only two characters from the first film besides Steve who are known to still be living in the present-day.
Bucky's Winter Soldier look from the film will be re-designed in the comics.

Gallery

See: James Barnes/Gallery

See: Bucky Barnes on the