The Winter Solider: Part 5

After beating his assistant into a coma, Aleksander Lukin learns the extend of the damage he caused to his closest advisor. Leon has been stabilized but it will be some time before they know the extent of the injuries and if he suffered any brain damage. Looking at his bloodstained hands he tells himself that this madness cannot continue.[1]

Meanwhile, the Falcon (Sam Wilson) has sought out Captain America (Steve Rogers) since he needs a friend to talk to about the recent revelations that the assassin known as Winter Soldier is actually Cap’s former wartime partner, Bucky.[2] Sam can’t understand why Aleksander Lukin is targeting Steve for revenge, particularly since they only met when he was a kid during the war.[3] He is also uneasy about the fact that the Cosmic Cube being involved in all of this as nothing good ever happens because of its involvement.[4] Getting down to what they do know, the Falcon figures that Lukin is using Bucky/Winter Soldier to emotionally torment Steve as well, knowing that his death would be devastating to Cap. Sam then asks Steve what he want to try and do to deal with the Winter Soldier. No questions, Steve wants to do whatever it takes to save him. Sam is happy to hear it, but wonders how they’ll pull it off.

Back at the Kronas Building, Aleksander Lukin has placed the Cosmic Cube in a containment device. He is leaving it in the care of the Winter Soldier, giving him orders to kill anyone who tries to take it. Surprisingly, the Winter Soldier questions these orders, wondering why Aleksander isn’t holding onto such a powerful weapon himself. Lukin explains that keeping the Cosmic Cube out of the hands of his enemies is a way of controlling it, but reminds him that what he does is none of his concerns. He also points out that this isn’t the first time that the assassin has questioned his orders and tells him that it had better be the last time. Once the Winter Soldier is gone, a voice speaks out to him and tells him that sending the Cube away was a huge mistake. Lukin disagrees as he now believes the item is cursed.[5]

The following morning, on the Lower East Side, a hideout for the terrorist group known as Advanced Ideas in Destruction is raided by Captain America. He is aided by the Falcon and Iron Man who start making short work of the soldiers. However, things get a little hairy when one of them manages to activate a suit of mech armor to fight back. Captain America uses his shield to crack through its armor enough to allow Iron Man to rip it open with his bare hands. The battle with AID proves to be a short one and once the fighting is over, Captain America demands that one of the rogue scientists show them how to track the Cosmic Cube.

Tony Stark takes Cap and Falcon back to Stark Enterprises to use its facilities to track down the Cube. The tracker shows the device moving from Kronas headquarters and being shipped to a NextGen Research facility in Virginia, a newly acquired Kronas sub-sidiary. Once they determine this, Tony says that Iron Man is going to have to sit the rest of this mission out. This is because Stark Enterprises just barely survived a hostile take over from Kronas and due to his alter-ego’s association with his company it could be seen as corporate warfare, putting Tony dangerously close to losing his business.

However, Tony does lend them a Stark aircraft so they can fly upstate. En route, the pair get an angry call from Sharon Carter, who is furious that Steve didn’t tell her about their early morning raid on the AID hideout. He quickly explains that he has a lead on the Winter Soldier and is following up on it. After telling where where he is going and transmitting her all the information, he says he’s going in right away because getting SHIELD involved will get everything tied up in red tape. Regardless of what Steve said, when he ends his call, Sharon orders a strike team to be mobilized.

Soon, Cap and Falcon land their plane and make their way to the NextGen building.[6] As they scout out the location, neither of them know that Winter Soldier has them in the sight of his sniper rifle. However, he hesitates to pull the trigger but then reminds himself of his orders from Lukin: Stop questioning his orders and kill anyone who comes for the Cube. With that, Winter Soldier trains his sight on Captain America and pulls the trigger.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Falcon, Iron Man, Sharon Carter, Winter Soldier, Red Skull/Aleksander Lukin, AID

Continuity Notes

1. Aleksander' Lukin’s sudden mood swing is due to the fact that he is sharing a mind with the Red Skull and the pair are struggling for control. This came after the Skull used the Cosmic Cube to jump bodies in order to cheat death during an assassination attempt in Captain America (vol. 5) #1. We won’t learn the full details of the situation until next issue. The Skull now lives inside Lukin’s mind. This will remain the status quo until Captain America (vol. 5) #42.

2. Since Avengers #4, Captain America and most of the world at large believed that Bucky had died in the same explosion that put Cap in suspended animation in 1945. However, in Captain America (vol. 5) #11 we learned that he survived and was turned into the Winter Soldier. Steve doesn’t believe it at this point, but this will be confirmed next issue.

3. Lukin originated from the town of Kronas in Russia. It was annihilated by the Red Skull, as explained in Captain America (vol. 5) #5. Here, Falcon says Steve was revived from suspended animation 10 years prior to this story. See below.

4. Steve points out that he and Sam met because of the Cosmic Cube. Indeed it did. Check out Captain America #115-119, although they wouldn’t meet until issue #118 of that story arc.

5. This voice speaking to Lukin is the Red Skull, as we’ll learn next issue.

6. Here, Cap tells Sam that Sharon’s demeanor is because her ex-boyfriend was killed in the bomb that decimated Philadelphia. See Captain America (vol. 5) #6.

Topical References

• Mention is made as to how Aleksander Lukin was a child during World War II. Indeed, the flashback in issue #5 shows him as a boy in 1942. As the Sliding Timescale moves the Modern Age forward it will become increasingly impossible to explain how he someone alive during World War II could still be alive in the present day without some means of extending his life. Since he was raised by Vasily Karpov — who himself had access to technology that could slow the human aging process — one could assume Lukin had access to the same technology.

• Falcon states that it has been 10 years since Captain America was revived from suspended animation. Avengers #4 was published in March, 1964 which falls under “Year One” of the Sliding Timecale. This issue was published in January, 2006 or “Year Twelve”. Falcon is off by about 2 years (give or take) but one could assume that he is being imprecise here.