The Winter Soldier: Conclusion

The Winter Soldier has relocated the Cosmic Cube from New York to a NextGen Research facility in the Virginian mountains. His orders from Aleksander Lukin were to the point: stop questioning his orders and kill whoever comes looking for the Cube. However, when Captain America (Steve Rogers) and the Falcon (Sam Wilson) arrive on the scene, he hesitates for a moment. Although he had Captain America in his sights, this moment of indecision is enough for him to miss his shot.

This is because Cap and the Falcon were tipped of to Winter Soldier’s position thanks to Redwing, Sam’s pet falcon. Losing his advantage, Winter Soldier pulls back, sending a security alert to all teams on in the facility. When Steve and Sam chase after him, they run into an entire army of Kronas soldiers. As they fight their way through this opposition, Cap gets a call from Sharon Carter who tells him that she and a SHIELD tactical team will be arriving at his location about two minutes.

With Falcon focusing on the remaining soldiers, Captain America races into the facility to follow the Winter Soldier’s trail. Sharon figures that Winter Soldier is going to try and flee with the Cosmic Cube. However, she guesses wrong as the assassin comes around a corner and cold cocks Steve in the face with his cybernetic arm. As Cap and Winter Soldier fight one-on-one, Sharon and her SHIELD unit arrive to give the Falcon a much needed hand.

As the fight rages on, Captain America prevents Winter Soldier from leaving. The entire time he tries to get him to remember that he’s really Bucky, but the Winter Soldier isn’t listening. When Steve is hit with a blow that would have killed a normal man, Steve is shocked to see that Bucky tried to kill him. He then begins to chastise the Winter Soldier over what he has become. This causes confusion in the trained assassin as his true personality struggles with the ones the Russians programmed him with. When the Winter Soldier says doesn’t need to remember who he is when he’s the man who is going to kill Captain America.

Realizing that he’s not getting through to his old friend, Captain America stops fighting. He tells Winter Soldier that if he’s going to kill him, do it and be done with it. This is just as Sharon and the Falcon are arriving on the scene. When Sharon calls out, it throws off the Winter Soldier’s aim enough for Cap to evade it. He then tosses his shield, which rebounds across the room and hits the Winter Soldier in the back. This knocks the Cosmic Cube free from the sachel the assassin has been carrying this entire time. Captain America quickly picks it up and points it at Winter Soldier and gives one command: “Remember who you are.”

Suddenly, the Winter Soldier is bombarded with energies from the Cosmic Cube. Upon contact all of his old memories begin to surface once again. He remember his entire life: From the day his father first brought him to Camp Lehigh, to becoming Captain America’s partner during World War II, he remembers fighting such menaces as the Red Skull and Master Man, and he remembers the day Baron Zemo sent them to their seeming deaths aboard a drone plane loaded with explosives. He is also made to remember all the memories of being transformed into the Winter Soldier and serving for Vasily Karpov before ultimately ending up in the possession of Aleksander Lukin.[1]

The shock of this flood of memories causes Bucky to collapse to the ground. When Sharon tries to step in to arrest him, Steve says that he’s no longer the Winter Soldier, no longer the man who killed her friend.[2] As Bucky’s head begins to clear he begs Steve to know why he didn’t just kill him because he cannot live with the memories of the things he has done while the Winter Soldier. This shocks Steve as this was not the reaction he was hoping for. Seeing the Cosmic Cube, Bucky curses it for being the cause of all the blood on his hands. Snatching the device away he crushes it with his bare hands causing a brilliant flash of light that blinds everyone.[3] Once the light has faded there is no sign of the Bucky anywhere. When Sharon asks if he is dead, Steve doesn’t think so, Bucky has always been a survivor.

Cap’s deduction proves to be correct as, in the process of destroying the Cosmic Cube, Bucky willed it to transport him to Camp Lehigh. The military base has been decommissioned for decades and is in ruins, but Buck can still remember the day he first met Steve Rogers like it was yesterday.

Back at the Kronas Building, Aleksander Lukin is arguing with someone in the room over giving up the Cosmic Cube. The other person is annoyed that Lukin gave up so powerful a device to the Winter Soldier, especially now since its been destroyed. Aleksander, however, doesn’t care as he has come to believe that the device was curse to any and all who use it. After all he says they both wouldn’t be trapped like rats in a cage. He then looks at his reflection in the window, however it’s not the face of Aleksander Lukin that’s looking back at him, but the grim visage of the Red Skull whose mind is sharing Lukin’s body.[3]

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Falcon, Sharon Carter, Winter Soldier, Red Skull/Aleksander Lukin, Redwing, (in flashback) Captain America, Bucky, Chester Phillips, Vasily Karpov, George Barnes

Continuity Notes

1. There is a lot of Bucky information here coming in hot and fast. Here are the details:

   • Bucky’s dad was George Barnes who served in the military until he tragically died in a training accident circa 1937, from there James was adopted by Camp Lehigh. See Marvel Holiday Special 1991, Captain America Sentinel of Liberty #12, Young Allies 70th Anniversary Special, and Captain America and Bucky #620.

   • James became Bucky, partner to Captain America starting in Captain America Comics #1. They first fought the Red Skull in that same issue. They first battled Master Man in Giant-Size Invaders #1.

   • The incident with Baron Zemo that saw Steve frozen in suspended animation until the present, and leaving the world to believe Bucky had been dead this entire time was in Avengers #4.

   • The revelation that Bucky was still alive and his transformation into the Winter Soldier was told in Captain America (vol. 5) #8 and 11.

2. As the Winter Soldier, Bucky set up a bomb that blew up part of Philadelphia. One of the victims was SHIELD agent Neal Trapper, who had previously dated Sharon. See Captain America (vol. 5) #6.

3. When Aleksander Lukin sent the Winter Soldier to kill the Red Skull, he Nazi war criminal used the Cosmic Cube to transfer his mind into Aleksander Lukin’s body, as seen in Captain America (vol. 5) #1. The Skull now lives inside Lukin’s mind. This will remain the status quo until Captain America (vol. 5) #42.