Captain America (vol. 5) #31
The Death of Captain America Act 2 - The Burden of Dreams: Part 1
Sharon Carter has been under the mental control of criminal psychologist Doctor Faustus. He made her kill Captain America. Now she is back under his control once again. As she walks the street, a dark voice speaks in her head. It is mocking her for killing the man he loved and telling her that she is about to join a revolution.[1]
Later, James Barnes (aka Winter Soldier) is now a prisoner of Doctor Faustus who is peeling back the layers of his mind. James is being forced to relive a moment from World War II when he was Captain America’s partner, Bucky. Faustus reminds James how he was orphaned when his father died in a military training exercise. How his sister was taken away and sent to private school. How Barnes himself was adopted by Camp Lehigh. Faustus delves into the trouble the young, angry, orphan was until the military gave him purpose. They started training him to become Captain America’s partner, training him to do things that the hero wouldn’t be able to do himself. It was as he fought alongside Captain America that James Barnes found a new father figure in Steve Rogers.[2] That’s when the memories turn into a twisted illusion where Cap suddenly pledges allegiance to the Nazis and shoots Bucky.
As Bucky — now the Winter Soldier — screams out in defiance, Doctor Faustus is surprised by the level of resistance he is getting. He figured that after the decades of Russian brainwashing would have made him easier to break.[3] When James mocks his weight, Doctor Faustus likes that he has a mean streak because it is something he can use. He then orders his nurse to double the next dosage so they can start again.
Meanwhile, the Falcon (Sam Wilson) wakes up in a SHIELD infirmary with Tony Stark and the Black Widow (Natasha Romanov) by his side. He had been out since yesterday morning along with Natasha when Sharon Carter blasted them with a stun ray. Tony tells Sam that Sharon had been compromised and that she is also responsible for the fatal shots that killed Captain America. Sam doesn’t believe it, but Tony continues, explaining that she was one of a number of SHIELD agents that were compromised by someone posing as the spy agency’s psychologist. In fact, the other compromised agents were the reason why Crossbones was able to escape SHIELD custody.[4] They also have a good idea that the one responsible was none other than Doctor Faustus, who was previously believed to be deceased.[5] The only thing Stark doesn’t know is why Sharon stunned Sam and Natasha instead of killing them, but he figures that it might be important.
At that same time, the Red Skull has ordered all of Aleksander Lukin’s private military to gather, those they gathered from SHIELD are reportedly watching remotely via a secure broadcast. The Skull then goes out to address the troops to give them a speech. Saying that he is now working alongside their leader, Aleksander Lukin.[6] He tells them that the day is fast approaching where they will destroy America and all it stands for.
Concurrently, Faustus tries another angle to break the Winter Soldier. This time he tries to play off of Bucky’s membership in the Invaders. Trying to see if James perhaps envied his super-powered compatriots — the Human Torch, Toro, and the Sub-Mariner. Once again, memories bleed into hallucination as Captain America suddenly begins intentionally killing Nazi soldiers. Bucky sees right through this deception right away, frustrating Faustus further. He decides to try another track by forcing James to relive the day that Bucky had “died” back in 1945.[7] Faustus tries to make James believe that Steve forced him to stay on the drone plane and disarm the bomb while he cowardly fled. Faustus then switches back to memory, making James relive his recovery by the Russians and his transformation into the Winter Soldier.[8] He tries to convince James that the only time he was ever valued for anything was when he was a brainwashed killing machine.
This seems to work and Winter Soldier regresses back to the mental state where he is loyal to Aleksander Lukin. However, Doctor Faustus isn’t willing to take this at face value and insists on a test to prove that Barnes will follow orders without question. To this end, he lets James free from his shackles and then hands him a gun. Faustus then orders Winter Soldier to kill his nurse, who just so happens to be Sharon Carter. As Sharon pleads for her life, Bucky takes the gun, aims, and then shoots.
Recurring Characters
Winter Soldier, Falcon, Sharon Carter, Black Widow, Tony Stark, Doctor Faustus, Red Skull/Aleksander Lukin, Redwing
Continuity Notes
Doctor Faustus had been mentally conditioning Sharon since Captain America (vol. 5) #22. Under this conditioning she seemingly killed Captain America in issue #25. In reality, Steve Rogers has been time displaced as part of a complicated plot orchestrated by the Red Skull to steal his body as will be explained in Captain America: Reborn #1-5.
The fact that James and his sister were orphaned and his sister sent off to private school was revealed in Marvel Holiday Special 1991, wherein Steve Rogers met Bucky’s sister, Rebecca, in the Modern Age. Bucky was made Captain America’s partner back in Captain America Comics #1. However, the version of events that led to Bucky becoming his partner in that story were actually part of a propaganda film to boost support during the war. It was later revealed in Captain America (vol. 5) #12 that James was actually specifically trained to be Captain America’s partner.
As revealed in Captain America (vol. 5) #8 and 11, Bucky was caught in an explosion over the English Channel in 1945. He was recovered by the Russians who reprogrammed him into an assassin called the Winter Soldier. He served them for decades until the collapse of the Soviet Union. This put him in the hands of Aleksander Lukin who used him to do wetwork in the Modern Age. Bucky was freed from this fate via the Cosmic Cube in Captain America (vol. 5) #14.
Crossbones was arrested in connection to the “death” of Captain America in Captain America (vol. 5) #25. He was busted out of jail in issue #28-29 by Sin and the Serpent Squad, who were posing as SHIELD agents.
Doctor Faustus was seemingly killed by Nomad back in Nomad (vol. 2) #19, who shot him right between the eyes. He was revealed to be alive in Captain America (vol. 5) #22. Although, how he cheated death is never clearly explained. My guess is he used hypnosis to trick Jack Monroe into thinking Faustus was dead.
A partnership between Lukin and the Red Skull is putting it lightly. The two are actually sharing the same mind after the Red Skull used the Cosmic Cube to jump ship during an assassination attempt, as seen in Captain America (vol. 5) #1, and revealed in issue #14. This will remain the status quo until issue #42.
As per Avengers #4, everyone believed Bucky died during World War II when he failed to bail out of a drone plane loaded with explosives. Needless to say, this belief was wrong.
The one page scene of Bucky “melting down” in the Faustus hallucinations is paying homage to the the work of Jim Steranko, specifically a similar scene that happened to Rick Jones in Captain America #111.
