Time’s Arrow Part 3 of 3

Beijing, China - 1968

The Winter Soldier (James “Bucky” Barnes) was sent on a covert mission into China buy his Russian handlers. His mission was to eliminate a scientist named Zheng Chin. However, upon finding the scientist, Chin recognized him as Bucky, the American hero who rescued him back in 1942. This distracted the Winter Soldier long enough for Zheng’s bodyguard, the enigmatic Man With No Face to come out of the shadows to defend his master.[1]

The Winter Soldier only learned about the Man With No Name after his mission debriefing. However, he was China’s attempt at creating their own super soldier which had gone disastrously wrong. Now able to meld with the shadows, China still had a use for him as a spy, if not a soldier.[2] Something that he didn’t know when the Man With No Face was trying to kill him.

New York - Today

This all comes flooding back to James now as he confronts the Man With No Name now. A lot has changed since then. James is no longer a brainwashed Russian assassin, but the new Captain America. He has come to stop the Man and Batroc the Leaper from stealing the contents of a UN transport, something that the United Nations is trying to keep a secret, even from Captain America himself. While the Man With No Name keeps Captain America busy, Batroc and his mercenaries are working hard to get into the transport and steal what is inside.

Meanwhile, the Black Widow is on a mission to find out what it is the United Nations is trying to keep a secret. She breaks into the United Nations Building in New York and manages to slip into an archival storage room in the hopes of finding those answers.

Back at the scene of the battle, Captain America is faring poorly against the Man With No Face. The villain has the edge thanks to his ability to become intangible. When an explosion knocks the wind out of him, the Man becomes solid so he can pick up Cap and choke the life out of him. This gives him the opening he needs. Electrifying his cybernetic arm, Captain America shocks his foe.[3] He remembers electricity being one of the Man’s weaknesses because…

Beijin, China - 1968

Unable to match the abilities of the Man With No Face, Winter Soldier was forced to pull back on the defense. As he fled down the halls of the building, he managed to get ahold of a live wire and tossed it at his enemy. This stunned his foe long enough for Winter Soldier to pump a few bullets in him. Following behind was Zheng Chi, who warned his protector not to stop leading the Winter Soldier down that hallway. However, his warnings fell on deaf ears as James ran through the doorway at the opposite end of the hall.

New York - Today

At that moment, the Black Widow has hacked into a computer and is now scrolling through the data. There she finds exactly what it is the United Nations has been trying to hid, and it’s not good.

The fight on the highway has gone from bad to worse as a helicopter has arrived and has started opening fire on Captain America as well. On top of this, Batroc and his team have gotten the truck open and are now extracting some kind of container from inside. Batroc briefly rejoins the fight with the Man, who tells him to focus on their prize as he can handle Captain America. He once again incapacitates James with his painful touch. That’s when the Black Widow arrives and fends off the Man with blasts from her Widow’s Bite. Unfortunately, her arrival is too late to stop them from hooking the container to the chopper and escaping with it. As it leaves, Cap gets a good look at what its contents are through a window on the front.

He is shocked to see that the contain contains the remains of the original Human Torch.[4] James can hardly believe it because he hard the Torch was dead. Natasha tells him that the Torch is dead and that the United Nations took his remains in order to learn the secrets of his creation. With the authorities on their way, Cap and the Black Widow take off before they can be slowed down.

They return to James’ apartment where he goes over the information that Natasha was able to swipe from the UN. He is appalled to learn this, as he believes Jim Hammond should have been buried with full honors, not examined like some kind of guinea pig When she asks what the Man With No Name would want with the Human Torch, James remembers that his employer — Zheng Chin — was fascinated with the Torch during the war.[5] More over, he remembers what he saw at the other end of the hallway back in 1968. that Zheng Chin was conducting grisly experiments on human test subjects. He tells Natasha that whatever it is, Chin is likely trying to learn what makes the Torch tick in order to create some kind of weapon out of him. Jim Hammond was a friend, and James wants to go after him, because he has so few of those left.

Recurring Characters

Captain America, Black Widow, Man With No Face, Batroc the Leaper, Human Torch (in flashback) Winter Soldier, Zheng Chin

Continuity Notes

1. After getting caught in an explosion over the English Channel in 1945, Bucky was recovered by the Russians and transformed into an assassin called the Winter Soldier. He was brainwashed to forget his past, until his memories were restored in modern times, as explained in Captain America (vol. 5) #8, 11, and 14. The time he saved Zheng Chin happened in 1942 as we saw in a flashback in issue #43.

2. We previously saw the Man With No Face on an espionage mission in Captain America Comics #77. However, in that tale, he had none of the shadow phasing powers he has on display here. A profile for the character in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update #2 clarifies that these experiments happened after his first mission. One could presume that the source of his powers has slowed or stopped his aging process.

3. Here, Bucky thanks Nick Fury — wherever he is — for providing him with this new arm. Having lost an arm in the 1945 explosion, Bucky was given a cybernetic one by the Russians in Captain America (vol. 5) #11. This arm was later destroyed by a Sleeper robot in more recent times, as seen in issue #21. Nick Fury provided Bucky with a brand new one immediately after. James thanks Fury “wherever he is” because he had gone underground following the events of Secret War #1-5. This was to prepare for a Skrull invasion of Earth as explained in Mighty Avengers #12 and Secret Invasion #1-8. Although the invasion was thwarted, Fury remains underground because SHIELD has since been taken over by Norman Osborn, something that will remain the status quo until after Siege #1-4.

4. The OG Human Torch has been deceased since New Invaders #9.