Origin and World War II , from the first page of the comic book series
Tales of Suspense #63 (March 1965). James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes Jr. is born in
Shelbyville, Indiana in 1925. Barnes grows up as an
Army brat alongside his younger sister Rebecca. Their mother Winnifred dies when both children are still young. The two are members of the
Invaders alongside
Namor, the android
Human Torch, and
Toro. When the
Red Skull captures and hypnotizes the Invaders into serving the Nazis, only Bucky escapes. Bucky recruits help from Jeff Mace, a new masked hero called
Patriot, and then broadcasts a call for help from America's crime-fighters so they can stop the Red Skull. Several answer, leading to the formation of the
Liberty Legion under Bucky and Mace's leadership. The Red Skull then sends his hypnotized Invaders against the Liberty Legion. During this adventure, Bucky hides his true movements and plans by asking
Fred Davis, a batboy for the
New York Yankees, to temporarily wear his costume and impersonate him. The Invaders are freed from hypnotic control and return to the
European theatre with Bucky, while the Liberty Legion remains as the "homefront" team in the United States. From that point on, both teams aid each other whenever necessary. In the closing days of World War II in 1945, Bucky and Captain America find
Heinrich Zemo trying to destroy an experimental Allied
drone plane. When Zemo launches the plane with an armed explosive device on it, Bucky and Captain America jump aboard. Captain America falls off the plane and descends to the
Arctic Circle below. Simultaneously, Bucky unsuccessfully tries to defuse the bomb, and it explodes in mid-air before reaching its intended target. With both Bucky and Steve vanishing from the public eye after the plane's explosion, they are assumed dead. In truth, Rogers is frozen alive by the freezing waters of the
North Atlantic, the super-soldier serum in his system keeping him alive and in
suspended animation. Soon after the explosion, Bucky is found by USSR General
Vasily Karpov and the crew of a Russian patrol submarine. Despite possessing no enhanced traits such as Captain America or any superhuman abilities, Bucky is still alive, his body partially preserved by the freezing waters, and is able to be revived. Along with the loss of his left arm, he has sustained brain damage and
amnesia. Realizing that Bucky has retained his learned combat skills, expertise, and combat instincts, Karpov sends him to the secret Soviet agency Department X.
Winter Soldier Department X scientists give Bucky Barnes a
bionic arm to replace the one he lost. After undergoing hypnotic training, he is used as a secret assassin called the "Winter Soldier." In-between his various covert
wetwork missions, he is kept in
suspended animation for months and sometimes years at a time. As technology improves, the Winter Soldier's bionic arm is regularly updated. Shortly afterward, the Winter Soldier helps Captain America fend off a terrorist attack in
London. He then asks Nick Fury for employment and new equipment. Soon after this, the
Superhuman Registration Act (SHRA) demands that all superheroes become registered operatives of the government, unable to act without authorization, or be imprisoned without trial. This leads to a superhuman
Civil War, with Steve Rogers defending unregistered heroes from being imprisoned by
Tony Stark and those who believe in enforcing the SHRA despite the cost. This leads to the eventual surrender and arrest of Steve Rogers, in exchange for amnesty for any heroes who were against registration before but now choose to comply. The Winter Soldier helps Fury plan the escape of Steve Rogers. Before they can act, Rogers is seemingly assassinated by a hypnotized Sharon Carter.
The new Captain America . Realizing Tony Stark will oversee the appointment of a new Captain America, the Winter Soldier steals
Captain America's shield so that it cannot be handed down. The Red Skull has
Doctor Faustus attempt to brainwash the Winter Soldier. After he fails, Barnes escapes and is captured by
S.H.I.E.L.D., which is now led by Tony Stark. Tony reveals Steve Rogers left a letter asking him to watch over Barnes and requesting the Captain America legacy continue. Stark suggests Barnes become the new Captain America. Barnes agrees to do so only if Stark guarantees him complete autonomy, freeing him from the Superhuman Registration Act, and has S.H.I.E.L.D. telepaths seek out and eliminate any subliminal Department X commands still present in his mind. Barnes adopts a new Captain America uniform laced with
adamantium. To compensate for the fact that he is not a super-soldier such as Steve, having not been treated with the super-soldier serum or Erskine's "vita-rays", he carries a pistol and a combat knife along with the shield. A
time travel incident transports sixteen-year-old Bucky Barnes and the Invaders from 1941 to the present-day, where they encounter the
Mighty Avengers and the
New Avengers. At one point, the teenage Barnes encounters his present self. Without revealing his true identity, Barnes attempts to change history by telling his younger self not to disarm the bomb on the experimental plane in 1945. The teenage Barnes ignores this, allowing his life turn out the way it should rather than risk causing unforeseen damage by changing history. In the 2009 storyline "
Captain America: Reborn", Barnes finds out Steve Rogers was not killed, but has been trapped in a fixed position of time and space. A machine intended to bring him back is damaged, causing Rogers to relive his own past. The Red Skull possesses Rogers and attacks Barnes, but is ultimately defeated, with Rogers regaining control of his body. In the aftermath, Rogers and Barnes simultaneously operate as Captain America. Following the
Siege of
Asgard, Rogers returns the shield to Barnes and retires his uniform officially, deciding to now operate as a maskless hero and leaving Barnes as the only active Captain America. With Barnes' identity becoming public, he is put on trial for the crimes he committed as the Winter Soldier. He is found not guilty in an American court, but Russian officials take him away, holding him responsible for crimes against the state and claiming he killed two civilians. Sharon Carter and Black Widow discover Barnes' victims were not civilians but in fact connected to the
Red Room, the same covert assassination program that created the Black Widow operatives. Barnes escapes imprisonment and returns to the United States, but believes he may be too tainted by the past to continue as Captain America.
Fear Itself and return as Winter Soldier During the
Fear Itself storyline, Bucky takes up the Captain America identity again, but is apparently killed in battle with the villain
Sin (temporarily empowered by Asgardian forces as
Skadi). Bucky is revived and restored by the Infinity Formula, the same chemical used on Nick Fury during World War II. This increases Bucky's vitality and physical abilities, though to a lesser degree than Steve Rogers. With the world believing the new Captain America to be dead, Bucky secretly returns to covert operations, now working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the US military. Only Rogers, Nick Fury, and Black Widow know the Winter Soldier is back in operation. During the
Avengers: Standoff! storyline, Bucky and Steve Rogers learn S.H.I.E.L.D. never discarded a dangerous project involving
Kobik, a girl empowered as a living Cosmic Cube. Their investigation leads them to the town of Pleasant Hill, where Steve Rogers is seemingly restored to his prime by Kobik. Bucky and the heroes do not realize that Rogers is actually his alternate universe counterpart, who was created by Kobik. He has been loyal to
Hydra since World War II and secretly plans to use his influence to achieve worldwide domination. During the
Secret Empire storyline, Captain America, now Supreme Commander of Hydra, begins his final moves to take over the United States.
Helmut Zemo uses Kobik to send Bucky Barnes back in time to World War II, attempting to kill him. However, Bucky returns to the present and defeats Captain America, restoring his original self. ==Powers and abilities==