Entertainment
 

James Buchanan Barnes (Earth-616)

From Marvel Database

(Redirected from James Barnes (Earth-616))
Character Template Help
Current Alias

Aliases
Bucky, Winter Soldier

Identity

Alignment

Affiliation

Relatives
George M. Barnes (father, deceased), Winifred C. Barnes (mother, deceased), Rebecca P. Barnes Proctor (sister), Ida (aunt, presumed deceased), Mr. Proctor (brother-in-law),unidentified niece and nephew, Scott Proctor (grandnephew), Kimberly Proctor (grandniece)

Universe

Base Of Operations
Mobile

Characteristics
Gender

Height


Eyes

Hair

Unusual Features
Bionic arm(See note under "Winter Soldier" article)

Status
Citizenship

Marital Status

Occupation
Adventurer; former SHIELD operative, Assassin(See Note under "Winter Soldier" article), Army Mascot, Student

Education
High-school dropout

Origin
Origin
Former sidekick to Captain America, now trained as a master assassin (See Note under "Winter Soldier" article.)

Place of Birth
Shelbyville, Indiana


History

Born in 1925, James Buchanan Barnes lost both his parents early in his life; his mother had died when he was a child and his father had died in an accident while in basic training at Camp Lehigh shortly before Christmas in 1937. He was separated from his younger sister Rebecca, who was sent to boarding school while he persuaded officials into letting him remain at camp Lehigh as a ward of the state due to sharing his father's love of the armed forces. He eventually became considered the camp mascot. During World War II, he set up a profitable endeavor providing soldiers with various non-requisition supplies. He soon began to receive select assignments as a special military operative, having received hand-to-hand combat training with British Commandos under the tutelage of William Essart Fairbairn and Colonel Rex Applegate. It was possibly linked to operations conducted by the mysterious Romulus, a figure involved in worldwide espionage. He met and befriended a young and somewhat naive private Steven Rogers, who had recently become the government operative Captain America. He was assigned to accompany Rogers, but was initially unaware of the true nature of his work. One night, Barnes happened into Rogers' tent just as he was changing to his masked identity. Sworn to secrecy, Barnes joined Captain America on his first mission against the Red Skull (Johann Schmidt), freeing many Nazi prisoners. For several months afterward, Barnes underwent an intensive training program under Captain America's tutelage. When he finished, he received his own costumed identity as Bucky and was designated as a counter-example to Hitler Youth. Although he was able to work with his mentor for most of his missions, James was trained to carry out missions the government officials did not want Captain America to be openly involved in. He was cynical and slightly dubious of the idealistic Steve Rogers, but they soon became the closest of friends.

Contents


As Bucky

James Barnes as Bucky, circa WWII

When America entered World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Captain America and Bucky abandoned their military identities for most of the war to devote their full energies to serving as costumed freedom fighters. They soon found themselves allied with the Sub-Mariner, the original Human Torch, and his young mutant partner Toro, in a team that Winston Churchill dubbed the Invaders. Bucky served Captain America and the Invaders capably and faithfully, leaving the team only temporarily to organize and lead his own team of teenage soldiers, the Kid Commandos. Once, to rescue the Invaders from the Red Skull, Bucky assembled a team of costumed super-humans who operated on the home front, a group that would remain together until the end of the war and was known as the Liberty Legion He also worked with another group of teenagers, the Young Allies.

In late 1945, toward the end of the war, Captain America and Bucky were in London, England, on the trail of Nazi scientist Baron Heinrich Zemo. They discovered Zemo in the process of stealing an experimental drone plane built by the Allies. In the ensuing battle with Zemo's powerful humanoid robot, both Captain America and Bucky were rendered unconscious and strapped to the drone plane to be delivered to Hitler in Berlin. Unable to stand the sight of their patriotic costumes, Zemo dressed them in U.S. Army uniforms. Managing to escape before Zemo activated the plane, the two American champions saw the drone plane begin to move just as they jumped off. Quickly, Captain America and Bucky grabbed a motorcycle and tried to catch up with it. Just before it flew out of reach, the two leaped for the plane. Bucky leaped first and managed to get a grip on the plane's wing. Captain America missed, and shouted to his partner to let go in case the plane was booby-trapped. Bucky was unable to comply with his partner's commands because his uniform sleeved snagged onto the cockpit of the plane. The plane exploded, seemingly killing Bucky instantly. Captain America plunged into the English Channel to undergo the process of suspended animation, but Bucky's remains were never recovered strengthening the belief that he was killed in action.

As the Winter Soldier

James Barnes as Winter Soldier.

James however was very much alive. When he had failed to disarm the plane in time he had leaped off of the plane but did not escape completely unscratched. The explosion had claimed his entire left arm. He then plunged into the icy waters only to undergo the same process his mentor had. After the war had ended, a Russian submarine hoping to recover and capture the missing Captain America (Steve Rogers) instead found the preserved body of Bucky. After being retrieved and examined for any traces of the Super Soldier serum, his body was placed in cryostasis.

In 1954, he was revived and outfitted with a replacement bionic arm which had been made after a Soviet spy had recovered schematics for cybernetic appendage. The arm was to be replaced by a newer and more advanced one every time there was an improvement in their technology. While he had no memory of his past, Barnes still had considerable physical skill. He was indoctrinated to hate the West and was provided with mental implants during sensory deprivation, molding him into the perfect assassin. It was during this period that he met Natasha Romanoff, whom he helped train in combat while she undergoing espionage training. They fell in love and James often snuck out into her sleeping quarters just so he could see her. Although Natasha was promised to Alexi Shostakov, she still loved James more. This relationship did not last. Natasha learned that when Barnes was not needed for an operation or assassination he was kept in cryostasis in order to cease his aging.

He was used to conduct many strategic assassinations across the world and would sometimes stay in one nation for extended periods. One of his targets was Itsu, the pregnant wife of his wartime ally James Howlett (known then as Logan). However, after one of his missions, Barnes did not report back on time. Agents found him wandering in New York City and recovered him. In 1983, he was assigned to accompany Vasily Karpov, an elderly general that had served in WWII as bodyguard. He maintained the position until the general's death five years later. Barnes had demonstrated mental instability in some of his later missions and was placed into stasis at one of Karpov's storage facilities which had been inherited by his protégé, GeneralAleksander Lukin. Following the USSR's collapse, Lukin went rogue and established the Kronas Oil Corporation.

In order to cease the Red Skull's new Cosmic Cube, General Lukin reactivated Barnes to assassinate the Skull, although neither of them realized had simultaneously transferred his consciousness into Lukin's body. After assassinating the adventurer Nomad (Jack Monroe) and framing him for the Skull's assassination, Barnes detonated a fire bomb in Philadelphia which claimed many victims. Their deaths helped power the Cosmic Cube, but Lukin who had been disturbed by the Cube's effect gave it to Barnes to store in a nuclear-safe vault in West Virginia. During investigations by Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America (Steve Rogers) discovered the true identity of the Lukin's assassin and confronted him at the vault. The two engaged in combat until Rogers gained possession of the cube and used its powers to restore James' lost memories. Overcome with remorse, Barnes used the cube to teleport away and went underground to search for Lukin and the Red Skull, still unaware that they were now one and the same.

After a confrontation with the now X-man Wolverine in Serbia, Barnes managed to track Lukin to England where the Skull unleashed a sleeper robot, salvaged from the Eisendorf excavation. Barnes abandoned his initial intentions to seek and eliminate Lukin to aid Rogers in destroying the robot. This was the first time in over half a century that they worked together, but he fled afterwards unable to face his mentor. He was revealed to be an undercover operative working for Nick Fury, who had gone underground after leaving SHIELD. Barnes encountered the Young Avengers Patriot, Hawkeye, and Vision on one of his assignments and learned how his and Cap's adventures had inspired contemporary heroes. He also reconciled with his former Invaders teammate Namor, assisted Wolverine with incapacitating his son Daken, and comforted a cynical Patriot (Elijah Bradley).

Following Captain America's assassination, Barnes resolved to kill the two men he held responsible: the Red Skull and current S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Tony Stark (Iron Man). He acquired Cap's indestructible shield after defeating Black Widow, his former lover and student, in combat when she was assigned to move it to another location. Barnes then tracked Lukin and eventually confronted him only to discover his quarry was not a lead, but the Red Skull himself. Eventually captured by the Skull's forces, he resisted brainwashing by Dr. Faustus and was rescued by Falcon with the help of Sharon Carter, who was pretending to still be under Faustus' control. Barnes was then placed into SHIELD custody, but escaped and confronted Stark. He disabled his armor and fought him to a standstill only to learn his mentor's final requests of Stark: to rescue Barnes from his descent into violence and insanity, and to pass the Captain America identity to a successor. Stark felt the best way to honor both his friend's requests was for Barnes to become Captain America. Barnes agreed on the provision that his mind be cleansed of any remaining mental implants, and that he would answer to no one, not even Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D.

As Captain America

Fighting the Skrull Invasion

Now residing in Steve Rogers S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house, he outfitted himself with an alternate version of Cap's costume built by Tony Stark and, carrying his indestructible shield along with other weapons, Barnes quickly reacted against the efforts by the Red Skull and his accomplices to spread panic. Although being affective in battle, he had yet to win the support or respect by either the US government or the general public. A number of civilians and costumed adventurers also disapproved of his current wardrobe; especially Clint Barton (Ronin, A.K.A Hawkeye). Despite the negative attention Barnes received, he continued to fight terrorism as Captain America and was often aided by Falcon (Sam Wilson), despite his initial disapproval of him. Together the two fought an A.I.M cell headed by Arnim Zola. The Red Skull did remain quiet for long. He responded to Barnes' meddling by sending the Grand Director, whose mind had been molded by Doctor Faustus to believe he was Steve Rogers and Captain America after him; James barely survived the confrontation, and was forced by Falcon to retreat. The two investigated the Grand Director's next course of actions after he escaped from the Skull's grasp and was becoming mentally unstable; most of it was hiding and running from detection by A.I.M. and the Red Skull. James was finally recognized by United States government and the public as hero after foiling an assassination attempt on both Republican and Democratic candidates for political debates by Sin, daughter of the Red Skull. He also revamped his relationship with the Black Widow, one of his few remaining friends who is consistently faithful to him. It was not long before he became involved in major conflicts such as an Invasion by extraterrestrial Skrulls along many other superheroes in New York. Wanting to continue to living his predecessor's legacy, James invited Clint Barton and the New Avengers to his safe-house, offering it as their base of operations as well as his own allegiance to their cause.

Although he was reformed, there were still a few officials from both America and other foreign nations who had not all forgotten his past as the Winter Soldier. Bucky was one of the first people to find out that the original Captain America was actually alive.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Bionic Arm:

  • Superhuman Strength: Has some degree of superhuman strength in his bionic arm.
  • Enhanced Reaction Time: His arm's reaction time is greater than that of any Olympic athlete who has and will ever compete.
  • Sensory Array: The arm houses different sensors which allow him to pass through security such as metal detectors without setting them off. It can also shield other metallic objects from detection such as firearms and knives.
  • Extended Reach: He can apparently either control his bionic arm even if it has been removed from his body (possibly by cybernetic implants), or his arm can be programmed to perform certain actions on its own while removed from his body.
  • Electrical Discharge: He can discharge bolts of electrical energy from his arm's palm.
  • EMP: He can discharge an EMP rendering electronic devices useless. He failed to use it on a prepared Iron Man.

    Abilities

Master Martial Artist: Barnes is a dangerously skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant. He received training from World War Two hand-to-hand combat luminaries William Essart Fairbairn and Colonel Rex Applegate as well as Captain America (Steve Rogers) in multiple martial arts, and acrobatics as a teenager during WWII and was trained in more of them while being molded into an assassin by the Soviet Union. He has single-handedly beaten Crossbones, a squad of SHIELD agents, Wolverine and the Black Widow, defeated a regiment of Hydra agents alongside the Young Avengers, in combat and fought Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Iron Man to a standstill.

Expert Marksman: He is an extremely accurate marksman. Skilled in sharpshooting and knife throwing.

Skilled Shield Fighter: Barnes is becoming rapidly proficient with his former partner's shield. He is able to throw it with near perfect aim striking multiple targets in a single throw and achieving a boomerang-like return after throwing it at single person or object.

Skilled Acrobat: He is an Olympic level athlete and acrobat capable of many difficult acrobatic feats.

Peak Human Conditioning: Has shown Olympic to possible near peak human level strength, agility, endurance, dexterity, etc.

Advanced Scout: Barnes is a very gifted scout and adept at stealth and concealment.

Multi-lingual: He is fluent in English, Russian, German, Japanese, and a little French. He might be able to speak other languages.

Expert Spy: He is an expert in the field of espionage thanks largely to World War Two hand-to-hand combat luminaries William Essart Fairbairn and Colonel Rex Applegate, his former partner, Steve Rogers, the United States military, and the Russian Government. He is skilled in stealth, demolitions, survival, deducing other persons ways of thinking and other fields.

Expert Assassin: Barnes is an adept of his generation as Matthew Murdock and Elektra Natchios is of theirs, possibly the most lethal assassin in the marvel universe rivaling others such as Bullseye or Elektra. During an operation on the Russian Front with the Invaders, Barnes has from concealment thrown a 60 centimeters-long knife to penetrate the winter uniform outer garment of a German soldier with such accuracy as to pierce his heart in high arctic winds several meters. Barnes has mastered and implemented several methods to silently eliminate sentries with bladed weapons, garrotes or his bare hands, making him as lethal in his own way as his former Invader teammates, the Torches, Union Jack or Namor. He is a master at stealth and tracking and is very intelligent. He was able to render Wolverine's superhumanly acute senses such as smell completely useless by luring him to an abandoned warehouse that was completely soaked on the inside with oil and even soaking himself to make it so that Wolverine could not detect him. Barnes has made a habit out of constantly studying his surroundings and depicting what he can and cannot do in whatever situation he should fall in much like his former partner, Captain America before his death. During Barnes' visit to the Captain America exhibit that had been made to honor him after his death, he was constantly detecting potential ways to sneak in and out of the museum and the room without being detected and only taking out a small number of security to do so. The Black Widow stated to Tony Stark that he was one of the most dangerous men she knew.

Strength level

Olympic to peak human strength and some level of superhuman strength in bionic arm.

Weaknesses

Electromagnetic pulse could possibly render bionic arm useless. Although this could be questionable due to the fact his arm is capable of emitting an EMP.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

A uniform composed of steel mesh and chain mail. 'Formerly' (as the Winter Soldier) body armor, (as Bucky) a bullet proof fabric costume.

Transportation

An "Indian" motorcycle

Weapons

Captain America's Shield, a modified hand-gun capable of penetrating even fabric of the thickness and composition of AIM uniforms, a combat knife, and various other mission-special equipment. 'Formerly' (as the Winter Soldier) sniper rifles and various other automatic weapons, (as Bucky) conventional firearms, explosives, combat knives.

Notes

Trivia

  • Bucky used to be notable as one of the few comic book deaths that stuck. A frequent aphorism among comic book fans, known as the Bucky Clause, was that "No one in comics stays dead except Bucky, Thomas "Toro" Raymond, Madeline "Miss America" Joyce, the Red Raven, Jason Todd, and Uncle Ben". Ironically, both Bucky and Todd have recently been brought back to life in their respective universes.
  • Bucky's death has also been used to explain why the Marvel Universe has very few kid sidekicks, as no responsible hero wanted to endanger a minor in similar fashion. Stan Lee also harbored a well-known dislike for boy sidekicks in general. So, it could be posited that when Captain America was revived in the Silver Age, Stan Lee chose not to bring back Bucky.
  • During Peter David's run of The Incredible Hulk, he created a group of immortals called the Pantheon. Their leader, Agamemnon, was supposed to be Bucky.
  • Recently in DARK REIGN:THE LIST - AVENGERS # 1, it was revealed that Bucky was the one that assassinated Hitler. It has been implied that the he has assassinated many more political figures while being brainwashed under the guise as the Winter Soldier.

Links

Discover and Discuss

Recommended Reading

Retrieved from "http://marvel.wikia.com/James_Buchanan_Barnes_(Earth-616)"