Appearing in "What If... Captain America and Bucky Had Both Survived World War II?"
Featured Characters:
- Captain America (Steve Rogers) (First appearance)
- Bucky / Buck / Captain America (First appearance) (Death)
- Rick Jones (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Howling Commandos (First appearance)
- Nick Fury (First appearance) (Death)
- Dum-Dum Dugan (First appearance)
- Rebel Ralston (First appearance)
- S.H.I.E.L.D. (First appearance)
- Hulk (First appearance)
- Agent 13 (Sharon Carter) (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Nazi Soldiers
- Baron Zemo / Supreme Hydra (First appearance)
- Red Skull (First appearance)
- Adolf Hitler (Mentioned)
- Hydra (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Uatu the Watcher
- Captain America (Earth-616) (Only in flashback)
- Bucky (Earth-616) (Only in flashback)
- Baron Zemo (Earth-616) (Only in flashback)
- Namor (Earth-616) (Only in flashback)
- Giant-Man (Earth-616) (Only in flashback)
- Thor (Earth-616) (Only in flashback)
- Iron Man (Earth-616) (Only in flashback)
- Wasp (Earth-616) (Only in flashback) (Cameo)
- Junior Juniper (Mentioned)
- Lyndon B. Johnson (First appearance)
- Tony Stark (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Earth-77105 (First appearance)
Items:
- Captain America's Shield
- Captain America's Uniform
- A Life-Draining gun
Vehicles:
- Allied Drone Plane
- Zemo's V2 craft
Synopsis for "What If... Captain America and Bucky Had Both Survived World War II?"
Captain America and Bucky succeed in disarming the drone plane that would have otherwise ended their careers in the 40s. The Red Skull has Baron Zemo put into a twenty-year deep sleep for his failure. Cap and Bucky continue to fight crime and Communism into the 60s, with Barnes switching to calling himself "Buck" as he gets older. When SHIELD is formed, President Johnson offers the job of Director to Steve Rogers in lieu of Nick Fury, who was killed in the Korean War. Steve initially recommends Buck instead, but after a while Buck insists on trading places. Barnes becomes the new Captain America with Rick Jones as his sidekick and Sharon Carter as his lover, while the aging Rogers accepts his new role as head of SHIELD.
SHIELD along with Cap and Rick launch a decicive strike against their nemesis Hydra, which Zemo organized in revenge after waking up from his long sleep. In the final confrontation, both Zemo and Captain America are killed. Sharon blames Steve for putting Buck on the path that led to his premature demise, but Steve insists he understands Buck's sacrifice more than she believes. The costume of Captain America is retired to a museum, but Rick Jones already has aims to be the next to take up the legacy.