Who Is Winter Soldier and Why Should You Care?

By now, you may have heard of this little film from Marvel studios called The Avengers. You know, the story of six of Earth’s mightiest heroes, saving the planet from a deranged demi-god and his alien invasion, biggest box office opening weekend of all time? Well this post has nothing to do with that. Except I made the mistake of posting on my Facebook page that I dislike the idea of Black Widow and Hawkeye, a current and popular pairing from the films, being together. Instead, I opted for Black Widow and Bucky, Captain America’s go-to sidekick, as the ultimate comic couple.

Internet debates aside, I quickly learned how a lot of people are unfamiliar with these two characters and their comic book origins.

Pair who you want together, everyone deserves a shot at happiness (and I don’t read comics to see who is dating who). Black Widow and Hawkeye can get it on on the Big Screen, but if you want to know more about this sexy Cold War spy and some of her better story lines, you have to look to The Winter Soldier: Bucky Barnes.

He is an incredible character, with a dark history and cloudy future. If you saw the Captain America film, you will remember Bucky falling to his apparent death while fighting on top of a train. That’s not exactly how it happens in the books. Bucky was once Captain America’s best friend, and soon became his greatest foe. He has been reprogrammed and brain wiped more times than a guest star in Men in Black. Bucky Barnes is unlike any character in the Marvel Universe, and while he serves as a major plot point for many stories involving Captain America, he stands out on his own as a great hero and often-times adversary.

If you like thrillers, spy novels, and a big heaping of Cold War intrigue, check out these trade paper backs that feature some of the best stories about Bucky and Black Widow. There was talk with Captain America’s original director wanting to do the Winter Soldier storyline for part 2, but now that he is out for the sequel, it’s up in the air what the new storyline will be.

Until then, this should hold you over until the next flick comes out.

If you have the money, I suggest investing in all the Civil War Captain America and Iron Man trades. Also, back in February Marvel launched a new Winter Solider series which features Bucky and Natasha teaming up on a new mission, left over from their Cold War days together.

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