How did you enjoy Bucky's return?

[sgt.candy]

im not trying to flamebait ok?

but i wanted to know if you guys feel if bucky's ressurection was handled well

when i first heard of it i thought it was a huge sin but i ended up loving the book

[eggie]

I felt the exact same way...when I heard about it I was irritated because I thought Marvel was pooing on Bucky's death and Bucky was one of the only Marvel characters who was supposed to stay dead. However, when I read the trade and then subsequent issues of Cap's book I thought his return was very well handled and now I'm a huge Winter Soldier fan...everything worked out fine in the end it was just my initial reaction was being against it.

[1WEBHEAD]

Everybody liked how Bucky returned as the Winter Soldier, or at least didn't hate as they said they would. I thought it was great personally. Brubaker executed the story perfectly. Bucky went from a cheery teenage boyscout to a badass mercenary. Stuff like this happens to characters when Brubaker starts writing them. :D

:)

[StoneGold]

It's the worst possible story idea, executed so brilliantly it doesn't matter that it's the worst possible story idea. Kind of like the whole dead Cap thing. Brubaker seems to have a habit of doing that, spinning pure gold from crap.

[Joe Acro]

I hate the idea. After reading the issue with the revelation that the Winter Soldier is Bucky, and a few months after that, I could only read the comic and say, "It's good for what it is." I don't like what was done. I like the story as it's progressed, but I still don't like the idea.

So, due to my qualms with it, I didn't enjoy his return.

[Shyft]

I was never a big Captain America fan, (until New Avengers) and the Cap mythos/supporting cast never grasped me as much as the SPiderman universe did, for example. I therefore found it easy to accept Bucky's resurection, and love the Winter Soldier idea. Im really hoping he takes over the Captain America mantle!

[CaptainCanada]

There were all kinds of ways it could have gone wrong (see: Todd, Jason), but it turned out great. I love the story.

[Billy]

I thought it was gonna be terrible travesty, but I checked it out because I loved Ed Brubaker's Batman and Catwoman. It really impressed me, it was handled really well. Seeing Cap's reaction to it was brillant. I love the page where Cap first sees him, and says "Bucky?" Winter Soldier looks up and says "Who the hell is Bucky?" Something like that anyway. I loved the questions of is it Bucky or not? I've really grown to like Bucky.

[Alan2099]

Sorry. I just can't enjoy it. I don't care how it's written, that guy's Bucky. I can't take him seriously as a bad ass and certainly can't except that he was always that way.

I really don't see the point of bringing him back and killing Nomad just to basically make him the new Nomad.

[Kirk G]

I loved it... the development was a surprise to me. Someone at the LCBS had leaked the idea that Bucky was coming back... but I dismissed it as rumor, or a bad joke, or that it would be another robot... but then, as Brubaker slowly doled out the clues, and developments, and led us along... I started to think that maybe this was going to play out alright.

Then came the big reveal...the file on the subject, and the final shot of a body on the table in the same condition as Cap was, way back when the Avengers found him, and I GOT REALLY EXCITED when I SAW THAT HE WAS MISSING AN ARM!

So, I guess I'm saying that by issue #13, and the ultimate end in #14, I was on the edge of my seat, reading and relating each issue to my two kids, explaining how this revised the Marvel early history and was being conducted SO WELL.

I really really loved it, and I'm hooked for the foreseeable future...even if Cap is dead for now...

[Dusty.]

I loved the idea and loved the perfect execution. Should have won an Eisner. Would have if it had been submitted. Brubaker and Epting took one of the biggest "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!"s in comics history, and did it so well that nobody really said anything negative.

[Kirk G]

Yeah, I'll second that. A very very good execution of one of the sacred cows in the Marvel Universe. Now, if only the "return of Gwen Stacy" and "Uncle Ben's really alive" were handled as well... but they weren't.
GO, ED, GO!

[Will.S]

At first I didn't really know where the story was going despite some good clues laid down but that whole story was amazing so I really liked his return.

It's just great to see Bucky in modern times on top of his interaction with the superheroes of today. Plus his reaction to everything has been fun and really well done.

[jackolover]

I didn't read the Winter Soldier story. How does Bucky get recognised, and how does he turn from a cold killer into the Bucky we see now, who seems out of time, just like cap?

I liked the way Bucky interacted with the Young Avengers, and lead them into a fight. That would be a great receptical for his talents, to be the mastermind of the YA, helping out, like a Fury, when the situation requires.

As to the subject of the thread, I felt Marvel wanted the dead characters of antiquity to remain dead, and for Brubaker to resurrect Bucky, was some kind of Taboo. So much of Caps psychosis has been the failure to rescue Bucky Barnes on that last fatal mission. I wonder what the Bucky Lives revelation, will do to the character of Steve Rogers? And more topically, what comes next for Bucky? Brubaker has hedged with Bucky's character, not making him go back with Cap, not being affiliated with Fury or Namor, or the YA, at this stage. His character is really being left up in the air, at this moment. Sure, Bucky is back, he's alive, and he's not a psycho killer. But what is he? When Brubaker answers that question, maybe I can be more positive in my response. Right now, Bucky's return is unsatisfying.

[Dark Ben]

First as lot of people I hated the idea, come on bucky and his return can't be well handled by anyone...But Burbaker's Cap was so intresting that I went on Reading and woha that's so great The Winter Soldier isn't really a coldkiller since he was brainwashed and seems now to have more remorses
well I think the Book is currently great and hope Bru's gonna stay the longer possible ^^

[rogerio]

I love Bucky but I really miss the Winter Soldier character...!!!!:(

[Will.S]

And more topically, what comes next for Bucky? Brubaker has hedged with Bucky's character, not making him go back with Cap, not being affiliated with Fury or Namor, or the YA, at this stage. His character is really being left up in the air, at this moment. Sure, Bucky is back, he's alive, and he's not a psycho killer. But what is he? When Brubaker answers that question, maybe I can be more positive in my response. Right now, Bucky's return is unsatisfying.
You sort of answered it yourself.

Bucky's in the same situation Cap was in when he came back except there was a big difference in how he was kept preserved. Bucky was being used for corrupt purposes and remembers the brainwashing as well as the assassinations. Bucky also had no team to embrace him in open arms like Cap did with the Avengers, the only team I can see him being a part of is the New Avengers but now with Cap dead Ed has a chance to further flesh Bucky out with Nick Fury guiding him.

[1WEBHEAD]

I stand corrected.

[sgt.candy]

yea i loved that whole idea of them keeping him frozen and just using him for missions

hed always break out of his brainwashing and try to run away

[Cayman]

I thought it was great. He's currently one of my favorite current characters.

[C.O. Jones]

I thought it was a great story. I'll bet not a one of us was even around to read an actual Captain America book fresh off the stands in the 40's---so why be all 'hot and bothered' over the return of a character that we were TOLD of and had never really experienced? To me, Bucky's return should've been the big media sensation that Cap's death turned out to be. With what 'shouldn't have been done' to Bucky, Brubaker showed us all how it 'ought to be done'.

[tavella]

So much of Caps psychosis has been the failure to rescue Bucky Barnes on that last fatal mission. I wonder what the Bucky Lives revelation, will do to the character of Steve Rogers? And more topically, what comes next for Bucky?

psychosis? Whoah. He's certainly grieved hard and felt somewhat guilty about it, but that's hardly psychosis.

[mattx110]

bucky had become a joke.

he was that silly sidekick who got blown up and never will come back.
he was the epitome of dead characters, and it was safe to assume nobody would want to bring him back, he was a silly kid fighting in WW2 and rick jones was invented.


then he comes back as a repentant manipulated mercenary with a huge gun, and a metal arm, and it's like "what the hell? there was no reason to keep him dead this long."
well, maybe even more than having brubaker write it, and he did a terrific job, but epting drawing it makes it work.

epting is old school enough, but reinvented into a much slicker grittier artist recently, and i think the fact that the artwork was convincing it helps.

[Magneto_X]

I hated the idea, but Bru won me over. (Nowdays I want him to take over the Cap mantle from Steve!)

DC must be jealous Jason Todd's "return" wasn't anywhere near as good.

[Dark Ben]

I'm not even sure that loeb really wanted to bring Jason Todd back with Hush it's Winick that went this way... please Judd come back to make some Exiles stuff and we'll forget your Batman and your Green Arrow and your Outsiders and huh is there something else ?

[CaptainCanada]

I'm not even sure that loeb really wanted to bring Jason Todd back with Hush it's Winick that went this way...
Loeb's story makes it pretty clear it wasn't actually Jason; Winick just retconned that in.

[jackolover]

psychosis? Whoah. He's certainly grieved hard and felt somewhat guilty about it, but that's hardly psychosis.

Well, you look at Caps reaction to side-kicks, and he flies into a fury. I'd say that's the definition of psychosis.

[Matt Murdock]

Personally? I loved it.

[darkhawk76]

it was a good story, but I still hate the basic idea.

also for me it was a bit lame to for him to be put in and out of the deep freeze for him to be alive today. If the idea was that he'd survived the mission explosion in 1945, it would be reasonable to expect him to be an old age pensioner now (or maybe even dead).

but for him to to still be alive and for the shock of his return to work, he had to be put on ice (literally)

Ed is a great storyteller, so I'm not knocking what he wrote, I just don't like the idea of Bucky being back

If Marvel can do that, and also bring back Norman Osbourne, then I await the Gwen Stacy retcon (surely she deserves to rise from the grave too - it's only fair :) )

[Gargus]

At first I thought it was a dumb idea and just a ploy to get some sales. On the whole I hate ressurections because no one ever really stays dead and usually the returns arent very good. So deaths and ressurections have no impact on me, like caps death had no effect on me since I know he wont stay dead if he is really dead at all.

I didnt buy the bucky issues at all since I didnt care. But I saw they were all sold out so I thought maybe I would check it out. And I found the issues at original cover price on some backwater site and got them.

I thought it was actually a cool idea as to how they brought him back. And the name winter soldier actually had a nifty story behind how he got it. So I enjoyed it. I just hope he keeps being a low key player as to much exposure would lessen him. And its cool he is like fury's right hand man so to speak, they work well together.

[powerforward]

I loved it, but I didn't not have any previous attachment to the character- wasn't reading when bucky was killed and wasn't emotionally affected.

I hated bringing Jean Grey back.

I Hated bringing Aunt May back.

I really hate bringing Capt. Marv-ell back.

But I read the issues where these characters died- and their return lessened the effect of the comics where they died, I probably unfairly decided that I would not like bringing the characters back- regardless of how good the comics where that they reappeared in.

Or maybe I just like everything that Brubaker is doing with Cap.

[Phil Hunn]

I'm one of those people who, on general principle, really didn't like the idea of bringing Bucky back (especially after the return of Jason Todd).

Then I read the two trades detailing the return of James Buchanan Barnes, and I was won over in an eyeblink. The bland, happy-go-lucky Bucky brought back as a badass cyborg assassin type? Sold!

Brubaker took a supremely lame idea and gave the MU one of its best new characters in years.

Hey, Hasbro - give us a Winter Soldier figure sooner rather than later, please!

[rogerio]

Brubaker took a supremely lame idea and gave the MU one of its best new characters in years.


yeah...agree!
I personally would LOVE to see an WINTER SOLDIER "lost years" mini by Brubaker.

[wingzero]

I loved how it showed he was always a badass. Even during the war.

[wingzero]

Okay i have a quick question. who left the winter soldier file for cap?

[oneasian]

Okay i have a quick question. who left the winter soldier file for cap?

it was actually the Red Skull using some cosmic cube influence to take the file out of Lukin's possession and to make sure that Cap knew exactly what was going on (some suffering if you will?)

- as stated in an interview with Brubaker

[Baytor]

It's the worst possible story idea, executed so brilliantly it doesn't matter that it's the worst possible story idea. Kind of like the whole dead Cap thing. Brubaker seems to have a habit of doing that, spinning pure gold from crap.


Well said! I've been a pretty big Cap fan over the years, but only got back into comics in the last two years. When I heard about Bucky's return, I rolled my eyes so hard that I fell over. However, when I read it, I was blown away at how well it was handled by Brubaker.

Also, I was cursing when I heard that Brubaker was bringing in another Summers brother to Uncanny X-men and then following it up with a year long Shiar story that had a B-List X-Men team flying around in space. Lo and behold I really enjoyed Deadly Genesis and the whole "Rise and Fall" arc has been an excellent read. I find that Brubaker has supreme talent for retaining the "voice" of every character, yet still injecting his own ideas. On the other hand when I read something written by Bendis I "hear" Bendis making people speak, instead of their own character traits.

I'm starting to think that Brubaker could make any idea sound good. Next up will be "OJ and Carrot Top: American Idol Mysteries" and it'll be awesome...:D

[HeckBoy]

When I first heard about it I was thinking that it was just gonna be another hoax/imposter storyline. When it turned out to be the real deal I was strangely okay with it, although I did have initial reservations simply because it's been so long since his death that a resurrection just didn't feel right. Now, if they'd just ditch the mechanical arm already, I'd be a happy camper. I don't see a reason why they couldn't somehow give him back his normal arm thru cloning or something; that or at least make the metal arm less conspicuous. Personally, since he was "hijacked" by the Soviet Union for so long, I don't see why he couldn't have been given the upgrades given to the Black Widow, I think that would be a good way to give him some "powers" without having to go with the metal arm pastiche.

[josh straightedge]

I can't imagine it going any better than how they pulled it off. Plus, they kinda de-wussed Bucky a bit through flashback showing how important he was, sneaking through enemy lines, killing nazi's...Making him the Winter Soldier was great. He's been worked with very well and turned into something more than just some throwaway character.

[wingzero]

ah, thanks!