Captain America #1 (January 2005)

In a superhero universe, the fantastical and the mundane can be blended together. Things that are fiction in our world can be very real in a world like that. Magic, monsters, mutants...and returns from the dead. James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes was one of those characters that would end up undergoing what would be called the "comic book death". 

First appearing in Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941), created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Bucky Barnes was originally portrayed as Steve Rogers' eager young sidekick, gleefully marching into battle and fighting the Nazis alongside his older partner. The two would continue to adventure together for some of the comic's original run. However, he would be replaced as Cap's partner in the book for a while by Betsy "Golden Girl" Ross and would appear in the All-Winners Squad book as superheroes faded in popularity in the 1950s.

In the 1950s, Cap and Bucky would be revived briefly in the title Young Men (yes, that was the actual title), but it didn't last long, and it would be retconned that that Cap and Bucky that appeared here were different characters: respectively William Burnside and Jack Monroe. 

In Avengers #4 (March 1964), Stan Lee and Jack Kirby revived Steve Rogers, revealing that Rogers went missing near the end of WWII, and Barnes seemingly died. This also helped explain why no "modern" Marvel heroes had teenage sidekicks. From a real-world perspective, Lee disliked the "teenage sidekick" trope, believing that it showed irresponsibility on the part of the elder hero. 

For many years, Bucky Barnes was one of the few "comic book deaths" that seemingly stuck. Bucky Barnes would continue to appear in flashback stories and What If-style tales, but that was really about it. However, that didn't mean there wasn't interest in reviving the character. During their short run on Cap's comic, Roger Stern and John Byrne did consider bringing back Bucky, but obviously, it never happened. In 1990, Jack Kirby himself remarked that he wouldn't have minded Bucky's return, seeing him as a representative of teenagers and a "universal character". 

In 2005, writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting would successfully revive the character, now older and using the identity of the Winter Soldier. How did this saga start? Let's find out in Captain America #1!

The cover is a Steve Epting piece. It's a bit basic, but it is very well-drawn. I get the impression that this was originally intended to be a poster. This would be an awesome poster. My favorite detail is the mushroom cloud forming into the evil eyes of the Red Skull. 

"Out of Time, Part 1"
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Penciler: Steve Epting
Inker: Steve Epting
Colorist: Frank D'Armata
Letterer: Randy Gentile
Editors: Tom Brevoort, Andy Schmidt, Nicole Wiley, Molly Lazer
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada

The story begins in Russia, particularly near the border of the country and Kazakhstan. We also flash back five years.

A group of soldiers have captured a man wearing the costume of the Red Guardian, the former USSR/Russia's answer to Captain America. This Red Guardian is a new man, not any of the previous ones Cap has met over the years.

"What did I drink last night?"

The man is brought to the Red Skull and his new partner. Mr. Aleksander Lukin. The weakened Red Guardian simply tells him that he's under arrest for treason. Lukin remarks that this base is all that is left of the real Russia, then executes him. He orders his men to treat the body with respect, and he'll inform where the body is. He then leads the Red Skull into a warehouse.

This warehouse contains items that he is selling, items of advanced technology. Some of it has been field-tested, but everything here should still be working. This was the last facility of a man named Karpov, and it's where he kept his most valued treasures. The Red Skull asks how Karpov, Lukin's old KGB mentor, would feel about him selling this stuff to the highest bidder. Thing is, Karpov would have expected this, according to Lukin. 

Lukin's only selling some of this stuff because he is willing to support "the cause", presumably keeping the old Soviet Union alive in some way. Also, Lukin is not selling everything here. Some of this stuff is leaving with him and his men. The Skull then spots a man in a cryogenic chamber.

"Mein Gott! This man owes me pizza money!"

The Red Skull is shocked by this, as he recognizes the man in the chamber. Lukin explains this man was a secret weapon against the USA during the Cold War. It's not for sale...unless the Skull is willing to exchange the Cosmic Cube for it. But the Skull...doesn't have it. And even if he did, he would never give it up. He can understand why Lukin would want it. The Cosmic Cube allows its user to alter reality to the user's wishes. The Skull's spies have been combing the world looking for signs of the Cube. There have been a bunch of Cosmic Cubes in Marvel's history over the years, some of them evolved into sentient beings, so your guess is as good as mine as to which Cube the Skull is referring to. I'm assuming he means the Cube he created in Super-Villain Team-Up #16 (May 1979), but that Cube was destroyed by Korvac after he brought it to his future timeline and it got exposed to anti-matter after he returned it. So yeah, maybe he recreated another Cube and lost it at some point. That's what I'm going with. 

Either way, once he gets the Cube, the world will tremble.  

We then go forward to the present. In New York City, the Red Skull has found the Cosmic Cube after all these years.

"Not bad for my first attempt at glassblowing."

As you can see, this Cube has cracks in it. But that's not a problem. His latest scheme involves the destruction of New York, Paris, and London. The death and destruction will then become energy to power this new Cube. He knows about the tragedies that Captain America has suffered recently, with the Avengers disassembling and the death of Clint Barton during that whole thing. The Red Skull knows that Cap doesn't take the deaths of people he loves well, and this is the perfect time to strike, allowing the Skull the pleasure of twisting the metaphorical knife.

Speaking of Steve Rogers, what's he up to? Well, he's exercising. While there, he's conversing with his ex: Sharon Carter, aka Agent 13. She's here as his personal liaison to SHIELD. She volunteered for this job as she actually knows Cap as a man and not as the living legend other agents see him as. She also thought that he'd open up to her more than to a therapist. She's worried about him, as his actions have been a bit...extreme recently. For example, an incident last week. 

A bunch of terrorists had commandeered a train to Coney Island and loaded it up with chemical waste and explosives, making the train into a big dirty bomb that would have made the area into a chemical wasteland. Cap was able to foil it, but he seemingly came off as more brutal and reckless, one of the suspects ending up in a coma, and two dying from falling off the train. One of the men fell on a minivan, injuring four others. 

That's gotten Sharon worried, as this is odd for Steve. He's generally much less...forceful than this. She fears the Red Skull escaping prison has got him too much on edge. Steve tells her that he dreams that he's still back in World War II. He can still vividly remember the screams, the smell of the blood, and the sights of the bodies. I can imagine all this, combined with the events of Avengers Disassembled...yeah, Cap is in a rough space mentally right now. He may be a super-soldier, but he's still a man, after all. 

But on a more pleasant note, Cap's got himself a nice new apartment. 

"I also got a wacky bunch of neighbors, Sharon. We have fun."

It's got all the modern conveniences, including a cute little cleaning robot Cap is going to have to wreck because Ultron will possess it at some point. Anyway, Cap wants to know how the investigation into the men who attempted to blow up Coney Island went. They have found the men who did it were part of a branch of Advanced Idea Mechanics that was believed to be defunct. The motive is still unknown, as the ringleader was the guy Cap put in a coma. Nice work, Steve.

There's also still no word on the Red Skull, but a man like him won't stay in the shadows for long. He heads out, being noticed by this bald guy.

"Where can I get a wall like that?"

This man was the Red Skull in disguise. The Skull thinks about how he and Cap have clashed over the years, and how he'll bring a new level of suffering to the Star-Spangled Avenger, when he gets a call. 

It's Lukin, and he's all "GIMME THAT COSMIC CUBE". The Red Skull refuses it, as the General has nothing he wants in exchange for it. The madman notices something is up...only to get a bullet in the back. A figure with a metal arm makes their way into the apartment and picks up the phone. They report that they have secured the Cube...and the Red Skull is as dead as a doornail.

I liked this issue. One thing I liked was that it showed that in the classic Marvel tradition, for all of Steve Rogers' capabilities and the respect he commands as this universe's premier super-soldier and one of its most legendary superheroes, he is still all too human. He can get frazzled, and he does have mental issues as part of his time fighting in WWII. I also liked the talk between him and Sharon, some nice character moments, and it makes sense considering their relationship over the years in the comics. 

Steve Epting's an underrated artist, in my opinion. I think it's a shame that his name isn't regarded as highly as Kirby, Byrne, Davis, or Perez. He always does great work. He inks his own lines here and the usage of shadows here give this book a slight noir feel.  

If you want to read this story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2013 trade paperback Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Ultimate Collection. You can also find it in the 2024 trade paperback Captain America Modern Era Epic Collection Vol. 1: The Winter Soldier. Thanks for reading this blog entry!