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| “ | I didn't have a moment to deal with anything, you know? I had a little... calm in Wakanda. And other than that, I just went from one fight to another for ninety years.
— Bucky Barnes
|
” |
James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, codename White Wolf, formerly known as the Winter Soldier, is a World War 2 veteran, United States goverment agent, former Soviet and Hydra assassin, and a close friend of Steve Rogers.
Born in the Great Depression, Bucky grew up as the best friend of Steve. Eventually, he enlisted in the United States Army to fight in WW2 while Steve underwent an experimental treatment which turned him into a super soldier known as Captain America. At some point, Barnes was captured by Hydra but was later rescued by the Captain, forming the Howling Commandos shortly after. While on a mission, however, Barnes was thrown off a train, seemingly dying in the process
In truth, he survived the fall and was captured, brainwahsed, and experimented on by Armin Zola who now worked for the Soviets as part of the Winter Soldier project. He was brainwashed and granted superhuman abilities and a bionic arm to replace the one he lost in the fall. As the Winter Soldier, Bucky would often perform assassination missions for the Soviets and was put on cryostasis whenever he wasn't, allowing him to survive into the modern day. One of his more notable kills was the inventor Howard Stark. Eventually, Bucky's brainwashing was broken when trying to assassinate Steve, who survived into the modern day due to being trapped inside of ice, and went into hiding.
Two years later, Barnes was then framed for the bombing of the Vienna International Centre, which claimed the life of several heads of state. Aware of his friend's innocence, Steve saved him from being captured, sparking a conflict between the Avengers. It was later revealed that Helmut Zemo was behind the bombing and Barnes was given amnesty in Wakanda by T'Challa and was placed in cryostasis until Hydra's control triggers could be removed from his mind. When a treatment was found and the trigger was removed, Bucky was released from cryostatis
Now going by White Wolf, Bucky was one of the heroes to fight against Thanos, and was among the casualties when the Titan warlord erased half of the universe's lifeforms. Five years later, he was resurrected the Bruce Banner, and participated in the final battle against time displaced Thanos from the past.
Afterwards, Bucky returned to the United States and began take on missions from the federal goverment while also undergoing psychiatric therapy to help with the mental trauma he sustained during his time as the Winter Soldier.
Battle vs. Deathstroke (Arrowverse) (by Tomahawk23 and MovieStuff65)[]
"So this is Victor Salazar..."
The mercenaries watched as the newly appointed dictator of Nauticia, surrounded by poorly equipped militia, walked casually through the courtyard. The lights dimly lit the area, and there were no threats in sight.
Seems like an easy job so far...
Giving the que, German Fontes and his men swarmed the courtyard. The militia fired off a few shots, but were swiftly and silently cut down. Quickly tackling the stunned Salazar, the freelance assassin placed temporarily in charge scanned around the courtyard.
"Secure the exits. Let the rebels come get him...."
As German Fontes issued more orders, he watched as an armor-clad mercenary landed in the courtyard beside them. "Who the hell are you?"
The intruder spoke, in a gruff voice muffled by his mask. "Deathstroke."
German aimed his battle rifle in fear as Deathstroke sprinted forward. He swung his fist at a mercenary, the superhuman strength smashed his skull without effort. Without slowing down, the assassin grabbed the throat of another merenary, lifting them into the air as German's team shot at him in vain. Laughing, Deathstroke squeezed tight, tearing out a chunk of his target's throat and drawing his katana.
TBC
Winner: The Winter Soldier
Expert's Opinion[]
TBW.
To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Arkham Knight (by BeastMan14)[]
Alexander Pierce mentally cursed as he watched TV reports of the Siege of Gotham. First, he has to deal with Fury forming the Avengers, now he had to deal with a sociopath using toxins to destroy a city. Agent Sitwell, who had, up until this point, been waiting for Pierce to speak, cleared his throat and said,“Perhaps this would be an ideal time to activate Project: Insight.” Pierce shook his head. “No. It isn't anywhere near completion, and if that maniac spots the Helicarriers, he'll activate the Cloudburst. What we need is a way to neutralize the Cloudburst as a threat. It would be even better if we could secure it somehow.” He paused for a moment, then smiled as a plan clicked together in his head. “Prep the Soldier.”
Later, in Gotham…
Jason Todd paced back and forth in his control center, contemplating. He had just lost a battalion of tanks, but that didn't matter. He had hundreds more. He had more men. Better gear. A tactical advantage. He had everything, but Bruce just wouldn't fall. He scowled at the thought of Bruce eluding him. But he won't. I've planned for everything. Tonight's the night he pays for abandoning me. Stepping forward, he tapped the commander of his men on the shoulder and gestured for him to move. “Let me take control.” The commander shrugged. “Yes, sir. Not that I've had any luck.”
Placing himself in command of the tanks, Jason kept a wary eye on both the HUD and the cameras he had placed on the tanks themselves for just a glimpse of the Batmobile. He didn't care what Scarecrow wanted, Bruce WAS dying tonight. “Where are you?” Suddenly, a voice spoke over his comms. “Sir, we've got activity.” Jason shot out of his chair and immedately responded, “Where?” There was hesitation on the other end. “That's the issue, sir. We've got reported activities on both the tower by Wayne Enterprises and at ACE chemicals.” Jason gestured for the commander to get a vehicle prepped, and said,”He's going for the Cloudburst. I want a dozen men in camo and en route to ACE chemicals. Tell them to bring jammers, turrets, camo suits, everything!” “Understood. What about the tower?” “Forget the tower. Alpha target is the priority!” Loading his pistols, the Arkham Knight stormed out of the room. There's no escaping this time, Bruce.
10 minutes later…
The Knight stepped into the main area of ACE Chemicals, pistols drawn, flanked by two of his men. “Does anyone have a visual on this guy?” “No.” “Negative.” “I'm not seeing anything.” The mercs were cautious in their approach, prepared for anything the Batman might throw at them. Unfortunately, their target wasn't the Batman. With a massive crash, the Winter Soldier propelled himself through a fragile wall and crashed into two mercs. Disoriented, they were quickly finished off by the Soldier, who threw his bloodstained knife into the neck of a soldier descending the stairs. In a matter of seconds, the Soldier vanished. “We've got three men down!” The remaining soldiers gathered around the three corpses, shocked. “Jesus. I thought you said this guy didn't kill!?!” The Knight, using his helmet to check the men's vitals, paused before responding, “...He doesn't. Spread out! I want somebody to find the target, and DO NOT hesitate to kill him. This isn't Batman!” Pointing his grapple gun at a nearby gargoyle, the Knight took off to survey the area, leaving his men to find the threat.
With a moment of uncertainty, the troops split up, with 4 going to investigate further inside, while the other 4 set up turrets. Nervously scanning the vents, the squad leader stopped dead when he spotted...something under there. “Oh shi-” He was cut short when the figure burst out of the vent, grabbed him, and tossed him directly into the rest of the squad. In one fluid motion, the Soldier grabbed his dropped rifle and opened fire, tearing the mercs apart. The men assigned to turret set-up panicked, and the Soldier brought down two of them before throwing aside the empty gun and sidestepping a shot from a sniper rifle. Rolling out of the way of turret fire, the Soldier propped his foot against the wall and used it to give him enough momentum to jump over the turret. Drawing his Skorpion, the Soldier riddled the turret's surprised operator with bullets in mid-air, then landed and came to a skidding halt. Briefly stopping to tear out the turret's circuitry, the Soldier ran at the last of the Knight's men and slammed into him before he could get a shot off. With one well-placed punch to the throat, the Soldier finished off the last merc.
Standing up to disable the turret, the Soldier was suddenly knocked back by an unseen assailant and tumbled down the steps. Disoriented, he looked up to see an armored figure, wearing a mixture of what appeared to be the Batsuit and urban camo, standing at the top of the stairway. The figure pointed at him, smugness dripping out of every word. “Believe it or not, I've heard of you. You sabotaged an operation of mine last year. I don't know who you work for-” He drew a pistol and pointed it at the Soldier, “-but I'm not going to let you ruin this.” His gloating betrayed him and gave the Soldier just enough time to recover and dodge the shot. “You're fast, I'll give you that, but you don't know who you're dealing with.” Quickly drawing his grappel gun, the Knight fired it at the Soldier, who pulled him in. Prepared for this, the Knight ducked under the Soldier's inital punch, then smashed his fist into his opponent's face. The Soldier staggered backward, and the Knight pushed forward with a barrage of punches and kicks, each one connecting with, but barely phasing, the Soldier. Surprised, the Knight paused in his assault, giving the Soldier enough time to recover and throw a punch. Enhanced by both a cybernetic arm and his own strength, the Soldier's punch collided with the Knight's chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying back.
Jason rolled out of the way of the Soldier's follow-up attack, and mentally kicked himself for slipping up. I've never seen anyone hit that hard. I've got to change my strategy. Quickdrawing his pistols, Jason opened fire, and the Soldier threw up his arm and blocked the shots. When Bucky lowered his arm, the Knight was gone, but his voice echoed throughout the building. “Brute strength alone isn't going to win this for you! I can outthink you, outmove you, and bring you down!” Cautiously turning to survey his enviroment, Bucky quickly jammed another clip into his Skorpion. A glint out of the corner of his eye alerted him, and gave him just enough time to dodge a round from a sniper rifle. Rolling into cover, Bucky returned fire on the gargoyle where the shot had come from, but the Knight had already moved. “You're not fast enough!” Jason couldn't help but sneer as he leveled his next shot at the Soldier's head. It was time to end this. Suddenly, the Soldier turned and opened fire on him, forcing him to move again. Damn it. He must've figured out my position. Time to move.
The Soldier walked slowly, keeping his pistol level. He had to focus, or this “Arkham Knight” would kill him. He had been briefed about what this merc was capable of, and knew he couldn't slip up. The Knight had moved from the gagoyles, which meant he was somewhere on the ground with him. Unless he was in the vents. The realization dawning, the Soldier looked down just as the Knight burst out of the vents, grabbed the Soldier by the neck, and slammed him into the ground. His oppenent pinned, Jason threw punch after punch. “You think you can just come in here and ruin everything?” *PUNCH* “I've planned for years!” *PUNCH* “You're not changing anything!” *PUNCH* With the last blow, Jason drew his pistol and put it to the Soldier's head. “Say goodbye.”
Suddenly, there was pressure on his stomach, and then Jason felt a sharp pain, knocking him off of the Soldier. Looking down, Jason saw a gunshot wound, and looked up to see the Soldier stand back up, Skorpion in hand. Forcing himself to his feet, Jason moved to throw a smoke bomb, but the Soldier moved too quick. He grabbed him by the chestplate and threw him into the wall, tearing the armor loose with a snap. Jason forced himself to his feet and drew his pistol, but the Soldier lunged forward, grabbed his arm and was greeted with a punch to the jaw that knocked his facemask clean off. Like a wild animal backed into the corner, Jason fought with everything he had. Every last bit of his strength behind every blow. He couldn't lose here. Not yet. Gritting his teeth and using his training from Bruce, he vaulted over the Soldier and delivered a kick to his back. He moved to draw his other pistol, but the Soldier whipped around, drew his knife, and plunged it into his chest.
Letting out a gasp of both shock and pain, Jason fell onto his back. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he moved to grab his grapple gun, but Bucky brought his foot down, crushing Jason's arm. “The Cloudburst. Where is it?” Jason looked at the Soldier with a look of confusion. “That's...what you're here...for?” He chuckled, or at least tried to. “I had...my men move it to a different location...as soon as we were en-route. I...told you...I was smarter…” Angered, the Soldier paused and held a hand to what appeared to be an earpiece. “Secure his helmet. We may be able to use it to track his men.” Jason's smile vanished as the Soldier reached down and tore off his helmet, clearly acting on someone's orders. Confirming that Jason's wounds were fatal, the Soldier calmly walked off.
As Jason lay on the ground, alone and dying, a tear slid down his cheek. No. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. Bruce and I were supposed to- And on that final thought, Jason Todd, formerly known as Robin, slipped away.
Several hours later…
The militia commander shoulders slumped in grief as he delivered the news over comms. “We got men to investigate the silenece at ACE Chemicals. The Arkham Knight...is down. I repeat, the Arkham Knight is down. They're bringing his body in now.” Suddenly, a new voice came in. “Well, then it looks like I'm in command now.” The commander turned nervously to see none other than Deathstroke standing in the doorframe. “Sir?” Carrying himself with a self-assured air, Deathstroke walked into the room and said,”Everyone resume your usual activities. Leave Batman, and whoever this new target is, to me.” Deathstroke left just as quickly as he had entered.
Back in Washington...
Alexander Pierce glared at a nervous Sitwell. “So you failed to obtain the Cloudburst?” Sitwell nodded. “Yes, but we have men working to determine the location as we speak. We'll deploy a team as quickly as-” Pierce held up a hand, silencing him. “No. I've got another man lined up to handle this part. Isn't that right, Agent Garret?” The other agent, who had been standing quietly in the corner, stepped forward and grinned. “Yes sir. I've got my best men on stand-by. Just give me the signal and we'll get this Cloudburst in no time.” He turned to walk out, but stopped. “And please, call me John. You do outrank me.” He followed it up with a sneer. For now, at least. Garret gave a half-hearted salute on the way out. “Hail HYDRA.”
Winner: The Winter Soldier
Expert's Opinion[]
In spite of his superior gear and training from Batman, the Arkham Knight ultimately wasn't prepared for a superhuman foe. The Winter Soldier was stronger and more experienced, enabling him to prevail in this battle of brainwashed heroes.
To see the original battle, weapons and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Soldier: 76 (by Dargoo Faust)[]
El Dorado. The City of Gold, as some called it. But Jack Morrison knew the second meaning to that name. Like the legends of Dorado that came before the construction of the modern city, the banks of gold it carried came with criminal scum like flies to a rotten corpse.
A particularly resilient and irritating breed of these flies Morrison dealt with on a daily basis was the gang of Los Muertos, still alive like a cockroach after one-too-many beatings with a shoe. His shoe, in particular. Not seeing any traces of their trademark neon skulls in the high mists of an apartment roof, Soldier: 76, as Morrison like to call himself, was hunting different prey tonight. Civilians were rambling of a mystery soldier bearing the ensigna of a long lost empire that roamed the streets 76 vowed to keep clean.
Masked Face? Check.
Weird Symbols? Check.
Armed and Dangerous? Check.
Black Leather? Double-check.
Morrison could already tell this was a notch above the usual Muertos thugs.
~
Bucky Barnes was used to being out of the times. Ever since he was reunited with Steve and escaped his years of…
Flashes of terrified faces filled with the agony of death trickled their way into Barnes' thoughts as he reminisced over his past life. It was painful thinking of it, and Rodgers often helped alleviate the pain, but this case was different.
Looking around, seeing hovering cars sweep cobblestone roads and humanoid robots casually walking the streets, the former Winter Soldier saw the fantasies of his childhood as they jumped out of their coloring book pages.
And looking around, the former Winter Soldier had no clue, when, or where he was.
Several weeks scouting the streets revealed nothing other than a large gang presence and the fact he was deep in the heart of Mexico. History books, or history 'pads', as the store manager called them, had no mention of the New York crisis, the Avengers, or the legend of Captain America. The closest he got was some organization called "Overwatch".
All Barns could remember is getting knocked out in some sort of… conflict, and falling out of a cryo-stasis chamber after its lid was blown off by a generously psychotic Australian.
A stranger out of time once again, Barnes sighed, and slipped out of the sight of suspicious civilians into the deeper slums, enshrouded in the evening's autumn mist.
~
Morrison couldn't figure out why Los Muertos members plastered themselves with glow-in-the-dark paint like those old bowling allies. Damn kids, he thought, back in my day, criminals at least had a decent sense of functionality. Regardless of fashion sense, Soldier: 76 tracked the mystery man down into Muertos-infested territory, and he wasn't about to let an information source like that fall prey to gang warfare.
Seeing the purple glowing skulls weave their way towards the red star, the old soldier vaulted over some apartments to intercept the fight.
~
“Not looking for a fight. Doesn't have to be any more complicated than this already is.”
Surrounded with walls of clay bricks, Barnes was hoping to avoid conflict.
Naturally, nothing much changed on that part over the years.
“Tirate a un poso, rust bucket. We got a clear policy here on this side of the city. We see metal, we bash it in.” The leader eyed Bucky's metal arm gleefully, then made some gestures at the other Muertos members. “Make sure there's nothing left but bolts and blood, ¿de acuerdo?”
“Got it, boss.” The Grunt pulled out an M16, fully equipped with an underbarrel grenade launcher.
Looks like the new tech didn't stop at the gangs, Bucky thought, let's hope I'm not too rusty.
Within a split second, The Winter Soldier rushed the Muertos grunt, punching him a bruise that would cycle through around three colors before healing. Before his weapon could even be fired, the thug spat blood as Bucky's arm thrusted into his gut. Taking the weapon for his own, Barnes faced the rest of the gang.
“Anyone else?”
The rest ran instantly. Or, they would have, if they weren't shot straight clean with pulse fire.
A menacing red light emanating from a visor emerged from the shadows. Barnes clenched his rifle, awaiting the figure that emerged.
~
“Looks like you didn't need my help after all, kid,” Morrison walked towards the mystery man, hand hovering over his pulse rifle, “Didn't know the Soviets had a soldier enhancement program of their own.”
Soldier: 76 kept a keen eye for any movements towards the M16. It was an outdated weapon, sure, but in the hands of an enhanced soldier Morrison knew even a nailgun could be made into a death machine.
“Get to the point. There's been enough violence here already.”
“And there won't be any, as long as you tell me all about the enhancement program in Russia, and why an American like you is working for them.” Jack could tell he just hit a nerve. He had his weapon ready at a moment's notice, and Morrison knew he wasn't going to get this information easily.
"Afraid that's not going to happen."
After that, there were no more words of negotiation. Morrison knew that at this point, only force would get him the information he wanted. Reflexively, Jack drew his gun, and vaulted into the alley next to him looking for higher ground as the click of a gun loading and fast-paced footsteps followed him.
~
It had been nearly a century since Barnes last tasted combat, yet he chased down his opponent with near mechanical efficiency.
Lacking in speed, Barnes quickly lost the crazed old man he encountered, and kept a keen eye on the buildings around him. Unwilling to lose the high ground in the beginning of the fight, he punched his mechanic arm through the solid stone of a wall near him, and quickly climbed his way up into the twilight mists above.
Once at the top, it was only a matter of time before he caught his opponent, who was conveniently dressed in bright red, white, and blue and sporting a giant, easy-to-find red glowing visor.
Yet, he was nowhere to be seen.
Barnes collectively thought: Shi- Reflexively using his mechanic arm to block the shot, Barnes nearly escaped a large, cauterized hole in his chest. Instead, the strange energy bullet managed to burn halfway through his metallic forearm.
Surviving the blow, Barnes rolled out of the way of any more pulse fire, and shot a grenade in the direction of the shots.
The explosion was met with a loud grunt. Bucky wondered if this man had taken the Super Soldier Serum as well.
~
Hrmph. No going down that easy. Morrison thought. His vest managed to absorb most of the shrapnel, but he could tell he was down for the count. That is, if he didn't throw down a biotic emmiter that instant. Feeling his bones set themselves in place, with open wounds closing, Morrison was going to make sure he wouldn't underestimate this foe again.
Morrsion sprinted, jumping over the alleys beneath him. Once he closed the distance, he had a special surprise for this 'Winter Soldier'.
"I've got you in my sights."
His visor picked up a lone target running off towards the slums. And Morrison was sure as hell we wasn't going to let a potential threat get away like that.
Firing off a barrage of pulse fire, reloading, and repeating, dozens of rounds zoomed towards the Winter Soldier with pin-point accuracy.
~
Barnes couldn't avoid a single shot, and he couldn't tell why. Each shot acted as if it were tracking him down, and he knew that his arm couldn't sustain much more fire before it hit his flesh. Jumping into an alleyway below, Bucky narrowly escaped what would have been death seconds later.
His arm nearly dysfunctional, and his time running out, Barnes knew he had one shot to make it. He pulled out his M16, and thought for a second, realizing how much distance his opponent had to close before even firing at him. Barnes vaulted down the alley as he heard footsteps getting closer.
~
"Giving up get? Because I'm not going to play any more damn cat and mouse games."
Morrison realized in mere moments he just fell into the same trap he laid for his foe. He fired his Helix Rockets in the direction of the bullet fire that ensued, and snatched several shots into his legs before he could react further. Jack spat blood, realizing his Biotic emmiter wasn't safe from the bullet barrage. His explosives hit something, he was sure of that. But the footsteps coming closer proved otherwise.
The strange soldier approached, his bionic arm in tatters and his skin singed and burned.
"I'm not killing you. I'm not killing anyone, not anymore. I don't know what this 'Overwatch' is, or where the hell I am. So do me a favor and put down the gun."
"Hrmph," Morrison began plucking out some of the bullets from his legs. If that soldier wanted to kill him, he would've been dead. "I'm taking it you're not from around here. Had a case just like yours. Zhou, I think."
"Oh, you wouldn't believe."
WINNER: WINTER SOLDIER
Expert's Opinion[]
While Soldier: 76 was using technology far more advanced than Barnes, his use of prototypical weaponry made him severely lacking in range. Barns was also much more skilled in covert assassinations and 1v1 combat, and has shown more potent physical feats.