What could Bucky do after fear itself?
In my last post I talked about how killing off Bucky Barnes in the Fear Itself comic crossover event was a bad move for Marvel. Since becoming Captain America in Ed Brubaker’s acclaimed Cap series, Bucky has become one of Marvel’s most interesting characters, so I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen the last of the former Winter Soldier. If Marvel were to somehow bring Bucky back into the comics during or after Fear Itself, how could he possibly do so? These are some of my theories.
1) It wasn’t really him who was killed by the new Red Skull. Bucky is known to have worked with former SHIELD director Nick Fury on multiple occasions, and comic book fans will know that Fury has often used LMDs (life model decoys). My leading theory is that Bucky used an LMD to fake his own death, which allowed her to clear his name and work in a black ops role.
2) The God of Fear aka ‘The Serpent’ resurrects him. As Barnes was dying, he whispered to Black Widow that “the Serpent is coming.” This suggests that the Serpent may have plans to use Bucky as a weapon against Steve Rogers. Having Steve try to protect himself from his former friend and sidekick would certainly add some excitement to what has been a pretty emotional event so far. Would Steve even have to kill Bucky?
3) Valkyrie raises Barnes from the dead. When Bucky supposedly died, the Asgardian demigoddess was standing near him. One of Valkyrie’s character traits is that he creates a glow of death when death is imminent. If Barnes was sent to Valhalla (the realm of the righteous dead), then maybe he could somehow escape. After all, many characters have entered Valhalla only to return shortly after.
So there are my theories on how Bucky survives. Once alive, I predict that he would probably star in his own series, as I doubt Marvel would want to include him in their main Captain America series in case it’s too confusing for new fans who just saw Captain America: The First Avenger. . He would have to assume a new identity to keep the fact that he is alive a secret. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that the role of US agent would be perfect for Bucky. Not exactly standard Captain America, but it allows Bucky to continue serving his country and redeem himself. Also, current US Agent John Walker is busy guarding The Raft maximum security prison.
The only problem is that it would likely outsell the flagship Captain America series on a regular basis, illustrating just how popular the character has become. That’s what I did to post about Bucky, as there are a lot of movie reviews to write, but if you agree that we haven’t seen the last of Bucky, please post your comments below and let me know how you’d like to see him return.
