He really did get a raw deal. Of course, it's notable that the writer most responsible for his career as Nomad and later was Fabian Nicieza, who wrote his solo adventures and "killed" him off at the end of that series... and who then wrote his return. Brubaker may have killed him off much later on, but Fabian is the one who abused him the most.
The big question is... why? Why did the former Bucky of the '50s get such treatment? Revived and brought back as Cap's modern day sidekick before striking out on his own, left to drift through America of the '90s, and eventually being used as a pawn before being murdered by the -original- Bucky? I know it was suggested that once again, his unstable version of the Super-Soldier serum had affected his mentality and mood, but still. His career was neither dignified nor particularly successful.
My theory is that he represents the fact that not everyone can live up to Cap's ideals and example, as much as they'd try. Steve represents the purest, most idealistic version of America; John is conservative and reactionary; Sam comes from a Black and urban experience, especially through his social work; Bucky is the flipside to Steve-- black ops, shadow plays, secrets and conspiracies. And Jack Monroe... tried and failed. The 50s were a weird, dark time for America, and he still bears that weight on his soul, and as a man out of time, broken and flawed and unable to fully adjust to the grim and gritty '90s... poor schmuck.
And of course he existed in the time before the idea of having multiple characters sharing the same name but different functions really caught on. These days, there might have been room for both him and the Winter Soldier as Cap's wayward sidekicks gone independent.
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Of course, it's notable that the writer most responsible for his career as Nomad and later was Fabian Nicieza, who wrote his solo adventures and "killed" him off at the end of that series... and who then wrote his return. Brubaker may have killed him off much later on, but Fabian is the one who abused him the most.
The big question is... why? Why did the former Bucky of the '50s get such treatment? Revived and brought back as Cap's modern day sidekick before striking out on his own, left to drift through America of the '90s, and eventually being used as a pawn before being murdered by the -original- Bucky? I know it was suggested that once again, his unstable version of the Super-Soldier serum had affected his mentality and mood, but still. His career was neither dignified nor particularly successful.
My theory is that he represents the fact that not everyone can live up to Cap's ideals and example, as much as they'd try. Steve represents the purest, most idealistic version of America; John is conservative and reactionary; Sam comes from a Black and urban experience, especially through his social work; Bucky is the flipside to Steve-- black ops, shadow plays, secrets and conspiracies. And Jack Monroe... tried and failed. The 50s were a weird, dark time for America, and he still bears that weight on his soul, and as a man out of time, broken and flawed and unable to fully adjust to the grim and gritty '90s... poor schmuck.
And of course he existed in the time before the idea of having multiple characters sharing the same name but different functions really caught on. These days, there might have been room for both him and the Winter Soldier as Cap's wayward sidekicks gone independent.