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My final pre-Christmas post... On Christmas Eve, a story set ON Christmas Eve.

From Marvel Holiday Special 1991 comes...


It's Christmas Eve and Steve Rogers is where he normally is on such occasions...



I like this next page, it highlights Steve's view of the world without getting TOO preachy, and he's about to get one heck of a bombshell in return.



Now Bucky was dead to begin with...(Sorry, random Dickensian moment) I mean that Bucky being dead was still absolute at this point (20 years ago now... EEK!) and Bucky was still the underage kid that he was prior to his age-ifying of a few years ago, to make him a legal (ish) soldier.

Steve uses the Avengers SHIELD-level access to Government databases to do some checking.



Steve is slightly baffled, Bucky never once mentioned having any relatives, other than his father who died when he was a kid, and a mother he doesn't even remember, so why would he have a sister?

There's only one thing to do, so the next day, which is Christmas Day for those keeping track, there's a knock at Becky's door (Bucky... Becky... I can't believe that has only just hit me two decades after first reading this story)



Yes that would be QUITE the visitor to receive....



Okay, Steve is just awesome with kids isn't he? (Though if I were this families cat, I'd be running like crazy for the back door before someone decides to try some shield slinging!)

Cap notes that Becky's kids and grandkids are all around her and ponders that this is the sort of life he gave up when he chose to become, and remain, Captain America.

Cap explains (privately) to Becky who Jim (the name she always thought of him as) had been better known as (Which makes sense as Bucky was his nickname on the militaary base). He explains that not only had Bucky fought more bravely than anyone he'd known, and died in the line of duty but had, more importantly, been his best friend.



Seeing that this has been something of a shock, Cap turns to leave, when Becky asks him whether he has plans for Christmas himself.



And the story ends with Steve taking part in the celebrations of the family of his best friend.

This was Becky's first appearance, but I like that she hasn't been forgotten or ignored in Brubaker's revamp of Bucky and his return.


And to finish a rather cute Christmas image of Cap and his then significant other Diamonback, from artist Rik Levins in the same issue.

 

Date: 2011-12-24 10:59 pm (UTC)
rordulum: (Dracula segway)
From: [personal profile] rordulum
I like that she's not been forgotten, though it seems Brubaker did change a couple of details. In his story, Becky is younger than Bucky, and Steve did know about her.

Still, I think the changes made things a little more poignant, with her off at boarding school, writing letters to him that he never managed to reply to.

Date: 2011-12-25 12:08 am (UTC)
rordulum: (Dracula segway)
From: [personal profile] rordulum
Yeah, I guess it does. I don't mind them making her younger, though. Some retcons work better, I think.

I don't think Steve ever tried to contact her. The only time in this run that they've shown that Steve knew about her (AFAIK) was in Cap & Bucky 621, where Steve brings the mail in, and mentions that there's another letter from her. He says Bucky should write back, but Bucky puts it off.

I think it's later mentioned that he never did write back to her, and it makes me sad to think of a young girl packed off to boarding school, away from her only family, and she never hears from him, or sees him again.

Of course, it was probably Brubaker's intention to hit the pathos button. And that's something that's easily and appropriately done with a guy (either Cap or Bucky) who is now 70 years outside his own timeline, and has lost everyone he cared about back then. Hell, the only people Bucky has from his wartime years are Steve and Namor. And Namor's hardly one for affectionate displays (though their little scene together in Winter Kills is one of my favourite comic book moments ever).

Speaking of Winter Kills, that's a really nice (unconventional) Christmas story, too.

Date: 2011-12-25 07:13 am (UTC)
magus_69: (pic#370607)
From: [personal profile] magus_69
So Bucky's sister is more frightening than an Infinity Gauntlet powered Thanos?

Why yes, yes she is. And that's awesome.

Date: 2011-12-25 08:07 am (UTC)
terrykun: (Default)
From: [personal profile] terrykun
Old Lady Stare > Everything.

I know because of science.

Date: 2011-12-26 03:03 pm (UTC)
dr_archeville: Doctor Arkeville (Default)
From: [personal profile] dr_archeville
Now I want to see a Becky Barnes/Aunt May Two-in-One Special!

Date: 2011-12-25 03:54 pm (UTC)
joysweeper: (Default)
From: [personal profile] joysweeper
D'aaww...

Bucky/Becky. *snort *

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