It's a well known fact that Stan Lee hated kid sidekicks, so when he brought back Captain America in Avengers #4, he took the opportunity to kill off Bucky, Cap's kid sidekick, via exploding plane. This was such a well known death -- and such a big motivator for Cap -- that there used to be a saying in fandom: "The only people who truly stay dead are Jason Todd, Bucky Barnes, and Uncle Ben." C'est la vie.

And that's how it was, right up until Ed Brubaker took over writing Captain America in 2005 and decided to bring Bucky Barnes back. But not as a kid sidekick -- instead, as a brainwashed assassin. Brubaker even used an entire issue -- Captain America vol 5 #11 -- to expand and explore the retcon.

Say hello to the Winter Soldier.

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