Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier opened on Thursday.

The New Paper's art team digs deep into the history of Marvel Comics to give you the inside story on Cap's new adversary

1

The year is 1940 and the world is at war. Fifteen-year-old James Buchanan Barnes is orphaned after his father, a soldier, is killed in action. His father's army camp adopts young James as their mascot and nicknames him Bucky.

There, Bucky meets and befriends Private Steve Rogers, the clumsiest soldier in the camp.

But Bucky accidentally walks in on Steve changing into his uniform and discovers his friend's secret identity − Captain America.

2

Bucky insists on becoming Captain America's partner, and undergoes extensive combat and firearms training.

The authorities use Bucky as a symbol to rally more youths to join the army.

3

Together, Captain America and Bucky fight and defeat the Red Skull, eliminating countless Nazi threats at home and abroad. With that, Captain America acknowledges Bucky officially as his partner.

4 

The duo later become part of a superhero team known as The Invaders. Together with the original android Human Torch, Torch's sidekick Toro and Namor the Sub-Mariner, the pair fight and defend the world from the Axis of Evil.

Bucky also serves as an advance scout for Cap and the team, often carrying out missions none of the heroes can be seen doing.

5

Nearing the end of World War II in 1945, Captain America and Bucky try to stop the villainous Baron Zemo from blowing up a plane armed with explosives. Bucky tries and fails to defuse the bomb.

Cap gives the orders to abandon the mission, but doesn't notice that Bucky's hand is stuck in the explosive device.

The plane explodes in mid-air before reaching its intended target. Cap is hurled into the freezing ocean and Bucky is believed to have perished in the explosion.

6

Russian General Vasily Karpov and his crew find Bucky's cold-preserved body with his left arm missing.

As Bucky suffers from amnesia because of the explosion, the General brainwashes him in order to turn him into their own Soviet assassin.

He also gets a bionic left arm, which gives him superhuman strength.

7

Kept in constant cryogenic stasis when not being sent on covert missions, Bucky has barely aged since the end of World War II.

He becomes increasingly ruthless as he goes on mission after mission for the mysterious Department X under the codename Winter Soldier.