The Winter Soldier Program was a HYDRA program aimed at creating super soldiers.
History[]
Creating the First Winter Soldier[]
In 1943, Bucky Barnes was captured by the Nazis and experimented upon by HYDRA scientist Arnim Zola who gave Bucky a version of the Super Soldier Serum. However, Bucky was rescued by his best friend Captain America shortly thereafter.
During a mission, Bucky fell off of Zola's Train and was presumed dead. However, the serum allowed him to survive and he was captured by the Red Army and subjected to further experimentation by Zola, being transformed and brainwashed into the very first Winter Soldier, HYDRA's deadliest assasin who was used to carry out important missions throughout the next seventy years.
Creating More Winter Soldiers[]
- "They speak thirty languages, can hide in plain sight. Infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize. They can take a whole country down in one night, and you'd never see them coming."
- ―Bucky Barnes[src]
Learning that Howard Stark had recreated a variant of the Super Soldier Serum, HYDRA sent the Winter Soldier to assasinate him and retrieve the serum. It was then used on Josef and four of HYDRA's other most elite assassins. However, while the serum was a success and the new Winter Soldiers were able to defeat Bucky, they rebelled against HYDRA and were placed in stasis in the HYDRA Siberian Facility.
HYDRA later employed scientist Wilfred Nagel to recreate the serum which he was more successful with.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier[]
In the runup to the HYDRA Uprising, the Winter Soldier was deployed by Alexander Pierce to kill Nick Fury, causing Steve Rogers to discover his identity as Steve's believed-dead best friend Bucky Barnes. A copy of Arnim Zola's consciousness revealed the truth about the program to Steve and Natasha Romanoff as well as the numerous people who had been killed by the Winter Soldier.
Throughout the events that followed Steve attempted to remind his best friend of his identity, even as Bucky sought to protect the Insight Helicarriers from Steve, Sam Wilson, Fury and Maria Hill's attempts to destroy them. Steve eventually broke through to Bucky as the HYDRA plot was thwarted and Bucky rescued his best friend before going AWOL.
Captain America: Civil War[]
Using the S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA files that Natasha Romanoff had dumped onto the Internet during the HYDRA Uprising, Helmut Zemo began going after the Winter Soldier Program, killing Vasily Karpov and getting the Winter Soldier Book. After using it to reactivate the Winter Soldier's programming, Zemo located the HYDRA Siberian Facility and killed the five Winter Soldiers still in stasis there before revealing the Winter Soldier's assasination of Howard and maria Stark in order to drive Tony Stark and Steve Rogers apart.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier[]
"Power Broker"[]
- "I spent years hunting people HYDRA recruited to recreate the serum. Because once it's out there, someone can create an army of people... like the Avengers. I ended the Winter Soldier Program."
- ―Helmut Zemo[src]
After discovering that the Flag Smashers had the Super Soldier Serum, Bucky Barnes suspected that HYDRA was behind it and turned to Helmut Zemo for help. Zemo revealed that he had spent years hunting down everyone that HYDRA had recruited to recreate the serum and ended the Winter Soldier Program. Zemo agreed to help Bucky and Sam Wilson, wanting to eliminate all traces of the program.
It was discovered that the Power Broker was behind the efforts to recreate the serum, not HYDRA. However, the scientist who had made the serum was Wilfred Nagel, the man who was brought into the program by HYDRA after Howard Stark's serum failed. After HYDRA fell, Nagel was recruited to continue his work by the CIA and then after the Snap, secured funding from the Power Broker. Under attack by bounty hunters, Zemo killed Nagel to ensure that he wouldn't be able to create his serum a second time.
Appearances[]
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (2 films)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (1 series)
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
- "Power Broker" (Mentioned only)
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Behind the scenes[]
To be added
Trivia[]
To be added
Gallery[]
To be added