"20 Years To Break Him": Genius Winter Soldier Theory Changes Bucky"s Captain America Story

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The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) is one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most tragic characters, and a theory based on one key detail in his MCU timeline not only changes his story but makes it even more tragic. Viewers met Steve Rogers’ best friend, Bucky Barnes, in Captain America: The First Avenger, where they got a glimpse at how close they were, but they also saw the beginning of Bucky’s tragic journey. After his unit was captured by HYDRA and he was given a variant of the Super Soldier Serum, Bucky was believed to be dead after a mission with Captain America in which he plummeted hundreds of feet… but he survived, and HYDRA captured him again.
Bucky became HYDRA’s first subject of the Winter Soldier program, a horrible process in which he got a prosthetic arm as he lost his left one following the fall, and in which he was subjected to brainwashing, programming, and more. Bucky eventually became the Winter Soldier, HYDRA’s personal weapon, and he was used in a variety of missions, including the one involving the murder of Howard and Maria Stark. As Bucky’s story in the MCU progressed, more and more details about his time as the Winter Soldier were revealed, and a specific one about how long he was the Winter Soldier changes his Captain America story, while also making his story more heartbreaking.
Evidence Bucky Fought Hydra's Winter Soldier Programming For 20 Years

Bucky Barnes’ history in the MCU has been marked by tragedy, having seen the horrors of the war and later being used for horrible purposes by HYDRA. To make all this even worse, there’s evidence in Bucky’s timeline that it took HYDRA a long time to break him and take full control of his mind in order to turn him into the Winter Soldier. In June 1943, Bucky was deployed to Europe, and in October, he and his unit were captured by HYDRA. The following month, Bucky was rescued by Steve Rogers, and in 1944, he joined the Howling Commandos.
In January 1945, Bucky was believed to have died after falling from a HYDRA train he and Captain America tried to hijack, but he was found alive (thanks to the Super Soldier Serum). HYDRA captured him again, and that same year, it started experimenting on Bucky as part of the Winter Soldier Program. In addition to being constantly brainwashed and reprogrammed, Bucky was kept cryogenically frozen and used when HYDRA needed him. Now, the Winter Soldier was said to have been HYDRA’s weapon for 50 years, meaning it began in the 1960s, so there was a 20-year gap between his capture and his long list of missions and assassinations.
This major gap in Bucky Barnes’ MCU history suggests that HYDRA struggled to break him and turn him into what they wanted. Bucky, then, fought against HYDRA and his many experiments, but they ultimately got what they wanted. This makes Bucky’s story even more tragic than it already was, as he went through 20 years of torture in addition to 50 years of being the Winter Soldier.
The "Bucky Fought For 20 Years" Theory Makes His Reunion With Steve Way Worse

Steve Rogers believed for years that his best friend was dead, and it wasn’t until 2014 that he learned he had been turned into an assassin. Steve struggled with the guilt and sense of betrayal over Bucky’s death, but it’s made a lot worse if Bucky fought for his life for 20 years. Steve learning that Bucky not only survived but was also tortured for two decades in order to break his will and mind to turn him into a weapon would make his sense of betrayal even more brutal. This also makes Steve’s efforts to clean Bucky’s name and bring him back more emotional and complex, as he knows everything he went through and how much he fought to not be corrupted, something that other MCU characters would have either ignored or struggled to understand.
How Captain America's Endgame Ending Supports The Winter Soldier Theory

Bucky Barnes’ MCU history is not over yet, but his best friend’s is. After going back in time as part of the Time Heist, Steve Rogers found a way to have the life he could never have next to Peggy Carter, so he saw the chance and took it. At the end of Avengers: Endgame, it was revealed Steve Rogers had chosen to stay in the past, and now as an old man, paid a visit to his old friends. Steve passed on the shield and mantle of Captain America to Sam Wilson, who seemed too shocked at the whole situation, but Bucky was completely calm. The last exchange between (young) Captain American and Bucky implies that the latter knew what Steve was about to do, and was relieved to see that he had lived a good life, after all.
Bucky’s bar for suffering is 20 years of torture, so of course he would be relieved to see his friend retire and finally have the life he always wanted. Bucky Barnes lost two decades fighting for his life while HYDRA constantly tried to break him and turn him into the most brutal assassin they could have, so now it’s time for him to get back all that lost time and do things right, both as a superhero and in his personal life.
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