He�s been skirting the edges of the Marvel Universe for months now, and later this month, the Winter Soldier, aka Captain America�s former sidekick Bucky Barnes hits the larger world of heroes square as he stars in
Winder Soldier: Winter Kills, a one shot
Civl War tie-in by Ed Brubaker and Lee Weeks.
Set on Christmas Eve, the special promises not only to introduce Winter to other heroes in the Marvel Universe, but also get inside his head like never before. We spoke with Brubaker about the issue.
Newsarama: First off, where does this special meet up with Bucky? You've been keeping him quite busy in Cap, so is this coming in after his most recent appearance in
Captain America #23?
Ed Brubaker: It's the night before Christmas, and all through the Marvel Universe, things are bleak and depressing. And it's Bucky's first Christmas back in the world, really being himself, so it's a weird holiday for him, basically. This takes place during the Civil War event, but it's a standalone story, mostly.
NRAMA: Before we get to the special itself, it's been mentioned by Maria Hill and others in Civil War and in Cap, that, basically, things would be a
lot different if Nick Fury weren't underground now. Just catching up on that front - why did he go underground in the first place? And - is it safe to assume that, as you�ve shown in
Cap, that Sharon and Bucky have been the only ones in contact with him?
EB: Nick went underground after the whole Secret War blew up in his face, basically. But there are other reasons for his exit from the stage that have yet to be revealed, that only a few of us have even dropped hints to in our books so far. But no, Sharon and Bucky aren't the only ones he's working with while underground. He's been in touch with Spider-Woman, I think, and Cap, for sure, and probably others that we don't know about. But, you know, he's Nick Fury, so it's all very secret.
NRAMA: That said, how
would things have been different had Fury been around?
EB: Hmmm. That's hard to say. I doubt he'd have ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. to attack Cap, for one. He's an old friend of his, for one, and experienced enough with Cap to know that'd get the opposite reaction to what they wanted. That it'd turn him against them. And for another, he might've tried to stop the government from overreacting a bit, and pointed out that the heroes weren't responsible for Stamford, the guy who blew the place up was. Or maybe he'd have just blackmailed a few politicians to get it tabled in committee, even better.
NRAMA: Speaking of the special itself, looking at the production side of things, first - how did this come about for you? Was it something you were looking to play with already, or did you come up with it whole cloth when you got the call about
Civil War slipping from its ship dates?
EB: A bit of both, actually. I'd been looking for a chance to do a Winter Soldier project, and with the
Civil War delay over the winter leaving us with a "Cap gap" as it were, it seemed like the perfect time to get one out. I mean, he's got Winter in his name, so a Christmas Special seemed like the perfect solo debut issue for him.
NRAMA: So how is Bucky viewed by the sides in the Civil War? Does anyone, at this point, save Cap, Nick, Sharon and some other SHIELD personnel know he even exists?
EB: A few people know he exists, but he's a shadow on the edges of their world for now. So, it's more about how he views them than the other way around, for now. Though he does meet a few Young Avengers in the issue, but they don't really know who he is yet.
NRAMA: While he's had his issues about coming to Cap, it seems as if the Civil War would've been the perfect time to mend fences, and rejoin his former friend. Why does Bucky still stay away?
EB: As we showed in Cap #23, he's conflicted about the whole thing, and doesn't completely agree with any side of it, and he's just not ready to face Cap yet, because of everything he did as the Winter Soldier before Cap used the Cosmic Cube to give him back his memories. So, while it would seem that this huge event was the right time, for me it just wasn't. It was right after Bucky just ran off in London, to join Fury underground, so having him just come out of the cold and join the Secret Avengers would have been really forced, and I hate forcing stories just to fit an event. Instead, I'm using
Civil War to help him along his arc.
NRAMA: Does he even understand or care about the Civil War, given that he operates in a, at least figuratively, different world than the other heroes?
EB: It's more of our modern world that he doesn't see eye to eye with. He thinks it's taking the heroes off-track, and that they shouldn't be fighting each other, but then, he was raised in the military and fought in WW2 as a government agent in the Invaders, so how else would he think?
NRAMA: When you�re writing Bucky for this special, do you show what he's thinking to the readers at...well, at all, or as much as you do with Cap? How's he different in terms of his voice and presentation?
EB: Oh yeah, we get way into his head in this issue, more than any other thing we've done with him so far. And he's got a much different voice than Cap. He's more cynical, for one thing, and he's more haunted by the past, for another. But he's also more rough and tumble and funny. He's probably my favorite character I'm writing for Marvel right now.
NRAMA: So - tease the story a little � �twas the night before Christmas, and all through New York�Hydra was stirring�
EB: Not exactly. There's some Hydra there, because it's apparently Hydra season in the Marvel U, what with me using them everywhere, and Bendis using them in Avengers. I wonder if that could be random? [laughs]
But really, Bucky is off doing something for himself on Christmas Eve, and things don't go as planned. And then there's some sidekick-ish heroes and Hydra to deal with all of a sudden. But almost as much as anything, this is a character examination. Some of it takes place during Christmas in 1944, and some now. And we see the Invaders, and juxtapose that with the modern world that Bucky is now part of. It's a lot of fun.
NRAMA: As you said, and the solicitation mentions, the Young Avengers play a role in the issue - despite his low profile to date, are we going to see Bucky coming out a little more within the Marvel Universe?
EB: Not exactly. And that's addressed in the issue, even, believe it or not.
NRAMA: In terms of the larger story you�re looking to tell with Captain America and Bucky, did the last-minute inclusion of this story alter what you�d originally envisioned as how you�d tell your tale?
EB: No, this special slots neatly between
Captain America #22-#24, the �War Drums� arc, and issue #25, the beginning of the �Death of the Dream� arc. I had enough lead time to figure that out, and make this something that stands on its own, and is worth the readers time and money, even if they haven't been checking out
Civil War -- though I can't believe anybody isn't at this point.
NRAMA: And finally � the solicitation mentioned that the special will shed some light on Bucky�s role in the Marvel Universe in the future�any hints?
EB: Not really, no. I don't want to spoil what's to come in the next Cap arc. But I will say that Bucky isn't going anywhere, and I'll be writing him for some time to come.
And also, I can't say enough that this Winter Soldier special is one of my favorite things I've written since I came to Marvel, seriously. So I hope a lot of people check it out.
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