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Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) Reading Order

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From the beginning, Captain America wasn’t fighting AXIS alone. He had a sidekick: Bucky. Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, Bucky made his first appearance in Captain America #1 in March 1941, and remained by Captain America’s side throughout the war.

Both men disappeared while on a classified mission towards the end of the war, after which they were declared dead. Although Captain America was reintroduced in The Avengers #4 (1964) after being discovered frozen in ice by the Avengers, Bucky was considered dead. Captain America’s last memory of him was watching the plane he was on explode. And for a long time, Bucky was among a select group of comic book characters well known for remaining deceased, alongside Jason Todd and Uncle Ben.

Like the second Robin, Bucky was brought back to life in the noughties by writer Ed Brubaker in one of the most famous Captain America runs. More precisely, it was revealed that he hadn’t died at all. After being rescued by a Russian submarine, he was brainwashed and trained to become the deadly assassin known as the Winter Soldier. Back among the living, Bucky entered a whole new chapter, from being a brainwashed killing machine to Captain America and a quest for redemption, and back to the Winter Soldier. 

A classic character from the Golden Age, Bucky Barnes was successfully reinvented for the modern era. This version also came to life on the big screen, with Sebastian Stan playing the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

From Captain America to The Winter Soldier and leader of the New Avengers, discover all the comics featuring Bucky Barnes in our Winter Soldier Reading Guide.

Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes) Comics Reading Order

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PERSONNEL DOSSIER ★

An American soldier-turned-Soviet spy and assassin, Bucky Barnes has a particularly close connection with several Marvel Comics characters. To find out more, check out our related reading orders:  

Before The Winter Soldier: Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Golden Age of Comic Books

James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes Jr. is a young army brat who befriends Steve Rogers in 1941. After accidentally discovering that Rogers is Captain America, Barnes is immediately recruited as his partner. You can read a little more about the first issue of Captain America here.

Like Batman and Robin, there was no Captain America without Bucky, and he appeared alongside Cap in every story of Captain America Comics. During this era, he also appeared in the all-kid team Young Allies, in the anthology All-Winners Comics and in a few more other titles (Kid Komics #2-8 and U.S.A. Comics #6-16 are uncollected).

Classification: Archive Note

Notes on the collection: Marvel Masterworks was a series of premium hardback editions that was placed on indefinite hiatus in January 2026. These books are hard to find, and beyond this collection, Captain America Comics has only been reprinted in Omnibus:

The Sentinels of Liberty were first introduced in the pages of Captain America and quickly became known as the Young Allies, a group of children fighting the Axis. The line-up included Bucky Barnes, Toro (the Human Torch’s sidekick) and newcomers Knuckles, Whitewash Jones, Jeff and Tubby. Some of these stories have been collected in the now out-of-print Marvel Masterworks: Golden Age Young Allies.

Published quarterly, All Winners Comics was an anthology comic featuring Captain America and Bucky, as well as Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch and Toro, and more.

Several comic series have been published throughout the years featuring Bucky, telling stories set during the Golden Age.

Captain America and The Winter Soldier: The Return of Bucky Barnes by Ed Brubaker (2005-2013)

For a long time, Bucky Barnes was believed to be dead near the end of the war. It was one of those few comic book deaths that stuck. In 2005, writer Ed Brubaker changed that and make comic history by returning Bucky from his seeming death as the Winter Soldier. Though The Winter Soldier is a good way to mess with Steve Roger’s mind, soon enough things became also quite intense for Bucky as Brubaker puts him through the wringer, exploring his relationship with Steve and Black Widow (see reading order), the meaning of Captain America, and how to take the path of redemption.

A Bucky Barnes/Avengers Interlude. In parallel to the events taking place in Captain America and the Marvel Universe, Bucky appeared in several other titles, including as part of the New Avengers following the events Secret Invasion and during Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign. 

While we look forward to future volumes in the Modern Era Epic Collection series, the story continues in…

★
PERSONNEL DOSSIER ★

The run of Captain America by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting is one of the most celebrated in the character’s history. Without surprise, it has been collected in Omnibus: 

You can find all the collected editions and extra information about this period in our special dossier: Captain America by Ed Brubaker Reading Order.

All-New Marvel Now! Bucky Barnes: Winter Soldier and Invader (2013-2015) 

Brubaker concludes his run on Captain America and The Winter Soldier with issue #14. The creative team of Jason Latour and Nic Klein took over to conclude the series with one last arc, while Rick Remender and Roland Boschi explored Bucky’s past during his time as a Soviet agent in the limited series Bitter March. At the same time, the Invaders also reformed to wage a war against the Kree in order to save Earth.

Who shot the Watcher? That is the main question at the center of the Original Sin event, with Nick Fury taking the lead of this murder investigation. Bucky is one of the major players in this story that sets up the next Winter Soldier comic, as Bucky becomes the Man of the Wall. 

All-New, All-Different Bucky Barnes: Leader of the Thunderbolts (2015-2018)

Following Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars, the Marvel Universe was destroyed and then relaunched. Bucky Barnes has no solo title, but became the leader for a short run of the Thunderbolts in the aftermath of Avengers: Standoff.

  • Avengers: Standoff
    Collects Avengers Standoff: Welcome to Pleasant Hill #1, Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Alpha #1, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2016) #3-4, Uncanny Avengers (2015) #7-8, All-New, All-Different Avengers #7-8, New Avengers (2015) #8-10, Captain America: Sam Wilson #7-8, Illuminati (2015) #6, Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2015) #6, Avengers Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill Omega #1.
  • Thunderbolts Vol. 1: There Is No High Road
    Collects Thunderbolts (2016) #1-6.
  • Thunderbolts Vol. 2: No Going Back
    Collects Thunderbolts (2016) #7-12.

Secret Empire Icon 29

Secret Empire! Captain America is living a lie! The Cosmic Cube has remade the world’s greatest hero into a secret true believer in the cause of Hydra, wholly dedicated to its mission of progress through authority and unity through adversity! Now, using the trust and respect he’s been accorded by the great powers of the Marvel Universe, Steve Rogers makes Hydra’s ideals a reality – and changes the landscape of the world dramatically!

This is a controversial event for Steve Rogers, and a great period for Sam Wilson’s time as Captain America. But what about Bucky? He doesn’t play a major role until the end, so this story is largely optional for him. On a positive note, it led to the popular Tales of Suspense series, in which the Winter Soldier teams up with the original Hawkeye to solve a mystery.

Winter Soldier in Marvel Fresh Start (2018-2022)

Bucky Barnes found redemption and continues his healing process by choosing to help others do the same, in the short Kyle Higgins and Rod Reis’s Winter Soldier solo series – the one where Alpine the cat is introduced! 

Then, he is reunited with the Invaders under the creative team of Chip Zdarsky and Carlos Magno, following the events in the pages of Avengers and Defenders: The Best Defense.

War of Realms Logo 72

War of the Realms was the culmination of Jason Aaron’s run on Thor. Although it is a modern classic that we recommend reading, it is totally optional for Bucky, who is a member of the War Avengers — also known as Captain Marvel’s Strikeforce — during this massive event.

Spinning from the conclusion of this story was the new Strikeforce team with Angela, Blade, Spider-Woman, Wiccan, the Winter Soldier, Monica Rambeau, and Daimon Hellstrom joining forces for a monsterific bloodbath across the realms!

Next, this is a time for teaming up for the Winter Soldier. With Falcon and Captain America, as well as with Natasha, Yelena, and Clint. 

Bucky Barnes: A Short Revolution with Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing (2022-2025)

Wilson Fisk has risen from Kingpin of Crime to mayor of the biggest city in America. Now he’s making it illegal to be a superhero in NY in Devil’s Reign.

For Bucky Barnes, it’s mostly an opportunity to steal the information Mayor Fisk has been gathering on superheroes in Devil’s Reign: Winter Soldier #1, launching his story into a new direction, under Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing’s creative team.

Bucky Barnes just became the Outer Circle’s New “Revolution.” As such, he inherited a treasure trove of valuable intel. Using that, he formed a new Thunderbolts team to pursue high-profile targets like the Red Skull, Kingpin, and even Doctor Doom himself! 

This version of the Thunderbolts, formed by Revolution with the help of the mysterious Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine includes the Black Widow, the White Widow, and Shang-Chi.

And then, Doctor Doom brings a new world order during One World Under Doom, pushing Bucky to assemble the Thunderbolts once again with one goal: burn it all down. The main event is completely optional for Bucky and the Thunderbolts. 

The Winter Soldier: New Avengers (2025-Present)

Welcome to the New Avengers! Sam Humphries and Ton Lima’s new comic revolves around volatile personalities. Characters who are always on the brink of conflict! Bucky Barnes – as Winter Soldier once more – and Natasha Romanov must prevent their allies from killing each other if they want their mission to succeed. They lead this new team which comprises Namor, Carnage (Eddie Brock), the Hulk, Clea, and Wolverine (Laura Kinney’s duplicate).

Did we forget an important issue? Did we make a mistake? Let us know in the comments!

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