James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes was just as patriotic as the next American--maybe even moreso--when World War II broke out. Unfortunately, he wasn't old enough to enlist. Determined not to let that stop him, Bucky lied about his age and signed up. He was his company's mascot (exactly what this means I don't know--eric) and became fast friends with Pvt. Steve Rogers. One night, as Steve was changing into his Captain America costume, Bucky walked in and discovered his secret identity. Against Steve's better judgment, he agreed to Bucky's insistance of becoming Captain America's partner. The crime-fighting duo fought Nazis together for a few months before joining up with the Invaders.
Bucky served as Cap's sidekick for the first half of the war but eventually decided to form his own group, the Kid Commandos. Bucky already had experience founding the Liberty Legion, but he remained in the Kid Commandos to serve as their leader. Bucky stayed in the United States for several months as part of the Kid Commandos, but as the war began to wind down he rejoined Cap. The two heroes worked as partners again for many weeks when they came into conflict with one of their arch-enemies, the Nazi scientist Baron Zemo. The evil Baron had stolen an Allied drone plane and Cap and Bucky confronted him to get it back. Unfortunately, the star-spangled duo didn't expect to encounter Zemo's gigantic robot. They were overcome by the automaton and Zemo strapped Cap and Bucky onto the drone plane. He had discovered it was only a decoy and equipped it with a bomb. Shortly before the booby-trapped plane took off, Cap and Bucky revived. Cap broke their bonds and jumped off of the plane. He called for Bucky to do the same but Bucky wanted to defuse the bomb. As Cap fell into the freezing sea below, the drone plane exploded and killed Bucky. Cap went into suspended animation and was revived years later by the Avengers. As a member of that team, Cap again encountered Baron Zemo and watched as the Baron was killed by a landslide triggered by his own gun. Although Cap could do nothing to save his friend in 1945, he at long last was able to avenge Bucky.
After the war, two different young men adopted the guise of Bucky as members of the All-Winner's Squad. One of these Buckies eventually became the crimefighter Nomad. Although Captain America has had several partners over the years, he has never forgotten Bucky Barnes.
First Appearance: CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1 (1941)
First Modern Appearance and Death Revealed: AVENGERS #4
Death Depicted in flashback: AVENGERS #56
Invaders Appearances: #1-29, 38-39
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