12 Captain America Moments That Shocked The World

Throughout World War II, Captain America had a sidekick called James "Bucky" Buchanan Barnes. Trying to divert a Nazi plane's trajectory, Bucky leapt on the wing of the vehicle. Sadly, his sleeve got caught on the plane so he couldn't break free. The plane exploded, seemingly killing Bucky.

As far as fans were concerned, Bucky was dead. So, when he showed up as the Winter Soldier, successfully assassinated the Red Skull, and tried to kill Cap, readers couldn't believe it. Not even Cap believed it! Surely, it wasn't really him, right? It must be one of Doctor Faustus' illusions or a shapeshifter.

Nope. It was the real deal. In Captain America #6 in 2005, it was confirmed that Bucky was very much alive and had been brainwashed as an assassin by the Soviets.

To understand how shocking this revelation was for long-time readers, look at it this way. Readers are aware of a concept in comic books called The Bucky Clause. This Clause states that, “No one stays dead in comics except Bucky, Jason Todd (the second Robin) and Uncle Ben.” This Clause is now redundant since Bucky and Jason Todd have been brought back to life in recent years.

His supposed death was first mentioned in Avengers #4 in 1964 and his resurrection occurred 41 years later, meaning that he was dead longer than any other mainstream Marvel character.