As Steve Rogers rehearses his eulogy for his friend and comrade James "Bucky" Barnes, the current Captain America, who was killed by Skadi in FEAR ITSELF #3, Nick Fury arrives. Nick has something to tell Steve and isn’t sure how he is going to take it….
Flashback several days to the battle of Washington D.C.: Army medics discover a faint pulse in the critically wounded Bucky and Fury orders the aircraft rerouted…..
Steve’s reaction to Fury’s news is to beat the superspy until the man has to wield Cap’s own shield to defend himself. The only thing that calms Steve is the arrival of the very-much-alive Bucky Barnes….
Flashback: Fury has a Life Model Decoy of Bucky altered to copy his injuries. The Black Widow wants to fake Bucky’s death to prevent him from being returned to the Russian Gulag (CAPTAIN AMERICA #616-619) so he can get his life back; additionally, Fury knows Bucky’s death would be the only way to get Steve Rogers back in uniform as Captain America to lead the fight against the Serpent. And so, the Avengers are informed that Bucky is dead, while surgeons struggle to keep him alive. The last dose of the Infinity Formula is given him to strengthen his heart, at the request of Nick Fury, who hasn’t needed it in a decade. Days pass, with Natasha never leaving his side, then James wakes up….
Today, Natasha reveals to a shaken Steve that the plan to keep Bucky’s survival from him was her idea, first because he needed to focus on winning the war, and later because she did not know whether Bucky would live. Steve disapproves of the deception and Fury defends the scheme to force Steve back to his responsibilities. Bucky steps in to calm the antagonists, telling Steve that he was never cut out to be a public hero but prefers to stay in the shadows….
Later, after the memorial service, mourners gather at Avengers Mansion. Hawkeye was impressed by the eulogy but it seemed to him that Steve was almost smiling at times. Nick Fury claims not to have noticed….
Meanwhile, Bucky and Natasha head out on his new mission to make right all the wrongs he committed as the Winter Soldier.