James "Bucky" Barnes is in a Russian prison camp, forced into an exhibition fight against the brutal man-bear Ursa Major. With his agility and a handy length of chain, Bucky is able to defeat the monster against all odds. Colonel Rostov, the warden, is of the opinion that their plan is going to be even easier than they had hoped….
Bucky wakes up the next morning, sore but finding respect from some of the inmates. The sound of so many voices speaking Russian, however, causes memories to surface, memories of his time as the Soviet assassin the Winter Soldier, memories he had hoped to bury permanently. In the yard, he is accosted by a bunch of convicts who call themselves the Wolf Spiders, followers of Bucky’s old comrade Niko Constantin, and they offer him protection. When Bucky declines he has to fight the thugs beating them easily, proving they are not true Wolf Spiders, subjects of an experiment by Department X’s Red Room. The closest the project came to success was Niko, who ended up a dangerous psychotic—and is now in this gulag. After Bucky beats the hoods, an old man named Alexi introduces himself as a former student of the Winter Solder’s and offers him some tips to stay alive. Alexi reveals that the Warden, Rostov, has a personal grudge against the American; Rostov is a secret backer of the clandestine cage matches and Alexi shows Bucky his next opponent, the gigantic brute Boris Bullski, the original Titanium Man. Bullski has been promised his freedom if he kills Bucky in the fight….
Story #2Black Widow
Writer:
Ed Brubaker. Penciler/Inker:
Mike Deodato Jr.. Colorist:
Bettie Breitweiser.
Synopsis
Sharon Carter arrives in
Moscow, posing as an American journalist with the
Black Widow as her interpreter. They examine the official files on the
Winter Soldier and find them identical to the copies sent to America. In them, the Soldier is accused of murdering two innocents,
Victor Lodenko and
Rina Szynski, on November 17, 1982, indicating that the assassin had gone rogue and was now an enemy of the Soviet Union. Natasha suspects this was a KGB-sanctioned killing and thinks she knows how to confirm it. Sharon calls
Steve Rogers in the States to report but they are suddenly cut off (the reason why is in the third story). That night, the two women sneak into a secret facility to examine the
Department X cold files. Natasha discovers that the two victims were staff of the
Red Room under
Colonel Rostov…and then they are surprised by armed guards….
Story #3Super-Soldier
Writer:
Ed Brubaker. Penciler/Inker:
Chris Samnee. Colorist:
Bettie Breitweiser.
Synopsis
At
Avengers Mansion,
Steve Rogers stands pondering the
Captain America costume and his future.
Jarvis enters, saying It’s time…" Steve assumes the butler is referring to the decision to wield the shield once more. Jarvis notes that Steve is the only one who believes he won’t and moves on to his real business: reminding Steve of his appointment at the Justice Department. Steve’s meeting is with
Henry Peter Gyrich, longtime thorn in the Avengers’ thumb, to ask why Gyrich was so adamant about concluding the deal that sent
Bucky to a Russian Prison. The angry bureaucrat is interrupted in his retort by Steve’s phone; Steve takes the call from
Sharon Carter in Moscow (see story 2) to stop himself from punching Gyrich. Suddenly the office explodes and an armored killer appears in the newly made hole in the wall. Steve battles the enemy finally knocking him back through the hole after which the villain jets to safety. Steve, noting that the assassin spoke Russian demands to know just what Gyrich has done....
Story #4Super-Soldier
Writer:
Ed Brubaker. Penciler/Inker:
. Colorist:
Bettie Breitweiser.
Synopsis
At
Avengers Mansion,
Steve Rogers stands pondering the
Captain America costume and his future.
Jarvis enters, saying It’s time…" Steve assumes the butler is referring to the decision to wield the shield once more. Jarvis notes that Steve is the only one who believes he won’t and moves on to his real business: reminding Steve of his appointment at the Justice Department. Steve’s meeting is with
Henry Peter Gyrich, longtime thorn in the Avengers’ thumb, to ask why Gyrich was so adamant about concluding the deal that sent
Bucky to a Russian Prison. The angry bureaucrat is interrupted in his retort by Steve’s phone; Steve takes the call from
Sharon Carter in Moscow (see story 2) to stop himself from punching Gyrich. Suddenly the office explodes and an armored killer appears in the newly made hole in the wall. Steve battles the enemy finally knocking him back through the hole after which the villain jets to safety. Steve, noting that the assassin spoke Russian demands to know just what Gyrich has done....