On a 1945 mission gone wrong, Bucky fell to his assumed death, losing his left arm in his fall from a train. When he was recovered by Hydra and brainwashed to become the Winter Soldier, he was given a titanium prosthetic arm, but he didn't keep it for long.
In a fit of rage, Iron Man attacked them both, while Cap continued to fight for his friend. In the brutal brawl that followed, Iron Man blasted Bucky's cybernetic arm off, before he in turn was defeated by Captain America, who disabled his armor, before escaping with Bucky.
Summary. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special showed Nebula giving Bucky's arm to Rocket as a Christmas gift, but it was never explained what Rocket did with it. One theory posited that Nebula's new arm in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was made by Rocket using Bucky's stolen prosthetic.
The fact that Bucky did wear the arm is why it disappeared according to the Russo brothers (via Comicbook), as they stated anything that was part of someone's identity would disappear when snapped.
Nebula simply wrestled the arm off Bucky in the name of Christmas. Gunn also confirmed that the Guardians of the Galaxy purchased Knowhere, the planet where part of the special is set.
Winter Soldier Anatomy Explored - Does His Arm Have Its Own Mind? Can He Detach His Arm Anytime?
Who ripped off Bucky's arm?
Bucky Barnes has gone face to face with Captain America, the Black Widow and the Black Panther, but he somehow lost to Nebula and got his vibranium arm stolen so that way she could give it to Rocket Raccoon as a Christmas present.
Director James Gunn confirmedOpens in a new tab that Nebula “took a trip to earth and tore it off his [Bucky's] body because she was feeling so Christmasy.” Although we have no doubt Nebula can beat Bucky in a fight, we much prefer a vision where Bucky lends her a spare arm for Rocket.
Bucky Barnes, like Steve Rogers, has lived for several decades due to cryogenic freezing and the super-soldier serum. Bucky's life expectancy could potentially surpass Steve's 116 years, depending on circumstances. Despite outwardly aging at the same rate as Steve, Bucky can still live for at least another 80 years.
The fact of the matter is, the arm still functions as a part of his body. The superpowered enhancements do not change the fact that he will still naturally experience pain when his body is put under such stress, especially when the arm is attached to so many nerves that could've been damaged from losing his actual arm.
In terms of raw strength, Captain America is typically portrayed as being stronger than the Winter Soldier, although the Winter Soldier's combat skills and agility can still make him a formidable opponent.
While the original metal version was strong, it's clear that Bucky's vibranium arm has a few key upgrades, which are on display in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. As explained previously by Howard Stark, vibranium is both stronger and lighter than steel, and also absorbs vibrations.
His family is long dead, he has to wear gloves to cover his vibranium murder arm, and even his friendships are rooted in a desire to atone for past sins. Obviously I have never experienced what the Winter Soldier has, but I do find my own trauma is often exposed on first dates.
On December 16, 1991, Barnes was reanimated from a Cryostasis Chamber at the HYDRA Siberian Facility and forced into the Memory Suppressing Machine to brainwash him while his handler, Colonel Vasily Karpov, recited his trigger words from the Winter Soldier Book.
The arm was later almost overpowered by the Black Panther whose own enhanced strength combined with his vibranium suit, the Panther Habit, allowed him to push back the force of the bionic arm while exploiting its limited mobility.
However, it was revealed that this wasn't the plan all along, as Zemo simply wanted to show Tony that Buck had killed his parents in a mission, and Steve knew but never told him. The level of betrayal Tony felt led to him going on a murderous rampage as he tried to kill Bucky.
The Winter Soldier Program was a top secret HYDRA project started by Arnim Zola in the 1940s to brainwash American soldier James "Bucky" Barnes, whom he had administered with his own version of the Super Soldier Serum, and turn him into a super soldier assassin known as the Winter Soldier.
In Marvel Comics, adamantium and vibranium weapons have gone toe-to-toe on several occasions, and the former usually comes out on top. However, in Marvel's live-action projects in the MCU and Fox's X-Men Universe, vibranium is clearly the stronger substance, and the more versatile.
Wakanda provides Bucky with an upgraded prosthetic arm made out of vibranium, which apparently gets stolen by Nebula and given to Rocket Raccoon as a Christmas gift.
The Hydra experimentation on Barnes causes him to survive his fall, and he is recaptured by the Hydra wing of the Soviet Union, where he is tortured and brainwashed by Arnim Zola and turned into the Winter Soldier, a mind-controlled super soldier with a metal prosthetic arm.
Conversation. Actor Sebastian Stan has shared this video of him and his friends celebrating the 107th birthday of Bucky Barnes (Bucky was born on March 10, 1917 in the MCU and would be celebrating his 107th birthday on March 10, 2024)!
Even Bucky's variant serum should allow him to age normally (unless he gets frozen again). A side effect of the Super-Soldier Serum that the Winter Soldier shares with Captain America is that neither can get drunk.
For details of the version of Bucky Barnes seen in the video game Captain America: Super Soldier' please see here: James Barnes (Earth-TRN999). Bucky counts the years he was Blipped when adding up his age, given that he was born in 1917 and that he states that his age is "106" years old in 2024.
With all this armstory between them, when fans saw Nebula had a new arm in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, they suspected it might be related to Bucky's stolen/borrowed limb. But James Gunn has confirmed that is not the case.
The Red Skull brainwashed Bucky and turned him into his loyal henchman. He personally trained him, and Bucky became the Skull's best assassin. The brainwashed Bucky became known as the Winter Soldier.
