James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes enlists to fight in World War II, but eventually literally falls in battle. Unfortunately, the evil Arnim Zola recovers him and erases his memory, turning him into a highly-trained assassin called the Winter Soldier.
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.
Bucky Barnes was brought back from his supposed death to be a brainwashed assassin called Winter Soldier. Reformed by his friends, he now fights alongside the Avengers.
Following his redemption arc in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Bucky transitions to a new future as part of the Thunderbolts. The absence of Bucky in Captain America: New World Order hints at a significant shift in his storyline towards the Thunderbolts team.
bucky and sam being iconic "co-workers" ft. zemo & sharon (tfatws ep. 3)
How is Bucky still alive after 70 years?
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.
We see that he's deprogrammed 6 months before the snap in FATWS. He's then snapped away and comes back 5 years later. FATWS takes place 6 months after he comes back. So Bucky is likely 33 physically while chronologically being 107 (FATWS takes place in April 2024, so Bucky's wrong about being 106).
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.
While at the HYDRA Siberian Facility, Barnes' prosthetic arm was destroyed by Tony Stark's unibeam, after Stark was manipulated by Helmut Zemo and attacked Barnes and Steve Rogers.
Following the restoration of the universe and Thanos' defeat, Bucky was pardoned for his crimes on the condition of him attending therapy. Returned to society and seeking to make amends for his past, Bucky worked with a reluctant Sam Wilson to stop the Flag Smashers and their plans.
Marvel Cinematic Universe. Bucky was injected with a counterfeit serum since Captain America's serum was not replicable, therefore, the result of Bucky's serum was bound to be lower quality.
Bucky owes his youthful appearance to repeated cryo-freezes orchestrated by the Russians. He possesses no super powers and never received a form of the Super Soldier Serum as many assume, but continues to operate at peak human ability.
Enhanced Strength: The Winter Soldier has strength that is equal to that of Captain America. Bucky's strength was greatly boosted by a serum given to him by HYDRA scientists. The Winter Soldier's physical strength is enhanced to superhuman levels.
Surviving the war and believing Captain America's death, Bucky eventually marries Gail Richards and has a large extended family. During which, Bucky is diagnosed as having lung cancer from chain smoking back in the War. Barnes and Gail both live to see Steve's revival in the 21st century and renews their friendship.
How is Bucky Barnes still alive for so many years? The Super Soldier Serum Injected into him gives him the ability to slow down aging, like Captain America in ice. He was also Frozen just like Steve, his aging slowed.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
In the 2022 Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, each member of the team gets a personalized gift. Rocket, following his tradition of collecting metal body parts, is unexpectedly given Bucky's arm. More impressively, it's actually the newer black and gold vibranium arm that Bucky got from Wakanda.
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.
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.
However, the serum was powerful enough to help Bucky survive the fall from the train, and much like Steve, he exhibits enhanced physical qualities, so it can be assumed that, also like Steve, he ages slower than the average human.
Based on previous scenes in the MCU, it's apparent that Bucky for sure speaks and understands Romanian, Russian, German, and Japanese, as well as his native English, of course.
