The Winter Soldier Cold front Cold front /

Mackenzi Lee

Book - 2023

"1954: The Winter Soldier is the Soviet Union's greatest weapon. Assigned the most dangerous covert missions from the USSR's secret military branch, and guided by a handler who knows him better than he knows himself, he has only one purpose: to obey orders. But he wasn't always the Winter Soldier . . . 1941: As World War II begins, sixteen-year-old Bucky Barnes is determined to enlist in the US army--if only the local commander will stop getting in his way. When Bucky is offered enrollment in a training program with the British Special Operations Executive--the UK's secret service--he leaps at the chance to become a hero. But Bucky has hardly touched down in London when he finds himself running from a mysterious ass...assin and accompanied by an English chess champion fond of red lipstick and double crosses. She's in possession of a secret every side is desperate to get their hands on. If only they knew what it was . . . Decades later, the Winter Soldier struggles to solve the same mystery Bucky is just beginning to uncover. As their missions intersect across time, their lives collide too--in a way that neither of them would have expected, and that will change the course of their respective wars."--Publisher marketing.

Saved in:
Subjects
Genres
Superhero fiction
Historical fiction
Action and adventure fiction
Published
Los Angeles : Marvel 2023.
Language
English
Main Author
Mackenzi Lee (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
410 pages ; 22 cm
Audience
012-017.
ISBN
9781368022279
Contents unavailable.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Can an origin story for Bucky Barnes as he becomes the Winter Soldier be anything but painful? In this volume, Lee continues exploring Marvel's misunderstood antagonists. It's 1954, smack in the middle of Bucky's journey from hero to villain and back again. Instead of Bucky, there's only the Winter Soldier, a brainwashed torturer and assassin for the (slightly Cold War--caricatured) Soviet Union. The Soldier--confused by his lack of memory, wishing he knew his own name--is nonetheless an obedient asset and a loyal partner to his handler. As the Winter Soldier performs his mission, in a storyline interspersed with movie-style action scenes, some chapters flash back to 1941: The U.S. hasn't yet entered the war, and 16-year-old Bucky pesters his snarky, affectionate guardian to let him enlist (roughly following comics canon, not the movie). Teen Bucky's an incorrigible flirt and smuggler (or entrepreneur!), but he wants to serve his country. Knowledgeable readers and new fans alike will see the forthcoming disaster in young Bucky's eagerness to fight for people who he's beginning to realize are morally compromised. He starts up a doomed but profound romance with a girl he meets on his first mission. Meanwhile, in 1954, the Soldier's resurfacing memories of Captain America reveal an extremely close affection between the two. All characters appear to be White. Cinematic, CGI--ready action--but also a moving exploration of memory and identity. (Science fiction. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.