‘What If There Wasn’t Only One?’

07 October 2011
Newsarama posted the following earlier:

The second Marvel teaser of the pre-New York Comic Con Friday has arrived, this one promising answers in January.

The message is simple: “What if there wasn’t only one?” Given that the image consists of a star — similar to the one on Captain America’s shield — on a black background, the likely most obvious implication is that it has something to do with Cap. Return of Bucky? Something else entirely?

My guess: “What if there wasn’t only one Winter Soldier?”

Why do I think that? For a few reasons:

  1. Bucky/Winter Soldier was an interesting and complex character. A man in his 80s, with the body of a man in his late 20s/early 30s… who was not only Captain America’s sidekick – and replacement – but the brainwashed weapon of a foreign government.
  2. Bucky, after taking on the mantle of Captain America, became a popular character. Even though readers knew that Steve Rogers had to return to the red-white-and-blue, they bought issues of Captain America with Bucky carrying the shield, month after month.
  3. The most glaringly obvious thing, at least to me, is that Bucky/The Winter Soldier had a red star imprinted on his cybernetic arm.

    The ad doesn’t feature a white star – like on Cap’s uniform or shield… or even Red Guardian‘s uniform or shield. It’s red.

And, let’s face it: We’re talking comics. The realm of the hyperbole is the stuff of stories in comics. It would stand to reason that the people behind the Winter Soldier program would want more than just one “perfect assassin” in their army. It… makes sense… in a comic book kind of way.

What are your thoughts?

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