"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" Re-decoding Marvel's biggest turning point in "Politics, Movies, MCU"

Three "Winter Soldiers"

``Captain America: The Winter Soldier,'' which incorporates political motifs and develops dynamic suspense action, deals with the question ``Can Captain America stop the Insight Project?'' and the questions ``Steve... The question becomes ``Can Rodgers get Bucky Barnes back?'' In the climax, Steve takes on an extreme mission to stop a Helicarrier from attacking, while also working to awaken his best friend Bucky Barnes from within the assassin Winter Soldier. This is exactly what the Russo brothers were aiming for, and they even go so far as to say that the success or failure of the movie depends on the ending between Steve and Bucky.

By the way, the plot in which Bucky Barnes, who was supposed to be dead, is still alive after being brainwashed as an assassin, was written in a comic by writer Ed Brubaker in 2005. Ed also came up with the name "Winter Soldier."

The term "Winter Soldier" has two meanings, and it is deeply tied to the politics of the film. One example is the ``Winter Soldier Gathering'' in 1971, at the end of the Vietnam War, when soldiers returning from the war denounced war crimes committed by the U.S. military. He was supposed to be fighting for the "justice" he believed in, but it turned out to be nothing more than violence and murder, and he may have only caused people to suffer... It is only natural that this film, which has one of its themes as the fluctuation of justice, was given the title ``Winter Soldier.''

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Another meaning lies in the etymology of "Winter Soldier Gathering." In 1776, philosopher Thomas Paine wrote in his book ``The American Crisis.''

“These are the times when men's souls are being tested. Summer soldiers and opportunistic patriots will hesitate to serve their country in this crisis. You deserve love and gratitude from.”

If those who run away in the face of national crisis are ``summer soldiers,'' those who rise up in the midst of crisis are ``winter soldiers.'' Ed, who gave Bucky this name, was originally set to revive Bucky in Russia and appear as a Russian assassin, and the word "Winter Soldier" evokes the cold of Russia and the Cold War between East and West, and the Vietnam War. He also revealed that the deciding factor in naming the name was that it was linked to war crimes committed since the American Revolution, and also to the words of Thomas Paine.

On the other hand, the Russo brothers, who worked on this film, emphasized that they wanted to ``return to the words of Thomas Paine.'' In other words, not only the Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, but also Steve Rogers, who stood up with faith in America's crisis, is also the Winter Soldier, and the title of the movie refers to both Steve and Bucky.

And in this regard, Falcon/Sam Wilson, who chose to fight alongside Steve, would also be the Winter Soldier. Sam, a retired soldier, also works to care for traumatized former soldiers. In fact, Sam is the embodiment of both meanings of the term ``Winter Soldier'' in a positive way. I can't help but think that this ultimately had an important meaning in the development of Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson that later awaited us in ` `Avengers: Endgame .''

Steps to “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”