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Winter Soldier (2012)
Winter Soldier, Volume 2: Broken Arrow
Ed Brubaker is reunited with famed artist Michael Lark (Daredevil)!
Winter Soldier finds himself on a twisted trail from coast to coast and past to present, chasing the insane man who will become his worst enemy: a villain who knows that Bucky is still alive.
In the aftermath of a tragic and savage murder, Winter Soldier and Black Widow's hunt gets personal! Old enemies resurface with new code names, and nothing will ever be the same.
Collecting: Winter Soldier 6-9
Winter Soldier finds himself on a twisted trail from coast to coast and past to present, chasing the insane man who will become his worst enemy: a villain who knows that Bucky is still alive.
In the aftermath of a tragic and savage murder, Winter Soldier and Black Widow's hunt gets personal! Old enemies resurface with new code names, and nothing will ever be the same.
Collecting: Winter Soldier 6-9
112 pages, Paperback
First published November 21, 2012
13 people are currently reading
524 people want to read
About the author
Ed Brubaker
1,802 books3,041 followersEd Brubaker (born November 17, 1966) is an Eisner Award-winning American cartoonist and writer. He was born at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.
Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.
In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.
Brubaker is best known for his work as a comic book writer on such titles as Batman, Daredevil, Captain America, Iron Fist, Catwoman, Gotham Central and Uncanny X-Men. In more recent years, he has focused solely on creator-owned titles for Image Comics, such as Fatale, Criminal, Velvet and Kill or Be Killed.
In 2016, Brubaker ventured into television, joining the writing staff of the HBO series Westworld.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
July 19, 2013
What is up with Black Widow’s pointy head on this cover? She looks like a new red Crayon.
Aside from Nathasha’s freakish melon on the front, this is another great installment in which the Winter Soldier is trying to stop a renegade assassin that he trained years ago and who was roused from cryogenic sleep when an earthquake shatters the frozen test tube he was napping in. Naturally, he’s a little grumpy and begins an elaborate revenge plan on Bucky and Natasha.
It’s another solid spy story about the Winter Soldier from Burbaker and company, but this collection is a little short and ends on a cliffhanger so it feels like it needed a bit more to fill it out to a full length story of its own.
Aside from Nathasha’s freakish melon on the front, this is another great installment in which the Winter Soldier is trying to stop a renegade assassin that he trained years ago and who was roused from cryogenic sleep when an earthquake shatters the frozen test tube he was napping in. Naturally, he’s a little grumpy and begins an elaborate revenge plan on Bucky and Natasha.
It’s another solid spy story about the Winter Soldier from Burbaker and company, but this collection is a little short and ends on a cliffhanger so it feels like it needed a bit more to fill it out to a full length story of its own.
January 29, 2016
As the Winter Soldier, Bucky specially trained three sleeper agents for Russia. Two have been eliminated, but one hasn't resurfaced.
The one who got away has dangerous plans.
There is some gritty spy stuff happening in Broken Arrow. One of Bucky's trainees was shocked awake years early and was seemingly lost. He rediscovers who he was and during that time he realizes the Winter Soldier lives. He has plans to make Bucky suffer. I enjoyed the intrigue and the uncertainty.
Broken Arrow was an awesome volume and I'm excited for the next volume.
The one who got away has dangerous plans.
There is some gritty spy stuff happening in Broken Arrow. One of Bucky's trainees was shocked awake years early and was seemingly lost. He rediscovers who he was and during that time he realizes the Winter Soldier lives. He has plans to make Bucky suffer. I enjoyed the intrigue and the uncertainty.
Broken Arrow was an awesome volume and I'm excited for the next volume.
May 19, 2019
tbh probably my favorite comic volume in history. wbk how much i love bucky and natasha together.
February 19, 2024
A sleeper agent from Bucky's past is out on the hunt for him and Natasha. Too many super villains want to see their enemy suffer instead of just killing them, it's a bit cliche but this was still enjoyable.
August 28, 2013
Oh god. If I have the money I'm going to order the next Winter Soldier TPB as soon as I get off this damn train. This one's more emotional all the way through than the first one: that was set-up, this is the show. It's a heck of a ride, with Tasha compromised and Bucky willing to do literally anything for her sake, to save her, and to keep her from doing anything she'll regret. To me, that's more involving than the risk of death: Bucky himself shows that death isn't permanent for Marvel heroes, but guilt is.
January 14, 2016
I usually don't read many comics; I prefer sticking to books. However, there are some notable exceptions, and the Winter Soldier comic series is definately one of them. And since I've read all 3 volumes, I will make a general review about all of them here.
I loved this comic. It was exactly as I wanted it: dark, serious, mysterious, thrilling, well-drawn, and well-written. It made me fall in love with Ed Brubaker and his storytelling style.
I really liked how the story developped, it kept me on edge from the beginning until the end. Another thing I loved is the way action and peaceful, dialogue-based interludes melded together; the comic was a balanced combination between the two, thus giving the reader awesome action sequences, as well as meaningful character-development scenes.
Moreover, it was wonderful to see the way the relationship between Natasha and Bucky was portrayed. They were already one of my favourire Marvel couples, and until I finished the comic, they had become my absolute favourite :) Even though dear Brubaker But, after all, I knew better than to expect a happy ending from him.
Still, the comic was amazing. Looking forward to read more of Brubaker's work!
I loved this comic. It was exactly as I wanted it: dark, serious, mysterious, thrilling, well-drawn, and well-written. It made me fall in love with Ed Brubaker and his storytelling style.
I really liked how the story developped, it kept me on edge from the beginning until the end. Another thing I loved is the way action and peaceful, dialogue-based interludes melded together; the comic was a balanced combination between the two, thus giving the reader awesome action sequences, as well as meaningful character-development scenes.
Moreover, it was wonderful to see the way the relationship between Natasha and Bucky was portrayed. They were already one of my favourire Marvel couples, and until I finished the comic, they had become my absolute favourite :) Even though dear Brubaker But, after all, I knew better than to expect a happy ending from him.
Still, the comic was amazing. Looking forward to read more of Brubaker's work!
January 27, 2016
Ballerina Natasha yussssss
January 11, 2022
No you don't understand I am OBSESSED. I want to go on a roof and screech like a pterodactyl. The story is so put together, the action is great. So much spy stuff goes on and it was so exciting. Fucking BUCKYNAT? Banger. This run has literally everything you could want from Bucky & Natasha and I'm sobbing.
Natasha's hair is so funny though. When you buy that as seen on tv hair bump thing lol.
January 31, 2022
In the words of Eleanor Shellstrop, “Holy forking shirtballs” this comic was so good. The cliffhanger?! I cant handle it. I will be starting the third volume as soon as I have a chance. Side note, I love it they include a ballet because I get so excited anytime there’s dance in a book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 6, 2019
The more I read Ed Brubaker's Winter Soldier the more I realize that all things must come to an end. In this regard I am talking about Brubaker's long run on
Captain America
which was contemporaneously ending while Brubaker was writing the Winter Soldier series as well. For much of the latter run of Brubaker on Captain America (which is considered volume 6 of the series), Brubaker feels like he is going through the motions, likely having said all he needed to say about the Steve Rogers Captain America in the first four years he handled the character, and eventually replaced him with Bucky Barnes/Winter soldier after his "death." However, the weariness (or is it boredom) I detect in the latter day Captain America run is not present in Winter Solider.
I have argued elsewhere that Bucky was likely Brubaker's favorite Captain America character, but in many ways, Bucky is Brubaker's own creation, as the Winter Soldier far surpassed what Bucky's original creators, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, likely had in mind for him. He was just a sidekick for Captain America in those original comics. It was only Stan Lee's take on Captain America starting in The Avengers #4 that made Bucky's transformation at the hands of Ed Brubaker possible, as he wrote Cap as being obsessed with Bucky's death. For forty years after that groundbreaking issue, creative teams always tried to bring Bucky back (and until Brubaker was at the helm, it was always a bait and switch intended to fuck with Cap and by extension the readers) and no one really succeeded until Brubaker. But to think that the Winter Solider owes anything to those earlier creative teams is absurd--Brubaker connected the dots to the earlier creative teams and the Winter Soldier was his creation to be certain.
As he did so often on Captain America, Brubaker invokes some of that earlier Captain America history, as the 50s Bucky, Fred Davis makes an appearance here. But most of the action here surrounds the "missing" sleeper from the previous Winter Soldier arc and other characters who were a part of that program (those who have read the Brubaker Captain America may know who I am talking about here.) This is one of the rare story arcs that ends on a cliffhanger but has a satisfying ending. But it's because of things like that that one can tell that Brubaker has a passion for the Winter Soldier that he seems to have lost for Captain America during that point in his career.
I think when you write a serial it's easy to just start going through the motions. Famously, Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes only to retcon his death because the character was so popular. When it comes to comics, this is the way of things. Eventually someone new comes in and makes their mark, for good or for ill.
I have argued elsewhere that Bucky was likely Brubaker's favorite Captain America character, but in many ways, Bucky is Brubaker's own creation, as the Winter Soldier far surpassed what Bucky's original creators, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, likely had in mind for him. He was just a sidekick for Captain America in those original comics. It was only Stan Lee's take on Captain America starting in The Avengers #4 that made Bucky's transformation at the hands of Ed Brubaker possible, as he wrote Cap as being obsessed with Bucky's death. For forty years after that groundbreaking issue, creative teams always tried to bring Bucky back (and until Brubaker was at the helm, it was always a bait and switch intended to fuck with Cap and by extension the readers) and no one really succeeded until Brubaker. But to think that the Winter Solider owes anything to those earlier creative teams is absurd--Brubaker connected the dots to the earlier creative teams and the Winter Soldier was his creation to be certain.
As he did so often on Captain America, Brubaker invokes some of that earlier Captain America history, as the 50s Bucky, Fred Davis makes an appearance here. But most of the action here surrounds the "missing" sleeper from the previous Winter Soldier arc and other characters who were a part of that program (those who have read the Brubaker Captain America may know who I am talking about here.) This is one of the rare story arcs that ends on a cliffhanger but has a satisfying ending. But it's because of things like that that one can tell that Brubaker has a passion for the Winter Soldier that he seems to have lost for Captain America during that point in his career.
I think when you write a serial it's easy to just start going through the motions. Famously, Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes only to retcon his death because the character was so popular. When it comes to comics, this is the way of things. Eventually someone new comes in and makes their mark, for good or for ill.
January 2, 2013
Amazing stuff. Brubaker continues to make this title the James Bond of the Marvel universe, and does it flawlessly, with a plot that dances around between time periods and settings with ease and keeps the adrenaline pumping through all four issues. There's an evil cliffhanger ending at the end of the trade too, so volume 3 can't come quick enough. The art from Michael Lark is exceptional as well, just as good if not better than the last time he collaborated with Brubaker on Daredevil.
July 18, 2014
Me encanta.
Una historia completa que incluye espionaje y venganza, redención y amor entre dos agentes que han tenido un pasado doloroso y han sido manipulados. Han estado en los dos bandos, conscientes o no.
Ahora todo lo pone en peligro un soldado que fue entrenado precisamente por James "Bucky" Barnes. No tienen ni idea de lo qué les espera.
Yo tampoco tenía idea.
Esto es demasiado para mí.
Una historia completa que incluye espionaje y venganza, redención y amor entre dos agentes que han tenido un pasado doloroso y han sido manipulados. Han estado en los dos bandos, conscientes o no.
Ahora todo lo pone en peligro un soldado que fue entrenado precisamente por James "Bucky" Barnes. No tienen ni idea de lo qué les espera.
Yo tampoco tenía idea.
Esto es demasiado para mí.
February 24, 2016
Holy CRAP! That was so awesome. I can't wait to read the next vol.
I know I'm asking for an impossible, but it would be nice if some time life wouldn't kick Bucky's ass. He deserves some peace, the poor baby.
I know I'm asking for an impossible, but it would be nice if some time life wouldn't kick Bucky's ass. He deserves some peace, the poor baby.
June 28, 2021
This second volume of this iteration of the ongoing Winter Soldier comic built on the strong premise of the first book. The whole series kicked off with the classic espionage story trope of sleeper agents being reactivated for other purposes - something obviously close to the Winter Soldier's own personal history. This book continues that story exploration since one of the sleepers still wasn't accounted for.
And the only thing worst than a reactivated sleeper agent is a rogue sleeper agent without a mission. This is precisely what happened to the last sleeper trained by the Winter Soldier so long ago and he and the Black Widow now have to figure out what this agent is up to. No immediate plan is easily determined based on his increasing body count at seemingly random locations. But of course, there's a plan - one that is no less dangerous than one that could have been conceived by the KGB's former Department X that had spawned all these dangerous assets.
I liked the cat and mouse game that dominates this issue as this really pushes a lot of the feel trying to use intelligence work to figure out where the sleeper has gone and combining it with the more exciting fight sequences we've come to expect from anything involving the Winter Soldier. I liked how the different elements balanced out and the ending of the book wasn't entirely surprising but was still quite fulfilling.
And the only thing worst than a reactivated sleeper agent is a rogue sleeper agent without a mission. This is precisely what happened to the last sleeper trained by the Winter Soldier so long ago and he and the Black Widow now have to figure out what this agent is up to. No immediate plan is easily determined based on his increasing body count at seemingly random locations. But of course, there's a plan - one that is no less dangerous than one that could have been conceived by the KGB's former Department X that had spawned all these dangerous assets.
I liked the cat and mouse game that dominates this issue as this really pushes a lot of the feel trying to use intelligence work to figure out where the sleeper has gone and combining it with the more exciting fight sequences we've come to expect from anything involving the Winter Soldier. I liked how the different elements balanced out and the ending of the book wasn't entirely surprising but was still quite fulfilling.
May 2, 2021
There's still one more Soviet sleeper agent missing, and Winter Soldier and Black Widow are trying to find him. What would a sleeper agent, expecting to wake up in the Cold War but finding himself in the modern age, do upon activating? Without the drugs, the procedures, the usual coping mechanisms, he'd kind of go crazy. And that's what's happened- he's not looking to follow his orders anymore, he's looking to find a way to make the world make sense. And to him the only thing that makes sense is a decades-old spy thriller about mind control and secret assassinations. So Bucky has to track him down- even though Bucky taught him to be hard to track and even harder to put down.
I like the contrast of Bucky and Nat, trying their best to be "heroes", up against a similarly brainwashed agent waking up and going right back to being a villain. He's still injured from the wake-up process and aren't fully cognizant of the ramifications his actions have but seeing Bucky and Nat almost empathize with him, realizing they could very well be in his position, is neat.
I like the contrast of Bucky and Nat, trying their best to be "heroes", up against a similarly brainwashed agent waking up and going right back to being a villain. He's still injured from the wake-up process and aren't fully cognizant of the ramifications his actions have but seeing Bucky and Nat almost empathize with him, realizing they could very well be in his position, is neat.
December 7, 2023
What a cliffhanger! Times like these almost make me wish that I were a monthly comic buyer, as I am dying to know what happens next after this short and sweet book ended. I almost wish that Marvel had waited and issued a thicker trade with more of a resolution to the storyline. This book moves at a brisk clip, and Lark's artwork has a sort of kinetic energy to it.
The third sleeper agent woke to a world where he no longer belonged. He manages to turn the Black Widow into his catspaw. I guess that the Black Widow uses the same formula that Nick Fury does that keeps her from aging. This is a problem for Marvel, as some of their characters are tied into specific points in history. The longer these characters last, the more outlandish the concept that they have to come up with in order to keep the character at a certain age. Suspension of disbelief and all that jazz, right? This is a thrill a minute in high adventure, folks. If this doesn't rock your socks off then nothing will.
The third sleeper agent woke to a world where he no longer belonged. He manages to turn the Black Widow into his catspaw. I guess that the Black Widow uses the same formula that Nick Fury does that keeps her from aging. This is a problem for Marvel, as some of their characters are tied into specific points in history. The longer these characters last, the more outlandish the concept that they have to come up with in order to keep the character at a certain age. Suspension of disbelief and all that jazz, right? This is a thrill a minute in high adventure, folks. If this doesn't rock your socks off then nothing will.
May 20, 2018
I really do love Brubaker’s work, and I obviously gave this volume 4 stars because there is a lot I do really like about this. But what if, for once, the only prominent woman in the story didn’t get kidnapped / brainwashed? Just a suggestion. I do know it is different here with Natasha and her history, but must we damsel women to be saved by the man the book is named after?
Honestly, this series should probably have been titled The Winter Soldier and The Black Widow because I have been really enjoying how important she is in this story. Minus the kidnapping and brainwashing which clearly continues into the next volume. I was genuinely surprised by the twist / “this was the plan all along” moment at the end. So I am looking forward to how this resolves.
Honestly, this series should probably have been titled The Winter Soldier and The Black Widow because I have been really enjoying how important she is in this story. Minus the kidnapping and brainwashing which clearly continues into the next volume. I was genuinely surprised by the twist / “this was the plan all along” moment at the end. So I am looking forward to how this resolves.
December 14, 2018
I am loving this series!! I’ve never read any of the Avengers comics or their spin offs before and this does not disappoint. Natasha is wonderfully cool and kicks so much ass which is a beautiful thing to behold and quite frankly this is why I like women in comic books; I don’t care if they’re drawn seductively as some suggest, I see them as strong and capable and always on a par with the men in the team, gimme more! Ahhh Bucky.... he may be the only guy capable of stealing my heart away from Wolverine... he is just that good! There’s really not enough of him in the MCU (are you listening Russo bros?), but I am really enjoying him here and I don’t want it to end!
August 2, 2021
Tym razem krótszy, ale chyba treściwszy tom, który udowadnia jak dobrym autorem jest Brubaker i jak świetnym rysownikiem jest Lark. Tych dwoje to istna bomba.
W poprzednim tomie Bucky Barnes musiał zmierzyć się z dwojgiem super żołnierzy radzieckich, wybudzonych ze snu tak jak on. Przeciwnika udało się zneutralizować, ale pojawił się inny problem. Trzeci żołnierz, który został wybudzony jakieś 12 lat temu...
Pytanie: gdzie był ów żołdak i co robił. Brubaker w miarę szybko odkrywa wszystkie karty, jednak najlepsze zachowuje na koniec. Sprawa dla Winter Soldiera staje się bardzo osobista, a przeciwnik jest na tyle cwany, że pozostaje nieuchwytny. Dzieje się tu wiele i na tym skończę, ponieważ z racji tych kilku zeszytów, trudno było by uniknąć większych spoilerów.
Lark. Ja gościa ubóstwiam od czasów Daredevila, przy którym zresztą artysta współpracował z Brubakerem. Zatem już to stanowi gwarant jakości. Rysownik ma ostrą i pełną detali kreskę, dzięki czemu całość pochłania się oczami. I czyta szybko. Drugi tom jest zwyczajnie świetny. I choć to bardziej 4.5/5, niemniej tom zasługuje na wysoką notę.
W poprzednim tomie Bucky Barnes musiał zmierzyć się z dwojgiem super żołnierzy radzieckich, wybudzonych ze snu tak jak on. Przeciwnika udało się zneutralizować, ale pojawił się inny problem. Trzeci żołnierz, który został wybudzony jakieś 12 lat temu...
Pytanie: gdzie był ów żołdak i co robił. Brubaker w miarę szybko odkrywa wszystkie karty, jednak najlepsze zachowuje na koniec. Sprawa dla Winter Soldiera staje się bardzo osobista, a przeciwnik jest na tyle cwany, że pozostaje nieuchwytny. Dzieje się tu wiele i na tym skończę, ponieważ z racji tych kilku zeszytów, trudno było by uniknąć większych spoilerów.
Lark. Ja gościa ubóstwiam od czasów Daredevila, przy którym zresztą artysta współpracował z Brubakerem. Zatem już to stanowi gwarant jakości. Rysownik ma ostrą i pełną detali kreskę, dzięki czemu całość pochłania się oczami. I czyta szybko. Drugi tom jest zwyczajnie świetny. I choć to bardziej 4.5/5, niemniej tom zasługuje na wysoką notę.
September 28, 2025
Brubaker has become one of my favorite comic authors and the collection lived up to my expectation. My largest complaint is how the publisher broke the story up. Although the storyline is small enough to fit into one volume they placed it in two. Just a minor annoyance since I was on vacation and had to work out how to get the ending.
May 18, 2017
mmmm those color schemes
October 24, 2018
More interesting than volume 1. Made me more keen to read the rest.
May 6, 2019
This is a great espionage comic.
May 27, 2019
The third sleeper agent trained by the Winter Soldier surfaces, and takes aim at the Winter Soldier. Good writing and art. But a short collection.
July 8, 2020
Am I still having feelings about Bucky Barnes? You betcha! I'm also still have feelings about this art.
September 1, 2020
My head would be spinning.
February 16, 2021
Good spy action in this one.
April 28, 2021
No, Pietro. I did not see that coming.
May 5, 2021
Brubaker is just great! Continues from vol.1 in which the 3rd super soldier resurrects to try to get revenge on Bucky for becoming an American Hero.
June 7, 2021
favorite brubaker volume ever i love them sm
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews