How Bucky’s Metal Arm Became a Secret Marvel Joke

The brave American soldier James “Bucky” Barnes lost his arm in the same tragedy that transformed him into the brainwashed Winter Soldier. But in one of Marvel’s darkest jokes in recent memory, it was revealed that deep down, Bucky always wanted a cyborg arm… ever since he witnessed how cool it looked on the X-Men’s time traveling soldier Cable. Yes, really.

In the aftermath of 2012’s “Avengers Vs. X-Men” event, Marvel Comics launched an ongoing series called A+X. This was an anthology title, featuring short stories that saw an Avenger and an X-Man working together (and occasionally butting heads). The first issue featured a short story written by legendary Spider-Man writer Dan Slott, set in 1943, and featuring a time traveler working with the Nazis to create a new breed of Sentinels. Captain America and Bucky were sent by the top brass to deal with the Nazi side of the problem, leading to a fantastic team-up with Cable, who had pursued the time traveler from the future.

Cable desperately attempted to keep Cap’s future a secret, wary of changing the timeline, but was unable to prevent Steve Rogers figuring out the Allies would win the war; Cap noted the hero from the future was speaking English, not German. Captain America and Bucky watched Cable disappear into the future, and then headed off. Cap, for his part, wasn’t at all affected by this glimpse of the future. But Bucky was much more reflective, assuming that Cable’s cyborg appendage was something to “look forward to.” Then delivering the punchline…

Of course, in reality, Cable doesn’t have a metal arm at all; he was infected by a technoorganic virus when he was just a baby, and it threatened to take over his entire body. Cable was trained to use a portion of his psychic power to permanently restrain the technoorganic virus, preventing it spreading and consuming him, but it is still visible on the left side of his body. This is far more than just a cyborg arm.

In contrast, Bucky would indeed wind up with a cyborg arm. He was captured near the end of the Second World War, badly injured, and Soviet scientists repaired his broken body by subjecting him to cybernetic experiments. They transformed Bucky Barnes into the Winter Soldier, their most dangerous assassin. His bionic arm possesses a degree of superhuman strength, meaning he really has pulled off just the kind of feats he was no doubt imagining all those decades ago.

So in a way, this bit of dark humor on Slott’s part is actually something of a silver lining to the tragic origin of the Winter Soldier.

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
(4917 Articles Published)

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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