Loran's brain squirrels

This is the second resource entry I prepared from my notes on the Winter Soldier arc. It gathers Bucky related facts from the issues, including dates, abilities and so on.
For a summary of the arc (Captain America (2004) #1-14) here.

Timeline

Bucky is born in 1924. (Being “nearly twenty-one” in April 1945)

In 1941, he becomes Steve’s partner at sixteen. (Steve is twenty at the time.)

In November 1942, the events in Kronas, Russia with the Invaders take place.

Steve and Bucky disappear in April 1945 over the English channel.
Bucky gets picked up by Karpov soon after.

In May 1945, doctors begin to work on him in Moscow. They put him back into stasis two weeks later.

In June 1954, Special Section Department X begins work on Project: Winter Soldier. (Karpov is part of the KGB after the war, so likely this Department is too.)

In November 1954, the Winter Soldier carries out his first mission in West-Berlin, killing three soldiers in what looks like a drunken car accident.
He carries out six more missions in the next three years.

In 1957, he becomes unstable (asking questions, curiosity) and less controllable (questioning orders, attacking another operative), leading to a change in how he's handled. He's kept in stasis between missions and repeat the "Mental Implantation" after each awakening.
They use him selectively for the next 15 years.

In March 1973, the Winter Soldier disappears after successfully killing a US Senator in Dallas. He travels to New York City, via Chicago. He gets found and picked up after two weeks. He is not used in the US after that until the events of the Winter Soldier arc.

In September 1983, Karpov takes the Winter Soldier to the Middle East as his bodyguard.

In August 1988 after Karpov’s death, the Winter Soldier gets decommissioned and kept in stasis until the events of the Winter Soldier arc.

Confirmed sightings of the Winter Soldier by SHIELD

1955, West-Berlin Assassination of General Keller (headshot)
1960, London Assassination of an "MI6 top man" (drowned in bathtub)
1976, Switzerland Assassination of the vice-chancellor of Wakanda (fall off a mountain)
2004 (Nov), Washington, D.C. sighting at Dulles Airport during the WS arc

According to SHIELD software estimations, Bucky aged only five years between the sightings in 1955 and 1976, and three years from 1976 until the events of the WS arc.

The Winter Soldier Project

Documentation:

The Winter-Soldier project is very well documented, allowing Karpov to make the connection between the Winter Soldier and Steve and send Steve the detailed files later.

Purpose:

Karpov had the explicit plan to use Bucky against the US specifically. Karpov calls Bucky a tool in the project files.

Bucky's arm:

It was already missing up to the shoulder when Karpov found him.

Before reanimation:

After Bucky gets picked out of the channel (April ‘45), he is kept in "cold storage" until he arrives in Moscow and the doctors reanimate him (May ‘45).

Original goal:

Karpov had hoped to find Steve, but after finding Bucky he’d hoped that he also had received the super-soldier serum therefore they wanted to study his blood.

Reanimation:

Bucky was clinically dead, but as his blood and body seemed in good condition, they revived him as if his heart had just stopped.

Amnesia:

Bucky had no memories up on waking but still his fighting capabilities, as well as tactical and language skills.

Resistance:

Despite having no memories or because of it, Bucky was very aggressive after being revived. They therefore kept him sedated.

Back to the fridge:

When they did not find any serum in his blood they put him "back into stasis" after only two weeks.

Special Section Department X:

The department carries out Project: Winter Soldier (June ‘54)

Metal arm:

They give Bucky a robotic metal arm based on plans that came from a mole in MI6 (schematics for Advanced Robotic Appendages and Attachment)

Mind manipulation:

They use Bucky’s memory loss and reprogram his mind. In Karpov’s words:

It was our own experiments in Mental Implantation during Sensory Deprivation that provided the breakthrough. And because of the American's memory loss, it was quite simple. We were able to reprogram the American's mind. We gave him a purpose and we made him loyal to no one but us. Once that was accomplished, we had simply to train and prepare him for a field evaluation. Hopes are high that he will be a successful operative. I believe, because he walks and talks just like them, because he exudes "America" with every breath, that the enemy will never see him coming.

Control issues:

After a few years (‘57), the result of the reprogramming becomes unstable. The Winter Soldier questions orders and attacks another operative. It is either his memory coming back or some other residue of his personality causing problems. From then on they keep him in stasis and repeat the "Mental Implantation" after awakening.
Despite those measures, the Winter Soldier disappears for two weeks after a mission in Dallas in March ‘73. He is found in New York and fights the agents that have come to bring him back in. After that he does not carry out missions in the US anymore.
(From ‘83 to ‘88, the Winter Soldier is out of stasis and seemingly not undergoing reimplantation, and it does not come to any issues during that time.)

End of the project:

After Karpov’s death (August ‘88 ) the project is decommissioned and the Winter Soldier gets placed into permanent stasis.

State of Mind

There is nothing to suggest that Bucky’s memories are deleted or suppressed at any point during the Winter soldier project. He already has amnesia and doesn’t remember who he is after his fall off the drone plane and getting reanimated. The techniques used seem only to aim at adding patterns that will make him controllable and identifying with Department X’s goals.

Despite his amnesia, Bucky is not cooperative without mental interventions. Bucky fights the scientists and agents when he’s first reanimated, so they have to sedate him. When the reprogramming starts to fail, he almost kills another operative.

There are some signs that the amnesia might not be permanent or complete.
When the reprogramming slips, the scientist of Department X think that either his mind is trying to remember who he is or that he still has some sparse memories of his life before. When he disappears for two weeks in ‘73, witnesses described him as confused as to which year it was and as uneasy around people. He travels a great distance to get to New York.
Also, when Steve questions if Bucky really doesn’t remember anything of his former life and who he is, Bucky gets very agitated, implying that the prodding does rouse something.

Despite all hints that his memory either has started to come back or is still there in small parts, the Winter Soldier does try to kill Steve, repeatedly. He suggests it to Lukin the first time they come face to face. He does not succeed due to other people interfering and not calculating for Steve’s abilities, not for a lack of trying. There is no indication that he remembers who Steve is or what he’s able to do (and survive).

As the Winter Soldier, Bucky is more than a brainless tool, despite the mental reprogramming. He makes snarky comments throughout the arc (although we could speculate that it's a first sign of the programming slipping again). He also does act largely autonomously and makes suggestions about strategy on his missions.
However, Lukin gets weary of the Winter Soldier when he gets “a tone” in his voice and questions his orders. Questioning orders is also mentioned as a sign of the reprogramming slipping. From that we can conclude that it’s beyond the limit of normal behavior.
This suggests that the Winter Soldier's behavior is more that of an obedient and loyal agent than that of a will-less machine.

Abilities

• His abilities are not changed by the Winter Soldier programm, apart from receiving the metal arm.


• “deadly with rifle, knife and hand-to-hand” (according to Fury)


• Able to speak four languages, including Russian (also not changed by his time as the Winter Soldier)

Testimonials:

• Six-teen year-old Bucky gets called a natural fighter and the best he’d ever seen by Colonel Phillips


• Karpov believed he might have received the super soldier serum after he’d seen him fighting


• Steve says that Winter Soldier was the best man Lukin had


• Steve also says that Bucky was highly trained and he would not have been part of the Invaders otherwise

Family and life before becoming Steve’s partner

• Bucky's father was "career military". He died a "few years" before Bucky joins Steve in 1941


• Bucky lived at Camp Lehigh after his father’s death.

Bucky’s time in the army

• Steve was a corporal when they met and Bucky a private


• Bucky's codename was bluejay, and Steve's was eagle


• Bucky acted as an advance scout


• Bucky had been deployed before: a month in the UK with a special SAS regiment


• Officially Bucky was a symbol. In the field however, he did some unpalatable things, that Steve could not for his image (and possibly his character).
  In Steve’s words:
  

  ...while our Advance Scout cleared the way. Which is the real secret of what Bucky was. The official story said he was a symbol to counter the rise of the Hitler Youth… And there was some truth to that, but like all things in war, there was a darker truth underneath. Bucky did the things I couldn't. I was the icon. I wore the flag…but while I gave speeches to troops in the trenches…he did what he'd been trained to do…and he was highly trained. He wouldn't have been out there with us if he wasn't.