Review: Winter Soldier Broken Arrow

Winter Soldier: Broken Arrow by Ed Brubaker picks up after Winter Soldier (aka Bucky Barnes) has  regained his memories and is on the side of the good guys again. He and Black Widow are in a relationship and are working for SHIELD now. The story is about a Soviet sleeper agent (who was trained by the Winter Soldier) awakening from stasis with no memory of who he is. Apparently, like the Winter Soldier himself, these agents were placed in stasis between missions, sometimes for years at a time. It takes years for his memory to return, but when it does he holds Winter Soldier responsible for not freeing him (or something- to be honest the plot is a little flimsy). So he sets a plan in motion to exact revenge by hitting him where it hurts- closer to home than Winter Soldier would ever expect.

Like most of the Winter Soldier stories this has an espionage, Jason Bourne feel to it. I like Winter Soldier and Black Widow together, they make a good team. The execution of the story seemed a little thrown together at times, I thought WS and Natasha got played a little easily- but it's a fun read. The story ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and is continues in the next volume Black Widow Hunt. I'll be checking that out to see where the story goes next.

I really liked the portrayal of Winter Soldier in the Captain America movie- a little more brooding, a little more dangerous- but he was like that in the comics too before he got his memories back. Now that he's a good guy he reads a bit like a generic superhero- he still has some of the angst it would be nice to see a little more edge to him. I also liked the central role Jasper Sitwell plays in the story- I remember him from old issues of Iron Man back in the day. He was a villain in the Captain America movie of course, but I like him better as a good guy.

This is a good story but I'm already reading the next one and the action ratchets way up there. Read this one and then that if you want the full story and a pretty good thrill ride. There's some cool guest stars in the next one too...