Winter Soldier #6

This is the best issue of Winter Soldier so far. I’m not sure if that is because Ed Brubaker is back to the noir-ish world where Bucky works best or what, but I found myself way more interested in a new villain and opening moves than on Lucia Von Bardas’ plot from the opening arc.

Leonid is the last sleeper trained by Bucky Barnes to show up in the pages, but he’s clearly the most dangerous. Freed from his programming, he’s got a weird obsession with super-heroes in general and the Winter Soldier in particular. I’m not sure if “you should have woken me up better!” is much of a motivation for a villain to go after a hero, but this new guys is so interesting it’s fine with me. Leonid actually seems competent, and his actions at the close of the issue prove that he’s willing to do some awful things to achieve his goals.

I’m enjoying Bucky’s supporting cast more and more. Jasper Sitwell is a bit of a cold fish, but that puts him at nice odds with Black Widow. The Widow is a perfect partner for Bucky; as an ex-Soviet spy, she’s got all sorts of plot-relevant insight that pops up all the time. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Falcon show up, he and Bucky got along so well when Bucky Cap was on the scene.

Michael Lark’s moody art is perfect for the book. I think we could just rotate through old Gotham Central artists and we’d be in good shape. I do wish that more artists could capture that 70’s vibe on the Widow, though. She’s got such a great look, but it’s hard to show off in her limited panel time. And surely Leonid is going to get some kind of costume, right?

Good