Comic Info
Comic Name: Winter Soldier: The Bitter March
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Roland Boschi
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2014
Winter Soldier: The Bitter March #1
Reprints Winter Soldier: The Bitter March #1-5 (April 2014-September 2014). It is 1966, and HYDRA has just captured two important assets in former Nazi scientists Peter and Mila Hitzig. Nick Fury and Ran Shen have been sent in to reclaim Peter and Mila, but the plans hit a snag when they discover the Soviets have sent the Winter Soldier to get the Hitzigs first. Now, Ran Shen is on the run with Peter and Mila and the unstoppable Winter Soldier is after them. When an agent called the Drain accidentally taps into Bucky’s old memories, Ran’s enemy might become his only ally.
Written by Rick Remender, Winter Soldier: The Bitter March is a Marvel Comics limited series. The comic book collection features art by Roland Boschi.
The Winter Soldier started out as a groan-worthy concept. To me, Bucky was dead…he was the irritating scar in Captain America’s past that he failed (aka his Uncle Ben). It seemed like whenever Captain America was down, Bucky’s death resonated inside of him…to the point of being irritating depending on the writer. When Brubaker decided to bring Bucky back as the Winter Soldier, I thought I would hate it…but Bucky turned into an interesting character in his history and his new direction.
Winter Soldier: The Bitter March #2
This adventure is one of the Winter Soldier’s “adventures”. The story is told from the perspective of Ran Shen and features the Winter Soldier as an antagonist for the first three issues and an ally for the last two. It feels like a pretty tight and compact storyline, and I even kind of like the Drain as a villain.
The story is a tragic tale of the Marvel Universe. Bucky is freed from his Winter Soldier programming but is recaptured and reprogrammed before anyone can know. You also have Ran leaving his path as a spy after being disillusioned in his attempts to save Mila and Bucky. This sets up Remender’s storyline with Ren’s return as the Iron Nail. I must admit that I wasn’t caught up on Captain America when I read this so I wasn’t sure who the Iron Nail was…but it was a pretty solid mini-origin and Ren is a likable protagonist with a bit of a flair for showmanship.
Winter Soldier: The Bitter March is a short and sweet story. It provides enough action and thrills to be entertaining, but it also does manage to get into the characters enough to give them dimension in the five issue story. If you are a fan of the Winter Soldier or Bucky in general, it is worth seeking out. It works as part of the bigger Captain America mythos, but it also does fine as a stand-alone.
