In my last post I talked about how killing off Bucky Barnes in the Fear Itself comic book crossover event was a bad move for Marvel. Since becoming Captain America in Ed Brubaker’s critically acclaimed Cap series, Bucky has become one of Marvel’s most interesting characters, so I’m convinced we haven’t seen the last of the former Winter Soldier. If Marvel somehow brought Bucky back to the comics during or after Fear Itself, how could he do it? These are some of my theories.

1) It wasn’t really him who was killed by the new Red Skull. Bucky has been known to work with former SHIELD director Nick Fury on multiple occasions, and fans of the comics will know that Fury has often used LMDs (life model decoys). My leading theory is that Bucky used an LMD to fake his own death, allowing him to clear his name and work in a black ops role.

2) The God of Fear aka ‘The Serpent’ resurrects him. As Barnes was dying, he muttered to The Black Widow that “the Serpent is coming.” This suggests that the Serpent may have plans to use Bucky as a weapon against Steve Rogers. Having Steve try to protect himself from his former friend and sidekick would certainly add some excitement to what has been quite an emotional event thus far. Would Steve even have to kill Bucky?

3) Valkyrie brings Barnes back from the dead. When Bucky supposedly died, the Asgardian demigod was standing near him. One of Valkyrie’s character traits is that he creates a death glow when death is imminent. If Barnes was sent to Valhalla (the realm of the righteous dead), then maybe he could escape somehow. After all, plenty of characters have entered Valhalla only to return shortly after.

So there are my theories on how Bucky survives. Once alive, I predict he would likely star in his own series, as I doubt Marvel would want to include him in their mainline Captain America series in case it’s too confusing for new fans who just watched Captain America: The First Avenger. . He would have to assume a new identity to keep the fact that he is alive a secret. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that the role of a US Agent would be perfect for Bucky. It’s not exactly Captain America standard, but it allows Bucky to continue serving his country and redeem himself. Also, current US Agent John Walker is busy guarding The Raft maximum security prison.

The only problem is that it would likely outsell the flagship Captain America series on a regular basis, illustrating just how popular the character has become. That’s what I did to post about Bucky, as there are plenty of movie reviews to write, but if you agree we haven’t seen the last of Bucky, please post your comments below and let me know how you’d like to see him return.