Many Avengers lived tough lives, but you can argue that Bucky Barnes suffered through the toughest life. After getting drafted into World War II, Bucky found himself trapped behind enemy lines, where the notorious Hydra experimented on him.
Hydra’s experimentation left Bucky brainwashed, and he became the organization’s assassin. Upon learning that Howard Stark had concocted advanced super soldier serum, Hydra wanted it for its own soldiers. Therefore, their sleeper agent tasked Bucky with assassinating Stark to get the serum.
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Who Is Bucky Barnes?
You may know Bucky Barnes as James Buchanan Barnes or the Winter Soldier. Born in 1917, he grew up with and was best friends with Steve Rogers, who later became Captain America. Barnes was drafted into World War II, and in 1943, he and his unit went missing in Italy.
Some presumed Bucky and the unit to be dead. But they were captured behind enemy lines, and the paramilitary terrorist organization, Hydra, experimented on Bucky.
Rogers, known by this time as Captain America, went on a rescue mission and managed to free Barnes and others. Not long after, Barnes was again presumed dead after he fell off a train during a subsequent mission against German forces.
Despite the seemingly deadly fall, Barnes survived thanks to the experimentation he previously underwent at Hydra. However, he was recaptured, brainwashed, tortured, and given a cybernetic arm, becoming transformed into the Winter Soldier.
During the latter half of the 20th century, Barnes committed several terrorist acts as Hydra’s assassin. The motivation behind these attacks was a set up for Hydra to eventually achieve their goal to create a one-world government.
Why Did Bucky Kill Tony Stark’s Parents?
On December 16th, 1991, Bucky killed Tony Stark’s parents, Howard and Maria Stark. That night, the Starks were traveling to the Pentagon with a batch of Howard’s latest super soldier serum.
Hydra discovered what the Starks were doing. They sent their sleeper agent, Vasily Karpov, out to revive and order Bucky to carry out the assassination, get the serum, and to make sure there were no witnesses.
Bucky used his cybernetic arm to slash the Starks’ front tire. After the car crashed, Howard crawled out of the wreckage and recognized Bucky. He pleaded for the Winter Soldier to help his wife, but Bucky responded with several punches, not stopping until he crushed Howard’s skull.
He strangled Maria, placed Howard’s body back into the vehicle, shot at and disabled the nearest security camera, and took off with the serum.
The serum was the reason behind the assassination. Hydra wanted to inject the serum into five of their soldiers, which would give them the same fighting capabilities as Bucky.
However, these soldiers reacted negatively to the serum and Hydra considered them too dangerous. This gave Hydra no choice but to induce these soldiers into suspended animation at one of their bases in Siberia.
Why Did Steve Rogers Hesitate to Admit Bucky Killed Howard Stark?
If you watched Captain America: Civil War, you know that Steve Rogers reluctantly stated that he knew Bucky killed Howard and Maria Stark. This revelation occurred thanks to Baron Zemo, who showed Stark video evidence regarding the assassination.
While nobody knows why Rogers never told Stark about this beforehand, we can speculate that he wanted to protect Bucky from further anguish.
Rogers knew that Bucky did not know what he was doing when he killed the Starks, or when he carried out other terrorist acts. When Bucky came to, he hid, struggling to move forward with his life.
There is also speculation that Rogers could have been concerned for Stark’s reaction. During Civil War, Rogers and Stark led opposite factions of Avengers. Rogers’ group was against the Sokovia Accords, while Stark’s group supported the Accords.
There was too much tension in Civil War for Rogers to tell Stark. For Rogers to reveal everything, the overall tension had to be lower.
Unfortunately, Rogers was left with no choice but to reveal the truth to Stark thanks to Baron Zemo’s revelation.
How Did Tony Stark React to Bucky Killing His Parents?
Given the amount of tension between Rogers and Stark in Civil War, the short answer is that Stark had a less-than-ideal reaction. After briefly confronting Rogers on the truth, Stark attacked in what some fans call the “I don’t care, he killed my mom,” scene.
Initially, it was a two-on-one duel, with Stark squaring off against Rogers and Bucky. Rogers told Bucky to flee, taking it upon himself to deal with Stark. Stark, however, kept pursuing Bucky and finally caught up. This occurred despite Rogers’ attempts to subdue Stark.
Stark got the upper hand, but Rogers once again interfered. Rogers attempted to tell Stark that Bucky wasn’t in the right state of mind while committing the assassination. He also tried to use reason, telling Stark this fight wouldn’t change the past.
Stark replied that he didn’t care, and he proceeded to pummel Rogers. Bucky recovered and rejoined the fight, managing to separate the two with Rogers’ Captain America shield.
He briefly got the upper hand, using his cybernetic arm to go after Stark’s Arc Reactor. However, the move ended up destroying the arm, leaving Bucky powerless and Rogers to try and deal with Stark alone.
Stark took control of the fight, again pummeling Rogers with strikes. Stark warned Rogers to give in, but the latter prepared to battle for another round. Bucky reached over and distracted Stark just long enough for Rogers to target the Arc Reactor.
This enabled Rogers to disable Stark’s Iron Man suit, rendering it powerless. Stark reminded Rogers that his father constructed the shield. This prompted Rogers to leave the shield behind and leave the scene with Bucky.
Conclusion
Hydra brainwashed Bucky into becoming their assassin. They ordered him to kill Howard Stark because Stark was traveling to the Pentagon with a new serum that Hydra wanted for their own soldiers.
Tony Stark never knew the truth until Captain America: Civil War. When tensions in the film reached a breaking point, Stark discovered the truth, which led to a fight between him, Bucky, and Steve Rogers.
Sarah Hood is a freelance content writer and editor with a love for all things Star Wars. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking, singing, and spending time in the great outdoors.