Winter Widow

"A long time ago, Natalia Romanova made me remember what it was to feel human."

- Bucky, Captain America #27

Winter Widow is the het ship between Natasha Romanoff and Bucky Barnes from the Marvel and Marvel Cinematic Universe fandoms.

Earth-616
While under the control of the Soviets, Bucky helped train Natasha at the Red Room Academy, and they fell in love. He often snuck into her room sleeping quarters to see her. Their relationship began to break down his Winter Soldier programming. As a result, they were forcibly separated from each other, and Bucky was put back into cryostasis.

Fifty years later, they were reunited and rekindled their romance. Eventually Natasha was captured and her memories were altered. Bucky is able to rescue her and retrieve her old memories, but the ones of their relationship were erased.

"As we head into the final installment of the MCU’s phase three with Captain Marvel and Avengers 4, and head into the unknown that is phase four, I think it is time to introduce the MCU audience to the story of Black Widow and The Winter Soldier. Most of you know these characters are two of Captain America’s most loyal teammates and are always on his side, (when Bucky knows who he is at least) but, who were they before they met Captain America? Some of you may have already noticed a few similarities between the two characters. They are both Russian and earned their reputation by working for the same side, (Natasha worked for the Red Room and KGB in Russia and Bucky became the Winter Soldier for Hydra) they have a similar fighting style and Natasha seems to know a lot about who Bucky was, hence being the audience and Steve’s way into the story in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Which brings me to the question: What is their history? Do they even have a history? After a few months of research, the answer is a simple: yes. But to my surprise, these two have a much deeper history than I expected to find. As usual with comics, there are several incarnations of comic book stories with these characters. So it really depends on the volume you read (or look up) but in most of the comics that include both Black Widow and the Winter Soldier, they share a romantic bond. It’s a strong relationship, a deep relationship, and after reading some comics myself, a beautiful relationship. The relationship between The Winter Soldier and Black Widow dates all the way back to the Cold War in the Soviet Union where Bucky was actually Natasha’s trainer (in the comics, Natasha was born in 1928 and injected with the super serum) in the Red Room. During this time, Bucky was merely "Soldier" and was brought to the Red Room to train students and turn them hopefully, into Black Widow's. It is here that Natasha, who went by Natalia at the time, and Bucky formed a romance and showed each other that they were more than weapons for a country and realized that they were able to live free lives. Evidentially they got caught and were both punished. It depends on the versions how and when it happens. In some stories, they work in the field together as partners (which is where their relationship grows) and some, it doesn’t. But once they get captured, in different versions, one of them gets brainwashed. In the Red Room, both Natasha and Bucky were brainwashed countless times and Natasha was implanted false memories to guarantee her loyalty to the Red Room and USSR. At some point, Natasha gets recruited by Hawkeye, who helps her break her psychological conditioning at the time, and joins SHIELD. The story of Black Widow and the Winter Solider is a tragic one. It revolves around two people who were taken at vulnerable times in their lives and were unwillingly sculpted into villains. Their lives (especially Natasha’s) revolved around lying, deception, brainwashing, and false memories. As soon as these two try to get the other person to remember who they are and what they mean to each other, they are taken away again. A character is forced to watch the person they love not know who they are as their entire past is washed away by the people who created them. Throughout a majority of their stories, they are constantly trying to gain independence, will, and freedom and only the other can relate to the horror that’s been their lives. The story of Natasha and Bucky has slowly been introduced in the MCU. An example is that Natasha is the only character that knows about the Winter Soldier in CAWS. She knows who he is, he’s moves, how to out smart him as if she did this before. It is common for the Red Room/Hydra to test their brainwashing by putting them up against each other. When one knew who the other was and the other had no idea and saw them as a target. She warns Steve about who he is and that he’s a hopeless cause. Showing us that there is a history between these two characters that we didn’t see. And the only form of communication Natasha and Bucky have in the MCU is her begging him to remember her. And at the end of the film, we learn that Bucky has a thing for redheads. So, will this relationship ever make it into the MCU? It’s hard to tell. Again, we don’t know what lies ahead in Phase Four and who will or not be involved. Not to mention that there was zero interaction between these two characters in Infinity War. The choice is up to the Russo Brother’s, who directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Infinity War, and Avengers 4. And if they do introduce this couple, it would be the slowest burn/buildup a cinematic couple would ever have. But one must remember we are dealing with characters who physically can’t remember their past. After all the different incarnations these characters have had in the last 40 years, brainwashing and false memories have always played an integral part in their story. But even if Natasha is the one to remember everything in the MCU, (as opposed to to Bucky remembering in the Brubaker stories which Kevin Feige has said is influential in the MCU) she could also be (and probably is) conditioned to not being able to remember the whole truth. This could be a reason the audience doesn’t know a lot about Natasha, because she’s an unreliable source. She’s simply incapable of remembering. Her body forbids it, (after decades of brainwashing and false memories) she only remembers what the Red Room wants to remember. But then again, Avengers 4 is around the corner and who knows what’s going to happen there. The future for the MCU is a big mystery for us. What we do know is that we are getting a Black Widow solo movie in 2020 but sources say it will be a prequel to Iron Man 2. This could mean we could see what actually happened in the Red Room (a clear narrative, no brainwashing) and her journey to becoming a member of SHIELD. Could The Winter Soldier appear in the Black Widow movie? Possibly. It would make sense and is a totally possibility. But Marvel is keeping their lips sealed when it comes to this film so we don’t know who is involved in the film besides Scarlett Johansson. So, only time will tell if we will ever see what happened between these Soviet Slugs and if they will ever come back to each other on the big screen. As for me, I personally hope they find their way back to each other because, these two have suffered enough."

- Lauren Lamagna about Natasha and Bucky.

THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA

Bucky takes out the vehicle transporting Steve's shield and goes to get it out, but the person inside kicks him in the face. As he backs away, the person gets out of the car and he realizes that it's the Black Widow. Bucky says she didn't know she was working for Shield, but thought she'd be a lot older by now. She's says no luck and asks why he wants the Shield and who he's working for. He tells her that he doesn't work for anyone, and that he's here for a friend. Nat realizes that they weren't rumors and he was Bucky. She tells him to leave, since she doesn't want to hurt him, he tells her that he was about to say the same and the two fight. As they fights, Bucky thinks about he was the one to train her in the Red Room, and how she used to make him feel human before they were punished for it. He's able to go get the upper hand and knock her out, before leaving with Steve's shield.

Marvel Cinematic Universe
"I know how much Barnes means to you. I really do."

- Natasha to Steve.

The Winter Soldier attacked and shot Natasha while she was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran. She searched for him after the incident, but found nothing. Five years later, she fought against the Winter Soldier in Washington, D.C. alongside Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson. He shot her a second time. She fought the Winter Soldier a third time two years later at the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building in Berlin. As he strangled her, she asked him to recognize her.

In Civil War, Natasha recruits Black Panther to Stark's team, hoping this will keep Black Panther accountable and prevent him from killing the Winter Soldier. When T'Challa tries to hurt Bucky and Steve, Natasha stops him and gives them enough time to escape.

"I said I'd help you find him. Not catch him. There's a difference."

- Natasha to T'Challa about Bucky.

Captain America
ISSUE #27
 * Bucky considers fighting Natalia a punishment.
 * Nat thinks back to her and Bucky's time in the red room as lovers.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

 * Natasha tells Steve that she'd encountered the Winter Soldier once before, and he'd shot her.

Captain America: Civil War

 * Natasha and Bucky fight while he's under brainwashing. She asks him if he could recognize her.
 * Bucky takes Natasha's gun in Siberia. He keeps it, as seen in Avengers: Infinity War, and tells Rocket Racoon that it's not for sale.

Comics

 * Bucky tells Natasha he remembers everything in the Red Room, and she was the only good thing in all of it.
 * In some variations of the comics, Instead of Bucky training Natasha in the Red Room, they're partners who train the Black Widow's together.
 * In the Captain America (2005) #50 comics, Natasha throws Bucky a birthday party and bakes him a cake.

MCU
"Going after him is a dead end. I know. I’ve tried."

- Natasha to Steve about Bucky. "(In Russian) She's mine."

- Bucky about Natasha.

Comics
"I might have put a bullet in my brain to quiet the ghosts... if not for Natasha..."

- Bucky, Captain America & Bucky #624 "I was their secret weapon in the Cold War...or at least I was one of them. The Black Widow was another. Something about her touched what was left of my humanity. Buried under all that programming."

- Bucky, Captain America & Bucky #624 "Shhh.. I've got you."

- Bucky holding Natasha. "I think I love you, James Buchanan Barnes."

- Natasha. "What matters is that we LOVED and LIVED."

- Natasha about her and Bucky. "I just needed a moment."

- Bucky with the Tarasova Tesseract in WINTER SOLDIER (2012) #19. Tesla Tarasova gave him the chance to go back in time and undo what had happened to Natasha. But he couldn’t do that to her. She has had her mind messed with too much, her life altered without her permission or knowledge and he didn’t want to do that to her again. He wanted it to be her decision, not his. So instead, he used it to kiss her one last time. "Never even realized how lost I was without her. But I always was. Just some lost soldier who forgot he ever had a home… until she gave me one."

- Bucky about Natasha. "I try to imagine my life without her, and all I see is pain, and heartbreak. But at least I'll be the only one feeling it. I take solace in that thought… and hold on to it for as long as I can. But it won’t be long enough."

- Bucky talking about Natasha. "Natasha, please. It’s me, Bucky… it’s James."

- Bucky when he sees Natasha again. "I just got him back, it’s not fair."

- Natasha about Bucky as he "dies." "You think she belongs to anyone? Then you’re as foolish as the others."

- Bucky responding to "Natasha belongs to the Red Guardian." "Anything for you, James. As always."

- Natasha Romanoff. "No one but Natasha."

- James "Buchanan" Barnes.

Behind the Scenes
"Don't beat around the bush. It's the one where he takes over for Cap and sleeps with Natasha, right? And then he's dating Natasha- come on, you wanna kiss Scarlett."

- The Russo brothers on Sebastian Stan's favorite Bucky Arc. "But I wouldn't mind a little Black Widow/Winter Soldier story happening."

- Sebastian Stan. "There's a comic book story line where Black Widow falls in love with Bucky. Have you all read that?"

- Sebastian Stan as the crowd cheers. "It's why she says, "Don't you recognize me?" she's still thinking about him [Bucky]."

- Sebastian Stan on Natasha. "They fight beautifully together."

- Anthony Russo about Bucky and Natasha. "No matter what I do I keep ending up in between Black Widow's legs. Pretty tough job."

- Sebastian Stan. "If I had to pick one? Selfishly I probably would love the BuckyNat situation only because I’m a huge fan of time periods and stuff and the idea of going back in time… and in some of the way that story came to be is very interesting to me… And also because I feel like in the “Captain America - The Winter Soldier” movie we didn’t explore enough, like, some of him in that particular way that I think that would be done for her… So, I always go with that."

- Sebastian Stan. "[…]It was during this period that he (Bucky) met Natasha Romanoff, whom he helped train in combat while she was undergoing espionage training at the Red Room Academy, where the Russians promoted the Black Widow Ops Program and the corresponding male project, the Wolf Spider Ops Program. They fell in love and James often snuck out into her sleeping quarters just so he could see her."

- Marvel Comics. "Natasha Romanoff and Bucky Barnes have a history as long as war, companions since the Widow's earliest days in the Red Room when both were trapped in service to the wrong side. It's one of the greatest- and most tragic- love stories in the Marvel universe."

- Article on Bucky and Natasha. "Bucky Barnes & Natasha had a healthy relationship, only ending due to her death during secret empire."

- CBR about Bucky and Natasha. "The Winter Soldier had a whole backstory with Black Widow, I don't care what anyone says."

- Sebastian Stan at Wizard World. "Cause- you gotta remember this whole time period- and he does have a story with Black Widow, I don't care what anybody says."

- Sebastian Stan as the crowd cheers. "Bucky Barnes' love interests are few and far between in both the MCU and the comic book pages. One of the few serious relationships that Bucky built outside of the MCU was with his love interest Natasha Romanoff. The two had a fascinating partnership, as Barnes was initially her trainer in the Red Room. Despite it being off and on several times, their relationship lasted years in the comics and is commonly considered one of Marvel's best couples."

- Screenrant on Winter Widow. "In the comics, Bucky and Natasha were separated for 50 years after their time together in the Red Room ended and they were forced apart. Years later, after Steve Rogers was assassinated and Bucky Barnes took up the mantle of Captain America, he struggled with the weight of responsibility, feeling that he wasn't a worthy successor due to his past as a killer. It was Natasha who helped Bucky find himself and repair the trauma in his psyche as they reconnected and a romance between the two once again blossomed. The very next chapters about to unfold in the stories of each character are arcs that, in the comics, both were heavily involved in. Bucky is soon to struggle with his past and the weight of carrying on Steve's legacy in The Falcon & the Winter Soldier. Black Widow will find Natasha returning to Russia and putting the ghosts of her past in the Red Room to bed. However, with Natasha having been killed in Avengers: Endgame, it's extremely unlikely either one will show up in each other's projects, even in flashbacks, and their absences from each will be all the more glaring because of the stories they're telling. In the comics, it's those exact stories in which they were most necessary to one another and an integral part of each other's stories. No matter how good their MCU stories are, they will always lack something without their dynamic romance from the comics that would have elevated both characters. Black Widow and Winter Soldier have always been stronger together than they ever are apart. The comics have shown that time and time again. It's just a shame the MCU has never allowed that relationship to blossom, and now it's too late. It's certainly possible their story might yet be told in snippets and flashbacks. But it will never be as powerful as it might have been had Marvel not ruined that chance years ago with the wrong romance."

- Screenrant's article on Natasha and Bucky. "Following the assassination of Steve Rogers during Marvel's Civil War, it was Natasha who rekindled her relationship with a no-longer-brainwashed Bucky Barnes, and who convinced Bucky to take up the mantle of Captain America. The two continued to work together, tracking down and neutralizing sleeper agents from the Red Room and Hydra. They remained together until Natasha's untimely death at the Hydra-controlled Steve Rogers's hands during the Secret Empire event."

- CBR. "One of Natasha's strongest relationships is with Bucky Barnes."

- BUSTLE about Natasha's romantic relationships. "I always go with that [BuckyNat]."

- Sebastian Stan.

Fanon
As the ship is comic-canon, many fans would like it to be in the MCU as well. Otherwise, fans like the ship because of their involvement in the Red Room, as well as the way their personalities interact. Natasha is portrayed as stoic and Bucky is portrayed as a man not to be crossed.

Many fans speculate about one of Natasha's lines in Civil War. She and Bucky fight against each other while he is in Winter Soldier mode. As he is strangling her, she says to him, "You could at least recognize me." Fans usually interpret this to mean that Bucky helped train Natasha in the Red Room as he did in the comics. Fans who have also read the comics make posts on why the ship is amazingly written, and had Natasha not have her memories erased, her and Bucky would've been together for the long haul.

On AO3, Winter Widow is the second most written ship for Natasha and the fourth most written for Bucky.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Bucky/Natasha (Avengers Movies) tag on FanFiction.net
 * Bucky/Natasha (Marvel Comics) tag on FanFiction.net
 * Bucky/Natasha (Avengers Cartoon) tag on FanFiction.net
 * Bucky/Natasha (Avengers Cartoon) tag on FanFiction.net

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * Natasha is one of the few people to call Bucky by his first name, James.
 * On Earth-555326 Natasha's son is named after Bucky.
 * Chris Samnee, one of the Black Widow comic artists and creators, is a BuckyNat supporter and has drawn the couple multiple times.
 * Through official source, Natasha is referred to as the love of Bucky's life.
 * Sebastian Stan is a BuckyNat shipper and has expressed numerous times how he wants Bucky to marry Natasha.

Variations

 * Cap Quartet refers to the ship between Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Bucky and Natasha
 * StuckyNat refers to the ship between Steve Rogers, Bucky, and Natasha
 * WinterIronWidow refers to the ship between Tony Stark, Bucky and Natasha
 * WinterWidowHawk refers to the ship between Clint Barton, Bucky and Natasha