WinterBaron

WinterBaron is the slash ship between Baron Helmut Zemo and James "Bucky" Barnes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom.

Captain America: Civil War
Zemo blamed the Avenger for his family's deaths. Knowing he could not hope to win by force, Zemo sought to manipulate the Avengers into destroying each other. One of his plans included using Bucky Barnes as a tool for pitting The Avanger against each other. To initiate his plan, Zemo located Vasily Karpov, one of the former leaders of the Winter Soldier Program, who was in hiding as HYDRA had been wiped out. Eventually, he killed Karpov and obtained Winter Soldier Book. Using all the information he had obtained, Zemo then proceeded to frame the former Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes, into taking the fall for a bombing which then killed the Wakandan king T'Chaka. Bucky Barnes was eventually caught and subdued. Once the Avengers' co-leaders had gathered forces for their factions and fought each other to a near-standstill over their continued tensions surrounding the Winter Soldier's escape and how it impacted the Sokovia Accords, Zemo continued his plans as he prepared to travel to Siberia. Zemo eventually arrived at the HYDRA Facility all of found some Winter Soldiers who were still held inside Cryostasis Chambers, peacefully awaiting their next orders. Zemo killed all those five soldiers in their sleep.

Later, Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, and Tony Stark arrived to the HYDRA Facility. Zemo played them a footage of the Winter Soldier tracking down and killing Howard and Maria Stark. Just as Zemo had planned, seeing his parents being killed by the Winter Soldier drove Stark into a fit of rage, made worse as Rogers revealed that he had always known this, resulting in Stark furiously attacking his former allies to kill the Winter Soldier, while Zemo then quietly escaped during all of the chaos. He was eventually found by T'Challa and then tried to killed himself to reunite with his family, but was stopped by T'Challa. Zemo then got arrested for his crimes in Berlin Prison.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
Seven years after Zemo got arrested, Barnes found that someone had been recreated the Super Soldier serum and now there are new super soldiers that exist inside an organization called Flag Smasher. Assuming that HYDRA had something to do with this, Barnes gets the idea to visit Helmut Zemo in prison who had been intensively studying the organization. Barnes and Sam Wilson went to see Helmut Zemo, who was in an isolated cell in the Berlin Correctional Facility. Barnes told Wilson that he had to see Zemo alone, and to trust him because he and Zemo had a history together. Zemo was surprised that he was there and recited the Winter Soldier Programming words, only for Barnes to say that did not work anymore. Zemo then told him that he knew that, but was just messing with him. Zemo had then apologized to Barnes, insisting that his actions in framing him for T'Chaka's murder had never been personal, while calling him a means to an end. Barnes changed the subject and told Zemo that someone had recreated the Super Soldier Serum which got Zemo's attention and believed that Barnes was desperate to have to have come for his assistance; much to Zemo's surprise, as he deduced that Barnes had assumed that it was HYDRA who was behind this, which was why he came to see him. Barnes then helped Zemo broke out of the prison. Wilson demanded that Zemo be returned to prison, but Barnes argued that they needed him.

Barnes and Wilson were brought by Zemo to his private plane and they flew off. During the flight, Zemo somehow had managed to get and read Barnes' amend/revenge book (which has his name on the list). Barnes launched out of his seat and grabbed Zemo by the throat, vowing to kill him if he ever touched the notebook again. Zemo apologized, noting that he understood that it was a list of names of the people he had wronged as the Winter Soldier. Zemo then informed them that they were going to Madripoor, and they could not walk into it as themselves, so Barnes would have to become the Winter Soldier once again.

While they got closer to Madripoor, Zemo insisted that they would remain in character, no matter what happened, as their lives depended on it. At a bar, while acting as the Winter Soldier's handler, Zemo causued a ruckus that earns the trio a meeting with Selby. Zemo explained that he wanted Selby to tell them everything they knew about the Super Soldier Serum, and in exchange, he would give her the Winter Soldier. Zemo caressed Barnes' chin while promising that he would do anything that Selby required of him. Upon offering Barnes as a bargaining tool, Zemo learns from Selby that Doctor Wilfred Nagel is responsible for the recreation of the serum. Before Selby can offer Nagel's location for a fee, Sam Wilson receives a call from Sarah. The call blows Sam's identity, and as Selby declares the trio be killed, she is killed by an unseen gun. Wilson, Barnes, and Zemo flee the premises. The entirety of Madripoor is alerted to Selby's death, with a bounty placed on the trio's heads. The mysterious gun kills several bounty hunters, later revealing herself as Sharon Carter. Having stolen Steve Rogers' shield during the Avengers Civil War, she is now a fugitive living off the grid on Madripoor. Carter then helped them to find Nagel in exchange of government's pardon that Sam promised her.

Carter brings them to Nagel's laboratory, hidden inside several shipping containers. While Carter remains outside to fend the lab against the remaining bounty hunters, Nagel is interrogated at gunpoint about the serum. Nagel told them that he had created twenty vials of the serum, before Karli Morgenthau (leader of Flag Smashers) stole them. Once they got the information they needed, Zemo took his chance and killed Nagel to make sure that the super soldier serum couldn't be recreated anymore. A firefight then occurred by more bounty hunters that was coming close in on the lab and erupted at the shipyard. Zemo defeated multiple bounty hunters before stealing a getaway vehicle from inside a shipping container. Wilson insisted that Zemo would go back prison, only for Zemo to note that they needed him to find Morgenthau. Barnes agreed that they need him and then got in the front seat, sitting beside Zemo. Wilson the got in the back of the car and and Zemo drove off away to his private jet. Looking forward to meeting with Morgenthau, Zemo redirects them to Riga.

When they arrived at Zemo's residence in Riga, Barnes separates from the two to investigate mysterious beads littered on the street. He comes face-to-face with Ayo. Ayo demanded to know where Zemo was and asked why Barnes had allowed him to escape prison. Barnes told Ayo that Zemo was  a means to an end , to which she said he had eight hours left with Zemo. After Ayo left, Barnes returned to the building where they were staying. In the building, Zemo had taken some time to have his shower, until Barnes returned, as he explained that he had encountered the Dora Milaje, who had come from Wakanda to recapture Zemo. As Barnes insisted that he was not followed there, Zemo questioned how he could be sure, to which Barnes insisted that he would have known. Zemo had then commented on how sweet it was for Barnes to defend him. While discussing about Morgenthau, Zemo had suggested that the concept of a super soldier would always trouble people and claimed that this mind set had previously led to the Nazis, as well as the Avengers and Ultron. Zemo continued to claim that anybody who took the Super Soldier Serum got on the path to supremacy and had to be killed.

Seeking to learn where they could find the Flag Smashers, Zemo had joined Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes as they visited the GRC's Resettlement Camp. With no luck in getting the funeral location, Barnes and Wilson met up in the courtyard where they watched Zemo talking with the refugee children, and were suspicious after Zemo got a girl to whisper something in his ear. Returning to Zemo's residence, Barnes then questioned what the girl told Zemo, as he just explained that Madani's would be in the afternoon. Barnes then noted that the Dora Milaje were still coming for him, suggesting that he keep talking. However, Zemo suggested that Barnes would leave him to the Dora Milaje once they got to Morgenthau, as he noted that he had wanted to keep his leverage. In response, Barnes furiously grabbed Zemo's drink and smashed it, making his clear threat to his safety. Wilson suddenly adviced Barnes not to engage with Zemo. Zemo then tried to calmly offer Barnes a cup of Cherry Blossom tea that he made for them, only to get refused by him After Barnes left, Zemo released the breath that he had been holding.

To find Karli, Barnes and Wilson followed Zemo through the streets, until they ran into John Walker and Lemar Hoskins who ended up joining them to the funeral location. At the building, Walker handcuffed Zemo to the wall, while Wilson went into the funeral to speak with Karli Morgenthau. Eventually, Walker broke into the room and threatened to arrest Morgenthau, leading her to flee. Meanwhile, Zemo frees himself from his handcuffs before confronting and repeatedly shooting Morgenthau. This causes her to drop the vials of super soldier serum, which Zemo promptly destroys. As Morgenthau flee, Walker knocks out the Zemo with the shield.

Having returned to his residence, Zemo recovered from the blow to the head by drinking a whiskey and wearing a wet cloth over his eyes. Zemo claimed that Morgenthau was beyond any redemptions, and they could not allow her, nor the Flag Smashers to turn themselves into gods, as he believed Super Soldiers should never be allowed to exist. However, Wilson noted that Zemo was also talking like a god, before questioning Zemo if Bucky Barnes should not be allowed to exist as well. Zemo fell silent to this question. Walker and Hoskins then arrived to apprehend Zemo. The Dora Milaje appeared shortly after for the same man, leading to a fight between Walker, Hoskins, and the Wakandans. As Wilson and Barnes joined in to break up the fight, Zemo escaped through the sewers from the bathroom.

Zemo fled back to Sokovia, to visit the Sokovian Memorial. Soon enough, while Zemo was standing by the memorial, he was noticed the arrival of Bucky Barnes, with Zemo noting that he thought Barnes would have arrived sooner. Zemo told Barnes that he did not need to worry about him, since he had decided not to kill him. Barnes responded sarcastically and made it clear that he had a gun with him. Zemo then explained that Karli Morgenthau had become radicalised beyond the point of redemption. He noted Barnes that HYDRA had programmed him to kill, so he knew what had to be done about Morgenthau. Although Barnes claimed that he appreciated Zemo's advice, he insisted that they would stop Morgenthau in their own way. Barnes then aimed the gun toward Zemo; Zemo did not resist, and instead nodded in approval to Barnes, giving him permission to shoot; only for Barnes to reveal that the gun is unloaded. Zemo was then surrounded by the Dora Milaje. He smiled at Barnes as he realized what was happening. He then told Barnes that he had already crossed off his own name outof his list. He also claimed to hold no grudges against Barnes and said his final goodbye to him. Then he is taken by Dora Milaje to be imprisoned in the Raft.

Quotes
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry. It was never personal. You were simply a means to a necessary end."

- Zemo to Barnes "Super Soldiers go against everything he believes in. He is crazy, but he still has a code."

- Barnes about Zemo "I took the liberty of crossing off my name in your book. I hold no grudges for what you thought you had to do. Goodbye, James."

- Zemo

Zemo's Book
During their flight to Madripoor, Zemo read another book underneath the Bucky's amend notebook. The book was titled "Das Nein in der Liebe: Abgrenzung und Hingabe in ser erotischen Beziehung" (in english: "How to Say No to The One You Love: Demarcation & Devotion in the Erotic Relationship"). Zemo was at the end of the section of the book which was titled "Same Sex Fantasies in Heterosexuals’ and the beginning of The Overt No in Love." Some fans speculated that this was directed at Barnes.

Fandom
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Music
Zemo and Barnes had their character original soundtracks blend together in a soundtrack titled "Attack, Soldier" in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier : Vol. 1 (Episodes 1-3) album by Henry Jackman.

Status of Relationship
In 2021, on Marvel official site, Barnes is listed as Zemo's only ally; while Zemo is listed as both ally and enemy for Barnes.