Winter Soldier’s Origin Tied To Tesseract:
2020 has been a long dry patch for the MCU fans. We were supposed to get Black Widow & The Falcon and the Winter Soldier till now, but a lot has changed. So, we’ve gotta let bygones be bygones. At least Phase 4 is going to begin within the year, and that’s a good thing. But before we get to that, Marvel has given us some new details through their MCU tie-in book called “The Wakanda Files.” The information that comes from this book really fills a lot of gaps, creates certain connections that we did not expect, and solves a few mysteries. One such mystery which has partially been solved is regarding the Winter Soldier’s origin.
Just recently, we got to know that Shuri tried to synthesize the Heart-Shaped Herb using Vibranium as a stabilizing agent. It was further revealed that she was also impressed with Maya Hansen’s work upon the Extremis project and she thought that the idea had potential. With these details, we predicted that Shuri might be able to synthesize a Heart Shaped Herb, or perhaps a new serum to create more enhanced soldiers or future Black Panthers. As it turns out, she is actually finding ways to create more super-soldiers after all.
Screen Rant found the evidence in “The Wakanda Files” which shows that Shuri collected files on all Super-Soldier experiments in order to “study supplementation”. An excerpt from the book reads:
If we are to synthesize, and by process improve upon, an ancient Wakandan herb, we must first study supplementation where others have tried and succeeded. And also, where they have failed.
[The Red Skull’s] transformation failed because his serum lacked radioactive exposure. Rogers was exposed to Vita-Rays. Banner became a massive rage monster because he was exposed to gamma radiation. It is likely that Zola utilized gamma radiation from the Tesseract to enhance Barnes. [Hydra] figured out a way to expose subjects to whatever cosmic rays the Mind Stone emits and it transformed them.
How is massive amounts of radiation linked to superhuman abilities? Does the Mind Stone emit a type of radiation? The heart-shaped herb produces the same enhanced effects without the need for radiation. So where do the two methods diverge and what links them?”
Clearly, Shuri is trying to find an effective way that will allow the creation of more Super Soldiers. Maybe, Black Widow and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will show us more of the super-soldier experiments (successes & failures) and then Shuri will perfect the latest version of the serum in Black Panther 2. But an amazing detail which we have found here is that Bucky’s origins are tied to the Tesseract.
So now, there are 5 heroes in total which are tied to Infinity Stones. We’ve already known Wanda, Vision & Pietro’s ties to the Mind Stone. Carol Danvers got her powers after being exposed to radiation from the Space Stone. And now, we’ve got the revelation that even The Winter Soldier was exposed to the gamma radiation from the Space Stone.
Back in the 40s, Arnim Zola had access to the Tesseract, and he also had an imperfect version of Doctor Erskine’s Super Soldier serum. As it has been mentioned above, Johann Schmidt just injected himself with the imperfect serum and had not been exposed to radioactive energy. But then, Zola probably experimented upon Bucky with a combination of that serum and Gamma exposure from the Tesseract. Or he probably did it with just the Tesseract-gamma exposure. Either way, it made Bucky strong enough to survive his fall from the freight car in Captain America: The First Avenger. Then later, Zola conducted even more experiments upon his body besides brainwashing him.
The origins of the Winter Soldier haven’t clearly been revealed till now. But, we might get a bit more exploration upon the subject in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. And, we’ve now got another solid reason to believe that this series is going to connect with Black Panther 2.
