Fandom The Avengers: Power of the X-Gene [Signup Thread]

[demdo_demi]

Link to Interest Check: The Avengers: Power of the X-Gene
Link to RP Thread: TBA

I'm just going to keep this short since I don't feel like writing another long introduction.
Here's the sheet, b.

First and last name:
Alias*:
Age:
Gender & Sexuality:
Appearance:
Normal Inventory (Phones, wallet, etc.)*:
Personality*:
Biography*:

Costume*:
Motivation:
Origin Story*:
Abilities*:
Weaponry*:

Theme*:
Quotes*:
Other*:


Optional (*) explanations:
Alias - Incase you don't have a name yet.

Normal Inventory - Only optional because it really wouldn't matter.

Personality - I'd appreciate if you fill this in if you're playing a character not in a MCU film yet (basically the X-Men), though you don't have too. For Avengers/Defenders, this is entirely optional.

Biography (and Origin Story) - While both are listed optional, you have to fill in ONE of the them. Though if you want to go the extra mile, you can put their normal life in biography and their actual origin story in, well, origin story.

Costume - Pretty simple. You have one or you don't.

Abilities - Optional if you don't have superhuman powers.

Weaponry - Optional if you don't have guns or swords or whatever.

Theme - Optional in case your character doesn't have a theme and you don't feel like finding one for them.

Quotes - Optional if you're really just trying to get this character sheet over with.

Other - Optional in case you don't have anything else to say.

 

[MoonLegend101]

First and Last Name: James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes

Alias: Captain America

Age: Mid 30s physically, though technically around 107 or so.

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Bucky is rather tall and imposing in height, having a muscular but still fairly average build. He has shaggy brown hair that has grown out so that it nearly reaches to his shoulders, faint stubble on his chin and upper lip, and clear blue eyes. The main attribute that makes him stand out from anyone else is his artificially made cybernetic left arm. The material of it is a shining silvery color, with slight ridges in the metallic surface throughout the entire arm and hand. A star is on the shoulder of the artificial arm, a pure red star that symbolizes the Winter Soldier's former connection and forced loyalty to Russia and HYDRA.

When not wearing the Captain America garb during missions, Bucky wears simple and casual clothes, usually with a light jacket worn over them, a ballcap to share his eyes, and gloves to cover his hands. Nothing is very remarkable about these clothes, aside from the fact that a small handgun or knife are most likely hidden in them at times.

Normal Inventory: When not in costume, Bucky carries a cell phone with him that acts as a way to communicate with the Avengers if he needs to, even if it isn't used too often. He carries an ID with him at all times once having received one, as well a credit card for monetary purposes. Aside from the obvious legal things however, Bucky also has a small handgun inconspicuously concealed on his person at nearly all times for self defense purposes. The weapon is quite difficult to detect, which he makes sure of before going about in any public place with them.

When suited up as Captain America, Bucky naturally carries the shield with him, along with various other weapons as well. In the side pouches that are attached to the side of his belt is plenty of ammo, as well anything else he might happen to need in a battle.


Personality: Bucky Barnes' personality in present day is certainly one that has changed since his past days during World War II. While once headstrong, good natured, sociable and loyal, ever since his time as the Winter Soldier he has become much more serious and withdrawn. As the Winter Soldier, he was forced to commit countless atrocities and murders, all of which he still remembers all too clearly. While the years after he was broken out of Hydra's control have gradually helped him to cope with all that he has done, he still feels guilty, knowing that whether or not he had control over his actions, he still did them. This is a constant weight on his mind, and even though it is one that he tries not to let burden him as much as it used to, it is still there. It is even the main reason why he joined up with the Avengers to protect the world in the first place, even though the government and the public was so against him.

Steve Rogers' death had quite an impact on Bucky as well, causing him to feel more detached and out of place in the world than ever. Needless to say, all of these factors have contributed to Barnes' cold and distant exterior. It is hard for him to open up or try to connect with anyone, and because of this he usually keeps his interactions and relationships with his teammates strictly professional, even though he might sometimes make an effort to reach out to them or at least be friendly. He is often rather reserved and does not always express his thoughts or feelings on a situation, letting others discuss it out amongst themselves unless he feels the need to weigh in with an opinion or a suggestion.

That said, Bucky is not all doom and gloom, as some remnants of his past personality still remain to show themselves at times. One admirable trait that has remained no matter what, is Bucky's durability and will. No matter what odds he's had to face, no matter what horrors he's gone through, he is still determined to persevere and survive. He seeks redemption for what he has done by being a hero and helping others, and it is mostly due to his sheer determination and will that he has never given up with this aspiration despite all the opposition and discouragement. Bucky has also retained a sense of humor, even if it's an extremely dry one. While he might not be half as likely to drop goofy one liners in the middle of a fight as his teammates, he still might get in a sarcastic remark every now and then.

Even though he doesn't genuinely smile as much anymore ever since Steve's death, there are still times when he might be relaxed enough to actually share a lighthearted chuckle with his teammates or friends. The legacy of his deceased best friend is something very important to him, even after the other one's death. While Bucky has done his best to get over and move on from his friend's death, the impact on him from it is still quite strong, and is the reason why he is still so protective and preservative of the legacy of Captain America; one that he tries hard to uphold to this day.


Biography:
James Buchanan Barnes was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 10, 1917, as the first of four siblings. The boy did well in school, most notably being an excellent athlete, especially in boxing. During his childhood he ended up meeting and befriending Steve Rogers, a younger boy who he helped out when bullies were trying to take the other one's money. The two became best friends after this, sticking together for years to come as they grew up. When news of America joining the fight in World War II came, Steve almost immediately wanted to join up and enlist. Bucky tried to help prepare him a bit by training him in boxing, then together they visited a recruitment center.

Unfortunately Rogers was rejected from service due to his poor physical stature and health. Bucky expressed sympathy for his friend's plight, but in truth was relieved that Steve wasn't going to be put in danger out there, as he feared that the other one might have been killed. Not long after, Bucky himself was drafted into the Army. After several months of being trained, Barnes ended up earning the the rank of Sergeant. Before shipping off to England, he set up a double date for him and Steve at an expo the night before. It was during this time that Bucky saw that Steve was still trying to get enlisted, even using false documents to try to do so. The two had a short argument about it, but Bucky soon realized that his friend could not be dissauded.

Despite their disagreement on the matter, the two parted on good terms. Bucky shipped out the next day, to begin fighting in the war. During one of the battles that followed however, Barnes and his entire unit were captured, and were taken to a HYDRA facility to be held prisoner. It was there that Bucky, after becoming too weak to do any physical labor, was used as a test subject for HYDRA's dangerous experiments, most of which involved trying to recreate the Super Soldier Serum that had already been used once by the Americans. About roughly month after the unit's imprisonment, Steve Rogers, who had been given the serum and had become Captain America, set out to rescue them. He was able to do so, and soon found Bucky and was able to free him from where the experiments had been conducted on him. After expressing a bit of disorientation and confusion at how Steve had become taller all of a sudden, he let his friend lead them out so that they could escape.

The two encountered problems as they were temporarily trapped inside the burning base, and were even slowed down by a confrontation with the Red Skull, but in the end they just barely managed to make it out. Captain America returned to base with the freed prisoners that had been given up as dead, and was renowned as a hero for it. Later, when Bucky and the other soldiers that had escaped with him got some time off duty after their harrowing ordeal, Captain America met with them in a bar and made a request. He asked the men to join him in his personal crusade against the Nazis and HYDRA. Eventually they agreed, and together they formed a group called the Howling Commandos. This group proved to be extremely effective during the war, thwarting most of HYDRA's efforts to attempt anything else during it. Barnes worked as the main sniper of the group, shooting targets or laying down cover fire for his teammates. He continued fighting with the Commandos for most of the war, until he went on his final, fateful mission.

The Commandos boarded a HYDRA train in hopes of interrogating one of their scientists in order to learn about their plans, but unfortunately in the process they were ambushed by a squad of HYDRA soldiers. In the midst of all the fighting, a hole was blown in the side of the train, and during the ensuing struggle, Bucky was knocked out of the train by another blast, and was left hanging precariously over a cliffside on a rail attached to the train. Captain America desperately tried to save him, but before he could pull his friend to safety, the rail snapped. Bucky fell over the cliffside to the rocks that were waiting hundreds of feet below. After this, Sergeant James Barnes was presumed dead, even though his body had never been recovered.

In actuality however, Bucky had actually managed to survive the fall, due to the experiments that HYDRA had conducted on his body to enhance his physiology. He lost his left arm in the fall, and was found incapacitated by a Soviet soldier. From there he was given to HYDRA to once again be a prisoner, though this time the organization had much more in mind when it came to how to use this newly acquired asset. The prisoner was subjected to much experimentation, this time in the matters of mind control and manipulation. He was outfitted with a new robotic arm to replace the one that had been lost; once his mind had been thoroughly broken and he had been given extensive training, he was ready to be put to work as a new operative. Given the codename "The Winter Soldier", he was used as a mindless weapon to commit countless assassinations and acts of terrorism. Given that the Winter Soldier was at the peak of physical strength and was made much more dangerous by his cybernetic arm, he was a threat that was not to be taken lightly. In between missions, the Soldier was put into cryogenic freezing that slowed his aging, and was activated and brainwashed to comply whenever he was needed. Years passed, and nothing seemed to change in the monotonous routine of the Winter Soldier, until one day when one particular activation changed his life as a living weapon forever.

On a mission to assassinate Nick Fury, the Soldier ended up encountering Steve Rogers, who was alive after disappearing for so many years. During a confrontation on a bridge, Steve realized who exactly the HYDRA. operative was, and called out to his friend. The Winter Soldier showed no signs of recognizing who Bucky was, but later when in HYDRA containment he asked who the man on the bridge was, saying that he knew him. Seeing that their weapon was beginning to have some faint memories of the past, HYDRA decided to once again wipe his mind clear of any memories. However once he confronted Captain America again in order to complete his mission, once more the other one started to break through the mind control. While the SHIELD helicarrier that they were on began to burn and crash towards the water, the Soldier started beating the other one half to death, yet still Steve would not raise a hand against him or even defend himself. The Winter Soldier was stunned, and in the midst of the crashing wreckage that was going down all around them, he hesitated before striking again. Rogers ended up falling unconscious into the ocean that the helicarrier was crashing into, and out of some impulse or instinct that he couldn't explain to himself for months afterwards, Bucky dove into the water after him, and pulled the drowning man out of the water in order to save his life.

He left Steve on the shore, and then wandered off in confusion and yet in more clarity than he had had for a long time. The Soldier tried to figure out why he had felt the urge to save that man, even looking up the name that Rogers had called him, James Buchanan Barnes, in a museum. Not long after this, Bucky went into hiding, living in a safehouse in Romania for a little while as he tried to figure out who he really had been before being controlled by HYDRA. Unfortunately, his time to do so in peace got cut short, when he was framed for a bombing at a UN conference. This threw Bucky's life into turmoil, and even though Steve tried to protect him from getting captured by the Avengers, he ended up being taken into custody in order to be psychologically assessed. When the doctor came to question him though, it was revealed that the man posing as the doctor had sinister intentions. He spoke the code that would reactivate the Winter Soldier, and after questioning him, allowed the Soldier to run loose and try to escape the complex. The Winter Soldier went on a brainwashed rampage while leaving the compound, until Steve Rogers was able to subdue him by knocking him out unconscious for a time.

When Bucky came to, he discovered that he had gained back all of his memories, and now fully remembered who he had been before the brainwashing. After proving that once again he was Steve's childhood friend rather than the mindless assassin, he and Steve set out to go on a mission to stop the mastermind behind the framing, Zemo, from activating more Winter Soldiers that were worse than Bucky. They recruited some allies along the way, but were barely able to reach their destination in the end because of nearly being stopped by the Avengers. In the end, only Captain America and Bucky were able to make it to where the other unactivated Winter Soldiers were. Once arriving there, they were met by Iron Man, who called for a truce so that they could stop the real threat. This truce unfortunately didn't last long however, as Zemo revealed to Tony Stark that Bucky had been the one to kill his parents as the Winter Soldier, and had made it seem like a car accident all those years ago. Once learning about this, and realizing that Steve had known about what had happened without telling him, Tony attacked both of them in a rage, trying to kill the Winter Soldier.

The battle between the three was bloody, and cost Bucky his left arm once more, but ultimately Captain America was able to disable Iron Man's suit with his shield. Helping his wounded friend up, Steve began walking away with him, even leaving his shield behind when Tony accused him of not deserving it. The two left, and eventually took refuge at Wakanda. It was there that Bucky decided that he would have himself be put back into cryogenic stasis until the programming that HYDRA had put in his mind could be removed once and for all. He allowed himself to be put under while Steve and the Black Panther stood by. Bucky remained in stasis for months afterwards under the protection of the Wakandan people, until eventually he was brought out of it in order to help combat the rising threat of Thanos. His cybernetic arm was repaired and remade, and soon he was ready to go help save the world alongside the other heroes.

Once Thanos had been defeated, even though it had cost the life of Steve Rogers, Bucky did not go back into stasis. He found himself having to face a world without his best friend, without really any allies to speak of except for Falcon and Black Panther, and even then it was a lonely and intimidating thought to continue on without Steve. Bucky continued to grieve in the aftermath of the other one's death, becoming more distant than before as he tried to figure out what to do with himself. He knew that Steve would have wanted him to try to do what he thought was right, which was something that he wanted to do as well after all that he had done wrong. He also knew something else that Captain America had wanted, which was to pass down the shield and his legacy down to someone that he trusted, but Bucky couldn't bring himself to acknowledge or do anything about that wish yet. No matter what though, he wanted to do something to help repay for what he'd done; something that would have still made Steve proud.

When Barnes went to meet with Tony Stark about a year after Thanos' defeat, he felt that he might as well be walking to his death. Nevertheless, before anything could be said between the two former enemies, Bucky spoke first with a genuine, even if it was a somewhat awkward apology for what had happened at the Siberian base, and what he did all those years ago. He took full responsibility for his actions, and stood silent afterwards without trying to defend himself in any way, doing this as an unsaid offer to take him prisoner or do whatever was wanted with him as punishment for his crimes. The reaction to what he did was hardly openly heartfelt, but it seemed that on some level at least Tony wasn't seeking revenge in the same way that he had been, though whether or not this was only for Steve's sake or was due to actual acceptance and even forgiveness was something that Bucky couldn't quite be sure of. He felt a little confused by the idea of actually being forgiven, as he certainly didn't expect or really felt that he deserved it. Nevertheless, when he wasn't immediately arrested or attacked he made sure not to ask for much, only asking how bad his position with the government really was, and if there was any way to get attention off of him. Once receiving vague assurances of an effort of assistance to help with that, he was satisfied with this answer and took his leave, taking one moment to quietly thank Stark before disappearing.

For a while after this Bucky was on his own, trying to do good whenever he saw the opportunity, but also attempting some semblance of a normal life as well. It was still difficult to get used to normal life in the modern world that he was living in, but he was slowly adapting to it. One day however, seemingly out of the blue, he received a very startling invitation. He was invited to join the Avengers, now that the Sokovia Accords were becoming a bit more lax and not as relevant as they had been anymore. At first Barnes was just simply stunned, feeling that there was no way he could actually be accepted on a team of the Earth's greatest heroes. Once he had taken a little time to think about it though, he realized that if he could actually be a part of the Avengers, and help save the world from threats, it would be one of the best ways to try to do something right for the world, even if the Winter Soldier's actions could never be fully atoned for. And so once this was decided, Bucky hesitantly accepted the invitation and agreed to join the Avengers. When he joined, he learned that it was going to be a messier situation than he had expected to be able to operate with the Avengers, since the Winter Soldier had still committed egregious crimes against many countries. It was also uncomfortable for himself and some others to still go by the codename of the Winter Soldier when that was something that he didn't want to be associated with anymore.

Surprisingly, Tony Stark ended up being a pretty big help with getting the government off his back, even though it always remains to be a looming problem. When Bucky arrived at the Avengers main base of operations, things were pretty awkward at first, but eventually he did his best to ignore this and just settle in. A touching thing that happened however, was when Barnes had recently settled in with the team and base, when Stark visited, and gave him Captain America's shield, as it seemed like something Steve would have wanted him to have. Bucky accepted the shield, and kept it in a special case at the base, but didn't actually take it out to combat. A few more years passed, and while Barnes' team dynamic with the other Avengers became more comfortable, the public was far from accepting his presence on the team, and so was the government. Through all this time there had been something nagging at Bucky, something which bothered him, and yet it was almost too difficult to do anything about. He knew that... the world wanted, or maybe even needed, Captain America.

Things just hadn't been the same since Steve Rogers had died, due to how much of a crushing blow it really had been. In a way, Bucky had felt the need, and even the duty, to carry on his friend's legacy somehow and to honor it, just like Steve would have wanted. Bucky wasn't accomplish this by being the Winter Soldier, however. Something about fighting in that identity and even slipping back into some of the fighting style that had been drilled into him by HYDRA felt too... comfortable, like it was simply natural to fight like a ruthless assassin would. All of this kept culminating, until eventually, Bucky decided that he couldn't keep operating with the Avengers while under the identity of the Winter Soldier. He just couldn't find his own identity, and things were just getting worse for him. Something had to be done. In fact he had a distinct idea of what exactly that something was, even though he felt unworthy of doing it. He sat out on a few of the Avengers' missions while contemplating the matter, trying to decide if he really should try to honor his friend, or if attempting to do so would only make things worse. Nevertheless, it was the least he could do to continue the legacy, after ignoring the need to do so for so long due to his own pain and self doubt. The decision was made.

During the next mission that the Avengers went on, when it became a bit more challenging than expected and help was needed, Captain America came to assist. Bucky Barnes came wearing the suit and wielding the shield, though fighting as Captain America turned out to be more challenging than he had expected. Eventually instead of just using the shield during that first fight, Bucky borrowed a gun, and used that as well as the shield. Once it was over, the message was clear. There was a new Captain America, who operated a bit differently from the first one. After this first mission, Bucky decided that if he was really going to be Captain America, he had to make the identity his own and do some things his way, while keeping the idea and spirit of Captain America alive. This decision led to Bucky making his own suit of a slightly different design from the original, and also wielding a variety of weapons aside from just the shield as well. After this, Bucky has continued being Captain America during the following year, and even though the reception to this has been less than positive, he is determined to keep going, and doing what he thinks is the right thing to do.


Costume: Bucky's Captain America costume has black leggings and sleeves, with a symbol like the original Captain America shield across his chest, and a large white star in the center of it. On both of his shoulders are pure white stars, which conceal the red one on his left shoulder. He has red gloves, and shiny black cuffed boots. The cowl is connected to the suit and hides the upper half of his face, even though there are still eye slits in it that don't cover his eyes. The suit is made out of steel mesh with leather covering the outside of it to protect from damage, and Bucky usually wears a bulletproof vest underneath it. There are several pouches attached to the belt of the costume, which are used to carry things in that might be needed.

Motivation: Bucky's main motivation as a hero is to do his best to use his skills to help and protect others, rather than hurt them like he used to. He is haunted by what he did as the Winter Soldier, but tries not to let the past burden him down from doing something with the present. Another point of motivation for him is upholding the legacy that Steve Rogers left behind as Captain America, and doing his best to live up to that legacy. He sometimes worries that his friend would be disappointed or disapproving of what he does, but all he can do is hope that wouldn't be so, and keep doing doing the best he can as Captain America.

Abilities: Due to being experimented on by HYDRA during World War II, Bucky has advanced human physiology that made him durable enough to survive a long fall that should have killed him. When he was being made into the Winter Soldier, this experimentation was further developed on, until he was effectively almost as physically enhanced as Captain America. Because of this, Bucky has superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and endurance. He even has a bit of a healing factor, able to heal injuries faster than a normal human, but he can't actually regenerate missing body parts or anything. Despite these artificially given powers, Bucky still is hardly invulnerable, but he can take much more damage than the average human. Barnes is also an expert martial arts to, having had training from both the United States Armed Forced and HYDRA. He has a fighting style that is quick, strong, and deadly. While he might not have as much of a lethal fighting style as he did when he was the Winter Soldier, he still is a very formidable fighter. Bucky is also good at handling various types of weapons, as well as improvising by using his surroundings to his advantage. He has quick reflexes as well, able to react almost immediately upon spotting a danger. He is a skilled marksman, able to shoot a target from a very far distance. Lastly, it is likely that Bucky knows quite a few languages also because of his time as the Winter Soldier, and has been shown to know Romanian and Russian.

Weaponry: Bucky, as Captain America, has many weapons at his disposal. He most prominently uses a small handgun that he modified personally to shoot through even some bulletproof materials, and combat knives that he keeps in small sheaths attached to his belt. He also has an assortment of guns at his disposal, though only carries certain ones depending on the situation. He sometimes carries sniper rifles or machine guns with him, as well as a pistol. Bucky used to have a grenade launcher and can sometimes carry grenades with him, though he doesn't do so as often anymore.

Quotes:
"What you did all those years... it wasn't you."
"I know. But I did it."

"Do you even remember them?"
"I remember all of them."

Other:

Spoiler: Extra Comic Images