As theWinter Soldier,Bucky Barneshas been hero, villain and everything in between. In each of those roles,Bucky has customized his metal arm, adding new capabilities, new materials and new logos. Each change has represented Winter Soldier’s mission in a new way, acting as a statement about his values and those who he’s fighting for.
WhileMCU fans only got to see Winter Soldier’s red star(for now), the comics have given Bucky Barnes a range of symbols. Here are the seven best logos that have appeared on Bucky Barnes' arm, redefining the Winter Soldier as he’s gone from heartless assassin to iconic hero.
While theWinter Soldier has had multiple prosthesesin the MCU, he doesn’t use a symbol on his later Vibranium models.
7The Thunderbolts Logo
Bucky Was Welcomed Onto the Team with a New Arm Made by the Fixer
Winter Soldier has taken a leadership role withmultiple versions of the Thunderbolts, but he got a dedicated upgrade from the team inThunderbolts Volume 3, from Jim Zub and Jon Malin. The upgrade came from Norbert Ebersol’s Fixer - a genius inventor who gave Buckyadditional weaponry including a deadly punch-knife, a close-range flamethrower, and even dual Wolverine claws.
The arm came complete with a giant ‘Thunderbolts’ logo, giving Bucky Barnes a personal connection to the already-extant team. While the group didn’t stay together long, the association apparently worked, with Bucky being present for the group’s movie debut in 2025’sThunderbolts*.
6SHIELD Symbol
In the House of M, Agent Barnes Was a Very Different Man
When Scarlet Witch transformed Marvel’s reality into the House of M, she turned humanity into second-class citizens under the bootheel of the ascendant mutantkind. In response, various human heroes and villains united to fight back against Magneto’s regime, including Bucky Barnes. As Agent Barnes,Bucky was successful in assassinating Charles Xavier. Sadly - despite bringing non-metallic weaponry custom-made for the mission - Bucky failed to assassinate Magneto, who beheaded him with Captain America’s shield. Thankfully, when reality was reasserted, Bucky came back to life.
In this timeline, Bucky wears pauldrons bearing the symbol of S.H.I.E.L.D. - an organization originally run by Nick Fury, but later folded into Magneto’s regime, with Bucky, Mimic and Nuke forming an unofficial strikeforce to kill the mutant leader.
5Captain America’s Shield
Bucky Became the Temporary Captain America
Following Captain America’s death, Bucky began using a cybernetic arm with a symbol reminiscent of his old mentor’s iconic shield. Bucky kept this arm when he became the new Captain America, though only in his guise as the Winter Soldier. When suited up as Cap, Bucky wore a metallic outfit with white star symbols on the chest and shoulders.
This was the first of many occasions where Bucky Barnes used his logo to mourn a fallen friendand refine his mission in their honor. Bucky handed back the Captain America identity (and shield) when it was later revealed that Steve Rogers' assassination had been faked, and he was actually lost in time.
Bucky Barnes debuted as Captain America inCaptain America Volume 5 #34, by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting.
4The White Star
Bucky Embraced His Patriotic Potential Alongside Nick Fury
After his memories were restored by Captain America, Bucky dedicated himself to heroism and world security to make up for his time as the Winter Soldier. As part of this shift in intent,Bucky switched to a white star with a blue surround, turning the Soviet red star into a symbol of American patriotism. During this time, Bucky worked with Nick Fury’s SHIELD, and also investigated Captain America’s supposed assassination alongside Wolverine.
3The Black Star
Winter Soldier Mourned Black Widow’s Death
During the events ofSecret Wars,Black Widow led a resistance cellagainst the brainwashed Captain America, ultimately being killed by the evil version of Steve Rogers. For a short time afterwards,Bucky donned a black star with red surround, mourning Natasha’s losswhile continuing to fight the forces of fascism in her name. Bucky ultimately abandoned the arm after an encounter with the Electric Ghost - a young woman who had turned to villainy after the Winter Soldier assassinated her father.
Bucky and Black Widow’s romance goes back to their adolescence in the Red Room, where they were able to steal infrequent moments together during their training.
After seeing how an obsession with the past had squandered Electric Ghost’s life and genius, Bucky allowed his black-star cybernetic arm to sink into the ocean rather than be dragged down with it, adopting a more forward-facing attitude. Thankfully, Black Widow was cloned back to life soon after.
2The Revolution’s Starpoints
To Break the Outer Circle, Bucky Took Their Symbol
A hollow, red-lined star broken up into five section, this symbol was Bucky’s calling card during the period when he went by the codename ‘The Revolution.’ In Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing and Carmen Carnero’sCaptain America: Sentinel of Liberty, fans learned the secret history of Captain America. Steve Rogers' Super-Soldier Serum was financed by an Illuminati-esque group called the Outer Circle, who had been controlling world history for over a century.
The Outer Circle used codenames related to their areas of influence, made up of the Power, the Money, the Machine, the Love and the Revolution. The original Revolution, Gavrilo Princip, arranged for Bucky Barnes to take his place as part of a decades-long plan to dismantle the group.
Steve Rogers was meant to become the Outer Circle’s enforcer, with his star logo indicating a single entity serving five masters (one for each point of the star.) Of course, Steve Rogers refused to be controlled, and the Outer Circle had to make do with each member having their own personal ‘Star Point’ assassin to enforce their interests. After infiltrating the Outer Circle as their newest member,Bucky made the star his own, turning it into the symbol of aweaponagainst the group.Bucky kept the symbol and Revolution nameduring a short stint running the Thunderbolts, but later reverted to…
1The Red Star
Winter Soldier’s Original Logo Has Two Key Meanings
Bucky’s first and current logo, the red star is a real-world symbol for communist and socialist ideals. It was heavily used by the Soviet Union, and so became Bucky’s calling card when he was captured and brainwashed by the Russian state in the closing days of WWII. For decades, Bucky was a lethal assassin forced in and out of stasis, only released to kill high-value targets before having his memory wiped.
Upon Bucky’s return inCaptain America Voume 5 #1(by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting), he wore the symbol as an ongoing villain. When his memories were restored by Steve Rogers, Bucky attempted various other symbols, buthe keeps coming back to the red star, turning it into a reminder of all the blood spilled at his hands. Like the Winter Soldier codename, Bucky feels he will never escape the symbol so many people saw before they died, choosing to keep wearing the red star as a way to atone while refusing to run from the past.
The red star took on a new meaning during Bucky Barnes' time as ‘the Man on the Wall’ - an agent dedicated to fending off alien threats before they reached Earth. For a short while, the red star symbolized the vast galaxy Bucky had pledged himself to guard against.
Those aren’t the only symbols that have appeared on the Winter Soldier’s metal arm, but we think they’re the most meaningful logos Bucky Barneshas used so far. Let us know your favoriteWinter Soldiersymbols in the comments below, and whatBucky Barnes’different logos mean to you.
