Winter Soldier Vol. 4: Electric Ghost: The Electric Ghost

Winter Soldier (2012)

by Jason Latour, Nic Klein (Illustrator), Declan Shalvey (Cover Art)

Collects Winter Soldier (2012) #15-19. All-new mission! All new creative team! All new status quo! In the wake of the hunt for the Black Widow, a broken and beaten Winter Soldier begins perhaps his most personal mission yet: a quest for redemption. But as Bucky looks to make peace with his deadly past, a new villain from his future is out for war...and blood.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Superheroes, Fiction

107 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2013

About the author

David Jason Latour (b. 1977) is an American comic book artist and writer known for his work for Image, Dark Horse, Marvel and DC comics on titles such as Wolverine, Winter Soldier, Southern Bastards and Spider-Gwen.

Reviews

[johanna (jo) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Either this was confusing or I read it too fast or both because I'm not sure what just happened.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A full five stars might be a bit much, but I did really enjoy this. I've mentioned before on here that it's a difficult task for a writer to take over a character when the previous writer has had a long and beloved run.

Pretty much since the character was convinced, no one wrote the Winter Soldier much other than Ed Brubaker (Bendis probably came close second when he was eventually included in the Avengers titles, but with team books it's hard to get into singular characters much).

So, when Jason Latour took over the Winter Soldier title, which wasn't one of the higher selling books to begin with, he did something cool and fun with it. He keeps to a style similar to Brubakers, there's a lot of internal monologuing/narration from Bucky throughout, and builds on his past and his current status-quo. Bucky is still torn over the previous arc and what happened between him and the Black Widow.

Latour could have easily not touched on this at all, and focused solely on the main story, but it's good that he does because it was an important moment for Bucky. Natasha was someone that he loved, and it was all torn apart by some villain (in true comic book fashion, of course), so he's struggling to move on from it. The world still thinks he's dead, so the list of people had grew shorter by one.

And then there's the main story. The after effects of a mission that the Winter Soldier did when under Russian orders has come back to haunt Bucky in true spy-fiction tradition. Declaring war on most of the world, Bucky must figure out a way to stop her whilst seeking redemption for himself.

What stood out the most to me were the flashbacks (another trope that Brubaker fans will be familiar with), and a lot of that is down to Nic Klein's art. When the Winter Soldier is on the mission, the primary colour that's used is white, which really makes the art and flashback scenes stand out. It looks really good. Klein's art throughout is great, and is the main reason I'm giving this five stars. Both him and Latour created a cool looking, slick spy story with the Winter Soldier.

(Also, side note: this is probably better than a lot of Brubaker's later stuff with Captain America.)

[Heenee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't read well. I felt like I couldn't understand the story.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know that I completely understood or cared about anything that happened in this until the last page where we get a glimpse of Bucky and Nat. Not my cup of tea.

[Nicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mneh, didn't care too much about this issue. I wanted some solution re: the events of the last issue: what connects me to Bucky is his relationships with other characters I care about, and I still needed that even in this volume. In the end, his type of character is not one I connect with -- I'm not one for work in the shadows: my love is given to heroes like Captain America.

The Electric Ghost herself, though -- she could be a very interesting opponent for a larger team of superheroes. She felt almost wasted on such a short story arc with Bucky.

[Carrie (brightbeautifulthings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I’m enjoying my adventures into graphic novels, they have a severe lack of closure on most of their endings. I’m never satisfied with where we leave Bucky’s character, and it compelled me to chase this down despite knowing it wasn’t going to live up to Brubaker’s interpretation. Latour does a passable job on the character, and he more or less carries over the angst and the search for redemption started in this run. He practically has to pull a rabbit out of a hat to get a happy ending for him, but I’ll settle for one panel of that over the despair of both Brubaker collections.

Plot-wise, it’s a bit bonkers, which is another trend I’m noticing. I wasn’t prepared for Winter Soldier in Space, but I guess that’s on me. I always enjoy the deep dives into Bucky’s long and complicated history as the Soldier, and there’s quite a bit here I didn’t know, with plenty of shady, over-powered characters from his past around to make problems. It stretches disbelief a bit even for a world that’s already committed to super soldiers and aliens, but I enjoyed the heartfelt confrontation and search for redemption, both in himself and others. It’s an acceptable way to wrap up the series, and I’m glad I read it even if it’s not a favorite.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

[Lono · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good follow-up to Brubaker's run. Wish Latour and Klein had a couple more issues to tell more of their part of Buck's story. Still a good stand alone tale that helped to flesh Buck out post-Captain America. A former villain and current hero looking to atone for some of his past sins. Great art by Klein as well.

[Jaye Berry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why do comics do this like why does the original team just bounce and someone else picks it up in the same run? It's always annoying when the art changes and then the story is just... whatever this was. While I loved the first three volumes with my entire ass, this was just yikes. I had no idea wtf was going on the entire time and the only thing that actually mattered was the last page with Bucky and Natasha.

Electric ghost villain was kinda cool though but why tf were they in space.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh.... Bucky and Natasha make me emotional, nobody can tell me they are not Soulmates. Marvel give Natasha her memories back.....PLEASE!!!

[Megan Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

i like klein’s art i appreciate the style of the flashbacks
the sotry itself seems rushed i think they needed a couple more issues to prooperly tell the story they wanted to tell but because they only had five issues the story suffers for it. the pacing is out of whack and the storyline can be hard to follow the cahracters dont have room to really stand out at all esp the new character the titular villain i think needed a longer book to be a fully formed person as it was her whole deal was kinda confusing idk

[Bobbi Munoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

not as good without winterwidow

[Jessica Willis · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story doesn't read well and is overall pretty lackluster. The best part was the last page with him and Natasha. This should be seperate from the Brubaker issues but that could be because I'm not a fan of the new writer

[Tony · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a weird arc. It started out strong. I like the concept of Bucky being a little lost after the events of the previous story and Fury coming to him with a mission that could help focus him and make up for his past actions. Therapy through spy craft if you will. He goes to bring in an agent that had been undercover with Hydra and was going off the rails. An agent who's wife Bucky killed when he was brainwashed. These parts of the story were well written and made sense. Then came the part about the undercover agents long lost daughter. So Bucky, after killing his wife, took the daughter for some Red Room style programming. Ok...I'll buy it even though its a bit too convoluted. Then the girl, through her training, and a book co written by Nathaniel Richards she develops cosmic posers and starts creating a cosmic cube. Thats where the story goes off the rails. And not in a good way. There is little logical progression for how she got so powerful and a convoluted back story to why she wants to rewrite history. If the writer stuck to the espionage angle or spent more time on the weird super science story it could have worked. Unfortunately, what started as a decent successor to Brubakers run ends up a mess.

[C.J. Edmunds · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fortuitous event to have found this at Book Sale yesterday after coming out of the cinema following my first day viewing of Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier.

While the movie deserves more than a two thumbs up and certainly ups the ante for Marvel in terms of their Cinematic Universe, reading this volume as a part of a bigger and collective work pertaining to the ever unfolding events of the Winter Soldier himself, make me regard the book as something that is best read in its entirety along with the other volumes. This being Volume 4, after all.

But it certainly makes me even more curious for the other compilations and henceforth with this volume, I will certainly be on the lookout for more.

Winter Soldier, or he who I will not name (don't want to spoil Muggles), has gone thru a lot and I wait for more compilations to turn up to further enhance my history of this tragic and broker character.

Redemption is indeed possible. That is is if one is aware on how to tread the road for it and if one is brave enough to get on it.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This final volume of Winter Soldier is also the only one without Ed Brubaker and co, instead welcoming the creative team of Jason.Latour and Nic Klein.

The story is a good idea executed with far too much unnecessary dialogue, and it feels an issue or so too long, but the titular Electric Ghost is a great villain who I would love to see again, perhaps battling the Avengers since she's a huge threat. The story deals with the aftermath of Brubaker's run quite well, also.

Nic Klein's art is moody and visceral, perfect for the story material, and very similar to cover artist Declan Shalvey - I hope to see him on some more Marvel books soon.

Winter Soldier doesn't end as well as it began, but it is a solid if flawed read that introduces interesting ideas and characters that will hopefully live on past the series' demise.

[Ryan Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading all 4 volumes in a row, I'd have to say that although 2 & 3 arguably had the strongest story line, 1 & 4 were probably my favorites. Mostly because they were just so unusual and not at all traditional in their storytelling.
In this final volume, we also get a new creative team, and Latour & Klein are like breaths of fresh air. And not the breathing OUT bits, but the breathing IN. So much history was dumped into the secondary characters here, it felt like they've been around the Marvel Universe forever. The Electric Ghost is kinda cool, and I'd welcome a return by her in nearly any book in the future. Lots of great material here.
I'm also glad the series ended here, on a high note, rather than fading away with a whimper.

[Sonic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this enough, ... not totally sure what it was all about if you asked me to sum it up, heh heh ~ but it had a nice feel. The art was a tad bit stiff and green at times but also fresh and interesting at times too (in my humble opinion) .

[Andrómeda · Rating 2 out of 5]

No tan bueno como esperaba.
Dos estrellas por Electric Ghost.

[Brandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whenever a new creative team takes over a book, one may expect that the new team will try to strike out in a new direction, attempting to make the book uniquely their's. One of the best examples of this is when Grant Morrison took over writing Doom Patrol. When Morrison took over the book it took a completely different direction and the titular Doom Patrol wasn't just another superhero team anymore. But in order to placate the reader(s?) that was pissed that Doom Patrol was moving from straight up superhero fare into Alan Moore Swamp Thing type territory, Morrison gave the previous creative team a list of the characters he wanted to retain from the previous team (members were killed off as part of the Invasion event, including Doom Patrol mainstay Celsius) but honestly, this was mostly a courtesy on Morrison's part, as apart from Robotman, the rest of the team really didn't resemble what had been traditionally considered the Doom Patrol. In this collection of the last issues of the first volume of The Winter Soldier comics, we are presented with an almost unimaginable scenario--Winter Soldier stories not written by Ed Brubaker.

For those who read Brubaker's Winter Soldier finale, Black Widow Hunt (which apparently I forgot to review, even though I read it) it seemed apparent that Brubaker knew that the arc was the last work he would be doing concerning James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, as it seemed that the advent of Natasha having her memories wiped of her romance/relationship with Bucky felt like Brubaker trying to follow an edict of "return things to the state in which you found them" even though such an exercise was effectively impossible thanks to the fact that unlike when Brubaker started on Captain America Bucky Barnes was alive. However thanks to Brubaker, the character was too popular for Marvel to put back on ice, and thus, even with Brubaker gone, the series continued...kind of.

At the end of the collection there is a letter from Jason Latour that apparently appeared at the end of Winter Soldier #17 thanking readers for their support, but obviously in the wake of the book being cancelled. Obviously, most readers, without the draw of Brubaker to compel them to buy the book, walked away. In one respect, you would have to be a pretty hard person to not feel for Jason Latour here, as he had effectively been handed an impossible task--to follow up Ed Brubaker on a title where everything we had ever known about the character was given to us by Brubaker himself (yes, Bucky has been around since 1941, but it wasn't until Brubaker came around that he became the Winter Soldier.) It would have been nice for Latour to be able to take the book in a different direction, but instead, because of all the background, Latour effectively just tries to write the story that Ed Brubaker would have written had he continued on the title. I'm sure readers would have been equally dismissive if Latour had tried to ignore the Black Widow Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-esque subplot left behind by Brubaker. Of course her being completely unaware of her relationship with Bucky would cause anguish on Bucky's part and as such, it's something Latour doesn't have the option of ignoring when writing The Electric Ghost, all while hemorrhaging Brubaker's fans from the books sales in the process. Latour never stood a chance.

Honestly, following Brubaker's run with a character that I have earlier surmised was likely his favorite of the cast of Captain America seems like a Sisyphean and essentially thankless task. For average comic fare, this book is an enjoyable adventure, but doesn't break any new ground. When Brubaker left Winter Soldier it felt like he still found working with Bucky to be fresh and enjoyable as his late work on Captain America felt rote and tired. That's not Latour's problem here--his problem is trying to follow up the guy who wrote the literal book(s) on the Winter Soldier. He was never going to measure up, despite his best efforts. But you have to admire the try.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Przed Latour'em postawiono bardzo trudne zadanie. Dokończyć serię podebraną od jednej z komiksowych ikon, jeżeli grzebiemy w materii autorów. I śmiem twierdzić, że poszło mu co najmniej dobrze.

Bucky chleje. Stracił miłość życia w dosyć pokrętny sposób i ponownie, przeszłość musi się o siebie upomnieć. I upomina. Kiedyś, kiedy był jeszcze bezdusznym, zimnokrwistym radzieckim superszpiegiem wykonał zadanie. Zabił pewną parę, na którą upadający jeszcze ZSRR wydało wyrok. Szkopuł w tym, że na miejscu pozostało dziecko. I jak łatwo się domyślić, tytułowy Elektryczny Duch, jest efektem tamtych wydarzeń.

Tytułowy złoczyńca to kobieta po makabrycznych przejściach, którą od całej rzeszy czarnych charakterów odróżnia motywacja. Przeszła w dzieciństwie prawdziwe piekło, ale jej konfrontacja z Winter Soldierem jest zaskakująco odżywcza. Po części napędza ją zemsta, ale w gruncie rzeczy zarówno dla niej, jak i dla Bucky'iego będzie to okazja, aby wybaczyć przede wszystkim sobie, za coś na co nie miało się zbytnio wpływu, a czuje się wyrzuty sumienia. I może to nie jest aż tak głębokie, jakby artysta chciał, ale "robi" robotę.

Niezłe są też powroty do przeszłości. Barnesa są dobre, ale to Electric Ghost kradnie strony dziecięcą stylistyką. Tu trzeba powinszować Nic Klein za dobrą kreskę. Zaskoczył mnie ten tom. Nie jest to co prawda klasa Brubakera, ale całość się broni, przez co trochę mi szkoda, że seria kończy się na czterech częściach.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Jason Latour. Having to follow a writer as beloved as Ed Brubaker on a title where Brubaker redefined a character is such a daunting task that I can only imagine him having many sleepless nights cooking stuff up. I can honestly say that this title didn't miss a beat. I enjoyed these issues almost as much as Brubaker's. Most fans bolted, resulting in this series being put on ice, which is a shame because this is some good stuff. I was also unfamiliar with Nic Klein's work, but a quick search revealed that he has been making the rounds for years. He does some quality stuff here, and I am pleased with it.

Bucky/The Winter Soldier confronts another ghost from his past, this one calling herself the Electric Ghost. This is as hard-edged and brutal as we've come to expect from the title. It's a shame that it's been cancelled, as the whole “Bucky's shrouded past” thing seems like fertile ground for lots of cool stories. Maybe he'll get another shot at a title with the second Captain America coming out next summer.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this was still a decent book on its own, you could definitely feel the shift in the primary writer. It had a good start as a story, but he definitely needed time to build up steam in order to really get into it. So it's hard to say if that the book was really planned for just this final volume to wrap up the book or low sales after Brubaker's exit resulted in an early end to the volume.

The story arc was straightforward in its approach - we have Bucky on another mission tied to his past. We have another antagonist with an axe to grind against him. The big difference is that the titular Electric Ghost has some literally cosmic powers and equally stellar ambitions that defy time and space itself. And how things come together feels almost like a Planetary story, and I mean that in a good way.

Just a shame that we didn't get to see where this run could have gone had they gotten another volume of story.

[Jerry Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the final volume of the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes has to atone for his past sins, sort of, after his sent on a mission that requires him to locate a spy he was programmed by the KGB to kill and whose significant other he did kill. Along the way, he learns that he also has to find the daughter of the spy who is bent on bringing about chaos and destruction. While Bucky's mission makes for a great plot, the emotional investment or self-torture he feels isn't present in this graphic novel as it was in the previous volume. Perhaps because the writing was on the wall for this comic series to end.

[Sandrine · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐

It had so much potential, clearly the story was too ambitious for 5 issues. Pacing is way too unbalanced. There are full scenes and panels that clearly had to be left out, which shouldn't have becaus it gets confusing really fast. Perhaps stepping into Brubaker's shoes made them want to have a great compeling story, either coming from the editor or the creative team, or both.

The villain is great, I really wish to read about her again in a better story! Digging into Bucky's past and feelings is always so interesting. I really wanted to give this one a higher note but it was just too confusing.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never thought I’d find another character I’d love as much as Wolverine, but Bucky has definitely claimed access to my heart; oh how I’d love it if they could team up for an extended run! I really liked all of these issues and would like to explore the other Avengers comics, particularly Black Widow and Cap. I’m so thankful for Marvel, If I’d have been told I’d discover comics in my late twenties and would still love them in my forties I wouldn’t have believed it, but once a Marvel girl, always a Marvel girl! Excelsior!

[Connor · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's a story here, but I could not parse it. Winter Soldier saves an old SHIELD agent who's undercover in Hydra, but Bucky also killed his handler/love interest. That plot goes nowhere. There's also an woman who has cosmic powers. Winter Soldier killed her parents and she was raised as a killer in an orphanage. She tries to go back in time with Winter Soldier (somehow?) but changes her mind (or something?) and then I think she sacrifices herself when the cosmic power explodes. So that went nowhere. There's a lot of narration in this book.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot: 4.5/5 ⭐️
Execution: 2.5/5 ⭐️

The moral of this story is Bucky learning how to deal with things that he's done in his past, and accept that he can live with these horrendous acts, and not let the guilt completely overcome him. Great, glorious, a solid dark superhero plot line.

Unfortunately, the whole arc with Tesla was a little confusing, and I found took away from the plot line. Maybe it's because I'm still a comic newbie and had no idea who either of the two main side characters were before reading this comic, but it just felt lackluster following Brubaker's run.

[Louis · Rating 3 out of 5]

was fun and ambitions. a little bit XXX and little bit Jason Borne. lots of showing not telling with the old guy, felt like it was tell ing more tension then the actions were giving, Beautiful little ending. Felt like the electric ghost could be a bigger threat, similar to Ultron or the chick from the last fast and furious movie. Just was trying to cram too much in short entry. the visual of them jumping her holding him and his arm was nice. more touching then expected.

[Sean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly, a big step down from the Brubaker run. Where his run always felt like we were getting pieces of actual history meshing with the present, here the storyline seems forced and contrived. I just wasn't a fan of Latour's Bucky. The antagonists he creates weren't interesting and were too convoluted. The plot was a mess with some strange plot holes. Nic Klein's art didn't fit the story well. Overall, not the ending this series deserved.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had potential. Another sin from the Winter Soldier's past comes back to haunt him. Nick Fury puts him on a trail which ultimately leads him to the Electric Ghost, a modern, quantum physics supervillain. But we only get the full origin of the Electric Ghost right before the end. This story was interesting, but it could have used different pacing or had more room to breathe. Which isn't completely the creators' fault as this the end of this monthly series.