New York, December 1991.
The night the Winter Soldier came to assassinate Howard and Maria Stark.
But in this universe,
how could a night so pivotal in the lives of the Avengers,
an event whose ramifications would be felt for decades,
how could it have gone so differently?
Time.
Space.
Reality.
It's more than a linear path.
It's a prism of endless possibility,
where a single choice can branch out into infinite realities,
creating alternate worlds from the ones you know.
I am the Watcher.
I am your guide through these vast new realities.
Follow me and ponder the question...
"What if?"
You've got to be kidding me.
You want me to go undercover as a Data Input Manager
- in Ohio? - Senior Data Input Manager. Eh?
Middle management ain't too shabby.
I am the Red Guardian. I am Mother Russia's first super-soldier.
You know my worth, my talent, and yet you ask this of me?
It's a pretty top-priority mission.
Horseradish! I am no fool.
I've heard the rumors. Whispers in the halls.
The Rook has sent new intel.
I've never heard of this crook.
Rook! It's a chess piece.
Dreykov, don't play dumb with me when I'm obviously smarter than you.
I am speaking of the Rook, the American sleeper agent,
has intel on a high-value target.
Uh, General Dreykov.
Aah! Da, Karpov.
Eh, there's a mission.
I need you to defrost the...
the Winter Soldier.
The Winter Soldier? That piece of HYDRA trash!
- I appreciate it, Karpov. - He's not even real Russian.
Hey, hey, hey. We're all a team here. Family.
Don't be mad that your brother has a different mission.
Celebrate him, huh?
Huh. Maybe it's time for the Red Guardian to spread his wings.
Go somewhere that will appreciate my skills!
Celebrate that, Dreykov!
What you're going to do, huh?
Put in an application at S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Then the Red Guardian shall demonstrate his value once again.
All right.
Ready to comply.
- Name? - I am... Uh...
- Uh, Bob Toledo. - Business or pleasure?
Well, I come for the pleasure of doing business.
Wise guy.
Whoa, whoa, whoa! The mission is to steal the fancy serum.
No witnesses.
No murder. The Red Guardian is Russia's greatest super-spy.
Anyone can kill. Bang-bang, easy-peasy,
but I am the night and I am the wind.
I am here, and then vanish without a trace.
- No witnesses. - Yes, witnesses.
This way Stark runs back to his capitalist pig friends
and warns them that the revolution is coming and he wears red.
And white.
And that you were here too. Da?
Hyah!
Behold my technique.
Hyah!
The Red...
Technique.
Well, not bad.
Boom!
Biting is cheating.
Oh, I have one of those, too. Heavy, though. I left it in my luggage.
- Is that the XZ-Eight? - Ten.
- Ten? - XZ-Ten.
What happened to the nine?
Was there a nine? I didn't get a nine.
Did you secure the package?
One out of three ain't bad.
Negative. We secured one.
No witnesses?
There were... complications.
You have failed your mission, soldier. Your team has been compromised.
- You're on your own for extraction. - What?
Over.
Typical Red Room borscht.
They say they care, but do they?
Mission failure? I never fail.
Listen up.
The name is Dr. Bill Foster. I'm the head of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Science Division
which makes me the primary on this investigation.
Who was first on the scene?
That would be me.
- Talk to me, Ranger. - Ranger Morales, sir.
- Mm-hm. - Howard and Maria Stark.
Concussions, lacerations, but expected to make a full recovery.
- Great. What'd they see? - Um, not much.
The wife was unconscious. The husband saw two men fighting.
Best guess would have been a carjacking gone wrong.
"Best guess"?
Ranger, in my world, we don't get the luxury of guessing.
Yes, but that trail of blue Cookie Monster blood
has me thinking it's a little worse
than a couple of knuckleheads out for a joyride.
- Mm-hm. - What's that gunk anyway?
This gunk can change the course of history.
- Seriously? - Oh, yeah.
Agents and officers,
shut down the airports, train stations, and bus stations.
I want a hard perimeter stretching from here to Ohio.
We are dealing with genetically, biologically, physically,
and mechanically enhanced super-soldiers.
These men are trained to infiltrate and destroy.
They are capable of the unthinkable.
To face them is to face death.
A-ha!
Foisting capitalist greed onto the working man!
I don't blame you, sister.
You've been brainwashed by the bourgeoisie pigs
who force you into paper hats and servitude!
Sir. All I asked was if you wanted fries with that.
Demand a revolution!
Seize the means of production!
The nuggets of chicken are yours for the taking!
- Alexei... - Your masters have you slinging burgers,
but when, when, when do you get to eat?
I'm a vegetarian, fart-knocker!
Hah. Hey, Lucy, is it? That's a pretty name.
Listen, my friend's had a rough night. Can we get a couple sixes and two Cokes?
Sure. I'll throw in some extra fries.
What in the pelmeni was that?
Your idiocy triggered my deep cover mode.
Well, knock it off, Captain Personality. You're embarrassing us.
You're going to get us caught.
Mmm.
Mwah!
I was liberating her mind. Breaking her mental shackles.
It's what I do.
That's it. The Rook.
The secret legend who will flip the US hegemony like a Monopoly board.
The man who will unite the workers and reshape history.
Alexei.
The Rook will help us. Especially when he sees we have this.
Ha-ha! Here. The most recent communiqué has him in Last Vegas.
It's Las Vegas.
That's what I said. It's very rude to correct my English.
Obviously, they forgot to program any manners into you.
Now, we must acquire transport.
Lenin smiles upon us.
These fries are pretty good.
They must be made from Russian potatoes. Ha!
Russia's the best.
Oh.
Hm.
I'll handle this one.
Relax, relax. The Red Guardian has this.
Are you relaxing? It's very hard to tell.
Your eyes so angry, like...
Winter Fox.
Uh, ah, how can I help you, officer?
Just a routine check-in.
Say, where are you fellas headed?
- Sister's. - Yes, to visit our sister.
It's her birthday.
You guys are brothers?
What'd you get your sister for her birthday?
'Cause I cannot for the life of me
figure out what to get my wife for Christmas.
- Sweater. - Television.
You got her a sweater and a television?
Wow! That's very generous.
Nice story, but where are you really headed?
Step out of the vehicle and keep your hands...
Whoa! Hey!
Really? Again with the guns? I had wool over his eyes.
Target spotted. In pursuit. Exercise caution, but get them.
Get in, cowboy.
Let's go round up some super-soldiers.
Stop with the bullets. You should dance with your enemies.
It is like a great ballet of violence.
No!
Where did that come from? Did you have that the whole time?
No, no, don't shoot!
- Dance. - Hey! Stop swerving!
I told you. Dance!
Hey! This is federal property.
Come on, man.
Dance! Dance!
- It's jammed. - You know
what Karl Marx said about machines?
They make men lazy.
Stop! Stop! It's over. Surrender yourselves.
The Red Guardian never surrenders!
Hands off!
Dance technique!
Winter Fox and the Red Guardian!
Sir, what are you...
You're never gonna catch them on foot.
Whoa!
Okay, sir, I see you.
Ah, impressive.
I'm sorry, farmers!
Although of all the animals kept by this farmer,
it is the worker who is most brutally treated!
Again with the manifesto? You're more brainwashed than me.
Whoa! Winter Fox. We've got a big problem.
Nowhere to go, baby. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
Why is everything so big in America?
Sorry, chickens. Sorry, cows.
Take the wheel.
Where are you? Where are... Yes!
Mwah!
We've got work to do.
Technique!
The bigger they are,
the harder they fall.
Ha-ha!
This is a quality automobile,
which is a credit to the workers' union that built it.
- Keep going? - Why not?
I have nowhere else to be today.
They're not...
Okay, these two are either the bravest or dumbest men on the planet.
Worse. Enhanced and dumb.
Found it!
Hmm. You're still on the case, Ranger?
The National Park Service is a federal agency, sir.
Besides, I once wrestled Bigfoot with my bare hands.
- What? - Nah, it was just a mountain lion.
But the point is, these yahoos don't scare me.
Uh-huh? I see you.
- Is that a Thomas Guide? - Mm.
With a page missing.
Looks like we're going to Vegas, baby.
Hah.
This... This will garner me a commendation, maybe even a medal.
Ah!
You're hurt. Why didn't you say something?
The Winter Soldier never complains, only complies.
Stop it. You're scaring the kittens. Let me.
You know, you're supposed
to catch the bullets with your metal arm. Hm?
How'd that happen?
How did you happen?
I come from a family of nobodies.
Good people but... then I had the chance to become somebody.
Now, I am Mother Russia's great protector, her Red Guardian.
Pretty good for a boy from nowhere, eh?
I'm a nobody. I can't even remember anything.
Nothing?
Not even my name.
I don't believe that.
Look at you. You are strong man with big brain.
- Close your eyes. - No.
- Close... - No.
Closey, close.
- Okay, fine. - Now, think. Think back.
What's the first thing you see?
I see...
I see Coney Island.
See! You are somebody.
You are the great Coney Island hero.
And the Red Guardian is proud to fight next to you.
- Thank you. - I'm going to steal us a new ride.
Maybe something nice. Some heated seats, yeah?
Ready to comply.
Soldier, this is General Dreykov.
Mission orders have changed.
You're to dispose of Agent Alexei Shostakov, the Red Guardian.
Repeat orders, sir?
Shostakov has become a liability.
Put a bullet in his thick skull and get back here.
Do you copy?
Do I need to remind you that mission failure will not be tolerated?
No, sir.
All these lights! Who's paying the electric bills?
The worker, that is who.
Maybe we should play some craps later.
You know, to blend in?
Yeah, but no all-you-can-eat buffets.
You'll put them out of business.
Ah! A smile, huh?
Here we are.
Shield, helmet. Um...
Okay.
Now, finally to meet the Rook.
How do I look?
You look good. Very Russian.
May Lenin smile upon us.
Come on in. It's open.
Pop the cork, will ya? I can shuck my own...
Well, you're not room service. What's going on?
Comrade Rook, I am the Red Guardian, sir.
This is my compatriot, the Winter Soldier.
It is our honor to meet you.
I thought he'd be taller. Did you think that? Is that weird?
Well, what are you?
Why are you dressed like this? Are you a...
Is he gonna shoot you out of a cannon later or...
You are the nefarious Rook who will bring Uncle Sam to his knees.
You will ignite the revolution that frees the proletariat.
Wait, so you two are Rusky spies?
What are you doing in my hotel room?
Our mission was compromised. We require transport back to Russia.
Whoa, I am no Russian spy. I am a hot-blooded American boy.
You are the Rook!
You strike fear into the hearts and wallets...
I feel like I'm speaking a different language here.
Okay, okay.
Look, I traded the Russians some information on Stark's hunky-dory serum.
A little tit-for-tat.
And in return, you two idiots were supposed to kill the Starks!
Now, I was supposed to be givin'
a tear-filled eulogy about the fool right now,
while they scrape his name off Stark Industries.
But instead, Howard Stark's sitting eatin' tapioca in a hospital,
and I'm talking to you, Stupid Siegfried and Angry Roy!
What?
You are...
You are capitalist pig?
Red Room work with capitalist pig?
Red Guardian work for capitalist pig?
Hey, listen, husky Rusky,
capitalism is the only system
that stands for a man's right to own his work, his life, and his happiness.
Any man who thinks money is the root of all evil is obviously poor.
Not a country on this planet that doesn't run on greed.
Tell me something.
You think your bosses, your comrades give two nickels about you? Hm?
About what you want from life?
No. They don't.
Well, you must be the funny one.
It's... just you two, right?
Only you know about this mission failure.
It's not something you brag about.
Hm.
I think I murdered that guy.
- I'm sorry. - He was not a nice man.
He's right, though. About the Red Room, Dreykov...
Dreykov's a pig. All of them are.
But not you. You are a good man.
Come on. We need to go.
Red Room Task Force.
You animals.
Should we take the stairs?
Window will be faster.
- Let's go. - Scum!
Ah-ha, adventure!
The intrepids are calling!
Ya!
Opa! Opa! Ya! Ya!
So, our Russians spare the Starks, but not baldy?
Something about this math isn't adding up.
A-ha-ha!
Nice moves. Okay.
Whoa!
Again with the murdering. You were doing so well.
Jackpot.
Mine, that's mine.
Oh, brilliant.
- Uh? - What? I'm not getting overtime for this.
I have one last chip of my own.
- Hey! - What are they doing?
Hut, hut, hut.
Whoa!
Where are you goin'?
Oh! This guy again?
You can't outrun me.
I thought we were done with the big guy.
Hey!
- Hey! - Up you go.
Hey, little man.
Defeat the capitalist giant.
Uh-oh!
- Technique! - Technique!
That's how we do it in Moscow.
Thank you.
Ah. Not bad. Pretty smooth.
Is that it? Are they gone?
Not gone. Cornered.
Get the choppers over here,
and call Las Vegas SWAT to secure the exits on that building.
I don't want a rat to get in or out.
Get the choppers over here.
Call Las Vegas SWAT to secure the exits on the building.
I don't want a...
We did it. I think we lost them...
The Red Room just arrived.
Karpov can flip my switch. I'll be gone.
I won't remember this.
Ready to comply?
You failed your mission, soldier. Dreykov warned you what would happen.
Dreykov?
Dreykov put out a kill order on you.
Uh. Oh?
You mean he told you to...
Take this and run. I'll buy you time to escape.
No. No.
They betray me, I betray them!
The Red Room has enough soldiers. We'll fight together.
What is happening?
He's gonna make me kill you, Alexei. He can force me.
Save yourself. This is America. Anybody can be somebody in America.
I remember that, thanks to you.
But I know who I am.
I am the friend to the great Coney Island hero.
On my count, gentlemen.
Three.
Two.
One.
Fighting for survival. For acceptance.
Fighting to be somebody.
But in the end, the fight is never the point.
It's your friendships that change the course of history.
Even when they end.
Where's Shostakov?
Where is he?
I told ya. He's dead.
I want details. I want to see his body.
He died a Russian hero.
You're weak, children. Blinded by American excess.
Luckily, Coach Bob Toledo is here
to make you fighters!
An agent recovered it at the scene.
Thank you.
But are you here to arrest me?
No.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was formed after World War II.
A war that Russia helped us win.
We won. You helped.
Well, I wanted to see if you'd help again.
Seriously?
Man...
I could be persuaded to fill out an application.
Whoa!