We know that HYDRA couldnât completely erase Steve from Buckyâs memory⌠but maybe they knew that, and manipulated it to their advantage. Itâs eerie how much a young Robert Redford resembles Steve Rogers during the 1940s:
Maybe HYDRA chose Pierce to be Buckyâs handler based on his striking resemblance to Captain America. Perhaps he rose through the ranks because of how well he could control Bucky, without using extreme violence. He would have been the perfect brainwashing tool.
So how many times did Pierce take Buckyâs love for Steve and use it against him? Is that partially how HYDRA made Bucky so complaisant, so willing to take orders from Pierce?Â
A young Alexander Pierce would just have to smile at Bucky while spewing lines about Saving the World, and The Greater Good, and Bucky would have listened. It would have sounded so familiar to him, manipulating the part of his brain that would follow Steve Rogers anywhere.
The manipulation is especially noticeable in the vault scene. Seeing Steve on the bridge confused Bucky, but Pierce brings him back to focus by lecturing him about doing his part to shape the century. Bucky looks abashed, until Pierce says: â[if we donât do our parts]âŚHYDRA canât give the world the freedom it deservesâ. At those words, Bucky really looks at Pierce, actually considers him for the first time:
He has a bite to his voice as he replies âBut I knew himâ â so different from his submissive behaviour seconds before â because now that he remembers Steve, he doesnât implicitly trust Pierce. Bucky looks resentful, like heâs seeing the manipulation for what it is, though he doesnât understand why.
Even as his memories return, Bucky could be wary and nervous of Steve, confused by HYDRAâs manipulations. It could explain why heâs running from Steve in Civil War.



























