Bucky's Winter Soldier Backstory Can Set Up The MCU's First Mutant Villain
The MCU's first mutant villain can be incorporated into Bucky Barnes' 20th-century backstory as the Winter Soldier prior to the release of an actual X-Men movie. There have been very few references to mutants in the MCU up until the beginning of Phase 4, as Disney's acquisition of Fox hasn't been reflected onscreen yet. With the release of a full-fledged X-Men movie still some way off on the horizon, some minor mutant characters can be peppered throughout different movies and TV shows. This way, the arrival of the X-Men won't feel as abrupt.
Arkady Gregorivich Rossovich a.k.a Omega Red is a twisted serial killer that, like Wolverine, gets experimented on by scientists in search of a copy of the super-soldier serum. But instead of Wolverine's Adamantium, Arkady is injected with the knock-off metal Carbonadium; and instead of retractable claws, the evil mutant receives near-indestructible tentacles that come out of his wrists. Additionally, Omega Red has the ability to drain the life energy of his victims, which he uses in place of a Carbonadium synthesizer that he requires to survive.
Related: Why Marvel Isn't In A Hurry With The MCU X-Men
Omega Red is a powerful mutant with the potential to become a formidable MCU villain and an origin story that could complement Wolverine's MCU story whenever he debuts. At the same time, he offers the possibility to connect with other notable MCU characters and events. Since Omega Red's famous weapons are the result of a Soviet-era experiment, he could have crossed paths with Arnim Zola and Bucky Barnes in Siberia after World War II. Captain America: Civil War proved that Bucky wasn't the only Winter Soldier, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier revealed that there were more
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